tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61470363770795952702024-03-04T03:12:29.440-05:00Paw Prints in the SinkWherever you go,
Whatever you do,
May paw prints always follow you.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger271125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-1236360197023874132019-05-16T09:33:00.001-04:002021-04-15T09:54:03.990-04:00Smoky Mountain Opry Review<p> <img alt="img_2584" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-122" data-attachment-id="122" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556652924","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0011135857461024","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2584" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2584/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg?w=1640 1640w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg?w=300 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg?w=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2584.jpg?w=1024 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">I’ve lived within an hour of the Smoky Mountain Opry for nearly five years. My interest has been piqued for awhile, as we often drive through Pigeon Forge around Christmas to take in all the beautiful light displays up during Winterfest. It was on one of these drives we happened upon the Smoky Mountain Opry, and could hear the beautiful Christmas music wafting into the chilly parking lot, with Christmas trees and lights ablaze.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Finally, I recently had the opportunity to see the show. WOW. It was much different than I anticipated. The emcee is the former ringmaster for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus (RIP, you are missed classic circus), and the only female ringmaster ever at the circus. She does a spectacular job of narrating the show.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="img_2591" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-123" data-attachment-id="123" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556654616","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"250","shutter_speed":"0.041666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2591" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2591/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg?w=1640 1640w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg?w=300 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg?w=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2591.jpg?w=1024 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Their current show opens with a medley of songs from <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">The Greatest Showman</span>, with aerialists and acrobats to boot. The sets are fantastic, and the music is on point. Because of the term opry and the style it implies, I was surprised to find music outside the country genre. But interspersed throughout the show, between a startlingly wonderful rendition of a Garth Brooks song and a toe tapping country number, songs from <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Beauty and the Beast </span>and <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">An American Tale </span>were performed. A classic country hit is updated with choreography including a silks aerialist that pairs perfectly. The caliber of talent is remarkable, and I had no idea we had such a marvelous show right in our own backyard.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">As a huge Disney nerd, I especially loved the <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Beauty and the Beast</span> and <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Mary Poppins </span>song and set, and their <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">An American Tale </span>number brought tears to my eyes, as I’ve been known to sing it to my babies at bedtime (though they’re now old enough that both would blanch at being called babies, but they’ll always be my babies. I get what my Grams meant about that now.) I definitely quietly sang along many a time (as the audience is kind of encouraged to- I couldn’t tell if they were joking!).</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">During one big set change, a comedian comes out. Although I expected it to be a cheesy series of bits, he was seriously funny. I had tears in my eyes.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">With fun concessions and songs the kids may know, this show may even work for those visiting with kids. Although the 8 p.m. start time and two hour run time is a bit after my little ones’ bedtime, I look forward to taking them at some point. Until then, I’m looking forward to visiting seasonally with my hubs as a date night!</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">If you’re interested in checking out the Smoky Mountain Opry and you live in one of the counties surrounding Sevier County, you can visit for a discounted rate!</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="img_2873" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-121" data-attachment-id="121" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2873" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2873.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2873.jpg?w=269" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2873.jpg" data-orig-size="912,1016" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2873/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2873.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2873.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2873.jpg?w=135 135w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2873.jpg?w=269 269w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2873.jpg?w=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2873.jpg 912w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">You can also purchase <a href="https://smokymtnopry.com/" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #99908a; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: 0.3s; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">tickets online here</a>. Tickets typically begin at $19.99, with special deals and coupons often found <a href="https://smokymtnopry.com/build-your-own-combo/" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #99908a; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: 0.3s; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">here</a>. Ticket prices depend on what seats you choose.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Have you seen Smoky Mountains Opry? What was your favorite part?</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-617900523782201052019-05-15T09:23:00.002-04:002021-04-15T09:33:03.250-04:00The Moms that Built Me<p> Hey friends! I also write over on the Knoxville Mom’s Blog. You can find my latest post <a href="https://knoxville.citymomsblog.com/the-moms-that-built-me/" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #99908a; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: 0.3s; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">here</a>– a love letter to the moms who’ve loved me, who’ve helped build me into the mom I have become.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img class="size-full wp-image-118" data-attachment-id="118" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_3028" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_3028.jpg?w=673" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_3028.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_3028.jpg" data-orig-size="673,364" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/the-moms-that-built-me/img_3028/" sizes="(max-width: 673px) 100vw, 673px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_3028.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_3028.jpg 673w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_3028.jpg?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_3028.jpg?w=300 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p><div data-adtags-width="451" id="atatags-1606345151-60783df888a43" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></div><div class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled" id="jp-post-flair" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; padding-top: 0.5em;"><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); clear: both; color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-22541696228125409692019-05-10T09:19:00.003-04:002021-04-15T09:21:56.175-04:00An Inside Look at Dollywood’s Cabins<p> </p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="IMG_2574" class=" size-full wp-image-102 aligncenter" data-attachment-id="102" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556639985","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.00070821529745042","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2574" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2574/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg?w=1640 1640w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg?w=300 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg?w=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2574.jpg?w=1024 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Dollywood has some great lodging options. You can find my <a href="https://pawprintsinthesink.blogspot.com/2017/08/dollywood-insiders-and-dollywood.html" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #99908a; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: 0.3s; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort & Spa review here</a> to learn more about that option, but this post is all about the cabins.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Did you know that Dollywood has cabins? Cabins are perfect, especially if you have a larger group, plan on doing some cooking, or just want more of a homey feel. Much like staying at the resort, staying at a Dollywood cabin has some serious perks!</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Benefits of staying at a cabin:</p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Length of stay ticket: When you book a Dollywood cabin, you can also choose a Dollywood ticket that is good for the length of your stay. <a href="https://www.dollywood.com/PigeonForge/Cabin-Tickets" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #99908a; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: 0.3s; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Here’s the pricing information</a> for those tickets.</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Early Saturday park entry: Cabin guests can access the park an hour before opening for one ride each Saturday. Bonus- for June and July, the ‘ride’ with early access is the entirety of Wildwood Grove! #PerfectSummerVacay</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Reserved parking- free parking at Dollywood and Dollywood’s Splash Country</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Cabin guests get $5 off Timesaver passes.</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Many cabin properties have community pools and playgrounds.</li></ul><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Those are the official benefits. There are some other perks, too, though. Here’s why I loved my Dollywood cabin stay:</p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Breathtaking views are all around. It’s magical. Our cabin had three porches, all overlooking the beautiful Smoky Mountains. One morning I even woke up in time to catch a Smoky Mountain sunrise. It was unbelievable. I even had a gorgeous view out of the bathroom window.<div class="tiled-gallery type-rectangular" data-carousel-extra="{"blog_id":160634515,"permalink":"https:\/\/pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com\/2019\/05\/10\/an-inside-look-at-dollywoods-cabins\/","likes_blog_id":160634515}" data-original-width="820" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageGallery" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden;"><div class="gallery-row" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="820" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 150px; overflow: hidden; width: 400px;"><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="410" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 150px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2750/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2750" data-attachment-id="110" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556781507","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0012391573729864","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2750" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2750.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2750.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2750.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="406" height="305" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2750.jpg?w=406&h=305" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 146px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 196px;" title="IMG_2750" width="406" /></a></div></div><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="410" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 150px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2767/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2767" data-attachment-id="112" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556793141","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.00037893141341417","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2767" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2767.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2767.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2767.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="406" height="305" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2767.jpg?w=406&h=305" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 146px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 196px;" title="IMG_2767" width="406" /></a></div></div></div></div></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Hot tubs! Our cabin had a hot tub on the porch. Yep, you can take in the view and soak at the same time. The hot tub was the perfect way to rest our feet after walking around Dollywood most of the day.<img alt="IMG_2792" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-109" data-attachment-id="109" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556795146","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0019960079840319","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2792" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2792/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg?w=1640 1640w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg?w=300 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg?w=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2792.jpg?w=1024 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Cute details abound! Cowboy boot lamps. A totem pole in the living room. With each cabin being individually owned, you just never know what cute details your cabin will have. I discovered something unique and cute I hadn’t noticed every day.<div class="tiled-gallery type-rectangular" data-carousel-extra="{"blog_id":160634515,"permalink":"https:\/\/pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com\/2019\/05\/10\/an-inside-look-at-dollywoods-cabins\/","likes_blog_id":160634515}" data-original-width="820" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageGallery" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden;"><div class="gallery-row" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="820" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 266px; overflow: hidden; width: 400px;"><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="410" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 266px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2790/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2790" data-attachment-id="114" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556795052","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"64","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2790" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2790.jpg?w=768" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2790.jpg?w=225" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2790.jpg" data-orig-size="2448,3264" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="406" height="541" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2790.jpg?w=406&h=541" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 262px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 196px;" title="IMG_2790" width="406" /></a></div></div><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="410" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 266px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2787/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2787" data-attachment-id="101" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556795016","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"250","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2787" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2787.jpg?w=768" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2787.jpg?w=225" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2787.jpg" data-orig-size="2448,3264" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="406" height="541" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2787.jpg?w=406&h=541" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 262px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 196px;" title="IMG_2787" width="406" /></a></div></div></div></div></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Staying in a cabin gives an immersive nature experience. If some members of your group are more excited about Dollywood while others are looking forward to a hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a cabin is the perfect lodging for you. You’re surrounded by nature with easy access to both Dollywood and the national park. You can have a vacation with all kinds of different activities, all in the Smoky mountains.