Lancaster | Holiday Must-dos

We kicked off the holiday season in Lancaster, PA—our favorite destination that offers endless fun and new experiences for the entire family less than 1.5 hours away.

Lancaster has so many holiday events starting now into the New Year—a little something for everyone! For this trip, I went on DiscoverLancaster.com and used their event guide to find all the holiday events happening during our stay…Light shows, breakfast with Santa, holiday local markets, Strasburg holiday train rides, Dutch Winter Wonderland, Santa Express and many Christmas shows—elf, fancy nancy, believe, and the Christmas tree ship!

Eastland Alpacas

Traveling to Lancaster is relatively easy—we always drive and the directions get us there in 75 minutes or less. The roadside scenery of all the farms as you drive-thru Amish Country is my favorite. The views are never-ending and relaxing. The kids and I also love pointing out all the horses and cows!

Our first stop on our way to Lancaster was Eastland Alpacas! What a beautiful farm—with so many alpacas. We learned that a baby alpaca was born a few days before our visit. I loved seeing the nursing mama alpacas and their babies. Nobody got spit on, and we had fun visiting with all the animals and playing on their homemade swing set. Eastland Alpacas also offers private tours and has their own gift shop.

Dutch Winter Wonderland

Our next stop was Dutch Winter Wonderland! My family met up with some friends to attend the opening night of Dutch Winter Wonderland— an evening of holiday festivities featuring Christmas lights, Santa visits, hot coco, rides and more! Make sure you check their website for operation hours before attending. We also bought tickets online and ended up saving so much during a pre-holiday sale. Some of our favorite rides were the frog, hand pedal train, bumper cars and the optical illusion house. Be sure to dress warm, and enjoy of their adult hot chocolates if you know what I mean….

After a night of fun, we checked into our room at the Wynham Lancaster which is conveniently located across the street. Their hotel offers a new playground, on-site starbucks, and indoor/outdoor pool amenities. The Cartoon Network Hotel is also located next door and is also a family favorite.

The next day, we got up early and grabbed coffee from the hotel. After burning off some energy at the hotel playground, it was time for breakfast! I requested to go back to Speckled Hen to taste something NEW off their menu, and of course grab more of those vegan energy balls. I ordered the French Toast and an Almond Milk latte. My youngest son enjoyed their avocado toast. They offer a few great breakfast plates on their kids menu.

Speckled Hen

Next stop, Paradise! I mean, the Strasburg Railroad to see Santa Clause. Their train car was the prettiest I ever seen—the woodwork, the seats and holiday florals made it glow as we took our seats in coach. We spent 40 minutes onboard the Santa Paradise Express where we got to site-see from our windows, listen to carolers and Christmas music as we waited our turn to visit with Santa Clause. Santa spent a few minutes with the kids–asking what they want for Christmas, and id they’ve been good this year. Santa even treated the kids with a small gift; a Strasberg Train tree ornaments–the perfect keepsake. You can watch more from our holiday train ride HERE!

Strasburg Train

Since our youngest ended up napping on the Train, we kept our day busy! You can’t not go shopping when you’re visiting Lancaster, so we stopped by the Tanger Outlets for some pre-black Friday sales. My husband ran into Under Armor to buy a few things and I peaked around Pottery Barn! I fell in love with these vintage Christmas bells that were 40% off markdown. The Pottery Barn outlet had a great selection of outdoor furniture, bar stools, tableware, window curtains, decor, bedding for all ages, pottery barn kids toys and gear, and bath! I want to go back soon to shop all by myself.

Pottery Barn Outlet

After leaving the outlets, we drove into the city of Lancaster! It was our first time downtown, and I was surprised of how cool + stylish everything looked. Not the typical “Amish” countryside you think of when you hear the word Lancaster. I immediately noted to myself to stay in a hotel downtown the next time we visit. During our time downtown, we stopped into the PotteryWorks—a paint-your-own studio and Lancaster Cupcake! We ended up buying some ornaments to paint at home and a few cupcakes that I could no resist (they make vegan too). The cupcakes were delicious, and their storefront is adorable. You could definitely plan a cute girlfriends or mommy + me sweets date here. Also, would make for an adorable photoshoot backdrop with their pink and pretty ambiance.

Lancaster Cupcake

Thank you, Lancaster, for being so wonderful this holiday season! Our ride home was under 75 minutes. It’s so quick—making Lancaster the perfect trip or overnight stay. I am so happy we got to squeeze 2 days of holiday festivities in Lancaster to kick off the Christmas season. Every time we visit, we fall more in love with Lancaster. We will be traveling back again in Spring 2023, if not sooner.

