Princess Half Marathon Costume Reveal

I've been going back and forth in my mind for what seems like forever over my Princess half marathon costume ideas. Sad to say, sometimes the creative side of my brain doesn't quite kick in and fully function all of the way until the last minute has approached.

This past weekend, all of the pieces and parts finally came together to make my princess half marathon costume and I seriously love it! To me, it's practically perfect in every way! (Ok, I had to!)

The first place I always look to for costume ideas is Pinterest. Seriously, there's a world of inspiration out there on Pinterest, so if you're in a creative slump and don't have any ideas, check out Pinterest!

If you saw my "sneak peak" on instagram and guessed that Mary Poppins was the theme, you were (and are) correct!

In my initial brainstorming on this costume idea, I knew I somehow wanted to include the bird umbrella. (Y'all know me and my props!) Well, I knew I didn't want to run the half carrying a real umbrella (and I'm pretty sure that's not even allowed?). I couldn't think of anything to make a "fake" umbrella out of, either. It was during a run one evening when the inspiration hit me - what if I made the end of my GoPro the bird? Then my GoPro could act as the "umbrella"?! Genius.

While gathering supplies to create  this costume, I was so excited to see that I had most of them on hand, too! Score!

Mary Poppins Costume Supplies:

• Black top hat (ordered from Amazon) and affixed to a black headband I already owned
• Flowers (I had these white flowers already on hand - Mary's hat actually has daisies on it!)
• Red berries for the hat (I made these out of pipe cleaners and red ribbon!)
• White shirt (purchased from WalMart)
•  Black Running Skirt (already owned) from runningskirts.com
• Red bow for shirt (purchased for $1 pre-made at Walmart!)
• Red ribbon for "belt" around the bottom of the shirt
• Felt and ribbon to make the bird (also already owned!)
• Black compression sleeves from Legend Compression (already owned)

Putting this costume together literally took an entire Sunday because I also had to figure out how to hem a shirt on my own. I knew I waited until the VERY last minute and didn't want to put that on my mom, so I asked for her advice and I'm pretty pleased with the outcome!

Here's a closeup of the top hat. It did not come with the headband so I glued that one on myself. However, it did come with feathers and a bow that were already hot glued on, so my OCD self had to cover those glue marks with flowers!

Lastly, here's a closeup of the Mary Poppins bird. He is made entirely of felt (except the red ribbon). I used the outline of a bird I found online, cut out the outline with my silhouette machine on cardstock, then eyeballed and hand trimmed all of the rest of the pieces with scissors.

I also used hot glue to put it all together. He feels pretty secure, so here's hoping he stays on the bottom of the GoPro for 13.1 miles! We shall see what happens, I guess!

If you see me out there, please say hello! I'd love to meet you! :)

Happy running, Princesses! I hope all of your race dreams come true!

Life Lessons From Mary Poppins Returns

On New Year's Day, I had the opportunity to see Mary Poppins Returns with a few of my friends and absolutely, positively loved it! Seriously, when can I see it again?

This movie is whimsical, heartwarming, magical, and everything I ever dreamed it would be. I might have cried once or twice throughout the movie. Ok who am I kidding, I cried a lot (happy tears)!

 Source

The inclusion of Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury in this movie was absolutely perfect. I'd tried to keep my eyes and ears out of everything regarding this movie because I wanted to be surprised. Although I did hear about Dick Van Dyke's return, I had no clue about Angela Lansbury being in the film! When she appeared on screen, my friend and I literally looked at each other with our mouth's gaping open in surprise! Disney definitely did right by the original on this one!

Something I also loved about this movie were the "life lessons" taught throughout. Included in the script and soundtrack were little nuggets of advice that I found fascinating for both children and adults alike.

Here's a few of my favorites:

"Perhaps we've learned when day is done, some stuff and nonsense can be fun!" -Mary

I mean, why not? Life isn't meant to be taken so seriously all the time - have a little fun every once in a while!

"Nothing is gone forever, only out of place." -Mary

 Of course, this was relating to the Banks children and the loss of their mother-but I feel like this can relate to all of us in one way or another!

"You've forgotten what it's like to be a child." -Balloon Lady

"Of course the grownups will all forget tomorrow." -Balloon Lady
"They always do." -Mary

 Sadly, it is SO easy to forget! Having a child like heart and spirit can completely change our outlook on life. No, I'm not saying to ignore the important stuff, but we sometimes need to find the magic in things - it can completely turn a situation around!


"Everything is possible, even the impossible!" -Mary

 How true is this?! We've seen impossible things happen around us all the time!

"Some people think too much, of that I am certain!" -Mary

 Serious over-thinker here. I seriously need to work on that this year.

"There's a different point of view awaiting you if you just look up." -Jack

"You see, when the world turns upside down, the best thing is to turn right along with it." -Mary

"When you change the view from where you stood, the things you view will change for good." -Mary

Sometimes we just need a new perspective on situations or life in general. Looking "up" or changing our view can make all the difference in the world!

"There's nowhere to go but up!" -Ending Cast 

When you're finally at the end of a very long journey and things start looking right again...when your heart feels as light as a balloon...there's nowhere to go but up!

The bottom line? You've gotta see this movie! Your childhood heart will thank you, for that I am certain!  If you have seen Mary Poppins Returns already, what are your thoughts?