Halloween 2022 & Trunk or Treat

 This year's theme was so fun. For costumes I always leave it up to the boys and then do the theme for Trunk or Treat based on that. This year the boys (well really Joey and Vinny just goes along with whatever Joey says) picked ninja turtles. Immediately a pizza parlor came to my head for the Trunk or Treats at both their schools. I know my years are limited because Joey's school only does trunk or treat in K and again in 8th grade. 

Turtle Costumes | Etsy

Shirts | Amazon

The 'sewer' was a large tray that I taped the graphics onto. The 'Toxic Ooze' I printed and put on a paper towel roll. Taped the little ninja turtle to the tray 

Pizza boxes came from my cousins pizza shop that I used for the treats and the decorations in the trunk

Plaid sheet is a Christmas table cloth. and most of the decorations I had from Vinny's first meatball theme birthday party..

Long Beach Island 2022

 We took our annual long weekend trip to Long Beach Island this year the last weekend in July. 
On Thursday Joe and I both worked half a day. I picked up Vinny from school and then went to grab Joey from my parents house. We loaded up the car and headed down for our weekend adventure.

Like years past- we stopped at one of our favorite Italian places- Frankie Fed's on the way down. Once finished we checked into our old faithful motel we love the Seahorse Motel. I unpacked and hung with Vinny while Joe took Joey to grab some ice cream since it was pretty late. We sat outside on our balcony with the ice cream and the boys played with their new coloring pages and stamps I brought for them!

Friday morning we of ocurse got up early (because who actually sleeps on vacation with little kids) and headed to a favorite- The Local  for breakfast and coffee. They always have the best grab and go options and if you go early there will be no lines!

We did a little shopping in and out of some of the stores that were down towards that part of the island before heading back to the motel.  It was a bit over cast, but we suited up and headed to the beach. Since it wasn't that pretty out- there wasn't that many people on the beach. there were a few quick rain showers but then the sun came out and it was beautiful. There was a cold front in the ocean, so unfortunately we didn't get to really go into the water. The boys still had a great time playing in the sand and having snacks, that they didn't mind. We left the beach in early afternoon to go to the pool. The boys had baths and then some nap/rest time before we headed out to dinner and the amusement park. 

For dinner we went to somewhere we haven't been since we were living the newlywed life! We had dinner at The Arlington. I had the crab cakes and it was so good. I was craving them! 

After dinner we went to Fantasy Island which is the local amusement park. The boys were at a good age that they could go on the rides together and play games. They had so much fun and I think they did every ride that they could.

 

On Saturday, we went to breakfast at Scojo's in Surf City. The boys were excited to sit outside and for the mini confetti pancakes!

After breakfast we did a little shopping. We hit up our usual places and got to pop into I think my new favorite on the island called The Dune Market. It has a little book shop inside, which the boys loved, but also has a wide selection of gifts for home, candles, dining wear, and even some cute clothing. We definitely will be back.

Once we finished shopping, we stopped back at the motel to grab our suits for the boys and some snacks, and we headed to my father in laws house. The boys loved going out on the jet ski with him and for a ride on the boat. They even got to crab in the lagoon!

We  went to dinner at the local place- Caffrey's & then for ice cream before heading back to the motel for the night. The boys were so exhausted. We had to leave pretty early the next day, since I had my cousins bridal shower. It was a fun trip like always. We look forward to it every year!

Years Past:

2019, 2020, 2021

Bellisima by Ashley Maria SHOWROOM

 Soooo... at the end of Summer I had the opportunity to jump on a space that was available. I literally could not pass it up, because the signs were all there. It was like calling my name and what better time then the present to move my boutique in the right direction. 

I opened up my first ever show room in Easton, PA!

Before a much needed power wash!

First up, PAINT! it was a blue previously, so to go with our brand I went with a light pink.  

I removed the old light/fan and went with this simple yet statement pendant 

Pendant | Lowes 

Next was the fixtures. I measured out all the fixtures precisely, yet always leave room for changes. Like the wood.. Well the walls could not hold the weight of the rods, let alone once we put the clothing on there. So, thankfully with the help of my guys from work, we came up with creating our own studs. I was going to paint to match the paint, but like the raw wood as an extra texture in the room. 

Fixtures | Amazon

Mirror | Home Goods

I wanted to stick with the brand, so I accented the store with gold. 

Gold Racks | Amazon

Glass & Gold Shelf | Home Goods

Once all the bones of the show room were done, we started bring in the product and that's when it really came to life!

Gold Shelf | Amazon

Wallpaper |  Amazon

Picture | Target

I'm so proud of this little show room of mine! It's amazing how different it looks already just from these pictures once we started bringing new stuff in!

