A Whole New World

     We were in the last corral. Although we had run a half marathon in February at Disney, Disney does not automatically keep track of those results. That would have been nice if they did, because we were in the last corral. Our fault, I get it, but still.  Crammed into the last corral, it took almost forty five minutes until we ultimately started.  The real challenge for most of the race was not the run itself but the people on the course.  Many of these people had already stopped running less than a mile into the race.  This left us running on the edges of the road off the main track or risking major collisions trying to weave in and out of the plodding "runners."                                                            Still we stuck together.  The course was still fun despite them cutting out the Animal Kingdom portion.  Hollywood Studios was especially fun because we first approached it from the backside of the Tower of Terror and then got to run through the Osbou

  This is part 1 of a 2 part post about the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. We ran the Wine and Dine Half Marathon race. We thought it would be awesome. We were horribly wrong. We had previously ran the Half Princess marathon in February, so we were accustomed to some of the pitfalls of Disney runs (crowds and runners who seem completely unfit to run).                                                                 On paper the run seemed great. We run at 10 PM and end the evening in Epcot partaking in parts of the food and wine festival.  Our children were with their grandparents so we headed to the park just before six PM so that we could park and pick up the bus that would drop us at the Wide World of Sports area.  We arrived early, parked and headed to the park since we had some time.  We meandered around the park for a bit and then headed to the buses.  I contemplated placing our items in the storage lockers there but was unsure as to whether or not they would clear out the l

Dr. Phillips of Orlando is just minutes from Disney and home to the best restaurants of Orlando ( I should add hundreds of restaurants along Sand Lake Road). We are so fortunate to live less than 5 minutes from these fabulous eating establishments. Just a suggestion...if you are able to have a car at Disney...USE IT! Just a few of the fabulous places that offer amazing deals and lovely atmosphere are the following.... Roccos Tacos   https://www.roccostacos.com/  is known by the locals as one of THE places to go here. It is a large Mexican restaurant located on Sand Lake (we live off of this lake). The views are amazing and you can opt to sit inside or out. They have music just about every single night of the week. We stopped in on a Tuesday around 9pm and the place was packed. Tuesday night is all you can eat tacos. They also make killer margaritas (a pitcher is about $24).                                                                                                         On

So this is a little late but we wanted to share how this journey began. Tod was very unhappy at his job in private practice as an intellectual property attorney. He had desired an in-house council position for a very long time and a position at Siemens finally came along. In the early spring of 2015, we decided to take a leap of faith and accept the position in Orlando leaving everything else behind...the house, our families, everything that was comfortable in our lives. We have had many firsts this year....a brand new 3rd baby, a new job, a new state and new school. Change is always good although it's never easy. This video made by our son (with a lot of  the baby in the middle) speaks volumes.

Layering is on trend. You may see a lot of necklace layering these days. It's such a cool, easy breezy look that is easy to accomplish everyday. Here are some of my favorite go to pieces. The arrow and my engravable disc  monogrammed with my initials are a must when it comes to layering my delicate pieces!                                                                    This combo is also a favorite of celebrities!                                                                                  I love to layer my engravable disc with anything from the delicate arrow to a statement piece.                                       An engravable piece is unique to you. Such a fabulous piece for your jewelry wardrobe! Who can afford to change their clothing wardrobe every season? Not always easy...but adding a few accessory pieces changes the look of jeans and a t-shirt OR a cocktail dress.                                                   

As many of you know we have always loved Walt Disney World. We even joked in the past that it would be awesome to live here! It wasn't until January 2015 that my husband accepted an in-house council position with Siemens in Orlando that our "dream" came true. Let's just say that living here and visiting are two different things! Where does vacation end and real life begin? This has definitely been something tough to balance with the plentitude of theme parks just minutes down the road. Living here has been an adjustment to say the least. When your children start to make excuses as to why they do not want to go to Disney, maybe it's time for some everyday "normal" activities.                                                                 All of a sudden, watching a movie together on a Friday night is more exciting than seeing the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. Riding bikes through our new neighborhood and swimming in our pool is more fun t

Travelling with small children under two is always difficult.  Going to Walt Disney world with them is incredibly difficult, but manageable. We have done it a few times and find ourselves doing it all the time now.  Back when we had our first son I thought the idea of going to Disney World with him was a bad idea and a waste of time.  The child would have no memory of the experience and Disney is just for kids.  Well my attitude has changed a lot over the years.  Now we look forward to taking our infant to the parks, but it still isn’t easy. Taken into consideration are the rides available and the spots where you can get out of the hustle and bustle of the crowds or the hot sun. The added bonus is that  Disney always takes every detail into consideration, even babies.   Parks ranked best to worst 1.  Animal Kingdom  We feel this is the worst. There are few attractions available that an infant can go on, but there are the jungle treks and shows.  The safari is always good, but

