With the holiday season fast approaching, I thought I would recap some fun winter activities, including a trip to the Ice Castles in New Hampshire. While the trip could definitely be done in a day, we decided to go overnight and stay at the Omni Mount Washington Hotel to make a fun girls weekend of it! Located in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, a popular ski destination, the Omni Mount Washington is a luxury hotel, constructed in the early 1900’s. Once thought to be the inspiration for the hotel in the popular Stephen King novel and movie, The Shining, both King and the hotel have denied such rumors.

The hotel is quite charming. You can choose to stay in the historic hotel or the Omni Bretton Arms Inn (and use all of the hotel amenities). In the winter, guests can ski, tube, snowshoe, take a scenic gondola ride or even take a sleigh ride. We took a private, 30 minute sleigh ride, for a little over $100, plus tip. Worth every penny.

After the sleigh ride we grabbed a pizza in town at Celli’s, at the recommendation of our sleigh driver actually, but make sure to call ahead if you’re planning on dropping in on a weekend, it gets busy. Good pizza, family friendly for sure!

The ice castles were fun! I can see why people like going at night, but with littles, we wanted to go during the day. It was crowded, and with all the people, I wanted to be able to see and keep track of everyone. There were lots of people there taking photos for Instagram and plenty of places to make it look like you were there without the crowds.

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I’m sure when it got dark and they lit up with fun colored lights, it would have been beautiful! A good idea to wear boots and snow pants.

Tickets are timed entry, and adults are around $31 for 12+ and $23 for children 4-11. Group tickets and off peak hours are cheaper. Make sure to leave enough time to get from the parking lot to the gate. There is a quarter mile walking path through the forest that is lit up by colorful globes, crawl tunnels and ice slides for the young (and young at heart), and sleigh rides (additional cost and tickets needed). The line for the sleigh rides was long, we were glad that we had booked a private one at the hotel.

After a day out in the cold, we were happy to get back to our room and order some dessert room service!

Such a special treat to sit in a hotel robe and eat sweets in bed!

The next morning we woke up and took the hotel shuttle to the mountain to take the scenic gondola ride. Highly recommend. The gondola is open from 9am – 3:30pm, and tickets are around $30. After returning to the hotel, we spent the morning relaxing at the pool and playing at the arcade before heading home.

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Omni Mount Washington Hotel

310 Mount Washington Hotel Road, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/bretton-woods-mount-washington/

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Another place we liked to pick our own fruit this season was Tougas Farm in Northborough. We did strawberries and cherries here this season, but this time of year they do have apple picking available. The first time we went was when the baby was fairly new – so here I am with three kids in the car and as soon as we pull into the lot, it starts to rain. But we drove all the way here, so I make the kids get out and put on coats. So I have one strapped into the baby carrier, I’m holding two by the hands and have an umbrella on my arm and I’m trying to get them up the stairs onto the tractor to go out to the fields. I figure it’ll be great, strawberries are low to the ground so the kids won’t need a lot of help and they can have a fun afternoon. Wrong. After picking two berries, my son says, “Mama, I’m all done.” Ummm, no. Then, “How about you pick them and hand them to me and I will put them in the basket?” So here I am bending down with the baby basically parallel to the ground picking strawberries, soaking wet, picking two enormous cartons of strawberries by myself. And when we are done, I’m holding two full containers, so I have no hands to help the kids up onto the tractor ride. Why do I even do this to myself?! But we make it and the kids had a good time, we even were able to squeeze in some lunch. They have a nice little picnic area outside to eat at – we had grilled cheeses and the kids were happy!

With cherry picking I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, so we all went as a family. This way at least I would have one hand free. The kids love the tractor ride to and from the orchards and they really love the big playground area. They do have goats and some birds that are roaming about the picnic area. Their farm store has lots of delicious seasonal treats (pies, cider, donuts, fresh picked fruits), jams, maple products, beverages, and more.

Apple picking is a 10lb peck for $30 and a 20lb half bushel is $40. You can pick your own pumpkins for $0.75 per pound. Make sure to check their Facebook page to see what they are currently picking and what the current prices are (sometimes they run specials).

Where do you like to pick your own fruit?

Tougas Farm

234 Ball Street, Northborough, MA

www.tougasfamilyfarm.com

Pick your own fruit Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 5pm. Closed Mondays.

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My friend Leah is the absolute best. Last weekend, these two moms packed our bags and ran away from home! No kids, no husbands – just a weekend worth of quiet time, good laughs and of course, great food. So we headed over to Logan Airport to catch our Cape Air flight. I’ve been to Nantucket a handful of times, but always took the fast ferry (Leah prefers the slow ferry). The plane is quite small, it seats maybe 10 and prepare yourself, they ask for your weight at check in It’s a bumpy ride today – generally I am a good with small planes, but this one really made my stomach do somersaults. And just as we land, the guy in front of me proceeds to vomit – great start right?!?

We are staying at the beautiful Harborview Nantucket Hotel. The property hosts 11 luxurious cottages that range from 1-4 bedrooms. As you can see, just steps from the water and a short walk into town, the best of both worlds! We stayed in the “Crow’s Nest”, a two bedroom cottage with one bedroom on the main floor and one bedroom on the upper floor. Each had its own private bathroom, a second sitting room upstairs, a full kitchen with stove, microwave and dishwasher and a washer and dryer in unit. You can request a fire to be built at night – which we did, and it certainly made the cottage feel like home. The cottage also has a widow’s walk – so you (and by you, I mean Leah) can go up early in the morning and watch the sun rise.

General Manager Morag, and her husband Matt run the property seamlessly. They arranged to pick us up at the airport, sent us a list of restaurants that were open for the season, set up our tour at Cisco Brewery and answered all of our questions.

Famished from our plane ride, we popped into The Nautilus for a bite to eat. Open for both lunch and dinner, this rustic restaurant has classic New England dishes with hints of Asian flavors. They make their own bitters and syrups for cocktails and of course, they make their own delicious pickles. Everything on the menu looked delicious, and our eyes were certainly bigger than our stomachs, but we ordered a little bit of everything: the prime cheeseburger, the blue crab fried rice, the fried chicken drumettes and I’ll admit that I even had some of the salad – that dressing was so good! Stay tuned for a full review.

If you know me at all, you know I did my research before we took this trip, and I wrote down all of the bakeries and sweet shops I hoped that we would visit. I had been to Petticoat Row before, but was pleasantly surprised by all the fun treats for Daffy weekend (April 27-29). Fun iced sugar cookies in the shapes of daffodils, and cute little pink and yellow whale cookies. I tried out the morning bun and it did not disappoint. Another fun thing if you are on island for Daffy weekend, stop in and pick up one of these cute picnic baskets for the beach – or the ferry ride home. You can order sandwiches and salads – fruit and drinks, and of course some delicious sweets. Leah ordered a $40 basket and it came packed with two sandwiches, 2 side salads, 2 pieces of fruit, a Nantucket Nectar, and a bunch of cookies – so cute! We thought we would add a Cisco beer and a bottle of wine just for fun. Again, full review coming soon.

For dinner, I chose the Greydon House. The luxury hotel was on Conde Nast’s Traveler’s 2017 Hot List – it has 16 luxury rooms and suites – designed by the same people that did The Ace and The Standard Hotel in New York. No wonder it felt familiar! Chef Marcus Ware has a well rounded menu and it was certainly one of the better meals I have had in a LONG time. We started off by sharing the fusilli pasta with veal ragout – so savory – I could have eaten my body weight in this dish! We shared the caramelized sea scallops with English peas, broccoli and yuzu vinaigrette and the grilled black angus steak with crispy smoked potatoes and bernaise sauce. The potatoes were smooth and creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside, and that steak was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of salt. We ended the night on a high note with the baked Alaska – chocolate and mint ice cream with lady fingers – torched meringue and strawberry. I couldn’t get enough of the strawberry puree – so delicious. Service was excellent – a must try if you are on the island.

