I mustache you a question..

Weekends always go by way to fast, and while this was true of this weekend at least it was an exciting one! 

I started Saturday by meeting a friend for brunch at a new local place we had on our list for a while. It used to be this super cute place called Native, but that shutdown for "renovations" and reopened as La Bodega 47. I thought they did a nice job with the new place, the food was tasty, the layout was well thought out. I plan to brunch there again soon.

After brunch I went to Target to pick up some much needed toilet paper for my apartment, apparently I am the only on capable of doing this. It is what it is, I found some books for yesterday's baby shower and a cute hat for my nephew and only walked out with one thing not on my list. win!

In the afternoon I left for Hoboken to spend some much needed family time. My sister hosted a mini belated Hanukkah party. I enjoyed some tasty latkes, a nephew who has grown way too much, and some sister time. And bonus..... I booked a trip to Prague! I have a week off in February and it occurred to me last Friday that I didn't just have to sit on my butt or go to Florida that week, but that I could go visit a new city. So I am. I will be there for about 4 days and am ready to explore someplace different.  Friday was a great day as well- I bought tickets to go see Kinky Boots, Matilda and Book of Mormon on Broadway! The next few months should be pretty great.

Sunday was my sister's baby shower for nephew number two! He is about a month away from arriving and I cannot wait to meet him. For this shower we went with the mustache theme. My sister R is a master party planner- and knows how to cover every detail. We had mustache balloons, straws, water bottles and games (did you know there are at least 12 different types of mustaches and names for all of them?!) She bought mustache cookies, chocolates, and cupcakes. Everything was in hues of blues and greens. Our special treat was a Polaroid camera for all the guests to use to take photos and hang on a canvas to be hung in the baby's room.

Overall the party was a hit, everyone had a wonderful time, the food was delicious, we laughed with the games, and my sister received some new goodies for munchkin number two. A fun weekend for sure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

all filled up!

cutie nephew in an adorable outfit..

Hope you all had a great weekend!

This Weekend I...

- played with some super adorable kittens

- moved into watching the third season of Gilmore Girls (I restarted the series a few weeks ago)

- met up with some family friends for breakfast at an amazing bagel place and then walked around central park

- bought a couch!! remember back in like February when I started blogging, and I went couch "shopping"? Well I finally made a purchase. Now we just cross our fingers that it actually fits through my apartment door.

If all is well then my next purchase will be a new coffee table, rug, maybe a bar cart? and I would love some new prints for my walls..

- tasted my Club W wine selections, haven't heard of Club W yet? It's a pretty amazing monthly wine service that helps you choose new wines based on your taste preferences. I used an Influenster perk to sign up which gave me a free bottle of wine and free shipping- with it I choose the 2013 Wonderful Wine Co. Rosé, 2013 The Independent Zinfandel, and 2013 Alcalá Monastrell. I tried the Zinfandel, which I really liked, and the Monsatrell, not my favorite but good, with my friends this weekend but still haven't tried the Rose yet. If you are interested in in signing up go ahead and use my referral link to receive $13 in credits!

- organized some of my room. This was kind of serious. I threw out a good deal of old make-up, papers, expired meds, put a bunch of clothes in the goodwill pile and more. Not too shabby.

And that's that, pretty productive, and yet relaxing as well. Now if only it was Saturday again!

p.s can we talk about how cute this monkey was this morning-..

My Favorite Children's Books (right now)

Hello friends- long time, no see. I swear I'm still alive. Blogtober took a lot out of me and then one of my cats had to have surgery and I now have the lovely task of medicating her with 6 different things up to three times a day. The joy. Needless to say I've been a little stressed and this space has been pushed aside for a day or two. I'm coming back, like right now.

I originally wrote this post for Ashley over at That Southern Mama, but thought I'd bring it back because November is here which means SHOPPING!! These are some great picks for all those little ones in your life- and some wonderful stories.

As a reminder for my day job I am a house manager for a family- this means I take care of their two children, do all the errands, cooking, scheduling and just about anything else they can think of.

Thankfully both children adore reading just as much as I do- here are some of my favorite to read with them (for now, at least!)

