Monday, February 29, 2016

Happy Leap Year Day!!!

Happy Leap Day!!!  It only comes around every 1461 days so I've decided I'm going to celebrate it as a holiday!  There never seems to be enough time in the day.  I always ponder the question "what would you do if you had more time???"  This year, I not only get more time, but we get a whole extra day.  A bonus day of the year.  So I'm going to really make it count.  Luckily enough, I also happen to have today off.  Bring it on!!!


Obviously, in a perfect world, I'd spend that day at Disney.  In fact, the last time we had a leap year, in 2012, Disneyland and Walt Disney World held their One More Disney Day 24 hour event.  While they don't seem to be doing anything special for the Leap Day this year, there are still plenty of ways to spend our bonus day.

Personally, I'm having a "me" day.  I've got some stuff that I've been putting off and I'm not going to put it off today.  I'm going to do what I want, when I want to do it!  I'm going to work on designing a few projects that have been on the back burner.  I'm going to work on some organizing in my office.  And most importantly, I'm going to tie up loose ends on a special experience I'm working on!  Watch out world, here I come!  °o°

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Instagram Accounts

As I've mentioned before, I love Instagram.  Sure, it's got it's pluses and minuses, but overall, I'm a fan.  It's a great way to share photos and snippets of your life.  However, my favorite part is discovering new handmade shops and artists who I might not have found otherwise.  Since joining, I've followed many accounts and it's how I've found a few handmade sellers of some of my recent purchases!


About two weeks ago, Instagram finally updated their app so users are able to jump between accounts easily without having to log out and log back in.  I haven't been using my Happily Ever Hatter account that often since it was such a pain to access.  I usually stay in my "My Disney Life Blog" account.  I'd occasionally log out so I could access my "Happily Ever Hatter" account to post photos but it wasn't regular.


Now, I'm able to jump between accounts with ease.  I've been more active on all of my accounts.  Two weeks ago, I finally made Eliot a "Snowblade Creations" account for his shop.  I've only posted a few photos, but we're hoping to add some more soon!


I've also been more active on our "A Tail of Two Donkeys" account for Eeyore, Brother and Duffy.  I used to post some of their adventures on my blog, but now they have their own Instagram account for their shenanigans.  We love to dress them up and stage photos with them, so hopefully they'll have more photos soon!


If you're interested in following Eliot and me on our daily adventures, you can click the links above and it should take you to each of our different accounts!  If you have an Instagram account, give us a follow and say hello!  °o°

Friday, February 26, 2016

Fun Find: Share Your Ears

Hello friends!  It's time for another Fun Find Friday!  Today I'm sharing something really near and dear to me.  If you haven't heard about it yet, Disney is donating $5 (up to $1,000,000) to Make-A-Wish for every photo of "ears" shared on social media with the hashtag #ShareYourEars.  The campaign was announced and launched last week right before the Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60 television special.

Photo Source: Share Your Ears
Since 1980, Disney and Make-A-Wish have granted more than 100,000 wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.  Many children wish to go to Walt Disney World or Disneyland for their wish.  This cause is really important to Eliot and me, especially since we've been blessed to travel to Disney so many times.


Eliot and I have been fortunate to be able to contribute a little magic to some of these children.  We raised money for "Walk For Wishes" a few years ago with my aunt and cousin.  There were signs at the end of the 2 mile walk with photos of children whose wishes were granted.  About half of the photos were of children at Walt Disney World.


Eliot and I have also used our businesses as a way to help out.  Snowblade Creations donated soaps to a local child for his wish grant party.  We made him and his cousin a few packages of Mickey and lego soaps.


We also contributed to Scarlet's Wish.  Scarlet's Wish Granter bought an Elsa ear hat from my Happily Ever Hatter shop.  Eliot and I also included some snowflake hair clips, Olaf soaps and Mickey Mouse soaps in her package.  After the party, her Wish Granter sent me a few photos and told me Scarlet didn't want to take her new hat off!


I absolutely love this idea and how much publicity it's been getting.  You can learn more about the campaign here.  It only runs until March 14th and it's so simple to help out.  All you have to do is post a photo on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with #ShareYourEars.  If you don't have an ear hat or ear headband, you can make ears with fruit, plates, balls... basically anything round that could look like mouse ears!

Photo Source: Disney Parks Blog
You can also post a photo with this cool Make a Wish and Share Your Ears border on Facebook.  If you click this link, it will take you to the page where you can hit "try it" to change your profile picture.  Don't forget to switch to an ear photo first!  Here's Eliot and I with Mickey and Minnie at the Disneyland Diamond Celebration!


