Weekend Wear-abouts: Halloween Edition

Happy November, peeps!

It's been a while since I've done a Weekend Wear-about segment; I'm looking forward to narcissistically sharing my Friday through Sunday with y'all. 

Can I just say how much I LOVE Daylight Savings Time (well, the 'Fall Back' version at least). I lived in Connecticut for four years and HATED 'falling back,' what with it getting dark at 4:30 in the afternoon and all. But down south? It's great. It's light out when you get up, the day seems extra long, and it gets dark early which just feels so cozy and 'holiday-like' to me. 

Have I mentioned that I have the best hubby ever? He texted me during lunch on Friday to tell me he was taking me to Mizner's at the Grand Floridian for a cocktail that evening. I just adore this bar- the servers, the Orchestra, the cushy seats by the windows. 

I had the Grand Cosmo- my go-to is a Grey Goose martini with olives, but I was wanting something on the sweeter side. It didn't wow me, but was okay. 

We ordered a second round and went to sit outside on the covered balcony to chat and get some fresh air. Then John surprised me again by suggesting we go to the Magic Kingdom for a bit- his least favorite place ever! Of course I took him up on it.

We tried Pecos Bill's new menu, which was surprisingly good. The fajitas easily served two (ask for extra tortillas, per the suggestion of the CM who rang us up). But SKIP the 'chicken tortilla soup;' it was on the small-ish side (see it in my hand?) and thick-- almost like a gravy. Blech!

There was a beautiful moon over Liberty Square as we headed to ride the Haunted Mansion.

We finished with a ride on Pirates and headed out. 

Monogrammed Jack Roger Sandals

Saturday was Halloween, which for us consisted of lounging in our jammies and doing housework. We had made reservations for Morimoto Asia that night, so after getting kind of spiffed up, we headed out to celebrate. 

J.Crew Necklace

Overall, we really enjoyed it. The service was spotty, but friendly and accommodating. For instance, our oyster dish came out wrong, with two different kinds of oysters (we had ordered a dozen of the same kind), but our server rectified it by bringing another half dozen of what we ordered, gratis. 

We also ordered the Peking Duck, or Looking Bird, as John calls it. It was tasty, but not served as hot as I felt it could have been. 

Mossimo for Target shirt // Lilly Pulitzer Travel Pant // Tory Burch Reva Flats // Coach Clutch // Kate Spade Cat Mask

On Sunday, we grocery shopped and did some stuff around the house. Then I headed out to DHS MGM to meet up with Thomas for a preview of the Osbourne Lights.

It was a beautiful night at MGM, and my first time back since the stage has been fully disassembled from in front of the Chinese Theater. 

Thomas had secured a spot right in front of where the lighting ceremony takes place. This is why we're friends. 

Madewell T-shirt // J.Crew Factory Cut-Off Jean Shorts // J.Crew Bubble Necklace (similar here)

After cheering and hugging the start of the Christmas season, we headed to Pizza Planet because I was craving that crummy pizza. What, I really like the sauce, ok?? 

It was back to the lights to explore. 

SAMTSIRHC YRREM, everyone! 

Do you see Roger Rabbit in the bike basket, below? A lovely little nod to MGM's roots. 

Of course, a Disney 'special event' wouldn't be complete without a themed cupcake. Thomas and I shared a gingerbread flavored Thanksgiving cupcake. Yum. 

See ya soon for the latest installment of Epcotiversary. 

Cheers!

Dressing for Disney: Epcotiversary in America (and a bit of Food & Wine Festival)

Welcome to the third installment  of Epcotiversary. Not sure what that is? Click here to read more and catch up on months past.

Speaking of months past, for those of you keeping score, John and I married in May, making this our fourth monthly Epcotiversary. But there's only two previous posts, you say? 

We celebrate our Epcotiversary on the 16th of every month. June was celebrated in Morocco. July in Mexico. August in... well, I was in California for the D23 Expo. So we skipped that month but plan to double up in the future. In fact, we planned to double up for this month, but we decided to add in some Food & Wine booths to our monthly country and figured trying to cram in two countries AND Food & Wine booths would be a bit much. So, long story short, three installments of 'Epcotiversary,' four months of marriage. Ya still with me? Ok...

