Lifestyle – Page 2 – The Hustlin’ Homemaker

What’s In My Bag | Disney Park Day

Hello! We recently took a trip to Disney World, and I thought it would be fun and helpful to show you what to pack for a day at the parks! Usually park days are super long, so having a lot of items with you is crucial to making the most of your day. We were packing for a family of four; me, my husband, and our two girls, ages 10 and 7.

Here’s what we packed!

First off, my backpack. I chose to take this pink Jansport backpack with me because it is washable and I wouldn’t have to worry about it getting dirty or wet while on the rides. The straps are really comfortable to carry all day and it’s just easy with the two compartments. One big one in the back and a small one in the front that actually fits quite a lot.

The two things that took up the most room in the backpack were our rain ponchos and cooling towels.

If you aren’t familiar with Florida’s weather, you might not know that it rains a lot in the summer. Seeing as Disney’s tickets are non-refundable, you’re not going to let a little rain stop you from enjoying the park. Disney has these for purchase at the gift shops, but they’re much cheaper on Amazon. I have a two pack of children size and a two pack of adult size. Luckily, we did not have to use them, but didn’t want to take the chance!

Next are these cooling towels. These are a must if you go to Disney in the summer, you just wet them, wring them out, and then throw them around your neck. Instant coolness. They also do sell these in the gift shops too with cute mickeys all over them.

You gotta have the proper headwear! I packed all of us a cap just so our faces wouldn’t get sunburned, but we did wear our ears most of the time! I found these ears on Etsy because we wanted to have them before we went to the park. The girls even wore them in the airport 🙂

Sunscreen is a must! I have a cream face sunscreen here SPF 50 and then also a spray on with SPF 50. We all used these and reapplied often and did not end up sunburnt!

Also, you really want to have bandaids on hand, not only if someone were to get hurt but because BLISTERS! Luckily, we did not have to use these because we all wore comfy shoes and socks. Always good to have these in the bag though.

Medicine! I have to take Dramamine when I travel because I have extreme motion sickness. Planes, Ubers, the monorail, and the rides all make me feel ill, but Dramamine really does help me a lot. If I take one in the morning I’m good for the rest of the day. I also packed some Tylenol and threw some chewable Tylenol in this container for the girls. You never know if someone will get a headache and you don’t want it to ruin their day.

Sunglasses are a must if you can’t see in the sunlight (me!) and then also this little re-chargeable fan is awesome to have. I originally bought this for me to use while watching my girls tennis practices and matches, but it came in so handy at Disney for us!

Also, face masks – when we went to Disney face masks were not required, but we still wore them inside shops and monorail and Ubers. I know they are requiring masks now everywhere at Disney.

A couple more things – I packed a little wallet with my cash, license, credit card and our park passes. Also, some extra ponytails and a lip balm.

Disney does allow you to bring in food, so keep that in mind – you are able to bring in snacks and bottles of water, just not any ice chests. Packing water is a good idea so that you don’t have to buy it there.

So that is what we packed for Disney park days! It wasn’t too much and it’s so nice to bring a backpack so you’re hands free!

Thanks for reading! xx

New Hobby | Hand Lettering

I have started a new hobby that I am so excited about! I have always loved writing and being creative, so I thought I would try out hand lettering. Hand lettering is basically just modern calligraphy. I love this style of writing and always wanted to learn how to do it.

I purchased some things from Amazon. Two tablets and a package of pens. After doing some research, I realized that you have to have the right pens to do this type of writing.

These pens come in a two-pack. They have bigger packs, but I figured two would be good enough to get started. These pens are bendy at the tip so you can push harder on your paper to make a thicker line, and less pressure for a thin line. Really cool!

I also wanted to purchase kind of like an adult handwriting tablet, you know like the kinds kids use when they’re learning their letters? Well, they had it! This one was the prettiest.

It takes a while to get used to putting pressure on the pen and then letting the pressure off, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it! I can’t wait until I get good at it and create some projects!

I also purchased this book, Hand Lettering 101. It tells you everything you need to know, tips on how to hold your pen, and some special projects you can try. It also has spaces to practice your letters.

I find hand lettering to be calm and relaxing, kind of like adult doodling. It’s something that I can teach my girls, and gives us a new thing to do together.

It’s never too late to learn a new skill or hobby! I’ll take a good hobby over Netflix any day.

Have you tried out hand lettering?

Thanks for reading xx

July Faves

Hello! I’ve got some new faves to share! I can’t believe it is the end of July – and life still isn’t back to normal…but at least we have some cool products to distract us with…?

Ok, here they are!

First off, this amazing all-in-one palette! This is the Charlotte Tilbury Instant Look in a Palette in Gorgeous Glowing Beauty. This palette has three eye colors, a bronzer, two blush colors, and a highlight. This has everything you need to get the prettiest glow. Charlotte Tilbury’s products never disappoint.

