Saturday, September 28th is the 2013 Tang’s National New York City Dumpling Festival at Sara D. Roosevelt Park (Chrystie St. Btwn Delancey St & Grand St.) from 12-5.
If you’re a fan of dumplings and want to see a live dumpling eating competition then this is the place you need to be. This event is free but food sample prices vary. Try dumplings from around the world like china, Italy, and Poland just to name a few. There will also be live cultural performances, and interactive games. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Food Bank for New York.
For more info visit http://www.dumplingfestival.com
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NYC Dumpling Festival
27 SepBACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC IN CENTRAL PARK #BTSPicnic
25 AugFriday, August 23, 2013 was the day I planned to have a Back to School Picnic for the kids. It was held in Central Park and I wanted our kids to enjoy the last few weeks together before school starts. This picnic was to promote healthy foods and snacks for our kids lunch boxes and after school snacks. Some of the kids already started school, but they showed up after school and enjoyed the picnic. The day before the picnic it rained and I was hoping the grass wasn’t too wet but once that sun came out it pretty much dried up. The day turned out beautiful. The kids were able to enjoy the playground, sprinklers, and a recreation center with basketball. My kids came prepared with their scooters, football, basketball, jump rope, and hula hoop. They also bought along their UNO cards to play a game. A few of the other kids bought their footballs, scooters, etc as well. I also had bubbles, crayons, and coloring books for the kids to enjoy.
To all the families that came out I just want to say thank you for spending a fun filled day in beautiful Central Park. It was great seeing everyone and enjoying our kids smiling, happy faces. My daughter asked were we seeing the kids again. She likes playing with all her friends. Just being able to run free on the grass in all that open space for a kid is a great feeling.
I’d like to give a enormous thank you shout out to all the BRANDS who donated to the #BTSPicnic. Without you I don’t know what I would have done. Everything was greatly appreciated. To the BRANDS that didn’t get to deliver on time when the products come I will give to everyone that attended.
Go Go SqueeZ
Pirate’s Booty
Just Salad
Off the Wall Yogurt
Land O’ Lakes
Funny Face Cranberries
Pepperidge Farm
Golden Krust Bakery
Hickies who offered a 30% off discount code good till the end of August (HICKIESbloggerparty)
Funny Face Cranberries has the best dried cranberries for kids. I love the funny flavors like, Rootin Tootin Raspberry, Choo Choo Cherry, Goofy Grape, and Freckle Face Strawberry. Theses are a great low-sugar snack for kids.
Find out more on their Twitter page @FunnyFaceCran.
Go Go SqueeZ is another great snack for kids and adults on the go! 100% applesauce in a pouch, super healthy!! You can also recycle their pouches with @TerraCycle Their Twitter handle is GoGosqueeZ
Just Salad has more than salad but I love their salads and their cute BPA free, environmentally safe bowls. When you visit their locations you can purchase a bowl which is reusable and every time you come back with your bowl you get TWO FREE essential toppings or ONE FREE cheese. Everything in Just Salad is healthy and fresh and I am glad to have one in my neighborhood. I will be using my bowl frequently.it is also a great bowl for the kids to take fruit or salad to school as well. So, get your salad on and visit Just Salad. Find them on Twitter @justsalad
Land O’Lakes provided the parents with free Deli Cheese coupons which will definitely come in handy for back to school. Who doesn’t love cheese? Come on. Cheese makes so many meals taste great and I personally love snacking on cheese. My kids are grilled cheese fanatics so I appreciate these coupons very much! I also can’t get enough macaroni and cheese. Visit them on Twitter @LandOLakesKtchn
Pepperidge Farms sent over their amazing Goldfish Puffs which are addictive especially with the THREE flavors that they have which are: Mega Cheese, Buffalo Wing, and Cheddar Bacon. I’ve given the kids goldfish crackers but when they sent these over we didn’t know what to do. We were loving all of them. They are puffed up crackers and a burst of flavor in your mouth which is very good. They are also gluten-free.i hope to find these in my local supermarkets or Target. @PepperidgeFarm on Twitter
Pirate’s Booty rice and corn puffs are another snack that is great to have. I like the fact that their free from fryers and ingredients you can’t pronounce. There’s nothing like standing in the supermarket trying to read ingredients that I don’t know the meaning of, let alone can’t pronounce. These are also gluten-free, all natural, and trans fat free. They have 4 different varieties but we are in love with Aged White Cheddar.The others are Veggie, Sour Cream and Onion, and Barrrrrbeque. Give them a try. @piratesbooty on Twitter
Off the Wall Yogurt sells frozen yogurt with 16 flavors, and 40 rotating toppings. Even though we didn’t have frozen yogurt at the picnic because it definitely would have melted I was given gift cards to give out. There was just a grand opening of their Times Square location and I love this yogurt. Yogurt is great anytime of the year. Check them out on Twitter @OTWyogurt
Golden Krust provided the beef and chicken patties. These were very good. Everyone enjoyed snacking on these Jamaican meat patties. It was great having a little bit of Caribbean flavor at the picnic.These snack size patties were just right for adults hands and little ones and not messy at all. For a picnic these were perfect. Their Twitter handle is @GoldenKrustBkry
Hickies is an elastic lace that replaces boring shoelaces. I hate tying my shoelaces. With Hickies you don’t ever have to tie or untie your shoe again. I love all the colors and you can mix and match if you want. My daughter loves wearing her and Hickies is offering a 30%off discount code that I mentioned above so go on their site and see what fun style Hickies will bring to your wardrobe.@hickies check them out.
