Packing for a week in Orlando (Disney World & Universal) in November

If you would like to see all my travel posts, including recaps, tips & recommendations and packing guides, please visit my travel page.

Hello, my name is Kristen and I am still an overpacker at heart.

Sure, I can make 50 outfits for a 2 week trip, but faced with only a week to pack for... I will still fill that suitcase up. I justified it by telling myself that I didn't know what the weather would be like, we were doing multiple things requiring multiple outfits, I had the room in my suitcase, it would stop me from shopping.. etc etc etc. I can create an excuse for anything. All that to say, I definitely 'over-packed' for this trip, I could have packed less, but I like to look different each day and if I have the room.. why not, right?

Anywho. So. Disney World / Universal for about a week in November. Here's what I packed:

Disney tank one / two / three (actual are all from Hot Topic)

Harry Potter tank one / two (actual are from Hot Topic or a Comic Con)

Grey 3/4 sleeve top / Striped boat neck / Grey cardigan / Maxi dress 

Black shorts / Blue printed shorts (actual are from TJ Maxx) / Black & blue jeans

Backpack / Sneakers / Flats / Flip flops 

The above links are affiliate links, meaning if you click, I get like 2 cents and you support my shopping addiction so thank you! Also, at time of writing this post, everything was under $50 because that's how I roll, except for the nikes because they are nikes.

These are the outfits I planned:

5 park days, 2 casual grown up outfits, 1 fancy ish dress just in case. I wore everything except the maxi. I didn't pair the cardigan with any of those outfits, but I had it in my backpack and used it at one point every single day. I never needed anything warmer, so that was good. I also wore jeans instead of shorts one day (hogwarts alumni), but ended up walking back to the hotel to change when it got hotter. We went straight on the water rides after that, so no photos. Here are the few (accidental) outfit photos I did get:

It was beautiful weather while we there, only rained once that I can recall and it was right after we got off the water rides so we didn't mind. It rained the day we were leaving, as well.

I know that packing posts aren't everyone's cup of tea, and they are so subjective, because everyone is different yadi yadi yada, but when I look at packing posts (which is way more often than it should be), I don't look to copy exactly, I look to get ideas, and to see what other people wear to certain places, to gauge the weather etc. I don't think everyone is as weird as me in that respect, but anyway. That's why I like packing posts.

Also, real life part of this post. I had planned what I wanted to pack (months ago), but work was insane the week we were leaving (because we were moving) and I was so frazzled that I didn't pack until the night before which might not be a big deal to anyone, but I normally pack weeks / months in advance because I'm a weirdo. So because I packed so 'last minute' and I was so frazzled, I threw about 50 other things in my bag that I hadn't planned on wearing, didn't wear, served no point whatsoever except they got all wrinkly and I had to wash them when I got home. So. Don't do that. Plan properly, and don't go on vacation the week your company is moving. Not a good idea.

Happy Monday everyone, hope you had a good Thanksgiving weekend!

November Shopping

I am sharing my shopping again, in the hopes it will keep me accountable and not go crazy with the spending. This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click, you support my shopping addiction. Thanks.

After my large purchase last month (Hunters), I wanted to spend less in November. I thought that might be difficult because of the whole black Friday / cyber Monday thing. I thought correctly, but I didn't go too crazy. 

I bought a swimsuit. I'm too scared to show it though, so you'll just have to imagine. All the reviews said to size up, but they were out of the bigger size for me, so I ordered my normal size. It's a bit small. Not crazy small, but motivating small. Basically you can pretend that's me below.

Spoiler: It's not. I know it's confusing what with the Australia sash, but nope.

I also bought a mug in Disney and a t-shirt in Universal. Very good for me - KC spent more on himself than I did! Ha. That never happens. 

mug / t-shirt. 

Gina mentioned that the One Eleven line at Express never went on sale, so when they were BOGO 50% off, I bought 2 of these tees. Then, they went on sale again, this time 50% off everything AND free shipping, so I bought 4 more. Yep, I have 6 of the same top, but they are amazing. 

