Travel Archives - Page 4 of 4

Dorney Park First Timer

May 12, 2016 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Close your eyes. Think back to those times as a child when you were able to go to the amusement park. If you were anything like Andrew and I, it didn’t happen often – we were lucky if it occurred once a year. Now, think about the feeling you had when you got onto that first roller coaster or first ride every time. There was something magical about the feeling that you got. Excitement. A little nauseousness. Fast pounding heart. Cheeks hurt from smiling so much. It’s something, as a child, that we yearned for all the time.

Now as an adult, I yearn for being able to experience it from my child’s viewpoint. Watching their excitement is a remarkable gift that we’ve been given as parents. We were recently invited to Dorney Park and I couldn’t wait to get there to get on rides with Skibbles, our toddler. I was also excited about taking our 11 month old daughter because it would be the first chance that she’s ever had to ride on any rides.

As soon as we got inside the park, we were greeted by Charlie Brown himself. Skibbles has never met Charlie Brown, so this first time experience was so much fun for her. We had taken the opportunity to check out the map and website for Dorney Park beforehand, so we knew right away that we wanted to head to Planet Snoopy, a theme park just for kids! It has super fun rides, including a kid sized roller coaster that Skibbles just adored. There’s also live shows and the chance to meet with PEANUTS characters throughout the day. We spent most of our day in this area of the park. Andrew has been to Dorney Park once before as a teenager, but for the rest of our family it was our first time, and I have to say, it has been our best park experience so far. Everyone was so friendly and there was so many attractions for us to enjoy, even as a family together.

I had to laugh though at a ride called the Monster (Skibbles called it an octopus) that we just HAD to ride twice. It was the only ride she asked to ride more than once and she even told me that it tickled her belly! It gave me that sinking belly feeling, so I know that’s what she meant! What I loved though more than anything else during the day, was taking the baby on the Zephyr, a scenic ride aboard a miniature train. It was her first ride and her smile made the whole day an incredibly memorable experience. We also got to learn so many cool facts about the early days of the park’s opening and history throughout the last 150 years!

The girls quickly fell asleep once we got into the car, but as soon as Skibbles woke up, she couldn’t stop talking about it. We can’t wait to go back soon to check out Wildwater Kingdom, the water park side of the area.

Check out our fun video to see the great time we had!

You can head to Dorney Park now for their “Battle of the Bands” event and check out the event calendar to see what else is coming up soon! Grab your Dorney Park tickets today and meet us there soon!!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company in conjunction with Blog Meets Brand, and I have been compensated for my participation. All opinions are my own.

Santa HQ at Deptford Mall in Deptford, NJ

December 10, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

A have a confession. Before this year, I didn’t know if we were going to “do Santa”. It’s something, even as I type this, I go back and forth on in my head, but it’s something that Andrew has really wanted to do and after seeing the magical nature of Santa come to life in our three year old this year, I couldn’t say no. We were watching some Christmas shows a week before I knew we were going to go see Santa HQ at the Deptford Mall in Deptford, NJ. I wanted her to understand more about Santa since she was just newly three and this is her first year really “getting it”.

When we went there were a ton of super cute moments throughout the entire visit. We came in on the top floor and she squealed with excitement as she saw “Christmas Time mama”, “Christmas Time”. She had no idea that we would be seeing Santa. We rode the elevator down so that she could see the whole village and it was such a magical experience for her. Since we arrived before 10am, we actually got to watch as Santa came in and he even came over and greeted all of the kids before going to sit down.

The Elves were amazingly friendly and helpful at each station. The stations included:

Naughty and Nice List that adds your child’s name to the nice list
Photo taken at “The North Pole”
Elfie Selfie movie station
- Takes your photo and then puts it into a Elf dancing video. Check ours out here.
Elf-ray Vision station that allows children to look into a tablet and see the elves working, Santa’s sleigh and more.

And then there’s Santa! With a REAL beard. It was pretty awesome. I was so excited that both girls sat on Santa’s lap and neither cried. It was a winning and successful experience. And Skibbles has asked to go back about 519 times since we left.

