Sunday, April 15, 2018

HOTEL REVIEW: Our Stop in Baton Rouge, LA - Quality Inn Baton Rouge

Quality Inn - Baton Rouge
1755 O'Neal Ln., Baton Rouge, LA, 70816, US

Baton Rouge is a beautiful city in the culture-filled state of Louisiana. It's about an hour and a half  drive from one of my favorite cities in the US, New Orleans!! Have you ever been to New Orleans to experience Essence Music Festival? Bayou Classic? A NFL Saints game? or just to experience the fantastic fresh seafood and authentic sounds of a local brass band? Well, if not, I would highly suggest you pay New Orleans a visit. But back to the topic at hand, since this particular post is not about New Orleans, but about its' neighboring sister city, Baton Rouge.

Baton Rouge is easily accessible from two convenient interstates. It sits right at the west intersection of Interstate 10 and Interstate 12 and the Mississippi River. Baton Rouge is also the capital of Louisiana. Antebellum landmarks include the castle-like Old Louisiana State Capitol, now a museum, and Magnolia Mound Plantation, with its French Creole house. Baton Rouge is also the home of Louisiana State University and the LSU Rural Life Museum, which is a complex of refurbished buildings illustrating 18th- and 19th-century life. Additionally, the USS Kidd sits on the river and is a retired WWII destroyer that is now a museum.

PARKING: Getting to the parking lot was a little tricky. There is no direct entrance from the street. Although the hotel is right off of the highway ramp, you must drive up the street a little ways into the Hobby Lobby and Storage facility drive way. Upon arrival, the parking lot seemed small for the amount of room in the building but surprisingly, the parking lot never filled up completely. Therefore, everyone was able to easily find parking and everything seemed to be fine.

EASE OF CHECK IN/CHECK OUT: Check in was probably the best part of the entire experience. The agent was extremely friendly and efficient. Check in was quick, and before you knew it, we were comfortably in our room. The agent asked if we had a room/floor preference and then gave us all of the pertinent information needed to enjoy our stay. He accommodated every request.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: Customer Service is most likely the reason why this property has a four star rating on TripAdvisor. Each request was met with an emphatic "absolutely." We weren't here long enough to need a lot in the way of customer service but everyone was helpful and displayed positive attitudes.

REWARDS STATUS PERKS: Being that we are Diamond Elite Members with Choice Properties, upon arrival we received a welcome gift bag that contained some of our favorite snacks, Cheetos and Bottle Water. :-) We were treated like we were priority guest and I immediately received my Choice Privileges Midweek Extras in my email inbox. After check-out, I received my 50% elite point bonus along with my regular points. We also received our digital copy of USA today the next  morning. Hard copies were also available at the front desk. As I always say, Choice Properties has one of my most favorite Lodging Rewards Programs!!

CLEANLINESS: The cleanliness was good. We saw no major issues with cleanliness. The main areas of the room were good, including the bathroom, counter top sink area, and linens.The air conditioner could stand to have a thorough annual deep clean but it was not bad. Additionally, the windows could stand to be cleaned more frequently.

DECOR:Our room was a little outdated in terms of carpet, decor and furniture style. However, the bed and lazy chair still felt extremely comfortable even though it looked a little "old style" in my opinion. I must also add that the sitting area that is directly in the center of the hotel is extremely up-to-date with contemporary furniture and decor. The breakfast area is also very modern and comfortable.

LOCATION: The location of the hotel was ideal for the business that I needed to handle while in Baton Rouge. It provides super-easy access to both interstates and there was limited congestion when leaving the following morning during rush hour.

One of the downfalls was that there were not any restaurants or fast food places on the street with the hotel, that we could tell. However, there is a gas station within walking distance of the property, which was nice.

BREAKFAST: This particular property provides a hot breakfast that consisted of sausage and egg omelets. They also had the traditional fare including pastries and yogurt. There was an attendant available to replenish so the items never ran out. They also have a waffle iron to make waffles. There was plenty of room for every patron to sit and enjoy their meal.

WI-FI & TECHNOLOGY: Although we did not use the Wi-Fi much, it worked fine in our room. There were no glitches or hangups while trying to access it.

