Archive | Free Events RSS feed for this section

KIDS FOOD FESTIVAL IN BRYANT PARK @KidsFoodFestNYC

3 Mar

Let me just start by saying Saturday at Citi Pond in Bryant Park was a busy day for my two kids and I. We attended the Kids Food Fest which teaches our kids to eat healthy well balanced meals and help to reduce childhood obesity. They showed the kids how to eat healthy meals by food demos, sampling of foods, healthy snacks, and hands on experience with cooking classes for families courtesy of the James Beard Foundation. We got to the festival early and stayed the whole day. Our first stop was Organic Valley where hot off the grill was grilled cheese sandwiches made wi the best cheese on earth because it is unprocessed, organic, produced without antibiotics, synthetic hormones, and toxic pesticides. Can you ask for a better healthier cheese? They also were serving chocolate milk which was just right. We snagged up a few coupons as well because I love me some coupons.

My daughter’s eye quickly found the Kitchen Crafts for Children play area with toys by Alex and wanted everything in sight. There were so many cooking toys, games, and crafts we went on a shopping spree. Wen it comes to toys like these I don’t mind giving my daughter because I know his is her future and it will help her when she becomes a chef. I have plenty of photos that you will see what I’m talking about. There were also arts and craft where she made necklaces and decorated her own lunchbox.

My daughter also enjoyed getting tattoos from a lot of the sponsors and taking pictures with the performers and dancing with The Little Clubheads.

Next stop was HoneyMaid. They were handing out their new HoneyMaid grahamfuls strawberry yogurt creme which do not contain high fructose corn syrup, and is 100% whole grain which is a big plus for me. They were very good. These are going to be a new snack item in my kids lunches especially since they also handed out coupons.

We picked up a Cooking Light the ultimate Kid-Approved cookbook for my mini chefs.

We headed to the trail mix station where we made our own trail mix where goldfish was a popular item. Next to that was the cheese station by Kerrygold which was tasty. There was also a station by GNT EXBERRY where you can build your own a hummingbird Feader. Exberry is a natural food coloring that do not contain any preservatives or or chemical solvents.

Plum Organics/Kids was letting kids spin the wheel for prizes and offering yummy snacks like Jammy Sammy’s.

Honest Tea were giving out their fabulous pouches like a fruit punch, grape, and lemonade. They also had the Ice Tea bottles as well.

Happy Family is where you picked up your goody bags which had goodies from Whole Foods, Bola, Crunchies, and Wreck It Ralph, once you completed your Balanced Plate Scavenger Hunt. You had to collect stamps on your map from all the food groups like fruit, grain, protein, vegetable, and dairy while sampling foods as well. They also were handing out Happy Squeeze pouches in Coco Strawberry and Super Kiwi Banana and Apple.

Scrapkins station let you build your own monster out of tissue rolls.

Probugs gave out samples of Kefir pops for kids.

Clean Well was on deck for sticky little hands and clean ups.

I entered the raffles and I won a 10 piece cookware set from Circulon Gourmet Cookware, and a Craft Set from Alex Toys, and a one -year subscription to Chop Chop a fun cooking magazine for families.

There were food demos on the main stage and performances by Songs for Seeds, Super Why had a meet & greet, Little Club Heads performed, Super Sprowtz, and Terry Walters made Apple Squash Soup. There were performances all day but we made our way to the carousel and the kids went on twice. Our cooking class didn’t start till 4 pm so we went to lunch, then saw a few more performances before the day was almost over but not before our Fresh, Flavorful, Fun Salsa Class with Cricket Azima from The Creative Kitchen. This was an amazing class where the kids got to make salsa with all types of fruits and vegetables. They used melon, strawberries, kiwi, corn, red peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, lime, salt, and olive oil. They chopped everything up then put in a ziplock, added a pinch of salt, squeeze of a lime, and olive oil and shook it up. Salsa!!! It tasted amazing. My kids and I enjoyed it very much!! That was the best fruit and veggie salsa I ever tasted.

Whole foods provided an amazing amount of food to make all of these wonderful dishes. Love Whole Foods!!!

We left with so many bags I had to get a cab.

I have a lot of pictures and I hope you enjoy them because we had fun taking them. I’ll have to make another post with more pictures. To be continued….

