Monday, July 28, 2014

Exciting News!

Hey Disney Friends!  I have some exciting news that's been in the works for a little while now: Happily Ever Hatter has officially teamed up with Sparkle For Your Castle!


You may recall me featuring Dar's beautiful Disney wreaths as June's Fun Find Friday!  I have to confess at the time I did that post, I was holding out on you guys a bit.  I told you I placed an order for a wreath from Dar.  What you didn't know was that she had also ordered a few items from me!  But, I didn't want to spill the beans until she announced the wreath collection they were going to be included in.  Well, they're here!!!

Dar has released five different Frozen Wreaths, and three of those feature items from Happily Ever Hatter.  They're absolutely stunning and I love them all.  I'd love to have one for my office door but I'm having a really hard time deciding which one I'd get!

Here's the Frozen wreath featuring my Anna hat design.

Frozen Wreath Anna Ear Hat by Sparkle For Your Castle

This is the same Frozen wreath but it's featuring my Elsa hat design instead.

Frozen Wreath Elsa Ear Hat by Sparkle For Your Castle

Dar also ordered a few of my Frozen snowflakes!  They're really cute on Olaf's Personal Snow Flurry wreath!  Olaf's even holding one of my snowflakes!  It's so cute!

Frozen Olaf Wreath by Sparkle For Your Castle

I absolutely love the idea of "building" Olaf on this wreath.  And he talks!!!  There are also adorable hidden Mickey snowballs, and icicles hanging from the sign.  My snowflakes are not shown on the wreath as is, but they are an option if you want to add them!

Do You Want To Build A Snowman Wreath by Sparkle For Your Castle

There is a video of Dar introducing the wreaths on her Facebook page.  She gives her fans a tour of her "Sparkle Studio" and then shows all of the Frozen wreaths.  You can see how pretty they sparkle in the video.  (The direct link for the video is here.)

She also made individual wreaths of Anna and Elsa.  (There aren't Happily Ever Hatter items on these, but they're stunning and I wanted to show them to you guys anyways!)

Disney Frozen Anna Wreath by Sparkle For Your Castle

I'm currently working on a few other custom designs for Dar, so stay tuned on both of our Facebook pages for more information on those!  (Here are the links for our Facebook pages: Happily Ever Hatter and Sparkle for Your Castle.)

Disney Frozen Elsa Wreath by Sparkle For Your Castle

As always, if you have a custom request for a specific character, holiday, event or theme please ask!  Dar and I can work together to create something special for your home!  °o°

Note: All of these photos are from Sparkle For Your Castle's Etsy and Facebook pages. Dar owns the copyright on them.  Please do not use them without her permission.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Fun in the Sun- Part 2

The last week of Elissa's trip we wanted to do as many things as possible before she had to go home to California.  We made a list of must do's and decided that we'll get a head start on next year's plans with the things we didn't do this year!

Friday night, we went over to Old Orchard Beach.  Elissa and Eliot wanted more Pier Fries and I thought it might be nice to walk over on the beach.  Elissa played in the surf while Eliot buried my foot in the sand.  I've never been on the beach so late, but it was so relaxing.  We even saw three sets of fireworks in the distance.  Sand, surf and stars... what more could you ask for?



Saturday morning, we got up early to head towards Bar Harbor.  We again because there were a few more things we still wanted to do.  This trip, we changed it up a little and planned a stop in Freeport along the way.  Freeport has a ton of outlet stores and it reminds me of Bar Harbor.  It's also the home of LL Bean.



Mainers really take pride in the LL Bean brand.  The LL Bean Flagship Store is open 24 hours a day 365 days a year.  It also has an aquarium and a fish pond inside it.  There are also animals on display that are native to Maine.



Eliot and I love to shop for our duffel bags and luggage there.  They also have great outdoors supplies!  One of Eliot's all time favorite LL Bean items is their lime Manatee kayak.  (Yes, he's hugging the kayak.)  We really need to get one of those for him... 



