Showing posts with label Charlotte NC. Show all posts

A Day In The City With Simply Great Coffee



This post is sponsored by Circle K.  All opinions expressed are my own.  Thank you for supporting the brands that support YUMMommy! 

Coffee.  I've been a coffee drinker and lover since I was a kid. (Thanks, Mom!)  Where some moms destress with a glass or two of wine, I prefer to start and unwind my day with a deliciously warm cup of great tasting coffee.  Honestly, when people ask me what's one thing I miss about living in Charlotte, great coffee is at the top of my list.

Disney•Pixar 's Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour Charlotte, NC Recap


This post is sponsored by Disney·Pixar.  Also, this post contains affiliate links which means I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you use one of my links to make a purchase.  All opinions expressed are my own.  Thank you for supporting the brands that keep YUMMommy running.

We're still counting down the days until Disney·Pixar's Cars 3 hits theaters nationwide.  Trust me when I say the Cars fever is real in the YUMMommy household.  Thankfully, the kids (and I) got to attend the Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour stop this past weekend with lots of other Disney fans.  Yep, Lightning McQueen and the crew raced into the Charlotte Motor Speedway and it was awesome!!  You can check out some of the fun we had below.

Disney•Pixar 's Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour Fast Pass Giveaway + Free Printables



This giveaway is sponsored by DisneyᐧPixar.  All opinions expressed are my own.  Thank you for supporting the brands that keep YUMMommy running.

Disney·Pixar's Cars 3 rolls into theaters nationwide on June 16, 2017.  It's been all JJ and Moo have talked about since they saw the first teaser trailer months ago.  The kids aren't the only ones excited though.  I'm a Cars fan as well and can't wait to see what's going to happen to our fave Lightning McQueen and his racing career not that he's no longer a spring chicken.  To celebrate the upcoming Cars 3 movie release, we're attending the Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour this weekend!!

Get Ready To Fuel Up With Disney•Pixar 's Cars 3 Road to the Races Tour

This post is sponsored by DisneyᐧPixar.  All opinions expressed are my own.  Thank you for supporting the brands that keep YUMMommy running.

Calling all DisneyᐧPixar's Cars fans!  5-time Piston Cup champion #95 aka Lightning McQueen is come the Carolinas!!!  This is HUGE news in my household as JJ is obsessed with anything that has to do with Lighting McQueen or the Cars crew.  I wish you guys could have heard his squeals of glee and saw his reaction when I told him that #95 was making a pitch stop here in Charlotte on May 19th-20th from noon to 6 PM (entry ends at 5PM) at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  In celebration of Cars 3 coming out June 16th, stars of the movie - Lightning McQueen, Cruz Ramirez and Jackson Storm - are on a 27 cities Road to the Races Tour from the West Coast to the East Coast.


Kayem Foods: Helping The Carolina Panthers Win Off The Field




There's no denying this football season has been beyond great for the Carolina Panthers.  While the coaching staff and players have done a great job of winning fans over with their on-field performance, Kayem foods is helping the Carolina Panthers win off the field.  Kayem Foods and  the Carolina Panthers recently partnered together and Kayem is now the official brand of franks and sausages of the Carolina Panthers and Bank of America Stadium.




If you think we football fans don't play about our teams, we really don't mess around when it comes to our Game Day eats either.  One just cannot properly enjoy a football game without some good eats and in my family, plain ol' chips and salsa won't cut it.  My family enjoys eating "Real Food" meaning something with meat in it and that will stick to the belly.  So, I was delighted and a bit anxious when Kayem reached out to me to try out some of their products.  I had never heard of their brand before, but felt reassured that they had good products because down here in the South we know good food when taste it.   The Panthers know this and wouldn't possibly dare to serve their fans Kayem franks and sausages if they weren't up our Southern expectations.




The Carolina Panthers and Bank of America Stadium co-sign wasn't the only reason I decided to try out Kayem's.  As y'all know we are a household with many food allergies.  As mentioned above my family members are major meat eaters, but are also allergic to gluten.  Over the years I've learned to steer clear of prepared foods, even meats, because they have gluten and a host of over preservatives that we try to steer clear of.  When I learned that Kayem doesn't use fillers, MSG and their meats were gluten-free, I took it as a good sign. 


