four seasons orlando review

Earlier this month, my parents and I headed down to Orlando to visit Disney World. If you haven't seen earlier posts, then you've been missing out on my Disney vlogs. I mention in almost every video that we stayed at the Four Seasons Orlando, a first since we usually stay in a Disney resort whenever visiting the parks.

You guys.

I love Disney resorts because the theming is always out of this world. The Four Seasons, for the most part, knocks it out of the park in everything else.

a day at hollywood studios & disney springs

We're nearing the end of my Disney vacation vlogs. But first, we're recapping the rainy day spent at Hollywood Studios and Disney Springs!

With so much construction going on at Hollywood Studios for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land, there's isn't a whole lot to do at this park. You really only need to spend a half day there, if that. We were just there to ride two rides, but got lucky because we got to see Storm Troopers march by and caught the end of the Star Wars show. And if it hadn't been for the rain, we probably wouldn't have been there for more than a few hours.

Make sure to watch my video to see what else we got up to that day, including a few goodies from the World of Disney store!

the best food from epcot food & wine festival

On to another Disney World day!

I've never been to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival so this was quite the treat! ;]

The morning was really spent in Future World, going on rides. This was the first time that I'd been on the new version of Soarin' {loved it} and my first time ever on Living with the Land. The latter has become one of my favorite rides/attractions across all the parks. I'm seriously considering doing the Behind the Seeds tour so that I can get a more in-depth look at everything that grows in Epcot. Amazing that they grow their own produce, right?!

But the real highlight of the day was going around World Showcase for all of the food!

animal kingdom, pandora, & epcot

I hope you all enjoyed the first Disney World vlog I posted! I'm back with day two - Animal Kingdom and Epcot.

I hadn't been to Animal Kingdom in quite some time, mainly because I never really liked it. Clearly I was in the wrong because this park is so fun! Maybe I just completely forgot about Dinosaur {love that ride}, Tusker House {great character dining!}, and the fact that you can see so many animals throughout the park and on a safari. All of those things combined, plus a bunch of other stuff that would just create too long of a list, make this such a great park.

We also visited Epcot for a bit in the afternoon too the Food & Wine Festival. Since I've never visited Disney during the fall or winter, I had no idea what to expect. But the little taste we got that afternoon {do you see what I did there? ;]} made me so excited for a full day at Epcot the next day!

i went to disney world!

If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably saw all of the Disney World pictures I was sharing. Those who know me know that I am a huge Disney fan and have been all of my life. So of course, I was super excited to be there and share it all with you guys!

I just had to bring my camera along so that I could vlog a bit of my trip for you and for my own memories. What can I say? It's hard to not want to capture all the happy moments when you're in the most magical place on earth!

homemade filled chocolates

There isn't a new video today {I'll be back with one next week!} so a fun little recipe will have to do!

I've always thought that making homemade chocolates, especially if they're filled, would be difficult. You need to temper the chocolate. You want them to be shiny. You hope they come out of the molds. You hope they come out of the molds without breaking!

With so many things to worry about, I put off making filled chocolates for a long time. A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to face my fears and just melt some chocolate and see how it goes. I had a silicone Disney ice cube tray laying around and decided that it would be the most perfect mold for my first attempt at homemade filled chocolate. If they didn't turn out, at least they were cute, right?

Jokes on me because homemade filled chocolate are the easiest thing in the world to make! So easy in fact that once you read through this recipe, you'll want to do it yourself.

pack with me for disney world!

Away Suitcase // Teva Terra-Float Nova Sandals // Steve Madden Lancer Sneaker // Wrapped Wire Mouse Ears

When this post goes live, I'll be up in the air on my way to Disney World! I'm so excited for this trip and have been counting down the days. In case you didn't know, I have been a lover of all things Disney my entire life. There are pictures and videos of me at just three months old surrounded by everything Mickey Mouse.

I've been planning my outfits since we booked this trip so I wanted to share what I'm taking with me. It's a short trip so I'm just using my Away carry-on luggage, one of the best pieces of luggage I've purchased. I tried not to overpack and leave a little room for any souvenirs so there's quite a bit of extra room in there.

england & the british open

via my Instagram

If you follow me on social media, then you already know that I spent eight days in England with my parents. We were for The British Open, the third major of the year in golf. This is a tournament that I have never been to, but one that my parents typically go to every year. I was super excited about this since it's been years since I've been to England and since I've never experienced this tournament before.