A few more makeup products – this Pacifica lip gloss in Beach Kiss. This is the prettiest rose gold gloss that is so shimmery! It’s not sticky and it lasts. Love the color!

This brown gel pencil eyeliner from Maybelline is so smooth and STAYS. I love this even more than my beloved UD Demolition pencil. I use this on my lashline and tight line, and it just looks more natural and softer than using a black liner. It is actually really difficult to remove, but makeup remover takes it off. Love it.

Here are some swatches:

You know I had to include a nail color!

This is Essie Model Citizen, the perfect hot pink creme color! So summery and pretty! Love the Gel Couture line. Opaque in just two coats.

Next, a jewelry cleaner, because this thing is SO COOL. It’s like one of those twist up brush tip lip glosses. You twist it up, wet it, and brush it all over your jewelry. I use this on my wedding ring and it makes it look like when the jeweler cleans it!

Lastly, a bubble bath, because we all need some SELF-CARE.

I love this Dr. Teals Foaming Bath, but had never tried this scent. It smells sweet with the almond oil and is so moisturizing. It also makes a ton of bubbles!

So, that is it for the faves! What have you been loving this month?

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Thanks for reading! xx

Reading Wrap Up | July

It’s the end of July! I have finished my three books for the month, and they were all good picks. I read two mystery type books, and one historical fiction book. Here are my reviews.

The Dilemma by B.A. Paris

This book was a new release from one of my favorite authors. I pre-ordered it back in February and I was so excited for it to finally arrive.

This book was about a woman who has been planning a huge party for her 40th bday. Her husband wants to surprise her by flying their daughter in to celebrate. The day of the party when she is supposed to be arriving, she doesn’t, and her father doesn’t hear from her. He battles over whether or not to tell his wife, who is also hiding a secret from her husband. The name of the story is The Dilemma because both characters are both facing the dilemma of whether or not to tell the other about their secrets.

This book was really good, but it wasn’t a thriller like I was hoping for. Her other three books are all thrillers, so I thought this one would be too. It was more of a family drama type. It was still good and I would still recommend!

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

I have read a bunch of books from this author, they are usually the mystery drama type, and although this one was a mystery, it was a little bit scary and thriller-like.

This book was about nine people, all strangers, that have chosen to take a retreat to an upscale health resort for 10 days. The book flipped back and forth between all nine perspectives, which I don’t usually like, but it was easy to keep track of them. Each person is there for a different reason, and the lady running the resort is crazy. She asks them to do weird things with a promise that it will help them if they fully immerse themselves in the program.

This book was good, the ending was kind of an open end, and I could totally see this book being made into a movie. Overall it was interesting and I would recommend it!

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

This book was my favorite of the month! If you like WWII historical fiction, you will love this one! It is inspired by true events.

This book was about a girl named Grace who finds a abandoned suitcase in a train station with a bunch photographs of different women. She finds out that the suitcase belongs to a woman who was the leader of a ring of female secret agents. These women were sent to Europe but mysteriously never came back. She learns all about the women and their stories.

This book was so well written and I loved how the women were portrayed. They were brave and courageous, and the book was not graphic at all like some historical fiction novels are.

That’s it for my picks for the month!

What have you been reading lately?

Reading Wrap Up | May

Hello! I am here with some reading recommendations this morning! The books this month are all thrillers, (my fave!) so I hope you like them and please leave your recommendations in the comments for me!

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

This book is about a woman named Cass, who is driving late at night, in the rain, and through the woods. She passes by a stopped car and sees a woman inside who just stares at her. Later after arriving home, she hears that the woman she saw in the car has been murdered. She doesn’t want to tell her husband, because he didn’t want her taking that way home in the first place. She cannot stop thinking about the woman, and weird things start happening, she feels like she is being watched and also loses her memory.

This book totally surprised me at the end with its twist and I really love the books from this author. They are always suspenseful and good.

The Cellar by Natasha Preston

This book was a little bit disturbing, but nothing I couldn’t handle (and I’m a baby). This book is about a 16 year old girl named Summer who is kidnapped. She is blindfolded and taken into a cellar where she finds several other girls. The cellar is like a home, completely furnished and the other girls are nice to her. The man who kidnapped them refers to them as his flowers and wants everything that they do to be perfect, and Summer wonders why they aren’t trying to escape.

This book like I said is disturbing, but it was really interesting to me and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

This book is a classic murder mystery, there is a dead body found at the beginning and the characters are all creepy. A new family has moved into a new neighborhood, a headmaster of a school, his wife, and their son who loves to stare at the neighbors. The street is the type where everyone knows everyone, and everyone watches each other. The story goes between a lot of characters and a lot of point of views to help you to solve the mystery.

Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite authors and I’ve read a lot from her. This book was like the others, a thriller with a twist at the end. I really liked how the police transcripts were included in the story and also the ending took me a minute to figure out, but was very good!

That’s it for this month’s book recs! Leave some in the comments for me!!!

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Thanks for reading xx