dapper day!

It took me a little longer than I anticipated to finally get this posted! Oops! I came home early Monday morning and found out that one of the cats had used my bed as a litter box while I was away :( I slept on the floor and then went to IKEA when I woke up to get a new mattress and replace some of my pillows. Luckily the majority of my handmade pillows weren't in the path of destruction but it was still quite the mess to come home to! I'm just really glad that we're having nice weather here at the moment so I can keep my windows wide open to air out my room.

Anyway! While one of the cats was making a mess of my bed at home, I was off in Disney World having fun at Dapper Day. I enjoyed this SO much. I think I want to plan my vacations around Dapper Day from now on so I can participate every year!! It was so fun getting dressed up (more than usual) and seeing all of the other people who got dressed up too!



I actually ordered a vintage dress just for the occasion but when it arrived it was a tad bit too big, so I rummaged through my closet and found this hidden in the back. I don't think I've worn it in years but it was so perfect for Dapper Day! It's actually a new dress but I think it definitely looks vintage in person. It has really intricate beautiful embroidery along the hem, an attached crinoline and fantastic construction.



I'm one of those people who has a hard time wearing white because I *always* stain it immediately. Case in point -- before we even left our hotel in the morning, I already had chocolate on my gloves. And lipstick. I folded them down to try to conceal it, but by the end of the day I'd gotten more lipstick on the fingers (I forgot I was wearing the gloves when I popped gum in my mouth) so I just gave up on trying to hide it. I also spilled chocolate mousse on my dress so I guess it's a good thing I *wasn't* wearing the vintage one after all!



I'm so head over heels in love with this hat. I found it on etsy and just knew it would work perfect with my braided hairstyle! I think I might wear hats more often now, they're such a beautiful accessory but it hardly ever occurs to me to wear them!



Kyle only brought one backpack on the train so he couldn't pack his suit (he likes getting dressed up just as much as I do!) but he brought a dress shirt and tie instead. He's actually wearing basketball shorts and sneakers here but he made me take the picture from the waist up.



I also met up with my friend Sally who had the most adorable Disneybound Mary Poppins Dapper Day outfit! I wish I had gotten a close-up photo of her hat, it was adorable! I'm going to write more about this later, but Sally published her first book this month and it is SO SO good!! It's available as a Kindle download on amazon here and I highly recommend it!

dress - dorothy perkins | bag, gloves and hat - vintage | shoes - thrifted

sunglasses - forever 21 | necklace and belt - from my grandmom

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flamingo pink

Yesterday we went to Animal Kingdom and I got to see some flamingos! I think they might be my favorite animal (aside from cats, of course!) They're just so pink and pretty, and I love how they stand on one leg to sleep, with their head turned backwards and buried in their feathers.

It's amazing how fast this vacation flew by. Tomorrow night I'll be on my way home already! I am looking forward to seeing my kitties though. It's funny how I get so used to seeing them that when I'm away I constantly mistake little lumps of clothing or objects laying on the floor for cats. My mom's purse looked SO much like Chloe the other day! I didn't have my glasses on, so that probably accounts for the striking similarity, but it was still pretty cool ;)

Today is Dapper Day so I'm about to get all dolled up and head over to Hollywood Studios! Kyle packed a shirt and tie in his suitcase but forgot to bring dress pants so he's wearing basketball shorts and sneakers with this dress clothes lol!

dress - forever 21 | shoes - payless | backpack - kmart | sunglasses - nordstrom

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candy dots

This dress has little dots on it that look like those candy drops that come on strips of paper. I love those! I thought it was fitting then to take my picture outside of the Main Street candy shoppe in the Magic Kingdom :) Although I guess you can't really tell based on how I chose the backdrop haha! I think I was more interested in whatever background had less people swarming behind me than whatever looked most like a candy store..

My brother is actually coming down to stay with us for the rest of the trip! He'll be here in about an hour and stay for the next 3 days. I think it'll be fun having him along. Although I might end up with Kyle-fatigue since we're also going on a mini-road trip at the beginning of October lol :)

I got a few comments the last couple days mentioning Dapper Day and I just wanted to say I am going and I already have an outfit prepared! yay! I am SO excited about it!! I found out Dapper Day coincided with my trip a few days after I booked it and I was over the moon happy. The funny thing is that I have a bunch of really pretty vintage dresses that I never get to wear and I ended up going with something new after all. I have some vintage accessories though so I guess it evens out. I'll definitely take outfit photos and post them on Sunday!! :)

dress - modcloth | lace jacket - vintage | saddle shoes - payless | bag - kmart

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smells like disney spirit

Yesterday was mostly rainy, but we still had a fantastic time at Epcot. I know I go on about this, but... FOOD. I got a vegan beef dish with jasmine rice at Seasons for lunch and had vegetarian grilled fake chicken at the Liberty Inn, and both were out of this world. I wish more places back home offered vegetarian options, I usually get saddled with an assortment of potato side dishes or a salad at most restaurants.

