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Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies

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While we were in the Great Smoky Mountains a few weeks ago (see my photos from Parrot Mountain), we visited Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. I was surprised to learn that it is owned by the same company that does the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not books, comics, and TV show.

Mr. Handsome and I have somehow become aquarium and zoo people. I didn’t grow up spending time at either, but since we have been married, we have visited quite a few (Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium,  St. Louis Zoo, New Orleans Audubon Zoo, and Memphis Zoo). We also went to the Knoxville Zoo on our way home from the Smokies. We both agree that going to a zoo or aquarium isn’t the absolute most exciting thing that anyone could ever do with their time, but we love how relaxing and therapeutic it is to walk through the exhibits and watch the animals. You can allow yourself to lose track of time for a few hours.

The aquarium has a huge shark tank, where you can see the sharks from above water and then walk through a glass tunnel and watch them swim above you.

Gatlinburg Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies shark lagoon

Gatlinburg Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies shark lagoon

The creature in Shark Lagoon that fascinated us the most is not actually a shark, although it looks like one. It’s a sawfish, and while it can cause harm to prey with its “saw,” it is not aggressive towards humans (unlike actual sharks). It also has what looks like a human face on its underside.

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies sawfish

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies sawfish
The penguin exhibit was my favorite, and it was hilarious to put Little Buddy up to the glass and watch a swimming penguin try to grab his swinging pacifier.

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies penguins

The stingrays were also pretty neat and reminded us of our honeymoon on Grand Cayman, when we swam with wild stingrays at Stingray City. Mr. Handsome enjoyed seeing the jellyfish, but he now unfortunately wants one as a pet.

Gatlinburg Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies

My Tennessee Easter Egg–Featured in Food Network Magazine

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Nashville Wife in Food Network MagazineHappy First Day of Spring! We had plenty of spring weather earlier this month, although, ironically, today feels more like winter. But never mind the wind and rain–I have an exciting announcement to share with all my wonderful readers.

A few months ago, I was contacted by a representative from Food Network Magazine and asked to play a role in the April edition. The issue has officially hit the newsstands, so I am finally able to share the details of my involvement.

In celebration of Easter, Food Network Magazine wrote a story that features a decorated Easter egg from all 50 states, and I was given the honor of decorating the Tennessee egg. Naturally, I decided to tap into my husband’s artistic talent to create this unique work of art. (For those who don’t know, Mr. Handsome is a painter.) The two of us had a blast working together on this project.

We chose a banjo to represent the Americana, country, and bluegrass music that Tennessee has helped mold and create. We chose a river to represent the great waterways that flow through Tennessee and set the state apart as a center for industry and trade. We superimposed these images over the Great Smoky Mountains, which represent the beauty of nature that all Tennesseans know and love.

We did several practice runs, some with hard boiled eggs and others with “empty” eggs, and tried a few different designs. (If you poke a hole in both ends of an egg, you can blow the yolk out and be left with just the shell.) We always started with a pencil sketch.

Tennessee Easter Egg tutorial

It took a bit of time to find the right medium. We first used artist-grade colored pencils (better quality than the colored pencils used by children) but decided they weren’t quite bold enough.

Tennessee Easter Egg tutorial

After spending some time wandering around our local Hobby Lobby, I ended up purchasing a small set of acrylic paints and some tiny, tiny brushes. The brushes have a max of about 10 thin bristles per brush–so small that they are nearly microscopic!

Tennessee Easter Egg tutorial
The Food Network sent me an Eggnot (a fake egg that looks and feels real) on which to do the final design. The other option was to use a real hard boiled egg for the finished product, but something about sending a hard boiled egg through the mail to New York City just seemed a little strange to me.

Of course, we made several mistakes along the way, like attempting to draw or paint on a hard boiled egg that was either too hot, which made the paint run, or too cold, which created condensation. We managed to get paint all over our fingers and dining table. Thankfully, that was before I refinished the table (tutorial coming soon) or else I might have had a small panic attack.

Tennessee Easter Egg tutorial
On a couple of the trial eggs, we added the cityscapes of the three major Tennessee cities (Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville) but decided that they made the egg look too cluttered.

Tennessee Easter Egg tutorial
After much trial and error, we came up with a design that we loved.
Tennessee Easter Egg tutorial

Be sure to pick up a copy of the April issue of Food Network Magazine to see all the creative Easter eggs reflecting our 50 states.

Food Network Magazine United States of Easter Eggs
Food Network Magazine United States of Easter Eggs