Holiday Fun

Happy Holidays!!

I had a marvelous Thanksgiving. I got to spend the first half of the week at the beach with my boyfriend and his family. It was wonderful. I took the week off and just relaxed. I read a ton, walked on the beach and just took it easy. It was just what I needed.

(Our bad attempt at using a self timer)

Now it is time for Christmas!!! Schuyler was the best sport in the world and even put on his Christmas pug shirt that I bought him. Unfortunately Miles is covering my adorable (read TACKY) Santa Sweater but that's ok. Miles was getting rather tired of all the frantic running as I tried yet again to master the self timer.

My beautiful tree!!

Schuyler made these beautiful glass "presents" for me last year.

What's Christmas without a Holiday Moose?

Our adorable stockings hung with care by the fireplace.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

You're Worth It...#RealNotRetouched

It is no secret that I have been a fan of beautiful harmonies my whole life. I think the obsession started when I was little and my Dad would blare Queen as we drove to soccer practice in his convertible.

That being said, it was only natural that I start following youtube bands such as Pentatonix and Cimorelli. Their harmonies are too beautiful to be ignored!

Cimorelli has recently come out with a new EP called "Renegade" and I must say it is fantastic. One of my favorite songs is "You're Worth It." They just came out with the music video (Watch it here. Seriously, do it) and it is phenomenal. It has a great message and is so positive.

I have gone through several periods of time where I had very low self esteem. I, being the reader that I am, turned to books. I read somewhere (I wish I could remember where... citation needed haha) where it said reading something over and over (or saying it) can make you really believe it.  This is a philosophy that my Mother firmly believes in. I can remember being nervous about getting through the ring clean in a horse show and my mom standing by my horse making me repeat "I am a great rider. I can do this. I will do this." She would make me think so positively. I've always admired my Mom for her incredibly strong mentality. We've had a lot go on in our lives and I can't even begin to describe what a hero my Mom is. 

In college I was going through a particularly rough time and so I wrote 

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL 

on notecards, in notebooks, on my mirror... everywhere. To this day I still have the note below on my mirror.

You would be amazed what a difference it makes.

The thing that I hate is that so often calling yourself beautiful can be construed as vain. I HATE that. I think every girl AND boy should be able to say "I am beautiful" and not feel embarrassed or like they shouldn't be proud to feel that way. I once was going through a break up and was feeling really horrible and unattractive. I had written YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL in really big letters on the front page of my notebook and I remember the girl next to me saying, "Somebody's full of herself." You never know what someone is going through. I needed to see those words and this girl had the power to make me doubt that I should write those words on my notebook or that I should be proud to feel beautiful. 

Beauty doesn't have to look one particular way. Everyone is beautiful and I really mean that. 

Darling Magazine has started a #RealNotRetouched campaign and I LOVE it. It is a big step towards setting a more realistic societal expectation for women. They are really doing great things for women in general. I highly recommend you go check out their site and subscribe (Not sponsored, just supportive).

Lots of love,

Malena

Halloween Treats

Things have been a bit hectic lately so I'm a little late posting this, but here are some Halloween treats I've made!

First up - I made a spooky (gross) themed guacamole spread. We whipped up some fresh guacamole added some purple/blue corn chips and voila! Just add a mini pumpkin with a silly face and you have a (rather icky) Halloween decoration. 

 In the back left you can spot some Deviled eggs too! Pretty fitting with the season.

We also have some tombstone brownies that my roommate from college. Really simple and delicious. Typical brownies topped with mint milano cookies. She even added decorations to the tombstones. How fun!

My phone died and I lost the pictures of our pumpkins but I will see if I can find them and add them later (they were Pacman themed, thus the Pacman tombstone!)

We are slowly creeping up on the Holiday season!!! I am so excited, but I am trying to wait a bit longer so I don't blow past fall.

Lots of love,

Malena

Mac Rebel and Vino Lipstick and Lip Liner Review

I don't shop at Mac all that frequently because I am on a rather tight budget, but every now and then it's fun to splurge on something nice. In general I love Mac lip products. They are so nice and smooth and they smell like vanilla!

I wanted to get some darker autumnal colors and I was drawn to Rebel (lipstick on left) but it wasn't quite as dark as what I originally was thinking. The girl at Mac was nice and suggested I layer a lip liner in Vino over top (just a little) to deepen the look. I loved it!

Rebel is a deep purple-y maroon color. I tend to gravitate towards these colors in general so this was a great fit for me.

My biggest issue with the Vino lip liner (top swatch) is that it does sometimes look almost black if you have dry skin. I recommend exfoliating your lips before use. In the swatch below they almost look the same color, but I would not recommend using the full lip liner look underneath the lipstick unless you are really looking for a deep, almost gothic, look.

In general I think the lipstick is true to color, but the lip liner definitely comes off darker in person than on camera.

