Vacation – Life of kk

How to Win at Disney

November 22, 2024 littleshoeprincess

This past April we took our second trip to Disney with Little Mister. Now that we had our first trip under our belts, we felt better prepared to take on Disney. We knew what we liked, didn’t need to do again, and what we had skipped the first time around. I planned park days, booked restaurants, researched, listened to podcasts, read blogs, drove Mr. KK crazy. And now I will share all that knowledge with you.

(everything here is my opinions only!)

Where to stay in Disney World

On our first trip, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, because Little Mister was – and still is – obsession with animals. We knew we were doing two park days at Animal Kingdom (1 park day too many) and that park is a 5 minute bus ride from the AK Lodge. Plus, the AK Lodge is a gorgeous hotel, with animals on the property. We saw giraffes out our balcony every single day. And the lobby has the most amazing scent. Walking in and taking a deep breath was luxurious after a day in the parks.

This trip, we opted to stay closer to the other parks. Our hotel requirements were this:

Great pool
Good location
Deluxe hotel

The deluxe hotel is well worth the money, if for no other reason than you’re staying on property and have early park entry, AND you are able to take advantage of extended nighttime park hours at the parks that have them available. More on that later.

We chose to stay at the Beach Club, which was a 5 minute walk to Epcot, the same 5 minutes to the Skyliner that could take you to Hollywood Studios, and other hotels, and a 20 minute walk to the Hollywood Studios (which is how we chose to get to that park). The location could not be more perfect. Highly recommend any of the hotels in that area (Beach Club, Yacht Club, Boardwalk).

Getting the Most out of your Disney World Trip

The most important thing you could do when planning a trip to Disney is to know your audience. Plan for your family, and your family only. There is so much to see and do, but not every attraction or park or restaurant or experience is for everyone.

Here’s what worked for us:

Plan your park days. Know which park you’re going to on which days so you can plan your restaurants
Plan your restaurants. If you don’t care where you eat, then you probably don’t have to do too much planning. But if there are restaurants you definitely want to hit, plan ahead and book them when you can (currently 60 days prior to your trip).
Take advantage of early entry. If you can get up early, DO IT. We did early entry every day at the park we were going it. Not everyone has this perk, and fewer people like to get up early. Getting to the park 45 minutes before early entry starts (that’s right, you can’t get there at the exact time early entry starts, but even earlier than that) means you can probably knock out 2-3 of the “big” rides before the park opens to the general public. Those extra 30 minutes in the morning can make a real difference.
Take advantage of extended park hours at night. Select parks will stay open late for Deluxe hotel guests on certain nights. During our trip, that was EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. This means that when the park closes at let’s say 10pm to the public, deluxe hotel guests can stay TWO EXTRA HOURS at the park. It was pretty magical walking through the deserted countries in EPCOT after the park closed on the way back to the hotel. And riding Big Thunder Mountain over and over and over again with no line in the dark was pretty cool, too.

The Birthday Button

Perhaps the best part of our trip was my Birthday Button.

When we checked into the hotel, guest services asked if we were celebrating anything. And since my big birthday was the week prior, I told them it was my birthday trip! And they gave me a green birthday button.

I pinned my button on my crossbody bag, and wore it every day. Disney cast members are trained well – when you see a green button you wish the person happy birthday. And that’s what happened…all week long. Mr. KK and Little Mister would get so worked up every time someone wished me a happy birthday. “It’s not even your birthday anymore!” Little Mister kept saying. But it didn’t matter. I had the birthday button and I was wearing the birthday button.

But the real pixie dust happened on our second to last day. It was our Magic Kingdom day, and we arrived really early for early entry morning. We were the first people at the gate in our line, and we chatted with the cast member until she could let us all in. We were the second family inside of the Magic Kingdom that day, and we speed walked over to the rope at Fantasy Land because we wanted to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first. We were so early that we were right up against the rope. We had our mickey shirts on and I was wearing my Minnie ears and – of course – my birthday button.

