Month: October 2018

6

Five on Friday {Columbus Day Weekend}

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Happy Friday!  I am exhausted!  It’s been a very busy couple of weeks and I am so happy that we have a three day weekend.  We are all finally into a school routine of sorts.  Back-to-school nights and picture day are finished.  Quizzes and tests have started.  And my daughter had her first modified field hockey game this week.  This weekend is busy, but there will be some relaxing downtime because this mom needs it!  My son has a birthday party, my husband has Binghamton University Alumni/Homecoming weekend and I have two dinner events. My daughter is in need of fall clothes and wants to go shopping. Here are five from this week:

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1. Reading – I picked up Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis from the library this week.  I’ve been listening to her podcasts, Rise and Rise Together and have found her very inspiring.  I can’t wait to read more of this book over the weekend.

2. Watching – All the fall shows!  Grey’s Anatomy, You on Lifetime, This Is Us, A Million Little things and New Amsterdam are on my DVR.  I’ve also been watching Forever on Amazon Prime.  Too much TV, not enough time!  What fall shows are you watching?!

3. Traveling – If you follow me on Instagram, then you saw that we were in Cooperstown, NY last weekend.  Look for posts about our trip on the blog soon! It was my first visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Plus, we visited the Fenimore Museum, The Farmer’s Museum and Fly Creek Cider Mill.  It was a fun, family weekend exploring more of NY state.

4. Drinking – On our visit to Fly Creek Cider Mill we had our first cider slushie.  I had never even heard of such a thing before, but now I wish they had them locally.

5. Flu Shots – The kids and I all got our flu shots this week.  Definitely not a favorite.  But, I want us to be prepared and hopefully not get sick…..because who has time for that?!  I’ve told my husband that getting his flu shot is on his to-do list this weekend.

ICYMI this week on the blog:

 

Tuesday I shared our Westchester County Bucket List.

Thursday I posted the 9th edition of Your Best Weekend.

 Sharing with Friday Favorites. Have a great weekend!

2

Your Best Weekend {Volume 9}

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It’s time for another edition of “Your Best Weekend” – ideas and recommendations to help you make the most of your Saturday and Sunday.  We are all busy but we need to make time to enjoy life!

Celebrate:

Saturday October 6 is International Frugal Fun Day!  You are challenged to do one really fun thing that costs $5 or less.  Challenge on!

October 6 is also World Card Making Day.  Family Fun Idea/Date Idea:  Break out your scrapbooking and/or rubber stamp supplies and start making some cards!  If you don’t have your own supplies you can buy card making kits for kids as well as fancier kits for adults.

If you haven’t celebrated Oktoberfest, now is the time!  In Germany, the beer festival officially ends October 7.  Luckily for us, Oktoberfest celebrations take place almost every weekend in October! Many Oktoberfest celebrations are family-friendly so everyone can enjoy a fun day out!

Self-Care:

Journal Prompt/Reflection: What are five things that you can’t live without?

Challenge:  Buy yourself a bouquet of flowers, just because.

New Releases:

DVD: Out on DVD this week is Three Identical Strangers. This is a documentary about three brothers who were all adopted.  They meet and discover they are triplets and why they were separated.  Looks like a good movie! Another movie out on DVD that has gotten good reviews is Leave No Trace, a drama about a father and his teen daughter living off the grid in the forests of Oregon.  They are then thrown into city life and do not acclimate well.

Netflix:  A ton of new movies are streaming on Netflix this week.  Check out the whole list!

Books:  New books published this week include: Joy’s Simple Food Remedies by Joy Bauer (cookbook/food), A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult (fiction), Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life by Gisele Bundchen (self-help/memoir), Start Now!: You Can Make a Difference by Chelsea Clinton (children’s Books/non-fiction),  Spy School Goes South by Stuart Gibbs (children’s books/series), It’s Okay Not to Be Okay by Sheila Walsh (Christian/spiritual), Eat Feel Fresh by Sahara Rose Ketabi (cookbook/food) and Alaskan Holiday by Debbie Macomber (fiction/holiday).

 Family Fun:

Dinner Conversation Starter: What do you think is your best quality?

Family Fun Idea: Head to the pumpkin patch and pick out some pumpkins.  Then go home and carve them, possibly using one of these creative ideas!

