Happy Tuesday friends! Just as a warning, this post is going to be pretty long and heavy on the pictures but since this was my first time to the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival I wanted to recap it in detail, especially if anyone has plans on attending in the future and like me, didn't know what to expect! If you've never heard of the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival don't worry, you aren't alone. It's not quite as popular as the Food & Wine Festival in the fall but definitely something to experience if you're visiting Disney in the spring.

Every year from early March through the end of May Epcot turns into a garden full of gorgeous blooms, topiaraies and fresh foods. Similar to Food & Wine, they open 13 different "Outdoor Kitchens" throughout the World Showcase which are not open on a regular day at Epcot. These kitchens are home to special food and beverage options made specifically for the Flower & Garden Festival. Each year you're given a "passport" when you enter the festival which will tell you what foods and drinks are at these kitchens and if you get something from one you can get your passport stamped.The prices on the food usually range from about $3.75 to $6.00 a plate which is usually a smaller sample size so you can try multiple things throughout the park and $5.00 to $11.00 for an adult beverage.  I highly recommend checking out the passport in advance and figuring out what is on your "must-try" list before making your way around the world because it's easy to get full (or tipsy) quickly if you're just stopping at every booth along the way.

You can check out the full 2016 passport here.

In addition to the food and flowers there is also a concert series going on if you happen to be visiting during  a weekend. You can view the entire concert lineup before the Flower & Garden Festival kicks off so you can plan a visit around a certain band or performer you might want to check out. All of the rides are still open during this time as well as the regular country pavilions so going to Flower & Garden won't mess up your previous plans but it might make the park a little more busy than usual. It's not as crazy as International Food & Wine Festival but be prepared for longer lines than a normal day.


We started out going straight to Mexico as we always do and worked our way around the park two times before calling it a day. I failed to take as many pictures of the food as I would have liked but I will say the Currywurst with Paprika Chips and the Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash with White Cheddar Fondue and Picked Jalapenos were by far my favorite dishes so far. The Warm Chocolate Cake with Bourbon Salted Caramel Sauce and the Lemon Scone with Creme Fraiche and Mixed Berries were my favorite desserts. And the Key Lime Sparkling Wine and the Snakebite featuring Cigar City Tampa-Style Lager mixed with McKenzie's Black Cherry Hard Cider were my favorite drinks. I was super excited to see so many drinks on the menu featuring Elderflower Liquer since I love St. Germain but I wasn't impressed with any of the drinks featuring it that I tried. Most were WAY too sweet and difficult to drink.

{Left: Currywurst with Paprika Chips and Hugo-Charles de Fere Organic Brut with Elderflower and Mint found at Bauernmarkt / Top Right: La Vie en Rose Frozen Slush found at Fleur de Lys / Bottom Right: Paulener Original Munich Lager found in Germany}


As soon as our blackout dates are over we will definitely be back checking out what we missed and if I find anything else worth sharing I'll be sure to let you know! Thanks for sticking with me through this much longer than usual post, hope you enjoyed it!

*Linking up with Kerri, Kate and Emily for Wanderlust Wednesday*

Happy Monday lovelies! It was another perfect weekend here in Florida so I took full advantage. With the temperatures consistently back in the upper 70's and sunny I want to be outside all the time. Being back at work today is rough but I guess I'll just have to tough it out and hope this weather continues into next weekend! It's crazy how something like the weather can put me in such a good mood, is anyone else like that? Alright, enough with the chit chat, let's get right into my weekend recap with Biana!

Friday night I headed home after work to make dinner and get cleaned up before heading back out for a blogger meet up with Nikki from Makeup Her! Me, Kerri and Kate headed out to Winter Park for some cocktails and girl talk on a gorgeous evening. It's so fun living in Florida and getting to meet up with so many wonderful bloggers while they're here on vacation!

Saturday I woke up and headed to the gym for a quick workout then Kerri, the boys and I all headed out early afternoon to Disney to enjoy the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot.


This was my first time ever going to the festival and it was so pretty! I brought my camera so look out for a full recap later this week. We drank and ate around the world... twice... before heading over to The Contemporary Resort to meet up with Owen for a drink before heading home. 

Sunday I was up bright and early... 6:30 am to be exact. Can someone give me the secret to sleeping in? I'd be grateful! But waking up early means I did get to catch the gorgeous sunrise.


It turned into a beautiful day so I went out to the pool for a bit before running errands and just relaxing the rest of the evening.

How was your weekend? 

Happy Friday sweet friends! I am so ready for the weekend! It was such a hectic week at work so now I'm ready for some downtime.Tonight we have a little blogger get together and tomorrow Kerri and I are taking advantage of our Disney passes before they black out for Spring Break (can ya'll believe it's already Spring Break?!) so it won't be a completely relaxing weekend but I'm excited nonetheless. Jumping into my Friday Favorites with Amanda to start out the weekend!

1 // Kristina posted these earrings earlier in the week and I have been obsessed ever since. They are the perfect mix of glam and every day and even though I'm not usually a fan of wearing dangly earrings, these are short enough to not drive me crazy.
2 // These flats are so cute! I can't decide whether I like them in black or nude more but I'm loving the wrap around ankle and fun tassels. And they're part of the Shopbop sale!
3 // I've got pool and beach time on the brain and this cover up definitely is on my must have list. The crochet detail is so pretty and I love that it isn't too sheer so you don't feel awkward throwing it on to go grab a bite to eat or a drink.
4 // With spring right around the corner I'm transitioning from my dark fall and winter colors into spring pastels. This Essie Saltwater Happy color is part of the 2015 summer collection but I am loving it for this spring.

5 // I've actually had several people who have Disney trips planned ask me where Kerri and I got our Minnie ears from and the answer is simple; Disney of course! These are the exact ears Ker and I have which we got together on our first trip to Epcot for Food and Wine Festival. You can get ears at any park and some have a different selection than others (i.e. Animal Kingdom has some fun animal print ears other parks don't have) so just stop in and check out what they have. We got ours in Mouse Gear!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Kerri and I will be rocking our ears tomorrow at the Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot so follow along with us on Snapchat {pamelanicole84} to get a sneak peek!

Happy Thursday lovelies! If you follow me on Snapchat {pamelanicole84} you probably saw that I was in St. Augustine for an "offsite meeting" all day yesterday so that's why I was absent in the blogging world. I didn't even sit down in front of a computer yesterday (which wasn't necessarily a bad thing) but I did get to enjoy a day at the St. Augustine Distillery which is absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait to share more about it with you later when I have a chance to go through my pictures and recap it. I was gone for 12 hours yesterday and spent more than 6 in a car so I'm beat. So for now I'm sharing a bit more of the natural side of Florida with you.


A few weeks ago I posted about my adventures at Rock Springs/Kelly Park and mentioned we had originally wanted to go to Blue Spring but it quickly hits capacity. Well, I finally got a chance to make it out to Blue Spring and while it was MUCH busier than Rock Springs it was still gorgeous and such a great experience. If you ever are in Orlando and want to get away from the theme parks for a day but don't want to trek to the beach I highly recommend checking out some of the Florida springs.



I recommend checking out Blue Spring during the cooler months in Florida as one of the main attractions of the spring is the fact it's home to hundreds of manatees between November and March. Since the water stays 72 degrees year round, the manatees all make their way into the spring which the temperatures dip to stay warm. On the day we went it was a bit warmer so there weren't as many manatees in the spring as there were the weeks before but there were still about 150 manatees out. The park often hits capacity early so I recommend getting there before 10 am to ensure you get in otherwise you have to wait in a queue for someone to come out before you can go in.

You can't swim during manatee season but there are boardwalks set up with numerous viewing areas to look down on the spring and spot manatees and if you walk back through the wooded area (don't worry, you're still on a boardwalk) you can go all the way back to where the spring starts. It doesn't have as many hiking trails as Rock Springs had but I did manage to get about 2 miles worth of walking in.


The swimming area opens up in late March and then you're able to swim, snorkel, scuba dive and tube in the spring. Shortly after swimming season starts, firefly season starts! I haven't witnessed firefly season yet but since I haven't seen fireflies since I left Cincinnati I will definitely be going back to check this out next month. The park technically closes at dusk but during firefly season they let guests stay after dark to experience the "light show".

Happy first day of March! I honestly can't believe it's March already, this year is already flying by at such a quick pace, I'm going to need it to slow down! I will say, the one thing I am super excited for is the warmer weather. Summers can be brutal down here but the spring and fall (what we actually get of those seasons) is gorgeous. Some days can be a bit cooler than others but the sunny, mid 70's days make you want to spend as much time as possible outside. On the weekends I have been living in these AE boyfriend flannel tops, they're super comfortable and look cute with just about everything!

I literally have these flannels in three different colors now and the black and white one is next on my list!
 I wore this outfit out running errands on Sunday evening after laying out by the pool for a bit. It was super comfy since I was slightly burnt (whoops!) and still warm since it had slightly cooled off. I love wearing flannel shirts, long sleeves and lightweight sweaters with shorts during the spring and fall months to transition. I'm also a big fan of booties and cute dresses during these months. I always find it super fun to mix warm and cool weather "trends" and come up with the perfect outfit.

flannel / shorts / shoes / necklace / sunglasses / purse / watch