About 10 minutes before the park was going to open for us, a cast member approached us and said, “Each day we choose a family to be our family of the day and today we choose you!” He then took us under the rope and announced to the crowd of hundreds and hundreds of people that it was my birthday (THE BIRTHDAY BUTTON!) and had them all sing happy birthday to me. Little Mister was ready to DIE of embarrassment until they told us that we could be the first family to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train all by ourselves!

What a dream come true! They took us into the ride, let us take pictures in front of the cottage, and then we got to choose our seats and ride all by ourselves! (True story: this was our first ride on our Magic Kingdom day and it was also our last on our way out of the park at midnight!)

Memorable Disney Moments

Every day I took a pic of my watch to see how far we had walked!

We saw so many characters!

Just a girl and her giant turkey leg.

We are not big fireworks people, but this show was pretty cool.

I hate that that guy’s hat is in my photo! I lose too much photo if I try and crop it!

FACT: I will never grow tired of seeing giraffes.

This was a great second trip, and we got to do everything we wanted to do including riding TRON, Guardians, Everest, and Slinky Dog Dash (my personal favorite; and we got to ride it at night, and while we were on it we could see the fireworks from Hollywood Studios AND Magic Kingdom!). Until next time, Disney!

Beach, cocktails, food, Mr. KK, Planner, Restaurants, Travel

Best Things to Do In Nantucket

November 14, 2024 littleshoeprincess

For my birthday this year, Mr. KK and I indulged in a long weekend in Nantucket.

“The best gift you could give me is to let me plan this entire trip,” I told Mr. KK.

Nantucket had been on my bucket list of trips for a decade, mostly thanks to me reading (and re-reading, and listening to) Elin Hildebrand novels. From the pages of her books, I fell in love with the island of Nantucket, and I just knew I would feel right at home when I finally got there.

I planned this trip for almost a full year. And by this, I mean I researched, read blogs, followed restaurant Instagram accounts and referencing Elin’s “The Blue Book” she put together in her book The Hotel Nantucket.

Me and Elin Hildebrand at her book signing, just a few days before I headed to Nantucket!

Planning 3 Days in Nantucket

I planned our trip for the third week in June, before the summer crowds but when it was warm enough that we could have a beach day. My list of places I wanted to go, restaurants I wanted to eat at and things to see was so long, I may as well should have been planning a month-long sojourn.

The excitement I felt seeing that lighthouse from the ferry (after reading about it in so many books) was incredible. NOTE: Elin Hildebrand’s “Swan Song” in my bag!

The Best Hotel in Nantucket

If you’ve ever looked at hotels in Nantucket, you know that it can cost a small fortune for lodging. I knew we wanted to be close to town so we could walk everywhere, and while I was willing to splurge a bit, I wasn’t White Elephant splurging.

I booked a room at The Salt Hotel in June of 2023 for the following year. When I went to share the website with a friend, the website no longer existed and redirected to a hotel called The Brant. After a quick panic attack I found that the hotel was under new management and had a new name. And after a quick phone call I discovered that they did indeed have our room reservation for the following June. PHEW.

I cannot even begin to describe how amazing The Brant Hotel is. First, it’s an easy walk from the ferry (even dragging a rolling suitcase). Second, it’s an easy walk from the hotel to Jetties Beach. Third, it’s a quick walk to town. Basically, the location is perfect.

Everything was new. They had just built this gorgeous barn that served as a front desk/bar/breakfast/gathering place. Just the craftmanship of the building, and the attention to detail was pure Nantucket. They had copper gutters!

The Brant’s signature color was orange (my favorite!) so it felt like a perfect match! They had these cute bikes you could use, however I didn’t think riding around on cobblestone streets was the best way to reintroduce my body to a bike after 25 years.

We arrived around 10am from our ferry – way before check in time – and not only was our room ready, they upgraded us! The hotel wasn’t very busy, so we had the opportunity to spend a bit of time chatting with the staff and enjoying the beautiful quad area with lounge chairs, corn hole and fire pit.