Can we talk about my backpack for a second? I've wanted a smiley face backpack since I was like 8 years old. I remember seeing them in elementary school and practically begging my mom to let me get one, but somehow I never did. Recently I started seeing those 90's bags pop up on etsy (usually for outrageous prices like $100+!) and all those pangs of smiley face lust came rushing back. So, a few weeks ago I was at k-mart buying Despicable Me toys (as you do) when I saw it. One single smiley face backpack on clearance for $15. IT WAS FATE. I was there with my dad and I'm pretty sure he was sincerely concerned for my mental well-being, I was just SO excited about this bag.

It's one of those things where you kind of wish you could go back in time and tell your 8 year old self that you have it. She'd be so ecstatic!! That happened again on Tuesday when I found a hair brush at a story here in Disney World that was shaped like a giant fork. It says "dinglehopper" on it! (You know, when Scuttle teaches Ariel in The Little Mermaid that forks are used for brushing your hair and that they're called Dinglehoppers) I just had to get it. I almost wish I could air-mail it to the past and make childhood me so happy!

pinafore - c/o dahlia | saddle shoes - payless | backpack - kmart | shirt - f21

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disney day one

I know what you're thinking -- "how did she bring her bedroom and her cat to Florida?!" but actually I took this picture on Sunday, before we left. Yesterday we set out for the airport around 4:30am and then went straight to Disney World when we arrived at our hotel. I was going to take a shower but I accidentally packed all my shower accoutrements in my checked baggage which hadn't showed up in my room yet. So I just went to the Magic Kingdom a tired, sloppy, slightly dirty mess. I still had an absolute blast but I'm not sharing any photos just yet ;)

Last night we went to the Disney World halloween party and it was so much fun! I dressed up like a cat (it was actually a horrible last minute costume but of course my default would be cat.) I had wanted to dress as Mary Poppins but I thought guests weren't allowed to have Disney character costumes (so you don't get confused with the paid actors) but it turned out like 50% of the women there were in full princess regalia. Darn it! Well, at least I know for next time.

As usual for me, so far I'm just obsessed with the food. The quinoa salad at Be Our Guest was phenomenal (definitely trying to recreate it at home when I get back) and I was reunited with my beloved Dole Whip in Adventureland. *sigh* Today we're off to Epcot where tons of scrumptious International cuisine awaits me. Hooray!

Oh, and I did upgrade to an annual pass! Thanks for the advice in my last post!! :)

dress & cardigan - forever 21 | shoes - asos | tie - flapper girl | cat - arrietty

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spaghetti à la lady and the tramp

In Disney World we ate at the Lady and the Tramp-themed Tony's Town Square Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. Most of the items on the menu included meat or cheese (which I don't eat) so I asked our server if I could have a spaghetti dish that combined ingredients used in some of the meat dishes. He had the chef visit our table (Disney is super accommodating, by the way, if you have any kind of special diet. I was very impressed!) and he put together one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had! I made a humble recreation this week and thought I'd share the recipe!

First snap the asparagus (you bend the asparagus so it snaps in the middle and only keep the tops) and then chop those up into bite-sized pieces. Spread them on a greased cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then roast at 350' for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil water for spaghetti. In a frying pan, combine some extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 can of drained and rinsed chick peas (in Disney I had pine nuts instead, but now that I'm home with access to my beloved garbanzo beans I had to include them!) chopped garlic (to taste -- I'm a little heavy-handed with the garlic myself) and 1/4 c. chopped sundried tomatoes. Let those simmer on low heat until the spaghetti and asparagus are done, and then combine. Then eat it all quickly before any family members notice that you cooked...

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tale as old as time

I saved my number one Disney princess for last -- Belle! It's actually one of my least favorite outfits that I put together, but maybe I just felt too much pressure trying to recreate my favorite and my brain couldn't handle it (at least that's the excuse I'm going to use.)