I also purchased pizza pies for the kids as a little extra treat.
Everyone enjoyed the picnic and I can’t wait to have another one!!
Enjoy the pictures.
SHOPPING TRIP AT TIME WARNER CENTER FOR ME & MY SISTER (National Sister’s Day) #OKTWCSistersDay
11 AugOK Magazine and Time Warner Center partnered up to host a contest called National Sister’s Day. It consisted of a day spent at the fabulous Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle with shopping, lunch, and beauty makeovers for you and your sister. I tweeted why my sister and I deserved to win using the hashtag #OKTWCSistersDay and I won!!! When I told my sister we won her mouth dropped open and we were jumping up and down and screaming with joy.
We decided to go on Friday, August 9th because this contest package was good until August 11th.
We picked up our VIP passes which gave us discounts and treats throughout the shops. Also in our goodie bag was a $50 gift card to Sephora and other goodies from them as well as our makeover session voucher, and our lunch voucher to A Voce Italian restaurant. I also loved the hand written note from Stacey Feder Vice-President of Time Warner Center welcoming us to a day of fun for Sister’s Day.
Of course when we arrived the first thing on our minds were shopping!!! We started at H&M and saw so many amazing fall clothing that I wanted it all. I found a few things that I took home like a spiked ring, and beautiful lavender and purple polka dot scarf. I spent no more than $20. My sister loves silver and found herself a cute ring as well for under $6.
Our next stop was C Wonder. I absolutely love this colorful store. There’s a car, bicycles, and a zebra inside which blends in perfect and we just had to get pics. I found a new iPhone 5 case on sale for $13 regular price $45. Not bad right?
We made our way downstairs to Whole Foods. My favorite market in the world!!! There’s so much to choose from you definitely will not leave empty handed. My daughter requested to me to bring her back some sushi and macaroni and cheese. She said “write it down so you don’t forget”. I didn’t write it down but I should have because I almost forgot the mac and cheese. Next time I will listen to her. One of the perks from the VIP pass in Whole Foods was a free beverage any size at the Coffee Bar. We had iced lattes. I purchased so much food that the kids were happy and i was happy I didnt have to cook. At the bakery I took it easy. I got a lemon tart and a chocolate cheesecake mini. My sister purchased the pasta salad.
Our pre -fixe lunch reservation at A Voce was scheduled for 1pm. We arrived 5 minutes early and loved what we saw on the menu. We started with the flakiest soft bread and cheese spread, then our salads came, followed by ravioli stuffed with eggplant and garlic. Oven dried tomatoes were on top with grappa raisins, and pine nuts. For dessert we ordered tiramisu which is lady fingers, mascarpone mousse, and amaretto coffee syrup. Can I just say everything was delicious. We really enjoyed our meal and would love to return. They are also having specials for Restaurant Week so if you want to try them out I suggest you go.
Our beauty makeover session at Sephora was scheduled for 2pm but we didn’t make it in time because we got out of the restaurant a little late so Sephora was kind enough to schedule another day for us to come back but that didn’t stop us from shopping. We racked up and we found lip gloss that actually lasts on our lips, and I also got L”Occitane’s almond skin oil to die for. The brand “Fresh” has a sugar lemon soap wish smells like fresh lemons and sugar. Sooo good!! They also gave us free samples too. My sister also found her a eyebrow pencil that she is very happy with as well as other items.
Lucky Brand was our last stop of the day where I found a iPad case for $5 regular $35. Now you tell me that isn’t a great deal!! I loved the clothing here too. Beautiful fall colors for women, men, and kids.
