Flowers, 5Ks, and Fiancées-A May 2011 TR *Updated 4/30 The Last Update*

[Nermel9]

Great update! I always put off finishing my TR's too, it's sad writing about the last day!

Epcot is so beautiful during the Flower and Garden festival! I feel like we haven't gone on the Epcot monorail in such a long time, I will have to make sure we do that on our next trip, I love looping through Epcot before you get off!

 

[amazingact21]

Lol I'm delaying writing my next update for the exact same reason

Wow your pics of Epcot are amazing and I'm trying to rack my brains to think if we ever tried the monorail to Epcot - I don't think we did

Haha at the 'daddy' story - hilarious!

You should definetly try and ride the Epcot monorail on your next trip. It offers such a great view.

Loved this update! That picture from the monorail of all the flowers is beyond amazing...so beautiful! I can totally understand trying to juggle 2 reports now...not the easiest thing is it

It's not, but I'm happy to know that once I finish this TR I can think about my upcoming trip. Makes ending this one a little less sad.

Great update! I always put off finishing my TR's too, it's sad writing about the last day!

Epcot is so beautiful during the Flower and Garden festival! I feel like we haven't gone on the Epcot monorail in such a long time, I will have to make sure we do that on our next trip, I love looping through Epcot before you get off!

The Flower and Garden Festival is such a nice little extra for May trips. Naturally, it can't compare to F&W or the holidays, but it is still a great event to catch. I'm really glad it's going to be there when I go again in a few months.

 

[Shannon84]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that picture of EPCOT from the monorail with the flowers, that is beautiful!! I usually go in the fall time, so I really enjoy seeing what it looks like during the spring time!!

Oh my gosh I love the "daddy" joke that is too funny, I need a lot of patience before I start thinking about having kids

 

[PirateKate]

I'm glad I haven't missed the ending yet! Wow, losing the ring sounds very stressful! I'm glad it ended okay. Your experience with The Magic, The Memories, and Me sounds very similar to what happened to us on the 40th anniversary. Not fun! EMH sounds great, though. Reading about what you all did that night makes me really miss being kid free and staying out as late as we want.

 

[amazingact21]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that picture of EPCOT from the monorail with the flowers, that is beautiful!! I usually go in the fall time, so I really enjoy seeing what it looks like during the spring time!!

Oh my gosh I love the "daddy" joke that is too funny, I need a lot of patience before I start thinking about having kids

Disney is spring is gorgeous! My favorite time to go is during the holidays, but if I had to pick any other time it would be around the Flower and Garden Festival.

I was in absolute amazement at that kid's stamina. I thought for sure he was going to run out of breathe eventually!

I'm glad I haven't missed the ending yet! Wow, losing the ring sounds very stressful! I'm glad it ended okay. Your experience with The Magic, The Memories, and Me sounds very similar to what happened to us on the 40th anniversary. Not fun! EMH sounds great, though. Reading about what you all did that night makes me really miss being kid free and staying out as late as we want.

I don't think that night was as bad as the 40th anniversary, but it was still pretty ugly. I think that area is just a bad place to be during the nighttime shows, because the sidewalks are so narrow and everyone ends up bottlenecking. You won't see me around there anymore!

It's great that you guys are going to WDW without your two boys this spring. I'm sure you'll miss them, but I'm also sure you are going to really enjoy staying out late and hitting up all the big coasters.

 

[amazingact21]

May 10th Morning:

With Sum of all Thrills behind us, Alex and I headed into the World Showcase. Near the entrance was a Winnie the Pooh display, most likely put there to promote the movie that was coming out a month later. The Tigger topiary didn't have anybody standing around it, so I jumped in really quick and did my best Tigger pose:


Growing up, I also thought Tigger was a little reckless, I was more of a Piglet fan, but I still enjoyed sharing a picture with him...


While Alex and I were walking through Canada and the UK, I told him how we still had 7 snack credits left.

7 snack credits!!!

We had a 1:30 lunch ADR, and I didn't want to spoil my appetite but desperate times call for desperate measures. We made a beeline for France, grabbing a quick picture of Aurora dancing along the way:



I don't know what was calling me to France that morning, but I felt like I could find something I really enjoyed in:
f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


The pastry shop!


