Play. Work. Repeat.

Because play should always come first.

F5 :: FIVE FOR FRIDAY {12.27.19}

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Another week of holiday cheer is officially in the books!

::1:: I need more “things” like I need a hole in the head, but the sales are too insanely good right now to pass up. From Vineyard Vines to Nordstrom, Wayfair to Serena & Lily, the deals are making me want to buy in bulk and then put my credit cards away for the rest of the year.

::2:: After the heaviness of Christmas-themed meals, I’m craving lightened up Asian-inspired dishes, like these wraps and this turkey salad (despite their abundance of vegetables). Although let’s face it, I’ll be making these Korean Beef Sloppy Joes by week’s end.

::3:: I’m also craving some time with the Peloton, but can’t stop playing Luigi Mansion 3…which Santa brought for my six year old. If he excitedly watches me play, that counts as quality time, right?

::4:: I started a new skincare regimen last night that will carry me through the next couple of weeks. I’m loyal to the Biologique Recherche line, and received Cocktail d’Actifs Régénérants as a Christmas gift from my husband this year. Apparently, I was very good. Will report back.

::5:: My little family, plus my mom, will be embarking on a cruise vacation in 2020! I’ve been on a handful of cruises with my husband before, but never with the little guy and only our second time with Royal Caribbean. The pricing for everything seems astronomical to me, but the time and effort to research/wait/cancel/rebook excursions, packages, etc. seems like more work to me than vacation. Recommendations are so welcome here — splurge and enjoy the ride or keep researching so no regrets later?

Tuesday Tidbits

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See :: Beetlejuice on Broadway. Brilliant retelling of a classic movie that will leave you in tears from laughing so hard. It will not disappoint! Be More Chill, on the other hand, was an interesting story with good acting…but it felt like I was being screamed at the entire time. It’s also no longer playing on Broadway, so…

Do :: Stream “The Boys” on Amazon. So many cringeworthy moments, but what an idea to flip a superhero series on its head. Worth the binge.

Read :: Anything you may ever want to know about Fall lawn care with the Lawn Care Nut. My husband has two weeks off from work, and he has dedicated that time to revitalizing our lawn. And making it smell bad. And become unusable. But I’ve been told there will be greener pastures to show for it in three weeks, so there’s that! This man, and his guide/Facebook page have been my husband’s go-to resource. Will report back with before/after photos!

Learn :: Flag football. Wee man threw a football in a spiral pattern a few times during a preschool field day last Spring, and since then he and the hubs have been all about making him the next Joe Montana. Not by practicing, but by talking about the little guy playing football in the Fall. So I signed him up for FLAG football, with our first practice this past Saturday. He felt bad about taking the other kids’ flags (didn’t want them to be sad), so he stood there and let them take his. He’s such a sweet soul.

Tennis, it is.

Disney World Adventure – Day Three (Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom)

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Recaps of Days 1 and 2 here.

Day Three. Midway through the vacation, pouring rain…and, honestly, the best.

Following the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom.

We got up early to catch the first(ish?) bus to Animal Kingdom from our hotel. We dressed in layers and with rain coats, and didn’t let the weather hold us back. I was SO GLAD. Animal Kingdom was about as empty as Disney parks get. Wednesday morning with bad weather = Disney heaven.

One downside – we did not do Avatar Flight of Passage. I couldn’t get a FastPass for it and was not waiting on line for two hours in the rain with a morning full of FastPasses and empty lines. Instead, we did so much else.

Animal Kingdom Rides
~ Dinosaur – I’ve always loved this ride. Wee man was a little nervous, but later confessed as to how much he loved it.
~ Expedition Everest – first LEGIT roller coaster for wee man; he was a little shaky after, but claimed he loved it. This was our last FP of the day.
~ Kilimanjaro Safaris – the best views of the animals I have ever seen, since it had stopped raining for a brief period during our scheduled time and the animals began emerging from their shelters. Absolutely beautiful – worth the FP.
~ Na’vi River Journey – another Avatar ride, which we had a FP for. Absolutely stunning ride.
~ Touring – what I love about Animal Kingdom that isn’t exactly an attraction is the opportunity to walk around, see all of the beautiful animals, enjoy Pandora, partake in the carnival atmosphere of Dinoland and…of course…hang with the characters (we saw Scrooge McDuck!).

