Black Swan ain't got nothing on me!
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Merry Christmas!
Will be updating from England for the next few weeks... I've lost my camera cord, so who knows if I'll have pictures!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
I'll wave to Santa for y'all from the plane :)
*images from google*
My favorite time of year...
I wish I could pause time...I'm not quite ready for the holidays to be over yet...
I'll be home for Christmas... orrrr maybe not!
Exams are FINALLY over and by now I should have my feet up in front of the fire at our home in England with PB and a HUGE glass of wine. Where am I in actuality?
I'm stuck in New England.
Stuck Stuck Stuck.
Why am I stuck?
England had about 6-8 inches of snow... LAST WEEK. Apparently they only have one runway open almost an entire week later. British Airways cancelled my flight on Tuesday. Here are problems and why I'm so angry:
1. No email: I had NO notification that my flight had been cancelled until I was trying to check in. It was only after 20 minutes of trying to check in and having the website fail that I finally was able to discover that my flight was cancelled. You'd have thought they could have at least sent an email blast to the flights and let the people know. But they didnt.
2. No working website: On Monday, while I was trying to study for Tax both PB and I spent almost 5 hours on internet trying to get my flight rebooked. The British Airways website kept freezing and going down. Finally we got me on a seat on Christmas Day. Then about 4 hours later I just went online and checked again. There were open club seats showing on the Tuesday night flights, Weds, and Thurs flights! So PB called for me (while I tried to keep studying) and they refused to put me in a Club Seat without paying over $2k. They also refused to upgrade someone else and put me in their seat. So they are flying planes with open seats that they blatantly refuse to fill.
After numerous phone calls PB managed to get me wait listed on the morning flight for Christmas Eve and rebooked onto the night flight. I called this morning to try to figure out how full the morning flight was, and what exactly the protocol is for standby passengers for the morning. When I called the estimated wait time was 15 minutes. After 45 minutes I finally got a girl. I told her I was wait-listed and wanted to know how full the flight was and if it was a standard procedure for standby passengers. She put me on hold for 10 minutes. 10 MINUTES. She then comes back and says that she had an email saying that if I wanted I could go to the airport but I wouldn't be allowed to go to the gate and that I would have to wait in the airport. Um. What? My uncle used to work for Delta and I flew standby all the time. They usually give you a standby boarding pass and then if you get cleared you get a real boarding pass and get on the plane. How exactly would you get on the plane if you're cleared if you aren't even able to get to the gate? So I proceeded to tell her that didn't make sense and she started talking over me loudly. I said I wanted to talk to her supervisor and to stop talking over me. She then said it was a 45 minute wait to talk to a supervisor. I said that was ridiculous that I had been holding for over an hour already and she started talking over me again. I said LOUDLY, "STOP TALKING OVER ME" and then that WITCH hung up on me! Like in the middle of my sentence she HUNG up! I have never been so angry. I'm sorry... It's 4 days after my flight was supposed to leave, 3 days of not even being able to get on the line to wait to speak with someone, 3 days of a non-working website, and then having to hold for 45 minutes only to be hung up on?!
Suffice to say I will NOT be flying British Airways again. I've flown them literally 6 times last year and this will be my last. PB and I are utterly appalled at the lack of service from them and the way they have handled this entire situation.
I'm currently on hold again (24 minutes and counting)... Well just spoke to a customer service agent and turns out that flight I'm on standby for is oversold. (Also, that witch I spoke to earlier failed to log my call!! Of COURSE she didn't.) Sooooo, I'll be flying out tomorrow night landing on Christmas morning.
Well, I guess the upside is that hopefully I'll see Santa en route!!
I hope y'all are having a better holiday than I am and I hope you all make it to where you are going safe and sound. Check back in for a post about my favorite breakfast spot in New Hampshire, The Bedford Village Inn, tomorrow!