What I Received



Kayem Foods has a variety of franks and artisan sausages to choose from.  In addition to franks and sausages, they also make deli meats, beef patties, and buns.  Although not listed on their website, on a visit to my local Harris Teeter I learned that they sell Kayem Italian Style Meatballs as well.  Not sure if this product is getting discontinued, but stock up on them while you can!

For my taste-testing I selected the following products:

  • Kayem Artisan Pineapple Uncured Bacon Sausage, 12 oz
  • Kayem Artisan Andouille Sausage, 12 oz
  • Kayem Fire Grill Angus Beef Patties, 15 oz 

What I (We) Liked & Didn't Like

 Right out of the gate everyone loved the Artisan Andouille Sausage, especially Moo.  I was chopping up the sausage to add to one of her favorite soups that I make from scratch and she couldn't stop stealing pieces from the cutting board.  At one point I had to threaten her with a timeout to stop her from eating it all.  I snuck a few pieces too and can't say that blame her.  That sausage was delicious.

It was spicy without being too spicy.  It reminded me of my trips to New Orleans visiting with family.  Great andouille sausage is staple down there.  They use it in red beans and rice, gumbo, crawfish boils, etc.  Honestly, I didn't eat a lot of andouille sausage before I stayed in New Orleans.

This is definitely the one sausage you'll want to get for your sausage dogs or sausage hoagies.  It's also a great breakfast sausage if you fry it up with some fresh peppers, onion and serve over buttery grits.

If you not a big fan of pineapples then you will want to steer clear of their Artisan Pineapple Uncured Bacon Sausage.  In addition to chunks of pineapple, this sausage also has brown sugar and maple syrup giving it a tangy sweet taste if eaten alone as a sausage dog.  Moo was not a big fan of the "sweet sausage" as she called it, at least not eating it by itself.  However, once paired with the Andouille and mixed into the soup, she came to love it 

I honestly didn't mind the taste.  But then again I'm a fan of putting maple syrup on my sausage.  I choose to crisp my sausage before adding it the soup and I loved how the sugars from the pineapple, syrup and brown sugar helped to make a nice sweet crust on the sausage chunks I diced.  I'll definitely purchase this again and see what other dishes I can use it in.

Before I talk about the beef patties, I want to let all of my Queen City folks know that these have not yet unrolled in our Harris Teeters.  I'm also not sure if they ever will, but we are really, really, REALLY hoping that will soon!  When I say Kayem Foods knows how to craft the perfect precooked beef patties, I mean they know beef and how to use the grill!!  Y'all may remember that we only eat beef and red meats maybe once a month or every other month.  However, I will confess that after trying these Fire Grilled Angus Beef Patties, we were ready to toss that habit out the window and start eating these everyday.

 These beef patties were juicy, tender, and grilled and seasoned to perfection.  Seriously, I've never had a store-bought beef patties that I haven't had to re-season myself because the seasoning wasn't up to par until I tried Kayem's.  We loved that these come pre-grilled because our package arrived the weekend of our first snow of the New Year and the scrumptious aromas that floated out of the pan as I cooked these had us feeling like we were having an indoor cookout.  Yes, we got transported right to summer.

If there was a scratch-and-smell button that I could have used, I would have tweeted y'all a sniff.   And God was looking out because each bag comes with 5 patties, but somehow ours came with 6.  From the first to the last bite we communicated in a series of "Mmms", "Noms" and sighs because these are just that good.  Seriously, I argued with my seven year old over who was getting the last patty.  We decided to split it. (Kayem Foods when you read this, please consider rolling out your patties to Charlotte, NC and Panthers please consider getting these as well to serve at the Bank of America Stadium!)

What I Made



Because our Winter weather had finally came in and we had gotten some snow earlier that weekend, I decided to make a Game Day and Moo's favorite soup- Pea Soup.  However, I put a twist on it by adding the sausages.  I served it over white rice and topped it with gluten-free herb croutons and added some cheese to mine.  The recipe is really easy to make and doesn't take that long to prepare or cook.  

