It's been a while since I did one of these roundup posts so I thought I would do it with some newer pieces! A couple pieces from pre-2017 also made the cut. We've got a mix of sweaters, jeans and one blouse. I'm a firm believer in wearing what you have and loving it to death. While some of these pieces are newer and haven't had the number of wears some other items in my closet have, they are well on their way! Gotta get that cost per wear down as far as it will go. Almost like a competition!
Our last Disney hotel recap was Pop Century Resort so it's only fitting that it's sister resort, Art of Animation, be next! AoA is another Value resort but it is on the higher end price-wise vs the other four. Art of Animation offers normal rooms as well as Family Suites, which can sleep up to 6 people versus 4 for standard rooms. Family suites are a great option for families with more than 2 kiddos, but they'll cost you upwards of $400 a night even with a deal.
This is my favorite of the value resorts but we often choose Pop Century because it's at least $20 cheaper a night. I'd rather more fun food than a slightly better hotel, ha ha! The theming is pure Disney nostalgia with Little Mermaid and Lion King sections as well as Finding Nemo and Cars.
The lobby is super fun and full of color, artist sketches and storyboards. Even if you don't stay here it's fun to come check out. In the lobby building "Animation Hall" you will find an arcade, gift shop and a very large food court, Landscape of Flavors, for all your meal needs. You can mobile order to go if you want to eat in your room. There is also a pool bar called The Drop Off near the main (Finding Nemo) pool.
As I already mentioned for Pop Century, the biggest perk of staying at Art of Animation is access to Disney's Skyliner in addition to buses. The Skyliner station is shared with Pop Century and will take you to EPCOT, Hollywood Studios or the other hotels on the Skyliner Route - Caribbean Beach & Riviera Resort.
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| View of the hotel from the Disney Skyliner |
We always stay in the Little Mermaid section because that's where the standard rooms are. The rest of the buildings are family suites. One day I'd love to stay in a Lion King family suite, they look so fun!
A quick video tour!
More photos:
Happy Disney hotel Thursday! Today we're visiting one of my most stayed at resorts, Disney's Pop Century Resort. I have stayed here three times out of my 12 hotel stays (some of those stays were split stays meaning I switched hotels during the trip.) Is it my favorite hotel? No. Is it convenient and cheap-ish? Yes!
Pop Century is one of Disney's "Value" resorts, meaning it is one of the cheaper options for those still wanting to stay on Disney property. The absolute cheapest options in the Value category are the 3 All Star Resorts (I'll be doing a post on All Star Movies in the future,) next comes Pop Century and finally Art of Animation. I personally prefer Art of Animation because of it's theming but most of the time end up at Pop Century because of the price point. It's usually at least $30 a night cheaper than AoA (Art of Animation) so I choose buying more tasty food over location.
The biggest perk of staying here is access to Disney's Skyliner in addition to buses. The Skyliner station is shared with Art of Animation and will take you to EPCOT, Hollywood Studios or the other hotels on the Skyliner Route (Caribbean Beach & Riviera Resort.) If we had a choice between most similar-priced hotels and a hotel with Skyliner, we'll choose a Skyliner resort. Obviously I will never turn down one of the deluxe resorts like Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk or Polynesian, but in our usual budget Skyliner access vs. buses only would be a deciding factor.
We usually get one of the two queen rooms which have one normal queen bed and a murphy bed that can be left as a table if you want to dine in your room. Then at night just fold it down and you've got a second bed. The beds feature artwork of Mickey and Pluto in Pop Art style.
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| Murphy Bed in the up position, creating a table |
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| Easily folding down the Murphy Bed |
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| The bed comes down fully made and ready for sleep! |
As the name suggests, each set of buildings is based on a decade within the last century and what was popular at that time. They actually only have the 50s through 90s. Disney was originally going to do another hotel with the earlier years ("Legendary Years" and the "Classic Years,") but that eventually became Art of Animation. The resort has 2,880 rooms in ten separate buildings, three pool areas, and one central building, named Classic Hall.
Classic Hall is where you'll find the lobby, souvenir shop, arcade, quick service dining and anything else you may need on your trip. The dining is pretty standard quick service - pizza, burgers, chicken, various breakfast options.
