Going HOME!

TOMORROW is CLUB 33/DISNEYLAND DAY!!! I am SO SO SO SO SO excited!!! I am also excited because tomorrow is my nephew's FIRST birthday!!! My sister's ex-in-laws are taking him to Disneyland also, so he gets to come and have lunch with as at Club 33 for his birthday! What a great way to spend your first trip to Disneyland, on your first birthday at Club 33. The little man doesn't know how lucky he is!!

I can't believe he's going to be ONE!! Time flies, it really does. I wish he lived closer so I can watch him grow. My sister sends me pictures all the time of him, and he changes everyday. He's even walking now!! I think I mentioned that before though. Here is a picture of him standing!!

I leave tonight at 6:30pm and land in L.A. at 10:49pm. My sister and my dad are picking me up from the airport, I can't wait till I get out of work today!!

I don't have much else planned for the week except for Austin's birthday party Saturday! Friday my best friend, Becky,  that I've known for over 20 years is coming down from San Diego to come and see me! I can't wait! She was also a bridesmaid in our wedding.

And at some point, I am going to try to see my other bestie Alexis, whom I've known for over 10 years, also a bridesmaid in our wedding!

I can't wait to see everyone!! I'm really sad that Daniel won't be coming with me though. Can my heart ever fully be in one place??

I hope everyone has a nice week and weekend!!



Disneylove!!

So, I'm not sure if I've mentioned before just how big of a Disney lover I am. Yes, I love Mickey Mouse and something about the silhouette of his ears spark a whole bunch of little kid excitement in my heart.... But not only JUST Mickey and all of the adorable characters, I love the history of it all. The legacy of Walt Disney, what kind of person he was, the amazing idea of Disneyland and how extravagant it is, is also what draws me to the entire Disney phenomenon.


I love to hear about all of the fun facts and little secrets about Disneyland and Disney movies. I've been addicted to reading all about the Hidden Mickey's from various websites and blogs. Some things are so secretive, it really just draws me in. It's so fascinating!


I am not sure how many people have been to Disneyland or have heard of the elite "members only club" that Disneyland holds, but located discretely in New Orleans Square sits Club 33. This historical 5 star restaurant is not open to the public.


You must be a member of the club in order to dine there, or have a member of the club make reservations for you. The membership waiting list is a long one, rumored to be a wait of over 14 years. There have been rumors circling that the waiting list has since been closed. There is limited membership of only 437 members and apparently, the cost to get a membership to the club is extremely pricey. Some blogs quoted an average of $25,000 just to be a member, along with $6,000 in annual fees!!

 Club 33 Logo

Being and Disney lover and having known about Club 33 and it’s mystique, I was 100% sure my experience of Club 33 would be fictional. Where would I ever be able to meet someone that was a member and liked me enough to present me with the opportunity to dine at Club 33?

A co-worker of mine, one of the managers of the company I work for, grew up in Inglewood, California. He lives in Rochester now with his family. A few years ago he was given the opportunity to have reservations made for him by a vendor of our company who was a Club 33 member. Knowing I was a fan and that I would know of the place, he came to me with his news. I was so excited for him because I know how rare the invitation is! He came back from his trip and told me his experience of the place; how amazing it was, how great the food and hospitality is and gave me a Club 33 pen! I can honestly tell you, I was ecstatic! I was 100% sure that would be the extent of my experience of Club 33, holding this little black pen with the Club 33 logo on it. Just knowing the club itself was real, and I owned a piece of it, I was thrilled! 

Now 2 years later, I’ve been given an opportunity of my own. I KNOW!!!!

My step dad, GOD LOVE HIM, knew that for mine and my sisters birthday my mom was taking us to Disneyland when I go home next week. Little did I know, he had been trying to get us reservations to dine at Club 33 during our trip to Disneyland! Seriously, just the fact that he thought about it and was trying was enough for me. Seriously, the most thoughtful thing ever!

I got the call yesterday morning from my mom. Her usual early morning birthday call is around 9am my time, 6am her time. We had our normal chit chat, and then she casually told me about how my step dad was trying to get us lunch reservations at Club 33… I was like "um…… say that again?" I for sure was thinking the Blue Bayou Restaurant, also a popular, but less exclusive restaurant in Disneyland. “Club 33, as in the members only Disneyland club?”… "Yes!" She said.

I was now sure that THIS would be the extent of my Club 33 dining opportunity. Even then, it would be enough for me.

