Aloha!

If you haven’t read our blog post about our visit to Norwalk Connecticut – click here – to get a little backstory before learning about our adventure to Calf Pasture Beach and Ripka’s Beach Cafe!

Anyway, we were invited to enjoy some delicious food at a Hawaiian themed Friday evening at Ripka’s Beach Cafe – hence the aloha in the beginning of this post! Right on the beach with a huge playground and splash area, we enjoyed the ambiance of the live music, laughter of the youth and satisfied customers! Ripka’s Beach Cafe is everything you would ever want and more!

Us ladies enjoyed their famous lobster rolls (which were out of this world), mussels and pizza! The kiddos had some chicken fingers and fries which my boys ate in entirety! It was safe to say we were all overly satisfied customers. The live music was definitely perfect to set the tone for the beachy vibes.

Management at Ripka’s Beach Cafe are all about quality products, good service and a community environment! The atmosphere was absolutely family friendly with the playground just feet from the dinner tables and the sandy beaches a short walk away! The prices are reasonable and the staff is extremely accommodating. We will definitely be back in the near future – but if you are ever in the Norwalk area, do not pass up an opportunity to check out Ripka’s Beach Cafe!

Many Mahalos ~ 
Thank you again, for having us!

Cheers and happy Foodie Friday y’all!

Xoxo
Katie and Shayla

Do you ever feel the need to get away? Just hop in the car and drive! Well, that is exactly what we did this past weekend. We called up a couple girlfriends and headed on up to Connecticut. Four boss babes and four toddlers – can you say Yay!?

Norwalk, the sound of Connecticut, is the gateway to New England! With so much to do, our weekend getaway was jam packed with fun activities. 

Our first stop was Izzy B’s Allergen Free Bakery – check out our latest blog post all about the bakery here – Thanks again Pam for opening your business to us babes – we loved every bite of our healthy, delicious treats! 

Next we checked into our hotel – Hotel Zero Degrees. Centrally located to all the downtown hot spots, beaches and museums. What was really convenient was the hotel’s complimentary shuttle. It will take you anywhere within 15 minutes of the hotel – we used it multiple times! It was so nice to have all of us riding together, laughing and making memories instead of having to all drive separately. And the kiddos absolutely loved it – they felt like big girls and boys sitting in their own seats with a seatbelt! 

The hotel rooms were perfect for us! Each room thoughtfully designed to accommodate your everyday living – a spacious bed for sleeping, a wind-down lounge to relax after a long day, and  a productive work area to suit guests who are here on business. 

Every morning Hotel Zero Degrees offers a complimentary buffet breakfast in their lounge. Instead of simple seating, they have comfy chairs and cushioned benches/couches throughout the lounge – so chic! I loved walking down each morning and seeing such a beautiful setting – it definitely gave me a positive start to my day. 

Friday night we were hosted at Ripkas Beach Cafe – right on the water! A blog post about our visit will be up later this week – keep a look out! After dinner we took a walk by the water and let the kiddos play on the playground – a win win for both – kids get to play while we get a beautiful view of the sun setting over the water. A perfect ending to a perfect day. 

Saturday after breakfast we packed our beach bags and headed down to the water. It was perfect for toddlers – shallow water and no big waves to worry about. The little ones loved it. After a few hours at the beach we let the kiddos play at the park before heading back to the hotel to change.

Our next stop that day was the Stepping Stones Museum – I’m not sure who had more fun, us or the kids! They had a water station, a building station, a huge outdoor play area, a new dinosaur exhibit and a huge interactive dance floor. We spent hours here!

We finished the night out with a lovely Mexican dinner at Bartaco! Us babes had ourselves some margaritas and rice bowls, while the little ones chowed down on some chicken and cheese quesadillas! 

Sunday, our last day in Norwalk, we had ourselves some amazing breakfast from the buffet, packed our bags and loaded the cars up. We took one last trip up to the rooftop for the kiddos to run around. Such a pretty, relaxing spot! 

Our last stop before heading back to Jersey was the Maritime Aquarium. Shayla’s boys are fascinated with the “fishies” and so whenever we get the opportunity to visit an aquarium, we do our best to make a stop. We saw some jellyfish, seals, otters, sharks, stingrays and turtles to name a few. 

 A huge thank you to Hotel Zero Degrees for such an amazing weekend. If you are ever in town please make sure to book your stay with Hotel Zero Degrees – friendly staff, very accommodating, amazing amenities and such pretty landscapes. Norwalk, we will be back soon! 

Xoxo

Katie & Shayla

If y’all have been following us for a little while now, you know how much we love a healthy treat. Over the weekend we headed to Norwalk Connecticut for a little girls trip. Every time we go out of town we love to explore and find new shops that are health conscious – and Norwalk did not disappoint! 

We cannot say enough nice things about our trip to Izzi B’s Allergen-Free Bakery. It is a wholesale bakery – but they do fill individual pre-orders by appointment daily. Pam, owner of Izzy B’s was nice enough to give us a tour of her bakery and show us the ins and outs of running a bakery. 

