Author Archives: Sarah Dingman

About Sarah Dingman

Sarah grew up in rural Kansas, dreaming of one day realizing her creative talent as a clown mail woman. Wait, what was that I said? Oh yes, what big dreams she had. Entertain the world one piece of mail and a beep of the nose at a time. This still holds true, but in a much different way. Sarah is still using her talents but has decided they would be better used popping out some creative writing for this cool blog as well as developing her love of photography. Some of her work is featured also on this said blog! She (along with her BF, Mark) hopes you enjoy these snippets of their unique story!

Fall Apples, Birthday Dinner, and Disney Surprises

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My favorite thing about New England? We get to enjoy fall before everyone else it seems! It is in full swing here; cooler temperatures, spicier smells, deeper colors and I am in love!! Last weekend we embraced this along with my birthday (another reason probably why I love fall) and a few surprises along the way.

Mark took me apple picking for the first time!

Searching for the perfect apple. Or at least perfect enough for pie. Or crisp.

We have height on our team (not me) which is pretty handy while apple picking.

We left with a very full bag.

Back at home we continued the autumn love with new fall scented Yankee candles and apple crisp.

Ringo loves watching through the window the falling leaves and the squirrels on the hunt for their next nut.

Maybe someday there will be a time when my birthday is just another day but I think that will be hard with Mark by my side. He never ceases to make that day special. This year he labored over a perfect birthday dinner AND made me a cake. All from scratch. He’s amazing.

Argentinean wine and actually the brand served in the Argentina booth during Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival!

It may not be the prettiest cake, but it was filled with love and the BEST TASTING chocolate cake I’ve ever had! And look at those rainbow glow candles!

And finally, the best birthday surprise this girl could hope for; tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

With so much happiness and excitement, it feels life for us couldn’t get any better!

 

 

A Day at the Museum

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Mark, being a graphic designer, and me, always interested in seeing, learning and talking about beautiful art, we decided on a cloudy Saturday to try out an art museum near us that neither of us had been to.

Before leaving, we took our time getting ready. I didn’t plan it but I worked a little Disney magic into my attire! Below I am wearing Black Pearl eye color by Bare Minerals and Steady as She Rose nail polish by OPI from the Pirates of the Caribbean line. I felt a little piece of Jack Sparrow coming out with every swipe of the brush and it made me giggle!

Our little bits of Disney details didn’t stop there! The Currier Museum of Art finds itself in a busy little city called Manchester, New Hampshire. We weren’t sure what to expect but we’ve been to two other art museums together: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and The Nelson-Adkins Museum of Art, Kansas City which are both large, shockingly beautiful buildings packed full of amazing pieces. The Currier, while much smaller, on every other level did not disappoint! We were pleasantly surprised.

What I want to bring to your attention was a piece that popped out at us with its HIDDEN MICKEY! We stumbled upon local artist James Aponovich’s “Self Portrait” which is extremely detailed and when we looked closely, we found Mickey! We also found Epcot’s Spaceship Earth. I love this whole piece!

I did some research on Mr. Aponovich and couldn’t find a direct connection to Disney or Florida even though there are at least three references in this painting alone! The third would be the Florida postcard that you can see a tiny yellow corner of near the upper right-hand corner. We’re guessing he may be a fan of Walt Disney since he is an artist and could appreciate Disney’s creative mind and animated artistry.

Some other noteable pieces:

This beautiful seat and table carving was created by a man, Wendell Castle, born in my hometown, Emporia, KS!

I also fell in love with these hand-crafted glass paperweights!

 

And the fabric on this chair is lovely.

 

Who wouldn’t love this gorgeous Tiffany leaded glass lamp?

 

All this beautiful artwork (among others not pictured) inspires us in so many ways. What everyday activities do you find that inspire you? Do you find hidden Mickeys in your everyday life? Maybe this will encourage you to start looking for them!

