Spring Home Tour 2020

Happy Wednesday and big hello to any of our new readers! We're so excited to have you here.  For anyone new that might be visiting our site today for the first time today, we are Carrie Beth and Jen, a best friend blogging duo from Atlanta.  

We each have 3 kids and love to share all about affordable fashion and style, travel, home decor, some easy recipes and other fun lifestyle topics. Today we're participating in the Spring Tour of Homes hosted by our friends over at Simply 2 Moms.  

I (Carrie Beth) am going to be sharing some of my spring decor along with 12 other fabulous bloggers with beautiful homes.  Be sure to check out all of them at the bottom of this post! 

I don't know what the weather is like where you live, but here in Atlanta it is a very cold and rainy week.  However, that didn't stop me from pulling out all of my spring and Easter decor over the weekend when we had a random sunny day.

I love decorating our front porch for each season and holiday because I always say that not many people come in to see the inside of my house, but a ton of people see the outside.  Neighbors driving by, friends dropping things off or even just our UPS man will hopefully enjoy the the spring touches out there.

One of my favorite ways to switch things up each season or holiday is by switching out throw pillows.  It's such a fun and simple way to add a pop of color or a hint of a holiday theme. Plus, I love adding some fresh flowers or faux greenery just about anywhere that I can.  

We spend a lot of time on our screen porch when the weather is nice so I always like to add some fun pillows out there on our hanging bed, too!

Inside I don't go crazy, but instead I like to work with what I already have and just add a few spring touches here and there. 

I always update my letter board and while I thought I was being pretty clever with Hoppy Easter, my kids thought it was corny!  I'm just going to keep pretending that they secretly think it is cute. 

Are you noticing a trend with the hydrangeas?  My home has a lot of blues and grays so my favorite flowers just happen to match perfectly.  Isn't it crazy how some $6 grocery store flowers can brighten up your space?  I like to grab a bouquet and split it into smaller vases and containers like mason jars to spread all around the house. 

One room I decided to go all out with for this spring was my dining room and every time I walk past this space it makes me smile.  

This year for Christmas I got a lot of small spruce wreaths to tie on the back of chairs and stools with plaid ribbon and LOVED the way it looked. I wanted to do something similar for spring with boxwood wreaths and I am literally obsessed. 

It's something so simple, but it makes a big impact. 

On the table I used a mix of things I have had (like my Grandmother's pink glassware) and a few new things like the adorable moss bunnies at each place setting! 

Finally, to tie it all together I added some faux peony stems to the greenery I already had in mason jars on my dining room table and, voila...spring has official sprung in my house! 

Now be sure to head on over and check out the other amazing homes decorated for spring as part of the Spring Home Tour!  

Simply2Moms	Sweet Pembroke Home	Stacy Ling Bricks ‘n Blooms	Cuter Tudor
French Creek Farmhouse	Hilltown House	Thistlewood	Rain and Pine
The Curated Farmhouse	The Tattered Pew	Itty Bitty Farmhouse	Miranda in Charlotte

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Book Club: March 2020

We can't believe March is finally here!  It's been cold and rainy and we cannot wait for warm spring weather to finally arrive.  Sitting by a pool or on a beach somewhere with a book in hand sounds amazing right about now. Unfortunately, looks like we'll have to stay bundled up and listening to Audible indoors in the near future.  We're excited to share what we've been reading though for today's book club though!

WHAT WE READ...

CARRIE BETH

First up for me this month was More Than Words by Jill Santopolo.   

It's about a young woman who is an heir to a major hotel corporation, but instead of wanting to follow in her father's footsteps, she is following her dream as a speech writer for an up and coming politician.  Her father is very ill and in caring for him she ends up learning a lot about her family history and uncovering secrets about her parents that she never knew.  At the same time she starts developing feelings for her boss, but feels torn because she is in another relationship.  I wanted to like this book, but honestly it was pretty forgettable to me. It kept me listening, but just wasn't one that stuck with me after I was done.  

The next book I listened to was Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.  

Wow. This book was one of those that does stick with you after you are done. It is a novel based on a true story that some would call one of the worst scandals that ever happened in America.  A Tennessee woman who ran an adoption agency kidnapped and sold poor children to rich and powerful families all over the country.   She tricked the poor families into signing over their rights to their own children.  These children were treated so badly in orphanages and many of them went missing.  This story focuses on one family with 5 children who were kidnapped off of their river boat and follows the heartbreaking life they endured as orphans and their life with their new adoptive parents.  It switches between present day and 1939 and connects two families in a way you wouldn't expect. I felt like this book was so thought provoking, so disturbing at times, and made my heart ache for all of the children.  It is crazy to think that something like this actually happened not too long ago. This will pull at your heartstrings for sure, but was one I really enjoyed.  