As Disney fans, we all truly know the power of a wish.  Please consider sharing a photo on social media.  Let's help make dreams come true!  °o°

Monday, February 22, 2016

Magical Mail Monday

The last two weeks have been epic in the Magical Mickey Mouse Mail department.  I've been feeling a little home sick for Disney lately and this has sprinkled pixie dust into our everyday lives.  Each time I open a package is like Christmas!


Eliot and I have both been pretty busy with our side businesses lately.  We've been fortunate that we've had orders to create.  I'm also working on developing some new designs.  Between that, unpacking, organizing our stuff and working on the house, we haven't had much time to go out other than to work.  We usually try to have a date night once or twice a month.  Instead, this month we've used a few gift cards and some of the extra money from our businesses to bring magic to us!

I've mentioned how much I love supporting other handmade businesses.  That's one of my favorite parts of running Happily Ever Hatter.  I use some of the money to purchase items from other handmade sellers!  Recently, I've ordered from a few shops.  I'm still waiting for some of the orders to arrive, but here's what I've gotten so far!


My first purchase was from Le Petit Mouse.  I ordered a Rapunzel Pendant Necklace and a Starbucks Necklace/Brooch.  The tiara on the Rapunzel necklace is beautiful and I couldn't help myself with the Starbucks brooch.  I'm not a huge coffee lover, but I've started drinking a few here and there for a pick me up.  The necklace is so cute!


Sticking to the Tangled theme, I also ordered a Rapunzel ring from AOS Design.  I've been admiring these from afar; my only regret is that I didn't order one sooner!  This particular style is the limited edition Valentine's design- it's detail is stunning!

Lately, I've been really into scarves.  They're the perfect accessory in the winter and I love my growing Disney scarf collection!  I'm absolutely in love with my new Mickey and Friends Cupcake scarf from PlayItByEars!


I also bought the Tsum Tsum scarf from MadeByMelephant that I've been admiring.  I couldn't help myself!  It was so cute with all of the little tsums on it.  It's so soft.  Now I can wear my precious tsums everywhere I go!


I told you about the Olaf pjs I got from JCPenney for Valentine's Day.  I also got a really cute Mickey and Minnie shirt that was on sale with an additional discount!


Rounding out my JCPenney purchases, Eliot and I decided to get the Disney Pixar slow cooker.  It sold out during it's initial debut on the website.  When it was back in stock, and also about $20 off on sale, we jumped at the chance to get one!  It's going to look great in our kitchen!  (It's currently safely tucked away in it's outer box.)

Photos from JCPenney
Eliot has also had a few packages come in.  His mother bought him a new Stitch belt from Hot Topic.  He wears a Disney belt to work every single day.  His new one is a little more subtle and I know how much he loves Stitch!  He also got a Hot Topic Exclusive Pop Vinyl Bing Bong.  It's his first Pop figure and he's already got him proudly displayed in his office!


Eliot also likes to support crafters.  He ordered a few Disney art pieces from someone he met on Facebook.  They're a picture from a Disney movie along with a little film strip from that movie.  There wasn't a huge selection but he found a few he liked.  He bought himself Belle (Eliot loves Beauty and the Beast), his mother Buzz Lightyear and I picked out a Cinderella wedding piece.  It reminded me of our Disney Wedding!


Finally, my bigger Disney Store order arrived over the weekend.  Disney had a 25% off sale last weekend for President's Day.  I took that opportunity to get a few more ear hats for my Happily Ever Hatter stock.  Then, I added a Haunted Mansion Maid apron for good measure... ok so it was to get to the free shipping mark!


Before checking out, I saw RunDisney merchandise from the marathon weekend expo online.  Eliot told me to get a few items since he's done two RunDisney events more than me and he's got a ton of RunDisney shirts.  I ended up buying the character shirt, Olaf shirt and the jacket.  I've wanted a RunDisney jacket forever.  I almost bought one at the expo in 2014, but I skipped it and have been kicking myself ever since.  The 25% off sale was the perfect excuse to finally get one!  (They're kind of pricey!)


I nearly squealed when my package arrived.  I tried on all of my new gear and it fits perfectly!  I was so excited that I may or may not have been dancing around the house like a crazy person.  I can't wait to wear my new RunDisney gear while training for the 2017 Princess and Tinker Bell half marathons!

