Friday, December 28, 2018

2018 Year in Review

As the final days of 2018 wind down, I thought I'd take a few minutes to catch my breath and to look back at this year.  It's another year that I haven't posted.  This year I only tallied up 18 posts, and 12 of those were calendars.  In fact, the only reason I even have time to write this is because Eliot's and my flights to Denver, Colorado had to be postponed a day due to the weather here in Maine.  Otherwise, I would have been writing my 2018 recap in 2019.


I described 2017 as a rollercoaster and 2018 was much of the same.  However, there is a stillness and calm that is slowly seeping into our lives.  Happily Ever Hatter has continued to keep us incredibly busy, but now that I've left my job and I'm home full time, we're hoping that things will fall into place.  We're still trying to find a balance, but I'm looking forward to the clean slate that we'll have in a few days.  It's still been overwhelming, but at the same time very humbling.  We are truly blessed.

Since I haven't been able to post, I thought I'd get on here to do a quick recap of our 2018.  It's been another busy year, but it's also been one of our best so far!

2018 Year In Review:

January- In January, we settled back in after a crazy end to 2017.  Eliot and I caught up on the last of our outstanding mouse ear orders, then we re-opened our shop on the 15th.  Both of our football teams made it deep into the playoffs to we spent a lot of time relaxing and watching football and hockey before things really got busy.



February- My New England Patriots went back to the Super Bowl!  Unfortunately, they lost to Eliot's Philadelphia Eagles.  (I haven't heard the end of that.  At least, we beat the Eagles the first time they made it to the Super Bowl... I'll always have that!)  Later in the month, we spent a lot of time cheering the USA on in the 2018 Winter Olympics.


March- I spent a good portion of March in bed with a migraine.  My health wasn't great and I was incredibly stressed out.  Things were really starting to pile up at work and I was feeling a lot of pressure between that and our business.  Thankfully, we took a full week off from work towards the end of the month and I got time to relax and put things into perspective.  It was a much needed break!  (Sadly, that feeling it didn't last long...)


April- April brought our trip to Walt Disney World to see the Flower and Garden Festival.  (I didn't even post much on here about it.  At that point, I was so in need of another break that I just left it be.)  Eliot missed the first few days of the trip, but I stuck with our original plan and spent four of the most incredible days at Walt Disney World by myself.  I was thrilled to have him join me for the last half of the trip and we had so much fun and got to relax.  But those four days by myself were exactly what I needed to have a few tough conversations with myself and to finally listen to my heart.


May- May was a total blur.  Spring finally arrived.  Flowers and birds returned.  We found out that we had some cardinals living nearby and they've visited us over the past 6 months.  Work and our business were keeping me incredibly busy.  I was coming to the conclusion that something had to give.


June- In June, I reached my breaking point.  I knew what the answer was and it was a time for rebirth and renewal.  After much contemplation, I had officially made the difficult decision to leave my job to run Happily Ever Hatter full time.  I've always wanted to run my own business, but I also loved my job and our patients.  But it was time, and I think I'd known that for awhile.  On June 9th, Eliot and I celebrated his birthday (and us finally reaching my newfound decision) on Old Orchard Beach.  On June 13th, I told work that I would be leaving.  At the end of the month, we went to Disneyland for a few days of much needed magic and to see Pixar Fest!


July- We spent the first few days of July at Disneyland.  Then, we flew back to Maine and I went home to visit my family for July 4th in Bar Harbor.  (Both Eliot and my brother Jeremy had to work.)  The rest of the month passed in a blur as both work and our business kept me busy, but I knew that things would be settling down soon.  We took the last week of the month off from work and I started to daydream about what working at home full time might look like.  The last weekend of the month, Eliot and I took a quick trip down to Six Flags New England to take some time off together.  By the end of the month, we'd hired my replacement at work and she was being trained.  


August- Unfortunately, both of Eliot's grandparents had passed away (in June and July) within two and a half weeks of each other over the summer.  Their double funeral was in Pennsylvania at the beginning of August.  While it was a sad occasion, we enjoyed spending a few days with Eliot's family.  We went to Cedar Point in Ohio and Eliot and his sisters enjoyed the rollercoasters.  I spend the afternoon in the water park by myself and joined them later in the day.  We returned home to a ton of mouse ears that we were behind in, but we slowly worked out way through it.  By the end of the month, my replacement was ready to go and I worked my last day at my job.


