During the past month we have been up and down the east coast, in Maine, clapping politely at Will’s math thesis presentation (pretending we had some idea of what he was talking about ~~ Topological Methods in Combinatorics, in case you were wondering), cheering as he conducted a live orchestra in the premiere presentation of his music thesis (“For Film”),
and then getting a little teary as he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Musical Composition.
All this accomplishment called for a celebration, and our favorite place to celebrate is just a quick hop down to the other end of the coast!
Luckily our local airport has a JetBlue flight direct to Orlando!
Please remember:
1. It’s a selfie
2. On a plane
3. At 6 am
4. Trying to pretend I’m alone
🙂
Anyway, we can be in Connecticut at 6 am and in our Disney hotel by noon!
view from our balcony
This time we stayed at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.
We once stayed in a lodge in Park City, UT, which was one of the inspirations for the interior of the Wilderness.
******
The rest of our squadron flew down from Boston, and because we were celebrating an engagement and a college graduation we received much attention from the Disney cast members.
My “real” camera usually was in the hotel room
but I was quite pleased with my iPhone shots!
*****
I just love Minnie,
and as she waved to me from her perch at the end of the new parade in the Magic Kingdom, I decided to invite her home with me so she could help host my upcoming luncheon for
Summer Whimsy with Cuisine Kathleen!
We have been fortunate to travel to Disney World many times, and we now know where to find the
best food and dining spots.
But today, Minnie and I have prepared a simple summery lunch with some of Mickey’s and Mr. Fun’s favorites.
Beach towels make the best summer table coverings.
Spills blend in and the towel comes out of the dryer ready for the next use!
Red and white and polka dots are not the only color schemes in Minnie’s current wardrobe.
This bright collection came home with me from
The Happiest Place on Earth.
Doesn’t it make you smile?
Minnie invites you to choose a straw in your favorite color.
You’ll also need a coaster for your glass.
Add some Mickey ice cubes,
made from orange juice, pomegranate juice or refreshing water.
It’s broiling out here on my deck today. Minnie doesn’t mind as she is used to the Florida sunshine, but I’m wilting. Only in my dreams can I ever be a southern belle. But we can quench our thirst with one of these delicious citrus sparklers ~~ your choice of orange, lemon or apple.
By the way, which straw did you choose? I’ll take pink.
While we are back here let’s get a napkin with a lime green Mickey.
I have tried to pinpoint the event in my life which has created a subconscious connection between the scent of lime and pure happiness. I only know that I would fill my house with lime aroma and eat and drink lime anything. Luckily Minnie put some lime slices out. Or you may prefer to use a Mickey to pluck a lemon slice for your glass.
If you have ever been to Disney World, you know that Mickeys and “Hidden Mickeys” are everywhere, cleverly placed by the Imagineers or accidentally created and found by guests.
All you Disney fans may notice a few hidden Mickeys that Minnie has tucked
into the peanut butter sandwiches.
(We are serving these especially for Mr. Fun.)
These colorful Mickeys are really corn holders, but they are perfect and fun ways to pluck berries, and of course Minnie would never forget to put out cheese!
It seems, however, that this is the only photo I have of
the bowl of cheese with a combination of swiss and chipotle gouda chunks.
Yum. Mickey is one happy mouse!
He brought along these dainty flowers for Minnie,
but I’m pretty sure they were plucked from my yard.
The flowers match the bright, cheerful color scheme, so they can stay, and in fact it is hard to imagine a color that won’t look wonderful with these dishes.
Red, pink, yellow, green, blue and orange.
I just love it!
And I hope you have enjoyed Minnie’s lunch.
Are you a Disney fan? Do you have a favorite Disney character, or hotel?
Our favorite places to stay are The Wilderness Lodge and The Yacht Club, and we debate the pros and cons of each every single time we go.
I hope some Disney magic fills your days, as it has often filled ours!
~~ congratulations Will ~~
~~ you are also a wonderful source of our happiness ~~
please join me for more
and see our trip to Disney’s Yacht Club HERE
Linda 🙂
This makes me think of those athletes that would say “I’m going to Disneyworld” after they won! Congratulations on your son’s graduation! That’s marvelous that he did those speeches and conducted an orchestra! The table you set it too darn cute! Those plates and straws are too precious. I haven’t been to Disneyworld since the 90’s but I hope to get back there soon. Thanks for sharing!