20130303-213414.jpg

20130303-213440.jpg

20130303-213537.jpg

20130303-213603.jpg

20130303-213616.jpg

20130303-213638.jpg

20130303-213700.jpg

20130303-213722.jpg

20130303-213816.jpg

20130303-213904.jpg

20130303-213943.jpg

20130303-214021.jpg

20130303-214229.jpg

20130303-214247.jpg

20130303-214334.jpg

20130303-214425.jpg

20130303-214447.jpg

20130303-214513.jpg

20130303-214540.jpg

20130303-214609.jpg

20130303-214644.jpg

20130303-214706.jpg

20130303-214729.jpg

20130303-214810.jpg

20130303-214916.jpg

20130303-214946.jpg

20130303-215114.jpg

20130303-215145.jpg

20130303-215224.jpg

20130303-215248.jpg

20130303-215329.jpg

20130303-215347.jpg

20130303-215422.jpg

20130303-215442.jpg

20130303-215522.jpg

20130303-215536.jpg

20130303-215559.jpg

20130303-215610.jpg

20130303-215629.jpg

20130303-215640.jpg

20130303-215651.jpg

20130303-215714.jpg

20130303-215737.jpg

20130303-215807.jpg

20130303-215850.jpg

20130303-215904.jpg

20130303-215925.jpg

20130303-220009.jpg

20130303-220038.jpg

20130303-220130.jpg

20130303-220157.jpg

20130303-220228.jpg

20130303-220309.jpg

20130303-220409.jpg

20130303-220424.jpg

20130303-220443.jpg

20130303-220458.jpg

20130303-220518.jpg

20130303-220550.jpg

20130303-220606.jpg

20130303-220630.jpg

20130303-220651.jpg

20130303-220707.jpg

20130303-220745.jpg

20130303-220800.jpg

20130303-220815.jpg

20130303-220826.jpg

20130303-220841.jpg

20130303-220902.jpg

20130303-220915.jpg

20130303-220925.jpg

20130303-220937.jpg

SHED, SHRED, AND GET AHEAD!! #StaplesOrgTips @Staples @TilsonPR @LivingFreeNYC

31 Jan

Today I knew I couldn’t pass up the great invitation I received from @livingfreenyc.com to attend an awesome event given by Staples to get organized for tax season. I personally thought I was doing pretty good at being organized until I came to this event and learned about tips and great products that will help me even more. When you go to Staples take the time to actually look at all the fabulous products they have because you don’t know what you’re missing. Martha Stewart’s Home Office with Avery line have file folders that will keep your tax forms and other important papers in order. They also look great with the beautiful designs you won’t get tired of looking at them. Very stylish!! There also are calendars to keep up with appointments.

One way I keep organized is by getting rid of junk mail as soon as it comes in the house. I don’t have a shredder but Staples has a wide selection of shredders including the most recent one that retails for $99. This is the Staples 10 sheet cross-cut shredder which comes with a pull out waste basket, and lock out key which disables blades for added safety. We had the pleasure of seeing how this machine operates up close and I’m sold. I would love this especially with 4 kids there’s paper everywhere. But if you’re not into doing your own shredding or don’t have the time or space Staples will do it for you for 79 cents a pound available at any Staples Copy & Print location. Wonderful!!

On display at today’s event were the Staples Better Binder with removable rings. I’ve never seen anything like this. The removable rings can hand and be labeled in any standard file cabinet. Genius!!! This is great for back to school kids as well. Where was this binder when I was in school?

The Arc notebooks were another favorite of mine. They come in different sizes and I love the poly material. The pages rip out easily and can be put back in with no mess. Presto!

We also can’t forget that Staples carry USB flash drives to keep files safe in case your laptop crashes. There are these cute animal USB flash drives by Entec that you could use to remember what’s stored on each one. Example: I would use the tiger for my pictures and the owl for my blogs. That way when I’m looking for something I know exactly which USB animal character to go to. Cute!!

Another item to bring home is the Turbo Tax software if you file your own taxes. E-file is included with this software.

I am so glad I was able to get more organized and pick up great tips and products and meet amazing people. Staples has everything you need for your office and school. Shed, Shred, and Get Ahead!!

Thank you for the amazing gift bags, raffles, pastries, and coffee as well.

