National Polka Dot Day 2023

Happy National Polka Dot Day!!!

It's been a few days since I posted, but I'm just popping by for a quick visit.  Eliot and I have a busy day ahead of us.  I usually like to dress up for the occasion, but it's been an interesting week since we got home.  We've had two huge snowstorms, our snow blower won't start, and our water and well system isn't working correctly... so dressing up in polka dots is really the last of my worries.  Instead, we're dropping stuff off at our storage unit and trying to get caught up on errands since we got back from Florida.

However, at the very least I wanted to pop by to acknowledge the day!  My favorite stylish mouse always "Rocks the Dots" well... I figured that I'd post a picture of my girl wearing her signature outfit while I visited her house in Toontown back in March of last year!  Hopefully, I'll be able to put something together so I can rock the dots at some point in the future when things quiet down a bit.

Have a dot-tastic National Polka Dot Day!!!  °o°

Farewell to My Fairy Godmother

As I mentioned yesterday, I've really needed a break from everything.  What I didn't tell you, was one of the reasons the past few weeks have been so awful.  I told you that Nana was sick when I wrote about Christmas, but what I didn't tell you was how bad it was.  When we left Trenton after Christmas, Jeremy, Eliot and I were all pretty certain that was the last time we'd see Nana.  And it was breaking my heart.

Self-preservation is a funny thing; the human brain will close off memories or emotions when we’re unable to process them.  I’ve avoided posting anything and have been 100% focused on the tasks in front of me… finishing my 10K, taking a much needed break, and trying to enjoy our two week vacation at Walt Disney World.  The "Disney Bubble” was my safe haven, but you can’t run from the real world forever.  Now that Eliot and I have been home for a couple of days, I've decided that it’s time to take the box off of the shelf and unpack some raw emotion. 

Two weeks ago, on January 4th, 2023, my Fairy Godmother completed her mission here on Earth… and was promoted with angel wings.  

As you've probably gathered from my posts, my Nana was everything to me.  Leaving Maine to go down to Florida was probably one of the hardest things that I’ve ever done in my life.  Eliot and I knew there was a high possibility that we’d receive the news while we were on our trip, but I knew that Nana would want us to go.  And looking back at how everything unfolded, I think this is exactly what she wanted.

Walt Disney World has always been magic to me, and I’ve shared so many wonderful memories with her and Papa there.  In fact, the last memories I have with Papa were during our trip for marathon weekend of 2015.  It seems fitting that we’d lose her during marathon weekend years later.  Nana and Papa both loved Walt Disney World so much, and they knew how special it is to me.

I think Nana also knew how devastated I'd be when we finally lost her.  I have dreaded this day for 38 years.  She’s been a second mother to me, my confidant, my shoulder to cry on, my biggest cheerleader, and so special to me that the only way I’ve found to describe her was my Fairy Godmother.

Her final gift to me was leaving us when she knew that I’d be ok.  Somehow, the magic and the memories from so many of our Disney trips would envelop me and cocoon me through those initial days of grief.  Now that we’re home, I feel a bit unprotected as the waves crash over me.  But I know that I’ll be ok… because now I’ll always have a Fairy Godmother with angel wings looking over me.  °o°

Back From a Much Needed Break

Hello Friends!  I'm sorry that it's been so long since I last wrote an entry on here.  It's been about three weeks since my last actual post, even if my blog is eventually filled in since then so it doesn't look like it.  The last I told you, Eliot and I were making final preparations for our trip to Walt Disney World.

Flash forward about three weeks, and now Eliot and I just got home after our epic two plus week vacation.  In the final hours leading up to our trip, it became increasingly apparent that I desperately needed a break.  In fact, I don't think I've ever been in more need of a break from absolutely everything.  And I definitely took advantage of it.

I didn't post much on social media- for either Happily Ever Hatter or Magically Melissa.

I didn't answer messages regarding our businesses unless I absolutely had to.

I didn't even re-open Snowblade Creations until last week.

I also didn't post more than twice on my personal Facebook page... which is pretty unusual for me since I'm known to post pictures from our trips throughout our time at Disney.  (It was so abnormal that my cousin Kaitlin even called to check in on me.)  I posted at the beginning of our trip, and then again at the very end... and that was it.