Speaking of marathons, now that we've had our fun, we're going to behave ourselves and save up for a few of our upcoming adventures!  We have many travel plans coming up over the next few years!  Time to buckle down to work with our businesses so we can prepare for all of the magic to come!  °o°

Friday, February 19, 2016

Fun Find: Wonderful World of Disney- Disneyland 60

It's time for another Fun Find Friday!  If you haven't heard about it already, I have great news for you!  ABC is doing a television special about Disneyland called "Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60" which airs this Sunday!

Photo Source: Disney Parks Blog Facebook
I've been looking forward to this for weeks!  If you aren't able to go to Disneyland to celebrate the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration in person, this is sure to be the next best thing.  Not only will it be filled with Disney fun, but there are a lot of celebrities helping Disneyland celebrate in style!  Derek Hough hosts the special.  There will be performances by Elton John, some of the artists from the "We Love Disney" album, and more.  Harrison Ford will also be unveiling some Star Wars theme park plans!


If that wasn't awesome enough, it looks like there will be footage from some of the night shows including Paint the Night Parade and the Disneyland Forever fireworks show!  There will also be more information about Disneyland Shanghai!  Yay!!!

Photo Source: Disney Parks Blog
I personally can't wait to see it!  The two hour television special will air this Sunday, February 21st, at 8:00 pm ET.  Don't forget to set your DVRs!  °o°

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Tsum Tsum Tuesday- Feb 2016 Edition

Happy Tsum Tsum Tuesday!  It's been a few weeks since I first told you about my slight tsum tsum addiction.  If I'm being honest, it's only gotten worse...


Since then, Disney has released two series of their vinyl tsum tsum toys.  There have also been many more plush sets released online and at the Disney Store.  They're so popular, that as of February, Disney Store is releasing two new sets a month- on the first and third Tuesday.  Here's some of the additions to our growing tsum tsum family:

In January, Disney Store released the Lion King collection.  Jeremy went to his local store to buy me this set- along with an extra Simba and Zazu for Eliot!


Meanwhile, at home, I purchased the Valentine's Day box, mini ShellieMay, tsum bag and the medium ShellieMay and Dumbo plushes through the Disney Store online.


I got my new iPhone phone right after Christmas.  Of course, it needed a case.  Eliot found this one for me on eBay!  I'm in love with it and I admire it all the time!


Mid-January, stores other than the Disney Store and Target also started to carry tsum tsum merchandise.  JCPenney started carrying a ton of the original ones which I'd never gotten.  (They were released before I'd caught the fever.)  


I ended up getting all of the old ones I was missing.  (Eliot and I had JCPenney gift cards we'd been saving... they went to good use.)  JCPenney added a few new ones online after my first purchase, so I made two separate orders.  Not only did I get ones I was missing, but I also got the mini and medium pink Valentine's Mickey and Minnie which weren't released anywhere else!  (You'll recognize them from my Gimme "Tsum" Lovin Valentine's tsum tsum wreath.)


Meanwhile, Eliot was feeding the monster.  He brought home plenty of packs of vinyl tsum tsums.  They're pretty inexpensive and they're really cute.


There were also mystery tsum packages.  Eliot and I stood in Target one night trying to find a few specific ones.  We actually got 3 of the 4 contents of these packages correct!


Speaking of Target, a few weeks ago, I also stumbled across this tsum imposter in the middle of the sports section!  At first, I thought I was seeing things, but upon further investigation, it's a "Stadium Stacker" and it's basically the equivalent of a medium tsum tsum.  Of course, I had to grab it for my collection.  Go Pats!


Another thing the Disney Store has been doing is a tsum tsum subscription.  It's a monthly release where you get exclusive mini tsums as well as a "small" size you can only get with the subscription.  It doesn't look like I have much restraint, but I never signed up for it.  However, when I found out that Mickey, Minnie and Olaf were the first three months, I was starting to kick myself.  Luckily, I made a friend on Instagram who was willing to sell me the Minnie and Olaf boxes!  (Thanks @downwithdisney!)


The first Tuesday in February, Disney released the Zootopia set.  I behaved myself with that release, since the movie hasn't even been released yet.  Although, Eliot and Jeremy insisted that I at least get the two main characters, so I did.  And then I got a few of the Mickey and Minnie birthday tsums.  ("A few.")


Which brings us to today, when Disney released the Star Wars set.  I randomly woke up at about 4:00 am and remembered they had gone on sale.  I had a bit of trouble with the app, so I hauled my butt downstairs to my computer.  After a few minutes, I had all 12 of them ordered, along with an extra R2D2 for Eliot!  As much as it stunk getting up so early, I'm glad I did.  Four of them have currently sold out online!