<img alt="IMG_2753" class=" size-full wp-image-111 aligncenter" data-attachment-id="111" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556781604","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0050505050505051","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2753" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2753/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg?w=1640 1640w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg?w=300 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg?w=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2753.jpg?w=1024 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></li></ul><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">I had the opportunity to stay in one Dollywood cabin and tour several others, so these photos are a compilation of the various cabins I visited.</p><div class="tiled-gallery type-rectangular" data-carousel-extra="{"blog_id":160634515,"permalink":"https:\/\/pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com\/2019\/05\/10\/an-inside-look-at-dollywoods-cabins\/","likes_blog_id":160634515}" data-original-width="820" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageGallery" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden;"><div class="gallery-row" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="820" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 226px; overflow: hidden; width: 451px;"><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="547" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 226px; position: relative; width: 301px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2788/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2788" data-attachment-id="113" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556795040","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"500","shutter_speed":"0.066666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2788" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2788.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2788.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2788.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="543" height="407" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2788.jpg?w=543&h=407" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 222px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 297px;" title="IMG_2788" width="543" /></a></div></div><div class="gallery-group images-2" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="273" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 226px; position: relative; width: 150px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2767/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2767" data-attachment-id="112" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556793141","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.00037893141341417","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2767" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2767.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2767.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2767.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="269" height="202" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2767.jpg?w=269&h=202" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 109px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 146px;" title="IMG_2767" width="269" /></a></div><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2747/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2747" data-attachment-id="104" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556778824","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"80","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2747" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2747.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2747.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2747.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="269" height="201" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2747.jpg?w=269&h=201" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 108px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 146px;" title="IMG_2747" width="269" /></a></div></div></div><div class="gallery-row" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="820" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 113px; overflow: hidden; width: 451px;"><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="274" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 113px; position: relative; width: 150px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2754/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2754" data-attachment-id="106" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556781617","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"250","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2754" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2754.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2754.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2754.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="270" height="202" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2754.jpg?w=270&h=202" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 109px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 146px;" title="IMG_2754" width="270" /></a></div></div><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="273" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 113px; position: relative; width: 150px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2748/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2748" data-attachment-id="105" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556781152","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"250","shutter_speed":"0.058823529411765","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2748" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2748.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2748.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2748.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="269" height="202" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2748.jpg?w=269&h=202" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 109px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 146px;" title="IMG_2748" width="269" /></a></div></div><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="273" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 113px; position: relative; width: 150px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2763/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2763" data-attachment-id="108" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556792849","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0004040404040404","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2763" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2763.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2763.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2763.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="269" height="202" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2763.jpg?w=269&h=202" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 109px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 146px;" title="IMG_2763" width="269" /></a></div></div></div><div class="gallery-row" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="820" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 217px; overflow: hidden; width: 451px;"><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="524" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 217px; position: relative; width: 288px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2745/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2745" data-attachment-id="103" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556778804","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"40","shutter_speed":"0.0083333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2745" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2745.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2745.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2745.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="390" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2745.jpg?w=520&h=390" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 213px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 284px;" title="IMG_2745" width="520" /></a></div></div><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="296" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 217px; position: relative; width: 163px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2759/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="IMG_2759" data-attachment-id="107" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556781785","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"64","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2759" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2759.jpg?w=768" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2759.jpg?w=225" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2759.jpg" data-orig-size="2448,3264" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="292" height="390" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2759.jpg?w=292&h=390" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 213px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 159px;" title="IMG_2759" width="292" /></a></div></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Dollywood’s Cabins offer a great opportunity to have a family reunion or multi-generational visit to the Smoky Mountains region. With Dollywood, the national park, dinner shows, Splash Country, and other entertainment offered in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, there’s something for everyone.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Remember, if you’re visiting Dollywood, you can get a discount on your tickets by using this code!</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="Dollywood Coupon Graphic" class=" size-full wp-image-44 aligncenter" data-attachment-id="44" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Dollywood Coupon Graphic" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=560" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png" data-orig-size="560,315" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/2019/04/14/dollywood-tickets-discount-code/dollywood-coupon-graphic-2/" sizes="(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png 560w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=300 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p><div data-adtags-width="451" id="atatags-1606345151-60783d721a138" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></div><div class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled" id="jp-post-flair" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; padding-top: 0.5em;"><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); clear: both; color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-2651256489142279992019-05-03T09:17:00.001-04:002021-04-15T09:19:38.880-04:00Dollywood’s Wildwood Grove: Sneak Peek!<p> On Saturday, May 11, Dollywood is opening an entirely new section of the park! It’s called Wildwood Grove, and it is all about family.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="img_2683" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-95" data-attachment-id="95" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556727138","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0018214936247723","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2683" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2683.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2683.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2683.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2683/" height="2448" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 3264px) 100vw, 3264px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2683.jpg" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2683.jpg 3264w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2683.jpg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2683.jpg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2683.jpg?w=768&h=576 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2683.jpg?w=1024&h=768 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="3264" /></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">As a Dollywood Insider, I got to get a sneak peek before all the final touches are put on. Here are the things I love about Wildwood Grove:</p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">From start to finish, this section is all about guest experience. There is loads of shade, every landscape wall doubles as seating, and the lines for the rides are behind the ride itself, so you can get a great shot of your kid or grandkid without having to zoom in over the heads of those waiting in line.</li></ul><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="img_2724" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-93" data-attachment-id="93" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556728004","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0022779043280182","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2724" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2724.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2724.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2724.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2724/" height="2448" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 3264px) 100vw, 3264px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2724.jpg" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2724.jpg 3264w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2724.jpg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2724.jpg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2724.jpg?w=768&h=576 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2724.jpg?w=1024&h=768 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="3264" /></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Shade, fans, and seating for those waiting on riders!</span></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Hidden Hollow is an indoor, climate-controlled play area that parents are going to love. It can be so hard to get your kids to slow down and take a break at Dollywood- and who can blame them? But sometimes we need to cool off, and so do they. Hidden Hollow can give caregivers a break while little ones are cooling off but still playing. Win-Win!</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Shaded lines! This will make waiting in line for a ride much more comfortable.</li></ul><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="img_2725" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-88" data-attachment-id="88" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556728035","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0022271714922049","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2725" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2725.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2725.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2725.