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GO ON A PLATINUM DRIVE REALTY PRIVATE LUXURY TOUR OF THE SUBURBS (FREE)

When I received an email from @DivaMoms asking if I wanted to take a tour of Westchester hubby and I jumped at the chance to see what it was like to live in the suburbs. Depending on what part of Westchester you live in it can take anywhere from a half hour to and hour by train and depending on traffic if you drive. The private luxury tour picked us up on 86th and Lexington at 10 a.m. There were two other women that attended and the Platinum Drive Realty tour guides as well. Traffic was good so it didn’t take long to get there. When we arrived it was like we were in another part of the world but it’s so close. The houses were beautiful and you pick how much acres you want. The elementary schools are one story and the middle and high schools look like colleges or mansions. It’s so peaceful and relaxing. The towns seem very laid back, not fast paced and busy like NY. Even Starbucks wasn’t crowded where you couldn’t find a seat. Some towns didn’t have supermarkets so you would have to drive to another town to shop for groceries. I think Costco and BJ’s need to start building up there. The houses we looked at ranged in price anywhere from $500,000 and up, but you can go on their website and find houses in different price range. (www.platinumdr.com) A few celebrities reside in Westchester like Bill and Hillary Clinton, and a few of the Yankees. I could see why.

The tour was lead by the President Zach Harrison and licensed salesperson Marco Vitolo from Platinum Drive Realty. They did an amazing job telling us when is the best time to purchase a house, where to move depending if you need schools for the kids or just a house for couples. They also explained how many acres you could own. I told them if the kitchen in any house isn’t big then I don’t want it. Lol. One house we did go in had the perfect kitchen and appliances I was looking for and it even had a pantry for all of my groceries. I loved the whole house. Inside the enormous master bedroom was a door that lead to the backyard which was huge. It might have had an acre or two of land also a patio, and about three more bedrooms and I think 4 bathrooms. It also had a family room, and an office, the dining room, and living room too. That house was for sale.

You would never think kids lived there because it was so neat and clean. We had to put on footsies before we entered. In my house we take off our shoes before entering as well. Nobody wants dirty floors or shoes from outside in their house.

I picked a few favorite like, Chappaqua, Mamaroneck, Greenwich, Larchmont, Scarsdale, Harrison, and Rye. There might be more but these stood out. We hope one day to own a home that we can call our own. We had a great time on this tour and will be touring again this time in Connecticut.

We parked in a town where we had lunch provided by Platinum Drive Realty and took a restroom break. The tour ended at 3 p.m. And even with a little traffic we made it back on time. If anyone would like a free private tour of Westchester, Connecticut, or New York you can contact Platinum Drive Realty on their website http://www.platinumdr.com or on Twitter @pdrealty
Enjoy the pictures of the beautiful suburbs!!

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Categories Family, Travel, What's Going On?

NICKELODEON’S WORLD WIDE DAY OF PLAY IN PROSPECT PARK

28 Sep

September 21st was Nickelodeon’s World Wide Day Of Play in Prospect Park, Brooklyn NY and my kids were so excited to be a part of it. We arrived early and proceeded through the park. It was a long walk inside of the park. Once we got in the line wasn’t long at all and after security check my kids were ready to play everywhere. We started at the Zumba station where they were showing kids how to Zumba and have fun. They gave out CD’s, neon bags to carry around throughout the day, and magazines.

After that my kids going these enormous size bowling balls and pins, and toss the rings set. We also ran into Spongebob, Patrick, and the Power Rangers. The lines were long if you wanted a picture with them but my daughter took a few with the Power Rangers.

We headed over to the tennis exhibits so the kids can play one on one with the host from Figure It Out Jeff Sutphen. They were excited to meet him. I took pictures and video of them. He’s very friendly and funny.

Of course the main reason they wanted to go was to see Ariana Grande and Big time Rush perform all their songs. My daughter said she wants to marry James or Kendall. Don’t tell her I told you that. Lol. The line just to see the concert started at least 4 hours before the concert was even to begin. Everyone wanted to be in the front but when you have small kids sometimes the front is not the best. We were in the first group but I stayed near the back so my kids could sit on the gate and have a great view. There were also big screens so everyone could see.

Big Time Rush and Ariana Grande performed all their songs and sounded great live. My kids sung every single song and so did I. I hear the songs all the time in my house so I should know all the words. Lol. All the kids were excited and by the screaming and crying going on it was a hit.

Food was sold but with credit or debit cards only and there was free water stations. Birdseye vegetables also was on hand and gave out macaroni and cheese with broccoli which was delicious.

So after my kids played at a few more exhibits they were finally ready to go after a long day. If Nickelodeon comes back to New York I hope it’s in Central Park closer to home, but hubby drove us home so we didn’t have to take long train ride back. Lifesaver.
We had a fun filled day!! Enjoy the pictures!

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Categories Family, Free Events, Fun things to do in NY with Family, Kids, Travel, What's Going On?

#AdventuresNYC @NYCParks

23 Jun

The 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!

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Categories Family, Free Events, Fun things to do in NY with Family, Travel, What's Going On?

7 DAYS WITH MY CHEVY TRAVERSE LOAN @chevytristate @GM @districtdrive

23 Jun

When 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.

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Categories Car Reviews, Family, Travel, What's Going On?

International Franchise Expo/ Javits Center NY

23 Jun

The International Franchise Expo made it’s way to The Javits Center June 20-22nd and I wanted to see what it was all about. There were over 400 franchises in attendance so I had a lot of networking to do. It was great seeing familiar businesses that I frequently visit and knowing they are looking for people to join their team and open up a franchise of their own. I talked to a few of my favorites and a few I never heard of and found out a lot about the franchise business. I was extremely impressed with 7 Eleven and Chester’s Chicken franchises. I got to sample some delicious food as well. The frozen yogurt samples were in every aisle. There were also pizza, pretzels, subs, lobster bisque soup, cake, cookies, french fries, drinks, Japanese noodles and donuts. By the time I left I was stuffed. The bundt cake by “Nothing Bundt Cakes” melted in my mouth it was so moist and delicious. I also had my eyebrows threaded free courtesy of the Walmart booth. They offered free eyelash extensions or having your eyebrows threaded.

I’m glad I was able to attend and take home a lot of information. If I ever decide to open up a franchise I know who to contact. I took pictures of the expo below.