In the mood to spend a day exploring but only have a few free hours? Why? Because there is no one to let the dog out. Ever happened to you? We love our dog, but he does cramp our style. When there have been weeks where it seems like he has been alone too much – or we just find ourselves with a full free day and want to run around without having to stop back home mid-day, we find a way to bring him along. It’s a little more work but can definitely lead to a fun and different way to spend the day. Luckily there are many places these days that allow dogs. I’ve had good luck at local restaurants and breweries or wineries with outdoor seating, parks of course; ice cream shops, coffee shops, farmer’s markets, outdoor concerts and sometimes an outdoor tourist attraction (like a walking tour – self-guided or not). A few tips to make for an easy day: Call ahead to make sure your pup is allowed. Combine a variety of activities – some food, some walking, maybe just some hanging out Check the weather – nothing worse than a wet dog in the car! Be a good dog owner – bring along water and poop bags and pick up after your dog Ready for an example? If you live in the Indianapolis area, here is a fun day with your dog: The day must start with coffee, right? Luckily most coffee and bagel shops are happy to have your dog join you. Once everyone is fully charged, a little walking seemed like...
As I mentioned last week, one of my goals for 2019 is to travel monthly – at least a weekend trip. With a two week break from school and work, the beginning of January seemed like the perfect time to start meeting that goal! A few days after ringing in the New Year, we went on a quick overnight adventure to Pokagon State Park in Northern Indiana. Pokagon is one of seven State Parks in Indiana that has an Inn on site, and we were lucky enough to get a room for the night during a very busy week! The location of the Inn is perfect – it’s close to the toboggan run, sits on beautiful Lake James and is minutes from outlet shopping, wineries, restaurants, and downtown Angola, Indiana. We arrived at the Potawatomi Inn just after lunch and were pleasantly surprised to find our room was ready. We were thrilled to stay in one of the patio rooms with a gorgeous view of Lake James. In fact, I woke up early the next day to get some beautiful morning shots of the still water. The room was large with a small fridge and microwave oven. The beds were comfy and clean and it was the ideal lodging for our quick trip. Our room was right across the hallway from the game room which contained a variety of video games, ping pong, air hockey and a new family favorite, Boccerball. None of us had ever heard of it before but we spent quite a bit of time playing – watch the short video below and you’ll get why...
Merry Christmas! If are reading this on the day I post it, I’m sure Christmas is on your mind as it’s Christmas Eve! So, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite holiday or holiday related posts: Gift Guides: From the Modern Mrs. Darcy: The Minimalist’s Guide to Stocking Stuffers My favorite gift ideas From MomAdvice.com 9 Great Gifts for Someone Living with Chronic Pain From Jessie on a Journey 28 Unique Gifts for Backpackers and Adventurers Helping Others/ Building Relationships: Spread some holiday cheer Random Acts of Kindness Website All-Fun No-Stress Holiday Connections Inexpensive Winter Activities – Get Fit for Less From Consistently Curious – 25 Date Night Ideas in Cincinnati – plan something for the new year now, some of these ideas could be done in places other than Cincinnati Fun Projects: How about making something fun today as a family? The Perfect Hostess Gift – Flavored Butters Make Ice Cream from Hip2Save – Homemade Peppermint Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Rolled Paper Christmas Ornaments from Positively Splendid Make your own Sugar Scrub to share with everyone you know! From Make and Takes – Watercolor Bookmarks Any other ideas to share? I’d love to hear about them in the comments! Want to remember these ideas? Pin for later: ...
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., Abreva, Breathe Right, Clorox, Robitussin and Theraflu. All opinions are mine alone. #SoothesOfTheSeason #CollectiveBias It may be cold outside, but as long as you are feeling healthy, you can still have fun! It’s a rough time of the year for colds, coughs and the flu – if you don’t have a bug, I bet you know someone who does. It can definitely be hard to keep your family healthy, but by stocking up now and being prepared, you can truly enjoy all the season has to offer. After all, the last thing you want to do is run out in the middle of the night or miss something fun because you’re feeling awful. Early in the season, I hit my local Noblesville Kroger to stock up on my list of cold, cough and flu must-haves including: Abreva® Pump Cold Sore and Fever Blister Treatment – easy to apply Abreva is not for temporary relief, but healing. As soon as you feel a cold sore coming on, apply it immediately for best results. Breathe® Right Extra Clear Nasal Strips – when colds settle in your nose, I love these strips to provide relief for congestion. I’m also a big fan of the fact that it’s drug-free and safe to use with any sleep medication. They have a flexible, “spring-like” band within each strip, and when you place them on your nose using the special adhesive, they gently lift the sides of the nose and open the nasal passages as the band tries to straighten back to its original shape. Pretty clever,...
Just a few years ago, the nearby town of Carmel, Indiana created a new winter event called a Christkindlmarkt. For those of you who travel in Europe (especially Germany), this isn’t a new idea, in fact, Christkindlmarkt’s have been around for hundreds of years. A Christkindlmarkt is a street market that pops up during the Christmas season. A Christkindlmarkt typically has crafts, ornaments, and decorations associated with the holiday season for sale, delicious foods (often German or Swiss) and comforting drinks such as Glüwein (warm spiced wine). The Carmel Christkindlmarkt is set up around a large ice-skating rink so not only can you enjoy the market, you can get a little fun winter exercise in at the same time. My son and I had the opportunity to attend the media day for the Carmel Christkindlmarkt this year and even though temperatures were incredibly cold and the skies were grey, we had a marvelous time. Thanks to plenty of parking on the street and several nearby (and free) parking garages, we had no trouble finding a close spot – I love that Carmel was very thoughtful in thinking about parking for their frequent events when planning the city center area. When we arrived, the market was just opening, so we began by walking around the booths and chatting with the various vendors. We found some adorable decorations and ornaments that would make delightful and unique stocking stuffers and Christmas gifts. We decided not to skate today (it was just too cold), but I think that will definitely be something we’ll come back for later in the season. The rink is...
As I mentioned in the newsletter this week, Monday was a vacation day for me. Just me. I always seem to end up with extra days towards the end of the year so I like to take a few “mental health” days in November and December. My plan was to check out a new coffee shop/ store north of Noblesville and a few new stores in Cicero (another small town). However, I didn’t take into account that Monday is the day lots of places were closed … Luckily I wasn’t deterred, so once I realized my original plan was out, I decided to see if I could find enough to do to fill a day in Westfield, Indiana. Westfield is another city next to where I live and although we go to dinner there often and Urban Vines is there which I love and recently shared about in my Five Fun Fall Adventures in Hamilton County post, I hadn’t spent an entire day exploring before. I started the day off at Titus Bakery for fresh, hot coffee and a delicious donut. Yum! This is a fairly new location and their donuts were perfection. Interesting flavors, freshly baked and tasty. Great way to start the day. I headed over to the downtown area to see what I could find. Westfield’s downtown is tiny. There are a few stores and one stoplight. However, quite a bit is packed into the small area. In addition to the main street, there is a new “restaurant row” just a few blocks south – which contains some of our favorite restaurants – I’ll have to...
Hi! I’m Pam. I’m a busy mom of two teens who loves to travel and enjoy each and every day. My hope is to inspire other busy moms to create family memories and discover everyday adventures wherever they are! Check out my About Pam page for more details.
