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Tsum Tsum Tag

May 12, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

1.How many Tsum Tsum’s have you got?

Lots, far too many to be honest! I think close to 200 though.


2. What was your first?

Our first official Tsum Tsum was bought in Florida. I’m pretty sure it was the Cinderella collection, though we bought so many during the holiday, that I can’t be sure (there were some Toy Story ones from Disney Store and a few from Target). However unofficially I bought Anna and Elsa from Ebay, not realising they were “fan made”, even before we went to Florida.

3. Do you have a full set?

Yes, lots actually. If I like a set, I tend to buy them all as it’s hard not to. However in some cases I will just grab the main characters.

4. What is your favourite set?

When it’s released, Beauty and the Beast will be I’m sure. However in the meantime it’s probably The Little Mermaid or Tangled sets.


5. Who is your most wanted Tsum Tsum?

Belle from BatB when it’s released, but otherwise Hiro and Honey Lemon as we missed them very early on and need them to collect our BH6 collection.

6. What set do you want them to make?

I think Sleeping Beauty would be pretty great, just to get the Fairies and of course Maleficent. Or maybe a Tinker Bell collection that featured her fairy friends. To be honest, once the Beauty and the Beast collection is released, I’ll be happy. (After thought – Hercules!!! I would love that)

7. Do you collect just Disney or do you collect the Star Wars and Marvel ones?

I’m not at all interested in the Star Wars ones and neither are the kids. However I did pick up a few for Chris. He has Boba Fett, Darth Vader, Darth Maul and a Storm Trooper. He also has Venom from the Marvel ones. We do have several of the Marvel ones, especially the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, but not all.


8. Do you have any ones from Clintons/Target/Other non Disney Store shops?

I prefer to get them from the Disney Store but our nearest one is over an hour away and postage online can be frustrating. We live 2 minutes away from a Clintons though so often we do grab them there, especially if we missed them at the Disney Store.

9. Do you dislike any Tsum Tsums?

I wouldn’t say I dislike any but I’m less fussed about several. I haven’t got any of the Jungle Book ones, I barely picked up any Nightmare Before Christmas ones and since I haven’t seen Zootropolis yet, I haven’t bought any of those yet either.

10. Who do you think they should have release with previous sets?

Not that I can think of! Thought honestly a part of me wishes there were 101 different dalmatians released. I might actually have been tempted to get them all (even though I definitely can’t afford that!) I do think it’s a shame we don’t always get the whole sets in the UK (King of Hearts from Alice being an example) and also the variants like Halloween versions or whatever else.

Filed Under: about me, tag Tagged With: beauty and the beast, Big Hero 6, clintons, Disney, disney store, florida, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel, plush, soft toys, Star Wars, tag, tangled, tsum tsums

Disney Confessions

April 14, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Amy posted her Disney Confessions Part One some time ago and I’ve been meaning to do mine ever since. I noticed that a few have appeared on my Twitter feed too so it’s reminded me to get it done. The idea is obviously to confess your feelings on popular (or unpopular) opinions when it comes to loves (and hates) of Disney. This is what I came up with.

  • I really hate all the animal Disney movies. I’m sure it’s partly because I’m just not an animal fan anyway, but I find them all that bit duller than the movies with people characters.
  • In connection to my above confession, I think Lion King is one of the most overrated Disney movies in existence. It’s a nice story but it’s definitely not worth the hype. That said the theatre/stage show is amazing. I also dislike Finding Nemo, though loved the show at Animal Kingdom.
  • Still connected, I really wasn’t fussed with Animal Kingdom when we visited Florida last year and to be honest I nearly skipped the park altogether. Watching the girls meet Pocahontas was really the only highlight of the day for me, though I enjoyed Expedition Everest and again as mentioned above, I did like the Finding Nemo show.

