All posts by Alicia

Remodeled King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort

July 29, 2014Georgia, Travelgeorgia, St. Simons Island, The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort, TravelAlicia

The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort

Location:
201 Arnold Road
St. Simons Island, GA

About a 5.5 hour drive from Atlanta
About an hour drive from Jacksonville International Airport

Reservations: 877-724-3170
www.kingandprince.com

St. Simons Island, Georgia is home to an award-winning vacation destination called The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort. If you live in Georgia, chances are you and/or your friends and family have been to The King and Prince and many families have memories of visiting the quaint seaside resort for decades. The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort, opened in 1941, recently underwent a head-turning remodel.

My family stayed in one of the The King and Prince’s rental homes called the Familia Meadows House in July and experienced the beautiful renovations first-hand. During our stay at The King and Prince last August, Bud St. Pierre – director of sales, explained the upcoming renovations and while I had reservations about the indoor heated pool being taken out and replaced with a seating area, I can’t imagine it any other way now. The King and Prince’s lobby, bar and restaurant were completely remodeled and look better than ever. It’s hard to believe that the work was completed in just three months.

The newly remodeled lobby features a huge fireplace with a plush and relaxing seating area where the indoor pool used to be. My kids were concerned that the indoor pool was ‘missing’ but quickly formed a bond with the seating area and view in the lobby, like kids do. The mixture of hardwood, tile, modern and vintage fixtures in the lobby and dining areas grab visitors attention while at the same time the beautiful use of these elements relaxes the mind and body. The gorgeous view of the ocean from the lobby and ECHO restaurant and bar, doesn’t hurt.

St. Simons Island is a barrier island off the southern coast of Georgia that offers visitors a wealth of scenic views, historical sights and tours such as Fort Frederica and St. Simons Island Lighthouse Museum as well as wildlife viewing areas, great food, fishing, and boutique shopping. St. Simons Island isn’t what I would call a touristy beach town but more of a town where year-round residents welcome visitors and share the beauty St. Simons Island has to offer with guests.

What my kids love most about The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort and St. Simons Island the beach. The hard-sand beaches make for amazing sand castles, great bike riding, and easy walking. Twice a day, as if by magic, large sandbars appear about 25-75 yards from shore and closer in some places. Many visitors swim or kayak to the sandbar to look at shells. During low tide my kids found dozens of empty knobbed whelk shells in the large rocks. We learned from a St. Simons Island native who walks the beach every morning, that the snails living inside the knobbed whelk scurry (slowly I suppose) out of their shell to get to water once the shell gets stuck in the rocks at low tide.

The King and Prince Guests See A Lot of Marine Life

You can’t get much better than St. Simons Island in regards to viewing marine life. During our visit this month we saw small sand sharks playing near the sandbar early in the morning when the tide is very low as well as lots of hermit crabs, blue crabs, purple crabs, horseshoe crabs, and sea anemone.

Grab your family and watch the short video below to see what is so great about
The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort on St. Simons Island, GA

About 15 minutes from The King and Prince Beach & Golf resort is one of the greatest opportunities for your kids to learn about and see what is in the waters of the St. Simons Sound. On board the Lady Jane shrimpin’ excursion is marine biologist, Mr. Phil – as the kids called him, who explained in detail the marine life that was pulled up in the net during the 2 hour ride through the Sound. The kids loved seeing and learning about the stingrays and squid while I enjoyed learning about the delicate yet thriving ecosystem of the area. I highly recommend that you take a trip on the Lady Jane shrimpin’ boat during your next visit to St. Simons Island.

Water Activities

Not one’s to miss out on adventure, my husband and 14-year-old son took to the ocean in kayaks. Kayaks are available to rent right from the beach at The King and Prince and if kayaking isn’t your thing, hop on a bike rented from one of the local shops and ride the shores to take in the scenery and wildlife. For the entire family, I recommend hopping on a trolley tour of St. Simons Island. Standup paddleboarding is big now and we got to see plenty of paddle boarding action, including paddle boarding yoga, from the beach. Paddleboards are also available to rent. Visit the concierge desk at the resort to plan your itinerary during your stay on the island.

