Disney Day 4

Park(s) visited:  Animal Kingdom
Weather:  mostly sunny, 67 degrees

What I wore:
-polka dot jeans
-low back navy striped tee shirt
-brown cardigan
-sandals

Today was a great day.  I kicked it off with a nice long walk around the resort before breakfast.  Mom and I then got breakfast before heading off to Animal Kingdom for the day.  Mom decided to not rent an ECV today which worked out well.  The walkways in Animal Kingdom are not quite as wide and it's a little harder to navigate through all of the trees.

Animal Kingdom is less intense when it comes to rides.  There are a number of great shows though.  The Lion King show is AMAZING with live performers and dancing and the Finding Nemo: the Musical is not to be missed.  As a musician/performer, I noticed that all of the music was sung live, as opposed to singing over background tracks like a lot of the shows we've seen.

We also went on the safari ride where we saw a lot of different animals.  It was great.  My favorite ride of the day was definitely Expedition Everest, which we rode twice because the lines weren't terribly long.  It's a really thrilling ride.  We had dinner at the Yak and Yeti and then headed back for an early evening.  A wonderful day.

Disney Day 3

Park(s) visited:  Hollywood Studios
Weather:  mostly sunny, 60 degrees

What I wore:
-bootcut jeans
-pink heart tee shirt
-polka dot cardigan
-slip on sneakers
-fleece jacket

The nice thing about today's weather is that it was not windy so even though it was technically colder, it felt nicer outside.  We ate breakfast in the dining hall and then headed off to the park.  I wanted to audition for the American Idol Experience, whih I did and then was very nicely rejected.  Mom was more disappointed than I was.  Honestly, I didn't do very well so I wasn't worried.  We headed out to explore the park.

There is a lot to see and do in Hollywood Studios.  While there are less rides, there are more shows and more opportunities to meet and see the characters.  The best rides, in my humble opinion, are the Rockin' Rollercoaster and The Tower of Terror.  So much detail has gone into crafting the entire park and these rides are no exception.

We stopped at a little bakery/cafe close to the magic hat for coffee and wound up splitting a huge and delicious cupcake.  It was a diabetic's nightmare/sugar addicts dream.  The icing was delicious but I seriously couldn't eat all of the buttercream.  We also saw both Beauty and the Beast and Voyage of Little Mermaid, shortened versions of the original stories.

One of the best things that we did was book ourselves for the Fantasmic dinner package.  Basically, if you book in advance, you can eat an early dinner and select restaurants and then get VIP seating for Fantasmic!  We had dinner at the Hollywood and Vine, which is buffet style with a large selection and huge dessert buffet.  The actual show comes after dusk and is one of the most spectacular things disney has to offer.  they combine so many amazing things.

We caught the resort us back and have collapsed into our beds to gear up for tomorrow's day at Animal Kingdom!

Disney Day 2

Park(s) visited:  Epcot
Weather:  mostly sunny, 60 degrees

What I wore:

-bootcut jeans
-long sleeve polka dot tee shirt
-slip on sneakers

FYI, if you manage to snag a deal with free dining, DO IT.  Seriously, it's wonderful.  We've been using it as an excuse to try places we had never gone before and it's fantastic.  Would I pay for it out of pocket?  Probably not but it's fantastic to have and makes life easier.

We went to EPCOT today after arising early.  I took a walk around our hotel which is lovely.  Very lovely.  Then breakfast and then off to the park.  Admittedly, it took some time to catch the bus but that is the price you pay to not have to worry about renting/parking a car.  Once at the park, there was a pretty severe bottle neck at security and then we were off to the races.  Mom rented an ECV (a scooter, basically) to help with her mobility.  Between cancer and chemo, she has sever neuropathy in her feet which makes walking all day difficult. The only downside to the ECV is how blissfully unaware people are that they should be cautious.  In a quest to not run of a stroller that had stopped in the middle of the HANDICAPPED LANE OF THE RAMP, mom ran over my foot.  It hurt but it's not like a car ran over it.

As it is a Saturday, the lines were predictably long and the wind made the 60 degree weather feel practically frigid but we had fun nonetheless.  We had dinner in Morocco, one of the advantages of our dining plan.  WHile I would love to tell you all more, between the long day and the margarita I had at the jazz club, I can hardly keep my eyes open.  Toodle oo!

Disney Day 1

Park(s) visited:  Magic Kingdom
Weather:  mostly sunny, 64 degrees

What I wore:
-khaki polka dot jeans
-doctor whooves tee shirt
-polka dot cardigan
-lavender fleece jacket
-slip on sneakers

Today started at 5am when I got up and took a shower.  By six fifteen, mom and I were out the door and on our way down to Salisbury to catch Bayrunner shuttle to BWI.  It was an uneventful trip down and then over to Baltimore which is a blessing.  I don't fancy navigating those parking lots.  We checked our bag, made it through security with nary a hitch and then we waited.  Taking the shuttle got us to the air port in PLENTY of time.  I had a very overpriced burger for lunch.  It was good but I still cannot believe I paid $15 for a burger, fries, and a soda.  Ridiculous and I wasn't even in Florida yet.  Our flight was very slightly delayed and lasted a little longer than originally quoted because of a strong headwind.  Oh well.

One of the advantages of taking Disney's Magical Express is that they handle your checked luggage.  Upon disembarking the plane, we skipped baggage claim and proceeded to get in line for the bus which showed up all of two minutes later.  Now that was nice.  Mom and I are staying at the Port Orleans:  French Quarter in the downtown disney area.  It is gorgeous.  Our room is in what is possibly the best location ever.  We are on the first floor in the building adjacent to the main building with the restaurants, arcade, etc. and very near the pool complex.  Score!  Check in also went very quickly because we took advantage of the online check in process so everything was ready when we got there.

We were prepared to head off to the Magic Kingdom without waiting for our checked bag but just as we were done unpacking our carry-on luggage, we heard a knock and there it was, not five minutes after we got to the room.  We quickly unpacked and then headed to the food court for coffee and beingets before hopping on the bus to the magic kingdom.

we took the train around the park to get a view of things before hopping off in Frontier land to go to Liberty Square, where we went to the Haunted Mansion before our 6:50 dinner reservations at the Tavern.  The food was good but I am glad we have the dining plan because whew wee was it pricey.  We finished dinner in just enough time to catch the fireworks before heading back to our hotel.  Maybe a slow start but hey, we gotta start some where.

so quick update

So as usual life has gotten in the way of blogging.  What is UP with that?  I am working full time as a Middle School chorus teacher, helping out with the school's production of Seussical Jr. (costuming and vocal coaching).  I have been sewing a lot too, but tomorrow everything will be put on hold and I will be heading out on vacation.  Disney World, here I come!

Pin Spin: The making of the ultimate picnic blanket

I have dedicated many hours to pinterest browsing. Too many hours. Hours I could spend crafting instead. As much as I love winter (read: snow) I have been longing for the sun dresses, daffodils, and picnics of spring. In my hours of browsing aimlessly, I came across two different pins that I thought looked especially promising as items I MUST MAKE.

Bandana Quilt

Bandana quilt (with tutorial) perfect to keep in the car for that impromptu summer picnic! So Bandanas are super cheap at walmart and these would be awesome for when we go for a picnic. :)

Lined Beach Blanket

Used old towels to make this huge beach blanket. Add a vinyl tablecloth to the back: blocks sand, doubles as tablecloth. Road trip must-have! ----

The info the commentors had put in with the pins had made both look promising... but I didn't open either of them to read the directions at the time. I broke the cardinal rule of successfully navigating pinterest, I know.

Fast forward a week or so and both projects had been in the back of my mind. I happened to be in hobby lobby when I passed by the racks upon racks of bandanas and the lightbulb went off “Hmm... maybe I should actually make that bandana picnic blanket...”

When I opened the link to the first pin, I was disappointed because it linked to a tutorial on creating a quilt with your child. Not quite what I was looking for. Undaunted, I forged on, deciding to wing it. My original intention was to make a bandana “sheet” out of the sixteen bandanas I purchased for $.99 each at hobby lobby. I did everything you are supposed to when you quilt (prewash, press, cut down so each square is exactly the right size and all of the corners are square). Then I settled in for the long haul with a cup of coffee, my trusty Singer Confidence, and the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. I had wanted to join the squares at the edges by zig-zagging over the seam but the thin fabric did not like that idea. A few minutes of drooling at Mr. Darcy and unpicking the thick black stitches, later and I was back to a pile of squares. Not to be deterred, I stitched it all together like I would a quilt, pressed the seams, and laid it out on my bed to be admired. Done? Not quite.

Pin #2 had been in the back of my head the whole time because as I was planning on making what would essentially be a very pretty sheet, I realized that if I were to actually throw it on the ground on the grass any where but the desert, my butt would be damp as fast as you can say “May flowers.” Hence the trip to walmart to purchase flannel backed vinyl table cloths for less than $5 each.

Let my preface all of this by saying this blanket is a monster. It is 80” x 80”. So I purchased two beige table cloths (the nice[er] ones you find in housewares, not the disposable ones you buy for parties). While I had been planning on a print or at least a cool color, it isn't spring yet. The picnic/spring kind of stuff is thin on the ground and the prints were HORRENDOUS. There was not a print that didn't include garish colors and pictures of food. You have no idea. It made boring beige look incredibly appealing. Other problem: the the largest square table cloth available was 52” x 52”. Not going to work. So I bought two 60” x 102” cloths, stitched them together and cut them to size with minimal errors. I decided I didn't want to fuss with binding (actually, I couldn't be bothered to leave the house mid-project to go to the sewing store to buy the 500 or so packs of double fold bias tape this would inevitably take...) so I put in my ultra-sharp needle, stitched it right sides together, turned it inside out, and then top stitched around the edges to make it look more finished. No need to press (unless you want to melt your project. In which case, go ahead). Just shake and done.

Check it out.  It is huge!  Not perfect (check out that huge wrinkle) but it will do wonderfully.

Admire that lovely beige backing

Oh yeah.  That beige table cloth is SEXY.

All that's left is for there to be a warm spring day to merit a picnic. And possibly a tall, dark, and handsome man to bring the picnic basket and bouquet of wildflowers. ;-)

The only thing I would change: I meant to sew large washers into each of the corners to make sure the blanket won't go flying on a windy day but I completely forgot until I was ¾ of the way done top-stitching and really didn't want to undo it all. As my mother has requested one, perhaps I'll remember next time. And maybe write a tutorial that actually has all the relevant info.

  

I promise I'm not dead

So I have had all of these grand plans.  I had all of these plans to review pinterest tutorials and post them for the christmas season.

Yeah, that didn't happen.  The reason?

Working full time.

For those of you who work full time and have a gorgeous well maintained blog, kudos.  Do you sleep?  I have a tendency to come home and collapse into a heap.  That or I make a gorgeous handmade item and forget to take pictures.  Or lose the pictures.  Or whatever.

The majority of the bloggers I follow are stay at home moms who can write ten posts during naptime and schedule them so their blog practically writes itself.  And any of those mommy bloggers who are reading this are mentally reminding me of all the responsibilities they have because they stay at home all day.   I get it.  I'm not criticizing.  You are my crafty heroes and you are all domestic goddesses.

So hopefully I update soon?