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2725/" height="2448" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 3264px) 100vw, 3264px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2725.jpg" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2725.jpg 3264w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2725.jpg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2725.jpg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2725.jpg?w=768&h=576 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2725.jpg?w=1024&h=768 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="3264" /></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Shaded line area with fans to help those waiting to ride be comfortable.</span></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">This entire area is really family focused, like the rest of the park (this is why you’ll find a play area for those under 39″ near Firechaser Express; this is done one purpose, so little ones don’t feel left out of the fun. They get their own fun experience while the bigs are on Firechaser). Wildwood Grove offers fun rides, with 36″ and 39″ height requirements, so more kids can ride. For those under the 36″ mark, the indoor play area and a splashing in the creek splash pad offer a diversion while bigger siblings ride.</li></ul><div class="tiled-gallery type-rectangular" data-carousel-extra="{"blog_id":160634515,"permalink":"https:\/\/pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com\/2019\/05\/03\/dollywoods-wildwood-grove-sneak-peek\/","likes_blog_id":160634515}" data-original-width="820" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageGallery" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden;"><div class="gallery-row" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="820" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 170px; overflow: hidden; width: 451px;"><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="410" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 170px; position: relative; width: 225px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2734/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="img_2734" data-attachment-id="94" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556728646","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.00035398230088496","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2734" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2734.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2734.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2734.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="406" height="305" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2734.jpg?w=406&h=305" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 166px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 221px;" title="img_2734" width="406" /></a></div></div><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="410" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 170px; position: relative; width: 225px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2704/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="Wildwood Grove Splash Pad" data-attachment-id="96" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556727465","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0011627906976744","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Wildwood Grove Splash Pad" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2704.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2704.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2704.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="406" height="305" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2704.jpg?w=406&h=305" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 166px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 221px;" title="Wildwood Grove Splash Pad" width="406" /></a></div></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Musical instruments and a splash pad are a fun diversion.</span></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Gorgeous details abound. From carved shutters to hand-painted designs, the forest theme is on point and beautifully executed.</li></ul><div class="tiled-gallery type-rectangular" data-carousel-extra="{"blog_id":160634515,"permalink":"https:\/\/pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com\/2019\/05\/03\/dollywoods-wildwood-grove-sneak-peek\/","likes_blog_id":160634515}" data-original-width="820" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageGallery" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden;"><div class="gallery-row" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="820" style="box-sizing: inherit; height: 225px; overflow: hidden; width: 451px;"><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="410" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 225px; position: relative; width: 225px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/0cfabea9-0185-49f6-8d6e-f1cae2680a1c/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="0cfabea9-0185-49f6-8d6e-f1cae2680a1c" data-attachment-id="85" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="0cfabea9-0185-49f6-8d6e-f1cae2680a1c" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/0cfabea9-0185-49f6-8d6e-f1cae2680a1c.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/0cfabea9-0185-49f6-8d6e-f1cae2680a1c.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/0cfabea9-0185-49f6-8d6e-f1cae2680a1c.jpg" data-orig-size="1080,1079" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="406" height="406" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/0cfabea9-0185-49f6-8d6e-f1cae2680a1c.jpg?w=406&h=406&crop=1" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 221px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 221px;" title="0cfabea9-0185-49f6-8d6e-f1cae2680a1c" width="406" /></a></div></div><div class="gallery-group images-1" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="410" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; height: 225px; position: relative; width: 225px;"><div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: left; margin: 0px; position: relative; width: inherit;"><a border="0" href="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/0623e1c7-45d4-4b20-8740-f37cc0d61b87/" itemprop="url" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-sizing: inherit; color: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s; width: auto; word-wrap: break-word;"><img alt="0623e1c7-45d4-4b20-8740-f37cc0d61b87" data-attachment-id="83" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="0623e1c7-45d4-4b20-8740-f37cc0d61b87" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/0623e1c7-45d4-4b20-8740-f37cc0d61b87.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/0623e1c7-45d4-4b20-8740-f37cc0d61b87.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/0623e1c7-45d4-4b20-8740-f37cc0d61b87.jpg" data-orig-size="1080,1080" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="406" height="406" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/0623e1c7-45d4-4b20-8740-f37cc0d61b87.jpg?w=406&h=406&crop=1" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: inherit; height: 221px; margin: 2px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle; width: 221px;" title="0623e1c7-45d4-4b20-8740-f37cc0d61b87" width="406" /></a></div></div></div></div><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">While we’ve seen character meet and greet moments during seasonal events, Wildwood Grove is introducing its inhabitants at their own meet and greet. You can meet fairies Flit and Flutter and Benjamin Bear daily for a special experience.</li></ul><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="img_2735" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-97" data-attachment-id="97" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556729123","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.00085984522785899","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="img_2735" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2735-1.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2735-1.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2735-1.jpg" data-orig-size="2425,2191" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2735/" height="2191" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 2425px) 100vw, 2425px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2735-1.jpg" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2735-1.jpg 2425w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2735-1.jpg?w=150&h=136 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2735-1.jpg?w=300&h=271 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2735-1.jpg?w=768&h=694 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2735-1.jpg?w=1024&h=925 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="2425" /></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">The Wildwood Tree is an experience unto itself. Standing 50 feet wide and 50 feet tall, this elaborate structure is a visual centerpiece. The full experience will begin in June- trust me, you want to be in Wildwood Grove at dusk!</li></ul><figure class="wp-block-image" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><img alt="" style="border-bottom-left-radius: inherit; border-bottom-right-radius: inherit; border-top-left-radius: inherit; border-top-right-radius: inherit; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></figure><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 2.625rem; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 0.2em; margin-top: 0.2em;">Rides</h2><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Wildwood Grove is introducing some new and exciting rides! Here’s what they are, and their height requirement.</p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Dragonflier</span>: This suspended rollercoaster is the largest and fastest of its kind. <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Height requirement: At least 39″, those under 48″ must be accompanied by someone at least 16 years old.</span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Mad Mockingbird</span>: Fly in a high speed circle around a large tree, just like Tennessee’s state bird. <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Height requirement: At least 36″, under 48″ must be accompanied by someone at least 16 years old.</span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Black Bear Trail</span>: Go for a ride on a bear’s back on a meandering track with plenty of photo opportunities. <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Height requirement: At least 36″, those under 42″ must be accompanied by someone at least 16 years old.</span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Treetop Tower</span>: Enjoy the view as you soar 40 feet in the air before drifting back down. <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Height requirement: No minimum height; under 42″ must be accompanied by someone over 16 years old.</span></li></ul><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-84" data-attachment-id="84" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87.jpg" data-orig-size="1080,1080" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87/" height="1080" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87.jpg" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87.jpg 1080w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87.jpg?w=150&h=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87.jpg?w=300&h=300 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87.jpg?w=768&h=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/e663d9c4-ecb5-491f-97a4-3162b5ea9d87.jpg?w=1024&h=1024 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="1080" /></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Frogs and Fireflies</span>: Hop aboard and join the chase as the frogs and fireflies race around the lily pad.<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;"> Height requirement: No minimum height; under 36″ must be accompanied by someone at least 16 years old. </span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Great Tree Swing</span>: Big enough for the whole family, this leaflike structure swings back and forth. <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">Height requirement: At least 36″, under 48″ must be accompanied by someone at least 16 years old.</span></li></ul><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.825rem; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 0.2em; margin-top: 0.2em;">Food</h3><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Now that you’ve worked up an appetite playing in Wildwood Grove, where should you eat?</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Till and Harvest is a restaurant offering patio seating while serving Smoky Mountain Mexican food. I’m crossing my fingers they’ll offer BBQ tacos, because if there’s any way to my heart, its through BBQ and tacos! Right now, this restaurant is planning to open on Memorial Day. Until then, you can check out my restaurant guide over on the Dollywood Insiders page.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Sweets and Treats: This walk up snack shop offers options for on the go snacking!</p><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.825rem; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 0.2em; margin-top: 0.2em;">Shopping</h3><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Mountain Grove Merchants offers merchandise to remember your time in Wildwood Grove. I peeked in and saw some adorable bags and cute tees, as well as some over the counter medicine if you find yourself feeling a little off during your time in the park. Don’t let a headache ruin your Dollywood day!</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img alt="img_2693" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-91" data-attachment-id="91" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1556727313","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.025","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2693" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2693.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2693.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2693.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/img_2693/" height="2448" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 3264px) 100vw, 3264px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2693.jpg" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2693.jpg 3264w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2693.jpg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2693.jpg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2693.jpg?w=768&h=576 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/img_2693.jpg?w=1024&h=768 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="3264" /></p><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.825rem; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 0.2em; margin-top: 0.2em;">Insider Tips</h3><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">If you’re not a season pass holder, use this code to purchase your tickets online and save. You can upgrade to a season pass in the park, and save $10 off per person. If you want to go to Dollywood more than once this year, the season pass is the way to go. My favorite option is to get one Gold Super Pass per family, and the rest Super Pass, so you can save 20% off with the Gold pass, get free parking, and get access to both Dollywood and Dollywood Splash Country all year long.</p><figure class="wp-block-image" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><img alt="" class="wp-image-44" data-attachment-id="44" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Dollywood Coupon Graphic" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=560" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png" data-orig-size="560,315" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/2019/04/14/dollywood-tickets-discount-code/dollywood-coupon-graphic-2/" sizes="(max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=560" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png 560w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/dollywood-coupon-graphic-1.png?w=300 300w" style="border-bottom-left-radius: inherit; border-bottom-right-radius: inherit; border-top-left-radius: inherit; border-top-right-radius: inherit; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></figure><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Season Passholders typically get a one-hour early access opportunity each Saturday, called early ride time. It’s usually one ride per week, but for June, July, and August, the early ride time experience is <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;">all</span> of Wildwood Grove! Get access to all of Wildwood Grove for an hour each Saturday all summer as an extra season passholder perk!</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">If you’ve got little ones, remember to take them by central measuring before you hit the rides- get a color coded bracelet so you know exactly what rides your kid can ride, and your wait time will be more efficient if your kiddo doesn’t have to be measured at each ride.