Miss Mickey does LA: DISNEYLAND!

For some reason, the last couple of years have been the years of Disney for me. I've been nicknamed Mickey Mouse (hence Miss Mickey) for as long as I can remember, but my interest in the Disney franchise waned somewhere around Finding Nemo (I think it was the *new* animation style) and didn't really pick up again until I decided to cosplay Ariel last year.

With my Disney obsession now currently back to the level it was at when I was about five, I thought this was definitely the right time for me to finally visit the happiest place on earth, and I scheduled two and a half days at Disneyland on my way home from Boston last month.

I planned my outfits for months and found I actually had enough Disneybounding ideas and pieces to do about two solid weeks at the park. So I settled on having one Cinderella day and one Ariel day, with a second Ariel outfit (shorts) just in case I decided to change.

On my first day in LA, I was by myself and arrived in the middle of the day. I didn't have park tickets for the afternoon (in hindsight, I wish I'd bought one), so I just headed to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping, have lunch and work out the lay of the land. It was hot. Baking hot. So I only lasted a couple of hours before I had to go back to the hotel for a shower and a rest.

Lego Hulk and a barefaced Mickey

On day two, my friend wasn't getting in until midday, so I had a bit of a sleep in, and took my time doing my hair and getting organised. Even going slowly, I was ready about two hours before she arrived, which meant I was bouncing off the wall when she finally got there! 

My outfit for day one was a Cinderella Disneybound. I wore a blue vintage dress with the Cinderella accessories Miss Maestro Designs made for my Miss Bombshell outfit. I was suprised that I made it all day, in the blazing heat, in my not very breathable vintage dress, but I did and I'm so happy I dressed up. So many people, from the ones who take your tickets at the gate, to the ticket operators and then the princesses themselves commented on it and made me feel really special. 

OMG I'm in Disneyland!

When I met Cinderella (she was first in the princesses' hall), she called me her twin and I nearly cried with happiness. It's funny, but even as a cosplayer myself, knowing that it was just a girl dressed in a pretty gown and a wig, I couldn't think of her as anything but a real princess. There's just something about the magic of the place that makes it all seem real! 

My twin! 

After the princesses, we wandered for a bit, went on a couple of rides and then went to see my namesake, Mickey Mouse. 

He was pretty excited when I told him my name is also Mickey; he kissed my hand, hugged me, then danced with me! I have a big grin on my face in all the pictures, because it was all just so unexpected and fun. It didn't matter that I was a grown up in line to meet someone dressed like a mouse, they just treated everyone the same, and I'm sure it was just as magic for me as it was for the little people at the park. 

On day two, we got up early and went straight to California Adventure where we were booked to have breakfast with Ariel. I'd decided against wearing my rockabilly Ariel outfit because it was just too hot for a full petticoat, and instead, went for my cool and comfy Black Milk Clothing Ariel Vs. Ursula Inside Out Dress. This too got a lot of compliments from both Disney staff and other people at the park. Lots of people asked me where it came from, and even though BM is in LA now, it kind of made me proud to say it was made by an Australian clothing label. 

Once you check in at Ariel's Grotto, you queue down a staircase, waiting to get in. We'd been in the queue for about five minutes when I realised that Ariel was at the bottom of the stairs having photos and greeting people as they arrived and that's when I started jumping. "She's there!" 

As with Cinderella, Ariel was really interested in my dress. She made me twirl for her, and then said she'd love to get one so we could be 'Princess Twinsies' (I didn't tell her Ursula was on the other side!). When she saw my phone that my friend was busily taking pictures with, and realised the case had Ariel on it too, she got all excited: 'My face is on your doo-dad too?!' and then hugged me. And it was a really nice, genuine hug too. 

A whole bunch of other princesses came out during breakfast too, which made me really glad I'd booked a character meal. It saved a lot of time running around looking for princesses.