We poked around a few stores before deciding it was time to eat.  I was pushing for the McDonald's and neither Eliot nor Elissa could understand why.  I finally won out by insisting it was the quickest option we had, and that we had to get back on the road.  I really had an ulterior motive, to show them the interior and exterior of the McDonald's.  It's located in an old house since Freeport requires all of the stores to have a more uniform style.  It's pretty cool to see a McDonald's in an old house!



After, we got back on the road and made one more stop on the way.  Elissa wanted to stop at the Augusta Pet Smart so she and Eliot went there and went next door to AC Moore.  They later dragged me into the pet store insisting that I had to see something. Then, they showed me the cutest little 8 week old kittens.  We quickly fell in love with "Pearl" and "Diamond", pictured below.  They kept playing with Eliot's hands outside the glass.  It's too bad he's allergic to cats, or we might have some new furry friends.



We eventually arrived at my parent's house an hour before the next event on our agenda: The Great Maine Lumberjack Show!  We quickly got settled in and headed over to the show. The show is located right in my hometown and was started by Timber Tina (from Survivor).  It features logging sports events like axe throwing, log rolling, crosscut sawing and my all time favorite: pole climbing!  I hadn't been to the show in years, but it was just as good as I remember it!  Eliot and Elissa loved it!



We ended the night with a campfire at Mom and Dad's campsite. We talked and laughed over the fire, made campfire cones and s'mores, and Elissa entertained us.  She dubbed herself Chief and danced around the fire trying to make it bigger.  Dad named her "Chief Clickity Clack" (she was wearing sandals) and I'm surprised I didn't bust a gut laughing.



Sunday morning we went to Thunder Hole in Acadia.  It's one of the big tourist attractions on the island and I wanted Elissa to see it before she left.  Eliot and I hadn't been in a few years ourselves.  I was really happy that you could hear a little bit of thundering!



We walked around the coastline after getting our fill of Thunder Hole.  (We had a few minutes to spare until the next bus came.)  I took a ton of pictures.



You can't beat the beauty of Acadia!  It's no wonder Acadia National Park was voted America's Favorite Place on Good Morning America!  Check out this amazing view!!!



We headed into town long enough to grab a few more cookies from the sub shop.  Of course, we couldn't leave before going for a swim over at the campground pool!  Mom and Dad even joined us!  It was later in the day and we had the entire pool to ourselves!



Monday night, we took Elissa back over to Old Orchard Beach again, but this time it was dusk.  We wanted to spend a little time on the beach before it got totally dark.




We enjoyed the view.  As it got darker, Eliot and Elissa buried both of my feet in the sand.


Elissa spent Tuesday packing.  Once Eliot got home, we spent the evening having fun. The three of us had a short lived silly string fight in our driveway.  (Note to self: get bigger cans next time.)  Then we took her to Cracker Barrel in South Portland for dinner.  She had been telling us how good their macaroni and cheese was and talking about going there the whole trip.  We thought it was a good way to end her last full day in Maine.



Wednesday morning, my Mom arrived at our house bright and early.  (She had been down in New Hampshire dropping my Dad and brother off at the airport for their seven am flight to San Diego for Comic Con.)  She volunteered to drive the three of us down to Boston and I was happy to have her come with us!  Elissa, Mom and I went over to the Longhorn Steakhouse for an early lunch.  Elissa decided she loves Longhorn during this trip so Mom and I had planned to take her there while Eliot was at work.



Once Eliot got home from work around noon, we packed the car and were on our way. Before we knew it, we were at the airport.  Mom and I said goodbye to Elissa and she and Eliot went through security.  Her flight was delayed for an hour or more.  I'm glad they let Eliot have a gate pass so she didn't have to sit all by herself the whole time.  Mom and I hung out in the Burger King and watched the planes landing and taking off.  Eventually, Elissa got on her flight home and Eliot joined Mom and me.

