Fall Fun

Halloween is just around the corner so in the spirit of fall we decided we should enjoy some traditional fall festivities.  This post combines some of the things we've done recently to commemorate my second favorite season (besides summer of course).  

A few weekends ago, despite the clouds, rain and cold we headed on over to Larriland Farms (I blogged about it last year here) to pick some pumpkins. 

Jeans F21  / Socks, Costco / Boots, Target 

We got there just as they opened and we had the whole pumpkin patch to ourselves.  Not too shabby if you ask me.  Since that kind of emptiness is rare on a late fall weekend, we stopped to grab a quick pic.  

My sweater, Old Navy (old, similar here) / AB: Shirt, Old Navy / Hat (old,similar here), Old Navy / Shoes (old, similar here), Nike / Jeans, Carter's / Vest, borrowed

To our delight, the rain subsided and we were able to freely roam the patch with our friends and their kiddos.  

Nick's Shirt (old, similar here), Old Navy / Jeans, A&F (old, similar here) / Shoes, Clarks

Traipsing through the pumpkins proved harder than we anticipated with AB stopping to pat the wet pumpkins, to try and carry them and to try and stand on them.  

But much fun nonetheless.  We tried to grab one photo of the kids before the rain came down and AB was a little weary of holding a boy's hand.  

Her dad was very happy, commenting "I'll teach you about boys when you're 25."  Good luck dad.  She warmed up to it after a while.  

And then the heavens opened up.  We scooped up the kids and ran for our cars muddy, slick and laughing all the way.  

We swung by the main farm house at Larriland to pick up some fresh apples before heading over to our friends' new house to eat some lunch.  The kids played, the adults caught up and before we knew it, naptime had arrived.  We bid our goodbyes and began our journey home.  Did I mention the sun came out blazing halfway home?  Womp, womp.  

*   *   *

The following weekend there was a Fall Festival near the harbor so we headed out the door to see if we could make up for the rainy visit to the pumpkin patch.  Unfortunately, it wasn't what we had hoped.  There were great activities for older kids like pumpkin decorating, crafts and pony rides, but AB is still too little for most of it.  But we decided to make the best of it and watch the pony rides and pumpkin decorating.  

Then, we hit the hay maze. 

Although AB isn't really old enough to figure out how to navigate the maze, we just let her run around in it. 

She spent most of her time observing all the other kids that were there, trying desperately to keep up with them. 

AB: Jacket (similar here), Baby Gap / Top (similar here), Baby Gap / Jeans, Old Navy / Shoes, handed down

Me: Jacket, Target / Jeans (old, similar here), A&F /  Boots, Old Navy / Top (similar here), JCrew / Purse, Prada

There was a band playing who was actually pretty good but they were so close to all the activities it was hard to hear ourselves think. 

AB doesn't know how she feels about the band. We sat and watched for a while so she could figure it out. 

I even got her to dance a bit. 

We took a minute to look at the animals that were in the petting zoo - two baby llamas, a baby pig, a miniature pony, and some ducks.  AB didn't quite know what to make of it.  

On our way to the car we spotted a carousel (which we've passed a thousand times but somehow totally forgot about).  The line was non-existent, and much like the pumpkin patch we had it all to ourselves. It was so empty the ride operator gave us a deal $5 for the three of us.  Can't beat that.  It was AB's first time on any kind of ride so we were a little nervous to see how she'd react.  (I was nervous because sometimes I get motion sick, but luckily I was fine.)

AB was, well, let's just call it neutral.  She didn't seem to be having a bad time, but she didn't really seem to be having a blast either.  

Figuring it all out I guess.  No tears, no meltdown?  I consider that a win.  Lunch time and nap time came quickly so we headed home to rest.  We all took a nap and it was the perfect way to end a Saturday.  

What are some of your favorite fall activities?  Can you believe November is on it's way?!?  

Days spent with family enjoying the wonderful season of fall?  That my friends, is worth a glass of champagne!  

Birthday Weekend!

