Category: Travel

2018 DFW Auto Show + Enter To Win!

This post is sponsored by A Girls Guide to Cars on behalf of the DFW Auto Show and Toyota. All opinions are my own. #DFWLovesAutos #ToyotaDFW #Avalon

This year will be my fourth year to attend the DFW Auto Show.  If you have never attended an Auto Show then now is your chance!  Toyota is now a HUGE part of North Texas with their new North American Headquarters right here in Plano.  I’m super excited to be covering Toyota this year and you can check out some fun videos and coverage on my Instagram and Facebook pages.  I’ll be sharing throughout the day on Valentine’s Day!  I’m excited to see the new Toyota Avalon in particular.  I had an Avalon for 11 years and to this day I still think it was the best car I ever had.

The new 2018 Avalon:

What can you see at the DFW Auto Show?  The answer is just about everything.  You can see all kinds of makes, models, and even get inside them to see how comfy they are!

You can even participate in ride and drives and test out cars ranging from all different makes and models.

 

NEW & NOTEWORTHY TOYOTA INFO:

Toyota

  • Designed and Assembled in the U.S.A., Five Generations Strong
  • New V6 and Toyota Hybrid System Powertrains Offering More Power and MPG
  • New TNGA K Sedan Platform with Multi-Link Rear Suspension and Available Toyota-First Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS)
  • Standard Entune 3.0 with WiFi Hotspot, Qi Wireless Charging, Toyota Remote Connect with Smartwatch and Amazon Alexa Connectivity, and Apple CarPlay
  • Standard Toyota Safety Sense P (TSS-P)
  • On Sale in Late Spring 2018

C-HR

  • Bold, Eye-Catching Style Signals New Direction in Toyota Design
  • Sharp Nürburgring-Tuned Handling
  • C-HR Receives Two Toyota-First Features: Driver Distraction Secure Audio and Brake Hold Function
  • Standard 18-in. Alloy Wheels, Dual-Zone Climate Control, Bucket Seating and 7-in. Audio Display
  • Only Vehicle in Its Segment with Standard Pre-Collision System with Active Braking – Toyota Safety Sense P (TSS-P) with Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control

Camry

  • Best-Selling Car in America for the last 16 years
  • Standard Toyota Safety Sense-P
  • New Emotionally-Charged Design and Performance Experience
  • Aggressive Exterior Character Lines and Low Center of Gravity

RAV4 Adventure

  • RAV4 Adventure has Dirt-Inspired Styling and Higher Ride Height
  • Active lifestyle inspired

Tundra

  • Built here, lives here; built at Toyota’s San Antonio facility – TMMTX

Tacoma

  • Built here, lives here; built at Toyota’s San Antonio facility – TMMTX

ENTER TO WIN TICKETS!!!

Rafflecopter: a Rafflecopter giveaway

DFW AUTO SHOW INFORMATION

Dates

Feb 14-18, 2018

Times

Wednesday: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Thursday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Friday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ticket Prices

$14 for adults

$7 for senior citizens 65 and older

$7 for children 6 to 12 years old; children 5 and under admitted free

$10 for active and retired Military members (ID is required)

Christmas, Camrys, & the Ultimate Catch Up…Oh My!

Shame…shame…you know your name.  That would be MEEEEEE!!!

I have seriously been slacking on the bloggity blog so let’s catch up again shall we?  I have so much to recap and write about before 2019!  Ha!

Starting with Christmas 2017.  We had a lovely visit back home to Arkansas and to the farm.  We stayed with my twin sister Bonnie and her family.  I finally got to meet my new niece Ella, who seriously is the sweetest, most calm baby in the entire world.  She’s absolutely precious!  My sister and I always have a good time catching up and of course the boys (Connor & Jarrett) are pretty much inseparable.  They are exactly like their Mamas, they love hard…but they fight hard too. Lol!

My poor Mom at the flu.  We finally got to see her on the last day we were in town.  Thanks goodness for technology, we were able to face time during Christmas so she could see the kids open presents.  Still, it wasn’t the same at the farm without her there.  The flu has just run rampant this season and so far we’ve been lucky not to catch it.  Everyone I know that has had it has said it’s THE WORST EVER!

So, if you’ve been following my on Instagram you may have seen some of these pictures, but I like how I can go into more detail here on the blog.

We were super excited to drive a brand NEW 2018 Camry to Arkansas for the holiday and it was sooooooo nice!  It was a hybrid model, so we got great gas mileage and it was so smooth up and down the hill country of Arkansas.

 

The 2018 Camry was super sporty looking and we really enjoyed the drive.

I’m just a little excited to drive this baby!  I had an Avalon for 11 years and I loved that car so much…I still miss it to this very day.  Terence works for Toyota Headquarters and he sent me pictures of the new Avalon design and OH.MY.WORD.  It looks on the sporty side too and just as luxurious as I remember.

I absolutely love the “command center” which included a backup camera, audio, USB ports, and heated seats for the win!

It was a little different driving a hybrid, but overall I really like the gas mileage aspect of it.  Also, you couldn’t even tell the engine was running when the car was turned on.  Talk about STEALTH mode 🙂

I also really liked the clean and metallic looking details of the interior.

It was a comfortable ride indeed.  We were all three able to “plug in” with our phones, iPad, and my Kindle.  

The middle console displays the battery and engine charge.

 

Once we got into Arkansas we headed to my sister’s house and Larry’s Pizza buffet…we officially made it HOME! LOL!

Me and my sweet Ella girl 🙂

The boys were reunited and had a great time at Dave & Busters! They love gaming together and talking about the most RANDOM things…

Bonnie and I had a great time drinking Starbies, watching Hallmark movies, and shopping a bit.

Then we headed up to Nannie’s house on the farm and had so much good food to eat and opened presents.  The boys each got a Nintendo Switch, something they both have been wanting for quite some time!  The farm is beautiful during Christmas, and for some reason we all just take the best naps up there.  It’s like you don’t have a care in the world when you step into Nannie’s house…I guess that’s part of what makes it so special, well, besides Nannie herself that is!

On the road again! We just loved the blue Camry so much! It was the best Christmas sleigh ever!

After Nannie’s house we all headed back to Bonnie & Vinny’s and my Mom was feeling well enough we got to see her and my Daddy for breakfast the morning we left. I love me some Cracker Barrel…


OH! And I got together with my besties from highschool for the best meal EVER at Ya Ya’s! If you saw my Instastories then you saw how they made this dish- in a huge hollowed out bowl of parmesan cheese. They light it on fire so the cheese melts and then add the pasta and some herbs. BEST. EVER. I’m still dreaming about this pasta!

We made it back home to Texas and now I’m homesick to go back again! We had the best Christmas…until next year…it’s been real 2017!

Some of my FAVORITE CHRISTMAS GIFTS!!!

Making Memories at The Gaylord Texan ICE!

Christmas festivities are in full swing and every year for the past five years we’ve made it a family tradition to visit ICE! at the Gaylord Texan.  It’s one of our favorite things to as a family.  Every year they have a new theme and this year it was “Twas the Night Before Christmas”.  It’s so neat to see all the ice sculpted into these beautiful figures and colors.  It’s been a rather warm fall here in Texas…so walking into a 9 degree atmosphere is quite shocking!

The atrium at the Gaylord is gorgeous in itself, even if you don’t do anything else there.  Just walking around will put you in the Christmas spirit!

There is so much to see…I’ll give you a little sneak peek of what we saw this year!

The Ice Bar

Connor looooooves the ice slide!  

There is snow tubing too.  Where else can you do these things in Texas?

I live for these family moments and as everyone knows time is fleeting.  Your kids grow up before you know it and in the blink of an eye everything changes.  Experiences like this don’t always happen…it takes planning, money, and time.  I’m thankful for companies Vanguard who help families invest in their future.  Investing doesn’t have to be a sacrifice now so you can live later, you can have it both ways – the security of planning ahead and the gratification of living a fuller life today. Make those special moments count, because you can’t get them back.

With Vanguard clients experience things that truly matter – whether that’s date night, spending time with your kids, or enjoying your passions.  Clients think long-term, tune out the noise, and keep investment costs low, but that’s not all. They laugh and make time for date nights with their partners. They spend time with their kids, and they believe they can achieve whatever they set their minds to.

Thanks to market research firm Kelton Global, we know for a fact (with statistical significance) that Vanguard clients experience these things more often than clients of other investment firms.

Did you know Vanguard clients spend 6 more hours per week, on average, with their kids compared with clients of other investment firms?

WHAT FUN HOLIDAY ADVENTURES ARE YOU PLANNING WITH YOUR FAMILY???

Learn more about Vanguard here & check out this fun video of our day at ICE!

 

The Where Investors Belong survey was conducted by market research firm Kelton Global in 2016. It polled 1,000 Vanguard clients and compared them with 1,000 clients of other investment firms. All differences between Vanguard clients and clients of other investment firms are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. The parental stat refers to clients with children of any age who provided the number of hours per week they typically spend with their children or who, compared to other people they may know, believe to be more involved in their child’s life. . The experiences of these Vanguard clients may not be representative of the experience of other Vanguard clients and aren’t a guarantee of future investment performance or success.

Enchant- Christmas in Arlington, TX

Last weekend my family and I attended Enchant in Arlington, TX.  I’m officially in the Christmas spirit now & you can be too!

What is Enchant you ask?

“Enchant is a world of Christmas wonder.  Surrounded by millions of dazzling lights, the memories you make at Enchant will last well beyond the holiday season. Whether you’re navigating through the world’s largest light maze, gliding around the ice-skating pond, waltzing through the Christmas marketplace, or sharing hot cocoa with your loved ones, you’ll find enchantment around every corner.”

It may still be 80 degrees in Texas, but we can still get in the holiday spirit.  I’ve shared with all of you how much I have loved attending the Christkindl Market in years past.  Now the market is included along with this beautiful light display.

The ice skating rink

Christkindl Market

There are also lots of food trucks at Enchant & plenty to choose from!

Where else are you going to ice skate in DFW???

See the entire scene from the center bridge.

VIP Lounge

Entrance to search for all of Santa’s reindeer.

We found all of the reindeer! YAY!  Each person gets a scratch off card and when you find a reindeer you scratch it off with a special coin.

Sooooo pretty and you can take some great pictures there too!  Check out my Instagram for some more fun pics and videos.

If you are planning on attending, book your tickets soon because they sell out fast!

Get a 20% discount with code: SANTA

Purchase tickets at: EnchantChristmas.com
Valid days/ dates: Nov 26-30, Dec 3-7, Dec 10
Valid Ticket Types: Adult, Kids, Senior, Military/EMS
Offer: 20% off base price!

Discovering What You Really Want in a Car

This post is sponsored.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Most of you know I get to test drive a LOT of cars and it’s so much fun!  If you want to see all the cars I’ve reviewed in the past just go to the “Search” tab on this blog and search “Car Review”.

This past week we were very thankful to drive a Mazda CX-5!  Let me tell you this car was smooth as BUTTAH on the freeway and off.  If you live in DFW then you know that most of us drive everywhere.  So, the question is…do you really need all those bells and whistles?  Let’s chat about what you do and don’t want… and what you really need.  For more information on ALL kinds of cars check out Cars.com.  You can search any car, for any price range, and you can even narrow your search by area too!  I highly recommend the Mazda CX-5 if you are looking for a stylish mid-sized SUV.

First of all crank of your radio to the nearest Christmas station and let’s talk!

1. Plenty of trunk room

This is a MUST for me y’all.  I’m always hauling around photography gear or sports equipment, etc.  Having plenty of trunk space is a no brainer for me.  I do have good trunk space in my sedan now, but when I purchase a future car I really want to go for a mid-sized SUV.  Also, having fold down seats is another thing I love.  I don’t have that in my current car and I REALLY wish I did!

2.  A Backup Camera

I think I heard this feature was going to become mandatory in all future cars and I totally agree with that.

Case and point:  A couple of weeks ago I’m about to leave for the movie theater to meet with friends to see Bad Moms and I side swiped my husband’s car.  OOPS.  In my defense he doesn’t normally park in the driveway and was airing out a tent from a cub-scout camp out…but yeah I should have paid more attention.  It also would have been nice to have a backup camera and I’m sure this whole fiasco could have been avoided.   The cameras also light up at night and beep if you get too close to something.  Definitely a MUST in my next car. 

3.  Room for the kiddos

In our family have just one child.  We go on lots of road trips and he needs space to spread out and bring all his toys and gadgets.  If you have more than one child then all I have to say is “bless your heart”.

Growing up my Mom drove one of those huge vans that had two captain seats in the middle.  Heaven forbid my sister or I touch each other, let alone breathe in the other person’s direction.  The arguments we had about personal space in the car are epic.  LOL!

I love having a separate cup holder down the center that gives a little bit of a divider between people. 

4.  A great “Command Center”

These days everything is at your fingertips….even in your car.  Everything can be handled from the steering wheel or the middle console.  From the volume, or navigation system (which I do NOT have now, and let me say having in dash navigation would have saved me a lot of driving anxiety), to heated or cooled seats.  Everything is pretty much at an arm’s length.  The Mazda CX-5 definitely had a fabulous command center for this Mama!