pocahontas

  • Though I tried to put it to one side when we visited WDW, I really have an issue with face characters at the parks. Its pretty much impossible to look like the animated people but I hate that they don’t. At least with the costume characters, they do look like their on-screen counterpart. I almost wish all the Princes and Princesses had the weird heads like Jake, Sofia etc. but that would probably be creepy.
  • I have a slight issue with collecting, when it comes to anything Disney. On the whole, it doesn’t really matter what the product is, if Disney makes something you can collect – I want it. From Pandora/Chamilia charms, to Disney Traditions, to Pop Funkos, to Tsum Tsums. Sometimes its just safer for me not to start, otherwise I end up spending thousands. I think Megan and I worked out we’d spent almost £400 on Tsum Tsums to date!

tsum_tsum

  • I hate that Disneyland Paris is half in English and half in French. I hope that doesn’t sound incredibly racist as I don’t mean it that way but English is such a universal language that I wish everything was in one language. It’s hard to understand some of the shows that have one line in English and then one in French.
  • I wish Disney would stop making live action re-makes, but I have to admit I really enjoyed Cinderella, Jungle Book looks good and I actually can’t wait for Beauty and the Beast either. While I wish Disney would come up with new animated movies (even if Frozen was overdone, it was great – as was Inside Out, Zootropolis etc.) I do enjoy pretty much anything Disney throws out. Cinderella was a really great movie and I even loved Maleficent.
  • I rarely watch Disney movies. To be honest, I rarely re-watch any movie so it’s really not that weird. However I tend to only reach for a Disney DVD, if one of the kids (usually Lily) suggests it, despite owning nearly all of them.
  • I would rather champion a villain than a princess or princess any day. While my favourite movies are definitely those with people in, majority of the time I prefer the villains to the good guys. With the exception of Belle and Megara (though I adore Gaston and Hades), I pretty much always prefer the villain of the movie. Ursula, Maleficent, Jafar, Hook, etc. I would also rather cosplay as a villain over a princess any day.

What are your Disney Confessions?

Filed Under: about me Tagged With: Animal Kingdom, Belle, Disney, disney confessions, disney dvds, disney parks, disneyland, Disneyland Paris, finding nemo, florida, lion king, Maleficent, Ursula, Vanessa, wdw

Trips of a Lifetime

March 11, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

This week my best friend has headed off to Florida for almost 4 weeks. A part of me is super jealous but it also makes me think back to this time last year, when we too were planning for the trip of a lifetime to Florida. In April 2015, we headed off to Orlando for two weeks and really did have an amazing trip. We stayed in a pretty nice villa, visited all the Disney Parks and of course took a trip to Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Since I’m not the type of person to re-visit places over and over, it got me thinking where I’d like to take the next big adventure. Here is my top 3 picks.

1 – California

Truth is, my main reason for wanting to visit California is Los Angeles. And my main reason for wanting to visit LA is Disneyland (and Universal). However that’s honestly not the only reason!

la
For a start, LA is somewhere I have always wanted to go. I think originally it was because Buffy and Angel were filmed there! However it’s also on the opposite coast to the only two places I have visited in the USA (New York and Florida) so it would be nice to see a bit further afield. I’d love to see the Hollywood sign, stroll down the Walk of Fame and maybe even explore a bit further, like San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge. Then, eat at Pier 39 restaurants like the Crab House. That would be a dream.

2 – Italy

Though not technically the holiday of a lifetime, I can definitely say that Italy is somewhere I have always wanted to go – as have the girls. While a beach holiday would be lovely, especially somewhere all inclusive like loveholiday offers, I would also enjoy a sort of touring holiday.

italy

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is by far my top place to visit in Italy, but I would also love to ride a gondola, see the Colosseum in Rome, go to the Lake Como area and travel to Florence too. I have been to France, Germany, Spain and Denmark so it would be really lovely to add Italy to the list as well.

3 – The Northern Lights

Now technically visiting the Northern Lights, isn’t a place, but its definitely the purpose of the holiday for me. It probably wouldn’t really be ideal as a family holiday (though I think the kids would find it beautiful), I’ve always dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights in person.