We had the next morning free so we decided to rent a Jeep and head out to the lighthouse. We headed into town and picked up this baby at Young’s. We drove to the Northern most lighthouse, Great Point. You can access it by foot – but it’s a 7 mile walk on the beach, or take a Jeep with a beach permit sticker. We had to let out the air in the tires and popped the Jeep into 4 wheel drive. Leah was at the wheel – I was in charge of photos. We brought breakfast with us and enjoyed eating with the seals that were taking a little nap in the sun. Don’t forge to fill up the tires on the way out!

For breakfast, we had stopped at the Downyflake, a family run diner that I can only imagine is packed in peak season. They serve breakfast and lunch – we took some egg sandwiches to go – which totally hit the spot. And how can you leave without trying some of their homemade doughnuts. Try the sugar coated, the chocolate covered, the maple glazed, the coconut or the plain for just 90 cents each! Don’t forget your cash though, they don’t accept cards (ATM is on site if you need it).

Next stop in the afternoon was Cisco Brewers for a tour and some sampling. We brought our own lunch because the food truck wasn’t open for the season yet – stop in at Bartlett’s Farm next door for a sandwich (we had a Cuban sandwich that was just what we needed after an afternoon of sampling!) Back to the brewery – there’s a free shuttle from the Nantucket Visitor’s Center on Federal Street (check websites for times) which I would recommend, as parking is very limited. We were lucky enough to have Matt from the Harborview drive us over and pick us up. We had a fantastic tour guide – with a witty personality and heavy pour (perks of the last tour of the day?).

For dinner we mentioned to Matt and Morag that we were thinking of the Proprietor’s Table for dinner – they happened to be going there as well so we knew that it would be a good meal! A great menu filled with mostly small plates to share at the table – we had the carrot hummus, the kimchee pancake, the shishitos and the braised short rub cannelloni (which was a larger dish). The restaurant had a cool vibe – everything made you feel like you were in a friend’s garden for dinner – mismatched china plates, cutlery in mason jars – really home-like. The naan for the hummus was probably my favorite part of the dish – and I loved the flavor of the hummus. Star might have been that house made twinkie on the bottom right – a lemon poppyseed cake filled with strawberry. YUM!

Other quick side notes – we stopped into the Nantucket Bake Shop for some treats – we were there close to closing time, so there wasn’t much left. They have an old school feeling about them – pick up some classic pastries or a Jamaican patty for lunch!

We also stopped into Wicked Island Bakery and picked up some adorable sugar cookies made by Amy Hinson. Whale cookies and cookies shaped like the island with a cute daffodil flourish on them will make you the envy of all the other picnic go-ers on Daffy weekend. They didn’t have the morning buns when we were there, but they do sell to the Handlebar Cafe, where was got to try one – they’re made from scratch with pure Vermont butter and Tahitian vanilla – they’re gooey on the inside and sugary perfection on the outside! I also picked up an apple pastry which was pretty darn tasty as well. In the mood for something savory? They have breakfast sandwiches and pizzas as well.

On our last morning on the island, I took Leah to the Brant Point Grill for brunch – it’s located inside the White Elephant hotel. The brunch is AMAZING – so much delicious food to choose from. While Leah had stayed at the White Elephant before, she had never eaten there – so I was excited that I got to introduce her to at least ONE new thing! They’re open 10-2 on Sundays for brunch and have tasty items like lobster scrambled eggs, chicken and dumplings (I am still dreaming about this dish), a fresh raw bar, desserts as far as the eye can see, and even an ice cream cart for the kids! We happened to go on a day where they were having a charity event – so all proceeds went to Community Sailing and Nantucket’s Science Center. The weather was perfect and we sat for a long time – eating our way through the buffet and watching the ferry come in.

Thanks to Leah for being the best!

Have you been to Nantucket? What’s your go – to spot?

