My Return to the 2018 Jazz Age Lawn Party

I'm en route to my sister Ariane's bachelorette party in NYC this weekend and am also squeezing in a return to my 6th visit to the Jazz Age Lawn Party. I haven't been since 2015 when I took both kids, but this time around I'm excited to go kid-free. The forecast looks AMAZING, and I think it will be a wonderful way to cap my weekend in my favorite city!

I thought it might be fun to take a look back at some of my favorite moments at the JALP...

Our Weekend at the 10th Annual Jazz Age Lawn Party

We may have missed it last year, but this year was our 5th time attending the Jazz Age Lawn Party and Nia and Grayson's 1st time as siblings. I learned my lesson after last time and made sure I arrived early to catch the first Governor's Island ferry out at 10a.m. and I'm glad I did - it was CROWDED! It's crazy to think how small the Jazz Age Lawn Party started and now to see how thousands turn out for it. It was a scorcher (hooray for no rain!), but we loaded up on sunscreen, secured a shady spot and stayed until 3p.m. 

My cuties stay mean muggin'!

She convinced me to get this for her ($6!), but I have to admit it was delicious - I've tried others that were so bitter, but this was perfection on the hot day!

We packed lunch but then Grayson passed right out! And of course we had to get a bit of ice cream from the vintage truck:

I wanted him to wear a cap and suspenders but he didn't even last in pants - it was SO hot!

Queen Esther was my favorite performer

She got 3 spins, failed the first two then the woman's son, "a pro," came back to the booth...

The little boy was the cutest! He zipped right in and spun white which wins every time apparently

Of course I had to make a little video of my cuties together (Grayson is still a reluctant walker!):

I definitely think this was our last year attending. I miss how small it was in the past especially being able to see the special performances on the dance floor. Now it's just too crowded and there are too many vendors. I'm thankful we've been able to document our visits here on the blog over the years. It's been a fun run for us at the Jazz Age Lawn Party!


 

P.S. A look back at our previous visits: 2013, 2012 and 2011

It's a BIG Week for the Lovebirds!

We have so many amazing things going on over here (I'm bursting at the seams to share but I can't yet!) and I looked up and saw I haven't blogged in a week. Oops! I think this means that summer is off to a strong start so far, agreed?

The most challenging part is coming off of Nia's previous school's academic calendar in Jersey City, she's now been out of school a full month before she was in Pre-K 3. I was away on my cruise during her end of the year program, but Mr. Lovebird was on picture duty and captured a few special moments including this one:

I went through a brief moment of panic, then mostly thanks to my local mom friends and our library's resources, I've found a good summer schedule for Nia. She's doing a bit of everything just like we did last summer: swimming, circus camp, vacation Bible school and piano lessons for now then hopefully adding some horseback riding and soccer towards the end of the summer. She's such an active girl already and has a lot of energy to burn! 

At our local library's summer reading kickoff party

Over the weekend we celebrated Grayson's 1st birthday (at the time of me writing this it's 2a.m. and I just ordered his thank you postcards!). His official birthday is actually this Saturday, but we're heading out of town tomorrow for a long weekend so we enjoyed early festivities. We had been singing "Happy Birthday" to Grayson for a few weeks so he'd be ready when it happened for real - it turned out SO cute, and I can't wait to share the video soon!

Friday will be mine and Uka's 6th wedding anniversary (as of this fall we've known each other 17 years!). We're officially closer to 10 years than not! We don't have anything special planned and will actually be happy to hang in nature this weekend with our kids up in Maine. Speaking of Maine, remember when I wrote about these cute cottages? I'd still like to stay there someday. . . 

For our anniversary Mr. Lovebird asked what I most needed then answered his own question: "I need help." I really truly do. Not only from him, but from outsourcing a few things around the home, mostly domestic duties, so I can focus on the kids, my business and this blog. I'm juggling so many balls at once and if a few domestic responsibilities can be outsourced that would be great! He's not always physically here due to his work schedule and when he is here he crashes really hard - he hustles hard to provide for our family and in this post-Father's Day week I feel so blessed that we're not only best friends but in this family journey together. I made this collage over on Instagram as a tribute:

Going back to our trip to Maine, it's a "camp" of sorts that's mostly business, but since the families get to come too there is some pleasure. The kids will be in "camp" and while I'll attend a few activities be catching up on work, I'm looking forward to exploring a bit especially since we'll be by Acadia National Park. There's even a formal night and I posted a teaser on Instagram as I'm super excited for another chance to dress up. Hooray for Rent the Runway, and if I could just wrangle my hair!