Northern-Lights

There are several different places you can go to, in order to see Aurora Borealis. I always assumed I would go to Iceland, but Norway, Sweden, Finland and Canada are all valid options too. I read somewhere that in February, the Northern Lights can even be seen from Scotland, but I don’t think that would be as exciting. I would love to tie in this amazing sightseeing experience, with staying somewhere amazing too – like the Ice Hotel in Sweden.

There are many other places I would love to visit like; New York again (this time with the kids and Chris), Niagara Falls, the new Shanghai Disney and Paris (though I will be doing that later this year – twice!)

Filed Under: about me, promo Tagged With: all inclusive, california, Disney World, disneyland, florida, holidays, Italy, New York, northern lights, travel

Where has summer got to?

June 11, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

In previous years, Summer has usually been and gone by now. Well not really, but you know we’ve usually had that week in May where there’s a really hot week and after that, nothing really comes close, bar a day here and there. We were promised a heat wave this June and so far… well it’s a little disappointing to be honest. Sure, the sun is out and the rain has disappeared for a little while, but it’s still not HOT, is it?

When we were on holiday in Florida, in April, the weather was too hot. Us Brits just aren’t really built for that type of hot. That said, I really enjoyed how warm it was and other than worrying about hats and suntan lotions, myself and the girls really soaked up the sun. If the air conditioning had been working properly and we’d actually been cool in the villa, I think perhaps I could have lived with the Florida heat. Chris on the other hand grumbled the whole time, desperate to get back to the weather of our own country. Now we’re back I think I’ve been suffering from a bit of SAD. I need some nice warm days to get me back in a positive mood. I’ve sold all my Florida dresses on Ebay and it’s a little depressing. Would you believe I’m still wearing a leather jacket and a scarf most days?

So to get myself feeling a little warmer, I decided I would share with you some of the things I love most about summer!

Family Holidays – Two years ago we had a very impromptu holiday to Legoland. The weather was absolutely beautiful for majority of the day and even when it rained, we just got wet but not cold. I love having the kids off for six weeks, despite the fact they can get on my nerves a little at times. I always encourage Chris to book a week off in July/August so we can do something, even if it’s just for a couple of days.

Family Days Out – If we can’t manage a full holiday, we at least manage a few days here and there. Last year we went to Warwick Castle, Cadbury’s World, Eureka and National Forest Adventure Farm. Sometimes I take the kids by myself, other times Chris comes too and if all else fails, my mum is always on hand to tag along.

LFCC – Alright so I’ve only been once last year, but I’d love to go again this year too. In May we went to MCM Comic Con and it was great to see the difference between the too, but I’d still really like to head down to London in July and go again.

Learning new things – Last summer Megan finally learnt to ride her bike and I imagine this year Lily will too. Summer is always such a perfect time to learn to bike ride, swim, fly a kite etc. When the sun is out you always feel more inclined to do things. We always walk into town instead of drive too.

Adult Days Out – Normally the girls go away with their dad for a few days in Summer and he has them overnight at least once a week. This allows for adult days out and since these are so few and far between, I like to make the most of them. Last year we obviously had LFCC for a whole weekend but also I went to both Thorpe Park and Alton Towers. As much as I love the kids, it’s great to have time without them too.

There are loads of other things I like about summer – BBQs, trips to the beach, being able to wear dresses and so on. However these are just some of my top picks. However instead of a sun hat and sandals, I’m far more likely to be wrapping myself up in cashmere and wooly jumpers. Luckily Summer is great time to grab some bargains on Winter clothes!

