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Harry Potter Ball – take two

August 30, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

As you may remember, I posted a little while ago about a Harry Potter convention and Ball that I went to with my best friend and two daughters. It was a little disappointing to be honest and left me feeling like I could have done better myself. Having talked it over with Nat (or maybe ranted in the car on the way home) we decided that maybe we should plan our own – perhaps for her 30th next year.

This got me to thinking about what I would wear – the changes to what I wore this time and what I could improve. The largest change of all, would be to lose some weight. We’re hoping in fact that this may motivate us! She got so many lovely compliments in the dress she was wearing, that I really want people to look at me and say the same. For that reason I would definitely pick the same dress. I have worn it twice now and I love it. However I definitely think I could do with some accessories so I’ve been doing some research.

Gryffindor Ball

I love the idea of a heavy piece for a necklace – something like this beautiful Victorian necklace from Berganza. I also love this cuff bracelet from House of Fraser and these ruby earrings from India Times to really give the Gryffindor vibe (I’m sorry, but I love red far too much to not be a Gryffindor). The ring probably isn’t that necessary to the outfit but I love to pull a bit more of the ruby in and this would be a nice subtle touch.

Since the girls are Ravenclaw and Slytherin (Lily is like me, torn between Gryffindor and Slytherin), I decided to look for some ideas for them too. They won’t be going to Nat’s 30th but just in case we find another decent Harry Potter ball to get invited too, I thought it would be nice for them to have accessories.

Ravenclaw accessories

Megan is quite delicate so all the pieces I picked are delicate too. They all feature sapphires as I figured this suited Ravenclaw colours. Of course no ball outfit would be complete without Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem too.

Slytherin accessories

Lily likes to be fierce in everything she does so I know she’d rock the brightness of the emerald pieces. The snake earrings (despite the fact her ears aren’t pierced yet) and the snake bracelet are by far my favourite choices. She also has a huge amount of hair so this beautiful comb would look great. Finally the necklace is nice and solid so it would hang nicely around her neck.

Sorry Hufflepuff but you lucked out. No one in our house is interested in being from Hufflepuff so I decided not to do one for you! Besides, really not a fan of Amber or yellow coloured stones either.

What would you pick if you were supporting your favourite Hogwarts House to a Yule Ball?

Travel Diary – 21st May 16 – Paris Day Two

June 2, 2016 by Bel 1 Comment

Yesterday I posted my Travel Diary – Day One and so today I’m sharing Day Two. Sadly this day wasn’t at all what we had planned, but we made the most of it anyway.

Day Two

On Saturday morning, I woke up with the most sickening of headaches. I do get headaches a lot so that’s fairly standard but this one was migraine worthy. When I sat up, I felt sick and when I lay down, my head banged. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how I was going to get through the day! After several trips to the bathroom, thinking I was going to throw up, a drink and some paracetamol, I finally found a position in bed to rest my head so it didn’t hurt and also not feel sick at the same time. Chris decided to get up and keep an eye on the kids, while I slept a little longer.

When I eventually got up, my headache was mostly gone and I felt a bit better. Chris had taken the girls swimming which was lovely for them as I was already worrying about ruining and wasting the day. Sadly I had ruined our plans – which was to head back to Paris and spend the day there shopping and sightseeing. It was midday and there was no point tackling the hour there and hour back, especially feeling a bit rough. Everyone grabbed a late lunch and we tried to decide what to do. I got myself upset for ruining the day and everyone agreed we should head to Disney, even if it was just to Disney village. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day so this seemed like a good save for the day.

Lily put on her Disney bounding Ariel Town dress and I put on my Ursula ears and necklace. We all headed out to Disney which was about a 45 minute drive. When we got there, I actually felt pretty excited. I was sort of disappointed that we weren’t actually heading into the parks but since we only had a one day pass, I didn’t want to waste it on only half a day.

We first headed to World of Disney, where we browsed around and I actually found a gift I would like for my birthday, which my mum offered to buy. Other than that we didn’t spend anything though, as I knew I might be getting an annual pass the following day and knew this would give me a discount.

