I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
Last Friday we decided at the last minute to spend the weekend in Ogunquit, Maine - the weather looked great, my husband was itching to take some Milky Way photos, and it had been too long since we did a little family trip. It was also right before "the season" starts, which meant that there would be less crowds and cheaper hotel rooms (yes!). All-in-all as a family of three we spent less than $175 for the whole weekend, including the hotel room, so I would call that a huge success!
For hotel we stayed at The Beachmere Inn which is conveniently located right on the Marginal Way, a 1.25 mile scenic walkway following the edge of the ocean. Even though we were calling for reservations the day before, The Beachmere thankfully still had a few rooms available. We opted for the least expensive one ($100+tax, which was this particular room's preseason rate). It was a nice, modest room with a queen sized bed in the Victorian building of the hotel complex. This room didn't quite have the view that most rooms at the hotel have, but we didn't mind since we knew we'd be out walking most of the day and then to bed early with our little one.
The Beachmere Inn
The view from our private balcony.
To save a little extra money we packed our lunches from home for that first day. We got to the hotel around lunch time and since our room was ready they let us check in early (very nice!). We were able to enjoy our lunch on our own private balcony overlooking the great lawn of the hotel.
That afternoon was spent wandering up and down the Marginal Way and walking into town to explore some of the little shops and buy some delicious pastries at Bread & Roses Bakery. We highly recommend their Cinnamon Butter Puffs and our daughter was a big fan of the massive chocolate chip cookies bigger than her head (no surprise there).
Running along the ocean = perfection.
Mid-afternoon Daddy watched Miss M so I could get a training run in. I ran four miles along the Marginal Way and through the high-end coastal neighborhoods, and even did a short stretch of running in the sand on Ogunquit Beach. This run has to be the most fun and scenic I have done to date - why can't all runs be so pretty?
Dinner options in Ogunquit were a bit limited as it's still the "off season" (many seasonal businesses and seasonal rates start April 14th). So we opted to drive up the road a few minutes to the Moody Beach area and have dinner at Jake's Seafoodwhere we ate our weight in delicious fried seafood. The bill for the three of us came in at $40, which was a little more than we were expecting but splurging on fried food is pretty much a must-do of any seaside trip.
The views along the Marginal Way are breathtaking.
After dinner we went back to the hotel and played outside a bit before turning in early. Adrian was planning to get up at 3AM to capture some Milky Way shots as long as the weather cooperated. Luckily for him, the clouds held off and he was able to just walk off the hotel lawn and get some amazing Milky Way and sunrise shots (you can see more of his photos on his Instagram, @adrianpelletier).
The next morning we enjoyed a nice continental breakfast at the hotel. They had coffee, tea, cereal, bagels, fruit, and yogurt as well as selection of locally made donuts. (I had yogurt with granola and a very delicious Boston creme donut, because you know, balance.)
Bread & Roses Bakery - so much deliciousness!
After breakfast we walked back into town to do some last minute poking around and pick up more pastries from Bread & Roses to bring home, between our two trips here we spent about $20. Then we went to Ogunquit Beach to let our little one run around and play in the sand a bit. It was brisk but sunny and we pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves. After that we decided to check out a little early and head home to catch Miss M's nap, but if we had stayed in Ogunquit for lunch we would have grabbed some sandwiches from The Village Market, which looked yummy and reasonably priced and had a picnic on the beach or along the Marginal Way.
Overall it was a great, affordable weekend in Ogunquit. Lots of beautiful views, good food, exploring downtown, running and photo adventures, and, most importantly, some quality family time.
I've never been a fast runner at all, in fact I'm definitely more of a "slogger" (slow jogger) - but it doesn't matter how fast or slow you run as long as you're getting out there. I used to run pretty regularly but took a break from it for awhile after getting stress fractures training for my first half marathon years ago. After that I ran when I felt like it but never seriously and never with a big goal in mind. | This post contains affiliate links |
Since we're hoping to try for baby #2 later this year I'm working on my "Pre-Baby Bucket List", which includes finally running a Half Marathon. While I'm sure I'll be able to cover the distance, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it in the strict timeline set for the course since I'm such a slow runner - but here's hoping! I've been following a wonderful training plan made by my sister-in-law (who has a Masters in ESS), that includes a lot of interval runs, stretches, and one long run a week to help minimize my risk of injury again.
Along with following a great plan that builds mileage slowly and includes varied runs and cross-training, I thought I'd share some of my favorite running must-haves:
Good Sneakers. I can't say how important it is to have the right kind of running shoe. Don't just go by what looks cute and feels comfortable at the store - go to a running specialty store and be properly fit for your gait and foot type. (Also, if you have any inkling that you may have something going on with your feet don't hesitate to see a podiatrist too. I was properly fit for sneakers but still hurt my foot because I had a structural issue that could only be identified with x-rays and helped with custom orthotics.)
Running Belt. These little belts are handy for carrying your phone, keys, and fuels for those long runs. I've really liked the SPIbelt because it's very streamline - the pouch stays small and stretches to fit your items so they don't bounce around.
Running App. I've found using a running app to be very helpful. It reminds me what pace I'm currently running, as well as distance and elapsed time. It's a great tool to keep on track and follow your progress. I've been using the free version of Runkeeper for years and love it but have also heard great things about the app Strava too, so I think I will give that app a try once my half marathon training is done.
