Cost Saving Tips for a Disney World Vacation – For a Family of 6!

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Disney World is expensive, like really, really expensive. But I’ve learned a LOT of tips and tricks over the years to make it affordable. We have four children and we’ve been able to take them every year for four years. I recently decided to start a DISNEY category to my blog so I can share some of the tips that I’ve gathered through the years, and also share some of the special events we’ve done and what it was like, so check back.

So the first thing I want to share is some of my tips and tricks for saving money.

disneybudget1. This is going to be an obvious one that I’m sure you’ve heard of before but Undercovertourist.com is a great place to get your Disney World tickets. You can save a little bit of money versus buying them at Disneyworld.com or at the gate. And I would suggest you do that as soon as possible. I buy mine usually 8-10 months in advance because you never know when Disney will do a ticket increase so it’s best to get them before that could potentially happen.

2. We ALWAYS stay off Disney property. It is way cheaper and so much better! We usually stay either at the Sheraton Vistana Resort or the Sheraton Vistana Villages. They are the same except about a 1-2 miles apart and sometimes the Villages is a little cheaper. I pay $150 a night for a 2 bedroom villa. It has a washer/dryer, full kitchen, living room, dining room, two bathrooms, whirlpool tub and a great patio that overlooks a fountain. So after an exhausting day at Disney, we put the kids to bed, take a soak in the whirlpool tub and have a glass of wine on the patio. So it is a family vacation but with great moments of relaxing time as parents. I don’t think we’d enjoy our trip quite as much if we were in one of those “family” rooms at Disney with a couple of beds and a pull out all bunked together. I like being able to go into a bedroom and shut the door. We are staying at a new resort this year that is three bedrooms and allows dogs and it’s $160 a night. I’ll do a separate blog about the resort because I have a lot of tips of tricks for saving money on that. And also great pictures of the room and resort.

3. Costumes – little girls LOVE dressing up in costume at the parks and I usually have a whole suitcase dedicated to costumes. My two youngest are 4 and 6 and they dress up as a different character every day we’re there. Never, ever, ever, ever buy costumes at Disney World. They cost about $80-125 just for the dress, no accessories. It is ridiculous. You can buy the same princess dress on disneystore.com and shop for them when they’re on sale. I usually scoop up a bunch right after Halloween when they’re 40% off but they also have them at other parts of the year for 40% as well. So you can get that beautiful Cinderella dress for $30 versus $100. I like the Disney Store costumes over the ones they sell at Target or Wal-Mart. I just feel like the Disney Store ones are really good quality and wash well. They hold up for lots of wear. This dress was a sale Cinderella dress and I even got her the ring and shoes.

476212900023. Bibbidy Bobbity Bootique – This a little girl’s dream to have her hair and makeup done. They offer packages for $300+ to get the dress and makeup and everything done. BUT if you buy the dress like I said above then you can bring that in and she can change into that and have her hair, makeup and nails painted for $55. They give you a cute little backpack too for that price. For $55 it is totally worth it. You get everything you get with the $300 package minus the dress. We took our then 4 year old on the day of her birthday and you get the birthday sash and button all included in the $55 which makes some incredible pictures.

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476212900004. Park treats – I go to the Dollar Store and buy packages of Disney Princess ring pops and lollipops for $1 for a package of 5. They even had Frozen ones last time. I pack them and load them into my bag so when we’re at the park, I can pull out a lollipop or ring pop and they feel like they’re having a disney treat instead of buying the ones in the store that sell for $3 EACH.

5. Disney shirts – I’ll do a whole other blog post about that. But simply put, you can search Etsy for Disney decals that are iron on with names for $4-5 each and then iron them on a cheap shirt and you have your shirts. It’s totally inexpensive versus trying to have them made. I’ve made them every time and it’s not expensive. I’ll share photos of that later. We have done photos not in shirts and it just doesn’t look as cute. This year when we went for Halloween I used one of our photos to make Christmas cards. Put a cute little border around it and Christmas cards were done.

xmascard6. Food – since we stay off property we go to Wal-Mart and buy groceries….breakfast foods, water, drinks, snacks and pack our kitchen. Our kids have breakfast in the morning and then I load a cooler with water, soda, juice and a bag of all kinds of protein bars, goldfish, cheez-its and maybe one sweet treat. I have my little girls Disney Store cups that I buy in store or online beforehand ($4 for any character with screw on lid and straw) and I bring MIO or Kool-Aid water flavorings. Pour in my bottled water or use the water fountain, add water flavoring and they’re all set. I also bring a box of Capri-Suns. You can’t beat $1.90 for a box of 10. If you want a soda or water at Disney, $3. That’s so expensive and when you’ve got 6 people that will add up to a fortune in drinks for one day.

