Take With Tuesday- Water Bottle

"Mooooooom, I'm thiiiiirsty!"

Today's tip is to take along a water bottle. Specifically a Brita water bottle. Florida water has a certain {disgusting} taste, and this bottle filters it out. Yes you can get water free at any counter service restaurant, but to me its worth it to have my own bottle with me where ever I go.

We bought 2 bottles from from Amazon {19.41}
for Seth and I, then 2 Disney themed ones from Walmart for the kids {since these are a bit pricey}. I would fill my bottle from a water fountain, then squeeze the filtered water out of mine into theirs.

Well worth it.

Thrifty Thursday- Dime Bank

Change is a good thing, right?

Did you know that if you fill a 2 liter bottle with dimes you will have approximately $600? I found this post on Lifehacker that will help you estimate you change without dumping it out and counting it all. That's helpful, right? I use cash mostly, so I end up with a lot of change. This will be a great way for my family to set money aside for our next Disney trip! 

If only there was a cute way to decorate it...

Whatever Wednesday- 5 Fav Souvenirs from Walt Disney World

You spent all that money to get there, may as well buy something to remember it! 

 

Yes, souvenirs can be expensive. They are also so. much. fun to buy.  Go ahead and put the money in your budget and pick up something fun while you are in the park. Here are my top five favorite things to purchase {in no specific order}.

1. Hats

There are so many fun hats and headbands all over the parks. Its fun to get a new one each time you go. 

2. Dated Ornament

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You are sure to enjoy taking this out and putting it on your tree year after year.

3. Pressed Pennies

These are a really fun, interactive souvenir. I'm pretty sure you could never collect them all either...

4. Photo Pass Pictures

Yep...that's a picture of a computer screen.

Overall, I didn't feel like I was missing much by not buying into Memory Maker before we left. There were however a few pictures that were adorable and I wish I had purchased them after we got home. I took a picture of my computer screen of two of them, but one I didn't and I kick myself for it! Disney XD did the Pirates League. After they finish putting the makeup on they take the new pirate to a special room and take a picture. I really wish I had that one, but its gone forever. 

5. Trading Pins

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Wither you buy them before hand or in the park this is a GREAT souvenir.  XD had a great time trading pins in the park and it really started a collection. I buy bulk pins for little gifts throughout the year for him to save for our next visit. 

What's your favorite thing to pick out?

Take With You Tuesday- Shower Curtain

Why in the world do I need to take a shower curtain to Disney World?

Something no one tells you when you are traveling to Disney is that the showers don't have curtains. You have to bring your own! 

Nooo...not really. Bring a clear shower curtain to throw over your stroller during those daily afternoon showers. It will keep your kiddo dry if they are in the stroller, or it will keep their seat dry if they're not.

The rest of the family can pull on a poncho if you get caught in an afternoon shower, but putting one over a stroller would be pretty tough. Throw this over the whole stroller to keep everything dry-including the child.  If you are getting on a ride and you see that it is about to start raining go ahead and toss it over the stroller so when you come out everything is still dry.

I was really thankful to have it while we were there- and so was Disney Jr.

Make Something Monday- Photo Quilt Series part 1

I'm an intermediate sewer- its a good idea to start a quilt!

Seriously y'all. I've lost my damn mind. I think its a good idea to make a quilt for my kids. Not only a quilt, a photo quilt.  I have a lot of quilters in my extended family, so if I get stuck I have a lot of people I can call to bail me out! Why not follow along with me and make your own quilt too?

First I had to decide what I wanted my photo quilt to look like. Check out these samples.

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Gorgeous, amiright? But a little over my head! Maybe one day I can work up to it, but for now there's no way.I decided on something like this...

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I made a few changes:

• 6 rows across x 7 rows down- Every other square will be a picture
• 11x11 center square featuring a large picture
• less space between squares

Here's the pattern I drew:

So here are the tasks for Post 1

1. Gather fabric. All of the fabric featured here is from Fabric.com.

1 3/4 yards Backing- Remix Flannel Chevron Adventure

3/4 yard Pattern Block- Disney Vintage Mickey Comic Strip Character Toss

1/2 yard Binding- Kona Cotton Ash

3/4 yard Sashing- Kona Cotton Aqua

 1 yard Photo Block- Meadowlark Premium Muslin Bleached White

2. Wash, dry, and iron all fabric.

Self explanatory, right?

3. Pick out and properly edit all photos.

Using this pattern you will have 23 photos {22 6x6, 1 11x11}. As you can see in the pattern I drew I have already picked out my pictures and mapped out where I want them to go.

So, what do you think? Is that enough work for you? Stay tuned for the next post- cutting and photo transferring!

Flash Freebie Friday- Trading Pin

How about another giveaway?

Today I am giving away a Tinkerbell trading pin. Side note-Disney Jr calls her "tin-tee-bwel". 

So cute.

So, this week I'm trying a new giveaway service. As with Raffle-copter, fill out the Gleam widget and I will randomly pick a winner on Monday morning. Make sure to check Facebook for the winner! 

Disney Trading Pin

Thrifty Thrusday-Laundry Detergent

Get those clothes clean! 

Thrifty Thursday isn't only about ways to save money in the park, but also at home to help you get to the park. Today is one of those Thursdays where I help you get to the park.

Whatever Wednesday- Movie Night

SHHHH! Now you see why I don't take you to the movies!

Seriously, at our last movie night someone actually said that. It may or may not have been my mom.

I am the only one of my siblings who has children. Which also means I am the only one of my siblings that could recite Frozen word for word two days after it was released. I feel like I need to spread the joy of Disney movies with my sibs. So naturally I started family movie night! So far we have had two and they are so much fun!

First up was Frozen. I turned our living room into a giant fort using sheets, muslin backdrops {one of the perks of having a degree in photography!}, and a staple gun.

Panorama of our living room.

I used the 360 Panorama app. Well worth the $.99 for the cost of the app.

I brought in all of the blankets we had in our home along with every throw pillow I could find.

Before I started hanging the sheets and drops I stapled white twinkle lights to the ceiling. It made a really fun glow once the movie started!

My BFF, her husband, and their daughter.

My brother with Disney Jr.

XD invited a friend over to spend the night and enjoy the movie with us.

Everyone brought a snack to share and of course they were themed too! What else, FROZEN! We had an ice cream cake, Bagle Bites {which started out frozen!}, mochi {google it!}, ice cream sundeas, and of course frozen daiquiris! We also popped pop corn and had "movie theater floor" which is everything you  might find on a movie theater floor all mixed together! YUM!

Next movie night was Up {my all time favorite movie ever in the history of the world}. Disney XD wanted to have a desset stand and call it "Sweet Treats". We made a stand out of a cardboard box and decorated it. It was really cute and he and his friend had a great time!

The food theme here was colorful.

We had Fruitie Pebble treats, skittles, sweet and sour candy mix, and an Up inspired cake with Jelly Beans for balloons {that was a far cry from what it was supposed to look like}.

Here are some other ideas of movies and themed snacks: