September 2016 - Page 2 of 2 - NY Foodie Family

Five on Friday {Getting Back Into the School Routine}

Posted on September 9, 2016 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I can’t believe that it’s Friday again. The school year has started and the days are flying by! This has been a pretty slow week around here. It was all about getting back into the school routine. The kids are adjusting to earlier wake up times and having homework each night. Luckily, most activities haven’t started yet so they are able to get in some relaxing time after school. Here are five from this week:

1.Mets Game – Sunday night we went to Citi Field and watched the Mets vs. Nationals game in a suite box! My brother-in-law gets tickets every year and it’s always a fun time. The kids especially love the Shake Shack that we always get. The game didn’t start until 8 PM (my son’s normal bed time!). We left at the top of the 8th inning, around 10:45 PM when the Mets were winning 5-1. Well, it turns out no additional runs were scored by either team after we left!

2. Reading – I picked up The Girls from the library this week. I just started it, so no opinions as of yet. I’ve heard mixed reviews, so I’m hoping I enjoy it.

3. Shopping – I used to be able to buy my daughter’s clothes for her, doing most of the shopping while she was at school. At 10, she is now very opinionated about what she wears. This usually means that whatever I pick out is shot down. She was in need of some pants and sneakers for school, so we took a quick trip on Monday to the Woodbury Common outlets. It was super busy, but there were some good deals to be found. My husband got some Sperry Topsider fall shoes, which he was looking for. He also found a pair of Merrell hiking sneakers to wear on the Cub Scout hiking and camping trips that he goes on with my son. Although my daughter didn’t get gym sneakers, she did get a pair of Keds low-top sneakers that she loved. Amazingly, I didn’t get anything!

4. Eating – Haagen Dazs has a destination series ice cream collection and I may be attempting to eat my way through the entire line! We have already tried the vanilla tangerine and shortbread cookie and sweet cream coffee caramel. The toasted sesame brittle is sitting in my freezer as I type! Out of the two flavors we’ve already tried, the sweet cream coffee caramel is our fave!

5. This weekend – Soccer starts up again for my son this weekend. My husband is participating in a local tae kwon do demonstration. And on Sunday we will be going to the Hudson Valley Wine and Food Festival. This is my early birthday celebration pick!

6. (Bonus) Pokémon Go – I finally broke down and downloaded the game for the kids. Let me tell you, it came in handy keeping them occupied while my husband was trying on shoes at the outlets on Monday! If played safely I think there are some benefits to the app, mostly getting kids (and adults) moving!

ICYMI this week on the blog:
Monday I shared our weekly meal plan.
Wednesday I participated in the September Currently linkup.
Thursday I wrote about our recent trip to the NY Renaissance Faire.

Linking up with Tif, Andrea and April! Have a great weekend!

NY Renaissance Faire

Posted on September 8, 2016 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Last weekend my family and I visited the NY Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo, New York. It was the last weekend before school started and we wanted to spend the day outside. This was our kids’ first time visiting the faire so they had no idea what to expect! Since the last time my husband and I visited was 10+ years ago before we had kids, this was like our first time as well!

So what is a Renaissance Faire? This Renaissance Faire is a recreation of a Renaissance Village. It is filled with entertainment, food and shops where everyone is dressed “character.” For those who like to dress up, this is the perfect time to wear your favorite Renaissance costumes. We saw MANY people dressed in Renaissance garb as well as, pirate, elf and fairy costumes. If you don’t have a costume, no worries! You can rent or buy one at the various shops.

The NY Renaissane Faire runs weekends now through October 2 from 10 AM – 7 PM. Tickets cost $25/adult, $20 Seniors/Military (with ID) and $12/child (5-12). Children 4 and under are free. Tickets are available to purchase on the grounds at the box office or can be purchased online in advance. Select Walgreens stores offer discounted tickets, which is where we purchased our tickets. They cost $20/adult and $10/child.

The drive from our house in Northern Westchester to the Faire is a little over thirty minutes, without traffic. We arrived around 9:45 AM for the 10 AM opening. We parked in the preferred parking lot, right across from the fair grounds for $10 (cash only). There are free parking options further away from the entrance gate (although we didn’t see them, so not sure how far away they are!).

We purchased a faire guide and entertainment schedule for $1 before entering the grounds. The faire guide is a necessity because it contains a map of the grounds. You also want the day’s entertainment schedule so you can plan your day around the shows that you want to see. Both the map and entertainment schedule are available online and can be printed ahead of time.

