Day 1312: Birthday Wishes

There are very few ways that you can celebrate your birthday that are better than celebrating at the most magical place on earth. 

While my actual 21st birthday was earlier in July, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate at Walt Disney World, especially since the trip was sort of like a birthday present. It's amazing how much magic one little birthday button can create, and I can't thank the amazing cast members throughout the resort enough for all the magic they created, from saying happy birthday to creating very magical moments for me throughout my trip! 

During my day spent at Hollywood Studios there was plenty of birthday magic to be had. Mickey threw me a birthday party (not a castle party...it's still too soon to bring that up), a wonderful cast member gave me a strawberry bar, and my lunch at the Brown Derby was made extra delicious by the entirety of the staff there! 

And then at Animal Kingdom, the staff at Tiffins brought me a special dessert with a candle (that I remembered to take a picture of before blowing it out), and at the end of the night, the staff of the Animal Kingdom Starbucks made a magical moment for me by gifting me a special Mickey-Shaped Cinnamon Roll (which was pretty much my favorite moment of the entire trip). 

After that I stopped wearing the buttons, as I was already overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from everyone I met, but honestly, I think the two days and three hours I was "officially" celebrating my birthday were almost better than the entirety of my actual birthday trip three years ago (although celebrating with my family was pretty magical too). But more than anything else, I was always aware of the fact that, for the week I was in Florida this July, I was there alone. I wouldn't be meeting up with my family later in the day for dinner, I wouldn't be seeing them for a Fastpass, and while I was alone, I never really felt alone. The cast members made sure of that, and they made me even more determined to return in just about a year to make magic for others just like me as a cast member myself. 

Have you ever celebrated a birthday at Walt Disney World? 

Have a magical day!

Day 1080: Lil' BB

I'm so lucky to have some of the best friends in the world, and with Christmas so close to the release of The Force Awakens, it seems my best friend took that in stride. I mean really, what's the best gift for a Star Wars fan this Christmas? STAR WARS STUFF.

I've been talking about BB-8 for months really, and after Force Friday, I was a bit sad to have so much Star Wars merch and nothing that included the little droid. I had (and still do, really) serious plans to buy up as much BB-8 merch when I head to Walt Disney World in January, but it seems Shovell has started my collection for me:

I've really been into the Funko Pops lately, much like the rest of the fandom world, and, per usual, Megan knew me better than I know myself, ordering me a little BB-8 Funko weeks before I actually saw the film and came home raving about how adorable the little droid is. Being the Olan Rogers fan I am, I named this little version of the droid "Lil' BB," because he's BB-8 but he's little and he's adorable. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go watch Olan Rogers' video "Echos Through the Wall."

That wasn't my whole Christmas present, however, because she also surprised me with this AMAZING new travel mug, which I've used basically every day since she gave it to me! I mean, how awesome is this!!!

IT LITERALLY SAYS THE EPCOTEXPERT ON IT! Sorry, I'm still freaking out a little bit! 

I wonder what else will appear for Christmas this year...

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 22).

Day 1060: Thankful, Thankful, Thankful

Per usual, it's time to relate what I'm thankful for this year, and like last year, I'm writing it late, so you're going to get a bit of an altered list from what it probably would have been on Thanksgiving Day. Regardless, if you want to go back to 2013 and 2014, you can do so to see what's changed on my list and what's remained constant! It's sure to be interesting! 

And so, here's my 2015 list: 

My Friends & Family

Of course, this one kind of goes without saying! 

Walt Disney World (And Disneyland!) 

I've been lucky enough to head on not one, not two, but three Disney trips this year, with two to WDW and one to Disneyland. I absolutely love both coasts for different reasons, and while I'm thrilled to be heading back to WDW in a few weeks, I do know that a part of me will miss Disneyland too. 

Starbucks

And coffee in general really. It's gotten me through this semester. 

LillyBelle

Because she is my cat and I love her to death. 

Star Wars

It's not every year that a new Star Wars film premieres, and it's not every time I get to go see it on opening night right alongside many of my fellow Star Wars fans. Looking back, surprisingly enough, Star Wars isn't on either of the previous lists...but I'm definitely thankful for it this year. 