When John picked 'America' out of the mug, I was a bit bummed. I mean, America is probably the least inspired in regards to food stuffs in the World Showcase. Turkey legs, burgers, a quick service steak, and funnel cakes pretty much sum up the offerings. But, the whole point of Epcotiversary is to hit every country, so carry on we must. (It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.) What did we do/eat/drink? Read on to find out. 

Lilly Pulitzer Elsa Top (old print, similar here) // Lilly Pulitzer Callahan Shorts // Disneyland 60th Dooney & Bourke // Fitbit Charge HR 

We parked in the front entrance of Epcot in order to hit up a few of the booths new to Food & Wine this year. (All of which I've been involved with through my new position at Buena Vista Construction Company!)  Our first stop was the Chew Lab booth, which is situated in the area where the Butterfly Garden usually resides during the Flower & Garden Festival.  Here we tried the N.Y. Strip and a glass of cabernet. The steak was cooked perfectly and all the components made it really yummy. I liked the wine, but John didn't care for it. It was served chilled, which turned him off.  Carrying on, we stopped at the Cheese Studio for some cheese fondu and sourdough bread dipper. Do I even have to tell you that this was delicious? It was. 

We had made it all the way back to Japan when the skies opened up and one of those notorious Florida rain showers kicked up. We took shelter under the pagoda next to the entrance to Mitsukoshi for what we thought would be a passing shower. Thirty minutes later, it was still sprinkling, but the park was closing within the hour, so we decided to brave the elements and head on. 

We made it to America and decided to check this one off the list by sampling a food item from the Food & Wine booth in America. Cheating? Maybe. But hell, we made up the rules for Epcotiversary, and we say it's fine. We shared the pimento cheese slider. It was tasty, but not a great value for the price. ($5 or so, two to three bites). 

It was still sprinkling so we ate quickly and continued around the World Showcase lagoon. As we circled back into Future World, Spaceship Earth and the Fountain of Nations were illuminated against a stormy sky and lookin' mighty fine. 

We slid back by the Sustainable Chew booth (right next to the Chew Lab, where we began our journey) and split the zucchini ravioli (a *great* value for the money, at $4 and change it was HUGE and was plenty to split) and the vanilla panna cotta (a *terrible* value, smaller than a shot glass at $4+ and tasted like flavorless jello. Yuck!)

Last but certainly not least was the liquid nitrogen chocolate truffle from the Chew Lab. *This* was tasty and very unique. I'd get it again; it'd be perfect on one of our hot 'autumn' days here in central Florida. 

It wouldn't be an Epcotiversary if we didn't get a couples selfie (an 'us-ie'?); here's a soggy selfie for ya. 

Thanks for reading along! 

Dressing for Disney: Working for the Mouse

As some of you may know, I got a job working for the Walt Disney Company just over a month ago.

I am a Secretary for Buena Vista Construction Company, which is WDW's in-house construction company. While I can't go too in depth about some aspects (perks) of the job, I can tell you that in addition to basic clerical duties and office management, I also get to be involved in many of the construction projects happening on property. And I'm sure you know about some of the really big projects in the works. :) It's sweet.

Not much more to this post other than to fill you in on my current work situation. I'm no longer working at Lilly Pulitzer, which is a bummer as I loved all the ladies I worked with and being a part of that fun, punchy brand. 

Speaking of Lilly P, I will tell you how I came about this current position working for BVCC, as it has everything to do with working at Lilly, and timing, and circumstance.

I was working the fitting rooms one Saturday morning when a nice young lady came in to try some stuff on. We got to chatting- I think she had a Disney purse or something- and she told me she worked for Disney. After talking for twenty minutes or so, she wrapped up her try-on session and was starting to leave. As she did, she mentioned her position (she is also a Secretary at BVCC) and how they were looking to hire another person to work side-by-side with her. She encouraged me to send along my resume and references, not promising anything but that she would pass them on to her boss. 

A few weeks later, I received a call to set up a phone interview (which I did in the Convention Center lobby/hallway of the Contemporary after spending the morning in Magic Kingdom). Next was an in-person interview. Then a second face to face interview. 

Fast forward to the D23 Expo. As I was standing in line for Peter Pan at Disneyland, minutes after rope drop, my phone rang. A Disney number. 

