Hello New Canaan Moms!
My name is Kate Cutshall and I am a stay at home mother of two. I am a southerner from Raleigh, North Carolina, and despite having lived in the northeast for almost fifteen years, I will never get used to winter! I moved to New York City after college and lived there for ten years, during which time I also met my husband. And I’m sure, like many of you, kids came along and we decided to make the move to the suburbs. After looking at several different towns, we quickly realized that New Canaan was the perfect place for us. We have a son, Winton (age 5) and a daughter, Avery (age 4). They attend ToddlerTime pre-school and started in the 2’s program. We have now been in New Canaan for four and half years and couldn’t be happier.
Our favorite things to do around town are our weekly trips to the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. We usually head over right after soccer practice and my kids love getting a cookie! I love supporting our local farmers and purveyors. We also love to visit the New Canaan Public Library and try to make a weekly visit to check out our books. It’s a wonderful place to visit no matter the age, as the Library has many different programs from birth to the teenage years. And we love to make visits to the Fire Station and the Police Station. Our dedicated local heroes are always happy to give us a tour. On one recent trip to the Police Station, we even got to visit inside a jail cell! Fortunately, it was empty.
I love to shop at Little Whitney primarily for my daughter. She is still at the stage where she likes to wear dresses and “girly” things and they have a wonderful selection, especially when you need the perfect special occasion dress around the holidays. My son loves Crew Cuts….they have cool graphic tees and great sales. They also offer a “Critters Club” and keep your name on file so that you can redeem rewards and discounts. We like to get our shoes from Shoes ’N More and The Athletic Shoe Factory for sneakers.
On Christmas Eve, hands down our favorite event is caroling on God’s Acre. There is something so magical and uniquely special about drawing people from all over for this one night. It truly is the essence of New Canaan and reflects the sense of community that we have here in our town.
When we head out to eat, there are so many great choices, it’s hard to pick! I love Baldanza for breakfast or lunch. Even just sitting at the bar enjoying a morning latte is heaven. It doesn’t get any better than Rosie’s and I live for their original fish taco! Uncorked has amazing salads and the kids love the pizza at Locali. We are so lucky to live in a town with so many dining options!
My kids are still picky eaters, but they love homemade fish sticks and salmon cakes. Fjord’s has a wonderful fresh daily selection and I simply dip the fish in breadcrumbs and put it in the pan. Easy and delicious!
In an earlier life I danced ballet for nearly twenty years and my life now seems to have come full circle as I teach a weekly barre class at Oxygen. If you haven’t tried barre yet, it’s a great exercise that incorporates the best of ballet, pilates and yoga…it’s a great core strengthener while toning and leaning the body while set to fun music! Since moving to town, I’ve been very involved with the Newcomers Club and enjoyed sitting on the children’s committee, chairing the social committee and I also chaired the Homes for the Holiday House Tour in 2015. It was a great way to meet so many other people and create lifelong friendships. Currently, I’m on the Literary Luncheon committee for the Library and we are hosting our annual fundraising event on Thursday, November 3rd, at Woodway Country Club. This year we are fortunate enough to have Paula McLain, the author of Circling the Sun, come and speak as our guest. Tickets are sold out, but please visit the library’s website to learn more. And recently, I have become involved with the Young Women’s League and am chairing next year’s Couture for a Cause event in May. This is a fun and fashionable event that you won’t want to miss, all while supporting the charitable efforts of the League! In my spare time, I love playing tennis at the New Canaan Racket Club. The pros are amazing… and it’s fun! But most of all, I love spending time with my family and friends. New Canaan is the perfect community to raise our children and be a part of a fabric of our fabulous town!