And luckily for all of you {and for me, too} I vlogged it all!

the best packing tips

If you follow me on Instagram {@sheriann_}, then you know that I'm currently in the UK. I left on Sunday night with my parents and we've been spending our days at Royal Birkdale, the host course for this years British Open.

But before I left, I filmed a quick video sharing my best packing tips. 

five days in the philippines

So this blog is wayyyyyyy late. My parents and I went to the Philippines in February 2016, and while I was there, I took quite a bit of video footage to try and put into a little video. Then I had an incident with my memory card and old laptop not agreeing with each other and decided to put aside the project.

Well, about two weeks ago I decided to give it a go and try that memory card in my iMac. And it worked! I was so excited because I was sad over the thought of losing any of the footage that I took. I hope you guys enjoy the video! It's full of food and scenery, aka lots of traffic ;]

nye at club med punta cana

My parents and I took quite an exciting trip at the end of 2016. We left bright and early on December 26th and headed to the Dominican Republic to spend a week at Club Med. I've mentioned this previously, but in case you're new around these parts, my family has been vacationing at Club Med since I was in the 6th grade! I'm 27 now so clearly we're big fans...

Club Med Punta Cana is our most visited and our favorite resort of the five that we've been to. It holds a lot of great memories for us and has also changed quite a bit since our first visit. This year, we stayed in the newest area of the resort, the Zen Oasis. I vlogged while I was there just to show you some bits and pieces of the week, including the really fun New Year's Eve celebration!

WHERE WE STAYED: CLUB MED PUNTA CANA

Zen Oasis // The Zen Oasis is the adult-only area of the resort, meaning no one under the age of 18 is allowed to stay in the rooms or access any of the facilities. The rooms are quite spacious and have a contemporary and tropical vibe to them. Each room has a balcony/patio area and a daybed outside.

The pool is quite large and features a slightly longer than-Olympic sized area. There are chaise lounges directly in the pool and very comfortable cabanas that are perfect to read or nap in.

The Hibiscus bar overlooks the pool. With quite a large seating area, you can nosh on snacks and sandwiches throughout the afternoon while sipping on your beverage of choice. I recommend that watermelon water because it was delicious!

The Zen Oasis also has its own beach area! It's a quiet beach and separated from the regular beach area. The beds are comfortable and there's a lot of shade so you'll have a place to cool off in. It was pretty windy when we went and this area seemed to see the most wind. I would imagine it's different during the warmer months.

For reference, we've stayed in the Club Rooms, which are pretty basic and come with just the things you need. We've also stayed in the Tiara suites, and in my opinion, those are the best rooms. They also happen to be the biggest and the five star {or as Club Med phrases it, five trident} area of the resort.

Restaurants and Bars // My family and I aren't huge drinkers so we didn't frequent the bar much. They do have a different speciality drink each day and that is always fun to try. The Hibiscus Bar at the Zen Oasis offers a different drink of the day than the other bars at the resort.

My parents and I agree on this - the Hispaniola restaurant is the best of the three restaurants on site. The seating area is huge, but the floor has always been quite slippery. High heel wearers beware. It overlooks the ocean so the views are amazing during the day. The patio area is beautiful at night since you can see the stars so clearly, but another warning, it can get windy.

In general, the food is rarely ever bad at Club Med. Breakfast is great - carbs galore and fresh fruit juices. You'll typically see chips and guacamole {the best guac EVER} at lunch. Each night at the Hispaniola has a different theme. At the Samana, dinners tend to just be an international buffet. The Indigo Bar is located right on the beach and is new. It's a much nicer space now and is a table service rather than a buffet like the other two. Dinner reservations are required.

If there is one thing you need to have at Club Med, it's the white chocolate bread. OMG. It's amazing. We typically sneak some home in our luggage because it's so good. But for $10, you can reserve your own loaf at Reception and they'll have it for you when you leave!