Grayson's birthday was in such an idyllic setting not far from us and the locale reiterated the feeling I get that we're on perpetual vacation up here. It is such a beautiful city and is making up for the awful winter we experienced. Here's one of my favorite pictures from the weekend - I'm so blessed my sisters were able to come up to visit us!:

Here's what I'm excited for the rest of the summer:

• An historic July 4th - it's so quaint and typically New England lately as everyone is sprucing up for the holiday; I need to hurry and get outfits for the kids!
• Catching up with my blogger buddies at BlogHer
• Taking both kids for the first time to the Jazz Age Lawn Party - this year is the 10th anniversary and unlike last year I already have my ticket! (Check out the recent pictorial coverage in Newseek)
• Grayson's first visit to my hometown of Columbus, Ohio and going to the Ohio State Fair (hooray for the butter cow!)
• Keeping up with my fitness - I've supplemented my regular workouts at the Y with PiYo class thanks to my fab, fit, mommy friend Courtney, and it's kicking my butt in a good way!
• Catching up on tons of blog posts: awesome reviews (including Disney SMMC On-The-Road in NYC), giveaways and updates (including Grayson's 1 year recap which I'll have ready next week!)

What are you looking forward to next summer? Can you believe it's already July 4th...NEXT WEEKEND?! We're just hanging out here in Portsmouth taking in all the historic festivities. What will you be up to?

Lovebirds' 4th Year at the Jazz Age Lawn Party

After last year's Jazz Age Lawn Party which had the craziest lines I've ever seen I vowed I'd get in line super early and this year my sister Ariane, Nia and I were on the first boat out to the party - in fact, there was a 30-minute delay to get in and we were chomping at the bit ready to go especially as it was a gorgeous day (last year it rained on Saturday but they honored our tickets the following day)! We even came prepared with a packed picnic basket of goodies (thank you Ariane!) and blankets. All looked good until I realized I forgot the battery for my DSLR camera charging on my nightstand. I was SO mad at myself but thankful for my Galaxy S3 to come through in a pinch . . .

And of course I can't finish without first sharing a little video of my Lil Lovebird and her dance pals . . .

Feeling nostalgic? Revisit our 2011 and 2012 Jazz Age Lawn Party experience!

 

Lil Love Bird Steals the Show! A Jazz Age Lawn Party Recap

Sunday Nia and I ventured to Governor's Island for the third year in a row for the Jazz Age Lawn Party. Our tickets were originally for Saturday but the early rain scared us away so we were glad when they honored them Sunday instead!

We started out on the ferry which had a 2 hour wait to get on, but thankfully another mother at the front of the line had mercy and signaled me to join her family. Hooray for the empathy of fellow moms!

With my sister Ariane

My sister Ariane met us on the other side and we were amazed at how packed it was compared to previous years. This has become a fun tradition for us and I love seeing all the various costumes; the attention to detail is outstanding.

Nia made a little friend!

Nia took a while to warm up but the fun music played by the Dreamland Orchestra was infectious and she couldn't help but join in the dancing - to say she was the life of the party was an understatement:

There were still more friends for Nia to make . . .

Before we headed back on the ferry we stopped for Mister Softee with sprinkles (Nia's request!)

Timeout New York also has a fantastic photo gallery from the June Jazz Age Lawn Party (it's held 2x each summer).

P.S. Click here to see our visit last year to the Jazz Age Lawn Party! And yes, Nia could still fit the same dress and bonnet - my little string bean!

My First Sewing Project for Nia & The Jazz Age Lawn Party

Photo Credit

I posted last month about the 6th annual Jazz Age Lawn Party that I wanted to attend and thankfully, Nia and I were able to go along with my sister, Ariane.

Although we were threatened by a few rain showers it turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon. Here are a few highlights:

Sisters

The dance floor

All the pretty ladies

A performance

Dancing with Mama

Nia in her pillowcase dress I made

{You can see an online pro album here.}

Now about Nia's homemade fashion . . .

The pillowcase dress pictured above was made from an embroidered baby bed sheet. When my friend gave it to me I immediately knew I wanted to make a dress for Nia. During my free class at Pins & Needles, I discussed with Rachel, the owner, how to make it as well as consulted my mom. I ended up finding a great video on You Tube which I followed for the most part, with a few alterations since it was a sheet and not a pillowcase.

Check out the video; I love that it's so quick and simple:

Although Nia's dress was a tad too big, I love how it turned out, and it wasn't that bad for my first attempt at sewing something for her.

Next up I want to tackle a project from Little Things to Sew, the book I picked up at Pins & Needles as well.

Jazz Age Lawn Party

Last summer when Nia was only a few weeks old, my best friend Julie, who was visiting from Ohio, went with us to Governor's Island's Jazz Age Lawn Party. It was a gorgeous day and despite Nia being a newborn, it was wonderful to get out of the apartment and get some fresh air!

This summer I hope to go again - also in August. The Jazz Age Lawn Party happens twice each summer and the first party was a couple weeks ago. Here are a few highlights courtesy of From Me to You: 

I'm thinking that it might be fun to dress Nia up as a little flapper since she'll definitely be walking more steadily by then. I may get costumed up too and would love for Mr. Love Bird to as well, but something tells me that's wishful thinking!

If you'd like to purchase tickets to the Jazz Age Lawn Party just click here (only $7 online!).