Hoots of a Night Al

California, Disney, Disneyland, Married Life, Travel

Disney Dreams

July 1, 2013 8 Comments

Exciting news! Louis and I spent last Sunday at Disneyland! We took the big financial plunge and invested in annual passes, so we can enjoy the parks all summer long. We felt SUPER official and very “legit Disney fans” having our official passes with our names on them and everything! Definitely worth the chunk of change to us. Plus, we only have to spend 6 days in the parks for them to “pay for themselves.” Also, we get 15% off food, and 20% merchandise in the parks! Another big plus is it covers parking, which is $16 a day (ouch!). All of the positives added with our love of all things Disney meant the passes were the perfect purchase for us!

Back to our first trip. We are staying in La Jolla, which is about an hour and a half from Anaheim where Disneyland is located. We woke up around 4:45 AM to leave at our planned time of 5:30 AM! EARLY. Thankfully, we’re still on “Texas time,” so it felt 2 hours later to us! After a quick stop at Ralph’s to grab some breakfast, we hit the road! Thanks to Louis’s lead-foot, Disney Way popped up on our map after only about 45 minutes of driving! Apparently, the speed limit wasn’t 85 MPH…oops?

So, we rolled into the Mickey ‘n Friends parking garage at about 7 AM…only 30 minutes earlier than planned 🙂 We parked on Daisy Duck’s level and ~~sprinted~~ strolled down to the tram. We couldn’t contain our smiles as we rode towards the park!

We hopped off the tram and power-walked to the gate. We arrived 45 minutes before the park even opened! Haha! Typical over-zealous Disney lovers! We stood waiting and chatting with fellow passholders about the best rides to go on first and extra park tips. Since it was our first time at Disneyland, we were soaking up any information we could!

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we were let into the park! We rushed to adventure land, as we planned to go on Indiana Jones Adventure first. As soon as the rope dropped we ran over and were one of the first people on the ride! The theming was incredible, and it was SO much fun!

After Indiana Jones Adventure, we walked toward New Orleans Square to take on some rides. It felt like we had the park to ourselves! We were able to ride Pirates of the Caribbean with an entire boat to ourselves! It was so fun to experience the Disneyland version of the ride with just the two of us. And I must say, the Disneyland version was much more fun than the Disney World one!

We hopped off our boat and walked right on to another one of our favorites…Haunted Mansion!

It was fun to see all of the differences between this version and Disney World’s, but I think DW’s version takes the cake this time! We stepped out of our Doom Buggies (with a hitchhiking ghost!!!), and walked right on to Splash Mountain…with our ponchos on of course! We stayed relatively dry, and loved following Briar Rabbit through his adventures. We then stepped onto The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh to dry off a bit from Splash Mountain. And this was all before 10:00 AM!

It was time to dry another Disneyland classic, so we walked over to Matterhorn Bobsleds. It was quite obvious to our bodies that this ride was built quite a while ago…I think my tailbone is still bruised!

After that, we strolled over to another Disney classic and were met with our first line! It was well worth the wait though! Disneyland’s Space Mountain was AWESOME. I think it was my favorite ride of the day!!! I can’t wait to go on it again.

After Space Mountain, Louis grabbed his favorite Disney snack (a churro), and we decided to head over to Disneyland’s 2nd park, Disney California Adventure. Several parts of it really reminded us of Disney World’s Hollywood Studios because it had an “old Hollywood” feel. We journeyed over to the newest portion of DCA, which holds Cars Land!

This area is themed SO cute! Louis and I aren’t huge Cars fans, but this area was so fun to walk around. The one big downside is new at Disney=CROWDED. They wait for the main ride, Radiator Springs Racers, was OVER 2 and a half hours ALL day! We explored the rest of the park and rode Tower of Terror, California Screamin’ (twice!), Toy Story Mania (Louis’s favorite in DW), Little Mermaid (I know my mom will love this one!), and strolled back to Cars Land to tackle the wait for Radiator Springs Racers. We waited TWO AND A HALF HOURS. Ugh. We were dying to get out of line, but the ride was fun! Granted, it wasn’t worth that long of a wait. However, at least we can say we experienced it! We’ll only ride it again this summer if we can snag some fastpasses though!

