Around (Another) Town: New York City With A Toddler

I know it's been forever since I last posted, but I am indeed still around! I hope to be posting more regularly again. To get things back rolling I thought I'd show some cool things to do with toddlers in New York City. New York is not necessarily the most kid friendly place, but it does have some cool stuff to offer. So without further a due here are some of my recommendations.

1) Visit the BROOKLYN CHILDREN'S MUSEUM. Sometimes it can be hard to find museums appropriate for toddlers, but the Brooklyn Children's Museum does not disappoint in this category. It has something for kids of all ages. Toddlers can enjoy hands on water fun, light shows, and an extensive indoor jungle gym.

2) Visit the Smithsonian's  NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN. The American Indian museum is truly amazing, and best of all free! It gets extra points for having plenty for both kids and adults to enjoy. Baby Z had a blast playing in a life sized teepee, while I enjoyed learning so much rich American history. They also have a wonderful gift shop filled with excellent books, music, and lovely handcrafted toys and artifacts.

3) Visit GRANDMA'S PLACE toy store in Harlem. Do you like buying unique and engaging toys for kids? If so, grandma's place is for you. They have a large array of not so easily found toys that will knock your socks off. Plan accordingly, because you could spend a good chunk of time here looking at all their goodies.

4) Ride the subway. It may not seem intuitive, but riding the subway can be a lot of fun for a toddler. To my surprise it was Baby Z's favorite thing. And that's because she loved watching the street performers! Seeing talented dancers and musicians, made my little one's day. She got to laugh and boogey with strangers for close to free.

5) Go for a carousel ride. There are many places that offer carousel rides in NYC. Just use Google to find one. We enjoyed the ride at Bryant Park in Manhattan. In addition to a carousel they have beautiful flowers and places to eat outside for everyone to enjoy.

Around (Another) Town: Frugal in New York City

The other weekend the bungalow clan packed up and headed for a weekend trip to New York City. It's about a 3 hour ride from Baltimore, making it an ideal distance for a short stay. I've found in the past, even for a short trip though,  NYC can be very pricey. So I challenged myself to come up with ways to have frugal fun while there. We all had a great time....so I'm passing along a few budget friendly recommendations to you.

1) Eat at VIETNAAM. The hubs is an ardent lover of pho, so I suggested we give the Upper East Side restaurant VIETNAAM a try. The food and drinks (they have fantastic mocktails!) were absolutely delicious and extremely affordable. We will be back in the future for sure.

2) Visit Central Park. If you are looking for something romantic or family friendly to do, visit Central Park. The park is gorgeous and if you haven't seen it before you'll be thoroughly impressed. Try to catch some jazz in the park while you are there and grab some street food. If you have little ones, there's a nice play area just for toddlers.

3) Go thrifting. New York is a fabulous city filled with artsy, fashion forward, all around well-styled people. This makes for excellent thrifting. My personal favorite favorite place to thrift is HOUSING WORKS. They have multiple stores scattered throughout NYC, and offer a well curated selection of clothing, accessories, and housewares.

I like to visit multiple locations when possible. On this trip I went to four stores. Here are a few of the items I picked up:

There's lots more to do while on a budget in New York, but unfortunately we only had two days to explore, and spent much of our time visiting with friends. I can't wait to come back soon and visit the museums and see what other fun I can drum up. Do you have any recommendations for affordable things to do while in the Big Apple?