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My mom and I have this tradition of driving up to Freeport, ME every year to do some outlet shopping. We’ve done it since I was a little girl. When we first started going, we stayed overnight at a cute little B&B that is no longer. We’ve watched the little town grow and seen stores come and go. Sometimes we stop in Kittery, sometimes Portland, and sometimes Ogunquit (can’t miss those lobster rolls!)

The drive is just over 2 hours from Boston, and while there are outlets now in Wrentham and at Assembly Row, I still like to go up to Maine because it’s such a cute little town.

So where do we start? Can’t start the trip without making a pit stop at L.L. Bean! Don’t forget to take a picture with the enormous boot! They have FREE concerts and events during the summer. Check out the schedule here. Did you know that L.L. Bean is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year?!? When I was younger, it was so much fun going into the store at midnight.

What are some of my favorite stops on Main Street (and off)?

Sea Bags I have a MAJOR addiction. In addition to their recycled sail bags, they have some cool jewelry from Lemon Line and some fun options for your home.

J. Crew I’m a sucker for the J. Crew outlet. I love all their kids clothes too.

Vineyard Vines They have an outlet store in Wrentham and at Foxwoods. This store is two floors of preppy heaven. Just note that there is no way to the second floor besides the stairs, so be prepared to leave your stroller. (Although they did offer to help carry my stroller all the way up, but that just seemed cruel )

When Pigs Fly I can’t get enough of this delicious bread. You can get it in the market, and they even have stores in MA. But this is a favorite stop for me – oh and did I mention that it smells delicious?

Fjällräven just opened a store in Boston. They have their only outlet location up in Freeport. They sell first quality merchandise at around 10% off. I picked up a “maxi Kånken” backpack and use it in place of a diaper bag on most days. It has an extra expandable compartment for a laptop if you want to use it for a commuter bag.

What else can you find in Freeport?

The Coach Factory Store, Coastal Maine Popcorn, Dooney and Bourke, Lindt, Sperry, The North Face, and Maine Woolens to name just a few.

Where to eat? To be honest, we usually eat somewhere else (like Ogunquit or Kittery) but I’ve always wanted to try the Harraseeket. We’ve had a few meals at Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen. My first meal there was delicious, this past time, when we went for lunch it was just meh. Sort of disappointed when you pay for a lobster dish, especially in Maine, and it’s just meh.

For more information on Freeport, ME, check out their website here.

Have you been up to Freeport, ME lately? Where’s your favorite place to eat?

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I needed a day off to regroup and have a little “me” time. I woke up at the crack of dawn and drove in the dark to pick up Kim to head over to New London, CT to catch the 9am ferry. She made the mix tape and I brought the snacks and we took route 395 all the way there (trust me, way better than taking 95!). The trip took just under two hours and we pulled into the parking lot with plenty of time to spare. (Parking is $10 a day in New London) We were getting ready to board the Sea Jet, the fast ferry that takes you to Orient Point, Long Island. The trip takes about 40 minutes and you’re there before you know it. If you’re taking a car over, the trip takes about an hour and 20 minutes. We get on the ferry and I have time to unwind and enjoy a little time to myself – we have a full day ahead of us. The boat itself is super clean and has tables so you can get some work done if you choose. Feeling a little hungry? No worries, the cafe on board has you covered. Once we arrive in Orient Point, we are picked up in a cute little bus and Vintage Tours takes us to our first stop. Our guide today is owner Jo-Ann Perry who is such a sweetie. Her company provides tours of local wineries. She knows the area and has personal relationships with the owners of the wineries, so you are sure to have a great trip. On the weekends, tours cost $99, which includes 4 wineries and tastings and a box lunch.

Our first stop is Sep’s Farm, a family run farm that goes back 5 generations. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day in North Fork, just look at the lighting!  We were able to go out into the fields and see where the food comes from. Sep’s grows over 50 varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. They have a great little road side farm stand where you can get a carrot or a pepper that has just been pulled from the ground earlier in the day! How cool is that?

They have great barn where we had a little snack – but it would be perfect for a summer dinner party. Do you see the vibrant colors of the cauliflowers? The top and bottom right are peppers at the farm and the third photo from the top are tomatoes.