After our stay, I noticed that The Brant started to get quite popular, even winning a Michelin Key! It is likely out of our price range now, but I’m so happy we had a chance to stay with them when they were just starting out. The staff was superb.

Day 1 in Nantucket

Because we arrived so early, we had a full day ahead of us. Once we were checked into the hotel, we changed into bathing suits and borrowed chairs from the hotel and walked the 3/4 of a mile down to Jetties Beach. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but a little windy.

We spent a few hours on the beach then headed up to The Sandbar for lunch. The Sandbar is the quintessential beach bar. I loved everything about this place – from the retro 1970s logo to the frosé to the amazing spicy swordfish sandwich. They had me at homemade potato chips. Seriously, I could have gone here every day of our trip. There is just something about hanging out in a cover up, skin salty from the sea air, sand on your feet, drinking the day away.

Three cocktails and one t-shirt later, we were on our way back to the hotel to relax on the comfy lounge chairs. I think I even took a quick nap in the sun, it was glorious.

Dinner our first night was at the coveted Nautilus. We had eaten at the Nautilus in Boston, but knew we had to try and snag a table at the one in Nantucket. We luckily had an 8:30 reservation. Before dinner we did a little cocktail hopping, first at or, The Whale on their beautiful back patio. Then we scored two bar seats in the dark and cozy Pearl, where I had the most delicious martini called the Ooh Mami Tini, which was made with vodka, fine sherry, umami bitters, olive brine and blue cheese olives. FANTASTIC.

Our cocktails at The Pearl. Check out my fancy coupe glass for my martini.

We arrived at Nautilus starving, only to find they were running behind and our table wasn’t ready. We grabbed (another) drink while we waited, which turned out to be about 45 minutes (!) – did I mention how hungry we were?

Nautilus has one of those menus where everything sounds amazing, and you usually just start ordering and dishes just start appearing at the table. We ate many delicious things, but the stand out dish for us were the Romano beans. Sounds silly, but these beans were prepared in a sauce that was so tasty, here we are 5 months later and Mr. KK and still talk about them. They were that good. We ate them so fast we didn’t even get a picture of them! But I did get a photo of the blue crab fried rice, which was also delicious.

Day 2 in Nantucket

Well, Day 1 was pretty damn near perfect, it was going to be hard to top it on Day 2. We woke up to sunshine and blue skies, and still talking about those Romano beans (seriously, so delicious!). We grabbed a quick breakfast at the barn (did I mention that they offer a complimentary continental breakfast that is actually good?) and we hopped on a bus to ‘Sconset to do the Bluff Walk.

Nantucket has a pretty robust bus system that can take you all over the island that is free during the summer months. The ride out to ‘Sconset was about 30 minutes. From drop off it was a short walk over to the start of the Bluff Walk, which is a path that runs a few miles along the ocean and basically in the backyards of waterfront homes. You are literally walking behind houses and waving to people on their back porches. They are, of course, used to people all up in their privacy, as it comes with living along the bluff. We walked all the way to the Sankaty Head Lighthouse in the blazing sun, but it felt good exercising and working off those Romano beans and 27 cocktails.

After we got back, showered and cooled off, we headed to Cisco Brewers. There’s a convenient free shuttle right from town that was a 5 minute walk from our hotel. If you go to Nantucket, a visit to Cisco is a must. The place has a vibe. If you don’t drink beer, there’s no need to worry, because they also have wine (and frosé!) and Triple 8 distillery with mixed cocktails. Plus, multiple food trucks. There is literally something for everyone. The place was jamming on a late Friday afternoon; the crowd was bachelorette parties, locals, Chads after their rounds of golf, tourists, couples, and everyone in between. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so once we secured our first drink (beer for Mr. KK and – you guessed it! – frosé for me), we shared a lobster roll from one of the food trucks. There was live music and OH MY GOODNESS the people watching. That was probably my favorite part.

That night, we had reservations at Dune (which I just now learned has permanently closed, which is so unfortunate because the food was delicious!). We were able to walk to dinner (again, GREAT hotel location) and we were ready to eat! We shared a few appetizers, and I ordered the chicken and Mr. KK ordered the pork tenderloin. Once again, everything was delicious, and the presentation was beautiful. We were seated inside, but it looked like the restaurant had a pretty lively patio as well.

Food coma!

Day 3 in Nantucket

We woke up excited for the day, but also with a little sadness that this was our last full day. We grabbed iced coffees in town and walked to breakfast at Island Kitchen, which was a decent walk to mid-island. We sat outside and enjoyed a few bloodies.

We also walked back to burn off our breakfast burrito and avocado toast, and then spent the day wandering the cobblestone streets, popping into stores, and being tourists. Mr. KK bought more souvenirs for himself on this trip than he has on every other trip we’ve gone on together over the last 25 years.

My favorite photo from our trip. If you don’t see hydrangeas did you even go to Nantucket?

We were booked on The Endeavor sail boat that afternoon, for a two-hour tour of the harbor. The day was overcast for the most part, but when we sailed out we say some hints of a blue sky. We enjoyed relaxing on the boat as we cruised around Nantucket, dodging yachts and ferries.

Us, chilling on The Endeavor. I’ve never met a boat I didn’t like. If there’s a sailing excursion where I am, I will be on that boat.

We had some time to kill, so we headed back to Jetties Beach for buck-a-shuck oysters from 3-5pm. Talk about a good deal!

Our last dinner was at The Proprietors Bar and Table, or “Props” as the locals call it. The restaurant is in what looks like an old house, and we were seated upstairs. We had a delicious meal (once again) and were talking about how we wish we could just teleport back to the hotel, when the waitress came over to see if we wanted dessert. We said no, and then she reminded me that we were there celebrating my birthday, and I had to have dessert. “I’ll bring you a dessert!” she told me.

Dessert came with a candle, and Mr. KK captured the moment for me.

The dessert was…fine. I’m not a big dessert person, and none of the desserts were really jumping out at me to begin with. We ate a few bites, took this momentous photos, and then both threw in the towel. The biggest surprise was when the bill came. The birthday dessert that the waitress insisted I have and that she “bring me”, was charged to us for $20! No dessert is worth $20, especially one I didn’t really want in the first place.

Day 4 in Nantucket

We were on the 12:30 ferry home, so we had enough time to head out for one last delicious meal on island before heading back to reality.

We chose to eat at Black Eyed Susans and it was delicious! We sat at the counter and were mesmerized watching the cook handle the volume of breakfast orders. With full bellies we headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and check out.

We were going to miss The Brant so much! I’m not bougie but I can slip into that lifestyle like it was my job.

I give our Nantucket weekend 10/10 stars. Each thing we did or experienced was so much better than I had imagined it would be. It’s the kind of place you visit once, and you never want to leave…or you can’t wait to come back.

It’s easy to see how so many people come for a short period of time and never end up leaving. I can’t wait to plan a second trip and come back.

(And get more of those Romano beans!)

Family, Travel, Vacation

On Being the Family’s Travel Agent

November 6, 2021November 6, 2021 littleshoeprincess

The time of year has arrived when I drive myself absolutely insane looking for our family’s annual vacation house. (cue the fanfare!)

Next year will be our 13th year (lucky 13?) of vacation houses, and each one has been better than the last one. No pressure.

Over the last two years, finding a vacation home is proving to be very challenging (Thank you, COVID!). People are sticking closer to home, opting for driving destinations vs flying. And because our vacation house geographical area is New England, more than 70% of the houses are already booked for next summer. Not only are they booked, but the prices per night have gone WAY up.

I know about this price increase because I have been stalking houses for so long, and have made so many Trip Boards and Wish Lists that I remember how much houses cost. Houses that were in my “acceptable” price range last year, have increased more than $200-$300/night.

As the family’s travel agent – and someone who has traveled extensively with both my parents and my inlaws – I have a very good idea of the type of house that will work for us as a group.