As you know both Disneyland and Disneyworld are magical. Your table shows your magic. Keep up the selfies, lol.
Linda- Thanks for leaving me a comment today so I could backtrack to your blog. I see Liz found you, too. I love Liz! Congrats on your son’s graduation and your trip to Disney! I love Disney! I was about the 10th person in line the day they opened. For years you could walk into that little museum place after you get into the Magic Kingdom and my picture was on the wall along with all the other first time visitors. That has been our “go-to” spot for years with the kids.
I am your newest follower and will put you on my sidebar right away! xo Diana
Beach towels!!! But, of course! What a terrific idea! Colorful, no ironing required, absorbent, easy clean up…what more could a girl ask for!? I live nowhere even remotely near a beach, but I’m sure I can find beach towels around town. Really great idea!
Those Disney plates are just too fun! I love all the color in them! I love the straws, too! They’d make any drink more fun! I also really dig the fun corn cob holders taking on a new exciting role!
I can’t believe you went so far as to create little blueberry Mickeys!!! I am SO in love with that!!!
I hope you’ll share if you ever pinpoint your connection with the scent of lime. I know I have a lot of memories attached to my olfactory senses, some good and some not so good. It’s almost always fun to think back and remember the times based on the scent!
Big times congratulations for making it through that presentation. Geez….I would’ve been in Snooze City after the first sentence or two. Or maybe not. When it’s our kids, they could read the phone book and entertain us all day long!
I’ve been to Disneyland twice in my life. I’ve never been to Disneyworld despite visiting Orlando. I’m that one in the group who’s a party pooper because she doesn’t like anything that goes up high, round & round, up & down, over & under, or anything else other that…STILL!!! I get dizzy just thinking about all the motion in those rides! I worked at Worlds of Fun for several summers in my youth, but I still have never been able to get a firm hold on that motion sickness thing.
You took some really fantastic photos! Is that kalanchoe in the mini martini glass? I love the way you mixed the colors and added a few larger heads to the mix. Very pretty!
Congrats on your special occasions and how much fun to celebrate at Disney World~ I love all your Mickey and Minne surprises, you certainly have Mickey Mouse fever and it is totally so much fun! Love your new treasures brought home from the Magic Kingdom so you can experience the magic of Mickey all year long!
Jenna
Congratulations to the graduate! What a wonderful celebration! This colorful tablescape is perfect for the whimsy challenge! You did a great job and have a great collection of DW things to work with. We live in FL and have been to DW many times, love it!
Katherine
Congratulations on Will’s graduation. I love all the color…doesn’t matter where you look, there is vibrant color! Great summer table, Linda.
Have a wonderful week.
Linda, I choose a blue straw & coaster to match my MOOD since It has been FAR too long since I visited the Magic Kingdom! Thanks so much for inviting me to lunch with Minnie & Mickey and the sheer whimsy and fun of Disney! It’s a small world after all, my BFF and her family are Disney aficionados too and just went to down for a celebratory trip for her son’s medical school graduation, daughter’s college graduation and her birthday and they stayed at the Wilderness Lodge 🙂 Loved the hidden Mickey’s and seeing your selfie. ♥
Such a cheerful and fun table Linda! I love all of the pretty colors and that’s a great idea to use the corn holders as little cocktail picks! Congrats to Will on his graduation and Happy Summer:@)
It’s wonderful to see the Disney world and Disney touch table.Love those Mickey and Minnie cubes.Very colorful and perfect for a out door summer fun party.Congrat’s and have a beautiful day….Sujatha…:):)
So colorful! Love your Disney theme.
Jocelyn @ http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/
Linda, Wow, I am impressed with your son’s majors. Seriously, Math & Music? That is left brain and right brain together! Amazing. Your table is so colorful and fun. I love all the Mickey & Minnie touches. Dianne
This tablescape is terrific. It puts me in a good mood just viewing it, so I can only imagine what it must be like in person. Even the flowers and the food look happy. Wow, you must be very proud of Will, he sounds amazing.
Thank you, Linda, for stopping by my blog and leaving your sweet comment.
