Updated Walt Disney World Vacation Planners

With all of this cold weather, I most certainly have vacation on the brain. Our next Disney trip is less than 75 days away! With that said, I have been busy completing our Disney Vacation planner with all of our dining reservations, special Star Wars weekend events and of course the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival (which starts this week!).

I also updated all of the Ellegant Decor Disney Collection Vacation Planners! I want all of my customers to have the most up to date information for their Walt Disney World Vacation.

Updates include:
- Disney Parks Character Guide
- Disney PhotoPass Locations
- FastPass+ Kiosk Locations
- Penny Press locations throughout all of the Walt Disney property

and NEW - Locations of Charging Stations at the parks!

There are various types of planners to fit all of your vacation needs. Included in each are:

Value Planner
- Travel Information Page
- Payment Timetable & Budget
- Advanced Dining Reservations Organizer
- Disney Day Planner
- Notes Page

Moderate Planner
- Everything in the Value Planner PLUS
- Important Numbers Page
- Ultimate Disney Packing List

Deluxe Planner
- Everything in the Moderate Planner PLUS
- Extra Spending Money & Souvenir Page
- Parks Character Guide

Castle Planner
- Everything in the Deluxe Planner PLUS
- Average Attraction Wait Time Listing
- Disney PhotoPass Locations
- FastPass+ Kiosk Locations
- Charging Station Locations

The WALT Planner
- Everything in the Castle Planner PLUS
- Locations to view fireworks
- Penny Press Locations throughout the WDW Property

Head on over to Ellegant Decor's Disney Collection to pick out your planner today!

I LOVE Book Clubs

Totally random post - but I love book clubs. It is not just the fact that I have the opportunity to read books outside my usual choices, but the socialization factor too. We are starting a small book club within our group at work. Last night we had our first gathering and we decided to read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Although I have read this book already, it is a great book to start with and is a quick read.

So excited to see where this goes and looking forward to next months gathering.

I am also in a book club with my friends from EY. I unfortunately haven't been able to make the last few gatherings, but I am enjoying reading along with them. It is such a great way to keep in touch with everyone. To be honest, this group is fun and there is no pressure to actually read the books. We usually catch up and gossip :) Oh and I forgot about the wine and cheese - a book club necessity!

Canisius vs. Niagara Game

On Tuesday, we went to the Canisius vs. Niagara basketball game. The women's team played at 4:30 and the men's at 8. In between, there was a reception at Canisius' Science Hall.

With work obligations, we were unable to make it to the women's game, but we did make the reception. It was so nice to meet up with friends before the game. There was a pretty good turn out at the reception and included some former Griffin BBallers like Tony Masiello.

I love the rivalry games - there is so much energy in the Koessler Athletic Center. I was surprised that Niagara did not have a lot of fans at the game. Considering the schools are only 30 minutes apart, both schools travel well when playing each other.

Unfortunately our men's team lost to Niagara. It was a pretty bad game :( But the women's team won! Canisius has a bye going into the MAAC tournament, which is being held in Albany this year. We are thinking about traveling to the tournament and bringing J! My father in law is looking into tickets. We shall see!!!

GO GRIFFS!

Fun with Wyatt & Double Crunch Pork Chops

Last Saturday I got to hang out with my favorite Godson Wyatt!!! We had so much fun racing cars and trucks, playing airplane and making a paper chain to countdown to his birthday! I can't believe he will be three this year! He is so excited for his birthday and wants everything red - his favorite color. Red cars, red plates, red cups, a red shirt, etc. He is too funny. I told him that my favorite color is red and he said that couldn't be because it is orange. Silly Wy-Guy. 

Speaking of "Wy" or "why" - he is going through that questioning phase. I think he thought I was an encyclopedia or something. It was pretty cute to see how curious he was about certain things. 