20130131-201855.jpg

20130131-201921.jpg

20130131-201932.jpg

20130131-201940.jpg

20130131-202004.jpg

20130131-202011.jpg

20130131-202020.jpg

20130131-202055.jpg

20130131-202102.jpg

20130131-202116.jpg

20130131-202147.jpg

20130131-202210.jpg

20130131-202243.jpg

20130131-202715.jpg

SUPER SPROWTZ SUPERHEROES VEGGIELICIOUS TOUR!!

29 Jan

Over the weekend I took my kids to see America’s favorite vegetable superheroes none other than the Super Sprowtz. They were on a veggielicious tour and were at Century 21 on Cortlandt Street in lower Manhattan. I was excited to see the guest celebrities that support healthy eating for kids. Obesity in children continues to rise and if parents just take the time to introduce fresh vegetables and less fried and fast foods our children won’t have to deal with bullying, diabetes, and other health issues. Some of the celebrities committed to building a healthy future for our current and next generation include : Shaquille O ‘ Neal Maxwell Daryl Strawberry Chef Todd English Chef Justin Warner Chef G. Garvin, and Selita Ebanks. They were all in attendance. There were a lot of kids who showed up that wanted learn about the different types of veggies and why they’re good for you. To help the kids learn the best way they could were the Super Sprowtz. They were veggie puppets who danced, singed and had the kids on their toes. There were so any veggies I could only remember 3 names because those are the puppets we took home. Suzy Sweetpea, Brian Broccoli, and Colby Carrot. There was also a bilingual band who had the kids learning spanish as well. They had carrots as snacks and a few giveaways. Shaquille, Maxwell, and Daryl Strawberry were dancing as well. My kids loved the broccoli song. I even sing it because I love my broccoli. Speaking of broccoli at the end of the show they announced that we could have the fresh vegetables they have on display. It was so many parents grabbing fresh broccoli or carrots. I grabbed broccoli of course and steamed it that night for dinner. Everyone loved it and it tastes so much better than frozen. It kind of has a sweet taste to it. I will never use frozen ever again! My oldest son even could tell the difference. He enjoyed it very much! Before I went to this event I had never heard of the Super Sprowtz but now that I know they’re mission is to get kids excited about eating more vegetables and making healthier choices I will let my kids see their show on NYC TV, Saturday at 8 am, then Wednesday and Friday at 11:30. I guess I will DVR it because they are in school except for Saturday. What a great way to spend a Sunday with the kids!!
image

image
image

image
image
image

image
image
image
image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image O

image

image

image

HOW TO LOOK AND FEEL 7 YEARS YOUNGER @7YearsYounger @nutritionistsam @LauraGeller @goodhousemag @GoodHousekping @themoms @GHGadgetgirl

29 Jan

I was invited to an event on how to look 7 Years Younger at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute located in the Hearst Tower in Manhattan by none other than the fabulous @themoms. I was so excited I knew I had to attend and find out what this was all about.

Not only was the Hearst Tower beautiful but the Research Institute is a place I would love to work or be a product tester, or guinea pig. Lol. It is so clean and everyone is so nice and welcoming.

We were greeted and received a copy of the 7 Years Younger book as we checked in. I’m bad at remembering names but we met so many people they all were wonderful and very important and wanted to make us look and feel 7 years younger.

After posing for pictures and getting to know everyone we broke into 3 groups. First stop on the tour for my group was the Recipes. We learned that by eating better and exercising more you will have more energy and stamina. This will help you drop some pounds. We also learned how to make healthy recipes with foods we love by the Nutrition Director Samantha B. Cassetty for @goodhousemag, and @7YY, also the correspondent for Drop 5 Lbs on @cookingchannel Saturday 10:30 am.

She answered all of our nutrition questions and the samples of food she made were amazing and healthy. You can still have pizza, sandwiches, quesadillas and lose weight.

All of these amazing recipes are in the best selling book 7 Years Younger.

The next stop was called the Visia Complexion Analyzer room where we took turns having our face assessed. It checked the percentage of our wrinkles, UV spots, pores, and texture. This was very helpful. I posted a picture below.

The last stop on my tour was the Makeup. Everyone was able to get makeovers by 2 makeup artists and get their lips done in an amazing red color by the wonderful @LauraGeller who was there all day with us. She is an amazing person and very sweet. Her makeup is the best!!