Activities // The highlight of the resort is definitely CREACTIVE. Club Med teamed up with Cirque du Soleil for some very fun activities that is exclusive to Punta Cana. From the trapeze {this was always offered here} to face painting, acrobatic bungee to aerial silk tissue, there's something exciting to try. Unfortunately, I am too much of a scaredy-cat/I read a lot so I can't speak to how thrilling they are, but they looked really fun!

Other activities at the resort include kayaking, paddleboarding, windsurfing, archery, snorkeling, and many others. A lot of people, my family included, choose to visit and play some of the golf courses in the surrounding area. There are some excursions, like horseback riding and scuba diving, that will take you offsite.

*Note: This post is not sponsored. Club Med has no idea who I am. My family and I just really love the Club Med resorts we've visited so I wanted to share this one with you!

what's in my makeup bag?

Christmas is just a few days away! I'm super excited, but I'm also gearing up for a really fun trip to Club Med Punta Cana on Monday. I'll be splitting my time the next two days between wrapping presents and packing my new suitcase.

Since I'll be in much warmer weather next week and while ringing in the new year, I wanted to make sure that I packed my makeup bag full of items to keep me bronzed and glowy. To be honest, I've taken a lot less items than in previous years so my makeup case is actually filled with a combination of makeup and skincare products. The full list of products {with links} can be found on my YouTube channel!

minnesota & the ryder cup!

I got back from Minnesota on Monday night and immediately started working on this video. I was just so excited to share another travel video that I jumped right into it! There were so many clips {literally over an hour's worth} that it was hard to edit it into just a five minute montage, but I did it!

I hope you all enjoy this little peek into my life! And get ready to see a whole lot of red, white, and blue...

golf road trip + a vlog!

Last week, my parents and I went on a little golf road trip. First, we head to upstate New York so that my dad could play in two charity golf tournaments.

On Sunday and Monday, he played at Oak Hill Country Club, where the 2013 US Open was held, to play at the Coaches vs. Cancer event. It was much colder in Rochester than we had anticipated. We were not dressed appropriately for the weather at all. My mom and I only lasted eight holes before heading back to the warmth of the car. We wore pants and jackets on Monday so it was much better. After a pitstop at Pittsford Dairy {you have it go there if you're ever in the area!}, we went to Syracuse because I really wanted to see my alma mater. We had dinner at Pastabilities - one of my favorites!

My dad played at Atunyote Golf Club for the Jim Boeheim {he's the Syracuse basketball coach} golf tournament. That course is beautiful and one of my favorites! There was a bit of a hiccup because my dad actually realized on Monday night that he forgot our US Open tickets at home in NJ so... After he played 12 holes, we drove home and then left for Pittsburgh early Wednesday morning.

From then on, it was US Open golf for the rest of the week. It rained a lot on Thursday so the course was SO MUDDY on Friday. Thankfully, we all brought rain boots. People kept mentioning how smart we were for wearing them since everyone else wore sneakers, sandals, or wedges. Oakmont is just an OK golf course to me - not my favorite but I don't hate it. We had dinner at Fat Head's that night - looked a little worrisome but was delicious. And we followed that up with milkshakes from The Milkshake Factory. I can't remember the last time I even had a milkshake, but it was the best way to end our trip.

final four in houston + a vlog!

I mentioned that I was going to the Final Four in Houston, and if you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, then you'll have seen little bits and pieces of my weekend in Texas. But I decided to try my hand at something while I was there...

Vlogging!

To be fair, this is more of a video diary since I'm currently too self-conscious to be talking to a camera in public. We'll get there eventually I'm sure.

This was my ninth time going to the Final Four, second time seeing Syracuse there, and my second time in Houston. While I do love Texas, Houston is not my favorite location for an event like this. As you know, Texas is huge. There's tons of open space, definitely more than we have here in NJ, so you have to drive everywhere. For something like the Final Four when there are tons of fun things going on during the weekend {Fan Fest, concerts, ESPN coverage} plus sightseeing in the city, it makes for a better experience when you can walk everywhere. San Antonio, New Orleans, and Atlana have been my favorite locations so far. If they just rotated between those three cities, I'd love it.

Still, it was a really great weekend and my parents and I had fun. And you can see what we did - mostly lots of sports {obviously}, shopping, and eating - while we were in Houston!

what's in my carry-on?