What to wear: New Years 2011 - Option 2
So we finally decided on our New Year's plans - after much debate, we've decided to spend our New Year's Eve partying it up at Red's Ice House on Shem Creek...we decided it was the best value for our money. Every other party in town seems to be $100 or more... but Red's is only $80 and it's a dinner buffet, open bar, two buildings (they rented the building next door to them since Red's is mostly outside), and four bands... plus most of us live within minutes of Red's, so that guarantees cheap cab rides as well.
So I'm still undecided on my outfit...but at least we know where we're going now. Here is outfit option #2... still thinking smokey eyes and messy hair.
Hard to tell from the picture, but those are black tuxedo shorts.
Do you have your New Year's outfit planned yet? What are you wearing??
So I'm still undecided on my outfit...but at least we know where we're going now. Here is outfit option #2... still thinking smokey eyes and messy hair.
Hard to tell from the picture, but those are black tuxedo shorts.
Do you have your New Year's outfit planned yet? What are you wearing??
Nutcracker Sweet
Tonight my fiance and I are going to see the Charleston Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker. This will be the first time I see CBT perform it. I actually take ballet classes from CBT and my teacher is a company member, so I will get to see her perform and some of my younger classmates as well.
Source: Charleston Ballet Theatre
I've seen many versions of the Nutcracker across the South, and so far my favorite is Columbia City Ballet's. I took classes there while I lived in Columbia, so of course I had to go see my classmates perform and William Starrett (CCB Artistic Director) probably would have had our heads if we hadn't gone to see the performance.
The reason I loved Columbia City Ballet's version is because my favorite scene (the snow scene) was beautifully done - from the glittery snow (not soap suds like Atlanta Ballet uses), the stage scenery, the lighting and the choreography was perfect.
Source: Columbia City Ballet
I'm excited to see CBT's version and see how it compares to all of the Nutcrackers I've seen before. The interesting thing about CBT's version is they use a company member for Clara - she happens to be very petite and young looking, so they always use her for Clara. So I'm expecting more advanced dancing from Clara in this version which I think I will like.
We're sitting front row, center left of the second level. I like to sit up higher so I can see the dancers' feet.
I usually dress up more for the Nutcracker, but I'm going more casual tonight. We're stopping by a happy hour before with my fiance's co-workers, so I didn't want to be too dressed up.
I'm going to try out a pair of brown booties instead of knee high boots to see what it looks like - but I might just stick with my tried and true knee high brown boots. We'll see. For jewelry I might try some pearls and see what that looks like.
Are you going to see the Nutcracker in your hometown this year?
P.S. That navy wrap cardigan is on Rue La La today for only like $30 or something.
I've seen many versions of the Nutcracker across the South, and so far my favorite is Columbia City Ballet's. I took classes there while I lived in Columbia, so of course I had to go see my classmates perform and William Starrett (CCB Artistic Director) probably would have had our heads if we hadn't gone to see the performance.
The reason I loved Columbia City Ballet's version is because my favorite scene (the snow scene) was beautifully done - from the glittery snow (not soap suds like Atlanta Ballet uses), the stage scenery, the lighting and the choreography was perfect.
I'm excited to see CBT's version and see how it compares to all of the Nutcrackers I've seen before. The interesting thing about CBT's version is they use a company member for Clara - she happens to be very petite and young looking, so they always use her for Clara. So I'm expecting more advanced dancing from Clara in this version which I think I will like.
We're sitting front row, center left of the second level. I like to sit up higher so I can see the dancers' feet.
I usually dress up more for the Nutcracker, but I'm going more casual tonight. We're stopping by a happy hour before with my fiance's co-workers, so I didn't want to be too dressed up.
I'm going to try out a pair of brown booties instead of knee high boots to see what it looks like - but I might just stick with my tried and true knee high brown boots. We'll see. For jewelry I might try some pearls and see what that looks like.
Are you going to see the Nutcracker in your hometown this year?
P.S. That navy wrap cardigan is on Rue La La today for only like $30 or something.
Tis the season...
...for holiday parties. Tonight we stopped by one of the first Christmas parties of many. It was casual and BYOB, and included the most hilarious Dirty Santa gift exchange. Among some of he gifts received were the Clapper, a shaker weight with accompany body lotion, and cheap bottles of tequila.