Once Upon A Time

Star Wars may have been my first real fandom other than Disney, but OUAT has still brought me so many wonderful things, especially this year. Cardboard Colin came into my life, and I've met even more wonderful fellow Oncers...oh, and one more thing...

The Dust Storm

I can't help but put this one on the list. After all, the premiere of the film (and the film itself!) was wonderful, and it allowed me the once in a lifetime opportunity to talk to Colin O'Donoghue on the phone! Definitely something I'll remember for the rest of my life...and then probably a few lives after that. 

New Friends

Over the past year I've grown much closer to a real bunch of random people in my life, and I'm so thankful for that. Whether it's someone I know from college or someone I met through Twitter, there are absolutely amazing people in my world that keep me going through the good times and the bad. 

YouTube

One of the biggest blessings this year was my ability to work on my YouTube channel, and I'm absolutely thankful to those who follow my videos. I've certainly learned that it's not about how many views, but about making the videos because I love to make videos. And honestly, I've got a lot of video editing ahead of me, but I'm super excited about some of the stuff coming after my January trip to WDW. 

Everyday Disney

As always, I'm so thankful for the success of this blog, even if I'm really far behind at the moment and am fighting valiantly to catch up. It's always a lot of work, but I love this blog and every second of the work that it takes to make it a reality. I don't think 2012 Lizzie could have ever imagined any of this. 

And honestly, that's about all that I can think of off the top of my head, but I'm certain that there's about a million other things that I'm thankful for. Just take a look at my Instagram and I'm sure you'll see most of them at some point or another! 

Let me know what you're most thankful for in the comments below! 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 25).

Day 1058: A Little Bit of SSE

Twitter is probably the most dangerous place for a Disney fan. After all, when your fellow Disney fans get new Disney things, all you want to do is get them too...especially when they're absolutely necessary for your collection. I mean, it's not everyday you find a travel mug that happens to resemble your favorite Disney attraction:

I happened to see this new Starbucks Tumbler on Twitter and knew I had to find one of my own. So, later that day, I set out on a mission to find it. Luckily, I didn't have to search long before locating my own Spaceship Earth Tumbler (even if it's not technically Spaceship Earth). Either way, it's a pretty amazing little tumbler and, in fact, I'm using it today! 

And so, yet again, Disney appears in the world in the most random of ways...and I got a new addition to my Spaceship Earth collection!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on December 26).

Day 893: Disney World Mini Haul

Disney World definitely means shopping...because as Disney fans we basically earn our money to give right back to Disney, which is actually a common problem for us! However, since I recently went on two trips, I figured I would make this into one post to share items from both! First, obviously, I went to Walt Disney World, where I really didn't spend that much, and then this past week I tagged along on the band trip as their videographer. We headed to Minnesota for four days and that meant a stop at the Mall of America...and you know what's at the Mall of America? A DISNEY STORE!

Let's start with all the Starbucks awesomess that I got in Florida, including the amazing tumbler that you can see above and two more of the You Are Here Series mugs down below! I'm only missing the Disneyland mugs and Animal Kingdom mug, all of which I'm excited to get my hands on as the year continues so I can have my complete Disney set! 

Now, I wasn't planning on getting any Vinylmation this trip, but when I made my way through Darth's Mall and found this set for Star Wars Weekends, I was done. They were coming home. 

Also at Star Wars Weekends, you might remember this glow fighter from the Rebal Hangar or other locations during the event. Mom got one and gave it to me, as Jonny ordered one with his drink but I couldn't get one because I just had water. 

Thinking ahead to later this year, I'm all ready for a new iPhone with a Disney case to put on right away! It actually matches my current phone case because sometimes you find a case you love so much that you just don't want to get rid of it...even when you get a bigger phone! 

One of the things specifically on my list for Walt Disney World this trip was my own set of Minnie Ears, which I found at Magic Kingdom in the middle of the trip! You can bet they'll be making more appearances as time goes on! 

And of course, did you really think I would leave without some new Tsum Tsums to add to my collection! I always get them in multiples of three so I can stack them easily, bringing my current count up to 12! I couldn't resist the adorable Inside Out characters of Joy and Sadness, and Duffy just had to happen! 

