I misbehaved this month and did some shopping when I was invited to a preview of the new Boscov's location in Milford! I got a couple sweaters and cute pearl Mickey earrings! It could have been a lot worse because they have such great deals, so I'm still counting it as a win.

I also bought a couple clothing items on my birthday trip to Disney. But I used gift money on those and am not including them in this update. I got an Epcot Food & Wine Festival tee, Toy Story Land sweatshirt and an Eve hoodie (I bought Christian the matching Wall-E hoodie.)

And I I FINALLY found my backup pair of Vince Camuto Davilla ankle boots on Poshmark. I had to buy them again because my current ones are dying after being VERY loved for 4 years. They've been all over the world and walked hundreds (seriously, at least 100) of miles with me. I used ad money that was just added to my PayPal. Perfect!



THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS 

Clothes:

1. J. Crew 'Harlow' cardigan sweater in star print ($15, $90 retail, used gift card)
2. Robert Rodriguez tonal paisley chiffon dress via Roundabout ($16.80, $348 retail) 
3. Mickey Baseball Tee via Disney Character Warehouse ($14.99, used gift card)
4. Mickey Metallic Tank via Disney Character Warehouse ($7.99, used gift card) 
5. Wedding Dress - Needle & Thread Mirage tiered embellished tulle dress via Net-a-Porter ($206, retail $405, used ad money) 

Basics:

1. *NEW!* Napa Valley Long Sleeve Solid Mock Neck Sweater in Dark Ruby ($8.49 via Boscovs, retail $36)
2. *NEW!* Napa Valley Long Sleeve Solid Mock Neck Sweater in Dark Teal ($8.49 via Boscovs, retail $36) 
3. *NEW!* Vince Camuto Davilla ankle boot via Poshmark ($45, used ad money)

Shoes:

1. Franco Sarto 'Dolly' mule in navy via DSW ($20, $80 retail)
2. Wedding Shoes - Nicholas Kirkwood Lola embellished Lurex sandals via  Net-a-Porter ($326, retail $815) 

Bags:

1. Dooney & Bourke 2017 Sorcerer Mickey Disney Shopper Tote via eBay ($200, used ad money & work bonus)

Accessories:

1. Wedding Band Sofia Zakia Altair Ring via Catbird ($562, retail $625)
2. *NEW!* Disney Mickey Mouse Pearl Earrings via Boscov's ($36 after $15 gift card and 15% off coupon, retail $120)

Gifted from Brands:

1. Azaggi Jewelry Round Crescent Moon necklace w/ CZs
2. Azaggi Jewelry Tiny Owl necklace
3. oNecklace Two Heart Necklace

Total spent in October: $52.98

Total spent in 2018:  $89.78
(not counting wedding shoes + band)

On one of the days of our trip we did the  Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare! It's a character breakfast at The Grand Floridian Hotel and it's really fun. We were in the minority of people there without children but we're kids at heart and love our Disney characters! This meal, as with most character meals, comes with a larger price tag than general dining. After our annual passholder discount we paid about $45 each including tip. But with these meals you're going for the fun as much as for the food so I think it's worth it to do at least once. Especially if you have children who love any of the featured characters.

At this meal you get to take photos with Mary Poppins, Pooh, Tigger, Alice in Wonderland and The Mad Hatter! You get a professional photo taken with Tigger and the rest of the characters walk around to all the tables during your meal for photo ops and autographs. I was given a birthday card here for the characters to sign, super cute!



It's also a buffet so you can eat as much as you'd like. They have everything from Mickey waffles and fresh fruit to eggs, french toast, cinnamon rolls and so much more! They even have a strawberry soup which I tried. It was tasty but it just felt strange to be drinking my strawberry (I'm not a smoothie person either.) I didn't take photos of all my food *gasp* but everything was delicious. I really loved the cinnamon roll because it wasn't as hard as some tend to be. There was a nice texture from the sauce but the inside was soft and not too chewy.


