All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel
Peach, Blueberry, and Blue Cheese Summer Salad is wonderful with its fresh fruit, salty cheese, & sauteed chicken sausage. It’s like summer in every bite.
Change up your typical salad and add some fresh summer fruit! The fruit in this Peach, Blueberry, and Blue Cheese Summer Salad gives you a fun burst of flavor that will make dinner tonight rock!
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Strawberry Peanut Butter Overnight Oats brings your favorite childhood combo to breakfast. This is a wonderful breakfast that’s perfect for meal prep!
This Strawberry Peanut Butter Overnight Oats is a healthy and delicious way to kick start your day. Enjoy the spin on your favorite childhood sandwich in a hearty, easy breakfast.
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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyAmericanFlatbreadPizza #CollectiveBias
Italian Antipasto Chopped Salad is loaded full of the delicious cured meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Then it’s all tossed in a tangy dressing to lock in all the flavors. Yum!
My Italian half does the happy dance whenever I make this Italian Antipasto Chopped Salad. It’s the perfect combination of flavors and textures that will have you loving every bite. Plus, it goes so well with so many dishes from pasta to pizza. We like to enjoy the antipasto with American Flatbread Pizza.
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Tyson Foods, Inc. The opinions and text are all mine. #PackInPotential
Homemade Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce is the perfect to enjoy on chicken tenders and other yummy dippables. Customize your flavors when you make it homemade.
This Homemade Honey Mustard Sauce will knock your socks off! It’s delicious and so easy to make. Plus, I have a feeling you have everything you need for it right on hand for it. We love dipping our Tyson® Crispy Chicken Strips into the sauce. Yum! You’ll be dipping everything in it in no time! Perfect for back to school lunches, play dates, and dinners.
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Disney’s Villains After Hours Party is a great way to spend a night out with friends & family while your favorite villains rule the night.
Thank you to Disney for the invite for attending the Disney Villains After Hours event.
Last summer I was invited to attend the Disney After Hours event at the Magic Kingdom. I had a blast with my friend Melissa as we enjoyed so many rides with short lines and ice cream treats. So, I was thrilled to be invited to attend another late night Disney event. Any After Hours event is fun, but Disney Villains After Hours takes it to the next level!
The Disney’s Villains After Hours event is a 3 hour long party that is focused on your favorite Disney Villains.
I brought my friends Aliya, Amber, and Lauren for a fun filled night at Disney’s Villains’ After Hours Event.
We arrived shortly after 7pm- ready for some fun! We took in all the Disney Magic on Main Street. I’s always so much fun to be in disney, but we were all really excited to be there without our kids! We certainly love them to pieces, but not having to cater to their every need, and have our own fun.. YES!!!!!!
So, our game plan was to dinner before the party officially started, at 10pm.
We headed over to the Columbia Harbour House. It was my first time there so I was excited to try something new.
I enjoyed the Harbour Salad with Shrimp ($11.99). It was a nice salad of mixed greens, diced tomato, onion, and cucumber & melon, crumbled bacon, and hard boiled egg, drizzled with Zinfandel Vinaigrette Dressing and topped with shrimp. I would have enjoyed it more if the shrimp was grilled or sauteed, but this was really enjoyable overall. I would definitely get it again. It was a nice departure from the typical hot dog (from Casey’s) or cheeseburger (from Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe).
After dinner we went directly to the Haunted Mansion. The party hadn’t officially started but the wait was short so we went there to enjoy the 999 happy haunts in the mansion. I love that ride, plus it was giving me more inspiration for my Halloween decorations!
I had always seen the fireworks from Main Street so it was so fun to stand in Fantasyland, by the Peter Pan Ride. From here, I was surrounded by fireworks. Fireworks are set off on the roofs of the buildings that flank the Castle and then beyond, in the back lot, behind It’s a Small World. Watching the fireworks is always so magical from Main street, since you can see the fun projections on the Castle. But it was so cool to stand in the middle of the park and have fireworks going off all around.
We moved from the center of the park to Tomorrowland. The crowds were really thinning out at this point as the last of the non-party people were heading out now.
The People Mover is a simple ride but it’s a classic one that takes you around Tomorrowland. I love how you go in and out of buildings on the 10 minute ride. It’s fun to catch a glimpse of the rides in action, like Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Range Spin.
After the ride we snagged some great photos at a Villains After Hours party themed wall.
Aliya and I went to Space Mountain, while Amber and Lauren went to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. We wanted to check out Space Mountain since it was one of the 2 rides that were special for the event. The lights were turned off for the entire ride and they played Villains themed music. It was a blast!!
Can’t miss an Instagramable moment with a delicious Mickey Bar!
Besides the yummy Mickey Bars, the ice cream sandwiches and popcorn are included in the admission of the party. The bottled water and soda are also included. Throughout the night, we snagged snacks and drinks. The unlimited drinks were the best part because the night was HOT. July in Florida! ooph!!!