And, boy did I pick correctly.
f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


The glass display cases were filled with éclairs, cheesecakes, brownies, cakes. I was getting a chocolate high by just being in the store!
Feeling adventurous, I decided to go with something I'd never tasted before.



A crème brule. Normally, I go with something with chocolate as the main component, but I figured the brule would be lighter and not fill me up before lunch.
Alex went with the chocolate eclaire and felt like he'd stepped into heaven when he realized the filling wasn't just cream, but chocolate cream.


The sun was heating up Epcot pretty good by that time of the day, so we escaped inside one of France's building, wanting to get away from the humidity for a few minutes. And as luck would have it, there was an open table in the back of the room.

We ate our snacks and checked our phones and talked about how amazing the World Showcase is. I was really happy that I'd went with the crème brulee; it had a nice, light flavor to it. A perfect mid-morning treat.


As we were finishing up, I noticed a family scouting out tables, hoping to find an unoccupied one. I told Alex to stay in his seat and shuffled over to the parents. Tapping them on the arm, I told them to follow me.
I brought them over to our table and said that we were leaving, and that they could snag our seats.

They were immensely grateful, and who could blame them? No one wants to sit outside and swelter when they don't have to. Plus, this family had sandwiches and drinks, and having a table to balance their trays on was probably very helpful.

Feeling even better now that I had done a good dead AND had sugar in my system, I suggested to Alex we take the boat back to Canada and start our tour over again, going more slowly and looking at the Flower and Garden Festival.

Alex agreed.

I had never been at the back of the France pavilion before, so I took my time strolling out of it, making sure to take in all the details:


f3 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


We went to the dock and waited... by ourselves (apparently nobody else wanted to ride the boat).


We couldn't beat the view.

f4 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Belle was behind some shrubs doing a meet and greet, and the line for her looked crazy! I could have understood if Beast was with her, but no-it was just her and her handler.
f5 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


DH and I had actually had a pretty pleasant time waiting for the boat to arrive. We took in Epcot's globe across the water, all the colorful flowers lining the grass behind us, and we even watched some of the birds hang out next to us.



If there's one thing I know about Disney, it's that you can't fake the happiness you feel while there. Every time I look at my Disney photos (such as this one) I go, "Gosh, I look like such a big kid. That smile is so goofy!"

It's what puts that special seal on Disney. You know when you are in the world, you're going to return home with genuine smiles and singsong laughter. It's not like you have to pretend to enjoy yourself. The sights and sounds alone bring about a pure, unabashed joy inside your heart.

Nothing can beat it...


DH and I took an uneventful boat ride and started making our way through Canada and the UK. I took a ton of photos of the flowers and hedges we encountered:


f6 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Alex spotted a pin booth in the UK pavilion and stopped to check their merchandise. He found a really cool Epcot pin that displayed all the featured countries' flags, but he was on the fence about buying it. He asked the CM if he could see his pin lanyard and spotted one of those baby Hercules pins.

Alex loves Hercules and was on the lookout for the Disney Heroes Hercules pin. Having had no luck, he decided to settle for the baby one and did a quick trade. As he was hooking his pin onto his lanyard, he saw the CM had a Festival of the Lion King pin.

"Whoa, Alicia! Look at this!"

My favorite movie is The Lion King, and my favorite show at WDW is Festival of the Lion King, so Alex became really excited when he saw a pin that was perfect for me.

Unfortunately, I'm a really shy person and hadn't yet built up the nerve to do a pin trade yet. I was afraid the CM would think it was silly for an adult to be pin trading and would get mad if I traded an ugly pin for a really cool one.

I didn't want to irritate the CM and waste his time, so I just waved Alex and away and told him we should continue on our way.

Well, the CM wasn't having any of it.

"Oh, come on! Just take a peek at my lanyard."

Well, just a peek...

"Look here, you have an Animal Kingdom theme going on with your lanyard, this F.O.T.L.K. pin would fit great with all the others."

The more Alex and the CM tried to convince me to trade a pin, the more embarrassed I became. I just wanted to get the heck out of dodge. I guess I began turning a nice shade of red, because the CM gave me a friendly hug and proclaimed, "Aw, are you going bashful on me?!"

As I was silently praying for my secret superhero powers to suddenly emerge and allow me to turn invisible, Alex tried to sneak a photo of the whole thing.

I wasn't having any of it!



Soon after that I managed to get out of there and escape back to the comfort of the sidewalk.