That long line did us in, and we walked out of the park to head home surprisingly early! We decided to eat McDonald’s for dinner instead of paying 5 times as much for the same amount of food in the park! Hey, our annual passes don’t give us THAT big of a discount! Disney is expensive! Even though or feet were killing us, on the way home we were already planning our strategy for our next trip! We’ve actually already returned since I’ve written this…but that’s for another post! 🙂

Can’t wait to share our remaining Disney adventures we have planned for the summer!

California, La Jolla, Married Life, Travel

La Jolla Life: Part 1

June 21, 2013 6 Comments

Louis and I have the awesome opportunity to spend some time in La Jolla, California this summer! We have been here almost a week now, so I figured I would share what our La Jolla Life is like so far!

We flew in Sunday morning on Southwest. My parents were sweet enough to drive up to San Antonio on Saturday to celebrate Father’s Day early, and they drove us to the airport on Sunday morning. They’re so great! Our flight was smooth and relatively quick. Louis let me have the window seat, so I got to see the terrain change and enjoy the clouds!

When we arrived we immediately walked outside to cross the airport and get our rental car. When we walked outside, I honestly couldn’t tell we had left the air conditioning. It was so cool and breezy, it took us at least a minute or two before we realized the walkway didn’t have windows and this was our first taste of beautiful Cali weather! Coming from a Texas summer, that was quite a welcome change! I was in charge of watching our suitcases as well as our fellow traveler’s, so I had to stand outside alone with 7 suitcases while we waited for our rental car. I felt like everyone thought I was such a diva. (I mean 5 of the 7 suitcases WERE ours, so I guess if 1 of the 10 pairs of shoes I brought fits…)

Our first La Jolla stop was our hotel, and since our rooms weren’t ready, we headed straight for Downtown La Jolla! We grabbed burgers at Prospect Bar & Grill, which offered us a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean.

I immediately noticed an immediate attitude shift here. In Texas people will wait twice as long to sit inside a restaurant instead of outside on the patio. The exact opposite is true here! Multiple people came and left when they realized the patio was full! The one downside to our meal was the fact that our table was two inches from the speakers and the live “musicians.” Despite our temporary deafness, the burgers were delicious and the view and weather were unbeatable. After our yummy lunch, we ventured down to Scripps Park to walk along the ocean! My phone was dead, so Louis happily snapped some pictures for me!

In every direction we saw the beautiful Pacific Ocean and felt the amazing ocean breeze on our skin! There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and it was so great to people and dog (…saw lots of chihuahuas! Shout out to my little bro, Sparky!) watch while we walked along the shore.

We were finally able to check into our rooms, and on the drive back to the hotel I saw some familiar faces…

All of the traffic control boxes around La Jolla are covered in beautiful graffiti ranging from cityscapes, to ocean scenery, to THE BEATLES! The traffic control box closest to our hotel has a different Beatle on each side along with lyrics from “Across the Universe.” I took this as a sign that we were in for a great summer as a huge Beatles fan. 🙂

After dropping off our luggage at the hotel and grabbing some necessities at Costco, we headed to see Man of Steel. There is a large shopping center across the street from our hotel that has 3 grocery stores, numerous restaurants, and 2 movie theaters. One of those theaters is a recently renovated AMC Cinema that has leather recliners in all of its theaters. Unfortunately, we went to the other theater. I’m pretty sure it was built in 1935. The projectionist came out before the movie started and introduced herself if that gives you any clue to the technological state of the theater. Also, we were the youngest people there by at least 45 years. Check this place out…

Those seats! I couldn’t feel from my waist down 15 minutes into the 2 and a half hour movie. Despite all of our first world suffering though, the movie was pretty good! After grabbing a few more “non-bulk” groceries at Ralph’s (California’s Kroger), we headed back to the hotel to shower and crash. Even though it was early-ish in Cali, we were still on Texas time!

We’re almost a week into our summer California adventure, and I can’t wait to see what adventures and memories await!

I’ll try to keep everyone posted!

Beauty

Lush Loot Part 2

May 28, 2013 1 Comment

Hi everyone! I hope you’re ready for Part 2 of my Lush Loot! In Part 1, I focused on the Bath Bombs I purchased. This loot will be about the Bubble Bars, Massage Bars, Bath Melt, and Face Mask I sampled. Let us begin.

