I'm a self-proclaimed Disney Parks nerd who, until this spring, had only visited the Florida parks. I'd like to eventually visit every park globally, and this spring, I inched a little closer to that goal when our California trip allowed us to visit Walt's original park, Disneyland!



According to the crowd calendars, we were visiting on "ghost town" level days. The California parks are small, so I would hate to see crowds during peak times if what we experienced was considered low traffic. While we managed to experience all the rides we wanted to (hello, Matterhorn!) experiences were a different story. People started camping out for fireworks as early as 3 PM! For out of towners like us who wanted to experience the parks, there was no way we were willing to lose hours sitting and waiting, so we didn't see any of the nighttime entertainment our entire stay. It's also crazy difficult to walk around the parks after a certain time because they are so small and they close off/redirect many foot paths for the show.




Still, we had a magical time. I'd done research ahead of time and had decided to spring an extra $10/ticket/day for their MaxPass offering. It allows you to choose fast passes all day from your phone instead of losing time trekking across the park for a paper pass, and, especially valuable to me, gives you every single photopass photo you take - this includes any ride photos, and photos taken by staff. Photo memories are always worth the money to me and I considered this a steal! This offering is one of a few things I consider a "leg up" on WDW.





Also enjoyable - the food! We quickly found our new favorite spot in New Orleans square which served up Mickey Bengiets and (virgin) mint Juleps. Yum! And of course, No trip to Disney is complete without a Dole Whip!






Last, but definitely not least, character encounters are SO much easier here. We were constantly seeing characters traveling the park or hiding out in spots (hello, princesses in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln!)  where we encountered them just in time for no line.




Most importantly, Ariel! I've NEVER encountered her in Florida much to my chagrin, and it made my entire childhood to finally meet her here. We had an incredible conversation about red hair, human legs, and dinglehoppers.



Sure, there was some stress, but it was Disney, so it was magical. Which Disney park is your favorite?

Sean has a birthday this week, and since he's shown a lot more interest in fashion lately, I decided to shake things up and surprise him with a Stitch Fix box - for men!

Similarly to the original SF box, you complete a style profile, pay a $20 styling fee, and wait for your first fix to arrive (fun fact: they are so confident you will love it, your styling fee is refunded should you not keep anything your first fix!). I filled out all of Sean's sizes, likes, dislikes, and even made some requests based on his birthday wish list.

It arrived early so I gifted it to him early given the return window, but we had fun unboxing it all.

Also, as the other man of the house, McHenry decided to participate. I think he decided to keep the box.

One observation: as a tall guy, the things that fit Sean best are measured sizes (shirts, blazers, etc.) vs the simpler S-XL system. I did notice that they tried to take his measurements into account, but many items sent were basic vs. numerical sizes.

Here's a look at his first fix:

This was a casual style blazer at a reasonable price point, but the fit just wasn't there. It was too tight in both the chest and shoulders and was returned. Sean didn't have strong feelings towards this one way or another.

Sean liked this as a good quality casual belt. He kept this (technically, he exchanged it for one size up - you can do that!).

These pants felt kind of cheap and the fit was way off - it arrived a size higher than what I specified for Sean, and while I assumed the pants must run small, this wasn't quite the case. The waist and hips were very loose while the calves were too tight. These were returned.

Ironically, this was Sean's least favorite item when he first opened the box, but after trying it on and seeing the photos, he agreed it was fun and different and kept it (and I love the feel of the fabric on this one!).

There's always room for a classic blue dress shirt...except for one that doesn't fit. The arm length was perfect on this, but the overall fit was boxy, so back it went.

Overall, the main issue this fix was with overall fit. Sean did feel the clothes matched his style and he'd be excited to try another after giving feedback. We signed him up for every other month, so keep an eye for what he gets next later this summer!

Sponsored

"I don’t know if this jewelry is your style, but thought I would let you know about this opportunity in case it is!"

The Facebook message popped up from a friend of Sean's who had lived in Michigan's upper peninsula for many years. I clicked the link and perused the jewelry offerings. Oh, it was definitely my style. I own plenty of leaf clothes and earrings, but this took my love for nature inspired pieces up a notch. Yes, I was definitely going to apply for an opportunity to be an ambassador for Beth Millner Jewelry.

Short background: Beth Millner started making jewelry in her home in 2007 while she was still in college. These days, she has grown into a storefront with 5-7 employees in Marquette, Michigan. The best thing is that while she's grown, her principles have stayed the same: her pieces are all hand made in an eco-friendly, sustainable fashion (think recycled silver and mailers), and she gives back to her community - I recently got a sneak peek at one of her fundraiser jewelry pieces and I'm looking forward to making it mine!

In exchange for my ambassadorship, Beth sent me some pieces to wear and show off this summer. You can see my unboxing here, but of course, my wish list is long, so I thought I'd share my top 5 favorites with everyone. Keep reading to the end, because I have 5 gift cards up for grabs to choose your own favorite Beth Millner Jewelry pieces!

Also, 5 people will win a $20 gift card for any Beth Miller Jewelry piece. How awesome is that!? Enter for your chance below!

Beth Millner

I recently got my fourth shipment from Stitch Fix, and it looks like the fourth time is the charm! I've been diligently sharing feedback each round and also evaluating how I ask my stylist for things, and based on this shipment, I'd say it paid off!

