A Friendly Goat at the Natick Community Organic Farm

My home town of Natick, Massachusetts is just fifteen miles west of Boston, making it a great day trip for families visiting Boston.  Guests can take the commuter rail right to the center of the town, or it’s a quick drive down the Mass Pike.

There are quite a few family-friendly locations in Natick, but our favorite is the Natick Community Organic Farm.  The farm itself is free – supported by the town and members.  My kids love seeing the goats, pigs, rabbits, and chickens on this working farm.  You can also visit the farm stand to purchase fresh eggs and produce.

Belkin Farm, a family farm with you-pick fruit and a kid fun area, is another big hit with our family.  While the biggest complaint among families is the cost (it can be expensive for a family of four), there are season passes that can make it more affordable if you are visiting more than once.

When you get hungry, check out Casey’s Diner, an old-fashioned diner located just outside of the center of town.  It only has a few seats and a small menu, but it’s a local institution.

Do you have some shopping to do? The Natick Collection (formerly the Natick Mall) is the largest mall in New England and offers stores ranging from Sears and Neiman Marcus.  It also boasts the regions only American Girl Store, along with the American Girl Bistro.

Finally, if you are considering staying overnight, I’d recommend the Crowne Plaza, located right across the street from the Natick Collection.

Photo credit: Jodi Grundig

Where lost luggage goes to die. Sacramento International's "Samson" uses real suitcases!

Remember when airports became shopping malls? Sure, I love browsing for iPhones and sweaters or a burger and a beer as much as the next guy, but it’s just so lowbrow. Finally, the latest phase in airports is upon us: the art gallery. Here are just a few examples of airport art springing up in a concourse near you.

For the record, I like beer with my art, too. Read More »

Stylin' girls at the mall.

There are twenty-five days until Black Friday, my friends! Time to get your gameplan together!

Black Friday, that traditional chaotic Christmas shopping day that qualifies as a quasi-holiday all on its own, is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the U.S. every year. This year, plan your Arizona shopping to visit these fine establishments:

The Scottsdale Fashion Square- 7014-7590 East Camelback Road – Phoenix, Arizona. Swank shops and boutiques mingle with great dining and people watching near the heart of Scottsdale.

The Chandler Fashion Center – 3111 West Chandler Boulevard – Chandler, Arizona. Indoor and outdoor shopping, dining, movies, and much more.

Read More »

From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

I was at the mall this past weekend (picking up underwear, totally not a luxury item) and was noticing how crowded it was.  What were all these people doing here, spending all of their hard earned cash? Didn’t they realize we were in a recession, heading towards what some experts believe could be a full-blown depression? Shouldn’t they be throwing money towards their mortgage instead of at a new purse at Macy’s?

And then I realized that many of these people were not actually carrying bags of purchases.  A lot of them were families, strolling through the mall eating ice cream, or gaggles of teenagers walking and texting at the same time. Because shopping centers aren’t just about the shopping anymore – they’ve become destinations for recreation, socializing and dining.  Here are some of my favorite ‘shopping centers’ in L.A. that are not only good for the occasional impulse buy, but also for a family outing.

The Americana at Brand – this is one of the newest malls in the L.A. area, and for those that can’t bear to be too far away from their Juicy Couture, there are luxury apartments right on the premises.   The L.A. Times summed it up nicely when it described it as “luxurious living and consumptive indulgence.” It’s a great place to walk around, and an old-fashioned double-decker trolley takes you for a tour around the entire grounds.  They have mostly upscale boutiques here – Ed Hardy, Kate Spade and Kitson, with H&M thrown in for the bargain hunters. We did more snacking and people-watching the last time we were there; the $145 t-shirt that my daughter wanted was not in the budget for that week.

The Grove – This is one of my favorite places to shop and hang out, but mostly for the old Farmer’s Market that is located just west of the newly developed shopping plaza.  I prefer wandering around the stalls of produce to plunking down a week’s worth of pay for a pair of socks at Nordstroms, but that’s just me. Also, you’d be better off grabbing a meal at one of the many outdoor eateries in the old Farmer’s Market – better, more original food than what you’ll find at The Grove, where the Cheesecake Factory is the most popular choice.  (Call me crazy, but I’ve never quite grasped the appeal of the Cheesecake Factory – overpriced, gut-busting, gazillion-calorie portions of mediocre food.) But head on over to The Grove for their Vegas-style water show that takes place in the central fountain every 30-minutes.  The kids love it, and you might just catch a sale at the Crate and Barrel located nearby.

The Beverly Center – This is truly an L.A. shopping experience, not just because of the multiple levels of stores, but you’re guaranteed to see a celebrity or two.  I once stood in line behind Brooke Shields buying pantyhose at Bloomingdales, and a friend once (literally) bumped into Nicolas Cage.

Third Street Promenade – Not really a shopping center as much as a shopping corridor, the Promenade is one of the most popular places to shop, eat and relax in an outdoor setting.  Just blocks away from the beaches of Santa Monica, it’s a great place to just grab a coffee and a seat and enjoy the various amateur performers that are a popular draw.  The Good: Seis Cuerdas.  The Not So Good:  The guy doing a really bad Michael Jackson impersonation to a horribly scratched recording of ‘Billie Jean.’

Photo: Stock.Xchng