Holiday Plan 2015: Week 2

Week of September 6th:
- Start to buy extra baking ingredients like sugar, butter, flour, etc; this way, you have the necessary ingredients when it is time to start baking AND you do not have to buy it all at once making your wallet hurt a little
- Make two crock pot meals - one to eat this week and one to freeze for a later date; I don't know about all of you, but things get really hectic in the Fall and it is great to have a supply of frozen crock pot meals handy. This week, I am hoping to put together a make ahead Greek chicken recipe!
- Divide some of the gift responsibilities with Christopher; our first year we were married we did not communicate this well and ended up buying triplicate gifts for some people. We love being generous, but we also have to be conscious of our budget
- Discuss with Christopher our holiday traditions and expectations for this year; we use this time to re-cap last years holidays - what went well, what could be improved, etc. We also start talking where we will celebrate each holiday
- Deep cleaning area this week: Living/Family room - after entering our freshly cleaned porch, I want to wow guests with a shiny living room (at least that is the hope!)

Good luck to those following along!

Holiday Plan 2015: Week 1

It is the kick off week to my holiday planning and super checklist. What I tried to do is break down each task into manageable pieces in order to prepare for Halloween (we don't really celebrate, but I do decorate and hand out candy!), Thanksgiving (we host) and Christmas.

I am sharing with you my personal to-do list (or checklist). I created this around our values, schedules and our preferences for each of the holidays. If you want to follow along, please adapt for your families needs. And let me know what you add/subtract from the list - I am always looking for ways to do things more efficiently!

Week of August 30th:
- create and put together my Christmas notebook; nothing to really put in it yet, but I usually designate an old binder for this task
- Draft a gift list with budget; I create a list of everyone who we give gifts to and jot down ideas on what we should give. I also create a budget specifically related to gift giving and try to stick to that as much as possible
- Review my Christmas card list; I have a pre-made Christmas Card address book and organizer (I know - old fashioned) that I review and see if I need to reach out to people who moved, add new friends, etc.
- Start drafting menus for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas
- Create a gifts to make list; I love crafting, so I usually will try to make 2-3 Christmas gifts each year
- After creating a potential menu, jot down long-term grocery shopping items. Most of my menu items are not unique and can be easily found. Some exceptions are ingredients or decorations for my Christmas cookies. It is always good to keep these items in the back of your head when the holiday items start getting put out
- Create a Christmas Cookie list & ingredients; I also throw in any desserts for Halloween and Thanksgiving too
- Order/replace any gift wrap, tape, bags, etc; I make sure I have everything I need on hand before I start wrapping (my least favorite Christmas task)
- Deep clean one area of our house; I think this week I will start with our front porch and entry. I love putting out mums, pumpkins, etc on our steps, so I think this makes the most sense to do first

And there you have it! Week 1 isn't so bad, right? Let me know if you are following along!

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

Travelling to Disney - Pre-Arrival Tips

With our Disney trip almost two months away, I thought I would post some planning tips prior arriving at Disney. I suppose anyone can relate these tips to a vacation anywhere too!

1. Reserve or Confirm your Magical Express Airport Transfer. Disney's Magical Express is a service available to guests who stay on Walt Disney World property at the resorts. This service will pick your family up at the airport to your resort and take you from the resort to the airport for your departure. You can make a reservation either when you book your trip directly through Disney or by submitting a request via an online reservation form up to 10 days before your arrival date. 

Once your request has been confirmed, Disney will send information and luggage tags prior to your arrival. We LOVE using the provided luggage tags as Disney will wait in baggage claim to take your bags for you to your Disney Resort room! Just make sure you do not need anything from inside them as you will not have access to your bags until they are delivered to your room. 

2. Online Check-In Service. Pre-registering online will simplify your arrival at the Disney World Resorts. You can check in online 60 days prior to your arrival. Then, when you arrive at your hotel, simply head to the Online Check-In Desk where your packet/folder will be waiting. You will need to show valid photo ID and you are on your way! Some resorts even have cast members waiting outside the Disney Magical Express stop to speed up your check in process even more!

