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Monthly Round-up – March

April 14, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Watching: Given that it’s mid-April before I write this, I have very little recollection of what I watched, other than what I made a note of in my phone. I watched several Netflix series including; The OA, Friends with Better Lives,
Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23, and Iron Fist but I don’t remember which others. I watched the newest Annie movie. I also re-watched Cinderella and Guardians of the Galaxy. As well as keeping up with Bones, Holby City, Casualty, Riverdale, Grimm, New Girl etc. I saw Beauty and the Beast at the cinema.
Sewing & Making (for Closet Geek): March was pretty crazy for orders, always seeming like I had a few more than I could cope with. However I managed to get through them and that’s what counts! I announced a Wonderland Giveaway for the monthly box, plus made LOADS of ears and bows, along with a Belle dress, two Briar Rose dresses, a Boys Woody top and waistcoat and a girls Woody dress. There was also a huge wave of orders for Infinity scarves after Roisin from Disneyfind, shared the scarf I sent her. I think I made 15 in one week and since then the orders dribble in still! Of course there was a technicolour dreamcoat and a pharaoh costume too which you can read more about below! Finally with the upcoming 25th Anniversary for DLP, I designed some ears which have proved very popular too!

And in other news…
– One of the first things that happened this month was Lily’s birthday, when she turned 9. We had a very calm day, making lego in the morning, Pizza Hut for lunch and then chilling out when we got home until bedtime.
– World Book Day was also at the beginning of this month and since last year Lily had gone as Harley Quinn, before it was super popular to be Harley Quinn, this year she went as Dr Harleen Quinzel. She looked absolutely fabulous. Megan didn’t get to dress up now she’s at secondary school, which is sad!

– Megan broke up with her boyfriend – her choice. It wasn’t especially dramatic but she did feel pretty bad afterwards so us three girls went shopping and I taught the girls about retail therapy ;)
– One of the most life changing things that happened this month is that we finally got an offer on the house. March 13th. After having the house on the market for almost a year, and after living here for almost 4 years when we only intended it to be 1 or 2. Fingers crossed it’s all proceeding well as we have accepted the offer since then, the “sold” sign went up on 20th, we had the survey done and started to complete the forms. More info to follow!
– Lily and I went on her school trip, to Cadbury World near Birmingham. It’s always really nice to share school trips with the girls but this time it was especially nice as Lily and I even sat together on the coach. It was a long and tiring day, especially as Lily was full of cold but we both enjoyed ourselves.
– Amy and Liv came to visit for the weekend and although we didn’t do a lot, we seemed to keep busy. We didn’t pick them up till fairly late on Friday so all we did was drink and catch up, but then Saturday we saw Beauty and the Beast, plus went to Meadowhall and had Five Guys. On Sunday we just hung out while I got some work done, until eventually I took them back to the station.
– Chris’ birthday was the 20th and it was nice to spend the day together, even though the girls weren’t around to enjoy it at all. We went into Lincoln in the morning to do some shopping but it threw it down with rain all day so we cut it short and came home. In the evening we met with friends and went to Frankie and Benny’s for dinner and then did an “Escape the Room” game which was amazing. Hopefully I will post about that soon!
– Not really a big fan of Red Nose Day (or Children in Need for that matter) but always happy to donate £1 to non-uniform and a red nose etc. However I did love that there was a “Red Nose Day Actually” short, like an update to Love Actually – and I cried and found it amazing too.
– Then came Mother’s Day. The girls made a mistake with my gift and ended up upset but it really didn’t matter as it was lovely to spend the day with them and then with my own mum too at lunch time. We went out to a restaurant called Meat Inc. that does amazing burgers and I was really hoping to review but completely forgot to take pics! Maybe next time we visit I will remember.
– I can’t remember if I mentioned this last month or not but Lily was given the part of Pharaoh in her school play – Joseph and his technicolour dreamcoat. She was really excited (and nervous) as it was a big part but I knew she would be amazing (AND SHE WAS!). I offered to make the technicolour dreamcoat for school and Lily’s Pharaoh costume too. I was the last of the family to see her play (with everyone else seeing it Monday and Tuesday, and Megan and I waiting till Wednesday) but it was pretty decent. I got embarrassed at the end however as I got given a bunch of flowers and a very public thank you, for helping with the costumes.
– One of the last things we did in March was have some friends around for socialising. We played Jackbox all night and it was a lot of fun. I’m really glad we’re finding more time to do that, although I do wonder if moving will effect these nights!