I can't believe tomorrow I'll be back home, back to the regular grind. This vacation was over much too quickly, but I'm looking forward to seeing my kitties again. I'm still having a really rough time missing Hypatia like crazy but my trip definitely helped lift my spirits a bit and reminded me that there are some things in life I can still enjoy and look forward to when everything else seems bleak. I love that Disney has that effect on me... I know some people outgrow its magic but I'm glad that it still cheers me up and comforts me so much when I'm blue :)

shirt - vintage | skirt - forever 21 | shoes - modcloth | belt - vintage

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tranquil as a forest, but on fire within

This is my favorite of all my Disney outfits! It's not exactly like what Mulan really wore, but I think it reflects the shapes and simplicity and general color palette. I was eleven when the movie came out (dating myself a bit here..) and Belle and Ariel were already set in stone as my top two favorite Disney girls ever, but Mulan has always been really close to tying with them. Honestly if I wasn't so sentimental about The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast being such a huge part of my childhood, she'd probably be number one. I just love her character and the movie so much!

dress - h&m | pinafore - c/o dahlia | belt - modcloth | shoes - c/o oasap

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when there's a smile in your heart

I know this pretty much looks like a regular outfit I'd wear normally but I swear it was inspired by Tinkerbell lol. The white bow and the lace jacket reminded me a little of her wings, and this green was the closest I could get to her dress color (I always thought I had too many green dresses but once you take out all the mint ones there isn't much left, ha!)

I'm typing this post from my hotel room in Disney World! I was able to schedule Wendesday-Saturday from the plane but then we landed and I didn't get to finish up the rest of the posts until this morning :) I'm having such a nice time. We're really taking it easy and not rushing around the parks like we're usually inclined to do when vacationing here. And I'm eating so much food. SO much. When I get back I might need to write a post just about the food :)

Oh and yesterday I sat down near the pool and wrote out all of my postcards for my sweet and lovely orders, and then dropped them in the mailbox at the Magic Kingdom! So they're on their way!! I think there are still 9 coupon code uses left if anyone wants a postcard :) Details are in this post.

dress- h&m | lace jacket - vintage | shoes - c/o bait footwear

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life is the bubbles

Ariel is my second favorite princess, and honestly while I'm in Disney World I'd probably be perfectly happy if the only ride that I went on during my entire trip was the Little Mermaid one. It's so good!! I love seeing little girls going on the ride in their Ariel costumes, holding their Ariel dolls. I just imagine how much I would have flipped out over the ride if it had been around when I went to Disney World as a kid.

I actually layered two shirts under this dress, one with sleeves but no collar and one with a collar but no sleeves, and I love how it turned out! And I had to wear my favorite green shoes on my... whaddaya call them? Oh, feet. (is that too corny? haha!)

dress- asos | shoes - c/o bait footwear | headband - h&m

short sleeve lilac shirt & lilac collared shirt - modcloth | belt - asos

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a whole new world

This is probably the least me-ish outfit but I think it's sort of Jasmine-y? I don't usually wear jewelry very much, let alone really huge gold pieces like this, but I got it in a modcloth grab bag a couple years ago and have hung onto it for some reason... good thing because I think it ended up being exactly what this dress needed to Aladdinize it ;)

I got the dress on etsy for my Aunt Annie's 100th birthday party in 2011 and didn't end up wearing it (we went with a much more casual celebration and this was way too dressy) so it's just been hanging in my closet unworn ever since. I love it so much though, so it was nice to finally be able to break it out!

dress - vintage | belt - vintage | necklace - modcloth | shoes - modcloth

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with a smile and a song

This outfit is inspired by Snow White! I had so much fun putting this one together, and it was probably the easiest one to do since I have a lot of clothes in the colors she wears. These red flats are new since my trusty old red t-straps are getting a little too scuffed and worn out. So far they're really comfy and I think they'll be my new favorites :)



My favorite part of the outfit, though, is my little bird brooch! It was just SO perfect for the Snow White ensemble!! I got it on etsy last year from Tipsy Whimsey and it's ridiculously adorable.

sweater - old navy | skirt - modcloth | shirt - forever 21

shoes - asos | tie - flapper girl | brooch - tipsy whimsey

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a dream is a wish your heart makes

For my scheduled posts while I'm in Disney World I thought it would be neat to put together different outfits interpreting the looks of Disney movie princesses and heroines! I had SO much fun assembling these!! They're mostly very loose interpretations, since I'm obviously limited to what I have in my own wardrobe, but I love how all of them came out!

First up is Cinderella :D These shoes were actually what sparked the idea for these posts since they remind me so much of glass slippers!



I'm actually typing this on the plane!! I had so much to do yesterday that I never got around to writing up my posts. I didn't even get to sleep until 2:30am and then I had to wake up at 4:15! It might seem like a terrible way to start a vacation but I think I might need a nap when I get to the hotel! Actually maybe that's the *perfect* way to start a vacation :)

dress - asos | shoes - modcloth | brooch & gloves - vintage | headband - h&m

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