The entire production is run courtesy of HGTV and on-line reservations can be set up ahead of time. (We recommend this so you aren’t waiting in line). It’s free to do the walk through and each of the stations, but any photos of Santa are taken only by the production company and paid for at checkout. ((PSSTTT — you can bring your pet too!)). They’re there everyday through Christmas Eve! Have a blast

5 Must Do Things At the Philadelphia Zoo

November 18, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Growing up, being able to go to the National Zoo in Washington, DC was always a treat. It was the closest zoo to us and still roughly an hour and a half away from where I grew up. It was fascinating as a child to see all of these exotic animals that we only read about in stories. Bald eagles became my favorite birds throughout the years and I was obsessed with the panda bears. I remember actively trying to find my name on a mug or a magnet, but that never did happen. Fast forward to now being a parent and it’s one of my favorite places to take Skibbles too. Yesterday, we went there with some friends, and it was Pumpkin’s first time. Although, she’s only 5 months, so she just slept a lot of the time. Skibbles LOVESSS seeing all the animals. She gets so giddy and excited and admittedly more than once, she has tried to scale the fence to get into the giraffe area (can you blame her for trying?). While it’s hard to pick just five things, here’s our list of 5 things you MUST do before leaving the Philadelphia Zoo:

1- Hang out in the Peco Primate Preserve – Lemurs, Gorillas, Orangutans, Gibbons, and more – Oh my! This is one of our favorite exhibits in the entire park. There’s always lots of active primates, especially if the gibbons are out in the large outdoor area. There are a mom, dad, and two boy gibbons and the kids went crazy watching the run, swing, and flip over and over again. It’s always a special treat if you can get the gorillas or orangutans to come up to the window too. What’s best if that there’s always a keeper around they are full of so much information. I love hearing their stories.

2- Visit KidZooU – Amazingly, before yesterday we had never gone into this area in the three or four times I’ve taken Skibbles to the zoo. Never again will we miss the opportunities. There’s so many fun things for the kids to do up here and it includes a ton of educational materials to learn while they explore, but by far her very most favorite part was being able to sit and brush the goats.

3- First Niagara Big Cat Falls – Anytime you tell Skibbles we’re going to the zoo, she immediately says “LION SAYS ROARRRRRR”. So much to her surprise the first time we went and she was able to see baby lions running around, she was so excited. Anytime you can catch the tiger or jaguar walking past the window is always a great day too! There’s also something to be said about being insanely close (or so it seems) to a lion

4- Take a safari in the African Plains – Giraffes and Zebras and two of Skibbles favorite animals, so it’s no wonder this is one of her favorite places to stop. And yes — I really do swear that every time we go she tries to scale the fence to get over there with them, especially the giraffes. She also always calls the rhinoceros a hippopotamus which is hysterical to me.

5- Play in the treehouse. You have to have a membership to do this, but it’s such an awesome break. We usually stop in here about halfway through our trip for the day. It gives us adults a chance to sit down and let the kids run and play free while exploring and getting some energy out. It’s fascinating to them to see giant dinosaur eggs that they can crawl into, a ginormous bee hive they can come up, and best of all the actual tree house that you can climb all the way to the top.

We absolutely love this place and it’s one of the easiest places to get to in Philly. If you try to do everything in a day, you can definitely spend the entire day at the zoo. There’s a ton of open sitting areas, benches, and tables, so we love packing snacks and lunches and eating outside surrounded by the cool breeze and open air. We love going in the fall when there’s not a ton of crowds and the animals seem to love the chill a bit more as well.

Have you been? What’s your favorite part of the zoo?

Chester Springs Creamery Fall Visit

October 22, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

Every year since Skibbles has been born, we have gone to a pumpkin patch with Andrew’s brother and his family to the same location of a large farm in Pennsylvania. We have also gone by ourselves with some friends to a smaller, local to us farm here in New Jersey. One was extremely small and one was very commercialized and overstimulating for the entire family. This year, our sister-in-law recommended that we go to a smaller farm in Pennsylvania that she heard about called Chester Springs Creamery at Milky Way Farm for their Fall Harvest. It didn’t take much convincing – she had me on board at creamery.

They have the standard flavors like chocolate and strawberry, but they also have seasonal flavors and non-traditional combinations inside the creamery like Joy’s Peanut Butter Fudge, Jingle’s Peppermint Stick, Trudy’s Raspberry Truffle, and Paradise’s Pina Colada Sorbet. We got Skibbles Summer’s sweet strawberry, while Andrew had a combination of Beau’s Brownie Bliss and Caramel’s Dulce de Leche, and I had Autumn Harvest Cheesecake. We swooned over the creamy and bold flavors that poured out in each bite we had. All the flavors are named after the cows on Milky Way Farm where the milk for the ice cream comes from. And the hot apple cider. Oh, the cider. It’s absolutely remarkable.

After leaving the creamery, we went to see the small petting farm area they had. There were lambs and goats, chickens, pigs (but no touching them, apparently they can bite!), geese, and a precious 5 week old calf named Holly. Skibbles was obsessed with Holly for most of our visit and kept walking back over to her and giving her a hug and telling us how soft she was. Towards the end of the visit, she got a goat to come over to her and she was amazingly excited to feed him grass.

After playing with the animals, we waited in a short line to take a hayride around the farm. Believe it or not, Andrew has NEVER been on a hayride before. I couldn’t believe it when I heard him say this. We loved that we received a brief history lesson about the farm, including that many of the buildings on the premises are original and most were built between 1790s and 1820s and that the family still lives in the farmhouse.

