Crowds, Fruit Bats, and Orange Le Creuset {Florida Vacation Wrap-Up}

the view from our room at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House

we saw giraffes and zebra everyday

I realized we left Florida over two weeks ago and I've only posted some snaps from Harry Potter. I could go on and on and share hundreds of pictures but here are some highlights:

First, the crowds. I mentioned that it was extremely busy at Harry Potter but of course it was "regular busy" all over Universal and all the Disney Parks and any mom knows you are never truly relaxed in those kinds of places when you are watching your children (...or any public place, really). One thing I've found to make it easier is dressing my children in similar colors:

At Universal, when we noticed there was a Dr. Seuss "Thing Three" tee shirt in addition to the other two from The Cat in the Hat, we went all out and dressed our three in matching tees the next day. This really does make it easier to keep track of multiple little ones:

Another tip I heard recently - which is so smart - is to take a quick snap of your child(ren) on your cell phone right before you enter the mall/park/airport etc. That way, if your child does happen to get lost (it can only take seconds) you have a very current pic readily available.

Now fruit bats. They may seem to be a strange highlight from a trip to Disney... but have you ever seen those little creatures up close? They are amazing! They look like cute little furry puppies with these incredible long thin leathery wings they wrap around themselves. We saw them at The Animal Kingdom (it was our first trip there and such a great visit for our little animal lovers).

After a safari tour, taking pictures with Jiminy Cricket, and petting a snake, we found a furry little stuffed bat at a gift shop and my son quite quickly became attached to him:

"Theodore Batman" and his happy (and sleeping) new owner

The Lion King show was also wonderful.

And the orange Le Creuset...

It is my favorite (I have a French oven and teapot out on my stove all the time) and just one of the touches I love about the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes, Orlando. We stayed there last May (post here) and really wanted to stay again during this visit, so spent three nights there before we moved on to The Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House for that full Disney experience.

grits and oatmeal served up in orange LC at the Ritz Carlton breakfast buffet... perfect

love the decor too

I do have a couple more OOTDs from the trip that I'll post together soon.

Happy Monday!

xoxo

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Our first stop on our recent Florida trip was Universal Studios, because (if you haven't already heard), the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter has opened. My eight year old is a huge Harry Potter fan (our puppy's middle name is Potter if that's any indication) so we decided to head to Florida as part of our trip back South this sumer and check it out.

Personally, I've made it a bit into the first book and have watched parts of a couple movies, so I don't know nearly as much about it as my daughter but I do have a general idea. And the park seems very authentic and I'm sure will thrill and delight Potter fans. The effort put into detail really is amazing. The "snow" covered haphazard roofs and the buildings of the village really take you into the movie... well this part does:

But not exactly this part:

Yes. The crowds. They were insane. It was hot. The sun was beating down. And we were just about shoulder to shoulder with ... well, I can't even guess the number, but... a LOT of other Harry Potter aficionados. Sunday actually wasn't too too bad, but on Monday there was a line through other sections of Universal just to enter through the magical gateway into HP Land.

Over the two days (we visited other parts of the park too) we bought candy at Honeydukes, drank frozen Butter Beer (like melty caramel ice cream yum),

rode the one roller coaster that was mild enough for our group, and waited an hour and a half (hot but interesting window displays along part of the way) to get into Ollivander's.

There was a cool little show inside (for 30 people at a time) where a couple of children (I think it's usually just one) were chosen by their wands (and then the parents were offered the opportunity to buy them next door), and then we were ushered in to the shop. Here we were shoulder to shoulder as many people were still in there from previous shows. As I grabbed one of my children and clung to a wall, I learned that the Hermione wands were sold out (among a few others) but luckily I would be able to order my little fan her perfect wand online when they came back into stock.

So we will get my eight year old her Hermione wand eventually and my five year old chose a Willow #5. My seven year old said she'd rather go to Italy.

I'm already planning for next summer.

So all in all, I do have to say the Wizarding World is an amazing work of art, engineering, effort, and of course, imagination. I would probably just wait another year or two until some of the excitement dies down and it can be really seen and enjoyed.

Happy Monday!

xoxo

Ritz Pics {Orlando}

view of pool from our balcony

bocce

breakfast

mosaic floor

pretty sitting area

decorating ideas at every turn

OOD 5.26.09: Orlando, Day 2 {Walt Disney World!}

So back to Day 2 of our trip: I must preface by saying I love warm/hot weather and denim capris didn't bother me in the slightest despite the temps and crowds... And although I looked slightly insane with even a thin cotton cardigan tied around my waist amidst all the people sweating in tanks and shorts, I was happy to have it later in the evening after the massive downpour!

I think Jackie cardigans have become my security blanket. I just have to have one (or something similar) around. And they make them so thin now that they easily fold up and slip into your bag. Works for me!

Old Navy denim capris, J Crew outlet ruffle tank in white, J Crew Jackie in Misty Lavender, J Crew outlet necklace, Steve Madden Seeri sandals

And for a late, late dinner after over 12 hours at Disney, room service is the way to go:

Also, I was half-way through my dessert when I thought to take a pic of it, so I didn't... but it was the most amazing warm round little cheesecake wrapped in phyllo (super thin caramelized layer that tasted like the crispy top of a creme brulee) on top of crumbly buttery graham cracker with apricot coulis and berries... still thinking about it, can you tell??

OOD 5.27.09: Orlando Day 3

J Crew Lisa dress in navy, J Crew outlet Jackie in pink, Coach wedges, J Crew outlet necklace, Juicy charm bracelet not pictured, but shown on Polyvore

Out of order I know (we spent Tues at Disney) but here's a quick OOD from Wednesday. This pic is in the ladies room on the lower level of the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes - outside the restaurant where we ate dinner Sunday night and breakfast each morning. I couldn't resist - I just love the pretty decor so much. I want the mosaic floor for my own bathroom! I've also made up a Polyvore but I can't figure out how to cut and paste it on to my blog on my laptop. I should learn how to do that, I know.

xoxo

Orlando, Day 1

Well, we made it through the day-long travel yesterday and I managed only to forget toothbrushes (Hubby packed 4 extra that I had just bought for at-home back-ups. Smart.) and car seats (we now have three more booster seats). Not too bad for how hectic everything has been.

I am blogging from my husband's laptop which has quite a different photo program (I use a mac), and it's going rather slowly, so I will probably catch up on posting about the hotel (Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes), which is beautiful, the surprise visit to Disney we are planning for the kids tomorrow, and my brief shopping excursion to the J Crew outlet this evening, after we get back.

I hope everyone has had a nice Memorial Day weekend.

xoxo

OOD 5.24.09: Seattle to Orlando

Travel Day by sparrowsandsparkles featuring Steve Madden shoes

Today is going to be a loooong day.

This is a very last-minute trip - my grandfather passed away. While we are very, very sad, he was blessed with a long, adventurous, Christian life and I am happy that my children will get to see their grandparents this coming week and we will have our family together for a few days. Since we'll be in the Orlando area, we're also going to take the kids to Disney one of the days. That part's a surprise.

Sporadic posting to follow - I will have my mac and camera. I don't think I'll be doing OOD's (I just hope I threw some presentable outfits in the suitcase and have time to iron) but I will definitely have to share some pics of the surprise-ees at WDW and the beautiful surroundings.

xoxo