It’s amazing how different food tastes when it is fresh from the farm! Sep’s also carries a variety of delicious jams (pictured left middle) and they make these amazing zucchini pickles (bottom right).

Sepenoski’s wife Katie pulled this fennel up from the ground while she was telling us about their farming practices. Have you ever smelled fresh fennel??

How beautiful is this purple pepper? Although, when you cook it, it doesn’t keep the bright color.

“Sep” treated us to some delicious striped bass that he had caught the day before, it was light and so delicious. Simple, fresh ingredients really make a difference.

You can find Sep’s Farm located at 7395 Main Street in East Marion. http://www.sepsfarm.com

Next stop is Old Field Vineyards, a small family owned vineyard, in fact, it is the only mother/daughter winery on Long Island. Perry, the 5th generation to work on the vineyard, lives here as well with her family. Her brother comes back east frequently to help out with the vineyard. They hand pick all of their grapes and hand cork all of their bottles. They raise chickens for fertilizer and they have a few pet ducks that prefer the kiddie swimming pool to the pond. We arrive in time to watch the punch down of the wine. While wine is fermenting, it is important to keep the fermenting wine and skins mixed – it is also important to break the cap that forms on the top several times a day to increase the color and flavor of the wine and to keep the cap from drying out. To do the punch down, they use a long tool that looks a little like a potato masher – it makes for a great arm work out! We get to taste a little from the giant vat, it tastes sweet like juice! We were able to sample 3 wines and chat with Perry about the history of the vineyard, the wine making process and the wines.

The Old Field can be found at 59600 Main Street in Southold, Long Island. http://www.theoldfield.com

Next stop is Little Creek Oyster Farm and Market. Ian and Rosalie have this cute little shop/restaurant with all things oysters. Cute t-shirts, locally made goods and of course, oysters. If the weather is nice, you can grab a seat outside on the hay bales that act as couches or a spot under the umbrella. We head inside and they show us how to shuck our own oysters.

You can “shuck yourself” for a discounted price (don’t worry, they’ll show you how!), 6 for $9, 12 for $16 or 24 for $30. If you don’t feel like working…grab 6 for $15 or 12 for $30. Never shucked an oyster before, me either. It’s a little trickier than it seems, but once you get the hang of it, it’s smooth sailing. Rosalie made it look so easy, it certainly took me a few tries to get my first one open!

In addition to oysters they have some other light bites. The pickle plate is not to be missed folks, the smoked pickles are super delicious! Also not to be missed is the chowder – creamy but not thick, flavorful, and they slice the potatoes ever so thin so that you don’t feel so bad when you’re eating them!

Little Creek Oyster Farm and Market can be found at 37 Front Street, down bootleg alley, in Greenport. http://littlecreekoysters.com

If you have a chance, make sure to stop over at the nearby carousel. It’s 100 years old and housed in an ultra modern glass house. Bring back memories from your childhood by riding the flying horses and grabbing for that special brass ring. Rides are $2 per person. Find out more information about the carousel here.

Full from lunch, we jump back on the bus and head over to Kontokosta Winery. The views are breathtaking and the tasting room is picturesque, a perfect place for a wedding. Owner Michael Kontokosta was there to greet us and give us a tour of the property. A corporate finance lawyer by trade, Michael has no formal training, but you’d never know it! The property is fairly new, with the first grapes planted in 2002.

They were still picking grapes this late in the season, so it was cool to have the chance to see the beginning of the wine making process. We were asking all kinds of questions, one of which was, “what was one of your biggest hurdles when you first started making wine?” His answer, faxing. When you go and visit, ask for the story! The winery is 62 acres and the tasting room is about 9,00 sq. ft. I loved their rosé, just trying to hold onto every last bit of summer I suppose, but seriously,  for me, it could be rosé all year round! Kontokosta also owns the Harborfront Inn nearby.

Kontokosta Winery can be found at 825 North Road in Greenport, on Long Island. http://www.kontokostawinery.com

Every trip has to have a sweet ending – this was no exception. Our final stop before heading to the ferry was The Candy Man, a small homemade candy shop that has been operated by the Heins family for four generations. On the left you can see the rum balls being made and on the right, the popular hollow turkeys.

The Candy Man can be found at 22350 Main Road in Orient, on Long Island. http://www.orientcandyman.com/

We arrive at Orient Point with minutes to spare and board the Cross Sound Ferry’s “Mary Ellen”, an auto ferry. We sit with Stan Mickus, Director of Public Affairs and Marketing for the Cross Sound Ferry. Stan tells us about the tours that the ferry offers and about all the great things the company is doing.

The Cross Sound Ferry offers a lighthouse cruise (check out my post here), a “lights and sights” tour that features view of spectacular mansions (ahem, Taylor Swift) and historic hotels in addition to the light houses, and two great packages for those traveling from Orient Point to New London to the casinos. A coach bus meets passengers in New London and takes them to either Foxwoods (where you get $10 towards food or a free festival buffet and $20 in a bonus slot play) or Mohegan Sun (where you get a $15 meal credit two $10 free bets and one $5 free bet).

For more information about the Cross Sound Ferry, check out their website here.

After a very full day, we grabbed a bite for dinner before heading home. I had such an amazing day with some good friends – I can’t wait to go back, maybe next time with my family. There was so much more to explore than what we squeezed into one day – cute shops in town, tons of wineries and breweries, restaurants, and of course the carousel. A special thanks to Stan and the folks at the Cross Sound Ferry for a wonderful afternoon.

Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest of the Cross Sound Ferry to tour the North Fork. All transportation, parking, meals and tastings were provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.

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Summer is coming to an end, Labor day is just around the corner and you’re getting the kids ready to go back to school. But after Labor day is the best time to be on the Cape (well, I think it is!) because all the tourists are gone, you can drive through town without the ferry backup, and you can actually get into your favorite restaurants. Another great way to hold on to those summer days? Head over to the Cape Codder, where they have just recently opened up a 30,000 square foot indoor water park. How does that extend summer? On days where the weather is nice, they open the retractable roof, and it’s just like being outside.

I recently had a chance to check the park out with my family. The park has 4 tube slides: 2 in the wave pool area (50 feet and 80 feet) and two high speed water slides in main room that are 160 feet each! The main area (above) has a “stormy river”, their interpretation of a lazy river, with sections of both calm and choppy water and plenty of places for you to get sprayed by water jets.

The wave pool is 10,00 square feet and has waves that are up to 2 feet! There is a 24 person hot tub and two saunas in this room as well.

For those of you with smaller children, they have a kiddie area – complete with  a small pirate ship and small kiddie sized slides.

They have a snack bar  in the pool area or you can head over to the Hearth n’ Kettle for a bite. The large menu offers something for everyone – and a great thing for us was that they serve breakfast all day! Pictured above, left to right: bacon cheese burger ($11.97), breakfast sandwich ($8.19), kid’s mac and cheese and chicken fingers ($7.99).

Day passes are available on a limited basis for $40 per person ($30 per child under 48″). Admission to the park is included if you are staying at the hotel. So now that I’ve told you about the water park, you’re thinking, ok, but where is the Cape Codder? It’s conveniently located right off the highway (Route 6) in Hyannis. If you decide to stay overnight, there are tons of things to do after you’ve spent the day at the water park: take the ferry over to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket, bike along the bike path, spend the morning on a whale watch or browse local artists in the shops in downtown Hyannis. Speaking of local artists, the Cape Codder likes to support local artisans – check out the chandelier in the lobby, made by McDermott Glass Studio, located in Sandwich. It’s made up of 400 hand blown glass pieces, including fish, shells and that large whelk shell hanging on the bottom.

The hotel has 266 rooms, including some great family suites (shown above). There are plenty of activities for the kids, including bonfires and s’mores, movie night, live animal shows and daily arts and crafts.

