August 3, 2014

Travelin' Cousins KIDS blog - Official Launch Today!!!

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 4 Days

Much on the Horizon!

It's a BRAND Spanking NEW week!

The first Monday of August and another day to at the helm of your dreams!

DID YOU KNOW that yesterday was National Kids Day? 
Well we didn't realize it either. But what we already had planned was to unveil a kidtastic surprise...

Today we are kicking off a "new" weekly BLOG page that is for kids by kids! 
You'll get to meet the Travelin' Cousins kids and hear all about what they have to say! 

I know that both Gianna and Kelsey have their's up and posted! While Dominic and Cosette on the other hand will hopefully have their's up by later today. We shall see. No pressure.

So how was your weekend? 
I don't really have any complaints about mine. Saturday was of course full of business and yesterday was kind of on the mellow side. 
I had been working on a couple of trips - Azores/Portugal/Spain/France, and the Quebec Winter Carnaval! 
Both of which I KNOW will be AMAZING!

We went to a lovely Brunch at Seabirds Kitchen located at the LAB (anti-mall) in Costa Mesa.
(Read past Seabirds Review HERE)
It was quite DELISH! I've actually never visited Seabirds and had a poor experience.

The LAB

I started off with a virgin vegan Birdy (Bloody) Mary topped with all sorts of goodies including a fried pickle that the kids had their eye on from the time it arrived at the table...And I didn't want to share!

But in the end all three of us shared the one little pickle, because I could and would NEVER want my children to want for something and be without something that I could give them or share with them (as much as I might want it all for myself LOL).

Cosette and I had our eyes on the same 
Biscuit Bomb Breakfast Sandwich of seasoned breakfast round, maple-fennel tempeh, baby spinach, aji yolk sauce, sweet maple drizzle!

While Dominic went for a HUGE dish of Green *Eggs and Toast, Dave (always  looking for something about a dish - I'm just not sure what!) ordered a Chiliaquiles Stack. And after all of that we still managed to save room for dessert!

Biscuit Bomb Breakfast Sandwich

Green *Eggs and Toast

Chiliaquiles Stack

Not sure why I went out on a limb and tried the Peach Cobbler, while it was good and all - I was quite jealous of the kid's orders of Mixed Berry Pies a'la mode - what I consider 
THE BEST VEGAN PIES around!

Once we were all finished with lunch and our plates were clean, I had wanted to go to the book store. But the kids had some chores that they neglected to do before we left for the meal and so we headed back home for them to complete their responsibilities!

Dave and I had a bit of produce shopping to do for all of the fresh squeezed juices and the GREEN Kale Smoothie that we drink each and every day!

And than later in the evening we went to see 
ANT-MAN starring Paul Rudd, a movie that the kids had wanted to see...but I was entertained and had actually enjoyed it quite a bit more than I anticipated!

TODAY, I have quite a bit of work, planning and chores to catch up on. I've gotta get some shopping done as well, and then head to the kids choir rehearsal. 

I've got LOTS of travel updates, news, and plans to share with you tomorrow on 
TRAVELIN' TUESDAY - and some that I hope to finally accomplish this afternoon!

Tootle-oo,
-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: SEPTEMBER

East End Fun Day

HELLO FOLKS!! GREETINGS from Remsenburg, Long Island!

How was your weekend?

Mine was really relaxing and enjoyable! Got an early start yesterday and headed out East.

After a morning of filming a presentation for a new cupcake accessory invention, I headed over to my house with my girls and my friend Lisa's daughter, Sarah...and another little friend...Bella, one of Sarah's dog.  

The three girls have been Besties since meeting two years ago at horseback riding.  They jumped and played in the pool all afternoon, while I hung out with Bella.  

I have to admit, it was nice having a doggie around - still can't believe Liberty is gone and I remember just how much she loved being out  East.  I can't think about it too much or I start to cry. I miss her SOOO MUCH, it hurts.

Bella, Lisa & Sarah's adorable dog

I did have one little scare with my little furry house guest.  As I was sitting at the outdoor table on my laptop (looking up flights to Hawaii - a story I'll get into great deal about on Travelin' Tuesday), I was quite content knowing the kids were in the pool and Bella was hanging out under the table near my feet.

Or so I thought.  All of a sudden, I didn't see her and I began looking for her all around the deck area.  Now, my entire deck is enclosed by a plastic fence and the gate was shut the entire time.  

Then I realized that Bella, so tiny, could have easily slipped through the narrow space between the "bars" of the fence.  I walked towards the gate and saw that my little friend was on the grass in the yard.  My property is not fenced in so I became instantly panicked that she might run out, into the street!!

I started calling her, but she was not paying attention as my neighbors across the street had their dogs out.  Yikes!! She began to run and raced across the street to their front yard to say hi to her fellow canines.  

Luckily, my house is on a dead end; but there is a marina at the end of the road, so we do have some occasional traffic.  Thankfully, I made it across the street, frantically screaming "BELLA" (to which she was ignoring me) and managed to grab this little sweetie, who was unharmed and having fun saying hi to the my three dog neighbors.  WHEW!

With my furry house guest yesterday

Getting kisses from Bella

I'm ashamed to say, after a productive morning, I didn't accomplish much in the afternoon. 

I managed to make a fruit salad, and a big dinner salad, but, that was about where my productivity ended. 

I cozied up on the couch in my den (with Bella by my side) in front of the TV, settling on Wedding Crashers, which I've seen a dozen or more times. Lisa arrived a little while later and joined me, and we both relaxed on the couch laughing at the movie and chatting away.

We dined al fresco on my deck - grilled chicken, corn on the cob and salad. 

The sun was shining directly on the table from the west, and even the table umbrella didn't block it, so it was rather hot for the first 25 minutes of dinner.  But, slowly, the rays were blocked by the house as the sun began to slightly set.

It was a lovely evening and quite relaxing. The girls continued their pool antics after dinner. I was pretty sure all three girls would sleep well...and I know that my two absolutely did!

This week and for the next couple of weeks, Kelsey will be going to the barn for horseback riding camp.  We were up bright and early today, the first day of camp for Kelsey.

I got Kelsey to the barn and guess what folks -- her boots (the ones I bought her a few months ago) were too tight.  She complained the whole way into the barn.  I had to just change her out of them and into her sneakers.  

Her trainer said that there might be a pair she could wear for the day. But, after camp, I have to take her to the saddlery to get new boots.  
Cha-ching!

Kelsey headed for the barn

One of the babies born last year trying to munch on Kelsey's saddle pad

Now trying to munch on my hair!

3-month old Peek-A-Boo - too cute!!!!

Newest baby - only 7 days old!

I'll be hanging out at the house most of the day, catching up on phone calls, travel research and some much-needed exercise.

Tomorrow, I head back for two days to Nassau, to deal with the plumber, who will be fixing my master bath shower stall.

I do hope your week is off to a great start!!!  And the quote below is some advice I'm trying to take!!

-E
xoxo