Wednesday, February 24, 2016

My Top Disney Tips!

Happy Hump Day! As some of you may have noticed from my instagram, I was at Disney World this past weekend and it was every bit as magical as it looks in my photos. I feel so blessed to live only 45 minutes away from Disney and hope one day I can work there and be a part of the magic! For today’s post I wanted to give you a few of my best tips for visiting the parks. It is always really great to do spontaneous things, but Disney World is not the place to “wing it”. Planning is key.


1. First off, look at a map! Find the park you are going to be visiting and make sure to look at the layout so you are familiar with where things are. This is also super helpful when picking fast pass selections. You can read more about Fast Pass + here but I will give you the gist. They are basically passes you can reserve for certain times to skip the long lines at attractions. 



2. That brings me to number two which would be make fast pass selections in advance! After you have bought your tickets to the parks,  you can make your selections up to 30 days ahead of time. You can make three Fast Pass selections before hand per person and then after you have used them all up you can make more from the kiosks located in the parks one at a time. So make sure that your first three are at the very beginning of your visit. You don’t want your third fast pass to be at 8 at night because you won’t be able to make more until after that one. Scheduling is key.


(How cute is my sister. She loves to make me sick on the tea cups!)

3. Don’t spend too much time walking! The parks are VERY large and if you don’t establish who in your party wants to do what and have a somewhat scheduled day, you will spend more time walking around then actually doing anything. Study they map and circle what everyone wants to do and then go in order around the park.



4. Use the Mobil Disney Parks App! This is a life saver! You can pin point where characters are within the parks, and look up wait times for rides. This is super helpful because if you are at a kiosk and getting another fast pass, you can search on your phone which rides have the longest or shortest wait times. If one of the rides you want to ride only has a 15 minute wait time, go ride it now and get a fast pass for a later time for a ride that has a 120 minute wait time. You get it??


(Nails here.)

 5. When it comes to food, it’s to each their own. Certain Disney Parks have REALLY great restaurants that are worth of your time and money. For example Epcot you can eat your way around the world and it is totally worth your time. That is almost what you are supposed to do! However, at Magic Kingdom, unless you have reservations at the REALLY nice and REAALLLYY expensive Be Our Guest Restaurant or the Cinderella Castle Restaurant, then don’t worry about food. Everything else is pretty much the same so don’t spend too much time walking around looking for somewhere to eat. As far as snacks go, I love the Mickey Ice Cream on a Stick, or Mickey Pretzel! Salty and Sweet! There are also plenty of sweet shops on Main Street that are sure to fill your cravings, not to mention Main St Popcorn smells AMAZING!



6. Shopping Shopping Shopping…  There are certain times that the shops on Main Street are more crowded than others. For example, if you go in the late afternoon or night time, the stores are kind of crowded because everyone is walking through the shops on their way out from the parks picking up any last minute souvenirs. There are several shops on Main Street that have everything Disney you could imagine but I would definitely recommend the Emporium which is souvenir heaven! It goes on and on like a shopping mall!

PS. The Emporium is where I got my Alex and Ani bracelet that y’all saw on Instagram!

7. And last but not least PICTURES! You get your pictures taken on all the rides and can scan them on to your magic band or admission ticket if you want it and it will automatically download to your Disney App if you are signed in. This is again super awesome because it immediately is on your phone. You DO have to pay to download the pictures from your phone or you can always go to a photo kiosk in the park to buy your photos right then and there. Now the typical Cinderella Castle picture!! This is one EVERYONE has to at least attempt to take! If you are going to take some on your phone, work your way all the way down Main Street to right in front of the castle. There will be less random strangers in your pictures. If you want one of the Disney photographers lined on Main St. to take them, make sure to also do this right when the park opens. Another little tip that no one thinks about is right before the parade starts, take a picture in front of the castle. Everyone lines the sidewalks to get a good spot for the parade and so hardly anyone is walking in front of the castle. A professional can take one picture for you on her camera and your own. It might be awkward with people lined the side walk watching you take pictures but they will turn out AMAZING!