We finally arrived in the pumpkin patch that was very spread out and even though there were dozens of people in the fields looking for the perfect pumpkin for their family, it seemed like we were alone at the same time. We learned that some of the larger pumpkins are brought in; however, many of the pumpkins are grown right there on the premises. We even found some still attached to the vines and Skibbles had fun playing with the vines. We ended up finding a few perfect pumpkins for our family and they have extremely reasonable prices for their pumpkins. We took the walking trail back to the main area and it was the perfect ending to the day.

Chester Springs Creamery also offers a range of other produce, farm fresh eggs, and merchandise for sale. Additionally, they offer birthday parties and farm tours. It was the perfect experience for our family and we can’t wait to go back again next year!

Philly Farm Fest 2015

April 8, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

If you haven’t heard of the Philly Farm Fest yet, you’ve been completely missing out on one of the best events Philly has to offer. Last year was the first year I heard about the Philly Farm & Food Fest and when I attend I was blown away and I’m so excited to be working with them again this year in order to share with you all about this amazing event.

WHO: 4th Annual – 2015 Philly Farm & Food Fest

WHERE: Pennsylvania Convention Center (1101 Arch Street)

WHEN: Sunday, April 12, starting at 11AM

WHAT: Presented by Whole Foods Market, Fair Food and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) invites all adults and children to attend this year’s event that introduces or confirms the lifelong benefits of healthy and sustainable eating habits. With over 150+ exhibitors, attendees will be treated to a wealth of free samples from local farmers, growers, and small businesses, helping to expand palates, find a new healthy snack, or a local CSA to participate in this summer. Attendees will receive a complimentary shopping tote from Whole Foods Market to load up on samples and products available directly for purchase from the vendors.

More Fun: In addition to the amazing samples that each vendor will have available, attendees are encouraged to pose for a photo at Whole Foods Farm-y Photo Booth to enter to enter $25 Gift Cards.

Attendees can also participate in Classroom Takeover sessions hosted every hour starting at 11:15. Class sessions focus on four main areas: Urban Homesteading, Local Cookbook Authors, Kids’ Classroom, and Butcher’s Block. Learn about topics such as composting, chickens, bees, expanding your meat budget, or how to cook goat or rabbit. The most exciting part is that families can participate in kids’ classroom events together like making homemade tortillas or growing watermelons from seeds. Classroom schedules can be found here.

I hope you’ll join me for this absolutely amazing event! With live demonstrations, interactive exhibits, and 5 hours of LOCAL food, you are guaranteed to have an absolute blast!

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

Tickets are $20 per person. Children 12 and under are admitted for free.

Follow along with #PhillyFarmFest

Bonefish Grill Fire + Ice Menu

April 7, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

*Disclosure: We received a giftcard to try the new menu to facilitate this post. Thoughts and opinions are 100% our own.

Bonefish Grill is my favorite restaurant, so when we were recently invited to try their brand new Fire + Ice Pre-Fixe Menu I was ecstatic. We’ve never had a bad experience, so I knew that we were sure to love the new menu just as much. The great thing about the new Pre-Fixe menu is that it sets you up with three delicious courses – salad, meal, and a dessert – taking the guess work out of deciding for you. The best part is that the menu starts at just $19.90 for all three courses.

Even though it’s not on the new menu, we had to start with the Bang Bang Shrimp. It’s so amazing and one of the best things about Bonefish Grill.

It’s hilarious to watch Skibbles growing up and trying new things. While this isn’t her first time trying the Bang Bang Shrimp, she must have either been starving, or it finally hit her how amazing it really is, because she literally ate 3/4 of the appetizer by herself. We loved watching her try to learn to use the chopsticks too. She ended up putting one of them down and just poking the shrimp with one end, but hey – it’s a start to her culinary adventures.

Andrew also started with the Signature Red Sangria that we tried during the last menu update. It’s a must for him every time we go there now. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get to try any or any of the new Fire + Ice drink menu since I’m currently pregnant. I really think the Wild Orchid Hawaiian Martini sounded fabulous. It was Cruzan Guava rum, pineapple juice, coconut water, with flavors of pear and coconut and garnished with a real floating orchid. Yum!

For dinner, I went with the Oscar Turbot Pre-fixe dinner. It’s a turbot fish (a sister fish of the halibut according to our waitress) that is sautéed piccata style, then topped with jumbo lump crab meat and asparagus and served with mushroom ravioli and spring vegetables. I decided to sub my spring vegetables (spring peas and roasted peppers) for broccoli instead. My fish was cooked to perfect and was light and airy and went perfectly with the crab on top.