The hotel is beautiful so if you aren't staying there be sure to have a walk around to take in the splendor. You can definitely see the difference between the Deluxe, Moderate and Value Resorts. You get what you pay for, as they say. But, since we barely spend any time in our hotel room, we opt for the cheaper options. This trip we stayed at Pop Century, super fun and themed by the decades. That being said, I do want to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge at some point because of the Savannah views! What can I say, I love animals and it's as close as I'll get to a real safari for a while. Still saving up though.

I wore this top on two occasions. The first was for a morning in EPCOT before going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. The second time was on my last day in Florida. I went to Magic Kingdom to meet up with a friend who just moved to Florida and we tasted our way around the park before I had to head back to my hotel to get the bus to the airport.


We went to Be Our Guest for lunch where I had the Grilled Shrimp kid's meal and we shared a Master's Cupcake (she hadn't had the grey stuff before!) Then we sampled two treats that I had on my list of things I needed to try/take cute pictures of. I had the Mermaid Donut at Prince Eric's Village Market and my friend Betsy had the Maleficent Waffle Cone at Storybook Treats.  Betsy also got a Witch Minnie Chocolate Covered Caramel Apple for the ride home!

The donut is a yeast donut with purple icing and sprinkles topped with white chocolate treasures from Ariel's Grotto. It was a pretty tasty treat and while it came with a price tag of $4.99 it was totally worth it for how fun it was! (Besides, we have a specialty donut place around here that sells similarly extravagant donuts for about that price.


The waffle cone is lime ice cream in a black waffle cone with purple sprinkles and two striped chocolate horns for $5.25. I had one of the horns and it was really good dark chocolate. Betsy said the ice cream was extra tart but super tasty!



Floral Camisole: eight sixty, Shorts: Madewell, Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon), Bag: Dooney & Bourke 2017 Sorcerer Mickey Disney Shopper Tote (eBay), Sandals: Sam Edelman 'Ginnie' c/o ThredUp

As a picky eater, you probably wouldn't expect me to be excited about a Food & Wine festival. In the case of EPCOT's International Food & Wine Festival I was really looking forward to tasting lots of different cuisines around the world. Before my trip I made a list of at least 30 things I was considering trying and then discovered a handy app someone had made to make tracking those wants easier - WDW - Food&Wine. I definitely recommend downloading it if you are planning on going to the festival. It helps track what you want to try, what you've tasted and what you spent!


Here's a quick guide to everything I tried at the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival and my picks for the best bites!

Spain

Spain had one of my favorite bites of the Food & Wine Festival. It's the Spanish-style Paella with Chorizo and Roasted Chicken for $5.25. The portion size is great for this price and it was delicious and flavorful! The chorizo was a nice spicy touch. You get two pictures because I couldn't decide which I liked best and because I actually ate this twice during our visit, our first day and our last day.

Australia

Everyone is always surprised to find out that I love shrimp. Not sure why I like it so much, probably because most of the time it's smothered in garlic. This particular dish is Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion and Snap Pea for $5.50. The shrimp had a great spicy kick to them! The cake is  Lamington: Yellow Cake Dipped in Chocolate and Shredded Coconut for $3.75. It was very tasty and I almost got it a second time but I was too tired to walk back to Australia since we were in Mexico and it's all the way on the other side of EPCOT.

China

China never disappoints with food so I was excited to try the Chicken Dumplings with Chinese Slaw for $4.95 and Black Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Noodles for $6.75. The dumplings were tasty but you only get 2 for the $5 so it's not that big of a portion. The noodles however are a very large portion for your money. I would happily get that again.

Germany

In Germany I had to try the Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll for $5.50. I got it without the mustard since I'm not a fan but it was still delicious. I had actually never had bratwurst before so this was a good way to see if I like it. I do.

Islands of the Caribbean

The Jerk-spiced Chicken Lollipop with Roasted Sweet Plantain Salad and Mango Chutney Yogurt for $5.50 is another dish I tried without the accompanying condiment. I don't like yogurt so I asked for mine without the mango chutney yogurt. You may want to bring some floss with you if you try this, I got some spices stuck in my teeth. Not a pretty picture.

