Day 1177: For the Love of Nautical Blue

I sat at Barnes and Noble for a long while, on the floor, in front of a shelf filled with adult coloring books. The newest craze was brought to my attention this past Christmas when one of my former roommates gifted me an adult coloring book, and now I use my crayons and colored pencils far more often than I have in the past two years. I didn't intend to buy a coloring book at Barnes and Noble, but the nautical themes of one based on the ocean got my attention and didn't leave me alone...probably because forecasted snow and friends actually on the beach made me wish for warmer weather and a beautiful view.

I've always loved nautical things though, and somewhere along the line, probably when I was coloring a trio of seashells to catch the colors found on The Seas with Nemo and Friends, I realized that my love of all things nautical, including pirates, probably goes much further back than those around me might think.

I definitely still remember the old Living Seas at Epcot, with the attraction vehicles much similar to Spaceship Earth than those currently found on an adventure with Nemo, and the diver's tank that existed long before it was reintroduced a few years ago. My memories of the old Epcot, I've come to realize, are something I really should treasure, because for the young generation of Epcot lovers, I'm right on the cusp between those who really remember what Epcot used to be about and those who wish they did.

But my love of nautical things probably stems more from another location, one outside the parks. I talk about Old Key West as my home resort all the time, and I wish I could clearly express through words just how much it really is home. I honestly think I almost have more memories that occurred in the walls of a room at OKW than I do in my own home, and for those of you who have explored the resort as I have, you know just how nautical the place can get. It's not overly ocean-themed, but there is a lighthouse, and the gingerbread architecture of the conch republic really stands out amidst many of the other resorts at Walt Disney World. Growing up, and still today, I adore the corals and aquas and dark and light blues, I decorate with ships and seashells frequently, and I've built more than one house on the Sims with nautical themes. And just to prove that I did indeed spend a lot of my childhood at OKW, here's a picture of my Dad and I sitting on the balcony of our room.

I'm a bit taller now, but the balcony hasn't changed much.

Have a magical day!

Day 748: Disney Desk Flair

It seems that with being back at school, I suddenly have found a wealth of new blog post topics, even if this one is more inspired by the Disney Style blog than my own dorm room.

Today, while in search of the last few blog posts to make up for the last week of nothingness since, really, all I did was edit video and that can only fit into one topic, I found one about Disney Desk Flair, showcasing some of the interesting desks at the Disney offices.

It's always been a dream for me to have a Disney office, and someday hopefully I'll get to that point. I can't even begin to express how many times I've seen something at Disney World and turned to my dad and said "For my office" as if I have one and know exactly where it's going to go.

Of course, not all of it is going to end up in the office in the end, as you really do have to keep things clean, but I loved this article, which you can read HERE, and couldn't help but think of my own desk here at school.

My desk has changed a little bit from last semester, largely due to the fact that I have almost twice the number of books now as I did then, and I still have bookshelves filled at home. Overflowing in fact. But overall, there's a lot of Disney influence in my desk without it constantly screaming Disney!

I think one of the things that really helps tie it all together is the nautical sort of theme I have going on. I found the jar at Hobby Lobby in the fall and instantly loved it, a plan forming in my mind. I picked up the sand that currently resides in it this past trip in January, right from the little beach on the walkway near the Magic Kingdom monorail station where my brick is! The little boat also came from Hobby Lobby and the Seagull (from Finding Nemo) is another of the things I picked up on my trip.

But that doesn't mean there's not a fair share of real Disney stuff. I may have a lot of books, but I feel like if there's two stereotypes of English majors, it's lots of books and lots of mugs. I definitely have both and ran into the issue of "where do I put all these mugs?" I solved my issue by working them into my desk decor. Here you can see my Fairy Tale collection next to my Mickey's Diner travel mug and my "I'm Inspired to have dreams as big as Walt Disney" quote frame!

Remember when I said there was a nautical theme? Yeah, more like Captain Hook. Somewhere along the line I got really into the whole pirate and Irish thing, and maybe, just maybe, it's got something to do with the guy in the middle in the frame here. 

And of course, I've got my Vinylmation. I've had numerous people compliment me on these little guys, and I really am in love with the custom designed shelf my Dad and Brother made me to help hold them. There's more at home, but these are my five favorites, and they look rather good together, don't you think?

But no post about my Disney Desk Flair could be complete without this little beauty. I've talked about it numerous times, but my Mickey Mouse wreath that Megan made me for our high school graduation is one of my absolute favorite things. It'll definitely be coming with me if I do get a Disney desk someday. 

This is just the beginning though. There's plenty of other little Disney hints on my desk, and it would probably take me a while to could them all up. Plus, I'll soon have a new desk to add just a little bit of flair to, even if I'll be the only one who ever really sees it down in the deep, dark, music library. 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on January 24 due to a busy schedule).

Day 467: Nautical

Sometimes the "themes" of my life tend to mingle with one another, and this is most certainly one of those cases. My brother and I have been a part of our local 4-H Club for many years, and one of the things we generally do is the Foods Review each April. Basically you make a dish and then it's judged, but not just upon the food, but as well as a place setting and imaginary menu. It's actually kind of fun (until it gets to be tedious), but you can be pretty creative with it.

Unless you wait until the last minute to put your project together. In my brother's defense, he's a busy kid, so alright, we procrastinated a bit. Or he did rather. I had nothing to do with it. Until we all ended up trying to figure out a theme. His dish was something with shrimp, so we eventually decided on a nautical theme. Then, once you have a theme, you have to figure out your menu.

Of course, I knew what I was talking about. With a pirate as a favorite character on Once Upon A Time, I had some grand ideas. Plus, this does indeed relate to Disney, but we'll get to that in a minute. I mean, really, how can you go wrong with rum flavored punch? And grilled pineapple with coconut for dessert? Brilliance. Pure brilliance.

Once you have your menu set aside, you need a place setting, and honestly, that was kind of difficult to do at the last minute. But somehow, between all of us, we pulled it off, searching through the house for the perfect dishes and centerpiece. Speaking of the centerpiece, that was my idea. It's a model of the Old Key West Lighthouse that normally sits in our bathroom. I remembered that it was there and was like "GOT IT!" The judge thought it was too tall, but I still think it was pretty perfect.

Which brings us to the main idea here. After the foods review, I went shopping with one of my friends, and I realized that nautical everything is very in right now. I mean, you go to a store and where there were tons of bows a year ago, now there's everything pirate and ship and nautical. I LOVE IT.

You see, I've been embracing the nautical theme for years, and finally it's what's in. Although it seems I am one step ahead of these crazy fashion trends. That's good I suppose. To be ahead. But either way, I'm happy with it. It seems that, because I've spent so much of my childhood at Disney and specifically Old Key West, the nautical theme surrounds me. Two of the bathrooms in our house are themed after the sea, one with a very specific nautical theme (hence the lighthouse), and my favorite Disneybounds happen to generally have something to do with the theme as well. Even my favorite color, navy blue, is probably inspired by the theme.

Weird, huh?

Just goes to show how Disney can shape us in the smallest, most detailed ways.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, my brother got a first place ribbon at the foods review.

Have a magical day!