Reflective Vest. If you're doing any running on the road at all it's very important to be seen. Wearing a bright reflective vest gives traffic a better opportunity to see you and keep you safe.
Road ID. Do you run with your driver's license and medical info on you? I didn't think so, which is why you really should have a Road ID. I've never needed it - and hope to never need it (knock on wood) - but it's so important to have, especially if you run solo. These totally customizable IDs are lightweight, sporty, and streamline but contain important information like your name, year of birth, emergency contact info, and medical information that paramedics may need if you had an accident (God forbid) or have passed out.
Pssst... I have a $5 Gift Card to RoadID to share with the first five people that purchase using this link. You're welcome :)
Running Stroller. If you're going to do any training with your little ones in tow, it's important to have a great stroller that you can take on those runs. We have a BOB and it's perfect for running on back roads and flat trails. These strollers can be expensive though, so don't be afraid to look for one second-hand - we got ours for only $40!
There are also a few items I haven't used yet but would love to try, including recovery sandals (which look amazing!), hydration belts and packs, and compression sleeves. Getting back into running has been fun and rewarding and I'm hoping to improve my distances and times more and more. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I can finish my half marathon in the allotted time! ;)
If you're not familiar with Pampers Rewards, you can check my previous post here for all the details - but essentially it's a program to earn free gifts for buying Pampers diapers! I usually try to save up our points for something big, but this time I decided to get the Potty Training Chart for our daughter which is one of their smaller rewards. | This post contains affiliate links |
Our little one is currently potty training and it's been slow going. She totally understands the concept and can be successful when she wants to, but usually chooses not to tell anyone that she needs to go and/or completely refuses to use the potty at all. We're hoping that a reward chart will help motivate her to see her progress and get rewarded with a special prize at the end.
We decided to hang the chart next to her little potty so she can watch her progress and see how close she is to earning that special prize. Some good reading material is important too, to help her want to stay on the potty long enough to finish her business (books pictured are: Potty Time with Elmo, Potty, and Counting 123).
Want to see what else we got from Pampers Rewards? Check out our other posts:
Feeling really behind lately, I have a million little (good) projects going on and haven't been able to check any off the to-do list in a while. Between training for a half marathon, working on Etsy/wholesale ornament orders (I get them year-round, wahoo), and trying to work on some projects around the house I've fallen a bit behind on the blog and getting new Etsy stock out there and I apologize.
Just wanted to let you know that things will be picking up again soon with new Etsy items as well as some great collabs/giveaways with companies like Nuby and We Are Knitters.
If you haven't turned on Post Notifications on Instagram for Birch Landing Home yet, now is the time because you won't want to miss out!
As you probably know already, I love supporting local makers and buisnesses so I thought it was time to make a group board on Pinterest to support New England Made Products. This board will be a collaboration where New England-based crafters and small buisnesses can share their beautiful goods.
If you're interested in joining please give me a follow on Pinterest and send a message requesting to join the group board.
As of right now there's just my items on the board, but I can't wait to get more collaborators and see more beautiful New England-made products on here too!
Our little one made this Paper Pizza at story time at the public library the other day and I thought it was so cute I wanted to show you all. The story time lady read several pizza-related stories and then had the kids make their own paper pizzas to bring home. The kids really enjoyed this project and I think it would make a great activity for a pizza-themed kids' party.
They gave the kids paper plates and a brown crayon to color the "crust" (our daughter skipped this part), then a paper red circle "tomato sauce" to glue down, shredded yellow paper "cheese", as well as paper mushrooms, pepperonis, and meatballs. After the pizzas were done, the kids took them home in actual pizza boxes which was the perfect finishing touch to the project. These brand new boxes had been bought ahead of time at the local pizza shop for a few cents each.
I don't remember the actual books she read before the project, but I've linked some cute-looking pizza stories here (affiliate links):
Instagram just announced that they'll be showing most popular posts first in their feed (read more about it here) - which means everyone will be more likely to miss posts from little guys, like us. I understand that for the user this may be nice so they don't miss popular posts, but for small businesses this really hurts. Instagram is how I get most of my traffic and to know that I'll be lost under Kim Kardashian and big retailer posts really stinks.
How to Preserve Your Following with Instagram's New Feed Changes
For us small businesses that rely on Instagram exposure, this hurts. But one way to help preserve your following is to ask your followers to "Turn on Post Notifications". This way they will get a little notification whenever you create a new post and they won't miss seeing your content with this new algorithm. You can also encourage them to follow you on other social platforms as well (Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin', Twitter, etc) so you have more chances to reach your audience.
I'm sure paying for promoted posts will be the next change coming to Instagram, just like Facebook and Pinterest have done. I understand it's lucrative for them to make these changes, but as a small business owner it really stinks because I can't afford to pay for consistent advertising.
I'm hoping that Instagram will eventually give you the option to at least change the filter of your feed like Facebook does (you can toggle between "Top Stories" and "Most Recent" - but it always defaults to "Top Stories"), but who knows. Like all other small businesses, I'm really hoping that we don't get completely lost in this change.
Please don't forget to Turn on Post Notifications for me at @birchlandinghome and follow me on the other social platforms linked below. Thank you so much!