Our vacation was so wonderful and just what I needed in my life right now.  So much has happened over the past few weeks.  I have so many blog posts that I planned to go back and finish.  Some of them will get written, some of them will get pushed off to later this year, and some of them will probably just fade into the sunset.  Over the next week or two, I'll go back in and write what I can.  Some of it is going to be painful for me to write, but there are things that I want to get written down.

Today, I mostly wanted to let you know that Eliot and I are home and that I will be going back to fill in my 2023 goals, 2022 year in review, 2022 goals recap, and all of those things when I have time to.  I also still need to write about our trip to San Jose, my birthday, Thanksgiving Weekend, and a few other things.  November, December and January will be filled with a bunch of backdated posts, but that's ok.  I'll get to them.

For now, I'm just trying to get settled in at home and adjust back to the real world.  °o°

Magical Merchandise: Scentsy Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary

Well, Eliot and I were supposed to be home yesterday around noon.  But after pushing back our flight, flying into Providence, RI instead of Portland, ME, renting a rental car, getting caught in a snowstorm, and staying in a hotel in Woburn, MA... we finally got home and settled in this evening about an hour ago at 7:00 pm.  (It's still storming, we had to drive the rental car home to Maine, unpack our luggage, and then return the rental car to the Portland airport.)  Needless to say, it's been an interesting 36 hours!

I had planned this post though, so I'm going to go through with it.  Now that Eliot and I have (finally!) returned home from our epic two week trip during Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary celebration, I'm looking to keep a little bit of that magic alive.

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Thankfully, as you know, Scentsy created a special collection for Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary, and Eliot and I have our warmer sitting at home waiting to be put on display.  These have been in the works for months, so you probably have already seen them.  I think we ordered ours back in March when I first told you about the castle. 

If you need a refresher, the main piece in the Scentsy collection is the Cinderella Castle warmer.  The castle is decorated in banners and a 50 medallion, just like the real thing.  It also has the same colors as the castle post makeover.  The iridescent wax dish is nothing short of stunning.  The entire pieces takes my breath away.

We also knew that they were coming out with a special scent of their wax melt Scentsy bricks.  It is called "EARaridescent" to go along with the 50th Anniversary theme.  It has a sweet smell, with notes of cedarwood, citrus, peony and apple blossom.  (Eliot's Mom got us the combo pack with the castle, so we got one of the giant bricks!)

What I wasn't expecting was anything else in the collection.  However, I was pleasantly surprised when they added these Mickey and Minnie Plush Scentsy Buddies back in October to coincide with the ship date of the castle warmers!  They are so cute!

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Mickey has his classic shorts in a purple and blue pattern with gold buttons and a gold bowtie.  His face is white and overall body is a shade of purple instead of black.

Minnie also has a purple and blue polka dotted dress with a gold belt and a giant golden bow atop her head.  She's also made in the same purple/white color way as Mickey.  I absolutely love her dress and wish they made one in my size!

One of my favorite parts of both plush, is that they have the Walt Disney World 50th logo embroidered on the back of their outfits in a metallic gold thread. 

I love these guys so much that I might have to get a set to put in my office.  Their colors match the jewel tones I have in there, and they would look great on my shelf!

The Scentsy Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Collection certainly adds a little bit of magic to your house.  I think it's the perfect way to keep the magic alive back home... and it will last well after the 50th celebration ends at the end of March!  °o°

Happily Ever Hatter’s 9th Birthday

Happy 9th Birthday Happily Ever Hatter!!!

Today, my "first born" turns nine... and I can't believe that I've almost been running my business for a decade!  Through the years, I've learned so much.  Eliot and I have created tons of products and designs.  And I've still got many ideas for new products!

This should be a milestone year for Happily Ever Hatter.  One of my biggest goals for 2023 is to create and release some of the new products that I've been hinting at for a while now.  I've retired the mouse ear hats, and we are definitely still going strong with 3D printed mouse ears.  Unfortunately, the hair clips have been kind of hit or miss... 

