Black Panther Disneybound

I love Disneybounding! It's sort of a secret, undercover costuming project for the uber Dis-nerd so it really checks all of my boxes. Now, sometimes I really plan out my Disneybounds and make something specific for a look I have in mind. Sometimes, I just dig in my closet and see what fun new combos I can come up with. And sometimes, the perfect piece just jumps out at you at the store and you have to buy it because #disneybounding

This look falls into category 3.

I found this amazing black top durning an outlet mall trip and I had to have it. I wear a lot of black. It's pretty much my best color. And as soon as I saw this top, I immediately though of Black Panther and the fabulous claw necklace that holds his suit! The cut outs are just so perfect! So it was really a no brainer.

I had to wear this look to Animal Kingdom in their beautiful Africa area. To finish the look, I added a me made black circle skirt, a belt and these cute black lace cat ears. I'm not usually one for wearing ears since they tend to give me headaches but sometimes you just have to go for the cat ears.

The Harambe market place is so beautiful just like the rest of Animal Kingdom. The theming in this park is just so amazing! It's one of the reason's it's my favorite. A lot of people have been asking for a Wakanda area to be added to Animal Kingdom and while I think that's unlikely due to Universal near by, it would be such a special addition to this park. Oh, well. I'll just pretend I'm visiting Harambe from Wakanda.

One of the things that I love about this Disneybound is that it is so easy and comfortable. I love seeing all of the fancy Dapper Day Disneybounds every year but, to be honest, I much prefer to wear comfortable Disneybounds for a long park day. A jersey top and simple skirt are so easy and park friendly. I've even ridden Flight of Passage in a crinoline, although that took quite a bit of skirt wrangling to fit into the ride seat. 

I had such a blast with this Disneybound and I want to do more Marvel bounds in the future! Who should I bound as next?

Marathon Weekend 2019 Part 4: Marathon Spectating

After my half, race weekend wasn't over yet! Will was running the marathon (his first!) and I wanted to cheer for him. So Melissa and I slept in till 3:30 am on Sunday and then hit the bus to the start line. I had read a lot about Disney Marathon spectating so I had a good idea of where all of the common spectator points are. Depending on how fast your runner is, you can see them multiple times on the course. Will was not planning on stopping for character photos and I was planning on using Disney transportation so I decided to just spectate in Magic Kingdom (around mile 6 just like for the half) and then catch him at the finish line.

 Early morning race buses only run between Disney resorts and the Epcot parking lot where the race starts; however, the monorails are up and running so spectators can get to Magic Kingdom. And spectating inside the park is free,  no park ticket required before official park opening. It was still crazy dark when we arrived at Magic Kingdom and chilly! I definitely wore some extra layers since I wasn't going to be running but standing around.

Everything was all lit up and beautiful! I don't usually stay super late at Magic Kingdom so it was a real treat to see the park in night time mode. And I got to soak up the ambiance a lot more than when I was running through it. So we picked a spot about half way down Main Street to cheer. We still had a bit of time to wait before the race started so we chatted with our cheering neighbors and tried to decide who's runners would arrive first so we could let them have a good spot for cheering.

I had learned from Star Wars weekend 2018 not to panic if you can't get a good spectating spot right away. People will leave as their runners pass and you can move forward. People are also willing to let you move forward if you have been tracking your runner and know that they're coming up soon. I've been really impressed with how nice everyone is. We're all their to support the runners!

Before we knew it the hand cycle division came rolling down Main Street with the elite men and women not too far behind. It was really awesome to get to see those amazing athletes! Disney races attract a lot of beginner runners but there are also some really experienced runners who participate too. Cheering was really fun but I soon realized why the chEAR squad package comes with a cow bell. Your hands get tired from clapping after a while!

I had quite a few runners set up for runner tracking so I could have a better idea of when they would pass by. (For reference, I got start, 5 mile, 10 mile, half marathon, 20 mile and finish updates for each marathon runner.) Pretty soon I saw Will running down the street towards me! Melissa and I cheered loudly for him and he came over to give me a big sweating kiss. Everyone around us awwwwed and it was really sweet. I could tell he was so excited to see me cheering for him.

After Will passed, Melissa and I went to get some dark castle selfies, something neither of us managed to do during our race. Then it was back to our cheer spot for some more spectating. I got to see Laura and Jackey of Joyful Miles but they were on a mission for predawn castle photos and didn't see me.