September- I started my first month of self-employment!  It was always my dream to work of myself, and I was finally living it!  Eliot and I started the month visiting my family over Labor Day weekend.  Hockey started back mid-month with pre-season games.  We were excited to finally see our San Jose Sharks playing again!  We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on the 20th.  My friend Stacy got married to Rob on the 22nd and we spent the weekend in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.


October- On the 3rd, hockey season had officially started!!!  (And we've watched pretty much every single game Sharks since then.)  I've totally caught the fever and I spent way more money than I should have on Disney San Jose Sharks clothing.  In fact, I begged my parents to get Eliot and I tickets to the Sharks game in New Jersey since I didn't want to wait so long into the season to see them in person.  October 12th-14th, Eliot and I spent the weekend in New York City.  We went to Times Square, the Disney Store, to see Aladdin on Broadway, and to see the Sharks play the New Jersey Devils.  We didn't win, but I did get to see my favorite player get his 700th NHL point, and really that's all I wanted.  It was the perfect early birthday weekend!


November- Not gonna lie... I spent a lot of November watching Hallmark Christmas movies while working on mouse ears.  We made ourselves take breaks to watch hockey, football and go to our new IHOP for their pumpkin cinnamon pancakes.  My friend Nicole got married to Derek on the 11th so we went back down to Rhode Island to celebrate with them.  After that, Eliot was away for about a week for a work trip to Pennsylvania so I spent the week playing with the 3D printer.  We celebrated Mickey's (and Minnie's) 90th Birthday on the 18th, and then celebrated my 34th birthday on the 20th.  We enjoyed Thanksgiving with my Mom's side of the family and all of us "kids" and the actual kids went to see Wreck It Ralph 2 afterwards.


December- This past month has been a total blur.  We celebrated Hanukkah at the beginning of the month.  We watched more Hallmark Christmas movies.  We went with Elissa to see White Christmas in theaters before she left to go home to California for winter break.  Eliot and I made a ton of mouse ears.  We mailed out 32 packages the week before Christmas.  We went to my parents' house for Christmas.  And now, we're home getting ready to leave to spend the last few days of 2018 in Colorado with Eliot's family.  We'll be spending New Year's Eve at a rodeo and then we'll start 2019 off with another San Jose Sharks game in Denver before returning home!


Which brings us to 2019... 

So, what's next?  We've got a lot of new designs planned for 
Happily Ever Hatter.  That will still continue to be our main focus, but we're also hoping to launch two more small businesses early next year.  We weren't able to get them off the ground this year, but now that I'm home full-time, these will be the next priorities.  

Much like last year, Eliot and I are going into the new year hoping to have more personal time for ourselves.  I continue to feel guilty taking breaks, but I'm also getting accustomed to working well into the night, so we need to find a happy medium.


Which brings me to what I'm most excited for: Balance.  Balancing work and personal life is something that we've really struggled with the past two years.  This next year, I'm really hoping to find that happy medium.  It's probably my biggest goal of 2019.

Of course, I'd also like to be able to blog more.  I sat down earlier today to prep my first 2019 calendar post and I felt the familiar pang of how much I missed it.  (I haven't written a post since September.)  I'm really hoping to be able to start my re-brand and re-naming process.  I've got so many things I'd love to do on here.  Hopefully, 2019 will be the turning point to get me back on track with blogging!


Eliot and I would like to get our house settled!  We're still painting and arranging furniture.  But I see the vision.  Hopefully we'll see that vision realized in 2019!

Finally, we've got a lot of goals for 2019.  Obviously, we're hoping to get back to Walt Disney World, Disneyland and on a Disney Cruise!  (So far, it looks like we'll get to do all three of those next year!)  I've also got a list of Disney goals and personal goals that I'm hoping to accomplish.  I didn't post any 2018 goals here.  Let's face it- my 2017 goals didn't even get touched and my 2018 goals were pretty much the same.  (They also haven't gotten touched.)  I've added a few more goals for 2019, so I'll probably post my Disney goals sometime early next month once we're home in Maine.


I'm very hopeful for all the possibilities of 2019.  I'm sure it'll be adventure!

