Melificent

Why I Love Miami Beach

Not gonna lie, I get pretty annoyed whenever I tell someone I live in Miami, and they automatically think I live on Miami Beach. There is definitely more to Miami than the beach, but being a Miami native, there sure are a lot of amazing memories tied to it. I figured I would share some of my favorite Miami Beach memories and activities for those of you that may be visiting the Magic City soon and may want something that can’t be ticked off a traditional travel to-do list.

  1. Watch a show at The Fillmore.

My 20’s were a time for live music. I basically lived in music venues, with a perma-smile on my face and a beer in my hand swaying to my favorite bands’ music. Now I am lucky if I get to go to a show a year and am gluten intolerant, but I digress. The Fillmore Miami Beach is a beautiful Art Deco building situated on Washington Avenue that has intimately hosted many an amazing act. My most favorite memory here is going to a Justin Timberlake after show where we were resting our elbows on the stage watching JT get down with a seemingly endless amount of energy despite having come straight over to perform after his huge stadium show with Jay Z. Fun fact: I later found out that all the members of *NSYNC were watching from premium seating above.

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MegaCon 2019 + Red Roof Inn: Passion Traveling

One of the joys of being a mom is being able to share the things you love with your children. As I’ve mentioned before, travel is something that my husband and I have cherished, both individually and as a couple since the beginning of time. Pair it with traveling for a passion, such as pop culture conventions, and we are happy campers. I remember the first time I went to San Diego Comic Con: before people slept outside to get into panels, when 4-day badges were $100 and if you attended a panel, you automatically went to meet and greets with the cast. No big. Now, living the con life is not as rare as it used to be and people from all walks of life are traveling to attend their favorite conventions in cities all over the country (and world, really).

Luna’s first convention was Megacon in Orlando last year and she absolutely loved it. I really love Megacon because it has all the perks of large cons while still holding on to the feel of a small one. I think it’s a perfect “gateway con,” and one we’ve enjoyed for years. This year, we opted not to cosplay just for comfort sake, got a photo op with the gift that is David Tennant + saw some amazing vendors and friends.

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Chicago with Kid{s}

Travel. Something we as a duo have always loved. It almost defined us for awhile, always looking for an adventure whether near or far. It personally gives me life to go to new places and have new experiences. To see how other people live. To breathe in a new culture. It was always a romantic notion that I would be able to do this with my little one in tow, and the time had finally come. We had decided to put on the training wheels and take her somewhere that wasn’t too far, that we had traveled to a few times already and that was kid friendly. We ultimately decided on Chicago.

Luna shocked us with her stellar behavior on the plane. I packed her a small backpack with some new toys and activity books (all from the Dollar Store), along with her tablet loaded with her favorite movies and some headphones. I also brought some lollipops to help with the change in pressure during take off and landing. Even with connecting flights, turbulence and no service or bathroom access, she didn’t complain once. We had prepared her a couple of weeks before with these awesome books that I found on Amazon. She knew what to expect, and I think that eased her anxiety.

We stayed at StayPineapple at The Alise, which was SUCH a lovely hotel. It was super central, in The Loop, which is very important when you have a little one in tow. They also have an amazing restaurant and bar (The Atwood), which was great after long days where we were too tired (or the weather was too bad) to look for one to visit. I think Luna loved the hotel more than the city, and would ask to go back to it all the time! She especially loved opening the huge windows and watching the busy city in the morning.

One important lesson we learned was that we cannot travel the same way we used to. It may seem obvious, but our kid is pretty good (as far as 3 year olds go anyways), and is used to our lifestyle, so we thought we could carry on in a new city. Not the case. She found some things to be the actual worst (like Navy Pier, especially when she saw all the fun amusement park rides were shut down or shopping down the Magnificent Mile), would get overtired or overstimulated, and it would result in the most psychotic of tantrums. She doesn’t tend to make these scenes in public so it led to some frustrating and embarrassing moments. Sometimes we had to walk a very long way, only to walk a very long way right back because she was not having it. We had a very loose daily itinerary and didn’t stress when we couldn’t do something or had to leave early. This is so important.

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How to do Disney with a Toddler

While on our most recent trip to Disney, I got a lot of DM’s through Instagram asking me how we do it. We are by no means Disney experts (even though I grew up going to the parks regularly), but we do feel like we have what works for us down. That may not work for you all, but sharing is caring and it just might improve your visit in one way or another!

This year, Luna turns 3, which means she is no longer free at the parks (sniff). I already bought her annual pass and she has her first ever magic band waiting for her, so look out for a lot more Disney content over the next year, which is going to be tons of fun. Before I jump into our tips and tricks, I get a lot of people asking me not only how we do it, but why. It’s viewed as a very stressful vacation for parents, but we look forward to our trips just as much as Luna does. Why? Disney to me represents magic and dreams. It’s everything that is beautiful about childhood, and I want Luna to grow up feeling those things. As most of you know, I haven’t really lost that childlike feeling of wonder, and it’s definitely awakened whenever I see Cinderella’s Castle, the characters or Mickey-shaped treats. I want Luna to experience those feelings of magic and imagination, and I want her to hold them close as she gets older, and to me, it all starts here.

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Diagon Alley Visit

I hope all of you survived the Mercury Retrograde unscathed. I can’t necessarily say I did, but thankfully I closed it out with a visit to Diagon Alley in Orlando! I had been ridiculously excited to see what they had done with the expansion, and I was not disappointed. The new park is perfection. The best part is, I’m pretty sure we only touched on all the amazing nooks and crannies of the place. I can’t wait to go again and see everything else we missed!

The butterbeer ice cream was probably the only disappointment. Granted, I was downing a frozen butterbeer right before I tasted it, so I don’t know if the two flavors competed with each other, but it just tasted like vanilla ice cream topped with caramel. Pretty bland. Otherwise, everything was on point. Knockturn Alley was a definite highlight of mine. I always mentioned that the deatheaters presence was not made known when we only had Hogsmeade, so I’m really really happy they brought a little darkness to the park. Without it, there would be no Potter.

I also really liked visiting Ollivanders. I feel like their wand selection and quality improved (especially with the new addition of interactive wands). It was a pretty magical experience. We all ended up taking home wands, but it was such a tough decision for all of us. I finally settled on Luna, which brought us all to thinking who we really are in the Potter universe in comparison to who we’d like to be. As much as I admire Hermione and her intelligence, quick wit and independence, I know I am 100% Luna. Quirky, weird, fiercely loyal and loving.

And this is what I wore!

Gryffindor crop tank; Forever 21
Layer tank; Marshalls
Shorts; Old Navy
Socks; Hot Topic {eBay}
Sneakers; Forever 21