Back to School 2022

 With Summer over it's time for BACK TO SCHOOL!!

This year brings all the feels though, as it is the first year of real school for Joey! My baby starts Kindergarten and it makes me so sad and yet happy at the same time! I'm so happy and excited for him to start and meet new people he will be friends with until most likely high school, but at the same time so sad my baby is growing up and not a baby anymore!

On his first day - Monday, he only had a half day. We chose the morning session. It was more to get acclimated without the hustle and bustle of all the older kids. He was walked into school with his teachers and learned where to go when he enters in the morning. They had a snack, went over a few things and pretty much just that for the day. I picked him up around 11:30am and was so excited to see what he learned and did. I of course got the 'uggh I don't know' speech..

On Tuesday it was a big day in the Melchionna household, as Vinny also started in his new, older room too. 

Vinny started in the Pre School 3 room which introduces more structured learning, sharing and more importantly potty training!!

Both boys had great first (and second) days of school! They are excited for the school year!

Monthly Rewind | July 2022

 Summer always flies by, yet winter (aka January- February) is so slow moving. 

I can't believe we are almost through the Summer, and now preparing to get ready to send Joey off to Kindergarten. 

So let's rewind the month of July and see what we have been up to..

For the 4th of July weekend, we were BUSY.  On the Friday before, I took the day off work to hang out with Joey. We started with our first pop up of the weekend at Barre3 for my shop . He was such a big help! After we finished, we were going to go to Crayola Factory, but he voted against once he found out I had to run into the office, and his friend Killian was there. So they opted to play together for the rest of the day. That night, we went over our neighbors house for a Happy Hour.

Saturday morning I had another pop up at a different Barre3 studio, and again I did so well! Joe had to work in the morning, so we had our baby sitter watch the boys. It was nice, because I didn't have to rush back home since she was there playing with them and I was able to take my time and unload my car with all the clothes. On Sunday, like usual we had our friends and neighbors over for a party. The kids all had such a fun time in the pool and the adults hung mostly under the patio and the lawn. Once it started to get dark, per our 'new tradition' Joe lit off small fireworks for everyone.  On actually fourth of July, we watched all the fireworks in our backyard from the pool and it was such a great night. 

The following weekend, I had no real plans and it was perfect, because we all needed a slow down. In the morning, Joe had a softball tournament so I took the boys with me and we ran some errands. I had some returns to do, so we went to the Promenade shops and the boys loved the fountain. I can't remember the last time they were there! Of course no trip would be complete with out Starbucks and cake pops. Luckily they didn't give me too much of a had time when they saw the water fun which is located right outside the Starbucks. We did some shopping and by time we headed home, Joe was also home from his tournament. We caught a late lunch / early dinner at Richmond Farm and Brewery. The food was so yummy and we always have a good time. Sunday, Joey had a birthday party at the trampoline park in the morning. 

The next weekend, we had some friends over Saturday to cook out and go in the pool. We have had such a busy summer that it was nice to relax with friends in the pool. On Sunday we had some of Joe's family over for another cook out and pool time. 

The following weekend we worked at the annual carnival- The Big Time. Like tradition we got our cousins to work and we made over 700 funnel cakes in the four nights. Which compared to other years, wasn't that many.  

July came and went and we will the Summer days and nights!

End of Summer 2022

 Summer flew by.. like always. Since it was the last Summer before Joey started real school, we decided after his graduation to pull him. We pretty much spent the Summer with my parents. He was at their house Monday, Wednesday and Thursday's. Every other Wednesday my mom would bring both boys to the library program in the next town for their Summer activities. On Thursday's my mom would be the teacher at the library program in their town, so Joey would be in all his glory as her helper with the younger kids. Friday's my friend Patti would watch him since she had her grand daughter too and they practically grew up together. On Tuesday's I would be off or would work from home with him when I had something pressing. 

I tried on Tuesday's to do something fun and always end back in the pool at the end of the day. I wanted those days Joey to remember and look back on those times of it being him and I. 

Our last day of Summer celebration was filled with all his favorite things. The best Christmas gift I got the family was our Zoo membership. We used it so many times in Summer, it paid for itself. We finished out Summer with a trip to the Zoo in the morning.

After we left we headed to the mall to make a Build a Bear. Joey chose a Darth Vador bear, because we started watching Star Wars lego movies at the end of Summer. 

We got chick fil a for lunch and actually sat inside to enjoy it. 

We finished off our day by going to the park and hanging out there for awhile before picking up Vinny from preschool.