Don’t forget to utilize DiscoverLancaster.com Free Things to Do guide to find activities to plan during your next visit! Here’s a list of Holiday-themed Events too!

Happy Holidays, XO.

Staycation in Lancaster

Horses, ice-cream and Amish buggies…a weekend my family needed so bad! We packed up the kids and headed to Lancaster for 2 nights. I will be honest, this was the 1st time I spent quality time in Lancaster. The last time I traveled to Lancaster was for a friend’s wedding about 6 years ago. The wedding was at the Cork Factory—which was uber cool and I thought to myself, “we need to come back!”

A few kids later and overdue for a staycation, we planned a weekend away to explore what Lancaster had to offer! I visited DiscoverLancaster.com multiple times to explore hotels, covered bridges, and kid-friendly activities for our trip. Did you know they even have beautiful wineries out there?

Since we traveled in July, we booked a hotel that offered pool amenities. We booked a 3-queen room at Eden Resort which is very family friendly. Everyone had a comfortable bed to sleep in (without booking 2 rooms). They have not only 1 pool, but 2 (indoor/outdoor) with plans for a NEW outdoor pool in 2023. Eden Resort also offers poolside food and beverage service, a splash park, playground and basketball court! The hotel shares a parking lot with Sheetz which is very convenient for on-the-go coffee, made-to-order food items, gas and breakfast in the morning.

We planned our drive out to Lancaster with a tour of few Covered Bridges before our hotel check-in. Discover Lancaster has a great website that maps out the various covered bridges by region which was extremely helpful.

As we approached the town of Lancaster, the views were so beautiful—endless farms, horses, cows, and acres of greenery. We “slowed down” a few times on less traveled roads to admire the animals.

After checking into our hotel and some pool time, we visited Oregon Dairy Farm for some fresh ice-cream—they also have a local super market, restaurant and playground on the same grounds. The kids and I paid $3/person to go on a little tracker train ride thru the property. As my daughter enjoyed her fresh ice-cream, we walked around to visit with the goats and horse. I would definitely recommend visiting here for 1-2 hours!

The next day, we hoped to visit Cherry Farm Adventures but it was closed. I did not check their calendar closely. They are closed on Sundays. We hope to visit there this fall when we travel back for another weekend trip. Yes, we already booked another trip!

After some morning pool-time, we went mini-golfing before the forecasted rain. We drove to Water’s Edge which is beautiful. It was only 12 minutes away from our hotel. On the way there, we saw a bunch of Amish Buggys. It’s so wild seeing them in real life. I tried to get a few videos as we drove by but their horses are fast!

Water’s Edge offers 2 courses–boats and nature. I would recommend the nature side. They also have plastic golf clubs for your little ones. Anderson carried one around as the rest of us played. Tip: leave room for dessert and enjoy some ice-cream after you are finished playing. There is also an enormous playground with at least 10 slides nearby. If you have older kids, check it out. My daughter was in heaven! It was the longest and steepest slide she’s ever been on.

We got back to the hotel just in time. The rest of the night and into the morning, it rained! Originally, we had plans to visit Nissley Vineyards to listen to their live music but the kids were happy we choose mini golfing instead.

On our last day, I packed up the car as my husband took the kids in the pool for one last dip. We visited the Amish House and Farm before driving home. You can learn about Amish history and heritage on their guided house tours (or visit the property on your own). They have a 15-acre farm with fun for the entire family. You can feed and pet farm animals, corn maze, and explore their Amish-built schoolhouse. There is also a wooden playground on-site that the kids loved. You can support the locals by also buying an item from their gift shop filled with homemade quilts, aprons and various wooden kitchen gadgets.

Thank you Lancaster for your hospitability! We look forward to visiting again this fall for a day trip or another overnight stay.

Follow on IG to see more of our Lancaster trip and visit Discover Lancaster’s Free Things to Do guide to plan for your next visit.

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Love Notes: Valentine’s Day Door Affirmations

One of my favorite Valentine’s traditions with my family is writing affirmations of LOVE for each of my kids (and even my spouse).

Its really easy to do, and cost efficient. First, grab some heart dollies or DIY your own with colored construction paper. On each “heart” write a affirmation of LOVE for your child. You will want to make at least 14 hearts for each person.

There’s a few ways you can do this….

1. You can do a Valentine’s Day countdown by adding a new heart to their bedroom door leading up to the 14th OR

2. Surprise them with a door full of hearts any day in February! I usually pick this option and decorate their bedroom door with hearts for a February 1st morning surprise.

Here’s a few of my LOVE affirmations I am writing to my loved ones this year!

