Saturday Breakfast & Epcot

Saturday morning we had breakfast at The Grand Floridian Cafe to catch up with Mom and Dad on their date night and to share with them ours. They had a lovely time at the California Grill. Our breakfast was delicious as usual. Christopher got his fill of steak and eggs and I got the breakfast platter (I like a little bit of everything).

We then made our way to Epcot via the monorail. We went on Imagination with Figment, walked through Innoventions plaza, did Ellen's Energy Adventure and waited in line for Test Track only to have it break down right when we designed our car. Bummer! But we did get a free fast pass to use whenever we would like.

We checked out some of the gardens during the festival. We then walked around World Showcase Lagoon catching the last weekend of the Flower & Garden Festival and all of the fun treats.

We ate a spicy pineapple hot dog, blueberry pomegranate margarita, the lucky combo in China, a beer flight in Germany, Maple Bacon stout from the Smokehouse (while catching the new acappella act perform too - they were AWESOME!) and of course a trip around the world would not be complete without a Grey Goose Grand Marnier martini!

We had a very nice afternoon walking around. We then refreshed ourselves and walked over to the Beach Club for dinner at Beaches & Cream Soda Shop. I had a burger and Christopher had a turkey sandwich. Mom and Dad both had burgers and of course we all indulged in a sundae. It was so cute inside and we had fun selecting tunes from the juke box.

After dinner, Christopher and I walked over to Hollywood Studios to catch Symphony in the Stars. We had some time to kill so we waited and rode Star Tours and had a flight sequence we have not seen before! It was our favorite yet. We then staked our spot on Hollywood Boulevard for the show and fireworks. It did not disappoint. So incredible to have the fireworks go off to the Star Wars score. Christopher videoed it so we can watch it again and again. 

Wonderful Summer

This summer so far has been wonderful. We have been able to spend time with family and friends and do fun things around the area. I know that I have been MIA for a little while - that is summer for you. But I hope to get back into the swing of things with the blog soon. For now, here are some pictures from our activities throughout the summer.

Dog days of summer!

Mom's Surprise 60th Birthday Tea

4th of July Party Snack - blueberries, watermelon, cheeries, raspberries and cheese

Tommy & Brandon's party

Lunch date with Miss Molly

One of the many new recipes we tried

Zoo day with Molly and Christine

I got LASIK!

2015-2016 planning time!

My favorite racer

Emma's 1st birthday party

The Simm Family

Lindsay's Wedding!

Bills preseason

Christopher took 2nd place in his category at a 5k!

Papa's 95th birthday

Our First Day in Walt Disney World!

So we flew to Orlando out of the Buffalo airport at 5:30am! It was an early morning flight, but totally worth it so we could have a full day of fun in the sun. We spent our first day in Epcot, which was walking distance from the first resort we stayed at - the Boardwalk Villas. Our room was ready when we arrived, which we were really impressed with considering it was only 9 o'clock in the morning! So we dropped off our carry-ons to the room and got ready to hit the park!

We got to ride Soarin', caught a sneak preview of Tomorrowland, which they were showing in the Captain EO theater (Captain EO was "down" for the special sneak preview) and one of our favorite attractions, Spaceship Earth. We walked around quite a bit to look at all of the gardens and topiaries, since we were able to catch the last week of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. I even braved going into the Butterfly garden and no - I did not freak out when the butterflies landed on me (like I did last year - people probably thought I was nuts!). We got to see the new Anna & Elsa topiaries, which were quite exquisite. Mom and Dad's favorite topiary was the Lady & the Tramp one located outside of Italy. They said it reminded them of Marv and Jameson.

Speaking of Marv and Jameson, they "vacationed" with my parents, who decided not to join us on this trip. They had a great time and enjoyed chasing Buddy around.

A funny situation did happen while we were walking around World Showcase, Dad was taking a picture of Christopher and I in Japan and a Disney World security officer stopped Dad and gave him a ticket! No worries - it was a citation for him not being in the picture with us. We have never seen this in the parks before. The officer was very nice and funny, he even made Dad a Junior Officer to protect the magic, complete with a badge sticker! Dad was very proud and wore his sticker for the rest of the trip.

