Cruising the MSC Meraviglia – Fall 2024

Posted on August 22, 2025 by mlenoach

Two more days until our Disney Cruise! I’m revisiting some of our past cruise vacations to get us pumped and ready to go.

In October 2024, we enjoyed a 7-day Caribbean cruise on the MSC Meraviglia to celebrate my birthday this time. We learned a lot from our first cruise in February! For our NCL cruise, we waited to book everything on the ship. Frequent cruisers know that booking packages in advance is the way to go; it’s cheaper, and you have more options. So we bought everything in advance! We got the drink and wifi package (worth it to us), we got the specialty dining package, and enjoyed four amazing restaurants. I prebooked excursions, spa treatments, and little goodies throughout our cruise. I even booked a little photo shoot for us. It was all worth it!

We had the best time! Learning from our February cruise, we took advantage of every amenity we could. Our daughter participated in the kids club this time, while my husband and I enjoyed the spa and the nighttime entertainment. We also got to enjoy some shows with our daughter. She slept through one show (lol), but she enjoyed the acrobatic one, in the carousel lounge. My daughter was better potty-trained this time, so we got to take advantage of the pools more. The one negative we experienced was the weather. It definitely wasn’t on our side, and we only made one of our ports, but we made the best of it on the ship. The ship had tons of activities to participate in. We plan on going on another MSC cruise in February 2026!

Celebrating on the Hornblower Atlantica

Posted on July 22, 2025 by mlenoach

I celebrated my cousin’s 40th birthday on the Hornblower Atlantica this past Saturday. It was so much fun! We had the whole boat to ourselves. She had a package with drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and a buffet. She also had a fun DJ. The best part was catching Manhattan’s Hudson and East River views.

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.

Thankful for this year

Posted on December 1, 2024 by mlenoach

As Thanksgiving weekend closes, I want to take the opportunity to share what I’m thankful for.

My family

My friends

My teams

My hobbies

My adventures

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.

Family dinner at Mokja

Posted on October 20, 2024 by mlenoach

Last month, we had dinner at Mokja in Astoria. The food was amazing, and I still can’t forget how cute this restaurant was.

The restaurant had a very romantic kind of vibe. There were lights and flowers everywhere.

Another thing I loved about the restaurant was that it had a lot of personal touches. They had bag holders at each table. They also had bowls, cups, and silverware for kids. It was so cute and made my daughter feel special.

I will definitely be back. I recommend it for date nights, families, and small groups.

Goodbye Summer

Posted on September 21, 2024 by mlenoach

At the beginning of summer, I created a bucket list of things I wanted to do and created a bingo card. As fall officially starts tomorrow, I took the time to reflect on everything I accomplished.

Here is my summer bingo card.

Not a blackout, but I definitely got a bingo!

This summer was filled with great moments!

We were also so lucky to travel this summer. We visited my family’s beach house in Shirley (which I already wrote about), the Great Wolf Lodge in Pennsylvania, and the beautiful island of St. Thomas.

We visited the Great Wolf Lodge for our wedding anniversary. Maxi loved the water park and all the activities on-site.

In August, we went to St. Thomas with my husband’s family. We had a blast, and it was gorgeous!

The Westin Beach Resort & Spa at Frenchman’s Reef

Now, I’m ready for the fall!

Visiting Pearl & The Beast

Posted on April 20, 2024 by mlenoach

Early last month, I had a pretty awesome ladies’ night out at Pearl & The Beast.

You pick a muscle, open it up, collect the pearls, clean them, and decide what to do with them. I got a good haul of pearls, so I got two rings and two earrings done. They had someone onsite who put together the jewelry. Bonus; I actually got the earrings for free because they were doing a promotion at the time.

It was hands-on, informative, and fun! I highly recommend checking it out.

Eclipse Fun

Posted on April 8, 2024 by mlenoach

We headed over to the Poconos to watch the eclipse. Although we knew we wouldn’t be able to see the full eclipse, it was fun to visit our friend’s house, have some space, and enjoy nature.

It was a bit cloudy, but we still got to see some cool eclipse stuff with and without the glasses.

My Astra Lumina experience

Posted on April 8, 2024 by mlenoach

Before today’s solar eclipse, I wanted to share my Astra Lumina experience from last month.

Astra Lumina is a unique traveling light show. In New York, it was held in the Queens Botanical Garden. Stargazers enjoyed walking around the garden and got interpretations of ‘stardust rays’, ‘falling stars’, ‘cosmic choir’ ‘celestial trail’, and ‘stellar visions’.

We did this as a family and loved it!

Now time to enjoy the eclipse!