But there's still plenty more in store!

I've got 3-4 new products that I've wanted to dive into for a while now.  And I think 2023 is going to be my year to do it.  I feel a lot of creative juices flowing through me, so I want to take advantage of that.  The sky is the limit!  I can't wait to get started on these new ideas, and to bring my visions to life.  (I'll be sure to share them along the way!)

Happy Birthday Happily Ever Hatter!  Cheers to more years of making ears!!!  °o°

Last Day at Walt Disney World

Boo-hiss.  It's Eliot's and my last day at Walt Disney World and I'm not sure that I'm ready to leave.  It's been a magical two weeks... and I really needed this break.

On one hand, I'm ready to go home.  I miss my own bed.  I'm ready to stop living out of a suitcase.  It's really cold down here... more cold to the bone then Maine even.  And I'm inspired to get home and get to work on new creations.  

But at the same time... it's been such a glorious two weeks... ugh.  I don't want to leave all of the magic and wonder.  Eliot and I have got a very busy day planned though, so that will keep us busy until the last possible second.

First, we're heading back over to Epcot for our second day at the 2023 Festival of the Arts.  Yesterday, we got a good lay of the land and took pictures of a lot of artwork that interested us.  Today, our plan is to go back and buy the prints and postcards we want to bring home with us!  And there's one canvas we're getting too!  We also need to get my Festival of the Arts Spirit Jersey and our Figment popcorn buckets!

Next, we'll be dropping everything off at the hotel before we take a quick detour over to Hollywood Studios.  For some reason, we completely spaced on getting our 50th statue photos over there, so we've gotta swing by to do that before we head home!

We've got to make another quick pit stop to pick up the rest of our 50th Anniversary medallion coins since we never got over to the Polynesian or Contemporary Resorts.

Finally, we're heading over to the Magic Kingdom to end our trip... just like we usually do.  We'll catch the fireworks one last time.  Then, we're also planning to ride a few of our favorite rides after the fireworks so we can wrap the trip up on a high note.  There are also a few last things we need to purchase that we'll be sending home.

And before we know it, it will be back to our hotel and time to pack.  Eliot and I have had such a wonderful time.  I'm not ready for it to end, but you can bet that we're going to soak in every single ounce of magic that we can before it's time to head home!!!  °o°

2023 Festival of the Arts Bucket List

Happy Friday and a very happy first day of the Festival of the Arts!!!  

As soon as I saw when our 2023 trip was going to be ending, Eliot and I have been anticipating being able to attend the art festival.  It's our favorite special event at Disney, other than the Halloween and Christmas parties, and we both absolutely love seeing everything that the festival offers!  I was so excited when saw the official news that it was going to open before we left Walt Disney World!

I've been keeping an eye out for all of the news, merchandise and food previews, and events taking place this year.  Eliot and I have also spent the past few days watching Instagram for announcements from all of our favorite Disney artists with peeks at what new pieces of artwork they'll be debuting and when they'll be available for signings!  

Naturally, all of that resulted in a bucket list... so let's check it out!

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2023 Festival of the Arts Bucket List

FOOD  

Figment Waffle

Artist Palette Cookie

Pop't Art

Rainbow Cake with Freeze Dried Skittles

Dusk ’Til Dawn Cocktail

Funnel Cake

Orange Mousse with Lemon Cake and Raspberry Meringues

Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine

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MERCHANDISE

Artwork/Prints/Post Cards

Figment Popcorn Bucket

Figment Munchling

Spirit Jersey

Check Out Other Festival Items

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EXPERIENCES 

Watch Disney on Broadway

Do the Paint By Numbers Mural

Celebrating 50 Years of Magic Exhibit

Visit Artists and Booths

Photograph Our Happily Ever Hatter Mouse Ear Products

Wear Festival Outfits and Mouse Ears

See the Figment Light Show On Spaceship Earth

This turned into quite a list!  With 20 things on it, and only part of two days to complete it, I'm sure we won't be able to do it all.  But it's good to have goals!  And this list will at least give us an idea of some stuff that we want to prioritize throughout our time here!

Happy Festival of the Arts everyone!!!  °o°