Meeting Scrooge McDuck
Expedition Everest

There were also many impromptu shows with incredible music, and we even ran into Kevin from “Up!”.

Dinoland

We grabbed lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue (delicious!) and some ice cream before heading back to our hotel for some R&R and, I’m sure you guessed it…pool time!

After freshening up, we grabbed an evening boat ride over to Magic Kingdom to catch dinner and some more rides.

I made a last minute reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern, around 8:15 pm. The wait was about 15 minutes — not terrible by Disney standards. So let me say that when I booked this, I thought buffet meant an actual buffet — not family-style set menu. I wish I had known that going into it. The food was actually really, really good and authentically American. Pot roast, roast turkey, pork roast, potatoes, vegetables, gravy…it’s endless and pretty darn tasty. Only problem was that wee man is anti-food, and refused to eat anything offered except a dinner roll. Add to that, the Wishes fireworks display. Full day of Disney + Hunger + Fireworks = Epic Meltdown.

Apart from a disastrous dinner experience (through no fault of the restaurant – I blame myself for not researching better!), we were able to hit some more rides that we missed the day before. We were even able to take advantage of the park’s Extra Magic Hours, where we were able to keep going on rides after the park closed to the general public because we were staying at a Disney hotel.

Magic Kingdom Rides (Round 2 – No FPs)
~ Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – always a crowd-pleaser roller coaster, plus it was pretty chilly that night and it was nice that part of the wait was indoors.
~ The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – there was no line for this, otherwise we might have passed. Fantastic for younger kids, though.
~ Peter Pan’s Flight – I was tempted to FP this, since I heard such wonderful things. Thanks to all the hype, I had built it up in my head a bit and was a little let down. We went on this ride during Extra Magic Hours, so the line was considerably shorter than at any other point of the day. Wee man fell asleep on the ride…that’s when we decided to call it a night.
~ Pirates of the Caribbean – a boat tour through Jack Sparrow’s pirate tale. No line at night and tons of fun!
~ Swiss Family Treehouse – my mother would like this attraction (not a ride!), my son was bored to tears.

There is something so special about Disney parks at night — it really does feel magical.

Disney World Adventure – Day Two (Magic Kingdom/Epcot)

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Day One…epic success. We woke up the next morning excited and energized for Magic Kingdom.

Fast Passes were ready to go (Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Space Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train), we caught the first boat over to Magic Kingdom and then something happen…NO ENTHUSIASM FROM THE WEE MAN! I don’t know if I was expecting glitter to explode from his head when he saw Cinderella’s Castle for the first time, and eventually we did get a little reaction from him, which we managed to get on video. I’ll spare you the two videos taken before it where I was given dirty looks.

Magic Kingdom Rides
~ Astro Orbiter – high flying, no lines early AM, probably really cool at night
~ Barnstormer – great coaster for small kids, it’s also where I lost (and found) my Magic Band
~ Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – this was adorable, a virtual shooting game and mini coaster
~ Haunted Mansion – the line was a little long for this one, but it moves quickly; great ride and nice way to beat the heat for a bit
~ Mad Tea Party – goes down in history as wee man’s first Disney ride!
~ Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – quite possibly my favorite ride in MK and worth the FP since standby hours were 2-3 hours when we were there
~ Space Mountain – the last of our FPs for the day, and by this point wee man was tired, hungry and cranky, which resulted in the pouting image below after we wouldn’t let him switch seats after the ride started (showing this one at his wedding!!!)
~ Under the Sea – there was no line for this ride, which is why we decided to try it; it was adorable, but wee man didn’t care for it one way or another – would not have waited in a line for it

He will, however, always wait in line for a popsicle.

We grabbed lunch at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe, and made sure to get a Mickey-shaped ice cream bar while checking out The Muppets Present Great Moments in American History!

Then back on the boat to our hotel we went…and, of course, back to the pool!

After some swimming, rest (once it starting POURING) and showers of our own, we hopped on a bus and headed to Epcot once the rain stopped. Honestly, given the little guy’s aversion to food, we contemplated skipping this park altogether. Since we had the park hopper pass, why not give it a shot, right?

