Hot for Summer – Travel, Chocolate Bark & Portable Wine! Fun with Momtrends 


The Mint Chip Mama learning about summer travel & enjoying the world with Momtrends #MomtrendsTravel!

Travel is my passion. When Momtrends invited me to their Travel Trends 2015 event at We Work I was so excited. It was great learning about products created with the idea of ease – whether you are traveling to the other side of the world for your summer travel or down the street to a restaurant.

The Mint Chip Mama - Summer Travel Trends Momtrends

The Power of Travel

I loved how Nicole Feliciano opened the night, holding up her (then) baby daughter’s passport & telling us that just having a passport gives us the power of travel. What a true statement. So simple yet so true. It’s kind of sexy to think if a handsome masked stranger rang your bell, swept you off your feet, and whisked you away to JFK – you could get on the plane…

I also loved Nicole’s advice to live smaller so you can travel around the world and to find stuff to do once there that’s out of your comfort zone. Some of my best travel experiences were by chance or something that wouldn’t have happened if I just followed the tour book.

The Mint Chip Mama - Summer Travel Trends New York Family

New York Family

We were also lucky to have Eric Messinger from New York Family talk to us about the two new indoor water parks opening in the Poconos, the huge National Park push for the summer (check out #findyourpark), the increasing popularity of multi-generational travel (especially if Grandma & Grandpa foot the bill!), and the growing desire to reconnect with long lost family members.

This is something we are very interested in at my house. My husband has done tons of research on sites like ancestry.com and we love the show Who Do You Think You Are (especially when the celebrity gets to trace their roots back to a cool country they never knew was part of their history). If genealogy interests you too, check out the Global Family Reunion June 6th at the New York Hall of Science.

I also loved hearing that all of us bloggers think parents want to read about parent stuff but they – and let’s be honest, us too – really want to read about travel! Sitting there I smiled at this as I thought of my 20 year old self, Eagle Creek backpack on (which I have continuously used since 1999), Eurailing around Europe. I still want think of myself as that girl, even if I now have bags of kids cereal and wipes in all of my pockets…

The Mint Chip Mama - Summer Travel Trends

Loved getting a little treat from The Container Store! Anything Eagle Creek makes me smile!

Embrace Your Body On Summer Travel

Finally, for the ladies in the house, I loved the idea that we – as moms- need to embrace ourselves and our bodies in bathing suits. Come on, we would all trade magic beans for our idea of perfection. However, if I’ve learned nothing else from having a wonderful man love me (awww), it’s that what’s outside doesn’t really matter.

If my legs aren’t shaved, my C-section scar is showing, my boob stretch marks are glistening in the sun it’s not that important. Keeping my family together, healthy, & smiling is what’s important. I want to teach my daughter THIS. I want to put on a swimsuit, run into the water with her and think I look like Phoebe Cates when I get out. Regardless that I really look like Sloth. Get comfortable with yourself. The cow is bought. It doesn’t matter anymore. Just love yourself & the stripes you’ve earned.

Teach this to your kids.

Here are some fun pictures from the event:

The Mint Chip Mama - Summer Travel Trends

 These salmon bites were amazing!

The Mint Chip Mama - Summer Travel Trends
Beyond delicious chocolate bark by BarkTHINS. My favorite was the Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed with Sea Salt & the Blueberry Quinoa with Agave. 

The Mint Chip Mama - Summer Travel Trends xo, by G
Thought these were BRILLIANT! Sealed, plastic wine glasses by XO, By G. Perfect for a romantic picnic – by yourself or with another . Think as the sun is setting over (enter your dream destination here).

The Mint Chip Mama - Summer Travel Trends

I’m addicted to these Glamsquad hair ties!

The Mint Chip Mama - Summer Travel Trends
Best part of the night was when MY name was called as the winner of this Melitta travel set! Equally – anything coffee makes me smile!

The Mint Chip Mama - Summer Travel Trends

Thanks for the great swag bag! Photo Credit: Momtrends

Published by Stacey Wallenstein

Stacey Gish Wallenstein created The Mint Chip Mama blog in 2013 to share her love and passion for giving children meaningful life experiences and helping moms like her navigate the challenges and benefits of raising children in the New York metropolitan area. Before becoming a full-time mom in 2010, Stacey spent the better part of the preceding decade as a high-end customer relationship management (CRM) professional for some of the most well-known brands in the hotel, luxury, fashion, and beauty industries, such as Harrah’s Entertainment, Chanel and Christian Dior, Inc. She managed customer loyalty programs for thousands of clients around the country and created social media strategies for a span of industries including healthcare services, restaurants, consumer packaged goods, specialty foods, local attractions and retail locations. After 13 wonderful years in Manhattan (the last three of which spent as a city mom), Stacey and her husband moved to Long Island in 2014, where they now reside with their three children (13, 10, and 7). There, she is a founding member of her local Parenting Center, which provides classes and coordinates events designed to educate and inform parents while fostering an environment of support and friendship within the community. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Stacey has been active in the New York area alumni organization for nearly twenty years, serving as a board member on the school’s University of Michigan Alumni Club of New York City. She also holds a Masters in Psychology from The New School in New York City. Please check out The Mint Chip Mama in the Press: The New York Post, Psychology Today, NY Metro Parents, New York Family, Parents Magazine, Newsday, News 12, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt: Kids, NerdWallet, Big Apple Kids Guide, and more! The Mint Chip Mama was also nominated as "The Best Blog On Long Island" for 2022, 2023, 2024, one of the Top 20 New York Mom Blogs & Websites, and one of the Top 100 Mom Lifestyle Blogs on the web! For more updates, follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Pinterest.

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