BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS.... DISNEY STYLE!

I can hardly believe it has been over a week already since we were at Disneyland! I (and my kids) have spent the days since returning home sick in bed nearly every day. I am just so glad we were not all sick when we were there.

Anyway, I do not have much of an appetite these days, but that certainly was not the case the previous week!

Take a look at what I had one morning for breakfast at the Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel's restaurant:

Is that great, or what?! It's pretty much the way I remember breakfast when we went to Disney World and stayed at Disney's Wilderness Lodge. Great food and great fun! It's so exciting to me to now live co close that we can just drive up there for breakfast any time we want!

This is one of the restaurants where the characters come by while you are dining and they sign autographs and do their silly little tricks and skits. Chip & Dale have always been among our favorites. Not sure where Dale was at the time???

We had SO much fun and the food was so good, I talked my husband into going back for dinner that night. I know he was super tired and would have been happy just ordering room service (a couple of the kids did just that). But he knew how much fun it was for me so agreed. One of our sons came along, too and we also had our daughter come join us there after she got out of work as well.

A few shots of the hotel lobby. Very similar to Wilderness Lodge. It's beautiful! We did not stay there (only because we could not bring the dog), but I have a feeling I may be booking a room in the not too distant future. It would be a great little overnight or weekend get-away! I just LOVE this hotel!

Despite having temps in the mid to upper 70's all week, they always seemed to have fires in the fireplace. It's so pretty and totally adds to the feel of the hotel's architectural style which was based on the arts and crafts movement of the early 1900's.

Some more views of Storyteller's Cafe; this time at night.

Don't you love the lights?

Casual enough for kids, but formal enough to feel "special". Mike and I had dinner here a few years ago on our anniversary and I have not stopped craving the 4-cheese ravioli since! It is stuffed with spinach and asparagus and is absolutely the best ravioli I have ever had. I was so excited about it I totally forgot to take a pic, lol!

As we left the front of the hotel, this is what it looked like outside. It was beautiful and somewhat cold (I'll bet it must have been in the 50's) and I was glad I had brought a warm jacket and gloves. But it was a nice little walk we took over to our daughter's car so she didn't have to walk alone- and she could drive us over to our hotel :-)

I know it may sound silly, but even though we have lived close to here for over 12 years now, things like just looking up and seeing this street sign still thrill me. I am sure it's no big deal to most people around here. But after growing up in a little state in New England where I always complained there was "nothin' to do" and no excitement, or inclement weather that would keep me indoors, I am still thrilled about the mere fact that there is so much fun stuff to do here- especially Disney related! It used to be just a dream for me to go to a Disney park, and we hoped to be able to save up enough money to take a trip there once every 5-10 years (if we were lucky!). Now we can pretty much go any time we want. I just hope I never lose appreciation for this. But somehow I think the "Disney Magic" has left it's mark on me enough that I won't. I seriously can not imagine it being anything but the "Happiest Place On Earth" for me.

I'll probably have more pics to share later. I am off to bed again in hopes of getting rid of this illness altogether! Thanks for stopping by; I'd love a comment and to hear any Disney stories you might share as well! :-)

Emergency Vacation to The Happiest Place On Earth

Just popping in here real quickly to let you know where I have been.

I had to take a rather sudden "mini vacation", and what better place to go than to "The happiest place on earth": Disneyland!

The weather this week has been absolutely amazing! Every day has been very sunny and warm- mid 70's for the most part (low 80's today). We could not have timed it better as far as the weather- or the crowds go!

I am home now and have a lot on my plate that I must take care of, but I didn't want you to think I was abandoning my blog ;-) I will try to post again soon with more details of my little emergency trip and why I had to take it. Oh my gosh- did I have FUN!

I am super anxious to get back into my studio, as it has been ages (or at least seems it!) since I have had a chance to let the creative juices flow. Hopefully I'll have something new to share with you soon.

Hope you are having a great week!

And The Winner Is...