• You matter to me
• You are an important part of our family
• You are Brave
• You are Special
• You are my Best Friend
• I love spending time with you
• You make me laugh
• You are so creative
• You are Kind and Compassionate
• You give the best hugs
• You are so loved
• I am so proud of you
• You have the best laugh
• You are an amazing brother/sister
• You are so talented at (sport, school, favorite activity or hobby)
• You have a great imagination
• I love you no matter what
• Being around you is fun!
• You’re such a great helper
• You have the best smile

I hope this post inspires you to make your own affirmations of love for your child or someone you love. Follow me on instagram for more Valentine’s Day inspiration! ❤️ XOXO

Living Room Refresh with Raymour + Flanigan

Our living room was one of the first projects we started working on when we bought our home a year ago. Everything needed to be updated. New paint—Everywhere. New carpet. Window treatments gone. Lighting. Wallpaper. Limewash the fireplace stone. You get the picture. But, this new updated space in our home needed new furniture. Where to shop? Raymour & Flanigan, of course!

Our local Raymour & Flanigan is just a few minutes away—-making it super convenient to pop over to shop. During my shopping trip for our living room makeover, I worked with one of their managers. She was a mom like me—who was also very helpful and knowledgable about seating fabrics. One of my biggest concerns was finding a couch that not only fit my space, but was kid-friendly. I sat on a lot of seating options during my shopping trip. Sectionals, leather couches, swivel chairs….

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To be honest, I got overwhelmed quickly. The showroom has so many beautiful styles. I took lots of photos during my first shopping trip, and then went home to look at my space again. I needed to measure out the options I liked most.

“One tip their salesperson shared with me was to measure out the furniture size in your space via painters tape.”

When I got home, I shared the styles + furniture sizes with my husband. He got out his ruler, and made me the cutest room dimensions to help envision our new room configuration. He agreed that we should do a smaller couch + loveseat, or two larger loveseats pending the style we ordered. Since our living room was on the smaller side, I was pretty firm on wanting similar seating sizes that we could possibly have the couches facing one another in the near future (and removing the tv console from the space).

With that being said, we ended up loving and ordering the Linus Collection . It is 100% Polyester upholstery— stain-resistant, has a soft feel, yet it’s tough enough for extensive, everyday use. I love it’s modern feel. And, its super comfortable. My 3.5 year old son will randomly fall asleep for a nap on the couch while he has some screen time.

The Linus Collection is currently in stock + can be delivered in 3 days! Click HERE to shop.

To finish styling my living room, I added the Gerald Round Coffee Table—made from cement + wood, a wooden side nesting table, and a circular metal lamp. We already owned a TV console from R&F—It’s actually one of the first big purchases my husband and I bought as a couple 15 years ago!! That just shows you how timeless and long-lasting their furniture can be.

Thank you again to Raymour & Flanigan for taking such good care of us. I love that their in-stock furniture pieces are always delivered within three days {white glove service} and has top-notch customer service!

Enjoy all our before + after photos of our living room. What do you think of the makeover?

Before – October 2020 Settlement Day

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Family S’mores Night + Fall Tablescape

Thank you to Christmas Tree Shops + More for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest & completely my own.

We are finally settled into our home, and I must admit I am excited to spend our first fall season here. I’ve been waiting to host a s’more night for YEARS—I’m all about a theme! And, my kids have yet to taste their 1st s’more—a past-time childhood favorite!

So where do I shop for my new home fall decor + s’more themed family night? Christmas Tree Shops and That! They honestly have everything—-with prices for everyone’s budget. My shopping mission was to find items to create a fall tablescape for our new dining room and everything I needed for a family s’mores night!

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The first item I found at Christmas Tree Shops and That! was EVERYTHING I needed to make s’mores! They offered a variety of chocolate bars, marshmallow sizes and graham crackers. And guess what? I even found a fire pit {$47.98 after coupon}, and a cute colorful outside ottoman for our family s’more night! I told you they sell everything. More fab finds? I also picked up new woven plate chargers, plate sets, outside decor lights, fabric pumpkins, playdoh, My Little Golden Book About Ruth Bader Ginsburg, candle sticks, a serving tray and fire sticks ($1) to roast the marshmallows. You could say it was a successful shopping trip!

Here’s some fall tablescape inspiration featuring decor and dinnerware from Christmas Tree Shops and That! My favorite find from CTS are the woven plate chargers. I’ve been a fan of this style for quite some time. I love the natural texture it adds to a table. For the centerpiece, I kept it pretty simple. I used decorative pine cones, plaid fabric pumpkins, and taupe colored candlesticks. Do you keep your dining room table decorated for each season or is it empty until special occasions?