Next we grabbed some churros and nutella from a little food van and enjoyed the sun. Mum and Pippa decided they wanted to sit for a while and so we all got a drink and sat down. After a while, Megan, Chris and I decided to go for a wander, as I’d never actually looked around Disney Village. We went in ever single shop and it was really nice. I saw some beautiful ornaments in The Art of Disney and even some clothes we wanted in other shops. We had a lovely afternoon and took an hour or so to browse.

At around 6pm, we went back to the car and headed home. We’d parked at the train station instead of the Disney Park itself and this made it not only nearer to walk, but cheaper for half a day. It took around the same amount of time to get back as it had to get there and so when we got home, dinner was straight on. We all sat around and ate lasagne, drank wine and chilled out. Afterwards the girls played in their room and Chris and I went off for a game of pool.

Finally we headed back to the accommodation and I put the girls to bed. Chris and I headed up to our room and watched TV on my iPad. After only one episode we were exhausted though and we headed to sleep ourselves.

All in all, I really enjoyed our visit to Disney but I was disappointed to not get back to Paris. I had wanted to see several more things and I don’t know when I’ll next get chance. That said, the weather was beautiful and it was nice to get an extra dose of Disney that wasn’t expected, the girls loved swimming again in the morning and it was definitely nice to get an hour playing pool with Chris in the evening.

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My 37th Birthday

May 30, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

On the whole I avoid putting the actual age I am, on my blog. It’s not that it particularly bothers me (turning 30 never did) but I have to admit that inching closer to 40 does somehow make me feel old. However I’m sucking it up this year and trying to embrace it – and I’m going to let you know what a great birthday I had!

For a start, it was a Saturday (May 28th). Amy and Olivia came down to visit for the weekend, Chris was off work and even Amy’s O.H. was coming to spend the day with us! Though technically my birthday had started at midnight where Amy and I were still up and sitting in the dinning room, we soon headed to bed and started again properly in the morning. Chris sadly woke me at 7am when he got up and though I had hoped for a lie-in, it wasn’t to be! I got up and was greeted by many “happy birthday”s and Amy kindly made me a cup of tea! I sat down on the sofa to open cards and gifts from them all, which was really lovely.

The girls got me the Evil Queen from Snow White, in hag form. This is a Disney Tradition that I’ve been after for a while and I’m not sure why as she’s ugly as hell, but I love it regardless! Chris got me Seven Dwarves on a Log – again another Disney Tradition that I have loved for literally as long as I can remember. It was always far too expensive to consider getting but now it’s mine, yay! Finally Amy and Liv got me a box of goodies, including an Ursula decoration, Regina in Pop Funko, an art print of Belle and the Beast and a Tinker Bell scarf (I put it on straight away, so forgot to photograph it). There was also a limited edition print that Amy had found in a charity shop, which is literally amazing!

After this we sat around for a while relaxing, but the kids started to get hungry so I put on some breakfast. We had freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolat, along with margarine, nutella and chocolate/peanut butter spread. We actually didn’t even manage it all which was a surprise between six of us.

Everyone went off their separate ways then, to get dressed, to have another cup of tea etc. My mum arrived around lunch time to give me her gift and then Amy’s O.H. arrived too. After a while we headed out to Nottingham with the plan to play mini-golf but it actually turned out that we went shopping and ate at Five Guys. We headed home, got the girls to bed and then my friend Nat and her O.H. came around. We spent the evening chatting, laughing and drinking wine until about 1am.

While it maybe doesn’t sound like the most spectacular of birthdays, the evening was everything and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thankfully its a whole year now until the next one but I’m glad this one turned out pretty great.

April Round-up

May 3, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Watching: Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA (I’ve managed to watch all 7 series), Once Upon a Time (I started again from the beginning with Lily and now Megan), Suits (1-4), the usual weekly episodes of Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, The 100 etc etc. Megan, Lily and I also watched Saving Mr Banks for the first time.
Reading: Six Lies and Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn – I’m not doing much reading!
Sewing & Making (for Closet Geek): This month I made some bunting and also a lampshade for my sewing room/dining room. I also made a Prince Charming jacket, along with the usual orders.