Dorothy

The first Bubble Bar I sampled was appropriately named Dorothy, which claims to “take you far from the rain and grey clouds to somewhere over the rainbow where blue birds fly.” I can’t claim a few bubbles did that for me, but it was a pretty fun experience! You are supposed to crumble these bars under running water and swish them around to create tons of bubbles to enjoy! There were several bubbles, and my bath water turned a beautiful green-blue color that you can see peeking out of the bubbles above. It smelled good before I put it in the bath, but the smell quickly dissipated once it dissolved. I do wish there had been more bubbles that were longer lasting, but this was one of Lush’s smaller bars. I suppose I shouldn’t complain. JUST KIDDING. I can complain all I want…this is my blog after all. I’m annoyed that I didn’t get more bubbles for the price of what I could have spent on 3 bottles of Mr. Bubble at WalMart.

Brightside

YUM! This Bubble Bar smelled like I was walking through an orange orchard or swimming in a pool of Simply Orange! This bubble bar was covered in bright orange swirls, smelled delicious, and was much larger than Dorothy. The Lush consultant suggested this bar be used for up to 4 baths, but I threw caution to the wind and chunked the whole thing in my bath! I’m sure glad I did because the huge bar gave me the mountains I bubbles I was hoping for when I paid way too much for it. The water turned a super fun orange color, and the smell stayed pretty strong even after the bar dissolved. I was so happy to find a product I liked and would buy again. OH WAIT. This was a limited time product for Easter! BOO! They have similar bars (The Comforter and Blue Skies & Fluffy White Clouds), but I have a terrible feeling it just won’t be the same. Why did I set myself up for sadness here?

Mange Too

Ok, I’m not going to lie. I mostly bought this because the consultant used it to massage my hands in the store, and it smelled super yummy and made my hands feel like silk. Her other selling point was that it is edible. Um, stop being gross random sales girl. Mange Too is one of Lush’s massage bars, but I purchased it because it can be used as a lotion/moisturizer as well. I’ve since used it on my hands, elbows, and legs. I really like it! It smells super delicious, but, no, I haven’t licked my hands after I put it on. Because I’m not a WEIRDO. Also, I’m not sure why Lush would name a moisturizing product Mange Too, considering mange is a skin disease caused by mites. Maybe not the best mental image to conjure for their massage bars? Oh well, obviously didn’t phase me.

Bath Melt

I’m not positive which bath melt this is, as it was a sample given to me by my Lush consultant, and I can’t find a comparable one on their website. She tried to sucker me into buying a bath melt, saying that their products only reach their full potential when they are all used together. She suggested using a bath bomb, bath melt, and bubble bar together in ONE bath. Ya, I’m going to spend over $30 on ONE BATH. I don’t think so. She threw in this sample though, probably convinced I would try it once and be hooked forever. Um, nope. It dissolved in my bath water and just sort of made it milky. My skin didn’t come out feeling butter soft and my world definitely wasn’t changed. I’ll never turn my nose up at a free sample, but this one didn’t do anything to excite me. Nice try, salesgirl.

The Sacred Truth

This little gem was also a sample given to me by my consultant. Once I looked it up online at home, I realized this particular Fresh Face Mask (The Sacred Truth) is for aging skin. Here is what the description says: “As you age, your dermis is thinning, losing its elasticity and ability to retain moisture, which can make the skin appear dull or sallow.” OUCH. Thanks a lot salesgirl. That bull ring nose piercing isn’t your best look, but you don’t see me throwing out advice at you. Regardless, I gave it a whirl, and I IMMEDIATELY LOOKED 10 YEARS YOUNGER. I’m kidding. I’m only 24…I dont’ think I need anti-aging products yet? DON’T correct me if I’m wrong. The face mask worked fine though. I did like that their Fresh Face Masks are “handmade with the finest essential oils, fresh fruits and veggies, deep cleansing clays, nutrient rich herbs…freshly squeezed juices, extracts, or whole fruits and vegetables.” They must be kept refrigerated, so they don’t spoil. This is also the reason they are only sold in stores and not online. I probably need to use this face mask a couple more times to give it a fair review, but overall, it made my skin feel fresh and rejuvenated, and it smelled clean and crisp.

Well, I suppose that’s it for my Lush Loot! I’ll be posting another one soon I’m sure! JOKING. While, I semi-enjoyed the products I purchased/received, I DON’T think most of them are worth the money. I’m sure Lush has to charge extra since they take pride in making products as fresh, organic, and chemical free as possible. However, I’m not super picky about that (so sue me), so I think in the future I’ll just buy some bubble bath from the kid’s section in WalMart. You think I’m joking?

