travel

greetings from greece!

Melissa 3 Comments

We made it to Greece safely WITH all of our luggage! Despite a tight 40 minute layover in Moscow, where we had to go through customs and security and literally DASH through the airport, we made it in one piece!

The kids were amazing. A little whiny after only getting about 4-5 hours of sleep on Saturday night, but frankly, I was a little whiny too!! We arrived at our friends house and were immediately treated to a yummy lunch on the patio with glimpses of the sea and lovely breezes and hours of conversation.

greece lunch

We’re all still really jet lagged, but having a blast. Yesterday we went to the Monastiraki Flea Market and saw the Roman Agora (the old marketplace) – including the Tower of the Winds, where Socrates conducted his classes and was later imprisoned.

tower of the winds

And of course, we had dinner at an outdoor cafe.

cafe

And – by the way – you haven’t had a Greek salad unless you’ve been to Greece. Tomatoes picked hours before, fresh feta and oregano, drenched in olive oil….

greek salad

 

New Fantasyland Opening

Melissa 1 Comment

This past week, Colin and I had the honor to attend the grand opening of the New Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom. This is huge – HUGE. If you haven’t seen the New Fantasyland, you haven’t see Fantasyland! Its just incredible. This is the largest expansion in the history of Magic Kingdom park, offering more immersive enchantment and interactive experiences in the Enchanted Forest and Storybook Circus!! And we had a special sneak peek the night before it opened! It was AMAZING! I want to show you everything – and if I did this post would be like three days long – so I got all fancy and made a gallery! Click through the gallery to see the whole scoop!

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disclosure: i attended this media event and received tickets to the park and many perks to experience new fantasyland. as always, all opinions are my own.

cross that off the bucket list!

Melissa

I have a secret. Guess where I’m going today??

 

Colin and I are headed to Disney World today! I’ve always always wanted to see Disney at Christmas!! We’ll be there all week for the New Fantasyland grand opening! The New Fantasyland is the largest expansion in the history of Magic Kingdom park, offering more immersive enchantment and interactive experiences in the Enchanted Forest and Storybook Circus!!

We’ll be sending tons of pictures and giving you all the scoop! Stay tuned!!

stars at longwood

Melissa 1 Comment

We just love Longwood Gardens! Its one of our favorite places in Philly. We’ve gone here on dates for lots of romantic strolling among flowers and we’ve brought the kids for some fun in the gardens. Its a quick drive from the Main Line out to Kennett Square. We’ve gone in summer, of course, and to see the famous Spring Blooms where you can walk through an ocean of tulips (so so amazing) but somehow, we’ve lived here over 10 years and have never actually been there at Christmas!! Wow – have we been missing out!

I wandered around a winter wonderland, with over half a million twinkle lights, thousands of poinsettias, and so many Christmas trees I lost count. It was gorgeous and magical!

I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite part. We have so many favorite parts of Longwood already. The Conservatory was breathtaking.  Can you even imagine the elegant parties the duPont’s threw here?

I highly recommend Longwood at Christmas! Its perfect for a family holiday tradition – and makes a romantic date night as well!

A few tips and tricks for enjoying a Longwood Christmas:

1. Timed Tickets Required: Timed tickets sell out quickly, so purchase early and online at tickets.longwoodgardens.org to make sure you can get in when you arrive. Once you’re in, you can stay as long as you want.

2. Dress Warm: The Conservatory is lovely, but the grounds are impressive as well! Make sure you can enjoy them comfortably!

3. Save on Non-Peak Days. Purchasing a timed ticket during a Non-Peak day means fewer crowds and you save! Non-Peak days are Mondays through Fridays (except December 26–31) Click here for pricing.

4. Become a Member: Members only on Mondays! So to really avoid the crowds, join Longwood and enjoy a smaller, members-only crowd on Monday evenings.

