The Hunt for Desserts. Part 1.

I have been so busy with work (again) that I haven't posted anything in a while. So, here's to trying to catch up...

Let's talk desserts. It's pretty usual for us to be riding in the car on the weekend and for me to go "I need desserts" And my family, that doesn't lack a sweet tooth, is immediately up for the hunt. A few weeks ago we ended up at the Blue Bird Bake Shop. This small shop has a very cool space, and is full of beautiful and delicious cupcakes. Definitely worth the visit. 

 We have also discovered a few other nice dessert spots in the last few months. I'll post about those in the coming weeks.

Blueberries

We had so much fun picking blueberries last weekend I thought I would share. I don't normally like blueberries but there's something about picking them yourself straight out of the tree that just makes them taste better –the boys agree.

Here's the info if you're interested:

Tom West Blueberries
324 E. Orlando Ave.
Ocoee, FL 34761 

Open April 20th - End of May
Saturdays and Sundays 9-5

www.tomwestblueberries.com

It's very family friendly, they provide buckets for picking, prices are great, and the best part – they're pesticide free.

First Haircut at the Magic Kingdom

We took our 1 year old to get his first haircut last weekend. They really do a great job with kids at the Harmony Barber Shop in the Magic Kingdom. A combination of a sticker trick, toys, and a lot of patience make this a stress free enjoyable experience. Plus they get a little Mickey Ear hat that says First Haricut, and a certificate. The cost for the First Haircut is $18 (tips are cash only) 

Casa Feliz

Casa Feliz is a historic home museum in Winter Park. We first discovered it when we were trying to find a spot for our wedding reception. Last weekend we took the kids there during their public open house time (Sundays 12-3) The weather was awesome so we were able to play outside for a while. We brought our picnic blanket and a ball and the kids had a blast running around on the bocce ball lawn.

I've always had a thing for brick walls, so I'm hoping to go back soon and take some more pictures of the house.

7 Father's Day Gifts Designed in Orlando

So yes, I've been having a bit of a hard time catching up after our little cruise vacation. But I have lots to share. I'm starting with this Father's Day gift guide since Father's Day is in less than two weeks – June 17th. There's lots of good talent in Orlando, so why not give dad a gift that's not only awesome, but also supports local artists.

1. 'Get It Done' Notepad - I don't enjoy telling my husband of 'to dos' any more than he enjoys hearing them from me. I'm thinking him and this notepad could be good friends, you know, since it has a cute talking zebra on it... also check out the Father's Day cards and other stationary at Rifle Paper Company. Super talented Anna Bond is the artist behind this beautiful brand and works out of her studio in Winter Park. You can visit the very cool shop and see the rest of the line in person.

2. Self-made Tee - You can take something your little artist has drawn that daddy really likes (in this case, the AT-AT with Luke hanging from it with his lightsaber and rebel alliance base on the side) and follow this instructions to transfer it onto a blank T-shirt. I can already see the proud father and son faces! (I found some good Mossimo blank tees in different colors at Target).

3 & 4. Pocket Card Holder and Belt - In my opinion the leather goods at MARK are... what's the word? ...perfect. And, I think any dad would love these. MAKR's Founder and Design Director is Jason Gregory and the studio is located in Winter Park.

5. My Dad, My Hero - I spotted this book last year at the local Barnes & Noble. The cover really got my attention and then I noticed the author's name. Ethan Long is a local Illustrator and friend. This book was a perfect father's day gift. Owen loves reading it with dad. (Ethan also created Disney Junior short series Tasty Time With ZeFronk - pretty cool!)

6. Father's Day Card - lots of cool card options available at the L2 store. Cards are designed and hand screen printed by my friends at Lure Design, here in Orlando.

7. The Nakashuma Mark iPhone Case - Every cool dad should have a cool case to protect his iPhone from the uncool falls that may or may not be caused by his children. This one is designed by Orlando local, Billy Davis - one swell illustrator. There's also other cool designs available in the shop.

Weekend Happenings

1. Star Wars Weekends May 18th through June 10th — on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of each weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Owen has been a Star Wars fan since before he turned three, so we don't really need much more this weekend. I'll just have to mentally prepare myself for the crowds. I know I'll be riding Star Tours with him (I was pregnant and couldn't before) If you want to this, keep in mind the height requirement is 40 inches for this ride and they're pretty strict with that. Tall shoes might help, hats won't (not that we tried to sneak in our kid before... ;) The lines can get long for pictures with characters, having water helps. Having a lightsaber helps even more. Kids can bring in a lightsaber and train in the Jedi Academy, then use it to defeat whatever gets in your way.

Oh, and here's a little behind the scenes video showing Darth Vader hard at work. It seems he had a lot to do with this event. 