Quick refresher: Stitch Fix is a super easy styling services that delivers new fashions to you each month (or sooner, if you're so inclined). Simply take a style quiz, share your preferences for fit, price range, and perhaps a social media link or two, and you're on your way to a stylist choosing 5 items specifically for you! A $20 styling fee is applied to each shipment and is deducted from any items you keep. You can leave thorough feedback on everything you receive to ensure your fixes keep getting better!

Here's what I received this month:

My first fix included a lightweight navy cardigan, so I don't need another per se, but this is so pretty! I love the lace detail and roll tab sleeves. I don't have anything like this, so it was an easy decision to keep it.

The fabric is soft, like LulaRoe leggings soft. Similar to my Nadine West complaint, this skirt has the old school scrunchy waistband and not the nice wide waistbands you see on most maxi skirts. The fit is a little slimmer than I like my maxis and in general I'm picky about florals. I didn't love this one, but with the keep all discount, it was cheaper to keep all 5 items including this than to keep the 4 I liked and send this back. (Update: I was able to sell this on a SF Facebook group)

I wasn't feeling this in the picture, but loved it when I pulled it out of the box. The grey cotton fabric is super soft, and the woven print fabric up top is really fun. The price is higher than I prefer for this type of shirt and I wouldn't have kept it had I only kept one or two items, but I went for it this time since I liked so many items.

I was thrilled to see these in my Fix! I adore quatrefoil anything and actually have a pair similar to this that is a tad bigger than I prefer. These are gorgeous and the perfect size. Of course I kept them!

This is so pretty and super soft.The sheer top portion has a pretty keyhole detail in the back and while this is super comfortable, it's also perfect for the office. I loved it so much that I wore it to work the very next day before I even took the blog photos! You can safely assume I kept this.

Items loved: 4/5

Items kept: 5/5

So here's the deal: Stitch Fix offers a 25% discount if you keep your entire fix. I did the math and it actually cost me less to keep the maxi skirt than it would have to send it back since I loved the other 4 items. Another SF user let me know that there's plenty of Facebook buy/sell/trade groups just for SF items, so I'll try my luck at finding the maxi skirt a home that will appreciate it.

The 4th time really is the charm! I could tell that the stylist chose items based on ones I'd liked before, particularly the two shirts and the cardigan. Navy is always a winning color for me, and while the grey top wouldn't have caught my eye online or even in stores, I tried it and loved it which really is what Stitch Fix is all about.

What did you think of this month's fix? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and if you didn't know (I've received a few "I'm scared" comments): Stitch Fix is so confident you’ll love it, they will refund your $20 styling fee if you don’t buy anything in your first order! 

The days of my youth were spent at church and at church-related activities: Sunday school, morning service, evening service, weeknight AWANA clubs or youth groups. In addition to these were the occasional retreats, summer camp, snow camp, or conference.

Yes, conference. As a teenager, our youth group went more than once to the Dawson McAllister conference when it visited our local chapel/events center. It was a pretty big deal. These days, he has a "hope line" on some radio stations, but back in the day, he traveled the U.S. delivering motivational gospel to us youngsters.

You can still find me in church on Sundays, but my religious social calendar isn't as rigorous as it was as a teen. However, when I flip on a Christian radio station and MercyMe happens to be playing, it takes me right back to those days. They were the artists performing at the first conference I ever attended. It was the first time I heard the song I Can Only Imagine, one I find beautiful to this day. While some praise and worship music has a way of sounding dated, this one stands the test of time - I still hear it sung in worship services and played on Christian radio.

I was intrigued when I heard a movie of the same name was being produced and thrilled when Flyby Promotions gave me the opportunity to view and share it with you all. Sean and I sat down to watch it together over the weekend and then continued on to the special features for more information!




What I noticed right away when watching this film was the quality.  It didn't have the low-budget, cheesy look or feel that plague many faith based movies. The visuals were gorgeous and the talent was spot on (the cast included a mix of household names like Dennis Quaid and Trace Adkins as well as newcomers like J Michael Finley who I actually saw on Broadway in Les Mis a few years ago!)

I Can Only Imagine was produced by the Erwin Brothers who seek out true stories of an uplifting nature to share with audiences in a high quality format rather than writing the preachy, cheesier stories the genre was known for in the past. In this case, Imagine is the true story behind the song, most specifically lead singer Bart Millard's life and circumstances that ultimately became inspiration.

What I especially liked about Imagine was it's broader accessibility to audiences. The film is someone's story being told and it just so happens that the person in question is a Christian. It doesn't feel preachy or isolating because it isn't trying to preach. Elements in the story are ones that people from many walks of life can relate to, such as the father-son relationships or the chasing of a dream.

I did enjoy the film, but don't just take my word for it. While my review was solicited, it certainly wasn't needed. Just as I Can Only Imagine is the most successful Christian song of all time, the $7 million film is a proven success, grossing $17 million in its opening weekend. My search for numbers since then found it had hit $71 million by April 11. A quick google news search showed me the wide range of outlets who have discussed the film from the more predictable Fox News to the more surprising Hollywood Reporter.

I Can Only Imagine is available on DVD/streaming now! Not only did Flyby send us a copy on DVD to watch, they sent a second to share with one winner! Enter for your chance at a free copy below.

I Can Only Imagine

Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):  Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway.  Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation.  I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.