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Ready for Some Fun at Disney’s #RockYourDisneySide 24-Hour Event!

Emi and I are so excited about the Rock Your Disney Side 24-hour event at The Disneyland Resort on May 23, that we’ve been counting how many more sleeps? It’s going to be our first attempt at one of the 24 hour parties. We’ve been doing a lot of pre-planning for the day, referencing the Disney Parks Blog site and a few other favorite blogs who have posted fun and useful tips. I think having a little bit of knowledge ahead of time is going to make a world of difference and being prepared to endure a long day can’t hurt either!
Here are some of the park necessities we’ll be bringing with us:
*Our APs-These are obviously the most important part of our trip that day! Not only to get in the gates, but also for parking. (By the way, to read about the carpooling perks that Disney is offering for this event, click here.)  

My business cards just go along with my APs in the wallet every trip! You never know who you’ll network with!  

*A backpack-I almost ALWAYS bring a backpack with me, to the parks, so I can carry things like a water bottle, headache medicine, bandaids, sunblock, extra snacks, an autograph book, a pen, my camera, extra clothes for layering, and gum. I’m sure I’m leaving something out, but basically a backpack allows me to have my hands free, which is so much better than carrying a purse! 

This is my lucky UK Mickey Pen that I got from a Disney friend!

*Disney accessories-Emi and I like to wear our matching Minnie ears headbands when we’re in the parks. Sometimes she prefers to wear her traditional ears too, so I’ll be bringing both for this trip. (Do you see why I NEED the backpack?) 

*Coordinating attire-Although we’re not going to the extent of wearing actual costumes, (we’ll save those for Mickey’s Trick or Treat Party) or even DisneyBounding like other park goers, we do love to dress for an occasion and had special shirts made for each of us! Why NOT sport our Twitter handles on a shirt, right? Sending a BIG thank you to The Shirt Cannery in Mission Viejo! They are amazing!
*Pooh-When you are going to be in the parks for an extended amount of time, especially when it’s going to be crowded (or at maximum capacity like they’re predicting), having something like a stuffed friend to play with really helps keep your kid(s) occupied during wait times. They also make for great photo opportunities. Some stuffed friends even have their own Instagram accounts. (Ours doesn’t) Pooh is usually the one Emi likes to bring with us! 

*Our “Eat Our Way Through the Parks” Checklist-Yep, you read that one correctly! Have you read the post on the Disney Parks Blog about all of the special items that they’re going to offer in both parks, exclusively for this event? If you haven’t, then click here. After carefully analyzing all of the items, Emi and I are especially looking forward to trying the ones you see on our checklist of what we’ll attempt to eat and drink at Disney 24! 

I guess it looks like we’ll be rockin’ our Disney Foodie Side! 
Wish us luck!
Will YOU be attending the event this time? 
For live tweets from the parks, follow along with us on Twitter @overthetopmommy and @overthetopkid and @UptownDisneyGal.
For pictures of our day, follow @overthetopmommy on Instagram.
 
 

We Love Casey’s Cupcakes!

I absolutely LOVE anything pink! One of my main nicknames is actually “Pinky”! The first time I Casey’s Cupcakes boutique, I was in awe of all the details. With so many cupcake stores open in Orange County and so much competition, it really takes something special to stand out above the others. If you’ve spent any amount of time in a Casey’s Cupcakes boutique, like maybe to enjoy one of her cupcakes and a coffee, you can also watch the episode of “Cupcake Wars” that she was on and that she won! Yep, not only is she adorable, but she can bake….and bake under some major pressure!

Recently, Casey’s hosted a photo contest on Instagram. I didn’t NEED an excuse to go into her Fashion Island store and enjoy a Confetti Cupcake, but if I had needed one, this was it! The store looked extra beautiful because it was all decorated for Christmas! Although there were so many cupcakes to choose from, including her Flavor of the Month: Glamorous Gingerbread, but Emi and I are still always drawn to the Casey Confetti Cupcake. This cupcake is so yummy, I swear I could eat two in one sitting, all by myself! I’m not even sure if I like the frosting or the actual cupcake more? Both parts are amazing! Before I let Emi sit down to enjoy her cupcake, I had to snap a couple pics of her in front of the adorable Casey’s Christmas tree!

I think this expression on Emi’s face says it all! 

This is definitely our favorite cupcake of them all….Casey’s Confetti Cupcake!

So…imagine our excitement when we found out that we’d won FIRST PLACE in the photo contest! I told Emi that we’d split the prize package, since it was her photo that won the contest, but it was me that submitted the picture. Emi actually negotiated with me that I also get her one of the Casey dolls. I thought it was a fair deal! We returned back to the Fashion Island store to pick up the prize package on Christmas Eve,wearing our matching hot pink jackets! You have to DRESS the part, right?

As if we hadn’t already loved Casey’s Cupcakes already, now we’re even bigger fans! If you haven’t visited one of her 5 locations, you need to get yourself to one soon! She also offers packages for “Decorate Your Own Cupcake Parties and a very special “Tea Party and Tiaras exclusively at the Woodbury location, which is something that Emi is hoping to do next! Have you visited a Casey’s Cupcakes location yet? If so, what was your favorite cupcake flavor?

Sometimes Instagram is MORE Than Just Pictures

I love Instagram. I love posting pics, I love interacting with others, and I love seeing the variety of pictures that people share. I love seeing pictures of families and fitness and crafts people have made and DISNEY and recipes….etc. Every once in a great while there are pictures that you scroll by and then scroll back to….sometimes several times. You don’t necessarily know the person but then suddenly you almost feel like you want to know them or at least more about them. Today I felt that way about a picture I came across. I have been following this adorable young girl (I’m guessing she’s in her 20s) for just a short while. She is in the fight of her life because she’s battling breast cancer! I don’t know her real name, I don’t know where she lives, I post supportive comments, but the fact that she’s on Instagram, not only sharing pictures of everything she’s going through, but also her thoughts about the cancer is both brave and extremely enlightening for the rest of the world to see! Today I started crying though when I read what she posted with her picture. It was a letter, actually it seemed more like a total PLEA to her cancer. I cried when I read it and then I commented something on her picture and then I read it again.

Here’s the picture she posted: 
Here’s what she wrote: 
“What’s on my mind this morning: my eyelashes. Cancer you’ve taken my hair, my boobs, my periods, you can take my eyebrows, my toenails, whatever, just please don’t take my eyelashes. Pretty please. I’ll buy you some ice cream or a cold pop. But ain’t nobody got time for that, leave the eyelashes. Thank you! Sincerely yours: The girl who’s going to kick your ass!”

I’ve been thinking about it all day. I feel like I want to know her name. I feel like I want to know her. I know I can’t help her much, but even if I can just encourage her and pray for her, I know it’s something. Some people think it’s silly to exert any of your energy on complete strangers. I don’t. Some people don’t quite get the power of social media and how it connects strangers sometimes. I’m guessing that the positive support she gets from her Instagram followers actually helps her get through some tough times, like her rounds of chemo.

Luckily, I am a great investigator and I was able to find her and ask for her permission to share. If you’d like to follow this sweet, adorable chick too, just go and look up @screamqueen13 on Instagram!