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"> </p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">What are you most excited for at Wildwood Grove?</p><div data-adtags-width="451" id="atatags-1606345151-60783cc43d9ad" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></div><div class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled" id="jp-post-flair" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; padding-top: 0.5em;"><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); clear: both; color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-12766038625415778922019-04-26T13:51:00.002-04:002019-04-26T13:51:32.449-04:00We've Moved!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We've Moved!</h2>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-81586357773721197782019-04-23T09:13:00.002-04:002021-04-15T09:15:36.094-04:00How to Dye Easter Eggs Without Vinegar<p> <span style="caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Decorating Easter eggs was an inherent and much looked forward to part of my childhood Easter celebrations… Except for the stinky smell. It bothered me then, and as I’ve gotten older I’ve become unable to stomach the smell of vinegar. While I was pregnant, it grew worse. And my inability to smell vinegar lingered even after the babes were born. Now even warm ketchup or a strong salad dressing send me scooting away from the offensive dish.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">So how can I reconcile my love of decorating eggs with my disdain for vinegar? One option is shaving cream, but then you can’t eat the eggs. We try rather hard to not be wasteful, and so shaving cream wasn’t really an option for us.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">But then I got to thinking…whipped cream is a similar consistency to shaving cream, yet food-safe. What if we combined whipped cream and food coloring to dye eggs?</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">How to dye Easter eggs with whipped cream</span></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em 3.2em; padding-left: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Place two inches of Cool Whip (or off brand, if you’re like me) in a baking dish.<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"> </span>We used one 8×8 pan for each kid.</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Place one to two drops food coloring per corner and swirl outward with a butter knife (don’t mix too much- the eggs will do this for you). You can do more colors if you want, but this creates a marbled effect.</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Roll hard boiled egg through as many or as few of your colors as you wish.</li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><img class="size-full wp-image-54" data-attachment-id="54" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1555866380","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"64","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2458-1" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/2019/04/23/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-without-vinegar/img_2458-1/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg?w=1640 1640w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg?w=300 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg?w=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2458-1.jpg?w=1024 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Don’t wipe the cool whip off yet! Place in a shallow bowl in the fridge for a couple of hours. <img class="size-full wp-image-52" data-attachment-id="52" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1555866384","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"64","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2459" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg" data-orig-size="3264,2448" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/2019/04/23/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-without-vinegar/img_2459/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg?w=1640 1640w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg?w=300 300w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg?w=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2459.jpg?w=1024 1024w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Remove from fridge and wipe cook whip off with a paper towel or dish cloth. <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Don’t rinse!</span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit;">Enjoy your pretty marbled eggs!</li></ul><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img class="size-full wp-image-53" data-attachment-id="53" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1555880603","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2465" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2465.jpg?w=768" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2465.jpg?w=225" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2465.jpg" data-orig-size="2448,3264" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/2019/04/23/how-to-dye-easter-eggs-without-vinegar/img_2465/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2465.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2465.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2465.jpg?w=1640 1640w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2465.jpg?w=113 113w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2465.jpg?w=225 225w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2465.jpg?w=768 768w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-10389630567848797262019-04-21T09:10:00.002-04:002021-04-15T09:11:46.165-04:00Why Rainy Days at Dollywood are My Favorite<p> My latest Dollywood Insiders post is up! You can check it out <a href="https://insiders.dollywood.com/why-rainy-days-at-dollywood-are-my-favorite/" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #99908a; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: 0.3s; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">here</a>. In it, I talk about my love for rainy days at Dollywood, and include some Insider tips on how to have a fabulous time, regardless of the forecast.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img class="size-full wp-image-49" data-attachment-id="49" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1524653369","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_7919" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg?w=820" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg?w=271" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg" data-orig-size="1080,1194" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/2019/04/21/why-rainy-days-at-dollywood-are-my-favorite/img_7919/" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg?w=820 820w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg?w=136 136w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg?w=271 271w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg?w=768 768w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg?w=926 926w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_7919.jpg 1080w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p><div data-adtags-width="451" id="atatags-1606345151-60783b28c9e0c" style="box-sizing: inherit;"></div><div class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled" id="jp-post-flair" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; padding-top: 0.5em;"><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); clear: both; color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-9945414665470538712019-04-20T09:07:00.004-04:002021-04-15T09:09:25.857-04:00Going Green in 2019<p><br /></p><div class="entry-meta" style="border-right-color: rgb(232, 233, 234); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: left; color: #383e44; float: left; font-family: Raleway, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 0.825rem; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 1px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; padding-right: 0.8em; text-transform: uppercase; width: 126.46875px;"><span class="edit-link" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; display: block; margin-bottom: 0.4em;"><a class="post-edit-link" href="https://wordpress.com/post/pawprintsinthesink.com/48" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #99908a; text-decoration: none; transition: 0.3s;"><span class="screen-reader-text" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); display: block; height: 1px; left: -1000em; margin-bottom: 0.4em; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; width: 1px;">"GOING GREEN IN 2019"</span></a></span></div><div class="entry-content" style="box-sizing: inherit; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; width: 451.703125px;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">Did you know I also write for the Knoxville Mom’s Blog? This month I shared some of my favorite tips, from little steps to big leaps, on how to live greener in 2019. You can check it out <a href="https://knoxville.citymomsblog.com/going-green-in-2019/" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #99908a; overflow-wrap: break-word; transition: 0.3s; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">here</a>!</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;"><img class="size-full wp-image-47" data-attachment-id="47" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-description="" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="img_2404" data-large-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2404.jpg?w=750" data-medium-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2404.jpg?w=300" data-orig-file="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2404.jpg" data-orig-size="750,408" data-permalink="https://pawprintsinthesink.wordpress.com/2019/04/20/going-green-in-2019/img_2404/" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" src="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2404.jpg?w=820" srcset="https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2404.jpg 750w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2404.jpg?w=150 150w, https://pawprintsinthesink.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/img_2404.jpg?w=300 300w" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" /></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 1.6em; margin-top: 0px;">What are your favorite tips for going green?</p><div data-adtags-width="451" id="atatags-1606345151-60783a77352cb" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"></div><div class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled" id="jp-post-flair" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(94, 88, 83); clear: both; color: #5e5853; font-family: Lora, Baskerville, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; padding-top: 0.5em;"><br /><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled" style="box-sizing: inherit; clear: both;"></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-70920905367924467512019-04-05T05:00:00.000-04:002019-04-05T05:00:08.849-04:00Why You Should Visit Dollywood's Festival of Nations 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Dollywood's Festival of Nations is out of this world this year! </div>
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Ha, excuse my terrible puns! It'll be worth enduring for the awesome coupon code for Dollywood tickets at the end of this post!<br />
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But really, it's fantastic. The food passport is phenomenal, the shows are incredible, and did I mention the food?<br />
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Beyond the general glory of the festival itself, visiting the park in spring is a great decision. It's not too hot, the chance of rain thins the crowds, and on sunny days it's warm enough for water rides. Plus...the food! I know, I'm a food nut. But a variety of international flavors and demonstrations that are in line with the superior quality of all Dollywood food? It's an unstoppable combination. It may be my favorite food festival of the year (well, until BBQ & Bluegrass).<br />
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The Food Passport</h3>
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With nine countries and four continents, there is plenty of food to sample. Our favorites include the paella from Spain (the kids especially loved this one!) and the empanadas from Ecuador. We also sampled Canada's food, and you just can't go wrong with fried cheese! It made for a great snack, but we preferred Spain and Ecuador for more filling meals.<br />
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Grab a food passport- it's a great guide to where the food stalls are, what they're serving, and the kids love getting the stamps. Our goal is to fill ours up before the Festival of Nations ends April 14!<br />
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International Shows</h3>
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Dollywood's shows are always astounding. These traveling troupes are no different. We've heard wonderful things about <a href="https://insiders.dollywood.com/dont-miss-drumstruck-during-festival-of-nations/" target="_blank">Drumstruck and it's interactive components</a>, but our youngest family member is sensitive to loud noises so we didn't get to experience it firsthand this year. </div>
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We got to attend one of the chef demonstrations. Considering our 6 year old wants to be a chef when he grows up, this was a dream come true for him. The chef, from Dollywood's Dreammore Resort & Spa, did a fantastic job of teaching us how to make paella. And our little one was even brave enough to speak up when the chef asked a question to the audience! They sampled out the empanadas they demonstrated making when the demonstration was complete.</div>
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We also visited Cuba Vibra and it was FANTASTIC!!! I cannot express how much we loved this show. From ages 3 to 34 in our group, everyone loved it. The kids were entranced by the different dancing, I drooled over all the costumes (Dear Dollywood, please sell these in the park! I'm dying for those dresses!!). The dancing, the singing, the drumming...it was all so fantastic. I could watch it again and again. It's a 45 minute show, so be prepared if you have younger kids to make a mad dash to the bathrooms or grab some popcorn to help entertain them if they lose interest (because not all little kids will enjoy every show, so having a backup plan is a great way to make sure the grownups enjoy the show!)</div>
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The Decorations</h3>
Dollywood is decked out with flags and globes. It's a great way to introduce little ones to new cultures in a familiar environment, where they're more willing to try new things. It's a great experience to mix the fun rides you typically go for with the fun decorations, food, and experiences.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqWX9TGNaAJZBDgn83gWQPrF2Pc-rZinUHzOX6dtK2kCGC8T_r1T78JzSJAHrLuShdhI7DMK-oEvdyOzbs7xWPCVLYrh0A-Wbd_XbycUZkI501qJdzBUnlWNn6XdXE2TvF781haporVBV/s1600/IMG_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqWX9TGNaAJZBDgn83gWQPrF2Pc-rZinUHzOX6dtK2kCGC8T_r1T78JzSJAHrLuShdhI7DMK-oEvdyOzbs7xWPCVLYrh0A-Wbd_XbycUZkI501qJdzBUnlWNn6XdXE2TvF781haporVBV/s320/IMG_0027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Coupon Code</h3>
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Are you ready to print your tickets and head to Festival of Nations? Would you like to save $10 per ticket? Print online using the following code and you'll save $10 per ticket! These tickets are upgradable to a season pass, and more fun festivals are just around the corner!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPAvA8VCxZo7tJRu7aTctZnQsCAoAgh7w3g9CrD2z66Rx2rTTqgMqN0_IhFR_K6QGam_6thMokZ9weVIRjxsjICiYjXU62CgEdKEOJR9JGA_Tnjtj4S2a_fyFNBroJ27J59bAP-IPT_JQ/s1600/Dollywood+Coupon+Graphic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPAvA8VCxZo7tJRu7aTctZnQsCAoAgh7w3g9CrD2z66Rx2rTTqgMqN0_IhFR_K6QGam_6thMokZ9weVIRjxsjICiYjXU62CgEdKEOJR9JGA_Tnjtj4S2a_fyFNBroJ27J59bAP-IPT_JQ/s320/Dollywood+Coupon+Graphic.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Festival of Nations only runs until April 14, so print those discounted tickets, load up, and head to Dollywood for your next adventure!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-19177514732136532382019-04-04T13:12:00.001-04:002019-04-04T13:12:04.182-04:00On The Come Up Book Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Never fear- there are no spoilers here!</i></div>
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Last fall I had the pleasure of reading <i>The Hate U Give </i>by Angie Thomas, and since then I've been eagerly awaiting her next release. Now, I've finally gotten my hands on it and it is just as phenomenal as her debut.</div>
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In <i>On the Come Up</i>, teenager Bri has big dreams to be a successful rapper and pull her family out of poverty. But big dreams demand big sacrifice- is Bri willing to go the hard route, or will she sacrifice who she is for temporary relief?</div>
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Thomas flawlessly crafts realistic characters. From protagonist Bri to her friends, family, and enemies, each character is carefully created. With a former addict for a mom and a high achieving but underemployed brother, Bri is struggling to live up to everyone's expectations of her while also living in her deceased dad's overpowering shadow. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the things I love about Thomas's writing style is her ability to write teenagers as actual teenagers, and not just tiny adults. Bri is still working on controlling her emotions and she doesn't always make the right call. She has real struggles and she handles them like a teenager actually would- and sometimes that's the wrong way to handle it. She also speaks like a teenager speaks, which is refreshing. There is less of an </span>emphasis<span style="font-family: inherit;"> on sex in this one, which is something the protagonist in <i>The Hate U Give </i>was considering, which made me hopeful more schools would pick it up. However, because these teenagers talk like teenagers, their (realistic) use of profanity may make some schools hesitant. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The </span>messaging<span style="font-family: inherit;"> is similar to that of </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">The Hate U Give</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, without being repetitive. While the setting is the same, the plot is different. The setting of Garden Heights allows us to see the community a year after the events of </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">The Hate U Give</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and how those events have far reaching </span>repercussions<span style="font-family: inherit;">. With </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">T.H.U.G., </i><span style="font-family: inherit;">we learned we can't make assumptions about events we weren't present for. </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">On The Come Up</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> reinforces this, with Bri being </span>targeted<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span>interpreted<span style="font-family: inherit;"> as 'aggressive' when </span>she<span style="font-family: inherit;"> exhibits the same behavior as her white classmates, though their </span>consequences<span style="font-family: inherit;"> differ greatly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another important message in this book, especially for teen readers, is that famous people can be playing a role. So often, celebrities endorse products they don't actually use and neglect to mention their personal trainer/stylist/photoshop (watch any actress </span>promoting<span style="font-family: inherit;"> an $8 box of hair dye and </span>you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!). While adults may recognize this occurrence, it's less apparent to younger consumers. When Bri is asked to play a role, she has to choose if she's going to take that route or be true to who she is. With plenty of financial trouble at home, the choice is more complicated than any other teen's quest for fame. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCPQI4dZZd0JtlNjZKXEb68aXlAozaPGs-uq9y3UEBkcta9fzH7wnY9qivDcVtHORkwj-nnQ1ZM6Jiv00Mk4WB7XkRssVcLacVcONF4Mf3_IV_4sSRdOBE2crHuyPxTxxtq5aIuwx0nHi/s1600/IMG_2225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1121" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCPQI4dZZd0JtlNjZKXEb68aXlAozaPGs-uq9y3UEBkcta9fzH7wnY9qivDcVtHORkwj-nnQ1ZM6Jiv00Mk4WB7XkRssVcLacVcONF4Mf3_IV_4sSRdOBE2crHuyPxTxxtq5aIuwx0nHi/s320/IMG_2225.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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One of my favorite messages of this book (though I loved it, so there are many), is the power of words. Especially as a rapper, Bri has to come to grips with the fact that her words have power. There are several instances in the novel when she discovers this, and she has a hard time accepting it. When the world makes you feel powerless, learning your words have power can be intoxicating and dangerous.</div>
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Another message I love is one centered around people having to <i>want</i> help themselves. You can't control other people, nor can you change their desires. </div>
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Much like <i>T.H.U.G., </i>this novel aims at teaching readers how to handle difficult situations. Sometimes the right path isn't the most immediate or satisfying one. When people push your buttons, it's hard to control your temper. Add to that the pressure that at any moment, people could stereotype your entire race based on your conduct, and that pressure is too much for anyone, let alone a teen.</div>
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This book is absolutely worth the read. I hope teens and adults alike will pick it up, and learn a little something (or a lot of somethings) alongside Bri.</div>
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Have you read <i>On the Come Up?</i> What did you think?</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-63321732615321430942019-03-05T15:56:00.001-05:002019-03-05T15:56:30.311-05:00DIY Desk Makeover <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpm1eomA2lIy4MI67mB8AuLEdrfGfxUj_hx-qTebMvCbYz_uNfKhq42ojyAGa2o-ZLUEndhRNJ7T7edn0UYpI9jC3kgg1G5UQ5rgYnJAjm87naDdpn0y0I6Yo5qLcxDNezgUSHBJW4Jppi/s1600/DIY+Desk+Makeover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpm1eomA2lIy4MI67mB8AuLEdrfGfxUj_hx-qTebMvCbYz_uNfKhq42ojyAGa2o-ZLUEndhRNJ7T7edn0UYpI9jC3kgg1G5UQ5rgYnJAjm87naDdpn0y0I6Yo5qLcxDNezgUSHBJW4Jppi/s1600/DIY+Desk+Makeover.png" /></a></div>
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I am in love.<br />
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I didn't plan it. I didn't expect it. It just came out of nowhere, and now I'm all googly-eyed and practically drooling over this new love of mine.<br />
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I locked eyes across a dusty room. My love wasn't all dressed up; actually, more worn and dirty than I'd ever anticipated for myself. But those gorgeous lines, that overwhelming <i>potential</i>, it just cried out to me.<br />
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So I brought it home, researched endlessly about this new journey of mine, and then just jumped right in with leftover supplies from other projects.<br />
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I know, you shouldn't begin any new relationship with the intention to change practically everything, but the POTENTIAL. I had a vision and I had to nurture it into this real world of ours.<br />
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Okay, fine. My love is a desk. Whatever, it's not a big deal. I mean, it kind of is, but still. Ahem.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQRMyJEv6aQf7JY1fhILp5LchU8-CUxGUm2uu1OMqBftKECbsgkiqbm7xAu0dKSbqb2iAxNf26JBj8o_bK3HERvfZH05040IjhSV730O9SHnCLqPN2xsRp2v0JfcUwYbDchQQVoL8Alg8/s1600/IMG_1213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQRMyJEv6aQf7JY1fhILp5LchU8-CUxGUm2uu1OMqBftKECbsgkiqbm7xAu0dKSbqb2iAxNf26JBj8o_bK3HERvfZH05040IjhSV730O9SHnCLqPN2xsRp2v0JfcUwYbDchQQVoL8Alg8/s320/IMG_1213.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before photo- the drawers are out, but look at that detailing!</td></tr>
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So I was generously given this gorgeous old desk with the understanding I'd make it my own. It was dusty. Dirty. I found spider egg sacks on the bottom.<br />
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But it's sturdy, well made, and all I saw was what could be. So I took out each drawer, removed the hardware, Old English'd the heck out of every surface I wasn't painting. Then I needed to prep for the areas I was painting.<br />
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Now, I don't own a sander, nor do I even know how to use one. Everything I saw online said I had to sand it with a power sander, I HAD to, or it would be a disaster.<br />
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Ha, ha, internet! I'm too lazy for that. So I took some sandpaper from a random sample pack we had, with various different grains or what have you, and I lightly roughed up the desk. Then I cleaned it again, took a deep breath, and used the leftover bathroom wall paint to do the first coat.<br />
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Then I did a second coat. In between those, I spray painted the grungy brass-turned-blackishbrown hardware with a couple light coats of white so they look all antique and what not (I mean, the desk is antique-isa, so I suppose the hardware is too?).<br />
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I considered sealing it with the poly I used on the kitchen cabinets and the kid's chest of drawers, but honestly, it didn't make a whole lot of a difference on the oft-used kid's drawers and it was cold and I was tired of this project dragging on. It was nearly Christmas and there were simply other forms of magic to be made. Luckily for me, it's been three months and so far there's nary a scratch (knock on wood. Just not my desk.)</div>
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Once all the things were dry and spots had been touched up and dried as well, I placed it in my office and put all the drawers back in and 'moved in', so to speak. And I couldn't be happier with the results.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_dRnJIvKOW8z7lOAFXS5iunA0lT-_Ls7dp0tQHZfSB307EC_GYIXmE6_27M71czZiTJTPwdUrnszf1_6kb6ZxmmNn1THOyXvaqMemcuZpLn3s_gNIJr_UVPxGbXt-hQSa7hZweHuHkqh/s1600/IMG_1490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_dRnJIvKOW8z7lOAFXS5iunA0lT-_Ls7dp0tQHZfSB307EC_GYIXmE6_27M71czZiTJTPwdUrnszf1_6kb6ZxmmNn1THOyXvaqMemcuZpLn3s_gNIJr_UVPxGbXt-hQSa7hZweHuHkqh/s400/IMG_1490.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I love the coral color, and how it contrasts yet compliments my (admittedly messy) turquoise filing cabinets. It goes perfectly with the tropical theme of my office (Hey, if I can't be on a beach, I can at least pretend I'm near one!)<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Paint- purchased at Lowe's last August for the upstairs bath, named Lei Flower, is of the semi-gloss latex variety. I used a small roll for wide, smooth surfaces and a small brush for the details</li>
<li>Hardware- spray painted glossy white, Rust-oleum, but lightly and from a good distance</li>
<li>Center drawer hardware- leftover knobs from the kitchen remodel fit the old-timey look perfectly</li>
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So if you're looking to paint something sturdy but the world keeps yelling 'power sander', try roughing it up by hand with sand paper, cleaning it well, and doing a test spot. At worst, you'll have to rent a power sander and sand off the paint and whatever you were trying to cover. At best, you don't have to put all the blood, sweat, and tears into using a power sander. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-5822019316875719392019-02-26T16:39:00.003-05:002019-02-26T16:39:53.829-05:00Dear Mama Worried About Screen Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7gAlGymCR_d6toahMq7ScT9sxEMEyw5oIxoEbwD3keiJ6f1UAHEuu9wvMdfPvvM2o-7wlHeAPVNY-KLcopJSG9gm_g-WFaIPMRu7zuTymcV6UP8Jg-4aEyNHlgUOMP-g1FDKAEubct15/s1600/Screen+time.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7gAlGymCR_d6toahMq7ScT9sxEMEyw5oIxoEbwD3keiJ6f1UAHEuu9wvMdfPvvM2o-7wlHeAPVNY-KLcopJSG9gm_g-WFaIPMRu7zuTymcV6UP8Jg-4aEyNHlgUOMP-g1FDKAEubct15/s400/Screen+time.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Dear Mama</i>,<br />
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I see you, biting your lip in worry over the newest American Academy of Pediatrics screen time guidelines. You mentally calculate how many Paw Patrol episodes your kid has watched today, trying to discern if you fit in their recommendations. It's okay to worry; everyone does, regardless of whether or not they admit to it.<br />
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I spent years carefully limiting screen time. Then work deadlines changed, I found myself in a pinch, and honestly, I just got tired of having to say no. So for a season, I gave up on following those recommendations. Do you know what happened when watching TV was no longer a special occurrence, but instead something that was said mostly yes to?<br />
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My kids asked to watch TV less often.<br />
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They're currently 3 and 6 years old, and we went through a season where they were definitely watching more TV. When I started saying<i> yes</i> more often to Puppy Dog Pals and Team Umizoomi, they binged a little. Likely, they were making up for lost time and subconsciously worried this <i>yes</i> phase wouldn't last forever. But as time went by, they asked less and less.<br />
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Granted, we don't have much in the way of live TV, just a digital antenna. So when they watch TV, they get to pick a show from the DisneyNow App or NickJr app on our AppleTV. There aren't any ads, so that's something to consider with how much TV they're actually watching. We also rarely do non-TV screens, because at least they're watching something together, talking about it with each other, and just experiencing it <i>together</i>. Watching together encouraged them to work things out as a team, as they had to agree to a show. We also removed YouTube as an option, because it isn't something we can allow them to watch with minimal supervision since horrid people try and slip awful things through.<br />
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Also, basically every show is educational in some way these days. So if you're feeling guilty about how often your kids watch TV, or for having the TV on in the background while they do puzzles or play with Play-Doh, here's some ways in which their everyday shows are teaching them valuable things, even if they aren't paying close attention:<br />
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<li>Paw Patrol: Friendship and teamwork</li>
<li>Team Umizoomi: Shapes, patterns, team work, helping, generosity, responsibility</li>
<li>Shimmer and Shine: Friendship, honesty, creativity</li>
<li>Butterbean's Cafe: Helpfulness, friendship, working together, cooking</li>
<li>Puppy Dog Pals: Family, being a good sibling, sticking together, creativity, treating others with kindness even when it isn't reciprocated </li>
<li>Fancy Nancy: I have yet to see an episode of this show that doesn't teach something- not jumping to conclusions, following directions, being a good sibling, what to do when you're frightened </li>
<li>Doc McStuffins: Following your dreams, helping others, asking for help from grownups when you need it</li>
<li>The Lion Guard: Doing what's right even when it's hard, breaking societal expectations, rescuing those who have done you wrong, helping</li>
<li>Mickey Mouse Clubhouse/ Mickey and the Roadster Racers/Handy Helpers: Shapes, colors, patterns, working together, telling the truth, being a good friend, being helpful as best you can</li>
<li>Daniel Tiger: THIS SHOW IS BASICALLY A MIRACLE. Okay, so I'm a bit of a fan. I've written an <a href="https://knoxville.citymomsblog.com/daniel-tiger-made-better-mom/" target="_blank">entire post for KMB on how Daniel Tiger has made me a better mom</a>, but aside from that, it also teaches kids just the most amazing things. It's helped potty train both my boys with the potty song. Other songs I've heard <b>my kids use in the appropriate situation</b> include the angry song (When you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath and count to four), Use your words song, the waiting song (When you wait, you can play, dream and imagine anything), the playing together song, the clean up song, and likely even more that I can't recall. Each episode reinforces an idea with two storylines. No one is perfect, everyone is learning new things all the time, it's just my favorite non-Disney thing.</li>
<li>Vampirina: Don't judge based on looks, friendship</li>
<li>PJ Masks: Friendship, team work, helpfulness</li>
<li>Little Einsteins: Music, team work, helping others, being kind</li>
</ul>
<div>
These are just the kids shows I can think of on the top of my mind, but I can likely tell you how any kids show is helping your kid be a good person or learn something valuable. And even if it's not, not everything has to be educational. Sometimes we just need to decompress and chill, and maybe kids need that occasionally, too.</div>
<br />
<br />
There are going to be seasons where kids are more into TV and some where they aren't. As long as they're also being imaginative, playing, and being their normal tiny dictator selves, maybe we shouldn't worry quite as much (even though its normal if you do so don't feel badly about it!). I, for one, find myself worrying less and being much happier being able to say <i>yes </i>more often in this area.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
Do you worry about screen time?</h4>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-42945141468591267982019-02-20T15:53:00.001-05:002019-02-20T15:53:42.764-05:00Disney Life Lessons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_3UgLpmx4imZJYs5gAI9oWXzEN8P7tDlKOvjR-MKbik7VBa5rEMw2hPrzcIJNBs-KOTszv9INquXeV4H6wE9sFcyPceDGzl_BCE343Xf1pzDGfoYaFzdljfcNasCOQF9-tvJePVHkO5I/s1600/Disney+Life+Lessons.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="810" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_3UgLpmx4imZJYs5gAI9oWXzEN8P7tDlKOvjR-MKbik7VBa5rEMw2hPrzcIJNBs-KOTszv9INquXeV4H6wE9sFcyPceDGzl_BCE343Xf1pzDGfoYaFzdljfcNasCOQF9-tvJePVHkO5I/s400/Disney+Life+Lessons.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Disney has taught me many life lessons- which I'm sharing over at the Knoxville Moms Blog! Check it out <a href="https://knoxville.citymomsblog.com/disney-life-lessons/" target="_blank">here</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwsoINQ-vHnfASFZscKQZngMWjuw4lHSPPvjL16j-du0Z10pp-ZTCFMhlsgpd_xMJntuW5YSSsPi7NP9dRBxpFlJFTh2_lP0OtBqKkoUFc4BhX4e5bS08BG0X838G90vkhE2f8ePqaS4x/s1600/Disney+Life+Lessons-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="810" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwsoINQ-vHnfASFZscKQZngMWjuw4lHSPPvjL16j-du0Z10pp-ZTCFMhlsgpd_xMJntuW5YSSsPi7NP9dRBxpFlJFTh2_lP0OtBqKkoUFc4BhX4e5bS08BG0X838G90vkhE2f8ePqaS4x/s400/Disney+Life+Lessons-2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-28335346809484877202019-02-13T08:57:00.000-05:002019-02-13T09:11:02.886-05:00Valentine's Day the Kindergarten Way<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvC5Owo2jTPrPWAO8f8o2DH1EKc5GoVIrgRynh5z1-kIpfhTbZDFM4spWX46yHyimxLKY5VaMyLwACTcT1Ttlux371S8OkxD46yBCa7d4H4scbM6pmiaw-2AwcJUYuM9rYhQSxLO2SA20F/s1600/heart-700141_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvC5Owo2jTPrPWAO8f8o2DH1EKc5GoVIrgRynh5z1-kIpfhTbZDFM4spWX46yHyimxLKY5VaMyLwACTcT1Ttlux371S8OkxD46yBCa7d4H4scbM6pmiaw-2AwcJUYuM9rYhQSxLO2SA20F/s400/heart-700141_1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Roses are red, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Violets are blue, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If no one has said,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is your Valentine's cue!</div>
<br />
Happy Valentine's Day, friends! Although today is usually all about the love between couples, there's more to this hearts-galore day than that. It's a lovely opportunity to shower your friends, family, and even pets with a little extra love.<br />
<br />
Until my kids had reached the school age, I'd forgotten the simplistic beauty of Valentine's Day. Yesterday, I had to explain to my Kindergartener that its also a day for couples, and so Daddy and Mommy would be having a special dinner (his sense of injustice over <i>that </i>is another post in itself!) Having only experienced Valentine's through his six year old eyes, he saw it as a day that <i>everyone </i>showed some love. He loved writing out his valentines for his classmates and family members, and it simply hadn't occurred to him to not make <i>everyone </i>feel special.<br />
<br />
Remember the joy of early elementary school Valentine's parties? Everyone gets a card from everyone, there's no secret hope that the cute boy three desks down will notice you, you load up on sugar and friendship and get a dozen cards of your friend's favorite characters.<br />
<br />
Wouldn't it be lovely to look at Valentine's this year like a Kindergartener?! If you're not romantically involved, see it the Disney way, as Friendship Day. Tell your friends how much they mean to you. Buy a dollar box of chocolates, curl up with some dogs and good friends, and watch silly movies. Or if you're married or involved, tell your person why you love them.<br />
<br />
Kindness doesn't cost anything. Sometimes everyone forgets what makes them special, or worries no one notices the effort they put into making the world a better place. It's amazing how a simple, "I see you" can change their day.<br />
<br />
Mamas, I see you trying to raise thoughtful and kind kiddos.<br />
<br />
Dads, I see you teaching and leading your kids, too.<br />
<br />
Friends, I see you being there for your loved ones.<br />
<br />
People, I see you. I see you holding doors, smiling, lending a hand. I see you checking on your neighbor. I see you loving on your friend's kid.<br />
<br />
I see you.<br />
<br />
You are making the world a little better, just by being you.<br />
<br />
Happy Valentine's Day, world. You are loved.<br />
<br />
You are loved.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-19663115729453359782019-01-29T16:38:00.002-05:002019-01-29T16:38:55.439-05:00Costco Street Tacos Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_1oMKurnCgJT-LovzpzKQAjhY4EWuqoGAiPOzqmLU48zHBntwgsU_sYptP_OGR8uRI5SmN3kPXNjimGL4zJV8kp6BsCpoBNx2QcxNoyt-BG28qI8gJEjd1uiGuO_bnsBr-cTESYUlurX_/s1600/Costco+Street+Tacos+Review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_1oMKurnCgJT-LovzpzKQAjhY4EWuqoGAiPOzqmLU48zHBntwgsU_sYptP_OGR8uRI5SmN3kPXNjimGL4zJV8kp6BsCpoBNx2QcxNoyt-BG28qI8gJEjd1uiGuO_bnsBr-cTESYUlurX_/s400/Costco+Street+Tacos+Review.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
My deep love for tacos runs deep and fierce. Since I also love Costco, when I heard the rumors they were selling street taco kits I knew I had to try it.<br />
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We checked if our local Costco had it on our weekly shopping trip, and sure enough they did. The $16 price tag isn't as inexpensive as our typical prepared food options, but we wanted to try it and when you think about it, $16 for a family of four for at least one meal isn't too bad.<br />
<br />
The kit included seasoned and cooked chicken, shredded cabbage, shredded Mexican cheese, cilantro lime crema, salsa, three lime wedges, and a nice stack of corn tortillas.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3X3SdkrQXoaHz8_rHy6NdByjknbb5gmPNS-_ZPnmAOQ2AuDcFxNf2WmVrOBAUU-XXFX395o_4i4_l7EG_fZuP8pJddtInxJScPPjiZUyDcylvcmN36lDjWZlOZx2Rjx_6uEMgvLaH8KL/s1600/IMG_1689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3X3SdkrQXoaHz8_rHy6NdByjknbb5gmPNS-_ZPnmAOQ2AuDcFxNf2WmVrOBAUU-XXFX395o_4i4_l7EG_fZuP8pJddtInxJScPPjiZUyDcylvcmN36lDjWZlOZx2Rjx_6uEMgvLaH8KL/s320/IMG_1689.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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What I didn't check in the store were the directions, which were minimal. "Heat chicken and tortillas to 165 degrees. Top with condiments." How am I meant to heat them? In the oven? A skillet? A microwave? I need very precise directions on things I've never made before.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6Dcl8Abx8i9c1zLtldREVmjpo9_uDoqdoxzz1dTMToZchE6ZrhX83rkUzF01RD2C-EMpukzYrMyFrzGEOJFYdCDHxoH5Zicj_eiCq7Q8ecaHP-Ot3gza2xRDUKmsfcAg2QIfgw5EbGnl/s1600/IMG_1690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6Dcl8Abx8i9c1zLtldREVmjpo9_uDoqdoxzz1dTMToZchE6ZrhX83rkUzF01RD2C-EMpukzYrMyFrzGEOJFYdCDHxoH5Zicj_eiCq7Q8ecaHP-Ot3gza2xRDUKmsfcAg2QIfgw5EbGnl/s320/IMG_1690.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We decided to heat the chicken in a skillet. We put it on medium low heat, used one of the lime wedges to toss it with lime juice, and warmed it that way. Then we warmed the tortillas as we were ready for them in the microwave.<br />
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<br /></div>
We layered the chicken, cabbage, and cheese in the corn tortillas. I'm more of a queso girl myself, so I tried the cilantro lime crema but skipped the salsa.<br />
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Confession: I've never officially had street tacos. I come from a Tex-Mex background, and those preferences will flavor my review.<br />
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I LOVED the corn tortillas. The chicken was delicious but didn't stand out in any particular way, it just tasted like taco seasoned chicken. I'm not a fan of cabbage, but tried it nonetheless. Ahem...I'm still not a fan of cabbage, turns out. I was also unimpressed by the cilantro lime crema- it just tasted like a cilantro lime ranch sauce, and I'm also not a big ranch fan. I layered mine with extra cheese and skipped the cabbage and crema on my subsequent tacos.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdtOEtkTcTfNlCd3jUQoC7wCI5cw0kEyNS6wNQXHZW1lU2M7z2fPDa2fhTOuc9kjTr0g51XHerXOMEIMbUjP04h-_TinYqQh2HpFP1SVocUUuRPOdMWuNnaVzRc53bOIYiAj5ss5PxZ0B/s1600/IMG_1695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdtOEtkTcTfNlCd3jUQoC7wCI5cw0kEyNS6wNQXHZW1lU2M7z2fPDa2fhTOuc9kjTr0g51XHerXOMEIMbUjP04h-_TinYqQh2HpFP1SVocUUuRPOdMWuNnaVzRc53bOIYiAj5ss5PxZ0B/s320/IMG_1695.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
With the multiple dishes used to warm the ingredients, the street tacos kit didn't particularly save us any time on cleanup like I'd expected. If the warm-able ingredients came in removable foil trays, I'd be more apt to buy again. The ingredients also all intermingled in the single tray, making it difficult to separate the cabbage and chicken for warming purposes.<br />
<br />
The kit was still a yummy treat, but not one our family will buy frequently, if at all. The included cheese we already have in bulk in the fridge- I buy it monthly and use it on salads, for homemade tacos, nachos, and even grilled cheese sandwiches. My pickiness rules out the need for the cabbage, salsa, and cilantro lime crema.<br />
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Have you tried the new street tacos kit from Costco? What did you think?<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-36915189079987901592019-01-14T17:50:00.000-05:002019-01-21T17:50:22.649-05:002019 Reading Challenge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCCM4bLZ21OpPCC_pia_ZSuLEHS7rDyzFhorFy7OnKOLEsUJui1eq1orutPmAzpEVXDiZa0fkW1FoyMHTb6tRLyv5gYZDaU2CDtB6coH9VCbcCmvlyfHUbXMK9ilVEc5_UQoWvFLj5_eb/s1600/2019+Reading+Challenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="810" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCCM4bLZ21OpPCC_pia_ZSuLEHS7rDyzFhorFy7OnKOLEsUJui1eq1orutPmAzpEVXDiZa0fkW1FoyMHTb6tRLyv5gYZDaU2CDtB6coH9VCbcCmvlyfHUbXMK9ilVEc5_UQoWvFLj5_eb/s400/2019+Reading+Challenge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
My latest Knoxville Moms Blog post is all about my reading goals for 2019, with a special printable reading challenge to expand my genres! You can read all about it<a href="https://knoxville.citymomsblog.com/2019-reading-challenge/" target="_blank"> here</a>!<br />
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What were some of your favorite reads of 2018?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-22188605569350409522019-01-01T05:00:00.000-05:002019-01-22T16:44:11.449-05:00The Books of 2018<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3JnC4wUp_Bw8-hfnBzgU03iJgsYeYrb-40-AyPDpqFAA97frPJyvemTPBa6b5yo-mwXOLkh_wyZankzY5r3Dx_5wp8_u-sMNR4a_eug2tTQaHrCrN_cEAlOqO2ztCPW16bqPPhNxD-pn/s1600/My+Year+in+Books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3JnC4wUp_Bw8-hfnBzgU03iJgsYeYrb-40-AyPDpqFAA97frPJyvemTPBa6b5yo-mwXOLkh_wyZankzY5r3Dx_5wp8_u-sMNR4a_eug2tTQaHrCrN_cEAlOqO2ztCPW16bqPPhNxD-pn/s400/My+Year+in+Books.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Right, so I fell a bit short on my reading goal for 2018.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But, instead of being disappointed I didn't read as much as I wanted to, I'm instead proud that I accomplished what I did.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Without further ado, here's the list for my books of 2018.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Books I especially loved will be in bold.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Christmas Surprise, Jenny Colgan</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Cafe by the Sea, Jenny Colgan </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2 a.m. at the Cat’s Pajamas, Marie-Helene Bertino</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Leaving Time, Jodi Picoult</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Larger than Life, Jodi Picoult </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Silver Boat, Luann rice </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Christmas at Rosie Hopkins Sweetshop, Jenny Colgan</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Aimee Bender</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Something like happy, Eva Woods</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Sound of Glass, Karen White</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Larger than Life, Jodi Picoult</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Everything, Everything, Nicola Yoon</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place, Alan Bradley</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The House at the End of Hope Street, Menna Van Praag</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Bow Wow, Spencer Quinn</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Beach House, Mary Alice Monroe</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Love, Hate, and other filters; Samira Ahmed</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I feel bad about my neck, Nora Ephron</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Night the Lights Went Out, Karen White</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Woman Who Smashed Codes, Jason Fagone</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The High Tide Club, Mary Kay Andrews </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Endless Beach, Jenny Colgan </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor; Rick Riordan</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Little Broken Things, Nicole Baart</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">An American Marriage, Tayari Jones</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Molly’s Game, Molly Bloom</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Fredrik Backman </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">How to Stop Time, Matt Haig</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Ship of the Dead, Rick Riordan </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Surprise me, Sophie Kinsella</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apollo: The Dark Prophecy, Rick Riordan </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Sunshine Sisters, Jane Green</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love Walked In, Marisa De Los Santos </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Belong to Me, Marisa de los Santos</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">George and Lizzie, Nancy Pearl</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eat Cake, Jeanne Ray</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Vivian Apple at the End of the World, Katie Coyle</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Flat Broke with Two Goats, Jennifer McGaha</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Library at the Edge of the World, Felicity Hayes-McCoy</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Something in Between, Melissa de la Cruz</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Atomic City Girls, Janet Beard</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Christmas on the Island, Jenny Colgan</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">We Saved You a Seat, Lisa-Jo Baker</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Story of Arthur TruLuv, Elizabeth Berg</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love and Luck, Jenna Evans Welch</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Every Breath, Nicholas Sparks</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Masterpiece, Francine Rivers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Burning Maze, Rick Riordan</span></li>
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I'll be Your Blue Sky, Marisa de los Santos</li>