I’m glad we went…we had a great time. For rides, we only went on Mission: SPACE and Spaceship Earth. There were no lines for either, so we were in and out pretty quickly. In hindsight, I wish we would have gone on Soarin’, but the line was sooo long.

We were all on last legs, so we walked around the World Showcase (AMAZING!) pretty quickly, had dinner in Mexico at La Cantina de San Angel and watched IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth much to the dismay of my child (he’s terrified of fireworks). Illuminations was beautiful — worth watching the show, if you can.

Grabbing the bus back to the hotel was quick and easy, as we prepared for Day 3 of our Disney World Adventure in Animal Kingdom and a second pass at Magic Kingdom.

We went to Disney World!

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With a five year old. And survived. Those who bring multiple children to the Most Magical Place on Earth, I salute you.

Looking back now, I get all fangirl about the vacation, as in, “OMG! BEST VACATION EVER! WE NEED TO DO THIS EVERY YEAR!” Clearly I’m forgetting the 10 thousand times wee man (all 46″ of him) asked to be picked up/carried/held because he didn’t feel like walking/standing/waiting. Or was put out when we didn’t have a Fast Pass (bless you, FP!) for a ride. Or saying that he likes being cold and doesn’t want to layer clothing, then complains he is too cold and we have to spend $100 on a sweatshirt. The list goes on, but I won’t bore you with that here…a little pain is all part of the Disney experience.

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge for four nights (Monday – Friday), which we picked based on the pool and its proximity to Magic Kingdom. LOOOOOOVED taking the boat to MK, but just an FYI that you will need to take a bus to every other park unless you go to MK first and take the monorail. The pool was so good that wee man never wanted to leave (including to go to the rides!), and the staff was just purely incredible. We chose a balcony room that faced the pool — no regrets! We also booked using the Gift of Magic offer, which is good through the end of April 2019.

View of Wilderness Lodge pool from our balcony.

Monday (Day One)
We flew down to Orlando from Newark airport free of charge courtesy of the miles I had been saving up with the airline’s credit card. It was wee man’s first plane ride, and he exceeded all expectations. I could not have been more proud of him with all the loud noises (which he hates) and being forced to listen to direction (which he also hates). I mean, he’s five.

First Plane Ride

Anyway…I can’t recommend enough using the Magical Express if you are staying at a WDW Resort. First, it’s free. Second, it’s glorious — place the yellow luggage tags on your checked bags PRIOR to checking your luggage at the airport. While you go straight from the plane to the Magical Express bus in Orlando, WDW finds your luggage at the airport and brings it directly to your room in 3-5 hours. Pack anything you absolutely need – including bathing suits for those amazing pools – in your carry on. WDW does the rest. (More on Magical Express going home to come). Having dowloaded the Disney app and checked into our hotel online prior to our arrival, I received a text while still on the bus that our room was ready — which meant we could bypass lobby check-in and use our magic bands to access our room. Could not be easier.

On Magic Express heading to Wilderness Lodge

Is anything better than the start of your vacation once you’re FINALLY at your destination? Ugh, it’s glorious. This first (late) lunch, at our hotel’s Geyser Bar & Grill, was al fresco and amazing. After we ate, we changed into swim clothes (which we packed in our carry on) and hit the pool! The temperature of the pool (and the weather) was perfection, and there was ample seating for guests. The pool offers a slide for bigger kids, and a separate mini-water park for smaller children. The towels are free and in ample supply. You could also purchase adult beverages at Geyser and bring them to the pool. Wins all around.

We had purchased Park Hopper passes for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but had nothing scheduled for Monday night. To be honest, (a) I wasn’t sure we would be up for it depending on how the day went with travel and (b) I just really wanted to go with the flow for once. We left the pool for our room just in time for our luggage to be delivered. After showers and changing, we set out for the bus to Disney Springs to find some fun and food.

Disney Springs

Disney Springs was HOPPING…on a Monday! I can’t imagine what weekends look like there. We wandered around, took advantage of some photos opps, bought wee man way too many toys (see “first day of vacation” euphoria above) and just walked around outside on a beautiful evening. In February, we were hitting the near-end of winter New Jersey, so just being able to walk around outside was exhilarating.

