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gallery wall part I

Hanging things on the wall gives me some sort of crazy anxiety. Anxiety mostly because I can’t be bothered with measuring and leveling. I like to use my eyes and wing it and in the past this method has left the walls with unnecessary holes that require patching and painting.

Now that the living room has been painted it is time for me to officially start hanging things. My love of gallery walls of course made this my first project. The thought of having to measure out and level a 3 X 3 grid almost made me want to return the frames I purchased in bulk from Michaels, but I pushed through and with a few mishaps, and curse words my gallery wall is slightly straight and level.

Please don’t look too hard.

Meet inspiration:

Source

About a month ago Michael’s had a sale where these frames that were normally $9.99 a piece were on sale for $2.99.

I took that as my sign it was time to start preparation for the gallery wall. I ended up having to purchase them online and instead of the 9 I needed I ended up having to order 12. Those extra frames have come in handy.

Don’t ask.

Wasn’t even really sure where to get started. I ended up measuring the space and doing some janky math that I couldn’t share with you if I wanted to, to come up with the amount of space needed between each frame. I hung based on those measurements then went back and leveled.

Three hours later, one broken frame including the glass and I have a somewhat straight gallery wall.

Again, don’t look too hard.

Now comes the hard part of deciding whether to use black and white or color prints. As if that decision wasn’t stressful enough add on whether or not to keep the matte making the print 5X5 or removing the matte and using a 10X10 print.

Lawd.

I’ll be back in a week or so with the results. I have ordered colored and B/W prints in 5X5 from Walmart to see the quality of the prints. I want to finish off the area with a rug, so I can move on to my next project.

Are you working on any home projects right now?

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Beauty

Neutrogena mom & daughter beauty rituals + giveaway

The fondest memories I have of my mom don’t just appear when I will them, they instead make themselves known when I witness something so simple as a mom and daughter shopping together, or catching a whiff of a fragrance she wore, or when I try my hardest not to stare at a woman that reminds me of her. I still see products in the store that were her favorites, Neutrogena having been around since the 1970s was one of our household beauty staples. Sharing some of my fondest memories of her in partnership with Neutrogena is like weaving together a story of a remembered friendship that lasted many long loyal years.

Memories are everywhere, and having surpassed the difficult part of the grief process, I can now smile when I see these tangible tidbits of everyday life that are evidence that she was once a tangible part of my life now reappearing as beautiful memories.

My mother was a stickler for beauty rituals and Sunday evenings for as long as I can remember she would put a towel over her head and hold her face over a pot of steaming water for her DIY facials. She washed her face daily with a clear Neutrogena face bar.

I remember those bars of soap. They would sit on the sink, brown and clear.The suds would dry on the top leaving a thin white layer and I knew better than to wash my hands with that soap.

Fast forward many years later and I have beauty rituals I’m sure my Addison will always carry with her. I shared with y’all my non negotiable for self care this year is keeping my nails done, and my Addi is following right in my footsteps. Whether she chooses to make a mess of her fingers on her own, have me do them or ask anyone that visits our home that has a steady hand , those little nails stay done!

As a busy mom, self care is a must and outside of keeping my nails done I love spending my evenings outside tending to my plants. With temperatures well into the 70s in the evenings, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you when I come in I am sweaty, itchy and to put it as blunt as possible nasty and dirty! Like do not pass go, go straight to the shower sweaty!

These showers/ wind down times over the past few weeks has involved washing away the filth with Neutrogena Rainbath. One of my warm weather jams is stepping out of a nice hot shower into a cooled house feeling fresh, smelling amazing and slipping into my house dress or Moo Moo as my mother called them! The Neutrogena Rainbath has been my nighttime wind down ritual that proceeds taking note of what is left to do in the day and planning for the day ahead.

Get your wind down ritual on as well with a Neutrogena giveaway. The Giveaway will include four Rainbath Shower & Bath Gels (one of each glorious fragrance!), and the Rapid Wrinkle Repair Collection (Rapid Wrinkle Repair® Serum, Rapid Wrinkle Repair® Eye Cream, Rapid Wrinkle Repair® Night Moisturizer and Rapid Wrinkle Repair® Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30). We’re giving away 10 packs (approximate retail value of $120 each). Tons of chances to win. Enter on the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Neutrogena. All opinions are mine.

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travel

Gatlinburg, TN | our spring break vacation

Every year without fail, I’m all like, ” Kids, we’re going to Gatlinburg for Fall break.” Well for the past two Fall breaks we made it to the mountains, just not Gatlinburg.