So that’s probably my biggest savings. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON DRINKS AT DISNEY! Bring them in a cooler and you will easily save $50+ a day!

7. Eat before you get the park. We usually stop at Golden Corral at about 11:00am and just bulk up. It’s an all you can eat buffet and they have everything, including an incredible salad bar. They have ice cream and a chocolate fountain and the kids can eat and have their ice cream and they can go to the park full. And they’re not going to ask for the expensive Disney ice cream because they just had ice cream and treats. We have tried some quick service dining at the park and I’ll do a separate post about that. There are some good affordable places I’d like to share.

IMG_16058. Drive or Fly – this really depends on where you live. We’ve done both. Living in upstate NY we drove the first time and it was 19 hours straight so we had to do it in two days. It was a looooonnng drive. We flew twice after that but it’s expensive and you have to factor in a rental car. This year we are driving because we live in Texas now so the drive is 13 hours and we can do that in a day without having to stop over. And we can save money not having to rent a car. I have rented a mini-van for $250 for 5 days and last year for $400 for 8 days. Shop expedia.com for the best prices. Make a reservation and then keep checking. I reserved at $500 and then found somewhere cheaper a couple days before our trip for $380. It seems to be cheaper the closer you get. If you drive, bring lots of electronics and your sense of humor because you’ll need it! lol

DSC057799. Buying – Now I won’t lie, we do buy stuff there. I love to get a new ornament at the ornament shop in Magic Kingdom. And I love finding cute kitchen things like a Mickey spatula. But little things like Disney princess stickers, coloring books, a disney swimsuit or shirts, I buy those beforehand and pack them as little gifts during the trip. Disney stickers and activity books I buy at the dollar store. Those are great surprises when you’re on the car ride or plane ride. Swimsuits or shirts on sale at Disneystore.com or at Target. You also can create some great Disney shirts with those $4 decals I mentioned earlier. I’ve also done Disney flip flops and sunglasses for the girls. Lots of cute little pre-Disney gift buying you can do to save a fortune so your little ones are not wanting everything they see since they already have that special gift you had packed. Last year I bought Anna and Elsa dolls for $10 and packed them and gave them right before we went to the park. They carried them around all day and didn’t ask me to buy them the same doll that was selling for $25. So think ahead and buy ahead. It will save you at least 50%.

10. Disney Pin Collecting – my two oldest have done this a couple of times. It hasn’t been something they’ve wanted to do every time but here’s a great trick if your child wants to do it. Go on amazon and buy Disney pins. You can get 12 pins for like $6. They have listings for 30 pins for $15. So depending on how many kids you have wanting to do this it can save a ton of money. They are authenticate Disney pins! Otherwise you’re paying $4-8 for ONE pin at Disney World. Amazon doesn’t have them listed specifically so you don’t know what you’re getting other than authenticate Disney pins. But who cares which ones you’re getting because they’re just trading them for better pins anyway! So save money and buy them beforehand and then have them trade them at Disney for the ones they really want! The pins on my son’s lanyard was from amazon.

MK_TSFAIRIESACHAR_708521819711. Plan Ahead! Plan Ahead! Plan Ahead! – I think I’ve probably said this a million times but if you plan ahead for things then you’re not hemorrhaging money. We have had one trip where it rained A LOT and it was miserable. Pack umbrellas and buy ponchos at the dollar store. Trust me. You don’t want to be stuck in one of those horrible rains Florida can have out of nowhere and have to either wait it out or buy the $12 crappy Disney poncho. It was definitely a lesson learned and I plan ahead in case of this now. So on one trip, me and my older two went alone late one night when the little girls were too tired to stay any longer and I had our umbrellas and ponchos in a backpack and thank god for that because we came out of an indoor ride to torrential rain. People were huddled under awnings just waiting. I covered us in our ponchos and umbrellas and we walked to the next ride. You could tell what people were thinking seeing us “Why didn’t I think of that?!”

Let me also add that I have stayed on property with my daughter a couple of years ago when she went for cheer. We stayed on property and didn’t have a car so we had to buy EVERYTHING at Disney. I hemorrhaged so much money just between the two of us and was shocked. It also confirmed how affordable you can make this trip with what I’ve learned, especially with a large family.