And in other news…
– We finally got the house on the market, all the paperwork approved and the brochure made. We’re at least on the way to moving – whenever that might happen!
– Went shopping with Megan and Lily for a few nice bits of clothes. Megan did a mini photo shoot but got herself all upset that she didn’t feel very natural and thought she was ugly.
– Went to Doncaster and experienced Cosmo with the kids. Also found a great little outlet village which we’d never been to before.
– Lily managed her 25m badge in swimming lessons and I was so proud of her because she hadn’t even been able to swim properly at the beginning of the 6 weeks.
– Went out for dinner with my mum a couple of days before her birthday. It was supposed to be just the five of us but my Auntie Pat and Bernard joined us last minute.
– We went out for Sunday lunch to celebrate my nephew’s 9th birthday.
– I attempted (and failed) screen printing for the first time. It wasn’t so much that I couldn’t do it, but newspaper got stuck to my screen!
– Got several new art prints over the month and also started collecting Itty Bittys from Hallmark.
– And very last minute, my best friend Amy came to visit!!

Looking forward to in May:
– My birthday has to come top of the list, even though its pretty much the last thing to happen in the month. It’s not really because of my birthday or the gifts, but because Amy will come down again and Nat’s coming over.
– Going to Paris! Finally, after all these years, I’m taking a holiday to Paris. It’s only 3 days but we’re doing the Eiffel Tower and Paris itself, as well as DLP of course.
– Maybe seeing Captain America: Civil War? I really need to watch Winter Soldier first though.
– As well as my birthday, half term starts at the end of the month (though technically runs into the next month). As always, I enjoy my time off with the girls and especially not having to head out every morning to take them to school.

Honestly there isn’t really anything happening in May other than the small trip and my birthday so we’ll just have to see how it goes!

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Our pre-Christmas Break – Newcastle

January 13, 2016 by Bel 1 Comment

As you might be able to tell from my lack of posts so far this week, it’s a busy one! I have so many things I want to write about but no time to actually get writing. However one thing that I wanted to make sure I wrote about, before we got too far away from Christmas, was two wonderful trips we had in December. The first (this post) was to Newcastle the weekend before Christmas and the second (my next post hopefully) was a trip to Disneyland Paris, the weekend after Christmas.

On Friday 18th December, the girls had already broken up from school the day before and so we had a fairly lazy day. However we packed and got ready to go away, setting off for my mum’s house around 6pm. There we met up with my partner Chris, who had just finished work and was leaving his car there and the four of us set off on our weekend away. We were staying in a Travelodge in Newcastle (technically Gateshead)and it was one I hadn’t been to before so I was excited. I vowed to not get stressed with the kids and really enjoy this family time we had near Christmas! The journey is a fairly long one, about 3 hours, but we broke it up by stopping for a Burger King dinner at a services on the way. This meant it was about 11pm when we got to the Travelodge but the lady on the desk was wonderful and friendly, meaning that even though it was late, check-in was stress free.

We pretty much headed straight to bed and so in the morning we didn’t bother to set an alarm – just getting up when we woke naturally. Chris headed down to collect the Breakfast boxes, while the girls got dressed and I jumped into the shower. I have to admit to being a little disappointed with the Breakfast boxes – I’m sure there are people out there who like that type of thing (like a Graze box I guess) but for us they were just too much fruit/nut/seed, especially on the first morning.

On the first morning there was only one “Good Morning” box left and so we had three “Rise and Shine” boxes. The contents of the Good Morning box were better than the other – having Cornflakes and milk, orange juice, a Nutri-grain bar (strawberry) and a blueberry muffin. The “Rise and Shine” box on the other hand had a heavily seeded, fruit and nut muffin, with an almond and something cereal bar, a yoghurt and some orange juice. Needless to say we didn’t eat much – Lily had the blueberry muffin and Megan had the cornflakes, while Chris tried a bit of everything and left it. I didn’t even attempt anything as I just knew I wouldn’t like it. Though this was a big disappointment, I have to admit it was the only one of the whole stay.

After getting dressed, we headed out in the car, down the road two minutes to the Metro Centre. Here we planned to spend the whole day, even meeting up with Amy for part of the day. When we arrived it was easy to find parking and so we entered on the ground floor and started to wander around. Since we’d not really managed breakfast that morning, we treated ourselves to fresh pretzels and that was amazing!