3. Make Dining Reservations. Popular restaurants fill up quickly, so be sure to make reservations in advance of your arrival. Dining reservations are accepted up to 180 days prior to check-in (6 months). You can book reservations several ways - through your My Disney Experience app or website account, or over the phone directly with Disney (407-939-3463). 

In addition, if you are celebrating a special occasion, call ahead if you would like to have a cake or special arrangement delivered. Most of these special requests require a minimum of 48 hours notice. Call 407-827-2253 to place an order. 

4. Make the Most out of your MyMagic+. Make sure you have an account through My Disney Experience and download the My Disney Experience App. This will allow you to modify any of your Disney reservations, including Dining and FastPass+ experiences. 

Make sure to pre-order your MagicBands. MagicBands are fantastic because you will be able to travel the parks much lighter! MagicBands will act as your room key, theme park & water park pass, your check in for FastPass+, connect all of your families PhotoPass pictures and your room charge so you can charge your meals and merchandise directly to your room. We LOVE the MagicBands and the freedom they offer. 

And you cannot forgot Disney FastPass+ Service. FastPass+ lets you reserve access to select attractions, entertainment, character meet and greets and special viewing areas for parades and fireworks. These reservations can be made up to 60 days prior to your arrival. This way, you can select your family's favorite attractions, times you will be in the park, in order to ensure you will get on the attraction. Up to three attractions maybe selected for one park each day. See the Disney website for choices and attraction tiers. 

5. If you are staying for an extended period or require a lot of hard goods, but do not want to pay airline baggage fees, order groceries and goods ahead of time! Although we have never paid for this service, we have heard excellent feedback, especially for families with babies that require diapers  and wipes. There are several grocery providers that are approved to deliver goods to Walt Disney World Properties. Consult directly with Disney regarding your needs and an approved provider. 

6. Make any equipment reservations necessary for your party. This could include strollers, wagons, oxygen tanks, electric scooters, etc. Similar to the grocery service, there are several service providers that are approved by Disney and will drop off the equipment directly to your resort. This is highly recommended as the Disney rentals are first come, first serve AND cannot be used outside of the location rented. For example, if you rent a scooter from Magic Kingdom Guest Services, you cannot leave the park with it. 

I hope leaving you with these tips will help make your Disney trip planning less stressful! In addition to the above tips, an Ellegant Decor Disney World Vacation planner can also help track all of your reservations, rentals and park planning in one place! Newly released is a special Microsoft Excel file to assist in planning out your Disney Dining Plan credits! Check out all of the planners here!

Wonderful Weekend

This past weekend was so much fun and very productive. Friday night Christopher and I had a little date night. I have been craving the Pizza Hut pizza with the triple cheese - cheese topping, stuffed crust and the asiago on top of the crust. So he indulged me and we had dinner there. Perfect Friday dinner in Lent AND it was everything I could have hoped for and then some. But you all know that I am a cheesy chick. Then we went to the golf dome and played miniature golf. Christopher was incredible and got 3 hole in 1's!!! Needless to say he beat me, but only by three :) I am so ready for warmer weather to get outside and play the real thing!

We then relaxed and watched some TV in bed. Christopher left very early Saturday morning with his Dad to visit J and go see Canisius BBall play in the MAAC Tournament. They had a great time but unfortunately Canisius lost to Monmouth. Next year guys!

I on the other hand had a wonderfully productive day AND got to see one of my very close friends Reese. We had lunch together and I made a dairy free cheesy potato recipe. It was one of our favorite dinners we made when we were in college. Yes - we made cheesy potatoes into a main dish. It was so great to see her and catch up. Looking forward to our next girls date soon.

I was pretty pooped by dinner time, so leftover pizza it was! The pups and I then snuggled and watched some TV and had a glass of wine. Sunday was another productive day! I missed Christopher, but man do I get a lot done without him distracting me.

