Tag: fall

Things I Wore (and Did) in October 2018

Published on by Crystal MaldonadoLeave a comment

To say that October was kind of the best month would be an understatement — like, so many good things happened I don’t even know where to begin.

  • Celebrated Bill’s 30th birthday!
  • Saw Hamilton in Boston!
  • Took an incredible, Halloween-themed trip to Disney (full post to come)!
  • Got great news (which I can share soon)!
  • Made serious progress on a writing project!
  • Hosted a spooky dinner party!
  • Had friends over!
  • Celebrated Halloween with Obi as a Beanie Baby!
  • DID I MENTION HAMILTON AND DISNEY WORLD? I mean. COME ON. It really doesn’t get better than that, people!

I don’t want to seem like the kind of person who pretends only good things happen to her because that isn’t true. Behind the scenes, I struggled with some family things, I caught a viral infection on the way back from Disney and was out of commission for 48 hours, I worked a lot (some nights I worked, left, brought my laptop home, worked more, then did it all again the next day), I didn’t have enough time to pursue hobbies, I stressed about politics a lot, and I didn’t eat super well.

I say this not because it wasn’t an incredible month (IT WAS), but because I think it’s unrealistic to pretend like things were all good. There’s always good and bad, but I just love reminding myself of how relatively happy and fortunate I am in my life.

To start: here’s what I wore!

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I’m never mad to be twinning with one of my work favorites, Kelsey. Interestingly enough, we wore these outfits on the same day not once but twice in October. We even tied our hair back both days. #FRIENDSHIP

Outfit details

  • Dress: Fashion to Figure
  • Cardigan: Old Navy
  • Leggings: Old Navy (OMG, guys, all of my Old Navy leggings suddenly developed holes in the legs at the exact same time so I’m down to just one pair and it’s depressing)
  • Shoes: Tieks

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Outfit details

  • Dress: Amazon
  • Tights: WeLoveColors.com
  • Boots: Rainbow

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Outfit details

  • Shirt: Target
  • Skirt: LuLaRoe Cassie
  • Shoes: Payless

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Outfit details

  • Shirt: Old Navy
  • Skirt: Ross
  • Shoes: Payless

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My favorite outfit of the month because it’s suuuper 90s inspired. I had originally purchased an overall dress with this shirt, but the dress was a touch too small. I kept waiting to “lose the weight” but never did and said fuck it, I want to wear this shirt! I separated it from the dress and repurposed it and now this is one of my go-to looks.

Outfit details

  • Shirt: Target
  • Skirt: Forever 21
  • Tights: WeLoveColors.com
  • Shoes: Rainbow

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I’m sensing a clear theme with these tights/boots combo.

Outfit details

  • Dress: Amazon
  • Tights: WeLoveColors.com
  • Boots: Rainbow

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Outfit details

  • Sweater: Forever 21
  • Jeans: Old Navy
  • Boots: DSW

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Outfit selfie with Bill because this is what we wore to see Hamilton! Ahhhh! Plus, peep the Hamilton bracelet I wore (below), a gift from Bill.

Outfit details

  • Shirt: Forever 21
  • Skirt: Forever 21
  • Tights: WeLoveColors.com
  • Boots: Rainbow
  • Bracelet: Etsy

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🎶 “With a comma after dearest…” 🎶 — one of my favorite lyrics from the song, “Take a Break”

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I had a presentation to give to about 40+ people… on Halloween. I really wanted to wear my Halloween dress, but I felt like I needed to dress it up a little, so I stuck a blazer over it and rolled with it.

Outfit details

  • Dress: Amazon
  • Blazer: Old Navy
  • Tights: WeLoveColors.com
  • Boots: Rainbow

And, a glimpse of what I did via photos.

 

 

Obi waiting for our guests to arrive for the Halloween dinner party!
Cooking for a Halloween-themed dinner party with friends!
Mrs. Murphy’s donuts — a local staple — made THE BEST dessert
How perfect are these Jack-O-Lantern pot pies for a spooky dinner party?!
They were DELICIOUS.
I make them regularly now!
I mean, yeah.
F A L L.
Bill and I had another couple over for dinner and they brought an incredible s’mores cake!
We took an impromptu trip to a local farm stand, which was fun.
Obi side-eyeing me for not sharing my food.
Majestic boy
A local casino in downtown Springfield recently opened up. I’ve been three times — twice in October — and won both times! So fun!
Sweet boy
Bill turned 30, so we celebrated with family!
Form swords are perfect for 30-year-olds.
This was really the main event — Hamilton on Bill’s birthday!
WE WENT TO DISNEY WORLD!!! Separate post coming soon
Another win at the casino!
Not mad at all
Obi’s Beanie Baby costume
Obi’s Beanie Baby costume
Obi’s Beanie Baby costume
Obi’s Beanie Baby costume
My “costume” as Eeyore with Pooh and Piglet

October, I love you always, and I’ll miss you dearly. Until next year!

xo.

Things I Wore (and Did) in September 2018

Published on by Crystal Maldonado1 Comment

Work has been intense. September was my first month where the semester was in session and I was in my new role managing all of the social channels for the institution where I work. One week, I put in so many extra hours that I worked three full extra days. It’s been a lot, but really rewarding! For the first time in my career, I’m getting paid to do one thing well. I mean, managing every aspect social media for a large brand is hard work, but that’s always sort of been a thing I’ve had to do on top of a lot of other duties. Now I get to just focus on that and I love it!

What’s helped keep me sane from all of the hours I’ve been working has been all of the fun Bill and I have been having in our down time. We had lots of mini adventures in September — everything from exploring a new winery to going apple and pumpkin picking; venturing to the new casino in town to a quick day trip to Brattleboro, Vt.; spending time with friends to supporting the RuPaul’s Drag Race season 10 sisters.

Plus, the leaves have been changing (!) and we’ve been embracing our favorite season (!!) and we booked our next vacation: DISNEY WORLD AT HALLOWEEN. I’m over-the-moon excited!

Here are some of the outfits I wore during the warmer-than-I’d-like September.

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Outfit details

  • Dress: Fashion to Figure
  • Leggings: Old Navy
  • Cardigan: Old Navy
  • Shoes: Payless

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A new look I feel great in!

Outfit details

  • Kimoni: LuLaRoe
  • Jeans: Old Navy
  • Shoes: Tieks
  • Tank: Old Navy

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Outfit details

  • Shirt: Ross
  • Skirt: Forever 21
  • Shoes: Tieks

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I was REALLY FEELING this fall look — the first boot opportunity of the season!

Outfit details

  • Shirt: Old Navy
  • Jeans: Old Navy
  • Boots: DSW

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Outfit details

  • Dress: Vanity Fair (only $8 — such a steal!)
  • Tights: WeLoveColors.com
  • Boots: Payless?
  • Earrings: 25 Central

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Outfit details

  • Shirt: Old Navy
  • Leggings: Kohl’s
  • Boots: DSW

 

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Not a full outfit pic, but I just wanted to show off this amazing Lion King sports bra (which looks like an undershirt!).

Outfit details

  • Sports bra: Hot Topic
  • Shirt: Old Navy
  • Leggings (not pictured): Old Navy
  • Shoes: Tieks

Plus, here’s a look into what I did in September.

Visited Hardwick Vineyard and Winery
They have pumpkin wine! But this is blueberry and maple wine. We didn’t care for the maple.
My boys
Fulling embracing my fall fantasty
We finished the huge project of overhauling our front yard, just in time for autumn!
Off to the local apple orchard and pumpkin patch
Bill spotted this pre-carved pumpkin out in the patch — which is terrible and also very funny
We finally got a chance to check out the new casino MGM Springfield and we loved it!
Impromptu photo shoots, anyone?
For the first time, we visited Brattleboro, Vermont, stopping at the Creamery Covered Bridge!
A cookie the size of my head? I’M IN.
Please, yes.
The views from the top of Whetstone were beautiful!
Obi was getting into the autumn spirit, too.
A breakfast with O made my morning!
Facebook has been hosting free “Community Boost” conferences and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’ve ever wanted to elevate your IG game!
Would the month be complete without a drag show?
The season 10 RPDR girls turned it out!
A family photo from your spooky faves

With the craziness of September behind me, I cannot wait for the rest of October. Hamilton (!) and Disney World (!!) — here we come!

xo.

Perfect Fall Treat: Sauteed Spiced Apples

Published on by Crystal MaldonadoLeave a comment

Ready for fall? I am. And I’m all about fall-related treats to go with my favorite season, especially if it’s apple- or pumpkin-flavored. If you’re anything like me, you’ll love these spiced apple slices, which are delicious and take all of 20 minutes to make.

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe in Savory magazine. 

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Ingredients

  • 3 apples (I used Gala)
  • 4 T butter (I used Brummel & Brown)
  • 1 t ground cinnamon
  • 1 t ground nutmeg

Directions

  1. Cut the apples into wedges, removing the core. You do not need to remove the skin.
  2. Heat the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat.
  3. Add apples.
  4. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
  5. Add cinnamon and nutmug and mix apples. Cover saucepan and cook on high for 10 minutes. You may increase or decrease cook time base on the apple consistency you prefer. This cook time will leave the apples soft, but not mushy.

According to Savory, you can eat these apples over oatmeal or salads, with roast chicken or pork, or over ice cream. I prefer to eat mine straight as a delicious snack, with granola, or with some sausage. So good, and it tastes exactly like fall.

xo.