After that last read I needed something light and happy.  My last book of the month was Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid. 

I have read several of Reid's novels and really have enjoyed them all.  This one tell a story about a young woman who has recently moved back to LA and meets up with her high school boyfriend on one of her first nights back in town.  It follows two parallel storylines based on one decision she makes.  In both storylines she explores love, has some major life events occur and faces them all with her best friend by her side. It makes you think about the choices you make and how fate works in funny ways.  It was a cute book! 

JEN

Life is crazy right now. Crazy with a capital C. It's a wonder I was able to even have the time to shower this month, let alone have free time to read. But a book and a glass of wine in my world equal sanity, so read I did. 

First up for the month was Regretting You by Colleen Hoover. 

Colleen can be a hit or a miss for some (yours included), and I skipped over her last one after lots of people told me it wasn't their favorite. But after reading the premise behind Regretting You, I figured I would give it a try. (Carrie Beth also read it last month and enjoyed it.) Typically Hoover's books are love stories wrapped around deeper messages. This one kind of follows suit with that with a concentration more on a mother/daughter relationship as the center of the book. It was a story that had tons of secrets and lots of layers, but a few were predictable. It was a quick and enjoyable read, and I approved of the ending. It would make for a good Spring Break read if you need one! 

(Psst! It gets the language disclaimer though!)

Next up was Jessica Simpson's memoir Open Book. I don't know why, but I was very intrigued when I heard this was coming out. I don't know if it was remembering watching her back in the day on MTV's Newlyweds, or if it was her rise in the fashion world, or her many celebrity boyfriends - but, something about it made me want to read it. And I'm so glad I did. It made me completely change my view of Jessica Simpson and how she is perceived. I didn't dislike her before, but reading Open Book made me want to give her a big high five and a hug simultaneously. She definitely puts it all out there, and gives you a behind the scenes peek at everything that really went on in her relationships, her rise to fame, and even her recent personal life. I loved that she gave an open and honest account of everything, and makes us all see that she really isn't the "dumb blonde" she's been portrayed as all these years. Good for her for being brave enough to share her faults and bring some clarity to the table on what it's like to live her life. It was a quick read, and I've heard the Audible is even better.   

To finish off the month I just squeaked in Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn. This book wins for "cutest read" of the month. Love Lettering follows Meg who is a popular hand lettering artist in New York that is quickly gaining popularity. A former client realizes there's a hidden message in his hand drawn wedding program she did for him a year ago. Meg is nervous he will "out" her to her bosses. After realizing she is safe, it becomes apparent both of them are at a crossroads in life. The pair quickly become friends/more than friends in a journey of finding all the hidden symbols in New York. It's a super cute "chic lit" story with some hidden secrets mixed in to keep it unique and entertaining. If you like light, feel good romance stories this one is totally one to put in your reading pile. 

WHAT'S UP NEXT...

CARRIE BETH

I'm excited to switch things up a bit and check out Open Book by Jessica Simpson. I loved her on Newlyweds back in the day and am excited to dive into this one!  

JEN

I have my first book of March all ready to go! I've actually started listening to this one, but didn't quite get a chance to finish it before this month's reviews - so stay tuned! So far You Were There Too is shaping up to be one of my favorite books I've read in awhile. I'll give my final review in a few weeks, but going to go ahead and say put it on your radar! 

What else should we read this month? 

What have been some of your favorite books lately? 

BOOK CLUB 2020

| January | February |

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HAPPY READING! 

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Monster Jam Mother Son Date Night

Whew. It's mid-week and we're still recovering from our weekend fun. In addition to our normal kids sports filled weekend schedule, we planned a fun little Mommy and Son date night. We heard Monster Jam was coming to Atlanta, and knew our boys would think it was the perfect outing.

And we were right.

Saturday evening we made our way to the Mercedes-Benz stadium in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Traffic was your typical Atlanta traffic, and it took us what seemed like forever just to go half a mile. But, the second the boys got out of the car and saw the stadium they were all smiles.

This was Jen's first time at Monster Jam, but being an old pro at it Carrie Beth made sure we were all prepared with noise cancellation headphones to protect everyone's ears.

We couldn't believe how loud it really was! The noise only added to the boys excitement.

The moment those Monster Truck engines were cranked, the boys were in full bliss mode. They didn't want to miss a single detail and recorded each and every race, trick, and crash to show their dads and friends.

We didn't realize that the show would be split into two sections: a race segment and a freestyle segment. Because there was some down time in between, we let the boys grab another snack and a souvenir. They were so excited to find these Grave Digger cups that light up. Already they've snuck them to school one day to share with their friends as their at-desk drinking cup.

If we thought they loved the Monster Jam racing portion of the show, the second half can only be described as utter elation.