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Now that our fall tablescape is set, its time to kick back and relax with family. What’s better than a homemade fire outside roasting marshmallows? With back to school already in session, my family plans to enjoy weekly family s’more nights! Check out our new fire pit, outside ottoman + s’more ingredients from CTS!

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Don’t forget to check out my Instagram for more fall home decor + kid friendly holiday fun! And, check out your local Christmas Tree Shops and That! for all your holiday decor + everyday needs! Click HERE for $10 off $50 when you sign up for customer emails.

Harlem Globetrotters

Don’t miss your chance to be a part of the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters
global tour as they take the court with moments of extreme basketball innovation
and unparalleled fan FUN! See the Globetrotter stars LIVE as they DRIBBLE, SPIN,
SLAM, and DUNK their way past their relentless rivals, the Washington Generals!
Sunday, March 3rd at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA! Get your tickets at wellsfargocenterphilly.com

Ringling Bros. And Barnum And Bailey Reimagined!

The Greatest Show On Earth is coming to Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Witness daring
and never-before-seen acts that will thrill families and fans of all generations.
Feb 16-19. Get Ringling Bros. Tickets Now! See you there!

Lets Clear The List 22-23

Lets me start off by saying, teachers have one of the hardest jobs! Please help me CLEAR THE LIST of some of my social friends 📚❤️✨

1st Grade Teacher

Kindergarten & 1st Grade Special Education Teacher

1st Grade Teacher

Kindergarten Special Education Teacher | Delaware Autism Program

5th Grade Teacher

Teacher List

3rd Grade Philadelphia Teacher

2nd Grade Teacher

3rd Grade Teacher

THANK YOU!!! Thank you to all the wonderful teachers too! Xo

Patio Makeover BCP

I’ve been waiting two years to make over this space! Dreaming of those cool nights with a fire pit… cuddled up with my family on a sectional outdoor couch. Thanks to Best Choice Products and their affordable prices, my dream came true!

For our large patio space, we selected the 7-piece modular couch, gas firepit, wicker bar, solar umbrella and a 3-piece patio set from Best Choice Products. For the entire space, we spent under $2,000 (which includes rugs and accessories)! What’s the most important thing to you in an outside living space? Mine was functionality with more seating!

Enjoy all the new photos of our new oasis—daytime or at night! Anyone else excited for fall cool nights? We are! We plan to do a family movie night out here soon.

Follow me on Instagram for more design inspiration! Xo

New Disney Collection at Minted.com

We updated our playroom with artwork from MINTED.com NEW Disney Collection! The Disney collection is full of magic with everyone’s favorite Disney and Pixar characters, as imagined by Minted’s community of independent artists. They have gifts starting at $18, and their personalized pillows are my favorites.

I hope our new gallery wall inspires my kids to dream big, be silly and explore their imagination! Now, I think its time to plan a trip to DISNEY with the kids! When was the last time you visited? Mine was 25 years ago!

Use my personal code STEPHANIEDISNEY for 20% off Disney Art & Gifts at Minted!

#MintedxDisney #MyMintedMoment

My last baby is turning ONE

Dear Anderson,

As your 1st birthday approaches in a few days, I feel a sense of sadness coming over me. The last year has been full of so many happy moments and milestones—all your “firsts” but also my “lasts.” My last baby sitting up for the first time, first words, clapping, crawling, kisses and oh so many others. I desperately want time to stay still. Every day you do something new—its how you play with a toy, a new facial look, movement, or just how you interact with us. Every day you get a little bit older and bigger. I find myself appreciating you and all your “firsts” more. I am so proud of the person you are growing to be, yet my heart tugs with each new skill you learn. Maybe its with my older age or the “pandemic” that has forced me to slow down, but I am so grateful for you. You start my day with a smile—with your cheesy baby teeth— that makes your whole face glow. And then a big kiss, one of many kisses.

You are and will always be the greatest surprise. You completed our family. And, I love you so much. I hope in twenty years from now I can still remember all these precious moments—-although i’ve already realized i don’t remember my older’s kids “firsts” as much as i had hoped i would.

So, i apologize for all the videos and photos i take of you and your siblings—even when i’m also trying to stay in the moment. I want to soak up all your big and little moments for eternity.

Happy Birthday buddy! I love you to the moon and back xo

Baby’s 1st Christmas Photo Ideas

Here is some photo inspo for your baby’s 1st christmas! Expecting mamas….Save this post for next holiday. The sleeping candy cane photo is an annual favorite of mine.

Ps. I took all the photos + edited them on my iphone. Use code STEPHMINIX to save on The Digi Girl presets!

Merry Christmas ❤️