Looking Back At My 30 Things to Do During My 30's List

Well, I wasn't sure if I'd ever get back to this list.  But something was calling me to come on here and bring some closure to it... so here I am.

I had originally planned to do this blog post as a six months to go check in.  But since that came and went back months ago when I wasn't actively blogging, we're just going to wrap this up and move forward.  So now as a newly 40 year old, I'm officially saying goodbye to my 30's and my 30 Things to Do During My 30's List.

For those of you who are new here, ten years ago I decided to make a list of thirty things that I wanted to do during my 30's.  I decided to make this list after discovering that a lot of people make 30 things to do before turning 30 lists.  I didn't do it before I turned 30, so I decided to make one for while I was in my thirties.  Then, I kicked off my 30th year with a Rapunzel and Tangled themed birthday party.  Instead of turning 30 with dread like most people do, I chose to look at it as the next big adventure.  

Photo Source: Disney

Over the past ten years, I've had to make some tweaks to the original list.  There was my first revised list when my priorities changed.  Then, I checked in again at the halfway point.  My last revision and update was two years ago when I reached the 3/4 mark. After the coronavirus pandemic, there were a few things that didn't make sense to keep on the list.  But I wasn't too worried about it... a lot can happen in 10 years!

Here's the list for those of you who haven't seen it:

30 Things To Do During My 30's (Updated List):

1. Visit Disneyland During the 60th Anniversary 
2. Buy Our First House 
3. Go On Our First Disney Cruise
4. Get a Puppy
5. Have Kids
6. Attend a D23 Expo Convention
7. Take My Parents to Disneyland for the 1st Time
8. Go to Disney for Dapper Day
9. Ride a Horse
10. Get My Photo Taken with Every Disney Princess
11. Go to 10 Different NHL Hockey Arenas to Watch the Sharks
12. Go on a Christmas Disney Cruise
13. Visit Walt Disney World During the 50th Anniversary
14. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
15. Go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
16. Get Our House Organized and Decorated
17. Read a Book in French
18. Finish 5 Disney Races of Any Distance
19. Go to Aulani
20. Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum
21. Swim with a Dolphin
22. Go on All of the Opening Day Attractions at Disneyland in One Day
23. Reach Gold Level in Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club
24. Study French for 365 Days Straight
25. Travel Somewhere New
26. Sew Myself a Dress
27. Learn 10 New Crafting Techniques or Mediums
28. Go to Magic Kingdom on 10/1/2023 for the 100 Years of Disney Celebration
29. Launch Other Business Ideas
30. Take Nice Photographs at Walt Disney World for Our 10th Anniversary

I was originally planning to do three blog posts with a recap of 10 goals on each one.  My idea was that I could go into more detail about accomplishing each of the goals I was able to.  But right now, I simply don't have that in me.  A lot of these you've already heard about on here anyways... and I'm not going to get into the things that I didn't accomplish.  There are various reasons we didn't check some of these off... and I've become a lot more of a private person than I used to be a decade ago.

So without further ado, here are the simplified results of my list.

30 Things To Do During My 30's (Updated List):

1. Visit Disneyland During the 60th Anniversary ✅ 
2. Buy Our First House ✅  
3. Go On Our First Disney Cruise ✅ 
4. Get a Puppy ❌
5. Have Kids ❌
6. Attend a D23 Expo Convention ✅ 
7. Take My Parents to Disneyland for the 1st Time ✅ 
8. Go to Disney for Dapper Day ✅ 
9. Ride a Horse ❌
10. Get My Photo Taken with Every Disney Princess ⚠️ (Work in Progress)
11. Go to 10 Different NHL Hockey Arenas to Watch the Sharks ⚠️ (WIP)
12. Go on a Christmas Disney Cruise ✅ 
13. Visit Walt Disney World During the 50th Anniversary ✅ 
14. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon ❌
15. Go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party ✅ 
16. Get Our House Organized and Decorated ❌
17. Read a Book in French ❌
18. Finish 5 Disney Races of Any Distance ✅ 
19. Go to Aulani ❌
20. Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum ✅ 
21. Swim with a Dolphin ❌
22. Go on All of the Opening Day Attractions at Disneyland in One Day ⚠️ (WIP)
23. Reach Gold Level in Disney Cruise Line Castaway Club ✅ 
24. Study French for 365 Days Straight ✅ 
25. Travel Somewhere New ✅ 
26. Sew Myself a Dress ❌
27. Learn 10 New Crafting Techniques or Mediums⚠️ (WIP)
28. Go to Magic Kingdom on 10/1/2023 for the 100 Years of Disney Celebration ❌
29. Launch Other Business Ideas ❌
30. Take Nice Photographs at Walt Disney World for Our 10th Anniversary ❌