Criteria includes:

4+ bedrooms
Ideally, 3+ bathroom (one for each family; we could get away with 2, but…why? we’re on vacation)
Close to beach (bonus if it’s walkable!)
At least 3,000 square feet (trust me, this is a good starting point for square footage)
Parking for 3 cars
Close to a town with great restaurants
Large kitchen, big enough to fit the entire family around the island and leave me enough room to move around and cook
Countertop where we can set up our bar
Seating for 8 in the living room; we need to all be able to be in the living room relaxing at the same time
Outdoor space for eating and hanging out
A reading nook for my mom
A desk area for my mother in law to do her “correspondence”
A chair where my dad can go from reading to napping in 3 minutes flat
A play area for Little Mister
An outdoor napping space for Mr. KK
A warm spot in the sun for me
With our price range (which, it seems, used to be easier than it currently is)

I do all of my research on two specific websites; one rhymes with Bear B and B and the other, Mer-bo. I have spend so many hours on these two particular sites, that I have grown to know each and every house for rent.

My obsession is SO extreme, that you could show me just the fabric swatch of a sofa cushion from a random house and I could likely tell you what the house looked like (“It’s the modern farmhouse with the wide plank floors, blue kitchen cabinets and orange drapes”) where it was located (“Thats the house in Kennebunkport, near the beach with the playground in the good walking neighborhood with the ice cream shop you can walk to”); whether or not it was in our price range (“Affordable before 4th of July but is over $1500/night in August”) and one other random yet distinguishing fact about the house, such as (“Oh that’s the place with the finished basement with the dart board and pool table and weird light up Nude Beach sign”)

While this year is proving to be challenging, it hasn’t stopped me from obsession over these two websites. I’m on them late at night when I can’t sleep, and I’m back searching first thing when I wake up.

If I may make a suggestion to the creators of these two websites: can you please create a “thumbs down” icon? I already have the option to “favorite” a property with a little heart, but I would also like to be able to mark any houses I’ve looked at and rejected so that they no longer show up in my search results. There is nothing more annoying than having a house show up in search results, tricking you into looking at the property again until 4 photos in you realize you’ve already looked at the house and dismissed it for whatever reason.

And speaking of rejecting properties, it doesn’t take much for me to say “no” to the house (sorry, home owners). I rationalize it as if I’m going to spend a precious week of vacation somewhere, it better be pretty spectacular.

Reasons why I will reject a property almost immediately (don’t hate me):

Outdated kitchen
Outdated living room
Outdated anything
Patio furniture acting as actual living room furniture
Carpet in the main living areas (I’m sorry, but carpet in beach houses is weird)
Black leather couches
Dark wood paneling
No AC
Shared outdoor space with owners
Too many personal items in the house (Are you living here, or am I?)
Cluttered countertops and dressers
Raised ranches
No outdoor space
No linens included
Blonde wood furniture
Non-open concept floor plans
Mismatched furniture (but not in a cool way)
Four poster beds
Papasan chairs
Big furniture in a small room
Small furniture in a big room
Doilies

Before you judge please know that I believe if you are going to be charging $1,000/night to rent your house, ti better well be worth $1,000 a night. And white appliances in the kitchen are not worth that much money.

But here’s a secret, homeowners: your photos can tell a really nice story. If you take nice photos.

What I would say to the people taking the photos for house rental listings:

Put the toilet seat down
Wait until a sunny day to take photos; natural light trumps evening with the lights on every time
Put the dishes in the drying rack in the kitchen away
Toss the magnets on the fridge
Make the bed vs “pulling up the comforter” (hello, hospital corners!)
Wash your windows, fixed broken outdoor furniture and pick up your child’s toys in the yard
How in God’s name are your photos blurry???
If your finger is in the photo, take a new one. Please.
If you can’t get a good photo of the entire room, just forget it. No one needs to see a close up of bi-fold closet doors

Do a better job, people!

Fingers crossed I find us a family rental!