ChEARS to another wonderful year.  Goodbye 2018!  Hello 2019!!!  °o°

Saturday, December 1, 2018

December 2018 Calendar

Happy December!  This is my absolute favorite time of the year.  I love the holiday season.  It always goes by so fast since we're so busy, but I love it.  Christmas carols, twinkling lights, softly falling snow, Christmas shopping, decorations, yummy food... it's magical.  I'm sure it'll fly by quickly this year too... we're leaving on our cruise in a few days, Hanukkah will be here, we'll be at Walt Disney World for a few days, then it'll be time to finish up orders before Christmas!  Then, we'll be with my family for Christmas and we'll get a little break from orders before we head to Colorado for New Years!  I hope you take time to enjoy the season in between all of the hustle and bustle.  Here are my Mickey and Minnie calendars to keep you organized!


I'm honored to continue the tradition of posting these free printable calendars for other Disney fans to enjoy.  I've been doing this since I started my blog back in 2014.  Since then, my calendars have been used for trip countdowns, Disney themed classrooms, training calendars for runDisney events and to surprise kids with a Disney vacation!

Here's the link to download the December 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Here's the link to download the Blank December 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Feel free to link this post up to Pinterest or Facebook so your friends and family can have a fun Mickey and Minnie calendar too!  Let's spread the Disney Magic!!!  °o°

Note: I've made calendars through 2018.  I don't post the PDF links on my blog until the beginning of each month.  If you're looking for a particular month and would like me to email it to you ahead of my post going live, you can send my blog an email at mydisneylifeblog[at]gmail.com.  I'll send you the PDFs directly as soon as I can!  :-)

Thursday, November 1, 2018

November 2018 Calendar

Happy November!  It's officially my birthday month!!!  Obviously, November is special to me.  I also can't wait for Thanksgiving!  I'm already daydreaming about the turkey, stuffing, turnip and the rest of the delicious food.  And, it's now acceptable to start looking ahead to Christmas!  Woo-hoo!  Here are my calendars for November.


I'm honored to continue the tradition of posting these free printable calendars for other Disney fans to enjoy.  I've been doing this since I started my blog back in 2014.  Since then, my calendars have been used for trip countdowns, Disney themed classrooms, training calendars for runDisney events and to surprise kids with a Disney vacation!

Here's the link to download the November 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Here's the link to download the Blank November 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Feel free to link this post up to Pinterest or Facebook so your friends and family can have a fun Mickey and Minnie calendar too!  Let's spread the Disney Magic!!!  °o°

Note: I've made calendars through 2018.  I don't post the PDF links on my blog until the beginning of each month.  If you're looking for a particular month and would like me to email it to you ahead of my post going live, you can send my blog an email at mydisneylifeblog[at]gmail.com.  I'll send you the PDFs directly as soon as I can!  :-)

Monday, October 1, 2018

October 2018 Calendar

Happy October!  It's fall y'all... and I love it!  Fall has always been a favorite of mine.  I love all of the seasons, but there's something special about the fall.  The days are still warm, but not too hot.  The nights are crisp... perfect for a warm sweater.  Pumpkin Spice everything, beautiful fall leaves, football, and October means that hockey is FINALLY coming back!!!  I can't wait to watch our beloved Sharks in a few days!!!  To celebrate, here are my Mickey and Minnie calendars for October!


I'm honored to continue the tradition of posting these free printable calendars for other Disney fans to enjoy.  I've been doing this since I started my blog back in 2014.  Since then, my calendars have been used for trip countdowns, Disney themed classrooms, training calendars for runDisney events and to surprise kids with a Disney vacation!

Here's the link to download the October 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Here's the link to download the Blank October 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Feel free to link this post up to Pinterest or Facebook so your friends and family can have a fun Mickey and Minnie calendar too!  Let's spread the Disney Magic!!!  °o°

Note: I've made calendars through 2018.  I don't post the PDF links on my blog until the beginning of each month.  If you're looking for a particular month and would like me to email it to you ahead of my post going live, you can send my blog an email at mydisneylifeblog[at]gmail.com.  I'll send you the PDFs directly as soon as I can!  :-)

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Hockey Goes Disney

Two of Eliot's and my most favorite things have collided!!!  Hockey has gotten a little more magical over the past few days.  This morning, I received an email officially announcing the NHL's new Mickey Mouse team merchandise.