We did so much in our two days at the park, but the highlights were definitely meeting Cinderella and Ariel. There was a lot we didn't have time for; like riding the rollercoasters because the lines were too long, seeing Thor (I did see Captain America, but I was really sad I missed Thor), and eating in more of the restaurants. But I'm okay with that because it gives me new things to see and do the next time I go back. And yes, there will definitely be a next time! 

Miss Mickey does LA - Pinup Girl Clothing Boutique

It's been quiet here for the last few weeks, but with good reason! I've been off in the US visiting friends in Boston and going to a super fun wedding, then visiting princesses and regressing back to my childhood at Disneyland for a few days and then, finishing my trip with a whirlwind LA shopping adventure!

I want to talk all about my trip, but I'm going to work out of order because I'm still waiting for my professional Disneyland photos to arrive from the park. I'll start with my visit to the Pinup Girl Mothership, the Pinup Girl Boutique in Burbank. 

We had a big morning getting over to Burbank, with us having to check out of our Anaheim hotel, catch a shuttle bus back to LAX and then Uber to our new hotel in Santa Monica. Once we'd checked in and dropped off our luggage, we jumped in another Uber and headed over to Burbank. Even with all our faffing (and running an hour behind my self-appointed schedule) we still arrived in Magnolia Drive half an hour before the Boutique opened. So we grabbed a coffee and a croissant at the bakery next door and then loitered out the front until they opened (me all the way barely stopping myself from jumping up and down). 

I was trying so hard to just 'be cool' that I made us sit out the front for a few minutes after the store opened, but I was so excited when I got inside that cool was immediately forgotten. The gorgeous Ashley, who you might know from her blog Southern (California) Belle was in store and helped me with my massive try on list. 

Unicorn acquired!

The entire almost two weeks I'd been in the US I'd been guarded with my shopping, so I let loose in PUG. Well, my letting loose was restrained; I picked out two dresses and a skirt and put a third dress on hold.

Magnolia Boulevard is basically a whole street of vintage and boutiques and PUG was my first stop. So we put everything behind the counter and made our way up the street, with Unique Vintage the final destination we had in mind. 

It was sad that Besame Cosmetics was closed on a Sunday (the only day we had free for shopping), so I missed out on Peggy Carter's lipstick (not to worry, I can get that here), but I did get into visit Audrey K Boutique. I've been following Audrey on Instagram for a long time so I was just as excited to visit in person as I was to go to PUG. The boutique is lovely; it smelled of cherries when we walked in the door and I wanted to buy pretty much everything. But then I spotted this Pan Am bag and I was 100% sold. My friend wanted to know why you would want a Pan Am bag and both Audrey and I said at the same time "Um, because it's Pan Am and it's amazing." 

The bag is actually amazing. It's something that's still officially licensed by Pan Am. I love the bag so much and I really want to get some bigger travel bags from the range! 

After meeting Audrey, we continued down the Boulevard, stepping in and wandering around whenever something caught my eye. I could have spent hours in Playclothes, where the prices were amazing. 

I wanted to take this gorgeous bag with a cane beetle home with me, but was afraid I'd get pulled up in customs and lose it, so I took some photos and tore myself away. I did however, buy this lovely red hat which I wore to an event a few days later (and know I'll get a lot more wear out of it too). 

And after a long march in the blazing sun, we finally reached Unique Vintage, only to find it was closed for renovations. I could have cried! 

But instead, we called an Uber, went straight back to PUG where I still managed to just walk away with two new dresses and a skirt. Though, I think the day I get a job I'll be heading online to order both the green Ava dress and the peach Dee Dee I left behind. 

Amanda did come home with me!

I loved shopping in the Pinup Girl Boutique, it was an amazing experience. I don't love LA and couldn't really see myself living there, but it'd be nice to be close enough to shop there regularly and go to some of their events (though it would be seriously dangerous for my wallet). 

Dee Dee didn't make the cut, but I have a feeling she'll be in my wardrobe soon!