We settled on dinner at Bongos Cuban Cafe, which was delicious. I made the last minute reservation using the Disney app while we were walking around Disney Springs. Unlike most Disney veterans, or at least those who had done their research, we did NOT book ahead for amazing Disney dining experiences. Wee man is still very much not a fan of eating, let alone trying new foods, so why waste the time, money and effort when it literally pains him to sit at a meal table. For us, this method worked out fine, but I would recommend booking dining reservations well in advance if you’re looking for a special experience.

Buzz Lightyear at Disney Springs

After dinner, we walked back to the bus and eventually made our way to the hotel. Upon arrival, we realized that there is an electrical water pageant at Wilderness Lodge every night starting at 9:30 pm. Wee man was out of gas at that point and had no interest watching the pageant, so we went back to our room where we could luckily still see the pageant from our balcony. Some of us didn’t make it through the show.

Up next, Tuesday (Day Two) of our Disney World adventure, including Magic Kingdom and Epcot!

Keep Moving Forward

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A very wise person once told me to not let perfection get in the way of progress, which is exactly what I have been doing with this blog. I thought if I didn’t have the time to make it perfect, I should leave it be. No doubt, I have been insanely busy these past few months, but I was missing a part of me that enjoyed this creative outlet.

So here I am, with all my imperfections available for the world to see. More to come soon.

VIIcode Overnight O2M Oxygen Eye Masks

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I’ve struggled with lines under my eyes since my fifth birthday.  Add to that age, a boisterous four year old and a consuming career, and my poor eyes are in rough shape. You can imagine my excitement when VIIcode Skin Care offered to send me a package of their O2M Oxygen Eye Mask for All Night Repair to try out.

In each box, there six treatments to use overnight for six to eight hours, two to three times a week. The product claims to minimize signs of aging, reduce fine lines/wrinkles and moisturize that incredibly delicate area under your eyes.

The pads themselves are thick and comfortable, and the gel-like material adheres well to the eye area (just be sure to not use any other eye serum after cleansing your face/before application). Upon application, you’ll feel a cooling sensation, which I always love because – at a minimum – it feels like it’s working.

Ingredients (from the company website):

  • Sodium Hyaluronate: Boosts skin’s moisture content, reduce inflammation, and help prevent moisture loss.
  • Sodium PCA: Helps to retain moisture, prevents our skin cells from losing water and drying out, reduces inflammation, and prevents skin from aging.
  • Vitamin E: An antioxidant that neutralizes the oxidant effect of free radicals, which damage collagen and cause skin dryness, fine lines, and wrinkles.
  • Allantoin: Helps to soften and protect, while actively soothing skin. It also stimulates cell regeneration, promoting healthy skin.
  • Aloe barbadensis, Algin: Helps to hydrate your skin.

I used the product as instructed and found it to be, overall, beneficial to my under eye area. These masks are very hydrating, and my skin was almost plumper when I woke up in the morning.  The only real problem I had with these masks overnight is that I’m a fairly violent sleeper, and would wake up at various points in the night to put them back on. If you are a normal person with more restful sleeping habits (unlike myself), you’ll be fine and these will work great. If you’re a crazy person like me, you can wear them during the daytime as well for two to four hours (as in you don’t NEED to be sleeping).

A cautionary tale: I did have one experience where I used my GloPRO and then applied the mask — and woke up in the morning looking like I had been crying all night. You know the look. It’s not pretty. So be smarter than me and don’t do that, as both are powerful anti-aging tools and probably shouldn’t be used together. Live and learn!

Overall, I really liked the product and think that with consistent use it would be a nice complement to a skincare routine. Huge thanks to Elle and VIIcode Skin Care for giving me the opportunity to try them!

Please note: While the brand kindly gifted one box of eye masks for me to try, this post is not sponsored and all views are my own.

Labor Day Sales Roundup

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What would Labor Day Weekend be without all the great sales?! I love seeing all the deals, but it’s hard to keep track of all of the great bargains out there. Here’s a roundup of some of my favorite online retailers and the sales they are currently running, which I’ll keep updating throughout the weekend. Happy shopping!

