Spring Ice Cream Tour Part B/New York City

New York City Amazing!!

Ok so let's talk about our stop in New York City, for the next part of this year's Ice Cream Tour. Since we were in the midst of a pandemic flying was not the first choice, so we put our Florida ice-cream tour on the back burner until things get a little more normal, or we get vaccinated. (which at this point I'm happy to say we finally are) Putting everything into perspective we decided to make it a road trip, so this is why we chose New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Now I know New York was part of our last tour, but think about it, New York has always been the hub of amazing eats, no matter how many times I go and how long I stay, I always leave feeling like I wasn't able to even touch on the many amazing places available. That way we would still be able to go to tons of new places, only visiting the favorites a second time. We arrived in New York on a Monday at just after 10am, hoping to avoid the weekend rush. I had no idea that it would be a quarter the normal amount of people. Usually the streets are packed with bustling people, on their way here and there, and the streets jam packed with cars. Not this time, it was definitely a different vibe because of the COVID situation, to be honest I can't say it was horrible because it made it so much easier to get around and see everything. When we arrived we checked into our hotel StayPineapple, it's the only place we stay when we go to New York.

(For 15% off your StayPineapple stay use the code "Dana")

(For 15% off your StayPineapple stay use the code "Dana")

All of the employees are always so welcoming and helpful, not to mention it's super comfy, clean, and pet friendly as heck. They provide dog beds, bows, and pet accommodations as well as human. The hotel also has a colorful and artsy vibe, with a pineapple theme all throughout that will make you smile from ear to ear. It's the one hotel where we feel completely at home whilst away from home. The New York location is on 36th street, which is so convenient and in walking distance of Time Square. It's also in close proximity to so many restaurants, stores, and fun entertainment spots. They also have other locations all over the US. Which is why whenever we are traveling I look to see if there is a Stay Pineapple in the area, because they are literally our first choice. 

(For 15% off your StayPineapple stay use the code "Dana")

Once we unpacked, were rested and showered, we headed out to find a late lunch and scope the general area, which led us to The Sugar Factory. Another fun spot, with amazing freakshakes, and colorful food. They have rainbow sliders and rainbow pancakes, as well as plenty of candy, which is what they are known for. Since we weren't super hungry and planned to eat dinner later, we ordered a turkey club to split, which came sided with fries. Can I say that turkey club was delicious, along with the huge order of fries, it was more than enough for both Rob and I. Once we finished eating our sandwich, we ordered a few freakshakes to shoot and share with you guys. 

The first one is the Princess Make A Wish (the pink one), it's a delicious white chocolate dipped milkshake glass, that has been covered in pink sprinkles. The shake itself is made up of vanilla ice-cream, blended with vanilla sauce and rainbow sprinkles, then it's topped with whipped cream, a marshmallow wheel, a white chocolate Kitkat and a pink frosted cupcake with a birthday candle. The other shake is the Giggles Snickers. It's a chocolate dipped milkshake glass, covered with snickers and pieces of rainbow sprinkles. The shake itself is made up of cookies and cream ice-cream, blended with toasted peanuts, then topped with a caramel waffle, whipped cream, and sprinkles.

Which one would you choose?

In the shot below we have the Cookie Monster Make a Wish. It's a chocolate dipped milkshake glass, covered in chocolate chip cookie chunks. Then the shake itself is made up of cookies and cream ice-cream, blended with vanilla sauce, then topped with whipped cream, a blue glazed donut, chocolate chip cookie and a blue frosting cupcake, with a birthday candle. Aren't they gorgeous? I just love the presentation of The Sugar Factory freakshakes. 

Next up is the Campfire S'mores. It's a dark chocolate dipped milkshake glass, that has been dusted with graham cracker crumbles and covered in Hershey bar chunks. The shake is made up of chocolate and coffee ice-cream, blended with espresso, toasted marshmallow, Virginia Black Wiskey, then topped with a 7 layer S'mores cookie. It's super dramatic and over-the-top like all of their milkshakes, which is what I love about The Sugar Factory. You can get all of their milkshakes with or without alcohol, to make it a Boozy Milkshake!

After we finished eating a shooting it was almost 3pm, so we decided to go back to the room for a couple hours until dinner. I would say it was about 8pm when we decided to head back out for for some amazing food from Thep Thai, one of my favorites. There is such a classy vibe, from all the sleek decor, and matching serving dishes. I also can't forget to include the bar, which is where they make the best cocktails, oh.my.goodness they are more than beautiful by the way. Each one is garnished with a flower, fruit or both, and they are mixed to perfection. Not overly-strop and bitter but refreshing and tasty, theres noting better than a cocktail you can't get enough of. 

