I LOVE THIS SHIRT.

One of my very first customers (before I even opened my Etsy shop) asked me if I could make this. Although the stencils took me HOURS to complete, it was totally worth it. 

I love this design so much that I'll be making myself a v-neck (unless, of course, it would make the words sit in an awkward area of my chest). 

*awkwardly clears throat*

Anyway - my point is that I'm so glad when friends and customers ask for new designs that push me - I'm always happily pleased with the results!

Did I mention that each of the four members of my family are from a different Hogwarts House? Oh, yeah....I only mentioned it a million times on Facebook and in the "Author Description" of this blog. 

Well, here's the proof - it's the Reck Family sporting their Hogwarts House Spirit Shirts.

I can't wait to get to Universal Studios Orlando because I am SO READY to explore the Harry Potter world there. I'll be honest, I originally conceived of these shirts as I planned an imaginary trip for us. (Did I mention I also plan imaginary trips? No? Oh - that's one of my "things." It's cheaper than therapy, you know.) I'm happy because now people who are actually going to Universal (like, in real life) buy my House Spirit shirts. 

So do people who are proud of their true nature, be it Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. What's your house? If you think you're a particular house but haven't taken the quiz on J.K.'s official (Harry Potter) site, I recommend you do that before you answer my question. You might be surprised! (My daughter and I sure were.)

It's something of a family joke...whenever a trip is planned (especially a trip to Walt Disney World), I end up living on EasyWDW and the DisBoards as I try to get COMPLETELY educated and try to plan a "perfect" trip. Right now, I'm stalking the London forums on TripAdvisor because we are planning to head across the pond next June. (Side note: trying to figure out London makes the complications of a WDW trip seem like a walk in the park. I've got my work cut out for me.)

I know what you're thinking. I'm one of THOSE moms. Well...yes and no. I do tend to stress and obsess a bit. But to be fair, I'm also quite good at going with the flow and I am generally able to use my extensive organization as a knowledge base so that we can change plans at the last minute as needed. 

When my youngest was in Kindergarten and my oldest was in 4th grade, we went to Walt Disney World for Spring Break. I created matching shirts for each day of our trip and we all dressed alike, in theme for the day and park. (For example, we went to the Magic Kingdom on St. Patrick's day so we dressed in green of course.) 

In June 2014 we finally got to return and my 15 year old daughter said "Mom, you're not going to make us dress in matching t-shirts again, are you??" Luckily for her, I was getting into Disney Bounding and was already basing all of my outfits on particular characters. 

So there.

But...she did agree that bleach-art Mickey head shirts might be moderately cool. The rest is history, of course - my new obsession was born.

Since I'm unlikely to stop obsessively planning vacations (both real and imaginary) anytime soon, if anyone has suggestions for other great travel sites and forums....please share! I'm always happy when I get to add another resource for my addiction.