We did quite a lot of shopping and bought a few bits. Megan had birthday money to spend and Next vouchers too so it was nice for the girls to feel free to buy things too. At around lunch time we met up with Amy and we all headed to KFC for food. It was quite busy but not too bad considering it was the weekend before Christmas!

In the afternoon we wandered around the top level of the shopping centre. However when the girls got tired (and Chris wasn’t feeling 100%) we sat down for a coffee and to catch our breath. After a while Amy and I wandered off to Primark together and left the girls with Chris. Eventually we headed back and sat down again for a short time. We decided what we were going to do next and since it was almost time for Amy to leave, we said our goodbyes. I headed to the car to drop off the bags and Chris took the girls into the nearby arcade. Though we aren’t big into gambling or anything, we do love our 2p machines and the girls love anything that spits out tickets!

After killing some time in the arcade (and spending plenty of money), we cashed in our tickets – the girls very kindly got Chris a Pac-Man tankard) – and headed back to the Travelodge. Here we all just lay on the beds and chilled out for a while. The girls claimed their free half an hour of wifi on their iPads, I read and Chris played on his phone. Eventually we decided we should eat dinner and so we headed out of the Travelodge again and went to the nearby TGI Fridays (literally a 2 minute walk).

Despite the fact it was a Saturday night, TGI’s wasn’t too busy. They fitted us in to a nice booth and we got a lovely server who made balloon animals for the kids and gave really good service the whole night. Going to TGI’s is a real treat for us as at home our nearest one is at least an hour away. It was nice to spend time just chilling out, enjoying a glass of wine (because we walked) and eating amazing food.

After dinner we were full and tired and so glad to not be far from the Travelodge. We walked back, the girls got changed for bed and then lay there playing on their iPads for a little while. I read again and Chris played on his phone and once we felt our food had gone down, we all went to sleep.

Again in the morning, we just woke when we woke naturally. Chris went for the breakfast boxes and this time we all managed to get the “Good Morning” boxes. This meant that Megan and I could both have cornflakes and Chris and Lily could have blueberry muffins. Sadly Chris was the only one to like Strawberry Nutri-Grain bars too so we just packed those to take home with us, along with some of the orange juice that was left. We packed up all our stuff, checked out and headed to the car. We’d have a lovely weekend away and the Gateshead Travelodge was so close and easy for the Metro Centre (and TGI) that we would definitely go back again!

We headed home and stopped for lunch at a services on the way. It was a lovely weekend break but it was good to get home too!

How To Refresh Your Look In The New Year On A Budget

January 7, 2016 by Bel 1 Comment

The “new year, new me” is a common resolution, which surely involves many aspects of your life. Taking better care of yourself and perfecting your look is often a part of it! Perhaps you want to move on and become a new you, or just change the way others see you – refreshing your personal look is always a nice step. However, you have to be financially prepared for such a big decision. This operation may require quite a lot of spending, but with our tips you should be able to find whatever you need on the cheap. Read on to learn more about the following ways to keep your threads fully up to date on a budget!

Take Inventory Of Your Own Closet

Fashion experts often speak about a “one year” rule. This means that any clothing that has not been worn within the last calendar year must be discarded. While taking stock of your own closet may allow you to get rid of items that you no longer wear, it can also help you to uncover pieces that you have been neglecting to add to your wardrobe rotation, allowing you to make upgrades without even opening your wallet!

Make A Budget

There is nothing wrong with setting aside a budget for refreshing your look in the new year, but there is something wrong with obliterating the budget you have set to purchase items that you will barely wear. Make a list of the items that you need most and decide how much you are going to spend on each of them before heading out to the mall or opening the laptop to shop from home.

Check Out The Clearance Rack

The items that are kept in the front of the store often look the most enticing, but they are not worth their exorbitant price tag. Instead of falling into the trap that retailers have set for you, by browsing the items in front of the store and working your way towards the back, reverse the formula and check out the clearance rack. Some may be afraid there’s a stigma associated with purchasing such clothes, but it is one of the best ways to get inexpensive pieces that help to round out your wardrobe. Other than that, don’t forget to search online at such websites as Discountrue.com and check for coupons for the store you’re shopping at. There’s a multitude of vendors offering great discounts such as Kohl’s or Nordstorm, so you should be able to find what you’re looking for!

