Friday Favorites: Mother’s Day, City Outings + a Giveaway!

Happy Friday and Hello!

I am excited to share the latest batch of Friday Favorites today as it recaps the highlights of the past week – starting with Mother’s Day. I didn’t fully mention what we did to celebrate, but my day included a great combination of rest and time with Skyler after we said goodbye to Scott as he left for the airport that morning. We relaxed around the house, met some friends at the park for a picnic and card games and ended the day with Thai takeout and a movie. It was wonderful.

I know Mother’s Day isn’t easy for everyone, so please read this post if you missed it earlier this week and struggle around holidays like this one. My heart is with you.

Welp. Sky has kept me pretty busy in the role this week while solo parenting. We’ve spent a lot of quality time together (which I am so thankful for), and since I didn’t get to honor the day in person and celebrate with my own mom the last few years, she flew up to Brooklyn this year and has kept us company since Wednesday.

We’ve had the best time and walked over 23,000 steps (10+ miles – woof) yesterday exploring new-to-her parts of Manhattan.

The highlights I would definitely recommend you check out on a visit to NYC are below, and don’t miss the GIVEAWAY details at the bottom, too. (It’s a good one!)

Latest Faves: Mother’s Day and City Outings With Mom

• handmade Mother’s Day gifts

This was the first year and holiday that Skyler really made things for me, and it actually caught me off guard. We’re already here. He’s close to graduating Pre-K, and he’s able to make things more on his own than ever. Of course, he had lots of assistance from his teachers, but it gave me the biggest (slightly teary) smile when I opened his little gift bag at his Mother’s Day Breakfast at school last week. There were many gems inside, including this handmade necklace that says “I Love U Mom” and this coffee sleeve that also doubles as a bracelet.

The other side of it says “Mom” with a rainbow and it’s coated with clear paint for extra care. I will cherish the notes he wrote to me forever, and I was genuinely impressed with the canvas painting below.

He clearly had a lot of help with this one, but he painted the background and glued all of the hearts in his own pattern by himself. *sigh* … it’s all so stinking cute.

• belated Mother’s Day brunch at Sunflower Gramercy Cafe

My mother and I deemed yesterday (Thursday) our day to celebrate together by treating ourselves to brunch in the City followed by a few hours of shopping and aimlessly strolling around before heading back to Brooklyn to pick Skyler up for school later in the afternoon. I knew exactly where I wanted to take her — Sunflower Gramercy near Madison Square Park, as it is a great location to walk around for reasonable shopping afterwards and the food is fantastic.

This shot above is their outdoor seating area which is usually just as full as the inside, but we lucked out and walked right in around 9:45am to grab a table for two inside. The cafe is bright and fun with great vibes and loud (but not too loud) music. I strayed away from my normal 3-Egg Omelette to order the Avo Toast with hardboiled eggs, and it tasted just as amazing as it looks! The greens were very fresh and the beet humus was delicious, on top of the avocado toast living up to the picture I saw on the menu.

I legit ate every single bite. And I’ll do it again. My mom ordered the Fully Loaded breakfast that includes a bacon jam spread and scrambled eggs in the shape of a rose with a side of pancakes. I mean, dreamy. Everything is so, so good. You’re going to wan to put this on your list to visit if you’re in the area!

• Hudson Yards

After walking around for a bit, we jumped on the subway and walked over to Hudson Yards. I wanted to show her The Vessel, a really cool and somewhat new landmark outside before we headed into the shops. It’s temporarily closed for access to the top as it once was open with reservations, but you can still enter the bottom floor and take cool pictures inside.

I didn’t snap any photos of the shops inside, but there are a total of seven floors filled with boutiques, cafes, restaurants, and upscale stores that used to include a Neiman Marcus that took up the top three levels and a quarter of the mall! The store closed, however, in 2020 and we only made it up three floors. I can’t tell you how many there currently are open, but there was plenty to do and see and never enough time to do it all. Again, if you’re looking for a unique shopping experience in the city with multiple stores in the same building, I’d give Hudson Yards a visit along with Brookfield Place and The Oculus located in World Trade Center. All are so beautiful.

• The High Line

Now if you’re doing a lot of walking and coming down the west side of Manhattan, I’d suggest the route we chose on The High Line. It’s so peaceful and a breath of fresh air you might need during a busy day in the City. The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, walkway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur.

How neat is that?! You’ll see lots of plants and flowers and unique building structures and artwork along the way.

We entered around 34th Street and 11th Avenue and took our time walking downtown while taking in the scenes. The weather was absolutely perfect. We exited near the Chelsea Market and walked over to the 14th Street subway stations to head back, but we could have stayed longer if time allowed. You can also see Edge NYC from this lookout spot, which is something else on my list but not something my mom has any interest in doing, lol.

There are several lookout areas and places to sit and take a load off, and I don’t visit often enough. Both my mom and I thoroughly enjoyed this part of our day!

After we grabbed Skyler from school, we headed out to DUMBO to play in the park and ride the carousel before dinner at Juliana’s Pizza. It’s *THE BEST* pizza in New York City, alongside it’s bigger sister restaurant, Grimaldi’s. Hands down.

• $250 NOW Foods Giftcard Giveaway

And finally! Did you happen to catch the giveaway that I’m currently co-hosting with NOW Foods?

You’ve seen me feature NOW before, and it’s because I stand behind their products, ingredients and transparency. They focus on high quality, safe products and make them accessible with very reasonable price points. You can find vitamins, supplements, essential oils, natural foods, pet and baby essentials, snacks, beauty products and more on their website or through retailers like Amazon and Whole Foods.

This video showcases some of my favorite repeat purchases, and here’s hoping you get inspired to try something new if you shop their site — just make sure to use the code LIFEINLEGGINGS20 to get 20% off your order!

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In case you missed it …

» Easy Ways To Increase Your Daily Veggies (Kids, Too)

Please know that if you’re struggling with getting plenty of vegetables in your everyday diet, you’re not alone. This is something I hear from clients often enough to make it the topic of a full blog post. I hope this list of ideas helps you (and your kids) feel less intimidated.

Fitness from the archives …

» Superset Strength Workout (With Resistance Bands)

This superset style workout that only requires a few resistance bands and a mini band if you have one. If you don’t, no worries! Supersets are just two exercises that you complete back to back before moving on to the next set of exercises. This workout leads you through two rounds of the superset before moving onto the next one for a total of ten exercises in five supersets.

Nutrition/Food from the archives …

» Healthy Chicken, Bean and Vegetable Soup (Instant Pot)

This soup is loaded with protein and vegetables! You can make it vegetarian/vegan by omitting the chicken and using vegetable broth. Grab your instant pot and get ready for a healthy and comforting recipe that your whole family will love!

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Okay friends, I think we’ll wrap things up there. I’m heading back out to the City after school drop-off for a shorter day of exploring with my mom after a client training, and I’m looking forward to hanging low in our neighborhood and in Brooklyn over the weekend. Do you have any fun plans on deck?

It was so great to check in with you, and thank you again for clicking over to read the latest on Life In Leggings today. Just a reminder, you can keep up with our adventures on Instagram in between the posts here. I now have a personal page as well, and it’s been fun to share different content on both pages.

Have a great weekend and don’t forget to enter that giveaway!

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*Disclaimer: The giveaway portion of this post is sponsored by NOW Foods. All opinions remain my own, and I appreciate your support. Always.