High Five - Disney Style!

It's Friday and I'm in Disney World?! Yes please! Yesterday I shared some pictures of Day 1 in Disney, it was a BLAST! Here are my top 5 things from the week. Believe it or not, not all the pictures are Disney. I managed to have a good first half of my week without being here. :)

 

My sister-in-law had her baby shower on Saturday and it was a so much fun! Isn't she adorable?

 I am so happy to have done my 13 miles before vacation. We did AMAZING the first 10 miles and then died, so we walked the last 3. But at least we did it! I managed to beat my half marathon time by 9 minutes from the Disney Princess Race!

 

Watching the sunset on the Magic Kingdom from California Grill last night was breathtaking. Stay tuned for some really great HDR photos!

 Of course, no night is complete without watching Wishes. The restaurant plays the soundtrack and you get a great view. It's just as good as being there but without the crowds and with a drink in front of you!

 Here we all are enjoying our cocktails and dinner at the California Grill.  

Can't wait to see what today brings!

As usual, I'm linking up with Lauren @ From My Grey Desk.

Disney Day 1

You may have figured out by now if you read my last post, that I am on vacation in the "Most Magical Place on Earth" (I told you I love Disney!). This week is going to be all Disney all the time. I will be sharing my vacation with you through my camera. I hope you enjoy!

Celebration, FL at 7AM

 

Heading to the parks and this is what we saw. Lots of hot air balloons.

I love these types of hats....now to choose which one. Figment is definitely a contender.

 All set for the Food and Wine Festival that officially starts tomorrow!

 Boat ride!

Leaving Epcot for the day! Tonight we are headed to California Grill at the Contemporary Resort for dinner and drinks and fireworks!

Stay tuned for more fun pics tomorrow.

Half Marathon Training Run

Usually I do my training runs on the weekends, but this weekend was CRAZY and I never got around to it and was fully prepared to chalk this week up as a loss. (I blame the iPhone 5!)

The best thing happened on Monday. My running buddy came up to me at work and confessed he didn't get his run in either so we are running tonight! How long? Oh you know, just a little half marathon run. I think I'm going to die.

Since I am going on vacation (yes I'm going to Disney World) tomorrow, I am happy to be getting a good training run in right before so I don't have to feel guilty. This week's plan is two short 3-4 mile runs and then a 6 mile long run. I can TOTALLY do that while on vacation. It's all about planning and mindset right?

I will try to post vacation updates starting tomorrow. In the meantime, I shall mentally prepare for my run tonight. Good news is, this is what I have waiting for me tomorrow!

Photo courtesy of WDW

Burp Cloth Tutorial

Do you find yourself looking to give a baby shower gift that is both functional yet personable? My friend taught me how to make these very simple yet ADORABLE burp cloths! Every new mother will need these, so it is totally acceptable to stray from the registry to make these. :)

 All you need is:

6 ply burp cloth (don't get 3 ply because they are too thin)

About 1 yard of ribbon

Sewing machine

Step 1: Cut two strips of ribbon that measure top to bottom of the burp cloth.  

Step 2: Place and pin both strips of ribbon along the two seams of the diaper

Step 3: Sew a basic stitch down one side, then across the bottom and back up the second side and finish across the top.

 Step 4: DONE!

Now you can make burp cloths for any occassion! Here are the ones I made for my sister-in-law at her baby shower this weekend. (Found the cute ribbon at Michael's)

Tie a bow around them to dress them up for a cute yet simple little gift. 

Let me know how yours turn out!

High 5 for Friday - September 21

WOOOO it's Friday! I'm so ready for another gorgeous weekend. We are heading to Richmond to visit the in-laws which will be a nice change of pace to relax with family instead of working!

As usual I'm linking up with Lauren @ From My Grey Desk for H54F! And Jeannett @ Life Rearranged.

1. Less than a week before I head back to the MOTHERLAND! (Yes, Disney World is my Motherland....don't judge)
2. I found this sign at Kirklands and it just made me giggle.
3. Sitting outside a hardware store, I stumbled upon this little gem. GO REDSKINS!
4. I finally jumped on the bandwagon and ordered the ever so trendy bubble bib necklaces. Thank you Carrie @ Caroline G. for being so accommodating and the fast shipping!
5. I am now obsessed with making ribbon wreaths! Here is the Halloween one I made last night. I can't wait to have one for every holiday!