The gates opened promptly at 10 AM with the Sheriff speaking to the crowd prior to the opening. The majority of our day was spent seeing shows. There are 20 stages throughout the 65 acres of faire grounds. We spent 7 hours at the faire and didn’t see all the shows that we wanted to. It was HOT and we were tired so we left around 5 PM.

Besides a glass blowing demonstration that we watched for a bit, here are some of the acts that we did see:

Gypsy Geoff – Fire Circus Show – A juggler and comedian, this was an entertaining show!

Vixens en Garde – Three vixens perform Shakespeare using swords, comedy and sassiness. This was my daughter’s favorite show!

Arsene Dupin MAGIKANA! – A comedic mime, who juggles and performs magic.

Stewart and Arnold: Knife Throwing Show – Father & son knife comedic knife throwing show.

Jamila Lotus Dance Carnivale – Dancing, acrobats and belly-dancing to a live band.

Trials by Combat Chess Match – A chess game where opponents battle it out to win the square.

The Sheriff’s Joust – One of two jousting shows, as jousters compete in different skills. This is very similar to the Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament Show.

There are also games (like the axe throw, royal darts, and ring toss) and rides (like The Sea Dragon and The Whirly Burly) for an additional fee. You can try your hand at archery, ride a llama and participate in a pub crawl. There’s an interactive Kidsquest and Sword Fighter training, geared especially for children. Everything mentioned requires additional fees.

As for food, you can find everything from Steak-on-a-Stake, Turkey Legs and Dragon Wing Chips to Falafel, Pad Thai, and Burritos. We shared a Cheesesteak Sandwich and a Sausage and Peppers Sandwich. By the time we ate we were all starving and not very picky. However, we weren’t impressed with either of the sandwiches. Since it was so hot we had several frozen Lemonades.

There are so many shops at the faire! You can find anything Renaissance including clothing, jewelry, crowns, candles, instruments, sculptures, soaps, pottery, glassware and souvenirs. You can also get your hair braided or your face painted.

There is just so much to see and do at the Renaissance Faire!

Some tips for visiting the NY Renaissance Faire:

Get there early! – We arrived right at opening and the grounds were pretty empty. A few hours later the place was packed!

Pack and apply sunscreen. All stages are outdoors and shade is limited.

Bring cash. Parking and food vendors are cash only. There are ATMs located throughout the grounds, but save yourself time! Besides the shows, all games and rides cost additional fees.

Bring hand sanitizer. There is one bathroom with flushable toilets located at the back of the park. Otherwise you are left using a port-a-potty. At one point, we visited three different areas to find one that actually had soap in the dispenser.

Get to the joust early for seats! There are only two jousting shows (2:20 and 5:50). By the time we arrived, the bleacher seats were full. We sat on the grass so far back on the hill that the kids weren’t able to get a good view of the show.

Bring extra money for show “tips”. After every performance that we saw, the performers collected tips. It appeared that most performers travel the Renaissance Faire circuit and this is how they make their living.

Currently September 2016

Posted on September 7, 2016 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I cannot believe that it is September. The kids are back in school and the weather is already starting to feel a bit cooler. It’s been a few months since I’ve linked up with Anne and Beth for the monthly Currently linkup, but I’m glad to be back this month. Here is what I am currently:

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Reading: I am currently reading The Mistress’s Revenge by Tamar Cohen. It’s only an “eh” read for me so I don’t recommend. However, I recently finished reading The Choices We Make by Karma Brown which I really enjoyed and highly recommend. Be forewarned, have tissues on hand while reading!

Trying: to remain calm as I see the calendar starting to fill up. Back-to-school also means back to all the activities that everyone is involved in. I already miss the lazy, schedule free days of summer!

Hoping: for nice weather this upcoming weekend. For an early birthday celebration we bought tickets to the Hudson Valley Wine and Food Festival. So far, the weather forecast looks good! The kids are only into day 4 of the new school year, but I’m also hoping that they have great years in 3rd and 5th grade. In our district, 5th grade is at the middle school. I was a bit nervous but my daughter so far has been loving it!

Decorating: I’m not a big decorator. My fall decorating consists of picking up some flowers (like these from last year) to put on the front porch and putting out the few Halloween decorations I have!