The King and Prince Resort Accommodations

Accommodations include 2-bedroom villas, oceanfront suites, oceanfront rooms, partial ocean view rooms, resort-view rooms, standard rooms, and private guest houses. Guests can enjoy access to the onsite pools and exercise facility. Spa/massage services are available in the Royal Treatment Cottage.

During our stay in July, we stayed at the Familia Meadows House at The King and Prince. The five level, 4 bedroom pet-friendly house has 4 decks/patios, a loft living room with large flat screen TV, stainless-steel appliances, beautiful hardwood floors, a huge walk-in closet in the master bedroom, and a fenced in yard. The top deck looks out onto the resort property and has a fireplace, seating area, and a sink. The kids spent most of the time we were in the house on this deck.

The King and Prince Dining Options

ECHO is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and its menu, which changes seasonally, features ingredients provided by fisherman and farms in the local region such as fresh Georgia shrimp and peaches as well as local cheeses. On days you want to relax by the pool all day, The Sea Shack Bar + Bites, will happily serve your family items such as all-beef hot dogs, chicken tenders, ceasar salad, and shrimp cocktail.

Connect with The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort

The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort
201 Arnold Road
St. Simons Island, GA

Reservations: 877-724-3170
www.kingandprince.com

Lexus RX 450h Test Drive – A Safe, Family-Friendly, Luxury Hyrbid SUV

July 14, 2014Car ReviewsCar Review, Lexus RX SUV, TravelAlicia

MSRP: Starting at $47,445
ESTIMATED MPG: 30–32 City / 28 HWY
ENGINE: V6 | 3.5 L | 295hp

I recently test drove a Lexus RX 450h, a five-passenger luxury hybrid mid-sized crossover for a week and neither my kids or I wanted to part with it. Experiencing the luxury hybrid SUV for a week gave me some insight that parents who are looking for a safe, luxury suv will appreciate having. The RX is available in three styles; the RX 450h that I drove for a week is the hybrid version of the RX. The RX 350 is a regular gas model and the RX 350 F is the sport style.

Being short (about 5’3″) can pose a challenge when adjusting a driver’s seat and steering wheel in many vehicles. Because of my height, or lack of, I sometimes find it difficult to see the top of the speedometer and gauges because of the position of the steering wheel in relation to my height but between the seat and steering wheel adjustment options (tilt/telescopic) that the RX 450h offers, I was able to see all of the gauges and sit at a comfortably height. The fact that the steering wheel is leather wrapped providing a comfortable and smooth grip, doesn’t hurt!

A full hybrid, the RX 450h can operate in electric only, gas-engine only or combined gas and electric modes. The engine has multiple driving modes: Normal, Sport, ECO and EV, with a net 295-hp. I accelerated from 0-60 in 7.9 seconds, pretty fast for a mid-sized SUV. The RX 450h doesn’t make a big production out of being a hybrid. There were no noticeable sputters, sometimes experienced with a hybrid vehicle, when the RX 450h switched from hybrid to gas or from an engine-off stop to a start which made the ride smooth and quiet.

Safety First!

Parents will appreciate the 1-year subscription trial to SafetyConnect, a package that includes Stolen Vehicle Location, Emergency Assistance Button (SOS), Automatic Collision Notification and Enhanced Roadside Assistance. SafetyConnect is linked to the 24-hour Safety Connect Response Center. The Heads Up Display in the dash keeps information clearly visible while driving. This feature projects information on the windshield, such as speed, audio, RPM and current gear. To avoid a collision, the Pre-Collison System (PCS) will prepare Brake Assist (increasing the braking pressure) as well as retract the front seat belts and reduce the throttle.

The RX has a voice activated navigation system and a hard drive that stores needed maps. The optional voice activated navigation system offers real-time traffic and weather alerts. I really like having real-time alerts when on road trips with my kids. It’s nice to know when we might run into significant traffic and be given an alternate route.

I all but refuse to drive a vehicle that doesn’t have a backup camera. I’ve heard one too many stories about a child being injured or worse, because a driver didn’t see the child behind the car. While our kids have been taught to never go off the sidewalk to our driveway when someone is in the driver seat, kids are impulsive and don’t always remember the rules. The RX’s backup camera allowed me to see if kids were behind the vehicle before backing up. The outside mirrors are heated to ensure constant visibility even in a snowstorm, something we don’t experience a lot of in Georgia but I’m sure those of you in the Northern states are all too aware of. To also help with visibility, the front-door glass is water-repellent, and the rain-sensing intermittent windshield wipers keep water away.