Filed Under: about me, promo Tagged With: biking, cold weather, days out, family, florida, holidays, LFCC, summer, sun, swimming, theme parks, warm weather, weather, winter

Life Lately

May 27, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

As you’ll have seen, I haven’t been posting as much recently as I did before I went on holiday to Florida. At first it was tiredness and a need to get the holiday clothes washed, the house straight and life back to normal etc. Then it was procrastination of all the things I wanted to post about to do with the holiday. Finally life got busy again, then it got tiring and then it all just piled up! This week has been bank holiday weekend, half term and tomorrow it will be my birthday. I’ve mostly been concentrating on spending time with my kids as it’s nice to have some time together.

However I’ve made some decisions, because I know it’s been holding me back with my blogging. While I fully intended to do a post about each Disney World Park and Universal Orlando, I just can’t find the motivation to do so. As so I’m writing off my holiday as thoroughly enjoyable but I don’t want to ruin it by dragging out long posts that just feel like hassle. So if you want to read about my Florida trip, read Monday Round-ups week 14, 15 and 16. We had a fantastic time and maybe some time in the future I’ll write up some sort of tips post but for now I’m done with Florida.

I have a few posts however that I do still want to catch up on – one is Nutella Cheesecake, another is MCM Comic Con this last weekend and undoubtedly I’d like to post about any birthday celebrations I get up to over the next few days. Otherwise I’m starting fresh next week, onwards and upwards, hopefully more motivated.

I’m now working (volunteer) in school and getting some office experience, so my free time isn’t as free as it was. However I’m really hoping to get back to my sewing machine too and run up a few more creations. I’d like to open a store and maybe sell a few of them but that’s a work in progress right now so we’ll see how that goes on. I’d also like to write murder mysteries but there doesn’t seem to be spare minutes for that.

Finally I’m really wanting to get my house sorted over the next few months. Today I laid lino in the front doorway, with the help of the girls. This is a small job but one that has needed doing for a long time now. I’m going to make a list of everything that needs doing, from big jobs to small and get cracking with it. Every day there becomes more and more reasons to move and less and less reasons to stay.

If I get time, I’ll post about my birthday stuff on Saturday, then 52 Project on Sunday and my Monday Round-up again on Monday. After that I’ll start a fresh and renewed hopefully, bringing posts because I want to, not because I feel I have to! Hope you’re all having a great week. Please check in again soon.

Filed Under: about me Tagged With: birthday, Chris, diy, florida, house, life, life lately, Lily, Megan, projects, sewing, update

Our Florida Villa

May 9, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

As you may have guessed, I’m really struggling to post about our Florida holiday. I’m not sure if its because I just want to leave it as a happy memory and not dwell on it, or if its because it already seems so long ago – but whatever it is, the posts aren’t coming easy, despite knowing I want to at least have something to look back on and remember.

The last post I made, was about the flights – both there any back. This one is about our Villa. Obviously when you go on holiday you always have so many choices when it comes to accommodation and this in part, is why I feel the villa was best for us.

Our villa was originally found on VR360FloridaVillas. I’m not completely sure how my mum came across this particular site or this particular property but I looked at the information on the site and agreed it looked nice.

And it was nice. It was okay. Potentially, it was amazing. But in reality it was just okay.

Chris and I had a double room, next door to the girls who had a twin room. Near to us was also a bathroom with a shower over the bath, toilet and sink. It was a good size family bathroom. Near to that was the kitchen, a small dining are and a large lounge – all open plan. There was then a further lounge or den area, with another more set aside dining room. Finally there was my mum’s room which was a large double with an en-suite bathroom – featuring both a seperate large bath and double shower. Outside there was a large pool area, safely enclosed and including patio furniture. On paper it all sounds great.

Sadly it wasn’t that great – it was old and it needed some love. The decor was quite outdated but I guess individual taste is hard to tailor to everyone. Certain features were very old and worn, spoiling what could have been an amazing property. The biggest disappointment of all though, was the air conditioning. When on holiday somewhere like Florida, the air conditioning from Aspen Air is absolutely essential. Ours was old and rubbish. It barely worked and it certainly didn’t make any difference. Even at 3am in the morning, the house was still boiling hot from all the heat it had retained in the day. This was the biggest issue in my few, but a tatty bath/shower area, completely mismatched plates, glasses and cutlery and old faded outdoor furniture, all added to a bad experience. Yes it was a fairly cheap properly (£900 for two weeks) but it really wasn’t good enough and in hindsight I would have rather spent more and had a nicer experience.

