Tag Archives: Explore

Cityside Pumpkin Patch

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My family and I are officially enjoying the fall season, and the countdown to Halloween has officially begun.

Last week, we went to the Cityside Pumpkin Patch in Long Island City.

The pumpkin patch also served food and drinks and had many cute and spooky areas to enjoy. They had some cool activities you could pay for, but we enjoyed the archery section, which was free with our package.

Overall a fun time!

Cousins Night Out

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I’m an only child, but my two cousins, Rosie and Lizzie, are the sisters I never had. We don’t get to hang out very often, but when we do, it’s always memorable.

In August, we took advantage of The Mermaid Inn’s happy hour menu. We had like five dozen oysters; it was ridiculous but oh so yummy.

In September, we visited the JACX&CO Food Hall in Long Island City and got amazing food from Sushi Nikko and Mexology.

We are looking to have at least three more outings this year!

Family Day at Randall’s Island Park

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My husband’s job had a family day at Randall’s Island Park this week. They had food, a DJ, bouncy houses, an area where anyone could ride a horse, boat rides, a rock climbing wall, and a gaming station. My daughter Maxine was all about the bouncy houses and the ice cream. We also enjoyed the boat ride, but it was quite a wait. Next year we need to do the boat ride first. Also, I want Maxine to ride one of the horses, and I want to try the rock climbing wall if they do it again.

Visiting Watermark at Pier 15

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Last week, I had a Mom’s night out and celebrated my good friend Louanna’s 42nd, I mean 24th😉, birthday at Watermark at Pier 15.

It’s an outdoor restaurant right by the water with a killer view.

I chose the messiest foods on the menu 🤣, but it was all yummy. I had corn, steak tacos, and a seafood platter with oysters and lobster.

The restaurant was a vibe, with a DJ and a lively crowd. The best part of the night was randomly catching a drone show celebrating Hip Hop. Second best, some drinks came in pouches!

I will say the only downside is the bathroom situation. There are no restrooms in the restaurant area; you have to leave and use public bathrooms with only a few stalls, or you can use the public porta potties.

Overall, a fun night and I would recommend it for a good time.

Our time in Shirley, Long Island

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I’m incredibly grateful my family has a beach house in Shirley, Long Island. Two weeks ago, my husband had off, so we took advantage. The weather wasn’t great, but we had a great time regardless.

My daughter, Maxine, was obsessed with counting how many mermaids were in one of the rooms.

We took advantage of the time we had outside as much as possible.

Maxine loved walking and running on the grass.
💕

My Uncle was nice enough to take us out on his boat. Maxine was not a fan of the boat going fast, but she was all smiles after awhile.

My Uncle and Aunt’s dog Tessa.
💕

The beach is about a 10-15 min walk from the house. It was so windy, and no one was around because it was cold. It was extremely peaceful, regardless. Maxine did not care for the beach. I think it was too windy for her.

While we were out east, we enjoyed the Animal Farm Petting Zoo in Manorville.

🥰
The chicks were only a day old!

They also had really cool playground areas within the zoo.

We also enjoyed some yummy food from the area. On our first night, we ordered from Fratelli’s Restaurant and Pizza.

Best chicken marsala with linguine I ever had.
The linguine with alfredo sauce was also very yummy.

One night, we steamed some clams my Aunt and Uncle caught; they were so tasty!

We also stopped by Varney’s in Brookhaven. They are known for their muscles, which were delicious (the red and white sauces were both good). I also couldn’t resist the lobster roll.

We also got ice cream and shakes at Carla Marlas Ice Cream Parlor and Candy Shoppe in Bellport. So good!

Hopefully, we will be back soon to create more amazing memories.

Playing Tourist Part 2

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I got to play tourist again but in a different capacity.

I volunteer with the New York Junior League, an organization of women whose mission is to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training.

I’ve been a volunteer for nine years and have had many roles.