After playing with Wyatt all morning, I took a nice nap (I hope he did too for Carly) and then made some dinner. I saw some thin cut boneless pork chops when I was grocery shopping and they looked so good. I made breaded pork chops with a honey sauce. Instead of using flour or bread crumbs, I used milled flax seed, hence the dark color in the picture and for the honey I used my Uncle Jack's honey. I think I go through two to three containers in a year. I swear this stuff is also the reason I never get the cold or flu. If I feel any symptoms coming on, I take a tablespoon of it with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top. 

Breaded Pork Chops & Honey Sauce
Makes 2 servings
Pork Chops:
4 thin sliced boneless pork chops
1/2 cup milled/ground flax seed (or almond flour, regular flour, etc)
salt & pepper
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tbsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp ground sage
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 eggs
2 tbsp water

Honey Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
3 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)
pepper (to taste)

Stir together all of the dry ingredients for the pork chop breading as listed in a shallow bowl. Make an egg wash by whisking the eggs with the water in a separate shallow bowl. Dip the meat in the breading mixture, then dip in the egg wash and then a final dip back into the breading mixture. Make sure the breading makes good contact with the chop. After coating all of the pork chops, place the chops in the fridge for 15 minutes to allow the breading to stick better to the pork.

While the pork is resting, in a small saucepan, add the olive oil and minced garlic. Cook over medium heat to soften the garlic. Add the honey, soy sauce and pepper. Simmer together for 5-10 minutes and then allow to cool and thicken. Do not let the sauce boil or it will cause a mess.

Heat a skillet on the stove with a little bit of canola oil, just enough to coat the bottom. I used a medium setting, as to not super heat the oil and over cook the pork. Once the oil is warm, add the pork chops to the skillet and cook each for about 3 minutes per side. Plate the pork immediately and drizzle the honey sauce over the pork chop (or dip them - whatever floats your boat).

First Friday of Lent

For the first Friday of Lent, Christopher surprised me and made dinner. Ooo lala! He made a homemade fish fry and french fries. They were delicious and satisfied my craving for a fish fry, because we certainly were not going to go out in the sub zero weather.

In trying to fulfill my lenten promise, I have started to organize small areas, but that have a large impact. The first area I tackled was our side counter in the kitchen. This is usually our dumping area for the mail, lunch pails, laptop bags, anything we are holding, miscellaneous pantry items, etc. It was so nice to go through and put everything area in its right place. The key to this though is trying to keep it clutter free! It is a good exercise to really understand what we are receiving in the mail - can we stop some of the offers? the catalogs? Can we reduce waste?

I think this weekend I will tackle our two "junk" drawers. Wish me luck!

St. Patrick's Day & Easter Wreaths are up for sale!

So excited to share that I have posted four different types of wreaths available for purchase on my Ellegant Decor Etsy Page.

St. Patrick's Day - Single ring metal form wreath 

St. Patrick's Day - Triple fringe metal form wreath

Easter - Single ring metal form wreath

Easter - Quadruple fringe metal form wreath (the fullest wreath available - over 16"!)

Please pass along my store link and information to anyone who is looking for a wreath to jazz up their door or home decor for the Spring! All wreaths are reasonable priced and ready to ship!

New Decor going up on Ellegant Decor's Etsy page

I am so excited to tell you all that I finished some St. Patrick's Day and Easter wreaths! I made two different kinds - a simple circle wreath with frayed fabric and then a much more complex wreath with lots of fringing. I love how both turned out! I am just confirming shipping costs and then up on the site they will go!

Season of Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday and begins the season of Lent. This year for Lent I would like to do something extra, rather than give something up. This season of Lent I would like to say "Thank You" more to my family and friends, but especially Christopher. In our busy lives I know that I can take for granted the things those close to me do. And usually, it is the every day stuff - doing the dishes, calling to check up on me, etc. I want to express my appreciation to my loved ones more.

I would also like to focus on all the "excess" in my life. Go through and organize my "junk" drawers and get rid of and donate items that are of no use to me, but could be useful to others. Also assessing things that I think I "need" but really are nice to haves.

