2017 - Lili on the Loose

2 01, 2018

2017 Year in Review

By Lili|January 2nd, 2018|Categories: Year in Review|Tags: 2017, Anaheim, Beach Hopping 2017, Blizzard, blogging, Bocas del Toro, Bocas Town, California, Central America, Charlotte, Costa Rica, Disney, Disneyland, Fantasy Lands 2017, G Adventures, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Irvine, Los Angeles, Meow Wolf, New Mexico, North America, North Carolina, Panama, Resolutions, Santa Fe, Star Wars, Theme Park, Tiki, Tiki Bar, Tiki Lounge, Trader Sam's, Travel Thursday, Universal Studios Hollywood, USA, Wizarding World|0 Comments

2017 was a busy year for me. I got in 4 trips, 175 blog posts, and lots and lots of Netflix. Here are my highlights for the year: Travel All my trips this year were really last minute (at least to me) trips. I booked my Costa Rica/Panama trip about 2 months in advance, my LA/Anaheim/Irvine trip was very quick, same with Charlotte, and Santa Fe, NM I only planned one activity. So it was a weird non-planned year for travel. I'd never thought I'd... Travel to 3 different places, on different trips, in one month. In December I had

1 01, 2018

December 2017 Recap

By Lili|January 1st, 2018|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups|Tags: 2017, Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed Origins, Azeroth, Black and White, Blizzard, Bright, Bucket List, Butterbeer, California, Charlotte, Christmas, Christmas Movies, Colorado, Disney, Disneyland, Fantasy Lands 2017, Hallmark, Hallmark Christmas Movies, Harry Potter, Haunted Mansion, Hippogriff, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Hollywood, I Must Say, Indian Detective, Irvine, Los Angeles, Martin Short, Maxpass, Meow Wolf, Netflix, New Mexico, Nightmare Before Christmas, North America, North Carolina, Porgs, puppy, Pygmy Puff, roller coaster, Rollercoaster, Santa Fe, Space Mountain, Star Wars, The Crown, The Last Jedi, Torosaurus, triceratops, UFO, Universal, Universal City, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, WWOHP, Zonkos|0 Comments

December was a really weird and busy month for me. I had two business trips and a personal trip, making me travel all over the country. And it was a busy month for work, which is unusual this time of year. So I didn't get into the full Christmas spirit that I usually do. I did manage to put up and light my tree, but lost out of time and energy to decorate it besides a few ornaments I got this month during my travels. Travel When I first started doing these recaps I based it on the variety of

29 12, 2017

7 Days of Black and White

By Lili|December 29th, 2017|Categories: Photography, Travel|Tags: 2017, airplane, Anaheim, B&W, Black and White, Blizzard, California, Christkindl Market, Christmas decorations, Christmas Tree, Colorado, Denver, Denver Christkindl Market, Disneyland, doll, doll head, Fantasy Lands 2017, Harry Potter, Irvine, It's A Small World, Larimer Square, North America, Olivander, Olivander's, Overwatch, Painter, Southwest, statue, Tracer, Universal, Universal City, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, USA, Wand, Wand Ceremony, Wands|0 Comments

I had been seeing those "7 Day Black and White" posts on Facebook for a while, but didn't feel artistic at the time. But as my business trip early in the month was coming up, I got inspired and decided to do it as well. Here are my 7 days of Black and White photography. Day 1: Ornate Christmas Tree decorations at the Denver Christkindl Market Day 2: I found one of the infamous Pink Doll's heads that have been popping up around Denver in the last few years. This one is near Larimer Square. Day 3: A Wandmaster at

28 12, 2017

Holidays at Trader Sam’s Disney’s Tiki Bar

By Lili|December 28th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2017, Anaheim, California, Disneyland, Disneyland Hotel, Fantasy Lands 2017, North America, Tiki, Tiki Bar, Tiki Lounge, Trader Sam's, Travel Thursday, USA|0 Comments

One thing on my Disney Bucketlist was to visit the infamous Trader Sam's Tiki Bar and my business trip earlier in the month let me check this off my list! Because it was early December the Tiki bar was transformed with holiday decorations. I was lucky to get a seat inside. It's first-come-first-served and a seat yourself situation. After waiting around for 5 minutes, a bunch of us were able to do some shuffling. There was a table top for 4 that was just leaving, a party of 4 sitting at two high tops that only had three seats, me, and a

20 12, 2017

Christmas Dinner at the Three Broomsticks

By Lili|December 20th, 2017|Categories: Food, Food & Drink, Travel|Tags: 2017, California, Fantasy Lands 2017, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, North America, Theme Park, Three Broomsticks, Universal City, Universal Studios Hollywood|0 Comments

