4th of July Celebrations at Disney World

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Well, we are home from Atlantis for the next two weeks, then we are off to Michigan again. Although I was so hoping to get to Disney World for their Fourth of July celebrations, it looks like I will have to live vicariously through everyone else who is going. This week Disney World and Disneyland are expanding all of their usual Independence Day celebrations to the whole week. Yes, an entire Independence Week!

This week Disney World is expanding some of their usual Independence Day celebrations to the whole week. Yes, an entire Independence Week! Since there will be plenty to see this week at Disney, I thought a quick list of must-see festivities along with tips on how to see them could be handy... Here we go, some tips for enjoying Disney's 4th of July Celebrations...

Before we begin, one of my biggest tips is to review how to avoid crowds. The Fourth of July is one of the busiest days at Disney World, best to be prepared for long lines, lots of people, and a few crowded areas. Thank goodness, there are some great apps and handy tips for avoiding at least a few people on your Disney trip!!

Magic Kingdom

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As part of Disney's Limited Time Magic, the Magic Kingdom will be having the traditional 4th of July fireworks every night from July 1st to July 7th. These fireworks will be at 9:00 PM on the 3rd and 4th, and 10:00 PM every other day. Since this will be a fifteen minute, 360 degree display, there is really no bad viewing location. The castle will also have special display coordinating with the fireworks. If you wish to see the castle as well, I highly recommend viewing from the Main Street Train Station, The Starlight Cafe patio in Tomorrowland, anywhere on Main Street if you are prepared to get there early and stay late, and the crowd overflow area behind Main Street. The crowd overflow area is where we watched the  New Year's fireworks and we absolutely loved it!

If you do not care about the castle display, you may love to watch the fireworks from one of the hotels on the Seven Seas Lagoon. My personal favorite is the beach at the Polynesian Resort. This fireworks viewing location comes with water breezes and Hawaiian music. Glorious.

Since the 4th of July is one of the busiest days at Disney World, it is not such a bad idea to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks on a different day during the week, then visit either EPCOT or Hollywood Studios for the Independence Day festivities.  

Magic Kingdom will be open until 1:00 AM on the 4th.  

EPCOT

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Disney World's EPCOT will be hosting a few special 4th of July festivities on Independence Day itself. If you are interested in getting pictures with Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, and a few other important figures of American History, check out The USA Pavillion throughout the day.  

EPCOT will also be hosting a few special singers and bands throughout the day since the 4th of July falls during the Sounds Like Summer Concert Series. Slippery When Wet will be performing as part of this series. Voices of Liberty will also have multiple performances throughout the day from 12:30 to 5:00 PM.

If fireworks are what you are after, get dinner reservations now for one of the restaurants on the water. My two favorites are Hacienda De San Angel and The Crown and Rose Pub. These are located on the World Showcase Lagoon almost directly across from one another. The Rose and Crown Pub has indoor and outdoor seating along with a private fireworks viewing area. The Hacienda De San Angel has indoor seating only but has massive windows that look straight out to the fireworks display.

EPCOT's fireworks display will have a special 5 minute, patriotic fireworks finale on the 4th of July. The Illuminations Recflections of Earth fireworks display will be starting one hour later than usual on the 4th of July- they will be at 10:00 PM.

EPCOT will be open until 10:00 PM on the 4th.  

Hollywood Studios

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Hollywood Studios will be hosting it's own Independence Day celebrations starting at 6:00 PM with a dance party under the Sorcerer's Hat. Mulch, Sweat & Shears will also be performing on the hour from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

In true Hollywood fashion, the Hollywood Studios will be having a rock themed fireworks celebration at 10:00 PM. If you have a hotel in the EPCOT resort area, you may even be able to see both the Illuminations and Hollywood Studios fireworks at the same time! Please, please, please tell me how that works out for you since it could be the coolest thing ever!  

Hollywood Studio's will be open until 12:00 AM on the 4th with Extra Magic Hours from 8:00 to 9:00 in the morning.  

Preview of Atlantis

The hubs and I have been in Atlantis Bahamas for the past few days with some of our closest friends. The trip has been fantastic and I cannot wait to share more with you!

Today, we are doing something that I have been waiting to do for years. Ready? We are going shark diving! Thank goodness, almost everyone we are going with will have a Go Pro in hand, so there will be tons of video evidence to show you later. Too bad, the hubs is a bit busy right now with some other video projects... It may be some time before those pics and any shark diving videos are up on P+K.

For now, we have a pretty great photo preview of some more things to come. These are just a few of my favorite pics taken with my iPhone. The professional picture will come later.  

The view from our hotel room! Yep, that is the Caribbean you are seeing... And a few pools in between.

This is just one more view from our room, looking in the other direction.  

A sunset from a gorgeous Caribbean beach!  Look at that lens flare, it's all natural!

This pool was AMAZING! 

One more beautiful beach at sunset... 

Five Ways to Keep Hair Healthy During Summer

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Summer is here and so is that wonderful summer sun. Sunscreen is always a yes when going out for long periods of time, but what about hair. There are a few ways to keep hair healthy during the summer that do not cost much and are quite simple.

Hair, like skin, must be protected from the sun's harmful rays and keep moisturized for a healthy, long life. These five ways to keep hair healthy will ensure your hair glows as much as that new summer tan!

