Tuesday, May 31, 2016

May 2016 Photo Challenge

Before the month ends, I thought I'd share one more quick post.  We're really busy this week preparing for our trip to California in a few days!  But, I had the idea to share a post of a photo challenge I wanted to do on Instagram.

Each month, the Disney Colors Facebook group hosts a photo challenge over on Instagram.  They're a lot of fun.  I love sharing my Disney park photos and seeing what everyone else posts!  I've discovered a lot of cool accounts through the challenges!


I haven't done one since last fall.  Last summer, I was regularly posting, but then I fell behind when we were trying to move.  I thought I'd post the challenge photos for the month of May all at the same time on here instead!  In honor of our upcoming trip to Disneyland, (we'll be there a week from today!!!) here are my 31 photos for the May 2016 photo challenge, all from my past trips to Disneyland!

Day 1: Glitter- I love the glitter lettering at the Animation Building in DCA!



Day 2: Castle- Sleeping Beauty Castle is stunning!


Day 3: Tick Tock- It's A Small World is my favorite clock!


Day 4: Force- May the Force be with you!


Day 5: Mosaic- Mosaic shower tiles with hidden Mickeys from the Disneyland Hotel!


Day 6: Carousel- Jingles is my favorite horse on the carousel.


Day 7: Bubbles- I love the bubbles on the lights at Ariel's Grotto.


Day 8: Colorful- World of Color is a celebration of color!


Day 9: Starts with a B- Big Thunder Mountain model from the Disneyland Hotel.


Day 10: We're All Mad Here- It's the tea cups!


Day 11: Splash- Splash Mountain is home of the splash!


Day 12: Close Up- I love Tigger Tails!!!


Day 13: Wishes- The Disneyland Hotel headboard reminds me of Wishes.


Day 14: Yellow- It's the Finding Nemo yellow submarines.



Day 15: Floor- The carpet on the floor at the Disneyland hotel is awesome.


Day 16: Detail- I love the details in this little model at the Disneyland Hotel.


Day 17: Look Up- The giant sorcerer hat at the Disneyland Hotel!


Day 18: Statue- It's Stanley in Radiator Springs and Carsland!



Day 19: Throwback- Throwback to the original entrance of California Adventure.


Day 20: Red- I was Minnie Mouse red for Dapper Day!


Day 21: Snack- Dole Whips are a favorite Disney snack!


Day 22: Adventure- My favorite adventure is with the Pirates of the Caribbean.


Day 23: Dance- Paint the Night makes me want to dance all night long.


Day 24: Hair- I love Aurora's hair on these dolls!


Day 25: Transport- Brother and Eeyore's favorite transportation is the train.


Day 26: Thrill- There's nothing quite like the thrill of Mickey's Fun Wheel!



Day 27: Mountain- Matterhorn is one of the original Disney mountains.


Day 28: Sunset- Sunset at It's a Small World is beautiful!


Day 29: Summer- The sun shining on the water in this picture reminds me of summer.


Day 30: Collection- I'm always looking for more Disney ornaments for our collection!


Day 31: Celebrate- Disneyland sure knows how to celebrate it's 60th anniversary!


I hope you enjoyed my quick post of these Disneyland photos!  If you did, please let me know!  Maybe I'll try to start doing this more often!  °o°

Monday, May 30, 2016

San Jose Sharks Advance

Well, they did it.  History is being made as we speak.  The San Jose Sharks NHL hockey team has advanced to the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals!!!



Those of you who follow along on our adventures know how much Eliot loves his San Jose Sharks.  He's been a fan since he was about three.  They've been around since 1991, and it's been a long 25 seasons waiting for the chance to win the Stanley Cup.



Along the way, I've grown to love them too.  I've learned their names.  Memorized jersey numbers.  Proclaimed which players are my "hockey boyfriends". (Sorry, not sharing!  That's top secret insider info, ha ha!)  I've watched countless regular season games, as well as most of their playoff games throughout the years.  Hockey season has become a big part of my life too.



As you can imagine, we're ecstatic that we're going to the finals.  The only other time my stomach has been in that many knots during a playoff game, was when I've been watching my Patriots, or when I've literally been playing in the game myself.  As the final seconds of Game 6 against St. Louis ticked down, and we got a few empty net goals, the realization set in, we're going to the finals for the first time ever!!!



In about a half an hour, the Sharks and Pittsburg Penguins face off in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  The NHL plays best of 7 series each round of the play offs.  So we're four wins away from the cup.  In honor of making it to the finals, I thought I'd share a history of my life as a San Jose Sharks fan so far.



