Fall Colors in New Jersey 2020
The fall colors in New Jersey brightened my spirits in a plethora of ways this year. 2020 has been a heavy year on so many different fronts. Our new normal doesn’t feel normal. There’s excess noise coming at us from every direction. Even a simple outing requires a complex set of risk/reward calculations. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve got out of my car to walk into a store only to turn around because I forgot my mask. It’s exhausting. Oh, and it isn’t over yet. That’s why my daily walks, especially when I can soak in the fall colors in New Jersey, have been my sanity saver. There’s something restorative about being…
Happy Thrifting: Golden Nugget Antique Flea Market
Today I want to introduce to you a flea market I’ve been to twice now: Golden Nugget Antique Flea Market. It is located along the scenic Delaware River in Lambertville, New Jersey, right across the border from Pennsylvania. The flea market has been open since the late 1960s, so you know it is a good one. Plus, it is open year-round and three days a week: Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Some flea markets are only open seasonally and that’s a bummer when you really have a hankering to find some neat treasures, but nothing is open! The name Golden Nugget Antique Flea Market is a nod to the man who…
Winter Home Inspiration from New Jersey
One of the reasons I’m enjoying living on the East Coast is that there is a seemingly limitless supply of old home eye candy. You’d think this feast for the eyes would get, well, old, but it hasn’t. Here is some winter home inspiration from New Jersey for your viewing pleasure today. This blue home covered in snow looks like a real-life doll house with that gorgeous white trim all covered in snow. I’m also swooning over the little balcony on the second story. SWOONING. I drive by this home frequently and this isn’t even its best angle. It’s not even the front of the house. This is the left…
Fall Colors in New Jersey
I take a walk down a country road almost every day after lunch. Even back in the summer I knew it would be glorious stretch of roadway to experience the fall colors in New Jersey firsthand. The New England states have a reputation for having glorious leaf displays every autumn, but New Jersey can hold its own. And that seemed like a very Jersey thing to say. Hmm. No. That wasn’t aggressive enough. I’ll have to work on it! Clearly, I’m not a New Jersey native. I’m just a girl who appreciates the fall colors in New Jersey. There are days when I don’t see one car while on my…
Travel: Silverball Museum Arcade
I’ve lost count of the number of museums we have visited as a family. We aren’t gluttons for punishment. If these had been terrible, torturous experiences we wouldn’t keep going back for more. So that’s why it continually confounds me that our museum experiences starts like this every single time. My Kids: What are we doing today? Me: (in my best Oprah voice) YOU get to go to a MUSEUM! And YOU get to go to a MUSEUM! My Kids: But why? Do we have to? I want to stay home. *Insert other unintelligible whining here.* Only one time have I short-circuited that whining by saying… “We are going to a…
Happy Thrifting: Smalltown Antiques
I’ll happily admit I’m the type of shopper that judges an antique or thrift store by the stuff they have outside. If it looks like “good” stuff – whatever that means – I’m more likely to want to stop. Do you do that too? Smalltown Antiques in Flanders, New Jersey, had all sorts of good stuff outside its front door when I visited. I’m guessing thieves don’t steal old crocks? Not only was the outside packed, but Smalltown Antiques the kind of shop that is brimming with interesting finds inside too. It’s not big space-wise, but there’s a lot to take in. I loved the bookends on this table and…
I Spy Gnome Houses on a Bike Trail
Of all the gloriously random things in the world to discuss, today I want to talk about gnome houses on a bike trail. Why? Because it’s pretty much the most amazing thing ever. Okay. Not EVER ever, but it is pretty fantastic. Hear me out. Imagine a beautiful summer day. The temperature is warm, but not too hot. It is the perfect day for going on a bike ride (or walk) on a path through a lush forest and being able to play an epic game of I Spy. And, no. You’re not too old to play I Spy. Perish the thought! Why are there gnome houses on a bike…
You Should Tour a Mine at Least Once
Everyone should tour a mine at least once in their lifetime. It is a tangible and interesting way to understand the effort, danger and environmental impact that goes into extracting natural resources from the ground that are used in everyday items we find indispensable. Your cell phone alone contains many natural resources that come out of the ground such as copper, gold, silver, palladium, crude oil, and lithium. Now, I’m not encouraging you to tour an active mine or to get lost in an abandoned mine. No, no, no. There are plenty of tourism opportunities all around the country and world to take a guided tour of an inactive mine.…
Welcome to Our Colonial Farmhouse
This is not a drill. I repeat! This is not a drill. Our house hunt is over and I can finally talk about our new home without jinxing the deal. Thank goodness! Our new home is actually quite old. Old as in founding fathers old! So without further ado, welcome to our colonial farmhouse! If the story is correct, the original part of this house was supposedly built in the 1780s. The “new” section of the house (shown above) was built around 1849. There is some etching in a stone in the attic with the builder’s name and date to verify the 1849 date. Let me do the math for you. At…
House Hunting in New Jersey: The House That Wasn’t a House
Are you having fun following along with our house hunting in New Jersey adventure? Last week I shared the first house we made an offer on. I nicknamed it the sad house. Now, before the sad house was the house that wasn’t a house. Oh. My. Goodness. We fell HARD for this house that wasn’t a house. Hook, line and sinker. So if it wasn’t a house in the traditional sense, what was it? In a previous life this house was a diner and a gas station. Is there a better combination than a place where you can get dinner and fill your car up with gas? Yes, actually. I…