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However, I was all over this weeks ago.  I first discovered the Mickey NHL team gear at the end of August when I was searching for San Jose Sharks shirts to prepare for this season.  JCPenney was running a good sale on all of their team merchandise, and I happened to stumble across a men's Mickey Mouse San Jose Sharks shirt.

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After yelping out loud, I proceeded to investigate and discovered an entire line of Mickey Mouse NHL merchandise available for men, women and children!!!

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Those of you who follow along know that Eliot is a HUGE San Jose Sharks fan.  He's been a fan since the team joined the NHL when he was about three.  At this point, I'm a huge fan of them too... Sharks and the Patriots all the way!  And let's face it, I can name more Sharks players (along with their jersey numbers and positions) than Patriots, Bruins, Red Sox and Celtics combined.  So, when I saw our favorite mouse on San Jose Sharks gear, I jumped at the chance to combine our favorite things.  Eliot and I now have matching Sharks Mickey Mouse shirts to add to our Disney wardrobes.

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While I was shopping, I also discovered a Star Wars collection.  We also have matching Galaxy shirts... and I might also have an empire shirt too.


Plus, I just discovered this Force Yoda shirt!  Must wait for another good sale...   

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Each year, the Sharks have a Star Wars and Marvel themed night at two of their home games.  I keep hoping that they'll have a Disney night someday... but in the meantime, these are perfect for Star Wars night at the Shark Tank (aka the SAP Center where the Sharks play).  Eliot and I might not be able to attend those specific nights in person, but now we'll have shirts to wear while watching the games from Maine!  

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Ironically, my order from JCPenney arrived today!  All of our new Sharks gear is currently sitting on our bed.  I haven't opened each individual item, because Eliot still isn't home from work yet, but they're all waiting to be fawned over later on this evening!!!  Only 20 more days until the first game of the season!  Go Sharks!!!  °o°

Saturday, September 1, 2018

September 2018 Calendar

Happy September!  This is always a special month for Eliot and me.  We got married in September of 2012, and then we bought our house in September of 2015!  It's hard to believe we've almost been married for 6 years and that we bought our house three years ago!  To celebrate, here are my Mickey and Minnie calendars!


I'm honored to continue the tradition of posting these free printable calendars for other Disney fans to enjoy.  I've been doing this since I started my blog back in 2014.  Since then, my calendars have been used for trip countdowns, Disney themed classrooms, training calendars for runDisney events and to surprise kids with a Disney vacation!

Here's the link to download the September 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Here's the link to download the Blank September 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Feel free to link this post up to Pinterest or Facebook so your friends and family can have a fun Mickey and Minnie calendar too!  Let's spread the Disney Magic!!!  °o°

Note: I've made calendars through 2018.  I don't post the PDF links on my blog until the beginning of each month.  If you're looking for a particular month and would like me to email it to you ahead of my post going live, you can send my blog an email at mydisneylifeblog[at]gmail.com.  I'll send you the PDFs directly as soon as I can!  :-)

Friday, August 24, 2018

Oops... I Did It Again

Two weeks ago, I registered for the 2019 Princess Half Marathon Weekend!!!  And that's not all.  Although, I swore I'd never do it again... I signed up for a half marathon.

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Long story short, I had every intention to sign up for the 5K and 10K.  Eliot and his sisters were going to do the challenge together.  Eliot's dad was going to do the half and his mother was going to do the 5K and 10K as well.  We all went into registration day with a solid plan of who was signing each person up, and what order to do it in.

When it came time to sign up for everything, I took on a monster load when Eliot couldn't get in.  I signed myself up for my 5K, then did Elissa's challenge, then Eliot's when he was still locked out.  By the time I went to get my 10K (which Eliot was supposed to do first) it had sold out and Eliot never got into the sign up.

I left the house to head into work devastated that I didn't get into my top choice.  After a very tearful car ride... I'd decided to dive in head first.  When I arrived at work, I sat out in the car long enough to complete insanity.  I signed up for the challenge.

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The event takes place at Walt Disney World February 21st to 24th.  The 5K is that Friday.  Then, the Fairy Tale Challenge (previously the Glass Slipper Challenge) consists of the Enchanted 10K Saturday and the Princess Half Marathon Sunday.  So for those of you counting, that's 22.4 miles total in three days.  (Again, I plead insanity.)