Alex found the whole thing hilarious and swore he was going to make me complete a pin trade before we left that day.

Hmm, yeah, okay, sure, not a problem.

I just said, "Yes, I'll be sure and do it the next chance I get." Just so I could end the conversation and return to enjoying all the WS beauty.





While we were making our way back to France, Alex and I stopped to get some Photopass pictures:





I thought the Beauty and the Beast topiaries were really cool, and I was glad to have my picture taken in front of them. I kind of wish Disney had had more PP photographers by all the other characters, because I would have loved to have gotten a picture in front of Cinderella and Prince Charming dancing and by the Lion King ones.

Oh well, I was still content with Beauty and the Beast.



Up Next: Oh, Wait, That's a 100% Tip!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Love the tigger pose!

The snacks look yummy - luckily I just had my breakfast a short while ago so am good for now!

Lol at the pin encounter. Great PP pics!

 

[MEK]

I got a little behind on your TR, but your last two updates were excellent! I so loved the F&G festival. It just adds that final touch to Epcot that makes it sparkle! Yum - that creme brulee looks delish.

Lovely PP pics and all your pictures are great.

Too funny about the little boy on the monoral. Isn't amazing how kids can go on and on like that? Daddy, daddy....daddy.......That is tiring!

 

[Queenofallthings]

All your pictures are so pretty....F & G is so beautiful, I'm sad we're only there on it's last day this year, but hey, it's better than nothing!

Love the pic of you and the CM....you'll remember that interaction for a while!

 

[amazingact21]

Love the tigger pose!

The snacks look yummy - luckily I just had my breakfast a short while ago so am good for now!

Lol at the pin encounter. Great PP pics!

Looking back at that Tigger picture, I'm kind of scared to see what I'll do when I see the ACTUAL Tigger at Crystal Palace.

I got a little behind on your TR, but your last two updates were excellent! I so loved the F&G festival. It just adds that final touch to Epcot that makes it sparkle! Yum - that creme brulee looks delish.

Lovely PP pics and all your pictures are great.

Too funny about the little boy on the monoral. Isn't amazing how kids can go on and on like that? Daddy, daddy....daddy.......That is tiring!

I think the holidays are my favorite time to visit Epcot, but the F&G festival is a close second. It makes the park even more brighter, plus it gives a WS wanderer (like me) something else to look at while walking around.

All your pictures are so pretty....F & G is so beautiful, I'm sad we're only there on it's last day this year, but hey, it's better than nothing!

Love the pic of you and the CM....you'll remember that interaction for a while!

One day is better than none! Besides, maybe that'll mean everyone will visit Epcot less with the festival having ended, and then you get a less crowded park.

 

[Nermel9]

Great update, I'm so happy to be going back during the Flower and Garden festival this year!

I really have to try something from the France bakery! That was so nice to give your table to that family!

OMG I would have died with that pin trading incident! I'm really shy too, and if I don't want to do something like that, forget it! Sometimes I can overcome my shyness and be really brave, other times, I can't and I'm crippled by the simplest things!

Your PP pics are really cute!

 

[amazingact21]

May 10th Lunch:

I ended my last update with Alex and I taking some Photopass pictures in France. After standing in the sun, smiling wide for the camera, we made our way to the Japan pavilion.
We'd never actually been inside this country before, so we were a little lost. It was about 12:15 and we had a 12:30 ADR that we had to try and find.

The two of us searched for some signs indicating where to go, but were coming up empty. Eventually, Alex went inside the gift shop and asked. We were told to go inside this one building, and our restaurant would be on the left.

Okay, then. Time to eat.

Where? You ask.

Why, at:


Alex and I are big fans of hibachi places, and this was a completely new dining location for us, so we were looking forward to seeing how good it was.

After giving our name to the hostess, we waited around about five minutes before someone led us to our table. The layout of Teppan Edo was really calm, I felt. The restaurant was cordoned off into different rooms that had large open doorways. In each room there were 4 tables that seated (I wanna say) 8. The tables formed a perfect square, with a wide walkway in the middle so chefs could roll their carts in easily.



We walked about halfway down the hallway before we were directed into a room on our right and were seated at an empty table.

It wasn't long before another family joined our table. It was two parents with four children, and they were all really nice and polite. We didn't really talk to each other, and at first I felt a little awkward. I wasn't so sure how I'd feel about eating in front of total strangers, but because Alex and I sat down on the side, we felt like we had some of our own space. We all pretty much ended up going with the philosophy, "I'll mind my business if you mind yours."

