Girls Getaway on the Norwegian Getaway!

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Spring begins this Thursday and every teacher knows what that means: SPRING BREAK! Mine is next week and I cannot wait. My mom is a travel agent and she got us an absolutely incredible travel agent rate for a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the brand new Norwegian Getaway! When I say brand new, I mean it literally has only been sailing for two months!

This will be my third cruise (you'll be hearing about our honeymoon cruise on the Disney Fantasy in my wedding series!). Something I love about cruising is that more and more the ships are becoming destinations unto themselves, particularly the ships built within the past few years. Each one has their own special features and is a unique experience. Sure, ships from the same cruise line may have some similar aspects but no two seem to be exactly the same.

As I prepare for this awesome girls trip I thought it would be fun to share what I am most excited about experiencing on the new Norwegian Getaway!


Legally Blonde the Musical

The Norwegian Getaway's headliner night time show is Legally Blonde! I absolutely love musical theater and all things Broadway. Even though I've only seen it as an MTV special, Legally Blonde the Musical is one of my absolute favorites. It may not be quite as sophisticated as some of my other favorites but it is tons of fun and the songs are so catchy! My favorite color is also pink sooooo Legally Blonde is kind of a given.

As far as I can tell it should be the full, unabridged show but I'll have to report back on that after I've seen it. I can't wait!

The Ropes Course

The Getaway's three-story sports complex features the largest ropes course at sea! I've been pumped about this since the second I heard they had a ropes course. To be totally honest, I've only been on one ropes course in my life and it maaaay have been more geared towards kids. Who knows, it may be huge and I may end up chickening out but hopefully that won't be the case. Speaking of chickening out, did I mention there is a part called The Plank that extends 8 feet out over the edge of the ship!? We'll see if that happens! Stay tuned!

Illusionarium

The Illusionarium is a specially created space that hosts a combination dinner/magic show. That's really the best I can describe it without having seen it yet. The space itself seems to be incredible and, from what I've heard, so are the performances. I am so intrigued by this!

Spa Thermal Suite

What girl doesn't look forward to a spa? The Norwegian Getaway's spa has a section called the Thermal Suite that has everything you could hope for for relaxation. It has a steam room, a dry sauna, Vitality pool, hot tubs, waterfalls, heated tile loungers, and even a salt room! You can buy either a day pass or a pass for the week. We hope to snag one for the full seven days!

The Music

I teach music so it should come as no surprise that I am excited about all the live music offerings on this cruise. Live music is a big aspect of any cruise, really, but this ship boasts some really awesome musical performances.

The Getaway has a venue called The Grammy Experience that features a Grammy-nominated or Grammy-winning performer every night! Sure, they probably won't be the biggest names you've heard in your life but being nominated for a Grammy is a pretty huge thing and anyone who's earned that honor is definitely worth your time. At this point I can't say I've ever seen a Grammy-nominated artist perform live so I can't wait to check that off of my bucket list!

Another awesome musical performance I can't wait for on the ship is the Howl at the Moon dueling pianos show in their comedy club, Headliners. If you've never seen dueling pianos you really should! You'll hear lots of your favorite songs, see two really talented musicians, and have a blast! We did Howl at the Moon in Destin, FL as a part of my bachelorette weekend and it was a highlight of the trip!


I'm sure I'll have lots more to say about the Norwegian Getaway when we get back. Does anyone have any fun travel plans?

-Lindsay

Our Disney Wedding: Port Orleans Riverside Welcome Event

Over the next few weeks I am doing a series all about our Disney wedding! We got married at Walt Disney World back in October and it was the most amazing experience. Of course, everyone's wedding is amazing to them but for a Disney nerd like me it was just so incredible to get to marry the love of my life in front of our loved ones at our favorite place on the planet.

When I began planning our wedding I became obsessed with reading about other people's Disney weddings. It is definitely a unique experience and planning process so it was so helpful to learn from other peoples' experiences. I'm breaking the series up into individual events so I'll start with the first, our welcome event!

This is actually one of our engagement pictures. We did the shoot at Port Orleans Riverside!

Ummm...what is a welcome event?

In the world of Disney weddings a welcome event is a time for all wedding guests to get together in a less formal setting prior to the wedding day. Of course, this can be accomplished to some extent at the rehearsal dinner but many couples (ourselves included) do not invite all wedding guests to the dinner as they are not a part of the rehearsal itself. In our case, we had a lot of non-wedding party guests traveling long distances to be at our wedding and we wanted to spend some time with them before the craziness began. It was the perfect way to welcome our guests to our wedding weekend!

Being the bride you get called up on stages a lot! This happened at my bachelorette, too!

Where was your welcome event held? 

