Florida Highlights

We packed a heck of a lot into our two weeks in Florida - some of which I didn't manage to get photographs of. However, have a look at the highlights of what I did catch on camera. Of course shopping was a huge highlight for me too, so much so, a whole other post was dedicated to it here.

Hot Air Ballooning over Orlando and Kissimme was great - well worth the 4am rise too!

The Kennedy Space Center was brilliant too. I loved seeing Atlantis and was really taken aback when we walked through the door to see it (they have a fantastic build up and reveal of the shuttle which made it all the more impressive). We were pretty gutted as a few days after we visited there was an unmanned launch which both of us would have loved to see, if it wasn't for the fact it was Harry Potter day that it happened then we may have driven back across to watch.

Harry Potter day is here! The rest of Universal and Islands of Adventure were pretty good too, it had started to rain after we did the Harry Potter section so a lot of the rides were closed but we did manage to get on a few other things that were good fun (The Revenge of the Mummy and The Hulk were fab!). 

As you may have guessed though, I was most excited about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As a huge fan of the books and the films, it was amazing seeing Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade come to life in front of you and then taking a trip on the Hogwarts Express, which topped it off for me. We visited 5 days after Diagon Alley opened and it was still heaving with people which we did expect, this meant that we didn't get on to the Escape from Gringotts as this was permanently a 2hour+ wait which we weren't for doing. We did however get on the Dragon Challenge and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey which were excellent. I, of course, made sure that G kept to his promise and got me a wand while we were there and we enjoyed frozen Butter Beer. Now I want to do the Harry Potter Studios tour!

Disney! We visited you on a day where it poured from the heavens but still managed to get on Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain alongside other shows and smaller rides. We also managed to catch the fireworks (pictures didn't turn out very well for these as it was raining! Boo!) even though the first Electrical Parade was cancelled due to the weather we decided to stay after the fireworks to see if the rain would ease for the 11pm parade. It did, and we managed to get into the reserved seating area as the group supposed to be in there didn't show up! Even in the rain, it was a brilliant day!

What's In My Suitcase? - Clothes

Part one of 'What's in My Suitcase' was posted here yesterday, have a look to see what I packed beauty-wise!

I'm nosey and love to read this kind of post so I thought I would document and share with you what I have packed into my suitcase or two weeks in Florida. Hopefully, by the time this post reaches the internet I should be somewhere over the Atlantic, probably more excited than any of the children on board the plane. Hey, do you blame me? Sephora will be Disneyland for me!

I have a tendency to over pack for everything - I hate feeling unorganised and under prepared, but I kept my sensible cap on when packing my case this time - I have stuck to a colour scheme so that I can mix and match pretty much everything I have taken with me. I have 25 items to create outfits with including what I am wearing travelling, my swimwear, shoes and bags.

I'm not going to lie, I feel pretty chuffed with myself that I have managed to keep to a colour theme and kept the number of items down so much. I just had to keep reminding myself that we have a washing machine in the villa, so I can wash my clothes while I am away. 

    

As you can see my colour scheme is navy, black and leopard print. What else? Don't worry, it'll be brightened up by red or fuchsia lipstick. Pretty much any top can go with any bottoms I have packed, likewise with my shoes. I will be able to dress an outfit up (say the navy polka dot dress) with the leopard print wedges for dinner out but could dress it down too with the black sandals and the woven bag for an afternoon shopping. Easy peasy.

I've also picked some versatile items, like my kimonos (the top two in the right hand corner) they will be used to cover up when we hit the parks, they're light-weight, cover my shoulders and can easily be wrapped up in a ball and thrown into a bag and won't get creased. They can also be worn with my skirts or dress when we're out and about in the evenings to cover up then as well. The long black tube is excellent, this can be worn as a maxi (or midi) skirt or a midi strapless dress. definitely a great multi purpose garment to take away!

When it comes to accessories I really struggled to narrow it down. For jewellery, I opted for a simple necklace, 2 bigger ones, a bundle of beaded bracelets, a dressy gold cuff, my watch and an array of earrings. I also packed a navy headscarf for the days I can't be bothered doing my hair, a navy hair flower to jazz my outfits up, my two floppy sun hats and my two pairs of sunglasses (I always lose sunglasses, hence I'm taking two pairs with me!). Other than that I have my jammies and of course black, white and neutral undies. Not very exciting, but essential!

Are you like me and are guilty of over packing or are you one of these amazing people that can pack a months worth of stuff into a carry on bag?