When the chef first came out, she (which Alex and I thought was really cool; we'd never had a female chef before, and we have ate at a lot of hibachis.) asked if anyone couldn't use chopsticks, because she wanted to rubberband them together if not.

I had every intention of keeping my mouth shut and letting my chopsticks stay nice and comfy in their paper cover the entire meal.

But my oh so wonderful husband decided to speak up for me.

"She can't!"



The chef smiled at me sympathetically.

Which kind of turned into humor.

"Hmm, another grown adult who can't use chopsticks. Wonder what hole she crawled out of?"

Thanks to my husband and a silently mocking chef, I ended up with:


The only nice thing that came out of it was that every other person at the table asked to have their chopsticks rubber-banded together. Even the other adults.

Hallelujah!

The biggest disadvantage to sitting with strangers made me a little hesitant to take a million photographs of our food being prepared. I didn't want them to think I was crazy!
Before long, though, the mom pulled out her phone and was snapping away, so I didn't feel as embarrassed and managed to get a couple cute shots.


Here is the token steam out of the onion tower:




After it finished, the chef added to onions to the top and proclaimed, "Look! Mickey Mouse!"

One of the highlights of the lunch.


Alex and I both ended up ordering the beef and chicken combo. I enjoyed the chicken, but the beef was a little tough for my liking. The noodles that accompanied the meal were delicious, though.



The portion size was unbelievable. Both of us couldn't finish our plates, because there was just so many vegetables and meat. Which also led me to my biggest negative about eating with the strangers.

I have this weird habit at hibachi restaurants of waiting for all my food to be on my plate before I start eating. Well, the other guests at our table dug in as soon as the first food item was plated (the noodles). So when the veggies came next, they were ready for them. And when the meat arrived, they took, like 3 bites and were done.

Well, the waitress wasn't going to take their dessert order until it looked like everyone at the table was finished.


So, I kind of had to speed eat through my food. Honestly, I didn't even take the time to enjoy the taste of it, because I was thinking, "Oh man, these people are being held up on account of me!"
Didn't make for an enjoyable time.


On top of that...as Alex and I were eating away, we heard something from the outside hallway.

Could it be?

Yep. It was.

Walking past our room was the monorail kid!

And what do you know, he was STILL going at it! It was hilarious, hearing "Daddy, daddy, daddy," once more. What were the odds of us seeing them again?

Probably pretty slim. But it sure made for a good laugh. The two of us just looked at each other and shook our heads, giggling.


When I finally ate all I could, both Alex and I ordered the ginger cake.


It was good, but probably not something I would've gotten if I hadn't been on the Dining Plan.


Finishing up the cake, Alex took the bill and began writing in the tip. As he was setting the book on the edge of the table, he all of a sudden realized he'd skipped a line on the receipt and was, in effect, giving the waitress the amount that was due as a tip.

"Whoah! Wait a minute, that's a 100% tip!"

My eyes bulged just a teensy bit.

The father at our table burst out laughing.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I am ALWAYS a great tipper. But 100% on this particular meal would've cost us a night at our value resort. I would've felt great for making the CM's day, but it would've put a damper on my future trip savings.


Once the blurp was fixed, Alex and I left Teppan Edo and continued on our World Showcase tour.



Overall, Teppan Edo was a beautiful restaurant with great customer service, but I just don't know if I can get over eating with strangers and feeling rushed. The food itself was tasty, and it would be great for a laid-back kind of day, because it was extremely filling, and because of that I'll probably eat here again someday.





Up Next: I'm Tired, My Legs Hurt, I Need a Margarita!

 

[Shannon84]

I am so glad to hear your review of Teppan Edo!! I always skipped over it, because I can have hibatchi here in Richmond, but I am thinking that might be a great place during wedding time

I am the same way eating in front of others you are too funny!! My co workers eat so quickly it stresses me out

 

[Nermel9]

I wasn't a big fan of eating with strangers at Teppan Edo either. We sat with another couple around our age, then a family with 2 kids, and the other couple ended up chatting with the family all night, and no one barely said anything to Brandon or I. I mean, I'm shy anyway, so that was kind of ok with me, but Brandon loves to chat with people so I felt kind of bad that he was like, left out of the conversation. The food was ok, but it was nothing great. I'd like to give it another try, but probably not for a few years. Brandon really wants to try Tokyo Dining, so we'll probably do that in the Fall if we go back.

