Hello October! Summer ‘19 may be gone but the memories are forever

Summer 2019 is officially over and we’re saying hello to Fall!

Just this week we hit a 90 degree day which had the beach written all over it. Instead of hitting the ocean we chose to get in the feeling of fall and head to a farm in New Jersey for apple picking.

We love the actual shop of Battle view orchards in freehold, NJ. So, it was only fitting to collect as many apples as possible (20 to be exact) then head over to the shop to purchase, pies, apple donuts, apple cider, AND candy apple kits once done in the fields.

With Halloween approaching we plan to head back to one of our favorite farm locations. Maple Leaf 🍁 Farm in Manalapan, NJ or Salem NY Harvest Moon Orchard and Wilkins Fruit & Fir Farm. It’s such a privilege to live in a state that has Farming options for fresh fruit and veggies so close by from upstate New York to our neighbors in New Jersey.

Let us know where you’ll be heading during the harvest season? Pumpkins 🎃 or 🍎 Apples or both?

We’re sending Summer off with so much love!

There was less travel to far away destinations but so much love and adventure captured in our CTH (close to home) stay cation destinations.

We’re listing them below and starting with the brand new Lego Land in Goshen, NY

Summer 2020 is going to be “awesome” if you’re a lego fan living close to NY or ready to travel to this new location. It is beyond adventure in the theme park there will also be a resort filled with awesomeness.. I mean is there anything better to look forward to?! Get your passes NOW

~ The Kartrite in Monticello NY

~ The Great Wolf Lodge

~ Martha’s Vineyard

~ Dorney Park

~Hershey Park

Local weekend/Weekday fun included trips to the Zoo, summer camp fun, Partying at Luna Park Coney Island; which will be opening up their halloween 🎃 👻 fun fest “Hello October!”

🏖 Endless beach days

Brigantine NJ

All of the recap has me thinking about planning a new vacay or staycation , how about you?

Get in the holiday spirit with us!

The holiday season would not be awesome without adding a bit of Twindollicious adventure.

We have rounded up some fun things that we have been doing throughout the season. The top five listed below have put us in the groove of Christmas and excitement for a new year (and Birthdays!!)

If you’re in need of a little spirit lifting and fun with the kiddos check out some of these fun at home and quick outings that will help you Deck the halls with jolly!

1. NYC is filled with fun pop up shops created by amazing marketing companies and brands. We enjoyed the hallmark pop up so much. Hallmark is the mother of all holiday movies and we were excited to swing in the spirit for these photo opps.

2. Because V & K enjoy cooking in the kitchen so much we had to include backing gingerbread cookies on our list. We enjoyed the awesome recipes of Red Velvet NYC to create some delicious gingerbread men. They were so delicious while baking in their kitchen that we did it again at home; and so can you!

3. Take a trip to a Christmas tree farm just to experience the smell of fresh pine, get lost in a maze of Christmas tree and look for signs of a possible Santa’s workshop. We enjoyed visiting the biggest Christmas tree farm in Philipsburg NJ. We love bringing home a fresh tree to decorate. As many others enjoy faux trees which is just as beautiful; there’s something about this experience that gets better every year.

4. If you’re all set up with Christmas decorations, holiday lights and you haven’t written your littlest letter to Santa yet, please do use Santa writes back. Your child would be delighted to receive that special letter from Santa in response to their wishes list.

5. To keep the spirit of Santa and the belief in this holiday alive we took a trip on the polar express to visit Santa himself.

6. We love taking time out to read holiday stories. There’s something about a holiday movie or story book that brings the holiday to life. We would love for everyone to always believe in Santa and the spirit of what it means to be good and do good; so our Christmas book “Santas helpers save Christmas” is available now Here

Transitioning from Summer to Fall

Are you in the middle of transitioning from summer to fall EVERYTHING?!

We are just getting in the groove of schedules, routine and fall fashion; and Thanks to the summer sun for hanging around… it’s happening slowly.

We spent some time in Palm beach Just before hurricane Irma hit Florida and the Caribbean.  We are so happy to hear that damage was minimal to our home away from home but saddened to see the results of the natural disaster on other beautiful places that others call home.

There’s always clear skies at the end of the rainbow and road maps to bring everything back together.

As we wind down into Fall mode we’d like to wish everyone a speedy recovery with 3 practices of motivation.

1. Starting over can bring new opportunities

2. A Fresh start keeps our eyes wide open

3. A team that builds together grows together

 

ZARA kids, Old navy style

Summer weekend travels

Slow down summer!  Though it has been 3 plus weeks since school ended, just the thought of packing away our summer styles and prepping for the cold scares the hee bee gee bees out of me.

We’ve been taking it as slow as we can between summer camp and our weekend getaways we are soaking up all of the sun we can to fulfill our vitamin D needs.

With 3 kids in tow we planned to visit some historical sites within driving distance. An 8-10 hour drive may sound like much but we’ve survived 16; now that’s serious. We chose Saratoga/Lake George as our first weekend getaway. We usually visit Martha’sVineyard  but decided to go with a group of our family members and learn about upstate NY. The kids couldn’t get enough of the horses at Bennington Farms, Martha’s Creme for ice cream, Congress park’s Carousel, of course the lake and did I mention the ice cream 🍦.

As if that adventure wasnt enough we were brave enough to do it again….and many more times to come of course. But, traveling down south to VA to visit family was both nostalgic and educational once again.

We stopped at chincoteague beach where the wild horses run and the famous story of misty originated.  The kiddies enjoyed one beautiful horse after another with an added touch of beach of course. We enjoyed our stay at a quaint Refuge Inn…. super kid friendly; just what we like!

Chincoteague