(My T-shirt here and minnie ears here!!)







MAN that was a LOT of tips and tricks! To keep up with all my Disney pics and magical adventures follow me on Instagram here! Talk to y’all all very soon! Leave any thoughts or questions below, or email me!


xoxo
Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Events of the Bible: The Battle of Jericho-Weekly Devotion

Hey Y'all! Before we get started real fast I wanted to apologize for leaving some of you hanging with these devotions. I was really sick and took a two week break from the blog... but I'm back! We are still continuing to work our way through every event of the Bible so stick with me folks :)
 
What we Learned This Week:
If you remember the last event, we learned that God used a prostitute to protect the Israelite spies to help them eventually get the promised land ;) That is one of my favorite parts of the WHOLE Bible! Well now we are at the Battle of Jericho. God had the Israelites use a strange tactic. God had them march around the city of Jericho and the men of Jericho actually trembled in fear. After seven days of this same routine, God won a great victory through the Israelites as the people surrendered, the city was torn apart, and Rahab (the prostitute) was protected in return. This was the land that God had promised them.
 
Relating it to Your Life:
This reminds me of when I was younger and my mom knew I had done something wrong, and so she would just ask me several times until I finally confessed. Momma always won that game. Anyways, beside the point. Once again, God delivered on his promises. Sometimes in weird ways, God proves to be trustworthy. Do you not think that after about day three of marching around the whole city and nothing changing that the Israelites weren't questioning God? Of course they did! This plan seemed cray cray and they were ready to have a nap! However, in the most unlikely circumstance, God came through. Trust my friends. Trust is key.
 
Next Weeks Reading:
Joshua 21:43-45
Judges 1:8-36
(I know its kind of a lot but I think you can handle it!!)
 
I will talk to all of you tomorrow! Leave any questions, concerns, or comments down below or email me!
 
 
xoxo
Saturday, February 20, 2016

New Hair, Instagram, The Bachelor | Life Update

 
 
 
 
 
GUUUYS! I have missed blogging over these past two weeks! Boy do we have lots to catch up on. First off, I apologize that I took a few weeks off of blogging. My immune system has been completely shot recently and I have had a nasty cold for two weeks straight. Not to mention, I had a ton of SAT preparing to do since I take that test in a few weeks. Any test day tips would be much appreciated.
 
In these pictures you may notice I got a hair cut! If you know me you know I love changing my hair ALL the time. I haven't however ever colored my hair. It is funny how I never want to ever dye my hair but am so daring when it comes to cutting it.
 
What are y'all up to this weekend? I will be going to DISNEY WORLD! I am about to pee myself with excitement about going to Magic Kingdom tomorrow. Even though I live only an hour from the most magical place on earth, it has been several years since I have been. Catch all the pictures on my Instagram over the next few days here.
 
After my Disney trip on Sunday, I will be spending my Monday night watching THE BACHELOR!! This coming week is hometown visits and I can not wait to see all these girls families and what Ben thinks. 
Here are my main thoughts:
1. Ben is easily one of my favorite bachelors (next to Shawn and Catherine's season of course)
2. I think Lauren B. has a somewhat boring personality compared to the other girls but think he will pick her at the end and they are stinkin cute together.
3. I do love JoJo but I really hope that Caila is the next bachelorette. Hopefully she will share with us her hair secrets because she looks like she is straight out of a TRESemme commercial.

What are your thoughts of this season of the bachelor thus far? Who do you think will be the one standing in the end? Only a few more weeks :)
 
PHEW! Now that we are all caught up friends, I will see you soon! Expect plenty of blog posts coming soon!
 
 
xoxo
Sunday, February 7, 2016

Valentines Day Rice Krispies

 
 
Only one week until Valentines day? I am excited, I hope y'all are! To get you in the lovey-dovey spirit we have a delicious treat to make. Who doesn't love a simple rice krispie treat? They are easier, quicker, and healthier than most other desserts so it's a keeper in my book!
 
You can get the recipe from Mels Kitchen!
 
Have a great week! I will talk to you very soon!
 
 
xoxo