Ahhhh, yesterday was the first day of fall, and while I do love all things pumpkin, I am sad to see the summer come to an official end. We had a great summer complete with lots of traveling and adventures, and this romper sure got a lot of play from the lake in the Poconos, to the playgrounds of Brooklyn, to the streets of Nashville in Tennessee, to the Jersey Shore in Cape May, down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Our first full summer as a family of four was a success! Can’t believe it’s over. We will remember it fondly, but part of me is excited to break out the boots and crush some pumpkin spice lattes. 😉
Wanted to share some of my insta-photos from our time at the Finger Lakes over the 4th of July weekend. We went with the best of friends and this was an area that none of had explored before. We like to check out a new lake spot each year, so this was the next one on the list!
The first pic is our first night on Seneca Lake. So serene!
Cheers to our first night on the lake! (with sparkling cider for the pregos)
Because my workouts come with me wherever I go 😉 Hooray for Beachbody on Demand!
Hiking at Watkins Glen State Park. We honestly did not even know this was minutes away from our lake house. We stumbled upon it, and couldn’t have gotten luckier. This is seriously a MUST see place to visit. It was absolutely stunning!
Hiking with our friend Rai Rai in the woods.
Just breathtaking.
Boys trip out on the lake.
All dressed up for a dinner date with the crew. Heading to Hazelnut Kitchen, which was SUPERB farm to table freshness, by the way.
My 4th of July morning breakfast.
Gettin’ down on that watermelon. That’s my boy!
Spent the holiday at the Americana Vineyards (on the Cayuga Wine Trail) for their 4th of July Celebration complete with wine and beer (for those who could partake), BBQ, ice cream, 6 live bands, a dance floor, and an awesome firework show.
Last day on the lake.
Overall, it was a trip full of both adventure and relaxation. We love our annual lake trip, and next year we will actually have THREE kids joining us at the lake, which is crazy to believe! (My bff Erin is pregnant too!) Nothing better than being pregnant with your best friend 🙂
Hope you are all having a great week so far. Guess where I am going tomorrow? NASHVILLE! Whoo hoo! I cannot wait!
Dress: Target / Sandals: Dolce Vita (sold out, but similar here) / Earrings: Stella & Dot (similar here) / Sunglasses: Vintage / Watch: Michael Kors / Bracelet: Baublebar / Lip: Revlon Hydrangea
As I mentioned yesterday, we spent the Fourth of July Weekend up at Seneca Lake with some close friends. I have more photos of our adventures to share later, but first I wanted to share the outfit I wore on our nice dinner out to Hazelnut Kitchen. It was about a 30 minute drive from our house, but totally worth it as it was completely delicious farm to table freshness and goodness. I would definitely recommend it if you are ever in the Ithaca area.
Today I am heading to the beach/aquarium with my little guy today. Trying to soak up as much one on one time as humanly possible with this little fellow before our family grows at the end of the summer and I’m trying to balance being a mama of two.
These photos were taken on our trip to the lake house in New Hampshire on a chilly, rainy day. Instead of swimming or hiking, we spent this day eating Mexican food, browsing the local Wolfeboro shops, playing games, and drinking wine. These boots were a recent gift from the hubby for our 3rd wedding anniversary. Totally picked out on his own, mind you! Perfect timing for rainy season, and it seemed appropriate to share today as the rain is currently falling.
Would you believe that today marks one whole year that I decided to make the change to my little ole blog, popcorn and pandas? I know, I can’t believe it either. It’s been a crazy year full of adventures and travel, fashion and fun, pregnancy and now a new baby. It’s been wonderful and therapeutic to have this creative outlet to share with you all, and I am completely grateful that you all have chosen to follow along for this past year.
Below I have reflected a bit on some of your favorite posts this past year:
My first two outfit posts with the amazing photographer Marisa
It’s been such a great year, and I am hopeful that this year will bring even greater joy. Thank you so much for following my adventures. Would love to hear any feedback that you have of things you want to see from me in the coming year. What you like/don’t like. What you want to see more or less of (outfit posts, lately posts, shopping posts, personal stories, photography, baby stuff, etc…) I have less free time on my hands, but hopefully I can make things happen!
For some reason, this dress reminds me of something I would find in a Florida boutique. Maybe it’s the soft colors, the silky feel, or the floral print. I found it on sale at Francesca’s (non-maternity score again!), and had to have it for my summer trip to Maine. I wore this on our last night out to dinner in Elsworth (at 30 weeks pregnant), added the belt, and some gold accessories to complete the look. I am still reminiscing about the amazing view we had from our lake house.
Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself
Dress: Francesca’s / Shoes: Dolce Vita (on sale!) / Belt: ? / Necklace: Family Heirloom / Watch: Michael Kors / Bracelet: Henri Bendel / Earrings: gifted / Nails: Essie Forever Yummy / Toes: Essie In the Cabana / Lip: MAC Snob
It’s overcast and cooler today in NYC, and I have to say I’m actually grateful! It’s been brutally hot for my prego body, and today’s cooler temperatures made my walk to the subway this morning a bit easier. Today I hit the 33 week mark! One month away from being full term. Holy crap. We were able to get rid of our guest bed last night, so we have some space to work with in trying to get the nursery together. I also managed to schedule our pediatrician consults, so hoping to make a decision on that in the near future.
I’ve got a busy day at the office today with a few meetings and lots of resume reviewing.
It’s 4:13am and I am awoken in the middle of the night due to pregnancy and my inability to control my bladder from the urgency to relieve itself these days. So, I hop out of bed to make my way downstairs to the restroom in the lake house, when I look out the bedroom window. Holy sky. This is amazing. We had thought about waking up early to watch the sunrise, and had set our alarms for 4:55am since the sun was supposed to come up at 5:00am, but we weren’t really sure if we would be able to force ourselves out of bed at that hour. After waking up and taking care of business, I quickly grabbed my camera and took a few shots across the lake and into the colorful sky. It was eerily quiet, peaceful and serene. Just me and the lake and the brightly colored sky. I wrestled with the idea of whether or not to wake the rest of the gang this early, and ultimately decided that they needed to see what I was seeing at that moment. It would just be too selfish to exclude them from this view, and by 4:55am, they may have missed all of this. So I woke up Zack and our friends, Erin and Rai. They weren’t too pleased at first, grumbling and groaning, but when I showed them a photo I had taken of the sky, they knew they too needed to jump up before they missed this magical moment. Zack and Erin got so excited in fact, that they broke out the kayaks and enjoyed the sunrise from atop the water. Rai and I stayed behind taking in the moment from the lake house dock and capturing photos. I know photos can’t really do justice, but my memories and these photos are all I’ve got. Hope you enjoy.
If you were still unsure about whether or not you should visit Maine, then these photos probably did the trick. We were lucky enough to wake up to this view every morning, even though it might have been a bit earlier than we were used to!
Hope everyone is having a good Thursday. I am looking forward to a little girl’s night. My friend Jess is moving to New Jersey at the end of the month, so this will be the last one she hosts in her NYC apartment. I then have to go home to pack for our trip to Maryland this weekend for both my friend Teri’s bridal shower and my baby shower for the Little Monkey. We are trying to get the guest bedroom cleared out, and after this weekend it’s go time on that nursery!
I was able to snag this Ella Moss beauty on sale via Gilt, and I couldn’t be happier (again, not maternity)! I wore this gown on a beautiful night out to dinner in Maine. I love the ease and flow of this dress as I walk, and the jersey material makes it super comfortable as well. In these photos, I am 30 weeks pregnant, and this week, I just hit 32. Little Monkey will be here before I can blink.
Oh, how I miss this little lake house already! Wishing I had the lake to jump into and cool off this week; it’s been brutal! Trying to stay hydrated and enjoy the AC indoors.
Happy Monday everyone! Just wanted to share some photos from our lake house that we stayed in at Branch Lake in Elsworth, Maine. The location could not be beat, and it was a dream come true. I took these on our first full day when we played on the lake all day. If you’ve never been to Maine, I would definitely suggest you check it out. Thanks to the Shaw family for opening up their cottage to us as the first renters ever!
Hope you all had a great weekend!
The hubby went away with his brother for a guy’s weekend, so my sister-in-law came to visit me in Brooklyn. We did girly/mom things like prenatal massages, high tea, hung out with college girlfriends, dinner, and brunches. The massage was phenomenal and extremely relaxing. Just what the doctor ordered. We went to Massage Williamsburg on recommendation, and it sure was a treat! Our delicious dinner was Korean BBQ at Dokebi, and we had brunch in my hood at Costello Plan. It was a lot of fun bumping both of our prego bellies together (me at 31.5 weeks and her at 29 weeks!), talking about baby things, catching up on life, and being girly. Looking forward to both my little one and my little nephew who will be arriving so closely together. It’s a really exciting time for the Notes Family!