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Art of Inheriting Secrets, Barbara O'Neal</li>
<li style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Dancing on the Edge, Han Nolan</li>
</ol>
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Obviously, there are many books I really loved from last year! So here's some more specific categories:</div>
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Most unexpected: Vivian Apple at the End of the World; An Absolutely Remarkable Thing</div>
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Most perspective enhancing: The Hate U Give; Love, Hate, and Other Filters; Something in Between</div>
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Best Middle Grade: Bow Wow</div>
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Best Historical: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society</div>
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Most Heart Wrenching: The Storyteller; The Great Alone</div>
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Best fun read with deeper meaning: The Cafe by the Sea </div>
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Best mystery: The High Tide Club; Big Little Lies</div>
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Favorite Characters: My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry</div>
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If you're looking for more book recommendations from me, you can follow me on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/25531174-christine" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pawprintsinthesink/" target="_blank">Instagram,</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PawPrintsintheSink/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. I post short insta-reviews on each site!</div>
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What were some of your favorite reads of 2018?</h4>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-2538660081547792602018-12-11T09:54:00.000-05:002018-12-11T09:54:17.373-05:00Thanksgiving & Christmas Movies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWInnzjOwmYkuz8fzM2lDt-Gz8Y2pIWNfJ_uN_n-dmxkL4FHMigihQZVw4LH__xHQVbSp_gMXoN9BK7wLurgsf8qE7HkTZPAiSCXVHN2y0WNzRhbSFlU4BMUkrUhLDqggk4gCPAeVVkd3H/s1600/Family+Movie+Night_+Thanksgiving+and+Christmas+Edition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="810" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWInnzjOwmYkuz8fzM2lDt-Gz8Y2pIWNfJ_uN_n-dmxkL4FHMigihQZVw4LH__xHQVbSp_gMXoN9BK7wLurgsf8qE7HkTZPAiSCXVHN2y0WNzRhbSFlU4BMUkrUhLDqggk4gCPAeVVkd3H/s400/Family+Movie+Night_+Thanksgiving+and+Christmas+Edition.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hey friends! My latest Knoxville Moms Blog post is up, and it's all about our favorite holiday movies for Family Movie Night. This includes those few, elusive Thanksgiving movies! You can check it out <a href="https://knoxville.citymomsblog.com/thanksgiving-and-christmas-movies/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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What are your favorite Thanksgiving and Christmas movies?</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-60077604603286116332018-12-10T15:42:00.001-05:002018-12-10T15:43:54.981-05:00An Absolutely Remarkable Thing Book Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH23eqjeSsOR_I-D3GipN5IJLN3-mKv1QoFCsBWsNiXStSklRZzCW6CBnHUyvZkY3ZuHwa5AxiA0Vxm0Dgh95jS4MU34u6dITyyvpZ4A7ifziAogm_1gs4TRhmwbw7llvXPwMSR0Fw0F2E/s1600/Book+Review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH23eqjeSsOR_I-D3GipN5IJLN3-mKv1QoFCsBWsNiXStSklRZzCW6CBnHUyvZkY3ZuHwa5AxiA0Vxm0Dgh95jS4MU34u6dITyyvpZ4A7ifziAogm_1gs4TRhmwbw7llvXPwMSR0Fw0F2E/s400/Book+Review.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Do you know when you finish an amazing book, but you weren't quite ready for it to end? So you delay beginning something new, just because you'd like to spend a little more time with just these characters in your mind? That's how Hank Green's <i>An Absolutely Remarkable Thing </i>is for me. It was so lovely and insightful, I just didn't want it to end. Also, never fear, there are no spoilers here!<br />
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This book is so weird, y'all. I tend to put things on my to be read list months before I read them, and then forget what they're about when my turn at the library comes about. So I went into this knowing it had a fabulous title and nothing else. The plot this novel follows is incredibly odd and twists and turns with the characters, but the basic premise is this:<br />
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NYC graphic designer discovers giant sculpture in the middle of the sidewalk, proceeds to investigate.<br />
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I'm sure the book jacket does a better job of summarizing, but I think going into this book open minded and without expectation really allows you to immerse yourself in the story and suspend your disbelief. That's where the real magic happens.<br />
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There are many things I love about this novel, but one that stood out immediately is this: the main character is bisexual, <i>and that's not what the book is about</i>. It's just a part of her, as naturally as my heterosexuality is for me. One of the many reasons I get so engrossed in books is the opportunity to walk in another person's shoes- someone different from me, but also alike. There are ways in which I'm like April, the protagonist, and there are ways I'm different. <b>But our differences don't make us enemies.</b> They just make us different, and able to learn from one another. I really enjoyed being in the mind of someone different from me, but not having those differences be the point of the story. It's just a part of who she is.<br />
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I really adored this main character. April was really great at being able to tell when she was being self-destructive and when something might ultimately become a temptation for her. I think that kind of self-awareness is incredibly valuable (although some is acknowledged as hindsight). But what I love most about her is her ability to see the good. She has a natural inclination to believe the best, even when she's been shown the worst. Yet she perseveres in her good natured belief, and I love seeing that played out in a new and unexplored arena.<br />
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I also love the inside look at the potential consequences of viral video fame. This book delves deep into the world of internet fame versus other types of fame, and it's enlightening. It's easy, especially with social media influencers and YouTube stars, to see the persona instead of the person. It's also simple to assume they're one and the same, and not that the persona is a carefully curated and palatable version of the person. There's always more to the story than meets the eye.<br />
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The inherent risk of always having to 'be ahead of the story' is also explored in a way that many books with journalists as protagonists miss. Pressure and adrenaline affect decision making, and the pressure of making those decisions, followed by endless content creation decisions, is overwhelming.<br />
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If you're itching to read this now and not later, here's the Kindle link on Amazon:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0796DR2XV&asins=B0796DR2XV&linkId=a897a93186102ec5013cd6bfbf3e0ef5&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>
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I'm obsessed with the Kindle and the ability to highlight books without damaging them, and I love how you can link to Goodreads and see your highlights long after the library book has been returned. You can see some of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/notes/24233708-an-absolutely-remarkable-thing/25531174-christine?ref=abp" target="_blank">my favorite highlights here</a>, but be warned: there may be spoilers in the highlights, or you may be able to deduce things, so proceed with caution!<br />
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If you'd like to follow me on Goodreads to see what I'm reading or wanting to read, you can do that <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/25531174-christine" target="_blank">here</a>!<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Have you ever had a book unexpectedly knock your socks off? Do you read books without refreshing your memory about the plot?</h4>
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<i>As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This is like a commission from Amazon and is of no cost to you.</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-17069184631182020672018-12-04T16:47:00.002-05:002018-12-04T16:47:38.719-05:00Holiday Gift Guide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FnvAqXHWlkIRpvkDhUCQ5UY3YTQb6lhkTKC71MwVj7OASQ03Re04fCszX4xuXS0UENmYVkFwipDzpHHoWaFLBo8iV64qElK3c_txwa2E9sbLQL-FtdbeSptAw-9_CxWPqYJQEZ129VLp/s1600/Holiday+Gift+Guide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FnvAqXHWlkIRpvkDhUCQ5UY3YTQb6lhkTKC71MwVj7OASQ03Re04fCszX4xuXS0UENmYVkFwipDzpHHoWaFLBo8iV64qElK3c_txwa2E9sbLQL-FtdbeSptAw-9_CxWPqYJQEZ129VLp/s400/Holiday+Gift+Guide.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Tis the season to be gift giving, fa la la la la. I love giving gifts. It allows me to show love to people near and far. One of my love languages is definitely gift giving. My best advice is to find something they wouldn't think of getting for themselves, but that they would enjoy. Here are some ideas for those hard to shop for loved ones in your life!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That just means I get a commission from Amazon at no cost to you if you follow my links! It's a simple and easy way to support a blog you enjoy.</i></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
For the pet parent:</h4>
This special dog tag will love on them and their pup at the same time! And it's completely customizable.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B019G35SF8&asins=B019G35SF8&linkId=856678c77d01352c7d9d37231cbd1440&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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Other options include leashes and collars in their favorite team colors, or this super comfy looking pet bed with a one year warranty, washer safe material, and a design pretty enough to fit in with their furniture!<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B003D7LCT0&asins=B003D7LCT0&linkId=c350e6ef47eec90beb096b5001298d73&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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For the Toddler</h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Toys and puzzles are wonderful and lovely, and will be enjoyed and exclaimed over. But the real hit, I've often found, is kid sized furniture. They get a kick out of furniture just their size, and it's useful and enjoyable. Whether it's a couch, table, or chair, they're going to enjoy it and feel extra special every time they use it. (Of course I picked Disney. My kid's have this in <i>Lion Guard</i> and when they first got it, they napped on it- that's how much they loved it!)</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01N6JZKCB&asins=B01N6JZKCB&linkId=a94fa8bb8bf59a20e29ce91a2d68443f&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01M9B80IL&asins=B01M9B80IL&linkId=d3ff31839ec49131da9b3cb876109545&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Best Books for Teens</h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">If you've got a teen in your life that loves to read, selecting books can be difficult. Here are my favorites! They appeal to a wide range of interests and have thought provoking plots.</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0544668677&asins=0544668677&linkId=6081f29cf532dcec683435c37fac4e16&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">You can find <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PawPrintsintheSink/photos/a.511977845818823/751467231869882/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">my review here.</a></span></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0373212453&asins=0373212453&linkId=afda5cf0dfcec9b100a0614fe7da13b1&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">You can find <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PawPrintsintheSink/photos/a.511977845818823/761355960881009/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">my review here.</a></span></div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1250104319&asins=1250104319&linkId=d281cb9286a266973d587046524a8670&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">This is the perfect choice for your <i>Hunger Games </i>fan!</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
For the Book Lover</div>
</h4>
Buying books for bibliophiles is challenging. The natural choice is books, but what if they've read it or it isn't in their taste? Try these alternatives instead.<br />
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A book store scented candle may just help them read what's on their to-be-read pile rather than buying more books, and either way, you're helping them set the mood for a perfect evening spent reading.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01A66CCP8&asins=B01A66CCP8&linkId=7428e87144fba68b214b7327bdd2e426&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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Book Log: Keeping track of what you've read can be tough. Try these pretty book to keep a list of what you've read and when!<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0307465373&asins=0307465373&linkId=84617e8658c41aed024bda0019039daa&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe><br /></div>
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If you're looking for a stocking stuffer idea, bookmarks are great. Magnetic bookmarks are my favorite, as there's no fear of losing your place if a certain toddler runs off with your book. Follow this link to see one adorable option, and then search for magnetic bookmarks for more designs to find the most suitable for your recipient.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1441319174&asins=1441319174&linkId=c26bff88a9ea540b06965e8302d9898d&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
For the Busy Mom</h4>
The best gift you can give a busy mom is a free babysitting coupon! The gift of time is so valuable. An afternoon to herself while knowing her kids are being loved on is the best.<br />
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If you live far away, you can give her the gift of indulgence. Some yummy chocolates and bath fizzies for after the kid's bedtime will give her some at-home pampering.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00285FF6O&asins=B00285FF6O&linkId=8bdd6396ebe4206966f608c713528d33&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01MFGN8S5&asins=B01MFGN8S5&linkId=938fa114fd9946d6b98e41d7cfb765d8&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe><br /></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
For the Doting Grandma</h4>
I love to give photo gifts to my mom. From when she was a kid to my babies, a photo gift is something that will bring joy and practicality that'll be used and enjoyed daily. Whether it's a canvas collage, a photo mug, or a calendar, she appreciates the thought and effort that goes into making it as well as getting to enjoy it and wax nostalgic whenever the desire arises. I use <a href="http://snapfish.com/" target="_blank">Snapfish</a> and <a href="http://shutterfly.com/" target="_blank">Shutterfly</a> to craft my photo gifts.<br />
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<b>The Big Gift</b><br />
If you're looking to be a little more spendy and are shopping for something for your reader, be they a wife, kid, or in-law you want to impress, I highly recommend the Kindle Paperwhite. I adore mine, and use it all the time. It's full of great features, from instantly downloading library books without any cords to having a built- in booklight that automatically turns itself on when you need it (then you can keep getting stubbed toes like me as you walk through the dark house reading and not watching where you're going!). They are on the expensive side, but my husband gifted me this one for Mother's Day and it's definitely one of the top two gifts he's ever given me (the other one being a KitchenAid mixer for my baking addiction). Bonus- they're now making them waterproof for the bath reader in your house!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B07CXG6C9W&asins=B07CXG6C9W&linkId=fdc9b5cd2599fa8859a4e33b6663acbc&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>
