Memorial Day Sale | Kitchen Finds at Macy’s

Good morning friends! There are a lot of sales going on this weekend and although I am not shopping all of them, I have my eye on a few finds at Macy’s. I have been loving the color scheme of the Martha Stewart Collection. My house is predominately white, grey and beige with mixes of pale and navy blues. One of my top home decor tips is to keep your color scheme consistent. This approach helps the whole house feel connected. The Martha Stewart line fits right in to our home.

Before getting into today’s finds, I want to share one of my best online shopping tips. I always use Rakuten (formerly Ebates) when possible. When you sign-up through my link, you’ll automatically earn $10 (I will earn $25) towards your next shopping trip. Refer your friends and you’ll earn extra too.

When you shop through Rakuten, you earn cash back for all of your purchases! To date, I have earned over $500 from my online orders. The cash back deals range from 1 – 10% or more. I have noticed that the change back rates per store change through out the week and I usually notice the highest ranges on Sunday or Monday. To make sure I never forget to shop through Rakuten, I downloaded the Rakuten extension (add-on) for Chrome. With each website you visit, the add-on will notify you of potential cash back savings.

In this post I have linked a few items I have my eye on and a few dupes of items you can already find in my kitchen. My #1 find of the sale is the Dutch Oven. Right now you can get the 6qt Dutch Oven for $69! It’s larger than the Le Cruset I have for a fraction on the price. For Christmas, I bought my mom the Martha Stewart 8qt Dutch Oven and she loves it. Definitely a great option if you’re in the market for a Dutch Oven, but don’t want to splurge on a high-end brand. To read more about why I love mine, click here.

Wooden Spoon | Towels | Dutch Oven | Rubber Tools | Cutting Board | Ice Cube Tray | Tongs | Cocktail Shaker | Cork Screw | Jigger | Tool Crock | Oil Cruet

Other staples in my kitchen include mixing spoons, plenty of tongs and a pretty tool holder (to match my Dutch Oven that’s always on display). I highly recommend having a wood cutting board with a well around the edge to catch juices. I use my wood cutting board ever time I cook.

For my bridal shower, we didn’t register for a ton of barware. Over the last few weeks we’ve been trying to stock up our bar! I found pretty low baller glasses at HomeGoods and now I am trying to find the rest. I have my eye on the Martha Stewart shaker, jigger and ice cube tray. We actually have silicone ice cube trays, but I really like how this version comes with a cover. Oversized ice cubes are great for at home cocktails.

If you aren’t following me already, be sure to subscribe by entering your email in the top right-hand corner of this page. You’ll be notified each time I post a new blog. You can also follow me on Instagram and Pinterest.

Wedding Welcome Bags with North Fork Potato Chips

Hi friends! The summer and wedding season are quickly approaching, and I could not be more excited. Today, I am thrilled to share a local company that I incorporated into my own wedding day. This is a great way not only to support local businesses, but it is also a fun way to add some unique touches to your wedding.

As you may know, I got married a little over a year ago. Sometimes I still have to remind myself that my wedding day has come and gone. I am the type of person that enjoys anticipating a big event like a holiday or vacation. Although I hit a few bumps in the road during wedding planning {or as my husband says, “the fews weeks I lost my mind,”} I really did enjoy everything about our wedding season. That being said, I know wedding planning can be overwhelming, so I thought this would be a great time to share some planning ideas with you all.

In this post I am giving you a better look inside my wedding welcome bags. These bags were placed in the hotel rooms for our guests the night of our wedding. There are so many reasons I love living on Long Island, so I really wanted to incorporate something special into these bags. A few months prior to my wedding I was in Southhampton with my parents looking at wedding bands. We stopped for lunch where I opted for a side of chips — North Fork Potato Chips. This was the first time I had heard of these chips, but instantly fell in love with them because they had such a good crunch! Then it hit me; these chips were the perfect addition to my wedding welcome bags. I knew these would be a lot more special than a regular old bag of Lay’s.

With all of the crazy details that go into a wedding, we opted to keep our welcome bags pretty simple. Sticking with our theme, I purchased craft paper gift bags, white tissue paper and a tag from Etsy which we simply tied with twine. Along with the North Fork Chips, we added a couple bottles of water, a few gluten-free [salty & sweet] snacks and Advil packets. For more details on my wedding planning, click here.

If you check their website, you’ll learn that North Fork Potato Chips is a family owned and run business on the North Fork of Long Island. Starting their business in the 1970s, the Sidor family has grown their company to offer seven flavors of chips, and all except BBQ are gluten-free. I opted for a mix of the original and sweet potato flavor in my wedding welcome bags. If you’re not incorporating wedding welcome bags into your day, North Fork Potato Chips would make a great favor, to-go gift {often left at the door as your guests leave} or after party snack.

When I placed my order for North Fork Chips, I remember speaking with Cheryl Sidor. At the point I spoke with her, I was losing wedding planning steam — so much so that I actually called their office about 10x in a row thinking my call wasn’t going through. Turns out, it was actually call waiting, and I was repeatedly “beeping into” Cheryl’s conference call. Hello bridal brain fog! Not only was Cheryl very sweet, but she made the process so simple. To ensure optimal freshness, she also made sure that the chips shipped at the right time.

