So for $2 per adult (with our resident beach card), we can board the ferry and be whisked to a little island getaway.

I’m sorry to say that we don’t take advantage nearly enough!  But this past Saturday we picked up our “High School Specials” (these chicken nuggets and potato cones that are served with seasoning in an insulated lunch bag = perfection) and took them out to the island.

And they were still hot.

This is among my boys favorite meals in the world.  (Mine too)

Then we hit the playground there…

Then the beach…

The tide was coming in so we had to work f-a-s-t.

Ahhh summer.

The boat ride to and from is also perfect for house-hunting.  (Again, I don’t live anywhere near this neighborhood, but it’s nice to look.)

And this is what you get in the car ride home after all that fun…

A sleeper!

Mo is not new to the adorable’s scene. He was a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards. The man knows his stuff!

There is a new Knuffle Bunny (Knuffle Bunny Free) coming out in October. I was so honored to see an advance copy and I just adored it. Very heartwarming.
So without further adieu…

Now be sure to check out Mo Willem’s other books and share your favorites!

Oh, lunch.
Every morning it’s a scramble and it’s not my prettiest time.
And then my school is completely nut-free, and so I have be more creative than PB&J. And at 7:00 in the morning, creativity is NOT my forte.
I found an old article with sandwich ideas from Parent’s Magazine and I traded out a few of theirs for my own creations.  I hope you find something in here that is helpful!

1

Veggie cream cheese and cucumber

2

Hummus, ham, and carrots

3

Veggie cream cheese and red pepper

4

Hummus, rotisserie chicken, and red pepper

5

Cream cheese, blueberries, and raspberries

6

Hummus and carrots

7

Honey-mustard, turkey, tomato and cucumber

8

Cream cheese and strawberries

9

Apple or pear butter and apple slices

The food designs are purely for your own amusement. This will not be happening on early morning sandwich making! It would be lost on my adorables anyway.

Let the eating begin!

Today is a very different kind of giveaway….

With all the hype on Back-to-School (The Good Stuff Guide included!), it’s easy to forget the thousands of adorables who won’t be bringing new crayons, markers, and backpacks to school.

So today our “winners” are going to be those adorables.

I need you to meet DonorsChoose.org

Donors Choose.org is a highly-rated 501(c)(3) Not-for-profit which pairs helpful people with needy classrooms.  You can find classrooms to help by a specific subject area, by state (even by city), or by urgency of need.

“Giveaway”

The Good Stuff Guide will donate $50 + $1 for every comment entered by Friday, September 4th for a maximum of $200 to DonorsChoose.org.  The “winner” gets to choose the state where the money will be sent, and has the option to choose the specific classroom (high poverty classrooms only please).

Because I just LOVE comments, here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!
2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is.  We’d love to have them join us!
3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (I LIKE you too!)

So, yes, each of you can be responsible for up to $4 going towards DonorsChoose.org.  In fact, I’d be thrilled!

And please visit DonorsChoose.org to see what classrooms have need of in your area, or nationwide.

Hopefully through our efforts, lots of adorables will become winners today!

Today we’re heading to Westchester County, outside of New York City.

Inside this gorgeous home….

is a stunning conservatory addtion…

Isn’t this fabulous?

Details, details…

As seen from the inside…

What a view!

Many, many thanks to R.S. Granoff Architects for sharing this project with us!

Have a wonderful summer weekend!

Be still my heart because I am so EXCITED!

Now please don’t get the idea that I don’t love him, it’s just he’s so ready to be active all-day and see friends and burn some energy, oh and learn something too.

And I might be able to get a few things done too.

To prepare, here’s what we’ve been up to:

1) We hit the Toys R Us sale on Crayola: Buy 1 Get 2 Free.  I’m one of those people whose been dying to buy school supplies for YEARS, so I was all too happy to get some new markers, crayons, etc.  The sale runs through August 28th.  Target, you are next!

2) Ordered new shoes from Zappos.com which I expect to arrive at noon tomorrow (one time I ordered jeans at 6pm and they arrived the following day at noon.  Now I’m a diehard!).  Seriously people, what did we used to do before Zappos entered the scene?  It is super nice NOT to have to drag the adorables to shoe stores anymore.  I chose these Asics Kids Pre-Galaxy ($40).

My logic was that since kindergarten requires lace-up shoes, perhaps that Velcro strap will prevent them from coming untied.  We’ll see, friends.  Also liked the $40 price point as my adorable burns through shoe treads wicked fast.  They’ll be bald in no time. Of course I threw in a pair for me!

Click here to find your pair:

3) Hit Carters for their pull-up pants.  I’m giving my elder adorable the luxury of one more year of not fumbling with buttons and zippers and then he’ll enter the fashion world along with the rest of us.

4) I *WON* a giveaway over at Imagination Soup and it included the cutest book (signed by the author, thank you very much!):

Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten?

We’ve had the best time reading this book together and thinking about all the fun things to come at school.  I think this book has sealed the deal on his excitement.  Thanks Melissa and Audrey!

Okay, what have you been up to prepare for school?  Or if your adorables have already started (probably months ago, some of you), how did it go?  Any tips for me?

Have a great day!

Hard at work there is Chef James Laird, in his home garden, growing the makings of healthy and fresh(!) culinary treats expressly for use in his restaurant, Restaurant Serenade in Chatham, NJ.

Together with his wife Nancy, the duo grow lettuces, tomatoes, asparagus, zucchini, cucumbers, herbs, onions, broccoli, flowers and more.

I just love the dedication this involves!

And of course to marvel at the garden – Gorgeous!

The garden is protected from four-legged eaters by a perimeter fence.

If you’re ever in the area, visit Restaurant Serenade in Chatham, New Jersey.

Hmmm, what would you whip up with this garden?  Do you have any fresh homegrown dinner ideas?

And today it’s a Treat, Treat, Treat!

You know when you wander through a really great gift store, and everything is so pretty, and feminine and light?  That’s exactly how I feel about Take Flight Boutique.  So let’s wander together, shall we?

This is the Aqua Tote ($20) that I bought immediately.  I just love this old WWII graphic from England.  It’s just as cute in person!

The Triple Crown Necklace ($20) is cut crystal glass on an 18-inch silver chain.

The Once Upon a Fairytale Tote ($20) is whimsical and vintage.

I just LOVE these gorgeous Egg Birdnest magnets ($7)!  I wouldn’t be able to leave the store without these folks!

Here’s Melissa’s son modeling this cutey-pie Retro Black Cassette Tee ($15).

Okay folks, listen up for this one, because you’re going to LOVE this…

YOUR ADORABLE’S ART!  Made into a necklace.  Need I say more?

I will – it’s $30 and I think that is very fair!  Now which art to choose….

So visit Take Flight Boutique, an Etsy store, and I know you’ll find many more items to tempt you.

And the best part, Melissa donates 5% of all proceeds to Homes for Our Troops. This foundation builds specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans. HFOT is a national non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization.

Giveaway

You can win a $40 Take Flight Boutique shopping spree just by leaving a comment by Friday, August 27th and I’ll choose the winner using Random.org on Saturday, the 28th.

Here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!
2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is.  We’d love to have them join us!
3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (I LIKE you too!)

(Feel free to do them all – that’s a total of 4 entries!)

Good luck!

Perhaps it was my lack of Spanish and their lack of English.  Perhaps my email ended up in email oblivion.

So I decided to take my life in my own hands and run it anyway.  So if I end up in an Argentinian jail somewhere, please come bail me out, because this house is worth it.

As I sit on edge of my seat, a very Happy Home Tour Friday to you!