Then last night Daniel and I were driving to my favorite Mexican joint for my 3^rd birthday dinner. I got a text and I handed the phone over to him for him to read cause I was driving. We were literally in the middle of a conversation about Club 33 and how my step dad was trying to get us reservations for our day at Disneyland. He read the text, looked at me and smiled. He goes, “Are you ready for this?” and then he read me the text

“Hey birthday girl! Club 33 at 12:30pm, Wednesday the 28^th! Whoo hoo!”

Tears welled up in my eyes and I just kept saying “Omigod, omigod, omigod” I had to pull over so Daniel could drive. I. KID. YOU. NOT. I called my mom immediately and she proceeded to read me the following email confirming the reservations.

The reservation for Club 33 is confirmed under: Gina XXXXXX for 3 adults (& a 12 month baby) for 12:30pm on Wednesday, September 28th.

             Approx cost is the same as an Adult Admission Ticket – $75 plus Tax & Grat - Parking not included                   

Club 33 has Dan XXXX's cell phone as a contact number. 

Below is general information re: Club 33 usage and the cancellation policy.

Guest passes will be at Guest Relations.  Due to construction, Guest Relations is now located at Ticket Booth # 8 (closest to front gate after passing through Security).   Passes will be in your name (you will need picture ID). You are the only one permitted to pick up the passes.  Passes are available when the park opens so you can enjoy the park prior to and after dining. (You can park hop with the passes).  

Club 33 is located near the Pirates of the Caribbean and French Quarter. There's a door that has 33 on it and all you need to do is knock on the door and they will let you in. If you can't find it, ask someone who works at Disney and they will assist you.

Also, just a heads up, if for any reason you are not able to make the reservation, you must cancel 24 hrs in advance…otherwise you will be responsible for the cost of 3 adult park hopper passes PLUS $100 cancellation fee. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS; IT IS A CLUB 33 RULE. You can call Club 33 at XXX-XXX-XXXX to cancel reservations.  This telephone number is for cancellations only; Club 33 will not change time, date, etc. (If you do cancel, get a name as a confirmation.) If you need to cancel less than 24 hours in advance due to an emergency/illness; call Club 33 and let them know the situation it may save you some $$$.

Club 33 Dress Code --- We recently received a letter from Club 33 reminding members about the Dress Code. In the future, members/guests will not be seated if they are not in compliance with the dress code. Club 33 will now contact the Corporate Member informing them of the dress code violation. Repeated violations may result in the loss of the privilege of guests dining at Club 33 without the Corporate Member present. Robert XXXXXX is our Corporate Member.

Dinner -- Adults (& Older Children---12+)

Evening casual attire is acceptable for dinner.

Gentlemen: Collared shirts and trousers are appropriate (polo shirts are fine)

Women: Informal dress or pants with blouse are appropriate. Skirts should end no shorter than knee.

No flip flops or sandals resembling flip flops or Birkenstocks.

Lunch -- Adults (& Older Children---12+)

Fashionable casual attire is recommended in order to enjoy the Disneyland Resort in comfort.

No tank tops, cutoffs, swimsuits, bare midriffs, sweatpants, or beachwear may be worn.

Walking length shorts are acceptable. Jeans are acceptable, provided that they cover undergarments and are not extremely faded or torn.

No flip flops or sandals resembling flip flops or Birkenstocks. 

Children

Appropriate dress for children should be in keeping with standards set for adults.

A common question is whether shorts or short pants are acceptable. Shorts or short pants are acceptable for Lunch only and not for Dinner.

I am seriously beside myself with excitement. I never thought I would ever get the opportunity to even step foot in this place, let alone eat there! I am so blessed, I kept asking God what I did right to be able to be given the opportunity! I must have done something right!

If you’re not a Disney fan or have never heard of Club 33, you may not understand the excitement I’m feeling at this moment, and most likely never will, but that’s totally ok! You don't have to! I guarantee you, I feel enough excitment for all of us.

I can’t wait to share my experience with you all! In the meantime, here are some photo’s taken of Club 33 from another’s experience.

Photo credits go to Disney Food Blog

The door to Club 33, very hidden within the streets of New Orleans Square in Disneyland

             The French Lift brought from Europe by request of Walt Disney, this is still operable!

Ornate stair case leading to the dining area

The infamous Trophy Room with decor touches from Walt Disney himself!

Ok, I'll leave you with that and update you with my own photo's from my own experience!!! I am so thrilled to be able to be given this opportunity!!! Thank you, Mom and Dan!!!



Birthday love!

Today I turned 26.... I don't feel any older, but I have to say; this has been one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time. Saturday we went to dinner with good friends to Joe's Crab Shack! So yum! They finally opened one up next to us and we got to go. It was an hour and a half wait, but it was SO worth it. The food was amazing and I've always loved the atmosphere there.