This is a long one so buckle up kids.  :) 

Did you ever have one of those weeks where you're not quite sure where the week went, but somehow it's gone?? That sums up my week. I shuttled between tutoring, errands, the playground and housework only to realize the weekend was here. And I wasn't ready. 

The house wasn't ready for our guests, the clothes weren't ready to be worn, the prep for my next tutoring job wasn't done and I most certainly wasn't ready to turn... Well the number doesn't really matter, now does it?  'You're only as old as you feel' my mom says.  Remember that, folks. 

My birthday this year was kind of thrown together at the last minute. I didn't really have time to think about exactly how I wanted to celebrate and by the time I did figure it out, the place I wanted to eat was all booked up. C'est la vie, right? 

I dropped my daughter off with my in-laws and headed to get my hair done. It was LONG overdue. 

Two and a half hours, a head massage and a blow dry later I pranced home, swinging my hair from side to side. I rushed over to another tutoring job to close out my afternoon and ate dinner with the whole fam. 

My big birthday weekend was about to begin!  Except my husband had to chaperone the Homecoming Football game.  I headed to the school where I used to teach to see the game and to see the Dance Team perform. I used to coach the team (dance not football, haha) so it holds a special place in my heart and I loved watching their routine.   

I hopped out of bed on Saturday to go to my favorite class at the gym, Soul Body Barre. (Check out my review of it here.)

The afternoon heated up and we headed to the Fells Point Festival to enjoy some food, drinks and friends. 

Our beer tickets were almost out and everyone was hungry.  Really hungry.    

Not everyone wanted sushi so we split up for dinner, half for sushi, half for pizza at Chazz (I wrote about it a month ago if you want to check it out here).  

Even though my favorite sushi place, RA, was booked up we decided to show up and wait for a table. 

Isn't their ceiling just the coolest?  Love!

We sat outside and ordered a bottle of wine while our sushi was being made.  

Nick had ordered enough sushi for about 10 people and we devoured it.  Along with another bottle of Meomi. 

Hannah, our server, brought out a few surprises throughout our dinner including quail egg and deep fried cheesecake.  

I didn't have the stomach to try the quail egg, but Nick did!  

I definitely ate the cheesecake though.  Cinnamon-y, smooth with a thin crunchy crust that cheesecake is just straight dangerous.  Delish, mmm mmm good.  

We met up with the others and headed to one more bar.  It may have been the straw that broke the camel's back for some of us.  But we did run into our friend Big Jim who treated the boys to some serious shots.  They were proportional to his 6'5 frame. Unhuman sized shots, really.  

Realizing things were gaining momentum we decided to head home and relieve my husband's parents from babysitting duty.  

Waking up the next morning at 6am to the gurgling of AB was easier for me than it was for Nick.  Lets just say Big Jim's shots came back to haunt him.  Or maybe it was the quail eggs. {yuck}

I walked downstairs to be greeted by flowers, balloons and family.  It was a perfect start to a Sunday.  

We headed to Mama's on the Half Shell for brunch.  They have amazing food, and brunch does not disappoint.  It is my absolute fav.  Trying to keep a 15 month old entertained while we eat a slow, casual brunch is a challenge so I didn't have much time for pics.  Sorry guys!  Just know it was delish.  

We meandered home from brunch, bid farewell to my in-laws and relaxed a bit.  My wonderful cousin Meg sent me the prettiest little baby tulips in pale pink, which were waiting for me at home after brunch. (There's a pic in the collage above).

The rest of the day was spent walking through our neighborhood along the waterfront.  We stopped at a grassy knoll for a little family time too.  

We picked flowers, tickled and chased AB around, and after a while headed home for bathtime and dinner. 

Nick made my favorite dinner - grilled chicken and veggies over rice and I ate it up in a hot second.  

What wonderful weekend with friends and family and what a way to celebrate my birthday!  Thanks to everyone for being there to share in my celebration and for those who sent many birthday wishes, cards and gifts!  Time with family and friends is always time well spent.  

And that my friends, is worth a glass of champagne!