Randee
Your table would definitely be a hit in my house! My grandkids LOVE Disneyland and everything about it. We live close by, and , in fact, just heard the nightly fireworks. Congratulations on your son’s outstanding achievements. You must be very proud. Love your tablescape and the attention to detail. Thank you for sharing……..Rosie @ The Magic Hutch
High Five to your son !! 🙂
That table is amazing….this whole post was wonderful..and colorful…and I loved it all. 🙂
Congratulations! A lot of excitement in your family right now. This table is so much fun. What a great idea to use a beach towel as a table covering, and I love those plates. You definitely nailed the summer whimsy challenge with this table. Great photos of your trip too. Have a good weekend. laurie
Hi Linda, I trip to Disney is always fun and exhausting. Good pictures. Thanks for sharing. We are doing in October for Halloween.
I love your Disney theme — I did one too, only mine is old memories rather than your lovely fresh ones! Congratulations for your family’s events, especially your son’s achievements. Lovely post.
What fun! Love your Disney theme and the fun fun colors. Love all the fresh fruit and beverages, and as for being a southern belle…this one likes to sit in the shade with a glass of iced tea. 🙂
I had never thought to use beach towels as a tablecloth! Brilliant! Love, love, love that idea! I’ve been to Disney World twice only. The first time, Lee and I were childless and didn’t really “get” it. The second time we took the boys at the perfect age (8 and 6). They were old enough to understand what they were seeing but still believed in the magic. We did it all, and the kids still have their souvenir character autograph book, along with a gazillion pictures. However, my family is more of a beach family, and whenever we’d offer the kids the choice of beach or Disney, the beach always won. Go figure. So we’ve never gone back, and there’re just so many places on our bucket list . . . I am also a lime aficionada. I’ve taken the lime shortages this summer to heart and long for the summer a few years ago when I could get 20 limes for $1! What a great table, Linda! I’m sending this link to my sister-in-law who adores Mickey and goes to visit him at least once every year! She’s gonna flip!
Oh, my goodness! And congratulations to your son! What a proud moment for the family!
Oh, and Linda: One more thing: You look great! I wish I looked like that at 6 A.M.!
Congrats to your son! Wonderful, and I would love to read his thesis! 🙂
I love Disney, went often when my son was young and before dh got sick. We stayed at the Polynesian, but I would love to stay at the Grand Floridian. Not in the cards though.
What a great table, so colorful and fun! All the Disney touches made me smile. You better believe a beach towel is a good table covering! Wait till you have gkids, it will be even better! Love those colorful dishes!
Thanks for taking part in the whimsy challenge, excellent entry!
What a fun table, Linda! Can you believe I’ve never ever been to Disney? We don’t have children, so just never went. Perhaps we need to rethink that. ‘-)
Your dishes and details are adorable. I like to use beach towels for summer tables too. They are full of color and easy to clean. No ironing needed!
Congratulations to your son. What an accomplished young man.
Wow! I adore every minute of this. I can hardly wait for Beatrice Emaline to be old enough to go to Disney. I see a whole bunch of your magical kingdom tabletop items in my future. Thanks for inviting us for a peek. Cherry Kay
Hi Linda, Oh wow, your are having a busy and delightful summer. Congratulations to your son Matt, what a wonderful achievement and you must be so proud. Good reason, graduation and engagements to have some fun and Disney is great at that. Just ask my grandson (6) about loving to go there! Love the disney themed lunch, what a great idea. Love patterns of those ears and colors. Of course I love all designs from you, always fabulous. Great selfie too, love seeing family snaps. Enjoy the rest of your summer…………Hugs
Oh what a fun tablescape! And a fun trip you had it Disney for sure! I love the plates and my grandkids are just enjoying the sale and pepper shaker right now with me. Being with my grandkids right now in FL, all we ever do is watch Disney….Christine
Hi Linda, Popping in to check on you after I read the comment you left Jain. I’m struggling and feeling overwhelmed too, the weather totally uncooperative! I just got started, it took 3 days to cook and photograph one with all the pop up storms and my hectic schedule. I was feeling completely uncreative and zapped after moving and then I’ve had two sets of company visiting. I’m hoping I can work on one a week, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise 🙂 I won’t stress if you won’t, I know whatever you do will be great!
Busy, busy summer, but what fun you had! I love the table with all of its bright, bright colors. We love Disney too and the Wilderness Lodge is so great. Your selfie is adorable with those two “strangers” photo bombing it!
In all of Blogland, I’ve never seen such a colorful, fun and ADORABLE table. You did sooo good on this. I so love the relaxed feeling here…
I’ve never been to Disney….but would love to go sometime.