The end of summer has been wild in these parts. It’s been a jumble of juggling freelance work while finding a new job, traveling out to blogger meet ups and having one of my best friends come to stay with us while working said new job, planning a shop launch and attempting to still, you know, shower every day. It has been a ton of fun and I feel extremely lucky, but I’m an introvert at heart and without time at home to just rest I don’t fare so well. So when our wedding anniversary trip started creeping around the corner, I was so happy I could have made out with the pilot.

If making out with pilots was appropriate on wedding anniversary trips, that is.

We boarded the plane for Walt Disney World & a visit to our American family, and it was exactly what I needed! Here’s a little peek into our week…

We arrived in Orlando and were met at the airport by Jesse’s sister, one of my favourite people in the world. We only get to see her once a year, which is both tough and lame, but it means we go to Disney annually & have learned how it works inside and out. We walked Downtown Disney, visited with the grandparents (Domo > GPS), hopped busses to the parks, and (most importantly) relaxed into the beautiful heat by the pool.

The parks were a lot of fun, and while I’m usually a huge wuss about rides I decided that this time I was going to face my fears. I warmed up by going on some of the smaller rides I’ve done before, and then camped out by the exit of Space Mountain to watch the little kids coming out. None seemed to have suffered emotional damage from their experience, so we bolted in and I hopped into a car before I could think about what I was doing. I loved its theme & it was as pretty as everyone had told me, and the first two thirds of the ride were so much fun! But at the end it started dropping and my previous “I HATE FALLING! GAH HALP!” feeling from being on other rollercoasters came back.

I might not be a ride person in the end, but I’m so glad that I tried! It was a brave moment, and you can’t beat those, even when they’re small.

The far and away highlight of the trip was two fold: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party & Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival. The Halloween party was lots of fun and intensely, incredibly cute. The Magic Kingdom is closed early to the public so the party attendees have access to all the rides with a fraction of the people in line, there are characters, parades, and candy being handed out everywhere. There’s a Villain’s stage show, and a special fireworks display – and there are babies in the sweetest costumes you’ve ever seen. Everywhere. I’m still trying to let my hormones return to normal levels, because the cute was overwhelming.

The Food and Wine Festival is something we always try to plan our trips around, and I totally recommend it as a perfect antidote to the kid-centered everything at Disney. Around the world showcase (the area at Epcot with pavilions for different countries) there are appetizers and desserts that have all been paired with beer & wine every twenty feet, not to mention the tequila flights. We spent two days wandering and snacking, trying new foods, getting sunburned and bumping into friends.

We had a beautiful anniversary dinner at Cat Cora’s restaurant, met my long time blogging friend Alexis, caught up with Jesse’s family, found me an Alice in Wonderland iPhone case, and had time to rest along the way. It was perfection.

And like any oasis away from normal life, it also forced a little perspective. I’ve been thinking about my blog a lot lately, and the reality is that what worked for me as a blogger in the summer isn’t working this fall. I love looking forward to posting and bursting at the seams with excitement to update my blog, and lately I’ve been losing that as I’ve strayed from centering it around what makes me who I am. I’m really excited to post a little less than I have been and to shift my focus back to the things I really love: telling stories about my life, getting geeky about good food & movies, making things, sharing beautiful handmade work & designing posts that are fun to look through.

And as fun as the getaway was, I’m really excited for a fall & winter with absolutely no trips planned, with lots of nesting & getting back to basics.