Morocco

I've always been a fan of baklava (especially when I had some in Santorini!) so getting the Chocolate Baklava with Toasted Almonds and Dark Chocolate Sauce for $4 in Morocco was a no brainer! My friend and I shared this one since we both had a lot on our "to try" lists. It was soooo good!

Taste Track

I also had to try Disney's version of the cronut at Taste Track. I got the basic Croissant Doughnut Tossed in Cinnamon Sugar for $6. I wanted to try the one with Chocolate Hazelnut Cream but my friend and I had lunch in Norway later that day so I wanted to make sure I had lots of room for our meal! It was good, but not great enough to be worth $6.

France (Not Food & Wine)

This isn't part of the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival but I always have to get some delicious chocolate ice cream at  L'Artisan des Glaces. This may even be better than gelato I had in Italy. It's AMAZING! (I haven't tried any other flavors so I can only recommend the chocolate)


EPCOT also has it's Eat to the Beat concert series during the Food & Wine Festival and we were there for the 98 Degrees performance! 90s boy band dreams realized! They sang some of their classics as well as the 2 songs the did for Disney (True to Your Heart for Mulan and their version of Circle of Life from The Lion King.) See some photos and video below from my Instagram!

View this post on Instagram

We extended our trip by a day for this 😆 #worthit #eattothebeat #epcot #epcotfoodandwine #98degrees

A post shared by Megan (@closet_fashion) on Oct 15, 2018 at 3:38pm PDT

As an annual passholder (coming to an end in December...saddd) I also had a couple extra perks to take advantage of. On my first day at EPCOT during the food & wind festival I was able to visit the Festival Center and pick up a really cute Chef Mickey magnet for my fridge. AND if I went to EPCOT 4 days during the festival I could get an adorable Mickey cutting board.

People always ask how I can go to Disney so many times and not get bored. The answer is - it's always changing! There are new festivals, new rides and in the case of this trip, whole new sections of the park! My friend and I were super excited about Toy Story Land being open! We had to go 2 separate days to be able to ride both new rides with Fast Passes so we wouldn't have to wait in lines.

(Helpful Note: You can't get a Fast Pass for more than 1 Toy Story ride in your first set of 3 and the Toy Story rides also fill up WAY in advance. Luckily we stayed at a hotel so we could book them 60 days in advance which really helped.)

Yes, I know I'm wearing a Star Wars tee, but to be fair Star Wars was our other major reason for going to Hollywood Studios. We always have to visit our friend BB-8, get The Dark Side Chicken and Waffles at Backlot Express. and ride Star Tours (plus I didn't have any Toy Story stuff yet....I did buy a super cute kid's sweatshirt on our second trip to Toy Story Land.) This also looks like it would be very hot but the fabric is very thin so it was very comfortable even though the temperatures were pushing 90.

Star Wars Empire Strikes Back Shirt c/o Kohl's, Shorts: Banana Republic (Clinton Crossing), Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon), Bag: Dooney & Bourke 2017 Sorcerer Mickey Disney Shopper Tote (eBay), Sandals: Sam Edelman 'Ginnie' c/o ThredUp


P.S. If you go this month make sure to get the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Coffin Cake at the ABC Commissary. Soooooo delicious!



And here we go with a TON of Toy Story Land photos! We had beautiful cloudy days which really helped with the Toy Story vibe. Gotta love the nod to Andy's bedroom wallpaper. Skip this part if you're planning on visiting the park and don't want to be spoiled. (I tried to avoid all photos and videos before I went)

The only problem with Toy Story Land is there is NO shade and it gets SUPER hot. We couldn't stay in that section of the park for long when the sun was out because we were getting baked. Luckily it was much better at night. So if you're planning on visiting in the warmer months bring a wet towel for around your neck or get one of those portable fans. You'll need it.