Another no-spend month. Going strong in 2023, ha ha. I'm sure at some point I'll find something fun to splurge a little on, but for now I'm not really feeling the need for anything. I still have my eye on this colorblock Chloé Alphabet bag, but I don't really need a new bag and it's very pricey. Maybe if it goes on super super sale.
I did recently have to buy a new clothes rack for my closet, though. Right before we left for our Missouri trip in April my dress rack finally broke (it's been on the edge for a while) and my other double rack was also slightly broken so it was finally time to buy something more sturdy. I went with this white clothing rack that has two sections for longer clothes and a middle section with two rods for tops and skirts/shorts. Now almost everything in my closet room is white. I still have an old wooden baby changing table that my Mom used for me & my siblings that I use as a dresser, I may paint it some day but that's a lot of work, ha ha. (see it in this post)
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
MY PROGRESS
Clothes:
- None yet
Basics:
- None yet
Shoes:
- None yet
Handbags:
- None yet
Accessories:
- Apple Watch 8 Midnight Aluminum Case with Elderberry Sport Band (gift from Christian)
Activewear/Swimwear:
- None yet
Gifted from Brands:
- None yet
Spent in May: $0
Spent in 2023: $0
Spent in 2023 - counting ad money: $0
Throwing it back to Easter because I finally reminded Chrisitan to edit the photos we took. To be fair, we forgot to download them to a computer before we left for Missouri the week after Easter so we didn't have access to them for a full month. Whoops! But, better late than never!
Decided to wear an oldie but goodie this year, my Paris map print Carven dress from 2014. Also broke out one of my favorite pairs of shoes, the Lanvin suede city sandals I got in the Net-a-Porter sale in 2017. Coincidentally, the Net-a-Porter End of Season sale just started so you can get up to 80% off select pieces! The promo images say up to 50%, but if you sort by percentage some things are already 80%.
Dress: Carven Paris Map Print dress (YOOX)
Sandals: Lanvin studded suede 'City' sandal (Net-a-Porter End of Season sale)
Necklace: Acanthus Jewelry 'Gemma' (giveaway win)
Bag: Purple Prada Cahier in Viola (Rebag via Vestiaire Collective)
Realized I forgot to do my April wardrobe update! I guess that's what happens when you leave for a month-long trip in the middle of the month, ha ha! No purchases in April apart from a couple Disney shirts & a hoodie that I don't actually count in these because I don't wear them outside of Disney and they're souvenirs, ha ha.
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
MY PROGRESS
Clothes:
- None yet
Basics:
- None yet
Shoes:
- None yet
Handbags:
- None yet
Accessories:
- Apple Watch 8 Midnight Aluminum Case with Elderberry Sport Band (gift from Christian)
Activewear/Swimwear:
- None yet
Gifted from Brands:
- None yet
Spent in April: $0
Spent in 2023: $0
Spent in 2023 - counting ad money: $0
Our last Disney hotel recap was Pop Century Resort so it's only fitting that it's sister resort, Art of Animation, be next! AoA is another Value resort but it is on the higher end price-wise vs the other four. Art of Animation offers normal rooms as well as Family Suites, which can sleep up to 6 people versus 4 for standard rooms. Family suites are a great option for families with more than 2 kiddos, but they'll cost you upwards of $400 a night even with a deal.
This is my favorite of the value resorts but we often choose Pop Century because it's at least $20 cheaper a night. I'd rather more fun food than a slightly better hotel, ha ha! The theming is pure Disney nostalgia with Little Mermaid and Lion King sections as well as Finding Nemo and Cars.
The lobby is super fun and full of color, artist sketches and storyboards. Even if you don't stay here it's fun to come check out. In the lobby building "Animation Hall" you will find an arcade, gift shop and a very large food court, Landscape of Flavors, for all your meal needs. You can mobile order to go if you want to eat in your room. There is also a pool bar called The Drop Off near the main (Finding Nemo) pool.
As I already mentioned for Pop Century, the biggest perk of staying at Art of Animation is access to Disney's Skyliner in addition to buses. The Skyliner station is shared with Pop Century and will take you to EPCOT, Hollywood Studios or the other hotels on the Skyliner Route - Caribbean Beach & Riviera Resort.
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| View of the hotel from the Disney Skyliner |
We always stay in the Little Mermaid section because that's where the standard rooms are. The rest of the buildings are family suites. One day I'd love to stay in a Lion King family suite, they look so fun!
A quick video tour!
More photos:
Wow, we're at 20 parts for baking since 2020. That's about 120 recipes (not exactly since some things were baked more than once, ha ha!) There might be a little big bigger gap between this roundup and the next one as I'm away from home for the next few weeks, but maybe I'll still do some baking where I'm at.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
I wanted to make cookies but didn't want to let butter from the freezer come to the right temperature so I figured it was the perfect time to try these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with brown butter! I only made half a batch in case they didn't come out, but I was pretty sure they'd be delicious because I've yet to have a huge fail with one of Jenna's recipes (just like Tessa of Handle the Heat!)They were so delicious. Soft, but crunchy on the edges, a nice hint of cinnamon and deep flavor from the brown sugar. YUM.
