I want to be a Tent Glamper

Hey friends!

Lets talk about tent camping! My interest in camping sparked before the pandemic. I had planned a family fun weekend to Virginia Beach KOA. It was going to be on mother’s day weekend and I was so excited to be able to go to the beach and spend time with my boys. Well covid happened and everything got shut down. Obviously our trip got cancelled and we stayed home like the rest of the world.

I didn’t get a chance to go tent camping, however I continued to research tent camping. The more I looked into tent camping, the more I realized that I’m more of a glamper. I like little luxurious that you get at home but still want to enjoy the great outdoors. I love the idea of being able to set up a mini tent hotel out in nature and bring able to pack it away in my garage when its not in use when .

I know some people prefer a camper on wheels, but I can’t honestly say I can justify spending that kind of money on a camper. I’m not going to get into the costs of owning and maintaining a camper, but if I had thousands of dollars laying around I’ve much rather buy a boat. I would have to spend money to buy the RV, spend money on buying all the needed RV essentials, spend money on maintaining the RV, and then spending money on putting it into storage when its not in use. That’s a lot of money in my personal opinion just to go camping and enjoy mother nature.

Everyone views glamping differently, but let me tell you what my top 7 reasons what makes me want to be a tent glamper.

1.) Canvas Tent

There are so many great tents out there, however I would definitely look into buying a canvas tent (only for car camping). These types of tents hold up better in a variety of different weather and lasts a lot longer then traditional nylon tents. They also look amazing at your campsite.

3.) Comfortable sleeping arrangements

Sleeping in a tent doesn’t mean you have to be on the ground in a sleeping bag. There are so many good cots and air mattresses out there nowadays. I personally prefer a cot with extra sleeping pads, sleeping bag, wool blankets and pillows. Having mother nature as your sound machine and breathing in the fresh air while sleeping is heaven to me.

2.) Good Food

I like to EAT and I don’t mean hotdogs. I love how food tastes over the fire in a cast iron skillet. I want to cook all the amazing meals that I eat at home right over the fire under the stars.

4.) Canopy

I love the pop up screen in tents that allows me to be outside but away from the elements (rain, bugs, sun, etc.). Sometimes I will need a break or want to prepare food in a protected area.

5.) Clean Bathroom

Okay so I’m not interested in digging a hole in the ground to poop or trying to pee without making a mess. There are bathroom canopies that I can pop up any where. There are also portable toilets and solar showers that I can also use.

6.) Car Camping

I love the idea of driving up to my campsite with all of my glamping items. I’m currently not interested in trying to pack everything in a backpack and carrying it on my back for miles. I mentioned earlier that I want a canvas tent for camping. Canvas tents are extremely heavy and aren’t meant to be carried far. I know to some people that’s apart of the adventure of camping (hiking to their campsite), however I’ll let them have that adventure.

7.) Established Campsites

Having an established campsite to pitch my tent at gives me all the glamping vibes. I can drive my car to my paid and reserve campsite and in most cases campsites come with; a tent pad, firepit ring, picnic table, and maybe even a charcoal grill. Depending on where I choose to camp there is even places that I could go fish, I can take my son to the playground, or get ice and other supplies from the local camp store . There are so many great state parks with fabulous views, private campgrounds with amazing amenities, and hipcamp locations that will give you the privacy from the outside world. Each one has its pros and cons but are much more reliable then hoping to find a safe boondocking site. As solo mom tent camper that’s super important to me.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today. Do you go camping? If so do you call yourself a glamper? I want to know leave me a comment below!

Xo, Marion

My 2020 Homeschool Plans and Curriculum Choices

www.youtube.com/watch

Hey friends! Today I decided to record a vlog discussing my homeschool plans for this up coming school year. In the vlog I shared a few resources, other YouTube vlogs, and teacher pay teacher accounts that I’m using. I wanted to post all those links below in this blog post for y’all in case you wanted to check them out.

Jady A.’s teacher pay teacher account

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Jady-Alvarez

Learning Meets Fun Etsy Shop

Nakia’s Preschool Learning binder walk through

This Reading Mama

I believe that is all of the resources that I mentioned in the vlog. If I missed any please let me know. Thanks for doing by and have a great day😊

xo,

Marion

Our First Time Bass Fishing

Good morning friends! Recently we went back to Lake Anna to go Bass fishing. There has been some cooler and rainy days here that has kept us inside. Luckily we had one day this past week where the weather was perfect for fishing outside with a toddler and grandparents. We over packed (I had enough food to feed an army 😋) the car and headed down to Lake Anna.

Look how beautiful the water is!

We unfortunately didn’t catch anything but we still had a great time. If you are looking for something different to do with your kids try out fishing. Walmart had a bunch of character themed fishing rod sets for $10! My fishing pole was about $20 which included the fishing line! Fishing isn’t an expensive activity and anyone can do it.

Tripp had a blast sitting by the water.

Below I recorded a quick vlog of our bass fishing trip. I would love for you to watch it and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of our adventures. 🤗

Thank you so much for coming by my and reading my blog post today. I hope y’all have a fabulous Mother’s day!

xo, Marion

Fun Day at Lake Anna State Park

Hey friends hey!

This past weekend my son and I went on an adventure to explore Lake Anna state park in Spotsylvania, VA. We are still practicing social distancing, however needed a different scenery.

We were able to have a relaxing picnic outside while watching the boats and people go fishing. It was a nice to change up our normal routine. I also brought bubbles for him to blow while we were there.

Tripp and I had a great day and really enjoyed our time at the lake. I even went out and bought him a Paw Portal fishing rod and net, so that we can go fishing the next time that we are there.

There were so many options at Walmart for toddler & preschool age children to choose from. Tripp was super excited to see his new fishing gear when I brought it home yesterday.

Below is a short vlog of our trip to Lake Anna. If you are able to go visit your local state parks in your area I highly recommend it. Thanks for coming by and checking out my blog. Don’t forget to watch my vlog 👇🏾 and subscribe 😉 to my YouTube channel.

xo, Marion

My First Greenhouse!|$43 Walmart Greenhouse

Good evening friends!

Earlier today I put together my first greenhouse from Walmart. I bought the greenhouse online almost a month ago 😆 and it recently got delivered.  The reason why I decided to buy a greenhouse, because the weather outside is still chilly and I don’t want to keep having to bring my seedlings in and out the house.

So far, I’m really enjoying having a greenhouse and hoping it will last for a few growing seasons. If you are looking to grow food and you live in a colder climate a greenhouse house might be a good alternative for you.

Below I have so pictures and a quick vlog for y’all to see what we have inside the greenhouse.

The greenhouse was super easy to put together.

Tripp “helped” me put the greenhouse together 🙄😆
I use the bottom as storage. The extra weight help keep it from blowing off the deck.

Thanks for coming by!

xo, Marion

🌎Happy Earth Day!🌎

Good afternoon friends,

I almost forgot that today was Earth day 🤷🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️ No worries if you forgot too, I got you covered! My mom friend over at Crafts & Coffee Cafe . Have some posts on her blog of fun Earth day 🌎 activities that you can do with your preschool/ elementary age child(ren).

Today we decided to create a “green house” using plastic zip block baggies. On her blog she has a FREE printable for you to use as your green house. Unfortunately my printer didn’t want to work with me so we had to improvised.

Tripp was really excited to show off his green house. 😊

We have been doing a lot of planting seeds lately. Tripp like most toddlers likes to throw a bunch of seeds in one small tiny hole and then tries to eat them 😬), however this is a great learning experience for him.

Sometimes as homeschool parents we get so involved in just doing math and reading 📚 we forget about the fun science experiences that our chid(ren) would enjoy.

I hope y’all are getting outside today and enjoying this beautiful day. Plants some seeds and watch them grow!

xo,

Marion

Spring 2020 Urban Homestead Garden Tour

I expended this part of the garden last year and I planted my herbs in this raised bed.

Hey friends! Today I’m hoping on here to share my backyard garden with y’all 🤗. Spring is such a beautiful time for new beginnings even when we are dealing with a virus. In my garden tour I discussed my future plans for my garden. I hope y’all enjoy it.

I have fallen in love with eating kale from my garden. This variety of “curly kale” is perfect for people who don’t have a lot of space.


Thank you so much for stopping by my blog once again. If you are growing a garden this year let me know in the comments what are you growing in your garden.

I planted this kale last year in the fall and it is still going strong.

xo,

Marion

Toy Organization|(Boy) Toddler Homeschool & Playroom Room Tour

Good morning friends!

Today I wanted to share a vlog that I previously recorded about my son’s playroom/ homeschool space. Sense most of us are stuck at home this vlog might be helpful to some who could use some extra inspiration. I absolutely love this space and my son actually plays with his toys more now. I didn’t buy much of any thing when creating this space. I primarily moved things around in our home that wasn’t been use effectively. I hope y’all enjoy my quick vlog of my son’s space and let it encourage you to do some rearranging of your on.

xo,

Marion

Life updates| How are we Coping | What’s next?

Good afternoon friends,

Yes it’s been awhile, but I’m getting back in the swing of things. I wanted to come back on here to share some homeschooling tips for preschool age children for parents who are forced to homeschool their kids. I also wanted to share fun activities that you can do in your backyard with your kids so you don’t feel like you are lock in the house all day. Lastly I wanted to be a positive space for you all to come and get away from the social media that’s constantly talking about the virus.

Quick life updates we are not traveling outside the country this year for obvious reasons, however we did decide to plan a family tent camping trips to bond with one another and explore the great outdoors. Speaking about travel some of y’all might all ready know about our traveling vlog channel. I have been uploading vlogs about our traveling adventures, so if you want to see more check us out on YouTube and follow us on instagram!

For my friends who have reached out messaged me asking how we are doing during this time, THANK YOU. Honestly we are doing great. We have a deep freezer in our garage and keep it stocked with meats or other food items. We always go bulk shopping, so when people were going crazy in the stores I just picked up a few things (fresh fruit, bubbles, milk, eggs, and in home gym equipment lol because why not ). We have a garden so we grow our own fresh veggies in our backyard.

I hope all is well with y’all! If you have extra time please feel free to watch my latest vlog below.

xo,

Marion

www.youtube.com/watch