Whenever we are in the area we stop in for dinner, and it's always good. The Wonton Soup and Pineapple Fried Rice are divine, the fried rice comes served in a fresh half pineapple, that they hollow and make into a bowl. We also love to order the Chicken Satay, which is very flavorful and tender, it also comes with some amazing peanut sauce. As always the meal was perfect from start to finish, we left very full and happy as we made our way back to the hotel for a good night's sleep. The next morning we woke up pretty early to get a head start on the day, we wanted to shoot a couple style shots with the walls we found. The first was a fun, pink, floral piece, that worked perfectly for the new Adidas, bomber jacket, that I had scored especially for the trip. 

Shop this look here -> "DanaStargazerTruitt"

Once we were finished with the style shoot, we headed to Surreal Creamery, what a cool spot that was. All of the items they put out have a fun and playful twist. They pair all kinds of amazing flavors and treats, like soft serve ice cream and bubble tea. The shot below is (left) Brown Sugar Bubble Tea with Earl Grey Vanilla Soft Serve, garnished with a couple chocolate wafer straws. Then the other one (right) is Taro Bubble tea with a Matcha/Taro Swirl Soft Serve, garnished with a butter wafer cookie. They were both not only beautiful, but amazing flavor-wise.

 

Then there was the Strawberry/Almond Swirl, garnished with whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles, marshmallows, two butter cookies and teddy graham cookies. Talk about amazing, each one I tasted was better than the other. This is another MUST-TRY spot!! 

They have a few locations in New York, we stopped into the 2nd avenue location which happened to be right up the street from Tipsy Scoop, which is known for their amazing liquor infused frozen treats. Now I have to be honest, I thought the ice-cream would taste bitter like the liquor. but wow I was so so wrong, you literally couldn't tell because it tasted amazing. This is such a cool spot, and they also have more than one location in NYC. They also have sorbets, which were also outta this world delish. Even Rob was eating away and he's not a sweets person like me. He rarely does more than takes a taste, so I was pretty surprised to see he ate almost the whole cup. 

Shop this look here -> "DanaStargazerTruitt"

After we left Tipsy Scoop we started wandering around looking for some lunch. As always there are a million and one places to eat, so we just decided to grab a slice of pizza, then head back to the room and relax for a few. The sky was clear with zero clouds and the temp got up to 75 degrees so needless to say we got some sunburn, mix that with a day of walking and we were exhausted. We spent the rest of the evening in the hotel, aside for coming out for dinner. The next morning started off much like the one before, early morning style shoots, then around 11am we headed to Black Tap to grab and shoot a couple of Crazyshakes. They were a tad messy but delicious as always. 

I ordered two of them, and sadly because of COVID they were not in the usual milkshake glasses, they were being served in the plastic to-go cups. There is the (above) Cookies & Cream Supreme which is an Oreo milkshake, in a chocolate frosted rim covered in crushed Oreos, topped with a cookies and cream ice cream sandwich, crumbled Oreo, lots of whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle. Then there is the (below) Strawberry Shortcake, its a strawberry milkshake in a vanilla frosted rim, covered in crumbled cake. Topped with a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar, a pink and white twisty pop (or in my case pink rock candy), tons of whipped cream, strawberry drizzle, crumbled cake and a cherry on top.

Needless to say I made a serious mess on the sidewalk with the strawberry one, but oh well it was more than worth it, because as always the milkshake itself was just fantastic. After we left Black Tap and started heading back to the hotel, but along the way we stopped into Milk & Cream Cereal Bar which is one of my faves. They are always doing a fun collab of some kind, last year they were doing something with Care Bears. Wow were they some cute sundaes. What they are known for is mixing cereal into soft serve ice-cream, and wow is it good. This is another spot I stop into whenever I am in New York. Here is the Care Bear's one from last year's trip, soooooo cute right?

After eating dinner and returning to the hotel, we woke up early the next morning because we decided to stop into one last place before we headed off to Connecticut, it's a great spot called Stuffed Ice Cream, and wow did they blow me away by making an ice-cream cone with hella scoops on it as you can see below....lol! They have so many amazing flavors in every bright color you can think of. They also sell stuffed ice-cream donuts that will blow your mind.

It's always a ton of fun to find and explore new shake and ice-cream spots, especially in a new city. Since New York always has new spots popping up weekly, it’s always an overturning wealth of fun places. I have a huge mater list of all the great spots I have seen while gazing Instagram, I have a folder for each state, and even some countries. We will be leaving for Walt Disney World on the 16th of May, so I'm more than excited to shoot all the Mickey themed treats for the 7 days we'll be there. I've been compiling a list of everything I have found online and Instagram so far. Well there’s only New Jersey left, which I’ll be posting in the next couple weeks. Keep an eye out so you don’t miss the last leg of our Spring, 2021 Icecream tour!! 