I haven't had much luck with runDisney events in the past.  But, I have finished two 10Ks at this point.  I've always dreamed of finishing a half marathon and of completing a challenge.  In fact, what finally tipped the scale to me deciding to do it, was looking at my 30 Things to do in my 30's list a few days before registration.  Knowing that I'd have more time after leaving my job, I recently went back through my list to gain some perspective on my future.  That's when I stumbled across #12 Complete a Disney Half Marathon and #18 Complete a Disney Race Challenge.

So, here I sit, signed up for the 5K, 10K and the half marathon.  Thankfully, I ended up roping Eliot into the 5K with me too.  We're both doing all three races together.  And I've officially hit the crazy level.  I don't even like running.  Not even a little bit.

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But, what's most crazy, is that I'm actually excited about it.  I decided that training would start as soon as I was done with work.  Since yesterday was my last day in the office with patients, training will start any day now.  I'm not sure how many hours I'll be at work tying up loose ends next week, but I'm hoping to get a few workouts in.  I have a goal to finalize my training plan this weekend.  Then, hello Mr. Treadmill!

Today marks exactly 26 weeks until the 5K.  It's 180 days- or about half a year.  That's plenty of time to properly train and prepare for this event.  Right?  I can do this.

Right now, I'm feeling optimistic about this one.  I've never truly taken the time to train for a race.  And I've never stuck to the training plan.  I haven't put in much effort in the past.  Now, I don't have time as an excuse.  I can make my own schedule and I can plan my day around my work outs.  My gut tells me it's now or never.  So, let's do this.

Here's to another runDisney adventure!!!  Hopefully this one has a happy ending!  °o°

Thursday, August 23, 2018

The Next Chapter Begins...

Hello Everyone!  I have very exciting news to share with you!  After much deliberation, Eliot and I have decided that it's time for me to begin a new chapter in our lives.  I am leaving my job and I will be running Happily Ever Hatter (and our new businesses!) full time!  This has not been an easy decision, and it's been one that I've been struggling with for some time now.  We finally made the decision back in June, and I've been dying to make the announcement here on my blog.


Yesterday, I went into work for my last official day seeing our patients.  I still have to go in a few days next week (while the office is closed for vacation) to tie up loose ends, finish training my replacement, and to clean out my stuff... then, I'll be home full time.  

I have absolutely loved working at the chiropractic office these last four years.  The doctors I have worked with are all an inspiration.  Their passion for chiropractic and our patients never ceases to amaze me.  Working with them has been a privilege.  And what can I say about our patients other than that they're incredible.  It's been really hard saying goodbye to everyone.  I've gotten a lot of hugs and tons of well wishes and it's so encouraging to hear how proud they are of me to be going after my dreams.


To be totally honest, the past few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions for me.  I'm so excited about this new chapter in my life, but I'm also terrified at the same time.  Being fully self-employed can be freeing, but it's also a little overwhelming.

This feels right though.  I always knew that I wanted to run my creative businesses full time.  My parents run their own accounting business, and both sets of my grandparents ran their own businesses too.  I've always said that running my own business(es) is in my blood.  I've never pictured myself doing anything else long term.  This has always been my eventual goal.  It just came a lot sooner than I ever imagined.

It's been a year and a half since 3D printed ears became a big business and our shop, Happily Ever Hatter, has kept us so busy.  Eliot and I have barely had time to stop and smell the roses.  We've been trying to take more time for ourselves, and we did more this summer than we did last year.  But, we still spend a good part of our weekends working on ears and we spend most of the evening working on them as well.  I'm hoping that with me home full time, I can get most of it done during the day while he's at work.  We're looking forward to having more of a social life once we're caught up!


The future looks bright.  We've got plans to do some traveling over the next year and we're looking forward to seeing friends and family we haven't seen in a while.  We're hoping to get to a few UNE hockey games and to spend time with Elissa.  Portland has a new ECHL hockey team, the Maine Mariners, so we're planning to go to a few of those games.  In addition, we're actually going to see our San Jose Sharks a few times this season!  I'm also hoping to get a lot of progress done on our house.  We still have so much to do, but finishing it doesn't seem so far off now.  Of course, we're looking forward to visiting Mickey Mouse a few times too!

