Our Dollywood experience and why you should visit

My husband and I had the chance to go back to our honeymoon spot to celebrate our one year anniversary and we went to Dollywood!  This is one of my absolute favorite theme parks!

Here's what makes Dollywood different:

• Beautiful and comfortable park: There are so many benches, picnic tables and indoor/outdoor theaters.  Lots of places to rest and relax...maybe get a snack.  The park is built right in the mountains so there are lots of trees and shady areas.  I just think it is one of the prettier theme parks.

• Family Friendly Atmosphere: We don't have children yet but this park is great for families.  There are rides for young kids and old kids (like me and my husband) and then everything in between.  There are also shows and attractions to fit everyone.   

Sorry for the bad quality, this was a show at the Valley Theater that we stumbled upon and really enjoyed.  They sang different country music from the classics to contemporary.  

• Rich in History of Tennessee and a Great Story: The neat thing about Dollywood is the story, how Dolly Parton brought her town out of poverty by building tourists attractions.  Dollywood has a museum all about Dolly Parton's life and music history, you can walk inside her tour bus and there are so many shows going on so you get the chance to hear some bluegrass/country music (and it is great!)

Inside this mill is the most wonderful smell of freshly baked cinnamon bread, we didn't try any but the smell!  Oh my goodness!! 

Of course the main reason to go is to ride some rides!  Here are our top 4 favorite rides:

1. Wild Eagle: This one wins hands down.  We rode it 6 times!  It is one of the newer rides and it is awesome.  The ride is set up like an eagles wings and two people sit under the wing.  Then you go up and up and up and drop and twist and turn and corkscrew around.  It is super fast and crazy but really smooth too.  We hardly had to wait at all to ride this one.  Most of the time we got off and got right back on.  The only time we had to wait was to ride in the front...but that was totally worth it! 

2.  Tennessee Tornado: This is an oldie but it's still good.  It's definitely not at smooth as the Wild Eagle but it is still fast and crazy.  

One thing I love about Dollywood is their attention to detail.  They have so many cute signs and decorations around the park . 

3. Blazing Fury: Yes this is a kids ride but I think it's worth riding.  The set up and detail of the ride inside are really neat.  It's like Pirates of the Caribbean except western.  My favorite is the waterfall part!

  

4. Daredevil Falls: This one is a water ride, so be prepared for that.  You ride in a big log through the pretty scenery and then start up the hill where you go through a cave.  Then you take a quick fall and splash down the hill.  It's a great ride and one of my favorites when I came here as a kid.  

My Dollywood tickets were supplied free on the basis of providing a review of the park.  All opinions are my own.  

Our Trip to Tennessee

My hubby and I have almost been married a year...seriously where has the time gone?  We went on our honeymoon to Gatlinburg Tennessee and stayed in an amazing cabin, ate too much food, shopped and did all the touristy things.  We had such a great time!

Since we are moving in a month and will be so far away from the mountains we decided to make a trip back to Gatlinburg to celebrate our one year anniversary a little early.

Unfortunately we didn't get to stay in a cabin this time but our hotel was great.  It was a short trip but so much fun!

On Thursday we spent the afternoon in Gatlinburg walking downtown and going to the Tanger outlets in Sevierville, TN.

My husband found 2 button down shirts for super cheap at Banana Republic and I found an amazingly soft shirt at Aeropostale for $1.99 

We ate lunch at CiCi's Pizza in Sevierville.  (I had a living social deal) I'm a big fan of CiCis...and my poor hubby only tags along because he knows I like it.  This trip was a little bit of a miss because they didn't have such a great selection but it was alright.  

In downtown we did a moonshine tasting at the Doc Collier Moonshine Distillery

This is a new distillery that is only in Gatlinburg.  We had a living social deal for this one to get the premium tasting, a shot glass and $15 in the gift shop.  They do have a free tasting and you get to try like 6 different things for free.  Then the premium one gets you an extra 3 things to taste and a shot glass.  I'm not a big fan of liqueur but the blackberry moonshine and the peach were my favorite.  

