Intro to Disney Bounding

I’m a Disney bound novice. I’ll be the first one to admit it. I started Disney bounding for the first time during this March’s Disney Bound Challenge on Facebook and Instagram (I did end up doing a couple of accidental bounds while I was at Disney World). So even though I’m new, I learned a lot about bounding and I’d love to share it with you!

First off, maybe you’re asking what is Disney bounding? The main idea behind Disney Bounding is taking elements from a character, like their color scheme or accessories that bring them to mind, and creating an outfit around this. It can be anything to a super casual everyday outfit, to a very lame Dapper Day outfit. Anything goes! The idea is to have fun incorporating Disney into your own style. If you want to learn more or get more information make sure you also check out the Disney Bound Instagram and blog.

Minnie Mouse

This was one of my “accidental” bounds while I was in Disney World. I think Minnie is one of the easiest characters to dress like, basically anything polka dotted works, and if you’re in the parks, just throw on some ears and you’re set! My dress is from Charming Charlie a few years ago, so unfortunately I can’t link it

Winnie the Pooh

This was a pretty casual and more subtle bound, and it ended up being one of my favorites. This was for the last day of the Disney bound challenge and the theme was a character you’ve never bounded as before. I chose Winnie the pooh. Clearly this isn’t exact. Winnie is yellow and wears a red shirt, and he doesn’t wear flowers. But I used the colors associated with him for this outfit and I think the flowers on my shirt bring in a springtime in the Hundred Acre Woods vibe. Disney bounding isn’t cosplay so you can really make it your own!

 

Violet Lemonade

Yes you can bound as a drink! Or an attraction! Or a wall! Whatever you want! When I spotted this adorable lemon wedge bag from Forever 21, I thought it seemed perfect for a Violet Lemonade bound!

Just add a purple dress like this one from Amazon

URBANCLEO Womens Cap Sleeve V Neck T-Shirt Tunic Mini Dress Lavender Medium

and maybe some flowers in your hair (or flower crown Minnie ears) and you’re all set!

 

So here are the basics to start any bound…

1. Color! Think about the color your character (or wall or attraction) is or wears and start your outfit with pieces that match.
2. Silhouette: You can really do whatever kind of outfit silhouette you want, but if you are trying to be true to a character you’ll want to pay attention to this. So if you were bounding as Meg from Hercules or Princess Jasmine, you would want to pick a flow top or dress as their clothing is more this silhouette. Most of the Disney Princes tend to have very structured outfits, though, so you would want to pick a structured jacket or vest. I don’t think this one is mandatory, but maybe you might want to incorporate it.
3. Accessories! Here’s the fun part. These can be quite literal with the character on it, or you can mix in elements that would make people think of the character. So if you’re bounding as Alice, accessories featuring teacups, flowers, cats, or rabbit would work because they all have to do with Wonderland. Before my Disney trip I found a necklace on clearance at Kohl’s with a tiny gold teapot. I thought this would work nicely to wear to the Grand Floridian, but I could incorporate this into bounds of Alice, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, Belle, Mrs. Potts, or Chip. Get creative!

 

 

Have you every Disney bounded? Who is a character you would love to bound as? Let me know in the comments!!

 

xo,

Emily

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March 2018 Favorites

Hi all and happy April! Seeing as it’s the beginning of the month, I thought  I would share some things I loved during the month of March.

Blowouts: I got my first blowout this month (I had a coupon for it because your girl is on a budget). As someone who basically doesn’t do their hair, having styled hair was revolutionary for me. Since I can’t afford weekly (or really even monthly) blowouts, I decided to try to do it myself. I picked up the Hot Sexy Hair Prep Me Blow Dry Primer and a round brush and tried it out. It’s not going to be an everyday day thing for me because it is time consuming (and I try to keep heat off my hair) but once in a while it’s fun.

Sexy Hair Hot Prep Me 450 Heat Protection Blow Dry Primer, 5.1 Fluid Ounce *

Sephora Collection Lipstick in Labyrinth City: I have a couple of these lipsticks and I plan on getting more. They’re super cheap for Sephora ($8), have a wide shade range with different finishes, and have you seen the packaging? Gorgeous. I really like the shade Labyrinth City, which is a pink toned brown. It gives me that 90s style brown tone while still working with my skin tone because of the pink/berry undertone.

LC Lauren Conrad necklace: I’ve been a fan of the Lauren Conrad line at Kohl’s pretty much since it came out (and I’ve been a fan of Lauren since her Laguna Beach days). This necklace is the perfect spring necklace. I think it pairs so well well florals and pastel colors. I also think the length of this necklace is great. I have a bit of a larger chest and sometimes long necklaces hit awkwardly on my bust, but this one can be adjusted so it hits nicely.

The Santa Clarita Diet: I enjoyed this show last season when it first debuted, but I think I may have liked season 2 even more. If you aren’t familiar this show is about an ordinary family whose lives change when the mother of the family (Drew Barrymore) catches something that makes her become undead. I really loved the way the second season ended. I wouldn’t call it a total cliffhanger, but I’m definitely intrigued for season 3.