It was my recruiter, offering me the position with BVCC! Talk about magical. Getting a job offer working for the Mouse in his original house. Funny thing is, I also got the Lilly job offer while in the Magic Kingdom here in Florida just a few months prior. Crazy, huh? (Not really, it just goes to show I'm in those damn parks way too much.) 

Anyway, this made the whole D23 experience even more memorable. My buddy Keith Gluck drove down to Dland that night, and we celebrated with dinner at Steakhouse 55. More on that in my D23 Expo recap. 

This 'new' job is full time, so my park time has been limited, but that's a-ok. The experiences I'm having, the behind the scenes stuff I see, the things I'm learning and the people I'm meeting more than make up for it. I feel so fortunate to be able to work for the Walt Disney Company, and to be a part of the magic that Uncle Walt created almost 100 years ago.

Life is pretty grand, eh?

Dressing for Disney: Life Lately

Hi friends!

Just wanted to pop in and touch base. It's been forever since I posted here and I'm missing it.

For those who don't know, I recently starting working for none other than Lilly Pulitzer! Can you believe it?! Talk about the perfect job for me. Our new store at the Mall at Millenia here in Orlando opened a month ago, and we've been busy, busy, busy! Loving every colorful moment, but busy. That's partly to blame for my lack of activity on this side of the screen.

Also, as much as I love recapping my Disney Fantasy Honeymoon Cruise, I find I'm making it into more of a 'chore' than necessary. I'm trying to add all the helpful tips and tidbits I found while researching for our trip, because I wish they had all been in one easy-to-find place when I was reading up on it. That said, it's become a bit of a daunting task. If I could just simply write about our cruise in a trip-report style, I could bang it out in an hour or so. However, as I'm trying to add all sorts of helpful info, it's taking me much longer.

So what I'm thinking is this: I'll write a simple trip report detailing each day, and at the end of the posts make a list of helpful hints. That should streamline thing and make it easier to churn out in a more frequent fashion.

via

I'm heading out to California to visit Disneyland and attend the D23 Expo next week! To say I'm excited in an understatement. I'll be doing the Tahitian Terrace Diamond Luau on Tuesday night, enjoying the parks on Wednesday and Thursday, and Expo-ing it up Friday through Sunday. Yes!! The only bummer is I'm going to be away on August 16th, which is the day John and I would celebrate our third Epcotiversary. That will just have to wait until I get back, so be ready for a bit of a delayed post there. That, mixed with the cruise recap and a Disneyland/D23 trip report will keep things buzzing here. Also...

Lastly, the Lilly Pulitzer Semi-Annual SALE is going to be happening any day now. You'd think I'd know when, working there and all, but honestly I don't. Rumor has it that it'll be a bit earlier in August this year; I've heard the dates of August 17-19 swirling around, but again nothing is confirmed and DO NOT quote me on this. Just keep you ears and eyes peeled here for more information as it comes.

Speaking of Lilly information, our Fall line just launched and it's gooooood. Filled with all sorts of blues and greens and easy pieces to transition from summer to fall. You can take a look here; if you ever see something you like but can't find it online, or just want really personal and friendly service, contact us at our store. We're more than happy to help our fellow Lilly-lovers. If you want advice on the fit or fabric of an item, just ask me!

In fact, we're celebrating our month anniversary Grand Opening this Saturday, August 8th all day in our store. We're having a DJ, sips and sweets, gifts with purchase, and one of our print designers will be in the store painting a custom canvas to be won by a lucky customer! If you're in the area, stop in!

If you can't make it but still want to get some lovely Lilly and the gifts with purchase, you can place a pre-order with me. We'll pull your pieces and run your card on Saturday morning, and you'll qualify for all the gifts with purchase as you hit the corresponding price points. PLUS, there's a mystery gift for the first 50 customers that day, which includes those who pre-order. Kind of like priority shopping! And the mystery gift is goooooooood. Wish I could get it for myself. Did I mention shipping is free? So there's really no downside. If you have any Lilly on your list, this is the time (and the way) to get it.

I'll close with a look at some of my personal favorites from this line, as well as some of our best-sellers in the shop. Thanks for reading!

Fall favorites:

And a few customer favorites from the summer collection: