Monthly Archives

May 2018

Travel

Greenville, South Carolina: Family Trip Recap

May 21, 2018

Traveling with kids can at times be a major ‘production’. Since my husband’s work requires a lot of travel, I always try to do my due diligence beforehand and make sure I have a sense of kid activities and excursions in the particular city we are visiting. This past week, we visited Greenville, South Carolina, where my husband participated in the BMW Charity Pro Am Golf Tournament. We’ve been to this charming, beautiful city a couple of times in the past for the same event, but since my kids are older, I wanted to explore some more age-appropriate activities in the area. If you’ve never been to Greenville, I HIGHLY recommend adding it to your list of possible family vacations. It’s such a unique, quaint town with so much character, amazing food, great boutique shops, and takes great pride in their involvement and presence of the arts.

Below are some of our favorite places and sights in and around Greenville:

  • The Children’s Museum of the Upstate. This is by far one of the best children’s museums, hands down! We LOVE this place. It has multiple hands-on galleries, water tables, elaborate indoor play apparatus, outdoor playground, amazing exhibits and classes catering to all ages. If you have kids and visiting Greenville, this is a must-do! Conveniently, it’s walking distance from downtown Greenville, as well.

  • The Greenville Zoo. Maybe it’s because the always-crowded Los Angeles Zoo is so massive, but I absolutely adore this tiny but awesome and charming zoo. The zoo can be navigated in under an hour, especially if you have kids like mine who sprint from one exhibit to the next. There’s also a great playground next to the parking lot.
  • Gravitopia. We have a few trampoline centers like Sky High in Los Angeles, but Gravitopia tops all of the ones I have visited, hands down! They have the best trampoline set ups, along with a Ninja Warrior area and a great trapeze area for adults and kids. My kids loved this place so much we went there twice.
  • Falls Park on the Reedy River. In my opinion, this is the gem of Greenville. My kids love walking on the expansion bridge and watching the falls…it’s a stunning view. Last year we went for a walk here on a Sunday and partook in some great family activities geared towards kids. 
  • Main Street. You can spend an entire afternoon just enjoying Main Street. From their awesome General Store, the toy store next door, Tupelo Honey (our favorite restaurant…their Fried Green Tomatoes are a must!), an impressive selection of ice cream shops and boutique stands, and their Saturday Farmers Market is top-notch. You can also catch some amazing sidewalk art.
  • The Park at the Greenville Downtown Airport. This is an awesome playground next to the tiny airport where the kids can watch small planes take off and land while playing. It offers a nice shaded area with tables for eating and it never seems to be very crowded. We have friends who live nearby and they always recommend meeting up here as it’s definitely the coolest playground for kids, especially those who love planes.
  • Soby’s and Larkin’s on the River. These are our favorite dinner restaurants that won’t disappoint. We’ve even had brunch on Mother’s Day one year at Larkin’s and their buffet spread was like a dream.

This town is full of Southern charm and has quickly become one of my favorite towns in the South. Though it’s great to be home, I’m sure going to missed those Cheese Grits and Fried Chicken! Until next year…

Birthdays

Train-Themed Birthday Party

May 2, 2018

When your child is obsessed with trains as much as mine, it doesn’t take much thought to decide the theme for his third birthday party. My little guy LOVES trains. He could watch Thomas The Train, videos of trains, and play with his toy trains all day, everyday. Thus, you can imagine how excited my son, Anders,  was when we threw him a train-themed birthday party.

As per usual, I used our beloved Polkatots to make his cupcake cake. (I prefer cupcake cakes for kid parties as they are soooooooo much easier for kids who have little patience in waiting for a cake to be sliced. Likewise, they make it more convenient for the adults.) Polkatots created a gorgeous train cupcake cake consisting of red velvet, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry-flavored cupcakes. I use Polkatots for every party not only because they do a great job with the decorating, but because they are the best-tasting and most addictive cupcakes EVER! The only downside? I always eat way too many!


Other highlights from the party included a train piñata, a bouncy house combo blow up in the shape of a train station, and mini train rides. Since we only invited his 6 classmates, we found some great (and inexpensive) train sets to give to each child as a party favor.

Overall, it was a fantastic party and my newly-turned three-year old was over the moon! Let the “Terrific Three’s” begin!

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Chasing Pleasures