My sister and I enjoyed our day together very much and will be going back soon to get our makeovers. We want to thank OK Magazine, and Time Warner Center for a wonderful day of fun shopping, great food, and just the girls hanging out!! We ❤NY!!!
These opinions expressed are my own. I was not compensated for this post but was given a contest prize package for my sister and I to use in Time Warner Center.
Enjoy the pics of the stores we visited and some of the items we purchased.
“LEARN WITH HOMER” READING APP FOR IPAD (AGES 3-6)
10 AugMy daughter was very excited when I told her I was downloading a new reading app called Learn with Homer. She loves reading and spelling and when I found out that this was a reading program app I didn’t mind getting it for her. I encourage reading 100% and I love seeing my kids enjoy it. Reading should be fun and that’s what Learn with Homer is all about.
Reading, vocabulary, phonics, and comprehension is what your 3-6 year old will learn. My daughter loved It all. Even my son joined in and he’s 10 years old. He got a kick out of it and helped his sister out. They had fun. She passed levels 1-5 and is waiting for levels 6-11 to become available. She checks everyday. She also enjoyed Story Time especially Nursery Rhymes.
What I love as a parent is how friendly and welcoming the characters voices are. The quotes are fun and we repeat them every time they say it. Some of the quotes are: “Wiggly Ears Cheers!”, “Hooray and Happy Day!”, or “Wow,wow,wow!”. These quotes are said by the characters when your child got something right or when they’re happy about something your child did.
I also loved how fast my daughter picked up on everything with no problem. She even showed me a few things. You can also track your child’s progress on the parent site. This app should be in every classroom and home.
You start with a thinking cap where your child takes a picture of themselves and get to choose a cap. My daughter is up to 8 different caps. She can choose from a cupcake, to a cactus, or even a princess.
There is also voice recording, and drawing and what child doesn’t love drawing? In Homer’s Clubhouse your child can see their drawings, and listen to their voice recordings in “My Board”. My daughter made sure to also save some of her drawings on my iPad as well. Drawings can also be shared via email or Facebook through the parent website.
In “Discover The World” your child will become a better reader with the help of Homer and Millie exploring animals, learning about the five senses, and sight and sound.
So we really enjoy Learn with Homer app and hope there will be a part 2.
We are very impressed and are anxiously awaiting the other levels to open up.
My iPad mini is my daughter’s iPad mini as long as Learn with Homer is on there.
The Learn with Homer app can be downloaded for free on the App Store.
These opinions expressed are my own. I was given a ITunes gift card to purchase bundles.
Enjoy pictures!
La Casa Azul Bookstore Summer Pop Up Shop Anniversary
7 AugAugust 6, 2013 made exactly one month since La Casa Azul Bookstore Summer Pop Up Shop rented space at La Marqueta in Spanish Harlem. I live a block away and knew I had to show my support to the bookstore because that is something that we need in the neighborhood. My daughter, and I arrived early as cameras were still rolling, and as they were still setting up but we were welcomed with open arms to relax on their comfy chairs and explore all the wonderful children’s books. Once my daughter saw all the books you know I couldn’t leave without purchasing a few. As if she doesn’t have enough already. Lol. I’m glad she enjoys books and reading. Every child should.
There was also a cupcake decorating class opening day and my daughter decorated three to take home and share. She loves cooking. Kids were given gift bags full of goodies for coming out.
There are so many books to choose from such as cookbooks, math, nursery rhymes, picture books, and so on. They also sell toys, and gifts, and have storytelling events, and arts & crafts. Your kids will love it all!!
I first found out about La Casa Azul Bookstore from attending a book signing for a cookbook that I wanted. Their bookstore is located at 143 E. 103rd st. between Lexington and Park. This is an independent bookstore and they sell bilingual books for children, and Latino literature. I absolutely love this bookstore. You can sign up for their newsletter on their website and find out all the activities that go on there for adults and kids. http://www.lacasaazulbookstore.com
The owner is very nice and was a pleasure to meet.
The summer pop up shop is coming to an end on August 17th so get there as soon as possible. If you miss it head to their location on 103rd street. The hours for the pop up shop is 11-5 Tuesday – Saturday. The address is 1590 Park Avenue on 115th street.
I was not compensated for this post. These are my opinions.
Enjoy the pictures.