Haircut & Gambit Gift Gathering

I got my haircut on Friday - woo hoo. I love going to see my hair stylist Elizabeth - she always makes me feel like a million bucks. And the hair cut was perfect timing because Friday night Christopher and I were co-hosts for the annual Gambit Gift Gathering party at the Clement Mansion.

It was a fun night and attended well with CHS alums and some current parents.

They received many excellent raffle prizes and the night was a success! Next year we hope to see more family and friends attend a fun event.

Valentine's Day Shenanigans

Valentine's Day would not be complete without some yummy treats! We made some heart-shaped cinnamon bun treats to give to our parents and bring to Jonathan for our visit.

I found a recipe for "Breakfast" cookies and I thought - why not! Basically a chocolate chip cookie made with banana, applesauce, oats, almond milk, vanilla and the chocolate. They were pretty yummy, but not as good as the real thing.

We received some Valentine's from our parents. The M's sent us some chocolate covered strawberries and my parents gave us our favorite chocolate - Reese's peanut butter cups and Dove milk chocolate. Boy are we loved or what!

Our little lovies :)

On Valentine's day we left super early in the morning for Kingston to visit J! We made it out as the snow storm moved into Buffalo and we are so glad we made the decision to leave early and spend the night. A HUGE thank you to my parents for watching our little Valentine's (see pictures above). Marv and Jameson got to spend some great time with Grandma and Grandpa and of course Buddy! And to Christopher's parents for booking us the hotel room so we could stay and make it back the next day.

We had a great visit with Jonathan. We played card games, went to the mall, saw the movie "The Kingsman" and had a great dinner at Olive Garden. It was so great to see him and hang out. Hopefully he will be sending me more pictures that I can post. J took along his camera and got some excellent shots during dinner. We also celebrated J's birthday and ordered TWO desserts (I know - we are getting crazy). It was a great time.

And of course there is my favorite Valentine - Christopher. We relaxed on Sunday, enjoyed a bottle of wine and each others company. It was a great Valentine's day weekend!

Let's Dub this "Crack" Bread

So I have always wanted to try and make the scratch bread like Wegmans sells ($5/round - ouch) so I have been looking for some recipes. Most of the ones I found require the bread to be baked in a cast iron dutch oven (like this recipe here). I would love to own one of the beautiful Le Creuset ones, but I do not currently have one. So one night I decided to try baking the bread in a Pyrex glass bowl. BOOM - it worked. Or at least we love the result. I call it "crack" bread because I have made 4 rounds in 6 days and they are all gone!!! The above picture is what was left of the 4th round, so I figured I should hurry up and take a picture. I am going to share with you the recipe with modifications I used. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Crack Bread
Makes 2 smaller rounds

1 packet active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 cups warm water
2 tsp salt
4 cups of flour
about 2 tbsp butter

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the yeast and sugar, then add the warm water. Leave the mixture along for about 10 minutes. The yeast and water will become frothy. Add the salt to the bowl. Using the dough hook attachment, turn the mixer onto a low setting and slowing add the flour. Once all the flour has been added, turn the setting up one or two notches higher to knead the dough. The dough will be fairly wet (unlike a pizza dough). Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with a dish cloth and place in a warm area to rise for an hour. Since it is the dead of winter, I turn my oven on low (like 300) and place the bowl near, but not on or in, the oven.

After an hour, the dough should have at least doubled in size. Punch down the dough and divide the dough in half. Butter two medium sized glass Pyrex bowls. Put the divided dough into each of the bowls. Let the dough rise again in the buttered bowls, uncovered, for about 25 minutes. While the dough is rising for a second time preheat the oven to 425 degrees. After the 25 minutes, bake the bread in the buttered bowls for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes. If the dough still looks a little "pale", bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the bowls from the oven and turn out onto cooking racks immediately. If you buttered the bowls properly, the rounds should just fall right out. Cool for about 5 - 10 minutes before cutting into (it will be hard to resist). Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe Bake (or Pizza as Christopher calls it)

One of Christopher's favorite dishes is sloppy joes. I on the other hand do not really prefer it. But happy husband, happy...I guess it doesn't really work like that, but I wanted to make him happy! So I thought I would combine his favorite - the sloppy joe and mine - gobs of cheese and created this. It turned out pretty well, so I thought I would share the recipe.