With more time to focus on it, Happily Ever Hatter will continue to grow.  Eliot and I have so. many. ideas... I literally have lists of lists of them.  I'm excited to have more time to work on samples along with orders.  Plus, Eliot should have more design time now!  I'm really excited to see what we can accomplish in the next few months!

What I'm most excited about is that I'm going to have time to focus on our new businesses. I've been talking about these forever... and now I'm finally going to have time to work on them.  Eliot and I are planning to move forward quickly.  We're hoping to launch two of them in the next few months so they'll be ready for holiday orders!


Finally, I will actually have time to work on my blog!  I've decided to re-name and re-brand it, so I probably won't be diving in head first right away.  I'm hoping to get some behind the scenes stuff done before I get back into the swing of things.  But I'm really excited that it could be closer to it's potential soon!

So, today is the first day of the next chapter of my life.  I'm sure it will be an adventure but I'm ready for it.  And I think the universe is too.  Last night, when I left work, there was a small rainbow over the road as I drove away from my past and forward into the unknown of full-time self-employment.  I think it's a sign that I made the right decision. 

"Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through."  °o°

Friday, August 17, 2018

10 Years Ago... I was a GraduWIT

Exactly ten years ago today, I graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology.  I can't believe it's been 10 years!  Happy Anniversary WIT Class of 2008!!!  


I have many wonderful memories from college.  I had so much fun with my yearbook friends, my student leadership friends and my interior design girlfriends.  I have memories of us exploring the city of Boston, laughing our heads off, spending late nights in studio, playing intense games of mafia at retreats, going to New York city for yearbook conferences, going out dancing and making waffles on the weekend in my apartment.  I wish I was able to see everyone more often.  However, I am excited that I'll be able to celebrate this milestone with my WIT interior design girlfriends this weekend during Stacy's bachelorette party.


Of course, Wentworth was also where I met my future husband, Eliot.  I actually gave Eliot his campus tour when he and his mother came out to look at schools.  (I must have given him a great tour because he was a student the next fall!)  It wasn't until after we had already been dating for about 2 weeks that we discovered it.  Eliot and I met a second time while training as tour guides and we became good friends.  We didn't start dating until my last two semesters at school, but we had a lot of fun in the time that we were both students there.  Then, I came back to Wentworth often to visit while he finished his degree!


Five years ago, I also wrote a post about my college graduation and how it related to my passion for Disney.  I went to school for interior design, and when I graduated I had big dreams of becoming an Interior Designer for Disney Imagineering.


Obviously, not much has changed in regards to my passion for all things Disney.  I decided becoming an Imagineer for Disney wasn't the right path for me.  Instead, I've been able to use the techniques I learned at WIT to create designs for Happily Ever Hatter.  It's opened the window for the two new businesses Eliot and I plan to launch soon!  And, our house is very Disney inspired, so I'm an Imagineer of my own life.


I looked through my photos earlier today, and the most meaningful one is still my photo of me and my dog Lucky.  He was 13 when he went to my graduation.  I wanted a photo with him and it wasn't until I put the pictures on my laptop that I noticed a familiar outline hidden in the sunlight.  (Can you find the Hidden Mickey?)


We lost Lucky a little over a year after this photo was taken.  It's still my absolute favorite picture of the two of us.  I've always believed that someone was trying to send me a message on my graduation day- I may not become an Imagineer for Disney, but the possibilities are endless, and that someday I'll find the right path for me.  

Now, 10 years later, I think I've finally found my path.  I think I've always known it.  I love creating things and making magic.  This milestone comes at a perfect time as the next chapter is about to begin.  After all "if you can dream it, you can do it."  °o°

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

August 2018 Calendar

Happy August everyone!  Well, I've tried to get back to posting regularly... and I've failed miserably.  But, some good news... after being late with posting these calendars for the past two months, I've gone ahead and scheduled all of them for the rest of the year!  Woo-hoo!  Here are my Mickey and Minnie calendars for August!


I'm honored to continue the tradition of posting these free printable calendars for other Disney fans to enjoy.  I've been doing this since I started my blog back in 2014.  Since then, my calendars have been used for trip countdowns, Disney themed classrooms, training calendars for runDisney events and to surprise kids with a Disney vacation!