HARLEM ARTS FESTIVAL 2013 @HarlemArtsFest
29 JunToday was the first day of the Harlem Arts Festival in Marcus Garvey Park. The festival is free and open to the public with something for everyone. There’s free live music, dance, theater, visual arts, spoken word, as well as activities and classes for youth and families. Artists came out to celebrate the legacy of Harlem by presenting their art. A group of performers on stilts opened up the festival by marching and playing instruments. That was a nice treat for the kids. If you head to the Gallery Walk you will find all of their work displayed. For the kids there’s Kid’s Corner where kids can paint, make sock puppets, or do arts and crafts. The Main Stage which is in the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater showcases the live music, dance, and theater performances. Second Stage is for acoustic performances, artist talks, and spoken word performances. The gentrifusafication performance and open talk was interesting. The performances on the Main Stage Evan Shinners, and Kris Bowers were very good.
Today there was a mask making workshop for kids. There was also a power yoga dance for everyone to join in, and a ballroom dancing workshop. My son said he could have taught that class. He did win a gold medal for ballroom dancing if you didn’t know, and he’s only ten years old.
There were plenty of vendors and sponsors on hand as well. Sweet Leaf Tea organic sweet tea handed out free bottles of their teas original, as well as mint and honey green tea. They also gave out free lip balms, sunglasses, hand sanitizers, and coupons. Popular Community Bank handed out mini basketballs for the kids. NY Sports Club handed out free complimentary 3 day passes to their gym on 125th street.
Food trucks showed up to show their support like Phil’s Steak (my favorite). You know I couldn’t go without having a Philly cheesesteak and took one home for my son. Also on board was Fishing Shrimp which I also tried because I love me some shrimps. Everything was fried just right and their whitings were very good. Snap Hot Dogs was another food vendor who showed up with their gourmet hot dogs. My kids loved their lemonade. There was also a Brooklyn organic coffee and tea truck. The best part was the lines weren’t long at all. We need more food trucks in Harlem.
There are also t- shirts and tote bags for sale. I won a tote bag through Twitter so I just had to pick it up. Love it!!
Tomorrow is going to be exciting as well, so if you didn’t make it today I encourage you to get out tomorrow. It’s from 3- 8 p.m. at Marcus Garvey Park 5th Avenue between 122nd and 124th street. Their twitter handle is @harlemartsfest if you need more info.
My kids and I had a great time and can’t wait till next year.
Enjoy the pictures!!
#AdventuresNYC @NYCParks
23 JunThe kids and I traveled to the 9th annual #AdventuresNYC in Central Park on Saturday, June 22nd. This event was free and open to the public thanks to NYC Parks and Backpacker Magazine who sponsored this great event filled with lots of activities for families which included:
The North Face Zone
Bear Naked Climbing Zone
Health & Fitness Clinics
Bike Helmet Giveaway courtesy of NYCDOT
LL Bean Aquatic Zones (featuring kayaking, fly casting, and stand up paddle boarding )
Outdoor Gear Exhibits
Hand Cycling
Vermont Adventure Center
Live Music & Entertainment
Mountain Bike Expo
Free Bike Rental & Valet Parking
STHL Lumberjack Zone (including lumberjack show)
Other sponsors were Honest Tea, Cabot Cheese, Ecco, Tent & Trails, Citi BIke, Strider, The L Magazine, and KTU 103.5.
We try to make it every year and make sure we line up for the Bike Helmet Giveaway first because that line gets extremely long. This year there were about 10 people ahead of us. Not bad. We moved on to the North Face Zone where the kids did challenges for prizes and spun the wheel for more prizes. We won hats and stickers. The kids climbed on a bike as if they were hiking up a mountain. Played with the hula hoop and colored. Next was the Honest Tea tent where there were free samples of all their cold teas. Refreshing!!
The kids always rock climb and that’s where we headed to next. The sun was so hot I couldn’t wait to move to a shaded area. This year they had hand cycling for everyone. That was fun for them and my son went on twice. Lots of freebies at different stations. The stand up paddle boarding looked fun but we wasn’t getting wet. Cabot cheese is always good to snack on. Ecco had cute, comfortable sandals. Too bad they weren’t selling any. I wanted a pair so bad. LL Bean had a bootmobile that my daughter took a picture with. It was the biggest boot ever. She loved it!
We had fun once again and can’t wait for next year!! Enjoy the pictures!
7 DAYS WITH MY CHEVY TRAVERSE LOAN @chevytristate @GM @districtdrive
23 JunWhen I attended the Getting Gorgeous event in April 2103 I never thought I might be taking home a car. Well I sort of did but not on that day. There was a Chevy booth called “#Chevy’s Ultimate Road Trip” at the event and anyone could sign up to compete for a week loan a Chevy Traverse. What did you have to do? Whoever could pack the back of the trunk with beach gear the fastest would not only keep the items that you packed the trunk with which included, beach chairs, beach umbrella, towels, mats, water, Gatorade, loads of sunscreen, coffee mug, cooler, etc but also get the kids to a week loaner of a Chevy Traverse 2013. I decided to go for it. A person in front of me had just finished in about 1 minute and some change. As they were setting up for me I took a look at what I was packing and went for it. All I know is everything happened so fast because he said I finished in under 38 seconds and I didn’t know I could move like that. Lol. My daughter and another mommy blogger @JeanetteNYC were there cheering me on. I prayed no one could beat that score and when I received the email saying I won I was very, very happy.
