Grits in the City - discounts and faves

Hope you enjoy all these as much as I do!

Pokémon birthday party to celebrate turning six

by Leave a Comment

There’s a new obsession in our house covered off on in one little word – Pokémon. Before I only knew it as an app T loved to use when we were still in the city to encourage him to be active and walk around more. Oh and to help me figure out where we were on a family hike once when I took the kids without him and got totally turned around. 

But this is different. Q started kindergarten and started to come home talking about it and wanting all things Pokémon — cards, games, you name it. So when I saw it as a birthday party idea, it was a no-brainer. But what to go with it?

[Read more…]

pumpkin carving at stirling hotel

by Leave a Comment

It has been a while since we have had a date night and even longer since we’ve left the house before bedtime. But when we saw that our favorite Stirling Hotel was doing a special event that included a pumpkin carving contest and a tasting flight with Southern Tier — so decided to change that up for one night.

Pumpkin ceramic potter with a packed bundle of mums, surrounded by other greenery at pumpkin carving at Stirling Hotel
[Read more…]

Where to go in Lavallette

by Leave a Comment

This summer, I wanted to find a new beach we could try for a family vacation that wouldn’t be too far of a drive but would be a good place to visit with a family. I really enjoyed my recent trip to Spring Lake and Sea Girt, but couldn’t find anything for us to stay in on Airbnb.

Lavallette Beach

Just when I was ready to give up, I found a place for us to stay in Lavallette. It was walkable to the beach and since we went after Labor Day, we didn’t have to rent by the week to stay there. Upside to waiting!

where to go in lavallette
[Read more…]

fall apple picking at hillview farms

by Leave a Comment

I always associate one thing with the fall — apples. And lots of them. This year we decided to give apple picking at Hillview Farms a try. Since having the kids, we try to go once a year and we usually switch up where we go to check out some new places along the way.

apple picking at hill view farms

I have passed by the farm some on a few of my longer runs and always been curious and a friend recommended it. From the road, it looks quite modest. I was pleasantly surprised how much more there is to the farm than I expected.

[Read more…]

race recap: 2022 jersey shore half marathon

by Leave a Comment

I did it! I made it to the end. As someone who in general hates rain, spending 2.5 hours+ continually in the rain is huge. That’s probably why going into the race, the most I’d run was 15 minutes in the rain. Woah. What a miss. That practice would have come in handy before the 2022 Jersey Shore Half Marathon. (Lesson learned.)

After I finished my last half marathon, I decided to sit out more than the usual recovery cycle. With my knee not feeling 100%, I wanted to take it slow — let it heal and allow plenty of time to fully do the training cycle all the way through. Almost a year later felt appropriate.

[Read more…]

8 tips for preparing for running in the rain on race day

by Leave a Comment

I’m gearing up to run my third half marathon but my first ever real race fully in the rain. An admitted rain avoider (I’ve rescheduled many an outdoor run for less), I find myself confronted with preparing to make the most of running in the rain during a big race.

I asked friends and followers on a few social media platforms for what has worked for them and this is what they told me.

[Read more…]

half marathon training: check in going into my third half

by Leave a Comment

Well, it’s less than a month until my half marathon. I can’t believe it is almost here! Figured I would share a quick update on how everything is going training for my third half marathon.

Half marathon training plan

I’ve kept to the same half marathon training plan as I’ve used for the other half marathons I have run. Not ready to possibly mess up a good thing! I’ve been using Hal Higdon’s Novice 1, which does a great job of helping me to scale up my runs and allows me some flexibility to still have time to go to classes at the aerial studio. I’ve also been taking some Peloton classes — specifically cycling, yoga, bike bootcamp and strength for runners.

[Read more…]

Running a race in costume: 6 tips to help you plan

by Leave a Comment

Halloween is approaching. The candy is stocked at all the stores while costumes as starting to sell out everywhere. Eeeek. No stress!

It’s common for themed races to pop up for the holidays, including Halloween. Last year, I ran my second half marathon (and first one that wasn’t virtual) on Halloween. I tried to find information going into my race about running in costume and couldn’t find the best details on it. I definitely have some learnings to share based on my experience running a race in costume so hopefully you can be better prepared for yours!

[Read more…]

5 things to keep in mind regarding roof repairs

by Leave a Comment

When buying a home, there are certain things you scrutinize closely — with the age and condition of the roof being one of the top ones on the list. And rightfully so. Depending on the size of your home, replacing it will cost somewhere in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars and can impact your ability to occupy the home depending on the extent of repairs required. I know for us, this was a big concern we focused on during our homesearch since it was such a big ticket issue.

[Read more…]

Goat yoga with Healing with Crystal Flow and Air

by Leave a Comment

I’ve always been curious to try goat yoga. I love yoga. I love goats. Why wouldn’t I love yoga and goats? I’ve never come across goat yoga anywhere close enough to be possible — until last month!

When I saw it pop up as one of the workshops on the Air New Providence website, I was thrilled! The workshop was in partnership wit Samantha of Healing with Crystal Flow. Sam is also an Air instructor!

What to bring & wear

I was worried about what to wear since it was a pretty warm day. I was happy I went with a sleeveless shirt that was good for yoga but wasn’t cropped. If you want to have the goats on your back, I found it more comfortable to have on something that fully covered my back and that wasn’t too delicate that I’d be worried about it getting snagged.

[Read more…]