35 Years Ago

Day 250...

...and 35 years ago I met a certain someone in a local nightclub on a random night out. I had no intention of going out that night and certainly not with, how shall we put this...an acquaintance...who called me up out of the blue. 

My dad persuaded me to go out that night and across a dark dancefloor I was introduced to Simon...just so happened he knew the person I was with and they hadn't seen each other in a while. So rather than leave with whom I arrived I left with Simon instead.

Two years later we got engaged and then married 18 months later. 35 years since we met, two grown-kids, numerous amazing Disney holidays, cosplay adventures and prop making later here we are still growing stronger together.

Simon drew this ten years ago as part of his 365 Mickey's project so it seems apt to share it today.

But as it was Monday and our day off it started like any other Monday with a trip to collect our weekly grocery shop but in a change to our usual routine we came home via another supermarket to do a little bit of Christmas themed shopping. I wanted to pick up some bits and pieces for us for over the festive period but I was also shopping on behalf of pre-school. We are putting together a hamper that we are going to raffle off over the next couple of weeks; fizz, pudding, cake, mince pies and other goodies.

This marked the first time venturing into an actual supermarket in what felt like forever...having stuck to ordering all my shopping online and collecting once a week I haven't really needed to go into a shop. We have been in and out of other places but this was the first time back in a familiar shop and it was just nice to be doing something that felt like normal.

Once home and shopping put away I then had a parcel for the US to pack and sort out the postage, which seems to have gone up an awful lot compared to the last time we shipped anything stateside! It was then off to the post office to send the parcel on its way along with another couple.

This afternoon saw us take a walk out in the sunshine; just a short one today of a couple of miles in about 40 minutes. Then fueled with a coffee I set about getting the rest of the cleaning and a little re-organising completed ready for the upcoming weekend and our Christmas decorations.

I do love all my Disney bits and pieces but it does make cleaning round a lengthy job but now it is all done it looks lovely I just need all the dust to keep away. Although at the weekend I will need to move it all again to lay some snow blanket so that everywhere looks suitably festive.

Just a little bit of my collection...

And even my 'Dickens Village' collection by Department 56 has strong Disney connections as I fell in love with it after seeing a large display in a shop (it may have been the 'World of Disney' or whatever the equivalent was back in 1991) in what was then known as the Disney Village Marketplace at Walt Disney World. 

In fact I think I bought a couple of pieces to bring back home and of course since then Department 56 have produced a Disney Village series as well. It's probably a good job that it's tricky to get hold of in the UK as I don't know where I'd put anymore!

And we end the day with announcements from our government that the current 'lockdown 2' will end on the 2nd December but then we will be back into the three tier system which is going to be a bit tougher, but we won't know which areas of the country are in which tiers until later in the week. I do find myself losing the will to take as much interest in this as I perhaps should. I think I will wait until the tier for our area has been announced and then worry about what I can or can't do with whom and where!

Wherever you are, take care.

xx

'Tis the Season...

So here we are...the 1st December and the Christmas season has begun.  So let me start for apologising for not writing a new blog post sooner but things have been a little busy of late.

Working in a pre-school at this time of year means lots of things to do from sorting out Christmas presents for all of the children (69 at the last count!) to organising our Christmas Fair fundraiser to preparing for our Christmas concert! Rehearsals have begun already, and we've been singing Christmas songs for the past week!

I have also been working with a good friend of mine, Michelle who was co-host of The Minnie Minxes Disney podcast.  Unfortunately The Minnie Minxes are no more but from the ashes of one podcast rises another - the Disney Dream Girls podcast hosted by Michelle and yours truly!  Simon is busy creating us some artwork and you can already find us on i-tunes.  So if you would like to hear a couple of British ladies talking passionately about their Disney passion give us a listen and join in the fun. Or you can follow us on Twitter @DisDreamGirls, or myself @JaynePhipps for all the latest thoughts and news.

And as today is the beginning of December I have been rather busy getting the house and garden ready for the festivities.  With the help of Simon we have decked the fences and the pathways with lights and my favourite Santa, Snowman and Penguin have taken up their usual position.

Outside lights not captured very well on camera but the sky is beautiful!

This will greet me every night I come home from work :)

My favourite 'illuminations'!

Inside I have dotted around the house numerous Christmas ornaments and two of my three trees are now up and decorated.  I have one tree that is decorated in Gisella Graham ornaments...

Love these quirky decorations

...and then a black tree that is covered in all things silver and white.  

My sophisticated tree, with an appropriate movie poster behind it!

A little Disney has already worked its way in... 

Some of my Department 56 models

Two new Jingle Smells vinylmations

And a little Winnie the Pooh!

...but it won't be until later in the month when we put up a real tree that the full Disney affect is felt!!

I am hoping to get a few more blog posts out throughout December and let you know how my run up to Christmas is going...I might even manage to get some more posts completed about our latest vacation...:)  See you soon x

Countdown to Chritsmas - Day 18

18th December

I thought I'd continue the decoration theme a little bit today, well I suppose they're more ornaments than decorations but it all started with a visit to WDW way back in 1991.

Back in the early 90's at the then named 'Disney Village Marketplace' there was a Christmas shop called the 'Christmas Chalet' and in there was a display of model houses, all set in a lovely scene of snow and ice.  I fell in love with them straight away.

Now these houses were by a company called Department 56, and the houses that I first saw were in their Dickens' Village Series.  The houses were inspired by the classic novels of Charles Dickens and echoed famous names such as 'Scrooge & Marley's Counting House', 'Bob Cratchit's House', 'Olde Curiosity Shop' and 'Fagin's Hide-A-Way'

Department 56 - mainly Dickens' Village Series

Scrooge & Marley's Counting House

Cratchit Family House

So over the years I have collected these houses, some actually being brought home...very carefully...from WDW.  The only problem with my collection is that I struggle to find anywhere in the UK that stocks Department 56 products.  In the late 90's we did find a couple of stockists local to us, but they had limited stock and once it was gone it was never replaced, I even ended up with some ex-display models.

But by the power of the internet I have been able to expand my collection through either Ebay or stockists based in the US (the downside being shipping costs and import taxes!). Then I discovered that Department 56 even produced Disney themed houses...well I obviously just had to start collecting them too :)

Here's a few of my collection...