The Dining Dilemma – Jiko vs. Citricos

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While visiting Walt Disney World, Mark and I like to eat well. And as in “eat well,” I mean we like to have a variety of foods, experiences, cultures, and price ranges; some new, some old. In order to get those experiences, we tend to plan 180 days out from our arrival date (we’re THOSE people). We want to have one kick-butt, this is the best food I’ve ever had and I don’t care how much it costs meal during our trip. This is where my dilemma lies.

We are trying (going back and forth at least 50 times now) to decide between dinner at Jiko: The Cooking Place (located in the beautifully exotic Animal Kingdom Lodge) or Citricos (located in the upscale Victorian gloriousness that is the Grand Floridian Resort). These are two of the most highly rated and coveted dining spots, so we’ll go over why they may be hard to choose between.

We’ve been to Jiko once before and loved the romantic, dimmed calm feeling it emoted as well as the exquisite African wine that we fell desperately in love with (the desperately part comes from the fact that we can’t remember the name and want it again SO badly-take pictures of your wine bottles!) and the superb cuisine and detail that goes into their presentation. Both being visually oriented and caring about the tiniest of details, this means a lot to us.

Our experience with Citricos is much different, as neither of us has stepped foot in the light and airy dining room as described in researched reviews and observed from pictures of the restaurant. We can tell Citricos offers a much different experience than its competitor (Jiko, in this case). It is known for its plush seating, bright cheery atmosphere, and fantastic fresh dining options to satisfy the snobbiest of palets. Like Jiko though, Citricos focuses also on its plating presentation and does not skimp on decorative and enhancing sauces and garnishes.

So, to recap, lets have a little fun with a pros and cons list, shall we?

Jiko: The Cooking Place

  • We’ve loved it before
  • Quiet romantic dining room
  • Extensive African wine list
  • Variety of full-flavored dining options
  • Received 4 ½ stars overall rating (touringplans.com)
  • Not a new experience
  • Some “too close” seating
  • Some African Flavors (may not appeal to all pallets)
  • Outlying location
  • Received 93 point reader rating (touringplans.com)

Citricos

  • A new experience!
  • Location: on Monorail and minutes away from Magic Kingdom
  • Great variety, familiar fresh menu choices
  • Called a “hidden gem” by many-easy to get an Advance Dining Reservation (ADR)
  • Received 96 point reader rating (touringplans.com)
  • Reportedly noisy dining room (Len Testa-Touring Plans)
  • Large, impersonal atmosphere
  • Reportedly slow service (every review I read)
  • Overall seems “low key” and may not feel “special” enough? Your thoughts?
  • Received 3 ½ stars overall rating (touringplans.com)

So, as you can see this puts us in quite the conundrum. Both restaurants seem to offer high-quality, gourmet food, with a relaxed and “stay for a while” atmosphere. Many times I will hear or read reviews from others that say both Jiko and Citricos are their top two favorite restaurants on Disney property. Well, thanks a bunch since that doesn’t help me decide between the two! Since we only visit WDW about once every year and a half or so, we realize the importance of choosing wisely in our dining opportunities. Do we go with the familiar and absolutely lovely in every way Jiko? Or take a chance and trust that Citricos is everything great that we’ve heard or read in reviews? Will we be disappointed if we have to wait another year and a half to experience Jiko if we decide to go with Citricos, or be content with our decision? Please give us your thoughts to help us out!

American Idol Experience

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Have you ever wanted to be pampered with supurb hair and makeup and receive professional coaching and direction in preparation for performing under blazing bright lights on an official American Idol stage for a packed house of eager listeners? Yeah, most people would say no, but I said yes!

Nestled in Disney’s Hollywood Studios lies an opportunity of a lifetime; The American Idol Experience. This is a fast pass version of the real thing, bringing all the best parts without the long lines and endless hours spent sitting next to the crazy girl with the pink mohawk screaming the words to her favorite Pat Benatar song.

