Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Rooftop Cocktails and Jazz



















It's a beautiful day, perfect for sunset rooftop cocktails with great city views and FREE live jazz by the Stephane Wrembel Trio. Don't worry about freezing your pretty little tush off, The Empire Hotel Rooftop is complete covered.  The Stephane Wrembel Trio was recently heralded as "A REVELATION" by David Fricke, Rolling Stone Magazine and "A John Coltrane-ish search for a moment of musical Nirvana" byVariety Magazine.


RSVP is required.

RSVP for Rooftop cocktails and jazz here

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Real Simple 10 Year Anniversary Party TODAY



















No, it's not an intervention for hoarders.  Today at Grand Central Station, Real Simple is celebrating their 10th Anniversary until 10pm with entertainment, food tastings, gift bags, makeovers & manicures, workshops, and special appearances. Below is a schedule:

4-5pm
  • Broadway peformance by Next to Normal
  • Hair tips and tricks from Sally Hershberger
  • Meet Kristin van Ogrtrop, Managing Editor of Real Simple
  • Home-organizing tips from Unclutter.com's Erin Doland
  • Recipes with Chef Stefan Bahu of Metrazur
5-7pm
  • Broadway perfromances by Rock of Ages and Mama Mia
  • Kristin van Ogtrip speaks with LX New York TV Host Sarah Gore and designer Tracy Reese
  • Wine tips from a master sommelier from The Modern
  • Health Soluctions from Real Simple health editor Elizabeth Graves
AND skin care consultations with AVEENO experts, Samples from Haagen-Dazs Five ice cream, make overs from jane iredale, chocolate samples from Lindt, manicures from Sally Hansen...you get the drift.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Half Off At The Elephant













One of my favorite sites, GROUPON, has a deal today for half off at one of my favorite restaurants in the East Village, Elephant. You get $60 worth of food for $30 and can use it until October.  The Thai-French cuisine is delicious - especially the Pad Thai. MMMMMM.


CLICK HERE TO GET IT

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Frugal Fashionista - Shareen Vintage

 Prabal Gurung
















My Dress











 


 

Spring is here!  This weekend the weather will be perfect for some spring wardrobe shopping. While perusing at the runway shows online, I noticed a recurring theme of collections based on the past - 70's bohemian, 40's ladylike floral prints, and 80's rocker chic. What better place to search for some fun spring dresses, than a vintage store! SHAREEN VINTAGE is 1000 square feet of vintage heaven, for women seeking unique pieces. Located in Union Square apartment, this gem is discreet and for those "in the know" - there is no indication of its existence visible from the street. Racks are separated by theme - such as long, day dresses, evening, skirts and a designer rack. Boxes are filled with funky rope belts, frame bags and scarves.



The staff is incredibly helpful, honest and gives great styling tips. If they think a dress doesn't look good on you, they will refuse to sell it to you (I’ve seen it happen). By special request, Shareen can find a fur for you according to your specifications - and they are usually priced under $350. She is a stylist and vintage collector, based on Los Angeles (she has a store there too), who comes out to the store at least once a month. Be forewarned, this place is not for the modest and only for women- there are no dressing rooms.

 
I found a pretty white and black polka dot dress, inspired by this Prabal Gurung dress, for $42. It looks amazing with a thick black belt cinching the waist, and red lips.


Shareen Vintage

13 West 17th St, Second Floor

Wed & Thursday 5p - 10pm

Saturday & Sunday 12pm - 6pm


Monday, March 22, 2010

Brooklyn's version of Restaurant Week









There are three days left of "Dine In Brooklyn," Brooklyn's version of Restaurant Week, which features three course lunches for $20.10 and dinners for $25.00.  My top pics among the impressive list restaurants are Chestnut in Caroll Gardens, Applewood in Park Slope, The River Cafe (complete with an amazing view), and Bubby's in Dumbo.

Below is Applewood's yummy dinner menu:

First Course:
Cannellini bean soup
Spring greens, herb pesto
or
red leaf lettuce salad, toasted pistachios, preserved meyer lemon, shelbourn farm cheddar cheese, garlic aoli

Entree:
Braised vermont pork ragout, sauteed collard greens, applewood smoked bacon, sweet potato puree
or
Sauteed atlantic striped bass, wilted spring greens, pea shoot salad, chive aioli, celery root puree
or
Lemon basil risotto, marinated red onions, carmelized shallots, marscapone chhese

Dessert:
Lemon butter cakes, citrus sorbet, caramel sauce
or
carmelized apples, vanilla ice cream, graham cracker streusel


MY MOUTH IS WATERING!
Below is a link to the complete list.
http://www.visitbrooklyn.org/pdf/DIB2010.pdf

Friday, March 19, 2010

Your (Jewish) Mother Will Thank Me















This year the first night of Passover, awkwardly falls on a Monday, which would require taking two days off of work, travel time and an evening of torture with your Jewish mother and extended family who keep trying to fix you up with "really nice guys" (code word for ugly, geeky, short and bald). If you don't have local family and friends to spend the holiday with, there are options, however I have found many to be quite pricey (over $100).

