Planning and Packing for DLP

Planning and Packing for DLP

January 15, 2024

 

How to plan and what to pack for Disneyland Paris in January

Just a couple more days and we will travel back to our second home in the world, Disneyland Paris. I can't wait to visit the place again. This trip was not supposed to happen since we have a very expensive holiday planned in the summer, but my sister and I realized we could not go without a Disneyland Paris trip for more than a year. So in October, we decided to book this very short trip of two days and one night. Today I thought it would be helpful and fun to share with you how we planned and what we packed for our trip. 

How did we plan our trip?

Booking

We booked our hotel and tickets through the official Disneyland Paris website. We really like booking there and when you book far ahead the price is not too bad. You often have discounts and we always try to stay away from the very busy periods. So checking out their website and keeping track of when they have discounts is a very good tip when you want to book for a good price. On the website, you can easily see when the busy periods are and with the help of the app, you can keep track of your booking very quickly.

We like to go in January. The weather is not too bad and it is not too busy in the parks. And don't forget the SALE! This always starts in the second week of January, so going around that time can help with buying merchandise for a nice price😉  

Hotel

This time we are spending the night at Santa Fe, it is one of the cheapest hotels and we really like it, especially for a short stay. In the end, we will only sleep here and not spend a lot of time on the property. With just a short walk or the bus, you are easily able to access the parks. 

We also decided to try out Disney Express for the first time, since this time we are going by train instead of the car. Disney Express means that we will be able to check in and leave our luggage at the train station. We will get our tickets for the parks and hotel key and they will take care of bringing our luggage to the hotel. We have never done this before, so this is going to be a new experience which we are really excited about.  

Travel

As I mention before we are going by train. We will take the Eurostar at Rotterdam Sation and arrive at Marne La Vallée. The train will get there at 11:00 o'clock, so we will have almost a full day on Friday in the parks. Saturday we leave at 18:42 and will be home around 22:00 in the evening. Perfect times if you ask me. 

For a short trip I prefer the train since the travel time is shorter than by car, but when we go for three or more days the car definitely has my preference since you can leave whenever you want. 

For our trip, we have already checked how to get to the station and the alarm clocks have already been set to make sure we don't forget to leave on time. 

Our two days

We have not planned everything on our two days from hour to hour. But we have checked the shows, and everything we want to see and do. So we have a little bit of planning for each day. 

Day 1

On our first day, we want to see the two shows: Disney Electrical Sky Parade and Disney Dreams. Since we can't see these shows on Saturday. 

Day 2

On our last day, we plan to get to the park early and make sure we can travel to Neverland by riding the Peter Pan attraction, after that, we want to do Big Thunder Mountain and get breakfast in the Park.

There are also a couple of shows we want to prioritize; Disney Stars on Parade, Together: a Pixar Musical Adventure, and Frozen a Musical Invitation.

For the rest of the days, we will plan this mostly on the train by checking the weather, show times, and waiting times for the attractions. This way we will plan and see what we will do each day. We are flexible and don't like to stick too much to timetables. When something changes or we can't see something this will be fine. 

What did we pack for our trip? 

So what do we bring with us to DLP in January? For this, I always start by checking the weather! It is going to be cold, but dry so that means warm clothes and no worries about everything else. 

Before I pack I like to make a list that I divide into three categories:

Backpack, Overnight Bag, and Toiletry Bag. 

For each of the categories, I make a list of what to bring. This I will include down the line, but first, my essential items that I always take with me in the winter: 

Backpack

• Lip balm and hand cream, because of the cold this gets dry very quickly. 
• Tissues, always come in handy and my nose tends to water more of the cold... really annoying...
• Sunglasses, yes I know it is not warm, but the sun tends to be very bright on winter days so this can come in handy. 
• passport
• wallet with not only my backpass but also so cash, insurant card and credit card.
• photo camera
• medicine (birth control, vitamins and painkillers)
• a pen and autograph book
• pins for trading
• daycream, my face tends to get very dry in this weather and I feel it helps my face if I apply it for a second time during the day when it is this cold and freezing. 
• gloves and hat
• public transport card (to travel to our train station)
• glasses 

Overnight Back

• Thermal shirt and leggings, thermal socks, 2 hats, and 2 pairs of gloves ( 2 pairs in case I lose 1...) for the cold. 
• charger for my phone
• tickets for the train, I like to print or download these in case my internet doesn't work.
• a book, so I have something to do in the train.
• slippers for in the hotel room
• underwear
• extra pair of socks, underwear, shirt, sweater and leggings. Just in case something gets dirty or ruined during the day and this way I can change into different clothing for the second day if I want to. 

Toiletry Bag

• dry shampoo, so I don't have to get up early to wash my hair. And in the winter it takes too long to dry. 
• Body milk
• day and night cream
• toothbrush and toothpaste
• tea tree oil, for spots on my face
• mascara, eyebrow pencil, eyeliner
• deodorant
• elastics for my hair
• face gel
• makeup remover
• earrings 
• I do not bring shower gel with me, they have this in the hotel room and I do not bring any face makeup. Because the weather is so cold and freezing, my face does not react very well in this weather when I have bb-cream or foundation on. So I prefer not to bring this since I won't use it

So these are all the things I take with me for just two days. It are just the essentials since we will only be there for a short time. 

