Spring Break: We. Just. Beach.

Waiting to leave Miami...

Last year's dramatic start to our spring break cruise experience is something I *still* haven't shared yet on social media, but this year came a close second! We flew for the first time out of Islip on Frontier Airlines (hooray for saving money!), and it was great except for the ridiculously increasing traffic on the drive down. Next time we'll take the ferry O_o. Once we got over the madness of running to our flight, everything was mostly smooth sailing from there (pun intended!)...

Princess Awesome on Spring Break

Disclosure: I received a sample to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own. 

Last week's re-entry from spring break has been a bit rough, but today some warmth finally arrived here in Boston! We've been looking back at some of our favorite moments from the cruise, and I love this one especially:

Isn't Nia everything? 

Forte Et Gratum (or Spring Break Recovery)

The title of this post is my high school's motto: Strength and Grace. I returned there on Thursday morning for my 20th high school reunion this weekend, and it's fittingly put me in a reflective mood. It's also made me realize I need a whole lotta forte and massive amounts of gratum right about now!

My parents met us when we disembarked from our cruise last Saturday!

My Spring Break Sweet & Sour Mocktail

Exactly two weeks from today Mr. Lovebird and I are surprising the kids with an epic spring break cruise so when Wayfair invited me to create a drink that's beach worthy I thought it would be fun to make a kid-friendly mocktail. I was inspired by my favorite fancy drink growing up as a kid: a Shirley Temple and because my kids are quite the Sour Patch kids I thought it would be fun to incorporate sour gummy bears. 

Here's how simple it is to make...

Dressing Up on My Caribbean Cruise with eShakti

Disclosure: I received a complimentary eShakti dress to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Remember my eShakti dress from my last cruise? I still get so many compliments on it and am already counting down to summer when I can break it out again here around Boston. We're currently buried under so much snow that keeps coming down, but today I'm reflecting on our recent cruise. 

March: I See You, Lion!

My new tablet case from Ballard Designs (more on that below!)

My sister Ariane was in town for a long weekend, and it was such a whirlwind of fun that I totally missed properly welcoming March! 

The month has really has bowled me over already, and I'll admit I haven't fully unpacked from our Disney cruise. I'm basking in some good news I shared recently, and it appears that blog conference season is officially in full swing so I have lots to prep for in that regard. 

Here's what's going on...

::cue the list post::

We're Back From Our First Disney Cruise! (Recap Video)

I'm writing this from Florida still in a blissful daze since disembarking the Disney Wonder yesterday. This was the first time I made frequent use of Instagram Stories too - did you catch any of them? I like how they evaporate and capture quick cute moments, but I have to remember to save the best ones!

My Best Dress of the Summer by eShakti (& a Coupon Code!)

Disclosure: I received a dress from eShakti for review purposes; all opinions expressed are my own. 

If you've been following my Instagram and Facebook feeds this spring and summer there's a particular dress that keeps popping up, and it's getting quite a bit of feedback:

It's the Scalloped Blooms Voile Maxi Dress by eShakti. Haven't heard of eShakti? It's an online dress retailer that allows you to select a style you like then they customize the dress to your specific size. This was a dream come true for me as I'm an avid online shopper and while I usually have good luck with sizing there are times that I have to return items and I don't always have time (or patience) to go to a tailor, especially when I often have my kids in tow. 

On our April cruise

At the time I selected this maxi dress I was still nursing Grayson, and while my instinct told me to find a more nursing-friendly dress, I went with it anyway. I'm glad I did because he weaned soon after AND I had another fun occasion to wear it when I went on my 2nd cruise of the year with my mom. 

Here's what I like about my eShakti dress: 

• It's high quality - I was concerned that it'd be too transparent, especially with it being white, but it's double layered and the material is nicely weighted, but not too heavy. The dress is breezy which is perfect for summer weather!

• It's machine washable - When I like a clothing item I want to wear it frequently without having to run to the dry cleaners frequently; I can simply toss my maxi dress in the wash and it's fine. Also the embroidered design on the front has held up well through many washings

With Getting Gorgeous co-founder Vera Sweeney at this summer's annual event

I'm fashionable in an instant - It's so easy to throw on yoga pants and a tee each day I'm running around with the kids, but when I can slip on a dress like this one I feel glamorous without being over the top; on one occasion when I wore it Nia noticed and asked, "Mama, why are you fancy?" She really cracks me up! 