Malena

Lush Facemask and Lip Scrub Review

I have had a few not so great experiences with face masks (see here), but I must say so far I have been enjoying my recent purchases at Lush! I recently bought the face mask Love Lettuce and the Bubblegum lip scrub.

Let's start with the face mask. This one from Lush cost $6.95 and is Lavender and Almond based. It is a Fresh Face Mask which means it does need to be refrigerated and used fairly quickly. It doesn't keep for very long - I'd say two weeks tops. Now out of this little pot I've gotten three nice face masks already! And I think I can get 3 - 4 more. Not a bad deal really... it comes out to about a dollar a face mask. I like the fact that these are nice and cool on your skin (courtesy of being refrigerated). All you do is leave it on for about 10 - 15 minutes until it starts flaking off. The one down side I would say is that it leaves a bit of a mess in your sink when you rinse it off if you're not careful.

I like the effects this mask has on my face. It doesn't really handle breakouts too much, but it does sort of balance everything out. There are also some "Scrubby" bits in the mask that you can work into your skin that helps with black heads. Overall, it's great!

Next up is the Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub which costs $9.95. I love this stuff! I have been sick lately and as a result my lips have been quite chapped and flaky (not cute). This stuff has helped tremendously!

It's easy to use and smells and tastes JUST like bubblegum. They say you can lick it off when you are done scrubbing, but that grosses me out (dead skin cells!) so I just rinse it off with water. 

I'm happy with the results so far, though I do think it is a little over priced.

 However, I must say that my lipsticks have worn much smoother with far fewer flaky patches.

Overall, I recommend these products from Lush. They are worth testing out if you get the chance!

Malena

Pumpkin Cookies From Scratch

As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, I've recently broken my ribs. As a result I have picked up other hobbies to fill my time. One of which is apparently baking... not the wisest trade off - exercise for baking! 

I have been quite enamored with fall recently. Keeping with that theme, I decided to use my leftover pumpkin puree (leftover from my pumpkin pancakes!) to make pumpkin cookies. I got the recipe off of pinterest, and I must say it is not the best written recipe I've ever seen. It combines EVERYTHING in 3 steps that each have like 15 mini-steps.  I much prefer my baking steps to be broken up more. You can check it out for yourself here.

The ingredients (ignore the powder sugar... that's for the frosting not the cookies. Oops!)

Combine the dry ingredients

Then add the wet and mix! I just used a hand mixer, but boy do I want a kitchen aid mixer.

On the left are the baked cookies and on the right are the unbaked. These cookies don't spread much which is good, but they don't really come out very round so be prepared!

Next up! The cream cheese frosting, yum!

This one is pretty simple to make and it tastes SO GOOD.

I had a lot of fun making these cookies and I'm planning on having them for dessert tonight with my boyfriend for our three year anniversary!

Lots of love,

Malena

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Pumpkin Pancakes From Scratch

It is that time of the year again! Time to break out all things pumpkin. I absolutely love to cook and I particularly love to make pancakes. Growing up my dad used to make these pancakes for me and my sisters. 

Now I like to add my own spin - my dad only really made your traditional pancake. I like to add some fall flavor to them.

I added Pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice and a dash of vanilla extract to a family pancake recipe. I bet it would also work if you added these to a pancake mix out of a box.

I added about a cup of pumpkin puree and then pretty much just added everything else to taste.

Don't worry! The batter is supposed to be orange. It means you've added enough pumpkin.

Make sure your pan is buttered and heated up completely before adding your batter. This ensures a nice evenly cooked pancake.

Yum! You know its time to flip the pancake when it starts to bubble a little and the edge of the pancake goes a little "dull." Keep in mind the second side tends to cook faster than the first!

You can also add some yummy chocolate chips or fruit!

I love to experiment with different flavors. Simply take a basic recipe and add your own twist!

Also, save the leftover pumpkin and you can make pumpkin cookies (hint hint)

Love,

Malena

Bluegrass Music Festival

This past weekend me, my boyfriend and his family headed downtown for a Bluegrass Music Festival! I absolutely adore country music but typically Bluegrass hasn't been my style. After spending a weekend immersed in it I have started to really appreciate the musicality of it and I think I'm hooked. I absolutely love how you can tell all the musicians really appreciate their craft. Sometimes I wonder if pop singers can really read music or even know what a key is...

Anyway, we had lunch at this lovely restaurant.

Then explored some of the booths that were set up. It was fun to look at the beautiful instruments that were for sale, though they were wayyyy out of my price range.

Please enjoy this super awkward selfie-with-a-DSLR-while-walking picture.

Then we headed to the amphitheater for the main shows! Downtown has this beautiful mural that I believe is made out of mirrors. It really creates a wonderful atmosphere for concerts.

It even lights up at night!

I had a great (but busy) weekend! We wound up napping Sunday afternoon because we were just plain tuckered out from too much fun.

Lots of Love,

Malena

September Favorites

This past month has been a little slow for me. I haven't been able to exercise at all due to my broken rib, and that leaves me with quite a bit more time on my hands. So here are a few of my favorite things from my laid back month.