If you find yourself at Universal Studios for the holidays be sure to try out the offering at the Three Broomsticks: the special Christmas Dinner. It is a turkey and stuffing dinner, with roasted potatoes, pig in a blanket, braised cabbage, and a mix of roasted veggies and chestnuts, with a spiced citrus cranberry sauce. I really enjoyed the veggies and the flavor of everything was really nice. I also got the Toffee Pudding, which was delicious and complimented the hot Butterbeer well. But be warned it is very sweet, so the ice cream is definitely needed to calm the flavors. I

18 12, 2017

Travel Missteps: Security Scare

By Lili|December 18th, 2017|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2017, bomb, California, dog, Fantasy Lands 2017, John Wayne Airport, North America, Orange County, security, SNA, TSA, USA|0 Comments

I'm currently on the second of three trips this month! But earlier this month I was in California for work, and on the way home triggered a massive security response at John Wayne Airport. You know...the usual. Fearing traffic, I got to the airport very early. That is when I realized Orange County Airport is pretty small and that I had a full bottle of water still to drink. So I found a bench and sat for an hour before heading through security. The bench I picked was occupied by a 40-50's gentleman with his stuff strewn all over. He was on

15 12, 2017

National Ugly Sweater Day – Dinos & Disney

By Lili|December 15th, 2017|Categories: Activities, Photography, Selfie, Travel|Tags: 2017, Anaheim, California, dinosaurs, Disney, Disneyland, Fantasy Lands 2017, Mickey, Minnie, North America, Ugly Sweater|0 Comments

Today is National Ugly Sweater Day, so I wanted to share my Ugly Sweater: Dinosaurs wearing Santa Hats! I wore it on my most recent trip to Disneyland, and everyone was commenting and asking where I got it. Mickey and Minnie were also very excited to see it! Both pantomimed what a T-Rex looks like to show they were excited about dinosaurs!

14 12, 2017

Christmas at Hogwarts

By Lili|December 14th, 2017|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Travel|Tags: 2017, California, castle, Christmas, Decorations, Fantasy Lands 2017, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, North America, Theme Park, Travel Thursday, Universal City, Universal Studios, Universal Studios Hollywood, USA|0 Comments

Christmas at Hogwarts. Words that send chills of excitement to any Harry Potter fan. And I was lucky enough to experience the Universal Studios Hollywood version a few weeks ago. This is the first year they've done it in the US. Last year Universal Japan pioneered the event. And Livingston Studios in the UK has always outdone the holidays. So it was great to visit something closer to home! Everywhere you look the town of Hogsmeade is decorated for the holidays! And you'll find Hot Butterbeer on tap! (It is a unique butterscotch flavor that isn't overwhelming.) And you can get a

12 12, 2017

Local Art: The Art Vending Machine Built on Trust

By Lili|December 12th, 2017|Categories: Art, Local|Tags: 2017, art, art vending machine, Blue, Blue Chipped, Colorado, Denver, Jonathan Saiz, North America, painting, Understudy, USA|0 Comments

In a world where we can have almost anything on demand, Fine Art is something still out of reach for many people. That is why I've been fascinated by so-called "Art Vending Machines", but had yet to see one in person. So when I heard about Blue Chipped an exhibit at Understudy in Downtown Denver, I had to check it out. I’m sitting inside this blue kiosk downtown from 4-8 pm TODAY 💙serving up mini $20 paintings and 1 trillion calories of free blue candy and hot teas... you should come say hi to me through the kiosk windows! 💙💙🍭💙💙🍵💙💙🍭💙💙🍵💙💙🍭 A

5 12, 2017

November 2017 Recap

By Lili|December 5th, 2017|Categories: Blog Recaps and Roundups|Tags: 2015, 2017, Assassin's Creed Origins, Bent Pyramid, Christmas Market, Christmas Movies, Colorado, Denver, dog, Egypt, Hallmark, Hallmark Christmas Movies, Middle East, North America, Scam City, Skyline Park, Thanksgiving|0 Comments

This month was mostly focused on a big work project, so didn't do a lot of other things. So here is Tessa smiling during Thanksgiving cooking (all the good smells): Tessa pup cannot stop smiling on Thanksgiving at my parents. A post shared by Lili (@liliontheloose) on Nov 23, 2017 at 11:20am PST And I went to the Denver Christmas market: Fun lunch break with @jmesa A post shared by Lili (@liliontheloose) on Nov 30, 2017 at 7:49pm PST Recommended Reading Lili on the Loose I love putting up Yule Logs at work, and finding the most cute or silly