Andrew’s went with the new Grilled Arctic Char. This new one doesn’t include the 3 courses, but you are welcome to add the additional courses if you wish. The Char is a relative of salmon, and Andrew said it tasted even better than salmon with a clean, buttery taste. It’s seasoned and grilled and served alongside pappardelle pasta and fresh spring vegetables.

Finally, my pre-fixe menu concluded with the dessert which are brand new DIY doughnuts. They are a croissant-like doughnut hole tossed in a cinnamon sugar and served alongside fresh whipped cream, sea salt caramel, and chocolate sauce for dipping. If you know me, you know I have a slight obsession with doughnuts, and it takes a lot to impress my doughnut palette. These doughnut holes were SPOT ON. They are light and flaky and the dipping sauces were divinely perfect with them. I would easily ordered an entire plate of these to go.

Once again we fell in love with the new additions to Bonefish’s menu and love the ability to have three courses set up for us. Some of the other new additions to the Fire + Ice Pre-Fixe menu are:

Cold Water Lobster Tail — Steamed and seasoned, served with warm drawn butter, crispy smashed Yukon Gold potatoes and spring sugar Snap peas.
Dynamite Opah — Nicknamed “moonfish,” Opah is a great fish for the grill with a firm steak-like texture. It’s topped with lump Crab meat, sautéed spinach, and finished with a creamy aioli.
Shrimp + Scallop Firepot — Jumbo shrimps and scallops finished firepot style, served with rustic cut vegetables and Yukon gold potatoes. Finished with spring sugar snap peas.
Grilled Lamb Chops — Seasoned and lightly caramelized, served with crispy Yukon gold potatoes.

Make sure to check out the Bonefish Website so you can view locations and check out the new menu for yourself. Then book a table so it’s ready for you when you get there. Follow along on social media at #IcredibleIs so you can see what everyone else is trying too!

Want to be a star the next time you need to give a gift?

Head Over to Amazon and Pick up a $25 or $50 Giftcard (Affiliate Link)

Philly Auto Show 2015

February 3, 2015 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

*Disclosure: We received complimentary tickets in exchange for this post. Thoughts & opinions are 100% ours.

Andrew is obsessed with cars. OBSESSED. So when we recently had the opportunity to attend the Philly Auto Show 2015, I knew that I had to get him there. We have been to a previous Philly Auto Show, but it’s been a few years because of work schedules and such, so we were both excited for the experience. I love looking at the new models of cars that we could (hopefully very soon) be in market for our family. Andrew loves looking at the luxury cars that we will probably never be able to afford, but that we both enjoy seeing.

We arrived at the Philly Auto Show the second day it opened and quickly made our way through freezing the couple of blocks walk to the Philadelphia Convention Center. We headed upstairs to the main floor that has over 30 different car manufacturers with hundreds of models of cars available.

I always look at minivans because I love the space they seem to offer, but we both always end up agreeing that neither of us think we could be a “minivan family”. We love large sedans and we are both obsessed with the Range Rover so we were excited to be able to look around those in person. Some of the cars we were most excited to see showcased, we weren’t allowed to get in, like the Buick Avenir concept car.

Skibbles was really excited to be able to be able to test out all the cars herself and it was nice to be able to look around them while she could figure out all the buttons too.

We really wanted to test out the Jeep offroad driving experience, but unfortunately the lines were much to long to us to wait with a less than patient two year old, so we decided to pass.

Everyday you can also head outside and test drive some of Toyota’s amazing vehicles, like the Camry and Highlander, and on the weekend’s Kia also has a test drive experience.

The Philly Auto Show 2015 is much bigger than the previous show we’ve been too. There was a separate showroom specifically for Mercedes, Smart, and Lexus.

We were really excited to head downstairs for the Dub Show – a showroom full of custom cars, some even owned by NFL players like Najee Good. From custom kits to paint jobs to wraps, you are sure to see some fun down here. There’s a lot of excitement and Skibbles really enjoyed the atmosphere here.

We even contemplated that this tank type vehicle we found at the Dub Show by Harley Davidson should be the ultimate vehicle on our list for protecting our kids.

We had such an amazing time at the Philly Auto Show and now I’m even more confused about what type of vehicle we would decide to get in the next year or two, but we definitely have a list of our favorites and it was amazing to see them in person!

The Philly Auto Show is open today through February 8th, 2015. Details about show hours, tickets, manufacturers, and more can be found at the Philly Auto Show website.

Also, make sure once you are there to take an Instagram picture using #CARing2015 and the Philly Auto Show will donate $1 to the CARing for Kids Foundation – up to $50,000.

Lastly– The Philly Auto Show is giving away more than 100 FREE tickets when you enter on their Facebook page!

This is a great family experience for everyone and we truly hope you enjoy!