5. Make a Reservation: The fine dining restaurant, 1906 is divine! BE sure to make a reservation the same day you purchase your timed admission ticket in order to enjoy – this place is especially popular during the holidays. You can also enjoy a more casual Café service which is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

6. Make a Day of it in Kennett Square! Before heading over to Longwood, head into the adorable historic Kennett Square! I was just there the other evening and I could have spent hours pouring through the lovely shops and boutiques! I saw fashionable boutiques, like Frolic and Green Eyes Lady, great gift shops, like Greenable and BedBuggzz… lots of gorgeous sparkley things at Bove Jewelers and yummy treats at Sweet Christines and Opa Yo Greek Frozen Yogurt… and La Verona was delicious! I’ll definitely be back to wander around and explore Kennet Square more!

 disclosure: I attended a blogger event at Longwood and Kennett Square and received samples and complimentary admission to Longwood. As always, all opinions are my own.

dream come true

Melissa

Gracie just made her Christmas list. She had a whole page dedicated to this:

“To see the Rockettes. Its always been my dream to see the Rockettes.”

Well, guess where we’re going today??? SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter – I’m SURE I’ll be tweeting and Instagraming up a storm!!

halloween spooktacular at sesame place

Melissa

Last weekend I was given the opportunity to join a group of bloggers at Sesame Place for the Count’s Halloween Spooktacular. What an amazing time we had!

From now until October 28th, Sesame Place has been transformed into a not-so-spooky Halloween attraction featuring 2 mazes, character hayrides, three Halloween shows and your favorite Sesame Street charactors dressed to impress in their Halloween costumes. It’s good old family fun for kids of all ages.

New this year is Ernie’s Rubber Duckie Costume Party – a non-stop dance party with disco lights and upbeat music.

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Families are encouraged to come dressed in costume. It’s too chilly for their water rides, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the dozen dry rides throughout the park! For those families looking for some Halloween fun, trick or treating stations are set up in various locations as well as special events such as the Count’s Halloween Party, Abby Cadabby’s Fairy Pumpkin Party and their annual Halloween Costume Party.

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October 6th and 7th—The Count’s Halloween Party ‐ Take a break from all of your Halloween fun at The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular and enjoy the new dinner menu at Dine With Me! Celebrate Halloween with a terrific all‐you‐care‐to eat dinner buffet plus singing and dancing with all of your favorite Sesame Street friends at their very own Halloween Party! Dinner is at 5:00pm and is by reservation only. Children under 2 are free. Visit www.sesameplace.com for complete information.

October 13th and 14th—Grover’s Birthday Bash ‐ Celebrate the birthday of everybody’s favorite fuzzy, blue and lovable too…. Grover! Enjoy our brand new dinner menu at Dine With Me! plus singing and dancing with all of your favorite Sesame Street friends at Grover’s Birthday Bash! Dinner is at 5:00pm and is by reservation only. Children under 2 are free.

October 20th and 21st — Abby Cadabby’s Fairy Pumpkin Party ‐ Help everyone’s favorite Sesame Street friends celebrate Abby Cadabby’s birthday with her very own Fairy Birthday Party! This hour long party includes an all‐you‐care‐to eat dinner buffet, singing, and dancing with your Sesame Street friends. What birthday party would be complete without singing Happy Birthday to the Fairy‐in‐Training! Dinner is at 5:00pm and is by reservation only. Children under 2 are free.

October 29th and 30th—The Count’s Halloween Party‐ Take a break from all of your Halloween  fun at The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular and enjoy the new dinner menu at Dine With Me! Celebrate Halloween with a terrific all‐you‐care‐to eat dinner buffet plus singing and dancing with all of your favorite Sesame Street friends at their very own Halloween Party! Dinner is at 5:00pm and is by reservation only. Children under 2 are free.

October 30th — Halloween Costume Contest ‐ Come dressed in a Halloween costume to compete in the annual costume contest at Sesame Place! Registration will begin at 10 a.m. in front of Monster Rock Theater and there will be competitions for boys, girls, and families. All of the contests will take place at Monster Rock Theater and winners will be posted at the Welcome Center. All winners will be invited to be special guests in the Neighborhood Street Party Halloween parade.

Don’t miss out on the special Halloween shows featuring your favorite Sesame Street characters!