I would suggest though that you soak your split peas overnight though as this helps to speed up cooking time.  You save the recipe printable below.



Since the beef patties were perfectly seasoned, the kids had patties on gluten-free bun with tomato and for myself I added cole slaw made here in NC (gotta support local businesses/brands), onion and a few squirts of ketchup aka my version of a lite Carolina Burger.



Overall, we were more than satisfied with our first experience of enjoying Kayem Foods products.  I do recommend that you visit their website to see if any of the stores near you sell any of their products and give them a try for yourself. 





What is your favorite way to eat franks and/or sausages?


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Southern Sauce + Charlotte Beerfest

Disclosure:  This post is sponsored by Southern Sauce Beer, Bar-B-Que and Bands Festival.



Looking for something fun and exciting to do this weekend?  Come out and be a part of one of the most unique festivals the Queen City has ever seen.  The Charlotte Knights, Romare Bearden Park and BB&T Ballpark are proud to be the host location of the inaugural Southern Sauce Beer, Bar-B-Que and Bands Festival starting Friday Friday, September 18th through Saturday, September 19th.  The festival consists of two events, Southern Sauce and Charlotte Beerfest.





About Southern Sauce

Presented by GoCarolinas.com, Southern Sauce is the two-day family friendly portion of the festival.  Admission will be free both days.  You can round up the kids and prepare to enjoy live music featuring bands from the Charlotte Blues Society and food from some of the best bbq restaurants/food vendors in the Carolinas.  There will be fun activities for the kids as well.  Southern Sauce will begin at 11 AM both days.  So pull out the sunscreen and get ready to enjoy some family bonding!




About Charlotte Beerfest




If you're like me, you want to just make Friday the family day and use Saturday as a Date Night or Mom's Night Out.  If so, the Charlotte Beerfest portion of the festival is for you!  Presented by Devils Backbone Brewing Company, Beerfest will be a celebration and showcase of the finest craft beers from the best breweries across the globe.  While you sample these beers, you'll also get to enjoy live concerts from Gin Blossoms, Simplified and Down Home Band. 



General admission to Beerfest is $50 which includes unlimited samplings of over 200 craft beers in a commemorative sampling glass.   VIP admission is $100 and includes premium concert seating, access to an exclusive beer tasting and delicious VIP only bar-b-que  buffet with private seating and restrooms and a gift bag that will include a Charlotte Beerfest t-shirt and pint glass.

A while back I had the opportunity of talking with the festival's director, David Hynes.  I asked him what his favorite part of the festival was going to be and his response was this:



When asked if festival goers could expect any special surprises and he said, "You never know."  What I do know is that Southern Sauce and Charlotte Beerfest are geared up to events that you won't want to miss.  So if you're in the Charlotte area or nearby, I hope to see you there!

For more information you can visit SouthernSauceClt.com or CharlotteBeerfest.com.  Also be sure to follow the hashtags #SouthernSauce and #PlayBeer on Instagram and Twitter!


What are your plans this weekend?

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The #PumpkinAtDunkin Is Back!

Disclosure: I was provided with food and drink samples at a tasting event to facilitate this review.  All opinions expressed are 100% my own.




Every year, the closer it gets to Fall, the more excited I get.  Why?  Pumpkin season, duh!  I have a serious love for pumpkins and I'm delighted to announce that the pumpkin is back at Dunkin Donuts!   That's not all though.  I recently had the pleasure of hanging out with awesome peeps for a mini tasting at one of our newest Dunkin Donuts cafes.


(Good Eats And Meets, The Best Crowe's Nest, Good N Crazy,  A Daily Pinch, and me)

Our Menu


My Favorites

Out of all of the drinks we tried I have to admit that the Pumpkin Iced Coffee was my favorite of the cold drinks and I really enjoyed the hot Rainforest Alliance Certified Dark Roast Coffee.  The Dark Roast is a new addition to the Dunkin Donuts menu and is currently available nationwide.  Being Rainforest Alliance Certified means that the Dark Roast "is made with at least 30% coffee beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.  The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods . . . [as well as] helps to protect wildlife; safeguard soils and waterways; and improve quality of life for workers, their families and local communities in order to achieve true, long-term sustainability."