Looking forward to in April:
– Easter Holidays! I love love LOVE having the girls off school – not just for having them around, but also for saving myself three hours in a car for the school run. We don’t have too much planned but you never know!
– We have tickets to see Joseph and his technicolour dreamcoat at Skegness on Easter Weekend. After it was announced that Lily’s school would be doing the play, she took such an interest that I suggested booking tickets. I’m so glad I did as she was then given a great part and really loved the play. I can’t wait for her to see it done on a big stage.
– Mum’s birthday is in April. We probably won’t do much but I’ve already bought her present and no doubt we’ll all go out for lunch.

Monthly Round-up – January 2017

February 3, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Watching: I always lose track of everything I watch so I started making lists on my phone. This month I watched; A Series of Unfortunate Events (binge watched the new series on Netflix the day it came out), Bad Moms, London has Fallen, Iron Man 3, Star Wars: Rogue One, A Monster Calls, Now You See Me, Now You See Me 2, Sausage Party, Miss You Already, Allegiant, Five Year Engagement, Mad Max: Fury Road, What to Expect When You’re Expecting and of course keeping up to date with all the various series that I usually watch.
Sewing & Making (for Closet Geek): I thought after Christmas that things might quieten down a bit and they did… but only for a little while. After catching up on orders from the holiday period, I had a quietish week or so where I even got to try out a few new products but it soon got busy again and I haven’t caught up since. I think I’ve had approximately 100 orders for January. As well as all the usual, I made new Infinity Scarves which I hope to list soon and new Travel Wallets which I still want to perfect. I also made a Belle Christmas dress which was for Liv’s birthday at the end of the month.

And in other news…
– This month has been a combination of really dreary and wet, or absolutely freezing cold so the truth is, doing anything has been a bit of a struggle. We went swimming early on (before school started) and managed a trip to Disneyland Paris which was booked a while back, but otherwise I’ve just wanted to huddle in the house!
– Speaking of swimming, this term has been Lily’s class’ turn to go swimming on Thursday. I go with them as they always need parent helpers and last week Lily managed her 50 metre badge which I’m super proud of as she could barely swim last year when they started.
– At the beginning of the month, Chris managed to write his car off which meant rescuing him on the day and then spending a week looking for a new car. In the process we did get to try out a new place called Meat Inc. and we’re hoping to go there again soon! We also had a day out to see Rogue One (which we combined with looking for cars) and had lunch at Yo Yo’s for the first time in a while.
– As I mentioned, we went to Disneyland Paris and on the way home I managed to crash my car in the car park. This meant I had to pay almost £400 to get my car towed home and then another £35 to get it mended in the garage. It was a lot of hassle but it could have been worse I guess.
– Megan got a boyfriend (her first proper one) in December and though they didn’t see each other over Christmas, things are still going strong in January. We took Daniel to the cinema and Pizza Express and she has been invited around to his house for dinner twice after school.
– Also I attended Megan’s first secondary school Parent’s Evening, where I had appointments to see all the teachers separately. She is doing so well and on track for As and A*s in all her subjects. After leaving I burst into tears as I was so proud of her.
– I finally got around to using my new soup maker and made soup almost every day for a week. It wasn’t particularly healthy mind you as my favourite is broccoli and stilton.
– Over Christmas, Lily and I played a lot on the Harry Potter Lego games and for Christmas she got the new Fantastic Beasts set for Lego Dimensions. We spent all afternoon one Saturday building up the portal from Lego and then the rest of the evening playing on the game.
– Finally the end of the month saw Chinese New Year and so we “celebrated” by ordering Chinese takeaway!

Looking forward to in February:
– As far as I know, there isn’t much happening in February. I know we are hoping to organise a games night and give Nat’s fella Dan, a chance to meet our friend’s Jon and Becka.
– Also there is Valentine’s Day, but Chris is working in the daytime (as always) and the girls will have been at their dad’s overnight. I’m planning a lie-in, then my mum is picking them up and heading over and we’re going to play board games. Probably in the evening we’ll have a nice meal together as a family.
– Sing and The Batman Lego movie are both out at the cinema so hopefully we’ll see those. There is talk of a movie marathon day so that would be great!
– It’s half term this month and I love that for so many reasons. Firstly it means I don’t have to turn out on the school run both in the morning or in the afternoon (that saves me 3 hours of my day). Also it means I get to spend time with the kids (Chris is working every day, surprise surprise). Lily and I also have her school project to finish and that means baking so hopefully that will be fun too.
– Otherwise, I can’t think what else will be happening. It’s my sister’s birthday at the end of the month so we may well go out for that.