Bonefish Grill #HelloNewMenu Launch

August 23, 2014 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

*Disclosure: We received a giftcard to try the new menu to facilitate this post. Thoughts and opinions are 100% our own.

On July 29th, Bonefish Grill announced the launch of their new menu! They’ve added more than 20 new items that compliment the classic favorites. Added into the new menu are bowls, steaks, deluxe sides, desserts, and more.

I absolutely love Bonefish Grill. Love! I can’t say it enough -the food, the atmosphere, the service- everything about it is fabulous. No, I’m just just saying that to win brownie points with them. While still living in West Virginia, Andrew and I made a trip to Florida where we first learned about Bonefish Grill. I fell in love with the food and was disappointed to come home and learn there weren’t any near us at the time. A few months later, we had decided to move to New Jersey and you can imagine my excitement when I learned that there were not one, but two, Bonefish Grill locations within 30 minutes of our house. The very first weekend that we moved here, we went to eat there, and I was just as in love as the first time back in Florida.

So what I heard they came out with a new menu, I knew that I had to try it -Hello, New Menu. We were given the opportunity to try it out, so I decided to look on-line before we were going, like I always do, so we don’t have to wait as long and the baby doesn’t get angry. I was amazed at how many new options they had from the appetizers to the salads to the fish to entrées to drinks and desserts, there is something new on all aspects of the menu. I had a really hard time deciding what I should get because I want to try some of everything. It just looks so incredible.

Starting with drinks, I love that they have added both Vitamin Water and Honest Organic Iced Teas as new menu options. We love Honest Teas, so Andrew went with the Raspberry Iced Tea to start. He also ordered a virgin Piña Colada. Andrew repeatedly has told me that Bonefish Grill makes the best Piña Coladas. I decided to try the new Signature Red (Blackberry) Sangria. It was incredible. I recently learned that I love Sangria and this one was of the best I’ve tasted. Andrew tried it and loved it as well. He actually asked if they sold it in bottles. They have a over 15 new beverages on the menu including a gluten free craft beer, sparkling wine, pinot noir, new red, and a new special reserve selections. New on the rocks and martini selection are also available, including the Ocean Trust Tropic Heat Martini – Absolut vodka house infused with pineapples, freshly muddled mango, lemon juice, and a thin slice of jalapeño. For every one that is sold $1 is donated to Oceantrust.org.

My favorite thing in the entire world is the Bang Bang Shrimp. I mean seriously who doesn’t love the awesomeness of Bang Bang Shrimp. I had a hard time telling myself that I couldn’t just get Bang Bang Shrimp, so I was super excited to learn that one of their new appetizers was Bang Bang Shrimp Flatbread. It’s a flatbread with mozzarella cheese, crispy shrimp, cilantro, with the famous creamy, spicy sauce. The amazingness that is Bang Bang Shrimp with the crunch from the flatbread make for one amazing appetizer. Cold Snap Fresh Ceviche, Twisted Edamame Hummus, NY Strip Tataki are the other three new appetizers.

Bonefish Grill has also added two new salads to their menu – Watermelon Salad and Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad!

This isn’t new, but I can’t talk about Bonefish Grill without mentioning the fresh bread and pesto that you get. I remember that first trip back in Florida when they brought this out. Andrew’s face looked horrified, but he tried it and was hooked – we both were. It’s amazing!

Time for the actual entrées – we decided to go with the Lobster Grilled Cheese for Skibbles. It’s the newest addition to the Hand Held menu and includes cheddar and smoked mozzarella with North Atlantic lobster chunks, served with fresh green (or chips) and lobster bisque.

I’ve had both the greens and the chips before and love both but decided to order the new Herbed Couscous as a side with this meal so we could taste it. It was so full of flavor and Skibbles thought the little pearl balls were hilarious, but she ate them right up.

The lobster grilled cheese, especially when dipped in the lobster bisque soup, was absolutely incredible -like melt in your mouth. Think about a warm bowl of tomato soup with a regular grilled cheese that you typically make it home and then inflate that times 1000. And there’s no skimping here – look at those chunks of pure lobster meat. Amazing.

Andrew ordered the Spring Basil Fettuccine, an artichoke pesto, asparagus, peppers, and tomatoes in a white wine cream sauce with Parmesan cheese. You can add herb-grilled chicken, wood-grilled shrimp, or wood-grilled salmon for an additional cost. Andrew went with the salmon and said it was cooked perfectly. This dish doesn’t come with any additional sides, but the portion size is ample enough to fill. Andrew was a huge fan of the artichoke chunks in the pasta, but said the overall taste of the dish was great.