5. Good looking AND functional

The Mazda CX-5 is so purrrrrrrdy.  I know looks are not everything people, but nobody wants to be rolling around town like Uncle Buck dropping their kids off at school.

NOPE.

Yes, she’s a pretty car and has all the bells and whistles.  We sure did have a fun time driving the Mazda CX-5 and it’s definitely in the running for a future SUV.   Smooth and sleek with just enough edge to make this Mom feel too legit to quit.  I really enjoyed the XM radio too, especially for the devoted Christmas stations….let’s just say there were a few carpool karaoke sessions 😉

So, these are a few of my must have and favorites in a car.  What are your favorite additions to your vehicle or features you can’t live without?  I would love to know!

Don’t forget to check out Cars.com to figure out exactly what YOU want.  You can even sell the car you currently have on their website too!

It’s Going to be an ENCHANTED Christmas! Enter to WIN 4 VIP Tickets to Enchant!!!

This post is sponsored by Enchant Christmas.  All opinions are my own.

I’m so excited that the holiday season is FINALLY here!  You all remember when I shared with you about Enchant? This is the first year this fabulous display of lights will be in DFW.  We are so lucky to have this experience right here so close to home.  This is the U.S. debut of Enchant Christmas.

Here is a little sneak peek of what Enchant will be like:

Also, if you’ve never experienced Christkindl you must go.  It’s the best German Christmas Market and the food…oh my!

Now is your chance to enter to win the opportunity to attend the BIGGEST (and brightest) holiday premiere in North Texas this season! This is an outdoor event, so dress warm!

When:  Tuesday, November 21, 7-9PM

Where: Lot F at Globe Life Park in Arlington. (Complimentary parking)

Your world of Christmas wonder awaits at the U.S. debut and VIP premiere of Enchant Christmas Light Maze & Market. Surrounded by millions of dazzling lights and brilliantly lit sculptures, you and your family will be the first to navigate through the world’s largest light maze, visit Ole Saint Nick in his one-of-a-kind golden palace, glide around the ice-skating pond, waltz through The Enchant Christmas Market (including Texas Christkindl Market Lane), and toast our opening of with hot cocoa and holiday treats. You’ll find enchantment around every corner!

PRIZE WINNER WILL RECIEVE:

  • Winner will win a Family 4-pack – no extra tickets are for purchase.
  • Winner must be able to attend the event on Nov. 21. (No exceptions.)

ENTER TO WIN!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No Reserves about it…A visit to Starbucks Reserve

Ever since I found out Dallas was opening up a few of the Starbucks Reserve stores I’ve been dying to go visit.  If you’ve been following my blog for the past 11 something years…then you know my love for Starbucks runs deep.

I had heard lots of things about the Reserve.  I heard they had different coffees, flavors, and concoctions.  When I first walked in the atmosphere was very warm and inviting and the bar looked kind of like a chemistry lab.

(On the left is my Americano Con Crema & on the right is Terence’s Vanilla Latte)

Well….let’s get to experimenting now shall we!

I tried the “Americano Con Creme” and it was delicious!  It’s an Americano with cold, blended foam, made with milk, vanilla, and cinnamon.  My first thought was that it doesn’t taste like regular Starbucks coffee.  The burnt flavor that everyone claims Starbucks coffee has wasn’t there.  Also, there is was a $3 extra charge for special “Reserve shots”.  Be prepared to spend a little more for your fancy coffee.

The Starbucks Reserve also offers tons of other flavors of coffees from different places all over the world.  These are coffees that you normally won’t see at a regular Starbucks.  These are small batches that come from different origins all over the world.

As far as food goes…they don’t really offer any bites different than their normal menu.  Starbucks Reserve is clearly all about the beverage.  I was a bit disappointed in that because I had hoped they would offer other foodie items as well.

So, my biggest takeaway…I liked it.  I don’t think I would go out of my way to get this coffee as opposed to a regular Starbucks drink.  It’s more about the experience and atmosphere.  I think next time I’ll be trying one of the ice cream beverages.  You can’t go wrong with a Classic Affogato or Cold Brew Float with scoops of vanilla ice cream.  

In other fall family news…we made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch!  This kiddo is getting so big!  Every morning I wake up to my Facebook and Time Hop just kills me every time with the flashbacks.  Does any other Mama think Time Hop makes you a little teary eyed?

It has been a busy season for sure!  I look forward to cooler temps here in Texas and sharing lots more with all of you over the next few month….good things to come!

xo- Becky

(As much as I wish this post was sponsored by Starbucks…it is not.  All opinions are my own.)