Orlando Vacation 2020 (Personal)

You know what the strange/weird/amazing thing is about vacation? In my life, God always, always uses it to teach me something. Which I find to be comical, considering that I struggle with actually taking vacation and rest without feeling guilty for doing so, or like I’m falling behind!

A few years ago, there was a series of events that took place on vacation to teach me a little (read: big) lesson about grace. This year, the theme that kept popping up while we were in Orlando was the idea of not being guilty for resting or taking time off of work, which, if I’m being honest, has been a HUGE struggle for me on past vacations.

But this vacation - it was a gift in so many ways. It was a gift to walk slow, just for the fun of walking, instead of having to walk with some sort of purpose.

It was a gift to take the photos below (well, except for the ones of me! 😉), just for the fun of being a photographer.

It was a gift to be able to do things just because they were fun to do.

It was a gift to give my mind a break from obsessing over the next task that could be done, or the next thing that could be improved.

I think the real question here is: how do we make time to do all of the things above not just on vacation, but in the midst of our every day lives? How do we make the time to enjoy wherever we are present (without worrying about the future), and find joy in doing things that are just… well… fun?

Truth be told, I don’t know the answer to that question. Sometimes, in my heart of hearts, it feels like the only way to be seen or recognized as “valuable” in our world today is to be admired for how much less rest we need compared to everyone around us - or for how much more we can do than everyone else.

But what a gift it is to press pause, to relax, and to come back stronger - mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically - than before. It’s a gift to recognize each moment in each season for what it is - whether it’s a season of rest, or of hustle.

And below are a few of my favorite images from our time of rest 💛 Some images are from Disney’s Boardwalk Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Resort, the Yacht Club, Beach Club, and the rooftop Coca-Cola store at Disney Springs!

Favorite Disney Restaurants

Ahhhhh, Disney. The most magical place on earth! At the time this blog will go live, my husband and I will be on our seventh trip to Disney together, and you can be sure we’re already planning on going back soon! As much as we love the parks, resorts, and shopping areas, one of our favorite parts about Disney is the food!

One of the most frequently asked questions we get when people find out our unrelenting love for Disney is: where are your favorite places to eat? Eating in Disney can sometimes be hit or miss, and it’s never fun to “waste” a meal on a not-so-great dining experience!

So in honor of our trip, today, I’m sharing our four favorite restaurants on Disney property, why we love them, and what you can expect pricing and experience-wise when eating there!

1. Trattoria al Forno

Photo source: Easy WDW

Whether you dine for Brunch, lunch, or dinner, expect your food and service to be outstanding! Nestled on the corner of Disney’s Boardwalk, Trattoria al Forno serves Italian cuisine and features an open kitchen design. Here, you’ll discover the diversity of Italian food, with well-known favorites and authentic dishes.

We first tried this restaurant on our honeymoon, and every time we’ve visited Disney since, we’ve always made plans to eat here! Everything we’ve eaten there for both breakfast and lunch has been outstanding. We especially love their artisan pizzas!

Location: Disney’s Boardwalk

Cuisine: Italian

Price: Moderate

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

2. California Grill

Photo Source: Orlando Sentinel

If you’re looking for a location at Disney to celebrate a special occasion, look no further than Disney’s California Grill! Located at the top of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, the California Grill overlooks Magic Kingdom, giving guests a unique view of a Disney classic. This restaurant features a wide variety of cuisine from around the world, with American Seafood, and Sushi staples. Included any reservation is the exclusive opportunity to watch Magic Kingdom’s fireworks and light show from the rooftop!

We’ve only dined at Disney’s California Grill once, on our honeymoon, and we had an amazing experience! When we arrived (early) for our reservation, we were seated in a cocktail area and brought drinks and ordered some hoerderves. We were seated (early!) at our table, and experienced one of the best meals we’ve ever had. We both opted for a mango chicken dish, which was cooked to perfection! It was a little small portion-wise, but it left us room for a complimentary crème Brule, which they kindly gave us as a celebration of our honeymoon!

Location: Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Cuisine: American, Seafood, Sushi, and other rotating global cuisine

Price: High

Meals: Brunch, Dinner

3. Nine Dragons Restaurant

Photo Source: Meal Trip

The Nine Dragons Restaurant is a large restaurant located in the heart of Epcot, China that features Pan-Chinese cuisine in an authentically decorated space! You can expect traditional favorites, along with new dishes and flavor combinations.

This restaurant had some of the best Chinese food I’ve ever had, and I know for SURE that it was THE best Chinese food Nick has ever had! He literally checks their online menu every few weeks to make sure they have his favorite dish: “Typhoon Shelter Shrimp.”

Location: Epcot China

Cuisine: Pan-Chinese

Price: Moderate

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

4. Whispering Canyon Café

Photo Source: Mission Food

Don’t let the name fool you: there’s anything but whispering happening here! This family friendly restaurant is located inside Disney’s Fort Wilderness Lodge Resort and has all sorts of antics going on! Yelling, hollering, running, and ketchup corralling are just a few of the noteworthy items you might expect here.

This is my favorite restaurant when it comes to experience! It’s super casual, so fun, and the food is delicious too!

Location: Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort

Cuisine: American & Barbeque

Price: Moderate

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Have you been to Disney? What restaurants would you recommend? Leave a comment below!

How My Husband Proposed

Unbeknownst to me, for about a year before he popped the question, Nick had been hatching a major plan – and one that involved pretty much everyone we knew. He had been secretly preparing, filming, scheduling, and coordinating behind the scenes and I literally had no idea.