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Our Flying Visit to Disneyland Paris

January 30, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Last weekend (20th-22nd Jan) we took a flying visit to Disneyland Paris. I have to admit that it didn’t turn out to be our best trip there, but considering it was raining the last two times and freezing cold the times before that, I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much. In all honesty, the trip itself was enjoyable for many reasons – one, that I got to spend time with the girls – two, that I finally got to stay in a Disney hotel and – three, my best friend Amy and her daughter were there at the same time as us. Aside from that though, there was a bit of an epiphany moment where I realised I had been trying to fill a hole that Florida had left, ever since we visited two years ago. I also realised that DLP is unfortunately not that replacement for us. Anyway I’ll save all that for another time and just fill you in briefly on our trip.

For the two nights we were away, we stayed in Hotel Santa Fe. It’s the cheapest of the Disney Hotels, having paid only £100 for 2 nights (no park passes included, but using discount from my annual pass) but actually it was pretty great. The whole hotel complex is themed around the movie Cars and we actually had our room in the row belonging to Lightning McQueen.

On our first day, the girls had decided to Disney Bound as Rapunzel and Flynn. Lily was Rapunzel and Megan was Flynn. This was actually my favourite of their two outfits for the weekend, but I definitely loved both. Lily’s “Best Day Ever” t-shirt was one she had already, so she only needed a pair of purple jeans and a new cardigan. Megan on the other hand needed all new bits, but I didn’t mind as I knew she’d get wear out of some of it. We did have a dilemma with the trousers though and ended up purchasing a boys pair from Tesco, the day before we left home.

On our first day in DLP, we spent the whole time in the main Disneyland park. We sorted out annual passes, went on loads of rides, bought Mickey shaped food (believe it or not, we’d never done that before), had our pictures taken in front of the castle (a firm tradition) and watched the parade. Of course we ate dinner, browsed shops and all the other things you’re supposed to do. Sadly, though we had intended to watch Dreams, it was definitely far too cold and we ended up heading back to the hotel early.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast in the hotel (this was included in the price). We also stashed a few croissants and pain au chocolat for a cheeky light lunch later. We got up early and headed into the park for EMH (Early Magic Hours) as this is something we have never been able to do before. It was amazing to be in the park while it was so quiet but I have to admit it may have been partly to blame for me not enjoying much of this day as I started out so cold and never really thawed!

During EMH we managed to meet both Stitch and Chip ‘n’ Dale. The girls were dressed as Mickey and Minnie for their Disney Bounding this day (which seemed to go down well with the character, plus Olivia was Daisy Duck which was so sweet) but sadly it was so cold that you never really got to see much of their outfits.

At 10am we headed over to the Studios as there were a few things we wanted to do there and this was our last day. We queued for Crusher Coaster for over an hour, only to end up feeling sick – and then got FPs for Ratatouille (our favourite ride by far) but not till 4pm that afternoon. We tried to meet Moana at 11.30am but her queue was already closed so we made an effort to waste time elsewhere. We went to the Armageddon special effects show, browsed the shops, ate lunch and saw the Art of Animation theatre show. After that it was time for a second wave of Moana queues so I joined the line while the girls played on the machines in the Animation building.

The queue for Moana seemed to take forever and even took a break right before it was our turn. However the girls seemed pleased to meet her as it was a character we hadn’t been able to meet before (being that she’s new and all). It was also the only time the girls actually got to show off their Mickey and Minnie Disney Bound so I was pleased to get a picture of that.

Finally it was time to ride Ratatouille so we headed over to that. The queue still took a while even on fastpass but it was worth it as always. After that we decided it was time to eat and ended up heading back to the other park and to Hakuna Matata as the girls had enjoyed it when we’d eaten there previously. We then did a little last minute shopping and headed back to the hotel.

As well as eating something Mickey shaped, drinking a Glowtini was also on my list of things I’d like to do, so with the girls in tow, Amy and I headed to the hotel bar and treated ourselves to a drink. It was actually really nice (I had red and Amy had blue) but it was expensive for what you get. The ice cube is funky though and at least you get to take it with you. After about an hour in the bar, we all headed back to our rooms and got an early night. I packed first as we were heading off early.