Maine, NaBloPoMo, Uncategorized, Vacation

The Best Things to Do In Maine

November 24, 2020November 24, 2020 littleshoeprincess

One of the things COVID robbed me of this year was my annual trip to Maine. Whether it was a weekend away with Mr. KK, a beach house for me, Little Mister and Mr. KK, or our big family vacation in either Wells, Kennebunkport or York Beach, we always found ourselves up north along the Maine coast. And boy, did I miss going to my Happy Place this year.

So, in honor of the vacation that didn’t happen, I compiled my favorite things to do and places to visit in Maine.

Best Things to Do in the Southern Coast of Maine

Go to the Beach

Every beach in Maine is gorgeous. The sand is soft and the water is cool, with just the right amount of waves. We particularly love the beaches in South Portland and Cape Elizabeth, where we’ve spent most of our time.

Eat Lobstah

The best lobster roll in Maine from Bite Into Maine food truck in Cape Elizabeth.

There is no shortage of lobster in Maine. Whether you want fresh steamed lobster, a famous lobster roll, or want to experience life on a working lobster boat, Maine has it all. We love the Lucky Catch Cruises lobster tours, and even Little Mister loved heading out to sea and helping pull up the lobster traps and holding a starfish right in his hand. Lobster is priced right all along the coast, and you can buy lobsters right from the fishermen and some will even steam it for you. My favorite way to enjoy lobster is in a lobster roll, and the best lobster roll in Maine is by far from the Bite Into Maine food truck that parks at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth. It is filled with fresh lobster meat (big chunks, not shredded pieces), just enough mayo on a toasted bun. Perfection!

Have Dinner and Walk the Rocks at The Lobster Shack at Two Lights

Mr. KK and Little Mister exploring the rocks one summer.

This institution definitely fills up with tourists during the summer, but the view and atmosphere can’t be beat. The Lobster Shack at Two Lights is an outdoor, BYOB restaurant set on gorgeous rocks over the Atlantic Ocean. Is it the best seafood in Maine? Nope. But when you pair the view with your own cooler of beverages and some fried scallops and shrimp does it feel like quintessential Maine? You betcha.

Eat Like a Local

I mentioned in my post about pimento cheese that Scratch Baking in South Portland makes the best. I literally lived on this and some of Maine’s best beer for a week straight. And it was awesome. A must-try when you’re in the area. And the baked goods are pretty amazing too.

Explore a Lighthouse…or Five

There is no shortage of lighthouses in Maine. Visiting one is just something you do when you’re there. My favorite way to view them is by relaxing on a boat ride while a native Main-ah shares the history of the light house, the coast and sea.

See a Sunset

The fishing huts at Willard Beach in South Portland.

Whether you’re on a beach, at a restaurant or on a boat, you will see some of the best sunsets on the Maine Coast. Golds, pinks and yellows paint the sky. And if you’re an early riser, the sunrises aren’t so bad either.

Get Your Craft Beer On

On one of our trips to Portland with the Little Mister, we thought we’d hit a brewery one afternoon. After a morning at the beach our Little Mister was exhausted, and he fell asleep on the short 10 minute drive from our beach house to the brewery! And since you NEVER wake a sleeping child, Mr. KK and I backed our car up against the patio and took turns going in to have a beer. One person would drink their beer right at the patio where the car was parked, while the other person stood next the car chatting with them while they drank. And then we would switch. Ah, parenthood!

The number of breweries in Portland alone is astounding. You can brew hop all day and still not hit all of them. We’re bit IPA fans (the hoppier and hazier the better!), and some of our favorites are Bissell Brothers and Goodfire Brewing. Bring a cooler so you can bring some home.

Rent a House and Relax

Our most relaxing vacations have been on the coast of Maine. There’s just something in the air, the laid back attitude of the locals and the amazing cuisine. Falling asleep to the sound of the ocean, and having a little chill in the air at night after a warm summer day. I really missed being at a beach house this year with our family, cooking up dinners, mixing up cocktails and playing games. Fingers crossed we make it next year.

There is truly something magical about Maine. I can’t wait to go back and do some of my favorite things.