For now, "Camp Cady" has officially come to an end.  But next summer will be a ton of fun and I'm already looking forward to it!  "Camp Cady" will return in Summer of 2015!  °o°

Friday, July 25, 2014

Fun in the Sun- Part 1

As promised yesterday, here's the recap of the ending of Elissa's trip.  I'm going to do it in two parts since we crammed a lot in!  I still can't believe it's already been six weeks since she got here!  It flew right by!  But, it's been a great month and a half full of family, friends and a lot of fun in the summer sun!


The last time I updated you on our whereabouts, was after the 4th of July weekend.  The following week was quiet with us working on projects and me doing stuff around the house.  That weekend we went back up to Bar Harbor for a family reunion!


The reunion was Sunday, so we decided to cram as much into Saturday as possible. We got up and went for a walk around Witch Hole Pond.  Well, not really "around" it, more like "to" it.  Elissa wanted to try to catch some fish in a plastic cup.  No worries junior park rangers, she planned to release them back into the pond a few minutes later!  (The fish ended up being too quick anyways and she didn't get any.)


We sat at the pond for about an hour and enjoyed the peace and quiet in the park.  I sat near the water's edge and watched a chipmunk running around on the rocks.  Eliot climbed the rocks behind me and had Eeyore enjoy the view.


I also watched a loon fishing in the lake for a while.  It was so serene.  Elissa and I eventually climbed up the rock and joined Eliot.  Of course, we couldn't leave before Eliot took a "Circle of Life" photo with Eeyore.


After our walk, we went home to go for a swim at the campground near my parents house.  They have their camper parked there this summer and it's nice to take advantage of the pool being five minutes from their house!  (I didn't get any photos at the pool.  I was too busy enjoying swimming in it!)


After that, we went to the Jordan Pond House.  The restaurant is located right inside of Acadia National Park.  It used to serve an afternoon tea to the wealthy and sophisticated visitors of the park.  Nowadays, everyone is welcome to go there.  Our favorite reason to visit, the yummy popovers!!!  (Note Eliot's photo with the popover above.  He's literally caressing the popover saying "my precious" over and over.)


After eating, we walked down to the lake to take a few photos of the Bubble Mountains. We also watched a school of fish swimming in the shallows of the lake.  Later, we ended the day with a walk around Bar Harbor.  We grabbed some cookies from our favorite sub shop, visited with Katie while she was working and poked around a few of the shops downtown!  Then we went home and crashed!


Sunday was the Mylen Family Reunion 2014!  We had the party at my parents' house so it was convenient for us.  We slept in as late as possible and then I went to help with the preparations.  The day before, Dad cooked 30 lobsters so they'd be ready in time for the party.  Papa wanted a few pictures of all of them.  That's a lot of lobsters!


We had so much fun.  Some of the highlights of the afternoon were Emery (our adorable ring bearer) running around chasing bubbles and then playing with the huge red ball that my Mom had gotten.  I took a ton of photos of him and dubbed it "baby yoga."  My cousin Luke had a fist eating contest with Nadia.  Ok, maybe he was just being silly.


 We had so much food!  Everything was great and it was nice to visit and catch up!


Of course, no reunion is complete without a family photo!  Elissa was gracious enough to take a few for us!  (This is most of us!  We're missing a few of my cousins.)  It's so wonderful to see how our family keeps growing through the years!  I think the last family photo we got was when we were at Walt Disney World in 2009!


We returned home and on Wednesday, my cousin Kaitlin came over for some help party planning for her youngest son Isaac's first birthday.  Emery also came over and he loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates.   Eliot and I have been grabbing things when we've seen them here and there.  (This kiddo is probably spoiled by us, and I love every second!  I can't wait for Isaac to start to have characters that he likes.  Then, I can spoil him too!)


Isaac's party theme is Mickey Mouse, so it makes sense that Kaitlin asked me for some help.  I'm known as the resident Disney expert in the family.  We've actually been planning the party for a few months now.  I ended up working on the Mickey pinata and Isaac's first birthday onesie.  (Stay tuned for more birthday stuff in the next few weeks!)