In the morning, we went for breakfast and then met up with Amy and Olivia to head to the park. We did a little more last minute shopping (for pins) and then said our goodbyes as they had one more day and we were heading home. Everything went perfectly to plan – catching the train, checking in for the plane, the flight etc. We were making great time for getting home — until I hit a barrier in the airport car park and completely broke my car. After a very long wait, a slow journey home and arriving back about 5 hours later than planned, we finally made it home. Sadly the last part put very much a dampener on the weekend for me and definitely made me think hard about whether or not our trips to DLP were worth it or not!

Overall though, it was a good weekend away, if not a little rushed. I truly wish it hadn’t been so cold as I know we all would have enjoyed it so much more.

Hello 2017

January 3, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

On New Year’s Eve I wrote a post reflecting on 2016 and so today I want to look forward to 2017. As it’s already 3rd January I’m sure it’s probably clear that a whole “new me” is not on the horizon. I think I’ve learned from previous years, that that’s not the best route for me. Instead little changes, positive attitude and a hope for better things, is the direction I would like to go.

This Year I will:

Get a better grip on my finances. As I’ve mentioned on my blog before, I have a lot of debt – largely from my time as a single mum (I mean, I’m technically still a single mum but I have a very supportive partner now). For a few years, I just buried my head and the debt got worse but then two years ago it all hit me and I had to stop avoiding it. 2016 was the year I finally started to get that debt down and while I definitely managed to stop adding to it and clear one particular lump of debt, I still have a fair way to go. I have a specific target in mind by the end of the year and that will hopefully lessen my debt by about a third.
Work hard on my business, Closet Geek. It would be a lie to say I don’t work hard on it already as to be honest its my main focus, after the kids. I have thoroughly enjoyed working from home this last year and despite how crazy busy it has gotten at times, I wouldn’t change a thing. This year I am aiming to add at least 6 more product ranges (don’t ask me what, I have no idea yet) and hopefully more variations of the products I already sell. That said, I must remember to take time out and relax (which is hard because I often get into a flow).

Weight Loss is something I want to focus on this year. I haven’t jumped into any kind of diet yet as there is still a lot of bad food kicking around the house. However I am trying to regulate myself and not eat too my rubbish and when routine starts over again and I start cooking evening meals from scratch, I aim to make healthy dishes and avoid any junk. Last year I felt uncomfortable in my skin and it stopped me from dressing up, cosplaying and even feeling like I wanted to make any sort of effort. Its amazing what a knock on effect feeling overweight can have to all areas of life. I also want to try walking more often, especially as life isn’t so hectic that I need to save every minute of time by hopping in the car.
Last year was a wonderful change to family life, working from home instead of feeling stressed in the job I had previously (I actually can’t believe I walked out on that job 2 years ago – I’ve honestly never regretted it). I managed to attend so many of the kids events at school and I’m sure I will be doing so again this year. That said I want to make time outside of those events, to do things as a family. The kids love to play board games (we had a day doing that during holiday), go swimming and play computer games (Lily and I have played Lego Harry Potter for most days of the holidays) so I want to make more time for fun, not just scheduled events. I also want to make more time for Chris as he often gets neglected, just because he “understands more”. On evenings when he’s not at work, I need to step away from my sewing or even my computer and just be with him – doing whatever it is we feel like doing.

This year I would like to:

Moving house is definitely top of the list for things I’d like to do in 2017. Sadly not a huge amount of that decision is in our hands, but we need to try wherever possible. From the house going on the market last April, till now, we’ve only had two viewings. I think there has been many reasons to that but largely the price recommended by the agents is too high. We do have another viewing tomorrow so we will see how that goes but at some point this year we will have to make some firmer decisions – perhaps to change agents, sell at a loss, or whatever other options there might be.
During January I have a weekend away booked with the girls, to Disneyland Paris. However as much as I’m looking forward to it, I’d really like a nice week away somewhere abroad. Top choice for this year would definitely be Italy and ideally during the warm weather. Chris booking holidays at work can be a pain though as he can often only get out of school holiday time. With Megan now at secondary school I am loathed to take them out of school for a holiday, so it’s definitely going to be a juggling act – and of course available money. If we can’t get away this year, I would definitely love to book something bigger for next year – maybe a two week holiday somewhere further afield like the US.