I hope this will help you with planning or packing your DLP trip. if you have any questions let me know! 

 Love, Julie

My Reading Goals for 2024

My Reading Goals for 2024

January 8, 2024

Not only did I make New Resolutions for 2024, but I also made some reading goals that I would love to share! I love planning, and planning my reading is definitely something I love to do. I have been thinking about it for the last few weeks and finally made my goals which I intend to keep for the rest of this year. 

Keeping up with my reading goals is at least something that I can do. I quite often get so enthusiastic about them that I try to beat myself at my goals or even complete them before the end of the year. Just as for my life goals I decided to keep the list short. I didn't want to make the list too long as I also decided to cut back on my amount of reading. This way I am still able to mood read and pick up whatever I want, without having to feel as if my goals completely take over my TBR. 

Because I have done this before and I highly recommend not to do so. I get that when you make your goals it looks better/cooler and it is even easier to keep track if you read from every goal 12 a year. But I want to cut back on my reading a bit. Last year I read 101 books, and this was a lot! Amazing...but a lot. So I don't want my goals to overshadow my TBR and since I am a little bit of a mood reader I want to keep room each month for books that I feel like reading at that time. 

Now let's get to my goals. Just like for my life goals, I made a list of 6 total. In my reading journal, I am planning on keeping track of all of them.

1. Read 70 books

For my Goodreads goal, I plan to read 70 books in 2024. As I mentioned earlier I want to cut back a little bit on my reading so I have time for some other things. 70 is still a lot but I do feel this will give me some room to get back on my stuff that I did not do in 2023 because of all the reading... I do however plan to keep this goal a little less serious than normal, so that means if I want to adjust it during the year I will. But we will see if that happens...

2. 1 French book a month

Last year I started by reading more French to kind off keep practicing the language. I noticed that after moving back to the Netherlands my French got a little neglected and I had a little more trouble getting back into it when I needed it. So I plan to keep going with this in 2024 but then make it a little bit more of a recurring thing. When I say reading a French book I do not mean a book by a French author, but just a book in French. I am planning on doing both, but I will start the year off with a translated book from English to French. 

3. 1 Graphic novel/comic or manga a month

This is a goal I started two years ago and just want to continue. I love reading comics, manga, and graphic novels. So it just makes sense for me to go through with this goal. Especially manga is a genre I just tipped my toes in and I definitely want to try out more different ones in 2024

4. 1 Agatha Christie a month

This is a goal I keep making but I seldom succeed in, but I still want to try! So again for 2024, I would like to read an Agatha Christie novel each month. No idea if I will succeed this year... But I have so many on my shelves that I still hope that this goal will help me get through them all. 

5. 7 Classics novels

Last year I read a lot of fantasy. Which is great and my all-time favorite genre, but I used to love classics just as much. So I feel I neglected this genre way more than I intended to do or ever wanted to do. 7 Books is not a lot, but I don't like to push myself too much. If I want to read more I will do so, but if I only read 7 then I am a happy girl. 

6. 6 Nonfiction novels

For my last goal, I would like to read more nonfiction. This is a genre that I seldom read. Most of the time I read magazines or articles online, but a whole book is something else. I have some nonfiction on my shelves that I would like to get to, but I also like the idea of getting some books from the library. I don't really have a topic in mind that I want to pay extra attention to, but history, wicca, and film are probably topics I will read more about since I have this at home. 

So these are all my reading goals for 2024. I think six is manageable and 70 books should be doable, but only time will tell. What do you think of my reading goals? Did you make some reading goals for yourself this year? Let me know in the comment section!

Love, Julie

My New Year Resolutions for 2024

My New Year Resolutions for 2024

January 5, 2024

May we all have our hopes, our will to try

If we don't we might as well lay down and die

- ABBA, Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!!!

2024 has just started so that means I am making my New Year resolutions! I love making these every year, but I do tend to forget about them halfway through the year... Hopefully, this year I will be better. 

Because I do not have the best track record in keeping up with all my resolutions, I decided to make the list short and doable this year. This will hopefully make it easier to remember and also it will not feel as overwhelming as it sometimes does. Because when I make the list I tend to get so enthusiastic about it that I just keep going. Who doesn't want to do everything in one year?  

So this year the list is shorter than I normally make. I also decided to put a tracking list in my reading journal for all my goals. Hopefully, this will help me to keep track and remind me of what I want to achieve in 2024. 

I made a total of six goals for things I want to get to in my life in 2024. Some will be easy and others will definitely take some effort. So let's see what my plans are 😇

1. Keep saving Money

Saving money has been my priority for over 5 years... First, it was to pay off my college debt and now it is to buy a house. So the priority for this goal is just as high as ever. 

