One of my favorite stores in Stone Mountain, Georgia which is located in metro  Atlanta, is the Cranky Princess. This boutique, located in a wood-frame home has items that will lighten up even the crankiest mood. Candles, bath and body supplies, home decor items, jewelry, stationary, and tea party items are stocked in this quaint, comfortable store, located on Main Street.

This is a store that makes you want to relax and browse. Cute little mugs with sayings like “stress is normal,” will make you smile to yourself. You are sure to find something that reflects your mood, even if it’s a bit cranky. Yes. The cute logo items, colorful, girlie stationary and princess crowns for tea parties will make you smile.

I love the fact that my favorite bath and body product line, Carol’s Daughter is also sold in the Cranky Princess. Carol’s Daughter is a line of homemade, mostly natural delicious-smelling salt scrubs, body butter, soaps, perfumes, and hair products (just to give you a brief run-down). The company is based in New York and products from the Carol’s Daughter line are sold in a very limited number of locations in the United States. I actually discovered the Cranky Princess while searching for Carol’s Daughter products. I realized that the store had so much more to offer than my favorite product line. I’m so glad that I discovered the Cranky Princess.

The Cranky Princess
988 Main St
Stone Mountain, GA
30083
www.thecrankyprincess.com
(770)879-3553
or Toll Free 1-866-488-1533

Photo Credit: Claudine Williams

Post from: The Atlanta Traveler

Oh no! Say it isn’t so. The Celtics won, 99-65.  It’s great that the Hawks went as far as they did. Hey, is anyone planning to greet them at the airport?  They will be in town tonight (Sunday 5/4) between 7:15 and 7:30. Here’s where to meet them.

Photo Credit: David Arnott, Flickr Creative Commons Licence

Technorati Tags: atlanta hawks,defeat,boston celtics,playoffs,game 7,game seven

Post from: The Atlanta Traveler

The airport has hourly parking, daily parking and economy parking. The rate is $1 per hour for the first two hours. You will then pay $2 per hour for the next 4 hours that you are parked. If you end up staying in the hourly parking lot, you will pay $28 per day.

The daily rate is $2 per hour and $14 per day. If you plan to stay at the airport for several days, you should use economy parking, which is $2 per hour and $10 per day.

The airport Park and Ride has the best daily rate at $9 per day. Remember to keep track of where you park your vehicle and the level that you parked on. Write this information down and carry it with you; you won’t be sorry.

Photo by Hyku, Flickr, Creative Commons License

Post from: The Atlanta Traveler

Global Youth Service Day is said to be the largest volunteer service day in the world. At least 2,500 youths from 5 through college-aged students will participate in community service projects such as building picnic tables,cutting down plant overgrowth, making repairs, cleaning up schools, sorting books and clothes and cleaning up neighborhoods. The service projects take place at various locations between 9 a.m. and Noon on Saturday with a celebration consisting of food and entertainment, taking place afterwards from Noon to 2 p.m.  All youth under 18 must bring a signed parent or guardian permission slip with them on the day of their community service project.

Photo Credit: From Flicker by Woodly, Creative Commons License

Post from: The Atlanta Traveler

Post from: The Atlanta Traveler

That’s not all. They are even charging hapless travelers $5 for the headphones you need to listen to the sound for your inflight movie. I know that times are tough U.S. Airways, but we need a break! Now, I didn’t think that having headphones was a big deal until I sat in the same aisle as a woman with the most annoying laugh on the planet. I am not trying to be mean or anything, but her loud obnoxious laugh was torture in those otherwise friendly skies. If I didn’t have my MP3 player, I would have gladly handed over my poodle, home, car, and sold my first born child just to make her laughing.

Now, I am sure that you are wondering what all of this has to do with you and Atlanta. Well, I learned some valuable information while in the Atlanta airport. So, in addition to packing food, headphones and bringing cash just in case you run out of food, here’s some additional insider’s advice for navigating Atlanta’s  airport.

1. The Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta has hourly, daily, and  economy parking. Daily parking is $2 an hour and $14 a day. Economy parking is  $10 a day at the airport. If  you park in the economy spaces, you can ride a courtesy shuttle from 8 a.m. to midnight. It’s a little hike from the economy spaces to the airport terminal.  There are also some cheaper spaces owned by a slew of different companies outside of the airport that are about $8 a day, but you will need to take a free shuttle from your car to the spaces (which is a pain if you have a lot of luggage). I prefer to park closer to the airport and pay the $10 so I don’t have to worry about waiting for the shuttle, even if it’s just a few minutes. I walked to and from the economy lot since I arrived at the airport at the crack of dawn and returned at 2 a.m. The courtesy shuttle was not available.

When driving to the parking areas, pay attention to the signs as you head to the terminal, on my trip, I had to stay in the left lanes to reach the economy parking lots.

If you plan to be at the airport between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., you will find courtesy officers around the parking lots. When I went looking for my car at 2 a.m. I saw a sole courtesy officer whizzing by on a bicycle. I couldn’t get his attention to ask him a question, like where is my car? Who moved the parking lot? That brings me to my next point.

2. This is extremely important for any large airport. Write down where you park (the letter and number combination in the Atlanta’s airport). I left my car in area A13, for example.  Note the parking deck level where you parked, even if you park outside of the deck. When you leave the baggage claim area after your trip, you may need to go up or down a level to reach your car.

Post from: The Atlanta Traveler

Post from: The Atlanta Traveler

I am alarmed at the growth of Kudzu here in Georgia. I used to only see them along rural highways a few years ago. These days, I see them a mile from where I live. And it’s scary. Kudzu is a wild vine that grows an alarming one foot per week. That totals 52 feet per year! Kudzu not only suffocates trees, plants, shrubs or anything on its path, it also swallows them whole!

The Kudzu vine first appeared at the Philadelphia Centennial Expo in 1876. It was originally intended to be a forage crop and an ornamental plant. From 1935 to the 50s, farmers were encouraged by the Department of Agriculture to cultivate Kudzu in order to reduce soil erosion in the southeastern US. With no known predators and perfect growing conditions, Kudzu proliferated the southeastern US and has now been discovered in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and even in Australia and Italy where it has also become a concern.

Although there are many uses for the Kudzu plant (including food, medicine, animal feed, soaps, lotions to name a few), its destructive properties outweigh its uses. Controlling its growth is tricky — one must destroy its root crown. Cutting off the vines is not effective. Weekly mowing is can be effective but must be done regularly for several years.

I personally fear that the Kudzu is going to invade more communities (both city and suburban) in the years ahead. I seriously hope a biological solution can be found very soon. Before all the trees, plants , and shrubs are killed by this nuisance.

Post from: The Atlanta Traveler