I think I did pretty good.  Some of the things I didn't accomplish were out of my control, and some of them just weren't high priorities anymore.  A few of them were works in progress, with me completing most- but not getting the entire list completed.  I'm happy with what I did accomplish!  Plus I had a ton of cool experiences that I wasn't expecting to do that definitely made up for the things I didn't do in my 30's.  Here's that fun list! 🙂

Other Cool Things That I Did In My 30's

- I Saw the San Jose Sharks Live in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016 ✅ 

- I Saw Alan Menken in Concert (twice) at the 2017 D23 Expo ✅ 

- I Saw the Disney Princess Panel with the voices of Moana (Auli'i Cravalho), Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), Ariel (Jodi Benson) and Belle (Paige O'Hara) at the D23 Expo ✅ 

- Eliot and I Took a Photo with the Descendants Cast at the 2017 D23 Expo  ✅ 

- I Was in Disneyland For It's Actual 62nd Birthday Celebration (in 2017) ✅ 

- I Celebrated My 33rd Birthday in Walt Disney World (in 2017) ✅ 

- Happily Ever Hatter's Explosion of 3D Printed Mouse Ears Created An Entirely New Genre & It Allowed Me to Quit My Job, Be My Own Boss & Work at Home Full Time ✅ 

- I Attended the 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose ✅ 

- Eliot and I Touched the Stanley Cup During All-Star Game in San Jose ✅ 

- I Saw a Few of the Disney on Broadway Concerts at the Festival of the Arts ✅ 

- I Went to Tons of Regular Season Games at the Shark Tank and on Road Trips ✅ 

- I Went to the Sharks Western Conference Final in 2019 ✅ 

- I Saw the Disney Princess Concert of Broadway stars... twice! ✅ 

- I Saw Two of My Favorite Childhood Bands That I'd Never Seen Live (Backstreet Boys in Bangor, ME in July 2022 and Hanson at the 2023 Food and Wine Festival) ✅ 

- Eliot and I Met a Bunch of San Jose Sharks and Sharks Legends ✅ 

- I Met Disney Imagineer Joe Rhodes at the 2022 D23 Expo ✅ 

- Daddy and I Saw the Entire Cast of Frozen Get Inducted as Disney Legends ✅ 

- I Celebrated the End of my 30's Aboard the Disney Wish! ✅ 

All in all, my 30's were pretty good.  They weren't really what I was expecting when I first set out to make this list.  But even with those jaded visions of things not coming to pass, they were still good overall.  (And losing my Dad in my 30's was definitely not on my Bingo card...)  Now I'm ready to put my 30's behind me, and look ahead to the future and what exciting new experiences and things my 40's will bring!

And that's a wrap on my 30 Things to Do During My 30's List! °o°

Fun Find: Disney Cruise Line’s Tangled: The Musical

It's been four years since my parents were aboard the Disney Magic on Disney Cruise Line's maiden voyage to my hometown of Bar Harbor, Maine.  In honor of the cruise's 4th anniversary, I thought I'd share a fun find related to that voyage.

 

I was so happy Mom and Dad got to experience sailing into Bar Harbor, riding one of the tender boats ashore, and seeing our beloved island from another perspective.  Bar Harbor was a huge hit with everyone aboard the ship, and Disney Cruise Line has scheduled a stop there every few years.  (Unfortunately, their 2020 stop was cancelled due to the pandemic, but it is on the schedule to resume in fall of 2022.)

I'd love to go on a sailing into Bar Harbor someday, but something else I'd love to experience is sailing aboard the Magic.  Eliot and I would like to sail on every Disney ship, but the Magic is pretty high on my list since it's the home of Disney's show Tangled: The Musical.  During the pandemic, Disney released the following video of the show.  I'd really love to see it in person someday!

I absolutely love this show!  Tangled is one of my favorite Disney movies and it isn't currently a Broadway show or in any of the American theme parks.  I'm so glad that it's getting a little bit of love aboard the Disney Magic!  I've got a dream that someday I'll see the Tangled: The Musical stage lights gleam!  °o° 

Tangled Turns 10

Happy 10th Anniversary Tangled!!!  It's been ten years since Rapunzel escaped from her tower and saw the floating lanterns gleam.  This is the perfect year for Tangled to be celebrating it's anniversary year.  I mean, who else is better at social distancing than Rapunzel?  Plus, she's the princess of the Kingdom of Corona!  (Nowadays, aren't we all feeling a little like the lost princess?  But I digress...)