Not only was it not really acceptable, its also hard to pass comment or really warn anyone else. The property itself had a guest book but no one had written in it in a long time and this just made me wonder if everyone felt the way I did. When you pay not only your rental fee, but also a deposit, how do you go about saying “your property wasn’t up to standard” when you want to ensure you get your deposit returned. Not only that, but on the day of leaving we were expected to put out the bins, wash and dry all our bedding and towels – it was far from a hotel experience would have been.

That said, a villa was the right option for us. Sure I would have loved to stay in a Disney hotel – immerse myself completely in Disney, but it just wouldn’t have really worked for us. Not only did we want to do Disney, we also wanted to do Universal and Kennedy Space Center. We were always going to hire a car and so it made more sense that we were somewhere neutral and could just travel wherever we wanted. Not only that but we wanted to be able to cater for ourselves. We wanted to make a simple breakfast, pack a lunch, cook a simple dinner. We wanted to come and go as we pleased, make food whenever we wanted and have a place to store food, refrigerate milk and basically just live as we would at home.

For me, the villa was the right move but sadly not this one. The location was fine (Davenport), taking about 25 minutes to Disney and 40 to Universal. There wasn’t really anything nearby but there was a Publix within 5 minute drive and various places to eat were scattered all along the stretch to either Disney or Universal. The villa itself wasn’t even the problem either. It was a lovely size, beautifully spacious and having a pool was just amazing (and certainly the girls favourite thing). Sadly though, it was just the specific owner of this property and the lack of upkeep that had gone into it.

If you plan to do a hotel – room only, half board, all inclusive etc – Disney or otherwise – then this post won’t really help you at all. I’m sure you’ll love it, I hope it will be a lovely standard and in a way I’ll be a little envious. However if you plan to do a villa then please take this advice – check out what people actually think, what reviews have been made and what comments have been posted. Beware of the absolute cheapest villa you can find, no matter how nice the pictures are. If you can’t find comments or reviews, move along. Sometimes what people don’t say about a place, speaks for itself. A villa is definitely a fantastic idea, especially for a family like mine. However you are there for a week, a fortnight, maybe more. If the idea is for it to feel like home, you need to make sure you’ll be happy there.

Filed Under: Florida 2015 Tagged With: davenport, florida, florida villa, holiday, holiday accommodation, hotel, orlando, villa, where to stay

Florida 2015 – Flying to Florida

May 1, 2015 by Bel 1 Comment

Since my daily diary of what happened in Florida, is covered in my Monday Round-up posts, I wanted to recap my holiday in a slightly different way. Instead of doing Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc. I wanted to approach the holiday by location or event. As someone who had never been to Florida (or Disney World before), there was a lot to learn and hopefully a lot I can pass on to other people in the same situation. If it wasn’t for my friend Amy’s knowledge beforehand, the guide books and even the internet, I’m sure it would have been a very steep learning curve when I got there.

plane4
In my first post about the holiday, I want to talk about the flights. A journey from London to Orlando, takes approximately 9 hours, on a non-stop flight. However direct flights are also the most expensive and so if you’re trying to budget, the likelihood is that you’ll maybe have a one-stop flight. This usually still includes one long flight (just not quite as long) and then a shorter one too. On our journey out to Orlando, we flew from London to Montreal (Canada), taking 7 hours and then from Montreal to Orlando – a further 3 and a half hours. However on the way back we flew from Orlando to Washington (Virginia) which took 2 hours and then Washington to London – which took a further 7 and a half hours. No matter which way you look at it, its a long haul and honestly it can be a bit daunting. That said, picking good flight times can make a big difference – as can entertaining the kids. A good idea is vacationing in Ormond Beach, FL.