It's a conversation starter - So many women online and IRL (in real life) pepper me with questions about my eShakti dress and they're so surprised that I got it online; yes, it fits correctly (I provided my dimensions) and it's very affordable (my dress is currently on sale for $44 AND you can get a $30 credit when you sign up as a new customer!)

Although it seems like temperatures aren't cooling down any time soon (it's been consistently in the 90s here in NH!), there are still some beautiful maxi dress options to choose from that will take you into fall. Here are a few more of my favorites:

l to r: 1//2//3//4

Would you like to give eShakti a try before the summer ends? Exclusive for my readers just use this coupon code "harlemlovebirds" to get 10% OFF when you shop the site (valid from 08/19/2015 – 09/19/2015*)

*Please note:

• Code has to be entered in the ‘promotional code’ box.
• It is not case-sensitive. 
• Code can be used any number of times until the validity period. It can be clubbed with any other promotional offer, gift coupon or gift card in the same order unless explicitly specified otherwise in the offer conditions.
• This discount code is not applicable on clearance, gift cards & overstock categories.Not applicable on previous purchases

Have you heard of eShakti? Which go-to item have you been wearing this summer?

 

What It's Like Cruising Twice in Two Months

If you had told me last year that I'd be cruising back to back in 2015 I would've called you crazy! We'll I'm back on the other side and no, it's not crazy, it's actually AWESOME. 

I'm breaking this post up into the good, bad and ugly for each cruise and then sharing what I'd like to happen (ideally) for my next cruise. 

Here we go . . .

Cruise #1: Carnival Pride, 7 Nights, April 12, 2015
Ports: Port Canaveral, Florida; Nassau and Freeport Bahamas

The Good: Hands down cruising out of Baltimore was my favorite aspect of this cruise. When we booked it in the midst of our brutal first winter here in New Hampshire, we weighed the pros and cons of going to a different port and with the cost of flights plus the distance with the kids, going out of Baltimore on paper was the best for us and in reality it turned out to be perfect. We went out of Galveston on our first cruise and it was daunting causing me at the time to swear off ever taking kids on a cruise, but everything in Baltimore was a breeze from embarkation and disembarkation. 

Beyond Baltimore, the ports on this cruise were fantastic! The ability to stop in Port Canaveral first and have a family Disney World excursion before continuing on to two additional beautiful ports felt like a bonus. I don't know when I'll be ready for more than one day at Disney World, but for our family at this stage this was the perfect entry point. We debated going on our own but the ease of the excursion bus gave us peace of mind. 

We really did eat one burger per day (although a certain someone sometimes had two) - they were just that good and so worth it!

If she could've camped out here, she would've!

The overall Carnival experience was my ultimate good on this cruise including winning another cruise! We had a bit of trepidation going from Royal Caribbean to Carnival and before getting to my next cruise review, having now experienced 3 cruises, my cruise experience on the Pride was the best overall. The staff was happy and attentive, the food options outstanding (especially Guy Fieri's Burger Joint), the dining service quick and the activities for the kids at Camp Carnival were extensive. We had an inside cabin that I was a bit nervous about at first, but seeing that we didn't spend much time in the room it worked out great and the ultimate black-out experience made the kids sleep a long time (but also made me a bit groggy at times!). 

The cuties asleep at Camp Carnival - this picture was too precious!

The Bad: It's hard to find anything to complain about on this cruise, but maybe the one small thing I could eek out was skinning my foot on the Green Thunder water slide. It felt a bit dry in the slide as though it needed more water. 

The Ugly: Nothing

Cruise #2: Carnival Dream, 7 Nights, May 24, 2015
Ports: Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico

The Good: The sheer size of the ship made me nervous going into it, but I'm so glad I got to go with my mother - it was an incredible "mama and me" experience! I had won this cruise and found out the day before we were upgraded from an inside cabin to an outside cabin with a window. It was a much bigger window and overall larger cabin than what Uka and I had on Royal plus it had a double bathroom. Here's a quick cabin tour:

The ship was built in 2009, and I learned on the cruise that the ships nowadays are built to last many decades. The Dream still felt very new and everything was  bright, shiny and in good condition. The food was what I was used to from the Pride, but it was missing the 2.0 upgrade so Guy's Burger Joint was sorely missed. I ended up eating way too much pizza instead, which was delicious. I ended up finding a guy to chat with in the Mongolian Wok line about how much we missed Guy's Burger Joint so it was glad to know I wasn't alone!