Weekly Recommendations:

Watch:  Forever on Amazon.  Starring Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen, a married couple stuck in a routine that ends up changing.  The show can’t be described too much without giving away spoilers.  It’s a short season with only eight episodes.  I still have to finish the series, but it’s on my to-do list!

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Read:  Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren.  A contemporary romance book that had me hooked.  It’s written by two friends and Christina Lauren is the pen name of the two.

To-Do:  If you haven’t already, start your Halloween costume shopping.  Whether you and your husband are going to a costume party, or for your kids, start planning or purchasing those costumes.

Westchester County Bucket List

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As a long-time resident of Westchester County, I am still amazed at all there is to see and do here.  I’ve created this Westchester County Bucket List as a means for my family to get out and experience all that Westchester has to offer!  We haven’t experienced everything on this list, but we plan to!  Please let me know if there’s anything missing from this list that you think families in Westchester County should experience!  Listed in no particular order:

1. Visit Untermyer Gardens.

2. Walk part of the Westchester RiverWalk.

3. Ride the Dragon Coaster at Playland.

4. Build with Legos at the LegoLand Discovery Center.

5. See a Westchester Knicks game at the Westchester County Center and get a picture with Hudson.

6.  Indoor skydive at iFLY at Ridgehill in Yonkers.

7. Climb the rock wall at The Cliffs in Valhalla.

We enjoyed apple picking at Wilkens Farm. It was a hot day but we picked apples and enjoyed cider dougnuts!

8.  Go apple picking!  Westchester County offers several options including Wilkens Fruit & Fir Farm, Outhouse Orchards, Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard and Stuart’s Farm.

9. Visit the animals at Muscoot Farm.

10.  Get an ice cream from King Kone, the Hudson Creamery,  The Blue Pig, Longford’s and Penny Lick Ice Cream.

11.  Visit the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze.

12. Cool off in one of Westchester’s pools or splash pads (Harbor Island Park – Mamaroneck, Wilson’s Wave Pool – Mt. Vernon, Tibbett’s Brook Park – Yonkers, Saxon Woods Park – White Plains, Pierson Park – Tarrytown)

13. Enjoy a picnic out in one of the many county or state parks.

14. Bike on the Bronx River on Bicycle Sundays.

15. Attend Teatown’s EagleFest.

16. Go on a food tour (in your town or any of the other towns in Westchester).

17.  Support local!  Visit one or several of Westchester’s farmer’s markets.

18. See a show at the Paramount Theater Hudson Valley.

19. Visit the PepsiCo sculpture gardens.

20.  Try a new restaurant during Hudson Valley Restaurant Week.

21.  Enjoy a meal from one of the many food truck’s including Walter’s, Dough Nation and The Souvlaki Truck.

22. Visit the Westchester Children’s Museum.

23. Tour Kykuit:  The Rockefeller Estate.

24.  Walk across the Croton Dam at Croton Gorge Park.

25. Take a tour of Stone Barns.

26.  See a show at the Westchester Broadway Theater.

27. Visit the Hudson River Museum and see a show in the planetarium.

28. Enjoy Sheep-to-Shawl or Djembes and Dance (or both) at Philipsburg Manor.

29. Visit the wolves at the Wolf Conservation Center.

30. Go to the beach – Glenn Island, Playland Beach, Island Harbor Beach, Oakland Beach, Hudson Park East and West and Croton Point Park Beach.

31.  See a movie at the Jacob Burns Center, the iPic theater and the Alamo Drafthouse.

32. Try to Escape from an Escape Room.

33. Visit Teatown Lake Reservation.

34. Climb the ropes course at Boundless Adventure and Spins Hudson.

35. Attend the Clearwater Festival at Croton Point Park.

36. Walk the Croton Aqueduct.

37. Enjoy a Freak Shake from Sugar Hi, Mt, Kisco Diner, Lazy Boy Saloon or the Hudson Creamery.

38. Visit the Neuberger Museum of Art.

39. Attend one of the many heritage festivals held at the Kensico Dam.

40.Visit the Hammond Museum’s Japanese Stroll Garden.

41.  Ice Skate and enjoy Winter Wonderland at the Kensico Dam.

42. Check out the crafts at the Lyndhurst Craft Festival and the Armonk Outdoor Art Show.

43. Listen to some jazz at the White Plains Jazz Festival.

44.  Attend a food festival – Westchester Magazine’s Wine and Food Festival, Lohud’s Food Truck Festival, Westchester Magazine’s Wingfest and more!