Soon after, we decided it was time for breakfast and some caffeine so we headed over to the Polynesian resort. I know a lot of people like to get breakfast reservations at one of the nicer restaurants upstairs but they do have a quick service downstairs which serves the tonga toast as well. I ended up getting pretty much the same allergy friendly breakfast that is served at every resort but it came with Mickey waffles so I was happy. And a nice steaming cup of tea really hit the spot! Next time, though, I want to bring a travel coffee mug and my own tea bag and just get hot water from somewhere.

Since we were not going to try and catch Will at Animal Kingdom, Wide World of Sports or Hollywood Studios, we had some time to kill. Will was moving pretty fast (too fast, as it would turn out) but it's still a marathon. We were both tired and decided to hang in the lounge of the Polynesian and chill. We weren't the only ones as we saw a few people napping on the couches across the way! Our entertainment was looking up fun races to add to our race wish list for 2019 and 2020.

On the way over to Epcot and the finish line, Will texted me to let me know that he wasn't feeling that great. I kept encouraging him through the end of his race and he did end up coming back and finishing strong after some walk breaks. Once back at Epcot, however, I had my own issues. I had not thought to bring any water and I was not prepared for how warm it was going to get, even while just spectating. I ended up buying a pricey bottle of water and finding some shade behind the bleachers to wait until Will was closer to the finish line.

We were able to get a good seat for when he crossed and I was so proud of him for finishing strong even though I knew he was struggling! After meeting him at the reunion area, we all headed back to the hotel for some much needed naps. I had felt up to a full park day after my race, but that second early morning wake up call really did me in! It's good practice for the 10k/half marathon challenge during Star Wars weekend though.

Melissa had to head home at this point since she had to be back at work Monday morning but Will and I hit Hollywood Studios with our bling! Walking around Disney with your medal is awesome. Everyone congratulates you and you get to meet a lot of fellow runners. We ended up at Baseline Tap House for some celebratory beverages and we had a great time just relaxing there. It's an amazing place to just chill and get away from some of the Disney hustle and bustle. Will also finally got his hands on the AT-AT popcorn bucket which is now proudly displayed at his desk at work with his Star Wars Pops.

Later, we headed over to Epcot to grab dinner with some fellow runners. I had a really nice time chatting with everyone one more time before the weekend is over. I know I've said it before but I'll say it again, the runDisney crowd is amazing and you'll have so much more fun if you connect with people during race weekends! After dinner, we went straight back to our rooms to sleep because we still had a full day of Disney planned for Monday.

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WDW Marathon Weekend 2019

Part 1: The Expo
Part 2: Joyful Miles Meet Up
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap
Part 4: Marathon Spectating- you are here!
Part 5: Park and Photo Day

Red, White and Blue

I love Disney. I love dresses. I love pockets. And I really love when these three things come together! So here it is!

 There is a cute shop at Disney Springs that sells a lot of Disney themed dresses, purses and accessories that I absolutely adore. This dress came from there and was the 4th of July dress. I passed over it when it first came out because it's way to hot in Florida in July for a dress like this. It's really too hot in Florida in July for any type of clothing really but that's not the point.

But I saw it at the Disney outlet in Orlando for a steal so I had to pick it up. I mean it's in red, white and blue with Mickey and has pockets. And there's even more hidden Mickey's in the plaid fabric! Unfortunately, the outlet didn't have a fitting room so I just had to guess on the size. (Depending on the style, I go between two different sizes). I picked up the larger size and it ended up being a bit to big.

But in December, I bit the bullet and tackled my mending pile and now I can wear this lovely dress! And where better than the America Pavillon at Epcot. Who says you can't be patriotic in January? Our country is far from perfect but I'm really happy to live here. And I'm happy to live in Florida where I can go to Disney all the time and justify having multiple pairs of Mickey earrings and Disney dresses.

The America Pavillon still had all of it's Christmas decorations up so we snuck back near the rest rooms to find a cute photo location. There were some pretty flowers and nice benches back there. It was so quite and restful there! I love finding quiet, unknown spots to hide in the Disney Parks. It's true that Disney gets crazy busy but there are always places to get out of the crowds and chill if you know where to look.

Speaking of secret Disney spots, on the other side of the America Pavillon, there's a side road that looks like just a unused route to backstage but they often have character met and greets back there and there is usually little to no wait!

Marathon Weekend 2019 Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap

Half Marathon Day finally arrived! It felt like this day was so long in coming since I'd been gearing up for it since registering for it in July. This was going to be my first half marathon so there were definitely some nerves about how it was going to go. But I'd planned and prepared and I was as ready as I was going to be.

My friend Melissa and I woke up dark and early at 2 am to start getting ready. We'd laid out all of our clothes the night before so all we had to do was get dressed and caffeinate before heading out to the buses around 3 am. I had my usual prerace meal of black tea and a banana and did my best to get my brain up and running before heading out the door. Our resort had a line of buses waiting to take runners to Epcot when we got there so we didn't have to wait at all.