Red’s Eats – Best Lobster Roll in MaineAnd here you have it…amazingAt the top of Mt. Battie in CamdenMaine blueberriesThe cute little town of CamdenWe ate ice cream everywhere…Blueberry pancakes with fresh fruit and blueberry syrup thanks to the homeowners of the lake house we stayed atThe view from our bedroom…breathtakingPretty much ate blueberry everything…also the popovers here were fantastic!Me and my Munchkin at Jordan PondJust chillin’ at Branch LakeA little Fourth of July manicure – Essie Forever Yummy and Set in StoneGorgeous sunrise on the lakeHappy Independence Day in Bar Harbor!Homemade blueberry pie from Gale…found her through a local inside tip!30 weeks pregnant smoochin’ my honey – this photo by Rai Pollard
Wow!! What a trip! Well, here is your first sneak peak into our Maine adventures! While I took many photos with my “real” camera on the trip, sometimes it is just easier to run around with your iPhone instead of lugging around the big heavy camera all the time. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen some of these photos, but you may want to read on if you plan on visiting Maine. If you haven’t planned on it, you should still read on, and you may want to afterward!
We picked up our friends Erin and Rai from the airport in Boston on Tuesday morning and started our journey to Maine. Along the way to our lake house in Elsworth, we decided to take the longer scenic route through Camden, a town we had visited for a wedding a few years prior. I have to admit, another main reason for taking this route was for the amazing lobster rolls at Red’s Eats! We ate here last time we were in Maine, and it’s absolutely amazing. They pile on the lobster, add some drawn butter, throw it on toast, and it’s ready to chow down. Although, the lines here are typically and famously long, we have gotten lucky both times and have arrived with no line. The first was at closing time, and this time it was for opening. We arrived 30 minutes before opening and were the first group in line. Not 2 minutes after we arrived there was a ridiculous following behind us. Talk about perfect timing!
After Red’s Eats, we continued on to Camden, where we drove to the top of Mt. Battie, picked some Maine blueberries, walked along the water, and ate blueberry ice cream. It was the perfect little day time stop through on our trip.
We eventually made it to camp at the Branch Lake house, Shaw Cottage. We met the owner there who gave us the grand tour, and we found out that we were actually the first people to ever rent the house! He even left us blueberry pancake mix with blueberry syrup as a little welcoming gift. How sweet was that? We stocked the house with groceries for dinner and breakfast and played Cards Against Humanity while we cooked. So fun!
The next morning, we hung out at the lake, took the motor boat and kayaks out for some fun, went swimming, and had a ball. That night, we gussied up and drove down to Bar Harbor (which surprisingly seemed closer than it did on the map) for dinner at Havana. It was an adorable little spot with fantastic seafood and Latin cuisine. And of course we got ice cream after at Mt. Desert Is. Ice Cream. Yum! After returning to Branch Lake, we did another one of my favorite Maine activities, which is looking at the stars. I don’t know whether it’s lack of pollution or being closer to the top of the globe, but the stars just look amazing in Maine. I could literally see the Milky Way Galaxy outline; it was unreal.
Day 3, we started off the morning bright and early (and I mean early) around 4:13am to watch the sunrise. I cannot wait to actually share these photos with you soon. Zack and Erin went kayaking to check out the morning sights and the sunrise from the water, and Rai and I stayed behind to capture the view from our floating dock. I don’t know if I have seen a sunrise so beautiful! It was picture perfect. Once the sun was fully up, we were actually still exhausted so we went back to sleep for a few hours before really starting our day.
Once we were fully up, we headed down to Acadia to check out some easy hiking trails. Unfortunately, we ended up “hiking” by a golf course and the side of the road for an hour instead of on a “real” trail. That was kind of a bummer, and it was super hot out, so we decided to then hit up Sand Beach quickly before lunch. Sand Beach was really beautiful and had gorgeous rocky cliffs on either side of it. The water was so cold, I don’t know how people were actually swimming in there, but it was at least refreshing to dip my toes in. After Sand Beach, we headed to Jordan Pond, which was a really great restaurant within the State Park. We treated ourselves to their famous popovers, lobster stew and sandwiches while taking in the views of the water and mountains around us.
That night, we headed into town at Bar Harbor for their Fourth of July fireworks show! We have seen fireworks in Manhattan for the past couple years, which are always fantastic…but there is something about sitting on a big lawn overlooking the water with the band playing patriotic tunes that just makes you feel good ‘ole American on the Fourth of July! We were all really impressed with the pyrotechnics, and we headed back to Elsworth that night with big smiles on our faces.
Our last full day in Maine was spent lazily enjoying the peaceful lake. The early morning and the hustle and bustle of the previous day made us all exhausted, and we wanted nothing more than to relax and enjoy the serenity. We kayaked, sunbathed, took multiple swimming dips in the lake, read books and magazines, and had long chats on the floating dock. I think we each had a little nap that day as well. We ended the day with a delicious tapas dinner at Cleonice in Elsworth, although I have to warn you, there is no AC there, which was pretty brutal! Luckily, the food was good enough to make it worth withstanding the heat.
We definitely wish our trip to Maine could have lasted longer. We had a great time with great friends, and a trip back is definitely in our future! Stay tuned for the rest of my photos next week from the “real” cam.
