Friday, March 31, 2017

Five Loves on Friday



Happy FRIDAY, friends!



Here are a five things from this week that made me feel like doing a happy dance!


One  //  An Unexpected Date Night In

My mom texted on Monday asking if the girls could come down and spend the evening with them which meant fun for them and unexpected time alone for my Lovey and I!  We opted for a simple and sweet night in.


While this may not look the prettiest, trust me, it was one of the tastiest bits of my week!  What you're looking at is a fulfilled, "Curried chicken salad sounds really good!" wish I made via a text to my sweet hubby that afternoon.  Being the awesome man he is, he proceeded to go way out of his way after work to drive out to Whole Foods and make my tasty daydreams come true! Yum & swoon!  I added some cheese and crackers to the spread and we savored every bite from the edge of our seats while catching up on Designated Survivor.  (Anyone else hooked on that show?)  Then we spent the remainder of the evening on the couch chatting, laughing, and reminiscing.  I'm so thankful for the sweet blessing of living and loving life alongside the incredible man I call my own!


Two  //  Birth Date Tradition

No, there wasn't a birthday in the family this week, but it was Princess' birth DATE.  Yep, we celebrate birth dates here, because why just celebrate one date when you could celebrate a birthday plus 11 other birth date unbirthdays?  Princess and I started this tradition years ago.  When the 29th of the month rolls around that means mom/oldest daughter late night date night and we so enjoy it!  


We decided we wanted to bake these...


...but didn't have any milk chocolate chips and not nearly enough flour, so we halved the recipe and subbed white chocolate chips.  They weren't nearly as good as the original, but the baking process was enough fun that it made it well worth whipping up together!  


Before she even tasted them these got a thumbs up from my baking assistant!  We have a great time in the kitchen together!

Once our treats were plated we clicked on the tv and proceeded to binge watch 5 episodes of a new-to-us Netflix original series, Lost & Found Music Studios.  


Princess and I like to have a running series we can enjoy just the two of us.  So far this suits my music loving daughter and I perfectly while our other "mom/daughter shows" of Disney's Backstage and The Lodge upcoming seasons are in production.  If your family enjoys either of those, this may be something to add to your Netflix queue too. ;)


Three  //  I've Got Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

  

I got this Henri Bendel umbrella in a Popsugar Must Have Box at the end of last year, but had yet to use it.  I guess you could say I was saving it for a rainy day. ;)  This week provided just that and I may have been slightly giddy to pop it open when I needed to head out into a downpour.  Sometimes it's the littlest things that add sunshine to an otherwise gloomy day.




Four  //   An End of a Disney Era


Liv & Maddie has been my favorite Disney show to sit down and watch as a family since Good Luck Charlie.  Funny enough, we actually watched the first episode during a Disney vacation!  



I remember it so well.  The four of us settled into our Royal Room for the night and were eating the desserts we ordered to go from Whispering Canyon Cafe at dinner.  We tuned in to Liv & Maddie wondering what this one girl portraying twins show was to be all about.  It quickly become a family favorite, the finale of which I may have shed a few tears over this week.  The episode tugged at my mama heartstrings, and was also a reminder of sweet memories from our first viewing.  I'm a sentimental sap.



Five  //  Walmart Spring Beauty Box

When I opened this season's beauty box I told Jason, "Wow!  Walmart is upping their cuteness game!"  I mean, check out that perfect pink and those girly golden flowers!  This was easily the cutest presentation I've seen in one of their boxes.  



Now on to what I found inside...



Contents:
SOO AE Vitamin Collagen Mask
Jergens Natural Glow Wet Skin Moisturizer
Soapbox Sea Minerals Body Wash
Colgate Radiant Optic White Toothpaste
Ban 24HR Roll-On Antiperspirant - Deodorant
Schwarzkopf Gliss Ultimate Hair Repair Shampoo
Schwarzkopf Gliss Ultimate Hair Repair Conditioner
Pure Ice Nail Polish // Shade:  542 Forget Me Not

My honest thoughts upon opening this Spring Beauty Box...


I like Colgate's Optic White line and I'm nearly out of toothpaste so this tube will help get me through til I get back to the store.  I'm in repair mode with my hair at the moment, so I'll definitely give that shampoo and conditioner a go.  We'll see if this wet skin moisturizer is as good as that lady from the Jungle of the Jungle movie says it is in all those commercials.  Body wash...hmm...I'll try this stuff, but will almost certainly head straight back to my Bath & Body Works stockpile.  A brightening face mask, I may try this, all the while hoping it agrees with my skin.  Lastly, I haven't used a roll-on deodorant since junior high.  I'll just add this to the emergency stash of products in my closet that are for those days when I discover I forgot to buy more, in this case, deodorant.  8 products for $5, not too shabby.


If you're interested, Walmart offers subscriptions to their beauty box and sends them to subscribers seasonally.  Each box is a set price of $5 shipped.  These boxes typically include travel/sample size items, with an occasional full size nail polish, mascara, or lip product tossed in.  They usually come with coupons as well, however this one did not.  I have received many boring Walmart beauty boxes, but usually find enough useful or fun to try products to feel it's worth the price tag.  Plus, finding a box of goodies in the mailbox is always fun!


*This is not an ad.  I pay for this subscription and they do not offer a referral program.  I simply enjoy sharing things like fun mail and beauty boxes with you, friends!  If you're interested you can find more about it here:  Walmart Seasonal Beauty Box




Thanks so much visiting today!  Have a lovely weekend!