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| The shopping and dining are combined into the "Everything Pop" area |
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At Christmastime most hotels will get a tree and Pop Century is no different. On the trip I took this photo they had just put up the tree the night before we left, so that was a nice surprise. |
Below are some of the larger than life items from the latter half of the century. I only have photos of the 50s, 60s and 90s because that's where we've stayed. I never took the time to explore the rest of the grounds because our trips were always super packed, perhaps next time!
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| Bowling Pin staircases are used for the 1950s buildings |
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| Baloo and Mowgli statue in the middle of the 1960s buildings |
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| Mickey's main man Goofy hangs out in the 1960s |
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| The 1960s have huge Yo-Yos as their staircases |
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| A giant laptop is featured in the 1990s section |
It's Christmas Eve Eve and I still haven't decided what I'm wearing for all our Christmas celebrations. Now that we're all vaxxed and boosted we're having a more "normal" Christmas this year with a Christmas Eve celebration at my parents and Christmas Day at Grandmas.
I thought I would take a glance back at old Christmas looks to see if they spark some inspiration.
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| Christmas 2019 |
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| Christmas 2018 |
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| Christmas 2017 |
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| Christmas Eve 2017 |
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| Christmas 2016 |
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| Christmas Eve 2016 |
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| Christmas 2015 |
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| Christmas Eve 2015 |
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| Christmas Eve 2014 |
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| Christmas Eve 2013 |
It's been a while since an outfit has been on the blog so I decided to bring back the Then to Now series to share how I've worn some of my pieces over the years! Even though I've been working from home for over 5 years I've found it very hard to get dressed this past year. Before the virus I at least got dressed on the weekends or to go out to blogger dinners during the week.
These days I just want to stay in lounge-wear. When we do go out, it's just to drive to Target to get our "groceries" put in the trunk. We don't buy fresh product or meat right now because we stocked up on meat and froze it and Target doesn't have the best produce (I've gotten moldy onions and garlic when I tried - but they do have good sweet mini peppers!) We will run out of meat soon so maybe we'll actually go into a real grocery store to stock back up, ha ha. I DO get dressed to drive to Target because "what if I need to get out of the car for an emergency?" It's just not cute enough to make Christian take photos, ha ha.
Maybe this lack of getting dressed for 12+ months due to coronavirus will reignite my love for all my clothes and later this year (/after the vaccine) will be my best fashion year yet! It's just been hard to make myself get dressed when I know I won't be going anywhere.
Madewell Leather Pants
One of my favorite pairs of pants that sadly left my closet in 2016 after they ripped. I've still been hunting for a new pair but the ones I've found have been too much money. Maybe one day I'll find them for as good a price as when I originally bought them!
Stella McCartney 'Polar bear intarsia wool and alpaca-blend sweater' (The Outnet)
This is somewhat of a statement piece since it's an oversized sweater dress in a holiday/wintery print. Yet somehow I have managed to wear this Stella McCartney polar bear sweater many times! Sadly I don't have photos of me wearing it this year but it DID get worn over the holidays!
Madewell Houndstooth Patchwork Scarf
Accessories don't get too much love in these posts for some reason (I guess I like to focus on the main pieces) but when I first bought this scarf it was my MVP! I wore it so often and it kept me nice and warm.
Madewell Striped Sweater
Sensing a Madewell theme here? I swear it was accidental! I was just picking some of my favorite pieces that I've had for years and this HAD to be included. I think I wore this at least once a week when I first owned it and I still would except it is starting to get worn to the threads so I'm trying to make it last and only wear it sparingly. I can never find this color combo on eBay but I'm still hunting for a replacement.
Ella Moss 'Nico Faux Fur Vest'
I didn't get into vests until the early 2010's but they are such a great outfit completer. Wearing something you've worn before and want to switch it up? Throw on a vest! A little to cold for a thin sweater? Add a vest!
Theyskens' Theory Juno Leather Jacket
This leather jacket remains one of my favorite designer steals. I bought it in 2012 at Nordstrom rack for $172, it retailed for $1100+. Another piece I wore to DEATH it's first few years so it doesn't get much wear now.