For me, picking a favorite Disney movie would be like picking a favorite child, but if I had to pick only one, Tangled would be it.  Rapunzel has always been the Disney princess that I relate to most.  Her creativity, optimism, dreaming and hope has always resonated with me.  I also love to learn new things, paint, sew, bake, read and to make things.  Plus, I've always loved her tower.  While I wouldn't want to be trapped up there, I'd love to have my own tower like hers to craft and read in.

   

Tangled has been a big part of my life over the last 10 years.  I walked down the aisle to "I See the Light" at our Disney Wedding.  Back then, Eliot hadn't seen Tangled yet, but the song felt like the perfect tie in to our fairy tale wedding.  I had a Tangled themed 30th Birthday Party.  I also wrote my 30 Things to Do in my 30's and was inspired by Rapunzel's sense of wonder and dreaming.

I have so many Tangled outfits and accessories.  Through the years, I've collected bows, headbands, jewelry, mini backpacks, purses, shirts, skirts, dresses and more.  I even wore a Rapunzel inspired outfit for my 32nd Birthday.

Eliot and I also took some inspiration from Rapunzel and Flynn for our Fall 2017 Dapper Day Outfits.  I'm not sure if I ever posted about it, but we Disneybounded as Rapunzel and Flynn in Christmas themed attire.  I created my green and red skirt.  I also made myself a Christmas Tangled lantern that even lit up!  (We were stopped all over the Magic Kingdom from people asking where they could purchase one!)

Tangled is also one of our favorite films to get design inspiration from.  Tangled was one of the first 3D printed mouse ear designs that we created.  Through the years, I've made many different variations of our Tangled sun ears.  My favorite was probably my most recent flower crown when I even made my own little magic flower!

Eliot also debuted his Tangled Desk set a few months ago.  It's been pretty popular since then and we're hoping to add a few more items to the collection as well!

I've also gotten inspiration from Rapunzel for my office.  We painted my office a soft purple color that was totally inspired by her dress. I dream of someday having an entire Rapunzel themed office. I've already been collecting things here and there to put in it!

As you can see, Tangled has had a big impact on our lives. Thank you Walt Disney Animation Studios for creating a film that so many people love and relate to.  

Happy 10th Anniversary Tangled!!!  °o°

New Product Alert: Tangled Desk Collection

Hello Friends!  I hope you're having a wonderful week.  I've had a crazy few weeks, but I wanted to stop in really quick to post about Eliot's new desk set that we just released a few days ago over in his Snowblade Creations shop!

It's been a few weeks since we first debuted our Spaceship Earth Desk Sets.  We've gotten rave reviews from friends, family and customers.  Eliot and I have been absolutely floored by the response.  Since then, we've been working on a few sets behind the scenes and this week we finally added all of our Tangled designs!!!

First, we have the Tangled Sun Business Card Holder.  This has actually been in the shop since January, but we finally made it in gold- it pops much more than the purple!

Next, we have the Tangled Sun Pen and Pencil Holder.  I've actually had this sample sitting on my countertop for months.  I wanted one to hold my make up brushes and we decided to wait to post it until it had some friends in the shop.

The most recent addition is our Tangled I See the Light Sticky Note Holder.  I didn't want the entire collection to be the sun, so we added this.  (We'll have a few more things for the collection in the coming months... but we're sticking to these for now.)

We also have the Tangled Sun Jewelry and Storage Box.  I love these little boxes; they're great for paper clips, but they're even more perfect for storing jewelry.  I'll probably end up with 10 different designs on my vanity before this is all said and done.

Finally, we're debuting a completely new product.  This is a Succulent Pot and Storage Tray.  I had Eliot design this for me months ago along with the Pen Holder.  (It's also been sitting on the counter for months waiting for friends.)  I really wanted a Succulent Pot for small plants, but it can also be used to store jewelry, paper clips, etc.  I think I'm going to get some small faux pink and purple succulents to put in mine.  Then, the colors of the plants will remind me of Rapunzel's dress.

Eliot and I are both really excited about how this set came out and the response to it so far... and we're still only getting started.  We've got at least two more desk sets that will debuting in the upcoming weeks.  We've also been working on a few stand alone items.  I've already added a few of those to the shop, but I'll be sure to write a post over here once I finish a few more samples of them!  Stay tuned!  °o°

My 32nd Birthday Outfit

Happy Tangled Tuesday!!!  I'm really trying to get caught up on some of my blog posts, and this is one that I've been dying to write up for months now!  My 32nd birthday was a ton of fun.  One of the aspects that made it extra fun was my Rapunzel/Tangled themed outfit.  I showed you a few pictures back in November, but I wanted to share where I got everything!  It was definitely a day filled with small shop love!