Reading is my first favorite this month! I am currently reading The Book Thief which is a little bit darker than what I tend to read, but its really pretty good. I was a little blindsided going in (It was a gift and I didn't read the back of the book before starting it) but once I adjusted to the fact that it was set in Nazi Germany I started to appreciate the story more.

Writing would be my second favorite. I've felt a little more inspired to begin writing again. Obviously I've started posting a little more on here, but I've also started to write other things too. It's refreshing.

Next up is music. I've always been a musical person, but I've picked back up on teaching myself piano and guitar. It's nice to just relax on my porch with my guitar and write some music. I also attended a Blue Grass Music Festival this weekend and it was a blast! Hopefully a blog post on that is coming soon.

And as for a "conventional" favorite, I have been absolutely loving fall candles! I work from home so it is really nice to have a beautiful fall scent in my house while I work. I also love the little candle topper (center)I got from Yankee Candle.

Here's to a wonderful October.

Fall Fun Day (On a Budget)

 My boyfriend, Schuyler, and I have an annual tradition of having a designated "Fall Fun Day." We go out and about and do fall related things. This year I was in charge of planning it. Both Sky and I are tight on money/ trying to save so I opted for free or inexpensive things for this year's Fall Fun Day.

Stop number one was a picnic by the lake! I discovered this spot last year and absolutely love going here on nice days. Packing a picnic lunch is a cheap, fun way to kick off the day!

I was pretty happy with my outfit for the day. I had on a high waisted skater skirt with a simple white t shirt, and a red cardigan from target. I paired the outfit with my white converse, and my black leather coach bag. 

This outfit is cute and fun, but very versatile. I had on a pair of "sliders" i e spandex shorts that I wear underneath my soccer shorts when I play, to make the skirt a little more picnic friendly.

Sneakers were the best footwear option for Fall Fun Day because we were going to be doing a bit of walking (not too much... I still have a broken rib!). To get to the lake we got to walk through this beautiful forest.

Stop number two was the State Farmer's Market! It's free to get in AND you can buy some nice fresh healthy food. Sky and I bought everything we needed for dinner - a green pepper, an eggplant, yellow squash, and zucchini. I even bought some fresh apples for a great price, though I accidentally bought wayyy too many. 

Stop number three was a brew pub in downtown Raleigh!

Schuyler got a local brew and we got ourselves some nachos, just because.

It was a beautiful day and the view was gorgeous!

Please note it was quite sunny and thus I'm squinting in this picture.

Schuyler and I had a wonderful day and we spent less than $20! A lot of that was on veggies for dinner, which is a great use of money in my opinion. 

Fall Decor DIYs on A Budget

I am the prime example of decorating on a budget. I have an amazing job that I absolutely love but the pay is not the highest. I make enough to get by and have a nice life, but there is just not a lot of room for extras (and what extra there is, I usually spend on travel!)

I am very excited about fall and I absolutely love this season! I love scarves and leaves changing color and pumpkin spiced everything (though I don't actually like coffee so no PSL for me). I watched a few videos and went on pinterest and decided the cheapest easiest way for me to decorate for fall would be to buy a bag of fake leaves for $2 from a craft store. I simply scattered those leaves about my house and voila! Fall decor. 

I love this little lamp/stand that I inherited from my Grandma. I have my tin from Paris with some candies inside, a little candy bowl handmade from my friend, the Tiffany Traveler's World Atlas (found in my parent's house... apparently a long ago gift to my Dad) and my now fall/apple scented Scentsy!

I just added some leaves and the new Scentsy scent and it really made a difference in the feel of my  apartment!

I also have this little stand in my apartment - I inherited the table, the birdhouse and the GORGEOUS old radio. I added a little acorn candle holder on the right to complete my little set up. Scatter some leaves and boom! You have fall decor.

I also made this little plaque. I simply bought a wooden plaque from a craft store (roughly $2), painted it brown then added sparkly stickers spelling out a T Swift lyric. I used the same leaves that are scattered about my house to add a little flair.

This little DIY was so easy and fun! I bought a twig wreath frame from a craft store and then added tulle wrapped around it. I finished it off with a few more of those leaves and a little bobble. The whole thing cost me maybe less than $20. That is really cheap for a nice wreath! I even re-used my christmas wreath hanger... if you look closely you can just see a little jingle bell at the top!

And finally we have candles! I absolutely adore candles! I recently when on a bit of a "shopping spree." I put that in quotes because for me a shopping spree means using coupons to buy 4 candles. The pumpkin on the left is actually a sweater weather candle inside! I got it from Bath and Body Works. The candle on the right is Apple Cider from Yankee Candle. I absolutely love it.

Who says you have to spend a ton of money in order to have a fabulous seasonably decorated home? In fact I did not make/buy all of these items just this season. A lot I re-use from year to year. Start with one little DIY then add another the next year. Soon enough your house will be positively festive.

Cheers,

Malena