Once at the Epcot parking lot, we walked over to the start area and got in line for some photos. They had Mickey (of course), Donald (the half marathon theme character) and Dopey and Goofy (challenge theme characters). All of the lines were fairly short so we did photos with Mickey and Donald. Since neither of us was doing a challenge, we decided to skip Dopey and Goofy. The lines had really picked up by the time we were done with our photos so I was really glad that we got there early!

Once the corrals opened, we started the long walk out to the start. I'd read that it's quite a long walk and they weren't kidding! But soon, Melissa and I had to split up since she was in C corral and I was in F. I did manage to meet up with another friend, Tess, in F corral so we got to chat and wait together. I didn't get to see much of the prerace show. The nearest screen was far away and the speaker nearest me sucked so I couldn't really hear what was going on. But, once the fireworks started, I knew it was just about time!

I had some issues with my phone holder which I was wearing on my arm under my throw away jacket so I decided to ditch the jacket before we started running so I wouldn't have to deal with it. It was definitely still chilly but I knew I'd warm up once I started running. I did feel odd just abandoning clothes like that but Disney collects it all and donates the items to charity. Finally, it was our turn to start and I was off!

Will had come to spectate and he did see me at the start. It was so cool to hear him cheer for me at the start of the race. Because it was still dark out, neither of us was sure if he'd be able to pick me out of the pack. Guess that's a good reason to wear a shiny costume! The start of the race was pretty crowded and it took longer than I thought to warm up so it was really nice to have that extra encouragement at the start of the race.

The first three miles or so are pretty boring, just roads but it was dark anyways so I focused on not going out too fast and sticking to my running plan. Since the course goes back to Epcot along the other side of the road, I got to see the wheel chair division as well as some of the elites running back the other direction as I was still headed out to Magic Kingdom. Wow, those guys and gals are fast! We all cheered as they raced past.

The first exciting bit was reaching the Magic Kingdom parking lot entrance around mile 3. It looks so pretty lit up at night. Unfortunately, we still had to run through the whole parking lot, to the Ticket and Transportation Center and around the lagoon before reaching Magic Kingdom. I will say that I'll never feel like it's a long walk through that parking lot to the TTC again! There were people cheering at the TTC and outside the Contemporary Resort but I had Main Street and the castle on the brain.

Running down Main Street with all of the lights and Christmas decor up was so magical! I made it into Magic Kingdom while it was still dark and it was such an amazing experience. The castle is stunning and there are so many people cheering. It was definitely the highlight of the race for me.

From there, the course turned into Tomorrowland and then through Fantasyland. Now, up to this point, I hadn't stopped for any photos but I did want to stop for Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters since I was dressed as Cinderella. They were right behind the castle and the line wasn't too long. I did stop and take a few castle selfies while I was waiting.

I probably only waited about 5 minutes for that photo but it did make me antsy seeing all of those people running past me while I waited. I was ready to get my running through the castle shot and finish the rest of the race strong. Running through the castle, I hung to the left and left some space between me and the runner in front of me and I readied my smile for the photopass photographer who's right on the other side of the castle. And then the person in front of me stopped dead in front of the photographer. I had to swerve to avoid running into her and, of course, didn't get that photo.

At that point, I was really upset with how things were going so I didn't stop to get a posed photo in front of the castle and I headed into Frontierland to follow the rest of the course. What I didn't realize is that there's a second set of photopass photographers at the bottom of the ramp down from the castle and one of those photographers got an awesome running photo of me with the castle in the background. However, I didn't know this until after the race when the photo showed up with all of my other race photos so I was still in a funk for the next segment of the race.

There was a bit more space at this point and I really wanted to make up some time so I really pushed my pace. My fastest miles were actually me trying to get out of Magic Kingdom and then start back towards Epcot. Thankfully, those few miles at a less than 12 min/mil helped me clear my head and feel better about my race. The back half of the race also has some boring highway stretches but also some hills. Plus the sun was up at this point so I knew that I had some hard sections ahead of me.

My goal on the way back to Epcot was to stay strong till the finish. I had set myself up really well on the first half of the race so despite the fact that I stopped for a photo and then didn't think I got my castle shot, the running part had gone really well. My plan was to walk up that dreaded Green Army Man on ramp but I was feeling good when I got there so I decided to keep up my intervals until I felt like I needed to walk the rest. And then I made it to the top without doing any extra walking so I just kept going. At each hill, I told myself the same thing and at each hill, I made it to the top keeping my intervals intact. Despite the fact that I was feeling tired and really having to focus during this section of the course, I had really consistent splits (at least according to my phone GPS) and that kept me motivated.