I purchased my "I'm So Glad I Left My Tower" Rapunzel Raglan by Happily Ever Tees a few months before my birthday.  This particular color scheme was a limited edition, and I knew it would be perfect!  It definitely brought my whole outfit together!

I treated myself to my Rapunzel Tiara by Fairytale Wigs.  It was half off, and I literally ordered it for myself as a birthday present.  It's so sparkly!

I've had this Rapunzel Bow by Mad Hatter Bows for a few years now.  Since Elissa braided my hair, I didn't end up wearing it or the tiara on my birthday.  But, I'm definitely going to wear it with my other Tangled accessories in the future!

I've been waiting for the perfect occasion to debut my super cute Pascal Brooch by Hungry Designs!  Now I can't wait to wear it again!

I love my Rapunzel Necklace by Le Petit Mouse.  Not only is the Mickey Mouse charm with her tiara really cute, but the Tangled sun was a great addition to my outfit!

Of course, I had to wear my "Best Day Ever" Rapunzel Button by Parkbound Buttons!

I've also been waiting for the perfect occasion to debut my rose gold Rapunzel Tiara ring by AOS Design.  I had it since last Valentine's Day, and I wanted to wear it sometime special.  I absolutely love the rose gold limited edition version of it!

Of course, this was also the perfect day to wear some of my charms on my arms!  Eliot got me the Rapunzel Charm from Pandora whole ago, and it's adorable.  I'm a sucker for the princess dress charms!  I added my Rapunzel bracelet from Alex and Ani as an afterthought (it's not pictured in the top photo) to create this super cute look!

I absolutely love how my Rapunzel/Tangled inspired outfit came out!  I had so much fun wearing it.  I definitely want to try to do more Disney looks at home!  I am so happy with all of these purchases from small shops!  They really made my outfit unique! °o°

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°

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°

Fun Find: Disney Medley

Hello friends!  Today, I wanted to share a Fun Find Friday that I stumbled across the other day while browsing Facebook.  You might have seen it already, but if you haven't- stop what you're doing and take five minutes to watch this video!  You won't regret it!

I love Disney medleys; I also love a cappella.  This video is extra special because it features the a cappella group, Voctave.  You might recognize some of the singers as performers from "Voices of Liberty" in Epcot!  It also features Kristin Maldonado from Pentatonix and Jeremy Michael Lewis from AcoUskiKats.  

The medley is absolutely beautiful.  I love the combination of "See the Light" (Tangled), "You'll Be in my Heart" (Tarzan) and "Go the Distance" (Hercules).  These are three of my favorite Disney songs and it seems like Hercules is always overlooked.  I'm so glad they included it in this medley!  The entire song is also available to download in iTunes!  (I've already added it to my Disney music collection.)  I hope you enjoy it!!!  °o°

30 Things To Do During My 30's

It's hard to believe that my 31st birthday is one week from today!  It seems like I was just celebrating my 30th birthday!  I've noticed that a lot of people make 30 things to do before turning 30 lists.  I heard about it shortly before my 30th birthday and it didn't leave me much time to make a list, much less to complete it!  Since I missed the ship on that one, I've decided to make a 30 Things to Do During My 30's list instead!

Photo Source: Disney

You all know how much I love to make bucket lists for my trips.  It probably comes as no surprise that I'm a huge fan of lists.  (My "Notes" section on my iPhone currently has 578 notes and most of those are lists of some sort... yikes!)  This concept intrigued me and it seemed like a great idea to make a longer term bucket list of sorts.

I started off my 30th year with a Rapunzel and Tangled themed birthday party.  Instead of looking at turning 30 with dread, I chose to look at it as the next adventure.  I've always identified with Rapunzel's sense of wonder and how she always has a dream.  I think this list captures that philosophy and spirit.

I've included a few things I've wanted to do for a while now but that I haven't gotten the chance.  I've also included some of the things from my ever-growing Disney Bucket List (which I really should type up at some point).  Ok, the first two things on the list I've already completed.  But I've already been 30 for almost a year, and those two things would have definitely made the list anyways!  Without further ado, here it is:

