Vacation 2014, Part II

The contents of our week at home on vacation were quite different than a normal week here. Our fancy shmancy hotel vacation and our trip to Orlando transformed into a "STAYcation," over night. So not only was it a vacation for Ryan away from work it was absolutely grand having Ryan home all week helping me with the stay at home mom stuff (this also means sleeping in advantages).

We switched off mornings being able to stay snug in bed while the other did all the morning stuff with Lola. 

^ A perfect example of our Staycation. Sleep, Sleep, and lots of sleep!

This also worked wonders because Sims 4 just released the Tuesday of our vacation and I was getting antsy about staying up late some nights building mansions and becoming a master chef via Sim world. So it totally worked out and we got to pretend we were kids again, feeling like rebels staying up as late as possible AND sleeping in till' noon.

We also took a trip to SAM's to get some bulk shopping done. We went a little crazy, but our house needed re-stocking in stuff we use daily, so it was nice to get it all done in one shot and (bonus) it will last us for quite a while (green tea and cereal heaven). 

So the rest of the week we vegged and vegged some more, and prepared ourselves for the weekend ahead. We were taking our first overnight trip as a family! A while back we scooped up Frozen on Ice tickets because even at a very young age Lola adored the movie and Ryan and I had just visited our first Disney on ice event and loved it. So bringing Lola was a nessecity. We incorporated our vacation around that time and decided that getting a hotel the night before would be the best option for our busy baby schedule (and because we still think it's super cool to stay in a hotel, it also gave us an excuse to spend all of Saturday roaming Orlando.)

Which we did. We explored Seuss landing and went on the few measly rides that were 1 year old accessible, it was still a blast. We took Lola on the Hogwarts express and brought her to Diagon Alley because we just couldn't get enough, but Lola had enough. And after like 3 hours she was pooped, starving and ready to crash. Too be expected bring a 1 year old to an amusement park, how do you pro parents do it?!

Our hotel was smack dab in downtown Orlando which was pretty nifty since the Amway center was right down the street. Our hotel was super nice, and Lola had a blast (minus Ryan dropping us off to get dinner and Lola and I being hotel-less because I forgot the hotel number). Oh boy...that was a story and don't get me started on burger 21 burgers with a hefty scoop of guacamole....ew and our exhausted attempts of pulling out the futon from the couch... AND forgetting our frozen tickets all the way back at home and not realizing it till the night before....our evening wasn't the best, but it's pretty hilarious to think about now. 

The next morning we found a small place for breakfast, ate our bellies full, and arrived in the parking lot really early to let Lola nap before the show. I was so nervous that she was going to be a typical one year old...and she was. But luckily we purchased club seating which meant we had our own little zone and swivel comfy chairs. It made the whole process a gazillion times easier. We were able to stand up and bounce Lola when she got antsy and fussy, and the chairs kind of enclosed her in when she was actively watching the performance and enjoying it. So worth it, and she adored watching her favorite movie unfold with real life characters and real ice! (Well sort of real...). 

Vacation 2014 Part I

Our 8 day vacation came to an end last night and I'm a mixture of feelings about it. I was begging the time to stand still in the middle of last week, but I was also longing for our lives to get back on track again, but mostly begging the clock.

It's been about 2 years since we had a "real" vacation. I'm not counting last years vacation because Ryan and I were sleep deprived zombies and learning how to be parents. I barely recall anything from that week and relaxation was the last thing on our minds.

So that is why we made sure to fill this week with everything a vacation recipe calls for. 

Our week started last Sunday, after dropping little hunny off at my parents house. We have been anticipating the new expansion to Harry Potter World since the commericials started airing on TV. The last time we explored Universal Studios, Harry Potter World was in an itty bitty corner of the park, but it was still just like walking into pages themselves, so we started planning immediately and next thing you know we became annual pass holders to both parks. Now we can jump into the book whenever we feel like it. 

So we made the short 2ish hour drive and spent the whole day, just the two of us forgetting about all the responsibilities of our lives, sipping on butter beer, and exploring Diagon alley and the rest of the worlds in both parks. Since we wanted to go a little crazy since we were on vacation, we got a super fancy shmancy hotel (I hardly knew the real name of it so fancy shmancy hotel was a great substitute). This hotel put any hotel I've ever stayed into shame, it had a gigantic kitchen, the nicest balcony and view, a bed that slept probably the seven dwarves and a jacuzzi tub.....WITH JETS. 

Home was a distant memory at this point. Park Place who? what? where?
And then we quite literally sunk our heads into pillow heaven and slept like champions. In the morning we made our way to the cafe connected to our hotel, got Starbucks, and tip toed back to our room and enjoyed the sunrise and breakfast on our balcony.

It was the life.
We spent the next few hours back at the 2 parks until our feet were bubbling with blisters and we couldn't take the heat anymore.
We arrived home probably limping toward the door, but it was all totally worth it, if only we could bring home our own personal butter beer keg, I think our lives would have been completely complete.

The Knights at the Rectangular Table

Why is sitting around a table of people you love so heartwarming?

Ever since I can remember, I sat at the table for dinner with my family. As I got a little older though I always wanted to branch out and go finish my dinner in my bedroom, in front of the TV or laptop. And when Ryan and I moved into together typically the place to dine was seated on the couch or our bed (back in the real old days, when we lived with roommates eek).

Not until becoming a parent did I realize how essential it is to have this time together. Sharing a dinner behind a table was such a huge staple in my childhood and I never understood why it was such a big deal. I think it may be because the action of sharing food with the people you love will always be the number one thing that brings you closer to them. It's also a break from the world for a bit. Everything is so fast pace most days and this small endeavor slows the clock a bit and forces us to rewind with one another.

When Ryan and I moved into our very first apartment together, we collected A LOT of odds and ends. Mostly from garage sales and big thrifting adventures. We even found a table in the midst of everything and we thought, "well, we have a dining room...so why not?" It was a decently sturdy piece of work with a coat of solid black paint (not stain, mind you) with iron black poles from legs. It was a stunner. It did come with two chairs though, so that was a score. I got super crafty and reupholstered the stained cushions and was quite proud of us for even having a dining room table to begin with.
Until, we never used it. Well, no...we DID use it just not for the food eating part. It was a catch all for groceries and bills, a table for doing late night homework, an extra counter top (have I mentioned how tiny Park Place's kitchens really are?), and my sewing and cutting table when I taught myself how to sew, OH and we must not forget, it was the cats favorite napping spot.

That table followed us to the apartment we are currently in, and I despised the thing and ONCE again never used it. We were ready for an improvement, and just in time because Lola was beginning to eat table foods, which would in turn mean she must eat the food from the table!
Ryan set to work and crafted my dream table, and I might have fallen in love with him a little bit more because of it. I love when my pinterest fantasties actually come true.

So it took a while of adjusting to, and I sure did miss watching HGTV and chowing down on some grub, but the first night we sat down, all three of us at the table it was bliss. The TV was muted, our phones were somewhere else in the abyss and all we had was each other and our food, laughs, and empty bellies. We have made it a part of our week, every week to sit down at the table together at least 3 nights out of the week. This has also forced us to get back into a cooking routine, which is amazing because home cooked food will always win over take out.
 This table also brings back frequent memories of the last table. It still is a place that I use as a desk every once in a while when I don't feel like blogging in the bedroom, and the cats are in paradise since all three can basically fit on top for nap time now, and the catch all thing is pretty much a given....but it's wonderful and it's lovely how a piece of furniture can accomplish so many things.
Three cheers to conquering the mainstream routines of the folks in this day and age. I'm okay with living in a half old fashioned way once in a while :)

Year 22

Here's a huge shoutout to birthdays that fall on Monday. This year I got a birthday weekend, I'm talkin' Saturday-Monday people! All because my birthday fell on a plain jane Monday.
So here's 22 (in honor of yours truly) reasons why I'm giving two thumbs up to my birthday this year:

1. Ryan decided to blow my mind and bring me to see Disney on Ice this year.
2. This means, I got to be a four year old again and sing every song at the top of my lungs.
3. Buzz Lightyear and Woody on ice....enough said.
4. Meeting friends at Applebee's at the only appropriate time...after 10pm.
5. The lovely creation of BOGO drinks and half price appetizers.
6. Ryan decides to be a hero and steam clean all the carpet in our apartment.
7. I get front rows seats to the madness.
8. After our carpet is a wonderland, he rolls out the giant rug I've been swooning over at Home Depot.
9. We lay on it together and make rug angels if those are really a thing.
10. My family takes us out to Kobe for the second weekend in a row.
11. I smother all my food in yummy yummy sauce because why not?
12. Birthday cake for breakfast on your actual birthday should probably be a tradition everyone follows.
13. My best friend, my Lola, and I take a trip to the Florida Aquarium.
14. It's like the place was rented out for us because who actually goes to the aquarium on a Monday? WE DO.
15. Lola was completely in love with just about everything and was excersizing this new pointing mechanism that she has learned recently.
16. I took too many pictures for my own good. Scroll down.
17. Ryan surprises me yet AGAIN with the kitchen aid pasta attachment that I could only dreamily stare online at until now. I was in total shock and I think I hugged him about a hundred times.
18. A trip to a giant walmart garden center.
19. Came home with a Roma tomato plant and a Bell Pepper plant WITH baby tomatoes and bell peppers! There's something about baby produce that makes me impulsive.
20. My lovely parents took the little hunny for the night and Ryan made reservations for The Melting Pot.
21. The melting pot was the best experience I've ever had as far as restaurants go. Dipping things in
22. cheese and chocolate can always always be a thing for me. They also sent me home with chocolate covered strawberries for my birthday because the manager loved us so much. What gets better than that?

This year I can say I have a clear head and this year so far has been nothing shy of amazing and this birthday is just the beginning to many more to come. I think I've finally started accepting adulthood...in my own way of course. Things are changing and I actually like it.

Easter Basket Stuffing

I am no expert when it comes to creating the most extravagant easter basket for a baby. There's a reason I'm not an expert, and that is because this is Lola's very first Easter. I wanted to keep things simple and not  go overboard because it's easter people not christmas. I mean when I was little all I REALLY wanted was a live bunny, that's not too much to ask for right? Well probably, but hey at least it fit in a basket. Our goal was to make sure we didn't overflow the overly cute, wicker basket that we chose. Obviously Lola is too young to have candy of any sort which is a bummer because easter candy is right up there in the ranks with halloween candy (and all you have to do is wake up and SUPRISE it's waiting on the table in a cute basket).

So here's how we conquered Lola's first Easter:

1. Choosing a basket:

As we were scouting the baskets, we knew we wanted an old fashioned wicker one. Now a days (wow I sound old, although I am not) the stores are stocked with these weird easter baskets that are cushioned character faces. Mildly creepy, especially because you're stuffing them with candy and whatnot. It's just weird, but apparently a hit because they are STILL selling them. The reason I like wicker baskets is because they are the perfect size, not too big and not to small. 

They also are more appealing and can be reused for something around the house AFTER the good old easter holiday has long passed. So we chose a basket that is cute, colorful and wicker wonderful.

2. What goes inside:

This is my favorite part honestly, just the idea of stuffing a bunch of random stuff in an adorable pastel basket just puts me over the moon. We stepped foot into Target and got absorbed into the one dollar section. A lot of the stuff wasn't even "Easter" related, but all of it was magical. Our cart instantly got filled with bath toys, a cushioned tiara (totally in love) and a matching princess wand. We also got some cheap plastic eggs to scatter around the bottom which are pretty much toys in themselves to a 9 month old. JUST SAY NO to easter grass, it's never worth it. 

We didn't go over the top because we didn't feel we had to. Some people like to do it that way, but keeping it small and sweet to us is the best route. We DID make a deal with the Easter bunny to leave one "semi big" gift for our hunny (Ariel's dollhouse castle thinga mabob in little people form, which you can find at Target). Our key to the basket stuffing is to keep it simple, and make sure the contents will actually fit in an Easter basket. 

And here's a peek into Lola's very first Easter morning:

Renaissance Festival

This past weekend the usual crew and I set out for the Renaissance festival! Every year people dress up in medieval wear and take themselves back to a different time and place. A place where kings and queens ruled, things were only made by hand, and people spoke in a different way. The times now are so hustle bustle and less in the moment. People lived in the moment back then. Things came unexpectedly because there was no such thing as phones and internet to prepare them for just about anything. Although the festival is...well just a festival it still acts as a time machine for me.
I like to bring myself back into that time every once in a while to be free for a few hours and live simply.



If only I owned an actual time machine...