Then Sunday my in laws took me to dinner with Daniel, my brother in law and his girlfriend. We went to a new restaurant that opened up in Greece, NY called Kobe. It’s a sushi/hibachi place. It was EXCELLENT! The food, the show, the service, and even the birthday song was amazing! They served me their tempura which is I guess just a fancy name for fried iced cream, just what these hips need.

Tonight Daniel is taking me to my favorite Mexican restaurant called Monte Albon. It’s the best Mexican place I’ve found so far in Rochester. Don’t get me wrong, nothing will ever compare to the Mexican places back at home, but this is close enough to fill the void. It’s very tasty and very well priced!

On Saturday night when Daniel got home from work, he showered while I was getting ready to go to dinner and told me to stay in my room. When he told me to come out, I came out and found this on the table:

I was so excited! I love the fall colors of the flowers!! Fall is my favorite!! And he got me a Pandora bracelet!! I’ve been wanting one for so long now! He got me a dog charm to remember Lacie by. It made me happy, but I cried. So now I have something else to remember her by! It was very thoughtful of him. My friend Jenn got me a purse charm with a cute little pink rhinestone on it, my brother in law and his girlfriend got me a cute one with a pink flower, and I went and bought myself one with a blue sapphire for my nephew’s birthstone, which is also my birthstone and my sister’s birthstone, so I was super excited about that! I’m starting my little collection now, I love it!

I’m so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people!

This weekend, I did some shopping with my friend Jenn. I got a couple new pairs of jeans, a cute fall zip up jacket, a few new fall sweaters and a pair of sunglasses from Charming Charlie. I got some yummy new fall scents from Bath and Body Works. Cranberry Woods is my new fave! I got it in a car scent, now my car smells super yummy! Leaves is also a really good fall scent that I got in an oil along with a pretty oil burner for the fall!

I also purchased these boots this weekend online as another birthday present to myself. I've been waiting for these to come out, I've been DYING for some mid calf cognac boots, I am SO excited to get them in the mail! They had good reviews. I got them from Kohl's and they have a good return policy so I took a shot. I also got $10 in Kohl's cash for spending over $50.

I also got my Halloween costume from the website! Daniel agreed to do Meg and Hercules! Although he says he's going to be King Leonidas from 300 and my costume could be Queen Gorgo, but I beg to differ.

That's it for now, I'll leave you with this picture taken exactly 23 years ago today:

Have a blessed day!!



Weekend Fun!

Daniel and I had a great time at our friends, Cheryl and Ryan's wedding. She made such a beautiful bride! Her dress was gorgeous! It was beautiful weather and it was great to see some people I hadn't seen in forever. I also got to meet some people that Daniel went to high school with, which is always interesting! Here are some pictures from the wedding:
                      

                                                   

Daniel and I at the reception

Me and the beautiful bride!

First dance

Weddings are always SO much fun. I got to do the Cupid Shuffle which I always enjoy. This time Daniel came out to the dance floor with me to do it, it was a ton of fun. I think I had a little too much wine. Oops!

Her bridesmaid dresses were really pretty. I was actually glad she chose the dresses she chose because I had my eye on one of them for a while for the Marine Corps Ball that Daniel and I are going to in November. This was the dress that I was dead set on getting:

It's gorgeous in the front, however the back I'm not a huge fan of. The shoulder strap sort of turns into a long piece of fabric that just hangs and looks a little awkward from behind. I was wondering why every dress in this line on the David's Bridal website had an image of the back, except this one. Figures! But another dress that I did get to see in person was this one, which I think I am leaning more towards now. (I am keeping the color, cause I love that color!) I think it'll look good with Daniel's dress blues (if he ends up wearing them) and it's a good fall color!

It's so pretty! I feel it might be a little more flattering too cause of my curves. Who knows, once I go and try them all on, I might completely change my mind all together and go with something totally different! Which leads me to my next topic: My Halloween costume! I completely changed my mind!

Originally I wanted to be Dorothy.... but I think I want to go with something I'll be a little more comfortable in. If you really know me, you know that I HATE to show my legs, and I found an even cuter costume that I don't have to sacrifice my self consciousness for! Ladies........... behold:

An Olympic Goddess.... but I am going to turn it more into Meg from Disney's Hercules!!!! I really really hope Daniel will go for a couple costume with me this year because the Hercules costume is just to die for!

MINUS the wig of course.... gross.... But I'm going to propose the idea to him tonight, we'll see how he takes it. I might even manipulate my words a little and tell him its the main characters from 300, his favorite movie, but we'll see how this goes. He's usually not into any kind of cheesy couple costume to begin with so I may just be doing this solo, but that's ok, cause I have some REALLY cute ideas for this costume. I'm so excited!!