For myself, I decided to go with the Wood-Grilled Ahi Tuna Steak with the brand-new Lime Tomato Garlic Sauce. It typically is paired with fresh seasonal vegetables and your choice of fresh side. Bonefish Grill is always great about allowing you to substitute any sides if you don’t like something, so instead, I decided to go with the garlic mashed potatoes (because they’re absolutely die for) as well as the brand-new Crab Fried Rice.

I’m pretty new to fresh fish and had never had ahi tuna steak before. I typically get my beef steak cooked medium, so when our waitress said that ahi tuna is suggested to be cooked rare, I was a little nervous. I went with it though and I’m happy for the suggestion. I couldn’t believe how amazingly delectable and delightful it tasted in my mouth and paired with the lime tomato garlic sauce it absolutely exploded my taste buds.

The crab fried rice was a hit for all three of us. I seriously could’ve eaten an entire entrée just of the crab fried rice. Instead, however, Andrew asked me for a bite so he could try it and I handed him the dish why I was trying to help Skibbles eat her dinner and I turned around and he had consume the entire side dish. I couldn’t believe that he ate my entire side, however, I can’t blame him because it was absolutely delicious. There is an up charge for the new premium signature sides and they range from $2-$4 more per side. Other new deluxe sides include Porcini Mushroom Ravioli and Wood Grilled Broccolini.

Lastly we decided to try the newest dessert, which are Smore’s Flatbread – creamy chocolate, toasted marshmallow and sliced almonds, sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs. The flatbread itself was toasted a little more than our preferred liking, however, the chocolate with the melted marshmallows and the crunch from the almonds was perfect.

Photo credit: Bonefish Grill/Photo compilation: Ours

I really can’t recommend the brand-new menu enough. We absolutely love all the new items and will be going back again to try the rest! I’m never disappointed here and the food is always amazing. I’m really excited to go back and try one of the new bowls, especially the Spicy Tuna – premium sushi grade, sesame-seared rare tuna with avocado, sweet chile sauce, jasmine rice, and passion fruit salsa- It’s calling my name!

Skibbles loves this place too! She thinks it’s hysterical that she can draw on the table. 🙂 Even though the food was delicious, she kept trying to get out of the high chair and ended up in daddy’s lap!

Make sure to check out the Bonefish Website so you can view locations and check out the new menu for yourself. Then book a table so it’s ready for you when you get there. Follow along on social media at #HelloNewMenu so you can see what everyone else is trying too!

Want to be a star the next time you need to give a gift?

Head Over to Amazon and Pick up a $25 or $50 Giftcard (Affiliate Link)

Comment below and let me know what you think of what we tried and what would be your favorite!

Hippo Haven at Adventure Aquarium, Camden, NJ

July 14, 2014 by Larisha Campbell Leave a Comment

We absolutely love Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. We first took Serenity when she was just a few months old and we have been many times since. Every time we have been gets more and more exciting as we watch her learn and explore and really start to get interested about the animals on exhibit there. We were recently invited to check out the newest exhibit – Hippo Haven – and happily accepted.

Once we got to Adventure Aquarium, we let Skibbles down to run free. She loved the big tank that she can walk up to and was just amazed over everything she saw. I can only imagine what something so big looks like in the eyes of such a young little one.

Of course, we let her play in the Kid’s Zone that’s filled with some awesome adventures to fuel their imaginations, and we went outside to see the penguins, but we were most anticipating to see the new exhibit…

Let me say that every time that we have gone to the aquarium, we always feel like we have horrible timing because the hippos are ALWAYS sleeping and never up moving around. I was really hoping this day would be different because after seeing the brochures, I had high expectations for Hippo Haven.

Hippo Haven features Button and Genny, two massive Nile hippos. They are actually the only aquarium in the world to have hippos on exhibit. Hippo Haven features a colorful landscape with lights and sounds. On one side of the exhibit you can see them above the water and walking around if they get out of the water and around the corner, you will be able to see them as they bounce around under the water. At Hippo Haven, there are daily activities like shows, feeds, and keeper chats.

Some fun facts about the hippos:

Genny is 13 years old and was born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida
Button is 17 years old and was born at Parque Zoological de Leon in Mexico
Weighing in at 4,216 pounds, Genny is much larger than Button who is only 3,096 pounds
Hippos are herbivores and eat about 70,000 calories a day (about 35-40lbs of food)
Hippos can easily outrun a human

When we first went inside the exhibit, I noticed that both hippos were laying down, and I was a bit disappointed because I really thought today maybe we would see them move around. I took a look at the clock and noticed that there was a show about to start, so we decided to wait it out. Just like clockwork, as soon as the time was 2:30, the show started and both hippos immediately got up and moved. Now, they didn’t move a lot, but it’s still way more than I could have thought. The music and bright lights had Serenity absolutely in love.

