Tag Archives: Travel with kids

Apples

07 Monday Oct 2013

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Apples2Apples
We went on our annual apple picking trip this weekend.  It was a warm and misty day and we all got soggy feet, (except Josie who insisted on wearing her rain boots when we left our sunny neighborhood).  We went to Fishkill Farms, which has been in the same family for almost 100 years.  They make an effort to use low or no pesticides on their crops.  The farm is huge and packed with lots of apple varieties in the fall.  I got a little nervous at the crowds near the entrance, but there was lots of room to spread out once we got inside.  We were able to drive our car on the road along the orchards and many families brought tailgate picnics for the day.  We picked a huge bag of apples and then headed South to the village of Tarrytown for lunch.  Fishkill Farms has great barbecue food, but the weather and crowds had us in the mood to be inside.  Tarrytown has lots of cute restaurants and antique shops and our friends introduced us to Mint, which was amazing.  It looks like we are heading for a storm today here in Brooklyn.  It is a perfect day for staying inside and baking apple pie.

Flea Market Finds: Bargains!

01 Tuesday Oct 2013

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Flea

There is pretty much nothing I like better than spending the day at the flea market.  Chris asked me what I want to do for a 40th birthday party next year and I told him I wanted to spend the day at the flea.  I wasn’t kidding.  This past weekend I got to spend a few hours in beautiful fall weather at my favorite flea, Todd Farm in Rowley Mass.  We gave the girls $2 each to spend and they were (relatively) well behaved for a few hours while we all searched for treasure.  I have an idea to give the girls a larger amount of money when they get older in order for them to buy something of value, resell it and use that money to buy something else…a bit of a financial lesson which they are in no way interested in at the moment.  Todd Farm is an outdoor market with over 200 vendors.  It is full of amazing vintage and antique finds (and only a very small amount new items, too many of which ruin a flea market in my opinion).  The grounds at Todd Farm are grassy and surrounded by trees and parking is free.  It is one of my all-time favorite spots.  Here are some of our finds from the day:
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*Heavy Glass Sugar Shaker (To add to our vintage bar ware) $1

*Spotted Juice Glass (To add to my collection.  This just barely made my $3-$4 limit for juice glass purchasing, but it is in perfect shape) $4

*Wicker Trash Basket (To be painted white and put into the bathroom.  It will replace a plastic one that has seen better days) $1

*Wooden Beads (For the girls to make into necklaces) $1

*Large Galvanized Metal Watering Can (To water the plants behind the bee hives, out of my reach with the hose.  This will replace the ugly plastic one we currently use) $10

Total amount spent on these treasures: $17.  Add in the $4 we gave to the girls and the grand total comes to $21.  A bargain price for a few hours of outdoor family time and a happy Mama.

Inspiration

06 Friday Sep 2013

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Inspiration
Happy Friday!

We can feel summer slipping away over here.  The light is changed since we returned from vacation.  The bees have started kicking the drones out of the hives for the cooler weather ahead, poor boys.  The garden is as full as it will get and we are thinking about what worked and what we will amend for next year.  We are planning winter projects and looking back at the steps we made over the summer.  Fall is my favorite time of year in this spot.  The sun is bright and strong, but no longer wilting.  We spent our last summer day at the park yesterday.  Ada is starting kindergarten on Monday!  I am still a bit in denial, and promise not to cry until we are out of her sight.  Autumn is such an exciting and transforming time of year.  It always makes me feel like change is on its way.  What are your plans for the new season?

Instagrams form the last few weeks:

*Ivy in the Window

*Fort Construction

*Josie on the Last Summer Beach Day

*Sleepy Dare in the Pouch

*Early Snowman at The Magic Forest, Lake George NY.  (We were skeptical, but The Magic Forest was pretty amazing.  The forgotten amusement park is small, quiet, shady and perfectly kitschy.  They have a Snow White animatronic exhibit which claims to be from the 1939 World’s Fair, but is in fact even older.  Mouse Planet has a great post about The Magic Forest’s history here.  The gift shop was a beautiful dusty jumble of beaded belts, felt cowboy hats and rubber souvenir tom-toms).

*Magic Forest Angels

Vintage Cups and Pharmacy Finds

18 Tuesday Jun 2013

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We have been searching for cups suitable for use in back yard.  There is a strip of cement patio out back, which will eventually become stone and we didn’t want to use our collection of vintage juice glasses out there.  (We manage to break enough of those inside the house).   All of the glasses I found were either ugly, or plastic, or both.  When we visited Ashville, North Carolina last month one of the stops on our list was the Mast General Store.  Mast has been around since 1883 and is now housed in a restored building from the 1940s.  And it is so cool!  The shop is a combination of an outdoor gear store, old-time pharmacy and toy shop and it has a huge selection of penny candy in barrels.  I am a sucker for a good old-fashioned pharmacy and get insanely excited over cool packaging.  I found these aluminum tumblers in the back and remembered that I used to have a vintage set in college.  The tumblers are perfect for keeping drinks cool and they are indestructible.  Ebay has some vintage metal tumblers here.  The colors are so pretty!  We also found this Astyptodyne liniment (which “cures everything but a broken heart”) and this Magic Wand stain stick at Mast.  Both the Astyptodyne and Magic Wand are made in the USA and look pretty in the medicine cabinet.  I love Mast!Cups2

Family Road Trip: Surviving the Drive

17 Monday Jun 2013

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AsBackpack
We were on the road for a total of nine days for a recent road trip.  In order to make it through all of the driving with two little kids, we needed a plan.  I made a trip to the dollar store and stocked up on car activities.  We wrapped up things like stickers, bouncy balls and crayons in brown paper and each day the girls got to open one of the packages.  They unwrapped right before the longest part of the drive for each day, and each girl had her own backpack to keep activities organized.  The packages got us through some long stretches on the road, and let me get on with my knitting and Instagraming in the front seat.