On February 10th, 2009, Eliot took me to my first ever Sharks game.  They were playing the Boston Bruins, and since we went to college in Boston, naturally that made the more sense than attending a game elsewhere. We'd bought our tickets at the beginning of the season and were looking forward to it all winter.



When Eliot and I went to Walt Disney World in October of 2010, we brought our Sharks t-shirts.  We took photos in them at Animal Kingdom and later in the day at Epcot.



I went to my second Sharks game on February 5th, 2011.  That game, I wore the Joe Thornton t-shirt Eliot had gotten me.  I had a great time at that game too. 



The most recent Sharks game I've been to was on October 22nd, 2011.  Eliot and I got really good tickets near the glass.  I decked myself out in my shirt, my Sharks hat and I even wore Eliot's jacket when I got cold.  It was so cool.  Before the game, we got to watch them warm up right next to the glass.  Patrick Marleau looked right at us!



When Eliot and I went to California in July of 2012 for Elissa's Bat Mitzvah, I had my first trip to the Shark tank.  At the time, it was still called the HP Pavilion.



The girls, Eliot and I went to the Sharks Store to check out the merchandise.  We had so much fun!  Of course we had a few photo ops.  I tried a jersey on so I'd know what size to get when the time came.



I left the store with a few new items.  I bought myself a shirt, backpacks for both Eliot and me, some awesome Sharks socks and three little Sharkie magnets.



While there, a nice man saw us checking out the building and he let us into long enough for us to take a picture at the bottom of the stairway!



At some point, we got Eeyore a Build-A-Bear San Jose Sharks jersey.  When it was time for Halloween 2013, Eeyore dressed up as Brent Burns.  I made his jersey into an 88, added "Burns" to the back and made him a matching felt beard.



Over the years, we've watched countless Sharks games on television.  When they're losing, we turn our Sharkie plushies around so they don't have to see.  Eeyore, Duffy and Brother continue to cheer them on with us.  I've watched Eliot clap at each win, see his face fall at each loss, and heard him cheer and hoot each goal.  He truly loves his San Jose Sharks just like I love the New England Patriots.  For his sake, I really hope we can celebrate a Sharks championship soon.



Finally, I'm excited to announce that Eliot and I, along with his family, have gotten tickets to the Shark Tank (SAP Center) for Saturday night's game in San Jose!!!  I'm SO excited to go to my first home game at the Shark Tank.  I'm even more excited that it's a playoff game, and not only is it a playoff game, it's the Stanley Cup Finals!!!



So starts another week of nerves, anxiously watching the games, screaming at the television as if what I'm yelling matters, and cheering like crazy when they score a goal.  And really, I wouldn't have it any other way.



Good luck in the finals boys.  No matter what the outcome, you've already made us all proud.  But, I think we can agree that we all really want that cup!  Go Sharks!!!  °o°

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Disneyland Dapper Day Spring 2016 Review

I can't believe it's been three weeks since Disneyland's Dapper Day!  Oh my gosh, it was so much fun.  I'm still slightly stunned that I was able to attend!  Timing could not have been more perfect.  While the parks were very busy, I had an amazing time.  I would definitely go again if the opportunity presents itself!  (And I really hope it does; I'd love to go with Eliot!)  Here's a recap of my Dapper Day experience:


I was really excited about my Dapper Day outfit.  I'd planned it out so I would be Disneybounding as Diamond Celebration Minnie Mouse!  I didn't have many goals of the day.  I really just wanted to get a picture by the Partners Statue with Sleeping Beauty Castle, and pictures with a few of the Diamond Celebration characters.


When I left the Disneyland Hotel, I felt like I was quite possibly the only person dressed up, even though I knew that wasn't the case.  I got a few looks while other guests dressed more like tourists walked by me.  I just strutted my stuff and held my head high.  Thankfully, I started to see increasing amounts of dapperly dressed guests the closer I got to the park.  As I entered Disneyland, the lady who scanned my ticket wished me a happy Dapper Day.  Then, the real experience began!


I saw people in all sorts of different Dapper Day styles.  I was amazed at how many people dressed up and at how committed they were to their looks.  I quickly discovered that Dapper Day is all about the photos.  People were posing for photos everywhere I could see.  The lines for the characters and key locations were pretty full, but I stuck to my guns and went with my plan.  The character lines were closed, so I asked a cast member when Mickey and Minnie would be back, and discovered that they wouldn't be back until after noon.  I had over an hour and a half to kill.