Adventure Aquarium always does an amazing job at getting the education built into our fun day of play. There are lots are signs giving information about hippos, like the fact they can hold their breathe for 5 minutes, all around the exhibit. It was really nice for us to learn, but also know that once Skibbles is old enough that we can actually go for an educational trip, as well as a fun trip.

The aquarium and especially Hippo Haven, did another amazing job at keeping us entertained and in love with the aquarium all over again. The exhibit was beautifully decorated and laid out, kept us entertained the entire time we were inside and put on a fantastic theatrical performance with the lights and sounds. We highly suggest it!

Hippo Haven daily showtimes are 10:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 2:30pm

Here’s a short clip we shot of the hippos moving around!

Here are a few additional pictures from our Hippo Haven adventure. There is a water area outside the aquarium and we let Skibbles play in it and she had a blast (and was soaking wet), but hey, that’s what fun is all about right? It was the perfect ending to an awesome day. Skibbles promptly fell asleep, too!

Head over to Adventure Aquarium soon so you can check out Genny & Button too!

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so you stay up to date with the latest and greatest that Adventure Aquarium has to offer!

Olive Garden Launches New Menu

June 12, 2014 by Larisha Campbell 3 Comments

Olive Garden recently announced their most significant menu evolution since the restaurant’s opening and we got to check it all out! This new menu was created to appeal to guests’ evolving palettes, while also offering more customized options for both lunch and dinner. What we ended up experiencing was the most mouth-watering experience we’ve ever had at Olive Garden.

We don’t typically eat out that often. We try to watch what we eat, especially because of Andrew’s high blood pressure, and my desire to limit the processed foods that we all have, but especially Skibbles. Plus, we never know when she will have a meltdown, and we all know that’s just not enjoyable in the middle of a restaurant. We were giving it our all though and picked out an adorable dress for Skibbles that her grandparents bought her for Christmas.

When we got there, we were told a 5-10 minute wait. Not bad for a Saturday evening at the start of dinner traffic. We let Skibbles run around and took in the light Italian atmosphere. Part of me believes that the ovens that cook the breadsticks are hooked up to the air vents, but the warm aroma of carbs instantly took over my senses and I think I began to drool a bit. Skibbles trying to pull down all the menus from the hostesses’ podium quickly brought me back to reality.

We were seated and we quickly discussed what we wanted to eat. I had already looked at the menu ahead of arriving (I always do this to speed things up) and Andrew glanced over the menu while we were waiting to be seated. We both discussed how great all of the new menu options sounded and how it was so difficult to just pick one thing. So we decided to live dangerously and order all that we wanted. After all, this doesn’t happen often.

We started with the appetizers. On the middle plate below was called Lasagna Fritta. Andrew is pretty obsessed with anything mentioning lasagna so we went for it. It’s Parmesan-breaded pieces of lasagna that have been friend, then served over warm, alfredo sauce, and then a drizzle of marinara and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. It melted in our mouth with the slightest crunch of amazingness.

With their new menu, Olive Garden added “Small Plates”. Eight, delicious samplings of some amazing dishes for those guests that like to try a bunch of different things or just don’t have a huge appetite and want something smaller. Each small plate is between $4-6! We ordered the Chicken Meatballs and Tortellini al Forno.

The Chicken Meatballs are seasoned with herbs and a small hint of red pepper, Italian cheeses, and a zesty marinara. We both loved these. They gave a huge flavor burst on your palate with a hint of spice at the end. It was a bit spicy for Skibbles, though we didn’t think it was bad.

The Tortellini al Forno is cheese and prosciutto-filled tortellini on top of a parmesan cream sauce, and then topped with crumbled bacon pieces. This was hands down one of the best starter meals I’ve had in a long time. Andrew and I actually split the last one in half because we both wanted it. Skibbles ate three of them by herself. Yes, they were that good. With the slight crunchy of the savory bacon in the warm, creamy sauce sauce, your taste buds will be dancing with this one.

Other small plates are: Polenta Shrimp alla Greca, Parmesan Olive Fritta, Tuscan White Bean Hummus, Crispy Risotto Balls, Grilled Chicken Spiedini, Crispy Parmesan Asparagus, and Roasted Parmesan Asparagus.

You haven’t made a trip to Olive Garden without enjoying the breadsticks and salad. It’s a great staple and always one of our favorite ways to kick off our meal. Now that we travel with a toddler I’m even more thankful for it. She was in love with the breadsticks and the croutons from the salad, yes, a carb baby. But we all know without these, she would have gotten very antsy, very quickly. The worst part about this whole night was that I was completely enthralled with our new menu choices that I forgot to try any soup! I love Olive Garden soup!

Finally, it was dinner time. Like I mentioned before, we just couldn’t decide what to get for dinner, so we got a variety. We ordered pasta off the new Cucina Mia Menu for Skibbles, I ordered the Crabbed Topped Chicken, and Andrew ordered the Parmesan Crusted Filet, as well as the Baked Tilapia with Shrimp from the Lighter Fare Menu.