Here's the link to download the August 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Here's the link to download the Blank August 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Feel free to link this post up to Pinterest or Facebook so your friends and family can have a fun Mickey and Minnie calendar too!  Let's spread the Disney Magic!!!  °o°

Note: I've made calendars through 2018.  I don't post the PDF links on my blog until the beginning of each month.  If you're looking for a particular month and would like me to email it to you ahead of my post going live, you can send my blog an email at mydisneylifeblog[at]gmail.com.  I'll send you the PDFs directly as soon as I can!  :-)

Sunday, July 1, 2018

July 2018 Calendar

Happy July everyone!  Here are my Mickey and Minnie calendars!


I'm honored to continue the tradition of posting these free printable calendars for other Disney fans to enjoy.  I've been doing this since I started my blog back in 2014.  Since then, my calendars have been used for trip countdowns, Disney themed classrooms, training calendars for runDisney events and to surprise kids with a Disney vacation!

Here's the link to download the July 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Here's the link to download the Blank July 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Feel free to link this post up to Pinterest or Facebook so your friends and family can have a fun Mickey and Minnie calendar too!  Let's spread the Disney Magic!!!  °o°

Note: I've made calendars through 2018.  I don't post the PDF links on my blog until the beginning of each month.  If you're looking for a particular month and would like me to email it to you ahead of my post going live, you can send my blog an email at mydisneylifeblog[at]gmail.com.  I'll send you the PDFs directly as soon as I can!  :-)

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Rebirth and Renewal

Hi friends.  Well, it's no secret that my life has become a steady rollercoaster.  Eliot and I have been very busy with Happily Ever Hatter, but we've also been busy with work, our house and so much more.  Spring feels like the season of rebirth and renewal, and I could really use a little bit of that right now... 


Honestly, lately it's been a struggle.  I find myself caught between a rock and a hard place... and it's getting very frustrating.  I'm usually a happy-go-lucky person, and I feel like I'm completely drained.  I feel like I owe you a bit of an explanation.

Those of you who follow Happily Ever Hatter on Instagram and/or Facebook know that in February and March I was having migraine headaches.  They were horrendous.  I had a week off in mid-March and I was looking forward to it so much.  It was our first long break since August and I was going to do so many things, check so many things off of my to do list.  I was even planning to write a few blog posts!  Then, I spent most of it in bed with headaches so bad I was nauseous if I moved an inch or rolled over.

Since then, I’ve tried a few things to get rid of them.  I’m adding more magnesium in my diet and taking a magnesium supplement every night before bed.  I monitor my water in-take to make sure I’m always hydrated.  I haven’t been getting migraines as often, but I still get them occasionally.  I'm taking it one day at a time.


Unfortunately, the migraines put us a behind schedule in everything.  Our house isn’t anywhere close to where I wanted it to be by now.  (We’re STILL painting and getting the house organized and unpacked.  Right now I’m pretty sure we could have our own episode of Hoarders: The Disney Super Fan Edition.)  We also got behind in a few of our Etsy orders.  I just felt behind in all aspects of my life and like I’m constantly scrambling to keep up.  And I still feel that way.

I had a bit a of break from everyday life when Eliot and I went to Walt Disney World in April.  (Yes!  We went to WDW in April and I didn’t even post about it.)  I went down for 4 days by myself, and then Eliot joined me for the last four.  That’s another whole story… the short version is that Eliot couldn’t leave work the entire week.

Those four days alone at my favorite place were the best medicine for me.  Of course I missed Eliot, but I talked to him on the phone and texted him a lot of pictures.  He was there in spirit!  I went to the parks and didn’t feel rushed.  I found myself sitting on a bench for an hour or more enjoying a snack and people watching.  I sat in the rain to wait for a parade that ended up getting cancelled- but I didn't care.  I went on rides but didn’t feel rushed to do all of them.  I took my time and soaked up much my needed magic; it was heaven.  Then, Eliot joined me and we had fun relaxing and enjoying a slow paced Disney trip.  It was wonderful… until mid-way through our last day.