We had our event at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort. More specifically it was in their River Roost Lounge, a bar/lounge in their main building. River Roost features an incredible performer named Yeeha Bob many nights out of the week. His piano singalong comedy show is free and a total blast! Ryan, my husband, and I had been to see him a couple of times and thought it would be so much fun to see him again with all our friends and family. Turns out, we were right! Yeeha Bob's show is incredibly interactive and entertaining and our guests all seemed to really enjoy themselves. Can I mention again that this was all free?!

Spending this more casual special time with the ones that are close to us was so amazing! The kids had fun, too!

How did you plan this?!

When you're planning a wedding, I wouldn't say it's the best idea to add extra events with lots more planning to do to your list of things to worry about. With that thought in mind I wanted to plan the welcome event as simply as possible. We basically only had to worry about these two things:

• The guest list and getting the word out: We had the event two days before the wedding, the day we arrived in Orlando. We sent an email out to all of our wedding guests letting them know we'd be having a "casual pre-wedding get together" and that anyone who was in town by then should come out. No guest list to worry about!
• Food/drinks: The show started after dinner time so that took off the pressure to provide any sort of big meal. The River Roost lounge had drinks and food you could buy if you wanted but there was no obligation to so it was the best of both worlds!

That was pretty much all the planning it took. We didn't rent out the bar or anything so we did have to get there about 45 minutes before the show to reserve enough seats for our friends and family but other than that all that was left to do was have a blast with our wedding guests! 

Disney wedding or not, I think everyone should have a casual welcome event like this. Some of my favorite memories were made that night! Nothing beats singing, dancing, and making a fool out of yourself with all of your favorite people during such a special time. <3

Yeeha Bob is an incredible entertainer! After every show he gets pictures with people in the audience and then he puts them on his Facebook page. He called up our entire group! This wasn't even everyone that was there ;)

- Lindsay

Current Beauty Favorites: Drugstore

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Over the past year or so I've developed an interest in the world of beauty. Ok, when I say interest I actually mean more of an obsession. Just so you know, I am married and really am not trying to impress anyone. I enjoy doing my makeup because it makes me feel good and it's sort of a daily way to pamper myself. That type of pampering is so nice, especially on those same-old-same-old kind of days when I may need a bit of a pick me up before I head out the door to work. 

I'm the type of person that, when I like something, I just throw myself into it and want to learn as much about it as I can. Enter beauty bloggers and YouTubers! I have learned SO much from these ladies; not only about how to apply my makeup but about which products will help me achieve the look I want and are worth my money. I am in no way any sort of beauty expert but I value the opinions of other "normal people" on stuff like this so now I'll share my own "normal people" opinion with you! 

The items below are mostly products that I purchased on recommendation of different "beauty gurus." I use all of them pretty much daily. They've made my favorites because they actually live up to the hype I've heard/read about them AND they are products that I (a beauty newbie) can use with great success. Enjoy!

1. Real Techniques Brushes: When I first learned about Real Techniques makeup brushes I was curious as to how brushes that are so reasonably priced could really be that much better than any other old brushes in the drugstore. I am so glad I decided to try them out because I really noticed a difference in the look of my makeup when I started using them! Now I have many of their different brushes but my three favorites are featured in the picture above. Left: Real Techniques Setting Brush - I use this to set my under-eye concealer and for powder highlighter when I use it. Middle: Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush - as the name states it's great for blending in the crease. Right: Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush - it's name tells you it's for base shadow but I also use to blend everything out. I think it's ok to experiment with brushes and figure out what works well for you. If it looks good to you go with it!

2. Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller: I have lots of allergies that result in what my doctor calls "allergic shiners." This basically just means puffiness under my eyes. I noticed a while back that not only did this make my under-eye/above cheek area look puffy but it also made it look like I have dark circles. All of this to say this eye roller really works for me! It has caffeine in it which helps with the puffiness and it has a sheer tint which neutralizes the dark coloring. I think it's a great product! 

 3. N.Y.C. Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in Sunny: First of all, this costs less than three dollars! It's also totally worth the hype about it. It is a matte powder with no shimmer at all which I love for a more natural look. I just don't need gold shimmer all over my face most days. When I really contour my face this bronzer makes a world of difference. I tend to always be shopping for beauty products I don't need but I rarely find myself looking at the bronzers since I am just so satisfied with this one. Yay! 

4. E.L.F. Tone Correcting Powder in Cool: E.L.F. is known to have a lot of dupes (good or bad) for higher end products so I always like experimenting with their stuff. I was so excited to find how much I liked this powder! For me, I think it really evens out the coloring of my face and makes my foundation, concealer, etc look more natural. It also doesn't make everything look cakey which is a problem I have found with several drugstore powders. 

5. Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-In-1 Foundation: This one is the most recent addition to my makeup collection (stash?hoard?). I had heard lots of gurus talking about it and finally just gave in and had to give it a try. I looooove it! I really love the finish. I think it looks very natural and maybe even makes my skin look healthier? Does that make sense? Probably not. It's supposed to do the work of a primer, a concealer, and a foundation all in one. I still use other primer and concealer but I can see how it would still work well without them. 

6. Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Metal Eye Shadow in Barely Branded: A lot of gurus talked about using this as a base for your eyeshadow to make the colors "pop" more and they are totally right. It's also beautiful by itself and easy to apply, even with just your fingers! I like it so much that I bought a few more in some of their other shades and they are all great! 

7. Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner: Last but not least, this liner is an absolute staple to me. Honestly, I haven't heard that much about it from the experts but there is no other eyeliner out there (some high end included) that has worked as well for me just yet. I never even wore eyeliner until a few years ago and this one is just so easy for me to use. I have it in blackest black for a more intense line and in black brown for a less dramatic look.

So, there it is. My first beauty post! If you made it this far, let me know what your favorite drugstore beauty products are!

- Lindsay

One Girl's Disney Bucket List

At this point you've probably noticed the Disney reference in the title of this blog. I hope for this to become an overall "lifestyle" type blog but I would be lying if I said the subject of Disney won't be coming up...a lot!

To me, the word "Disney" represents SO many things. From theme parks to movies to just a positive way of living your life, Disney and everything that word encompasses is one of my greatest passions. I live only a few hours away from Walt Disney World so I am able to go there often and I feel so fortunate for that. 

Another one of my passions is travel. While I haven't done nearly as much of it as I would like just yet, seeing and experiencing the world is a huge priority to me. Take that and combine it with my love for Disney and I could have a bucket list a mile long! I narrowed it down, though, to my top ten (ok, eleven). This list has existed in my head for a long time so there are a few things I have already done. I love being able to check things off! 

My Disney Bucket List

1. Visit the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.

2. Visit Walt Disney World during the holidays. - I have done this one partially. We visited this year with some friends just after Christmas so we were able to see many of the holiday offerings but taking a full blown trip at Christmas time is still on my bucket list. Plus, we still haven't been to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! 

3. To have stayed at ALL of the Walt Disney World Resort hotels. - So far I've stayed at All Star Movies, All Star Sports, Pop Century, Port Orleans Riverside, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Grand Floridian. A repeat stay at a few of those wouldn't be unwelcome, either! 

4. Become a Disney Vacation Club member.

5. Take Disney’s Keys to the Kingdom Tour. 

6. Dine at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

7. Become an authorized Disney Travel Agent.

8. Visit the overseas parks, particularly Disneyland Resort Paris.

9. Go on an Adventures by Disney trip.

10. Get married at Walt Disney World and honeymoon on my first Disney Cruise. - Ok, this one is done! We were married at Disney's Wedding Pavilion and the Grand Floridian in October of 2013! We honeymooned on the Disney Fantasy cruise ship for a glorious 7 days right after! Best trip ever!

11. To, one day, experience the Disney parks with my child(ren). 

So, there it is! Of course, there are a million other Disney things I haven't done but those are the heavy hitters. 

If anyone is out there reading this, what's on your Disney bucket list? 

-Lindsay

My Second Star to the Right

"The second star to the right shines in the night for you, to tell you that the dreams you plan really can come true."

This quote is my inspiration for this blog. What I love about it is that while it seems to be the typical Disney, "when you wish upon a star" kind of idea, it actually contains a bit of self responsibility. This line from the classic Disney song "The Second Star to the Right" holds the dreamer accountable in that it tells us that the dreams we plan really can come true. As in nothing is going to just fall in our laps but anything is possible if we are willing to do the work.

This reminds me of another quote I've come across (admittedly, on Pinterest) that says "She turned her can'ts into cans and her dreams into plans." Those same two words.

To me, both sayings communicate the idea that there is nothing at all wrong with dreaming, they actually encourage dreaming, but you have to make something of those dreams. Personally, I do a lot of dreaming but I don't always do what needs to be done to make those dreams a reality. So many seemingly unachievable things in life could be more easily attained if we formulated a plan and put it into action.

So, I hope that this blog will act as my second star to the right, my very own Neverland. A place to keep my thoughts, dreams, and plans so that I can return to them and turn some dreams into realities. Here, I plan to write about anything from the tiniest musings to the biggest life goals. As Walt would say, if you can dream it you can do it!

"And when our journey is through, each time we say goodnight, we'll thank the little star that shines, the second on the right."

-Lindsay