I was massively over prepared for our flights. The girls each own an iPad anyway, so making sure they were charged up was an absolutely priority. In the run up to our holiday, we also looked at back up charging systems, knowing it would be hard to re-charge the iPads if they died. The girls took crayons, notepads, activity books, card games and magazines. I had my iPad also, as well as my book. HOWEVER, we barely needed any of it.

plane6
On the way out, our flight was 1pm our time, getting in at 2.30am our time (8.30pm local). I was dreading killing so much time, especially into the night, but I needn’t have worried. The girls watched a movie, then we got served dinner, then the girls watched another movie, then another, and then it was pretty much time to swap planes. The only problem we came across was Megan not feeling very well (and I worried it was a plane sickness) but of course that’s not something everyone will have to deal with. By the time we’d switched planes, had a quick break on the ground, boarding the next didn’t seem as worrying, since this was the short one coming up. It was still a further 3 and a half hours but both girls were tired and so they slept for majority of the time. Admittedly I had to make sure that both of them had a way to sleep – against me, on my lap, against the window etc. – but it certainly killed time on the second plane, as well as more movies, a drink and snack etc.

plane1 plane2 plane3
By the time we got off the second plane, the girls were tired (as would be expected at 2.30am on their body clocks) but having managed to nap they were doing okay. If we had been able to just drive off to the villa at that point, it would have been the perfect arrival. However the queue for the hire car was horrendous and that meant an hour long wait while mum sorted out the car. For anyone traveling into Orlando International Airport, be warned of booking through Budget Car Hire. I’m sure they are the cheapest – their queue was huge. However the service was incredibly slow and everyone and their uncle seemed to book with them, meaning you will wait ages for your car. Booking through Hertz, Alamo, National, Avis or Enterprise may well be a bit more expensive but you will be so glad when you can drive straight off, rather than have to wait!

plane5
On our flights home, we left Orlando at 7pm (though the flight was technically delayed). This meant that the girls were already getting towards tired and weren’t too interested in doing anything than watch a movie. Sadly the short plane – from Orlando to Washington – required you to pay for the TV services, so instead the kids resorted to their iPads (reluctantly). This was the first time they’d used the iPads on the flights and so worrying about portable chargers had been pointless. More ironically, the plane seats we were sitting at, actually had plug sockets under the seat so we could have charged up anyway. Without the TV option, the first (though short) flight, did seem to drag. The girls really could have done with movies or tv to mong out to, especially given the time of day. However this was to do with our Airline – which was United Airlines, leaving us feel they weren’t as good as Air Canada – who we’d flown out with.

The first plane was delayed, as I mentioned before, but luckily the second plane was also delayed otherwise we would have missed it. Because of that we had no real layover period and instead just rushed to the next plane. Even once onboard, the plane was delayed again, but this couldn’t be help and we all just settled in and got comfy. Local time was around 10-11pm at this point and the girls were tired. However knowing they were getting dinner on the plane meant there was no point encouraging them to sleep. Instead they both watched a movie until the plane finally departed and then dinner was served not long after. As soon as food was done, I encouraged both girls to sleep. By this time it was about midnight and I knew they weren’t going to get a full night’s sleep as it was. Again, as with the outbound flight, both girls needed an ability to sleep – laying on my lap, against the window etc. – and this at least meant they got a few hours. (Both planes provided pillows so this was good). Sadly for me I didn’t get much, largely because I was making sure they did. However it was more important to me that they managed to sleep, so I didn’t worry too much. With about an hour and a half of the flight left, both girls woke up. This was probably the hardest part of the journey because they both still wanted to sleep but they weren’t tired enough that they could sleep through the noise or sunlight outside. I probably should have encouraged them to watch another movie or something as the last hour and a bit really dragged.

