The Calendar Kids Recipes Part 1

Posted on December 28, 2025 by mlenoach

It’s that time of year when I like to take an inventory of all the fun stuff I did. A few things I enjoyed were reading and cooking with my daughter. In ‘The Calendar Kids’ series, I got to do both. There are 12 books, one for each month, and each book focuses on one kid (named after the month) as they explore seasons, holidays, and memorable moments with friends and family. Each book has a cooking recipe that is tied to the story, and it’s been fun reading the book each month and trying all the recipes.

The recipe was actually a snowman pancake recipe, but we made hearts instead.

February was chocolate-covered strawberries. I admit it’s not our finest work lol, but it was yummy.

This month, the recipe was a rainbow donut. We did munchkins instead.

April we did dirt pudding! It was so good.

May’s recipe was a Cinco de Mayo salsa. Which was yummy.

June’s recipe was Dad’s famous burger recipe. I made them mini burgers to make it easier for my daughter to eat.

More to come in part two.

My new obsession… pins!

Posted on December 26, 2025 by mlenoach

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. I’m currently curled up on the couch with my favorite people and reminiscing about the past year.

I picked up a new hobby this year, collecting pins. It all started during my birthday trip to Disney World (more on that next week).

I bought pins after riding Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios and Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom. I don’t know what compelled me to start buying them, but these stores had a great selection of pins, and I just picked the ones that spoke to me. I did not choose the Ursula pin, though. I actually hate her, but my husband and daughter decided it would be a hoot to buy it for me as a surprise.

I also randomly got three mystery pin boxes, Up, The Incredibles, and I picked up a Star Wars one in another shop. Little did I know that this would be the beginning of my pin journey.

I have since bought more mystery boxes (mostly Disney-related) and I’ve been enjoying opening them with my daughter. I’ll share more another time.

Celebrating Jane Austin at the Morgan Library & Museum

Posted on September 23, 2025 by mlenoach

I visited the Morgan Library & Museum to see the Jane Austin exhibit before it closed. It was packed and crowded, but doing something different with my family was great. The day’s highlights included afternoon tea at the cafe and enjoying the small garden.

Cruising on the NCL Getaway Winter- 2024

Posted on August 20, 2025 by mlenoach

Next week, my family and I are going on our first Disney cruise. We are so excited and are counting the days (4 more to go!). In the meantime, I’m revisiting some of our past cruise vacations to get us ready.

In February 2024, we enjoyed a 10-day Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) to celebrate my husband’s birthday. It was also extra special because it was the first cruise with our daughter.

We had a fantastic time! The boat was gorgeous, and the food was amazing. One regret I did have was that we didn’t take advantage of all the amenities on the ship. We didn’t make it to many of the shows and did not end up using the kids’ club services. We took advantage of excursions during our port days, but some of the ones we were looking forward to got canceled due to the weather. However, we still had a blast and ended up hooked on cruising!

Indoor Play Areas in Queens and Brooklyn

Posted on August 13, 2025 by mlenoach

Here are some indoor play areas/activities that are fun to try when you want to beat the heat (or cold), when it rains, or just for fun.

Twinkle Playspace in Williamburg

PLAYDAY in Long Island City – heavy on art classes vs playground. We attended a birthday party, but they have so many cool offerings: bookmarking, cartooning, collage creations, fashion design, painting and drawing, and printmaking.

Dream City in Forest Hill

Puzzles in Astoria – have seasonal special events, snapology, STEM based and sensory activities.

Baby Farm Animals

Posted on May 11, 2025 by mlenoach

Spring+Mother’s Day is reminding me about the time my daughter and I got to play with bunnies and chickens from Long Island Pony Parties.

Best time ever!

Nonprofit Education Training Events

Posted on January 30, 2025 by mlenoach

I have always wanted to join a nonprofit board. Earlier this month, I attended a training session at the New York Junior League (NYJL) on Elevating Ethics—Building Nonprofit Board Leaders. It was a great day of training with great topics and speakers.

A week later, I attended a Board Match Mixer at the NYJL and got a chance to meet some great leaders and nonprofits. I didn’t find my ‘match,’ but it was great seeing and hearing from nonprofits I’d never heard of before.

I just have to keep on looking!

Lunch with Marc Happel

Posted on January 30, 2025 by mlenoach

At the beginning of January, I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon featuring Marc Happel, the Costume Director for the New York City Ballet at the New York Junior League.

Marc discussed his process of creating costumes for new ballets and his visually stunning book NEW YORK CITY BALLET: CHOREOGRAPHY & COUTURE.

I had an amazing time, enjoying lunch by Liz King of Kings Carriage House, and meeting new friends at the League.

Here are pictures from the event.

Bluey x CAMP

Posted on December 3, 2024 by mlenoach

My family visited Bluey x CAMP this past weekend and had a blast. We were transported to Bluey and Bingo’s home. My daughter and two nieces ran, played, and enjoyed all the rooms and slides. The counselors were friendly and engaging, and they facilitated a dance mode moment and story time. We also had a fun picture moment with Bluey and Bingo. It goes by fast, but I would recommend it, especially if you are a fan of the Bluey show.

Getting back to Mah Jong

Posted on October 26, 2024 by mlenoach

Back in 2022, I signed myself up for Mah Jong classes. I had fun learning, but it didn’t stick.

I recently got the opportunity to join a group and learn again through Ready Set Mah Jong, and I’m having a blast. Maybe it’s my teacher, maybe it’s my group of ladies, but either way, I’m hooked this time!

If you are in the NYC area and curious to learn, check out Ready Set Mah Jong.

The Casual Explorer

exploring NYC, and beyond, one day at a time

Category Archives: Curiosity Corner