We also bought a tshirt with our $15...because we couldn't use it for alcohol.  

For dinner we stopped at Crawdaddys in downtown Gatlinburg and had the sampler boil special which we split:

It was really good.  We had crab, shrimp, mussels, corn, potatoes and crawdads (for the first time).  It was so messy but really yummy! 

The view was great we got I sit by the window and look out at downtown Gatlinburg.  

We had such a good time and our hotel was close enough to walk to downtown which was awesome!

We also went to Dollywood...but that will be in an upcoming post! 

DIY: Filing Cabinet Transformation

We have been needing a filing cabinet to keep paper and receipts and things but oh man they are not exactly cute.  

While perusing my Redbook subscription I came across a redo of a filing cabinet using paint and a stencil.  I was in love. 

This is such an easy project and so customizable.  It's not exactly quick...it's been sitting on our porch for a few weeks but the end result is worth it.  

What you need:

- Filing cabinet needing some love (my mom found ours at a yard sale, but I've seen cheap ones at goodwill and Craigslist) 

- metal primer (I got a spray primer from walmart) 

- sandpaper 

- paint (I bought a mistint quart at walmart on clearance) 

- craft paint (michaels) 

- brushes 

- stencil (michaels)

- painters tape 

- sealant 

Alright so first off you wanna give your filing cabinet a good wipe down.  I just used a Clorox wipe and a rag.  

Mine was super rough looking and had rust in some spots so take that sandpaper and smooth everything out.  Use some elbow grease and sand off the rust because you don't want that hanging around.  

(Sorry I don't have a before pic...blogger fail) 

After you've got it sanded to your liking you can prime it wih your chosen primer.  

Once your primer has dried get out your paint and cover your cabinet.  I took off the handles and plates because I was going to reprint them a different color.  Oh and pull the drawers out slightly or they will be painted and stuck and really hard to get back out...trust me.  

Here's my mistint paint (sorry it's a disaster) but I'm obsessed with clearance paint...seriously I didn't even know this was a thing! 

Alright once your paint has dried it's time to get creative.  Take your stencil ( I got mine for around $3 at micheals with a coupon) and tape it into your cabinet wherever you want with the painters tape. Mine didn't always stick so well so good luck.  Take some paint and my super professional technique was to sponge/dab it on until everything was covered.  I also didn't wait for the paint to dry before removing the stencil I just peeled it off very carefully.  

I used the craftsmart multi surface in parchment 

Here is the stencil I used, got it at Michaels with a coupon :)

Make sure you wash it between uses so you don't get paint spots.  

I had some mistakes on some parts so what I did was go back in with the gray paint and a tiny paintbrush to fix it the best I could.  Then I sprayed it with this sealant.  

Influenster VoxBox: Loreal Paris Straight hair don't care

Alright guys I got another VoxBox!  This one was awesome seriously 4 FULL size products!  Now one of my products did explode a little bit...which is annoying but it smells amazing!  

If you don't know what influenster voxboxes are check out my post here.  

They give you free products to try and you give your opinions.  

This time I got 4 free hair products:

Loreal Smooth Intense Ultimate Straight Shampoo 

Loreal Smooth Intense Ultimate Straight Conditioner 

Loreal Smooth Intense Ultimate Straight Straight Perfecting Balm 

Loreal Smooth Intense Ultimate Straight Straight Boosting Pre-Conditioner 

This stuff is pretty great.  It smells amazing!  Probably one of my favorite hair product smells ever! 

I usually wear my hair straight so this was perfect.  I don't really know if there was a difference of straightness from the shampoo/conditioner but the balm was great.  I love a good hair treatment and especially if it makes my morning routine a little easier.  It cut the frizz which is great with this humidity and it made my hair really soft.    

#ultimatestraight 

Have you guys tried this line?  What did you think?

Life this week

What's been going on this past week;

So this actually wasn't this week (but it wasn't too long ago).  My husband and father in law love to go to baseball games.  I like to go, its the sitting for 9 innings that I'm not crazy about. I love the atmosphere though and just hanging out.  Oh and until this game I had never had a hot dog at a baseball game...I know I'm so un-american.