He left Kingston earlier than expected and was home for dinner! It was so great to re-cap the weekend together and I made him his favorite Mini Taco cups. Looking forward to the week ahead!

Fun Weekend

Last weekend we had the perfect combo of busy, fun and relaxing. Friday night we met Christopher's parents for a fish fry at Papa Jake's. Boy it was packed! At 5:30, we waited about 40 minutes for a table! But that was okay because we had a lot of catch up on and enjoyed some drinks at the bar. The fish fry was incredible and we could all see why there is such a long wait. And...by 7:30 they were all sold out of fish! Definitely Lent in Buffalo!

Saturday morning I worked on updating my etsy site and listing and ran errands, got my oil changed in my car and meal prepped a little for the week. Then we - all four of us - went over to my parent's house for some lunch, a visit and to show Dad how to use his new tablet! I am so proud of my Dad for trying to learn how to use it. He has never used a computer before and did a great job learning to use the tablet. The pups had a blast playing with Buddy and running around.

Saturday night we had a Netflix marathon of House of Cards - to catch up on Season 2. Yep - we are very behind - no spoilers! This week we are going to start on the newly released Season 3.

Sunday we had church, where we saw some friends and caught up with a former teacher of Christopher's - Fr Tom. I worked on some new merchandise for Ellegant Decor and Christopher is finishing up one of his refinishing projects for a friend of ours. It was a very productive weekend.

Then Sunday night, I played around with one of our families favorite and classic recipes - Cheesy Potatoes! I will have to post the recipe I used, but we swapped out the potatoes for zucchini and the sour cream for Greek yogurt and also added chicken. It came out delicious and even Christopher enjoyed it. It is also very similar to a recipe that one of my best friends Reese created too. I am loving making hearty bakes and casseroles - it has been way too cold out.

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!

Holiday Plan 2014: Week 18 The Finish Line

Week of December 28th:
- Take down decorations
- Take down trees (so sad)
- Make New Year's Resolutions
- Celebrate New Years Eve
- Celebrate New Years Day
- Stock up on all occasions cards (birthdays, anniversary, get well, etc)
- Assess the holiday season

I hope you have all enjoyed our 18 weeks of holiday planning. Looking forward to taking a breather and relaxing!

Holiday Plan 2014: Week 17 Merry Christmas!

The week of Christmas is upon us! Hopefully if you have been following along you will be just as prepared for this holiday! I know we are glad we followed the schedule. It made our holidays much less stressful!

Enjoy this week with your friends and family! Joy to the World!

Week of December 21st:
- Start Christmas food prep
- Use a freezer meal or two
- Celebrate Christmas Eve
- Celebrate Christmas Day
- Write thank yous
- Shop post-Christmas sales!
- Pick up next year's Christmas Cards
- Lightly remove some decorations

Holiday Plan 2014 - Week 16

Week of December 14th:
- Return from Walt Disney World :(
- Use some freezer meals!
- Make any New Year's plans
- Bonus time - spot clean areas
- Make any last minute cookies

Christmas is almost HERE!!!!

Holiday Plan 2014 - Week 15

Week of December 7th:
- Mail Christmas Cards
- Make last minute to do lists
- Pack for Disney!
- Confirm all Disney reservations
- Hold mail and newspaper orders
- Enjoy Walt Disney World!

Holiday Plan 2014 - Week 14

Week of November 30th:
- Set up the rest of the Christmas decorations
- Put boxes from decorating away
- Decorate our front yard for Christmas
- Plan all family/friend holiday gatherings
- Start the "Twas the Night Before Christmas" tradition; Christopher recites this each night starting on December 1st after we do our Advent prayer

- Prepare all packages for mailing
- Order any foods necessary for Christmas
- Finish up the Christmas cards
- Pick up Christmas stamps for the cards
- Stamp all of the Cards

Holiday Plan 2014: Week 13 - Happy Thanksgiving!

