Summertime Apple and Cherry Pie from BJ's

In case you need a quick and delicious dessert to bring to a picnic or dinner party, BJ's on Main Street across from M&T Bank always has freshly baked pies behind the counter. They are mini, good for four mini slices, and come in apple, cherry, peach, sweet potato, and what ever other flavor she feels like baking that day. Delish!

Potty Training Essential: Nomie Baby Car Seat Cover is Pee Proof

This is for you parents out there in Beacon and the Hudson Valley - for those of you who are potty training, this the nomie baby car seat cover accessory is a must for one simple reason: the wick-away fabric of the Nomie baby car seat cover.

My first love for the nomie baby was so that my toddler could eat in the car without ruining her car seat (let alone make a mess). She's a hungry critter. Yogurt, bananas, bunny crackers, milk, all of it. The newest reason I love it is because we are now potty training. "It's potty time!" is a dance we do at night. We wear underwear in the afternoons to practice, and it's very messy with lots of whoopsy accidents on the floor. We took a quick car ride down Rt. 52 to the Enterprise lot, and returned with a wet car seat - cover. The car seat itself was dry. Thanks to the nomie baby car seat cover and its patented fabric that wicks away moisture and spills, making it waterproof on the back, and soft on the front.

You wonder: did your daughter ride around on a naked car seat? Heck no. We have a no-naked-car-seat rule in our car. I had a pink backup cover right behind the seat (pictured here is the brown with pink stitching). With a flick of the wrist, I removed the soiled car seat cover and slipped on the clean one. Voila! Potty training continues in comfort.

View from Lawrence Farms Today

Wow. Apple trees are flush with apples. Low humidity today. Beautiful!

Bathtime Seat for Moms - THIS is What I'm Talking About

Here is my dream come true. The "Comfort Seat" in action in my bathroom while I give my girl a bath. Rather, while she gives herself a bath actually. And to add to my comfort, she likes to wash my "dirty legs"!

For parents who are tired of sitting on the floor or hard stools while giving their kids a bath, the Comfort Seat is what you need. It reclines into 14 different positions, and you can roll on it like a rocking chair. Click here to shop their website >

John Fluevog San Miguel Olive Green Tall Boot for Sale - Discount for you

John Fluevog San Miguel boots for sale

My hubby gave me these John Fluevog San Miguel boots in olive green, but they just aren't my size. They are an 8.5, and you will love them. I'm selling on Craigs List, and if you'd like them, mention A Little Beacon Blog and get $25 off the selling price.

Click here for all of the photos and more details!

Because you need these oreo cupcakes at Bank Square.

Oh. My. Brigado. As we say in my house for a reformed "omg." I was blown away by these whipped cream frosting cupcakes in an otherwise gluten free coffee house, Bank Square. I'm a lover if the butter and cream, so...yay.

Meltdown! Chocolate Dinosaur at Alps

I've been getting chocolate cravings something fierce, and my cupboards are bare for sweets! Usually I get a chocolate chip cookie, but Crumb was sold out. How silly of me to forget that we have a chocolatier here in Beacon, Alps, on Main Street! And Bank Square also sells Mast Brothers bars of chocolate.

But I wanted a little piece, so my daughter and I strollered to Alps with 3 minutes to spare until they closed. Not only did we find bags of chunked chocolate pieces, but we found this chocolate dinosaur lollipop! A lot less mess than holding a chunk of chocolate (but that's what I got because I like chunks).

Yum!

A Mama Needs a Comfort Seat

When George Vargas first joined our small business community at 'PRENEUR, I checked out the Holland based company he represented, and longed for their invention: the Comfort Seat, a flat cushion of comfort fitted with 14 adjustable sitting positions. Their website is covered in pictures of glamor girls reclining in the sun or on boats, and while this seat is perfect for that, I find myself sitting most of the time inside, on a cold kitchen or bathroom floor, helping my babies eat and bathe.

Then I was Skyping one morning with my friend in Dubai while she happened to be giving her son a bath. My friend is glamorous, lives in a nice place, but there she was, in a long cotton dress, wine in hand, sitting on the floor of her bathroom while her little one took a bath.

And then I was overcome. This floor sitting to get closer to little people is uncivilized! We must sit in something! My fantasies of using the beach bound Comfort Seat over came me, and I got one. Love it! It's so easy to cart around the house to go wherever I need it (this morning found me in the kitchen for an early bout of mango eating and dishes that my toddler wanted to do - I relaxed in the seat while she worked).

I shared my thoughts with George, how the mom market could be great, and he let me know that in Holland, several schools used the Comfort Seat in the classroom because for whatever reason, they sit on the floor there to learn.

Do you garden? Do you sit outside? Get one. You'll be so glad you did.

Pink Radio Flyer Toddler Bike at Trendy Tots

Will it be yours? The price is less than what you'd find it for at Target, and it's in a local shop! Unusual, I'm told, for this bike that is now sold in mass. This handle bar is super easy to steer the bike while your toddler is riding it, and it's a great trainer for knowing what to even do with pedals before you get to real training wheels.

