there is no place like disney world...

It's no secret that Walt Disney World is one of my favorite places to be. I have so many great memories from my trips there as a kid. But, I have to say, sharing the experience with my kids is simply the best. My schedule has been so chaotic lately. With my husband traveling four days a week for work, me working full-time and being a mom...I was really looking forward to 100% family time. No other responsibilities, just playtime with the kids...that's what Disney is all about, right?

We stayed at the new Contemporary Resort Bay Lake Tower. It's fairly new and the modern decor of the hotel was amazing. It's hard thinking about staying anywhere else. The location, accommodations, design and food/shopping are hard to beat.

Totally random tip, but the bathroom in the second bedroom had it's own sliding door and was big enough to fit the pack 'n play for the Andrew. Yes, he slept in the bathroom, but it was perfect for him to have his own quiet space to sleep!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hz536n/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/themeparkmom/3689417068/sizes/m/

The view at night was fab! We could watch Wishes (fireworks at Magic Kingdom) every night from our room.

The little man was a champ. Disney truly is a great vacation at any age. He loved Pooh's Playful Spot at Magic Kingdom. We hung out there a few times to let him get down and crawl around. Although the water bottle seemed to be a big hit for him on this trip.

A family tradition, you have to purchase your first pair of "ears" on your first trip. Andrew wasn't a big fan of keeping them on, but we got a few cute shots. These days, it's rare that I just sit and watch him sleep, but it was so nice to have the time to just stare at him. (Can you tell I'm having some wow-they-grow-up-fast kind of moments?!)

We of course saw tons of characters. Goofy even helped out by feeding Andrew his yogurt at Chef Mickey's! Hailey was determined to find EVERY princess, Little Mermaid being her favorite. We found them all except Jasmine and Tiana. Our last day at Magic Kingdom got rained on a bit, so we distracted her with a Dole Whip (pineapple soft serve...delicious!). Andrew enjoyed it as well.

Now I've saved the best for last. My sweet baby, sniff, took his first steps while we were there! Taking the first steps seems like the last baby moment, so it made me a little sad, but could I have asked for a better backdrop?!



I was so sad to leave, we were in sunny Florida one minute and just a few hours later back in the cold snow. It was a great trip and time with my family was...magical. (just had to throw that in there) I always say the best solution to the home-from-vacation-blues is to plan your next trip...

I've returned...unfortunately

The first day back after vacation is always a doozie. But, coming from sunny Florida to snow is exceptionally depressing. We had a wonderful trip, I only wish it were longer. My only concerns this week were making sure I had a ice cream at least once a day and finding each and every princess. It was a nice change in priorities. Check back next week for my Disney recap and our first retailer spotlight!

happiest place on earth

I'm headed to Disney World this week. Its one of my favorite places to be. I'll have a full recap when I return, but until then. Enjoy art from the Disney Legend, Mary Blair. Here work can be found through Walt Disney World, but one of my favorites, It's a Small World.

it's coming along...

I'm sure you're wondering about the guest bathroom. It's probably keeping you up at night....ok, maybe not. But, here's a quick update. The gray is so on. I'm loving the gray, just have to cut in...my least favorite part.

will you be my valentine?

Valentines from friends at school are so cute. The sweet things they write, the cute signature that is hardly legible, it's a sweet holiday for preschool-aged kids. Here are the handmade valentines we made for Hailey's class. It was a nice change from the boxed character cards...and tasty too!

formspring.me

If you were to wish upon your lucky star right now - what would you wish for?

You're so cute Fiona! When I really stop and think, I'm a lucky girl already. That's a cop out answer though, so I would have to say time. I would love for the world to stop, no emails, no calls, no responsibilities, just time where I wasn't allowed to work or do chores around the house. There just aren't enough moments of guilt-free time with the kids and family. My laptop-free vacation next week should help!

Ask me anything

ten months

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/luckystarpress

always room for improvement

As I mentioned a few posts ago, the lovely Tara Gentile from Scoutie Girl Blog was offering free blog advice on her personal blog. That was a lot of the word "blog" for one sentence, but anyway, it's high time I took her suggestions and made some improvements around here! You can see her "like its" and "things to improve" here in the full post.

A few of her tips were to:

1. Rearrange my sidebar based on the average length of my post, make sure the most important stuff is contained in that range. Check.

2. Make it easy to find me through facebook, twitter, email, carrier pigeon, well...everywhere basically. To be honest, I use facebook for people i know in real life, just to catch up on what they're doing, but the rest have been added. Check.

3. Show me the work! She raised the question based on how many of my posts were work related. I definitely spend a lot of time working, but a lot of the work is freelance, so I'm working on coming up with a way to get more of my posts about me actually designing. Needs Improvement.

4. Post about the retails stores that carry my wholesale products was her last tip. I thought this was a wonderful suggestion! I have a store working on an interview this week, so watch for that. Coming soon.

Thanks again Tara for the blog help.

i [heart] s'mores

S'mores have a special place in my heart. When I was pregnant with my first child, I craved s'mores like crazy! The three vital ingredients were staples in my house for nine months. I made them in the microwave, but finally perfected them in the broiler. Delicious.

So, when I saw this delicious recipe for s'mores cupcakes from the fabulous Bakerella, I had to try them. Mine didn't turn out as pretty, and I'll admit it, it took two batches to get them right. I filled the cups too full the first time, but they tasted fabulous.

first batch disaster...


second batch...


the marshmallow in the middle was ooey-gooey deliciousness...


i almost skipped the ganache on top, so glad I didn't...

absent

In addition to running a stationery company, I'm also a freelance graphic designer. Its the best job in the world, but its also unpredictable. I freelance regularly for our church and a healthcare media company. Based on their schedules and events my schedule can get a little crazy. So, I apologize for the lack of posts, hopefully I can come up for air later this week. Until then, enjoy one of my favorite valentine cards.