Also if you ever want to see unposted or unseen footage of all these amazing treats or trips just follow me on my Instagram or Pinterest at @DanaStargazerTruitt, both platforms have their own unique content.

To check out the last Ice Cream Tour just click here-> "First Annual Ice Cream Tour"

Read More

Our Stay in Ocean City with Aloft!!

(This post is sponsored by Aloft Ocean City, all opinions and experiences are mine and mine alone.)

"Our Aloft Weekend Getaway!!"

There’s nothing like a good weekend getaway to refresh you and make you feel like new again. I’ve had some craziness the last couple months and Our little weekend getaway was just what the doctor ordered. There is nothing like fresh ocean air, sand under your feet, hanging out poolside and just enjoying the sun on your skin. Everyone knows that your trip is just as good as the hotel you stay at which is why we’re more than happy we stayed at Aloft Ocean City. Because the staff greet you like family the atmosphere is fantastic and we felt  super comfortable, plus they’re very pet friendly which is a big think with us because Piper always joins us. The rooms were beautiful with a sleek modern decor, I really loved the colorful rugs and wall hangings. You guys know how I love a good splash of

color, plus they even provided a bed and bag of goodies for Piper. It had cookies and toys, which automatically made her feel right at home as well. The rooms have little refrigerators, a safe, WiFi, smart TV’s, boy I could go on and on. Our balcony looked over the back of the property which was a stunning view, especially in the evening when the sun set you could see the beautiful colors over the water. There was also a view of the bay and swimming pool area, as well as their private beach where you could do some paddle boarding and kayaking from.

After we settled into the room and unpacked we then put on out swimsuits and headed for the pool, there’s a great little bar out back where you can order food and drinks, as well as swim and lay out. They also have live music at different points during the day and it was great!! I definitely recommend the Bavarian soft pretzels, omg so so good. There is also a little food counter in the hotel where you can order breakfast lunch or dinner, along with some great snacks and drinks. Everything Rob and I ordered we enjoyed so I’m gathering it probably all was. I saw this yummy corned beef hash selection on the breakfast menu, but due to my recent stomach issues wasn’t able to get it but Rob did and wow did he love it. After we ate dinner we took a walk to the beach and checked out a few stores, then after a long day of driving we retreated back to the hotel and turned in early to rest up for the next day. 

We woke up at 7am and started showering and getting dressed, we ate breakfast and headed out to the Boardwalk for a little early morning walk with the dog. Then we hopped in the car and headed to Rohoboth Beach so I could check out Mug & Spoon, a fantastic little freakshake spot. We had thee funnest shoot, the shakes were so colorful and absolutely amazing. They had 4 or 5 different shake choices and all types of amazing and unique icecream flavors, coffees and cookies. If you are ever on Rohoboth definitely stop in, your tastebuds will thank you. After lunch, milkshakes, alot of boardwalk and beach walking we retreated back to the Aloft hotel for some poolside rest and relaxation. Piper sat on the sun chair with me while I ordered some soft pretzels and together we enjoyed them and the amazing weather. To be honest this is what we did most of the trip, the hotel was so relaxing we really didn’t want to leave, at least I know I didn’t. There are so many amazing amenities and comfy common areas, they also have pool and game tables for adults and kids alike. 

By the time the day came to an end I had a nice tan and was more than recharged, sometimes you just need to get away for a couple days. The daily stresses of life in general can be exhausting, so I was more than sad we had to go home the next afternoon. We did get up early so we wouldn’t miss a single minute, and we were also meeting my mom for breakfast. She lives about 20 minutes outside of Ocean City, so every time we go to the beach we have this little thing where we always meet up for breakfast. I always love seeing my mom, I sure wish she still lived right down the street from me. It’s tough with her living 3 hours away because I don’t get to see her much any more. 

You guys know no matter where I go that I always find you the best of the best when it comes to icecream and shakes, so after breakfast I wanted to make sure I got a shoot in with my all time Ocean City favorite... Kohr Brothers, they have thee most amazing frozen custard. Their cones are covered in chocolate and sprinkles, then to add an extra pop of color I added a delish Boardwalk lollipop 🍭and wow was it cute. After our little photo shoot we had a little lunch and Doughroller and started back for the hotel to pack up and check out. I was sad to leave Aloft, it was so nice and will definitely be the only place we stay from now on when we go to the beach. I for sure recommend it to all, you will more than love your time there.

All in all our beach trip was amazing, all three of us had an amazing time. It’s something that we do every year because like I said above it really helps to just get away for a few days and refresh yourself. I definitely think we will more than love Paris, I’m more than excited to be going in September. I also think we will be taking a little DC staycation between now and then, something fun to mix it up!! Well here’s to a wonderful weekend, enjoy the weather and stay cool. 

Read More