Leave-In Conditioner

Between the sun, the sea, and the sand, our hair gets beat up while at the beach. To keep hair moisturized and brittle strands at bay, rinse your hair before heading out, but do not use shampoo or wash out your conditioner. This extra moister will form a moister mask and help reduce UV damage.

The easiest thing to do is to wet your hair, then pat dry it with a towel and massage your conditioner throughout your hair. Once this is done, you can tie it up, braid it, or, my personal favorite this season, put it in a nice bun atop your head. Once you get home, simply wash the conditioner out and enjoy your new super-soft hair!

Washing 101

This tip will help keep hair healthy and styles last longer all year round. When washing your hair, use shampoo on the scalp only. Shampoo will reduce oils in the hair along with any dirt and debris. Shampooing our hair from roots to ends will take needed moister from the ends and increase oil production at the roots. By shampooing at the roots only, you will be helping dry strands retain their moister and roots stay oil free for longer.   

Likewise, when conditioning, only condition the ends. Our roots do not need the added moister benefits of conditioning, but our ends will break and split less. This will help hair stay smooth and styles last longer. Once I started doing these two tips, I found my hair needed to be restyled or washed half as often.  

It is best to never wash your hair with shampoo before going for a swim. Shampoo will take nutrients and oils out of your hair that it may need to protect itself from the elements.  

SPF

We protect our skin, why not protect our hair? UV rays can damage air and reduce the lifespan of color treatments. Hair SPF's can be purchased for super cheap and last forever. There are all sorts of hair SPF's from hairspray with UV protection to hair serums that also give some extra luster. Check out your local beauty store for tons of options. One of my favorites is the Redken UV Rescue. It has flecks of glitter in the oil serum to give your hair some extra sheen.

Deep Conditioning

Depending on how much your are outside over the summer, your hair could use a deep conditioning twice a month to once every week. There are plenty of deep conditioners on the market that do wonders. If you would prefer something more home grown, try an avocado masque with one part avocado and two parts olive oil. Leave this in for twenty minutes, then wash and style per usual.

To get some extra soft ends, wrap your hair in a silk scarf or cotton. This will help increase moister absorption and reduce frizzies.

Take Your Vitamins

A sure fire way to see one's health is through their skin, finger nails, and hair. To really keep your body healthy this summer, take 100% organic vitamins, specifically a multivitamin, fish oil vitamin, and a vitamin C supplement. This vitamin cocktail will give skin and hair a natural sheen and keep cell production at it's peek.

Remember, lad synthesized vitamins are not the same as vitamins with ingredients that have bee grown in nature. Lab vitamins are missing vital phytonutrients that help fight free radicals, have UV protectant qualities, reduce risks of cancer, reduce risks of liver-disease, increase our immune responses, and aid with proper cellular function.

Weekly Reading Round-Up: Pretty Things

There are a few things that I read religiously every day, and a few finds that I happen upon while internet browsing. These next couple of articles, websites, and blogs are some of my favorite part of the internet when it come to the beauty and home decor world.  

Emily Henderson

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I love Emily Henderson. I have loved her since her doe-eyed introduction on Design Star and I still love her on Secrets from a Stylist and her new little tid-bits on the One Kings Lane ads. 

This past year I was introduced to her blog and to the lady herself. Both of these introductions made me love her even more. One, she is super passionate about her blog, Style By Emily Henderson. It is her love and one of her self stated favorite parts of her job. She has been doing tons of photo shoots of recent client's houses and has even done some of her own. Plus, I do not know many people sweeter than her in person. She was so wonderful and nice when we met her at EPCOT's food and wine festival. he is super fun and talked to us twice without needing to at all... She def knows how to make people feel extra special!  Read her blog and watch her show, you will not regret it!  

Beauty

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Every time that the seasons change I go through a massive make-up overhaul. Somehow, everything that I once thought looked good on me makes my face look like rubbish once a new summer, fall, winter, or spring comes around. I know, it is in my head. But, this personal make-up revival teaches me a lot about my own personal skincare and make-up preferences. Lemons just became lemonade.

I have been loving the website TypeF for all my seasonal beauty fixes. This website is like an all you can eat buffet of beauty knowledge and tips. After reading an article earlier today I now know that I have a cool skin tone. To find out for yourself, look at the veins in your arm. If your veins are a blue/green, are you cool toned like me. If your veins are more of a blue/purple, you are warmer toned. Super simple!

There are plenty of other quick tips and bits of knowledge over at Type F. This article talks about choosing the right blush for pale skin and this one gives recommendations for the perfect pink lip color. Color love.  

A Little Healthy

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This last week we had a bit of a dairy article on P+K. It was a hefty one, but worth the read. I have been doing a lot of research of dairy and the effects of a dairy free diet. What I have found is quite interesting and worth the extra long article, I promise.  

If you have read this article and are looking for some more resources, check out Elana's Pantry. She has about a thousand fantastic sounding dairy free recipes, all broken down into meal types. It is incredible. If you like desserts, go ahead and scan to the bottom, just have something with you to clean up all the drool. There will be so much drool.  

Blog side note: I am super excited about some of the things coming up in the next two weeks. Stay tuned, they will be incredible!