Happy Saturday! Today is the day I said I would pick my blog candy winner. Well, I didn't actually do the picking; "Random Thing Picker" did! ;-)

And here is what happened after I put in all the eligible names:

Result:

Pam

Now, the funny thing is, right before I hit "Pick one!" I actually said to myself "Now watch it pick Pam", lol! Because not too long ago, I won PAM'S blog candy, lol! Actually, it was a blog hop challenge (so fun!), seen HERE. Be sure to check her blog out; it's wonderful and definitely among my faves. Pam is really fun, as you will see as you read her posts.

So I guess it's true: "What goes around comes around", huh?

Anyway, I am getting such a kick out of this! Pam, I only hope you enjoy the package I am sending you half as much as I have enjoyed the wonderful box of goodies you sent my way! :-)

I have lots to share with you all over the next couple if weeks. Lots going on, and many new crafting projects I am working on. Also, I found a darling little vintage tea cup and saucer which I purchased specifically with the idea of my next blog candy, and especially with my "vintage loving" readers in mind. But that's all I am going to tell you for now. You will have to keep a look out for more details to come :-)

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I would love for you to leave a comment and if only just to say "hi". As always, thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year Blog Candy Giveaway

Time For ANOTHER Blog Candy Giveaway!!

After the fun of doing my recent giveaway and receiving such nice feedback, I can't help but want to do another!

Both winners of my last giveaways sent me the sweetest emails.

From Rebecca, winner of the vintage themed prize:

"Your package arrived today and it was like unwrapping a treasure trove! I love the color of the bell/salt shaker- it's like Tiffany blue! I absolutely loved the New Year's victorian postcard- I think I will scan it and use it on my blog tomorrow. I have a pair of summer sandals that are perfect for adorning with the clip back earrings. And of course I just love that little Sizzix die cut!

Thank you! So very much!"

And from Bonnie, the winner of the craft themed prize:

"My goodies arrived today and wow! There's more stuff in there than what looked like on your blog! I'm in love with that lace ribbon. It sure did brighten my day as I was getting really depressed today between my head, Ken and going back to work."

So, being the beginning of the New Year, I thought it would be a great way to start 2011!

Here are the things I have to give away this time:

Since Valentine's Day is not too far off ( well- it really isn't you know!), I thought I'd theme it around that holiday and offer things for you paper crafters to use for Valentine's Day cards, candy packaging and scrapbook pages.

I am a huge fan of Sizzix, and if you've been reading my blog for the past few months you know I have hit the last couple of Sizzix warehouse sales pretty hard, lol. I purposely bought extra goodies with Blog Candy for my blog readers in mind.

And I love using doilies both on cards and on scrapbook pages any time of year, but when could be better than at Valentine's? These ribbons should be great too, don't you think? It''s hard to tell from the pic, but the one on the far left is a deep red velvet- so elegant. The spool next to it is a sheer white ribbon with a satiny center with red hearts on it. The ribbon on the wide spool is sheer with gold hearts. And the ones in the little box on the right are really pretty, too: the top one is sheer with hearts on it, the middle one is pink velvet, and the bottom one is glittery rick rack.

And how can you have a bunch of stuff to make cards without stamps? I thought this set would be more versatile than one just for Valentine's, but the row of hearts should certainly suffice for the occasion :-)

I am including two different shapes of red eyelets and a roll of red mesh for embellishing.

Of course I just can't help adding at least something vintage-y. So, I have chosen a pretty little red and white vintage hankie that has pretty flowers and scrolls that resemble hearts on it.

Now for the details on how to enter:

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me what, if any, New Year's resolution you have made for this year!

And, for bonus entries:

If you are a follower and mention that in your comment, you will get an additional entry.

If you have a blog and put my blinkie on your sidebar, you'll get another entry.

If you mention this give away on your blog and put up a link, you'll get yet another entry.

One condition remains with this give away, as was with my last: you must be a resident of the U.S. or Canada (I am sorry but at this time the cost of postage to other countries is just too costly). Actually I am adding Canada, as I know I have many Canadian followers and I am willing to splurge the extra amount, as it is not as high as other international countries. I thank you all for your understanding of these conditions.

I will pick the winner using "Random Thing Picker" again and announce the winner next Saturday, January 8th.

As always, I thank you so much for visiting my blog.

I hope you have a very happy and healthy new year!