This Year I will try:

Yesterday I was in a position (as I often am) where one of the girls asked if we could do something (something they had been asking for a while and have been saying “soon” to) and my immediate answer was “yes, tomorrow”. Now although that might seen immediate to you, it’s really only because it was that day or tomorrow that we needed to do it, before it was too late. But my reaction was still the latter, not the actual immediate. However after I walked away, I thought “actually, why can’t we just do it now?” and so that’s what we did. Basically I really want to stop putting things off till tomorrow and just get on with them. Because tomorrow never really comes and before you realise it, you’ve been putting everything off and never getting anything done.

When we went swimming, the girls and I, I was reminded of how much I enjoy it and, that despite not going very often, I’m still pretty good at it. While I don’t always want to go when they suggest it, I did realise I could take them and just watch (they’re both old enough now), but also I could go when they’re at school and just swim lengths. It would be a great way to make time for me, get fitter and even find time to shower! I don’t want to set myself a frequency but I would like to swim more.
As I mentioned last year, our friendship group is a little bit fractured now and so in the past 12 months I haven’t thrown any large group events. I think its probably easiest to just see each group of working friendships, by themselves, whenever there is time, rather than force everyone to get together. Last year we did enjoy a meal out as a group of friends, a cinema trip as a double date and a few times having friends around for dinner. I would like to continue that this year, making more of an effort but hopefully making time for everyone.
Finally I should probably give my blog a mention. At this time of year it’s always easy to say “I’ll post more”, or “I’ll post frequently” but the truth is when life gets busy, my blog takes a backseat. I also often find that I lose inspiration for what to write at times and it can become just one big life update that people probably aren’t that interested in. I’m ditching Project 52 (as I did towards the end of last year) as I always forget to take pictures weekly). Instead I might do something monthly, as I did with my round-ups (which definitely suits me better so I will be sticking to those). I’d like to keep updating about books I read (which maybe should have been another bulletpoint as I really should read more) and movies we see at the cinema but past that I’m uncertain of the direction my blog will take. I am considering various options though so watch this space!

Travel Diary – 20th June 16 – Paris Day Four

July 4, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

By Day Four of our trip, our holiday was almost over! We had traveled on Day One, then attended the Fairytales Convention both Day Two and Day Three (as well as sight-see) and so by Day Four we were on our last whole day and this was to be spent in Disneyland Paris. Although I’ve been lucky enough to visit Disneyland Paris four times before, this was Nat’s first time. We had decided to Disneybound for the day and I had even made us Disney Ears to match. Sadly, even from the start of the day, we knew it was going to be a wet one and so taking an outfit picture was going to be unlikely.

When we got up in the morning, we both got dressed and ready. Nat was being Captain America and I was being Ariel. The hotel was too dim and there wasn’t really much room to photograph our outfits and so instead we decided we would try to take something in the park. However even on the way to CDG airport to catch the train, the rain started and we wondered if once again my curse to not have sunshine at Disney was about to strike!

The picture above, is pretty much the best picture that we managed to take all day. You can’t see our outfits at all but I was wearing a purple t-shirt, with green jeans and mint coloured shoes and a handbag. Nat was wearing royal blue jeans, red converse and a Captain America t-shirt. As I mentioned, we had ears to match!

When we first arrived at Disney, we headed into the Studios. I wanted Nat to ride Ratatouille while we were there, so snagging a fast pass was important – and she wanted to ride Hollywood Tower of Terror, so that was also top of the list. After getting our fast passes for Ratatouille, we did ride Hollywood Tower next. We then got a fast pass for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and then went on Armageddon Special Effects. We then did the Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster, followed by the Studio Tram Tour – all of which we managed, without getting too wet. However during the Tram Tour, the rain really started to come down. After getting off, we decided to head for food so we got Quick Service at the Front Lot. Despite the fact we ended up sitting on the floor, food was actually pretty nice. However after that it was time for Ratatouille and the rain was still coming down hard. Due to the fact we were Disneybounding, unfortunately we didn’t have coats – this was a bad move as we got completely soaked too and from Ratatouille, eventually ducking into the toilets to try and dry ourselves off.

Finally we headed over to the other park. There actually wasn’t a huge amount we wanted to do here, as a lot of the bigger rides are closed. Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain are both closed for maintenance right now and other than the parade and fireworks, we were really just going to see what didn’t have too much of a queue. Sadly on the trip between parks, we got drowned again. You can probably see from the picture below, just how wet it was.