 


You can sample their new hot Dark Roast for yourself on National Coffee Day, September 29th.  Participating Dunkin Donuts will be offering customers a FREE medium cup of Dunkin Donuts hot Dark Roast Coffee (one per guest).  After the 29th until October 5th, you can purchase a medium Dark Roast Coffee for the special price of 99 cents.  So, be sure to take advantage of both of these special offers.



Also among my favorites are the new Pumpkin Muffin and their new Spicy Smoked Sausage Breakfast Sandwich.  If you're not a fan of spicy foods, then you will definitely want to steer clear of the Spicy Smoked Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, but if you're a heat lover like me, then try it out.  I did get it on good authority that Dunkin Donuts is hoping to release some gluten-free options in the future.  I'm super excited because then the kids will be able to enjoy breakfast from Dunkin Donuts as well.

More Goodies

Home from school for only 5 minutes before she decided to lay claim to my swag bag goodies.
Before we left, they did give us each our own Dunkin Donuts swag bag that included some coupon booklets (y'all know I love to save $$), a gift card, a coffee tumbler and two bags of coffee.  As you can see from the picture above, somebody else was happy to see my swag bag, too.  While I usually just have their Original Blend, I've been killing the French Vanilla these last few days.  It smells so good and has a very smooth finish.

Be sure to like Dunkin Donuts on Facebook and follow them on Twitter to stay up to date on future promotions and new product releases!



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#HelloNewMenu: Family Date Night At Bonefish Grill

Disclosure:  I received a gift card to facilitate this review.  All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Family, food and fun.  Three of my favorite words and favorite things to enjoy in life.  Last week I got to enjoy all three while checking out the new menu offerings at Bonefish Grill.  It was wonderful to have a family date night outside of the house because it's been a while since our last one.



Although, I had never been to Bonefish Grill prior to our visit, several of my friends had.  One of my close friends even had her birthday party there last year.  I knew from word of mouth that the food was going to be good.  Plus, not to toot my city's horn or anything, but the Queen City does have some of the best restaurants around.

What We Ate

So, let's get to the actual food part.  We were started off with drinks, an artisan bread and the best made from scratch pesto I've had in years.  The Mr usually isn't a fan of the breads or rolls at restaurants, but he gave this one a thumbs up.  We decided to all order something different and eat family style.  

I knew ahead of time that I was going to try one of their new seafood bowls.  I chose the Spicy Tuna Bowl.  Sushi style tuna slices crusted with sesame seeds, fresh avocado, shredded carrots, jasmine rice & chives topped with crispy fried noodles, passion fruit salsa, a few springs of cilantro and sweet & spicy chile sauce. 



Simply delicious are the words that come to mind when I think about my Spicy Tuna.  The passion fruit salsa helped to balance out spiciness of the chile sauce and was a great compliment to the tuna itself.  Overall, I loved the way all of the flavors gelled together once I mixed everything up and poured the chile sauce over it.  
I really enjoyed the chile sauce and have been searching the web for the recipe so that I can attempt to make it at home.  You could definitely put that sauce on just about any piece of meat and it would taste good.  They were not stingy on the serving size either.  You get your money's worth.  I ended up taking some home.

The Mr ordered the Half-Pound American Kobe Beef Burger.   He was craving a little red meat since we've pretty stopped eating it at home.  He had already sliced his burger up into fourths before I could get a picture of it. Bummer because it looked so juicy.  And any burger lover can tell you that juicy is where it's at when it comes to a good burger.  You don't want it to be dry at all.

Besides being juicy, this burger was well seasoned and the special sauce was unlike any other special burger sauces that we've tried.  The lettuce was crisp and you could tell that the tomato was fresh.  Of course, cheddar on a burger is always a good choice.  The Mr gave this two thumbs up and so do I.  The kids didn't try this because of food allergies.

Moo ordered french fries and shrimp.  We haven't had shrimp in over a year and when she saw the Bang Bang Shrimp while I was checking out their menu online, she said wanted to try some.  I thought for sure she would want fish once we got there because she loves tilapia, but she stuck to her guns.  After trying her shrimp, I was glad she did because they were yummy!