As we walked around World Showcase, we also sampled some of the food offerings for the flower & garden festival. We sampled the Crispin' Blackberry Pear cider, a cronut (Christopher's favorite", duck confit with parsley potatoes, smoked debreziner sausage and pineapple sparkling wine. All were yummy!

We had lunch at Via Napoli and split a huge pepperoni and sausage pizza. It was delicious and so fresh. Then we split tiramisu, which was so amazing and authentic. We really liked our experience at this restaurant and hope to return in future trips. For families, this was a very affordable option for dining.

We then took a little break in the afternoon and went back to the resort to unpack and freshen up. Christopher and I then took a little walk around Crescent Lake and he treated me to my pearl for the trip. I ended up picking an oyster with an 8mm pearl! I am one lucky girl!

Dinner was at Le Cellier in the Canadian pavilion. And it was of course fabulous. Our server was pleasant and from Ontario. Christopher and I split the famous beer cheddar soup and we all ordered the filet mignon with wild mushroom risotto (yes, even I ate the risotto - it was worth the headache). Mom and Dad split creamed spinach to pair with their steak and Christopher and I split the mac & cheese. We were too full for dessert (I know - the Maple Creme Brulee - next time!). Since our reservation was late (at 8:50 pm), when we left the restaurant, we were one of the last ones left in the park. Which is an experience in itself since the park is so empty and quiet.

It was such a wonderful first day at Walt Disney World. We all fell right asleep and got to sleep in on Thursday.

We are Back!

Hard to believe we have been back from Walt Disney World for not quite one week! We already are missing the World, but we are so excited to share with you our vacation! It was a wonderful 12 days with Christopher and his parents.

It was almost like a vacation within a vacation because the first part of our trip was very busy and Disney parks heavy and then the second half of our vacation was more resorty and relaxing. It was designed like that because Christopher and I's annual passes expired in the middle of our trip. With Hawaii coming up next year and banking our points for that trip, we knew we would not be doing another extended trip to Disney World within the next year, so we did not incur the expense to renew our passes.

Looking forward to writing future blog posts about our wonderful 2015 trip!

My Birthday

I had such as fabulous birthday! It is tough getting older and especially this birthday as this is my last birthday in my 20's. Yikes - where did the time go??? Christopher and the boys spoiled me when I woke up and gave me their presents. I received two gorgeous Pandora Disney charms for my bracelet AND a gold Alex & Ani DVC bangle!

Then I met my mom for pizza at Romeo & Juliets. It was so great to see her on my birthday. I do owe it to her for bringing me into this world. Without her - there would be no birthday.

When I got back to my desk at work, I had this plaque and leather notepad on my desk. I had been recognized for contributing to Praxair's safety program!!! I was totally surprised and added to my wonderful day.

Also related to work, that morning I had to move offices! So I got to spend the morning sorting and organizing my new office. Yep - I have TWO windows! I am loving the natural light very much.

Then Christopher spoiled me some more and make reservations for my favorite restaurant - Left Bank. Dinner was absolutely perfect and delicious. Christopher ordered the steak and lobster (and shared both) and I ordered the Pork Tenderloin in the Grand Mariner sauce. My mouth is watering as I am typing this!

We then celebrated with both of my parents on Friday night. We went to Schnitzel's for dinner (also fabulous and highly recommend) and then went back to the house for some homemade dessert.

We then celebrated with the Musialowski's at Chef's for some spaghetti parmesan. And I finished my WHOLE parm that night. No leftovers for the birthday girl. We had a wonderful time laughing and catching up at dinner.

Also one of my best friends, Christine, took me out to lunch this past week too! I am one lucky lady! It is always so much fun catching up with each other. 

Rockin' my new kick ass heels at work today :) Huge thanks to all of my family and friends for wishing me a happy birthday. You all sure know how to make a girl feel special!