The rain was still coming down hard and it showed no sign of letting up. There isn’t a huge amount of cover and although we headed for the castle, we didn’t want to just sit in there and shelter from the rain indefinitely. Instead we headed towards the Indiana Jones roller coaster, which I hadn’t ridden before. We didn’t realise it was outdoor either but by the time we got there, we were soaked anyway and with only a 10 minute queue, we figured “what the hell”. Sadly though, when we got off, we were pretty much done. It was only about 4pm and the thought of even making it till 5.30pm for the parade was unlikely, let alone the fireworks at 10-11pm.

As we’d walked through the two parks, I’d been half looking for a hoodie or jacket to buy, so I could take off my wet top and get warm again. In the end I bought a white DLP one as I liked it the most of all I’d seen and we headed into the toilets to dry off. We were lucky enough to find a toilets that was pretty much deserted AND with four hand dryers. I quickly slipped off my top and on with my jacket and then dried off my top. Nat dried her cardigan and once that was dry, switched like I had and dried her t-shirt. All in all, I think we were in that bathroom for almost an hour but honestly it was so worth it. I had been tempted to just wear my jacket and actually ditch my t-shirt, however I managed to dry it pretty well and put it back on.

Rocking the drowned rat look

By mutual decision, we headed out of the park and back to the train. We bought a ticket on the fast train again, but there was an hour to wait so we found ourselves a seat and refused to move so as not to lose it. At about 10 minutes before our train, we raided the venting machines for a drink, crisps, sweets etc. all to take back to the hotel. This is because we didn’t want to risk another plate of cold meats, fish and whatnot that we couldn’t eat! Eventually we were back at the hotel, freezing cold and incredibly tired. We both got changed into our pjs and climbed into bed, hoping to make it till about 10pm and then go to sleep. The evening dragged a little and neither of us could really warm up. While we’d had a good day, it felt a bit ruined by the rain and even more so now we were cold and feeling rough. However eventually we headed to bed, knowing we were getting up early and heading home in the morning!

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Travel Diary – May 20th-23rd 2016 – The Haul

June 8, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

As you’ll have seen, I wrote about Day One, Day Two and Day Three of our holiday. Technically there was a Day Four but it just involved getting up, packing and heading off on the drive home, through the tunnel and again driving home. So I skipped that day and instead I’m bringing you the final post from this holiday, The Haul.

My biggest purchase of the holiday, was my Disneyland Paris annual pass! I haven’t actually taken a picture of the pass itself, but here is the info booklet that comes with it. Sadly it’s all in French, so I don’t understand a whole bunch of it, but it was pretty awesome getting it all anyway.

Since we were visiting the park anyway, I knocked off the price of that day’s ticket (74 Euros) and paid just 150 on the day. I say just, but it’s not really just, however I knew I would be going again the next month and it would save money on that ticket and of course the reductions and discounts it offers anyway.

Other than that, there was just souvenirs from each day. Day One was obviously visiting the Eiffel Tower. I treated myself to a postcard, a mug and a fridge magnet.

The girls got themselves a postcard each and then Lily bought a pen while Megan bought it miniature version of the tower itself.

Chris did get himself an ornament too but I actually didn’t photo much of his stuff!

Next day, was Disney Village. It was supposed to be a day in Paris but due to feeling ill in the morning, that didn’t happen. Instead we spent the afternoon in Disney Village (at the Parks) but I didn’t buy much as I knew we were going back the next day. The one thing I did grab was the Tsum Tsums we’d missed the week before from The Disney Store.

Finally was our day in the Disneyland Parks. I was pretty good and tamed my spending but I did get a baby Pegasus and a new mug.

Chris bought a mug too so I actually photographed that with mine as well, both front and back!

The girls bought chocolate bars to take home for their friends.

They also bought one thing each – Megan, a scarf (I forgot to photograph) and Lily, some wellies. Megan’s scarf has Walt Disney quotes all over it and I have to admit I’d love to steal Lily’s wellies too!

This is our mini haul which isn’t too bad for a weekend away. I’m back to Disneyland Paris again this month though so watch this space for whatever I give in to!

Travel Diary – 22nd May 16 – Paris Day Three

June 3, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

We spent our third and last day at Disney so this post is fairly picture heavy. Despite it not being the day I had hoped, we still made the best of a bad situation and there were definitely even some positives thrown in there too. Sadly it was mostly a bust though!