Photo Source: Disney Store
As you can see, I've got quite the tsum tsum collection growing.  I'm still trying to figure out how to display them in my office.  Hopefully I'll get a group shot of them stacked together soon.  I don't even know how many I have but I'm pretty positive it's well over 100!  Although, I have no regrets.  They're cute, fluffy and irresistible!  °o°

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating those you love!


Eliot and I don't have any big plans this year.  Last year, we went all out celebrating Valentine's Day by going to two Disney on Ice shows in less than 24 hours.  It was definitely awesome, but it was also a little bit crazy for one weekend.


As I mentioned yesterday, Eliot and I are spending a quiet weekend at our house.  The temperature is below zero and with the wind chill it feels even colder.  We're planning to spend most of the day working on some more projects around the house.  Maybe we'll take a break later in the day to watch a movie and relax!


Valentine's Day may be low key this year, but it's still been good to us.  My parents got us a card, a big box of Hershey's miniatures, and a gift card to Chili's!  Eliot and I love Chili's so we'll definitely have to go out to dinner sometime!  Eliot's parents got us a box of chocolates and some conversation hearts... yum!!!


This year, Eliot and I didn't plan on getting anything for each other.  However, that flew out the window because I found the perfect gift.  We'd spotted Olaf-Snowgie pajama pants at JCPenney before Christmas.  At the time, our local store and the JCP website were both out of our sizes.  The other day, I happened to spot them online when I was ordering something else!  They were in stock in our sizes and on sale!  (Yay!!!)  The couple that wears matching Disney pjs together, stays together.


I also got some Disney Princess shoe chocolates.  We'd found them in Target a few weeks ago, and we bought them figuring they'd sell out quickly.  They're really cute!


Eliot also got me a Disney Valentine's Day card!  I love it!  He's the best!!!


It's going to be a great Valentine's Day!  I hope you have a fantastic day as well!  °o°

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Snow, Sickness and Songs

Since February started, I haven't been on here as much as I would have liked.  Eliot and I have been busy around here, as usual.  Not to mention that in the past two weeks, we've gone from 55 degree days, to the frigid teens, to below zero... from having no snow to gaining another 8 or so inches.  Thankfully, some of it melted down before the frigid temperatures arrived.


Unfortunately, in addition to the cold temperatures and snow, I've also been fighting off a cold for the past week and a half.  I can't seem to shake it.  I'm not completely miserable, but I don't feel 100% and the headaches are annoying.  I also keep waking up in the wee hours of the morning.  What I wouldn't give for a solid night of sleep!

I've kept myself busy though.  Staying busy seems to take my mind off it anyways!  I've been working on some more ear orders for Happily Ever Hatter, including a special pair of ears for one of my Key to the World travel friends.  I also really enjoyed making last weekend's tsum tsum Valentine's Day wreath for the Disney Pixar blog hop.


I've puttered around the house cleaning and organizing things here and there.  We're making a lot more progress on our master bedroom and that's really encouraging.  I'm hoping to move a few more things around in my office this weekend!  

I've had one miserable night at work when I was burning up with a fever, but other than that it's been good.  In fact, we got so much snow this past Monday that we ended up canceling all of our appointments and rescheduling our patients.  It's probably a good thing because the roads were treacherous on my ride home!


I have tried to make time to rest and relax.  I've spent more time on the couch than I care to admit.  Luckily, I've had some work I could do from home.  Eliot and I had a relaxing movie night last Saturday.  We watched Tangled.  Then, I didn't feel inclined to do anything else (other than sit on the couch) so I watched our new copy of Aladdin.  I caught the Disney Channel airing of Mulan early in the week and then I watched Teen Beach 2 on Thursday.  Finally, I watched Descendants last night when I got home.


Lately, I've been enjoying getting back into my Disney Music.  I hadn't had much of it on my newer computer.  Now that I do, it's basically all I've been listening to.  The Disneyland 60th show songs are my newest favorites!  In addition to that, I've also been listening to Eliot's "We Love Disney" cd in the car.  When I'm working on blog entries, I've been listening to Kyle Landry's Disney piano music in the background.  It's beautiful and he has a Disney playlist already made on his Youtube channel.


Hopefully, in the next few days I'll finally be rid of this cold.  It's so chilly outside that I've already planned to stay inside all weekend.  This morning, I helped Eliot package a soap order for an Etsy customer.  Now, I'm going to rest up, work on some things around the house, enjoy my time on the couch watching more Disney movies, add more Disney music to my computer and sketch out more of my hat designs!  Yay!!!  °o°