EXTRAS: It was nice that each room comes with a fridge and microwave. Additionally, they have an outdoor pool, fitness room, and laundry room on-site. They also have conference rooms available.

VALUE: This property was a good value for the budget. While there are plenty of other budget friendly hotels in the area, we didn't want to take a risk because they all seemed to have bad reviews. (I am so into reading reviews and the other hotels in the area seemed to be "you get what you pay for" types). I was pleasantly surprised with our experience here and glad we choose to spend a little more than the others were charging (in the same class range) to get a more premium experience. Speaking of value, as always, by creating our booking using Ebates, we received 2.5% cash back.




What's your favorite Louisiana City?

Have you ever experienced Baton Rouge? Any recommendations on "must try" things to do while there?

Also, let me know if you've ever been to this Quality Inn or other choice property and your thoughts!

Where are you in your corner of the world today?























Friday, April 13, 2018

EARTH DAY!! One of my favorite celebrations! 3 ways you can help relieve the burden we've placed on the Earth!

Every time you turn around, there's a new holiday popping up like National Compliment Day celebrated on January 24th or International Dot Day celebrated on September 15th.

But who doesn't LOVE a reason to celebrate? I sure do!!

And one of those grand times for me is EARTH DAY!! I've been celebrating Earth Day since I was about 7 years old and each year, I execute some action, whether big or small, to contribute to protecting the planet.

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22 each year. Worldwide, various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day events in more than 193 countries are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. Additionally, many people also celebrate EARTH WEEK and plan activities throughout the entire week to celebrate nature and our beloved planet. To find out more about Earth Day celebrations in your area, you can check out EarthDay.org.

Here are 3 ways that you can help the planet on this upcoming Earth Day!!

1.) Plant a garden

It doesn't matter how big are small, there are tons of benefits to gardening. Gardening has been proven to relieve stress, provide mental clarity an improve mental health, increase self esteem and my personal favorite, provide a good workout. Gardening also provides you with the opportunity to feed your family, friends, and loved ones with nutritious and delicious edibles that they will enjoy and remember. There's a great satisfaction and enjoyment that comes while sitting back with a glass of ice cold lemonade once your gardening project is finished, knowing that you've planted seeds that will (hopefully) yield a harvest. Some of my favorite plantings to enjoy with my 7 year old include these Bloomin Seed Butterfly Paper Shapes. They are fun, easy to plant and produce such beautiful blooms in no time!! "Of The Earth" has some nice Seed Embedded Larkspur Handmade Paper Tags also that can be used as gift tags or just a little something to write a special note to a friend! Also, keep a look out on the blog as we are getting ready to build a few planter beds in the next couple of weeks.


2.) Join a coastal clean up in your area

One of the biggest organizations, and my personal favorite, to host coastal cleanups is The Ocean Conservancy. I am in love with going to the beach and enjoying one of our planets greatest treasures, our oceans. I've have been supporting the Ocean Conservancy since college and they do some amazing work in the world of preserving our planets oceans. My absolute favorite project that they organize is the International Coastal Cleanup which has been happening for the last 30 years. This year, it is being help on September 15th at a coast near you. Although this date is not during the actual Earth Day celebration that we recognize in April, there are several smaller coastal cleanups that happen on or around Earth Day. To get involved, contact The Ocean Conservancy through their website, oceanconservancy.org

3.) Use nature friendly products in your household.

Although I am ashamed to say that it took me far too long to start buying eco-friendly household cleaning product, I am happy to report that everyone in my household is now being more conscience about what we use for cleaning and refreshing. At first, I was kind of clueless as to what the difference would be in buying more eco-friendly products but after a little research, I realized that there were some areas that I could make improvements in my product choices. Earth Day would be the perfect time to make a better commitment to purchasing these types of products, if they fit your families needs. I mean, who doesn't want to live in a toxic free home? Or at least, as close as possible.

Eco-friendly products typically include things like biodegradable packaging, chlorine-free, nonallergenic, phosphate-free, recycled plastic, and plant-based from sustainable farms. Amazon is having an great sale to celebrate Earth Day this month. Some of my favorites are listed below!! You can check out these brands by tapping on the links.

What are some of your favorite ways to celebrate Earth Day?