Labor Day Sales

Beauty Bioscience :: Love my GloPRO, and now you can have it too for 20% off! Since I already have the product and a couple of the heads, I may take advantage of this offer for some creams and this stunning rose quartz attachment. CODE: LDW20

Boden :: Offering 20% for adults and 25% for wee ones. Love this brand for myself and my son. CODE: G9C2

Dermstore :: Up to 20% off on participating brands, which they are kind enough to list here. Nothing worse than finding out the product you threw in your cart with your fingers crossed for discount is not participating, so I really appreciate this list and — to be quite honest — will shop directly from it. Skincare is an expensive hobby! The email I received also mentions receiving a Allies of Skin 1A All-Day Pollution Air Mask with a purchase of $200 or more. CODE: LABORDAY

Joss & Main :: Up to 80% on a lot of great stuff and free shipping on “everything” (I’m sure exclusions apply, but still incentivizing). They are also having flash deals on Monday. Color me intrigued. Very interested in the area rug sale, which goes up to a 65% discount.

Macy’s :: They are having huge sales for dang near everything, but I usually use these sales to buy big ticket furniture for the house. During their last sale on July 4th, I scored a fantastic sectional at an amazing price. Furniture sales looking pretty great this time around, too – up to 65% off!

Nordstrom :: Offering up 40% on so many great items!

Paula’s Choice :: This skincare line is offering 20% off with certain exclusions and free shipping on orders of $50+.

Sephora :: It’s still going on! I listed my recommendation and wish list in this post, and there’s still time to save! Rouge members  receive 20% off (CODE: YESROUGE), VIB members receive 15% off (CODE: YESVIB) and Insider members receive 10% off (CODE: YESINSIDER). Codes are good once for online shopping (unlimited at the store), so make sure you’ve got everything you want in there! It’s free to sign up and the sale lasts until 9/3.

Sephora Beauty Insider Appreciation Sale || Hits & Wish List

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I love a good beauty sale! Sephora’s Beauty Insider Appreciation event is here, which means you can stock up on your staples and feel better about trying out some of those splurge items at a discount!

For those looking for some great new skincare items, here are some products I LOVE and would buy again and again!

1) Indie Lee Discovery Kit || 2) Tatcha Bestsellers Set || 3) Tatcha The Essence || 4) Drunk Elephant B-Hydra || 5) Drunk Elephant Protini || 6) Youth to the People Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser || 7) Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt || 8) Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

And here are some new-to-me products I’m eyeing for myself.

1) Saturday Skin No Bad Days Set || 2) Origins Dr. Andrew Weil For Origins™ Mega-Mushroom Relief & Resilience Soothing Treatment Lotion || 3) Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance™ Shampoo || 4) Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance™ Conditioner || 5) Herbivore Prism Exfoliating Glow Potion || 6) Tarte Quench Lip Rescue Balm – Rainforest of the Sea™ Collection in Berry || 7) Omorovicza Acid Fix AHA BHA Treatment

Happy shopping!!

F5 :: FIVE FOR FRIDAY {8.3.18}

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This marks week FOUR of my chimney being repaired. The endless rain and thunderstorms has thwarted the quick rebuild of one of the chimneys on my house. And when it’s sunny?! Well, my guess is the contractor double-booked and just doesn’t want to say anything since they aren’t showing up here! Imagine someone with my level of impatience coming home every day to the dreaded tarp, which I now feel as though I need to name since it’s been hanging off of my house for so long. It has sent me into quite the home improvement tizzy, prompting me to take off today from work and accomplish some long-overdue to-dos off the list!

::1:: Since the chimney debacle is happening outside, I want nothing more than to add landscape lighting that will detract from the scaffolding and all around wreckage. What I don’t want to do is pay a fortune for it. Enter this great tutorial on how to set up your exterior lighting, with a nice section for DIYers.

::2:: After the chimney is done, we also need our front steps/porch re-bricked. If it’s a total tear down anyway, I’m thinking something as sleek as this, with stone instead of brick. And lighting. Lots of lighting.

::3:: And eager to change the color of the house and its stone work to something more like this.

::4:: For the interior, still completely obsessed with turning our basement into a usable space until the time comes where we can finish it properly.

::5:: But let’s be honest, I’ll clean out my spare bedroom closet and go to a local craft brewery. #summerfridays

Happy weekend, everyone!