Day 1 We left the house Monday, August 14th about noon and arrived at Newark International Airport at about 2:30, breezed through security, and sat at the gate for 2ish hours. We ate dinner on the plane and then everyone tried their best to get some sleep. We had a 3-hour layover in Copenhagen, which included some chocolate shopping, pastry eating, and waiting… We landed in Dublin about 11:30 am Dublin time on Tuesday, August 15th and hopped in a taxi to our lodging for the next two nights, Parkway Guesthouse. We dropped our bags in a room while we ventured out for some lunch at Murrays Bar O ..read more

My husband and I traveled to Ireland for a couples getaway in late March, early April of 2022. We had an amazing time reconnecting and just enjoying each other's company.  We flew in and out of Newark, NJ via Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). We left Newark, NJ at 6:55 pm on Sunday, March 27th.  We had a quick layover in Oslo and arrived in Dublin, Ireland at 9:35 am on Monday, March 28th.  After we got out of the airport, we grabbed a taxi to get to our hotel (The Harding). We dropped our luggage off, changed our clothes, and flopped on the bed for a few minutes while we call ..read more

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Founder's District. All opinions are 100% mine. We are blessed to live on the East Coast where we are surrounded by history. If you're planning a trip to the East Coast, you're going to want to make sure you visit The Founder's District to experience Jamestown Settlement. The boys and I have a week-long trip planned for this summer with my sister and niece. There is so much to see and do in the area. Where is Jamestown Settlement? Jamestown Settlement is located between State Route 31 and the Colonial Parkway; adjacent to Colonial Nation ..read more

This post is sponsored by Sivan Social. All comments and opinions are my own. The Shop, Play, Win! Monopoly game is happening now at Albertsons stores! Visit ShopPlayWin.com to have a chance to win $230,000,000 in prizes from participating stores March 3rd – May 4th. Shop at your local Albertsons Companies store (ACME, Albertsons, Albertsons Market, Carrs, Jewel Osco, Market Street, Pavilions, Randalls, Safeway, Shaws, Star Market, Tom Thumb, and Vons) to earn tickets to play! Download the new Shop, Play, Win!® app featuring exclusive digital-only prizes! Use the ticket scanning feature to su ..read more

Holidays, birthdays, baby showers – the list goes on and on. Instead of scurrying to find the perfect gift, wouldn’t it be nice to have a gift on hand? Chances are you’ve heard about people having a gift closet, but never thought much about it. Now’s the time. There are so many great reasons to have a gift closet. Let’s look at a few. Spread Out the Cost The holidays and even birthdays can be so expensive. Instead of reaching for your credit card, why not spread out the cost? When you have a gift closet, you can start shopping early and store things until you need them. Many people start shop ..read more

Salt Dough ornaments are a Christmas staple. We have a bunch that hang on our tree each year with little handprints and other shapes the kids have made. We're excited to share something a little different to do with salt dough this year – Christmas Sugar Cookie Salt Dough Ornaments.     These salt dough ornaments are an excellent craft for the kids to work on over break before Christmas.  These really are easy to make!  Mix the salt and flour. Then stir in the water. Create your ornament shapes and bake. “Frost” your cookies with white paint. Don't forget the sprinkl ..read more

Use this cute free printable Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt to add to your family's holiday traditions.  One of our favorite holiday traditions each year is to grab some milkshakes and drive around to look at the Christmas lights. We thought we’d step it up and add a little challenge this year with this Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt. The kids (and let's be honest – the adults) are going to have a blast finding all these items on the scavenger hunt. You'll find everything from a nativity scene and carolers to Santa's toy bag and toy soldiers. If you have older kids, they can snap pictu ..read more

The kids are going to love this cute holiday-themed lunch idea with Rudolph Sandwiches! The coupons for product redemption, information, and gift card have been provided by Entenmann’s Little Bites® so that I could try the product and share my thoughts and information about Entenmann’s Little Bites®. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Entenmann’s Little Bites®. I'm not one to make cutesy plates for the kids, but sometimes we just need something a little extra. These Rudolph sandwiches are a perfect holiday-themed lunch without a ton of effort.&n ..read more

Oh, 2020. What a year it's been.  As we bring 2020 to a close, I know we're all praying that 2021 is going to be better.  But… before 2021 arrives, we still have Christmas 2020. I love Christmas. The lights, the celebrations, the food, the time off from everything, and the trees decked out with ornaments. We usually do two Christmas trees. One of them is full of my pretty ornaments and the other is a hodgepodge of cool stuff and things the kids have made.  We try to get an ornament everywhere we go and it makes a fun way to display our travels throughout the years.  2020 h ..read more

This post is sponsored by Sivan Social. I can't believe the holiday season is already upon us, but here we are already over a week into November.  Savings.com has curated a Black Friday & Cyber Monday Buying Guide, filled with great gift ideas for everyone on your holiday shopping list.   One thing I know is going to make an amazing gift this year is the 10″ Portal from Facebook. We've learned this past year how important it is to stay connected even when you cannot actually be with those you love. Portal definitely makes this easier!   The post Best of Black Friday & ..read more