Saturday, August 30, 2014

Decorating Your Hotel Window at Disney

I have been to Disney about 15 times and never have I ever decorated my hotel room window. I have seen people who do this and always comment on how cute it is...but I just haven't done it myself. This is all changing on our upcoming trip. I want to do every little thing I can do to make this trip super special for Sally.

Of course I went to Pinterest to search for inspiration.
I found lots of cute ideas.





I wanted something a little different so of course I went to my favorite Etsy shop for printables: Lauren Haddox Designs. She has helped me with both of Sally's birthdays and I love working with her. She designed a banner for me to hang up in our window. 
Of course she did not disappoint! 

I didnt want to wait until after the trip to show you our window because I know several of you are going to Disney in September. I decided to do a little mock up on my dining room window to show you what I plan to do. 

The banner is printable. Lauren can customize it to your child's name. She also takes special requests. All you do it print it out, cut it out and hot glue it to ribbon. 

I had the Mickey hands and Minnie ears left over from Sally's birthday.

I can't wait to decorate the window at the hotel! If you want to get your own banner, you are in luck. Lauren will customize it to say whatever you want for only $5!! Click here and order :)


Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Disney Countdown Days 1-5


Our Disney countdown is in full effect. We have a fun activity planned everyday leading up to our trip which is exactly one month away ;)

Find my Disney Countdown tutorial here



Day 1
Write a letter to Minnie
Did you know that you can write a letter to any Disney character or Princess and they will send you an autographed card back? It used to be an 8x10 photo but I have read that they are now doing just postcards...oh well....Sally will still love it. We wrote a letter to Minnie today and drove to the post office so that Sally could put it in the mail slot.


Mail it to:
Walt Disney World Communications
P.O. Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040


Day 2
Watch Cinderella

Day 3
Get a Princess balloon. Did you know they have Frozen and Disney Princess balloons at the $1 Tree? Sally was so excited for her Anna and Elsa balloon. 

Day 4
Watch Aladdin

Day 5
Buy Princess plates and eat on them. 
I got some princess plates at Wal-mart and I served Sally's breakfast on them. She was so excited!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

10 Reasons To pack Ziplock Bags For Your Disney Trip


I personally love being organized and prepared.  Being organized and prepared at Disney will help you have a much more enjoyable trip. Ziplock bags are inexpensive and very handy to have. Here is a list of 10 reasons you need to have them for your Disney trip.

1. Use them to pre-pack all of your kids outfits. One outfit per bag...clothes, hair bows, shoes, etc. In the mornings, all you will have to do is grab a bag and get themdresses. It will also be easy when having your spouse help get the kids ready. Also, dont forget to throw an extra bag of stuff into your bag you are bringing to the parks. Having an extra outfit is very handy. Kids make a mess, get too wet, have an accident? Just use that Ziplock bag (that is now empty) to store. 

2. Use a bag to store your phone and camera in during water rides.

3. Emergency Barf Bag...self explanatory.

4. Use a bag to keep sunscreen, hand sanitizer, etc. That way if they leak, there won't be a mess all over your bag.

5. Unfinished Meals....bags come in handy for leftover snacks and meals. 

6. Put the remote control from the hotel in a bag. Think of how many people touch that thing...and the germs! You can still switch the channels through the bag.

7. Use a bag to save all the little memories for scrapbooking or crafting purposes...tickets, receipts, confetti, napkins, etc. 

8. Use bags to organize your park bag...snacks in one, little activities (crayons, coloring books, bubbles, glow sticks, etc) in another....and so on.

9. Use a bag to store all of your character autograph stuff. Whether  you are doing a traditional autograph book or a photo mat, you will need a space to keep your pens/markers and the actual autograph book/mat. Having it in a bag prevents anything from spilling on it.

10. Make a mini diaper bag...diapers, wipes, powder...have it in an easy to reach place. A bag keeps it all together.

Do you have any other ways that you use Ziplock bags at Disney?





Monday, August 18, 2014

10 Free Things To Do At Disney World

Going to Disney can get expensive. I am here today to show you 10 things to do that are totally free!

1. Get Water. Most restaurants at Disney will give you a cup of ice water for free.

2. Visit Disney's Boardwalk. There are carnival style games, yummy snacks and beautiful views.


3. Visit Downtown Disney. There are interactive fountains, Lego Imagination Center, and lots of shopping/food. Ghiradelli's also tends to hand out free chocolate samples...yum! Ride the free boat to Port Orleans Resort and back.


4. Do a tour of the different resorts. No you cannot swim in their pools, but you can walk around and look at them. Also check out the beautiful lobbies, take pictures and just enjoy your time. Many of the resorts have free nightly movies under the stars and marshmallow roasts.