On Thursday, Elissa and I met Kaitlin, the boys, my Aunt Sherrie,Uncle Moe and Luke's wife Rachel at Funtown!  (Funtown is the local amusement park a few towns over from us.)  Surprisingly, I've never been there in all the years I've lived in Maine.


We had a blast.  I'm not really an amusement park ride, thrill-seeking person, but I actually went on quite a few rides.  (I'm more of a Disney ride girl!)  I surprised myself! Kaitlin, Rachel and I cooled off on the Log Flume Ride.  (That's my kind of thrill ride!)


I also went on the carousel, ferris wheel, automobile rides, and the bumper boats!  I think the bumper boats were my favorite.  I can't wait to go on those again!  Plus, it's nice to have the park close by!  And, they also have Splashtown- the water park.


Later in the night, Luke and Eliot joined us when they got out of work.  We all had dinner and then the thrill seekers went on a few of the other rides.  (Elissa and I opted to watch Isaac and Emery.)  Eliot, Elissa and Luke ended the night with a ride on Excalibur, the wooden roller coaster.  We grabbed some Dippin' Dots on the way out of the park... yum!


I'm so thankful we all live close enough that we can spend time with the boys and my family.  We had a great time!  Eliot and I had so much fun that we actually got season tickets!  We'll be back to Funtown & Splashtown a few more times this summer!  °o°

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Now It's Time to Say Goodbye

Well, Elissa's trip to Maine is over and "Camp Cady" has officially come to a close for this summer.  Yesterday, we drove down to Boston to get her on her flight home to California.


I've been kicking myself for not updating my blog more often.  However, I've "let it go" and decided I'm going to stop feeling guilty for not updating it as much as usual.  I've been spending time with my family and friends and enjoying my summer!  Before I know it, Elsa will be back at it and I'll be stuck inside with Maine's cold weather, snow, and winter storms.  Therefore, I might as well "do what frozen things do in summer" while I still can! (Sorry for the Frozen puns.  Apparently, I'm full of them...)


We had a great six weeks with Elissa here in Maine.  Eliot and I can't wait to have her come visit us again next summer for the next installment of "Camp Cady".  Maybe next year, we'll get camp t-shirts.  (I'm adding it to my to do list.)  We've got a ton of ideas for things to do, things to make, places to visit, and restaurants to return to next summer!


Don't worry, I won't hold out on you guys!  I'll finish the recap posts I've already started so you can see what we were up to the last few weeks of her trip!


But for the moment, Now its time to say goodbye to all our company, M-I-C (see you real soon!) K-E-Y (why? because we like you!) M-O-U-S-E.  °o°

Monday, July 14, 2014

I'm Going to KeyCon!

Well, it's finally official!  I'm registered for KeyCon 2014!!!  Woo-hoo!!!


And... you probably have no idea what I'm talking about.  That's ok, because I'm going to fill you in!  Last fall, I became a travel agent with Key to the World Travel.  KeyCon is our annual travel agent conference!  This year, it's taking place at Walt Disney World!

I'm incredibly excited!  As you'll see from the KeyCon video below, we're going to have a lot of fun this October!  I'm going to get 3 fun filled days of training, learning, meeting my fellow agents, team building, and Disney fun!!!



I'm most excited about all of the training we're going to get!  For most of us, this is our first time being a travel agent.  I'm not afraid to admit that I have a ton of things I'd like to learn more about.  I'm really looking forward to the marketing and social media sessions. 

The other thing I'm really excited about is to finally meet my fellow agents.  I've "met" many of them online, but it'll be nice to finally meet each other in person!  I'm sure it will make collaborating and sharing ideas a lot more personable.  I'm also excited for team building and Disney fun in the parks together!  What better a way to meet each other than at the place we all love?  A few of us have already made plans to check out the Food and Wine Festival.  Those brave enough might also do a group photo on Tower of Terror!