Day Three

Having always planned to spent Sunday in Disney, we didn’t have a lot of choice, even when we woke up and it was throwing it down with rain. This was our last day of the trip and if we didn’t go that day, we wouldn’t go at all – but it made me sad that we hadn’t just gone the day before and enjoyed the glorious sunshine! Despite all that, the girls were sure they wanted to dress up and I figured I may as well Disney Bound, even though what I’d wanted to wear had ended up a bit messed up.

So we set off and it was raining, so we all got soaked. It rained all the way there and at one point I actually wondered about turning around and going back. However by the time we arrived, it was just spitting so we joined the queue for getting in.

After getting into the park, we headed straight for the Studios. I wanted a FP for Ratatouille and I knew it was best to get that first. After grabbing our FP (to come back at 1pm), Chris and Megan went on the Studio Tram Tour while Lily and I went on Hollywood Tower Hotel. After we were done, we met back up and made our way over to the Disneyland park. Here we wandered around, taking pictures of the Spring features and also the obligatory “in front of the castle” picture.

We rode several rides that we hadn’t done in DLP before, including Pirates of the Caribbean. We also did Phantom Manor as Chris had only done Haunted Mansion in Florida. It wasn’t long before we had to head back to the Studios though and ride Ratatouille, after which we stayed in the park for Megan to look around Art of Disney Animation.

After heading back over to the other park, the rain finally came back again. Until now, it hadn’t been too bad and actually it had made looking around enjoyable as all queues were 5-10 minutes. However the rain was fairly heavy so we headed for Buzz Lightyear and then Space Mountain (which sadly Lily was too small for) and finally It’s a Small World. Since the rain was still heavy after that, we headed to the Annual Pass office and I upgraded my pass.

We ducked in to see Maleficent and keep out of the rain but luckily it eased a little again and we took a visit to the Sword in the Stone. However by this point my feet were soaked and so were Lily’s, so we decided to head back to the car, via a shop to buy wellies for Lily and I we could all get changed and be more comfortable. Lily swapped to her wellies and I put on my trainers and also changed my jeans. We sat for a while to warm up and then headed back to the park in time to catch Disney Magic on Parade.

I realised while watching the Parade, this was probably one of my favourite things about visiting a Disney Park. Thought we had caught Goofy’s Garden Party and Minnie’s Spring Train, the full parades are definitely the best. The highlight by far was when Rapunzel realised Megan was wearing a Rapunzel style dress and totally freaked out. I know it was also one of Megan’s favourite parts too.

After the parade was finished (around 6pm), we had arranged to meet my mum and sister, in order to go to Planet Hollywood for dinner. We had purchased set meals in advance so it made the whole process really simple and it was nice to get warm and just relax. Dinner was really great and everyone was so nice to the girls and especially complimenting the dresses they were wearing. By the time we were done though, none of us were really in the mood for more. It was still raining and according to the forecast it was set to rain the rest of the day. The fireworks weren’t until 10pm ish and by now it was only about 7.30pm. We didn’t really know whether to stay or go and although I love the final show, I just knew I would be making everyone miserable to wait around.

My mum and Pippa headed back to the car and said they would stay there if we decided to stay, so Chris, the girls and I went and did some shopping. Afterwards we decided that we really didn’t have the energy to stay and so Chris and Lily headed back to the car while Megan and I just popped to one more shop to grab some earrings she wanted. By about 8pm we were back at the car and heading back to the accommodation.

For the most part the day had felt like a let down and despite getting an annual pass out of the day and also the queues being short, I had felt miserable with wet shoes, we’d had yet another visit where we couldn’t take our coats off and we hadn’t made it to the fireworks at the end!

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Travel Diary – 21st May 16 – Paris Day Two

June 2, 2016 by Bel Leave a 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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21/52

May 22, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

I have two very beautiful girls. Taken DLP.

Holiday!!

May 19, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

I’m not counting this as day one as we’re still in the UK, but technically we left the house today and are therefore on holiday!

I’m so excited about this weekend away, because finally I’m going to Paris. I can’t even begin to tell you how long I’ve wanted to visit for and even though we’ve been to DLP before (and even driven past the Eiffel Tower), I’ve never actually been to Paris itself.

Tonight we’re in a Travelodge in Maidstone, where we’re catching some sleep before heading off early in the morning. We will be traveling across the Eurotunnel and into Paris tomorrow, where we will check in to accommodation and then visit the Eiffel Tower! I hope to find time to update, even just a little, every day, so for now I will say good night and leave you with these pics.