Those are the gifts I can mention...others were..well..dirty gifts that you DO NOT want. And I learned about the Diva Cup tonight...ewwww. Never heard of it...dee.skus.ting. Google it if you dare.
Anyways... I found this cute, sequined paneled top at Belk the other day - on sale for only $20! You can get it online too if you like it. I paired it with jeans, a black blazer, black boots and a silver ruffled handbag I already owned. I wish I had had time to paint my nails silver...oh well, that might have been overkill.
Bad lighting and not of the whole outfit, but you get the idea.
We have Nutcracker tomorrow night and another Christmas party Saturday night. How many Christmas parties have you attended already?
Those are the gifts I can mention...others were..well..dirty gifts that you DO NOT want. And I learned about the Diva Cup tonight...ewwww. Never heard of it...dee.skus.ting. Google it if you dare.
Anyways... I found this cute, sequined paneled top at Belk the other day - on sale for only $20! You can get it online too if you like it. I paired it with jeans, a black blazer, black boots and a silver ruffled handbag I already owned. I wish I had had time to paint my nails silver...oh well, that might have been overkill.
Bad lighting and not of the whole outfit, but you get the idea.We have Nutcracker tomorrow night and another Christmas party Saturday night. How many Christmas parties have you attended already?
What to wear: New Years 2011 - Option 1
Let's not even mention the fact that A) we have yet to make plans for New Years Eve this year and B) this dress is on its way and I have no idea if it will fit {fingers crossed}.
And... I don't actually have the jewelry or the clutch...but I have very similar pieces I'd pair with this dress.
Makeup: Smokey eyes (thinking of getting appointment at MAC makeup counter) and tossled, somewhat curled, "bed head" hair...I'll need to do a few trial runs.
If you're a Charleston resident...what is the top place for New Years this year?? We're thinking of either doing the party at the Hippodrome downtown or the Aquarium party...we've done the Shriner's party at Patriot's Point, Club Trio, and Red's in the past...all of these gave us a "meh" reaction, meaning they were just OK...nothing we want to really repeat.
I'm not a big fan of paying like $100 or so dollars for an 'open bar' party - I've done them before and I always feel like I never drink nearly enough to make back my money and the food is never all that great either. However, I have heard that the party at the Aquarium is fun and worth the money...so we'll see.
I'd be content with a house party with friends...but I've got too many single friends who want to "meet people" and mingle... so I guess boring old, not single me will have to suck it up and hit the parties. :)
What are you doing for New Years this year??
And... I don't actually have the jewelry or the clutch...but I have very similar pieces I'd pair with this dress.
Makeup: Smokey eyes (thinking of getting appointment at MAC makeup counter) and tossled, somewhat curled, "bed head" hair...I'll need to do a few trial runs.
If you're a Charleston resident...what is the top place for New Years this year?? We're thinking of either doing the party at the Hippodrome downtown or the Aquarium party...we've done the Shriner's party at Patriot's Point, Club Trio, and Red's in the past...all of these gave us a "meh" reaction, meaning they were just OK...nothing we want to really repeat.
I'm not a big fan of paying like $100 or so dollars for an 'open bar' party - I've done them before and I always feel like I never drink nearly enough to make back my money and the food is never all that great either. However, I have heard that the party at the Aquarium is fun and worth the money...so we'll see.
I'd be content with a house party with friends...but I've got too many single friends who want to "meet people" and mingle... so I guess boring old, not single me will have to suck it up and hit the parties. :)
What are you doing for New Years this year??
E-lec-tron-ic San-ta Claus
I love this commercial - it always makes me 'boogie' on my couch when it comes on...lol.
You can download the whole song for free! Very cool Target!
P.S. Don't forget...enter my giveaway! Deadline is midnight on Wednesday! :)
You can download the whole song for free! Very cool Target!
P.S. Don't forget...enter my giveaway! Deadline is midnight on Wednesday! :)
Here, there and everywhere...
So I promised an update on my whereabouts the past two weeks - it was marathon traveling and vacation. My fiance and I put quite the number of miles on his truck in the process...here's where we've been...
Birmingham, AL (7 hour drive from Charleston) - my hometown to my parents' house, house I grew up in, for Thanksgiving. Joining us was my family and my aunt and uncle and my cousins. I was so excited that Bradley, my fiance, went home with me for Thanksgiving this year. He was a little bummed to be missing his mom's Thanksgiving for the first time, so we tried to make it as special for him as possible. My mom even asked him to carve mini-pumpkins for her table centerpieces...which he and my Dad preceded to do...with power tools. Men.
All the cousins - my sister is due in February! Her pregnancy is going by so fast!
Mom's holiday china, crystal and silver
Clemson, SC (4.5 hr drive from Birmingham) - every other year I leave home from Thanksgiving early (much to my mom's chagrin) to trek up to Clemson for the big rival game, Clemson vs. Univ. of South Carolina. That's me and my best friend, Jtay (her nickname).
In hindsight, I think we should have stayed in Birmingham - but I say that only because it was REALLY cold and because the game was so pitiful, i.e. Clemson played awful and USC whooped up on us. If we had not gone, it probably would have been the reverse. Oh well...we did have fun tailgating all day and hanging out with friends.
Disney World, FL (9 hr drive from Clemson) - Bright and early Sunday morning, Bradley and I woke up and hopped in the truck again for the longest trek of our journey so far down to Disney World. We met his entire family there and spent the next four days immersed in all things Disney. I hadn't been since college and Bradley hadn't been since he was 6 yrs. old - so it was fun seeing how much Disney has changed. It's amazing how easy it is to get wrapped up in the Disney spirit.
Bradley and I doing the Walt Disney and Mickey pose, mimicking the statue behind us
It was wonderful. The weather was perfect (low 80's beginning of week, high 60's end of week, sunny) and we squeezed in about everything imaginable that we wanted to do. Bradley's older sister is like a Disney pro and had our trip all planned out - we had meal plans already set up, meal reservations, etc.
We visited Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Studios (formerly MGM) and Animal Kingdom.
Our favorite part of the entire trip was the night we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. They close down the Magic Kingdom and only let in people who have tickets to this Christmas celebration. The entire park is decorated already with all things Christmas - but they go a step further with this celebration. It included access to all of the rides, but they had a Christmas parade, the most amazing fireworks show I've ever seen and they handed out unlimited free hot chocolate and sugar cookies the entire night (7pm to midnight). Plus...they made it snow on the main street!
Random things Bradley and I observed from our Disney trip:
1) Everyone moves in Disney at what we've coined "The Disney Pace". Even though we ate pretty unhealthy the entire time we were there, I'm pretty sure we maintained our weight or even lost weight. Everyone is speed walking everywhere...and you walk from the time you wake up (7am!) to the time you collapse exhausted onto your hotel bed (midnight-ish).
2)Disney is amazing at how they make everything seem like magic - from processes to 'herding' the crowds to setting up and dismantling parades in seconds - they are truly amazing at what they do. It's brilliant. So many companies could learn a lot about process improvement from Disney. We heard they offer 'behind the scenes' tours of the underground workings of Disney...but we both agreed that we would never want to do that. Why spoil the magic for yourself?
3) If you can go to Disney World with a five year old...do it. Five years old is the dream age for a child to go to Disney World. One of Bradley's nieces is five and it was so fun watching her at the parks - every character was real to her and her face was always lighting up. It was just as fun experiencing it through her eyes as it was to be there ourselves.
4) You become low maintenance - when you're waking up at 6:15 am to make your Princess Breakfast in the castle reservation, and not getting back to your hotel until midnight that night... you learn to not worry so much about your appearance... which if you know me, can be a challenge. I showered at night, woke up in the mornings and usually wore my hair all pulled up, little makeup, and always...always... sneakers, no matter what the outfit. I actually had cute outfits planned for each day...but you soon realize that it's t-shirts, jeans or shorts, and sneakers - comfort is key.