Semolina Pizza Dough
On Pi Day I had to make pizza for dinner, right? I decided to do the semolina pizza dough recipe from our King Arthur Baking School class because I haven't made it since then. The recipe I linked above isn't the exact one but it was the closest I could find to the printout they gave us.
Cosmic Brownies
It's been a while since I put these brownies in a roundup so I figured it was time to share again in case some new folks are reading these! I'm almost out of my 1lb bag of Rainbow Candy Coated Chocolate Chips so I need to order some more soon. These are always a hit when I make them for Christian and I. We have to stop ourselves from eating them all at once (but they are very rich so that helps too.)
Classic Whoopie Pies
Every month Handle the Heat does a baking challenge, last month it was for Whoopie Pies! I've never made them before so it was a good excuse to try. They are sooooo good and the recipe is really easy, it's just like making cookies. We loved them right out of the fridge. Perfection.
Cinnamon Star Bread
I've had this recipe saved for a while and almost made it for Christmas last year but didn't get around to it. I thought Easter would be a good time too, so here we are! My family had brunch for Easter this year so I also made biscuits and french toast sticks, ha ha. My Mom made the rest. But back to this - it was pretty easy to make, the hardest/most annoying part was rolling out the dough into even and equal circles. They make it look so easy on TV! I also had made my dough the night before and it had been in the fridge, so it may have just been too cool to roll out easily, but oh well.
Chocolate Babka
I've been wanting to make babka for a long time but it always seemed so scary and daunting. Then I saw a video of Isaac Mizrahi making some on his Instagram and it made it look easy, so I finally decided to give it a go! It was a little messy but so so sooooo good! I will definiitely be adding this to my rotation of must-remake treats.
Happy Disney hotel Thursday! Today we're visiting one of my most stayed at resorts, Disney's Pop Century Resort. I have stayed here three times out of my 12 hotel stays (some of those stays were split stays meaning I switched hotels during the trip.) Is it my favorite hotel? No. Is it convenient and cheap-ish? Yes!
Pop Century is one of Disney's "Value" resorts, meaning it is one of the cheaper options for those still wanting to stay on Disney property. The absolute cheapest options in the Value category are the 3 All Star Resorts (I'll be doing a post on All Star Movies in the future,) next comes Pop Century and finally Art of Animation. I personally prefer Art of Animation because of it's theming but most of the time end up at Pop Century because of the price point. It's usually at least $30 a night cheaper than AoA (Art of Animation) so I choose buying more tasty food over location.
The biggest perk of staying here is access to Disney's Skyliner in addition to buses. The Skyliner station is shared with Art of Animation and will take you to EPCOT, Hollywood Studios or the other hotels on the Skyliner Route (Caribbean Beach & Riviera Resort.) If we had a choice between most similar-priced hotels and a hotel with Skyliner, we'll choose a Skyliner resort. Obviously I will never turn down one of the deluxe resorts like Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk or Polynesian, but in our usual budget Skyliner access vs. buses only would be a deciding factor.
We usually get one of the two queen rooms which have one normal queen bed and a murphy bed that can be left as a table if you want to dine in your room. Then at night just fold it down and you've got a second bed. The beds feature artwork of Mickey and Pluto in Pop Art style.
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| Murphy Bed in the up position, creating a table |
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| Easily folding down the Murphy Bed |
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| The bed comes down fully made and ready for sleep! |
As the name suggests, each set of buildings is based on a decade within the last century and what was popular at that time. They actually only have the 50s through 90s. Disney was originally going to do another hotel with the earlier years ("Legendary Years" and the "Classic Years,") but that eventually became Art of Animation. The resort has 2,880 rooms in ten separate buildings, three pool areas, and one central building, named Classic Hall.
Classic Hall is where you'll find the lobby, souvenir shop, arcade, quick service dining and anything else you may need on your trip. The dining is pretty standard quick service - pizza, burgers, chicken, various breakfast options.
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| The shopping and dining are combined into the "Everything Pop" area |
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At Christmastime most hotels will get a tree and Pop Century is no different. On the trip I took this photo they had just put up the tree the night before we left, so that was a nice surprise. |
Below are some of the larger than life items from the latter half of the century. I only have photos of the 50s, 60s and 90s because that's where we've stayed. I never took the time to explore the rest of the grounds because our trips were always super packed, perhaps next time!
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| Bowling Pin staircases are used for the 1950s buildings |
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| Baloo and Mowgli statue in the middle of the 1960s buildings |
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| Mickey's main man Goofy hangs out in the 1960s |
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| The 1960s have huge Yo-Yos as their staircases |
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| A giant laptop is featured in the 1990s section |