 

[MEK]

I have been wanting to go back to Teppan Edo and actually considered it for June, but since we are a party of two I ruled it out. I don't mind sitting at a table with other people, but I hate being in the minority. We would probably end up with a family of 6 with us too.

I think its great that you can wait and eat all components of the meal together. I definitely think its better that way, but I have no will power, especially for noodles.

Did I hear someone say Margarita?

Too funny about the monorail kid reappearing!

 

[amazingact21]

I am so glad to hear your review of Teppan Edo!! I always skipped over it, because I can have hibatchi here in Richmond, but I am thinking that might be a great place during wedding time

I am the same way eating in front of others you are too funny!! My co workers eat so quickly it stresses me out

I think for larger parties like wedding groups Teppan Edo would be a good choice. Kind of dinner and a show, and the way the tables are situated you could talk to everyone without anyone feeling excluded.

I wasn't a big fan of eating with strangers at Teppan Edo either. We sat with another couple around our age, then a family with 2 kids, and the other couple ended up chatting with the family all night, and no one barely said anything to Brandon or I. I mean, I'm shy anyway, so that was kind of ok with me, but Brandon loves to chat with people so I felt kind of bad that he was like, left out of the conversation. The food was ok, but it was nothing great. I'd like to give it another try, but probably not for a few years. Brandon really wants to try Tokyo Dining, so we'll probably do that in the Fall if we go back.

Yeah, eating with strangers can just be uncomfortable. I know that was the biggest problem I had with our Disney cruise. We had to eat dinner every single night with these two guys. We were nice to each other and shared some laughs, but all 4 us would have preferred to have eaten alone.

I have been wanting to go back to Teppan Edo and actually considered it for June, but since we are a party of two I ruled it out. I don't mind sitting at a table with other people, but I hate being in the minority. We would probably end up with a family of 6 with us too.

I think its great that you can wait and eat all components of the meal together. I definitely think its better that way, but I have no will power, especially for noodles.

Did I hear someone say Margarita?

Too funny about the monorail kid reappearing!

Yeah, I think if there were at least 2 other people we knew at the table it would've been better. As it was, it looked like Alex and I were crashing this family's lunch date.

 

[amazingact21]

May 10th Early Afternoon:

Full and beyond ready to get back out to Epcot, Alex and I left Teppan Edo and turned right, towards the Italy pavilion. The sun was really bright at this point, and both of us immediately felt the FL heat hitting us. It was uncomfortable, but we were used to worse, so we brushed it off our shoulders and slathered on a ton of sunscreen.

For the following thirty minutes or so, we walked off our lunch and took in the WS beauty.

Some of the spots around the country really take my breath away.






We walked through Germany pretty quickly, but stopped to look at Rapunzel's Tower by the mini train station. I'm sad that WDW took it down; I thought a lot of people enjoyed the display.

Before long, Alex and I found ourselves back at the Lion King topiaries and took some more photos.







The couple who took this picture for us thought we were crazy when we asked them. You could clearly read their expression.

"You wanna photo...in front of THIS?"

Oh well, some people just don't understand...

Moving along, we soon found ourselves in Norway and saw that a favorite attraction of mine was empty.

Maelstrom, of course!


You know, I love the thrill of Test Track and the technology (and soundtrack) of Soarin' but I can't help but feel Maelstrom is my favorite Epcot ride. I guess it's a little bit of nostalgia. I remember waiting in the queue when I was 12, smelling the water with my mom when I was 14, laughing at the drop two Decembers ago...



Ahah! Finally captured the troll. It's a fine art. You have to wait for the wall to close behind you and the light underneath him to brighten.


Like always, the ride came to an end all too soon.
f1 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Am I the only one who feels like this ride is too short? I feel that way about a lot of the rides, though.

Toy Story Mania, Rock N Roller Coaster, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

There's only a few that I feel like are perfectly timed. Pirates, Haunted Mansion (it really gives you enough time to rest your feet and relax) Splash Mountain, Everest.

I guess it might be a good thing that some of my favorites are too short. Keeps me going back time after time.