I keep track of this on my bank account (obviously), but I also keep track of my expenses every month. Everything that comes in, everything that goes out, and how much I can save. This seems to work perfectly for achieving this goal. So I plan to keep up with this also in 2024. 

2. Yoga once a week

I don't like sport. So when it comes down to exercising, I do this at the minimum. Yoga is one way of exercising that I like. I do this at home with an app on my tablet and this is a lot of fun. However lately I have been neglecting this a lot, so I want to get back in doing this once a week and I would like to keep track of it as well. Preferably I do this at least twice a week or even more, but since I only do it whenever I want at the moment (which hasn't been for weeks). Once a week seems to be a big improvement. So I figured I should start slow and I will see if I will increase the amount during the year. But once a week is a must, I think.

3. Stay positive

This is going to be hard to keep track of, but I would like to try. I feel that lately, I tend to be more fixed on the negative things in my life. Even the small things. 

And I don't like this. I want to get my focus back on everything that makes me happy and I do not want to pay attention to everything that annoys me or is negative. 

How am I going to do this? No idea. Great! 

I will try to see if I can find things online or at the library that might help me with this. As soon as I know how I will try to attempt this I will let you know! If you have any tips for me, please let me know in the comment section down below!

4. Keep up with my journaling

I always want to keep up with my journal, but there are moments I am really good at this and times when I fail miserably. So this year I want to make this more of a priority. Just to make it a little bit more difficult for myself, I do not plan to keep track of one, but three... Because why make it simple? 

So I plan to keep track of not only my daily journal but also my reading journal and a gratitude journal. 

The last one I got in a surprise box once and I have never used it. It's a waste and I do think it might be fun to keep track of this. The idea of this journal is that you daily stand still by everything that made you happy or grateful during the day. These things can be big or just small ones. I do think this might help me to stay more positive as well, by thinking at the end of the day only about everything that made me happy. I will keep you updated if this works😉

5. Start writing a book 

Keeping track might be a bit difficult, because when does starting writing a book really count? The idea has been in my head for years. And I have put some things on paper. But I really want to make an effort with this. More than just an idea. 

I don't know if I will ever share it with the world, or if it will be any good. But I would like to at least get my idea/story written down from the beginning until the end. 

So just as with all the other goals. I will let you know.  But this time probably not sooner than the end of the year. 

6. Post 1 blog post a week

My final goal is to keep blogging. I have blogged in the past, but I have never kept blogging for a year. So why not start now? I have so many things I want to share with you all that I do think I have enough ideas for a year or even more. Challenging myself by uploading every week at least once should help me to keep blogging. A perfect last goal I think. 

These are all my goals for 2024! I really hope that I will be able to keep track of everything, but we will see. I promise to let you know at least at the end of the year and maybe even sooner! Do you think I will be able to keep up with my goals? And what are your goals for 2024? 

                                                                        Love, Julie

What to read in January?

What to read in January?

December 31, 2023

 

The first month of the year is here... So what are my plans this month when it comes to reading? 

This month I am definitely leaning more toward the fantasy genre, with a Poirot to change things up a little bit. 

Crescent City, by Sarah J. Maas, deserves a reread especially since the last installment of the trilogy will arrive somewhere in February. I am planning on rereading books one and two. This way I will be completely into the story when book 3 arrives. At the moment this is one or maybe even my top one favourite series. So I can't wait to pick it up again. I am not sure when I will start reading book 2. Maybe I will pick it up at the end of January or at the beginning of February. I do plan to read back to back and hopefully finish just in time when book three arrives. 

Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince, by J.K. Rowling, still needs to be reread... Yes, another reread... At the end of 2022 I started rereading Harry Potter and somehow last year I stopped after The Order of the Phoenix. This of course can't do. I really want to finish my reread this year, so book six needs to be read. 

Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros, is the first installment of The Empyrean series. It was on my anticipated release list for 2023, but since everyone seems to either hate or love it, I was a little nervous to read it. But thanks to my work Christmas gift, I bought not only book one but also book two. So I am nervous and excited at the same time. I am so curious to see what the hype is about and I really hope that I will love this one. My special edition is really beautiful and it would be a shame if I didn't like it... But we will see!

For my reading goals, which I will share with you at the end of the week. I will be reading a comic, a book in French and an Agatha Christie. 

For the Comic I will read a very short one. Loving Reaper, by Jenny Jinya. I have been following her instagram for ages and I am in love with her artwork and heartbreaking stories. So I can't wait to read this one. 

For an Agatha Christie I am picking up The A.B.C. Murders. I love her work and I just want to read everything she has ever written. I know this has Poirot in it and more than that I do not want to know. It will be bloody and thrilling I have no doubt. 

Last but not least I really want to read the sequel to A Touche of Darkness, by Scarlett St. Clair. I really need to know what happens next with Hades and Persephone. I really enjoyed the first and I am curious to see what happens next. I bought the first three books in French, so I will be reading them in French. 

So these are all the books I hope and plan to read in January. I will keep you updated on my Instagram and maybe post one or two reviews on here. Let me know which book you really want to read my opinion😊

Love, Julie