To-do Listing: There are lots of little house projects that I keep adding to my poor husband’s to-do list (because he’s not busy enough as it is)! My husband and I also need to book our excursions when we visit Halifax and Saint John, New Brunswick on our family cruise in October. We just finalized our check in a couple of nights ago and this vacation is starting to feel real!

Weekly Meal Plan {Week 50}

Posted on September 5, 2016 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I hope everyone’s enjoying the three day weekend! We had a pretty quiet weekend, spending some quality family time together and catching up on some house projects. We’ve been letting the kids relax and enjoy the last of their free time. Now that school has started and activities start up again this week they are going to be super busy! That means I will be the “chauffeur” after school, so definitely plan on seeing slow cooker and quick and easy meals on our menu now! Monday means it’s time for another weekly meal plan! Here’s a look at what was on our menu this past week. If you are new to meal planning you can read about how I make our weekly meal plan.

Sunday: We went to the Renaissance Faire for the day. By the time we got home, we were starving and ordered Chinese take out!

Monday: I made Summer Corn Risotto from Every Day with Rachael Ray. We haven’t had fresh corn in awhile. With the spinach and basil this was a tasty summer dish.

Tuesday: I made Greek-style Garlic Shrimp and Orzo from Rachael Ray: 365 No Repeats. I’ve made similar recipes to this one, but had never made this particular recipe. This was super tasty. I used the pint of cherry tomatoes that I got in our weekly CSA.

Wednesday: I made Mexican Breakfast Casserole from The Grant Life. I had a huge loaf of bread so I ended up making two casserole dishes of this. Honestly, I didn’t find anything in the dish to call it “Mexican” unless you count the sour cream and salsa that the casserole gets served with. As I mentioned, I doubled the recipe and used 10 eggs, which I split accordingly into the two dishes. I didn’t think that it was enough egg for the dish and would recommend using more than the 5 called for.

Thursday: This was the kid’s first day back at school. I made one of their favorites, chicken parmesan and spaghetti. I also sautéed some broccoli rabe, from our CSA, in garlic and oil.

Friday: We had our usual Friday night homemade pizza. This week I made pepperoni pizzas which made my son happy! I use store bought dough which makes cooking even easier!

What is on your menu this week?

Five on Friday {Back to School}

Posted on September 2, 2016 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

It is back to school week here at NY Foodie Family! The kids went back to school yesterday, with my son entering third grade and my daughter starting fifth grade, which is middle school in our district! The first two days have gone smoothly but the kids are happy for a three day weekend to help them readjust to being back on a school schedule! So far this weekend we are planning to get together with my in-laws as well as go to a Mets game. Here are five things from this week:

1. Watching: Catching up on Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix. Even after all these years this show still has me in tears every episode! My husband and I have started back up with watching House of Cards. We are only on episode 31 though, so still have lots more episodes to go.

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2. Reading: I just started Behind Closed Doors. I love a good suspense thriller and hope that this one fits the bill!

3. Listening: The beginning of the school year always feels like the new year to me. I’m on a mission to really clean and organize now that the kids are in school during the day. So, I’ve been downloading episodes of various organizing podcasts. There are so many and since I’ve only been listening to an episode here and there I don’t have a favorite yet. I’ll keep you updated on my favorites!

4. Eating: The first day of school required lots of treats! Although the kids wanted Dunkin’ Donuts for the first day, we knew we wouldn’t have time to make it there in the morning. So, when we were at the grocery store Wednesday, I had them each pick a donut from the case. My daughter went with a PB & Jelly and my son chose a Salted Caramel Apple donut. Shoprite’s bakery is getting fancy! Then, while they were at school I made some cocoa krispy treats for a special first day of school treat! We’ve been eating healthy too though, with lots of fresh veggies from our CSA.

5. Family Time: Last weekend we took the kids to the NY Renaissance Faire. It’s a recreation of a Renaissance village with stores, food and entertainment with everyone dressed in clothing of the time period. What is fun is that visitors can dress up as well, which many do (not me of course, I really hate dressing up!). We saw some great shows and even though it was a hot day, we had a really good time!

6. (bonus!) Loving: Everyone’s back to school pictures! I don’t post much on my personal Facebook page. However, I always share my kids’ first day of school pics with my friends and family.

ICYMI this week on the blog:
Monday I posted about Woodbury Common Premium Outlets.
Wednesday I shared Fall 2016 Tween Movie Previews.

I’m linking up with Tif, Andrea, Amanda and April! Have a great weekend!