 A little backstory: Pam’s daughter, Izzy, had a dairy allergy when she was a little girl. Pam did not want her to miss out on eating treats and so she decided to concoct products that are free of gluten, wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, all nuts and casein. There are no preservatives, no trans-fats, no refined sugar and cholesterol free. All ingredients are either all-natural, organic or Fair Trade. 

Knowing what we are putting into our bodies is very important to us – especially when it comes to the little ones – Gianni and Luca. We are so thankful for people like Pam who take the time to go the extra mile to make sure our treats are healthy and safe. 

Pam and her team were so kind for opening their business to us. They let the boys run around and play with some machinery, we sampled some delicious treats and we saw how she makes her ingredients from fresh fruit and how she even makes her own sprinkles! We were lucky enough to bring an assortment of cookies and donuts back to our hotel to splurge on over the weekend! 

 If you are ever in Norwalk, make sure to check out Izzy B’s Allergen-Free Bakery for all your favorite healthy treats. Tell Pam we sent you! 

Xoxo

Katie & Shayla 

Last week, we had a wonderful lunch at The Salad House in Morristown New Jersey! This quick, casual restaurant specializes in freshly-prepared customized and signature salad creations. They ensure every bite is wholesome and delicious by offering the perfect health-conscious choices!

This is not your average salad stop – they are all about pleasing the customers and their taste buds! They have anything you could ever want to build your own personal best bowl – we took advantage of this, Katie created her own salad and Shayla built her wrap from scratch!

We found these facts super interesting and made Shayla’s mama mind at ease!

The Salad House:

Makes their bacon bits from real bacon
Makes their soups in house from scratch
Makes their own signature dressings
Their croutons are made from the fresh bread they receive daily

Can I get an amen? This is so awesome for someone who is always looking for family friendly restaurants with a health-conscious twist! (fresh veggies, fruits, nuts, cheeses and meats – woohoo!)

The quick, easy service and the health-conscious, family friendly food clearly fuels each and every customer for their day ahead! As a mom, Shayla loves getting that extra energy fueled through her veins for the day definitely helps her to chase after her silly little toddlers! As for Katie, it fuels her to stay on track and be motivated to coach soccer and meet goals both on the field and in life in general. Get yourself some health-conscious comfort food to fuel your body for your day ahead! We promise we would never steer you wrong!

We enjoyed our comfort food in Morristown (opened in 2013). There are three other locations in NJ – Millburn (opened first in 2011), Westfield (opened in 2017) and Somerville (opened in 2018). We want to give a huge thank you to the founder, Joey Cioffi for the hospitality and hosting us at such a wonderful establishment. We enjoyed all of the food, especially the buffalo chicken poppers with some freshly-made ranch dressing! The boys especially loved their two different kind of fries and some pizza (family friendly at its finest!) – Luca even shared some of Shayla’s wrap!

Check out one of the locations and make all of your salad dreams come true! They have an instagram too if you want to be updated because maybe one day there will be a location near you! @thesaladhouse

Another Foodie Friday in the books, cheers!

Xoxo
Katie and Shayla

  Happy Monday! Can you believe we are almost half way through August? Is this real life? I blinked and summer is almost over. If you are anything like me then you know just how unpredictable skin is in the heat – one day it is dry and the next so oily. It has been a constant struggle trying to find a healthy, all natural skin care product that works for me. 

     I have been using Riovea Illuminating  4 Step Series and let me tell you – my skin has never felt or looked better. What instantly drew me to this product is how safe it is. Chemicals are so harsh on our skin, not to mention not good for skin in gerneal, and Riovea does an excellent job at producing products that provides natural molecules that work to rejuvenate and brighten skin. The 4 step series are 95.5% natural, allergy tested, formulated without alcohol, parabens, petrolatum, mineral oil, synthetic colors, sulfate detergents, PEGs, PPGs, phthalates, urea, DEA and TEA. 

     Step 1 –  Illuminating Cleanser: removes dead skin cells and leaves your face feeling refreshed. I love the feeling of the water hitting my face and the cleanser giving it that clean, refreshing look.

     Step 2 – Illuminating Toner: Maintains the skin’s healthy tone and texture. I use a cotton ball to apply the toner. 

     Step 3 – Illuminating Serum: Softens and smoothes the skin’s texture. This is my favorite step. Leaves my skin feeling amazing! 

     Step 4 – Illuminating Cream: Brightens and tightens the skin. I love applying this cream as it feels like a lovely massage. I never want it to end! 

     I have been working on transforming my lifestyle to a more natural, plant based way of living and I am so happy to have found this skin care line. Their motto “being natural, safe and effective is key” is a positive message I am trying to incorporate not just with my skin care routine, but in my every day life. If you are looking for a new skin care routine, Riovea Illuminating Series is the right way to go! You will not be disappointed. 

xo Katie