Back to Orlando We Go

ikea orlando
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Back to Orlando we went last week for a quick day trip to Ikea! It was my second time there and although I'm not the biggest fan of the majority of things they sell, Ikea does have several little gems I really loved. We weaved our way through each department, both of us finding just a few new items to bring home with us. It took a couple of hours to get through the entire place, so we inevitably worked up an appetite.  Ryan and I loaded up the car and headed straight to Winter Park for none other than Shake Shack! Ryan had a double Shack Burger and I had the 'Shroom Burger, extra pickles, extra Shack Sauce (it's the best if you've never tried it!) Following dinner, I found The Soda Fountain on my Four Square and we stopped in for a trio of ice creams: chocolate peanut butter, salted caramel, and cinnamon roll. We both agreed that we preferred Kelly's Ice Cream, that we tried last time we were in Orlando. It was fun though to see the wall murals painted right outside of The Soda Fountain, flamingos and swans were definitely included. The eat more ice cream wall? I can get behind that.  

Orlando and Winter Park

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Recently, Rifle Paper Co. hosted The Hyppo and Mama's Sauce for yet another awesome sidewalk sale. Once I found out Hyppo would be there, I planned a little overnight trip to meet Ryan in the Orlando/Winter Park area before the sale the next day. I ended up finding the cutest tiny modern house that was for rent on Airbnb and I knew it was perfect! We dropped our bags off at the house and headed out for a progressive dinner around town. First stop was The Strand for a beer and an order of the house made pretzels. They came out fresh from the oven with a side of a homemade pimento cheese that was delicious. Following pretzels, we went to Propagation coffee for a cappuccino and iced coffee with tonic water. Next up, we went to Winter Park Fish Co. for a lobster roll...only to find out it had been taken off of the menu! We chose the shrimp tacos and a crab roll instead, which wasn't quite the same, but it was still pretty delicious. Our last stop for dessert was Kelly's homemade ice cream, where Ryan had the Mexican hot chocolate and I had the cake batter with sprinkles. That evening, we were welcomed back to the house by the owners, Alex and Rosa. They were overwhelmingly kind and generous and we couldn't recommend their tiny house enough! 

The next morning, we woke up, packed our bags, and headed straight for Rifle Paper Co. We were greeted with popsicles, the best way to start the morning, and I jumped straight into stocking up on all the stationery and prints my little hands could hold. I was so excited to see she was offering her new planners at the sale as well, so I had to pick one up! 

After Rifle Paper, we were offered the chance to stop over into Mama's Sauce's studio for a little tour. It was so cool to see all of their amazing presses; to say Ryan was in heaven would be an understatement. Thanks Mama's Sauce! 

Lastly, we had lunch at Black Bean Deli. I think Ryan and I would both agree that this was our favorite restaurant of the trip. Not only was the interior beautiful, the atmosphere was bustling with a large lunch crowd, but the food was so much better than I could have hoped for. Ryan had a cuban and I had the vegetarian plate with plantains, a salad, cuban bread, and black beans with rice. It was heaven washed down with a Mexican Coke. 

We seriously had the best time exploring Orlando and Winter Park for twenty four hours. We scratched off a few places on our little adventure list, but with that, added several new places we want to try in the future as well. We will definitely be back to stay in that tiny house, and cannot wait to see when the owners finish their latest project: an airstream Airbnb! 

Disney World!

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What's the best way to spend a Tuesday afternoon, you ask? By acting like a  big kid at heart at Disney World, of course! It was time for our family to renew our annual passes, so my mom, dad, and I drove over to Orlando for a few hours (we missed you while you were at work, Michael!). We rode the monorail to Magic Kingdom and proceeded to go straight to a few of the rides and eat some delicious treats while everyone crowded around Main Street to watch the electrical parade. 

All aboard the Magic Kingdom Railway! Next stop, Frontierland and Adventureland in search of Dole pineapple whipped ice cream. I wish they sold it by the gallon and that I had a miniature freezer to bring it home with me! Ps- how cool is the train station for guests to sit down in while waiting for the next train? Amtrak, take note...

The park was overwhelmingly crowded, so many school groups!!, the only ride we made it onto was the Haunted Mansion. It's always been one of my favorite rides; there's always just so much to see.  I am always keeping my eyes peeled for any new updates or additions to the ride. 

The above statue was a tomb marker for a "deceased" ship captain. The marker said he ironically drowned in his bathtub. The best detail is that every few minutes bubbles floated out from his statute. If you look closely you can see one little bubble left. Oh Disney, so silly with details, I love it. 

The cutest and least crowded little corner of the park. It was down an alley off of Main Street and it seemed like no one really knew it even existed. Shhh, don't tell anyone, we'll keep it our little secret ;) 

I've never noticed the below letter boxes posted all up and down Main Street and close to the entrance of the park. The park staff collects letters and postcards each day and mail them from a local Orlando post office. The mail might take slightly longer to reach its recipients, but I loved the vintage post boxes so much I had to mail out a few cliche postcards. 

After the park, we had dinner at the Yacht Club Resort. We ate lobster rolls at the Crew's Cup Lounge and had ice cream cookie sandwiches down by the pool at Beaches and Cream Soda Shop. Can I have these cute ice cream tables and colorful chairs for my kitchen?