Sloppy Joe Bake or Pizza
1 ball of dough (store bought or handmade - I handmade mine because I LOVE a homemade dough)
1 lb of ground beef or turkey (I used turkey, but beef is more traditional)
1 can of sloppy joe sauce (I slacked here)
8 oz mixture of shredded cheddar and mozzarella

If you are making the dough, make your dough and let it rise. If you went the store bought option, take the dough out and let is rise for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a 10 or 12 inch cast iron or oven proof skillet and set aside.

Start the sloppy part - brown the ground meat until it is cooked through. Make sure to break up the meat as finely as you can. Drain the meat. Add the can of the sloppy joe sauce or put together your own and add it to the drained, cooked ground meat, stirring it into the meat. Cook for about 10-12 minutes on low, until the sauce is well combined and has thickened a bit.

While the sauced meat is cooking, roll out the dough to the size of your skillet or pan. I made a thicker crust using the whole dough, but if you prefer a thinner crust, cut the dough in half. Form the dough in the skillet and bake in the oven for about 5-7 minutes. After the 5-7 minutes, turn off the oven and turn the oven to broil.

Spread the sloppy joe mixture on top of the pre-cooked dough then cover with the cheese mixture. Place the skillet back in the oven under the broiler until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes for easier cutting and serve up!

Easy Basic Dough Recipe (this is what I used above)
1 package active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup very warm water
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil

In a stand mixer bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let stand until the mixture starts to froth, about 10-12 minutes. Slowly add the salt and flour on a slow to medium speed with the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer. Kneed using the mixer, until a dough ball has formed. Drizzle the olive oil over the dough, turning the dough so the oil coats the entire dough. Let rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes. Use as a pizza dough, garlic bread dough - the possibilities are endless.

BBQ Cheesy Chicken & Potato Bake

Two days ago I cooked another whole chicken in the crock pot (LOVE IT) and had tons of it leftover. I made up two of the following casseroles - one for us and one for a friend. I thought I would share the recipe. It was super easy and convenient and delcious. I mean, come on doesn't the melted cheese make you hungry?

BBQ Cheesy Chicken & Potato Bake
Makes 1 9x13 pan or 2 8x8 pans

3 large potatoes, cooked until tender (I microwaved them for 10 minutes)
1 cup diced or shredded chicken breast (already cooked)
2-3 tbsp favorite bbq sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup sliced green onion

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray the desired size casserole or glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Cook your potatoes until they are fork tender. Once cooled enough to touch, dice into small cubes and toss into the baking dish(es). Combine the shredded/diced chicken breast with the bbq sauce. Then combine the potatoes and the sauced chicken together in the casserole. dish. I lightly salted and peppered this to our liking. Then top the potato & chicken mixture with the shredded cheese and then top that with the sliced green onion. Pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is all melted and starting to lightly brown on top.

Since I split this into two pans, I baked one and then froze the other for a friend. You all know I love a 2 for 1 bargain :)

Safe, Non-Toxic Hardware Cleaner

I thought I would share this with my family and friends. As most of you know, one of Christopher's hobbies is restoring and refinishing old furniture. As part of restoring furniture, he cleans the original hardware to bring it back to life (and save the expense of replacing it).

He has been working on an old chest that was his grandfathers and wanted to clean the hardware. I saw the stuff sitting on the counter and asked him what it was. I was thinking it was soaking in some nasty chemicals and stuff and was a little pissy at him thinking he left this chemical solution in our kitchen!

Lo and behold the solution was not some toxic chemical, but was made from everyday household products. Isn't he nifty! And the solution mix works really well (see above). All he mixes together are:
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp vinegar
2 cups of HOT water

Then he lets the pieces soak for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours in the mixture and then lightly scrubs them with some fine steel wool. That easy folks!