I was so excited to finally make it to Epcot. In the front of the parking lot by where the resort buses drop people off, there were more spectators. There was even a guy holding a sign that said "I'm not here for anyone so I'm here for you" and it just about made me cry. If you ever have the chance to spectate at a race, Disney or otherwise, I highly encourage you to do it because it really does mean so much to the runners.

I was really pumped to get back into a park but the first part of Epcot was all backstage areas and that was a bit disappointing. I was definitely starting to droop a bit at this point in the race and taking slightly longer walk breaks. Once inside of the park proper, though, there were a bunch of photopass photographers so I put on my happy face and made sure to run past each of them. I got some really awesome shots from this section of the course and having that smiling face on really boosted my mood.

On the way out of Epcot, I got a bit over excited and thought I was much closer to the end than I was. Once outside of the park, you still have to keep going. I felt a little silly taking walk breaks so close to the end of the race but I didn't have a lot left. I still really wanted to meet my goal of finishing strong and to do that, I had to stick to my plan. Finally the finish line came into view and I ran the rest of the race. I heard a voice call out my name and I looked to see my uncle and cousin who had already finished the half cheering for me. And just a bit further Will and Melissa were waiting in the stands to see me finish. It was wonderful! I crossed that line feeling so good but definitely ready to be done running.

I got my medal and proceeded on to the water and snack stations. And that was it. I'd made it. I'd completed my first half marathon! My time was 2:51:43 with a 13:06 min/mil average pace which included the one photo line. Originally my goal was 2:45 but since I did decide to stop for a photo, I was really happy with the time I got.

I met up with Will and Melissa and broke into that snack box. No oreos this year. :( Since I have food allergies, I did have Will bring me some of my own post race nutrition but there were also a few things I could eat in the snack box. Tess finished not too long after and we hung out with her for a bit before meeting up with my aunt, uncle and cousins who where still waiting for my cousin's wife to cross the finish line.

Then it was back to the hotel for showers and Mickey waffles! Prior to race weekend, I had been doing keto so all of the carbs were quite the treat. Then we headed out for a full day at Animal Kingdom. I've learned that I really do best if I walk around after my race so I was ready to hit the parks. We ended up doing just about everything (except Dinoland which is not my favorite). I even got my celebratory Dole Whip even though it was a bit cold for a frozen snack. My legs were sore in places that they'd never been sore in before but there was no pain and I was really able to enjoy the day.

One of the funnest things we did in Animal Kingdom was meet Donald. He was so excited to see our medals! And we got him to sign them on the back. Donald Duck #1

After dinner, Will went back to the hotel to nap for his marathon and Melissa and I did Pandora. It was amazing as usual. We were both getting pretty tired but our fastpasses for Navi River and Flight of Passage made us stay out a bit later. In the end we both crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel room, which was a good thing because we were getting up to cheer Will on at the marathon the next morning. But that's a story for another post.

Race Outfit:
Top and Headband: Crowned Athletics
Skirt: Sparkle Athletic
Pants: Walmart

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WDW Marathon Weekend 2019

Part 1: The Expo
Part 2: Joyful Miles Meet Up
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap - You are here
Part 4: Marathon Spectating
Part 5: Park and Photo Day

Marathon Weekend 2019 Part 2: Joyful Miles Meet Up

Confession time: I have run exactly one runDisney race. I have been to three Joyful Miles meet ups.... So I might have gotten some serious runDisney FOMO during Wine and Dine 2018 and made it to both of the meet ups that weekend. It was a bit awkward admitting that I wasn't running anything that weekend but I did get to meet some amazing people.

After that experience, there was no way that I was missing the Marathon Weekend meet up! It was hosted by 5 lovely Youtubers-Laura, Jackey, Heather, Kimberly and Gerald. And there were a ton of other amazing people there from Wine and Dine weekend and the Joyful Miles Facebook group. (If you are on Facebook, you should definitely join that group. It's awesome!)

It was amazing getting to see Laura and Jackey of Joyful Miles again! I adore their podcast and usually listen to it while I'm doing my long runs. They've been with me on many miles and they are just as fun in person. Listening to them is like having a fun girl chat with your besties about running.

Heather is another fun Disney runner I met in person at Wine and Dine. I love her channel because it's super informative but also really captures her personality. She also does really nice live videos where we can all chat about a running topic and then ask questions. Heather was also running the half this weekend and it was great to know Heather would be among the people with whom I got to share my very first half marathon race.