Don’t Use Credit Cards

While you should use coupons as much as possible, what you should not be using are your credit cards. Using cash for your clothing purchases in the new year will keep you from falling into debt, especially since the post Christmas season can leave some of us financially tapped out. Avoid packing the plastic as much as possible and keep your shopping limited to the cash that you already have on hand.

Avoid Weekend Shopping

Did you know that you are far more likely to find massive savings when you shop on a weekday, as opposed to a weekend? It has been proven that retailers tend to offer far better deals on workdays. That happens because there is much less incentive to offer a quality deal when store owners know that there will be large amounts of foot traffic anyway.

Week 36 – Monday Round-up

September 9, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

I am so behind on everything right now that I’ve realised its Wednesday and I still haven’t rounded up last week! To be truthful it was the usual mix of nothing some days and loads the next, but I will try to recap as best I can remember!

Monday we were still in London and I posted about that day here. Since we were actually back by Tuesday, life pretty much returned to normal. The girls went to their dad’s house and Chris was at work so I had a day of sewing, blogging and watching TV (not necessarily in that order!). I made some decisions about the month (that sadly haven’t really happened yet) and tried to take a determined approach to life since it was September 1st!

In the evening I sat down to make loads of hair bows and watch Grimm. It was actually pretty awesome ;)

In the morning I got up and headed out for the girls, about the same time as Chris headed out to work. I picked them up and we headed to Asda Living to pick out some school uniform for Megan and a few last minute bits and pieces they needed. Afterwards we went home and while the girls sat and played on their computers (and Disney Infinity on the Xbox), I made more bows and watched Grimm… right up till bedtime. Other than that there was the odd bit of getting ready for school etc. but that was pretty much it.

On Thursday the girls were back at school and we had the usual mad rush in the morning. After dropping the girls off I came home and started to sew. Nat came around for the day and although we mostly sat and chatted, she helped me cut out pattern pieces etc. until we both needed to pick up the kids from school. After school we all just flaked in front of the TV and computers, recovering from a busy day! Friday was fairly similar, except that I dropped the kids off at school and went on a ribbon hunt in Lincoln. I realised Nat was off so called her to meet up for coffee and we spent the morning chatting and drinking coffee/hot chocolate. I headed home as I needed to go to the post office and get a few bits done. However it wasn’t long before I was back out to get the girls. That evening I spent sewing, getting both a Woody dress done and also working on a Wendy cosplay.

Saturday morning and it was the weekend. The girls had no school and Chris had no work, so it should have been heaven – except I felt awful! I had a headache all day long and this resulted in me crying on and off through frustration. However I managed to get some work done in the end and my headache finally cleared by about 7pm. Sunday was another day of sewing and another day of everyone being off. We spent the day doing our own thing but sat down to a family dinner of fajitas in the evening.

It was a lovely week but as always, highs and lows. This week is fairly crazy so far but I’m beginning to think that’s the new norm!

My Dream Staycation

August 15, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Money is tight for the majority of people these days and so holidays are definitely classed as a luxury! I’m always looking for the odd getaway weekend here and there and with six weeks of summer holidays upon us, what better time to take a break? However I for one can’t afford to book flights anywhere and a staycation is really the only option. So far we’re three weeks through the summer break and sadly we haven’t managed to visit anywhere. I’m working hard on getting my new business up and running and that means we’re all being even more careful with money than we might be otherwise. Not only that but we’re hoping to finish decorating our house soon and get that on the market, which will mean an expense moving house on top of everything else. So when I was asked to share my Dream Staycation, the ideas came fairly easily. There is no place in this country I love to visit more, than London!

Though there are heaps of places in the UK that I’d love to vacation (York and Bath being two that are high up on the list), London owns my heart when it comes to Staycations. Living in Lincolnshire, a very green and very quiet county, even our cities aren’t that big or loud. Lincoln – our nearest (and my dearest) city, it basically an overgrown town rather than a city. Don’t get me wrong, I love that balance of countryside alongside city, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love to experience the real city life whenever possible!