Speaking of Inside Out, I found these adorable mugs at the Disney Store at the Mall of America and knew instantly that they'd be coming home with me! I joked with my friends in Minnesota that I'd come home and the first thing my parents would say would be "You didn't get the whole set?" and sure enough, that prediction came true. I just figured that with my already extensive mug collection they wouldn't really appreaciate me returning home with SIX new mugs. So I only brought three. 

Also at Mall of America, we happened upon a little store called Marbles "The Brain Store," where we spent a solid half hour playing around with various things. It was a spectacular store and I definitely recommend checking it out if you have one near you! It was there that I picked up this little model Millennium Falcon, which I'll be sure to share once it's completed! 

And finally we found Chapel, the Hat Store Chain that just opened a shop at Disney Springs! Jonny got a hat from the one at Disney a few weeks ago, so when I found this Sunhat at the Mall of America shop, I knew it was the perfect buy! I can't wait to wear it out at California this August! 

As you can see, I'm pretty happy with everything I got this trip, although there are two little things not pictured: My Star Wars Weekends Pin and my Wilderness Lodge pin, which I had already put away in the cases by the time I took the pictures, and taking them back out of the cases takes time! It's probably noteworthy how little stuff there is, especially considering the fact that this is from TWO trips and not just one (although one wasn't to Disney technically), especially since in just a few months I'll come back from Disneyland with an extra suitcase probably. 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on June 23 due to travel).

Day 784: A Package Has Arrived

If getting Disney mail at home is one of the best things ever, then imagine getting Disney mail at school. You might remember a couple of weeks ago when I bought my Epcot Starbucks You Are Here mug, and if you don't remember it, you can read that post HERE, but there's just one small problem.

That mug is now worth at least $200, although most on ebay are currently going for closer to $300-400. I love my mug, I really do, and I have no intention of selling it, but as Megan said the other day, it's kind of nerve wrecking washing a $300 mug that's not even yours, and trust me, it's just as bad when it IS yours. Therefore, there was only one solution to this problem.

I had to get another mug.

Now, I'm not talking about another Epcot mug (are you crazy?), but lucky for me, there are several other mugs out there, and since I already had one shipped to my house, it wasn't hard to find another to be sent my way. Since I couldn't find a decently priced Magic Kingdom mug, I instead opted for the Hollywood Studios mug, which is just plain adorable, and I'm loving the fact that the Sorcerer's Hat is no where to be found. I guess my plan is working because since buying this new one, I've used it twice and the Epcot mug sits safe and sound on my shelf. I feel bad forcing it to live a life on the shelf, but it's a collectors item now, and considering the rest of my Epcot/Spaceship Earth collection, it's now one of the most important pieces.

But that's not all that came in the mail. On a completely different blog post, which you can read HERE, I lamented about the one thing I forgot to buy while at Disney: Tsum Tsum. But since I have a job now, a real job, I wanted to celebrate in a small fashion. Plus, my new desk will need a little bit of decorating once I have things cleaned off more than they are at the current moment. So I put in an order to the Disney store and by the end of opening all the packages I got from the mail center, my life looked something like this:

Oh yes, it was a very good day for mail indeed. I also realized that I ordered the Tsum Tsum perfectly so they stack by film. Three 101 Dalmatians themed ones on the bottom row, with Cruella in the middle of the two pups, two from Toy Story on top of that, and Donald to round out the tower. I swear I didn't plan it that way, but I also didn't plan falling absolutely in love with these little guys. I don't think my roommates planned that either. 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on February 25).

Day 760: A Lucky Mug

I'm sure that at this point, many of you have heard about the beautiful new Disney "You Are Here" Starbucks mugs. These things are beautiful, and as a mug collector, specifically a Disney mug collector who drinks unbelievable amounts of Starbucks, these mugs were must-haves for me. Unfortunately, the way these things work is that you can only get them by going and basically buying them yourself from the parks. This isn't a problem for me when it comes to the Disneyland mugs, as I'll be headed out there in August, but for the Epcot collector in me, I have no opportunity to get my hands on the Disney World mugs until who knows when.

So I bought one online.

You know, there are tons of websites out there that will buy something from the parks and ship it to your house and while, on some level, this really isn't fair, I've never been happier that these things exist. I bought an Epcot Starbucks mug on Monday (or maybe it was Tuesday?), of which I paid $30. Everyone pretty much thought I was crazy for spending that much on a simple mug, but I'm pretty sure I'm the one laughing now.