I seriously debated going on Maelstrom again; I did not know when we would be returning and I wanted to make sure I had my fill, but in the end I decided not to. I was all too aware of time creeping away from us.

Probably because it was our last day at WDW, I kept feeling as if the day was getting away from us. I knew there was some Disney lover far away in another part of the United States, praying for May 11th to arrive, because that was when they were due to arrive in the world. But for me, I just wanted the afternoon to slow down and let me take in as much of Epcot as I possibly could.


With that little nagging sadness making its appearance in me, Alex and I began walking past Norway. We soon came upon this:
f2 by Alicia Wolchick, on Flickr


Up ahead of us, a group of women were walking towards us, with one woman yelling loudly, "I'm tired! My legs hurt! I need a margarita!!!"

I laughed out loud. Clearly this was not a veteran WDW visitor. Otherwise she would have known that her best bet would have been to rest during this time.

And then her legs wouldn't have been hurting.

But more importantly, if she were a vet, she would've known to veer to the left and track down the Cantina, where she could have had her fill of Margaritas.


Although we weren't getting a drink, Alex and I found ourselves headed inside the Mexico pavilion.



We wanted to escape the sun for a little while and I thought, "What the heck, why not?" The day was ours to do with it what we wanted, and I figured the two of us could go on a ride we'd never tried before.

The Gran Fiesta Tour.

Don't worry, I wasn't expecting anything grand or spectacular, I knew the gist of the ride. I just wanted to try it and see what I thought. Just like the majority of the trip, there was no line, and we were placed in the front of a boat, with a Hispanic family of about 7 behind us.

(Throughout the whole ride they were pointing and yelling things out in Spanish. Ironic, much?)



I had a slight issue with the boat this time around. All the guys that boarded sat on the right hand side and it felt like the boat was tipping over. (To me, you can kind of see it in the photo.) I constantly felt like the boat was going to overbalance and topple us into the water.

Alex told me I was nuts, but I was seriously worried. I just wished the boats felt a little more reliable. Otherwise, I actually liked the ride.

To me, it was incredibly relaxing from the moment it began. Going around the temple with the fake stars shining in the dark set the tone for me to where I was instantly calm and settled.

And I loved the way they did the fireworks at the end of the ride. A nice conclusion.


Alex took a few pictures when it was bright enough to while I sat back and let the air conditioning cool me down.





Unlike Maelstrom, we went on Grand Fiesta Tour a second time, not quite ready to go back outside. We even managed to get the front row, again.

We'd spent about thirty minutes inside the Mexico pavilion and just like at Norway, time began ticking away inside my head. Stepping back outside, I was hit with a wave of heat.

It had gotten HOT! We realized quickly that we needed to come up with a plan. Walking around aimlessly had to end, it was just too hot out to keep up with that.



Up Next: Caramel Coma

 

[Nermel9]

Great Epcot update! I know I keep saying this, but I can't wait to be there during the Flower and Garden festival!

I LOVE Maelstrom! And YES it's too short! And so is Toy Story Mania! Seriously though, Maelstrom is not just one of my favorite Epcot rides, it's one of my favorite Disney rides, it's just SO good! And so unappreciated!

The Gran Fiesta Tour is one of my favorites too! I'm pretty paranoid about things, but I don't think those boats can flip over, it's Disney World, I think they're pretty safe!

 

[MEK]

Ah - the last day blues. I know the feeling. If you don't let that feeling creep in on you then it comes crashing down. But if you do let it creep in on you than it nags at you when you try to forget it.

Glad you liked the Grand Fiesta tour. I have always enjoyed the beginning of that tour.

Score on getting the troll on Malestrom. I need to get that picture!

It can get pretty hot in May. No wonder that lady wanted a margarita!

 

[Joyciemc]

Helllooooo! I can't believe I've never read your TR! But I just read the whole thing, and am looking forward to the rest. I will also be bopping over to your May PTR soon. C'mon, MAY!

Bizarrely, my DH and I also have the super annoying habit of dressing alike unintentionally. His family were the first ones to point it out to us, and it has become quite embarrassing- no one believes that it's an accident. We've actually had to start doing a 'twinsie check' before leaving the house!

And.... even more funny is that we had an engagement ring catastrophe of our own- the DAY after I got the ring... and ours really was lost- in the ocean in St. Lucia. So I can 100% relate to the drama of your ring episode. *shudder*