The level of tricks the skilled drivers can do with their Monster Trucks is impressive. We aren't even sure how you train or prep for such tricks, but at every turn those massive vehicles were airborne, flipping, walking on their bumpers, and reversing while vertical.

Both moms and kids alike were in awe of their ability.

The crowd favorites seemed to be Grave Digger, El Toro Loco, and the Monster trucks.

Grave Digger took home the trophy and everyone's hearts. But everyone put on a great show. Even the few who went all out in their tricks so much that their vehicles landed only slightly resembling what they started as, received large crowd cheers.

When the final truck crossed the finish line, and the trophy winner was determined the boys were already asking when they could return.

It was the perfect idea for a Mother/Son date night!

If you missed the Monster Jam tour in Atlanta, there are still tons of tour dates remaining in other cities throughout the Spring and Early Summer.  It's great for the whole family, and entertaining for kids (and adults!) of all ages and interests.

Did you Monster Jam? What was your favorite part? 

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Friday Favorites: Tie-Dye Trends at Target

Happy Friday, friends!  Our kids have been off school this week for Winter Break so it's been a semi-relaxing week here for us.  The end of our winter break means March is just over a week away. In our minds March means spring and spring means new trends.  One trend we are LOVING for this spring is tie-dye.  Everywhere you look you'll see tie-dye pieces and one of our favorite stores has a ton of tie-dye trends.  Target never lets us down!  

1. Pajama set - $24.99 - These are SUPER soft!!!

2. Olive crewneck sweatshirt - $24.99 -

3. Hooded sweatshirt - $24.99 - We love the way this one laces up in the front. Super cute with leggings or jeans now and will be great transitional piece for spring!

4. Hooded sweatshirt - $24.99 - This one is pretty with the pastel colors and the shorter length makes it a great one to wear with shorts down the road.

5. Short sleeve blouse - $19.99 - This blouse is really light weight and the dye effect is very subtle.

6. Sports bra - $19.99 - Comes in a couple colors and are very bright and fun!

7. Long sleeved blouse - $29.99 - This bright yellow is certain to brighten up any gloomy day as you look forward to spring!

8. Leggings - $34.99 - These come in a few colors and coordinate with the tie-dye sports bras.

9. Lounge sweatshirt - $19.99 - We love this super soft sweatshirt and the color is just beautiful!

10. Sleep dress - $19.99 - The same super soft material as the pajamas and something you will want to sleep in every night!

11. Blue cozy sweatshirt - $29.99 - This is a super lightweight sweatshirt and we just love the circle dye pattern on it!

12. V-neck tee - $8.00 - Want a super affordable piece?  This is it!  This tee is really soft, we love the bright color dye design and would look great with leggings, jeans or denim shorts as it starts to warm up! It also comes in yellow.

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Better Options Giveaway

Today is a quick and fun post for you guys. Remember last month when we did a little home updating with local home goods company, The Better Options Co.? Well we've teamed up with them to give away a fun little gift! 

One lucky Instagram follower will get a $150 gift card to the Better Options Co. From Keenz wagons to Southern Drawl sheets - the gift card will be able to be used on any product in the store. It's a quick and easy giveaway. For all the details and entry make the hop HERE. 

If you see something you want to snag now we also have a discount code for you! 

Use code MAGNOLIA-TBOC for $20 off your order!

Good Luck Everyone! 

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Guest Bath Refresh

A few weeks ago I got the itch to update some spaces in our home.  Nothing crazy, but just a little updating here and there. I hadn't really made any chances except to the kids' rooms since we moved in almost 6 years ago!

One of the spaces I wanted to change up was our guest bathroom.  It's a small ensuite bath and gets used when we have family or friends visiting, so not on a regular basis. When we first moved in I put up an old shower curtain that we had from our previous house. It was much darker with tans, golds and browns. I also had dark bath mats in here. Because I rarely go in there it is one of those things that was kind of out of sight, out of mind.  However, I finally decided to give it a little refresh and love how it turned out!

I found the blue and white buffalo check shower curtain for under $20 HERE and knew it was just the look I was going for. Something lighter and brighter to freshen up this space. 

The cotton wreath came from Oriental Trading, but I found a similar one on Amazon HERE.  I grabbed a matching blue satin ribbon from the craft store and tied a bow to pull out the blue from the shower curtain.

I also switched out the darker bath mats for cream ones that were only $8 each HERE. It's just amazing how something small like that can really change the look of the room.

I know I always seem to forget some necessity when we are traveling or visiting friends so I like to keep some extras on hand for our guests.  Toothbrushes, shampoo/conditioner, lotions, soap, Ibuprofen, etc.  Most of this stuff is usually extras we bring home from hotels and I just put them in a basket under the skin or in this little galvanized bin with washcloths so our guest can feel like they have everything they might need.

My mom is coming to visit in just a few weeks so I'm happy to have finally freshened up this space just in time for her to use it!

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A Review of Amazon's Kindle Kids Edition

My son went from not ever wanting to read (on his own) to being obsessed with books. He now reads non-stop. This Summer was the turning point. All it took was finding was a book series for him to really get sucked into to. For him it was the Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey and the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan (read his review here).

He's also really gotten into listening to books, and downloads Audibles at a faster rate than I do. I love that he has a new found love for all things reading.

In January he turned nine. He had mentioned some new books he wanted, but I decided to do some research about getting him his own e-reader. Besides, it seemed like a much better alternative to adding more toys to my house. I had the thought that everyone could get him gift cards for books for his birthday or any holiday and it could be the gift that would keep on giving.

After a few weeks of research, I decided on the Amazon Kindle for Kids. It came out in October, and seemed like best choice for what I was looking for. Now that he's had it for about a month, all I can say is best. gift. ever.

Here's my thoughts on it in case you've been thinking of getting your own little reader an e-reader.

AMAZON'S KINDLE KIDS EDITION vs. KINDLE FIRE

A friend of mine decided to do the same gift idea for her son for Christmas, but went with the Kindle Fire for Kids instead. After chatting with her about it, I was curious. She brought her son's over one day for me to play with, and I was so impressed. Our kids all have iPads, but for the cost and the set-up, the Kindle Fire hands down is the better choice in my opinion.

If we didn't already have iPads for the kids, I would have pulled the trigger on the Kindle Fires. They are easy to navigate, already come with a ton of age appropriate apps, a protective cover, and have an excellent warranty. It's a no brainer at less than a third of the cost.

Ultimately I decided to stick with the Kindle Kids Edition. We already have iPads and I wanted him to have a device that was strictly for reading and not worry about him getting on YouTube or Netflix or anything else.

Size Comparison: Kindle Paperwhite vs. Kindle Kids Edition

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE KINDLE FOR KIDS

I have the latest Kindle Paperwhite, and thought about just purchasing him that option, but then I realized what a better deal the Kindle Kids Edition was.

1. Cover Options are included.  It comes with a protective cover when purchased, so you don't have anything additional to buy. With the Paperwhite I still had to buy a cover as an extra. There are four cover options to choose from.
   
2. Amazon Free Time is included free for one year.  A Free Time Unlimited subscription allows a Kindle user to have unlimited access to books, magazines, Audibles, movies, and shows. The Paperwhite offers a free subscription with purchase for up to three months, but the Kindle for Kids edition comes with a free one-year subscription. It also allows for the Kids version to switch back and forth between reading the story and the Audible version for free.
   
   I was nervous the subscription would just be a few books, but it includes a ton of popular titles and almost any book a kid would really want to read. For example, the entire Harry Potter Series comes with the subscription. 
   
   I haven't done a cost analysis since we've only owned it a month, but I'm guessing if you have an avid reader the yearly savings would be huge. (Free Time increases to $2.99/month for Prime users and $4.99/month for non-members after the free subscription period ends. It can be cancelled anytime.)
   
3. Security. As with any electronic device these days, parents have to worry about security on multiple levels. The device works off wi-fi, but there isn't any chatting, etc. available. I also control purchases and what content he views from my own account. He can independently search and download within the parameters I set him and his reading level, but anything outside of that has to get permission from me. Super simple to set up and use, and very easy to alter if needed.
   
4. Free Replacement if damaged. The Kindle Kids Edition comes with a 2-year worry free guarantee. If anything happens to it within two years of purchase it can be replaced for free. That alone makes it worth it because...well, kids.
   
5. Wireless headphone capable. Total first world problem, but I can't stand untangling cords. The kids could care less how many knots are in them, but it drives me nuts. With just a click of a button their wireless headphones were able to be connected. (We own these inexpensive ones.)
   
6. Battery Life. Battery life for the Kindle Kids Edition is excellent. We've had to charge it once in the past month. That's with at least an hour of use daily. It takes four hours for it to get a full charge.
   
7. No distractions. I love that the device is just set up for reading and listening to books. No distractions from apps or games. No commercials or ads for those things either. Just reading.
    
8. It's small. Just like my Paperwhite, the Kindle Kids Edition is pretty small. Think the size of a small paperback. I was nervous it would be too small after being used to a larger tablet for so many years, but I actually like the smaller size. For travel it is excellent because it doesn't take up any room and is light enough that kids can carry it around with out it making their bags heavier. 

I will add things to this list as we navigate through new features or anything else new we learn. The only con I can see so far is that the screen is only black and white. The lighting is excellent, and our son hasn't complained about the lack of color, but in some books I can see where color for younger readers might help (especially when they are still looking at photos for reading cues). 

Hope this helps anyone thinking of getting a Kindle Kids Edition for their own little reader, or if you were needing a great gift idea! 

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