My Favorite Memories from 2019

2019 was a great year, definitely better than I ever would have expected or imagined. Some of my all-time favorite memories from my life so far happened last year. My best day ever happened in 2019, so it's honestly going to be hard to top 2019.

In 2019, I got to meet so many wonderful people. I got to see some amazing shows. I fell in love with the magic of live theater. I got a job that finally makes me feel needed, useful, and appreciated. I got to spend quality time with family for the first time in forever. I got to do new things and have new experiences and so much more. But here are my favorites from 2019:

Being a West Side Story Insider for Lyric Opera of Chicago

I wrote an entire blog post on my experience as a WSS Insider, so I won't go into too much detail about this, but it was truly a wonderful, amazing day and experience. In case you haven't read my blog post about this, I was chosen to attend the final dress rehearsal of Lyric Opera of Chicago's West Side Story and had the opportunity to live tweet the show and go on a backstage tour of the iconic Lyric Opera house at the start of May.

West Side Story has been one of my favorite movie musicals since I first watched it in high school, but I hadn't gotten the opportunity to watch a stage production until last year. Even though my first stage production of WSS was a dress rehearsal in which no one had to do the show full out, there was no evidence the cast wasn't performing at 100% (I saw the show a total of four times, so I'd know by now if someone was underperforming), and it was the best musical production I'd ever seen. Everything about the show was amazing, and what was even better was the opportunity to tweet all about it and then stand on such a big stage and see what it's like for the performers. Also, considering I've now been on Twitter for just about 10 years, being chosen to tweet a musical I love felt so cool, especially because there are very very very few opportunities to tweet in a theater!

Throwback Thursday: My Favorite Moments of 2017

Since it's Thursday, the start of the new year, and I'm not done blogging about 2017, I'm sharing my favorite moments/memories from 2017 in my first Throwback Thursday post.

I haven't done a reflection post about 2017 yet and am not sure if I will, but I'll say this. 2017 was definitely an interesting year for me. It had its ups and downs, and by ups and downs, I mean extreme ups and downs. Lots of exciting moments like graduating and traveling to new places and more difficult and upsetting moments than I would like, including two hospitalizations and being away from my sister for the first time in our lives. And while every year has its less-than-ideal moments, it's important to think past those, think about how you got through them, and cherish the best moments. Because how would I know how great these following moments would be without those low ones?

Meeting Olympic rhythmic gymnasts Jenny and Monica Rokhman

My sister, Ashley, Jenny, myself, and Monica

Last spring, my twin sister and I got to meet and interview a pair of fellow identical twins! What was even more exciting about the opportunity was that the twins we met and interviewed are U.S. Olympic rhythmic gymnasts Jenny and Monica Rokhman. (If you don't know by now, I'm a gymnastics fanatic and would love to meet any elite or high level gymnast.)

We were interviewing them for a feature we were including in the official yearbook of the University of Illinois. As it was the school year after an Olympic year, it was relevant to include, and when would I ever have the chance to put rhythmic gymnastics in the yearbook?

My August Favorites

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Happy September, everyone! It still feels a bit odd for it to be September already since this is the first time in about 17 years that I won't be going to school this month.

And since it's a new month, it's time to share my August favorites! August turned out to be a rather interesting month compared to the rest of my summer, mainly because I didn't read that much but discovered and started using/doing a few new things. Here are my August favorites:

Hot pink LUSH high low dress from Dry Goods

Let's pretend this is a much better picture not taken in my messy room because the outfit deserves better. . . #ootd #ootn #wiw #maxidress #hotpink #drygoods

A post shared by Amanda Wijangco (@amanda_carmela) on Aug 5, 2017 at 10:30pm PDT

I wore this dress to a family friend's birthday party. It was s big celebration at the Maggiano's ballroom, so it was an occasion to dress up for.

I love pretty much everything about this dress: the color, the style and fit, and even the price! This was on sale for $12 at Dry Goods, so there was no way I could pass that up. I don't have any dresses like this, so I thought it would be a good addition to my closet. It's also one of the only maxi-esque dresses I've found and can actually wear without worrying I'll trip over it.

Live Original Devotional by Sadie Robertson

I've had this devotional book for several months now, but I didn't think I had the time to use it on a regular basis during the school year. So I didn't even think about starting to use it till this summer. One of my friends asked me about devotionals, so I was inspired to finally start using this.