The family suites are great if you’re traveling with grandparents or kids – they sleep 6, two in the master bedroom, two on a sleeper sofa, and two on a Murphy bed that folds up in the daytime to be a kitchen table. The suites offer two large bathrooms and a kitchenette.

Looking for something a little more luxurious? Try the 2 or 3 bedroom residences that are part of the Cape Codder Residence Club.

To circle back with the year round theme, I’ll leave you with an image of the hotel’s year round outdoor pool – yup, you heard that right – it’s a salt water heated pool! Swoon!

Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to visit the Cape Codder water park. Admission for my family to the park as well as lunch were provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.

Cape Codder Resort and Spa

1225 Iyannough Road, Hyannis, MA

www.capecodderresort.com

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While they offer some good options for people on the go – like pieces of fruit and bagels, they also make delicious omelettes. I had the Western, which was delicious, served with fresh fruit and toast.

My brother told me that their specialty is crepes, so of course we went back to try them out! They offer both sweet and savory options for crepes, like smoked salmon, crab alfredo or their most popular, the California crepe, with all natural eggs, avocado, sundried tomatoes, turkey sausage, baby swiss, seasonal greens and creamy pesto.

Of course we went for the sweet option – my brother’s go to crepe, the black and white ($9) with fresh seasonal berries, nutella, white chocolate, crushed biscuits and topped with whipped cream. So decadent and delicious! Between the thin crepes and the fresh fruit, I almost could trick myself into thinking that this was healthy (let’s not talk about all the chocolate and cookies haha).

The service is excellent, Mike the owner is usually around and he couldn’t be nicer. There is a ton of parking with both indoor an outdoor seating. Stop in and you’ll make this your new go to coffee stop!

Daily Grind

2000 Boulderstone Way, Cary, NC

http://dailygrindnc.com/

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On a day trip to Nantucket this fall, we spent the afternoon walking around the island. One stop was the Petticoat Row bakery, a cute little shop just off the beaten path.

With the summer season coming to a close, their cases were a bit more sparse than usual, but we still found some delicious things! They bake their bread daily and offer things like cookies, cupcakes, breakfast items and they even make custom cakes. We grabbed some coffee with our treats as well! It’s unfortunate that they don’t have seating inside the bakery, so we had to sit outside on one of the benches to enjoy our treats.

Petticoat Row Bakery

35 Centre St, Nantucket, MA

http://petticoatrowbakery.com

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Kilwins is an amazing sweet shop in Cary with other locations across the country. They have a variety of sweets to choose from, check out these caramel apples, I feel a cavity coming on just looking at them!

I was so impressed when my niece said she was only going to get one scoop of ice cream…until I saw it. it was a softball sized scoop in an enormous waffle cone…that was covered in candy. Oy!

The chocolate selection is impressive from their hand paddled Mackinac island style fudge, to their rich and buttery caramel to their fresh nut brittles and truffles.

We restrained ourselves and only got a few things – milk cashew turtles (one of my favorites), a milk chocolate peanut butter oreo, a milk chocolate rice krispy bar, a milk chocolate toffee and white chocolate pretzels. Every piece was delicious, you chocolate snobs out there won’t be disappointed.

Kilwins

2004 Boulderstone Way, Cary, NC

https://www.kilwins.com/cary

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After eating Bruegger’s three days in a row, I needed a real breakfast. We went to Brigs at the Crossing. When we arrived, there were a lot of old timers eating breakfast – they serve it all day, 7am to 2:30pm.

I had the Western omelette with ham, onion, peppers and swiss cheese (instead of jack cheese). The omelette itself was pretty good, I only wish that the potatoes had been a little crisper.

They offer hot cakes, pancakes, in stacks of 3, a short stack of 2 or a single cake. We had the plain cakes with blueberry compote on the side, but it looked a lot like it came out of a can, so we passed. Service was a bit spotty but overall good. The food was average, nothing that really stood out and wowed us.

Brigs

1225 NW Maynard Road, Cary, NC

www.brigs.com

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