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Throwback Thursday // Disney's Port Orleans Riverside ROYAL ROOM Tour!

Happy Thursday, friends!  I think this day could use a dash of pixie dust, so I'm delighted to throw it back to a post featuring one of the most magical guest rooms on Disney property.  I hope you enjoy the tour!

Disney's Port Orleans Riverside ROYAL ROOM Tour!
Originally published here on November 25, 2013


Today I'm pleased to give you a detailed tour of the Royal Room we had the pleasure of calling "home" for two weeks during our recent trip to Walt Disney World!



Oak Manor, Port Orleans Riverside Resort

Aren't the trees that line the pathways so beautiful?

Welcome to our {temporary} royal abode!

Just outside our room

C'mon in, friends!

I loved using my MagicBand {instead of a key} to get into our room!


Read this lovely letter from our hostess, Princess Tiana, for the story behind the theming of the Royal Rooms.  

The letter and envelope are part of the table.  The scroll shown above is our printed copy.


Spectacular Beds for our Sleeping Beauties 




A simple touch of the button on the side of each headboard sets off a fireworks spectacular!



Can you tell whose crowns these are?


Disney magic is in the details! Here are some of our favorites...


Gifts to Princess Tiana from the Disney Princesses:  A 3D holographic picture with the initials "SW" carved at the bottom of its wooden frame from Snow White,  carriage coat rack from Cinderella,  "Magic Carpet" from Princess Jasmine,  footstool {bench} from Belle


More details: Hidden Mickeys in both the light fixture and curtains, princely banners, and an entertainment center showcasing golden details from The Princess and The Frog.



Other royal guests and friends of Princess Tiana


The ever impressive, the long-contained, the often imitated, but never duplicated, duplicated, duplicated, duplicated ... Genie of the Lamp!
 Aladdin is my favorite animated Disney movie, so this is a favored detail!  If I were granted three wishes, one of them would be to have this faucet at home! 


The shower curtain was a gift from Ariel.   Look at the who's its and what's its galore!  Do you notice a few hidden Mickeys on the tile?  The back of the tub reminds me of the stars above the bathtub in Cinderella Castle Suite.


Each evening a Disney movie is shown in the Oak Manor courtyard.

 I snapped this photo from the doorway of our room.



What a magical way to end to any day at Port Orleans Riverside!


I hope you enjoyed this tour of our recent home-away-from-home!  

You can find trip reports from all 17 days of this Walt Disney World vacation (along with more recent Disney trip reports) HERE.


Visit my DISNEY! page for magical crafts, recipes, and Disney goodness galore!


Make sure you don't miss a bit of the fun at 
Chatting Over Chocolate! 
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Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Trip Report Tuesday: California Day 7 {Part 1} // Monterey Bay Aquarium



Day 7 - Friday, September 16, 2016

I woke that morning to the sound of sea lions outside.  That was wonderfully unexpected!  Those first few moments of the day continued to improve all the more as I pulled back our room's curtain revealing our ocean view in the morning's light.





These are the sea lions who's "off off off"s I awoke to.


We enjoyed a little time on our patio taking in the stunning sights all around us...







After a bit of lounging (& a lot of happy sighing) we packed up our things and took a stroll down to the hotel's Cafe La Strada for breakfast.



I could totally go for another one of those chocolate croissants right about now! Yum!




Soon it was time to hit the road again.  Goodbye, Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa!  Hello, our reason for visiting this seaside city, the inspiration behind Finding Dory, the Monterey Bay Aquarium! 




"Cuddle Party!" ...If you haven't seen Finding Dory, do yourself a favor & watch it asap!





My favorite part of this pic is my aquarium loving husband looking upward at the fish.









Little One taking a closer look.



Artwork:  Monterey Wharf in the Forties by Bruce Ariss, 1971.



I spy a cutie pie taking it all in!



"Get a ray's view of this exhibit" - how fun is that?!



Brave fingers ;)



The Wave Crash exhibit was much cooler than photos could capture!



The lookout from this aquarium was breathtaking!  If you're interested, you can check out a live web cam of the views here:  Monterey Bay Cam  


We found Dory!  








For anyone interested, the aquarium has a LIVE cam on these cute penguins!  You can check out what they're up to here:  Monterey Bay Aquarium Penguin Cam 

Find other live web cams from the aquarium HERE.









Their Pacific bluefin tuna are HUGE!  This picture doesn't begin to show how amazing they are!  They looked too large to be real.  Swimming by like shiny, gigantic robots, I couldn't believe they were one of my favorites of the day! 





We have an incredible aquarium at our local zoo, so much of Monterey Bay's wasn't as impressive to us as it would have otherwise been.  However, this aquarium does have something we had never seen, a sight that my shark-obsessed hubby was convinced this California road trip needed to include, the hammerhead shark!



You're looking at another bucket list check right there!


... worth the visit!


You know I wasn't going to pass a gift shop without popping in!  Little One and I swooned over otter-ly adorable finds. 



We were happy to have included this aquarium on our trip's itinerary.  Strolling through admiring the wonders of God's creation made for a relaxing afternoon.  This day's adventures were only just beginning though!  From here we drove on, Pismo Beach bound!  Hope you'll be back next Tuesday in a flip flop, ocean air state-of-mind!