While the ship was large and there were so many recent graduates and kids (southern schools were already out for the summer at the time of our cruise), there were still places to get away from the madness. The Lanai and the double 21+ Serenity deck were my favorites, although a rogue kid came in and attempted jacuzzi entry but was shooed away. The largeness of the ship was mostly felt in buffet lines, which I avoided for the most part. 

My favorite appetizer: sliced duck over glass noodles

My goal of this cruise was to RELAX, and I did just that! I went to bed most nights by 10p.m. and I wanted no part of plantation, skydiving or turtle farm excursions that my fellow cruisers tried to tell me about. I went to Tripadvisor and selected three well-reviewed beaches and total for all of them were about $60/person for RT transportation, beach access and chairs/umbrellas. Here's where we went at each port:

Montego Bay: Doctor's Cave

Grand Cayman: 7 Mile Beach 

Cozumel: Paradise Beach

Another bonus on this cruise was the disembarkation port of New Orleans. This will be its own post, and I definitely need to return. A few hours there just didn't do it justice (but I'm so glad I at least got to try these!).

The Bad:We lost about 40 minutes when we first boarded while trying to move our dining time from 8:15p.m. to 6p.m., but when it was moved after the first night we found the service to be painfully slow. The staff would keep us abreast of evening activities and while we could definitely catch the early seating performances which started at 8:45p.m., we always missed the 7:30p.m. comedy shows. We observed other tables and even found those around us who were seated after us were finished well before us. It was bizarre! The service was attentive, it was just so slow. 

The Ugly: The rocking of the ship and ship noise were the most intense than the other two cruises I've been on. Being on Deck 1, my mom and I could hear all sorts of tinkering throughout the night especially coming back to New Orleans yesterday. I asked quite a few guests about the intensity of the rocking and for people who had cruised on the ship before as well as those who had cruised on other ships they found our cruise to be quite rocky perhaps because of how tall the ship was.  

Here's what I'm hoping for on the next cruise:

• Just hubby and me - As much as I enjoyed the fact that our first family cruise was a success I want to cruise with just Uka on my next cruise

• 7 nights - I just couldn't see going any shorter; all three cruises as 7 nights have been the perfect length to get in a true vacation groove 

• Smaller ship - as intriguing as the new (HUGE!) Carnival Vista looks, I think my next cruise should be under 3,000 passengers

• New ports - I think it'd be fun to go to a few ports I haven't been to before like Bermuda or St. Maarten

• Indulge in spa treatments - this was something I haven't had the chance to do yet, but while I've seen many cruisers only suggest waiting to do this at the port, taking the time on a sea day to do this onboard would be ideal for me

• Dine at the steakhouse - while the dinging room experience is generally good, I've heard only glowing reviews at cruise ship's steakhouses which are an additional fee; it's been advised to wait until the end of the cruise to do so otherwise it will ruin everything else after it if you eat there too early in the week!

Do you think cruising is in your future? Any cruising questions you want me to answer?

Building My Mama Confidence with L'eggs

Disclosure: I received a promotional item to facilitate this post. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Growing up I distinctly remember my mother's ritual for dressing up: watching her put on her make-up and carefully select her outfit was such a joy that I observed in silence hoping that someday I could do the same. Now as a mom I'm experiencing this times 2! It's my first mother's day with two children and with an almost five-year old daughter I find myself falling into the same routine as she's become my little shadow peppering me with questions along the way. 

I recently had the opportunity to bring L'eggs along with us on our family's spring break cruise and knowing there would be a formal night they were a welcome addition to my wardrobe. I still remember my mom sending me into the store as a pre-teen to pick up L'eggs Silken Mist for her at our local grocery store when she'd discover a run in her favorite pair. 

It was as though I (proudly!) became my mother when I slipped on my pair of L'eggs Silken Mist for the cruise's formal night. While Nia enjoyed her dinner at the children's camp onboard, Mr. Lovebird took a picture of me and Grayson before we headed to our own dinner:

And of course we had to get a selfie:

These days while we're still acclimating to our relocation from NYC-metro to Portsmouth, NH I'm finding that the key to success in our transition is just getting out there! We definitely experienced this on our cruise and were just invited to participate in our local mall's fashion show that took place yesterday. I confidently had my L'eggs on hand, but ended up wearing more casual outfits - something we're literally just now warming up to here in the north. We had such a fun evening meeting new families and chatting with the crowd - having two bubbly kids definitely helps as an icebreaker!

