Halloween Sunday!

Oh what a night! Had so much trick or treating with the kids tonight until my feet began to ache! Last night we had our yearly trunk or treat at our church and then we had round two tonight in our hood. It was a very energetic evening being that I had two extra kids with me all day! One for a full 48 hours but oh how fun it was to have had a toddler in my home again. Which is why I have Trent as the cover for this post. He totally reminded me of Noah at the age of four wearing this same costume! So happy to have another happy kid put it to use! It fit him perfect and Noah had so much fun having a "little brother" around the house. He wore him out but Noah didn't mind. I told him he had the same energy at that age and Noah was like, "I did??" LOL! I am just so glad these kids had a good time and since UPS doesn't deliver on Sundays it was nice having Jon around too! 

When Noah was little Jon didn't have too many halloweens off and now that Noah is getting older it's not like he cries for hid dad to take time off anymore. I know eventually I'll be the one handing out a bowl of candy at the house by myself while the kids are out halloweening but for now, as long as the kids haven't outgrown trick or treating and I have the strength to dress up and get out with them... I'll take it!

Happy Halloween Eve!

The past two weeks have been filled with all things halloween from going on walks in the city to capture  the beauty of fall mixed in with checking out the coolest halloween decor to just chilling and keeping it close to home and appreciating the garden state on how Jersey does their halloween thing. But let's face it. New Jersey is no New York and there's nothing like Halloween in the city. 

I love New York city in the fall and as it gets closer to Halloween it's become an obsession and a tradition to just venture out and check out all the art installations displayed as well as the decorated stoops. Excessive picture taking was a huge part of this adventure and I love doing it. My kids find it both exciting and exhausting but at the same time interesting to see how New Yorkers go all out for Halloween. It's been great to see some new fall decorations and some old ones that have added new decor as well. I so appreciate this time of year in the city and hope that everyone has a fun safe Halloween Eve wherever you are! 

MOOD'S Farm Market!

'Tis the season to venture out to pumpkin patches and farms! It has been at least eight years since we've been to moods farm market and when I finally had the urge to go back I nearly teared up. Mood's farm was one of the very first farms we went to when we first moved to New Jersey. Sitting at the picnic table eating apple cider donuts and drinking apple slushes while gazing toward the corn maze bought back so many memories when my girls (and boy) were babies/toddlers/teens. 

This was a place of many firsts. 

This is where we picked our first blueberry. Our first apple. Our first blackberry. Our first peach. Our first of everything. Some of the best memories were made at this little farm and I will always treasure them for the rest of my life. And today I went with one of those babies who is now a young adult! It was so nice reminiscing about our little adventures here as well as spending the day in places we hadn't been to in forever! Such a fun autumn day! 

Boo-loon Land in NYC!!

My Instagram has taken over this little blog of mine lately and in all honesty have no idea how much longer I'll keep it active. As long as I have the energy and my carpal tunnel doesn't act up I will continue to document our adventures online. So if you continue to follow and read my blog and don't have an Instagram account I'll share bits and pieces of what's been happening lately on here. 

The Halloween festivities started early for us and I am excited! I love this time of year with all things autumn and Halloween! You can make Halloween fun without having it super dark and scary. Noah and I went to party city in New York and man did they go all out for the kids when it came to candy and balloons! Noah had a bad fall, bruised and scraped his knee a couple of days before and when I heard about this balloon pop-up event had to take him to cheer him up. We didn't dress up but we had fun venturing out and the balloon set ups were amazing! So creative and we loved every minute of walking through them while Noah was trick or treating! Eating wafels and dinges afterward was Noah's highlight of the day and he didn't even think about the pain in his leg while eating it! 

Spring Time In The City!

Here I am in the middle of Autumn and barely documenting about our spring adventures in the city. I have to say that spring in New York City is my favorite and I encourage everyone to go around that time if you haven't! It is so beautiful with all the flowering trees. Especially in Central Park. Chelsea and I took a trip to Long Island City and the tulips were vibrant and perfectly blossomed. There are also so many spring installations that are now taken down but how grateful I am to have been able to witness such beauty in the spring. Here are a few photos I took in Long Island City as well as the upper west side near the American Museum of Natural History. I have sooooo many spring pictures tthat never got documented on here and I hope you enjoy. So that maybe next time you visit the city in the spring you can see how beautiful it is in hopes that you get to see it in person!

Cow Parade In NYC!

It's been over a month since Lexie's been home and I still can't believe that the past 16 months flew by. I still feel as if she's on a mission and I am doing my best to ease her back into civilization. 

The first place we went to was of course the city. She missed NYC so much and as soon as we can see the skyline from the turnpike she uttered, "it's so pretty!" She totally missed it and we are so happy to have her home. It was a perfect day and perfect timing to come here because 21 years ago we ventured out to the city for the first time and I immediately fell in love with it. I was drawn by the architecture, museums, and public art. Especially these cow sculptures which were displayed all over the city. 

AND NOW THEY’RE BACK! 

I was so excited to show Lexie and when we heard there were some at Hudson Yards we went and reenacted these pics without having her sit on the cow (not a baby anymore) lol and took a few photos standing next to one. There are so many cow sculptures and we even saw some in Brooklyn. They are all so unique and cool looking designed from various artists that include celebrities such as Neil Patrick Harris. So glad we were able to reenact these moments and look back on some old pics and to have gone to the cow parade. They are no longer on display but we hope it doesn't take another 21 years for them to return! 

L.E.A.F. Flower Show In NYC!

This past spring I went to my very first LEAF flower show in the city. I have never been to one and oh my goodness was it the best. So many flower displays everywhere from different florists and vendors. It was held at the meat packing district and it only went on throughout the weekend. So glad I didn't miss it! 

I brought Noah with me and he thought the flowers were so pretty. I will remind him that flowers bring light and joy to someones life especially when they are going through a rough patch. I also mentioned they are a nice gesture to give on occasion such as your first date and mothers day! He's always so sweet to pick flowers for me when signs of spring arrive and when we go on walks. He's 11.5 years old and he will still do that. So hopefully with all the reminders and examples we have shown him throughout his young years that he will remember to do that as he grows older. 

Now for some colorful and awesome photos from this beautiful crowded event! 

Apple Picking At Battleview Orchards!

I don't know if it's because we didn't go picking too much during the pandemic but since autumn started we've been out and about exploring farms and orchards and this week we went apple picking. We've always gone apple picking on my birthday since it's close to the first day of Autumn but since it was my 50th birthday and a very warm day to go to the orchard decided to wait until October 1st to officially begin the fall festivities. 

This year we went to Battleview Orchards which is a favorite. We like venturing out to different orchards and Noah and Lexie had a blast picking their own apples. Noah is getting older and it's so fun to watch him pick his own as opposed to me helping him decide whether they're a bad apple or not! He's becoming more and more independent as an almost 12 year old boy should be and that makes my heart happy. I have been trying to live in the moment without snapping too many pics or taking too many videos but I did do a cute little reel and you can see that on my Instagram and as usual I took a few photos. Just enough for a blog post to remember this day. 

Happy Friday & Hello October!

Felt the fall vibes way before October arrived a couple of days ago when I awoke to a morning that was misty and cold with temps in the50's. I love those overcast days. The temps get as high as 70 and even that feels nice. Lexie and I went exploring and found ourselves a quaint little farm called Delicious Orchards where their apple cider slushes are sooooo good. Add some ice cream to it and it tastes amazing. Oh, and some apple cider donuts in the mix and you have a perfect concoction of an autumn treat. So looking forward to more days like this and really hoping that these autumn days go by super slow. So let's bring on the gourds, mums, pumpkins, and all the apple cider slushes and donuts we can eat!