On Tuesday morning, my parents and I started our 20-hour flight to the Philippines. We arrived here on Wednesday night {Philippine time, morning on the east coast} and are slowly adjusting to the time difference. The thirteen hour time difference is rough, let me tell you.

Since we're not here for even a full week, we each just took a carry-on luggage and bag. I love watching 'What's In My Bag' videos so I thought I would share what I took with me on this trip in my carry-on bag plus a tip to make packing a bit easier. It's pretty much stuffed to the brim and a bit heavy, but I try to keep all my valuables with me for easy access. Plus some fun additions like candy obviously.

Let me know what you take in your carry-on!

airport style

Sesame Street Graphic Tee // J. Crew Leggings // Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Brea High-Top Sneakers // H&M Open Cardigan // Warby Parker Bensen Glasses // Halogen Infinity Scarf // Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz // NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer // Buxom Lash Waterproof Mascara // bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss // Madewell Transport Tote

If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably saw that I headed to Wisconsin yesterday. I thought I would share my go-to airport travel outfit - everything from the clothes to makeup.

I'm all about comfort and warmth when it comes to airports, so I wear leggings with a fun tee and add a sweater and a scarf as the trip goes on. I actually got the Sesame Street tee recently at Target and plan on wearing it on the trip back home. While I don't own these high-tops {though I would love to}, I'll be wearing these slip-on Converse sneakers. 

As for makeup, I tend to not wear much on travel days. I go for something quick and only do what I think are the essentials - brows, mascara, concealer, and lip gloss or lip balm. If I do add any eyeshadow, it's usually a quick swipe of cream eyeshadow from Laura Mercier.

I know that my travel outfit isn't exactly glamorous. The most important thing for me when I'm facing any type of trip is to wear comfortable clothing and still look put together. Both are key if you ask me!

What are your go-tos for your travel outfit?

summer makeup bag

If you follow me on Instagram {@sheriann_}, then you know that my family and I go to a lot of sporting events. During the summer, we're all about the golf tournaments and there is one starting this Thursday. The US Open will be in Seattle, WA and we are leaving tomorrow afternoon to watch the first two days.

I thought this would be a great time to record a new video {finally!} and share what's in my current travel makeup bag for the summer season. It seems like a lot, but my makeup routine doesn't take more than 10 minutes. I promise!



A full list of the products I mentioned in the video, as well as links to my makeup bags, can be found on my YouTube page.

Happy Monday!

road trip!

Raquel Allegra Tie-Dyed Maxi Dress // J. Crew Rib-Stitch Open Cardigan {on sale with the code ALMOSTFALL!} // Marc by Marc Jacobs Slight Cat Eye Sunglasses // Sole Society 'Lacie' Weekender // Ted Baker London 'Ballena' Sandal {currently 40% off!} // BaubleBar Layered Bead Bracelets

I'm off to Boston today with my parents to watch the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. We had originally planned on flying but decided against it earlier this week so a fun little road trip is in store for us! Whenever we take trips in the car like this during the summer, I always choose to wear maxi dresses and sandals because they're so comfortable. I bring anything I think I'll need - a sweater, snacks, and a good book - with me and then throw my bag in the trunk. More often than not, I'll take this time to catch up on some sleep, but it's nice to think that I may get some reading done.

What's your go-to summer road trip outfit?

off to pinehurst!

{Image via}

I know it's been awhile since I've posted. Long story short (and a tip for you), if you start having trouble with your computer, you should have it checked out right away. Don't wait six months.

Anyway...

I'm off to North Carolina today for a fun Father's Day weekend of US Open golf at Pinehurst No. 2. I thought I would share a few favorites from around the web today and then try and get back to regular posting next week.

-- Rickie Fowler wore knickers and high socks in honor of the late great Payne Stewart, who won the US Open at Pinehurst in 1999.

-- The decorated streets of Brazil for the World Cup look amazing.

-- These easy breakfast ideas sound and look delicious and are healthy for you.

-- I am loving this DIY peony wreath!

-- I don't think I could ever get a real tattoo so these Rifle Paper & Co. temporary ones are perfect.

-- If you're looking for lots of cuteness, then you should watch the videos of the Saccone-Jolys. Cutest kids ever!

Have a great weekend!