I’ll elaborate through other posts on dining, the bootique, the special events, Halloween, Christmas, and hotels. 🙂 Hope this helped you plan your Disney vacay! It really is the happiest place on earth!

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Limoncello Recipe – Old School Italian

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A couple of years ago, my husband and I wanted to make Limoncello. He is Italian and it’s quite a traditional drink. Me being not Italian enjoyed it as a martini mixer. Ladies, think Lemon Drop Martinis….yum! I looked online and found a lot of “quick recipes” for it that called for 5 days or less. And after lots of research on old school Italian methods we found the traditional method produced high quality Limoncello. We certainly have taste tasted it with friends who are not Italian and every one loves it!

imageThis batch called for 1.5L of Everclear and about 8-10 lemons, depending on size. Organic lemons are best because they don’t have that waxy pesticide yuck on the outside and since you’re only using the peel, you want the very best. I use a micrograter which I believe I got at Target. You only want to remove the yellow portion, NO WHITE. The more white you put in the more tart and bitter it becomes. Some recipes take a standard peeler and peel the rind off…no. You want smooth and delish and not bitter.

imageNow you’re going to take that micro grater and zest your little heart out.

imageIt should cure in a glass container. I use this one from Wal-Mart for about $6 and I usually tape the lid to give it a good seal. But you can use large Ball Mason Jars, which I’m now using. Now you let it sit for 45 days! Yes, 45 days! A lot of people don’t wait….I know your Momma told you that good things come to those who wait! So wait. It will be worth it.

In 45 days you’re going to strain it.

imageAnd you’re going to make a simple syrup. For 1.5L of Everclear I make 5 cups of water with 4 cups of sugar. You cook until the sugar is clear in the water.

imageAnd then I generally add it until I’m not feeling like I’m shooting out fire from my lungs. You want smooth. On this batch I added it all!

imageTaste testing is the fun part. You then bottle it and store it in the freezer for another 45 days, yes, another 45 days. I buy bottles from Ikea and Hobby Lobby and I’ve also found cute ones from Home Goods that are made in Italy. 1.5L makes 2.5 large bottles that can be mixed in martinis, lemonade, or straight.

imageThis is a great mixer. Some of my friends enjoy it just straight. I like it in martinis but I’ve also found it good in sangria. We are working on a batch of lime right now to try with margaritas. We have friends who literally request us making this. It’s fun making something that people enjoy and rave about. Old School Limoncello, love it!

Lilly Pulitzer Employee “Decorates” Office in Fat Shaming Pictures

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The brand Lilly Pulitzer just keeps taking hit after hit and this new information will certainly not help the brand. First with the Target + Lilly brand collab and then with epic fail of that collaboration ending with a lot of upset women over an entire host of issues. And now this…New York’s The Cut Magazine was inside the company’s headquarters at King of Prussia, PA to do a story about the brand entitled “Inside Lilly Pulitzer’s Pink-and-green Headquarters”.

Well, apparently, pink and green and bright summer prints are not the only things that decorate the walls of Lilly Pulitzer. Posted on the fridge, surrounded by Lilly prints and other images were some pretty disgusting pictures of overweight women with equally shocking captions:

“Just another day of fat, white, and hideous,” one drawing lining the fridge reads. “You should probably just kill yourself.” The accompanying image features an overweight blonde woman wearing jeans and an unflattering top.

The second drawing depicts another overweight woman with a saggy stomach and sad expression wearing a bikini. “Put it down carb face,” the caption reads.

lilly-pulitzer-08.nocrop.w1800.h1330.2xClearly whoever drew these probably was not thrilled that Target + Lilly offered a plus size line.

Jane Schoenborn, a spokesperson for Lilly Pulitzer, issued a statement on Tuesday, May 26. “These illustrations were the work of one individual and were posted in her personal work area,” the rep told the news outlet. “While we are an employer that does encourage people to decorate their own space, we are a female-dominated company and these images do not reflect our values. We apologize for any harm this may have caused.”

I think regardless of personal workspace, I couldn’t imagine posting something like this within the office and it being construed as “decoration”. And if it is on a fridge, wouldn’t that be a public location? Regardless of location, it was clear and visible to the magazine, which means and it’s clear and visible to any and all female employees. And then these employees are the ones developing “classy” dresses for the southern elite. Encouraging women to hate themselves for being overweight that they should just kill themselves? I think it’s disgusting. And I think the statement just doesn’t really own up to the responsibility of the company. I think a company that is based on hating oneself for not fitting into “their” ideal of the perfect body is not a company built on class.