Kimberly was also one of the meet up hosts. She is just the sweetest, loveliest person! Her mom does a lot of races with her and I think that is just so cool. They were both gearing up for the full marathon.

Lastly, there was Gerald of Rezruns. He makes, hands down, the best runDisney videos. His videos made these races look so fun that they helped me stay motivated to train and actually sign up for my first runDisney race. In person, he's really cool and chill and has a passion for sharing his knowledge and experience with others.

I met tons of other wonderful people and I really do feel like this meet up was one of the best parts of the weekend. Everyone was just amazing and encouraging. As an introvert, I know I'd have been so terrified of coming by myself but I'm so glad that I didn't let my shyness keep me from talking with people. I've never experienced anything like the runDisney community and it's been amazing. If you are interested in ever running a Disney race, please join in a Facebook group or check out any of the channels linked in this post. I guarantee that you will not regret it!

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WDW Marathon Weekend 2019

Part 1: The Expo
Part 2: Joyful Miles Meet Up - You are here
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap
Part 4: Marathon Spectating
Part 5: Park and Photo Day

Marathon Weekend 2019 Part 1: The Expo

Will and I headed out bright and early Friday morning to drive to Orlando to start off Marathon Weekend. Our first stop was the runDisney expo to pick up our bibs and check out the merchandise. We got there pretty early which was great because it got busy around lunch time and I was so glad that we were mostly done by then.

Our first stop was to the official runDisney merchandise area, since that tends to be the area that sells out of stuff regularly. Even though the expo had been opened since Wednesday, there was still a ton of merchandise! I was so excited that the color for the half marathon merchandise was green. It's my favorite color. (No green on the medal though...)

Then we headed over to pick up our bibs and then popped over to the vendor area to get shirts and do some more shopping. I love the vendor area because there is always so much fun running stuff to check out. I ended up being pretty good at the expo. I picked up an I did it magnet and the mini medal replica pin. I doubt I'll pick up a mini medal pin for every race I do (that would get expensive!) but I did want to get one for my first half. I'm going to hang it on my Christmas tree as an ornament to remember this weekend. I also added a red and a yellow Sparkle Athletics skirt to my collection.

And we might have stopped by the runDisney booth and booked Wine and Dine weekend hotel and two course challenge with the Disney Travel Company.....

After the expo, we headed over to the Art of Animation resort to see if we could check into our hotel room early. Mickey worked some Disney magic for us because they upgraded us to a suit for free! We got to stay in the beautiful Lion King area. Our room was sooo beautiful!!! The theming was perfect and it really made our trip just that much better. I'm pretty sure this is my new favorite Disney resort.

I was getting hungry so we popped over to Epcot for some lunch. I love all of the food options at Epcot and we were headed over to a meet up at the Boardwalk later in the afternoon so it was a no brainer to got to Epcot. We ate at the Sunshine Seasons, which has to be the most under rated place to eat at Epcot. They have delicious, healthy options from a variety of cuisines. I ended up getting the tuna noodle bowl. I also really like the power salad but it was prerace carb day. :)

We still had some time to kill, so we did a photo shoot in the American pavilion. I'll be sharing those photos soon. Finally, it was time for the meet up. More to come in Part 2!

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WDW Marathon Weekend 2019

Part 1: The Expo - You are here.
Part 2: Joyful Miles Meet Up 
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap
Part 4: Marathon Spectating
Part 5: Park and Photo Day

Beach Babes

Getting to do something you love is an wonderful thing. Having someone to share it with is even better.

I've never had an easy time making friends and that's partially due to the fact that I've always liked things that were a bit odd or outside of the box. Thank goodness for the internet where I can meet other people who enjoy the same things I do. One of these wonderful people is Kate of Kate Lavender.

Kate and I have actually gotten to get together in person several times. She's just such a lovely person so I jumped at the chance to hang with her again for some vintage adventures. And because we're in Florida, we had to go to the beach!

Kate went for a 1930s beachy look with with a tan 30s style skirt, white blouse and a big sun hat. She finished her look with red lippy. Doesn't she look like she's ready to set off on an adventure?

I wore a black linen/rayon 50s style sheath dress that I made. Black might not seem like the most beach appropriate color but linen is so comfortable in the heat and I knew it would be up for the possibility of encountering some sea water. And black is also my favorite neutral so most of my closet is this dark hue.

Kate and I had a blast hanging at the beach and being photographed my my hubby Will. He put up with all of our shenanigans giggles so we could get some awesome photographs taken.

We had so much fun and I left feeling so inspired! I've already got my winter/spring sewing plans pretty well mapped out but I'm definitely going to make some beach wear this summer! Swimsuits, playsuits and beach pyjamas, oh my!