The day Nick proposed was a Saturday, and it was an unusual one for me. At that time in my life, I was working as a wedding banquet server, and that Saturday had been what my boss at the time called an “all hands on deck” day, when everyone was required to work and no one was allowed to request off. But, surprisingly – he told me to take a day off. I was a little surprised, but didn’t really think much of it and took it as an unexpected blessing (later I found out that Nick had called him and asked for me to have the day off – talk about a great boss!).

Another thing that made this Saturday particularly unusual was the fact that my whole immediate family was gone and out of the house pretty early in the morning and were (supposedly) going to visit my grandparents (not unusual for them on a Saturday). They hadn’t asked if I wanted to come, so I took it as a sign that I needed to take this day to rest – you know, between being a full time student and working multiple part time jobs, there was kind of a lot going on! (Later I found out that my family was NOT at my grandparents – they were at a park practicing a choreography routine – more on that soon! Also, I found out after the fact that my sister had left her journal open on the kitchen table with a prayer written inside, praying that “Nick’s proposal to Jenna would go well.” I cannot believe I didn’t see it, I was literally working FROM the kitchen table that day! Totally God!)

All that was on the agenda for the day was a picnic date with Nick in the afternoon after a relaxing morning. I hadn’t eaten much that day because Nick said that we were going to have a FEAST, so by the time he came to pick me up for our date, I WAS STARVING. Literally all I could think about was eating.

We got in the car, and there was a picnic basket in the back – I asked if I could take a peek to see what he had packed, but he immediately said no and that what was inside was a surprise. Then, for the entire drive to the park, Nick said basically nothing. It almost seemed like something was wrong, so he told me that he was having some trouble at his job with his new job (he wasn’t), so I reassured him and didn’t think much of it.

When we got to the park, my stomach was growling like CRAZY and I hopped out of the car, PUMPED to eat some delicious picnic food! I went to grab the picnic basket and Nick said “why don’t we take a walk first!” Oh my gosh. I wanted to kick him. I put up a bit of a fight, but finally conceded, and we started walking towards a big open field. But then, we saw a naked man sun tanning (no joke), so we turned around and headed back up the road (I learned later that Nick had to stall me because his mom had went to buy ketchup for the post-proposal barbecue! Also – he wasn’t stalling me with the naked man, that just happened to be unexpected and hilarious!).

We started walking up the road, hand in hand (Nick’s were sweating like crazy!), and I saw something move in the bushes – and it looked like something big. I started backing up, mumbling that we should probably turn around. But Nick grabbed my hand and kept pulling me along. What a picture of being in relationship with someone else – one of us falling behind from fear, the other grabbing our hand and walking us forward.

We finally reached the end of the road and turned to find a huge parking lot FULL of people – but all of their backs were turned towards us, and they were just standing there, all spread apart. At this point, I was starting to freak out a little bit “Nick, we should REALLY turn around!” But then, he pulled a boom box out of a bush, pressed play – and really, I should let this video finish the rest:

Wedding Photography Bucket List

We all have those crazy, far fetched dreams - bucket list items, if you will - that don’t seem real until you put them out into the world. The more I’m alive the more I realize how much of a team sport life is - I’m learning over and over that I can’t do it all on my own. Sure, that might seem obvious to some who are naturally awesome team players, but the control-freak inside of me wants to do it all on my own. I think starting a business points to the fact that, sometimes, you have to be willing to do it all on your own.

But that doesn’t mean you have to stay there.

And it doesn’t mean I have to stay there.

So today, I want to share one of my huge wedding photography dreams with you! If you’ve been following along on the blog or over on Instagram, you might’ve caught onto the fact that my husband and I are BIG Disney fans. We’ve gone a total of three times since we’ve been married (don’t worry, we’re still big time killing our debt!), and we’ll have only been married for three years in August. We talk about going other places for vacation, but somehow, we always seem to end up asking each other, “what if we just went to Disney?!?”

You might be wondering, what does Disney have to do with your wedding photography dream?

Well… the current biggest item on my wedding photography bucket list is to photograph a wedding on Disney property. At one of the resorts, or in the parks - but, the ultimate dream would be to photograph a wedding at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort!

We recently went down to Orlando (February of 2018) and for the last few days of our trip, we treated ourselves to a few nights at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. It wasn’t the first time we had stayed there (actually, it was the third!) but every time we walk away loving it more and more. And GUESS WHAT:

One evening as we were strolling around on the Boardwalk at twilight, eating some free ice cream samples (we might be able to afford staying at the cheapest room at the Boardwalk by a hair but affording the food is a whole ‘nother story!) I saw a white vision out of the corner of my eye and whipped around to see a bride, a groom, and a photographer all walking towards the “Dance Hall” reception venue on the boardwalk. I immediately told Nick “we’re following them” and as he started to protest how much of a creep I was being (which, I totally admit, I was) I pulled him along with me and we walked behind the threesum all the way to their venue, watching as they stopped to take photos against the gorgeous Boardwalk Bay along the way.

I was being a little bit of a creep, but I realized something that night: how much I want to photograph a wedding at the Boardwalk. It seems a little silly to even type because I know how much of a long shot it is without family or friends in the area to pass along my name, but nonetheless - it’s still a dream, and if it’s meant to be, it will be!

I also thought this would be the perfect time to share a few of my favorite photos from our anniversary photo session at the Boardwalk for our first year of marriage (taken in November of 2016). Enjoy (and see some of the little reasons why we love the Boardwalk so much!)