If you know the story with these mugs right now you'll also know that the same Epcot mug I ordered has been pulled from the shelves because of the purple monorail on it, which no longer exists due to an accident a few years back. But by the time they pulled the mugs, only about a week after they first went on shelves, mine was already in the mail.

And now it sits on my own shelf at college:

Although, now looking at this picture, this isn't on my shelf at all. But that's where it sits now. It's an absolutely beautiful mug, far more beautiful than any picture could have told me, and I'm absolutely thrilled that I have one to call my own, which will hopefully hold me over until August when I get the Disneyland and California Adventure ones! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on January 31 due to a busy schedule).

Day 532: Coffee with Character

I always make attempts to educate my friends about Disney, and sometimes that comes out at the most random of times.

In the midst of a blogging spree last night, with attempts to finally make up the last of the blog posts (including this one) from this past summer, two of my roommates and I decided that a trip to our college coffee shop was in order. It was getting late and we all still had work to do and we needed a pick-me-up. Plus, our room gets pretty warm now that the heat is on and some fresh air sounded like a grand idea.

Off we went, and while walking over to the library to get said coffee, Megan suggested a topic for my blog post: Coffee with Character. Earlier in the evening, at dinner as a matter of fact, we had been talking about the same thing. It was a long train of how we got there, but long story short I made maple bacon cupcakes this past weekend and everyone thought I was crazy. I wasn't, of course, because seriously...I've had this before. I had a maple bacon pretzel cupcake at Epcot back in March...

It was delicious, by the way, and that's where I initially got the idea from.

Anyway, the picture right next to that one on my Instagram just happens to be some coffee with character: 

Yes, as in Emma Swan. The reasoning here? It's a chai latte, which happens to be Jennifer Morrison's favorite beverage at Starbucks, and therefore the official drink of Emma Swan fans, called Ugly Ducklings. I figured it was appropriate to, therefore, have Emma as my coffee with character name. Of course, my friends all gave me that look that 100% said "really?" and I had to explain why it wasn't my name on the cup. 

Coffee with character, for those of you who don't know, is this awesome thing where, when they ask you for your name at Starbucks, instead of saying your own name you say the name of a fictional character or something. Popular options always include Disney Princesses and Villains, although it ranges all over the place, and it doesn't always stick just to Disney. Search #CoffeeWithCharacter on Instagram sometime and you'll come up with all kinds of results. 

I can't wait to participate in more coffee with character when I go in January, especially since I'll actually have time to enjoy my coffee instead of rushing around. Regardless, you can bet that at least once Captain Hook will show up...and I wonldn't put it past me to include another Emma Swan somewhere in that too...

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 30).

Day 426: Coffee

I'm not kidding when I say that coffee (or JMo Edition Storybrooke Hot Chocolate) has never tasted so good.

I didn't have my usual chai tea on Friday morning, since I was running around making copies of music. And then yesterday I was up so early and was going to be spending the day running around so much that I didn't really have the time or energy to make any in the first place. Which ultimately led to a ridiculous headache and just about 12 hours of sleep.

Either way, this morning I finally had my coffee, and it was delicious.

Which makes me think about something I AM actually excited about when it comes to Disney...coffee. Specifically Starbucks. I am quite excited about that. Like probably more than I should be. I mean, I've come to realization that if I DON'T have my coffee or my chai tea in the morning, the day will not end well for me, so that means that I'll obviously be finding some while in Florida.

The question is, what will I get? And what name will I say for my order? It's always fun to tell them random stuff (Buzz Lightyear anyone?). Personally I have no idea, and it will probably be a more spur of the moment kind of thing. Like I'm there ordering and just the first one that comes to mind is what I say...which means it will more than likely just be my name, but who knows.

In the meantime, I'll stick with my morning chai tea, or JMo Storybrooke Hot Chocolate (yes, I'm going to make that a thing! It's Storybrooke hot chocolate with espresso or coffee mixed in). As long as I have some sort of caffeine to start my day, I think I'll be ok.

Also, ONE WEEK UNTIL ONCE UPON A TIME. WHO'S EXCITED!?!

Have a magical day!