Solids / Stripes - it looks like the exact striped one is sold out, but here is a very similar one (same top, different stripes).

After that, I thought for sure I'd be good. Except.. sales.

I bought 3 pairs of work pants from Target. I've been trying to find the perfect pair of work pants for ages. If these don't work, I'll be taking them back, but I had to snatch them up while they were on sale. I'm not even that tall, but I have the darndest time finding pants that are long enough. Thanks for long sizes at affordable prices, Target.

Straight Leg Classic Pant 

I have been wanting a new pair of brown boots, and my handbag was starting to show some wear (not bad for $20 and over a year of use) so I happened to check JustFab.. 50% off everything...

Callie Boots / Alastaire handbag

I have been searching for a plain, simple, normal baseball tee for like 2 years. This one from F21 was cheap and looked good. I actually bought 2 in different sizes, I will just sell the one that doesn't fit. Trying to deal with F21's return policy is not worth it.

baseball tee 

Then I bought two rompers, one off ebay and one off amazon. The one off ebay is from express, similar to the one below. I can return the amazon one if I don't like it. I bought them for the cruise.. you know, the one that is 6+ months away.

black romper / floral romper.

Megan and I went shopping for black friday, and surprisingly, I only bought stuff at Target. Go me. I bought this jumper / sweater thing that I tried on months ago but didn't want to spend $23 on. Boom $14. I also bought a simple black cardigan and 2 camis that I wear under everything. I also bought Ever After on bluray ($5!) and Adele's new CD because why not. 

I can't find the exact jumper, this one looks pretty similar but it's not exact (small differences, like it's a curved hem and the drawstring isn't white).

Ahem. Almost done. Two pairs of new workout capris. $17 each from TJ Maxx / Marshalls. Love this brand - 90 degrees by reflex. They just suck you right in. They are also available on amazon.

I've been looking for new leopard flats since 2012, mine are too small (why on earth I bought them too small in the first place, who knows). Bought these ones from American Eagle, hopefully they work out.

AEO Almond Toe Ballet Flat

Finally, I bought some new underwear from VS. To get free shipping, I threw in this super cute bikini top. 

 the getaway halter

Oh, and I bought some extra Christmas gifts even though I was supposed to be done, but they don't count.

And this is why I want to share my shopping, jeepers Kristen. Time to slow down. December needs to be no spend. 

Did you get anything good on black Friday?

Almost totally counts

Sorry Brandy.

Last month, I mentioned I wanted to get back on track. We all know baby steps are where it's at, and trying to do too much at once normally ends in failure. Well. It certainly does for me. So last month I chose one goal - eating. Focus on my eating habits and get back on track with eating only. That doesn't mean that I didn't exercise, because I did. But it was not my focus.

I did pretty well. I was going to try and justify it and say I succeeded, but really, I'd say I half-passed. 50% pass is better than 100% fail though, right? I almost did it, and almost counts.

Before, I was eating junk and fast food two or three times a week, visiting the vending machine once or twice a day, I was eating everything and anything I could get my hands on. I didn't start eating grilled chicken and veggies for every meal, but I only had fast food twice, only one milkshake, only visited the vending machine twice, no bags of chips, no gummi bears, no ice cream... So, not great, but not bad.

I sucked at controlling my portion sizes and I sucked at getting more fruits and veg. I need to work on both of those, but as for the junk and eating out for lunch, I would say it was definitely almost a success. I meant to take more photos, but..

madras lentils from costco yummmmm

quinoa, black beans & tomatoes.

baked beans (english / australian beans, not american so it's not that weird okay)

This does not count Disney, where I obviously ate all the food and all the junk. Balance, right?

For this month, I want to work on the things I failed at last month: portion sizes and fruit & veg.

I also really need to exercise consistently. I always fall off the wagon during winter because I'm cold and miserable. It hasn't snowed yet but it will, and then I will just want to curl up in some sweats and tell myself no-one can see those extra 10lbs. But I don't want to do that again, I want to work out through the winter and stay on top of it. Plus, our cruise is offically booked and the swimsuit I bought is a liiiiiittle small.

So. Goals:

1. Work on them portions, girl. Eat like pre-America-Kristen.
2. Eat yo' fruits and veggies. 2 fruits and 2 veggies a day.
3. Work out 3-4 times a week. Don't care what, just do it.

You can do it!

Linking up with Tracy & Alyssa.

Do you have any magic tricks to stay motivated with working out over winter?

Stuff I'm NOT too old for

In line with my stuff I'm too old for post, I thought I would share the stuff I am most definitely not too old for. Such as:

I am not too old for a night out. I feel like some people my age are over it, but sometimes I just want to get pretty with my girlfriends, have a few drinks and dance. It ain't no crime.

I am not too old to read YA books. In fact, I think I enjoy them more now than I did when I was a YA. Am I still a YA? Or am I now a OA (old adult)?

I am not too old to play the sims. For hours. Why are my eyes red?

I am not too old to jam to songs that were popular when I was a kid / teenager.

I totally still know the entire dance. Duh.

I am not too old to watch Disney movies. or TV shows.

I am not too old for ice cream. Is there such a thing?

I am not too old to be taken care of when I'm feeling sick.

I'm not too old to call my mum when I can't figure out how to cook something / sew something / do something / insert basically anything here.

I am not too old for christmas morning.

I am not too old for bubble wrap.

I am not too old for chocolate milk.

I am not too old to jump out and yell BOO and scare the crap out of KC.

I am not too old to go to Disney World & Universal and have THE BEST TIME EVER.

Bye Felicias! See you on the flip side. If you want to follow along, I shall be blowing up the gram and the snap (@kristenlees122).

As with the 'too old' stuff, of course, I don't think you are ever too old to do or not do something. But still. What are you not too old for?

Some random thoughts / confessions

Two posts today! I had to / wouldn't miss the return of Kathy's link up (with the addition of one of my favourites Nadine!) for the world. I don't know about this new guy on the button though, I know you love him Kathy but Wickham is a scoundrel!

The other day I stopped to get petrol. Even though my car has the little arrow (did you know about the arrow?) I pulled up and my thingy was on the wrong side. So I drove to another one, hoping no-one noticed. Got out of the car, yep I did it again. Okay, okay, I've got this. I exit that spot and start to reverse into it, but I reversed into the one next to it instead, which means I did it for the third time. I drove off. Who needs petrol anyway?

Megan and I went out for Halloween, and there was this weird creepy guy following us around all night, hitting on us even though we both said we were married and then he kept asking us if we'd ever been drugged / roofied.

Yeah okay. Naturally we tried to keep the hell away from him. As we were leaving, I noticed him talking to a girl, giving her a drink. He walked off somewhere and I told her he was a creep and to stay away from him, and I told her what he had said about the roofies. She said 'that guy? that guy right there?' I said yes. She said 'that's my boyfriend' and I was like... er... must be going now.



Normally I kind of just peruse netgalley, seeing things that might be interesting, over requesting books I don't actually want to read.. I rarely see a book that makes me squeal and wriggle in my seat like please give this to me netgalley. I feel like sending them an email recommending myself for this book.

Spoiler: they didn't pick me. Just like McDreamy didn't pick McMeredith.

I have 3 meatloaf songs on my 'fun' playlist at work. I only like 2 of them though, but I suppose 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

The other day, the 'I don't wanna wait' song (Dawson's Creek) came on the radio, and after snapping it (#loser), I called KC singing, and okay I don't have the best voice. Suddenly I hear 'Kristen? KRISTEN ARE YOU OKAY ARE YOU HURT WHAT IS WRONG?'

Because I was singing.

Jeez thanks husband.

Speaking of singing, I know all the words to far too many Hannah Montana songs.

and I've watched the entire TV show. and the movie.

The other day, I visited a blog I hadn't visited in a long time. I used to follow and comment etc etc but she never ever ever visited mine, and I'm not saying you have to, but again with the brick wall. It's no fun. Anyway... She just happened to have a carry on only packing post and she said she had never seen one done before.

Never? Ever ever? I'm not just talking about mine, but there are millions out there on the internet. I can't quite put my finger on why it annoyed me exactly, but it did. Don't pretend you are the first at something that is all over the internet. You're not.

Megan and I went shopping on the weekend. We decided to stop in at Starbucks, as basic white girls do. Lol jk. Anyway. The girl behind the register clearly hated her life. It was my turn. I said 'hello, may I please have a venti hot chocolate. May I please have half the amount of chocolate that you normally put in?' She didn't even look at me, just said 'yep'. Okay... I said 'and all the whip'. Most people laugh at this, I know I'm not a comedian, but still. Lighten up girl. No lightening up. We move over to wait. The guy calls out 'mocha half hot chocolate blah blah' and I'm like 'um, this has no coffee in it, right?' he smiles and says 'yep!'. We walk outside, I take the lid off, and there is no effing whipped cream.

It doesn't melt that fast.

It's okay, I'm an adult. It's fine. I take a sip.

I did not handle it that gracefully, but there was no gif to show you what I did. I marched back in there, nice as can be and asked for a hot chocolate without coffee please. They make it. He hands it to me, says 'no whip hot chocolate'.

The scale went down the other day! I refuse to get back on it until well after Disney in case it was a fluke, or in case it went back up.

Happy wednesday y'all!

Why you should visit Louisville

I'll be the first to admit I'm not the biggest fan of the city I live in. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against it at all, but it's not like Sydney, London, NYC or Paris, let's be real. But I do love it here, and the fact is, there is tons of things to do in the 'ville and I am finally getting round to doing some of them. I wanted to share, in case you were looking for a destination for your next weekend away!

1. Lots of things to do!

This is something I am just discovering myself, but Louisville is home to an amazing entertainment scene. There are plenty of theatres, art galleries, museums and music festivals. There is the Midwest Music Festival, the Kentucky Bluegrass Music & Burgoo Festival, and the Kentucky Reggae Festival. Abbey Road on the River is a huge Beatles themed festival - though 2016 might be the last year. Forecastle is a huge deal (I accidentally got married on that weekend, which made for fun hotel rates for out of town guests) and draws people from all over.

There is also a Lebowski fest and Shakespeare in the Park (free!). You guys, there is even a Jane Austen Festival, which I am so going to next year.

The Louisville Palace is the place for all your favorite shows and concerts in the Theatre District, and there apparently isn't a bad seat in the house. It’s also located close to The Brown Hotel, you can eat a Hot Brown and then hop over to the Palace. I'm waiting for something I actually want to see before I visit.

As for museums and such, Louisville is the hometown to Muhammad Ali, and you can visit his childhood home or the Muhammad Ali Center. There's the Louisville Slugger Museum (and Factory!), even if you're not a baseball fan it's quite interesting.  To mention a few more – Frazier History Museum, Glassworks (so fun and a gorgeous wedding venue!) the Kentucky Science Center, and Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.

If you’re in the mood for relaxing or strolling around a park - There are so many parks around the city, there’s always one close to where you are.

The Louisville Mega Cavern contains six different ziplines that are all fully underground as well as the world’s only fully underground drive through Christmas light show. You seriously have to see this cave to fully realise its massive size.

Now for some ‘scary stuff’. Waverly Hills is a historic gothic sanatorium, and it doesn't get much scarier than that. It was once, according to the Waverly Hills history page, a city in and of itself, complete with its own zip code that housed patients with tuberculosis. Today it's visited by shows like "Ghost Hunters" and "Paranormal Challenge" and a hot spot for some Halloween fun. It sounds terrifying. Louisville is also home to the world’s largest zombie walk with over 20,000 participants. The event takes place every August 29th and is a free event so you have no excuse to not participate. I think that sounds more my style!

2. Sports.

Yes, sports gets its own category. People from Kentucky take their college sports really, really seriously. I mean, I'm sure other places do as well, but I don't live there do I? The rivalry between the University of Louisville (UofL) and the University of Kentucky (UK) is probably the most famous in the country (what do I know?). Tickets are fairly cheap and it's a fun time to go to a basketball or football game. You might even get free papa johns if you go to a football game.

You can also check out the Louisville Slugger Field - it's quite cheap to catch a baseball or soccer game there.

Saturday soccer shenanigans #louvclt #louisvillecityfc #soccer @meganmakingitallup

A photo posted by Kristen (@seeyouinaporridge) on Jul 11, 2015 at 5:23pm PDT

3. Shopping.

Okay, there isn't a whole lot of amazing shopping in Louisville itself - I'd recommend Oxmoor Center, Mall St Matthews and Shelbyville Road Plaza (Nordstrom Rack, Off Broadway Shoes and the Nike Outlet) if you want to though - all of which are located within 1 mile, no joke. For outlet shopping though, about 20 minutes away in Simpsonville there are a bunch of outlets and about half an hour away in the other direction, there is the Zappos / 6pm outlet where you can get Hunters for $50 (apparently…). I recommend weekdays, if you can swing it. The weekends are a mad house.

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4. The Highlands.

The Highlands is one of my favourite parts of Louisville, but we don’t go there nearly enough. On Bardstown Rd in the Highlands you’ll find a hipster strip of shops and bars, not to mention many ‘Keep Louisville Weird’ stickers. The Highlands Fest is on the 29^th of August and it is a ton of fun. We went last year but didn't make it this year.

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5. Food & drink.

If you like bourbon, Louisville is the place to visit. You go to Napa Valley for wine, you come to the 'ville for bourbon. This is the traditional starting place for the Bourbon Trail; there are plenty of bourbon tour things you can do, like the Urban Bourbon Trail, Mint Julep Tours, the Evan Williams Experience and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour. 

The Thirsty Pedaler sounds so fun, but you need a group of people to do that. Against the Grain is a great restaurant and brewery to check out.

I don’t know about you, but eating is my favourite thing to do when I travel. So if a food tour sounds more your stlye… Check out City Taste Tours or Louisville Food Tour. Here is a list of a bunch of places to eat and drink in the ‘ville, though I’m clearly not a local as I haven’t been to any of those places. I really need to eat at The Comfy Cow.

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6. The Derby!

Greatest 2 minutes of sports, anyone? Honestly though, the Kentucky Derby is so much more than a horse race!! Okay, the party itself is super fun - see my guide here - but the Derby festival (Fest-A-Ville) has so much to offer – Thunder over Louisville, the Chow Wagon, Balloon Fest, Beer Fest - even a marathon (or half!) if you're so inclined.

If you can't make it to the Derby, fear not - you can still visit the Derby Museum and Churchill Downs - there are races throughout the year.

7.  Louisville is the best place to start a road trip.

Apparently, the best place to start a road trip in the US is Louisville. I was not expecting that! I'm always bummed that there aren't a lot of close destinations that we could just whisk away to for a weekend, but it turns out I was wrong. I know I'm trying to convince you to visit Louisville and starting a road trip from here doesn't really encourage that - but it would make a great stopover destination on your way to somewhere else like Cincinnati (1.5 hours) Indianapolis (two hours), Nashville (2.5 hours), St. Louis (4 hours), Chicago (4.5 hours), or Atlanta (6 hours). A trip to Louisville can easily turn into a quick trip to another awesome spot.

Bonus reason - pronouncing the name of the city is super fun. I mean, it's no Wisconsin (can't say it) but you should learn how to say it before you visit! Although I have lived here almost 4 years and have heard it pronounced all different ways, even by the locals!

There are tons of other reasons to visit Louisville -it's the nation’s largest supplier of disco balls, birthplace of the Abraham Lincoln and song “Happy Birthday,” not to mention Old Louisville is one of the largest Victorian districts in the United States, and "beautiful" is an understatement. 

Linking up with the girls.

Did I mention we have a 68,000 pound Louisville Slugger baseball bat, I mean, don’t we sound fun? When are you coming?