Can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to this week!

DIY Ribbon Wreath

I found a new craft that I just HAD to do! Where did I find it? Pinterest Duh!. Actually I didn't find it, but my friend Mandy from Totes Delish did and lucky me, I stumbled upon it!

 Here is the full tutorial of the wreath.

Once I find something, I want to begin working on it ASAP. So immediately after work I went to Michael's to pick up the supplies.  One problem: I started doing the math and realized that 45 yards of ribbon was going to be expensive! Maybe I'll just buy each spool one at a time with a 40% off coupon each time. At 3 yards per spool, that would take FOREVER! When I get an idea in my head, I want it now! It's a problem, I know. Anyway, Michael's had a good selection of ribbon and the foam wreath I needed. I used the 40% off coupon on the foam wreath which brought it to $4. After I bought everything, I spent $30. Not bad!

I only ended up with about 35 yards of ribbon because I was still having a hard time needing another 10 yards! I figured I could always pick up extra ribbon and this would be a good start.

 

Here are the 6 different types of ribbon I used.

This wreath is really quite simple to make:

1. Wrap your wreath with ribbon (pin it down at the start and end) so the foam doesn't show through if you have any holes
2. Cut all your ribbon in 4.5 inch strips (as shown above)
3. Glue each strip to make a small circle
4. Place your ribbon circles on the wreath until it is full! (You can hot glue them or use straight pins. I didn't have enough pins so I went with the  hot glue)

  

I started with one color and sporadically placed the ribbon all over the wreath. Here is my wreath after 2 colors.

VOILA! 

Now I think it needs some sort of embellishment. Maybe a football hanging in the center, a big bow, or a helmet in the corner. I need to decide. One thing I have decided is I am making one of these for every holiday! It's easy and fun. It can be cheap too if you buy your ribbon on sale.

Training Tuesday - Week 12 - Fail

I chose crafting over running this weekend....ooops. Do I regret it? Yeah a little (although it was definitely more fun than running). But I'm not going to beat myself up over it since I only missed a 4 mile run. It's a new week, and I have a 13 mile long run to do on Saturday! I WILL DO THIS!

Here are my two treadmill runs from Tuesday and Thursday of last week. Practically identical!

 I was determined to show I was a little bit faster on this run. :)

Tonight I plan on running 4 miles and maybe do 5 on Thursday since Saturday is such a long one. Usually I work my retail job after my long runs, so I don't end up being too sore because I stay on my feet the rest of the day. This weekend, after my run I am getting in a car to drive 2 hours to my in-laws. I'll let you know how my body handles that!

Grab a button and link up with me to tell me how YOUR training is going!

New Projects and Fun

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I know we did! The weather was absolutely perfect! It also helped that I had Saturday COMPLETELY off. We made sure to make good use of a beautiful Saturday.

We got an early start (out the door by 9:45! Don't judge, this is early for us) on Saturday by dropping the car off for an oil change (is it just me or do other people also loathe putting money into their car for routine maintenance? Do you know how much more fun I could have with my oil change money?!) I digress. While we waited for our car to be worked on, we took a stroll around the local town festival! We had a good time seeing all the local vendors out and about. Here are some pictures from Haymarket Day!

  

Fun parade promoting the local businesses

 

No festival is complete without a petting zoo and llamas! Don't they look sweet?

I wanted to go down that awesome slide but was told it was for kids only.

In other news.... we have been talking about making our garage into a usable bonus space. Kind of like a game room. It's only a 1 car garage and so our SUV will only fit if the garage is completely empty. So instead of keeping our car in there, we use it as storage and a workout room.

The big project to get it looking more like a room and less like a garage was to paint it! I will share the finished project with you sometime next week. In the mean time here is a look at the original space!

 

Weekend Milo picture for your enjoyment! :) 

Linking up with Molly @ Still being [Molly] for YOLO Monday! 

High Five! - Sept 14

I feel like this week was our first taste of fall. The weather was crisp and cool; perfect for sleeping with the windows open and fall decorations are popping up everywhere. This can only mean one thing - boots and sweaters aren't far behind!