Model Railroad

So this past weekend we followed our own advice and checked out a couple of the events going on in the Orlando area. We did the Car Festival in Celebration on Saturday, which was great. And on Sunday we went to check out the open house at the Orlando Society of Model Railroads. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have to say I was impressed. I had fun taking pictures of everything while my little boy watched the whole thing in awe; and asked all the "how" questions he could think of. I found out they do four open houses a year, but couldn't get the upcoming dates. I'll keep an eye out and let you know though. In the meantime, if you have a little boy, or girl, that's into trains, they told me they were there every Saturday between 10 - 3, and that everyone is welcome. This is fun, and it's free. (If you do bring in some cash there is a bucket for donations)

7208 Aloma Ave. 
Winter Park

SeaWorld

We had a great time at SeaWorld yesterday. We got there a little after 10 a.m. and it was about as crowded as I've ever seen it. We were not surprised, being that it is spring break and easter. Still, I think we are theme park pros because we did pretty much all we wanted without dealing with the crowds. The easiest way to do this at SeaWorld is to turn right when at the start. Most people turn left, towards the dolphins. By turning right you get a clear path through the Water Front and across the bridge all the way to the Wild Artic. If you keep going that way you'll find Shamu's Happy Harbor — the playground, rides for kids, and most importantly, the baby care center. At lunch, we headed to the Seafire Inn Restaurant, and once again avoided the crowds by ordering at the front booth, instead of getting in line to browse and pick an item. We sat on the outside porch, which is open but has a system to keep big hungry birds away from your food. It was nice. We also found out yesterday that they're redoing the whole penguin area. Antarctica is scheduled to open in Spring 2013. I'm excited to see what it'll be like.

The Best Frozen Yogurt

Well, we've been hard at work and our search for the best frozen yogurt in the Orlando area is over. Here's what we've come up with:

1. Red Mango: The family loved Red Mango — the vote was unanimous. Located in the Winter Garden Village shopping plaza (by Panera). A very clean and nicely designed space with great tasting yogurt, and a very friendly staff. It also claims to be the healthiest. We like that. My only complain is no toffee/heath topping, which is my personal favorite. Their almonds are the best though, so I'll forgive them.

2. Menchies: Menchies also has a nicely design space and branding, great tasting yogurt, and a great choice of toppings. (I wasn't allowed to take pictures here)

3. Mochi: This was the first frozen yogurt place we tried, and we really liked it. Their decor is very modern and has sort of a surreal feel. A good fit for a frozen yogurt shop in my opinion.

We also visited Jojo in Downtown Winter Garden and Cold Stone Creamery across from the Winter Garden Village. Jojo's yogurt was good, and I think a better decor/atmosphere would make this place really great. As far as Cold Stone, we think their ice cream is great and they should probably stick to that.

This time, we limited our search to self-serve stores; where you pick your yogurt flavour(s), and toppings, and then proceed to the scale and pay by the weight. It's a great system I think, and it's fun too. Now, if you know of another shop, self-serve or not, that's worth our efforts, let me know in the comments. I'll try and drag my family out for more tasting. So hard to do... ;)

*These results were based solely on my family's opinions. No professional tasters here, just having fun. 

Blood Tests...

These pictures are of the Quest Lab on Maguire, OcoeeOk, this is NOT a fun thing to do in the Orlando area. But unfortunately, there comes a time in every parent's life when the pediatrician will hand you an order for a blood test. Usually at the baby's 9th month appointment. Our first order was for Quest, so I took my baby to the Quest Lab closest to our house at the time – the one on West Colonial. They couldn't get his vain, so it was a long and traumatic experience. Not to mention, I didn't find that lab at all pleasant, especially for a baby. So, the next time we had to go get a blood test I took my boy to the Arnold Palmer Hospital. What a huge difference! It only took a second and Owen never even realized there was a needle in his arm. Going to the hospital was a bit more of a hassle. They don't take appointments there, so there might be a long wait sometimes. But, I still think it's completely worth it.

Now, if I had to take my child to Quest I would go to the one on Maguire in Ocoee. It's new, very clean, and I've never had to wait longer than a few minutes. I did all my pregnancy screenings there, including glucose tolerance, and I have to say, I love this lab. Especially when Janelle is there. She's on top of things, and she's super nice.

*You might need a specific order form depending on the lab you're going to, so make sure you check with your doctor. You may also want to check on insurance coverage.

Bob the Builder in Orlando

Bob the Builder is coming to Orlando! The Project Build It Touring Exhibit will open at the Orlando Science Center this Saturday, January 28th. It looks like it might be similar to the Curious George exhibit they previously had there. That one was pretty fun. We are exhited about this one!

Chocolate Croissant Contest

 I've always loved chocolate croissants. But I especially crave them when I'm pregnant. So lately, when I go to either Whole Foods or The Fresh Market I reward myself with one of these yummy pastries (neither one of these stores are close to my house, but I make the drive to buy specific items that I consider to be healthier choices for my family... so I think I deserve a treat for that, right?)

Anyway, today I couldn't decide which store to go to so I thought I should base my decision on the quality of their croissant. Hmmm... I decided to have a little contest. On the way back I stopped at Panera and picked one up there too, just to have another one for comparison.

The results:
1. The Fresh Market: Best overall taste. Soft and fluffy, with the right balance of chocolate vs. pastry. At $1.29 this one has the lowest price also.
2. Whole Foods: This one was so close to the Fresh Market's. It was really a close call. Also very soft and fluffy, with excellent taste. However, I could taste the oil or butter a bit, not badly though. It's just that the one from the Fresh Market had a bit more chocolate and tasted a tad better. This one was $1.79
3. Panera: It's an ok croissant, but just not as good as the other ones. Not very fluffy and the chocolate is kind of hard. It's inferior in flavor and smaller too. At $2.09 this one is the most expensive one. Sorry Panera, I do enjoy other things in there.

*Disclaimer: Even though I took this contest very seriously and I have excellent taste and I am pregnant, I do not posses professional taste buds. These are just my personal opinions, and are likely to differ from other's.