I’ll save my trendy cravings for clothes or makeup. Feel free to try out these or other Lush products for yourself though, and let me know what you think! 🙂

Beauty

Lush Loot Part 1

May 22, 2013 2 Comments

Hey everyone! I’ve been seeing lots of stuff about Lush products on FaceBook, Twitter, and various blogs. Basically, Lush is a company that sells overpriced bath and cosmetic items under the cloak of them being all natural and packaged in recyclable containers. However, I am a sucker for anything cute or trendy, so I bought several Lush items to try. I purchased bath bombs, bubble bars, and massage bars, and I was given a free sample of a face mask a bath melt. I figured I would review the products for anyone who is curious about whether or not they should buy into the overpriced trendiness like I did.

One of Lush’s most popular products is their Bath Bomb. I purchased 4 different bombs to sample on my own. Below I have listed each bomb I tried and my thoughts.

Sex Bomb

Yes, you read that name correctly. The first bath bomb I sampled was Sex Bomb. It smelled delicious in the store, and I thought it was pretty. However, both the online description and awkward salesgirl telling me how this was an aphrodisiac made me uncomfortable. Just let me enjoy my bath, people. As you can see above, once the bomb dissolved, my water became a beautiful pink color. Honestly? That was about the coolest part. It only fizzed for about 20 seconds (I’m not sure how long I was expecting), and the smell was almost completely diluted in the water. Also, the “rose petals” were this odd gummy un-dissolving substance that just sort of floated around and grossed me out after the bomb dissolved. Since this was my first Lush experience, I was worried about the money I had spent on my remaining products to try and wondering how big of a waste it all was. Moving on.

Fizzbanger

THIS WAS MY FAVORITE BATH BOMB. Not to give anything away prematurely. 🙂 It was described as having an apple-cinnamon scent, and I LOVED how it smelled! As it dissolved, the different layers turned the water different colors. It started out with a frothy yellow (that honestly kind of reminded me of when algae builds up in a pool…gross, I know), and eventually, a blue foam started erupting. The yellow and blue swirled together and formed a frothy, yummy, fizzy bath. This one took the longest to dissolve and smelled the strongest (and most scrumptious!). Once the foam dissolved the water had turned a beautiful turquoise color. After the bomb completely disappeared a little paper saying “BANG” remained in the water….get it? FizzBANGer. For some reason, I convinced myself it was a centipede and freaked out. No clue why. This one was DEFINITELY worth the money, and I would buy it again!

Space Girl

If I’m being totally honest, I bought this one because it was glittery. It doesn’t show that well in the picture, but it was a really pretty blueish-purple color and covered in gold glitter. The smell was slightly citrus and slightly berry. I was really excited and expected my bath to be an explosion of glitter. That was not the case. As soon as I dropped it in the water, it started fizzing and popping and the water looked awesome. However, it dissolved in SERIOUSLY about 10 seconds, and my water was left a lackluster dull purple. The aroma was almost non-existent, so I think it’s safe to say I didn’t “explore the cosmos in a trail of purple stardust” as the Space Girl page suggested on Lush’s website.

Dragon’s Egg

This was the last bath bomb I tried, and it was pretty lame. It had a really yummy sherbet-y citrus smell, and before I used it the color was white with flecks of blue, yellow and pink. I assumed based on the multiple colors and size that the bomb would last for a good amount of time and turn the water a beautiful color like Fizzbanger. While the bomb did last a good amount of time, the remaining water looked like my sewage backed up into my bathtub. I mean, seriously, look at that picture above and tell me it doesn’t look like sewage water. The smell was mild to almost nonexistent once the bomb dissolved, and, due to what the water color reminded me of, I didn’t linger in the bath very long. To quote the Dragon’s Egg page, “you’ll feel like you’re up and away on the back of your own dragon.” I felt more like I paid $6.25 for a dragon to fly over my tub and crap in it.

As you have read, I only enjoyed 1 out of the 4 bath bombs I purchased. None of them were horrible experiences, but I did feel pretty dumb for wasting money on spheres of powder that dissolve in less than a minute. I have to say, I would buy Fizzbanger again because I loved the scent, and it was one of their moderately priced bath bombs. Come back soon for Part 2 of my Lush Loot to see how I reviewed my remaining products!

