Staying Home Sawyer

Real Life Living on a Real Life Budget

DIY

Disneyland Gift Bags for Grown Ups

Gift Bag Ideas for Adults at Disneyland

You didn’t think I went all the way to Disneyland (pockets stuffed with magic stones for little kids) and nothing for my husband, did you? I mean, it was our anniversary and all. And I never go overboard with crafty projects for my husband. He probably doesn’t even know if I love him or not. Oh gosh. I am clearly failing at this thing called marriage. So much for a two year anniversary. Hopefully I make it until my third.

So now onto stating the obvious: clearly I go overboard sometimes. Or a lot. Okay always. My husband had a conference in Anaheim the week leading up to our trip so I figured I should make him a little gift bag for each day he was gone. Just so he didn’t forget how much he loved me. That’s what all wives do right? Since he had to share a hotel room with a co-worker, I’m sure he really enjoyed opening them up each day.

Disneyland Gift Bag Ideas for Adults Disneyland Gift Bag Ideas for Grown-ups

I started with the obvious: A small bottle of gin, a bottle of tonic, and a Disney tumbler. I mean, what’s more magical than drinking your favorite cocktail out of a Disney cup? Yeah that’s right. Nothing.

Two different days were boxes of his favorite candy. I searched high and low for any candy that was Disney themed, but found nothing. Oh the joys of shopping last minute. Instead I just turned his favorites into “Disney” candy by adding little mouse heads.

On one of the box candy days, I added a Red Bull. The accompanying note said that since all the kids at Disneyland would be all hyped up on sugar, he should be too.

Glow Sticks. Now, I know if you have children this is a must purchase before your trip. Seriously, they are 8 for a dollar at the Dollar Tree or $8 each at Disneyland. Buy them beforehand. And for adults? Yes ma’am. We had just as much fun with them as the kids did. And I had so many extra that I handed them out to the other kids in line.

Disney Journal love note. I bought a Disney journal at the Dollar Tree and wrote him a love note throughout it. Don’t worry, I only put a few words on each page. I don’t have that much to say to him, since we do live together and all.

Disney puzzle with a twist. I took the kids puzzle out of the box, put it together, flipped it over, and wrote a short little note about how excited I was to go to the park with him. Then put it back in the box, seal it up, and make him struggle to put it back together. Or is that just my husband? Seriously. It was a 24 piece puzzle! I thought it was going to be easy!

Lastly (and this was a stretch), I bought a Disney magic towel. You know those things you see at the Dollar Tree while wondering who would ever buy them? Yeah. Those. I bought one. I added a little note about how he was obviously crying without me by his side, so this could dry his eyes. Yeah that’s right. I’m clever like that.

Disneyland love notesAfter I picked out all the gifts, packed them in small gift bags, I needed to write the accompanied note. I cut out Mickey Mouse heads in black cardstock, then “shorts” out of Disney themed paper. I hand sewed the shorts onto the head outline, and hot glued buttons on the shorts. And because everyone knows Mickey wouldn’t be the same without Minnie too, I made a few Minnie heads by adding bows. Then I wrote little notes for each head, and tied them to each gift bag.

Overall, I think it was a success. Especially because when he begged me for Disneyland souvenirs at the park that night, I was able to tell him he already had enough. And you thought I had it easy without children.

Grown-Up Disneyland Gift Bag Ideas

DIY

Magic Disney Stones

 

Magic Disney StonesWhat is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says, “Disneyland?” If your first thought is screaming babies, long lines, obnoxious tourists, or entitled children: we are obviously friends. But for the more optimistic person, one thing that describes Disneyland is magic. We all know it’s not real magic. We are well aware that it is indeed very manufactured magic, and in fact costs over $100 just to enjoy that tiny piece of manufactured magic. But there’s just that one moment. Maybe it happens when you first walk inside the park, or maybe it happens as you watch the fireworks at the end of the day. Nothing can describe that moment as well as the word magic does. That’s the moment I was aiming for.

Magic Disney Stones DIYFor those of you that don’t follow my Instagram, last weekend my husband and I took a trip down to Disneyland to celebrate our anniversary. Not having kids at Disneyland seems to be the way to go. We were so physically exhausted at the end of the day that we barely made it back to the hotel. I don’t know how parents do it. Those screaming adorable children with loads of sugar, plenty of energy, and a magical theme park? It’s just too much.

So clearly, I aimed to make it worse. I added magic into the bunch. I bought a pack of small flat decorative stones from the Dollar Tree and painted them red. I painted the black Mickey Mouse outline to one side, and the word “Magic” to the other. I think it’s pretty obvious this wasn’t a quick project. It took me hours to paint the word Magic on each rock. But I had high hopes for these little stones, so it was well worth it. My initial thought was that I would casually leave them all over the park, in the hopes that some adorable little child would find it, pick it up, and exclaim, “MOM! I FOUND MAGIC.” But do things ever go the way you plan?

In my case, apparently yes, they do. I thought my husband would laugh at my “vision,” all the while going along with it of course (as he is my biggest supporter). So when I started secretly leaving them in lines as we waited, I watched. The first time, no bite. The line moved too fast for us to get a glimpse of the lucky finder of my magic rock.