As a kid, my parents often took me out to the North Fork, and I generally referred to it as the land of “farm, farm, vineyard, farm.” These day my day-job requires me to be in the city which makes me appreciate the farm lands and beaches of Long Island so much more. My husband and I love spending time on the ‘NoFo’ for the wine, craft beer and pure relaxation. Some of our favorite places include the Bating Hallow Farm Vineyard, Briermere Farms and the Shinn Estate Vineyard. We’re happy to add North Fork Chips to that round-up.

LI brides, be sure to check out North Fork Potato Chips to add a special element of LI to your wedding day. Also, ask for information on the bridal specials and let Cheryl know I sent you her way.

Thank you to Cheryl for sending me chips to recreate my bags for this post!

All opinions are my own and today’s post was not compensated.

Maui Travel Guide: Part 2

Are you thinking of traveling to Maui? If the answer to that question is yes, then you’re in the right place. This post will be the last of my Hawaiian honeymoon travel guide and recap. We started our trip on Oahu and ended in Maui. Although Hawaiian honeymoons sound a bit cliche at the start, I assure you that ours did not feel that way and was nothing short of amazing. We ended our trip at the Andaz Hotel for a few days of pure relaxation.

After leaving Paia, we headed to Wailea where we stayed at the Andaz Hotel. From the moment we arrived at the resort we were amazed with its beauty and all it had to offer. The hospitality of the staff at the Andaz was top notch. The resort provides free shuttle service {most of which are luxury SUVs} to all guests traveling in the Wailea area. Although we rented a car, we did not need it while in Wailea thanks to this service. When we were ready for dinner, we walked outside the lobby and told the bell hops which restaurant we were going to. After a short wait, we would be driven to dinner. When we were ready to be picked up, we just called the bell hops and they came to get us. It was really such a wonderful service. The men working during our stay were terrific. All the staff was very friendly and provided tons of restaurant recommendations. Although we did not sign-up for any tours while in Wailea, the hotel does provide tour guide services for its guests as well.

The grounds of the Andaz are beautiful. The main lobby overlooks the beach and a three tiered deck each featuring an infinity edge pool. Around the corner, guests can find an adult-only pool in close proximity to the spa. We spent most of our time at this pool partly because it was closer to our room. Throughout the all pool areas the Andaz provided towel carts for fresh towels throughout the day. On these carts they also offered a variety of complementary flavored ice water {lemon, cucumber, mint, cantaloupe and strawberry, just to name a few} and Sun Bum SPF. In the afternoon, Andaz staff would walk around the pools offering a complementary refreshing treat such as a mochi or and ice pop. All of these small touches really made our stay feel extra special.

I booked our stay at the Andaz directly through their website because it was a better price than through third party sites. I was really happy I was able to get us an ocean view room. When we were escorted to our room, the hallways reminded us of the 90s show Legends of the Hidden Temple. The room was spacious, included a balcony, modern furnishings and a spacious bathroom. The bathroom included a large rain shower with a window that actually allowed you to overlook the room and balcony. Any drinks or snacks in the bar area were also complementary and were replenished daily. My favorite touch may have been the speciality Maui Lays’ chips. During our stay we also ordered lunch and snacks poolside. The bar menu had a decent amount of GF options, but as with everything in Hawaii, the poolside menus were very pricey.

For breakfast and snacks we went to the Mokapu Market on the grounds of the Andaz. I was overly happy when we realized the market had a gluten-free section including homemade baked goods and our favorite GF pretzels. We would grab breakfast, coffee and head to the adult pool early or take it back up to our room to be enjoyed on the balcony. I love having a balcony with a great view on vacation. I think it’s so relaxing.

My husband made us a reservation at Monkey Pod based on a recommendation he caught by an ESPN news anchor; Monkey Pod is known for its Mai Tais! While we were on Oahu I tried a Mai Tai, but it definitely was thought it would be a drink I would order again. That being said, I am not much of a liquor drinker. My experience was a totally different story at Monkey Pod. Their Mai Tais were delicious! As I type this, I am wondering why we haven’t tried to recreate these at home. To make our experience at Monkey Pod even more enjoyable, the food at this restaurant was as good as the drinks. I had no problem finding a gluten-free options. I went with the Organic Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi. Our server was super knowledgeable of the menu and provided helpful recommends. I highly recommend adding MP to your list of ‘musts’ while visiting Maui.

Monkey Pod Mai Tai

On our last night in Maui, we went to Matteo’s for another memorable evening. Many of the staff at Andaz recommended Matteos as the best Italian food in the area. We were totally on board when we looked through the menu and saw plenty of gluten-free options. For starters, we shared gluten-free turkey meatballs in red sauce with a side of fresh garlic bread. Naturally, I ordered a second round of bread (#twoplease). I tend to over analyze my dinner selections. My husband will vouch for me when I say, I am not always good at ordering food for dinner, but at Matteo’s my choice was a winner. I had the Fettuccine {sub GF penne} Frutti di Mare. For me personally, seafood dishes can be a real hit or miss, but this one was a home run my friends. Matteo’s is another restaurant I highly recommend while on your visit to Maui.

We also had dinner at Gannon’s in Wailea. It is known for its view and atmosphere. We caught the tail end of happy hour and got to chatting with a local semi-retired couple. These types of encounters are always our favorite. They were originally from California and decided to move to Maui after making frequent visits. The husband’s name was also Mike and he was a physical therapist. I cannot remember the wife’s name, but she was the cutest and a bit of a Jane Fonda look alike. They were so sweet. Talking with them at the bar was the highlight of the night. As for our meal, I can’t say either of us were blown away, but Gannon’s got brownie points in my book for having my favorite Prosecco, La Marca.