Here's my first official baseball game hotdog, I was pretty excited about it an it did not disappoint.  

It was such beautiful weather and even though the home team lost it was a great time! (Check out our old man photobomber...) 

I have been crafting like crazy y'all, seriously I have like 3 projects going on right now on our front porch alone.   I mean we are moving into a big nice house soon so I've gotta get my stuff pretty.  I'm planning to do some blog posts in the future, but here's a sneak peek:

My Favorite elf Dupes

I love e.l.f cosmetics!  I discovered them in college and was amazed at how cheap they were yet still able to have such an quality product.  They are dupes for some of the most raved about makeup items and at a fraction of the cost.  They work exactly the same you just have more money in your wallet.

- Smashbox Photo Finish primer ($39) vs. e.l.f. Studio Mineral Infused Primer ($6)

For a fraction of the cost you get a primer that works just as well, if not better than the Smashbox version.  This one really helps keep your makeup on all day.  It smooths out your pores and helps your foundation to go on perfectly and last all day.  They also have some that reduce redness.  

- Makeup Forever HD Microfinish Powder ($34) vs. e.l.f. Studio HD Powder ($6)

I used this for my wedding and it made such a difference in my pictures.  This helps to define your features and makes things look beautiful in pictures.  The only downside is it makes a little bit of a mess...so be careful when you open it.  

- NARS Blush/Bronzer Duo in Orgasm/Laguna ($42) vs. e.l.f. Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder in St. Lucia ($3)

This is my favorite blush duo!  The blush color is a perfect coral pink.  I use the bronzer for contouring.  Compared to the NARS version the colors swatch exactly the same.   

- Benefit Coralista Blush ($28) vs. e.l.f. Studio Blush in Candid Coral ($3)

Another elf blush that is just like the more expensive version.  This one is the perfect coral color that looks good on pretty much everyone.  

- Mac Cremsheen Lipstick in Creme Cup ($16) vs. e.l.f.  Studio Matte Lip Color in Natural ($3)

The studio lipstick is such a beautiful matte lip color that lasts all day and swatches an almost exact match to the Mac.  

- Anastasia Brow Powder Duo ($23) vs. e.l.f. Studio Eyebrow Kit ($3)

Your brows are such an important step to do because they frame your whole face.  The Anastasia duo is raved about in the beauty community but it is so expensive.  This elf version is so much cheaper and works exactly the same.  There is a wax portion to hold them in place and color to fill them in.  

What are your favorite elf products?  

What I Read In May

Alright guys this is a little late but here's what I read in May:

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella: This book was really cute.  I'm a fan of Sophie Kinsella (side note, she's British so the language can be a little harsh)  It started off a little slow but then I got into it and couldn't stop reading.  It's about a girl figuring herself out, her great aunt dies and no one really knew her.  Lara is in the middle of a job/relationship crisis and to add to her troubles her great aunt's ghost starts to follow her around and has a job for her.  She is supposed to find her necklace.  This starts Lara on a journey to learn more about her great aunt, herself and her family.  I thought the story was great and I loved the twenties details of outfits by the great aunt.

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella: This month featured a trend of Sophie Kinsella...seriously she is so easy to read.  If you have read any of the Shopaholic series this follows Becky on her escapades dealing with her love life and her love of shopping.  

Where Yesterday Lives by Karen Kingsbury: I am a big fan of Karen Kingsbury but honestly this one was a little disappointing.  It started off slow and continued slow...and depressing.  It was about a family who were close a long time ago then grew apart and the siblings don't get along.  The father dies and this forces them all to get back together and face their problems head on.  The overall story was good but reading about all their problems the whole book was a little stressful.

Girls In White Dresses by Jennifer Close: Alright I picked this one because I heard so much about it.  It was a little weird in it's layout, lots of mini stories that all come together.  It was interesting and very real, not all happy endings, just like life.

What have y'all been reading lately?