Trip to Philly: Day 1

We took a trip to Philadelphia about three weeks ago...I'm really bad at documenting life as it happens. We mostly ate our way around the city and stopped at a few touristy places along the way.  We decided to go on a diet as soon as we got back home.  We're kind of sticking to our guns...ok. Not really.

Our first stop was of course for coffee.  We checked out this place called Function Coffee Labs.  Sorry to say my coffee tasted like it was from Starbucks :/ I had to add cream. Which I don't do...unless I'm at Starbucks.  I know.  I'm a snob.  Whatevs.  They also didn't have any pastries.  Just some packaged cookies.  We bought them.




We decided to go for brunch nearby at Green Eggs Cafe. The waiting staff was super friendly and they had built in entertainment for little ones (aka sugar cubes). Their french toast was amaaaaazing!  We also got chicken and waffles for kicks, but if I were to go again I would just go for different variations of their french toast. We got the apple pie french toast, but the cookie dough and creme brûlée french toasts also sounded quite appealing.






After brunch we popped over to Philadelphia's wild exhibit called the Philadelphia Magic Gardens. It's an outdoor mosaic you can walk through.  Warning: there's a notable amount of nudity in the art.















We drove downtown with the intention of looking at the liberty bell and just walking around, but the toddler ended up taking a 2 1/2 hour nap in the car.  So we just drove around. Parked. Talked.  And then got a croissant at La Colombe. Let the toddler run around outside...near the liberty bell. And then met up with our friend for dinner at Parc Brasserie (so French and delightful- I didn't take any pictures, but you must go).

Pinecones and Needles










I've loved working with Anne at Pinecones and Needles. She is so passionate about this little {fabulous} shop she has created- and has only been open for about a year!  As soon as you walk into the store you're immediately overcome with peace and joy.  The lighting is bright, the air is wafting with gentle and natural aroma-therapy, and there's often French music quietly playing while you browse the shelves of delightful toys and art crafts.  Pinecones and Needles carries an array of unique European toys, and they do walk-in crafts everyday for adults and children. I want to buy up everything for the little darlings in my life. This store is truly a gem in the Boston area.

Little Black Dress





We all need a little black dress.  Not much to note this week.  Still tired, but I think that's because of the toddler- not the baby bump.  We've transitioned to a toddler bed this week (*sniff sniff*). Just a reminder that my days as a mama of 1 kiddo are limited and I need give that little darling all the undivided attention I can. Happy fall, everyone!

Dress: Motherhood Maternity
Belt: Banana Republic
Boots: Michael Kors

IT'S A....









Neither of us were really surprised because this pregnancy has been so different compared with my first.  But at the same time it's still sinking in for me.  A girl!? Wow! Ahh!

We get together with friends every Wednesday night and decided to tell them our happy news with a happy dessert. I used Betty Crocker cake mixes (because...ain't nobody got time for scratch). I fancied up the white cake mix with the recipe below, and used THIS recipe for the frosting and filling.

White Almond Cupcakes

  • 1 package white cake mix
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/3 cups water
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 4 egg whites

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Fill cupcake pan with liners.
  2. Stir together the white cake mix, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until well mixed. Pour in the water, sour cream, vegetable oil, almond extract, and egg whites. Beat in a stand mixer until all the ingredients are well mixed.
  3. Scoop the batter into cupcake liners, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (15-20 min). Allow to cool before frosting.

A Day in Kittery

We started out Columbus Day going to my son's music class and then headed straight to Kittery, Maine. We weren't sure what we were going to do once we got there, but we knew we wanted good coffee. After a quick search on Yelp, we decided to go to Lil's Cafe because they serve Tandem coffee (one our favorite's).










After enjoying a cup of coffee and one (or three) of their cruller's, we headed over to a park in Portsmouth, NH- just over the bridge.



Then we headed back to Kittery and got a nice pizza at When Pig's Fly.


By the time we finished lunch it was about 3pm and we weren't sure what to do...traffic was awful so we decided to head back to the coffee shop and figure out what to do from there.




Right across the street there's a nice view of the harbor and a great place for boys to throw rocks.




We thought about going to another park, but hubby had a headache and I was exhausted. So we decided our foodie adventure was good enough and joined the traffic home.