310 Nutrition Review – Part 2

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Part 1 on 310 Nutrition

It’s been awhile since I posted my first review for 310 Nutrition and I wanted to share my new favorite recipe. I’ve been using 310 Nutrition now for 5 months, off and on. I have not gone back to my old protein powder. I think 310 is incredible quality, high nutrition and just tastes good.

I typically go back to my protein drinks when I’m feeling chubby and lethargic from bad eating. My original goal was to be able to drink two shakes before dinner when I first started in January, and I now can say I have been using 310 Nutrition every day, twice a day for 9 days straight. And I feel amazing! I’ve lost 5lbs which isn’t even really my focus. I’ve been in a very cleansing spirit with my diet and 310 has fit in nicely with that. In fact I just made another order for more powder. One bag is about $75 with shipping and that’s 28 servings. Chocolate is my favorite.

Okay, so here is my new FAVORITE recipe:

First, I always start with a cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk. Right now, I also add a cup of water because of Colon Green tablets I take (it is a gentle colon cleanser and it adds probiotics into the intestine). So you need the extra water when you’re taking it so it flushes through the system easier. So you don’t have to add extra water, but I like to add a little water even without the Colon Green so that my shake is bigger and I’m getting extra water in.

imageHere are the supplements that go in my morning shake. I have hypothyroidism, so I treat it with an herbal supplement. And I use the 310 THIN which is an appetite suppressant. I open the capsules and pour them in. I am terrible swallowing pillows and this is 6 pills that disappear in my shake and I don’t taste them.

imageimageNext I add about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

imageAbout 1.5 teaspoons of a natural peanut butter.

imageAbout 4 walnuts – these are from Whole Foods and sooooo good!

imageHalf of a frozen banana goes in next (sorry my picture is lost in space somewhere). Frozen is great because it gives your drink that milkshake thickness and nice and cold.

Then a scoop of chocolate 310

imageZap it in the blender and pour it in a cup. It is soooo good! It fulfills my sweet tooth cravings and it’s genuinely something I really enjoy drinking in the morning. I’m really impressed with the quality and taste. I still can’t believe the crap I was drinking before that I “thought” was good for me. Do a side by side of your protein mix and compare it to the 310 shake one. I have a shot of that in my Part 1 post. https://cocoforbeauty.com/2015/01/14/review-of-310-nutrition-shakes-part-1/

imageSo here is the recipe again:

1 cup almond milk

1/2 cup to 1 cup of water (optional)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 walnuts

1.5 tsp peanut butter

1/2 frozen banana

1 scoop chocolate powder

Enjoy!

Cinco de Mayo – The BEST Guacamole Recipe!

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Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow and here is THE BEST guacamole recipe you’ll ever try! Super easy, inexpensive and so good

imageIngredients:

3 avocados

2 tbl red onion

2 tbl cilantro

1 wedge lemon

1/2 lime

1/2 roma tomato

1/2 jalepeno (or to taste)

salt/pepper

Make sure to pick soft avocados for use that day or slightly firmer ones for use later on in the week. Slice in half and chop your knife into the nut. It makes it super easy to take it out.

imageimageScore the avocado like a grid and spoon out into a bowl.

imageimageYou want this to be chunky so you’re not going to mash too much. So just take the back of a spoon and push a little and mix.

imageNow chop up a roma tomato into small pieces. You’ll only need about half of a roma tomato.

imageimageNext dice up the red onion. You’ll need about two tablespoons of the red onion.

imageChop and add about 2 tablespoons of cilantro.

imageI use half of a jalapeno chopped in my guacamole, use more or less depending on how much heat you like.

imageLemon and lime is next. One wedge of lemon squeezed and half of a lime.

imageimage1/2 a teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

imageGrab some tortillas chip and enjoy!!!!

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Summer time means Sangria Time!

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One of my summer pleasures is making a great sangria to sit outside on my deck after a long day in the sun, and just have a fire and drink with friends. I’ve made sangria for years and the recipe has changed but this really is the best of them all. Sangria typically calls for Grand Marnier but now I use a really great sweet Jamaican rum. So here’s my fool proof recipe:

3 bottles good red wine

750 ml sweet rum

Simple syrup (3 cups water and 1/2 cup sugar mixed well)

1 quart strawberries

2 peaches

2 cups cherries

2 limes

1 orange

My biggest piece of advice: be patient! Let it sit for a full 24 hours so everything can marinate. Then right before you serve it, pour 1 liter ginger ale and mix well. Serve and enjoy! Try it out. I know you’ll love it!

