On Resiliency and Peace: Our Second First Day of the School Year

I have been unsettled in the past year since we've relocated to Boston because my children have not been settled, but yesterday that changed.

Yesterday my 7 year old daughter Virginia, "Nia," started at her 6th school.

NYC Adventures (& Beech-Nut Giveaway Winner!)

We are wrapping up an extended long weekend spread across NYC-Metro! Friday we arrived and stayed in Queens with family then spent a bit of time in Manhattan before packing up for a couple nights in Jersey City. It's been great to see so many people in such a short time as always. We really do pack a lot in every time we're here, but it's always worth it!

A quick snippet:

I heard FAO Schwartz is closing so I had to!

Enjoyed a bit of Dance Parade 2015 with Uncle Van

Family dinner at (new to us) Porta in Jersey City

Post-late night hotel pool shenanigans (and Nia got into some too!)

Our friends at Milk & Cookies treated Nia to her first pedicure - full review to come! 

And now to share the winner of my flash Beech-Nut giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats Manda!  

If you didn't win this giveaway don't worry - there's another fun one on the way. Here's a hint!



P.S. I'm still in shock that heading to New Orleans on Saturday! I'll probably just have time for dinner that night then brunch the following day before boarding my cruise. Any suggestions for a first-timer in New Orleans with limited time?

NYC, We Feel the Love

We made our way down to the city Friday morning, and when I saw this I have to admit I got a bit nostalgic:

Nia was wide-eyed and I explained to her: "This is Harlem. This is where you were born."

Although out of my 7 years in NYC-metro the last 2 were spent in Jersey City, my heart is still in Harlem. I get so excited passing through the streets and seeing all the ways my old neighborhood has changed. I'll never give up on my dream of owning a brownstone there some day.

Friday night we reunited with my college roommate and her precious girl. She and Nia took their time cautiously around the ice rink. We followed it up with pizza (which I shamefully reordered last night).

Saturday morning we were up bright and early with my sister Ariane (God bless her for helping me with the kids!). We made our way to Jersey City for a 9a.m. breakfast - and that's considered a *late* breakfast for kids O_o. It was such a fun reunion! We took over the place and I could tell a few of the patrons were a bit stunned to see our huge group. We definitely felt the love though, and it was as though we never left! I was also jealous that my new hood now has this so easily accessible. 

I had to take a break for a bit of pampering afterwards. My eyebrows were out.of.control, and I was in dire need of a trim (it had been 21 weeks since my last). I felt like a new woman when I left salon Oma Duran!

Saturday night it was up to Harlem for a sleep over of sorts with my sisters. They cooked us dinner and we watched SNL - I rarely do, but Kevin Hart was hilarious, especially this sketch which was very appropriate given where we were. I stayed up late to watch Whitney. All I have to say is, "NO." (For a spot on recap check out Luvvie's post). 

Sunday we were up early for church in the icy rain (thank goodness for Uber!) then it was off to Panera for lunch with my sisters, a couple mommy friends and their kids including Nia's birth date twin. It was fun seeing them pick back up where they left off!

I was so relieved to make it back to my BFF's apartment afterwards and not have any commitments except for PJs, takeout and Downton Abbey (do you watch?). Perfection!

My BFF was able to get an earlier flight back so we were thrilled to spend some extra time visiting with him when we all woke up this morning. It really is such a blessing to have friends willing to open their homes to us and we look forward to reciprocating up in New Hampshire especially when it warms up!

We feel refreshed and ready for the week ahead. 

How's your long weekend going? Are you seeing "Selma?" This tweet captured my sentiments. 

Apple Cider Pressing Changed Our Lives

Do you ever experience something that messes up all your previous experiences of that particular something?

Yeahhhhh.

That was the result of yesterday's apple cider pressing. If you haven't had fresh apple cider that's been immediately pressed then you don't know apple cider. At the time of this writing I have almost 1 gallon of FRESH apple cider sitting in my fridge that I'm telling myself will last until Mr. Lovebird is back in town on Wednesday, but I have a feeling that between me and Nia it's not going to make it. 

Against my better judgement Nia had a cupful before last night's dinner AND during dinner (I understood the addiction and couldn't deny her!), and when she emptied her cup of the heavenly nectar she straight sucked on air for a good 3 minutes trying to get more out of it. I was concerned she'd get light headed! I don't blame her though. It really is amazing. 