It’s absolutely natural to want to be prepared (and panic a little) but try not to over prepare. We all had flight bags and we all had plenty of stuff to occupy us. However most long haul flights have built in screens for tv and movies and actually this is one of the best ways to occupy both adults and children. Headphones is a must though. Airlines usually give out free ones but they’re normally pretty crap. On the way out ours were earbuds (which the kids don’t like) and crackled like hell. On the way out they were headphones but the quality was just so poor. Take plenty to drink (buy it in the airport if you have to), sweets to suck for take-off (or just distract the kids with) and probably a back up source of entertainment if they kids get bored of the movies or if the plane wants to charge you. However ultimately I would say don’t worry about it too much. Yes it seems like a long time to be trapped in a small space for, but actually because it’s something new and different, most kids will probably take to it just fine. With plenty of choice in movies and TV, you shouldn’t have too much trouble occupying them or yourself.

plane7 plane8

Filed Under: Florida 2015 Tagged With: air canada, airplanes, flights, florida, flying, london, long haul, montreal, planes, travel, united airlines, usa, washington, washington d.c.

My Top Three Travel Destinations – Bucket List addition

April 30, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

The lovely people at Joe Blogs Network, let me know about this awesome competition that Transun are currently running. You can find all the details here but ultimately the selling point is – win a holiday to see the Northern Lights!!

Way back in September of last year, I officially started a Bucket List. The third thing on that list, is see the Northern Lights. Winning this competition would be a total dream come true for me, as the Northern Light is now my top travel destination. Previously it was visiting Florida, but as regular readers of my blogs will know, I just got back from that once in a lifetime trip and I’m so truly grateful to my mum for making it possible (she paid for the trip as a treat for my family – we’d never have afforded it ourselves!). Anyway, here are my current top three travel destinations, as per my Bucket List.

Northern Lights

Yes it’s the prize for this competition, but truly, seeing the Northern Lights is definitely top of my bucket list destinations. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to see them. Such a beautiful natural phenomenon, I even wrote about them back in November 2013, under the topic of Light. It’s not an all inclusive holiday, there’s no meeting Mickey Mouse and I’m sure it wouldn’t be the best place for a tan, but it really would be the most beautiful holiday on earth. I genuinely hope that it’s a trip I get to make one day, as it would truly be a breathtaking experience and one I’d love to share with someone special like my partner Chris.

Niagara Falls

As you can probably tell, I’m definitely a natural beauty type of person. Sure I loved Florida and Disney World, I loved sightseeing in New York, but really we take for granted some of the most beautiful places to see, those that occur more naturally. Visiting Niagara Falls has always been something I’ve wanted to do, though realistically I’m not sure it’s something I’ll be able to make happen. That said I’d like to see the Falls, both in the daytime and at night time if I am able to go, because I believe the two are quite different and both spectacularly beautiful.

SDCC – San Diego Comic Con

This last choice is a little different to the rest and really just reflects my inner-geek. As much as I’d love to visit several places in the USA, San Diego calls me, solely for its spectacular Comic Con. Just last year I visited London Film and Comic Con for the first time and this year we might venture to MCM Comic Con in London too. However San Diego would be the ultimate goal for a Comic Con, as its heralded as the “main” comic con in the world. Not only would I love to visit the con, I’d love to get photographs and autographs of all the celebrities that just don’t visit the UK – or at least rarely. I’d also love to cosplay and really throw myself into, spending loads of time planning my costume and making it myself. Of course, while in San Diego I’d take in some of the sights, but the convention would be the destination, the rest an awesome addition.

So these are my three bucket list travel destinations, though I have loads more. Traveling is something I thoroughly enjoy and just don’t get the opportunity to do enough, so given the chance I’d visit everywhere once! Fancy entering the competition yourself? Be quick as it ends today!

Filed Under: about me, bucket list, competition entry Tagged With: bucket list, comic con, competition, competition entry, Disney World, florida, Joe Blogs, natural beauty, niagara falls, northern lights, san diego, SDCC, transun, travel, travel destinations

14/52

April 6, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

IMG_8863

A little late with my 52 Project this week but that’s because we’re having such a fab time in Florida! So many pics I could have chosen this week too but this particular one is from the first day of our holiday, both the girls together.