5) Do NOT mess with parents and their strollers. Goodness gracious I almost died several times dodging parents wielding these speedy weapons in front of them. And I don't remember stroller parking lots from the last time I went to Disney...but man oh man are they everywhere in the parks now. Guess when I go back and have kids I'll be more empathetic to the stroller thing.
6) There are a LOT of people riding motorized scooters in Disney parks who should definitely NOT be riding scooters. I don't know what you have to prove to get a scooter, but I was really taken aback by the amount of people riding motorized scooters through the parks (and in the stores, and in the ride lines, etc.). Now I'm not heartless...if they have an ailment or are elderly, I get it... but we saw several folks that looked our age, healthy (well, smoking cigarettes, but..healthy enough) and average weight riding around on a scooter. Really? Are people just that lazy? They'd have their three year old sitting on the front with them, riding along. Well that's teaching them healthy lessons at an early age. :-/ In our hotel parking lot, we actually watched one lady (cigarette dangling from mouth) ride her scooter to her car, back it up to the trunk, get off the scooter, lift it, put it in the trunk, then walk around to the driver side and get in the car to drive. Maybe I'm cynical...but seriously? That was probably my only complaint the whole trip about Disney - I hope it becomes an issue where Disney will put a wrangle on scooters.
7) Why did we not intern, co-op, or just work over a summer at Disney World when we were in college? Bradley's older sister was a dancer growing up as well, and we were both talking about how awesome it would have been to spend a semester working at Disney as a dancer, performer, character, etc. I have close friends who did the Disney semesters while we were in school and they still rave about it today. Opportunity lost - I'm pretty sure they don't hire nearly 30 yr. olds. If you're in school now and you love Disney... do it!
8) Fanny packs...while hilarious and very 80's in theory, these were indispensable during our entire trip! Bradley's mom bought all of us one and I really didn't think I would use it - but I did. It was a life saver. People may laugh and point and your friends may post "Is that a fanny pack I see?" on your pictures after you post them to Facebook...but I don't care, it was crucial! :)
9) Visit Disney in the off-season. We hardly ever waited for rides, transportation, etc., which allowed us to squeeze in more fun stuff. I could not ever imagine being there when it's packed and hot...no way will I ever go other than off season months! And we loved that the parks were covered in Christmas decorations.
10) Your hotel doesn't matter - not exactly anyways. We stayed at Disney's All Start Movies resort. It was way cheaper than the large resorts that are actually 'in' Disney World... way cheaper. It was still a Disney themed resort and we had Disney 'towel' characters each day from our cleaning ladies like you get on cruises. But the room wasn't much to write home about - two small double beds, a 1990's style 20 inch TV with limited channels, and a small bathroom. But the only time we were ever in our hotel was the six or so hours we were there to sleep. That was it. So we both agreed that next time unless we're miraculously wealthier, we'll keep the same hotel or something similar - hotel isn't an important factor of your Disney experience.
11) Return from a long Disney vacation on a weekend...with days left. We drove back to Charleston on a Friday (6.5 hour drive). I can't even explain what a relief it was to have Saturday and Sunday to unpack, do laundry, and just relax!
We're going back for our one year wedding anniversary. We already decided. :)
So I did spend most of Saturday and Sunday doing nothing but a staycation from our vacation...but we did plan one thing that we knew we would probably be tired for, but we didn't want to miss... Charleston's Reindeer Run 5k!
Jtay and I dressed up as Christmas trees. Before I left for my marathon vacation, we went to the dollar store and purchased all of this random stuff and created for ourselves some pretty creative and fun costumes. The lights on our costume blinked! And yes, we ran the entire race in these...lol. We even won the group costume contest...coming in second place! :) I saw our photo on the local paper's website, and we've had several people tell us we were on the local news... ha ha.
Bradley was Santa's gift to women...and he got a few laughs as well. And yes...sadly..his costume was my idea for him, lol. He wasn't even planning on dressing up. His gift tag says "To: Women, From: Santa".
