May got off to a weird start this year - I was in my first (and hopefully last) car accident recently, and spent the first week of the month resting and recuperating - but the next few weeks are full of celebrations: my sister's 21st birthday (which I swear I'm more excited about than she is), my 25th birthday, Mother's Day, and the official start of what I like to call "bikini season," among other things. I'm feeling a whole lot of love and excitement, and I hope this post helps you feel some, too. :)
Here are some of the things I'm loving and looking forward to this month.
Birthday Drinks "Around the World"at Disney's Epcot
Gabbi (my sister) is turning 21 on Saturday, and let me tell you - I might be more excited about this than I was for my own 21st four years ago. She and I are really close, and the closer she's gotten to turning 21, the more irritable she gets when we're anywhere that serves alcohol (for the record, she knows and admits this, and who can blame her? 20 was a rough age). All that being said, we're counting down the minutes until the big day, where we'll be "drinking around the world" at Disney's Epcot. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this park and are wondering why someone would want to celebrate a 21st birthday there, here's your answer: the park's "world showplace" area has 11 pavilions that each represent a different country: Mexico, Norway, Germany, China, Italy, the U.S., Japan, France, Morocco, the U.K and Canada. The employees in each of the countries are almost always from that country (accent and all) and each country serves the alcoholic beverages and food they're known for. Drinking and eating our way through 11 countries in 1 day? Challenge accepted.
*Check out my guide to drinking and eating around the world at Epcot here.
The Love Actually Cast Reunion We Needed, Actually
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Every year, actors, comedians, singers and other celebrities come together to raise awareness for Red Nose Day, a fundraising campaign run by the nonprofit Comic Relief, Inc. Their vision: "a just world, free from poverty." Their mission? "To drive positive change through the power of entertainment." There's a TV special on NBC every year to raise funds for this campaign, and I'm pretty sure I cried when I first viewed the teaser announcing that the cast of Love Actually would be reuniting for a "Red Nose Day Actually" surprise. I don't know what stirs my emotions more: the musical score, the revival of that iconic Christmas Card scene, or seeing how gracefully and beautifully everyone has aged. Either way, I'm getting the shit kicked out of me by love (*real Love Actually fans will understand*).
Sweet Gifts for the Sweetest Mom
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As I mentioned before, May is one of the busiest months of the year for me, and that usually means I'm left with about a week to select Mother's Day gifts for my queen of a mama. For the past few years, she's reminded me and my sister that she already has a lot of jewelry, she doesn't want more purses, and she prefers to buy clothes on her own, which sends my sister and I searching for pretty, more heartfelt gifts that will make her smile. I fell in love with this cookie and flower bouquet from Farm & Haus and Merci Bakery, two Orlando businesses (yay, local love!). I'm surprising my mom with one on Sunday (she knows not to read this blog post until then) and plan to make this pretty DIY rose sugar scrub to complement the sweet floral theme.
Bikinis, Beach Bags and Hats, Oh My
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College seniors have graduated, the temperature has risen, and shorts and dresses are replacing the hangers that previously held jeans and sweaters. Summer is upon us, and even though the heat here in Florida is already unbearable at times, it's the perfect excuse to stock up on the bikinis, hats, bags, cover-ups, and espadrilles filling our Instagram feeds. I'm excited to feel the sun on my skin while decked out in cheeky statements (can't wait to wear my new hat, pictured above, this weekend) tropical prints and bright colors. Some of my favorite warm weather picks: PacSun's tropical print bikinis/bathing suits, Marc Fisher espadrilles (I purchased a less expensive, almost identical pair at Macy's), the cutest Pom Pom tote bag from Neiman Marcus, this cover-up from Old Navy and these fun rainbow sandals from Target.
I love movies. Like, really love movies. Whether it's a serious Oscar-winning film, a quirky and honest indie film, or, yes, a slightly cheesy, feel-good romantic comedy that you can watch over and over again, I'm all in. That being said, I've noticed the major lack of rom-coms over the past few years (remember when there were several out every year in the early/mid 2000s?) and I've been praying for them to make a comeback. Looks like my prayers might be answered, thanks to up-and-coming screenwriter and director Hallie Meyers-Shyer, whose new film Home Again, starring Reese Witherspoon, hits theatres in September. Considering Meyers-Shyer is the daughter of one of my favorite screenwriters and directors, Nancy Meyers, I'm pretty damn excited about this. I love this article begging Reese Witherspoon to #SavetheRomCom.
I'm turning 25 next Friday, and earlier this year, I made a promise to myself that I would make 25 the age where I simply do more. There are so many things I dreamed of doing my whole life, and now that I'm about to hit a quarter of a century (can someone say early-life crisis?) I'm realizing that I don't want to waste anymore time dreaming - I'm ready for the doing. Something I always wanted to try growing up, but could never quite muster up the courage to do, was sign up for acting classes. I'm happy and proud to share that I'll finally be making that long-time goal a reality this month, as I've signed up for a highly acclaimed acting program here in Orlando. Stay tuned for more on that in a future post!
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