Filed Under: 52 project Tagged With: 14/52, blog project, Disney, florida, holiday, Lily, Megan, orlando, universal, villa

Guest Post – Why Disney World makes an awesome Honeymoon Destination

April 3, 2015 by Bel 1 Comment

Samantha writes for Coco Butter Blog about fashion, beauty, lifestyle and everything else in between.
If she’s done something, you’ll read about it on the blog later!

When my husband and I decided to get married, one of the biggest decisions we had to make was about where we wanted to go on honeymoon. Being a bona fide sun worshipper for me, the choice was simple – an all-inclusive hotel somewhere super exotic where the only things to do are swimming, watersports and sipping cocktails at the swim up bar.

However, my then-fiancé is not so keen on sunbathing. He resembles a lobster after a couple of hours of laying in the sun and he gets bored within ten minutes of sitting down. So we needed a holiday that would keep both of us happy. My mum was the one that suggested a twin centre holiday – one week in Orlando, Florida at the theme parks and one week in a resort in the Bahamas to keep us both happy. After all, marriage is all about compromise so we should definitely start as we mean to go one. It is wise to follow the Latest News Bahamas beforehand as we plan a trip to the islands.

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I can’t lie, I possibly might have been even more excited about the honeymoon than the wedding! I had been to Florida once before but about ten years ago and so it was definitely about time for a return visit and we were about to find out why Disney World really does make an awesome honeymoon destination.

On our first day on the parks we visited the Magic Kingdom, perhaps the most famous of all the Disney parks and the happiest place on earth. We bought matching his n hers wedding mouse ears – mine were white with a veil while his were black with a miniature top hat and tails. We were also given huge badges with Happily Ever After on them – like a real fairytale!

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With our mouse ears on, every single member of staff congratulated us on our marriage, asked us about the day or offered to take a picture for us and we felt really special for the entire day. We also met another couple who were also wearing wedding mouse ears which made for even more added novelty! Even strangers congratulated us in queues and while we were walking around which was amazing – as soon as you get married you want to tell the whole wide world and this was doing exactly that.

Disney World is a place where so many amazing memories are made whether it’s the thrill of the enormous rides, the colour of the daily parades or just spending oodles of time together. There’s a wonderful magic about the whole place for all ages, whether you’re five or 55 and it is the perfect place for celebrating your marriage.

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And then there are the fireworks displays. They are amazing and totally emotional – my favourite ones were the Frozen ones at Disney Studios. Set to the soundtrack of the biggest Disney film ever, they were extravagant and beautiful, lighting up the entire sky and filling me with emotion.  Standing there watching them with my new husband’s arms around me felt absolutely amazing and it’s something I’ll never ever forget.

If you want a relaxing holiday after the stresses of planning a wedding, then I wouldn’t suggest this is the way to go. But if you want to make some amazing memories with your other half that will last you all your lifetime then I would definitely recommend a honeymoon at Disney World. Even better – combine a week here with a week in the Bahamas like we did and you can have the best of both worlds.

unnamedThanks so much to Samantha for sharing her Disney experiences on my blog, while I’m away on holiday.
Please take a minute to pop over and say hi on her blog – Coco Butter Blog

Filed Under: guest post Tagged With: bride, Disney World, florida, groom, guest post, honeymoon, honeymoon destination, marriage, walt disney world, wdw, wedding

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Hi, my name is Bel!


I’m a forty something, mother of two, self-confessed geek!

Here on my blog you’ll find;
books I’ve read, clothes I’ve made, movies I’ve watched, cakes I’ve baked, products I’ve tried, places I’ve been, pictures I’ve taken… plus lots and lots of DISNEY!!

I’m a lifestyle blogger – covering a little of everything I love <3

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