I will be attending the Ohel Ayalah seder at NYU. Ohel Ayalah is a group through NYU which organizes high holiday services, seders, shabbat dinners and other activities.  The seders on the first and second nights of Passover, March 29th and 30th, are surpisingly affordable at $38 pp. Attendance is limited to 110 people which will sell out quickly, and are broken down by age group (20's and 30's, 40's and college).  Tickets can be purchased by clicking the link below. 

http://www.ohelayalah.org/events/seders

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tapas Descuentos
















Today my favorite tapas restaurant, Boqueria Soho, has a coupon for 30% off on Blackboard Eats. It's only available for the next 15 hours, but you can use the coupon through April 15th.  Click the link below and select "Get This Special" on the site. Shortly thereafter, you will receive a text message to your phone with a coupon code. 

If you are lucky, you can get a peek at the handsome chef, Seamus Mullen, from Iron Chef, while he's slaving away in the kichen (now that's hot!).

Highly recommended tapas include the patatas bravas, pan con tomate, bacon wrapped dates and brussel sprouts paired with a glass of sangria. Que Bueno!


http://blackboardeats.com/sp/30-percent-off-your-bill-at-boqueria-new-york

Thursday, March 4, 2010

MoMA - First Thursdays



















On the first Thursday of every month, The MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) will stay open until 8:45pm.  Gallery talks, Audio tours, and film screenings will be free with the price of admission ($20). Enjoy access to all galleries, a cash bar and music DJ Vatican City. Cafe 2, the European style restaurant on the museum's second floor will be offerning a Prix Fixe dinner created by chef Lynn Bound for only $25. This series will carry through to the summer, with tapas in the sculpture garden.

Today these programs include:

5:30 pm  - Gallery Talk, Picasso and Cubism
6:30 pm - Gallery Talk, Shaping Modernity: Design 1880 - 1980
7:30 pm - Gallery Talk, Highlights from the collection 1945 - present
8:00 pm - Film, Model. Director Fredericks Warholian look at the modeling industry in the 1980's

To tickle your tastebuds, here is the menu from Cafe 2.

APPETIZER
Grilled shrimp, tangerine and shaved fennel
Beet salad, goat cheese mousse, celery, walnuts, currants

ENTREE
Braised oxtail, ragout house made gnocchi
Roasted organic chicken, potato puree, crispy Jerusalem artichokes

DESSERT
Warm pear and cranberry crisp, organic yogurt crème
Milk chocolate hazelnut tart

YUM!!!!

Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street
(between Fifth and Sixth Avenues)
http://www.moma.org/

Mexican Happy Hour All Night



















Following my "Reel Talks" film group on Tuesday night, a bunch of us wandered through the restaurant El Cantinero, and arriba (that means up in Spanish) the back stairs to the bar on the second floor.  The lighting was dim, the salsa music was loud and our group was boisterous. I couldn't believe my eyes... "HAPPY HOUR ALL NIGHT"? Beer, sangria, margaritas and a list of other cocktails are $4 (except Friday and Saturday).  The decorations are bad but festive accented by a lone palm tree, which made me strangely reminiscent of my Bungalow 8 days, but in a really low brow kind of way. This could become your recession recovery secret hot spot.


El Cantinero
86 University Place
(between 11th and 12th)

Monday, January 11, 2010

Your smile is worth a thousand words, but doesn't have to cost a thousand dollars



For years I have wanted to get my teeth whitened, but cringed at the price tag. They say your smile is worth a thousand words, but does that mean it has to cost a thousand dollars? I think not!


While at the dentist last week, he recommended trying at home whitening before resorting to professional procedures. Crest Whitestrips seemed a little too low brow for me, so I researched other products such as Rembrandt and GO SMILE. Today I received an email in my inbox from Hautelook for GO SMILE for more than half off - It had to be some type of sign! Membership to Hautelook  is mandatory to be able to buy anything off of their site, but it's totally worth it. I've gotten some amazing stuff  including a pair of J Brand skinny jeans and a Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent dress.


There are a few different items including their Smile Whitening System, toothpaste, touch ups, and lip glosses. I selected the most basic, the Smile Whitening System.

http://www.hautelook.com/catalog/1751