Sunday, August 18, 2019

Trip Report - Halloween at Disney World (October 2018)



Hello All!

In honor of Disney World putting up their Halloween decorations for this year, I'm recapping our trip to Disney World last Halloween season! It was always a dream of mine to go to Disney for the Halloween season, to revel in the decorations on main street and to attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Let me tell you, the party was so much fun, but such a blur! I checked it off my bucket list but added a second trip to the party right back on :)

I'm a bit behind on editing and uploading trip photos (there are loooots of photos from our Honeymoon still to come!) so I'm going to consolidate all of our photos from this trip into one post. It was a super fast trip, only 3 full days plus 2 travel days, so I'm going to recap what we did step by step throughout our 3 day trip.






We flew in to Orlando around 4 in the afternoon. The day we landed we opted to spend the evening in Disney Springs! We visited with the lego loch ness monster (a favorite of mine since childhood), had a tasty snack at the Daily Poutine stand (the Oktoberfest Poutine), and shopped around a bit. Not pictured was a SUPER fun dinner at Raglan Road (we were hungry, so I forgot to document! But this restaurant was a highlight for sure! We also loved the Irish entertainment!). After dinner we stopped at Indiana Jones thmed Jock Lindey's Hangar Bar. There were no seats inside so we sat outside on the water instead. This was a really calm spot, even on a busy day at Disney Springs. The perfect way to end the night!









The following day, we didn't have park tickets until our evening Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets. So to start the day, we headed over to winter summerland miniature golf course! We opened up the place so we had it practically to ourselves. While we were having a Halloween trip, it was fun to see so much Christmas and look forward to the season to come!



After we finished miniature golf, we popped over to the Polynesian resort, just to spook around. Here I had my first Dole Whip! It really is amazing! Next time I will for sure try the Dole Whip with rum!













After our quick dole whip snack at the Polynesian we hopped on the monorail and head to the Grand Floridian where we experienced the Garden View Tea Room! This tea was one of the highlights of the trip! The tea sandwiches were absolutely delicious and our waiter treat us to every desert on the menu, rather than having us pick! The tea itself was also sublime, and the tea pot was covered in a Grand Floridian branded tea cozy. So fun! After tea, we spent a few quiet moment on the dock at the Grand Floridian before taking the boat to the magic kingdom in time for the party!
















Our first night we spent at the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! It was an incredible amount of fun. Our first stop was to grab our party merch. Afterwards we rode all our favorite rides, The Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion. We had dinner at Colombia Harbor House (our favorite food spot at the Magic Kingdom) and rode splash mountain at sunset! We were able to nab an incredible spot for the special party fireworks, then squeeze our way to the front row for the Villain's stage show! It was incredible! Finally after dark, we hit a ton of trick or treat spots and nabbed ourselves a boatload of candy! We caught the Boo To You parade, and speed walked after to ride Pirates of the Caribbean just before the park closed. We just made it! Overall, it was an incredibly successful night at the Magic Kingdom. I want to do the Halloween party again!!

















We spend the second day of our Disney vacation at Epcot! They were having their food and wine festival at the time. We spend the day eating and drinking around the world, and enjoying some of our favorite Epcot rides, including the New Frozen ride! We cut out just before the nighttime show and head over to Trader Sam's Grog Grotto at the Polynesian resort. We were seated right away and enjoyed the show with our drinks! We finished up at Trader Sam's around 1 in the morning, and stumbled our way back to our hotel :)





















































Our last day at the parks was spent at Animal Kingdom! This is definitely my favorite park. We started the day on the Safari, and were lucky to see all of the animals out an about! We enjoyed the lion king stage show as well as all of the nature and animal walks around the parks. I scored a fastpass for the Avatar Flight of Passage ride, and absolutely loved it! We ate lunch in Pandora, and it was a delicious chicken bowl and interesting cheesecake that I could eat again and again. For an evening snack we sat and had bread service and cocktails at Nomad Lounge, the atmosphere and the nosh were amazing! We ate dinner at Tusker House buffet, that was definitely a highlight! I also loved the new Animal Kingdom night show, as well as the "awakenings" light show that took place on the tree of life. Overall, such a fun day!