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee: This is such a sweet book with beautiful illustrations- almost like a day in the life of a family vacation or weekend, it describes the wonderful world we live in and how at the end of the day it's about you and your family.

Birdy's Smile Book by Laurie Keller: I'm not sure exactly when I discover this book but it is adorable as books get. Birdy loves her smile- and wants you to love yours too! Written as if a 4-year old is truly talking to you, full of fun tidbits and a happy message. Smile more!

The Snail and The Whale by Julia Donaldson: A little snail wants to go on an adventure! After being picked up by a whale and sailed around the world- the whale becomes beached! Although tiny, the snail uses his might and mind to help bring the whale back to safety. A great message for all ages and a fun ride around the world!

Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers: This book is great for infants and toddlers- a fun board book about babies, what they eat, play, how they learn to move. The youngest I look after started talking about animals from this book. Same illustrator as All the World- beautiful pictures.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown: An absolute classic and should be in every home! Goodnight Moon is the ultimate bedtime story. The pictures, words, and colors urge you to speak slowly, softly and tuck your little one in, in the most comfortable way. And as a perk the author is an alumnae of the same university I attended, Hollins University in Virgina!

Feel free to check out some of my previous book reviews: 

Look Look, It's a Book/Travel to Your Imagination/you should all read more/ 

I love me some books/big B, little B, what begins with b?/

Fall Photo- Halloween 2013

Halloween has always been a favorite holiday of mine- I mean what's better than going door to door and collecting candy?

Plus you get to dress up and be whatever you want to be.. I like to stick with simple, easy costumes. Especially ones that can be handmade. Last year I was a dinosaur and my little munchkins were a pirate and a race car drive.

For our pirate costume we bought an eye patch, a hat and a sword. I painted a white shirt with blue stripes and he wore black yoga pants. The little race care driver wore a hoodie and sweatpants from American Apparel with his name on the arm, checkered flags and felt glued to the hood and down the legs. Easy peasy. They were comfy, I was comfy and candy was collected.

 

One day I will find all my the awesome pictures of me dressed up as a child- like the year I decided to be a sandwich..

Not sure what are doing yet for Halloween this year but right now the ideas of a pumpkin, volcano and train conductor are on the line..

Linking up with the SITS Girls Back to Blogging Challenge!

The Secret Garden

This is it, I promise- Day 5, our last day in France.

On this beautiful day (seriously- the best weather we could have asked for) we rented a lovely little car and drove an hour to Giverny, home of Claude Monet.

Now driving here is not necessary and it would have been very easy to take a train and shuttle (that the museum provides) to also enjoy the sites. We chose to drive because it was easier with the kids, the car seats, the snacks and so on. Even that was also easy, the rental place provided us with a GPS and it was a scenic trip.

Monet- a pretty famous painter, known for his gorgeous water lilies. Monet moved to the area in the early 1880s after passing Giverny on a train. He purchased the pink house (seen in the background of the picture below) along with all the surrounding gardens in 1890. He lived in the house with his family until his death in 1926.

The gardens are still kept up to the best of the foundations ability, preserving the atmosphere and nature of the same places Monet received inspiration from.

We also visited the Impressionist Museum in Giverny which was built in the 1990s. It is a rather small museum but was wonderful to walk around. They had a great exhibit while we were there about the Impressionist movement in Brussels. If you are going to make the trip out to this area it is definitely worth stopping at- the gardens were lovely here as well and it is literally a 3 min walk from Monet's house.

And that's it! Whew! You did it- you have made it through all of my recent travel updates! I'm so proud- I thought we would never get there..

Go ahead and check out the rest of the trip - Spain 1&2, Paris Day 1,2,3,&4.

Also- if you need any fun tips for NYC- go read my guest post over at The Grits Blog!

Amusement for All

I know, I know- these Paris recaps are probably getting a bit old by now... but we did so many things in our five days and I have just too many pictures to share to cram it all in to one post. We are almost finished, I swear!

Day 4- The morning of our 4th day was spent at an amusement park that wasn't Disney. . We went to Jardin d'Acclimation, a 20-acre children's park located in the northern part of Bois de Boulogne (kind of like their Central Park).