But then it happened. A little boy sees the rock; quickly, discreetly picks it up. He turns it over, and then over again. You can see his face start to question life. I mean, come on! He’s just found magic. When his mom notices, she asks what it is that he found. His response, in a quiet whisper (clearly so his sister didn’t steal his new prized possession), “Mom! I found magic!”

Magic Disney Stones DIY DisneylandHe will either keep that rock forever and ever, probably on a pedestal in his bedroom – or will forgot about it when the fireworks started that night and all his Disney dreams came true. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which one I’m hoping for.

Throughout the day, we watched this scenario play out with different children. Most had relatively the same reactions, and it was heart-warming to watch. Needless to say, my Disneyland magic was more than just one moment. It was each moment I witnessed these children finding their magic.

DIY

Five Year Anniversary Gifts

Perfect 5th Anniversary Gift - Wood and SilverwareAs I was busy attempting to come up with a gift for my own second anniversary, I came up with an idea for my best friend’s five year wedding anniversary. Of course. I couldn’t seem to think of anything for my own husband, but isn’t it always easier to shop for your friends anyway? Mine might disagree with that statement, as I’m often told how difficult I am to shop for. I don’t know how hard it could be. If it’s crafty, I will craft it. If it is a cheeseburger, I will eat it. If it’s a book, I will read it. If it’s alcohol, I will drink it. Seems pretty easy for me. And if you’re a millionaire, I will take a trip to Bora Bora. See how easy that was?

Perfect 5th Anniversary Gift - Wood AND SilverwareThe five year gifts were much easier than year two. Traditional gift is Wood, and the new modern gift is Silverware. What is better than wooden silverware? If you answer wine, cheeseburgers, crafts, or books: we are now best friends. Besides, after I sent a pack of wooden silverware to my best friend, she’s probably ready to replace me anyway.

Perfect 5th Anniversary Gift - Wood and SilverwareI’ve done the stamped spoons before, so obviously I was a seasoned pro (as you can tell from my clearly uneven lettering skills).  I like it a little better that it’s not perfect, but if you don’t, you better buy two sets of spoons. It takes a LOT of practice to get it perfect! And if my best friend doesn’t like it crooked, well then she can just deal with it. No one’s perfect in this house.

You can buy the metal stamping set on Amazon (like this one) or at any hardware store. You’ll need a hammer, the stamp set, spoons, and a fine tip Sharpie. Use the hammer to stamp in each letter, and then fill in the imprint with the Sharpie. For this anniversary set I used words that I felt related to marriage: Love, Trust, Loyalty, Respect, Honesty. I found this adorable tag on DawnNicole. It was too cute not to add.

So what do you think? Is there another word that you think describes marriage better?

Lifestyle

Be Bold, Go Gold: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Sometimes the things that need our attention the most are the things that are easily overlooked. I know that I’ve seen plenty of things about Going Gold for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, but haven’t really done anything about it. Most of the time my thought process is that it is very sad, but I’m just me. What can I do? I wish that I had the power to do more, I wish I had the power to find a cure. I wish I was able to give unlimited funds to a cause that could find the cure. But sometimes doing something small is better than doing nothing at all. So here I am.

Be Bold. Go Gold. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

I credit Taylor Swift with being the first person to opening my eyes to childhood cancer. I know, I know, I credit her with just about everything and anything I can. But if I may, let me bring you way back to the beginning of my love affair with her. It all started with a song called Ronan. It changed my life. I immediately looked up anything and everything I could in relation to this song. I found Maya and read her story about the most beautiful little boy I had ever seen. I read her blog until I cried, then I kept on reading. I started following her blog before I followed blogs, before I even had my own. I’ve been reading her blog ever since, and every September I think: I should do something. I know that I’m just me. I know we can’t afford to give all of our money away to this cause. But I also knew that I wanted to do something this year. Anything.

I created this little print, put it in a gold frame, and picked up a bunch of gold candy for my gold-dipped dish. I put it on my desk at work, so that every time someone sneaks their fingers into the candy, I can tell them I’ve gone gold for CCAM. So while that’s not doing much, at least it’s helping to bring some awareness to people that may not have noticed before.

Be Bold, Go Gold // September is Childhood Cancer Awareness MonthI will be making a donation this month as well, so if you are like me, and wish do do something (anything!), here’s a great foundation you can donate to. It is the foundation Maya started in honor of her son, Ronan. Remember, even if it’s only $5, it is something. Every penny helps, and every penny brings them closer to a cure. I’m challenging every one of you to donate at least $1. You’d spend that one dollar on so many things, why not donate it?

So if I may, let’s all Go Gold. Let’s make September as bright and sparkly as October is pink. Why are we so much more aware of Pink October than Gold September? Why do we wear pink shirts and pink bracelets in October, but nothing in September? Why does the Empire State Building go pink in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month, but refuses to go gold in September for these poor little babies? Why are we okay with that? Take a stand. Go Gold.