Theatre

One of my most favourite things to do in London is go to the theatre! Wicked is by far my most watched musical, totaling four visits so far! I’ve also seen Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Blood Brothers, Grease, Thriller and many more. Of course there are places other than London to attend the theatre but there’s nothing quite like the feel of theatre district, especially at night!

Shopping

No trip to London would be complete without some shopping. After all, the staycation is saving you money – you need to treat yourself a little. My favourite shops to visit are definitely Lush and the Disney Store, so Oxford Street is a must. However the plenty more shops to visit and with a Starbucks on almost every corner, you can’t go wrong!

Sightseeing

There are so many places to visit in London and I’ve always fancied taking an open top bus ride to see everywhere. There is Buckingham Palace, Big Ben (and the Houses of Parliament), the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square… the list goes on and on! There are so many places to see that I don’t think you will ever see them all, but I’d like to go up the London Eye too and try a different point of view!

So London is my dream staycation and these are just a few of the reasons why. However the biggest question is really… who would I take on my dream staycation. Well that’s a no brainer. This wonderful bunch!

Thanks a bunch to ThinkMoney who asked me to enter their competition!

Week 15 & 16 – Monday Round-up

April 20, 2015 by Bel 3 Comments

Being a week behind on my Monday round-up, I know I’ve been procrastinating this post. I debated making Week 15’s and back-dating it, but instead this seems like a better solution – rolling them into one! Not only that, but I’m only going to be brief with my round up, as over the next few weeks I’ll be recapping my whole holiday in some form or another! **I’ve since procrastinated a further 4 days and now this is late for both weeks!!**

Picking up where I left off after Week 14’s round up, Monday (6th) was another day in Magic Kingdom. It started early with breakfast at Cinderella’s Castle (Cinderella’s Royal Table) which included an initial meet and greet with Cinderella herself and then also meets with Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine and Ariel while we were eating our breakfast. Amy and Olivia were there too, though we were booked separately, but this was the first time we’d seen them as they’d only arrived in Florida the day before. We spent majority of the day in Magic Kingdom, meeting Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, riding the Barnstormer, Peter Pan’s Flight and Haunted Mansion. However after lunch we headed back to the villa and had a relaxing afternoon, a little nap and then heading back to Magic Kingdom to see Celebrate the Magic, Wishes and then the Electric Parade.

On the Tuesday we headed back to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We’d had our “Harry Potter” day there and so this day was to do all the other stuff. We originally met up with Amy and stayed with her for a while in Hogsmeade, largely so she could get the use of her dining plan (we went to The Three Broomsticks). After we went our separate ways though, the four of us decided there wasn’t much we wanted to do in Islands of Adventure and instead caught the Hogwarts Express again, back to Universal Studios. There we went on Twister, Shrek 4D, E.T. Adventure, Terminator 2 3D and finally Minion Mayhem. We also had photos taken with Minions and Gru. It was fairly late by the time we left and the four of us grabbed McDonalds and Taco Bell on the way home.

Wednesday we were having a day away from the parks and we instead went to Kennedy Space Center. While it wasn’t really high up on anyone’s list, it was something we felt we should do when we had the opportunity. It was actually incredibly enjoyable and we all enjoyed our day – especially as it was much slower paced than other days. We enjoyed a coach tour as well as several museums/foot tours. The shuttle launch simulator was by far the best part of the day however and after a great day we all went back to the villa for dinner.

Thursday was an early morning again as we had breakfast at The Grand Floridian – 1900 Park Fare. This was another character breakfast and we saw Winnie the Pooh and Tigger again, along with Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter and Mary Poppins. The breakfast was buffet style and it was really nice. After breakfast we headed to Magic Kingdom, this time we rode The Seven Dwarves Mine Train and The Voyage of the Little Mermaid, went on Enchanted Tales with Belle and met Cinderella and Rapunzel in Fairytale Hall. We also had a drink in Gaston’s Tavern and worked on our Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom quest. When we were finished for the day, we headed to Downtown Disney for a little while, to look around and see what was there. Afterwards it was back to the villa and into the pool.