The lines for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was always so long, so I had to ride it as the line was pretty short. Plus, the last time I was on it, was during the last after hours party I attended- a year prior. A year between 7DMT rides is just too long!
The Maleficent at Night was the highlight of my night!
We caught Maleficent as she was starting her parade through Adventureland at 11.45.
It was so cool getting go walk along side of her and her creepy crew. The crows would get right in your face. It made for some really fun interactions. I really suggest walking along with the parade as it goes to the castle. Follow that and you’ll have a great spot to see the Villains Unite the Night stage show.
Disney always puts on a great stage show so it’s no surprise that the Villains Unite the Night at the castle was a blast.
Hades is the star of the show as he, and Meg, are waiting for 5 planets to align. According to a prophecy, when the five come together he will be able to rule the universe. However, his plans run a muck as the other villains are trying to get in on gaining power themselves. Tricky tricky!
The show was great but my favorite part of any of the night time shows that Disney does are the elaborate projections on the castle. That makes the fireworks and performances really come to life as they help set the mood of the show.
Honestly, I was dragging at this point. While I stay up most nights between 12am and 1am, I was tired. There was a lot of activity going on vs just sitting at my computer and working. It was almost 12.30am so I was pretty beat, but I wasn’t ready to call it a night just yet!
Amber and I grabbed coffees at the Starbucks on Main Street. I downed mine and I was ready to go for the rest of the party!
After the Villains Unite the Night, we snagged one more PhotoPass Photo in front the castle.
With a bit of time left before the party ended at 1am, we quickly got over to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. This was another ride that we all wanted to do. Besides Space Mountain, the other ride that had a villains touch to it was the Pirates ride. Honestly, I missed the person who was standing on the bridge near the end of the ride. I got off the ride and asked the operator what was special and she mentioned one of the pirates on top of the bridge. I clearly missed the memo on that and was looking at the scenes happening on either side of the boat as we road through the ride. Whoops!
The party officially ended just as we walked off the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. A few more people ran in and they announced it was all over.
We did some shopping in the shops on Maine Street (I got the new Little Mermaid Minnie Ears!!!) before heading out. By the time we took the monorail and then walked to the car, it was 2am. We got home around 3.15 and I collapsed into bed at 3.30. It was a late night but so worth it!
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While Disney provided me with 4 complementary tickets to the Disney Villains After Hours event, in exchange for coverage of the night, all opinions expressed are my own.
In 2019, The “On the Road” Disney’s Social Media Conference taught bloggers how to be better story tellers to grow their blogs. Plus, they got a sneak peak at Galaxy’s Edge!
Years ago logging into AOL and hearing ‘You’ve got Mail” was a thrill. Now, that is my favorite movie, but I get more excited when I see an email from Disney in my inbox these days.
So, when I saw the invite for Disney’s Social Media “On the Road” Conference in my inbox a few weeks ago, I was basically jumping for joy!
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Summery Tomato Confit is the flavorful smash hit of the summer. You’ll be adding it to all your dishes. Run, don’t walk to get tons of tomatoes!
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This Summery Tomato Confit is going to be your summer must have.
I’m 110% serious. You’ll be in love with it while it bakes in your oven, as the rich tomato perfumes the air. But once you open up your oven, you’ll be hooked for good. Then when you take a bite, you’ll be a goner. Before you know it, you’ll be
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Salt-Roasted Little Potatoes are tender potatoes that are baked in salt. They are fluffy on the inside, with a nice crunchy, salty crust on the outside.
Post Contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure HERE
As I write this, the feels like temperature is 111 degrees. OMG, I can’t. Well, it could be 120, and I’d still never move back up north. Blah to snow!
It just means that once Hunter gets up from his nap, we need to hit the pool, or just watch a movie in the AC.
You can enjoy a day full of magic at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Visit both parks to be fully immersed into all the Harry Potter fun and action.
Going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the number one thing that my best friend, Emily, and I had to do while she was visiting from Seattle this spring.
When we both lived in Boston, we would see the movies together when they were released. And, ever since I moved to Florida we talked about getting to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter together.
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Making the Perfect Middle Eastern Baklava may seem complicated but it’s really simple with this recipe. You’ll be licking your fingers clean of the honey syrup in no time.
Post Contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure HERE
In honor of the new upcoming Aladdin movie, by Disney. I’m dedicating the week for recipes that are inspired by the movie. Have a picnic on your magic carpet.
When I went to Greece 10 years ago, I ate some of the very best food ever. I had great food in markets, in nice restaurants, and in little divey places too. Maybe it was just because I was on vacation but I swear everything was just so good there. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and so fantastic.
Thankfully, I had the chance to eat plenty of baklava!
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