5. Get a celebration button from either your hotel's front desk or at the parks. 


6. Get a "passport" in Epcot and eat/drink your way around the World Showcase. You can ask for a stamp in each country.

7. Get "pixie dusted" for free at Castle Couture and Tinkerbelle's Treasures in Fantasyland.

8. Get a free drink in Epcot. Club Cool in Future World allows you to taste soft drinks from around the world. 

9. Got a blister or a headache? No problem. Head to the first aide station at each of the parks. They are fully stocked and glad to share for free.

10. Taste a dish that you absolutely love? Ask for the the recipe. The restaurants often have them pre-printed on cards that they will give you.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Shop Spotlight: Matchin Miss Priss

Although I love the pink Minnie things...my heart belongs to the traditional red Minnie. Sally has several cute outfits for Disney that use the colors or red, black and yellow so I couldn't wait to have Bree from Matchin Miss Priss create a necklace for her to wear. 

The necklace came in the mail last week and I LOVE it! Miss Sally is going to look so cute wearing this at Disney! I love the variety of beads that Bree used. 
 

Bree was so easy to work with. She sent me a picture of the necklace and I was able to replace a bead that I didn't care for. How many shops will let you do that?! She really wanted to make sure that I loved it and I really appreciate that. Shipping was super fast too! I love, love, love it!

Not only can she do Disney inspired necklaces, she also offers up the cutest necklaces to match dresses. I believe these are all from "Sweet Honey". She does such an amazing job making these necklaces look fabulous with the dresses. 




Have a special dress that you want a matching necklace for? Send a picture of it to Bree and she will custom make something for you that will match perfectly! Check out her Etsy shop here.



Shop Spotlight: Boland Paper Design Company



Packing for Disney is a very serious matter. We leave in a little over a month and I already have piles starting around the house. I will be sharing a packing list with you soon. I knew I wanted to have the cutest luggage tags out there for our trip...enter Boland Design Paper Company. I found them on Etsy. I love the sleek modern look of these tags. Here are some of my favorite designs. 




They are extremely durable and well made. They also ship very fast...so if you have a last minute trip...no fear!

Boland Design Paper Company also offers some really cute personalized autograph books...a perfect keepsake souvenir for your kids or any of you that are kids at heart.



Our luggage tags came in the mail last week and I am crazy obsessed with them. The colors are fantastic and I love the design. They are going to be so fun on our luggage. I ordered Sally two...one for her suitcase and one for her adorable Minnie backpack :)

Here is a picture of the front. The back has all of our info on it...in case the bags get lost.




Check them out on Etsy here and on Facebook here.  Make sure to tell them I sent you if you order. 

Monday, August 11, 2014

Shop Spotlight: Darling Charlotte

Princess dresses are all the rage right now in our house. Sally is a different princess every hour of the day. Have a little princess in your house too? Darling Charlotte on Etsy has you covered with the cutest princess inspired dresses. I would even say these are "everyday princess" dresses...dresses so comfy that they could wear them all day long to play in.They are 100% cotton..no itchy, scratchy, cheap material here. Your girls will love to wear these dresses!  Here are some of my favorite designs. 

Rapunzel

Elsa

Anna

Cinderella

Snow White

"Rag" Cinderella 

I chose the Snow White dress for Sally. She is really into Snow White this week :) We have a breakfast scheduled with the princesses in Disney ..so this is going to be perfect. It came in the mail last week and I literally squealed...its so cute!! Sorry in advance for the wrinkled picture. I didnt iron it yet. 


Sally is going to look adorable in this!!

Darling Charlotte dresses are perfect for everyday dress-up, special Disney events/trips, or even Halloween!! Make sure to place your order soon...There is some turn around time since these are all made by hand. Check them out on Etsy here

I will be doing a follow-up review on this dress (with pictures!!) when we get back from Disney. 


Shop Spotlight: Two Cat's Boutique



Today I want to share some earrings that would be perfect for your Disney trip. I found the cutest pair on Etsy and the owner was so sweet and sent me a pair to wear on my trip and share with your on this blog. Her shop is called Two Cat's Boutique...go check it out now.

Here are the ones I got...she even threw in a Mickey necklace...love it!! I seriously cannot wait to wear these in the park. I never thought I would be the kind of person who wears special Minnie/Mickey earrings at Disney, but these are cute...not tacky!


She has some other cute stuff in her Etsy shop too...different variations of the earrings and also a Minnie necklace. Check them out below.




I think they are just so cute...great for kids as well as kids at heart. :)




Thursday, August 7, 2014

Shop Spotlight: Sarah's Scribbles


Today I want to introduce you to Sarah's Scribbles shop on Facebook. She has some of the cutest stuff. Here are some of my favorites:






She was kind enough to send me the cutest shirt for my trip in September. I cannot wait to wear it in Disney and I am sure I will get several people asking me where I got it. I love spreading the word about a good shop when I find one!

This is seriously the cutest shirt!! You can't tell from the picture but the Minnie head is sparkly...so of course Sally is in love with it. She even demanded to wear it like a dress for a little bit. The cut is very flattering and I am obsessed with the Minnie detail on the back.





And here is a picture of me wearing it in the park!!