Friday was Animal Kingdom. I was in two minds as to whether or not to visit this park so we only scheduled one day. I enjoyed the park but it really did only need one day. We went on Kilimanjaro Safari, rode Expedition Everest and saw the Lion King show and also Nemo the musical. The girls also met with Pocahontas and Dug and Russel from UP. We finished the park around 4.30pm and made our way to Blizzard Beach which was a great way to cool off after a very warm day. For dinner we called in at a Denny’s on the way home and had a delicious meal there.

Saturday was Epcot, another one day scheduled for a park. I didn’t expect to like Epcot but actually I really did. We quite happily spent a whole day there but there was a lot of walking involved. The morning was spent in Future World, where we rode Mission: Space, The Seas with Nemo & Friends and Spaceship Earth. We also dropped into the Character Spot so the girls could meet Mickey, Minnie and Goofy and then saw Chip and Dale just outside there. At lunchtime we walked into World Showcase, to Norway and Akershus Royal Banquet Hall where we were meeting Amy for a princess filled lunch. We had a meet and greet with Belle on entry, then also saw Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel and Aurora once inside. After lunch we made it around World Showcase and it’s countries, meeting with various characters. We saw Donald Duck, Jasmine and Aladdin, Mulan, Belle (in her blue dress) and Duffy Bear. This took majority of the afternoon but then we headed back to Future World to ride Soarin’. Finally we got something to eat and drink, before settling in on a bench and saving a spot for the evening’s IllumiNations display. It was truly beautiful and one of my favourite memories of the whole holiday.

Sunday we were back in Magic Kingdom. We had breakfast at Be Our Guest booked, then I insisted on going to meet Gaston. Again, this was one of my favourite moments from the whole trip. After that we took on a mission to get as many meet and greets as we could, using the day to get the majority of the ones we were missing. We got the Fairy Godmother, Lady Tremaine (the sisters were on time out), Merida, Buzz Lightyear and Stitch. After all that we needed a rest so we did both Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor and Stitch’s Great Escape. We also rode Space Mountain. We then took a wander, rode the Dumbo ride and did some shopping where the girls bought themselves hats with ears and got their names stitched on them. We then went into Peter’s Silly Sideshow and met Minnie and Daisy, followed by Donald and Goofy. When we got hungry, we ate at Pinocchio Village Haus, then did more of our Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom quest. In the afternoon, the girls met with Tiana, Ariel and then Anna and Elsa, all before we went back to Be Our Guest for dinner. After dinner we met with the Beast and this was another highlight of my trip. Since the park was pretty quiet we got in a few more rides, this time the People Mover and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. We then headed out and back to the villa.

This was the end of Week 15, so onto Week 16!

Monday (13th) was a day at Hollywood Studios. We had only scheduled one day and to be honest this was probably enough. That said, we had to make sure we scheduled carefully throughout the day to ensure we saw all the shows we wanted. We began the morning with meeting Baymax and Hiro. This was a must for the day so we needed to get in the queue early. After this we went off to ride The Hollywood Tower of Terror, then over to Star Tours for Chris and Amy to ride. We then went to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, followed by a wander and Muppets Vision 3D. After that the girls had their pictures taken with Lightning McQueen and Mater (though it was pretty pointless), saw the Cinderella carriage and then met with Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc. After that we met with a Green Army man (from Toy Story) on our way to see Beauty and the Beast live (which was awesome). Next we rode Toy Story Midway Mania (which was so good) and then queued to see Buzz and Woody. Afterwards we went to meet up with Amy and some of her friends, to wait for Character Palooza. However it got rained off and so we ended up going our separate ways. Next we saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid and got some dinner. Finally we headed to Fantasmic where we waited quite some time to see the show but it was definitely worth it.

Tuesday was our final day in Magic Kingdom (though we didn’t necessarily know it at the time). We rode Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and saw Mickey’s Philharmagic show. We also had lunch at Be Our Guest, met with talking Mickey Mouse, and Jessie & Woody. Finally we did some more on our Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom quest, but on asking realised there was 9 quests and we’d only done 5 so we weren’t going to get it finished. When we left the park, we headed to Typhoon Lagoon to end the day and cool off. Unfortunately it closed at 5pm (not 6 like we’d thought) and so we weren’t able to do that as it was almost 5 anyway. Instead we headed to Downtown Disney briefly as Megan was searching for a dress she wanted and instead we found Tsum Tsum’s and she bought loads of those. We headed back to the villa for dinner.