I decided to browse through the Emporium.  I hadn't spent much time shopping during the trip, and I wanted to scope out the merchandise for our June trip. After browsing in the Emporium, I made my way to the castle to get my photo with the Partners Statue.

While in line, I met a few other Dapper Day attendees.  The group in front of me was Disneybounding as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel and Cinderella, and they all looked awesome!  So many people stopped to ask them for a photo.


Photo Credit
In fact, while I was standing there, Joey, aka @JustBeingJoey on Instagram, asked me to take a Snapchat photo of him with them.  He gave them all some of his custom buttons afterwards.  Then, he even asked me and the couple behind me if we'd like some!  I was so excited!  I'd seen the preview of his buttons on Instagram and I'm super pumped to add one to my button collection!


While waiting, I also spotted @TeamSparkle from Instagram.  She was actually a few groups ahead of me in line at the Partners Statue.  It's so weird to see people you recognize from online in real life.  I should have said hello, but I didn't want to leave my spot in line.  (I have to admit that it is a little awkward to just go say hello.  Even though I encourage you guys to do the same thing with me!  Ha!)

I talked with the couple behind me for a few minutes.  I wish I'd asked for their names, or at least their Instagram names.  I've looked all over Instagram and I haven't found them... yet!  They were very sweet and they even asked to take a picture with me and the Disneybounding group ahead of me in line.  It was really sweet of them to include me and I'm hoping that one day I'll come across the photo!



Before I knew it, I was next in line to get my picture taken.  The photographer was taking her time to make sure to capture many different views.  I was really appreciative of that since we all waited.  Everyone got a few minutes of her time!  She took a few photos on my phone- I wanted something to post on Instagram and Facebook!  Then, she took a few with the PhotoPass camera.  She got me with the statue and Sleeping Beauty Castle.  She also took a Tinker Bell magic shot for me!

Then, I sat on a bench to rest my feet and just soaked everything in.  I talked to a nice mother while she helped her daughter put bandages on her feet- the struggles of fancy shoes on Dapper Day.  I asked a cast member when and where Mickey's March Along came from.  Then, I'd be able to prepare for my Mickey and Minnie photos!


Around noon, Mickey and Minnie marched down Main Street with the marching band and their other Diamond Celebration character friends.  I followed the crowd and was simply stunned by what was on the other end of Main Street.  The marching band played "Live the Magic" while the Dapper Dans sang and the characters all danced around.  It was the most surreal part of Dapper Day for me.  Being dressed up as Minnie, with the song playing... it was a little bit overwhelming.


After the show, the characters took a break before starting photos.  They all came out and I stayed waiting for Minnie.  Finally, a cast member told me she'd be out after the next break.  So I went over to Mickey's line and thankfully, I was one of the last people allowed in line!  Good timing once again!


Mickey loved my outfit.  I told him I was dressed as Minnie, but I think he already knew judging from his reaction.  I got a few more photos on my phone and their camera, thanked him and gave him a big hug.


Then, it was time for my main focus: Minnie.  As promised, she was out after the next break.  I literally followed a few steps behind her after she came out.  I was near the front of the line, and ironically I don't think many people in line realized the significance of my outfit.  However, when it was my turn, that changed in an instant.  The next thing I knew, I had tons of strangers pointing me out and taking photos of me with Minnie!


Minnie Mouse loved my outfit.  I could tell from the second I stepped up to her.  She jumped up and down and pointed at me and her.  I told her she was a fashion icon and I had to dress like her for Dapper Day.  We took a few photos with my phone and the camera.  Then, I thanked her and gave her one more hug.


After that, you couldn't wipe the grin off my face if you'd tried.  I'd had a successful Dapper Day in the parks, but I decided it wouldn't be complete without visiting the Dapper Day Expo.  I made my way back to the Disneyland Hotel and the expo.  There was so much to see, and I definitely didn't do it justice.


I walked around looking at the different booths.  There were beautiful retro dresses, skirts, brooches, and accessories everywhere.  There was a vintage car.  You could get a shave, or your hair styled, or try on clothes.  There was music playing.  If I went again, I would definitely spend more time in the expo exploring, but since there was nothing that I absolutely needed, I decided it was time to head back to my room.


Overall, Disneyland's Spring 2016 Dapper Day was an amazing experience.  I really wish Eliot had been there though.  It was a little bit lonely going by myself, but I still had fun.  I'm so glad I took all of those photos.  They were worth every penny, staying an extra day at Disneyland by myself, and waiting in the lines.  I hope someday I'll get to go to another Disneyland Dapper Day.  It's definitely on my bucket list!  °o°