I really like that it has 52 different devotionals, one for each week. It makes for a good first devotional because I can just do it once a week. I've done some devotionals on apps before but I like the ones in this book more because it's easier for me to connect and engage with the book. The book has questions and lines for me to write my answers down while the apps I've used don't have anything like that. The fact there's an actual activity I'm supposed to do with the devotional reading just makes it easier for me to remember it and makes me feel like I'm growing more in my faith.

New York City 2017: Sights and Sounds

At the start of this month, I visited New York for the first time. Since I'd never been there before, it was cool to walk around, take the subway, and go on a double decker bus to explore and discover what the Big Apple has to offer.

The city is bigger than I thought, but luckily my mom, sister, and I had our aunt to help guide us to wherever we wanted to go. Here are some highlights and major points of interest from my trip:

Times Square and Broadway

I've done enough research and web browsing about New York to know Times Square is not that special. Times Square is definitely a tourist spot full of people dressed up as superheroes and cartoon characters, standing in front of souvenir shops and stands. It's just a bunch of gigantic electronic billboards.  That's pretty much true, but I would recommend at least walking by it/through it once or twice because it is a unique site. Going there at night would be best because you can see all of the lights contrast with the dark night sky.

Times Square

Fashion Friday: OOTD: Summer Sights

For some, summer has just begun, which is weird for me to think since it's been summer for me for a month now. My summer so far has been a balance of exciting and relaxing, especially with my trip to New York. So not only has my summer been full of sightseeing but I'm also looking forward to more downtime and whatever fun this summer has in store.

Because I've had a lot of time to relax and do basically whatever I want, there aren't too many outfits in this post, but I am very much enjoying the warm summer weather. After all, I love wearing shorts, dresses, and skirts! Plus, I'm glad I got to wear some new outfits and pieces, especially while out and about in New York!

May 16, 2017

Forever 21 tie-dye bodysuit | H&M high-waisted shorts | pink Keds from Nordstrom Rack

May 18, 2017

Forever 21 graphic tee | BDG high-waisted shorts from Urban Outfitters | DV by Dolce Vita sandals from Target

May 27, 2017

Forever 21 lace top | Mimi Chica pants from Marshalls | Purse from Nordstrom | Mad Love sandals from Target 

May 28, 2017

H&M floral dress | Kate Spade purse | American Eagle sandals

June 3, 2017

As U Wish romper from Marshalls | Kate Spade purse | DV by Dolce Vita sandals from Target

This was my second day in New York when we moved my sister into her apartment for the summer. Its roof has a great view of the city!

June 3, 2017

Wildflower denim jacket from Marshalls /TJ Maxx | Decree top and skirt set from JC Penney | classic white Converse 

This was my third day in New York, and we were all over Manhattan on that day. When I saw this floral display at Brookfield Place, I had to get a picture in front of it because it's so pretty!

June 5, 2017

Urban Outfitters velvet choker | Love is Sweet floral bomber jacket from Marshalls | Forever 21 lace up tee | Abercrombie & Fitch leggings | Steve Madden purse from Marshalls | Steve Madden sneakers from Marshalls

As a Gossip Girl fan, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture on The Met steps! Unfortunately, the weather was cooler than I would've liked, so I didn't get to channel Blair Waldorf with my outfit.

June 11, 2017

Abercrombie & Fitch dress | Kate Spade crossbody bag | Mossimo sandals from Target

(Apologies for the sort of blurry photo. I wanted to take the photo quickly before someone came in to use the bathroom at the restaurant. Haha.)

What are your summer plans, and what do you hope to pull out of your closet for the occasion(s)?

Capturing My First Bite of the Big Apple

New York City is a big place full of hustle and bustle, almost 24/7. I was lucky enough to visit the Big Apple for the first time at the start of June.

Normally when I travel places, I blog about it, but New York is such a big and busy place, I don't know where to begin other than showing off some photos I took there. When I was packing for the trip, I was debating whether to bring my DSLR camera. I did end up bringing it and am certainly glad I did because I got a lot of good photos.

I'll figure out some text posts for later, but for now, here are some of my favorite photos I took in New York.

A rose sits in the name of a fallen woman who passed on 9/11 at the 9/11 Memorial.

The Chrysler Building