Friday, August 16, 2019

Havarti Mouthfull - Turkey and Dill Havarti Sandwich Recipe


Hello All!

Today I'm bringing you my version of a favorite sandwich we discovered at a charming local lunch spot. This sandwich is sooo delicious, and it includes fresh tastes of summer with dill and cucumber. I love recipes like this because it makes for such a delicious dinner, yet so fast to put together!

You might notice a new background for my photos here. We have some big news, we bought a house! Expect fall home decor tour photos soon with scenes from our new home!

Read on to find out how to make this delicious mouthfull!




Ingredients

  •  Sliced bread (I used Pepperidge Farm's oatmeal sliced bread)
  • Tomato, sliced into rounds
  • Cucumber, sliced into rounds
  • Dill Havarti Cheese (you can use sandwich slices, but a block of cheese sliced tastes even better)
  • Mayonnaise
  • Fresh Dill
  • Sliced Turkey Breast
  • Salt 
  • Pepper
  • Garlic Salt (optional)

Directions

 Toast bread slices. Dice the fresh dill and stir it into the mayonnaise. Spread mayo on the toasted bread.

Layer tomato, cucumber, cheese and turkey breast onto the bread. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic salt if desired. Secure sandwich with toothpicks and cut into large trianges.

Enjoy!




Grandpa Hoagies, a.k.a. The Definitive Italian Hoagie Recipe


 Hello again!

Today I'm bringing you my Grandpa's famous Italian Hoagie recipe. You couldn't hope for a more delicious Italian sandwich than this one. The best part is it's perfect for a party as well, the presentation is impressive and it's perfect to feed a crowd! The recipe creates 3 large sandwiches. If you want to make only 1 or 2, simply divide the amounts of meats and cheese required. This recipe is best with fresh Boar's Head meats straight from the deli counter. Read on to find out how to make this incredible sandwich!




Ingredients

  • 3 Italian Bread Loaves
  • Iceberg lettuce, cut into long thin shreds
  • Tomatoes, 3 medium or 2 large, cut on the thin side
  • Onion, sliced thin
  • Mayonnaise
  • Tallorico's Hoagie Spread
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Oregano
  • Garlic Salt
  • 3/4 lb ham (increase to 1 lb for a thicker sandwich)
  • 1/3 lb genoa salami sliced thin
  • 1/3 lb sandwich pepperoni sliced thin
  • 2/3 lb provolone sliced medium (increase to 1lb if desired)

Directions

Slice loaves of bread down the middle

Spread both sides of the bread with mayo, not too thick

Spread top half of bread with hoagie spread

Cut the meat and cheese slices in half and spread out on the bread. Top with lettuce, tomato, and onion.

Drizzle on olive oil, add salt, peper, oregano and garlic salt lightly on top.

Serve sliced with toothpicks to hold each segment of the sliced sandwich together.

Enjoy!





Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe


This is the absolute best peanut butter cookie recipe, ever! Not to hard, not too soft, simple to put together, and turns out beautifully every time. This recipe was shared with me by my childhood flute teacher, and they're the only peanut butter recipe I've ever made since! They're just that good! I'm submitting these to the local fair cookie competition this year, I will report back with the results! In the meantime, try these for yourself, you won't be disappointed!


Ingredients

  •  1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth
  • 1/4 cup crisco shortening
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon barking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions


Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl with a wooden spoon, mix together both sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and the egg until smooth.

Once the mixture is smooth and creamy, stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until just combined.

Use a medium cookie scoot to shape dough into 1 and 1/4 inch balls. Place balls 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet (use a Silpat baking mat on top of the cookie sheet if available to ensure even baking).

Flatten balls gently in crosscross pattern with a fork dipped in just a bit of water, then granulated sugar.

Bake cookies 8 - 10 minutes or until light brown. Do not overbake!!! Cool cookies 2 minutes on cookie sheet, then remove with spatula to a wire rack. Cool.

Enjoy!