At first I just wanted lip gloss and mascara but once my makeup professional started adding blush and eye shadow I couldn’t resist. I took pictures of the makeup so I could remember what she used. She did a wonderful job. They both did wonderful jobs on all of the women.

I also learned something I never knew about Good Housekeeping. They test and review all the products before advertising any of them in their magazine. Also, products that have earned the Green Good Housekeeping Seal have met or exceeded the additional criteria established by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and if any product that has earned their seal is defective Good Housekeeping will replace it or refund your money by notifying them within 2 years of purchase. I love this magazine even more and found a few things I will buy because of your testers.

I absolutely loved my gift bag full of goodies. Best gift bag ever!! Thank you to everyone for a fun filled day and I would love to come back!!

If you want and you should want to purchase the book 7 Years Younger The Revolutionary 7-Week Anti-Aging Plan you can order it at as an ebook online and through bookstores.

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

FAMILY TRIP TO DISNEY ON ICE OPENING NIGHT AT BARCLAY CENTER

26 Jan

Won 4 tickets to Disney On Ice opening night at Barclay Center courtesy of a rafflecopter contest given by @NancyJHorn. My kids were very excited to go and I invited my mother along as well since she’s never been to Barclay Center. The show started at 7 pm on one of the coldest nights but we were wrapped up very good.

This show brought back so many memories and I loved every performance. The Lion King was amazing, and the cast of Aladdin was fun they even had the magic carpet. I wanted to try it out. Lol. My daughter waited for Tiana from Princess and the Frog to come on stage. I can’t believe I still remembered the songs to most of the stories. I think the parents were singing more than the kids because younger children wouldn’t know the songs from the older stories unless parents sing it everyday in their house.

Everyone’s skating was perfect and so smooth and flawless.

Timon and Pumba was so cute. Loved Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You just wanna pinch their faces. Of course Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy were fun. I missed Daisy, & Pluto, and want to know why they weren’t there. Regardless they did a great job hosting.

They had intermission 46 minutes after the show started. I guess they know kids can’t sit long without saying “I have to go to the bathroom.” My kids didn’t have to go they just wanted popcorn and drinks and souveniers. I made sure they ate before we left but I splurged on $12 popcorn,  drinks, and fries. I refused to pay $22 on a souveneir gadget that spins and lights up. All those toys require batteries and can knock someone out.

What happened to the hustlers who used to be in the street selling souveniers for $3.00-$5.00? When we took the kids to the circus at Madison Square Garden there were always someone with lights and gadgets for cheap.

They also wanted $15 for a cup with a snow cone inside. The cheapest thing they had was a $5.00 coloring book that I bought for my daughter. I told her I would get her the Minnie Mouse toys at Target. Much cheaper!!!

We had a great family night out and can’t wait for the next one!!

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

MY FUN DAY AT ANDERSON LIVE AND AT SCREENING OF THIS IS 40. @ThisIs40 @AndersonLive #AndersonLive #AndersonLiveTweetSeats

21 Dec

I was invited to Anderson Live talk show here in Manhattan Thursday, December 20, 2012 to be part of 40 year old audience members who were either turning 40 or already 40. I turned 40 in October yeah hard to believe but I was excited to attend and took my sister along for the day.

It started with a special screening of the comedy film “This Is 40″which was shown at the Loews Theater on 68th & Broadway at 8:00 a.m. Whoever attended the screening got priority to get into the talk show ahead of everyone else.

Some people said they couldn’t get up that early for a movie, or they had to take the kids to school. I told them they missed an amazing comedy and I couldn’t stop laughing.

“This Is 40” produced and written by John Apatow is the spinoff to the sequel Knocked Up (2007).

This film follows the lives of middle aged married couple Pete and Debbie as they face challenges of their lives. They are dealing with turning 40, their jobs, and children Sadie and Charlotte who add stress to their relationship.

It is R rated so if you’re not into foul language, and sexual content then you know what to do. I on the other hand enjoyed this film very much.

