Ktown.. Building the Empire!

Let's talk about last night! Hubby and I went to the 6th Annual Toy Collection Benefit and Holiday Party at The Law Offices of John Phillips . Each year grows to an even better event which you don't think is possible until you get there for the magic. They bring in over 20 TONS of SNOW, yes snow, in Jacksonville, FL and its formed into a hill with a play area surrounding it, as well as having blowers set up at various points blanketing SNOW flurries over the entire event. Lights are strung up around the trees and stage along with other decorations, the huge boombox he owns is parked behind DJ EL , there are fully stocked bars inside and outside (with plenty of Capri Suns for the kiddos), a room literally filled with food, the mascots for the Jaguars , Icemen and Jumbo Shrimp plus Santa and the Chik-fil-a  cow even made an appearance with free chicken biscuits halfway through the night. Mama Blue kicked off the night before DJ EL and had everyone swaying to her soul

One week to go until the 4th Annual Kissing for Toys Benefit Tasting and this is one event I am beyond excited for!!! I have worked with Chef X of Xclusively Kissed at several events over the years. When I asked her to work with me on a show a few years ago she committed to it immediately and beyond impressed me and everyone there with her work. Since then she and her brand have grown even better working with professionals, using amazing displays and knowing the importance of protecting her brand in addition to just being an amazing chef. Last year she asked me to host her annual Mother's Day Brunch and it was a beautiful honor. Held on the river in downtown Jax the food was exquisite with live performances and she gifted the mothers there with a tea cup set to take home. My husband and I were asked to come out as guests to her Father's Day Dinner as well and he hasn't stopped talking about Xclusively Kissed food yet. I reached out to her a few months back and offere

So my office started selling CBD* based products a few months ago and prior to that I was completely ignorant of these products even existing. Honestly I really didn't know anything about CBD in general so when we began discussing the chance of selling various products I started to do my research. The best part has been as new products come in the owner likes us to test them out so we can honestly know how well they work as well as give accurate testimonials to our clients. Recently we launched a website so those not in Jacksonville, FL can still order some of these amazing products from us. We order from several manufacturers so we offer a variety of options from gummies and tinctures to pain patches and honey. Each one has varying amounts of CBD in them and each person really has a different level for what helps them best. I usually recommend people trying  a small amount to see how that helps and go from there. One of the reasons this excites me so much is I am very anti-med

One of the hardest things I have ever done in my life is be a parent but it's also the thing I am proudest of. Most know I started this job as a Mama at the young age of 16 years old... I brought into this world (yes I, the father chose not to be involved) a beautiful, smart and amazing baby girl. Her eyes lit up my world, her hair drove me insane and my life totally changed for the better. I went on to have two more amazing girls and two awesome boys completing my little group of five, yes five, children. Starting at 16 and having five children by the age of 23 was insane. No birth control worked. Period. Pills, shots, you name it, nothing... thankfully as I was gifted with these AMAZING children. So during my pregnancy for my fifth I made the decision to make a more permanent choice after finding a doctor that would allow me to do so. The rules in Virginia to have a tubal ligation are completely insane and it was not easy but I was able to find one, so the day after my yo

With learning that I must go gluten free I am finding that most people have their own ideas about what the diet means. It has not been as easy as some made it sound to find ready made gluten free products but I am finding surprises here and there and finding ways to make homemade things still taste yummy without the gluten... After eating grilled chicken and salads for 2 weeks straight I decided to have some not so healthy gluten free food. lol... Since I am finding it not so easy I figured I would share my finds along the way so the next person out there looking for answers may find an occasional blog from me helpful. Although I have sponsored posts from time to time I am in no way being paid to mention any product I use in my blogs unless I clearly state so in the blog. It will have sponsored and ad used whenever it is a product I've been sent to test for free or paid to use. Today's blog is not sponsored. Today I am going to cover a delicious bread I used for sandwiches,

Love free stuff? Love Amazon gift cards? Love trying new things before others? Read on ❤ So you guys know recently I have been doing more sampling for various companies as well as brand ambassador programs. An amazing site that I recommend to everyone is Crowdtap . I came across it while googling for sample sites and I check it several times a day, except on the weekends when there isn't a lot of activity. The great thing about this site is you get rewarded and get to participate in several ways. You fill out your general information. Age, sex, address, social media info. Then it acts as a sort of testing group for various brands. You may get shown images and asked to pick your favorite label or describe how an image makes you think. Sometimes they'll have more focused information and discussions, and on occasion you'll get invited to sample a product. It could be a new candy bar, cold medicine, makeup, and on occasion a brand will send you a box full of toiletry items!

Just a little bit more about the #HiveTour here and fill you guys in and see what you think and who is down to share and support us on this quest. Since I started with my Ktown brand my primary focus has been independent arts and entrepreneurs. There are so many amazing people I have met here in Jacksonville, FL with talent that deserves to be seen, heard and more. I have spent a lot of time hosting indie shows, vendor events and more hoping to help with their exposure all while building a name for myself. I blog here and there, go live from shows and love to just have fun with it all. About 2 years ago my husband and I started dating and everyone fell in love with us as a couple and asked for us to do a joint project together. We are often invited out to various concerts, festivals and so much more so we came up with The Sway (meaning: The Kingdom) as an idea for covering events while we are out and about. Often times we will go live from events and of course post pics and videos

Well I have a few answers but still a little in the dark after seeing the doc for my blood work results... Just a refresher for those who may not have read the previous blog. I have been dealing with major health issues for several years now and they have gotten progressively worse. You can read my previous blog here . Mostly it's been swelling, aches & pains as well as hives. Yes... all very painful. Thursday night though I woke up in the middle of the night, as I often do, but this time was different. I was hot... like middle of the summer with the heat cranked up type of hot. I got up, closed the window in case the humid Florida air was the cause and cranked up the fan. My skin itched all over so I knew I was probably breaking out. All my movement caused my husband to stir who then said he could see me breaking out all over. By lunch time the next day my eyelids, ears and forehead were swollen all over. I could barely move and I could feel the swelling in my head w

Nervous is understatement... I discuss my health from time to time but often I keep it to myself for the most part as I see it as a negative.. I don't want to seem like I am whining or complaining. I do realize though that there are other people out there struggling like me. Some people are open and some choose not to be and whichever we decide that is OUR choice. Some years back I started developing issues with my knees... occasionally other joints but mostly my knees, especially after long days of walking and catching a bus around this big city. Jacksonville is huge and our transportation system is less than desirable but that's a different blog topic all together. I think the icing on the cake was the year I waitressed. That was ROUGH.. I was often in pain and now I am paying for it all, big time. Looking back I can see other triggers from long days in the sun to less than desirable food choices. All in all, a life of a struggling single mama working hard has caught up t

In our quest to eventually open up a center here in Jax and preparing for a road trip around the country I need to speak to all of YOU! I really want to talk with people who are either running mentor programs, currently mentoring someone or people who have benefited from mentoring, especially in the arts field. Within the next year we (hubby, myself and the kiddos still at home) would love to AND plan to be on the road traveling cross country and meeting you all face to face, bringing your stories the life and love they deserve and showing the world how important our arts community is as well as how easily you can help keep it thriving! We know our youth needs direction and mentoring in the art fields can help be that needed outlet but also let us all pass down that passion and beauty that is art whether it be in music, painting, poetry, culinary and more. Through my blog and our other social pages we will show you our travel, allow upcoming artists to record in our booth, have a

I jumped on facebook the other day and all I saw was negativity. I know sometimes social media can be this way but it just seems to be more of the norm lately and that really bothers me. We have this amazing platform that can connect people across the globe, that can launch careers, help you find loved ones, share your best memories and more yet so many use it to attack each other and do nothing but complain about the current topic of the day. It is hard to write this without sounding like I am complaining about people complaining but I feel the need to write regardless. I am an old school fb user. *insert back in my day jokes here* I started using it when I was still in college back home in Virginia. I remember a classmate telling me about it and I had to use my college email at the time to be "verified" before getting on the site. I used it sparingly and shortly after moving to Florida I received notification from facebook they would be going public. At the time of cours

This is not an easy blog to write but one that is needed as I am a blogger and I have to use every resource available to seek help. Today marks 2 weeks since our friend Francis was last seen and there has been absolutely no leads to his whereabouts. Right now we have to use all mediums available to spread the word and get his face seen. Only one local news station has covered his disappearance. That is not ok. He is a resident of Duval County and everyone in and around Jacksonville should see this flyer and be on the look out for him! Rob is a music artist here in Jax, a laid back guy who works hard and is friendly with everyone. I personally have known him about nine years and he is one of the nicest guys I know, never disrespectful and always great to have a convo with about anything from movies and music to the world we're living in. He has had the same group of close friends the entire time I have known him and my husband and I run into him at EVERY ArtWalk in downtown Jax

