Travel: The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort on St. Simons Island, GA

March 4, 2021

As you may know, Jason and I are always looking for family friendly places to visit as we have two littles and a third babe on the way! It is a major bonus when we can travel with our young children to a new town less than 2 hours away from Jacksonville. St. Simons Island (SSI) has been on our bucket list to visit as we have whole-heartedly enjoyed Georgia’s other beautiful Golden Isles. I have followed along with The King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort on Instagram for quite some time since it is a beachfront, family-friendly resort. When we were offered the chance to visit The King and Prince, immediate excitement overtook my mind and I could barely respond quickly enough! I am thrilled to share details and photos from our fruitful stay at the King and Prince below!!!

Photography: The King and Prince’s Press Photos & Dani Colding

Getting to know The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort

Standing with wide open ocean views, you can both see and hear the glistening Atlantic Ocean waves crash along Georgia’s shoreline at The King and Prince Resort. The resort is a proud member of the Historic Hotels of America group; this is my favorite recognition for any hotel as it implies there is tremendous history to learn. The King and Prince Resort has a long, colorful story to tell after opening its doors in the fall of 1935, over three-fourths of a century ago.

The original owners, Frank Horn and Morgan Wynn, named the private club The King and Prince because they felt it addressed the regal atmosphere of their venue. The resort caught fire shortly after it opened and was rebuilt only two months later dressed in Mediterranean architecture, for which it is still known for today. In July of 1941, the hotel underwent a major expansion, adding 110 guest rooms that were open to the public. After spotting German U-boats off the coast in 1942, the hotel closed its doors to the public and remained open for the US Navy to operate during World War II. I still cannot get over how fascinating this historic resort is!!

The hotel reopened to the public in 1947, maintaining its reputation for a charming beachfront destination paired with luxury hospitality. As the years went on, the resort continued to grow and expand, while preserving its history and original architectural features. After finishing major renovations all around the grounds in the 2000s, the resort is now complete with multiple event spaces, meeting spaces, courtyards, 2 large main pools overlooking the ocean, 2-bedroom villas with private pools, upscale oceanfront dining, and a glamorous oceanfront boardwalk ensuring guests can make memories for years to come!

Family Time at The King and Prince and on SSI

Upscale resort life is the theme of The King and Prince. The perfectly maintained landscaped grounds rest closely along the Atlantic Ocean, making the beach just steps away from every guest building that The King and Prince has to offer. We enjoyed waking up both mornings of our stay, heading to the beach and then finishing up our day in the sun by the pool. The main pool deck is expansive, accommodating guests with an oceanfront sun deck, tables and chairs for poolside dining, or simply relaxing around the two pools. The larger of the two pools is heated, while the other is created for children with shallow water and a small fountain in the middle. There is also a hot tub on the main pool deck. In-between the pools and ECHO restaurant, there is a cozy fire pit lined in seating for the whole family to enjoy!

Other family friendly activities around St. Simons Island include bike rentals, kayak rentals, fishing, museums, trolley tours, boat tours, light house tour, and several premier golf courses. There are numerous shops and restaurants by the pier, as well as a waterfront playground, Mallery Park, for kids to enjoy! You can find more specifics on The King and Prince’s Website.

Dining at The King and Prince and on SSI

Dining and Hospitality is what The King and Prince Resort does right! ECHO is the chosen restaurant housed inside the resort and IT DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! Upscale, modern cuisine with a focus on southern coastal dishes, generous portions, and a hospitable staff was most enjoyed at ECHO!

Shrimp and grits, fresh grilled swordfish, and smoked oyster and artichoke dip were just some of the mouth-watering dinner items we feasted on at ECHO. For breakfast we each got something different so we could all share, my personal favorites included Belgian Style Waffle Napoleon and the Praline French Toast. Bottomless mimosas and bloody mary’s are also par for the course so you better believe I will be back after pregnancy!!

Lastly, guests can order food and drinks from ECHO to be enjoyed poolside or beachside during the day. We did get some sampler style plates and frozen beverages to enjoy poolside, which is my ultimate idea of a little R & R on vacation! During season, there is a poolside Sea Shack to order food and drinks from.

There is no shortage of great dining on SSI, with 55 restaurants to choose from on Georgia’s largest barrier island! We had lunch at Porch (Nashville fried chicken style) and dinner at Fiddlers (casual coastal vibes on the marsh) and we would recommend both!

5 Simple Accommodations that made The King and Prince stand out to our family as a place we plan to visit again:

1. The heated pool- this made it possible for us to swim even in February! My kiddos could stay in the pool all day long so this is a huge perk for traveling in the cooler months.

2. The 2-bedroom Villa- The 2-bedroom villa space was nothing less than impressive, we have never been that comfortable and spread out in a hotel before! Amenities included a full kitchen, a large refrigerator, a washer and dryer (we used to dry bathing suits), two full baths, an extra sink and counter, a wet bar, and a large balcony with optional ocean views! The North and South Villas both include their own private pool and hot tub.

3. ECHO- nestled inside the resort, ECHO is the ONLY restaurant on the island that is directly oceanfront. You can enjoy, breakfast, lunch, dinner, small plates, sandwiches, and handcrafted cocktails at ECHO! We would give the food a 10/10 and want to visit again!

4. Steps away from the beach and pool- When I say steps away, I truly mean the resort has steps directly from the pool deck to the beach. This makes it easy to run to the restroom or grab yourself a pina colada at the bar to enjoy by the pool or beach. You can also enjoy a quick boardwalk stroll or relax on porch style swings overlooking the ocean.

5. Effortless travel with an abundance of activities- Again, this weighs heavily on where we vacation during this season of life with a 3-year-old, 4-year-old, and a baby on the way. The King and Prince resort is an hour and a half from Jacksonville and the perfect blend of island living and local life.

We can’t wait to visit again and we are already talking about visiting with my parents! From the immaculate grounds to the kind staff, every detail about The King and Prince was lovely and well thought out. I would like to give a huge heartfelt thank you to The King and Prince Resort for graciously hosting our family this February 2021! Please let me know if you have any questions about our stay at the resort or SSI!

xx Dani

2019 Hands-on & Keepsake Holiday Gift Guide for Children

Junk Drawer, Mommy & Misc

2019 Hands-on & Keepsake
Holiday Gift Guide for Children

I am thrilled to share with you my 2019 gift guide for young children! I put tons of thought into making this gift guide curated around our love for hands-on activities. Think Montessori-inspired, high-quality keepsakes, most with an educational component based on our fondness of the outdoors, creating with our hands, and playing games as a family. My hope is to bring joy and creativeness to homes this holiday season, while thinking slightly outside of the box!

State Bags Backpack
gorgeous quality backpack for school, play, or heading to grandma’s!
Milo’s Corner Scavenger Hunt/Nature Bag
we carry this on every walk to collect leaves and sticks, my kiddos love to put their “loot” in it!
Simply Toys Montessori style tools
we play with rice, dry pasta, kinetic sand, water balls, and use whatever tools we can find, so the kids are going to be OBSESSED with these!
Nugget Comfort Play Couch
hoping to get this for our climbers and jumpers, I have heard such wonderful things!
This & That Personalized Name puzzle
a must for every child who is learning their name, looks perfect in their bedrooms on display too!
We are the Gardeners (book)
such a sweet book by Joanna Gaines and her children!
Magna-tiles qubix set
great to travel or when eating out (currently cheaper on Amazon)
Chalkfull Trace and Erase Chalkboards
the perfect gift for preschool/kindergarten age children to practice, packaged beautifully and excellent quality.
Play the Forest School Way (Book)
great for some afternoon adventures around your neighborhood!
Pulp Co Hat
a very rad hat made in small batches!
Wooden Story Vintage Bowling Set/ Wooden Story Rainbow Blocks
A unique bowling set for the whole family to enjoy! Heirloom quality blocks for endless building, love that they come in a sack so you can pack them to go anywhere! be sure to check out their entire site of wooden toys made in Poland!
Project Kid (100 crafts for kids book)
fun for your little crafter at heart!
Rustic Family Journal
want to start journaling as a family, include our nature treasures, highlights from trips, etc. the perfect place to fill with memories!
Gathre Homestead Playmat
we basically live on our wipeable leather gathre mats. this one is so fun for imaginative play! but really, any mat would be a great gift idea!
Fact & Fiction Toys Tangram Set
a beautiful hands on learning activity for your kids to enjoy! build your own creations with these wooden shapes! Pull out on a rainy day or perfect for on the go!
Wooden Balance Board
a fun challenge for everyone in your home, even the adults, can use them in multiple ways!
Kinetic Sand
This stuff is cool! sand that does not fall apart and is easy to clean up! Add some little trucks and your kids will be in heaven!
Personalized Photo Vintage Reel Viewer
perfect for family photos or a special memory like a vacation!
Fin & Vince Bonnet
fin & vince makes the most heirloom quality pieces that are worthy of keeping for your future grandbabies!
Water Balls
if you have not played with theses, you are missing out!

I hope you guys enjoy paging through these spectacular items and that they inspire you to shop small and get creative! Every time we shop small, a shop owner does a little happy dance and we get to support an actual person and their family! This year I am going to follow these category ideas:

something to play
something to wear
something to share
something to read
something to keep(sake)

I know I get asked if my kids will get those character and fun items that every kid loves and the answer is YES! They will each get a paw patrol item that they have been asking for, but they have plenty of toys so we are going to keep it simple. I would love to hear what your kids are getting!

warmest christmas wishes, Dani

Winnie’s Winter Forest First Birthday Party

Craft Box, Mommy & Misc

January 23, 2019 by Drafts & Crafts

Better late than never; I am excited to finally get around to sharing photos from Winnie’s first birthday party!

Hard to believe that its been over a month since our baby girl turned one! Time just flies by these days! Its so bittersweet to watch them grow, well mostly sweet, but I do find myself missing the little baby phase! It truly goes by so fast and you wish those days away when you are so sleep deprived and have engorged breasts! Winsome Rose is a little firecracker though and we LOVE her personality these days! She loves following around her big brother and they are starting to grow into the best of friends! Her first birthday party was filled with our family and our close friends! We kept it pretty simple with a backyard movie! The menu consisted of a hotdog and popcorn bar with some whimsical forest decor! Hope you enjoy these photos from our favorite photographer! Sindy, from Verance Photography, always captures the most dreamy photos for my family!

Winnie’s pinafore: @paperlinen
mushroom embroidery: @urbanpigtails
Winsome birth stat poster: @shop.lovefound
Winnie’s bonnet: @maxandoliviaco
Cake: Made by my friend Courtney,
(I can ask to share contact if you are local!)
Mushroom Cake Toppers: @penny.gem
Wands: Hand made by mama!

Hope you are off to a wonderful start of 2019! My goal for this year is to focus on myself and family! I want to start by doing a little more for myself this year, taking time to do the things I love! Get my health, fitness, and gospel goals together! Secondly, I am trying to take on less this year, put down the phone more, and minimalize my life and house a little more. Just thought I would share since this is my first official blog post of the new year!!

Keep in touch,
Dani

2018 Small Shop Gift Guide, children’s heirloom edition

Mommy & Misc

November 20, 2018 by Drafts & Crafts

Wow! Its been awhile since I made an actual blog post- this year has just flown by! Gift giving and Christmas time are my love language so I definitely did not want to miss out on the opportunity to share some of my favorite items this season and to encourage everyone to shop small! This year we are keeping our Christmas pretty simple and trying to stay true to shopping small. There is so much going on in December for our family (my daughter’s, mom’s, dad’s, brother’s, and my mother in law all have December birthdays- insert the emoji with eyes popping out of my head) and my children do not need much so I am breaking there gifts down to: something they WANT, something they NEED, something to WEAR, something to READ, something fun to learn a SKILL! 5 gifts each- easy and sweet. Plus, we know their grandparents will spoil them and we don’t have any more room for toys in our smaller house!

these photos are borrowed from each shops website**

1. Paperlinen supply- beautiful hand-sown linen clothing items for girls and boys
2. This & That Etc- wooden alphabet puzzle and custom name puzzles
3. Moon Picnic- wooden weather board, amazing design and educational perfect gift for any child!
4. PNW Littles- adorably illustrated onesies
5. Bannor Toys- heirloom wooden toys- tools, cars, trucks, & rattles (personalized engraving for an extra special touch)
6. Misha & Puff- timeless hand knitted booties, bonnets, and sweaters
7. Mud Puppy Kids- tons of fun and educational toys/games, PERFECT STOCKING STUFFER!
8. Hazel Village x Briar Handmade collab– get your babe the perfect plush with a matching bonnet for the doll and child
9. Max and Olivia co- the most pretty pixie bonnet that I ever laid eyes on and very affordable in the knit world!
10. Simple Toy Co- Modern Blush Waldorf Doll
11. Willaby- high quality gauze blankets, worth the splurge
12. Cheerily- Custom name oneies, “W is for Winnie”
13. Homespun Collection- small shop that carries kids and home items with a vintage inspired look
14. June Home Supply- children’s broom, my oldest loves to try and help clean so this will be a great tool for him
15. Gathre- wipeable, leather playmat that features a fun illustration for children to play on

I want to encourage everyone to shop small this holiday: support a person, their dream, and their family. Shopping small carries so much more weight and there is always the person who created an item doing an actual happy dance each sale!!! I curatied this gift guide based on some of my favorite small shops, we have been fortunate to try the majority of these products and we LOVE them! Each product that I shared is an heirloom quality gift, from wooden toys, to hand knitted clothing, to butter-soft leather playmates. Be sure to follow these small shops on social media and learn about their black Friday, small business Saturday, and cyber Monday sales.

I would love to hear about what gifts you will be getting your kids this Christmas!