30 Things To Do During My 30's:

1. Visit Disneyland during the 60th Anniversary Check
2. Buy our First House Check
3. Go On Our First Disney Cruise
4. Get a Puppy
5. Have Kids
6. Attend a D23 Convention
7. Ride in the Lily Belle Train Car
8. Go to Disney for Dapper Day
9. Ride a Horse
10. Get My Photo Taken with Every Disney Princess
11. Visit Pixar Studios
12. Complete a Disney Half Marathon
13. Visit Walt Disney World during the 50th Anniversary
14. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
15. Go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
16. Take a Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour
17. Read a Book in French
18. Complete a Disney Race Challenge
19. Go to Aulani
20. Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum
21. Swim with a Dolphin
22. Go on all of the Opening Day Attractions at Disneyland in one day
23. Earn a Coast to Coast Medal
24. Visit Disney Animation Studios
25. Travel Somewhere New
26. Go to a Disney Christmas Parade Taping
27. Host a Dinner Party
28. Go to the Magic Kingdom on it's 50th Birthday (October 1st of 2021)
29. Launch Other Business Ideas
30. Have a 10th Anniversary Vow Renewal

This is an ambitious list, but it seems very do-able, especially since I still have nine more years to accomplish everything on it!  As I slowly check things off, I'll be sure to update it like I have the first two items on the list!  °o°

A Tangled Party

A few weekends ago, Eliot and I hosted my 30th birthday party.  It was a blast!!!  I invited a few of my girlfriends over to celebrate.  Last year, we celebrated my birthday by having a small gathering at our house and by going to see Catching Fire.  We had such a good time, that we decided to do it again this year!  (You can read more about my birthday party last year here.)

This year, I insisted on having a themed party.  Since it was my 30th, I wanted to make it special.  I've tossed around ideas for a while, but I finally settled on a Tangled theme. I thought it was appropriate since Rapunzel celebrates her birthday by having the "best day ever" when she leaves her tower.

I went shopping with my parents a few weekends ago to get party supplies.  I didn't realize the party store didn't sell Tangled themed items, but luckily I'd found some cups this summer at Toys R Us and I had those.  We did find a Tangled tablecloth.  After that, we went with  pink and lavender plates, napkins and silverware.  I had a few other ideas for decorations that I'd been hoarding away until it was time for the party.

I wanted something fun to give my friends as party favors.  I asked Eliot to make me pink and lavender Mickey soaps! He used sweet pea scent and they smell amazing! Then, I sent him the logo for my 30th birthday that I designed and he used it for the toppers!  Unfortunately, we forgot to hand them out at the end of the day.  (Don't worry- we're going to make sure they get them!)

I got up early to prepare the food and start with the decorations.  I made the cupcakes and then Katie helped me by frosting them.  I prepared the veggie platter, cheese, pepperonis and crackers and my aunt's shrimp dip.  The dip is addictive!

After the food was done, I started in on the decorating.  I got the supplies out and then prepared the grass mats we'd bought for the centerpiece, the lanterns I've had for a few months now and our LED tea lights.  I hung a few of the lanterns from the chandelier.  I decorated with the other lanterns on the sideboard.  Pascal hung out by the lights.  I arranged the centerpiece and the place settings.  Then, I added the glitter candles to the grass since they were too glittery for the cupcakes.  I added a few "magical" sun flowers to the grass mats.  Finally, I put a few pink and lavender streamers over the chandelier.

My friends are amazing and they all got me wonderful gifts.  I love all of them!  My friends know me so well!  I even got a few Disney birthday cards!  (Bonus points!)  I may or may not have squealed like a little girl when I opened the Tangled themed Rapunzel birthday card from Kathleen that had some Anna and Elsa stickers in it. (Double bonus points!!!)  In my defense, they were stickers I've never seen before and I was really excited!  After catching up, the six of us girls headed over to the movie theater.  I was so pumped up; I think I skipped into the theater.

Mockingjay was amazing.  It didn't disappoint.  In fact, the movie was better than I pictured it, and I had high hopes.  The acting was fantastic and it was really moving.  I absolutely love the Hunger Games books and I've devoured the series a few times over the past year and a half.  Mockingjay Part 1 was hauntingly beautiful.  The girls and I loved it, although we were a little depressed leaving the theater.  It's certainly not a happy, uplifting movie, but if you've read the books you already know that.  I'm sad we have to wait a year to see Part 2; but, I know it'll be worth it!  Plus, now we know what we're doing for my birthday next year!  In the meantime, I'm sure we'll all continue to have "The Hanging Tree" stuck in our heads on repeat.

After leaving the movie theater, we came home to meet up with Eliot and BJ.  The boys had "bromance" time and played video games like last year.  We finally dragged them away from their Mario game so we could all go out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's.  We had a great time catching up and enjoying each other's company.  Later, we returned to our house to enjoy the cupcakes I'd made.  We had another round of laughter before everyone headed home.  I went to bed shortly after, and fell asleep immediately.

All in all, it was a fun celebration and I had a great time going out with our friends. I'm excited to see what 30 has in store for me!  °o°