The Blind Spot Monitor alerted me when a vehicle entered my blind spot. To help with parking, the Intuitive Parking Assist let me know where an object is, which is especially helpful during the parallel parking process, something I luckily don’t have to do often but wouldn’t be such a burden to do in a Lexus RX.

Other safety features include a four-sensor, four-channel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Traction Control (TRAC), Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) which help prevent a skid and the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) which keeps the wheels from slipping.

The Lexus RX has airbags galore. It has 10 standard airbags. The front-passenger seat is designed to detect whether the seat is occupied by an adult, a child or is vacant. In case the system detects a child or empty passenger seat, the system prevents the passenger’s front, side and knee airbags from being deployed.

Once we got home from a long day at the lacrosse field, I was able to use HomeLink, a transceiver that enables the garage, home lighting, gate and home security systems, making for an easy transitioning after a long day.

How Comfortable is the 2014 Lexus RX?

The interior cabin is stealthily quiet. Like I mentioned earlier, the driver’s seat is highly adjustable but the front passenger seat is as well. In addition to being adjustable, the 10-way power-adjustable front seats that are both heated and ventilated for either cold mornings or hot afternoons. The Lexus Memory System will remember the driver’s seat settings, outside mirrors and steering wheel and adjust accordingly. My husband is almost a full foot taller than me so a driver’s seat memory system is something we look for in a vehicle so we don’t have to go through the cumbersome task of adjusting the seat, mirrors, and steering wheel when we switch who’s driving.

My daughter loved that the RX’s rear seats recline; a feature not found in many mid-sized SUV’s. The rear seats also slide forward to make room for the cargo area. The back seat armrest provides a great little storage area for a book or dvd along with two cup holders. Ensuring the kids devices are always fully charged was a breeze with the 120-volt outlet easily accessible to the kids.

The RX 450h cargo area holds an impressive 80.3 cu ft, the same as the non-hybrid RX 350 models.

What About Entertainment?

The 2014 Lexus RX 450 comes with a Mark Levinson Premium Surround Sound Audio System, complete with a DVD/CD player and 15 speakers. There is also a USB for an iPOD as well as HD Radio with iTunes. My daughter and her friend didn’t hesitate to jump in the backseat for a short road trip because of the dual-screen rear-seat entertainment system with 7-inch LCD screens behind the front headrests, along with wireless headsets and a wireless remote. They enjoyed a movie while I enjoyed peace and quiet in the front cabin. 🙂

What Else?

MPG is a big deal for the 2015 Lexus RX 450h. It gets 18 city, 25 highway and 21 combined. The RX 450h accelerates from 0-60 in 7.7 seconds, should the need ever arise.

Lexus RX Models

RX350 starts at $40,795
RX350F Sport starts at $48,535
RX 450h starts at $47,445

If you’re budget is in the $40k-$50k range, you can feel confident that you won’t have to sacrifice comfort and style for reliability if your family chooses the Lexus RX 350 or 450h.

Go to Lexus.com to learn more about the Lexus RX and test drive a RX 450h at your local Lexus dealership!

Bahama Breeze is the summer destination for good times! + A chance to win a $25 gift card!

July 7, 2014Food and Drink, Giveaways, New postsBahama Breeze, Food and Drink, giveaway, RestaurantsAlicia

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bahama Breeze. All opinions are 100% mine.

There is nothing better than after a long day of work to go out to dinner at Bahama Breeze with your husband or some friends, Just sit on the patio, listen to some live music with a cool drink in your hand. That is why Bahama Breeze is the summer destination for good times!

Bahama Breeze Summer Beach Bash

This summer Bahama Breeze is having a new event called Summer Beach Bash.It features live music that brings the sounds of the Islands to the patio plus a new signature cocktail, called Bahama Breeze Ultimate Pineapple! So grab some friends and check out Summer Beach Bash where you can enjoy your favorite cocktail or try the new Ultimate Pineapple drink: the must have frozen drink of the summer served in a fresh cut pineapple! Plus on Saturday nights they turn up the live music and bring out a mojito bar where you can choose your fruit, your rum, and watch the bartenders muddle the perfect summer cocktail just for you!

photo ScreenShot2014-06-18at15248PM_zpsc7418dcb.png

The Summer Beach Bash will run from June 23rd to August 3rd, so make sure you don’t wait too long to head on over!