Why I Love My Nissan Quest's Tailgate

So many reasons why I love my Nissan Quest. I'll start with this one area: the tailgate. This picture sums up the flexibility I have with this minivan, and why boxiness is good. The picture isn't sexy, but sums up a typical day on our road trip to visit family. I can haul around our big jogging stroller (the Baby Trend is my favorite), with plenty of extra diapers, a baby-baby toy stroller, an umbrella stroller (the Lamaze is my favorite) , and a computer bag stored underneath the jogger. Meanwhile, I can comfortably change my baby in the space on the left, and hang his clean but summer-pool dampened onsie to dry on a little hook on the back of the seat. I can then sit in that same spot, on top of the lovely storage, and read a shapes book to my baby while my toddler sleeps on her car seat in the next row.

Diamond Brass Knuckle Rings and a Pink Purse

There's a new boutique in town on the west end of Main Street, and it's called Mi Nena's Boutique. It's in the storefront that has a sign that says: "Credit is a disease, but you won't catch it here." I've always liked that message.

Anyhosey, with my non credit budget (aka cash), I'm adding to my wish list this pink bowling bag style purse, and maybe some diamond brass knuckle rings to bling it off with!

Gypsie Summer Road Trip in Our Nissan Quest

Road trips were the other reason I wanted to get the Nissan Quest. With 2 car seats, my dog could no longer fit into our car with luggage, and we are a driving family. Airport news and delays? Eh, it's news we don't need to follow. But what we do follow are car commercials about roomy cars with storage! Or I do at least, one night while watching Up All Night. And that's when I saw a commercial for a Nissan Quest.

So what are you looking at here? You're looking at a family pit stop at Wendy's, where we are having a picnic in the back. Yeah, that's right. Two big luggages, a set of gulf clubs in a big bag, 2.5 suits for David to possibly wear to a wedding, a beach bag, a bouncy seat, a diaper bag, 2 rolls of diapers, a Lamaze umbrella stroller, a pink baby stroller that is Ruby's size, and...a small bag of my French press coffee situation.

How is it, you ask, that we are eating in the car in total comfort, and little Baby Cole is getting changed (see that white blob?). Underneath the baby blob is a storage well, and it's my favorite part of the Quest. Cole is laying on the trap door of the well. Right next to him a small black strap that if you lift up, many of our smaller items will be revealed, like the two strollers, diaper packs, beach bag, and the bouncy seat. The third row of seats are down, so the back of the car is like a flat bed. And because the storage well has the flat cover, we can use it like a changing table or picnic spot!

The other minivans, like the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna do have storage in the back, but neither have this nifty, flat cover, and neither have as perfect of a well. I'll do another post on it to show you, but it's smooth in there so that you can pack objects into it easily.

Hurrah!

ps: If you're in Beacon, Wappingers Falls, Poughkeepsie or anywhere in the Hudson Valley, and you want a Nissan Quest or any car, go to Poughkeepsie Nissan on Rt 9, ask for Nick, and tell him Katie from A Little Beacon Blog sent ya. I'll get a little referral to spend back on Main Street (or on my car payment, lol)!

Trash Picking on a Jog - Nissan Quest to the Rescue

Two things I love: trash picking in Beacon, and my mom mobile, the Nissan Quest.

I was out on a jog, just me and my baby son, who was just dozing into sleep in his infant car seat on my Baby Trend jogging stroller. Taking my usual route, noticing the new flower bed in someone's front yard, I saw it: a standing mirror on a swivel. It was black with cute little knobs for the mirror to turn. If I painted it white, it could go in my daughter's future redesigned room.

I hesitated, as I was fresh on a jog and free time like this is precious. But I also know creative folk in Beacon, and the popularity of yard sales and trash picks. The mirror wouldn't last long. I've hauled things home before - with baby strapped to me and I was pushing the stroller with my older daughter in it. The comment I got that time from a man letting me cross Main Street was: "Try multitasking sometime!"

Oops, got to go...I' e stopped jogging in order to walk and blog, and my son is waking up. Ta ta for now! Look for Part 2

Paws and Mittens Does Delivery!

If you get your dog or cat groomed at Paws and Mittens on Main Street, you'll be happy to know about their new drop off and delivery service for $5 each way. As a person who sometimes is on a work phone call or if my kids are sleeping when my dog is ready to be picked up after her bath, this new service is quite a convenience. Just call ahead to schedule!

Beacon Zero Waste Garden Tour June 9 2012

Are you going to the Beacon Zero Waste Garden Tour on June 9th? It looks like some blog readers are going to be on the tour as featured gardens! Philomena? Jill Rubin? Exciting!

According to the tour's official flyer found in the city calendar page, the City of Beacon Conservation Advisory Committee presents a garden tour of 6 local residents with an emphasis on organic vegetable, ornamental and native gardening, compost and organic pest management. The tour will encourage neighborly knowledge sharing to assist in organic gardening efforts. The tour is on Saturday, June 9, 2012 and tours begin at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and will meet in the DMV parking lot (223 Main Street) 15 minutes beforehand.

Their Facebook page has recent news and snippets of gardeners planning. We may even see some beehives, and I'm sure we'll see some chicken coups as well. I'm going to try to walk the tour, are you?