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How to Make Beignets

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imageNew Orleans is one of my favorite places to visit. As a kid, my family and I traveled from Texas to New Orleans about 2-3 times a year. My favorite place was always Cafe Du Monde for hot beignets and coffee. Beignets are a french donut, powdered with sugar and served hot. They taste a little like traditional fried dough but better.

I love to make them on the weekends and my kids love eating them. They’re pretty easy to make, especially if you use the box mix that is sold by Cafe du Monde. So here is how to get the yummy taste of New Orleans without having to actually travel there.

imageThis box mixed is sold in most grocery stores. I’ve been able to find it in New York. It is generally sold in the ethnic food section where they have boxed and canned cajun foods. There are other beignet boxed mixes that you can use but this is the best.

It is 7oz of water to every 2 cups of mix. I throw it in my mixer with the dough hook just until lightly sticky. Then I sprinkle the counter with flour and start rolling it out. Sprinkling a little flour on your flattened dough before rolling helps the roller not stick.

imageYou score it with a knife into squares and rectangles.

imageIt does not have to look perfect. Beignets are all perfectly imperfect.

imageHeat your oil until you see it churning in the pot, usually on med-high for 10 minutes before the first batch. Drop them in. They will sink and then rise within 6-10 seconds to the top. Baste them with oil until they bubble up and flip them over. Each batch should only take a couple of minutes until golden color.

imageRemove from oil onto a tray lined with paper towels to soak up any oil and then immediately sprinkle with powdered sugar. You can see a pink polka dot dresses little girl loaming in the background of this photo patiently waiting to eat some! lol

imageServe hot and enjoy!

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Lilly for Target + Essie Nail Polish

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Have you seen the new (I mean old) line of nail polishes by Essie that were released as “Lilly inspired” shades to match the clothing. Before you run out to ebay (who knew they were the third partner in the Lilly for Target collaboration) and spend double, please know that these are NOT new shades based on Lilly Pulitzer prints but old colors with a “Lilly for Target” paper tag attached to the bottle. Did they think no one would notice? I’ve had Borrowed and Blue for a good two years. And Golden Nuggets I bought a few months ago on clearance at Ulta for I believe $3. I feel like people are being taken advantage of with this whole Lilly + Target collaboration. essieI would NOT suggest going to Poshmark or ebay and buying these nail polishes that are listed between $14 and $20 each. It would have been fun if they would have had a real selection of Lilly Pulitzer polishes. Or if they wanted to use old colors then maybe a cool Lilly printed bottle. But if you want those colors, just go to Essie.com and type in the names and they are listed as “in stock” and buyable for $8.50 each minus the Lilly for Target paper tag. I just tested that out on the Essie website. And if you really like blue, I suggest Bikini So Teeny by Essie. It’s a beautiful light blue, and in my opinion, better than Borrowed & Blue. Here are a list of the colors that you can shop for on Essie that were part of the collaboration: Forget Me Not Mesmerized Borrowed & Blue Golden Nuggets Pansey Baby’s Breathe First Timer

The Epic Fail of Lilly + Target

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I came…I saw….I conquered??

I’ve been up ALL night, so bare with me. My grammar may be off, my attitude may be poor, but I wanted to share my trials and tribulations of the EPIC FAIL that is Lilly Pulitzer for Target.

I stalked the lookbook, I had my items written down, categorized by want and….then….all hell breaks loose. I’m sitting, tired, at 1am looking on my Instagram account (cocoforbeauty) when I see people are shopping online. How is that possible?? It hasn’t launched yet! Well, there was a glitch that allowed people to start buying items on their phone at midnight central time. That “glitch” pretty much wiped out all the most coveted items. At 2am, central it launched only to have it crash immediately.

imageI most wanted the Nosie Posey maxi dress so I went for that first, added to my cart and everything crashed a mere two minutes after it launched. Yes, Lilly broke the internet! The site was down more than it was up. It would pop up for brief stretches, and when I say brief I mean 60 seconds. And when it did come back, you found your cart was emptied and almost all the women’s clothing is sold out. How is that possible that a site is down at official launch and when it does come back it’s sold out?? That’s a question a lot of people have.