</div>
<br />
Or if you want the one that's similar to mine without the built-in book light and a little less expensive:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00ZV9PXP2&asins=B00ZV9PXP2&linkId=7cdeacf966fda546cac2496e8ab5f323&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
What are your favorite gifts to give and receive?</h3>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-5486029633443766132018-11-14T11:51:00.000-05:002018-11-14T11:51:08.732-05:00The Hate U Give Book and Movie Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Have you ever loved a book so much you had trouble gathering your thoughts about it?<br />
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This isn't going to be a critical review. I devoured this 488 page book by Angie Thomas in less than 24 hours. True story. To say I'm obsessed would be an understatement.<br />
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It was perfect. Each character was such an individual. If there's a way to my literary heart, it's well developed characters. The dialogue was incredibly well done and realistic, the plot heart wrenching, and the narrator spoke in such a clear voice I could hear her in my mind.<br />
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It was about race, family, community, faith, forgiveness, and discovering how to balance the different sides of yourself, and own up to your own actions and inactions in a real and honest way. Trying to balance the different sides of yourself is a universal struggle, but the protagonist Starr is in an entirely different circumstance. If she isn't constantly guarded, the her classmates will relegate her to one of many stereotypes people of color have to deal with daily.<br />
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Starr's struggles opened my eyes quite a bit. Its one thing to talk the talk, but quite another to walk the walk. While I've always considered myself an ally, I have not been using my voice to speak up when others are being silenced. Starr's story, though fictional, has inspired me to be an ally of action instead of silence.<br />
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One of the best ways we can learn is to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. Fiction can open that door for us, and let outsiders glimpse just a little bit of what someone else's life is like. Once you've felt your heart pound for Starr every time she glimpses a police officer, you feel a deeper empathy than ever for anyone else who feels the same in their real life, and not just in the pages of a book. I feel as though this should be required reading for so many reasons, one of which to encourage empathy and show privileged people how privileged they are in a non-abrasive way, but also to illustrate the struggle all teens have of finding who they are and where their voice belongs. While dealing with huge social justice issues, Starr is also struggling with her boyfriend, her family, and finding her place in the world. These universal themes show how teens often don't only just deal with teen stuff or just grown-up stuff, but have to instead deal with it simultaneously. Which is really just another reason to treat everyone you encounter with kindness, regardless of their age or anything else. Just love, people. Just love.<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0PZN2X812qo/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0PZN2X812qo?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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After reading the book, of course I had to see the movie version! I thought the director did an amazing job of staying true to the tone and theme of the book while also successfully adapting it for the screen. Although changes obviously had to be made, as they always are, they were clearly carefully considered so that the course of the characters stayed genuine and true to the novel. Some characters didn't make the cut to the screen, which was a little disappointing for me since I'm so fond of almost all of the characters. There were also some artistic changes at the end to give you the same jarring shock that the list of names in the book gives. The fact that there was a bit of a twist I wasn't expecting kept me on my toes and not assuming I'd know automatically how everything ended.<br />
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There was only one aspect of the film I didn't like, which was a change from a small plot point in the book. I won't reveal any spoilers, but it was a symbolic moment in the book I appreciated that the movie not only skipped, but changed the tone of. I'll address it in the comments IF anyone wants to discuss further, so that this post remains spoiler free in the actual post.<br />
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Have you read the book or seen the film? How did it affect you?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-51354416790707264732018-10-31T11:37:00.000-04:002018-11-14T11:38:10.775-05:00Knoxville Moms Blog Post: Spooky Not Scary Family Movie Night<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Halloween is a beloved time of year...and the perfect time to curl up with some candy corn popcorn and watch something not scary (hello, I'm a scaredy cat!) Check out my latest Knoxville Moms Blog post to get ideas for the perfect <a href="https://knoxville.citymomsblog.com/spooky-not-scary-family-movie-night/" target="_blank">family movie night</a>- without the scare factor!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyWafI0bU2bF-09Ke-W4fU6yFo67Qky6gSeHEHeE7snj1siZtndLDUrNdmi19RmiRlc5jcMRL68z8R8E_R3HqDp4fYLqkmM-wfVvDAcsK6f0Xm-e5TXWroS0Sh1tob9c6p2qKq7rqpC8C/s1600/Spooky+Not+Scary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="810" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyWafI0bU2bF-09Ke-W4fU6yFo67Qky6gSeHEHeE7snj1siZtndLDUrNdmi19RmiRlc5jcMRL68z8R8E_R3HqDp4fYLqkmM-wfVvDAcsK6f0Xm-e5TXWroS0Sh1tob9c6p2qKq7rqpC8C/s400/Spooky+Not+Scary.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-23297574678220987432018-09-27T13:22:00.000-04:002018-09-27T13:22:05.732-04:00Buy a Straw Cleaner and Save Your Sanity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>This post is NOT endorsed by any company. I truly love these products and want to share them with you. </i></span></div>
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Do you know what my kids have an absolute ton of?<br />
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Cups. Sippy cups, cups with built in straws, pop up cups, promotional cups. I have so. many. cups.<br />
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Guess what I also have?<br />
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Straws of my own. I received these amazing Pioneer Woman reusable straws as a Christmas gift THREE YEARS AGO and I'm still using them and I adore them. I love them because they allow me to drink like a normal human being without spilling (ahem, something I am apparently not capable of without a straw) yet I'm not harming the environment with hundreds of plastic straws a year.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01GNJ9W3M&asins=B01GNJ9W3M&linkId=985e537d62a85d0923b49a4278a46fae&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>
</div>
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You can even see one here, in my post on <a href="http://pawprintsinthesink.blogspot.com/2017/09/sweet-peach-tea-recipe.html" target="_blank">Peach Sweet Tea</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmH7Q01tkCPSg97wyPaUxG8mHwkNvbfIuRDeOyMjj4UXh5Yw4i0HaJ2j31-XMI81cKFoF5k-fGCwT6KeViEJD3mQSXc7NkXXakXhK0waXsKVVweOlaq2pZf4h8WLMCq-U85DyVlSWC1H70/s1600/FullSizeRender+18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmH7Q01tkCPSg97wyPaUxG8mHwkNvbfIuRDeOyMjj4UXh5Yw4i0HaJ2j31-XMI81cKFoF5k-fGCwT6KeViEJD3mQSXc7NkXXakXhK0waXsKVVweOlaq2pZf4h8WLMCq-U85DyVlSWC1H70/s320/FullSizeRender+18.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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What I didn't have was a way to clean those awesome straws. And, after 3 years of continual running through the dishwasher, it just wasn't getting the job done. I wanted to deep clean those suckers. Enter these amazing straw cleaners.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=pawprintsinth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01DZVRY22&asins=B01DZVRY22&linkId=14957bbe649087432c7137114fbaecb1&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
I was able to clean my awesome Pioneer Woman straws, and now they're nice and clean. I squirted a little dawn on the straw brush, ran it through the straw from both ends, swished it around, rinsed...and then put it in the dishwasher too, because I really want to kill ALL the germs and my dishwasher has a sanitize cycle that puts my mind at ease.</div>
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The real power of these straw cleaners wasn't just on my straws. I whipped out the kids cups with straws and was able to clean not only the straw, but the mouthpiece too.</div>
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Y'all, the horror. Truly, the horror. The white straw cleaner came out black. BLACK. Some of that was residue from chocolate milk. But I know some of it was dead mold that had just been sitting in those straws, unbeknownst to me or my kiddos. Ewwwww. You just can't unsee that.</div>
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Of course I then cleaned every straw and mouthpiece in the dang house, because now I knew. And once you know, you must clean, clean, clean.</div>
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If my hands hadn't been covered in soap, I'd have filmed it to show you. It's insane. And super gross.</div>
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These straw cleaners are definitely the best thing I've purchased this year. I KNOW. It's $5 and it earns that title, because now I know my kid's (and me) are drinking through super clean straws.</div>
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<i>As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. </i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-57059583869218361072018-09-27T12:57:00.003-04:002018-09-27T12:57:33.824-04:00Knoxville Moms Blog Post: Daniel Tiger Made Me a Better Mom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Once upon a time I had a two-year-old and a newborn and I was slowly but surely losing my mind. Then we discovered </span><em style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Daniel Tiger</em><span style="background-color: white;"> on PBS Kids and I watched Mom Tiger with her endless patience and kindness and I felt like the biggest failure, and the worst mom, in the whole wide world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Want to read more? Check out my latest KMB post, <a href="https://knoxville.citymomsblog.com/daniel-tiger-made-better-mom/" target="_blank">Daniel Tiger Made Me a Better Mom</a>.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6147036377079595270.post-66793835786627084762018-09-12T15:06:00.003-04:002018-09-12T15:06:55.358-04:00Bathroom Update for less than $60<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPycM-vgPS_Wg4oIuFpWqvrqJLEV5N3MHfwHffYiJd93pD4OEcaQoTzR7YWuerCM1kLBCU_xV4xOUCwxtnbzucqSqV3LwrvVWyU77BPiyBwTfFgt23ezWHfGtQITHyiQ_ucBRrjLwQ3qUC/s1600/Bathroom+Update.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPycM-vgPS_Wg4oIuFpWqvrqJLEV5N3MHfwHffYiJd93pD4OEcaQoTzR7YWuerCM1kLBCU_xV4xOUCwxtnbzucqSqV3LwrvVWyU77BPiyBwTfFgt23ezWHfGtQITHyiQ_ucBRrjLwQ3qUC/s400/Bathroom+Update.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Once upon a time, we walked into a gorgeous, spotlessly clean house. Then we bought it. Then it started falling apart.<br />
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The reason it was spotlessly clean is because it was freshly painted and then no one lived here. So when we began, you know, <i>living </i>in our house, that paint didn't hold up too well. It turns out it was a matte finish, which shows every. single. smudge. And the whole house is painted in it. Short of buying stock in Mr. Clean's Magic Erasers and driving myself crazy with constant wall cleaning, painting seemed like the best option. But in most spaces, I've hung photos and placed furniture and y'all, I just don't want to paint my whole dang house.<br />
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But the bathroom. Oh, the bathroom. It's our only full bathroom upstairs, and it's in the hall, so visitors use it too. We have a lot of little ones through here, and well, they just aren't that great at washing their hands yet. Or at least my little ones aren't. So we had a huge swath of area under the light switch which was a lovely shade of almost-washed-off-dirt. Regardless of how many Magic Erasers I used, it was tinted from all my scrubbing.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vnRs1BWk6F51GDt6V72qYXlXtUgm_rpnms1dGw1XebSGGhtHDHuOgy0eul_GhG2sbDV7aETL8Lkk-BuYM5gFKlZV0FBEYirKsWuaKHe7SbzJpDdxDN6JD-hjX40DCe4LXKvj8RTn4mUx/s1600/IMG_9997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vnRs1BWk6F51GDt6V72qYXlXtUgm_rpnms1dGw1XebSGGhtHDHuOgy0eul_GhG2sbDV7aETL8Lkk-BuYM5gFKlZV0FBEYirKsWuaKHe7SbzJpDdxDN6JD-hjX40DCe4LXKvj8RTn4mUx/s320/IMG_9997.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So one day, I snapped.<br />
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I went to Lowe's, taped two paint chips on the wall for a week, returned to Lowe's, and purchased a gallon of Valspar paint in Lei Flower ($36 before a $10 rebate I'm still waiting on). I also bought an edging tool. I cleaned and taped and cleared out the bathroom. I use Dollar Tree shower curtain liners as drop cloths, so I laid those down.<br />
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Then I put on some tunes, and painted.<br />
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And painted.<br />
<br />
And painted.<br />
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I was extremely sweaty and my playlist was just about out of music, but I was finally finished.<br />
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Oh, and all of this took place in a single day while my oldest was at Kindergarten and my youngest got to have way more than usual TV time.<br />
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After showering and lunching with my youngest, we headed to the car pick up line so he could nap. We picked up big brother, and headed to Target for a new shower curtain.<br />
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Lei Flower was a little brighter than I anticipated, and my butterfly shower curtain (purchased at least 14 years ago) was just a little too feminine paired with it. But I knew a nice gray would even it out, and wouldn't you know I'd just seen a gorgeous shower curtain at Target the other day and it was currently 20% off?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowL0EdtMWRoizzt5oz69O2OieD7QoXUeq4LUNwvYxQ5rqQT-y5PXtfprgImV6ma_XfcJpBKIn4KogDjtFSQ6vcF7QLxi4Zgy3qHCgGMM2ClwKDSx5rziBqcCl1HndJwK9jR9bot3JSL4d/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowL0EdtMWRoizzt5oz69O2OieD7QoXUeq4LUNwvYxQ5rqQT-y5PXtfprgImV6ma_XfcJpBKIn4KogDjtFSQ6vcF7QLxi4Zgy3qHCgGMM2ClwKDSx5rziBqcCl1HndJwK9jR9bot3JSL4d/s320/IMG_0002.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After!</td></tr>
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Total Cost:<br />
Paint- $36<br />
Edging tool: $3<br />
Shower Curtain: $14<br />
Tiny Paintbrush- $1<br />
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I already had painting supplies like rollers, brushes, a paint tray, my Dollar Store drop cloths, and my trusty painter's tape.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXdAXo3GMwdEuic_Pxs8f7U2yXu9aSI518bEfP9YQHuojn5QU2kqEjOaF6EEbPjZGvQTIh7rf5P8KDLr-XTU_-duk1Om1MILL7Zjb-fcw-JIJ5G1SxNPft4_gYwSUl2vfblgkGKyxHkBk/s1600/IMG_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXdAXo3GMwdEuic_Pxs8f7U2yXu9aSI518bEfP9YQHuojn5QU2kqEjOaF6EEbPjZGvQTIh7rf5P8KDLr-XTU_-duk1Om1MILL7Zjb-fcw-JIJ5G1SxNPft4_gYwSUl2vfblgkGKyxHkBk/s320/IMG_0003.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After</td></tr>
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I'm not totally done; I'd like to paint the vanity a gray to match the shower curtain and frame out the mirror. It turns out, life isn't like an HGTV show. The whole project doesn't always get done in one go. We were able to do this small project by doing just part of it, and now I don't cringe when I walk into the bathroom. Now walking into my bathroom makes me happy, instead of stressing me out. And that makes the work and expense totally worth it.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0