The park was amazing and had so many things to do. It was overrun with families enjoying the weekend and the sunny weather. We spent most of our time riding the kiddie rides but we also played on one of many playgrounds, watched camels and other zoo animals and ate lunch at one of their multiple restaurants. Lunch, by the way, had a larger dessert buffet than actual lunch food.

while we were waiting to leave the boys read to each other.. aww

silly faces on the airplane ride (which was actually kind of scary!)

Both boys loved it, had a fun morning and it was pretty affordable. We only touched on a fraction of the place too, I could see if you lived in or around Paris that it would be a frequented spot with kids.

After heading back into the city I tried my absolute hardest to make it to the Catacombs, but they closed at 4 and although I made it to the location by 4 they already shut down the line. Next time, next time!

So instead I went and walked up and the down Champs Elysees, looking at all the lovely stores, the Arc de Triomphe and stopping into the original Laduree to pick up some macarons. It was fun day to people watch, sit on a bench and munch on my tasty snacks (still up in the air over which was my favorite flavor!)

I thought this store was funny- they had a whole line called "American Freshman- authentic campus clothing" featuring American universities and sports teams!

nom nom nom

That night I did almost get lost- I was meant to meet my family for dinner at 7:30 but when I got to the restaurant it was closed! Seriously panicked- thought I might have gone to the wrong spot, but they are typically late so I waited 20 minutes, started to walk back to the metro to find some sort of wi-fi to contact them or the hotel and then they should up. All was well and we found a hole in the wall place to eat.

Tomorrow: Day 5 (and the last day) at Monet's House!

And check out the rest of my trips recaps- Spain 1&2, Paris Day 1,2&3. 

Also- if you need any fun tips for NYC- go read my guest post over at The Grits Blog!

How to Pack for a Trip with Children

First things first- make a list of everything that could possible go wrong with your child. Think contracting the swine flu to flash blizzard in the desert.

Your next step is to then make of list a everything you could possible need to aid or fix the above disasters. You will end up with something that looks like this:

But seriously, when you pack for a trip with children, you will end up bring an unnecessary amount of items. How many snacks will they eat? What if one child gets diarrhea and goes through 6 outfits in one day? The ultimate disaster- a suitcase gets lost!

For my job, I travel with the family to different countries about 3 times a year. And it doesn't get too much easier until all children are out of diapers. Typically I am packing 2-3 suitcases for two children (depending on the length of our trip and location). Take our upcoming trip, for example.

and this only about half of what I need to pack...

We are spending about 9 days in sunny southern Spain, and then flying to Paris for 5 days. Already the weather in Paris is in the low 70s. This means I will be packing fun, loungy beach clothes, as well as a handful of pants, long sleeve t-shirts, some sweaters.

My list includes- books, toys, puzzles, snack items like - goldfish, cereal, pirate booty. I need to pack all diaper related items- wipes, diapers, swim diapers, diaper cream, bags. Most places don't have kid friendly cups or silverware, so good ahead and throw in those items too. We need bath toys, beach toys, life jackets and sunscreen. The list goes on... and when all is said in done, I may only use about half of it- but when it comes to children, you definitely want to be safe rather than sorry.

Don't forget the rain gear! (children in the rain are the worst!)

It's a Good Day When...

It's a good day when...I sleep until my alarm rings. Weird I know, but most nights I have trouble sleeping, staying asleep really. It's so nice to not wake up before the alarm wakes me!

It's a good day when... I get to leave work early! This usually only happens when it's a holiday or the kids don't have school for some crazy reason but I cherish them when they happen!

It's a good day when... at notification from the library comes saying a new book is available! I've always wanted to read that is usually my first thought. Haha!

It's a good day when... running 3 miles feels like a breeze

It's a good day when... Big J is dressed and ready for school before I even walk in the door

It's a good day when...someone else makes me dinner and I don't have to do the cooking

It's a good day when... I get lots of blog comments! I love hearing from all of you!!

What's a good day for you?

   Joining up with Lisa over at Two Martinis and Brittany at Happy is a Choice for this fun link-up! Check them all out! 

And don't forget to check out the giveaway I've got going on right now- TODAY IS THE LAST DAY!!! Read my review and the business story here.

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