So phew...are you tired of reading yet? That's about it in a nutshell... even though this post is so long it doesn't seem anything like a nutshell. Hopefully I'll be better about keeping the blog updated in the upcoming weeks since I won't be riding in a car or running around theme parks. :)
Note: These photos are not high res - so ignore the 'made for web' quality. :)
P.S. Please come back tomorrow and visit my blog - I'm hosting my very first giveaway and the prize is pretty awesome, so you don't want to miss out! Yay!
Birmingham, AL (7 hour drive from Charleston) - my hometown to my parents' house, house I grew up in, for Thanksgiving. Joining us was my family and my aunt and uncle and my cousins. I was so excited that Bradley, my fiance, went home with me for Thanksgiving this year. He was a little bummed to be missing his mom's Thanksgiving for the first time, so we tried to make it as special for him as possible. My mom even asked him to carve mini-pumpkins for her table centerpieces...which he and my Dad preceded to do...with power tools. Men.
Mom's holiday china, crystal and silverClemson, SC (4.5 hr drive from Birmingham) - every other year I leave home from Thanksgiving early (much to my mom's chagrin) to trek up to Clemson for the big rival game, Clemson vs. Univ. of South Carolina. That's me and my best friend, Jtay (her nickname). In hindsight, I think we should have stayed in Birmingham - but I say that only because it was REALLY cold and because the game was so pitiful, i.e. Clemson played awful and USC whooped up on us. If we had not gone, it probably would have been the reverse. Oh well...we did have fun tailgating all day and hanging out with friends.Disney World, FL (9 hr drive from Clemson) - Bright and early Sunday morning, Bradley and I woke up and hopped in the truck again for the longest trek of our journey so far down to Disney World. We met his entire family there and spent the next four days immersed in all things Disney. I hadn't been since college and Bradley hadn't been since he was 6 yrs. old - so it was fun seeing how much Disney has changed. It's amazing how easy it is to get wrapped up in the Disney spirit.Bradley and I doing the Walt Disney and Mickey pose, mimicking the statue behind usIt was wonderful. The weather was perfect (low 80's beginning of week, high 60's end of week, sunny) and we squeezed in about everything imaginable that we wanted to do. Bradley's older sister is like a Disney pro and had our trip all planned out - we had meal plans already set up, meal reservations, etc.
We visited Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Studios (formerly MGM) and Animal Kingdom.Our favorite part of the entire trip was the night we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. They close down the Magic Kingdom and only let in people who have tickets to this Christmas celebration. The entire park is decorated already with all things Christmas - but they go a step further with this celebration. It included access to all of the rides, but they had a Christmas parade, the most amazing fireworks show I've ever seen and they handed out unlimited free hot chocolate and sugar cookies the entire night (7pm to midnight). Plus...they made it snow on the main street!
Random things Bradley and I observed from our Disney trip:1) Everyone moves in Disney at what we've coined "The Disney Pace". Even though we ate pretty unhealthy the entire time we were there, I'm pretty sure we maintained our weight or even lost weight. Everyone is speed walking everywhere...and you walk from the time you wake up (7am!) to the time you collapse exhausted onto your hotel bed (midnight-ish).
2)Disney is amazing at how they make everything seem like magic - from processes to 'herding' the crowds to setting up and dismantling parades in seconds - they are truly amazing at what they do. It's brilliant. So many companies could learn a lot about process improvement from Disney. We heard they offer 'behind the scenes' tours of the underground workings of Disney...but we both agreed that we would never want to do that. Why spoil the magic for yourself?
3) If you can go to Disney World with a five year old...do it. Five years old is the dream age for a child to go to Disney World. One of Bradley's nieces is five and it was so fun watching her at the parks - every character was real to her and her face was always lighting up. It was just as fun experiencing it through her eyes as it was to be there ourselves.
4) You become low maintenance - when you're waking up at 6:15 am to make your Princess Breakfast in the castle reservation, and not getting back to your hotel until midnight that night... you learn to not worry so much about your appearance... which if you know me, can be a challenge. I showered at night, woke up in the mornings and usually wore my hair all pulled up, little makeup, and always...always... sneakers, no matter what the outfit. I actually had cute outfits planned for each day...but you soon realize that it's t-shirts, jeans or shorts, and sneakers - comfort is key.
5) Do NOT mess with parents and their strollers. Goodness gracious I almost died several times dodging parents wielding these speedy weapons in front of them. And I don't remember stroller parking lots from the last time I went to Disney...but man oh man are they everywhere in the parks now. Guess when I go back and have kids I'll be more empathetic to the stroller thing.
6) There are a LOT of people riding motorized scooters in Disney parks who should definitely NOT be riding scooters. I don't know what you have to prove to get a scooter, but I was really taken aback by the amount of people riding motorized scooters through the parks (and in the stores, and in the ride lines, etc.). Now I'm not heartless...if they have an ailment or are elderly, I get it... but we saw several folks that looked our age, healthy (well, smoking cigarettes, but..healthy enough) and average weight riding around on a scooter. Really? Are people just that lazy? They'd have their three year old sitting on the front with them, riding along. Well that's teaching them healthy lessons at an early age. :-/ In our hotel parking lot, we actually watched one lady (cigarette dangling from mouth) ride her scooter to her car, back it up to the trunk, get off the scooter, lift it, put it in the trunk, then walk around to the driver side and get in the car to drive. Maybe I'm cynical...but seriously? That was probably my only complaint the whole trip about Disney - I hope it becomes an issue where Disney will put a wrangle on scooters.7) Why did we not intern, co-op, or just work over a summer at Disney World when we were in college? Bradley's older sister was a dancer growing up as well, and we were both talking about how awesome it would have been to spend a semester working at Disney as a dancer, performer, character, etc. I have close friends who did the Disney semesters while we were in school and they still rave about it today. Opportunity lost - I'm pretty sure they don't hire nearly 30 yr. olds. If you're in school now and you love Disney... do it!
8) Fanny packs...while hilarious and very 80's in theory, these were indispensable during our entire trip! Bradley's mom bought all of us one and I really didn't think I would use it - but I did. It was a life saver. People may laugh and point and your friends may post "Is that a fanny pack I see?" on your pictures after you post them to Facebook...but I don't care, it was crucial! :)
9) Visit Disney in the off-season. We hardly ever waited for rides, transportation, etc., which allowed us to squeeze in more fun stuff. I could not ever imagine being there when it's packed and hot...no way will I ever go other than off season months! And we loved that the parks were covered in Christmas decorations.10) Your hotel doesn't matter - not exactly anyways. We stayed at Disney's All Start Movies resort. It was way cheaper than the large resorts that are actually 'in' Disney World... way cheaper. It was still a Disney themed resort and we had Disney 'towel' characters each day from our cleaning ladies like you get on cruises. But the room wasn't much to write home about - two small double beds, a 1990's style 20 inch TV with limited channels, and a small bathroom. But the only time we were ever in our hotel was the six or so hours we were there to sleep. That was it. So we both agreed that next time unless we're miraculously wealthier, we'll keep the same hotel or something similar - hotel isn't an important factor of your Disney experience. 11) Return from a long Disney vacation on a weekend...with days left. We drove back to Charleston on a Friday (6.5 hour drive). I can't even explain what a relief it was to have Saturday and Sunday to unpack, do laundry, and just relax!We're going back for our one year wedding anniversary. We already decided. :)
So I did spend most of Saturday and Sunday doing nothing but a staycation from our vacation...but we did plan one thing that we knew we would probably be tired for, but we didn't want to miss... Charleston's Reindeer Run 5k!
Jtay and I dressed up as Christmas trees. Before I left for my marathon vacation, we went to the dollar store and purchased all of this random stuff and created for ourselves some pretty creative and fun costumes. The lights on our costume blinked! And yes, we ran the entire race in these...lol. We even won the group costume contest...coming in second place! :) I saw our photo on the local paper's website, and we've had several people tell us we were on the local news... ha ha.
Bradley was Santa's gift to women...and he got a few laughs as well. And yes...sadly..his costume was my idea for him, lol. He wasn't even planning on dressing up. His gift tag says "To: Women, From: Santa".So phew...are you tired of reading yet? That's about it in a nutshell... even though this post is so long it doesn't seem anything like a nutshell. Hopefully I'll be better about keeping the blog updated in the upcoming weeks since I won't be riding in a car or running around theme parks. :)Note: These photos are not high res - so ignore the 'made for web' quality. :)
P.S. Please come back tomorrow and visit my blog - I'm hosting my very first giveaway and the prize is pretty awesome, so you don't want to miss out! Yay!
BP's Stocking Stuffer Wishlist!
My favorite thing to open Christmas morning is my STOCKING!
Lovelovelovelovelove...
If I could have anything in my stocking this year here's what I'd pick.
3. Gold lace monogram necklace: $100-$350 depending on store/type of gold
4. Starbucks Red Cup Ornament: $4.95 (To commemorate where PB and I met!!)
5. Vineyard Vines Cut-Out Whale Belt in Dock: $98.50
And last but not least... No stocking for BP would be complete without one of these two:
OR
What are you hoping to find in YOUR stocking?!
My apologies!
NC was a whirlwind trip and I'm still catching my breath!!! I had a fabulous time seeing family and friends and my bridal shower was a blast. I'm going to blog more later in the week... but until then I'll leave you with a picture of my New Year's Eve dress that shall be being purchased later this week. PB booked us at a fancy dinner & dance at this stately estate this year for New Year's Eve. It's black tie.
Black tie = New dress.
That's right.
HOT.
PINK.
Tis how I roll...
Busy Busy Weekend
We have a lot to do this weekend since our party is only 1 week away!!! This whole week is going to be hectic and busy for us, but in a fun way!!!
This will be the first time we're having a party in our home! We have plenty of RSVP's and it's bound to be a festive and jolly night of Christmas merrymaking!!!
I'm going to be doing a lot of the cooking ahead of time as some items will keep in the refrigerator for a while and others can be frozen and then warmed up later! Today I'm going to get started or at least to a practice run of Truffles!!! I hope they turn out as pretty as these:
I'll also be starting my holiday cookie baking today!
And this evening we're heading out to Cayman's own Irish pub, Fidel Murphy's for drinks with a friend!
Then, hopefully home early so we can pop this into the DVD player!!!
And wake up early to start all over again! So much cleaning, decorating and cooking to do! Exciting!!! What are you guys up to this weekend?!?!
xoxo,
Pink Julep!
This will be the first time we're having a party in our home! We have plenty of RSVP's and it's bound to be a festive and jolly night of Christmas merrymaking!!!
I'm going to be doing a lot of the cooking ahead of time as some items will keep in the refrigerator for a while and others can be frozen and then warmed up later! Today I'm going to get started or at least to a practice run of Truffles!!! I hope they turn out as pretty as these:
I'll also be starting my holiday cookie baking today!
And this evening we're heading out to Cayman's own Irish pub, Fidel Murphy's for drinks with a friend!
Then, hopefully home early so we can pop this into the DVD player!!!
And wake up early to start all over again! So much cleaning, decorating and cooking to do! Exciting!!! What are you guys up to this weekend?!?!xoxo,
Pink Julep!
Giving Thanks for Turkey Today in a British Overseas Territory
Hey all! I hope you're enjoying your holiday today!
Even though Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here on island, people are still sensitive to it and often restaurants will serve a special menu for both Canadian and American Thanksgivings!
Tonight, Mr. Julep (who's Irish and therefore is a sport about doing the Thanksgiving thing for me) is taking me out for turkey dinner here, at Casanova's by the Sea!
This is the view from the sea! I think this restaurant, one of our few Italian restaurants, is a great little spot and very pretty!
Even though Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here on island, people are still sensitive to it and often restaurants will serve a special menu for both Canadian and American Thanksgivings!
Tonight, Mr. Julep (who's Irish and therefore is a sport about doing the Thanksgiving thing for me) is taking me out for turkey dinner here, at Casanova's by the Sea!
This is the view from the sea! I think this restaurant, one of our few Italian restaurants, is a great little spot and very pretty!Happy shopping tomorrow everyone!
xoxo,
Pink Julep!
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