Florida Haul

Hey,

It's me Caitlin. I recently visited Florida as a celebratory holiday for finishing my GCSE's. I had such a wonderful time, and I would highly recommend going if you can. Visiting DisneyWorld and Universal Studios is incredible, but obviously resulted in me coming home with a lot of things.

A strange realisation upon returning home was when I discovered exactly how many cups I had collected over the holiday. The first one I got was a Disney Parks cup that allowed me free refills in my hotel. It looked lovely and meant that I could live off of Powerade and Hot Chocolate for the next couple of days. Another one I bought was from the Be Our Guest restaurant. It was served with a lemonade-based non-alcoholic cocktail, in a classy castle goblet. The cup itself had a colour-changing light inside. The third instalment of my collection came when we visited the outlets, where you can get designer things at discounted prices. Obviously we visited the Disney store in the outlet, and I picked up a Beyond the Mirror mug because it looked very cosy, and I could already imagine settling down with a nice book and a cup of tea. I will admit that I have used it constantly since coming back. A hot day at a water park, Volcano Bay (which was very cool), resulted in my purchasing of yet another refillable cup so that I could get free slushies, or as they called them Icee's, and lemonade's for the rest of the day. On one of the rainy days we stumbled into the Hard Rock Café, which just so happens to be the worlds largest one. My dad, knowing how much a lover I was of mason jars, ordered his cocktail with the cup. What I liked that the restaurant did was send us to the shop to get a fresh cup that was wrapped and unused. Finally, the last cup that I collected was from Bubba Gump, a Forest Gump inspired restaurant. This cup was quite plain and simple, but again has a light inside it.

Moving onto one of my favourite things in the world; stationary. Surprisingly I didn't get much in terms of stationary, but what I did get I love. One of the first things that most people pick up upon arrival at Magic Kingdom is an autograph book for the characters to sign. I unfortunately forgot my one from the previous trip to Disney World, so I bought the exact same one again. In the outlet Disney store I picked up a Disney parks colouring book, which includes pages of the parks themselves and Disney characters. I also grabbed a notebook in this store which I thought would be good to use as a planner in September when I start Sixth Form. The design on the notebook is a vibrant pink background with the centre focus being Mickey Mouse. From Universal Studios, I grabbed 5 different coloured self-branded pencils to give as part of a present to my friends back home.

Another of my preferred categories is infact food and drink, as I'm sure most people can agree with. My all time favourite lemonade is Minute Maid Lemonade, which was another drink that I lived off for the majority of my trip. I especially loved the frozen lemonades that you could buy in the parks. When in the Harry Potter World's in Universal, you cannot simply just walk into Honeydukes without buying something. Therefore I bought a sweet shop bag full of traditional British sweets. After searching everywhere I went for Jolly Ranchers, I finally found them in the airport confectionery shop. I was very happy when I had found them, so it ended my holiday well.

Before going on my trip, I figured that I would spend most of my money on clothes. However, I only seemed to buy a couple items. I bought two tops; one from the Hard Rock Café, and the other a Ravenclaw Harry Potter top. I've started to collect Hard Rock t-shirts, and the Orlando is the second next to my Paris top. A different purchase from the Disney outlet store was American style sports socks, that have Mickey Mouse's on the stripes. These are one of the most comfortable pairs of cosy socks I have ever wore. I like how they look and love the comfort, and would highly recommend them. I then proceeded to the Converse store, in which I bought three pairs of shoes - a burgundy pair of low tops that bring colour to my outfits, an all black pair of low tops that I can wear to Sixth Form, and a pair of white tennis shoes that I never thought I'd ever wear. Something in a similar idea to clothes that I bought was a beige-light brown Michael Kors bag, that was heavily discounted. I've used it every time I've needed a bag since I got back.

What you're all waiting for is probably what I brought in terms of makeup and skincare. I went into three shops to get my products for this section of the haul. My first stop was MAC in Disney Springs, which is where I brought a MAC lip-kit for Velvet Teddy. This product came with a lipstick and lip pencil, and had a very aesthetically pleasing packaging. The second shop I went to in Disney Springs was Sephora, where I brought most of my items considering we don't have one in the UK. I brought a Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara which, if you're looking for a cheaper alternative, is similar to Maybeline Lash Sensational mascara. Seeing as I was on holiday, I allowed myself a splurge, and bought two Anastasia items. One product I bought was the Sun Dipped Glow Kit, which upon returning home has kept my face looking beach ready. The other product was the Modern Renaissance which I had heard many good reviews about before going away. I've only had reason to use the same two colours recently, but I will branch out and use the rest.

Reflecting upon what I've bought/returned with, I can see I bought a bunch of useless stuff that I don't need - like several cups for example. Although I think that I have returned with great products and items that will help me remember the trip. I will always remember this trip, and hope that many of you can experience the magic that Disney has to offer.

Signing Off,

CaitsCreates