A Wrinkle in Time: I didn’t know what to expect going into this movie. I hadn’t read the book or even heard that much about it, but a friend invited me to go and I did. And it was great! I thought the acting, scenery, and costumes were fantastic. I especially loved Reese Witherspoon’s character and her costumes. This movie does get a bit dark at times so I don’t know that I would recommend it for younger kids, but I think anyone from older kids to adults can find something they enjoy in this movie.

Hope your March was great and that you have a great April!

xo,

Emily

 

 

 

*This is an amazon affiliates link.

Emily Travels – Vacation Saving Tips

Me at Disney. Happy as a clam and not worried about money. 

Vacations. How wonderful they are, yet how expensive they can be. As you probably know, I recently got back from a week long vacation in Walt Disney World. This trip took a lot of planning and even more saving to make happen (I work in social services, aka not a lot of money). So while I used these tips for Disney specifically, I think most of them can be applied to all kinds of travel. Let’s get into it.

• Try to get an approximate amount that you’ll need to start saving as early as possible. For instance, Disney doesn’t release their pricing for the following year until about the end of June each year. Since I knew I wanted to travel in February, and I started planning REALLY early, I couldn’t price a trip for the exact time I wanted. So I picked a couple of different weeks during the year and made up sample trips to see how much they would cost. I did this with flights as well. And actually, this turned out to be pretty spot on (my flights even ended up being a little cheaper than what I priced before!). Now you have an approximite amount you need. If you’re doing a Disney Dining Plan add that amount in as well. We paid as we went for food but I still came up with an approximate amount just by looking at the restaurants I wanted to go to (and you can do this for any trip). Also budget what you *think* you’ll spend on souvenirs – you know your spending habits, I don’t.
• Whatever figure you just came up with, add to it. It’s better to come home from vacation with money left over than go into debt because of a souvenir or fancy dinner you just had to have.
• When you’re saving, pick an amount and stick to it! If you’re saving for a trip, and you’re on a budget, you’re probably going to have to make some sacrifices somewhere. That may be taking a little from your fun/entertainment money or a clothing budget. Maybe its saving all of your change (my mom starting doing this a few weeks before our trip and ended up with enough to cover a meal for both of us). Whatever you do, pick a certain amount you’re willing to save, and move it to a savings account as soon as it comes in. I chose to put aside 10% of each of my bimonthly paychecks. It doesn’t sound like a ton, but it really accumulated fast. I also used any windfall money (like my tax refund or the rare milage checks I get from my job) and put it toward my trip.
• Save with your Target Red Card. Obviously you can save 5% on your shopping trips to Target, which is helpful, but here’s something else. This tip is not my own, but one I picked up from the DIS Unplugged youtube channel. They discussed using your Target Red Card to buy Disney gift cards to use on snacks, meals, or souvenirs on your trip. You still get the 5% off, so for every $100 of gift cards you buy, you’ll save $5. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but I think any savings, especially for Disney, helps a lot. You can apply this to other trips as well. If you know you’re going to go to a certain restaurant or stop by Starbucks, why not but a gift card and save on that as well! Bonus savings: if you have the Starbucks app you can enter the gift card there and earn rewards to a free drink!
• Use credit card rewards, if you responsibly can. I have a couple of credit cards that I earn cash back with. That’s great! And if you keep your balance paid off, that’s like free money! But if you aren’t so great with credit (believe me I’ve been there), you might want to stay away from the rewards because interest charges will be way more than you ever earn. I always put my rewards money straight into my savings and I probably earn about $100 a year. Again it’s not a ton of money, but I’m of the mindset that every little bit helps!
• Ebates! If you don’t already use it here’s my referral link (you’ll earn $10 if you spend $25!). I think Ebates is great for online shopping that you’re already doing. I mean why not get free money back for something you were already buying. Ebates will also try coupon codes to see if you can save even more. I have the Ebates plugin on my browser so it automatically pops up on online stores that offer cash back. So easy!

And that’s that! I can honestly say if you use some or all of these tips, you’ll be able to take a great vacation, even if you’re not made of money! (Also this post isn’t sponsored by anyone I mentioned, I just really did these things!).

xo,

Emily

 

A Disney Layout with Feed Your Craft

For the month of March I was given the privilege of being the Special Guest for the Feed Your Craft Creative Team! March’s kit is called Grow Wild and it’s absolutely gorgeous! For my first spread with this kit, I decided to make a page for my Disney album. This documents times in Frontierland from our last day in the parks. I love the colors in the kit and they worked really well with my photos. I used the die-cuts a lot in this layout, which is kind of unusual for me, but again they worked really well with my photos.

Don’t forget to check out Feed Your Craft!

How to Disney from a Disney Newbie

     Guys, I went to Disney! And it was great! But also kind of stressful… which is what I’m going to discuss today. I learned a lot about how to best “do Disney” while I was there… by making mistakes.

