Travel | Family | DIY Projects | Disney World Everything
For Disney fans and runners, alike Walt Disney World’s runDisney Wine & Dine weekend is simply amazing. The mix of Disney, running and Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival makes this Disney race weekend one of kind. For my second RunDisney event, I decided to run the 10k at Disney’s (more…)
Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend is almost here! Everything is booked, the trip planning is complete, the race outfit is ready to go, my training is almost over. It’s time to start planning what I will pack. When it comes to packing, I either over pack by a substantial amount or I under pack by a substantial amount. I stress over every item I put in my bag and have nightmares that I forgot half of it. This stress is even worse when it comes to any of my Disney vacations. Packing for RunDisney events is no different. * This post may contain affiliate links, if you make a purchase after clicking these links we will be compensated.
My packing list is quite extensive, as I plan to have everything I could possibly need and then some. We are also staying at Disney from Thursday to Monday afternoon, so my list may be longer than you will need. I am flying Southwest with free checked bags. We use the Disney Magical Express. With this transportation service, Disney will deliver my bags to our hotel. This time around we will be staying at All Star Movies.
Every item you need to purchase upon arrival will cost you possibly triple the cost extra. For any Disney vacation, a packing list is essential. I have included in this list what I will be (more…)
The Rivera Maya is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We took our honeymoon six months after our wedding. This gave us time to research destinations and find an affordable and gorgeous beach destination. After we settled on Playa Del Carmen, I immediately began researching activities and quickly found that there are more activities than you can do in one 7 day honeymoon. For the majority of our vacation, we focused on relaxing and spending time at our all-inclusive resort, but that does not mean there isn’t plenty to do outside the resort walls.
This first activity we did on our vacation, besides lounge by the beach and pool, was snorkeling. The Rivera Maya has one of the largest coral reefs in the world, The Great Maya Reef, and the snorkeling is fantastic. I have been snorkeling before, but this was my husband’s first experience and it did not disappoint. We swam along the coral reef with hundreds of fish, sea turtles and sting rays. Two bucket list items, swimming with turtles and sting rays, were crossed off my list in one day!
We did the Luxury Sail & Snorkel with Cancun Adventures. It is a half day experience including snorkeling, paddle boarding, lunch, and drinks all while sailing along the coast one a luxury catamaran. I highly recommend using (more…)
Playa Del Carmen along the coast of Mexico is a perfect honeymoon destination. A romantic beach location at an all-inclusive resort is on the top of the list for many newlyweds. Like many others, we chose the beach when it came time to plan our own dream honeymoon. There is something romantic about a beach destination and all inclusive is definitely the go-to choice for a carefree vacation. We picked Mexico for the direct flights, quality, and price. You can get a lot of bang for your buck in Mexico. Cancun is known more for partying and the beach. We headed an hour south to Playa Del Carmen and it did not disappoint. We stayed 7 nights at the Paradisus La Perla. I highly recommend this resort and here are my reasons why.
Playa Del Carmen is beautiful. The beach is gorgeous and the water is crystal blue. You likely cannot go wrong with a stay anywhere along this gorgeous coast. Paradisus La Perla was the perfect resort choice for us. It is an all-inclusive resort that is modern, adults-only, eco-friendly and absolutely beautiful. My husband couldn’t get over how good it smelled, literally the resort smells good. From the rooms to the restaurant’s everything was impeccably clean and maintained wonderfully. The food was simply amazing. It was not at all what we expected for all-inclusive food. We stayed in the Royal Service section and I cannot lie, the extra splurge was more than worth it. To have access to our own little VIP (more…)
It was swell day that April afternoon when we went to Walt Disney World. Dapper Day is according to it’s creators website, “fashionable gatherings attended by over 30,000 well-dressed guests twice a year at the Disney Resorts in California, Florida, and France”. Most people and even avid Disney fans aren’t aware of Dapper Day. In my opinion, it’s is like stepping back in time at Disney. Where dapper men and women mix a Disney character and a time period and attend the parks all dolled up looking straight out of 1960 or whatever era they choose. This April I attended Dapper Day and finding the right outfit was a bit of a challenge. **This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase after clicking on those links we will be compensated. All opinions are our own**
My love of polka dots led me straight to creating my version of Minnie Mouse.