The crab topped chicken is pan seared chicken breasts topped with crab meat on top of a lemon cream sauce. It’s served with fresh spinach and garlic parmesan mashed potatoes. I seriously think I have consumed 85% of my dinner before Andrew could finish slicing his filet. It was amazing. Often times, I go to restaurants and the chicken if tough, but my dinner this night just melted in my mouth. It was so soft. The lemon cream sauce had just the right about of acidity to make the crab shine all over my taste buds!

Andrew gets filet whenever we go out. Since it’s not often, it’s like his special little treat. He decided that this should be no different. He was thrilled to see Olive Garden add a Parmesan Crusted Filet option to their dinner menu. We asked for it to be cooked medium and it was cooked to perfection. This 6oz beauty is topped with a creamy Parmesan-alfredo crust and served alongside sautéed Italian vegetables and roasted garlic. He actually ate the entire steak without steak sauce, which is not like him. He said that it was unnecessary because the juiciness from the steak along with the already sauce was the absolutely perfect balance.

The Baked Tilapia with Shrimp is an oven-baked white fish and shrimp that’s on top off a white wine sauce and served alongside garlic broccoli. The new creation is from Olive Garden’s Lighter Italian Fare menu where all dishes have under 575-calories. It was flaky and light, cooked to perfection, and

For Skibbles, we ordered off the new Cucina Mia Menu. I love having the ability to mix, match, and create our own menu. It’s just $9.99 every day and is more than filling portion size. There are six pastas to choose from, including a gluten-free option, as well as five made-from-scratch sauces and four meat topping options. The meat options do add a small additional cost. We went with the Tri-Colored Vegetable Penne and the Primavera sauce. Skibbles literally slurped it up. I tried it and agreed, it was amazing. The marinara sauce has chunks of zucchini, peppers, onions, and tomatoes, and was cooked perfectly.

We thoroughly enjoyed everything about Olive Garden’s new menu. We were left very impressed with the overhaul and quality of the food. They truly have something for everyone, no matter your palate or budget. All of the food was appropriately priced. For the three appetizers and four dinner meals that we ordered, came in around $80. Andrew and I typically spend $45-50 for just 2 meals and one appetizer, so we felt amazed at the pricing. To top it off, we had plenty of leftovers.

Don’t worry, we didn’t forget dessert. We were just so full from the amazing food in the restaurant, that we asked to take it home. Andrew being obsessed with all things chocolate, went with the Black Tie Mousse Cake (in the background of the pic above). However, my mouth watered when I saw the picture for the New Wild Berry Layer Cake. I was even more impressed when we got home and I opened the box and the dessert literally looked just like the picture in the menu.

It was one of the most amazing desserts, I’ve had in forever. Shredded white chocolate and mixed berries top layers of moist vanilla cake with a luscious Italian cream frosting. You will wake up wanting more in the more, trust me, I did. This is just for a limited time only, so make sure you go get some!

Photo credit: Olive Garden

Here’s some more highlights about the new menu directly from Olive Garden

New Dinner Menu Highlights

· “Cucina Mia” Section: Introducing a new menu section that gives guests the ability to create their own entrée from a variety of six pastas and five made-from-scratch sauces—for only $9.99 every day.

· Small Plates: Expanding the Tastes of Italy section to include eight small plate dishes for guests who want to explore different flavors.

· Lighter Italian Fare: Enhancing variety within the under-575-calories menu section by introducing additional dishes for calorie-counting guests.

· Specialty Entrees: Bringing new culinary-forward entrees to the chicken and seafood sections of the menu, enhanced by preparation on a new Piastra flat-top grill for a more evenly cooked, tender and juicy taste.

· Antipasti and Caprese Salads: Creating new ways for guests to enjoy Olive Garden’s popular signature salad through the addition of antipasti or caprese toppings.

New Lunch Menu Highlights

· Lunch Experience: Recognizing the busy schedules of lunch guests, Olive Garden is debuting a new lunch menu and enhanced service steps that provide busy guests with a variety of choices for a quick and satisfying meal.

· Tuscan Trio Combinations: Enhancing the popular soup, salad and breadsticks lunch by offering guests an additional pasta side, Small Plate or new salad topping.

· Sandwich & Flatbread Combinations: Giving guests more handheld options with sandwich and flatbread combinations served with unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks.

Bon Appétit!

Need even more Olive Garden in your life? You can order their (affiliate link*) croutons and salad dressing on Amazon right now!

*Affiliate link contained in the post will take you to Amazon.com just like it normally would if you would go their yourself. The only different is that if you order something, I make a small commission. This helps us continue to run our site. Thank you!

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