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Fancy Tuna Salad Recipe

I've long been a fan of tuna salad, but my usual "recipe" consists of just canned tuna and mayo. That's how my mom always … Read More ››

Tuna Salad

Weekly Menu Plan 06.17.13

A few weeks ago I decided to challenge myself to go through my closet and try to wear a different outfit every day for 30 … Read More ››

gluten-free-banner

Crushing On Printed Wedges #FashionFriday

The other day, my recent copy of InStyle Magazine was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, and my 13-year-old son walked by … Read More ››

12 Pairs of Printed Wedges

Daily Mom Style: 30 Days of Outfits {Week 2}

I'm well into Week 2 of my 30 Days of Summer Outfits challenge, and so far I'm having fun. I'd be having MORE fun if I hadn't … Read More ››

Fashion Over 40 #OOTD

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

I had some mahi mahi from Trader Joe's in my freezer and decided to try something new. I went online and discovered this … Read More ››

ginger-glazed-mahi-mahi-featured

Summer at Longwood Gardens

As a member of the social influencer program at Longwood Gardens (a botanical garden that was once the home of Pierre duPont and is now open to visitors year round), I received a family membership for the year. Longwood Gardens has been one of my favorite local attractions ever since I moved to this area 18 years ago. I love walking through the perfectly manicured gardens and conservatory and gazing at the mesmerizing fountain shows. But as many times as I’ve been to Longwood over the years, there are a few things I had never done.

I had never been in the duPont House, and I had never eaten at their fancy 1906 Restaurant. I crossed both those items off my bucket list last weekend!

For her birthday back in March, I gave my mom guest passes to Longwood Gardens and promised to take her on her next visit. She finally got around to cashing in on that promise last weekend. Saturday was an absolutely glorious day to wander the gardens at Pierre duPont’s famous estate.

family at Longwood Gardens

Our first stop was the rose garden, where both my husband and I took a copious amount of photos!

Longwood01

roses

The kids weren’t thrilled to be there at first.

kids

But they rallied when they discovered the topiary garden. They loved that.

topiary-garden-longwood-gardens

And the ice cream helped.

icecream

They also enjoyed the duPont House much more than I expected. I really enjoyed hearing Pierre duPont’s story and why Longwood Gardens is so full of fountains and trees. We enjoyed the fountain show, but admittedly, it’s not nearly as splendid during the day as it is at night.

Fountain Show at Longwood Gardens

I highly recommend their Fireworks & Fountains events. We attended one a few years ago and it was a truly unique experience.

Here’s some more eye candy. My husband and I took well over 100 photos between the two of us — me on my iPhone and him with his fancy Nikon D7000.

bamboo

handprints

stop-and-smell-the-flowers

lillies

flowers-at-longwood

I’m busted! (Gotta capture it all on Instagram, dontchaknow!)

busted

I got him back with this one.

photographing-the-photographer

Our last stop before dinner was the Italian Water Garden — Pierre duPont’s first fountain garden modeled after one he loved in Italy. This is a bit of a hike from the main garden areas, but it’s worth the walk.

Italian-Water-Garden-at-Longwood-Gardens

After that, we were more than ready to relax in the elegant 1906, where we dined on the porch. It was perfect weather for eating outside, and the atmosphere was only superseded by our fabulous meal. I love that Longwood sources local wines and cheeses and many local meats and vegetables as well for their menu. In full disclosure, we are good friends with the manager of the restaurant so I have a good deal of behind-the-scenes knowledge of the care and expertise goes into the management of the food services at Longwood. It’s really fascinating to someone who hasn’t had any experience with the food industry.

We enjoyed their locally sourced cheese plate, although I didn’t get a picture of that. It was quite generous, which I appreciated since there were 7 at our table. Sometimes local cheese samplers are skimpy on the portion sizes, but not at 1906.

For dinner, my mom and I both ordered the BUTTER POACHED HALIBUT with Leek Emulsion, Fingerling Potatoes, Royal Trumpet Mushrooms, and Pickled Ramps.

BUTTER POACHED HALIBUT with Leek Emulsion, Fingerling Potatoes, Royal Trumpet Mushrooms, and Pickled Ramps

My husband had the ROASTED PORK CHOP with Braised Artichokes & Fava Beans, French Breakfast Radishes, and Black Garlic Jam.