Keep in touch,
Dani

Our go-to Entertainment Items for Going Out with Kids

Mommy & Misc, Travel

August 30, 2018 by Drafts & Crafts

Sharing the details of what is in my diaper bag to help make dining out and traveling with kids easier.

It is no secret that my husband and I love to go out to eat! We usually eat out one night over the weekend to spend some time together as a family, eat a nice meal, and get out of the house with the kids. Having babies and toddlers can definitely make going out (anywhere) a daunting task. We decided early on that we did not want to stop doing the things that we love just because we have kids. Of course, like a lot of parents with young kids we have to pick and choose what we do these days, but we still wanted to be able to enjoy a meal out and not be afraid to venture or travel with our kids. I wanted to share the items that we use with our kids to make going out a little less stressful.

Gathre playmat– We use this as a interactive placemat for Tanner. He can play with his trucks on it while we are waiting for food and then I know he is snacking or eating off of a clean(er) surface.
Small CAT machines– These mighty machines are a staple in our home. My mom picked my son up a set from CVS one time and then I have seen them in several stores since then. Our toddler plays with these nearly every single day. Fun for water, water beads, sand, and play doh activities. I also believe that they are very realistic and small enough to fit in their hands that kids can develop excellent fine motor skills plus learning educational skills when playing with these.
Small playdoh tubs– Call me crazy mama, but I usually have a few of these in my bag. With the Gathre playmat Tanner does not make a mess and play doh entertains him for about thirty mins. We will make silly items, fun items, and all kinds of creations for his trucks to pick up.
Small coloring book- I know I keep saying small, but its true I get tiny items that will fit into my diaper bag and not make it a thousand times heavier. Always keep a color book and some crayons on hand with toddlers.
Magnetic Doodle Board- These are so fun for kids and a better alternative to taking out the phone. Not that I am above putting on a show on my phone, but we try other things first.
Homespun reusable snack packs– We can not go anywhere without a snack, usually some goldfish. We are trying to do our small part in making our earth a better place with using reusable pouches.
Baby Suction Toy- We ordered this one from Amazon and are happy with it. It will entertain Winnie while we are out, Tanner even loves it too.
Carseat Hanging Toy– If your baby is tiny and doesn’t mind staying in the carseat these are nice to keep baby smiling.

I would love to hear if you have any tricks up your sleeve for entertaining your kids while you are out or what fun things you have in your diaper bag!

Keep in touch,
Dani

Swaddling 101

Mommy & Misc

March 23, 2018 by Drafts & Crafts

More and more research is being done on swaddling so I wanted to create a quick blog post about what I think is important to know and why we loved the Ollie Swaddle for our newborn.

**donated product from The Ollie World

I wanted to cover a brief post on swaddling because I had a ton of questions about it as a new mom. It is becoming a somewhat controversial topic as more and more research is being done on swaddling. This is some information I have learned from when I was in the hospital with Winnie and from doing my own research online. So what is swaddling? It is wrapping your newborn in a somewhat tight blanket or swaddle to mimic the tight feeling of a mother’s womb. Since baby’s are so comfy and snug in their mama’s belly, people swaddle so their baby is cozy and may sleep longer stretches without flapping around and waking themselves up.

Swaddling can be safe and effective for newborn babies, but there are important factors to keep in mind. Research shows it is safest for babies to sleep on their backs. Only swaddle a baby who can not move and is sleeping on their back. Once a baby can roll over, it is no longer safe for their arms to be held down. Make sure the swaddle is loose enough around the legs that the baby has plenty of room to move their legs and hips. You do not want the babies legs to be “tied” down or held straight all night because it can damage their hip growth. You can see in the above pictures that Winnie still has plenty of room in her Ollie swaddle to froggy her legs out.

It is safest to get a “swaddle suit” (like The Ollie Swaddle), rather than just a blanket. Hospitals in the US no longer swaddle babies in blankets, they use a velcro swaddle vest. This is why we love The Ollie Swaddle that Winnie is wearing in the above photos. A velcro swaddle is safest since there are no loose ends that the baby could get stuck on or suffocate on if it becomes loose in the night. The Ollie Swaddle is breathable and made from a patented sweat wicking material. The swaddle is designed to wick any moisture away from the skin to keep baby warm and dry. At 2 months of age, we began to keep Winnie’s arms out of the swaddle so she can move more. I personally like to keep her swaddled because I know she is warmer all night without using loose blankets in the crib. We will eventually transition her into a sleep sack of some type. If you have any questions, never hestitate to call your pediatrician to ask about safe sleeping practices. If you have any questions about The Ollie Swaddle, check out their awesome website that has helpful information from doctors and doulas! I would love to hear about your swaddling journey so please comment if you would like to share!

Keep in touch,
Dani