That's all for now! I hope every one's week started out well!



Friday Bloggin'

TGIF! It's been a short week, but a long week too!

I'm excited for the weekend! Tomorrow we have our friends wedding that I get to wear my new dress to! (Mentioned here)

I also am hosting a Thirty One party at my house tomorrow morning. A few of my friends are coming over to shop and drink mimosa's, yum! I did an early party on purpose so that I had an excuse to serve them. I love them! They are the perfect little drink to wake you up in the morning and get you feeling good. I swear I'm not an alcoholic! Lol.

Ok so make up tips: This past weekend I learned a fab make up tip from my friend Jenn! So you know how sometimes when you get a new thing of mascara or yours is running out, you tend to get super big clumps in your eyelashes when applying it? Sorta like this?

But you want to know how you can get it like this?

                                                          

Then I've got the trick for you.

You'll need a few sheets of these:

An empty mascara bottle (I use Maybelline Colossal Mascara)

Just take the brush, clean it with your make up removing wipes, till it looks like this:

Please excuse my un-manicured nails.

Now you can do 1 of 2 things. The first being use this little handy tool before you put your mascara on to make sure your lashes are brushed through, or you can use it after you put your mascara on to get the clumpies out. I've been doing both, but I've been noticing that if I use this before I apply mascara, then I usually don't need it afterwards..... snazzy heh??? Jenn got it from Cosmo, so thanks Cosmo!!

On another note, something I'm loving lately: Glade Cashmere Woods Room Spray! Holy moly does this stuff smell amazing! Daniel and I were at Wegman's grocery shopping last night and we had a coupon for it, so we figured, why not? I sprayed it in the bathroom and let me tell you, in seconds my nose was in smell heaven!

I sprayed that sucker all over the house! Being a fall scent, I was surprised Daniel liked it. His nose is very picky, especially when it comes to fall. He doesn't like the spicy scents (of course they are my fave!) so I have trouble finding good fall smells that don't make him gag. He approved on this one! I am in loooove. Go get it!!

                             

Ok, well I think that's all for now! Happy Friday everyone!

Um, hello Body Central!

So I get this in the mail yesterday:

It's just sitting on my dining room table yelling "Open me, open me!" So I opened it.

Um, where have you been all my life, Body Central??

I've never even heard of this company before and I'm already in love. I'm a bigger girl so lets hope the sizes don't run too small, it would break my heart! Look at how cute this is!

AND THIS

AND THIS!!

AND THE SHOES, OMIGOD THE SHOES!!

Get a load of these babies......

UM, YES PLEASE!!

And get this! Everything is around 25-30 bucks, including the shoes! Um, sold. I'm going to order a few of my faves and I'll let you know how the quality is!

PS. Am I just late to the party while everyone else is already sporting these amazing finds?? Please say no.



Heaven is for Real!

I just finished "Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back." This book was recommended to me by my mom. It's a story about a little boy that gets so sick, almost dies, goes to heaven, and lives to tell about it.

It's Heaven from a 4 year old's point of view. I must say, it's absolutely riveting.  A complete must read. I almost felt like I was cheating reading it! Being alive and having little glimpses of heaven, it's UNREAL.

I was had to re-read certain sentences from the book to make sure I was reading things right. I'm not going to give anything away, you need to go get it! READ IT! Ready, go.





Labor Day Getaway

This weekend was an absolute blast! Our friend Colleen and her boyfriend Chris invited Daniel, Jenn, Rich and I to Chris' parents lake house on Seneca Lake. It was absolutely beautiful. His parents were super nice and we ate really well! We went on their boat a few times, which if you know me, made my entire month! I LOVE LOVE LOVE being on boats and doing anything beach/lake related. So much fun! Here are some pictures I snapped over the weekend:

View of the doc

Jenn and I

Pics of the lake

My handsome husband

It was SO much fun. For breakfast one morning we had Side Pork Bacon, DELISH! Colleen and Chris also made us bbuckwheat applesauce pancakes with homemade maple syrup!! OMG! They were SERIOUSLY the best pancakes I've ever eaten in my life.

You just get buckwheat pancake mix and put in 1 cup of applesauce to every 2 cups of pancake mix. How simple is that?? They were SO amazing. They served it with cut up bananas and mango! I didn't snap a picture though unfortunately, but I'm going to try to make them myself soon!