Some of the packages:

*Wikki Stix and Bouncy Balls Day

*Sticker Dolls Day

*Beaded Necklace Day

*Sticker Day

*Activity Book Day

*Pipe Cleaner Doll Day

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Stickers

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Backpacks

Family Road Trip: Packing

12 Wednesday Jun 2013

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We took a family road trip at the end of May.  We had a great time overall and returned home feeling relaxed and tanned.  There were only a few times when Chris and I got nostalgic for the old days and a quiet drink without the company of two kids.  One of the differences between a family road trip and then ones I remember from college is the need to plan ahead.  Ada is not the most cooperative dresser in the morning.  She tends to be picky and change her mind about a hundred times before we leave the house.  In order to avoid arguments and get us out of the door to explore each morning, I wrapped outfits up for the girls for each day.  Each one was tied up with seam binding and contained socks and underwear as needed.  Every morning they got to pick their own ‘bundle’, but were not allowed to edit the contents.  I wasn’t sure how the whole thing would work, but it ended up making our mornings so much smoother.  Ada and Josie looked forward to making their choice every morning and the four of us started off to breakfast in a good mood.  Phew!

Family Road Trip

06 Thursday Jun 2013

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We managed to survive (and even have fun) on a nine day driving trip with a two and four-year-old.  This was our last adventure as a family of four before the baby arrives in August.  We used Air B&B to book all of the places we stayed and were super happy with the results.  The houses we found were amazing and cost much less than hotels.  Here are some of the highlights from the week:

*Driving in the Smoky Mountains

*Jefferson Pools, Warm Springs Va

*White Duck Taco, Ashville NC

*Air B&B Apartment in Converted Garage, Ashville NC

*Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington KY

*Horse Country, KY

*Bright Crayon Colors at Sunny Point Cafe, Ashville NC

*Graffiti, Ashville NC

*Hatch Show Print Archives, Nashville TN

*Racing Silks, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington

*Truckers Chapel, KY

*Warrior Motel, Cherokee NC

*Downtown, Nashville TN

*Restored Woolworth’s Soda Fountain, Ashville NC

*View from the Bathroom, Air B&B Rental at Warm Springs Cottage, Warm Springs VA

*Strange Scenery, Somewhere Near Dollywood, TN

*Barista Parlor, Nashville TN

*Driving Over the Smoky Mountains, TN

*Hatch Show Print, Nashville TN

*Water Tower, NJ

*Kid Breakfast at Sunny Point Cafe, Ashville NC

*Caverns of Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge VA

*Farmer’s Market Fruit, Nashville TN

*Surprise Memorial Day Fireworks at The Homestead, Hot Springs VA

*Jefferson Pools, Warm Springs VA

*Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge VA

*Tadpoles! Natural Bridge VA

*Wild Turkey Country, TN

*Kentucky Horse Park Lexington

*Clouds and Windshield Bugs, Driving Through NC

Inspiration (Thankful)

23 Friday Nov 2012

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We spent the week celebrating, adventuring and eating great food with good friends.  We are feeling thankful for healthy families and how lovely it is to see the little ones merge into the family of old friends.  I hope you are all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Here are some Instagrams from the week:

*The Costume Room Beside the Stage (Full of magic vintage costumes, at this amazing place.)

*Ada, Breakfast

*Spread at Scratch Bread (Some of my favorite baked goods ever, conveniently and dangerously just around the corner from us.  The Bourbon Wheat bread is insane.)

*Cat Tails for the City Girl

*Fruit in Chinatown on Thanksgiving

*Beautiful Gummybears, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

*Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate with Homemade Black Pepper Marshmallow, Scratch (Way too good to share with the kids.)

*Vintage Ballet Poster, Big Indian Springs (Home to a ballet school in the 1960’s.)

*Big Indian Springs

*Beaded Charms, Chinatown

*Thanksgiving Leftovers, Nha Trang  

*Decorating the Stage, Big Indian Springs

Have a wonderful weekend!

Vintage Finds: Globe Banks

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

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We picked up this little pair of vintage globe banks at a Brooklyn antique shop this weekend for $10 each.  These banks are small- about 5″ tall and a good start to an inexpensive collection.  Ebay has quite a few globe banks listed here.  I love that they combine saving money and geography.  Banks used to hand these sort of globes out to kids to promote saving, (presumably in the institution stated once the globe was packed with pennies).  Our girls usually put extra change in our big glass jug by the front door.  Maybe these globe banks will be the start of their savings to travel the world.

H Mart Love

22 Monday Oct 2012

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I am a sucker for good packaging.  Leslie told me about an Asian grocery called H Mart on an excursion with the kids this weekend and we were excited to check it out.   We stocked up on noodles and rice and dumplings among other things.  The Korean pears we found were the best we have ever tasted and the acorn pudding was an unexpected savory flavor, (which Ada declared delicious – a small miracle coming from the girl who lives on cereal and PB&J).  The girls had fun spotting things they had never seen before and eating rice and noodles at the food counter.  I dragged the family down every aisle and found lots of new groceries to try.  (OK, maybe I got a few just because they had pretty packaging).  The market carries products from Japan, China and Korea.  You can order online, but it is more fun to go wander around the store if you can.  Our favorite finds are these:

*Dried Noodles

*Little Animal Forks for Lunchboxes (I am saving these to use for a future party, despite Ada’s pleading to open them right now)

*Aid Helper Emergency Plasters

*Knife Sharpening Stone (Which technically we need, and how could I say no to that box?)