Horton's Flower Farm

September 8, 2022

Earlier this summer, I was invited to a new flower farm that opened up this summer on the North Fork in Long Island called Horton’s Flower Farm. Tucked away off a side road, you’d never know this gem was hiding out here. I’m always looking for little treasures like this. It’s a small flower field with rows and rows of wildflowers that you can pick yourself and bring home your own bouquet. It’s a cottagecore dream full of photo ops.

This beautiful little flower field works on a reservation basis, which you can easily book off their website. The reservation is just $10 and it works as a deposit towards the flowers you’re able to pick and take home as well. You can bring your own scissors/clippers and vase, or you can borrow their scissors and purchase a vase on site for $2. Everything is very easy and convenient. They try to keep the reservations to a minimum of 6 parties of up to 6 people per party, per hour. I appreciate this because it keeps the crowds to a minimum so your photos turn out best. They also have yoga, painting sessions, and mini photo sessions with a photographer on site if you don’t have your own. The photographer I worked with that morning is also the owner and caretaker of the venue. I had a great time running through the fields that morning and taking it all in, that the farm had to offer. There are so many cute backdrops for photos and there are even little wares you can buy to take home like handmade bracelets, pillows and vintage vases. The family running this farm were great hosts, experts in everything planted, and friendly and patient with all guests that arrived that morning. They can help identity certain flowers if you’re looking for a certain one, and help you create a beautiful bouquet to take home. They can be as hands on and helpful as you want during your reservation, or you can choose to be as independent as you want, free to frolick and enjoy the fields as you please.

The farm is located at 712 Horton Ave in Riverhead, NY. It’s a little hidden but as soon as you arrive, follow the dirt road aligned with colorful Alice in Wonderland whimsical chairs to the back where the field is perfectly tucked away for perfect privacy. You’ll feel as if you’re transported into wonderland in the golden afternoon with all the flowers. I can’t wait to see what this field looks like next year when it expands even further for even more beautiful photos!

Summer Lovin'

July 16, 2021

It’s funny because during high school and college years, we were trying to squeeze every minute we could out of the time we had to see each other, even for mere seconds. In between classes, on weekends, during Christmas and spring breaks. And the moments we went without seeing each other, we were constantly scrambling to get home on AIM (God, remember instant messenger days?), google chat, whatever, just to talk to each other. And then when we got cell phones, we were constantly texting til we ran out of texts for the month.

Now that we’re married, we see each other every day and yet still don’t see each other every day. What I mean is we work opposite schedules. By the time he gets home from work, I’m gone and getting ready to start my shift. And when I get home, we’re getting ready for bed to lather, rinse and repeat the next day. We see each other in the minutes in between but we really don’t have time with each other. It’s not to say we take being able to fall asleep and wake up with each other for granted - which is funny, because I remember in high school, this is what we talked about that we wanted in the future; simply being able to fall asleep and wake up with each other instead of saying goodbye through AIM message and racing to be the first to log on and say good morning, lol, how lame of us - but that we don’t meaningful enough time to actually spend with each other. We don’t share the same days off together; in fact we only align days off together twice a month nowadays.

But with quarantine pandemic times and reduced traveling comes with it increased PTO. And since we have to “use it or lose it,” I figured I’d start using it more often this summer to spend more time with the boy. Last week, was the start of our summer days off together.

We didn’t do anything crazy, we just went on local dates trying some new restaurants and visited some old venues but still had a great time. It reminded me of how much I used to love doing stupid, mindless stuff like this when we were younger. Just discovering new things and places or even just a quick trip to the mall. It’s the little things he does that I really love. Like holding my bag for me, just holding hands, reaching for me when he’s driving, running to me and lifting me up to the sky and kissing me. Taking me to all the places I want to explore. It reminds me of the summer of Pokemon Go when I wanted to go to every hotspot to catch Pokemon in hopes of finding a Pikachu or a Charizard. And he would. He would huff and puff sometimes but eventually, he’d do everything I wanted to do on my list. I really miss this. I miss it being just the two of us doing stupid stuff together. So I took off even more time later this summer to spend with the hubby. And I’m hoping I can continue it in the fall.

There’s something about it that I really can’t explain. There’s a magic that happens when you spend time with your other. Quality time. Fun time. Even if it’s doing nothing crazy or spectacular. I need to make more time for it because it is definitely important. It’s crucial. It’s necessary and it’s healthy.

Make time for your other. Make the time for you.

List of the places we visited in case you’re interested for your own date nights:

Lavender by the Bay
- If you’re interested in visiting, hurry. The bloom is lasting up til July 22 at this time. There are two locations but I recommend the East Marion one even though it’s a farther drive. You won’t be disappointed, that is, unless you wait too long and miss the bloom.
Pindar Vineyards
- They currently have a big field of sunflowers in bloom and costs nothing to visit and view. And if wineries are your thing, that's available too. I'm not a wine drinker so I can't attest to this since I've never tried their wine experience here but on weekends I always see big parties here with live music having a great time. They have a giant chair to take cute pics in as well as the vineyards you can walk through. I believe the sunflowers are available too to be cut at $2 a stem and they provide shears inside the building.
The Big Duck
- A quick stop alongside the road on the way to Lavender by the Bay with very limited parking hence the “quick” stop part. Plus there’s not really much to do other than take a quick pic with the duck, shop for souvenirs inside the teeny tiny shop inside, and sit at the picnic tables behind it if you need an area to just chill and eat your lunch for a minute. It’s just a cute quick stop for the gram.
Montauk Lighthouse
- Lavender marks the North side of the Long Island fishtail, while Montauk marks the Southern tip of the fishtail. It’s funny how I traveled to both ends on these dates. I didn’t do it purposely, it just ended up that way when we decided to venture out on separate days as we made our plans up the day of. Parking is $8, while access to the lighthouse is an additional ticket. But walking around the beach area is not so that’s what we did. You used to be able to climb the rocks surrounding the lighthouse but currently the area is fenced up and closed due to construction. It IS a long drive out to here and traffic is insane because one lane road and well, it’s the Hamptons, so be forewarned if you choose to head out this way. There’s a lot of cute shops along the way on the Main streets you pass through though so if you have time, park and take a walk around them.
Central Park
- You’ll never explore all of Central Park in a day. But that’s what’s so great about it. There’s always a new area to explore and uncover. There’s running trails, walking paths, meadows, ponds, lakes, a boathouse with rental boats, a zoo, a small castle, gardens, fountains, beautiful bridges, everything. There are beautiful views to be seen from every angle and perspective. It’s also nearby two of my favorite museums. The Met on the East side and the Museum of Natural History on the West side. Just go explore!

Restaurants/Ice Cream Stops

Lunch
- The hot lobster roll comes with the lobster and bread separate so you can put it together yourself with the cole slaw in a separate cup. Everything comes hot and fresh. It’s a cute little spot on the way to and from Montauk. Our waiter was cute and friendly.
Jerry & The Mermaid
- I’m clearly still on a journey to try every lobster roll on Long Island, and this one was pretty decent. I’d recommend the straight cut fries over the waffle fries. I find them more plentiful portion wise, as well as perfectly crispy. It’s also next to a pier, which is nice to walk alongside after you finish your meal. Also next to an aquarium if you’re looking for more things to do.
Puglia
- Second time here and the portions and prices are great. Dinner comes with entertainment if that’s your sort of thing, but be foreworned, they come begging table to table afterwards and if you don’t have cash to tip, they peddle their venmo, lol. Not that I didn’t want to tip but it felt very awkward as you were trying to finish your dinner. It felt like when you’re at church and they come around collecting money towards the end of the service, except pushier.
Olive Branch
- A cute little spot in Greenport with the most adorable outdoor seating covered in umbrellas above you to help shade you from the sun. It reminds me of the cute little spots I see in people’s international travels. Oh how I miss traveling. Anyways, the food was fresh and the chef came out to check on us which I thought was nice.
Snowflake
- Famous ice cream spot in Riverhead with tons of flavors. This was my second time stopping here.
Magic Fountain
- Cute little ice cream shop on the North Fork with cute ice cream murals. I had the Summer Sunset which was mango with a strawberry ribbon and it was absolutely amazing. Would love to come back and get a quart of this if I could keep it cold long enough to get home.
Taiyaki NYC
- They’re currently doing a collaboration with Rilakkuma and it’s the freaking cutest thing. Totally grammable and the mango strawberry swirl is delicious. Currently that flavor is found at the NYC location only, not the Queens location.

I can’t wait to explore some more new places the next time we have off together soon for date days. ^_^

Sunflower Fields

August 9, 2019

It’s currently sunflower season! If you love these beautiful, bright, tall, open faced flowers, then hurry out to the farms this weekend! They’re currently in full bloom in fields all over the North Fork and I’m here for it. Here are my top favorite spots to visit and view them.

Waterdrinker - this location is easy to get to off the LIE and a lesser known gem, which is perfect for photos because it’s not crazy busy. Quick! Go before it gets discovered and there goes your perfect gram photo. Their second sunflower field is now in full bloom in time for the weekend too! I discovered this farm this spring due to their tulip festival and I really love this field because there’s plenty of room to walk through nicely the way they have it and even if you want to walk through the flowers up nice and close for a cute photo. They set it up purposely and perfectly for all your photographing needs. I love when places due this in mind for social media nuts like me. They also respond to comments on their Instagram quickly and are very helpful with any questions you may have. The sunflowers are even grown a perfect height for your photos so they’re not too tall that you have to reach so far to get a nice wide shot of them. It’s free to enter and take photos but the field is also available for you to pick and cut your sunflowers at $2 a stem. They also have perfectly picked bouquets inside their farmstand as well as a beautiful greenhouse of other flowers and vegetables as well.
Patty’s Berries & Bunches - one of my favorite farm stands in the spring, summer and fall. Patty’s always has the best fresh cut flowers for an amazing price. They also sell fresh fruits and vegetables for you to bring home, or you can pick your own from her fields for a small fee. They give you a basket and off you go into the fields which is right next to the beautiful sunflower fields in the summer! These fields have some of the biggest sunflowers I’ve ever seen, they’re always bigger than my face and grow amazingly tall over 6 feet! And after you’re done, you can cool off with some fresh homemade ice cream made with real ingredients from the farm and a nice cup of freshly squeezed lemonade. I swear, Patty’s has the best lemonade. I don’t know what her secret is but I’ll pay the $4 every time I stop by for this perfection.
Pindar Vineyards - I found this field last year while scouting a location for a shoot. It has a nice open picnic area with plenty of seating and shade. There’s open vineyards for you to walk through as well as a big field of sunflowers next to the parking lot. It’s free to enter and browse and if you’re interested in wine tastings, then head on into the main building. I don’t know much about wine since I don’t drink, but I love that the sunflower fields are available to the public to enter and enjoy at their leisure.