Between the hours of 2am and 5am I was able to make three separate orders, which contained only a couple items that I originally intended on buying. I ended up focusing on my 4 and 5 year old daughters and got them things since they were in stock and everything I wanted was now gone. I bought four dresses for my girls and two bikinis. For me I got the fan dance beach towel, a pair of flip flops, and a pair of the palazzo pants. These were my online purchases from staying up all night.

lpSo I decided to head into the store and see if I could get any of the things I wanted. At 8:05, my Super Target was wiped. I scored one fan dance scarf. So I headed to another target. Shelves were wiped and peoples carts were overflowing. I aimlessly circled the aisles hoping for something. Who knows! I was delirious from sleep deprivation! I saw a lady with a weekender bag, not the one I wanted, but still something I would like. It looked like she was questioning it. She set it on a display and left. So I got lucky and grabbed it. I scored two items of LP at two Targets.

imageSince she put it in the wrong area, I think that’s why the vultures didn’t descend and rip it to shreds. I’m just NOT that girl. I wanted LP but not enough to push, shove and just generally be mean to get it. I was shocked by the carts of overflowing items. I felt it was really ridiculous. And I guess what bothers me the most is these will probably be on ebay for triple the price. And they are. Ebay is flooded with it. My beach towel that I got for $25 is going for $75. One of the dresses I spent $20 on for my daughter is going for $70. The scarf for $20 is going for over a $100! That is crazy! And so not the point.

imageThe whole point was to get Lilly at a more affordable price. I felt scammed by Target. And I know some people think thats a little overboard. Like, get over it, it’s materialistic. And yes, I understand that. But you build something up for months, stay up all night, have some loophole that allows shoppers in early, people selling on ebay, buying all of one dress and leaving nothing for anyone else, and you walk in the store to find the SMALLEST racks of merchandise I’ve ever seen in my life!! So Target created this nightmare. You give this tiny rack for all these southern women to then become the worst versions of themselves, all in the name of Lilly Pulitzer. Lilly Pulitzer is supposed to be about Southern Chic, Southern manners and class. I saw none of that today.

What did I learn? How about one of the largest lessons to Target, limit to ONE of any item, not FIVE. Especially if you only have five of any one size. If there’s enough product then there wouldn’t be a need for people to grab all the merchandise and sell it three times its original price. I spent $300 and most have to be shipped, but from what I do have, I love. I really love. BUT….and it’s a big but, because was it really worth it? No, it wasn’t. I wasted my Sunday and I’m exhausted and saw the worst side of Target ever. I think the moral of the story is to save your money and just buy the $200 dress. Buy it online, with a glass of wine, buy it in the store where you won’t get an elbow to the eye. And buy it with a smile because you had fun. Shopping is supposed to be fun, not war.

How to Score the Items You Most Want from Lilly Pulitzer

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lily1

We’ve waited patiently for months and the time is here! We are mere hours away from The Lilly Pulitzer for Target launch. But how do you score those items you most covet? Here is a game plan to help you nab those must have items before they sell out.

1. If you are planning a large haul of LP (meaning you nearly want every piece) then I suggest both online AND in-store shopping. Insiders are saying it will launch online sometime between midnight and 2am central time. Stores open at 8:00am and EVERY Target WILL have LP but they will not have all pieces.

2. If you’re only doing in-store shopping then get up early and check online the pieces you most want because then you can check to see what Target will have those items by clicking the “check in store” button. Once it launches online that function will be available. Because even though all Targets will have LP, you don’t want to show up hoping for a maxi and wind up with some bobby pins.

3. If you’re shopping online, go ahead and sign in, grab a glass of wine and wait patiently for the collection to launch. When I say “Sign in” I mean actually sign in to your Target.com account. Don’t have one? Then sign up beforehand, make sure your address is current, your credit card is saved and you’re ready to go.

4. Shopping online – narrow down your MUST HAVE pieces and write them down beforehand so you can go directly to them, put them in your basket and purchase. Go back for the second round of purchases or three or four, but don’t have them sit in your cart only to disappear as soon as you’re ready to checkout because you’re still casually cruising the collection. Cruise the collection now and get ready to be quick.

5. LP for Target is supposed to be available until May 31st but we all know it will be gone quick.

6. Stores open at 8am but I suggest being there an hour before to get the items you want the most. Please be aware that unlike previous launches, all the items will not be lumped together but spread throughout the store in their appropriate area. So if you want the hammock then you should be in the outdoor section.

7. Plus Sizes will be online only.

8. Online shoppers will be limited to five of any one item.

Good luck! Have fun! And I hope you score your most coveted Lilly Pulitzer items!