ROASTED PORK CHOP with Braised Artichokes & Fava Beans, French Breakfast Radishes, and Black Garlic Jam

And my dad had the BRAISED PASTURED CHICKEN with Baby Heirloom Carrots, English Peas, Pearl Onions, Fava Beans, and Herb Puff Pastry, although we didn’t get a photo of his plate.

Everything was outstanding. I love the combination of fresh and interesting flavors, and I also appreciated that I didn’t leave feeling stuffed, even though I did splurge on dessert — the Banana Crème Brulee with Dulce De Leche Ice Cream and Peanut Caramel was in and of itself worth the visit to 1906.

Dinner prices are in the mid-$20 range so it is certainly a fine dining restaurant, but if you’re local, it’s definitely one you should consider for your next special occasion.

While there are many attractions to entice the kids at Longwood (my kids love the tree houses scattered around the property) my mom and I agreed that we need to go back once the kids are in school and take our time perusing the gardens and the conservatory and eat lunch at 1906 without the distraction of impatient children. I’m looking forward to that!

Fancy Tuna Salad Recipe

Tuna Salad

I’ve long been a fan of tuna salad, but my usual “recipe” consists of just canned tuna and mayo. That’s how my mom always made it, and it’s how my kids like it, so usually I don’t bother to do much else. But I love going to a nice restaurant for lunch and ordering a… Continue Reading →

Because We All Want A Healthy Smile {sponsored}

totalsmile

My poor kids are doomed when it comes to their oral health. I personally have had 35 cavities filled, 5 teeth pulled, 2 rounds of braces and 3 root canals in my 40 years here on this earth. I used to blame my rotten teeth on the Coke & Pizza Diet that I lived on… Continue Reading →

Weekly Menu Plan 06.17.13

gluten-free-banner

A few weeks ago I decided to challenge myself to go through my closet and try to wear a different outfit every day for 30 days. This is an attempt to get out of the habit of wearing the same 5-10 outfits over and over and then getting to the end of the season and… Continue Reading →

Crushing On Printed Wedges #FashionFriday

12 Pairs of Printed Wedges

The other day, my recent copy of InStyle Magazine was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, and my 13-year-old son walked by and said, Mom, why do you have all these fashion magazines? It’s for work, I shrugged. I always get a chuckle when I say that. But truly, I do comb through every… Continue Reading →

My Runner’s Toolkit {Sponsored}

running

Last week, I began officially training for my half marathon (13.1 miles) coming up in September. I’ve never run more than 6 or 7 miles at a time, and even those events have been few and far between, so I’m a bit intimidated by the idea of these long runs I have in my future.… Continue Reading →

InstaFriday

eggs

I just discovered this carnival called InstaFriday and I have to join in! Yes, I know it’s not Friday, although it feels like it because today is the last day of school for our kids and the whole week has felt a little bit off. But anyway, I will still link up tomorrow, but I’m… Continue Reading →

Daily Mom Style: 30 Days of Outfits {Week 2}

Fashion Over 40 #OOTD

I’m well into Week 2 of my 30 Days of Summer Outfits challenge, and so far I’m having fun. I’d be having MORE fun if I hadn’t been stuck on the couch all last weekend with dreadful toothache pain and nausea, but let’s not dwell on that! For those just tuning in, I decided that… Continue Reading →

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

ginger-glazed-mahi-mahi-featured

I had some mahi mahi from Trader Joe’s in my freezer and decided to try something new. I went online and discovered this recipe for ginger glazed mahi mahi and decided it was exactly what the doctor ordered! It’s super easy to put together and only requires 20-30 minutes of marinating. Then you just return… Continue Reading →

What to Wear to a Summer Wedding

what to wear summer wedding

I’ve told you before how I’m enjoying Shopcade, a new personal shopping app that brings relevant deals directly to users based on what they want – like Pinterest with direct shopping and saving capability. Because June is wedding month, Shopcade is partnering with jewelry brand Ettika for a fabulous wedding themed Twitter party at 9PM EST on June 20th.… Continue Reading →

Another Mom Fail and Other Assorted Kvetching

I was sitting in my son’s 7th grade award’s assembly when I got the phone call. “Um . . . Jo-Lynne . . . I think you forgot . . .” Once again, another Mom Fail moment has left me feeling irked and demoralized. I feel like I can never get it right, no matter… Continue Reading →