This year, I’ve had the pleasure of being part of the Personal Advancement and Leadership Committee (PAL), which focuses on mentoring young women (ages 14-18) on continuing education opportunities, broad career aspirations, and life skills.

One of the workshops was a tour of Radio City Music Hall. We were able to tour the whole venue and got to meet a Radio City Rockette. It was an excellent opportunity for the young women to see the space and hear from various employees on how they got their jobs and what their roles and responsibilities are.

It was an inspiring and fun workshop. Here are some pictures of the tour.

Hidden within the carpet are 6 instruments
The room that really makes the magic happen
Artwork in the women’s bathroom
Artwork in the Men’s bathroom
Stage time!
Selfie moment
Rockette pic with my fellow PAL members

Playing tourist in my own city

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In April, I had family from California visit. They explored NYC for many days, and I was able to spend some time with them and enjoy some sites I hadn’t been to before or hadn’t been to in a while.

I have been wanting to check out Little Island for a while now, so we went there first. It’s a great little park with lovely views.

An area of Little Island
The view from the top!
Family pic!

From Little Island, we went straight to the High Line. I haven’t been in years! The High Line is a public park built on a freight rail line elevated above the streets of Manhattan’s West Side. The park is from 14th Street to 34th Street and has impressive views and great artwork along the path.

Artwork
More art!

The High Line goes directly into Hudson Yards. We enjoyed the mall there and some yummy food.

Overall, it was a great relaxing day, enjoying the city.

Taking a look back at 2022

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As the clock turns 12, I wanted to celebrate and look back at 2022.

I started the new year with a challenge, the January Pantry Challenge. The idea was to cook things I already had at home to save money. I ate a lot of soup and finally ate stuff in my freezer. Some of my favs were the shrimp stir fry, red beans, sausage and rice, and dumplings.
In February, I did some fun activities with my parents. We took part in a virtual chocolate tasting and a chocolate-making class.
In March, I did a bit of a staycation and enjoyed the TWA hotel at JFK. It was a lot of fun. It had a fantastic 60s vibe with great food and ambiance. One of the best features is that they remade one of the planes into a cocktail bar/lounge.
For Easter this year, I decorated eggs and did a few egg hunts with Maxine and my family. It was fun to make the eggs with mom, and even better to see Maxine’s face while she was looking for eggs.
I don’t see my friends as often as I would like these days, but it’s always a blast when we do get to see each other. In May, we had brunch at Lucky Chengs and enjoyed a fun drag show.
In June, I was a panelist for a new membership event at the New York Junior League. I have been volunteering for the league for about eight years now and I was honored to be asked to speak.
Dad turned 80 in July! I wanted to throw him a huge party, but that is not my dad’s style. We had an amazing dinner at a Greek restaurant in Astoria instead.
We rented out a beautiful house in the Poconos in August and had a kickass family trip. The place was amazing; it had an indoor pool, a game room, and a movie theater. We also did some hiking and saw some beautiful waterfalls, and did some canoeing as well.
September was all about soaking up the last bit of beautiful weather and enjoying the parks and water sprinklers.
I turned 41 this year and spent my birthday with my family in Atlantic City. We stayed at Caesar’s Palace. I haven’t been to AC in years! I gambled with my parents, and Andrew won big at the roulette table. I ate excellent food and enjoyed the beach, as the weather was nice. Andrew and I even got to have a little date night on my birthday and explored AC at night.
I kicked off the holiday season by attending the New York Junior League’s Golden Tree event. It’s a holiday market where a percentage of the proceeds go to the league. The event also had a great auction where you could bid on various items, including holiday wreaths. I participated in the auction for the first time and won these two beauties.
Maxine turned two in December! Last year, we kept it simple and celebrated at a buffet so this year, I wanted to go all out. I rented a small venue and we had a bouncy house, face painter and balloon artist. Of course it had to be CoComelon themed.

2022, thanks for the memories!