I won’t get into it too much, as it’s not my story to tell.  Mid-day, when I was enjoying my frushi in Epcot, I received a text message from my boss that she would be out of the office for the next two weeks.  And that was the moment that everything stood still.

Backstory: The last time I found out my boss was going to be out of work a few weeks, I got a call from my co-worker on my last day at WDW with Eliot a few days after I attended KeyCon 2015.  I returned home to a small tornado of chaos, but we ended up getting through it… even though my boss was out of the office and didn’t see patients for a year.  We had few different covering doctors while she was gone.  And thankfully, once my boss returned, we hired one of them and she’s still working with us.

So… I knew what getting on that airplane home meant.  Eliot literally dragged me out of the Magic Kingdom that night.  I didn’t go willingly.  First, I stalled as long as I could taking PhotoPass photos.  Then, we went “shopping”.  I watched the Kiss Goodnight a few times.  At the end of Main Street, I must have stared off into space towards the castle for 10 minutes.  In the end, he bribed me with a trip to Disneyland before our annual passes expire.  (Hopefully you’ll be hearing about that soon… he better make good on his promise!)  Then, I admitted defeat, said goodbye to the castle and not-so-willingly let him pull me by the hand towards the buses.

And, here we sit.  My boss been gone since mid-April, and we're not sure when she's coming back.  We’ve gone through seven weeks seeing patients with just the two of us.  Next week, one of the other doctors who covered before is going to help out one afternoon.  But it’s still a lot.  The patients are concerned about her, and I am too.  It’s hard to put on a happy face, and to tell them that I don’t really know what’s going on but that she’s ok.  It has been stressful, especially when I’m in the position I’m in.

Let's face it... Eliot’s and my business is booming.  Happily Ever Hatter is always keeping us on our toes, and we love it.  (Ok... maybe not so much on those 3 am nights, but overall it's great.)  We’ve got so many more designs that we're in the process of creating.  And my idea lists have only compounded into a list so long I’ve had to make lists of my lists.  Poor Eliot will never get a break designing 3D ears.


In addition to that, Eliot and I still have plans to launch two more small businesses this year… one of which I’ve been trying to get off the ground for three years now.  This is it.  I’m doing it.  I’ve waited too long and for what?  The perfect time doesn’t exist.  I really don’t have time to do it, but I’m going to make the time for it.  Otherwise, I’ll be sitting here another year from now kicking myself.

Which leads to my greatest internal debate… where do I find the balance between work and our business(es)?  This has been a struggle for almost a year and a half and if I’m being honest with myself, I’m no better off than I was a year ago.  I’m less stressed overall, but there are days when I haven’t slept much, and I’m incredibly irritable about the entire situation.  I’ve basically kissed my usual sunshiny disposition good bye.  This is really starting to gnaw away at me.  And I'm so tired. 

But on days when I’m home while Eliot’s at work, and I work on and create new products, make more lists, and brainstorm and come up with more new products or new designs, I can feel the energy buzzing inside me.  I feel like my starved lungs have come up for air.  I don’t focus on all the things I haven’t done.  Instead, I focus on what I’m capable of doing, capable of creating. 


Deep within myself, I already know the answer; I always have.  It’s not the logical one- as my loved ones keep reminding me.  But each day that passes, we’re getting closer and closer to the day where it’s the only answer.  I’ve already made a few concrete decisions about my future, and my current situation makes my position between the rock and hard place that much more uncomfortable.  I have moments where I feel like the walls are closing in on me, but I’m finally starting to see that glimmer of sunshine, even if it’s only trickling in occasionally.

So, I go forth with hope.  Things will fall into place  hopefully sooner than later.


To those of you who have hung in, thank you.  I am planning to get back to blogging more regularly, but I’ve come to accept that it will have to wait until I’m home full time.  I have so many ideas for this blog that I’m really passionate about.  

Plus, after a few years of considering a new blog name and rebranding… I finally figured out what direction I want to go in!  In fact, the name just suddenly came to me a few days ago and I’m super excited about it!  (I’ve been struggling with that for quite a while now.)  So you’ll hear more about that in the future.  It will be more of the same stuff from before… fun finds, our Disney inspired home and collection, updates about our businesses, our Disney trips, etc… but with a lot more fun additions to come!

With that, I’ll leave you with this quote that I keep reminding myself when I need to: There’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of everyday. °o°