During our stay we did visit The Windmill which is a HUGE outdoor/indoor market. They sell everything from produce to jams, mustard's, BBQ sauces, wines, kitchen gadgets, jewelry, so many things! Lots of the little booths are run by Mennonite families, what a different culture! They're so interesting to see. I know their regular people, but it's so interesting to see how differently they live their lives than we do. You can tell the women are working women, their hands were so muscular! Jenn and I are talking about going back once Fall hits. We can't get enough! I bought some flavored pasta, it was a little expensive ($8 for a lb) but it smelled SO GOOD! I got a half a lb of Roasted Garlic and Basil and a half lb of Roasted Onion and Garlic, I can't wait to make it!! I also got a really pretty ring handmade with a "Cancer" sign on it. I didn't like the Virgo one so I got Daniel's sign instead of my own. (Is it weird that every man I've ever dated is a Cancer? I don't really follow astrology like that, but it's kinda funny.)

We also did some wine tasting at the local wineries along Seneca Lake. One of them was call Four Chimney's winery. It's the first organic winery every in the US. I bought a red semi dry wine called "Eye of the Bee." Tasted SO GOOD! They said that because they're organic grapes and low in sulfates, you won't get a "wine hangover' cause Lord knows those are the worst! There's virtually no hangover with organic wines! I also bought a couple other wines including "Jammin Red" from Glenora Winery and William Vigne from Fulkerson Winery. I'm a sucker for the sweet ones!

All in all, it was a super fun weekend! Daniel and I have decided that if if ever won the lottery, we're going to buy a boat, jet ski's and a house on the lake! Wishful thinking, I know. A girl can dream!

Summer Lovin'

So I'm a little sad that summer is slowly ending. Normally, I'm no the kind of girl to love summer. I know, I know, growing up in California every girl is a summer girl. Believe me, I loved Summer in California. Rochester however, is a completely different story. You see, we have this thing called humidity in Rochester. In California (where I lived in the South Bay) we had a nice ocean breeze on a hot day. This summer didn't seem to bad for me though. I actually enjoyed all of the hot days! I'm not gonna lie though, Fall is my absolute favorite season and it's fast approaching. I couldn't be more excited.

With Summer slowly coming to an end, we're getting all of our Summer trips under wraps. We went and visited our friends from our Honeymoon, Whore-Hey and Carolina, in Toronto last weekend. We had an absolute blast. I swear to you, all we did was eat, shop and laugh the entire time. It's the kind of laugh that comes straight from your belly so I was sure to be burning some of those amazing calories I was consuming. Our friends are Portuguese and let me tell you, they can COOK. There was not one time during the entire trip that we went hungry. And everything that we ate was AMAZING. Being in Canada, we always try to go to the places that we don't have in the States. Harvey's burger joint was one of them. They served Poutine there! I don't know if you've ever heard of Poutine, but it's a French dish that's very popular. It's just french fries with gravy and melted cheese on top. We figured, eh, let's try it. We're in Canada, let's do it. Let me tell you, I am so glad we did, it was AH-MAY-ZING. So so so good! Look at this yummy goodness:

Doesn't that look so delish?? It was, and you better believe I am going to attempt to make that. Who knows how it'll turn out, probably not as good as Harvey's Poutine, but I am determined.

We did lots and lots of shopping in Canada too. Carolina and Whore-Hey along with their family, were laughing at us because of how much shopping we did. They said "We go to the States to shop and you come here! Why would you want to pay our taxes when you can get it in the States for cheaper?" They do have a good point, but for some reason I feel they have more variety there! The taxes are worth it to me. Even Daniel did some hardcore shopping, and let me tell you, this man HATES/DESPISES/LOATHES shopping. He shopped every day all day the entire weekend! It did help that they had a Bass Pro Shops, something they do have in the States, but it's about an hours drive from us. We got lots and lots of goodies.

On another note, can you believe it's September already??? I love this month, not only because it's my birthday month (I'll be 26 on the 19th! YIKES!) But also because it's always filled with so many fun things! This weekend for Labor Day we'll be going to Seneca Lake at staying at our friend Chris's cottage with his girlfriend Colleen (great friends) and Jenn and her husband Rich as well. The weather looks like it will be somewhat rainy, but hopefully we'll get a few good days of sunshine so we can take the boat out! If you know me, one thing that I love the most is a day on the water. I can seriously spend forever in a boat, a jet ski or even at a cottage BY water. I love love love love water. I love to swim, tan, be pulled on a raft by a flying boat, everything water related is so much fun to me!! So needless to say, I'm beside myself with excitement for this weekend. Hopefully the weather holds out!

That's it for now! I hope everyone has a fabulous Labor Day weekend! Happy end of Summer!