Thursday, August 30, 2018

My Kid is Ready for Kindergarten but I'm Not



I truly laid my heart out over at KMB! You can check it out here.

If you may have missed one, here's where you can find all my posts!

Monday, August 20, 2018

Dear Netflix, About Those Book to Film Adaptations...

No need to fear, there are no spoilers here!

Dear Netflix,

We've been together for a long time now. I know; I've put you on hold here and there throughout the years. But you've always been there for me, and for that, I'll always be grateful.

Now, about these book to film adaptions you've been doing lately...Please don't stop. I love them. You're truly doing a fabulous job with these Netflix Originals and I'd be fairly heartbroken if they stopped.

First, there was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I adored that one. I read the book earlier this year and there was just enough time for the details to get fuzzy before the film came out so that I could thoroughly enjoy the film without constantly comparing each tiny detail to the book. The characters were brought to life beautifully, and it was such a treat to see them pop onto my screen after living in my mind. I did notice some small adjustments here and there, but after all sometimes things can work in fiction on paper that don't necessarily work for film. I did note a few character adjustments and I felt we got to know the character of Christian better in the novel, but the film did a lovely job of showing who he was.

Here's the trailer for this WWII set film based on the novel:



Another recent page to screen adaptation is Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before. I nearly jumped up and down when I saw the trailer, because it looked so magnificent. I read this one last year, but I had a bit more trepidation going into the film because it's actually the first book in a series. When I see a trailer for a serial novel, I always worry they'll try and smooth all the parts of the series into one film. Thank goodness that wasn't the case here, and make sure you watch through the first bit of the credits to get a glimpse of what will hopefully continue in a second novel.

I just adored this novel. You can read my instareview of it here. The main character, Lara Jean, is just incredibly lovable. One of the many things the film captured is her sweet nature, introverted side, love for her family, and how she struggles to balance her individual style with her semi-desire to go unnoticed and breeze through high school without any big drama. The actress who played her did a fabulous job, and she's exactly how I imagined her in my mind. Her sisters are fabulous and the film shows how the loss of a parent creates a grief that doesn't truly go away. Something the novel covered that the film didn't delve into too much is her struggle to balance her Korean side with her American side, since her Korean parent is deceased. Her Korean relatives aren't present in the film, but I'm hoping they'll be in the sequels that I'm basically begging Netflix to make.

Here's the trailer for this one:


What do you think of Netflix's book to film adaptations? How do you think they measure up to the original novel?

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Dollywood's Splash Country's Trailhead Tacos Review


One of my favorite memes says, "If you could be thin forever or have as many tacos as you want, would you choose hard or soft tacos?"

I love this because dang, hard or soft tacos is a tough choice.

So when I learned Dollywood's Splash Country was adding a new restaurant, and that restaurant was a taco place, I was basically already salivating. 

After a crazy busy summer and our first Splash Country visit getting rained out, I just had the opportunity to try this new taco place, named Trailhead Tacos.

Trailhead Tacos is conveniently located near the center of the waterpark, near the popular Mountain Waves pool. The menu is set up in an easy to understand way. Here's the menu:



I love how incredibly customizable this is! As a picky eater (and insanely lucky mom of two non-picky eaters), customization is key. I also love that by choosing a bowl, those who don't/can't eat gluten can still find a delicious meal.

Another thing I love is the style of the meat. Having pulled pork and chicken as options provides a filling option, and I find them very kid (and adult picky eater) friendly.

The toppings! So many! I'm so grateful to the hosts for being accommodating to my oddities. When my husband wanted jalapeƱos and salsa on our shared nachos, and I knew the kids (ha, and me a little) would prefer without, I asked if they could just do it on half and they did! It was a great way for everyone to get what they want.


The salsa was very fresh, and not the chunky from a can kind. The tomatoes was crisp, not soggy, which is highly important for a texture-nut like myself. They didn't even give me a weird look when I asked for both nacho cheese and shredded cheese. Clearly I've found some fellow #AllTheCheese people at Splash Country!

We went with nachos, since we were getting a snack to share amongst our family before we left the park. Our three year old fell asleep in the stroller on the walk to Trailhead Tacos (not a long walk, mind you, just a worn out toddler! He slept until the next morning. True story. Can we live at Splash Country? That would be fine. Just put a bed in the retreat, please.) My kids are not peckish eaters- they eat all the things, all the time. Heck, today for lunch they each had two servings of spaghetti. For LUNCH. They will eat an equal or greater amount at dinner and they've each had two snacks and a big breakfast. True story. Pray for me when they're teenagers, because my grocery budget will be bananas.

Ahem, sorry I got sidetracked there. So we were down one napping kid, but my husband, 5 year old and myself were pretty hungry. The nachos were really filling, even split amongst the three of us. They were also delicious. We chose pulled pork, topped with black beans,  jalapeƱos, salsa, shredded cheese, and nacho cheese. The toppings were generously applied, and we used forks to finish off the toppings we'd run out of chips for.

We enjoyed our Trailhead Tacos experience and I like that there's another delicious food option at Dollywood's Splash Country. Although all their food is good, sometimes I want something not as hot (temperature wise) when I'm already warm from being out in the sun. Trailhead Tacos offers a refreshing menu with filling options for all palates.

Have you tried Trailhead Tacos yet? What did you think?



Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Fall Getaways the Dollywood Way

Fall at Dollywood may just be my favorite season. Autumn has always been pretty high up on my list of favorite seasons, with pumpkins and Halloween and, of course, lots of birthdays in my family!

We may still be in the throes of a hot and humid summer, which is all the more reason to book your Dollywood fall vacation now. Get amazing rates, season pass discount offers, and enjoy the fall festivals and amazing Great Pumpkin LumiNights as the air turns crisp and the leaves begin their descent into an array of colors that combine to create breathtaking and spectacular vistas- all the better enjoyed from the height of your favorite Dollywood coasters!


My latest Dollywood Insiders post is all about why you should visit in the fall. Make sure you're following the Dollywood Insiders blog for more great tips and tricks to making each Dollywood day special in its own way!