Wednesday was our last full day on holiday. We spent the morning back at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, letting the girls use their wands on all the “hotspots” around the park. This took us till just after lunch but we headed to Florida Mall and ate there – the girls having Taco Bell while Chris and I had Five Guys. We then wandered the Mall, going to Hot Topic and the Disney Store mainly. A friend I’ve known for 14 years, came to meet us at the Mall (we haven’t seen each other for 7 years) and it was lovely to catch up and wander around. At 6pm we headed to the villa to get my mum – the girls drove with Tim and so Chris and I just rode together for the first time all holiday. When we got to the villa, Tim suggested somewhere for dinner and we all headed out together. The place we ate was called The Cracker Barrel and it was lovely. The food was amazing and we were all stuffed. Afterwards we shopped a little in the store attached and then said a very sad farewell to Tim. We all headed home to the villa and the packing began. A few tears were shed and then we all headed to bed.

On Thursday morning the decision had been made to spend the last few hours of holiday in Hollywood Studios and then Magic Kingdom. However the girls were up late and I didn’t wake them as I decided it was better they slept. The three of us headed out to Hollywood Studios as the Animation Academy was the one thing Megan had really wanted to do and didn’t get chance. When we got there it was about 10am but the first class wasn’t till 10.30pm, we waited and while we did so, we played on the “which disney character are you?” machines. Lily got Tinker Bell, Megan got Ariel and I got Lady Tremaine (I did say I wanted to eat nice people for lunch…). We then did the Animation class and got to draw Baymax. Megan also got given the artist’s drawing to take home with her. After this we decided it wasn’t really worth going to Magic Kingdom as it would take too long to catch the tram to the car, then drive to Magic Kingdom, then get the tram to the park etc. all before we needed to head back. Instead we waited to see Mr Incredible and Frozone, before riding The Great Movie Ride which was the one thing I’d wanted to do and hadn’t fitted in. Finally we said a sad farewell to the park and to Disney generally as we got onto the tram and rode back to the car.

We then drove back to the villa where Mum and Chris were waiting, pretty much ready to leave. We packed everything into the car and then headed back to Florida Mall. There we got lunch – this time the girls got Subway, I got pizza and Chris and mum got Five Guys. We went to Hot Topic to spend our Hot Cash, then Lily and I ran to the Disney Store to spend the last of her dollars while everyone headed back to the car. We drove to the airport, dragged all our bags in and checked in. Without a blow by blow of everything then, we obviously boarded the plane and this took us to Washington. The plane was delayed but luckily the connection was too. We then boarded the second plane and this took us home.

It was 11am on Friday morning when we arrived home and got off the plane. It obviously took us some time to get our bags, go through security etc. By the time we got to the car it was gone 12pm and mum drove us to a place in Northamptonshire where she was spending the weekend. Once mum was gone, we headed home, stopping at the first services we got to. There we had KFC for lunch and Starbucks to keep us all awake. We drove back to mum’s where I’d left my car and then swapped all our stuff over. We had to call in to see the kids’ dad at work but then we headed home, stopping only for bread and milk on the way. It was about 6pm when we got back and all of us just collapsed for a while. Despite the girls being tired I let them stay up a while so it felt like they had some time at home but then they headed to bed. Chris and I ordered takeaway and spent the evening watching TV. However we only made it till about 10pm before going to bed ourselves.

Saturday and Sunday were really just days to relax. I didn’t get dressed at all on Saturday, just managing with the few bits we had in the house to eat. Nat came around in the evening and it was so nice to catch up. Sunday we had to take Chris to work so it meant getting dressed and on the way home we did the weekly shopping. However the rest of the day was spent lazy, trying to recover and get ready for the girls going back to school. So this ends my round up and also our holiday. I hope to get on top of blogging soon and update you all on the trip properly, as well as share my favourite moments, top tips and tons of photos!