Life easily slips away and next thing I know it has been almost 2 months and no blog! Smh at me.. Sorry my dears but I am a work in progress.. looking forward to a time when blogging takes up the better half of my time though as writing is still one of my favorite things to do.  So to say a lot has happened since I last blogged would be an understatement! I will break a few of the awesome events down and let you guys know what else is in store. Please make sure to follow me on my social media pages as the more you all support me the easier I reach my goals and dreams <3 Now let's try to catch y'all up without making this a mini book.. lol First my son graduated from basic training for the United States Army. We stayed in a HORRIBLE hotel that I left quite the review on but we won't go all negative about that here. Proud obviously but not surprised about his making it through basic... lol. He was very prepared and although I still am not sure it was exactly what

So I am SUPER excited to blog about this... I recently joined Influester , a website that allows you to try different products and post reviews about them. They send out these products in what they call a Vox Box. You answer a few questions about different categories, plus they take into account your social reach and other demographics to determine if you are eligible for each Vox Box they send out of products.  I signed up a little over a month ago and was eligible to receive my first #VoxBox within about two weeks. It was a Sephora skincare product called Origins- GinZing. Enclosed was a small paper explaining the box and what words to use when posting about it since I received the product for free. They were #Influenster, #ad, #sponsored, and #DiscoverOrigins. This made since to me and it may have helped that I've been a brand ambassador before. There are government rules concerning how to post about products received for free, especially if you are being compensated t

Is this manifestation?       Anyone that knows me knows I absolutely LOVE the water. I love going to the beach, pool, fishing, walking the river and more. My dream for the absolute longest time has been to own a little house by the water with a dock to walk out on to start and end each day.      Now while we may not have achieved that goal yet my husband and I are celebrating our one year anniversary and it is actually on a boat. At this very moment we are tied up to a dock in Amelia Island while it rocks to the gentle flow of the water and we relax the night away. Excited is an understatement.       We originally planned to go to the west coast to celebrate this anniversary but due to some life events we had to keep it closer to home. Amelia Island was just far enough to enjoy but still be close enough to home if needed. We searched the dates on AirBnB and came across this amazing boat docked at Amelia Island and it looked perfect for us so we booked it the next day!      The next

It's my Pop Pop's birthday... I wish he were still here to see my babies as they've grown. I know he's be proud & that makes me happy. He fought for his country and ultimately his country failed him so he's no longer with us but I'll always remember how awesome he was.. Growing up he had a lot going on in that mind of his due to the Vietnam War but those that loved him looked past that. I remember having to wake him up from across the room because of the horrible dreams he'd have.. I remember finding his camping spot in the woods behind our home because some nights he felt safer in the middle of the woods. There would be a full on campsite with a place to sleep, food stored away and more. He made me appreciate the little things and always had love for the seasons but more than anything he loved the beach. It was his home. One of my best memories was during a snowstorm. He'd promised me and my brother a trip to get ice cream and the snow wouldn&#

Heyyyyyy everyone, I am in an awesome mood for so many reasons today, even though it is a Monday... lol A little while back my amazing hubby told me about a little site called Patreon . I usually stay on top of social media and crowdfunding sites so I was a little surprised I had not heard about this. After doing some research I found out how awesome it really is so I created one and worked on it for five days straight.. tweaking things here and there, creating visuals, etc. to make it just right and launched it today at noon! Why does this concern you? Well it is a REAL way that you can support artists and creative types like myself who love making amazing content but usually have to do so at our own expense or little to no pay. Yes I get paid when hosting and for some other services I perform but usually when I am out and about supporting events, doing live coverage, etc. I do so, or rather my husband and I do so, on our own. We of course get free entry to many events and

Have you heard about floating, AKA: Sensory Deprivation? About nine months ago I started working at a float center in Jacksonville, FL called H2Om Float. They contacted me after seeing me online and before I knew it I was part-time manager which allowed me to FINALLY leave the dental world and for those that know me well, they know how ready I was to leave the dental world. No need to focus on that tho, bye-bye dentures and toothaches! I didn't know anything about floating prior to coming to this place so I did a ton of research and quickly got on board. I was so excited to be a part of something that can help so many and see how this therapy would be beneficial for my body pains as well as my mind. I read blog after blog, news articles and more. Most of it painted floating in a positive light with the exception here and there, mostly those who were claustrophobic or just simply didn't allow themselves enough to relax... For those that don't know what floating i