The awesomeness is both good and bad I guess. I'll start with the bad: it's supremely addictive and sugar coma inducing. The good? Well, it's officially ended my ability to drink any other apple cider apart from that which has been freshly pressed. 

Gray gets serious FOMO sometimes and I kept using my phone to check if he was napping on my shoulder; he would turn to give a side-eye to the camera!

Thank to our  Jersey City friend Anna and her family for inviting us out to her father's apple cider pressing day. Anna's son and Nia were in Pre-K 3 together and Nia was absolutely thrilled to be reunited with her little buddy. About an hour before we left to make the 1 1/2 hour trek home (hooray for kids who sleep in the car!) Nia hugged her friend and just wouldn't.let.go. He asked why she was hugging him and I answered for her, "Because she missed you so much! She thought you wouldn't remember her" (something she asked me repeatedly leading up to our visit). Aren't preschoolers sometimes adorable???

Have you ever had fresh pressed apple cider? What are your fall flavor obsessions besides pumpkin? 
 

Nia's 4th Birthday Recap (Picture Heavy!)

With Nia starting school, I wanted to go back and finally recap a big event this summer: her 4th birthday party!

We celebrated last month at a local park that has amazing city views - it was Nia's request and very fitting for her last birthday party here in Jersey City. It's amazed me as she's come to know each park by name (including Central Park!) and makes specific requests to visit certain ones. It really is cute to see little ones grow and offer their thoughts and opinions (and boy, does Nia have opinions!). 

This year felt the easiest for me to plan. I've never been a complicated birthday planner. I don't have elaborate themes or anything - I just want to keep things simple. The past couple years we ordered subs and last year I realized how messy it was especially for the kids so this year I went with pizza which was delivered from a spot adjacent to the park. It was SO good that everyone kept asking about it. I guess Yelp reviews don't lie! Besides that we had a loose Frozen theme with all things Frozen provided by my parents (I can't believe my mom tracked down Frozen underwear!). Of course we had to have a Frozen cake courtesy of Dairy Queen although there was a bit of a preschooler battle over who would get to eat Elsa and Anna (kinda creepy when you think about it). 

My sister-in-law meeting Grayson!

The Grandfathers

Retrieval from the splash pad was no easy task! Thanks Mom for cautiously stepping up to the challenge ;-)

Between eating, the kids ran around playing on the playground, splash pad and sandbox - a perfect trifecta of fun! While I was trying my best to keep Grayson out of the son and from being poked too much (he hadn't had his vaccinations yet), my artistic sister Lauren stepped up and took pictures for us. I'm also happy I remembered to have someone (Dad I think?) capture everyone singing Happy Birthday (you can watch it here!). 

An actual frozen "Frozen" cake that *had* to be completely consumed lest it melt. Hooray for seconds! #bestdecisionever

Nia's big present was her princess bike. We didn't bring it to the park, but yes, it has training wheels, and we took it to Taste of Africa over the weekend (recap coming!) - a really loooong journey with a 4 year old and a bike via public transit - and she fared well. I'm still not a fan of the tippy nature of training wheels (#teambalancebike), and I'm hoping next summer we can take them off. 

Her favorite cousin!

The funniest part of Nia turning 4 is that she's been telling everyone, "I'm 4 today!" which causes them to believe it's her birthday TODAY. I then have to explain that no, today isn't her birthday. I've tried telling her she's 4 every day until she turns 5 and instead to just say, "I'm 4" or "I just turned 4," but she won't cause she's Nia. We have a loooong year ahead of us...

Thank you Aunty Lauren for taking pics!

What's your favorite way to celebrate your kid's birthday? Do you plan it yourself or have it at a venue that handles everything (something I see in my future!)?



P.S. I'll be back tomorrow with a special review of something from ALEX Toys that made Nia's birthday extra fun!

Wordless Wednesday: Baby's First Beach Visit

Captured by Aunty Ariane - thank you!