Hit me in the comments below and lets inspire one another on how we can all get involved with protecting, saving, and nurturing the planet where we all reside!!

Happy Earth Day!! And wherever you are, in your corner of the world, continue to be a blessing to someone else and show yourself more love than ever before!!

XOXOXO,
Tameka

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

The Beginning of my Journey: 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse by JJ Smith

Hey there Corner Clique!! I'm so excited to start my 10 Day Green Smoothie Cleanse using the book written by JJ Smith!! My book just arrived in the mail!!

I first learned about the Green Smoothie Cleanse through social media as many of my friends were a part of her Facebook group. The group currently has over 650,000 members and it continues to grow every single day. The posts are extremely positive and inspirational and many of the groups members have become like family. JJ Smith has since some out with an additional book, Green Smoothies for Life, and she host several challenges in the FB group to keep people motivated and continuing on the right track. There are quite a few people in the group that have been using JJ's method for several years and still continue to see results.

I'll be chronicling my journey through a series of blog posts here at Tamekas Corner so I hope you will to continue to follow my progress and encourage me along the way.

First things first, buy the book. The book is available in several languages for digital download or paperback. Of course, I purchased the hard copy because I am certainly a "book in the hand" kind of girl with a library in my house. LOL The book won't take very long to finish as a great part of it is recipes, shopping list, and testimonials.

Second, order your supplemental supplies either from Amazon or a health food store. Below, I've listed a partial list of items that JJ Smith recommends, along with some pretty smart and handy recommendations from the veterans in the group.

Third, go GROCERY SHOPPING and PREPARE! Of course, we all know that being prepared is the key to success. This is particularly the case when it comes to any type of new regimen regarding ones weight loss journey. Some people want their produce to be super fresh from a farmers market or the like every few days, while others opt to only go grocery shopping once a week. No matter what your preference, the grocery list in the book for the 10-day cleanse is broken down into 2 parts, the 1st five days and the 2nd five days so do what works for you.

I can't wait to see you back here for the second part of this post when I officially begin the cleanse and give you all the details!!

Until then, wherever you are in your corner of the world, continue to be a blessing to someone else and show yourself more love than ever before!!

XOXO,
Tameka

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

HOTEL REVIEW: Our stop in San Antonio, TX - Comfort Suites Medical Center

Comfort Inn & Suites Medical Center
6039 West IH 10, San Antonio, TX, 78201, US

San Antonio is one of my absolute favorite cities!! Being from Oklahoma, Texas is our neighbor which means I made many childhood memories in the state where everything is big!! I'm a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, spent summers with friends at Six Flags (both in Dallas and San Antonio), and know the story of the Alamo like the back of my hand. Even as a young adult, I always wanted to live in Texas..... but then I ended up in college in Georgia, got married... Life happened. But that doesn't mean that visiting one of my favorite states is out of reach! I travel there every chance I get to feel the Texas sun on my face, enjoy the most amazing tacos ever, brush up on my Spanish, or hit a rodeo or festival. If you haven't been to Texas, or specifically San Antonio, plan a trip there when you can. As a matter of fact, this year they are celebrating their Tricentennial!! What better time to pay them a visit!!?
San Antonio is a major city in south-central Texas with a rich colonial heritage. The Alamo, an 18th-century Spanish mission preserved as a museum, marks an infamous 1836 battle for Texan independence from Mexico. Following the San Antonio River, the miles-long River Walk is a landmark pedestrian promenade lined with cafes and shops. HemisFair Park’s 750-ft. Tower of the Americas overlooks the city.


PARKING: .

EASE OF CHECK IN/CHECK OUT: .

CUSTOMER SERVICE: .

REWARDS STATUS PERKS: We also received our digital copy of USA today the next  morning. Hard copies were also available at the front desk.

CLEANLINESS: .

DECOR: .

LOCATION: .

BREAKFAST: .

WI-FI & TECHNOLOGY: .

EXTRAS: .

VALUE: As always, creating our booking using Ebates, we received 2.5% cash back.

What's your favorite Texas City?

Have you ever experienced San Antonio? Any recommendations on "must try" things to do while there?

Also, let me know if you've ever been to this Comfort Inn & Suites and your thoughts!

Where are you in your corner of the world today?



























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