The face of a very satisfied Bonefish Grill customer

JJ had just woke up when we got there and because of his many (too many to list out) food allergies and being in his picky eater stage, he got an order of fries.  He ended up having a meltdown and going back to sleep.  

What Else We Loved

From the time we entered the door until we left, the service was AMAZING!  Seriously, everyone was super nice.  Our server, Lydia, took her time in walking us through the menu.  Did you know all of their fish comes in fresh daily?  I'm not going to knock frozen fish, but if you've ever had frozen fish and  fresh fish, you know the taste is different.  

We had the freedom to customize our meals.  For example, I get headaches from eating meat that is medium rare and so I asked to have my tuna well done.  With Moo's gluten allergy, we were able to have her shrimp not breaded.  They took care to make sure there wasn't any cross contamination by using a new set of cooking utensils and keeping her food separate.

So, if you have food allergies, just be sure to let them know because they will mostly be able to accommodate you.  We also got to meet one of the managers, Julie.  She was a doll.  She greeted us when we arrived and even stopped by our table to check on us.  She mingled with a few other guests as well.

I would describe Bonefish Grill as being family friendly.  They have kids' menus that also double as coloring pages, high chairs and booster seats.  There were two other families with small children dining while we were there.  Nobody batted an eye or gave us a rude look over JJ's brief meltdown.  They understood that meltdowns happen.

As far as pricing, I do think they are reasonably priced considering the quality of the food.  They have options for every budget.  The cook time is fast.  We didn't have to wait very long for our food to come out at all.  I was most surprised by that because they had a full house when we arrived.  There was seriously no empty tables.  I would definitely recommend that you make a reservation to be on the safe side if waiting is not your thing.

What We Want To Try Next Time

Because the portions were so big, we didn't have room for everything we wanted to try.  We've made plans to go back next month to celebrate our wedding anniversary and the one month anniversary of the kids being in school.  Moo has requested to get her own Spicy Tuna Bowl (sans the crispy noodles), I want to try the Lobster  Grilled Cheese, the Mr is probably going to have an Kobe Burger and the Bang Bang Shrimp and JJ will most likely stick to his french fries unless he stops being a picky eater and then we'll throw some non-breaded chicken breast with that.

I also want to try the Jen's Jamaican Coconut Pie for dessert.  I'm hoping we can get some kind of berry/fruit salad for the kids for their dessert.  And I've already told the Mr that he can't dig in to his food until I've snapped pictures.  

Be sure to follow Bonefish Grill on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all their awesome specials and promotions!

Have you ever been to Bonefish Grill?




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UFOs In The Queen City?!

I never thought I'd see that the day that aliens would land in the Queen City. Alas the Discovery Place has confirmed that 15 UFO spaceships have indeed descended upon Uptown Charlotte.  These UFOs have taken refuge among various business on North Tryon Street (between 8th and Trade Streets).



Okay, okay, in all seriousness though 15 UFOs like the one pictured above are indeed hiding out Uptown and starting Monday, July 21st if you find one it is redeemable for 2 tickets to the Discovery Place.  The tickets will include entry to the new Alien Worlds and Androids exhibit as well as 2 tickets to check out Hubble in their Charlotte Observer IMAX Dome Theatre (located inside the Discovery Place).



I haven't had the opportunity to check out the Alien Worlds and Androids exhibit yet, but a few of my friends have and they loved it!  So, if you want the chance to score some tickets to check it out as well, make sure that you're following the Discovery Place on Twitter Facebook and Instagram.  They will be posting clues every day that will help you find the location of the UFOs via these social media channels.  When you do find a UFO, be sure to follow the instructions that are outlined on the tag in order to claim your tickets.



So why did they choose North Tryon to hide the UFOs?  "North Tryon is home to many of Charlotte's wonderful restaurants, businesses and cultural and community partners, and this scavenger hunt lets the public explore the area and programs happening here," says Discovery Place president and CEO, Catherine Wilson Horne.  "From our own new TryOn Science exhibits to Charlotte Center City's Pocket Park programs and food trucks for lunch crowds, this is another great way for us to bring the excitement of what's happening on North Tryon to the public."   