     First, if you have the ability to go to Disney at anytime, and aren’t harbored by kids’ school schedules or only being able to take vacation at certain times of the year, make sure you really think about the dates you go. I went during the week of my birthday. My birthday is mid February the day before Valentine’s Day. I didn’t see that as being a popular Disney holiday and it seemed to me that it would be a slower time of year. But I was wrong. Mardi Gras happened to fall on my birthday. And many kids in Louisiana get that whole week of school off. And they go to Disney. Also when we first arrived it was at the end of a cheerleading competition weekend at the ESPN Wide World of Sports on Disney property and there were cheerleaders all over for the first part of the trip. We were told there were 20,000 cheerleaders on property. So, if you want to avoid crazy crowds, check for competitions, and check for any kind of holiday, even if it might seem random to you.

     Really think about the weather. I didn’t pack the best. I brought pants, a couple of dresses, and last minute I luckily threw in a basic skirt. But no shorts. And I brought layers. It was February and I was expecting 70 degree weather. But it was in the mid 80s and quite hot everyday. So check and recheck the weather. If you want to bring one warmer outfit and a jacket or sweatshirt if you go during winter and I think that would be fine but remember this is Florida winter.

This day was one of the hottest, and one of the most crowded. 

     Go early! We had a tendency to not leave our resort until 11 or 12 when the crowds were really starting to get big at the parks (especially Magic Kingdom). The rides that typically can be walk ons had 40 minute waits. The day we did go early, and when we stayed late and did rides after the fireworks, we were able to walk right on. So maybe avoid midday if you can.

Walked right on this guy, as you should. 

     Don’t be afraid to change your plans. I skipped fast passes and cancelled my Be Our Guest reservation. I CANCELLED BE OUR GUEST. One of the most highly sought after reservations. So why did I do that? Well my original plan for the day was to head to Magic Kingdom in time for the reservation at 1:30 and stay all the way through to the fireworks with a couple of fast passes in between. After a couple of days, I realized this plan was never going to work. It was going to be too long, too hot, and too stressful. So I cancelled. We ended up going to the park a couple of hours later than originally planned, grabbing snacks, riding the tea cups, and then I skipped my Big Thunder fast pass. The fast pass line was 45 minutes long! There’s nothing fast about that. So instead we went to Casey’s for dinner and I caught my Seven Dwarves Mine Train fast pass before finding a spot for the fireworks. So clearly my day changed quite a bit from my original plan but that’s okay and it was still a fun day.

     I hope you enjoyed hearing some types from a first-time-since-childhood Disney goer. And get ready for more Disney inspired posts to come. I’ve got a lot in mind!

xo,

Emily

On Being Single on Valentine’s Day

It’s that time of year when everyone is focused on love. Valentine’s Day. It’s always been a double edged sword for me. On one hand, it’s right around my birthday and as soon as I start to see all the candy and decorations I start to get excited for the season. Also, everything is adorable. But on the other hand if you’re single, which I usually am, that fact tends to get emphasized to the point that you feel like something must be wrong with you. I don’t want this to be taken as me thinking there is something inherently wrong with Valentine’s Day. I don’t. I think it’s great to show loved ones that we care, it should be done all the time, but I don’t think we have to put down singles in the process.

I’ve been single most of my adult life. Single in terms of never married, and much of the time, single in terms of not being in a relationship. Mostly, I’m okay with it. I really don’t want to be in a relationship unless I feel like it will add to my life. I don’t need someone to “complete” me (and neither do you) and I really don’t want to bring someone into my life unless it feels right. Call me picky, but I don’t want to go down that path with just anyone.

So here’s my advice for all the single folks, whether you’re a long-term singleton like me, or you’re newly single, and maybe dealing with some heartbreak: It’s okay! Don’t let society pressure you into feeling, down, less-than, or shameful because you don’t have a partner right now. Be content with your independence, learn who you are as a person, and wait until that right person for you comes along to commit. And this Valentine’s Day, focus on the loved ones you do have, like your Galentine, a family member, or your pet. And finally, don’t forget to treat yourself! (How many Parks and Rec references can I put in one post?)

Wishing you love and the best!

xo,

Emily

Rock the Dots!

Today, January 22nd, is National Polka Dot Day!! Its also the day we celebrate Miss Minnie Mouse and Rock the Dots!! Polka dots are one of my favorite things to wear, so of course I had to put together an outfit. I should mention this outfit is much too spring-y for right now, but you might spot me wearing in the parks in less than a month!!

This dress is an older one in my closet that I found at Charming Charlie on clearance. It was polka dotted and one of my favorite colors?! Of course I had to get it (I haven’t been able to find anything that looks a lot like this dress online, but this one is also really cute and has a similar fabric). My jacket was a more recent purchase from Target (similar) and its super cute with the “Hello Sunshine” embroidery.

This pin is one of the newest to my collection and when I saw it, I couldn’t not buy it. The colors, the design, the saying, it was just perfect! Its from Be Magical Studio. 

 

And that’s my outfit! I really can’t wait to break out super fun outfits like this at Disney World, and at home once it finally warms up!

 

xo,

Emily