My experience was as such:

First round of auditions in front of a generic judge, singing song of choice acapella where I apparently nailed it, moving to the next round!

Second round of auditions with the “Producer” after rehearsing with an iPod loaded with Idol-approved songs and filling out some paperwork. This audition provided accompaniment, sort of karaoke style where I performed a few seconds of two selected songs.


In my experience, the “Producer” chose a song he thought would work well with my voice which happened to be “Black Velvet,” a song I’ve sang a million times. He had me sing a few bars and told me I’m in and will perform “Black Velvet” in the first show of the day! He asked a few questions and hopped on Mark’s and my story of how we met through talking Disney topics and decided to have a video package put together about our story to play before my performance!


I performed in the first of five shows that day with two other people and ended up winning that show receiving a special congratulations video package from the one and only; Ryan Seacrest! This gave me a spot in the finale at the end of the day where I would perform with the other four finalists of the day after more coaching, and more hair and makeup!

All day, both Mark and I were getting noticed in the park thanks to our video and the host pointing Mark out to everyone in the audience! The craziest part was getting noticed the NEXT day in Magic Kingdom! We heard things like “Good luck tonight!” and “I voted for you!” It was truly our 15 minutes of fame, which is an amazing experience to have in Disney World!

The finale was even bigger and better and so much fun! I came in third in the finale, but the whole experience was worth it. The winner received an official ticket that allowed her a guaranteed spot in the actual American Idol auditions. I haven’t seen her yet in the auditions from this season so I’m not sure if she used it.

Pleasantly surprisingly The American Idol Experience is open to all age and talent levels! So, if you have the chance to audition for this experience, don’t pass it up. This experience is a fantastic way to spend a day in the park!

Finding Balance In a Whirlwind

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I’m missing Disney recently which has sparked an interest in my otherwise forgotten quest to blog consistently! So where were we? Ahhh yes, five months ago we sailed home from our most recent Disney adventure and that’s where I dropped the ball. Let’s start picking up where we left off piece by piece; starting with my indulgent experience with Disney-level spa treatments!

Pushing it full pace, walking more than any human should for days at a time in the parks, you get sore and tired. What better way to relieve this than by visiting one of Disney’s fabulous spas? I had the pleasure on our second to last day in Disney taking advantage of the spa at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. Just a short, lagoon trimmed walk from the massive, Victorian Resort and across from the Princess-like Wedding Pavilion, lays a gorgeous, white, prim and pompous building blanketed with a bold red roof and surrounded with palm trees and hosta plants. Once inside, a peaceful feeling of calm is exuded from every pore; from the soft lighting to the soft voices that greet you.

I chose a Swedish Massage which I was surprised to find can be customized to include your choice of aromatherapeutic oils. After being led to the changing room I quickly engulfed myself in a fluffy white robe and slippers and sipped on lemon water while I waited for my masseuse. She was equally as calming, ushering me to the oil choices and then to my private massage room. Soothing music and perfect temperature control including warm towels completed the near-Nirvana experience.

My masseuse then led me back into the private lounge where I was encouraged to continue relaxing my senses with unlimited complimentary use of the sauna, hot tub, fresh Florida oranges, and lots more lemon water (to flush the toxins). The only negative here was listening to some snobby women complain about and openly reject a male masseuse. Rude. Anyway, aside from that it was Heavenly. I could have spent all day there and next time hopefully I will! It is certainly a splurge worth doing again and again.

We’re Back!

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Our recent Walt Disney World vacation has come to an end and enough good things can’t be said about it. Mark and I have created so many new lasting memories in Disney World and could not be happier. I will spill various parts of our activities and experiences in the next coming months because there are so many I can’t keep up with it all! Among them are dining reviews of some places we’ve just discovered, some favorite attractions and new ones including a spa treatment and a surprising adventure at the American Idol Experience in Disney’s Hollywood Studios! Stay tuned for lots of pictures and full reviews.