October 2021 | the crystal press fashion blog

October 2021 archive

Fashion Lifestyle Wedding

Black Wedding Guest Dresses For Fall and Winter Weddings

Be the best dressed at your November and December weddings with these stunning black dress options.

black wedding guest dress

You can’t go wrong with black for weddings during any season, but they are a classic for fall and winter weddings. Black isn’t boring, it’s classic. When you pick the right dress it can also make a serious statement. One of our most requested items are always dresses for wedding guests, so we are going to start bringing you regular posts with our current picks!

So our picks for black wedding guest dresses seems like the right place to start! We’ve scoured our favorite sites and retailers to pick out some of our favorites for you guys, but if you want to do some browsing of your own, here are the best places to shop.

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Cathclaire Lifestyle Motherhood

Designer Tote Bags That Double As Diaper Bags

The best designer tote bags for fashionable mothers exude MILF-ness (yes, I said it) and have room for all of the trappings of motherhood: the extra makeup we didn’t have time to throw on before we left the house, sippy cups, blankets, snacks, and diapers galore. While what is inside of our designer tote bags might not always be glamorous, the fashionable mom values a tote bag that is functional and fashionable for her everyday life.

DESIGNER DIAPER BAGS THE CRYSTAL PRESS

When I was pregnant, I scoured the internet for hours and hours looking for the perfect designer tote bag that would not only double as a diaper bag but one that would also be a good piece to add to my bag collection for other things such as travel, work, and play. During my research, I found that my favorite handbag designers had amazing contenders for this new mama’s search.

From the fashionable mom’s favorite designers such as Chloe, Saint Laurent, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Christian Dior – these totes are functional for new moms and experienced moms alike.

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Lifestyle Motherhood Rebecca

IVF Notes From Reb: Injections & Egg Stimulation

This post conveys MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. We got VERY lucky our first round and I know that everyone doesn’t have it this easy. However, treating this as a personal journal entry and for others looking for hopeful stories, I am going to give my honest opinion about this process. 

ivf journey the crystal press

THE WAY THAT IVF IS PICTURED IN MOVIES AND TV SHOWS, I THOUGHT, * I COULD NEVER DO THAT. * SHOTS? NEVER.

When we first found out that we were struggling from infertility, I told myself and my close friends “I don’t think I could ever do IVF.”  I thought it would be brutal on our marriage and my body, and I didn’t think I could handle it.  However, when I found out that was our only option to have a baby of our own, it seemed like a no brainer. I guess my wannabe mom instincts took over and it took practically zero convincing to decide this is the path we would take. It is crazy that the media had warped my perception of IVF SO much that I was convinced I couldn’t do it until it was our only option.

Because of my preconceived notions, I had purposefully learned nothing about the process.  When fellow influencers or people I saw on social media shared their stories, I thought “I’ll never need to know about that.” I actively ignored the entire idea for years. Again, because watching fake couples on tv go through all the rounds of shots and the blow ups and the fights just looked miserable.

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Holidays Home Decor Lifestyle

How To Create A Festive Christmas Table

Entertain in style this Christmas season with these festive tablescape essentials for gatherings of any size.

CHRISTMAS PLACE SETTING
image from Crate & Barrel

The holidays are just around the corner and we are already getting into the spirit! As we look ahead to gathering with friends and family and entertaining, we’ve got our eye on Christmas tablescapes. From gorgeous glassware to the perfect candles, we’ve scoured our favorite decor sites and rounded up all kinds of different options.

To start, if you want to do your own browsing, here are the holiday entertaining shops from our favorite retailers.

West Elm Holiday Entertaining

Crate & Barrel Holiday Entertaining

Williams & Sonoma Holiday Entertaining

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Lifestyle Travel

Virginia Wineries to Visit This Fall

the crystal press virginia wineries

October is wine month in Virginia and naturally, we loveeeee visiting vineyards and planning trips to the Charlottesville area to visit our favorites.  So, we figured we would share a little photo diary and some tidbits about these places in honor of another beautiful fall in Virginia Wine Country.
Luckily our favorite places have opened back up after lock-down and are all using safety precautions. If you plan on visiting any of these wineries this fall, be sure to check their COVID-19 changes! Most are open again without reservations, but better safe than sorry 🙂

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Rebecca Travel

The Best Time to Visit Glacier National Park

whitefish lake montana

Last year, antsy after spending months at home during the pandemic, John and I booked a last minute trip out west. Yes, we had been watching Yellowstone and yes, we were obsessed. I asked my IG friends for suggestions for traveling to Montana and a couple people said Whitefish.  I had never heard of it and visiting National Parks hasn’t really been my thing in the past, but we wanted to do something different! SO, I did a little research, we booked our flights and packed our bags.

October in Montana is kind of an in-between season.  Summer is definitely over, but ski seasons hasn’t started up yet.  This meant that lodging rates and park rates would be lower and less crowded.  We didn’t really realize this at the time, but we picked the PERFECT time to go.  SO! I highly, highly, highly suggest visiting Whitefish Lake and Glacier National Park in the fall.

Here are a few tips if you decide to book a trip of your own.

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OUR POLICY
xx, Reb + Cath