The cast includes :
Paul Rudd as Peter owner of record label
Leslie Mann as Debbie shop owner
Maude Apatow as Sadie 13 yr old daughter
Iris Apatow as Charlotte 8 yr old daughter John Lithgow as Oliver (Debbie’s 65 yr old father)
Albert Brooks as Larry (Pete’s father)
Megan Fox as Desi (one of Debbie’s employee)
Charlyne Yi as Jodi (one of Debbie’s employee)

The other cast members are very funny as well. Charlyne Yi who played Jodi is crazy and played her character very well. She’s funny.
Everyone is mesmerized with Megan Fox character. I wonder why. Lol. You will see. Everyone that was in the movie did a terrific job and I couldn’t see anyone else playing their parts. Of course John knew what he was doing when he picked his wife Leslie and two daughters Maude, and Iris to play the daughters in the film.

I was excited to get to the studio and see Anderson of course but also some of the cast in person.
John Apatow, Leslie Mann,  and Paul Rudd, were on the show. Leslie was Anderson’s co host. John and Leslie’s two daughters who were stars in the film were in the audience as well.

The movie comes out today Friday December 21, 2012. Yes the world stayed around for you to see this movie, and the taping of Anderson Live comes on today at 12:00 on Fox5. They might show me in the audience.

Since this was Anderson’s last show for the season we were given $100 Visa cards, snow for the kids from Misfit toys, and a CD.

My sister and I had a great day and I recommend seeing this movie and requesting tickets to Anderson Live next season.
Enjoy the pictures below from movie theater and talk show.

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

I also was a Tweeter throughout the show and a lot of my tweets were favorites of Anderson Live. #AndersonLiveTweetSeats

#Wimpykidmoms A day with @themoms and @wimpykidmovie @appleseednyc

15 Dec

Today was a beautiful day for the kids to get out and enjoy a day with @themoms at @appleseednyc meeting the creator Jeff Kinney and star of Diary of Wimpy Kid @RobCapron. They answered questions, signed autographs, and Jeff showed the kids how to draw.

The kids split up into different rooms to create bookmarks, or diaries of their own. They also got to enjoy the play area which my kids were extremely happy about.

The treats were provided by Capri Sun, and Earth’s Best organic pouch snacks. There was also popcorn.

My kids were so pleased with their autographs. They also loved @appleseednyc. My daughter said she had the best time ever and got to see her friends and meet new ones.

We love all the great events @themoms put together for families. They are awesome. Keep doing what you do mamas!! Till next time!

image

image

image

image

<a href="http://nperez054.files.wordpress
image

.com/2012/12/wpid-imag0341.jpg”>image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

JCPenney #12DaysofGiving Tour in Bryant Park with John Legend

28 Nov

Kicking off #jcp12days with @johnlegend entertaining #BryantPark with Christmas carols. http://t.co/5xPWcohG

I went to Bryant Park to see John Legend do some singing for JCPenney 12 days of giving tour on Tuesday, November 27th. He sanged a few of his songs and a few carols. There were free ice skating, and free hot chocolate when you got cold from the rain and snow. I wasn’t able to get good pictures of John Legend but I was able to get a video of him singing one of his songs. Also, I took pictures of Citi Pond and the ice skaters. Standing right next to me was LaLa, Carmelo Anthony wife so I took pictures of her as well. I also met a skater who was willing to teach me how to ice skate and carry me on her back so I wouldn’t fall. How sweet but she was tiny. She didn’t know what she would have gotten herself into. Lol. Now, I can roller skate but ice skating, nope. Enjoy the pictures!!
If the video didn’t come out I’ll try again later.

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

image

Turkey Giveaway in Harlem @Ricardosnyc

23 Nov

I net Tyson Beckford model, actor, tv host in Harlem @Ricardosnyc giving out turkeys to the community. He was very nice and went out his way by staying past the time the event was supposed to end make sure everyone had a free bird.

There were tickets issued from local churches which you needed to receive a turkey but when those people stopped coming they started handing out turkeys to those without tickets and to anyone passing by.

The event went smooth and no one complaining, arguing, or fighting.
Tyson was nice enough to pose for pictures with a lot of people and you know I had to get a picture.

image

image

image

image

MACY’S 86TH ANNUAL THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE!!!!

23 Nov

The Thanksgiving Parade was awesome!!! I won two VIP Grandstand tickets from @mycityway. The seats were located at 59th and Columbus Circle.I have some pictures to share below!! Enjoy!!ImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImageImage