High Fives

1. Since Saturday was National Wear Your Lilly Day, Charlotte of course had to participate!
2. I picked up some fabric to make more bow bracelets and bows with. Not to mention they make great appliques for koozies and shirts.
3. Yesterday the US played against Germany during the World Cup and although we lost, we are still in it! I think it's because my coworkeers and I donned our patriotic gear
4. Over the weekend we went to a local classic car show. It was fun to get out, walk around and check out the cars and vendors. I loved this old mail truck of course, because it had Mickey and Minnie dressed as postal workers!
5. Charlotte's daycare put up an awesome blow up water slide this week and I just adore the pictures her teacher sent me. I think she loved it! :) 

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

World Cup!

I'm not ashamed to admit it, I've jumped on the soccer bandwagon. Who can blame me?! There is nothing better than rooting for your country in a big worldwide event like World Cup! And for a few hours, our entire country is united - politics, race and religion don't matter.

So today, like many other Americans, we are sporting out country pride! What's even better is work is having a viewing party for the game since it takes place in the middle of the day. So here's to hoping the U.S. can pull out a big win! WE BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

Wall Decal from Cozy Wall Art

I have always been drawn to the cute wall decals used for home décor, so when CozyWallArt.com contacted me about trying one of theirs, I jumped at the chance. Knowing how much we love Disney, they suggested their castle decal for Charlotte's nursery.

Shipping was fast and it came in the mail in a nice shipping tube so it would be in perfect condition when I received it. Inside was an instruction sheet, the decal, an application squeegee plus a sweet extra gift of lollipops with a mini practice decal.

I followed the directions to a T, but thought it would be helpful to show you through pictures how easy it was to apply. If I can apply this decal with a screaming baby in the room, than anyone can do it no problem!

Once the decal was flat and smoothed out, per Cozy Wall Art's (http://cozywallart.com) recommendation, I taped (writing side down) it to the wall for placement. I removed the bottom two pieces only to begin peeling away the paper.

Peel the decal from the paper slowly and carefully making sure nothing gets left behind on the paper side.

Once you reach where your tape is, hold with one hand and cut the paper off. Now you slowly lower it and press against the wall being careful not to create bubbles. This is where you will use you squeegee tool to smooth it all out since you still have the top layer on. No need for the piece of tape since the bottom half is adhered to the wall. Working from the top, do the same thing and peel the paper away from the decal until you reach the center where it will just fall off. Again, you slowly stick it to the wall as you did the bottom half.

Continue to use the squeegee tool and smooth out as many bubbles as you can. You will also want to use it over the entire decal so this next  and final step is easy. Start from one corner and begin to slowly peel the top layer off leaving just the decal on the wall. Sometimes small pieces (especially on the more intricate designs) might stick to the paper. If this happens fold the paper back up an inch or so and smooth that section out using your squeegee tool, then peel back again. Once that top layer of paper is off, you're done!

And in about 30 minutes from start to finish, you have a pretty sweet decoration. It's easy to fill our wall space with mirrors and frames and shelves, so why not add a decal as something new and different?

I love the way mine turned out. They had so many colors to choose from and I' so happy with my choice of the pink as it goes perfect with everything else.

Check out all the different decals they have for nursery's and kids' rooms. You can even get them personalized! Why didn't they have this stuff when I was a kid?!

So if you're in the market for a wall decal, be sure to check out Cozy Wall Art (http://cozywallart.com). They are on Facebook and Instagram too!

High Fives!

1. Monday was my birthday and one of my coworkers brought me the cutest mini ice cream cake! It totally made my day that much sweeter (see what I did there?!) and was the icing on the cake (ok I'll stop) for the perfect birthday!
2. We've moved on from cereal and have begun real foods! So far she has had broccoli, green beans and sweet potatoes. She hasn't met a food she doesn't like so here's to hoping she isn't picky like her mommy and daddy!
3. I got some requests for Lilly fabric bows and koozies which gave me the perfect excuse to purchase a few prints! These are all going to be available in my shop over the weekend! I especially LOVE the 4th of July print!
4. My friend got me a new Alex and Ani bracelet for my birthday and I LOVE it! It's the perfect addition to my collection, AND it's pink! 
5. Of course the highlight of my week was being able to celebrate my husband's first Father's Day! The love he has for Charlotte is more than I could have ever imagined. Seeing the two of them together just melts my heart. 

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F!

Disney Dining Tip and Tricks

It's been forever since I've written about Disney, so I thought I would take the time to share with you some tips and tricks for eating in Walt Disney World. One of the main reasons for not writing about the parks in so long is because they have changed so much. Not necessarily in attractions, but with the infrastructure. Ever since Magic Bands came into play, things have not been the same.

The Magic Bands was a billion dollar project that links everything to one RFID chip in a bracelet (looks like a Fit Bit) that you wear. It acts as your room key, credit card, park pass and fast pass that is managed via a smartphone app. I can talk more about this in detail another time, but my reason for bringing it up is because now every guest has the opportunity to plan every moment of their trip, which leaves the seasoned veterans to be forced to plan it out as well when they wouldn't have otherwise.

A lot of things about the new system are positive, just be prepared and plan your trip months in advance. If you have never been before, then this will be easy. But if your like my family who is known for going to Disney on a whim, this can be frustrating as restaurants book up six months out!

Disney dining holds a special place in my heart since I used to work at one of the restaurants on property. I remember seeing overwhelmed, frustrated and confused parents who just want an air conditioned place to sit and eat a real meal. It always broke my heart when I had to tell them that there was no availability. So in an attempt to make sure everyone gets the most out of their trips, here are a few tips to help make your dining experience a little easier.

Plan ahead: For our trip in December we will have 8 people in our group, so planning is key. Dining reservations open up 180 days out, but if you are staying on Disney property, you can book all your dining reservations for up to 10 days past your check-in date. For example, my trip starts December 6th, so on June 6th I was able to make my whole week's worth of dining reservations at one time, instead of calling back every day to book one day at a time.

Be persistent: If there is no availability for s specific restaurant, then check back daily. It seems like a daunting task, but it has paid off for me on numerous occasions. People are making reservations and canceling them constantly so don't feel discouraged if at 180 days out, you didn't get all the reservations you wanted. You have plenty of time for things to open up. Just make it part of your daily routine to check the Disney Dining webpage.

Be organized: When booking your meals in the parks, I find it best to use your reservations as a baseline for what park to visit each day. For example, If I have a dinner reservation in Epcot, then I will plan on watching the Fireworks in Epcot that night. You don't have to be strict with this, but it serves as a great baseline for when your planning your trip.

Share the details: One of the best things Disney does is accommodate. Be sure to tell them any and all allergies. Even if you think you know what to order and what foods to stay away from on a buffet, you probably don't know all the ingredients. If you have an allergy, the head chef of the restaurant will come out and tell you what you can and cannot eat. In some instances they will put together a special plate just for you. This is all done at no cost and is an excellent example of their legendary customer service. If you have any type of celebration like a birthday or anniversary, make sure you tell them when you book your reservation. Not all the time, but sometimes they might give you a special little treat to help you celebrate.


To be honest, I could go on and on, but this is already getting long so I think I will end it here. If you have any particular questions you would like me to address, I would be happy to write a post about it! Sometimes it's hard to get all the information from my head down on paper, so I figure it's best to take it small bits at a time.

Summer Fashion - Baby Style

This past weekend was super busy with parties and cookouts so it seemed only fitting that Charlotte bust out her summer wardrobe. There were two outfits in particular that I've been dying to have her wear and she managed to rock them both over the weekend!

 

I always see these smocked outfits and I think they are so cute, but they are usually so expensive! So when I saw this adorable outfit pop up on a Facebook freecycle/yardsale site for just $10, I jumped all over it. The fact that it was in her size was fate!

 

Judging by her smile, I think she approves of this outfit as well. I paired it with a red headband and red bow, and she was ready to party!

 

Charlotte's first Lilly was given to her by one of my friends before she was even born. After waiting what seemed like forever, she can finally wear it! It's the perfect summer outfit and how can you not love those matching bloomers?!

For now, I think it's safe to say that this child loves her Lilly like her Momma.

 

Of course I had to wear my Lilly too!

 

Linking up with Lindsey @ The Pleated Poppy for WIWW

 

DIY Father's Day Gift

I know Father's Day has already come and gone, but I couldn't resist sharing this quick little DIY I did for my husband's first Father's Day!

As usual, I left myself with no time to get creative for my husband's gift and was about to take the easy way out and frame one of the many pictures of Charlotte. However, I came up with this little idea via handy dandy Pinterest and figured I could swing that with the two days I had!

All I had to do was run to Walmart and grab the letters "D" and "A". I thought about getting the other "D", but the goal was to do this on the cheap and since I had no plans to reuse the letters, two would be enough.

Now for the fun part. take pictures of Charlotte with the letters! I dressed her up in a Minnie outfit (go figure) and handed her the letters and began snapping away. Once I knew I had two good "D" shots and a good "A" shot, it was to the computer I go.

Editing doesn't have to cost and arm and a leg or be incredibly complex. I just use Picasa because it's free and intuitive (I don't have the time or patience to educate myself on something more complicated). Since the letters I purchased were just plain wood, I thought they would get lost with all the other color in the picture, so I made the shots black and white and uploaded them to Walmart for printing.

The next morning, I ran back to Walmart to pick up the prints and grab a frame that held three 4x6 pictures. I thought about doing 5x7 but I was worried it would be too big.

And there you have it, an easy yet very personable Father's Day gift. You can do so many different versions of this to make it unique for your family. For example, if you have multiple kids, have each of them hold a letter and then add a group picture with a special message just for Dad. This would make a great birthday present as well, so don't wait until next year to try it out!