 

Leave Your Troubles on the Water

Summer's still going strong for us (nope, it's not over til my birthday September 22!), and the past few days we've had quite an aquatic time along the Eastern seaboard. Take a peek:

A double rainbow after dinner in Portsmouth, NH

Happy to have the pool to herself at our hotel in Manchester, NH

Mr. Lovebird enjoyed GoGo squeeZ on the the Circle Line Cruise's Pirate and Princess Party for Nia's 4th birthday

Our first family trip to the Jersey Shore this season - spy that sand on the baby feet???

We have some big things going on around here (hence the single blog post last week O_o), and we're ending the summer in a very exciting way that I can't wait to share publicly. 

Have a good week everyone (it's Nia's birthday week), and if I get a bit temporarily sporadic here follow along where I'm plenty busy over on Instagram ;-)

How was your weekend? Any bodies of water involved?

 

The One Time I Met Tory Burch #CORYANDTORY

As I'm slowly making my way through recapping the whirlwind of events I attended during my 3rd trimester, I'm realizing how epic it really was! I nearly forgot that I met Tory Burch ya'll - crazy right?! Here's how it went down . . . 

About a week before the actual event a fellow Wellesley alum friend who works with U.S. Senator Cory Booker posted this listing on Facebook:

Seeing how soon the date was I thought, "Oh this must be full, but I'll give RSVPing a try anyway!" I logged onto Eventbrite and surprisingly, there were still openings so I signed right up. I mentioned it in passing a few days later to my sister Ariane, and she was a bit annoyed that I hadn't invited her. I let her know it was a NJ-business-centric event and didn't think she would be interested seeing how she's all "Miss Manhattan" and all. She's not really like that (!), but anyway, she was definitely interested. When Ariane tried to sign up it was sold out however a spot opened up last minute and she was able to join me. Hooray for sister power!

Ariane grabs a quick bite - it was so quick, it was blurry! Just keepin' it real!

The "fireside chat" event was held at Liberty House (quick fact: ran by a female entrepreneur!). It was a gorgeous, sun-filled room with an amazing view of the Manhattan skyline - I would've loved to get pictures of the view, but the sun rising over the skyline just wouldn't allow it. Still the spot is definitely etched in my memory as one to visit with Mr. Lovebird. It was my first time there, and it's quite romantic! A networking breakfast was also provided, but with Nia in preschool and drop-off at 8:30 I couldn't get there early enough so Ariane and I grabbed a quick bite and took our seats.  

{Image Credit: Leading Women Entrepreneurs}

In the hour-long chat Tory shared her start-up story: how she requested funds from about 200 potential investors (mostly friends and family) and created a 5-year plan launching in 2004 without a dime spent on traditional media - yes, it can be done!

As a mom, I was especially interested to hear how Tory handles mompreneurship and she explained that it's ALWAYS a struggle, but that family is first. She makes sure she is 100% present when she is with them and takes her sons to school herself daily.

{Image Credit: Leading Women Entrepreneurs}

I was thrilled to hear Tory and Senator Booker share their enthusiasm for social media. I still can't believe how hard some folks diss it, but I'm also a firm believer. Of course there is foolishness on there, but as Senator Booker explained, if you have 200+ followers, you have influence beyond measure. Tory explained how becoming an early adopter of social media helped lead to her success especially without a marketing budget. In fact, she handles her own Instagram and Twitter accounts personally!

The biggest challenges Tory sees when it comes to female entrepreneurship is 1) access to capital and 2) mentorship. Because of this she created the Elizabeth Street Capital initiative (the name was derived from her 1st store location) partnering with Bank of America to provide $10 million towards low cost loans. She encouraged the audience to apply to the program which has basic criteria of a great idea and a sound plan. 

After the event, I knew the attendees would bum rush the front to get pictures and was surprised to see how gracious Tory was to take them. I cautiously made my way to the front with my large belly and a few ladies literally carved a path to Tory for me, and I was able to chat with her quickly and get a quick picture with her and my sister:

I was surprised when Tory asked me the name of the baby (kinda how Dr. Oz did)! I stumbled a moment and explained that my sister didn't even know it yet, and it was still under wraps. 

Overall, the event was a great kick-off for me and my sister as well as we're in the works on a special sister-business project along with our other sister Lauren. It's been a bit of a slow start, but we're confident in the direction we're headed, and it was such an inspiration to be able to hear directly from Tory about how she built her business. It was just the encouragement we needed!

Are you a Tory Burch fan? If you're a mompreneur, who inspires you?