FlorenceMom.com Blogs

Join us for the Pee Dee Baby & Family Expo on Saturday, February 9th from 10:00-3:00 pm at the Florence Center! Presented by Absolute Total Care, the free Expo features dozens of local businesses showcasing the best products, services, and resources for expecting parents and families with children of all ages.
  
Free fun for moms includes a photo booth, airbrush tattoos, baby bump painting, and mommy makeovers. Kids can enjoy free bounce houses, face painting, special guests, and balloon animals. We’ll also have door prizes and informative classes.
 
Register on Eventbrite to reserve your free tickets! And be sure to follow the event on Facebook for special announcements, updates, and giveaways happening now! For more information or to feature your business at this great community event, e-mail contact@touchofmagicsc.com.

We meet new people throughout our lifetime and some may only stay as acquaintances while others become an instant close connection. I find that having that great, trustworthy friend in this town takes effort and giving others a chance is not easy, but something's gotta give. It is, as we all know, like dating.


And what better way to go on a date or get to know your friend than doing a creative exercise together over a glass of wine? My favorite choice: going to a Paint & Sip in downtown Florence. There's an intimate art studio called Addie's Baby Studio in downtown that's owned by Winter Moore. If you haven't been there, you should. The name of the art studio is "Addie's Baby" because Addie is Winter's mother. It's creative and so touching and as a mom myself, it speaks volumes.
 (Owner & Artist, Winter Moore)

Tonight, my group of moms took a few hours of our busy Christmas season for a Paint & Sip class at Addie's Baby together. Tonight's theme was "Snowman in Paradise". 

Addie's Baby Studio provides the apron, paintbrushes, paint and canvas. You just need to show up with your beverage of choice that you've brought with you (BYOB). Our group decided that sharing a bottle (or 2) of Cabernet Sauvignon that someone brought from home was perfect. 

Sometimes the pressure of creating a perfect canvas can be what's holding you back from just enjoying the experience. For these Paint & Sip classes, no art experience is ever required. What you create on the canvas is yours. After you've completed your painting on your canvas, you get to bring it home to remember the memories of a certain season of your life when you created it. It's more than just painting to me. It's like a record of time of where I am and who I'm with at that given moment. And that is why I'm always eager to come back here to do another painting I've never done before. 

 (Inside of Addie's Baby Studio at a Paint & Sip class)

During the December month, there are many different Christmas themed paintings you can pick from. To see Addie's Baby Studio's calendar and upcoming paintings, go to: https://www.addiesbabystudio.com. If you need to spend that quality time with your significant other, I highly suggest a Paint & Sip class here. If you both have never done it, it'll be a great bonding experience you'll never forget. 

(I forgot my carrot nose on my snowman but that's okay.)

No two paintings from a class will ever be the exact same so when you peek at your neighbor's painting, just remember that that's their painting. You have yours that you created with your own hands and left side of the brain. When I was peering over to see everybody else's canvas, I felt like my painting was missing something but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. I didn't realize until I got home that I forgot to add an orange carrot nose to my snowman! I may have missed a pretty important feature of his face but now I can say that my snowman is not "nosy" like that others. It has made this particular painting experience more memorable and for that, I am thankful. 

To call Addie's Baby Studio about booking a class for yourself or a group of people, you can call 843.229.5862. Studio Address: 290 W Evans St, Florence, South Carolina 29501

Addie's Baby Studio facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AddiesBabyPaintWineStudioFlorence/. 

If you are new in town and would like to see a list of mom groups or playdates in Florence, go to: Moms Groups in Florence. 

For a list of ideas of fun things to do (including Paint & Sips and trivia nights) with your group of moms, go to: Mom Fun page. Every mom deserves a little break.

For the Star Wars fan, this light saber mug is awesome. The light sabers come on when you pour hot liquid inside (like tea or coffee, etc) and there are 13 light sabers on this mug. It's one of the best Christmas gifts that won't break your budget. See short clip to see how it works.  The 13 Star Wars sabers on the mug belonged to: Qui-Gon Jinn, Kit Fisto, Darth Vader, Anakin/Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul, Luke Skywalker/Anakin (he had different ones so his name shows up again), Count Dooku, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Asaji Ventress, Mace Windu and Luke Skywalker. See more details on this Star Wars Light Saber Mug.

Veteran's Day this year is Tues, Nov. 11, 2025! Here's a list of places that will offer veterans a free meal or freebie on this special day in Florence, SC! (Many are even for active-duty military men and women.) This holiday is always special to my family because my husband is a Navy veteran. Thank you all for your service!