Week of November 23rd:
- Stock the bathrooms with necessities for the holidays (ever been a guest at someones house and they run out of TP...it is the pits)
- Get everything out for Thanksgiving
- Make any food ahead of time for the dinner (typically done on Monday night)
- Thanksgiving day prep
- Use one or two of the crock pot meals this week
- Celebrate Thanksgiving!
- Black Friday Shopping (any last minute gifts needed?)
- Remove Thanksgiving decorations

- Set up Christmas Trees (we have three!)

- Set up Advent Wreath and Creche area

- Deep cleaning area this week: Dining Room. I usually leave this one for the week of Thanksgiving (crazy, right) but since everyone will be congregating in this room, I want it to sparkle!

From our house to yours we hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Holiday Plan 2014 - Week 12

Week of November 16th:
- Make one batch of freezable cookies
- Make two crock pot meals - one to eat this week and one to freeze for a later date
- Purchase some non-perishable goods used in the planned recipes
- Purchase some gifts
- Wrap the purchased gifts
- Work on homemade gifts
- Continue to work on Christmas cards
- Make place cards for Thanksgiving
- Review serving pieces needed to serve Thanksgiving and label
- Buy any extra disposable dishware needed
- Clean & press table linens
- Work on Thanksgiving Centerpiece
- Deep cleaning area this week: Basement. Probably will not do much, but will survey and see what areas need to be organized

Good luck to those following along!

Holiday Plan 2014: Week 11

Week of November 9th:
- Make one batch of freezable cookies
- Make two crock pot meals - one to eat this week and one to freeze for a later date
- Purchase some non-perishable goods used in the planned recipes
- Purchase some gifts
- Wrap the purchased gifts
- Work on homemade gifts
- Continue to work on Christmas cards
- Clear out the foyer closet for guest coats
- Rent/reserve/buy/borrow any items needed for Thanksgiving and Christmas

- Plan the table setting for Thanksgiving
- Review & revise the menu for Thanksgiving
- Plan table centerpiece for Thanksgiving
- Plan what we are wearing for Thanksgiving dinner (then clean & press)
- Deep cleaning area this week: Garage - the one room I do not have to worry about cleaning. This one is all Christopher :)

Good luck to those following along!

Holiday Planning - Update

So a holiday planning update! Over halfway there until Christmas!!! So far I am 3 for 5 with homemade gifts. My favorite is probably the wine cork christmas trees - didn't they turn out cute? I finished the 12 days of Christmas project for three of my nieces and nephew and I complete my homemade Disney heart ornaments. Phew. What do I have left? Santa Candy Jars and Mickey & Minnie ornaments. 

I caught up on all of wrapping. Yes - all gifts purchased thus far are wrapped!!! Yee-Ha! The next round of gifts should be getting delivered to my door this week and will hopefully be wrapped soon there after.

I have three batches of cookies done and frozen, so I am a little behind in that regard, but still feeling pretty good that I can get most of it done before we leave for Disney.

This past week I started addressing Christmas cards! Woo Hoo!! Although we didn't get a family picture this year, I am thinking about including a picture of the four of us in the house. We shall see!

Holiday Plan 2014: Week 10

Week of November 2nd:
- Make one batch of freezable cookies
- Make two crock pot meals - one to eat this week and one to freeze for a later date
- Purchase some non-perishable goods used in the planned recipes
- Purchase some gifts
- Wrap the purchased gifts
- Work on homemade gifts

- Order or buy the Thanksgiving Turkey
- Take down Halloween and put up Thanksgiving; I cheat a little - I decorate for "Fall" and then put little Halloween stuff here and there. Then when Halloween is over, it is an easy swap out the Halloween for Thanksgiving
- Continue to work on Christmas cards
- Check smoke detectors and change furnace filter (Happy Daylight Savings!)
- Start polishing any silver pieces I will use for Thanksgiving
- Deep cleaning area this week: Living Room/Family Room. As this is one of the heaviest used rooms in the house, it needs to be deep cleaned twice!

Good luck to those following along!