May was a BUSY month! Work was insane, and our weekends have been JAM PACKED with activities! Nathan has been playing soccer, and both kids are back in swimming lessons at Goldfish Swim School in Livingston. As the weather gets warmer, I get more and more excited for summer! It is only a few short weeks away! And that means my birthday is only a few weeks away, as well!
Without further ado, here are my five faves from May 2021!
ONE
Neighborhood Walks
A couple nights a week, if the weather is nice (post-dinner and pre-bath and bedtime), we have been taking the kiddos for a walk around the neighborhood. It is a nice way to decompress after a long day and get some fresh air. The kiddos love to run around and get their sillies out before bedtime!
TWO
Gardening
When we lived in South Orange, I had a plot at the community garden (see HERE and HERE). I LOVED it! It was so fun to plant different fruit and vegetables and eat them all summer long. Since moving to our house, I had been meaning to put in a garden plot in the backyard. Year after year, E and I just didn’t get around to it. This year, I planned ahead. I ordered my garden plots in March! We (meaning E) finally put them together a few weeks ago. Thankfully, they were really easy to build. E had to dig out two spots for the plots, but otherwise they came together really nicely. I bought all of my plants at Williams Nursery, Dreyer Farms, and Home Depot. This year, I planted 6 different tomato varieties, two pepper varieties, tomatillos, beets, swiss chard, carrots, strawberries, kale, lettuce, sugar snap peas, and some flowers. Nathan has loved watering the plants and digging in the garden. Fingers crossed we have a plentiful bouty of fruit and veggies!
THREE
Myer’s Bagels Delivery
I randomly remembered that our FAVORITE Montreal-style bagel place, Myer’s Bagels, in Burlington, Vermont shipped bagels. So…I ordered two dozen of them 🙂 And I have never been happier with a decision, ever. The bagels are soft and chewy, and slightly sweet. HEAVEN ON EARTH. I have been enjoying them for breakfast a few times a week, and they really are amazing!
FOUR
Visits to the Adventure Aquarium and The American Museum of Natural History
I knew that the weather over Memorial Day was going to be pretty terrible (RAIN.ALL.WEEKEND), so I booked trips for the whole family to visit the Adventure Aquarium, in Camden, New Jersey, and The American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Both required time slot reservations. The kids LOVE penguins and Nemo, and Nathan is OBSESSED with dinosaurs (specifically Tyrannosaurus Rex), so I had a feeling they would enjoy both visits.
They were both a BIG HIT. Nathan couldn’t get over how big all of the dinosaurs were at The American Museum of Natural History. Nora was mesmerized by the aquarium. She was constantly saying “MO!, MO!” while searching for Nemo everywhere. She also LOVED the touch tanks!
FIVE
CSA Season and Strawberry Summer Cake
A little over a month ago, I signed up for a CSA with our local farm, Dreyer Farms. I love having farm fresh produce every week! Last week there were the most beautiful strawberries in our CSA box. I tasted one when I arrived home from picking up the box, and it was the most delicious strawberry I had ever tasted. Seriously! I knew I HAD to bake something with some of them. I decided on Smitten Kitchen’s Strawberry Summer Cake. I served it over Memorial Day and everyone loved it! The strawberries get soft and jammy on top. It tastes like a cross between a strawberry shortcake and shortbread. SOOOO GOOD! I will definitely be making it again.