Time for my favorite part of the week - High Five for Friday! Here is what I was up to this week:

1. The husband and I went on a date night Monday to a local Japanese Steakhouse. It was nice to go somewhere different for a change.
2. Our home town just got a brand new Walmart! don't get me wrong, I like Target just as much as the other guy, but sometimes you really just can't beat the prices at Walmart.
3. We are huge Washington Redskins fans and to see RGIII do so well on his first game of the season has given us hope! What he is doing here is called "Griffining". Don't believe me, check it out!
4. A while back, my sister-in-law came over and I made her one of my maxi dresses. I thought it would be a comfortable and easy dress for her to wear while she is pregnant. It made my day when she sent me this picture of her actually wearing it! 
5. Unless you live under a rock, you probably know about the new iPhone 5 that was released this week. I am so excited to be pre-ordering mine today! I'll let you know how I feel about it when I get it. 

As always, I'm linking up with Lauren @ From My Grey Desk and Life Rearranged. Have a FABULOUS weekend!

MNSSHP

Yesterday I talked about what to wear while at Disney when you're visiting the parks. So today I am going to talk about a very special event that takes place every year at the Magic Kingdom.

On select nights during the months of September and October, Disney hosts a special hard ticket event at Magic Kingdom called Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP). What does that even mean?! Well I'm here to give you all the details you need!

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Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party does not happen every night, but on these select nights, Magic Kingdom closes to all guests at 7pm. The only way you can stay past this time is if you have purchased a separate ticket to the event. They range in price between $55-$70 depending on what night you choose to go. You can purchase these tickets on the day of the event, but you risk it being sold out AND it is more expensive. I recommend you go online here and purchase them in advance.

So by now you are probably saying to yourself, "Why would I pay extra money on top of what I've already spent just so I can stay in Magic Kingdom for a few extra hours?" Ok, valid question. MNSSHP takes over Magic Kingdom as you know it and transforms it into a Halloween town. Here are a few of the unique experiences you can't get elsewhere in Disney:

• HalloWishes fireworks show
• Boo to You parade that showcases all the characters in their special Halloween costumes as well as some great floats and the Headless Horseman!
• Trick-or-Treating throughout the park - dressing up is encouraged but definitely not mandatory
• Lighter crowds so riding your favorite Magic Kingdom attraction is a breeze!

Still not sold? That's ok. I'm not here to convince you to buy a ticket. I just want to inform you of all the options you have while in the parks. I know a lot of people get overwhelmed when planning their Disney vacations and often miss some of the hidden gems. To me, this is one of them. Free candy. Themed music and lighting. Special fireworks and parade. Sign me up!!

I will be going at the end of September and have been at least 3 times already, so if you have any questions feel free to ask away!

I will leave you with one of my favorite pictures from a few years back. Cracks me up!

What to Wear - Disney Style

With only two weeks before my next Disney trip, I thought I would share some of my favorite park going outfits!

When packing for your Disney trip, keep these two important things in mind: 1. Always be picture ready because you never know when something magical might happen AND 2. Be comfortable enough to walk 5-6 miles in the Florida heat. Oh and one more thing, don't forget to incorporate your favorite Disney character into your outfit. Can you guess who mine is?!

Let's start with the more casual/day outfits for the parks.

 

Yes those shorts have Mickey's on them, don't judge me.

Always have a sweater handy for the restaurants, rides, and stores because they are always FREEZING!

 

Simple yet still maintaining the theme (notice Mickey on the polo).

One of my favorite outfits! This one is especially great for your travel day. Over sized Minnie Mouse shirt with leggings and Toms.

Don't think you can only wear tourist-y outfits. Sometimes it's fun to dress up in the parks! And if you're worried about being overdressed, don't! You will fit right in among the Disney Princesses!

 

A nice and comfortable dress that is perfect for a rendezvouz with a Princess

Disney has some great restaurants and some are even fancy! I always bring a nice dress that won't wrinkle easy. Afterall, you never know when you will be invited to Cinderella's Castle for dinner!

Don't think mouse ears are just for kids. They wouldn't make them for adults if YOU aren't supposed to wear them!

I just had to have this hoodie!

Festive ears!

I never go to Disney without my special Dooney and Bourke Disney luggage and my cross body bag. These ALWAYS complete the look!

What is on your "must pack" list when you travel? Do you have a favorite travel outfit?

Today I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy

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