I have to say that I agree with Horne.  Having lived Uptown, there is definitely a lot to do and take in.  In fact, my first trip to Charlotte was to the Discovery Place on Tryon Street when I was in Girl Scouts.  Afterwards, when I moved to the QC for college, my besties and I have several fun (and funny) memories from exploring Tryon Street.  Although, we have moved away from the Uptown area, I definitely think that kiddies and I are going to set aside a day next week to go explore and see if we can find our own UFO. 

Happy searching!

Do you believe in aliens and UFOs?


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A Wish Come True

Today my wish came true.  It's snowing!!  I was sure that is was going to be like the last few times we had snow and melt before it hit the ground, but when the Mr opened the door to leave for work, he told me that is was snowing.  I went to look and sure enough it was.

Still though, I was skeptical that it would last long.  We've had "snow" three times already.  None of it stuck to the ground.  So, I went about my business.  Moo kept asking if we could look out and see the snow.  I finally caved in, curious myself to see if was in fact still snowing.  I didn't want to get my hopes up.  So, to the front the door we went.  And......



Looks like it's sticking folks!!  We haven't looked outside since I took this picture, but I'm hoping we have nice amount on the ground in the morning.  On a sad note the Mr might be stuck at work. :(   At least he'll be safe.  I don't want him out there slipping and sliding on the roads.  This snow was just what I needed today to cheer me up after getting some potentially bad news.  I'll wait until I have more information and share that story at a later day, but let's just say I've learned a valuable lesson.


Are you getting snow in your area?

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Getting Imaginative At ImaginOn

Due to our hot one minute and rainy the next weather here in the Queen  City, the kiddies and I haven't been able to get out of the house much.  However, the Mr came up with a great idea for me to take the kiddies Uptown last Saturday.  The goal was to stay out of house for 8 whole hours.  Yes, you read correct.  

At first, I thought it was going to be tough having the kids out of house for that long.  I wondered if JJ would get cranky around nap time and Moo can be handful when she wants to do.  She's trying to be more assertive and test her independence so to speak.  And that doesn't always make for good outings.  I'm not one to back down from a challenge and really missed being Uptown.





We decided to let Moo and JJ enjoy the day at ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center.  This place is awesome!  Seriously, I wish I would have had access to something like this in my hometown growing up.  It's a partnership of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and the Children's Theatre of Charlotte.  And there's all sorts of things for kids as young as infants all the way up to teens to do.

The first thing Moo wanted to do was check out the Arthur's World exhibit.  She absolutely loves Arthur.  And you would have thought she had seen President Obama the way she was hopping around shouting "Mommy, can we go see Arthur?  Can we go?"  I'm not one to say no when it comes to exploring educational things.  So, off we went to enjoy the exhibit before it got crowded.

Arthur's kitchen
Now there were two day camps there, but ImaginOn had it set to where from 10-Noon, no groups or organizations could tour the exhibit.  It was strictly open to families only during those hours.  I appreciated that because there's nothing like trying to keep up with your two kids without hovering over them in a crowded area.  Moo and JJ got to cook in the kitchen with Arthur and DW until their hearts were content.  Also in the exhibit was a library, a green screen where you could be in your own episode of Arthur, a classroom complete with desks and a chalkboard, a camping section and a felt board


Another one of Moo's favorites at ImaginOn were the touch screen computers.  She's used to the touch screens thanks to having used the iPad and my iPhone.  A lot of the other kids her age were confused at first because they couldn't find a mouse, but not my little darling.  She's quite the opposite.  She will have no clue what to do with a computer mouse because the Mr and I both have laptops and we're looking into getting a family desktop that will be touch screen as well.

She got to work on her alphabet, cook with Dora and more.  Oh, while we're talking about touch screens, they had iPads setup throughout the ImaginOn that kids could play with.  They were stocked with games that  were perfect for teaching math, spotting differences and more.  JJ wasn't a fan of the computers or the iPads.