They said I could choose any month Monday though Friday so they could drop it off to me and the car had to stay within the northeast region. Nothing north of Maine or south of Virginia. That was no problem at all. I decided to get the Traverse on June 14th a Friday and when the driver pulled up I was in Chevy heaven. That was a busy month and I knew it would definitely come in handy. My daughter’s Birthday and Graduation was that month. My son also had his Ballroom Competition at different sites so we had to travel a lot. Hubby and I along with my cousins and her hubby took a trip to City Island for some long awaited seafood. We did a lot of local traveling but it beat the trains and buses any day. We also enjoyed the Museum Mile festival in NY, The Pier, and Central Park with the kids. I wish I could have traveled to Virginia to visit family but we couldn’t do it this time. I also wanted to go to Washington D.C. for an event but the car had to be picked up on that day.
Everyone that rode in the Traverse my kids, hubby, cousins, mother, sister, neighbor, and I of course loved everything about it. I personally loved the warning beep on the mirrors when a car or person is near that blind spot feature was very helpful. There is so much room in the car and seats 7 people which was just right for my family. I also enjoyed the 6.5″ color touch screen with a rear vision camera that helped me spot obstacles that I’m sure I would have missed. The mirror automatically dropped down to show me the ground which was awesome when parking in reverse. It has a 3.6L V6 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission which provided smooth shifting and quiet acceleration It felt like I was driving on a cloud. The touch screen navigation system came in handy and the air conditioner kept us cool even though it wasn’t needed that much because some of the days were actually cool. My kids loved their own personal seats. There was a dvd player but we didn’t use it and loved the 12 cup holders which came in handy for my coffee, water and all the kids drinks. Lots of cargo space. 19 MPG city and 24 MPG highway. My sister enjoyed the cooled seats for the front passenger and driver. The color I received was the Crystal Red Tintcoat which was beautiful and stood out on my block.
The Traverse has everything I’m looking for in a safe, reliable SUV.
It also has 6 air bags and an On Star advisor.
My family and I were definitely safe while traveling and this is what I see in our future.
We miss the Traverse and hope to review lots more soon.
Thank you to @Chevytristate @Chevy @DistrictDrive @GM
These opinions are my own and I was given the Chevy Traverse as a loan from a competition I won through “Chevy’s Ultimate Road Trip”.
Enjoy the pictures.
@Epicthemovie #Epicmamarazzi My Review
25 MayMy kids were happy to miss a day of school for the long awaited movie Epic. I told them Pit Bull who plays (Bufo the frog) would be attending as well and they were excited. This was an #epicmamarazzi screening thanks to @themoms. The screening took place Wednesday May 22nd at the Empire on west 42nd street at 11:00 a.m.
A lot of parents said they wish their kids would get to school on time the way they got to the screening early. My kids met up with their friends and were treated to free concession snacks and pictures with none other than Pit Bull and an autograph. He is very nice and wanted to give autographs for the kids and take pictures with almost everyone even though he was in a rush to another engagement. He said he was raised in a single parent home by his mom and encouraged the kids to listen to their moms and go for your dream.
Epic is a great 3D animation movie for the whole family to see and my family and I are definitely on the Leaf Men side. This ongoing battle in the forest between good and evil makes you want to put on your gear and protect the forest. Beyonce, Steven Tyler, and Amanda Seyfried were also part of the cast. I have to say I was in tears for a few parts but other than that it was great and funny, especially the slugs who had us laughing throughout the movie. All the characters were great!!
We had a great time and will see it again with our cousins.
Enjoy the pictures!
#HAPPYMOTHERSDAY
12 MayHappy Mother’s Day to the mommies!!! Today I know some of you want the day to relax minus the kids but I on the other don’t mind having the kids around. Maybe it’s because they are 5 and older but trust me I get a lot of alone time when they are in school. I hope you mommies get what you want today whether it’s a day at the spa, the whole house to yourself singing and dancing like Tom Cruise, or just waking up to a big breakfast and homemade cards from your kids. Whatever you get enjoy it and cherish these moments. Don’t worry father’s your day is coming up!! Have a great day!!!
Five Little Words 