Toby’s school is only five blocks from our apartment, and the best part of the whole walk (by far) is…

…the Italian bakery on the way. Our new Brooklyn neighborhood—Carroll Gardens—is known for its Italian-American food, and it’s peppered with old-school Italian restaurants, butchers, gelato shops and arguably the best pizza in New York City.

But we come for the mini muffins.

The boys always devour them in record time.

For adults, by the way, if you’re feeling hedonistic, is peppery “lard bread,” packed with cubes of salami and cheese. Apparently, the bread comes from the Southern Italian baking tradition of using absolutely everything. “If you were lucky enough to have pork with your meal, you would save the leftover fat and pork scraps, and mix them into your next bread dough,” writes Serious Eats.

For our fall adventures, the boys have been wearing Old Navy basics, like cotton sweaters and puffer vests.

We even got skinny jeans for Anton. (!!!) They’re cute, comfy and sturdy.

Then we’re ready to start the day! What are your morning rituals? Do you make a warm breakfast? Listen to NPR? Get up at the last possible second? I highly recommend adding lard bread to whatever you’re currently doing:)

(Photos by Yossy Arefi for Cup of Jo. This post is sponsored by Old Navy. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Cup of Jo)