Of course, JJ had a meltdown around noon and we headed off to the BB&T Center to have lunch our favorite fast food restaurant, McDonald's!  I forgot that I should have walked around and entered through the parking garage to take the elevator since I had the double stroller, but we made it up the two sections of stairs without any accidents.  They had set up a farmer's market outside.  Moo is crazy about fresh fruit.  So, I got her a peach and this fruit that looks like a plum on steroids.  I forgot the name of it but it was good.

We walked around a bit and took in the sites.  I talked to Moo about my college days of living Uptown in my dorm.  Then we headed back to ImaginOn to continue exploring.  We got to check out an interactive fossil class and dig for shark teeth and shell fossils in fossil dirt from the ocean!


I spotted the really cool lamp above and I'm now obsessed with finding one to place in the living room.  All in all it was a great day.  I'm really proud of myself and the kids.  I didn't know if we could go a whole 8 hours away from our comforts of home, but we made it.  Most of all, I love that the kids got to get creative and imaginative.  They got to escape to different worlds for a few hours and I got to watch.  It was amazing and magical!

The Mummies Are Here


The mummies have invaded the Queen City!!  Okay, not really but you can check out some pretty awesome mummies over at the Discovery Place's Mummies of the World exhibit.  We went and saw it last month and loved it!!

I've always been somewhat obsessed with the mummies and Egyptian culture.  The care in which they take when laying their loved ones to rest is just so touching and fascinating to me.  So, when I was offered the opportunity to check this exhibit out and bring the family too, I was beyond thrilled.  Prior to my visit, I'd only seen two mummies in person.

At the Discovery Place, we not only was able to to see human mummies, but we got view animal mummies as well.  We saw the tools used to embalm the bodies, the fabric used for wrapping the bodies and the sarcophagus.  I was in a state of awe just taking it all in.  And did you know that not all mummies are wrapped laying down?  We saw a few mummies that had been mummified in a sitting position with their legs drawn up to their chests.

I highly recommend that you check out this exhibit if you're in the Charlotte area or if you have plans to be in the Queen City before April 8th.  It's well worth the trip even if you live a few hours away.  You and your kids will leave with such a wealth of knowledge of about these ancient beings and an lifetime experience and memories for the scrapbook.  Need another incentive to check out Mummies of the World?

Well, the Discovery Place has decided to give out a "special prize package with 'hundreds' of goodies."   The key word being hundreds.  The prize pack will include:

~ (1) Discovery Place Membership ($100 value)
~ (1) $100 Grocery Store Gift Card
~ (1) $100 Gas Card
~ (1) Gift Certificate to Shop Science store at the Discovery Place
~ (1) $100 worth of Mummies of the World merchandise like DVDs, t-shirts, and so much more.

So be sure to grab your tickets by calling (704) 372-6261 or get them online here.

Here are some pics I took from our visit.

We saw an awesome presentation

Discovery Place has one of the best views of Uptown

His first visit to the Discovery Place!  I think he loved it!


Disclaimer:  I was not compensated for this post.  I am a huge lover of the Discovery Place and will be blogging, tweeting and facebooking about them from time to time!

Plum District



Now, everybody knows that I love good deals!  And I'm not just talking about deals on groceries.  I enjoying scoring deals on everything!!  And thanks to Plum District, I can have those deals delivered right to my mailbox.  What is Plum District?  Well, I'm glad you asked.

Plum District is a daily deals site that offers deals specifically targeted towards moms.  So, you know what that means.  More me time!!   And you can do more shopping without breaking the bank.  Plum District offers deals on everything from 
Flowers, and

Jewelry

to Photobooks.

With Christmas coming up, Plum District is the perfect site to go to for gifts for your mom, sisters, aunts and mommy friends. You browse local deals specific for your city or shop their Everywhere deals.  While you're over at Plum District, you can check out there blog and stay up to date on contests, sneak peaks of upcoming deals and much more. 


So scurry on over there and sign up to start saving today.  Don't forget to visit Plum District on Facebook and 'like' their page!  They also have city pages on Facebook too.  Queen City moms be sure to show our Plum District page a little love here.

Happy Shopping!!