Nia was a little nervous at first but quickly took command of the show!

With their run resistant formula and control top, L'eggs adds a touch of confidence for special occasions. They are true to size and very comfortable adding the right amount of sheen to your perfect evening!

Be sure to follow L'eggs on Facebook and Twitter for latest product news. 

How are you celebrating this Mother's Day?
 

 
P.S. Stay tuned on Instagram this weekend when I'm dressing up again for my first New Hampshire formal event since our big move. As a mom it's so exciting to step out and glam up for these rare occasions!

Life With Gray: 10 Months

I'm writing this as we're en route to NYC today, and I'm excited to (hopefully) make it to one of my favorite playgrounds in Central Park with both kids for the first time tomorrow. Definitely stay tuned to Instagram to catch our NYC adventures!

In the meantime, here's this month's update:

• Baby's weight: Grayson is 17lbs, 11oz as of his 9 month appointment a couple weeks ago (they scheduled it late for some reason)

• Baby's height: 28 1/4" - a tall baby, but not quite sure where he got that from!  
  

• What size of clothing does baby wear? 9 months on length is not quite cutting it, but width-wise it's perfect

At the beach in Freeport, Bahamas staying sun-safe in his Coolibar rash guard

• Special outings baby had during the month: our epic cruise and he did so well

At the Dr. Seuss Breakfast on our cruise ship

• What are your thoughts on this past month?: It's really hard to avoid comparing your kids when you have more than one and definitely with developmental gender differences I'm trying hard to keep that in mind; I just wish Grayson would go ahead and say, "Mama" or "Dada" already as his sister was long before 10 months. I do know Grayson understands a lot and I just keep talking and talking to him. I wonder what his first word will be? He did surprise us though with crawling on all fours when we returned from our cruise. He still very much enjoys being babied, which I don't mind! I give him lots of cuddles, hugs and kisses and looking forward to him doing it back. For now, he just pats me and Uka on the back when we hold him upright. It's so sweet! 

With my lil prince on Prince Charming's Regal Carrousel (yes, that's how it's spelled!)

• What was baby's routine? The cruise threw things off but even still nighttime we've had some challenges with the "turn down for what" time as I call it - both he and Nia get amped right before bed. Ughhh. Lately, we've revived crying it out and he gets to bed pretty quickly between 8/8:30p.m. as does Nia and he still whimpers in the middle of the night then is up for the day around 7a.m. Food/skin-wise his skin is clearing up and we went to an allergist last week where we found out he's allergic to dairy and peanuts, but we wouldn't give them to him anyway at this age. The cruise did a wonder for his weight though and he's been eating like a champ ever since! His pediatrician advised he could pretty much eat whatever we ate and each night we'd pull him up to the formal dining table while Nia ate at Camp Carnival and he did well at adapting. There was only one night that we had to step away, and it was during dessert anyway (more on cruising with kids to come!).

• Any milestones baby reached during the month?: Crawling on all fours with hips picked up off the floor (here's a video - don't mind my annoying voice!).

First taste of Dole Whip at Disney World, and he's hooked!

• Reflect about the highlights of the month: Grayson is such an amazing traveler! He is so calm and each flight (he goes in his 4th in a couple weeks) I keep waiting for his "true colors" to come through, but so far so good. Grayson did a good job on the cruise and had a lot of fun people watching.

• Did any big changes occur? No major changes, but just travel adjustment. With his bedtime crankiness lately we think he misses cruising! 

• What are baby's favorites - toy, food, person, etc...  Grayson is learning to enjoy the baby food pouches and has started begging off of our plates. I think the cruise really opened the door to this. He sat at the table with us without a bottle or baby food and, as his pediatrician suggested before our trip, we let him have bits of our food. He did really well as long as he could hold a utensil in one hand! Compromise, I tell ya! Regarding people, Grayson still adores his Nia. His eyes light up for her and if I ask, "Where's Nia?" He looks all around for her. Too cute!

• What I'm looking forward to? Continued warmer weather so Grayson can keep up with his swinging - he loves it!

I Won a Cruise (Again!) and It's in 30 Days!

Have you ever said, "I need a vacation!" when returning from vacation? That's exactly how I've been feeling this week. Our trip was unreal but now I'm paying for it catching up on everything and feeling exhausted in the process. It was totally worth it because while on our 7 night cruise I won another 7 night cruise!