1. Shoney's is offering a free breakfast buffet to all past and present military from opening - 11AM. (confirmed for 2025)
2. Buffalo Wild Wings usually offers a small order of wings and fries to veterans for dine-in on Veteran's Day. Must present acceptable proof of military service, which include: permanent or temporary US military ID cards, a DD 214 or veteran's card.
3. Little Caesar's Pizza usually offers a free $5 lunch combo for veterans and active military only between 11am - 2pm (lunch only). 
4. Cracker Barrel usually offers a free Sunrise Pancake Special for dine-in guests to veterans. Dine in only. 
5. Dunkin Donuts usually offers one free donut to all active duty or retired military personnel all day long. Must show proof.
6. IHOP usually offers free red, white and blue pancake combo for veterans and active-duty from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Dine in only.
7. Great Clips: On November 11, veterans can get a free haircut, or present your military ID and get a coupon for a free haircut.
8. Red Lobster usually offers active and past military members a free Walt's Favorite Shrimp, Fries, and Coleslaw for dine in only.
9. Ruby Tuesday is offering a free burger, cheeseburger or garden bar entree on Veteran's Day to veterans.
10. Golden Corral also offers a free meal to Veterans on Veteran's Day from 4PM - close. 
11. Starbucks usually offers a Free Coffee For Military 11/11. Veterans, Active Duty And Military Spouses, Enjoy A Free Tall (12 OZ) Hot Brewed Coffee On Veteran's Day.
12. Chuck E. Cheese's usually offers a free personal 1-topping pizza for active duty, national guard, retired and veterans with valid Military ID or proof of military service. 

Note: Tell your veteran to be prepared to show military ID or PROOF of military service to any of these places to get their freebie!!! Other websites may have outdated information from previous years that are not offered anymore so be careful. FlorenceMom.com will continually add offers and freebies to this list for our veterans as they are announced.  Hope you and your family will have a great Veteran's Day!

In Florence, you can visit the Florence Veterans Park (601 Woody Jones Blvd.., Florence, SC 29501) located right next to the Florence Center. It is located behind their large parking lot. See upcoming Veteran's Day Celebration events on the Florence family-friendly events page.

I attended my first Disney On Ice show ever last night with my little family and WOW! It was so wonderful and beautiful that I can't wait to see another Disney On Ice show again.

Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment was incredible at the Florence Center last night. With stars like Woody, Buzz and the Gang,  Elsa and Anna from Frozen, Lightning McQueen that drives himself on ice, and Ariel and Eric from The Little Mermaid in the same room is enough to blow your mind! 

FlorenceMom.com had a favorite Disney star before coming to the show and that's Ariel, The Little Mermaid. 

She was gorgeous, graceful and performed to all the favorites! Here is one of the performances by Ariel and Eric together.
  

Woody and Buzz are my kids' favorites. They are 4 and 2 and my 4 year old has watched all of the Toy Story movies so to see Woody on ice was truly special. FlorenceMom.com had the exclusive privilege to interview Kyle Shropshire, who performs as Woody, last month so it was super amazing to see the immense talent he has in person. You can read about the interview here by FlorenceMom.com.

Here is when Woody first comes out to the show! What an entrance!
 



What little girl does not love the famous movie Frozen and it's most catchy song "Let It Go"? And what sisters would not relate to Anna or Elsa? They danced and ice skated with surprise, snow from above!




The beautiful sisters ice skated as if it was as easy as breathing for them. It all just makes so much sense and the perfect ensemble for the season. (See a video glimpse of Anna & Elsa's performance last night at the Florence Center above.)

When Lightning McQueen and all the Cars came out, we tried to look inside to see if there was anyone and no, we see no-one. They drive themselves on ice! 

And it isn't a Disney production without all the awesome toys and wands available for purchase and this reminded me so much of Disneyland and Disney World without even having to travel there. 

And of course, we can't forget, Mickey & Minnie Mouse! The most famous couple in the world.

Disney On Ice has everything you think an ice skating show should be like, but with so much more than you can imagine. With pyrotechnics, amazing talented performers, the nostalgic songs and all the right feelings to make you feel whole again, it was an absolutely healing for the soul to be there and Florence desperately needs healing. My kids stayed put throughout the whole show and that's very telling for 2 normal rambunctious toddlers. Dancing is allowed! 

After two hurricane scares, some recent tragedy for the whole city of Florence, this was very needed here. Come see your Disney stars! Make a special date night or family night! Performing for only another few days, you can catch their next performance at the Florence Center this weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (October 12 - 14, 2018).

(Note: All photos and videos uploaded on Pinterest and Youtube shown on this page are actual footage and property of FlorenceMom.com.)

All seats are reserved, and tickets are available by calling 800.745.3000. For group rates and information, call 866-248-8740 x4. To learn more about Disney On Ice, produced by Feld Entertainment, visit www.disneyonice.com, or visit us on Facebook and YouTube.

ABOUT FELD ENTERTAINMENT Feld Entertainment® is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live touring family entertainment experiences that bring people together and uplift the human spirit. Properties include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, Disney On Ice, Disney Live!, Marvel Universe LIVE!, Sesame Street Live!, DreamWorks Trolls The Experience (coming Fall 2018) and Jurassic World Live (coming Fall 2019). Across the brand portfolio, Feld Entertainment has entertained millions of families in more than 75 countries and on six continents. Visit feldentertainment.com for more information.