I'm also really excited about the VIP Show.  I'm not-so-secretly hoping for Fantasmic since we did the VIP IllumiNations Dessert Party during our Disney Wedding.  But I know I'm going to have a ton of fun no matter what we see!

Photo Source: Design by PennyRing
The most daunting part of this is going to Disney World alone for the first time.  It seems a little depressing to me since going to Disney is such a family oriented vacation for me. However, I keep reminding myself I'm not really going to be alone.  I'm going to be with my Key to the World family!  I'm going to make new friends.  I can do whatever I want in my free time.  I can ride my favorite rides over and over and over if I wish.  And finally, no one will be there to judge me if I decide a Mickey ice cream bar, Dole Whip, candy apple and ice cream is an acceptable dinner.

Besides, I'm going to Walt Disney World again a few months later in January 2015 for the WDW Marathon Weekend.  I'll still get to visit Disney World with my family for our races. (Speaking of running, maybe I should re-think that whole dinner arrangement...)


Plus, I can't deny my excitement to see the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride!  I'll probably also end up attending one of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties if my trip falls during one.  I absolutely love the "Boo To You Parade" and "HalloWishes" fireworks!

Overall, this KeyCon trip is going to be amazing and I really can't wait until October.  Let the official Walt Disney World countdown begin: KeyCon 2014, here I come!!!  °o°

Friday, July 11, 2014

Fun Find: PPbN Designs

It's time for another Fun Find Friday!  Today's fun find is Paper Piecings by Nikki!


I was first introduced to Paper Piecings by Nikki (PPbN) through another member of the Disney Scrapbookers Facebook group.  The other member uses her designs to create character and title die cuts for her scrapbook pages.  She shared a few photos of the die cuts she made and told us how she found them.

PPbN Princess Characters
I researched Paper Piecings by Nikki, also known as PPbN, and joined a Facebook group where people show the pieces they've created with her files.  Then I went to her website to explore and I was immediately hooked to her adorable designs.  Nikki creates svg files you can cut with your cutting machine!  

PPbN Characters
PPbN has a program where you can become a PPbN member to get daily freebies, exclusive members only designs and a discount on her files!  For July, if you join or are already a member, you're automatically entered in a drawing for a new iPad Mini!

PPbN Characters
I liked her PPbN Facebook Page so I could check out more of her designs as she posted them.  Every day, Nikki posts the daily member freebies that you can download from her website.  After seeing one of these designs, I became a member a few nights ago.  

PPbN Member Exclusives (current 7/11/14)
I was seduced (in a good way) by the "Once Upon A Dream" Maleficent inspired set.  It was offered as a member freebie and I couldn't resist.  As I mentioned a few days ago, we finally went to see Maleficent the other day.  I thought this design would be perfect for scrapbooking the event!

PPbN Member Exclusives (current 7/11/14)
I've already gone onto PPbN and downloaded a few of the free member files.  I'm so excited!  I also started a list of files that I'd like to get eventually.  Nikki has a wide range of designs including holidays, sports, seasons, titles, vacations, weather, animals, family and alphabets!  There are plenty of character files and holiday files that I know I'm going to use in my scrapbooking projects!

PPbN 4th of July Designs
Before I go too crazy buying designs, I need to get a few other things in order.  It's time for another confession: I'm getting a ton of cutting files and I don't even have a machine to cut them with... yet!  We have a Cricut Expression 2, but sadly it doesn't allow me to cut these designs.  But, Eliot and I have discussed getting a Cameo in the future.  So, I will not let my current situation deter me from these amazing designs!

PPbN Characters

If you're a fan of scrapbooking, you really should check these out!  I can't wait to see the designs I come up with using Paper Piecings by Nikki!  °o°

Note: All of these photos are from Paper Piecings by Nikk's website.  Nikki owns the copyright on them.  Please do not use them without her permission.