If you've been following my blog for a while you know our very first cruise in 2013 was also one that I won courtesy of Scotch (you can see all the details here). Since that cruise Mr. Lovebird has jokingly said off and on, "How about you win another cruise?" 

My current ticker on my Galaxy S6 Edge

Well that's exactly what happened this past Friday night! There were nightly cruise trip drawings on our ship, but you had to be present to win. I'd watch each night as the prize winner would come claim it imagining how cool (yet unlikely!) it'd be that I'd win one too. Finally towards the end our cruise I was losing hope but when they kept drawing names Friday and no one came forward I began to think I just might have a chance. 

I turned to the woman next to me and pointed to myself and said, "Pick me pick me!" when they asked, "Who wants to win?"

Well after 3 or 4 names being drawn I heard, "Congrats Quiana Agbai!" I looked at Uka and smiled so big and ran to claim my prize (they were drawing names pretty rapidly, and I didn't want to delay). 

I spoke to the associate and got more details - I'm always skeptical on things like this, and it turned out there was a hitch: I could only go May 17 or May 24...THIS YEAR!

Ughhhh. So soon given the fact that we're just fresh off our cruise, but there was no way around it. 

Mr. Lovebird absolutely could not go. The cruise is on the Carnival Dream out of New Orleans and with a trip already booked May 17 and Nia's last day of school the following week - and adorable step-up ceremony - one of us has to be there. 

So . . . 

I decided I'd ask my mom to be my guest. A bonus is that I have to connect through Dallas anyway where she and my dad recently relocated to so I can literally connect with her and keep going!* I had to officially call the booking number with my prize code and when I did upon docking Sunday I was informed the cruise ship was sold out, specifically the cabin class that was my prize. 

WHAT?! I'm Miss Squeaky Wheel so I pressed on and tried a few different avenues to get a room. I thought it was a reasonable request to be upgraded but they pressed me to pay for the upgrade which would've been $800 total for me and my mom. No way! This was a prize not a bait and switch, I hoped. 

They advised me to email customer service and keep calling for a room. Well lo and behold after multiple calls a room suddenly opened and my mom and I are all set. 

Here are our ports:

Embarking out of New Orleans I wish we had more time to explore but with Uka's work schedule there is no way I can add more days. 

From there it's on to Montego Bay, Jamaica (I spent a month in Jamaica during Wintersession at Wellesley, but never visited Montego Bay so I'm super excited about this port) 

Next, it's Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; I've never been but just seeing this is making me giddy: 

Image credit

Lastly we'll be in Cozumel, Mexico a port I visited during mine and Uka's first cruise, but it was cold and stormy (plus we had the moped debacle), so I'm hoping for better weather this time.

Now about the Carnival Dream . . .

Image Credit

Built in 2009, it's 7 years younger than the Carnival Pride, the ship we were just on, and it's jam packed with amenities. Also, it's HUGE - currently the 3rd largest of Carnival's ships. It holds 3,646 passengers compared to the Pride's 2,124. I was a bit nervous about this especially as the cruise is nearly full, but reviews say it's spacious enough that it doesn't feel crowded. We'll see...

Ultimately, I'm so excited to have an extra-special mother/daughter trip with my mom and to escape the cold again. Take a look at this morning's temperature comparison: 

Yes, this is from today, April 25, 2015 and YES, this completely justifies taking 2 cruises close together!

It'll be fun to have girls' time in the 2-level spa, the 21+ Serenity Adult Only Retreat  (unfortunately, I didn't get to go on the Pride, but I saw it from afar) and to eat my meals without being interrupted by little peoples' requests. Now, since Grayson still nurses I will be pumping on the trip, but I did on the recent cruise too and it was a cinch!

I still can't believe this is actually happening...in 30 days! It's crazy, but I'll take it. Now the tricky part is to continue to go hard on my fitness. Thankfully, I only gained 3 lbs during the cruise which given how much I ate wasn't bad. I took the stairs a lot, ate lean meals (sometimes), nursed Grayson and got in two hard cardio sessions during the week. I'm hoping I can walk off the cruise the same weight I got on. We'll see . . . 

Anyway, thank you Carnival for giving this mama a much needed vacation after a vacation!

Have you ever cruised? If you haven't, where would you want to go?
 


*P.S. My initial response upon winning and finding out Uka couldn't join me was to gift it to my parents, but the cruise is non-transferable.