Plus..

If you go to Bahama Breeze Summer Beach Bash, you can participate in the “Instagram Selfie Contest”! All you have to do is share a creative selfie of yourself and your friends enjoying your time at the Summer Beach Bash and use the hashtag #MyBBSelfie and you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 Bahama Breeze gift card!

To view Bahama Breeze’s fabulous menu of drinks, including my favorite the Dark and Stormy Bermuda, and food, or for a location near you click here. Don’t forget to visit them before the Bahama Breeze Summer Beach Bash ends on August 3rd!

4 Things I’ve Done To Stay Sane While Working From Home 14 Years

July 7, 2014Not A Perfect Parent Series, Work From Homeadvice, tips, work from homeAlicia

I’ve been a work from home mom for 14 years and the most important thing I have learned is that working from home is not easy as people think. When I meet someone and I tell them that I run my business from home, most of them suggest that suggest that working from home must make life as a parent so much easier. That’s not always the case; it certainly hasn’t been for me. I feel very lucky that I have been able to run my business from home but it takes a lot of discipline, consistency and structure.

Learn more about me and my life as a work from home mom and read more articles in my Not A Perfect Parent series here

Do you have a tip for work from home parents? Leave your tip in the comments below.

While working from home makes it easier for me to be available for my kids and I don’t have to spend money on gas, work clothes or child care, I have also learned that it’s easy to be sidetracked by the needs and wants of my kids as well as dishes piling up in the sink, laundry that needs to be done, and the dog needing to go out.

In the beginning when I first started working from home 14 years ago, I worked at the kitchen table and I allowed myself to be interrupted during work hours, and got easily distracted. I didn’t set ground rules for my husband or son but over time I figured out some things to do that made working from home much easier.

Here are 4 tips that have helped me stay sane while working from home

1. Choose & De-clutter Your Home Office Space

It’s important you have a designated area to call your home office. Choose a room or area in your home where you can be free of distractions. Make sure the room you pick has a door you can shut and isn’t near where the television may be set at top volume in the next room. Clean your chosen room until it is spotless and clutter free. You don’t want to look around your office and see laundry that needs folding or toys that your kids should have put away.

2. Personalize Your Home Office

When you choose to work from home, it’s important that you feel you are actually going to work when you step into your home office. If you don’t provide yourself with a relaxing atmosphere that is conducive to your work, then you may find yourself constantly finding reasons to leave your office instead of getting your work done. Consider giving the room a nice new paint job, adding nice pictures to the wall and finding something that will encourage you to work while masking any noise your family may be making in other areas of the home. If you enjoy music, consider listening to Internet music such as Pandora’s Spa station on channel 77. You might also enjoy one of those little waterfall machines for some soothing background sounds. I have a tiny waterfall in my office and love it!

3. Keep Regular Work Hours

You are much more likely to have a successful work day if you keep to a regular schedule. If possible, you should do your work when your children are away at school. Even when your children are home, you shouldn’t feel bad about posting your work hours on your closed door and explaining to your children you are not to be bothered during those hours unless there is an emergency. You can make it easier on them by doing something special for them on occasion. Consider adding a bistro table with chairs near the window in your home office and invite the family in to have lunch with you once a week. Stick to that once a week schedule though and don’t let the kids color or play games on the table… or you’ll have them knocking on your office door with a cup of tea every chance they get. Speaking from experience. 🙂

4. Take Scheduled Breaks

Remember, part of the reason you have decided to work from home is to spend more time with your children. Be sure to take normal breaks during your work day when you can visit with your children. Make breakfast with them before your work day begins, and try to do special outings once a week such as a picnic at the park or roller skating. Enjoy your children as much as you can because they grow up fast. If your kids are in school, considering scheduling a visit to your child’s lunch one day a week. That always makes my daughter’s day!

You never know, maybe you’ll be surprised by what your child does for you while you ‘re taking a break such as showing off how her brother taught her to ride a longboard (middle photo)!

These are just a few ways you can thrive as a work from home parent.

Everyone is dealing with a different situation, and you will have to work with a little trial and error until you find exactly what works best for you and your family. Don’t give up if it doesn’t work out well at first. Just try to remember that eventually everything will click into a new routine that works out great for everyone.

– Alicia

Do you have a work from home tip? Please share it below!

Kyocera Hydro VIBE Waterproof LGE Smartphone for Sprint – A Durable First (and beyond) Smartphone

July 5, 2014Gadgets, Smartphones, Technology#SprintMom, Kyocera, SprintAlicia

Parents who are looking for a great first smartphone for their kids should consider the Kyocera Hydro VIBE waterproof 4G LTE smartphone for Sprint. The Hydro VIBE is a great device that the tech-savvy parent can certainly appreciate and includes a slew of great features. It’s an Android smartphone that has a great design and is waterproof, making it a great first smartphone. A further look at its features which I’ll let into below, can be the deciding factor in whether it is the right phone for your child.

See also:

• HTC One M8 for Sprint review

• Other #SprintMom posts

One of the biggest reasons the Kyocera Hydro VIBE is such a great option for kids is that it is waterproof. Accidents happen, but with this smartphone, the user can spill a drink or accidentally splash water on it after washing their hands without fear of any damage. Kids can also feel free to take the phone to the pool and snap a few photos in or around the water. I have heard more than a handful of stories about losing a phone to water damage, including one friend who’s phone fell in the toilet. I have dropped a phone in the bathtub but luckily it had less than a half inch of water in it and I grabbed it quickly but I didn’t feel nearly as confident in its safety as I would with a waterproof phone.

The Kyocera Hydro VIBE has a 4.5 inch IPS qHD screen that has a resolution of 960 by 540 pixels. It is quite lightweight at only 139 grams. At the same time, it is fairly rugged at 0.43 inches in depth. It is submersible to 3.5 feet for up to 30 minutes! It includes a primary rear-facing 8mp camera that doubles as a video camcorder that takes quality images. It runs on Android’s 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system, which means there are plenty of great apps from Google Play that can be installed, including children’s educational apps that parents will love.

Sprint customers who have kids will find that the Sprint Framily Plan is the perfect package option to go along with this rugged waterproof phone. With it, everyone on the plan gets 1GB of data, unlimited talk and text for only $45 per month and bills can be separated by account so that each adult on the plan can pay their own way and for their own kids.

Wireless charging is also included in the Kyocera Hydro VIBE for Sprint. This technology is more and more becoming the norm in smartphones and makes it even more convenient to charge them without having to worry about connecting a cable wire. This device relies on PMA-enabled (Power Matters Alliance) wireless charging, which means the user can simply lay it down on a charging pad to recharge the battery. The wireless charger is sold separately and the phone will get the user through a good 14 hours of talk time.The importance of kids having their own smartphone these days cannot be under-stressed.

Cell phones are no longer considered luxury devices but necessities. Contacting parents during afterschool activities and being able to make calls during emergencies is a must. There are also other reasons for kids to own smartphones, such as being able to text when they are going to a friend’s house or need their parents to pick them up.The tech-savvy parent will also delight at the price of the Hydro VIBE. It is zero dollars down and only $9.59 per month for 24 months or $29.99 when signing up for a two year new contract or when renewing a current contract.

Unedited photos taken with the Kyocera Hydro VIBE

The photos below are photos that I took with the Kyocera Hydro VIBE. They are unedited with the exception of being resized and watermarked.

Don’t believe a smartphone can be waterproof? Watch this quick video to see the test I put the Kyocera Hydro VIBE to.. in a lake!

I hope this review of the Kyocera Hydro VIBE helps you, especially if you’re looking for a good, durable first-phone for your child.

Stay tuned (sign up for my daily rss/email updates in the box at the top of the right column) for more reviews of devices offered through Sprint as I enjoy being a #SprintMom Sprint Ambassador during which I will test various Sprint devices and service options over the course of the year.

Enjoy!

Alicia

The Mommy Insider

Parenting | Atlanta Mom Blogger | Mom Style | Brand Ambassador | Product Reviews