Countdown to Halloween – A live character Halloween musical show. Guests are treated to a stage performance starring Count von Count, Elmo, Zoe and Prairie Dawn. In this musical show, Count von Count goes on a journey on his favorite night of the year – Halloween!
Show times for September 29th through October 28th (open weekends only) 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 5:30

The Not-Too-Spooky Howl-o-ween Radio Show – The Count’s Not-Too-Spooky Howl-o-ween Radio Show is sure to entertain the whole family. In this Halloween show, The Count Von Count serves as the master of scare-emonies on an old-time radio show.
Show times for September 29th through October 28th (open weekends only) 11:45, 12:45, 2:15, 5:15

Elmo’s World Live – Halloween Show – Today Elmo is thinking about Halloween! Join Elmo, Mr. Noodle and Dorothy as they explore this fun, fantastic holiday.
Show times for September 29th through October 28th (open weekends only) 10:45, 11:45, 12:45, 2:15, 3:15, 5:00

The Neighborhood Street Party Spooktacular Parade – The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular, the “Neighborhood Street Party” parade will be enhanced with Halloween elements, including an all-new parade stop that will feature “spooktacular” music and new performances by the Sesame Street characters.
Show times for September 29th through October 28th (open weekends only)
4:00

Thanks to the people at Sesame Place for letting us enjoy a fun filled family day at their park including a cup cake happy hour with some of Sesame Streets most beloved characters! (Unfortunately I was only able to capture a phot of my daughter with Abby Cadabby!)
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We had a blast and look forward to our next trip!
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Thanks to Paola for covering this for Girlymama! It looks like SO much fun and we can’t wait to go again soon!

Disclosure: Paola received complimentary admission for her family to provide coverage for girlymama. as always, all opinions are our own.

hilton baltimore

Melissa

Looking for a hotel in Baltimore? We’ve stayed at the Hilton Baltimore twice now and it is just lovely!

image via hilton baltimore

What makes this hotel truly stand out – besides the wonderful staff – is its location. You can get rooms that overlook the Camden Yards Ballpark…

 

image via hilton baltimore

Rooms that look onto the famous Inner Harbor and – as we had – rooms that overlook the Grand Prix of Baltimore!

All rooms offer the Hilton Serenity Collection featuring the exclusive Serenity Bed which includes the Suite Dreams mattress, Super Topper mattress pad, 250 thread-count European style linens and Touch of Down pillows, 37-inch flat-screen TV, Hilton Alarm Clock Radio with MP3 connection, flexible work area, in-room safe, Cuisinart dual-cup single-brew coffee maker, hairdryer, iron and ironing board. The rooms are beautifully decorated and the bathrooms are gorgeous.

Our room was clean, comfy and had plenty of room for our family. Our kids loved the pool and the fitness center was first class. As Hilton Diamond Members, we enjoyed the Executive Lounge, as well, with evening reception and complimentary breakfast. We were able to park our car when we arrived and walked to everything we wanted to see. Attractions like Camden Yards and M & T Bank Stadium, The National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Maryland Science Center, and tons of family friendly restaurants are all a quick walk away. There is tons to do!

We were unable to use the restaurants, as they were serving fixed menus for the Grand Prix, but they have wonderful reviews and are sure to be excellent.

We highly recommend the Hilton Baltimore!

 

 

grand prix of baltimore

Melissa

Last weekend we made trek to Baltimore for the second time to see the Grand Prix. If you live within a reasonable distance of Baltimore, I cannot recommend this enough! It is so fun and super family friendly.

Every year, we stay at the Hilton Baltimore. The rates are very reasonable and we get free general admission passes to the entire race. Not to mention that we can watch the race go by right outside our room!

And it usually takes us two days to see everything – there are so many activities, displays and events!

We met drivers, like Arie Luyendyk Jr.(who was very nice),  got up close and personal with the cars and had so much fun in the Family Zone and Fun Zones.

And, of course, we watched lots of racing!

I mean, you really never know who what will happen at the Grand Prix of Baltimore! Maybe you’ll get to sit in Mario Andretti’s race car!


Maybe you’ll meet some Ravens cheerleaders, maybe you’ll even meet a superhero!
And of course, it’s all located in beautiful Baltimore! We spent tons of time at the Inner Harbor, one of our favorite spots on the East Coast.

Hope we’ll see you there next year!