Southern Belle in Training

Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA

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January 23, 2026

Are SelectBlinds No-Drill Wooden Shades Worth It? Honest Review + Promo Code!

      A few months ago, we made an exciting upgrade to our master bedroom in our home. It was a low-effort upgrade that had pretty amazing results. (Isn't that the best type of home upgrade?) We got rid of the non-aesthetic shades that came with our master bedroom, and upgraded to chic wooden shades from SelectBlinds. I'm excited to share a full review with you today, and keep reading for an exclusive discount code for SelectBlinds below!

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December 31, 2025

2025 in Review: Highlights From My Year

     Here we are... the last day of the year! What a year 2025 ended up being. There's lots to recap from the past 12 months, so let's get right into it! 

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December 23, 2025

Photo Tour: Our First Christmas in Our First Home

Merry Christmas Week! In years past, I always enjoyed sharing about my Christmas decor in my apartments each year on the blog. While I unintentionally skipped doing that the past two years, I wanted to bring it back for 2025 as a way to always remember this special first Christmas season in our first home! The majority of my decor is in our formal living room, with some small additional touches in our dining room and family room. I hope to continue to grow our Christmas decor collection each year in our house, but for this year I love what we started with! 

     This post is also the first time I've shared pictures of some furnished rooms in our house on my blog. Ryan and I have been very hard at work since we moved in early October! 😊 Looking forward to continuing the decorate these rooms and the rest of the house in the years to come. In the meantime, to keep up with our house updates in real-time, follow my new Instagram account @home.sweet.mead!

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November 28, 2025

2025 Black Friday // Cyber Week Sales + What We Did for Thanksgiving

      Happy Black Friday + Cyber Sales Weekend! I was reflecting while writing this post about how Black Friday for me has changed over the years. During high school and college, I never missed a Black Friday at the mall. I truly looked forward to it all year!! I even once had the experience of being on the other side when I had to work at my mall retail job on Thanksgiving night in 2016. 

     The last time though that I went physically out shopping at the mall for Black Friday was in 2021, my first holiday season living in Virginia Beach. Being in a mall setting just wasn't hitting quite like it used to. These days I really do feel like all of the best deals and steals are to be found online. I still very much enjoying shopping in-person throughout the year, but on Black Friday I prefer to be home and shopping from my laptop these days. 😊

Pretty foliage outside of work earlier this week!

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