I never thought I would be wishing for summer to be over but we are just not used to this insanely HOT and HUMID climate that is Central Florida in the summer! Today it was 98 degrees AGAIN! Back home in the north, when we have a few days like this it's considered a major heat wave. In fact, forecasters put out warnings and occassionally schools close. Here, it's just another day in Florida. I know that come January we will be more than pleased with the fact that we won't need to shovel or even put on a coat. So in that sense, we can deal with the heat for now. I am loving the fact that the beach is so close and we can have a longer summer than normal. I thought I would share some of my MUST HAVE pieces for the beach this summer. Stella&Dot recently released tunics into their summer collection. I have one for my daughter and one for myself. It is the just an awesome piece for our wardrobes! Even perfect if you are pregnant! We wear them over bathing suits or with leggin

Some of the best things about going to Disney World are the dinner shows. These are great but they are costly.  Yet you should try to do at least one during any adventure.  Now a dinner show is different than the other categories of meals that Disney has.  We break down the dining categories into four separate categories, quick service, table service, buffet and dinner shows.  Some of these categories get blended together depending on where you are at.  The Disney dining plan breaks their meals down in a different manner, basically putting the meals into a different type of four categories, snack, quick-service, table-side service and meal events that cost two table-side meals.  We have never used the Disney dining plan. We have never found it to be worthwhile. We just don’t eat that much food and we think we would end up spending everyday trying to get to the next meal.  Plus we are pretty aware of every dining option and what they cost so we are able to figure out what we are doing

These amphicars are some of the coolest things we have ever seen! These boat/cars are adjacent to the Boathouse and can be rented for a ride around the lake along with your own personal captain. There is a funny story behind these cool amphicars. My mom and I were having drinks on the Boathouse dock when she saw them for the first time (actually her 2nd time). She went crazy because she told me this story about how she saw one of these amphicars in 1964 drive out of a lake in Pennsylvania! She and my grandparents thought this was going to be the future...although they obviously are not very efficient and never made it very far in either the boat or car industry.  Still, they are pretty awesome to see in person and we hope to go for a ride someday!                                              The cost is $125 for 3-4 guests and includes your own private Car Captain. In true Disney fashion, they have purchased original amphicars from across the country. Each one is detai

Downtown Disney (soon to be called Disney Springs) is a great place to go out for a night out and is kid friendly.  There are shops and bars, but everything is more family oriented as opposed to City Walk at Universal, where you have to pay to park and there is a decidedly more adult feel about the environment. However, there is also a lot of traffic when you try to get to Downtown Disney nowadays. Very frustrating. There is no reason why I should wait in traffic for fifteen minutes just to park to get there. I realize there will come a time when the construction clears and I will be able to park with ease, however until that time it is very chaotic. The parking is free and they have a new parking garage. The amount of spaces remaining are highlighted for each floor, with each floor listed and the spaces remaining indicated next to the floor level. When you are on the floor, each aisle lists if there is there is a space available down that aisle. This should be cool in practice,

Handbags are one of my absolute favorite accessories. I have so many but honestly I need them! A nice clutch is perfect for heading out in the evening while a tote is perfect for daytime and kids. When I am out and about during the day I need something large enough to carry diapers, wipes, a few toys, water bottle, snacks and my makeup bag. I am going to show you a few of my favorites!                                                           The Hudson Tote                                                   This bag is huge and large enough for me to carry all the kids' items along with a bottle of wine (if needed). I love the classic black and white stripes.  This clutch  is my favorite beacause it slips perfectly into the outside pocket of my Hudson Tote. I have a day to night look in a quick second.  Love how this clip shows how these bags are super versitile!  This bag I use for my business (like a modern briefcase). It's a heavy duty bag  with style and hold

I like the Haunted Mansion. I don't know why though. The ride is not particularly scary; at times the ride is even campy.  There is even a disjointed feel to the ride as it veers between attempts to be scary and goofy surreal.  The prelude to the ride blends them both.  A stretching room with no doors or windows should be scary, zeroing in on people’s claustrophobia but it is also paired with whimsical stretching portraits that take away from true fright. After the lights go out, a scream pierces the air and if you look up you will see a hanging skeleton. Now that should be scary and it was for me when I was five and I had to be taken out of the ride. Yet that was when I was five and that was a different era altogether.  Of course I ended up missing the real part of the ride at that time. From there it is the disappointing herding of the crowd into a new line where we await our Doom Buggy. From there it is the slow ride through the various disjointed scenes. The ballroom s

When you are in Epcot's World Showcase you may be looking for a "country" that has something for everyone. The kids always want to ride on something, see some characters and we are looking for a quick escape to enjoy ourselves (a nice cold adult beverage and a snack).  Mexico is the place for all of the above! Grab a margarita or beer at the quick walk up counter along with some of the best guac and chips you might ever have! Then take the kids to see Donald Duck in his sombrero. He is available for pics a few times an hour. The line is never terribly long and parents can stand in line while enjoying their drinks so it always moves quickly. Win-Win for everyone!                                                                                                       Mexico also offers a shopping village (filled with beautiful handmade Mexican pottery, etc) and a gorgeous sit down restaurant (La Hacienda de San Angel) that is definitely kid friendly and not terribly exp