My first destination was *Mod Cloth. They have so many retro vintage look items. I wanted something 50s or 60s and after a little searching I found the perfect pink polka dot dress ON SALE. It had every element I was looking for. The petticoat I purchased t to go under it was also from Mod Cloth. I did order slightly off and messed up the delivery time and the sizing just little. (more…)
Having just returned from our honeymoon in Mexico, I thought this would be the perfect time to post some tips for planning a destination wedding from my personal experience as a destination bride. I am not a wedding expert, but I can give some good tips from one former bride to a current one!
My husband and I got married December 2015 at a destination wedding in Breckenridge, CO. I will forever love our brilliant idea to get married in a beautiful white chapel with the background of a snowy wonderland and amazing winter sports. As much fun as a destination wedding is, planning any wedding is not usually as simple as picking a location and inviting your friends. Whatever you destination dreams are, you can make it happen. Here are my tips for planning your dream wedding.
Some people will come and some people won’t come! It makes no difference if your wedding is in your backyard or in Tahiti. You might have a significantly smaller wedding if it is a destination, but the return RSVPs might surprise you. We had over 80 people attend our winter Colorado wedding (neither of us are from or have family from Colorado). When we sent the invitations out we weren’t sure if more than our immediate family would come. It turned out that a few of our immediate family couldn’t come and likely they wouldn’t have been able to come no matter where our wedding was. Moral of the story, have your wedding when and where you want it whether or not it works for anyone else and invite the people you want to be there.
I understand your confusion. I just said have your wedding when and where you want, but here me out. Planning a wedding in 6 months can be a nightmare in itself, but it’s also really selfish for a destination wedding. If the majority of your guests live more than an hour away from where you wedding is and need to travel, hotels, etc give them at least 10 months notice. I mean (more…)
I am so excited to announce The Pike’s Place will be running at the Walt Disney World Wine & Dine Marathon Weekend this fall. This will be my first 10k and I have just started training. One of the many wonderful things about running a Disney event is the training courses offered online. Anyone can visit the RunDisney website and download the program, even if you aren’t doing a race! The Wine & Dine 10k training program is an 18 week course designed by Olympic athlete Jeff Galloway for Disney. It comes complete with a schedule and guide on how to train for any level runner. Technically, I should have started my training last week, but we were on our fantastic honeymoon. I started training this week instead.
You can follow along here or on our Instagram page as I train for the race. Keep an eye out for more race updates, a few DIY projects and of course a complete coverage of race weekend come November! Remember to keep going.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BILCML_D0ns/?taken-by=thepikesplace
Packing for a vacation is my least favorite part. I worry about, overthink it and then either over or under pack. Here is a list things I took on our honeymoon to Mexico. Pack things you think you may need. Even if you don’t wind up using them, you won’t waste a second of your trip searching for antacids, toothpaste, or a band aide. In addition, the markup at the gift shop for those items will make you very angry once you realize you can buy the travel size at home for less than a dollar. Bonus Tip: Recently, my husband and I’s luggage was lost by the airline on our way to Europe. I will be carrying on as much as possible from now on, especially toiletries!
****Items with a star went in my carry on
Off to honeymoon we go! Mexican sandy beaches, crystal azul waters, rich history and delicious food awaits us in the beautiful Riveria Maya. After an early flight, we will land in Cancun and drive down to one of the all inclusive resorts along the coast. We can’t wait to tell you all about our trip from where we stayed, played and dined to what we brought with us, including some DIY items such as the honeymoon tumblers we posted last week, and why we chose Mexico for our honeymoon. Follow us on Instagram @thepikesplace for live updates about the trip or check back here for full posts about our travels!
Adios y vio con dios!
We recently relocated from Nashville, TN to the Midwest. Since moving, we have been trying to explore as much of the area as possible. St. Louis makes a great weekend trip and there’s so much more to see and do than I ever imagined before visiting. Here’s 20 things to see in Saint Louis.
1. Check out a Cardinals Game – Bring on the baseball. St. Louis loves their team and the baseball stadium is top notch. There isn’t a bad (more…)
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