Family, Married Life

Weekend Wrap Up

May 15, 2013 1 Comment

Last weekend was AWESOME. Louis took off work Friday (and I quit, so my last day was Thursday lol), and we headed home Thursday night. We arrived late, but we still stayed up until the wee hours of the morning catching up and laughing!

Friday morning my mom had PT, so Louis and I enjoyed cinnamon rolls with my dad and watched a crazy rainstorm move in. Once my mom got home safely, we headed over to visit my favorite sister and favorite nephew! My dad picked us up some tacos for lunch, and we spent the afternoon laughing and playing.

Louis picked me up in the afternoon, and we drove to Huntsville to watch Louis’s little sister graduate from Sam with her education degree! We celebrated with Louis’s family and a yummy, late dinner at Texas Roadhouse. It was a rainy, stormy, fun day!

Saturday was probably my favorite day of the weekend! First we woke up and enjoyed bacon, fruit, and my dad’s yummy homemade pancakes.

After a delicious breakfast, we got ready and headed out for Henry’s 1st trip to the Zoo! It was a beautiful day, hardly any crowds, and SO much fun! I’ll let the pictures do the talking…

This picture taken from the parking garage shows how beautiful the weather was!

When we first arrived we watched Amy & Travis help Henry feed the giraffes from a private platform! It was so neat...they were right up next to them! The giraffes were SO beautiful...I think they may be my new favorite animals! — When we first arrived we watched Amy & Travis help Henry feed the giraffes from a private platform! It was so neat…they were right up next to them! The giraffes were SO beautiful…I think they may be my new favorite animals!

We walked around and watched the elephants, lions, and bears enjoying the sunny day! Also, is Henry not the cutest baby you’ve ever seen?

Since it was Mother's Day weekend we made sure to get a shot of the Moms in our family! This was Amy's 1st mother's day! — Since it was Mother’s Day weekend we made sure to get a shot of the Moms in our family! This was Amy’s 1st mother’s day!

As if these pictures don’t show how much fun we had, I also shot a couple of videos while we were there! Henry is growing up so fast, I try to take little videos whenever I can. I want to remember each stage of his life forever!

The first video showcases Henry’s FIRST EVER CAROUSEL RIDE!!! He was so cute and waving to everyone as he passed by. I think he really loved it! Pretty sure that means he’s ready to visit a Disney park soon, right Amy & Trav? Also, my dad, my mom, AND I were all standing there taking videos and pictures the entire carousel ride…it was pretty obvious Henry’s the first grandson/nephew.

This video shows my mom (Lolli) and Henry playing around! My mom gets to see Henry super often, and you can totally tell he loves her so much!

After a great day at the zoo, we headed back to my parents’ house for homemade fajitas, Chuy’s dip, and guacamole. It was super delicious, and I’m pretty sure I ate myself into a food coma. After a short nap though, I woke up and enjoyed Hitchcock with my parents. If that movie is accurate, Alfred was one WEIRD dude. It was a good movie though. 🙂

Sunday morning, I woke up early with my dad to go get my mom donuts for breakfast in bed….our family tradition! I also gave my mom her Mother’s Day gift! She’s been redoing several rooms in their house to a sort of Pottery Barn look, so I gifted her with a mercury glass vase from there. I know everyone says this, but my mom is SERIOUSLY the best mom in the world. She deserves much more than one day to celebrate her because she is seriously incredible. I have learned so much from her, and I admire her for so many reasons.

Breakfast in bed (all faces cropped out to protect the innocent..err, makeup-less faces) & my mom's mother's day gift! — Breakfast in bed (all faces cropped out to protect the innocent..err, makeup-less faces) & my mom’s mother’s day gift!

After breakfast we relaxed and got ready before we met Amy, Travis, & Henry for lunch at Red Lobster (Amy’s pick!). I forgot to take pictures there, but I did capture precious Henry drinking some water from his Dad’s straw. Amy also snuck her gorgeous face into this video. Enjoy.

When lunch was over, we relaxed at Amy & Trav’s house for just a bit, and then Louis and I hit the road. The weekend went by WAY too fast…just like it always does when we visit home! It was so great to see my family though, and I can’t wait until we get to visit again!

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