Glad to say I made good on my promise this Spring break, and as a family we made our inaugural trek to Gatlinburg. We went with our family to include my Mother in Law along with my Brother and Sister in law and their families. We went to celebrate my MIL’s upcoming retirement, I must say it was pretty awesome having everyone together for a fun little getaway.

Traveling in such a large group made it hard to do some of the smaller attractions my kids wanted to do but we will be going back in the Summer or the Fall. I’m serious…this time.

There was so much to do and see that I think if you are close enough you could easily go multiple times and not have the same experience twice. If distance is an issue I would venture to say you would need at least a week to do and see everything Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville has to offer.

I’m notorious for researching places before I visit in an attempt to get the most out of my travels. From my viewpoint here are a few suggestions on things to expect, look out for, see and do if you are planning to visit the area.

Be Prepared to Drive on Mountains

I’m not only stating this from a vehicle maintenance perspective but if you are afraid of heights, have car anxiety or any of that, the ride is steep and curvy. We came from Atlanta, through Cherokee, NC which took us through the Smokey Mountains and while very beautiful, my nerves. I wasn’t ready.

We were so high up there was snow on the ground. Not sure if it is like that coming from other areas, however I suggest before you start traveling check your route to ensure your car and anxiety are equipped.

Tri City Attractions

I knew Pigeon Forge and Sevierville were close but I didn’t know they were THAT close to one another. After 20 minutes of winding roads and such we were in Pigeon Forge, which has attractions all of its own, like a shopping outlet, race tracks, putt putt golf and other fun family friendly attractions. Kind of reminded me of a beach strip.

We went to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede dinner theater attraction in Pigeon Forge. Dixie Stampede is a live show with animals that outlined the story of the North and South during the civil war. While I felt some important parts of history were left out, overall the food and the show was good. It ran extremely efficient and I was thoroughly impressed at the level of service we were given. The attraction is not cheap but you do get a five course meal, that you must eat with your hands I’ll add. The attraction sells out quickly so make sure to get your tickets early if you plan to attend.

Dollywood and Wilderness at the Smokies along with a few other amusement attractions are in the area. Be sure to check them all out when planning your travel.

Downtown Gatlinburg

Downtown Gatlinburg is full of fun shops, and eateries. The aquarium and a few museums are also housed on the strip as well as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Five Guys and a few other well know chains! We had a great time going in and out of shops. There were even places to sip wine and fresh brewed beer. Truly a little something for the entire family to enjoy.

Lodging

We stayed in a cabin and that seemed to be the norm in the area although I did see a few hotels. The city of Gatlinburg sits at the base of the mountains so it is likely anywhere you stay will require traveling up a large hill or mountain. Again, be prepared.

Gatlinburg did not disappoint. Not sure if I went there with any expectations other than we would be in the mountains and I was impressed enough to want to return and do more attractions. I am fully intrigued to see just how beautiful the area must be during the fall.

Next spot on my we’re going every year but never make it list….Asheville!

Maybe we’ll hit both this year?

Have you ever been to Gatlinburg? Did you enjoy it? What attractions should we visit when we go back?

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Living

the catch up

Ever heard the O’Jays song “Your Body’s Here With Me?” the one where the chorus goes Your body’s here with me but your mind is on the other side of town?

The past month, I’m sure my body was at 37 while my mind was back in 2006. I’ve traveled much, am playing catch up and to make it about as clear as the Beyhive coming for Rachel Roy I have done the most in these past 3 weeks. Add on Prince passing, Birdman’s need for repecK, Lemonade,and Rachel Roy shenanigans, this month has been one for the books and it isn’t even over yet.

To catch y’all up:

We took a family trip to Gatlinburg for Spring Break.

The very next week I spent a few days in Texas with my best friend. Oh we carried on laughing, brunching, sipping and shopping.

We even slid over to Waco and visited Magnolia Market

I returned on Monday evening and spent about 98.2% of last week’s hours complaining about how tired I was and truly had every intention to get the laundry I drug out of the laundry room and plopped on the living room floor folded. Well at the time of the crafting of this blog post the laundry still sits scattered as home occupants have dug through it for their clothing necessities. This weekend instead of folding clothes I decided to attack the front bed of the house pulling weeds, planting new flowers and throwing pine straw.

Meanwhile the laundry from two weeks ago still litters the living room floor. Curb appeal is on fleek tho.

Priorities always.

I have tons of pictures and stories to tell about my recent excursions. Something tells me most of you want the scoop on Magnolia Market. I’ll have that post up on Thursday for sure.

How was Spring Break for you? Did you travel? Can you believe school is almost out?

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