Holiday Markets and Beyond!

It's the time of the year where everyone is scrambling to check off names on their gift lists (or if they're anything like me, embody the one for you, one for me ethos we all know and love). Thankfully NYC will never leave you hanging as there is a plethora of different holiday markets you can choose from. Here are some suggestions for this weekend. Happy shopping!

Union Square Holiday Market

The tried and true Union Square Holiday Market is one of my NYC traditions--a December is not complete without at least one visit (and a slice of crack pie from the Milk Bar booth). I did a walk through last weekend and bought my first real piece of art from The Raw Art, and would highly recommend you check them out. (Through December 24. Monday – Friday, 11:00am to 8:00pm; Saturday, 10:00am to 8:00pm

Sunday, 11:00am to 7:00pm; Monday, December 24th closes at 4:00pm)

Refinery 29's Magical Pop-Up Holiday Shop

Refinery29 is one of my favorite websites with fabulous style advice, so why wouldn't they have a rad holiday pop-up shop? Featuring designers like Glossybox, Rebecca Minkoff, and White + Warren, this market is definitely where you want to go to find duds for your more fashionable friends. (201 Mulberry Street. December 14-16 noon to 6 pm, 7 on Saturday)

Sweet Afton Holiday Mini-Market

As a new Astorian, I'm super excited to check out my new neighborhood and I'm definitely starting this Sunday at Sweet Afton's Holiday Mini-Market. There's nothing like discovering local designers while drinking alcoholic beverages indoors, with indoors being the key word. I've heard so many great things about this bar, and I'm sure they will put on an excellent event. (30-09 34th Street, Astoria. December 16. 12-5)

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets to The Heiress

Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain makes her Broadway debut alongside Academy Award nominee David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck), Dan Stevens (Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey) and two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey in the Tony Award-winning masterpiece, The Heiress. Written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz and directed by two-time Tony Award nominee Moisés Kaufman, this star-studded production invites you to immerse yourself in its timeless New York story of society, status and the true cost of love.

Caught between the demands of a controlling father and the attentions of a passionate young suitor, a shy and sheltered woman must navigate the terrain of love and regret, desire and duty, a chance for happiness and the burden of fortune... as only an heiress can. Check out The Heiress on Broadway to discover the path she ultimately chooses.

All my readers are in luck! I'm giving away a pair of tickets to The Heiress! There are 4 easy ways to win, and each comment counts as an entry. Be sure to leave your email in each comment so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

1) REQUIRED - Follow this blog by clicking on the button on the right panel and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

2) REQUIRED - Leave a comment letting me know your favorite Jessica Chastain movie (she's been in a lot lately!) and why.

3) Follow me on Twitter @yaelleah and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

4) Tweet about this contest "I just entered to win 2 tix to @theheiressbway on Awesome In New York! http://bit.ly/RlPhyF" and let me know with a link to your tweet.

Winners will be chosen using Random.org on Wednesday 12/5. You have until Wednesday 12/5 at 12 p.m. EST to enter the contest. Good luck!

Congratulations Kelly! She was the 11th commenter and wins 2 tickets to The Heiress! Thanks to everyone for playing!

AWESOME Giveaway: 2 Tickets to Scandalous

In the new Broadway musical Scandalous, set in 1920s Los Angeles, holiness collides with Hollywood in the extraordinary tale of one woman's charismatic rise to fame. Two-time Tony Award® nominee Carolee Carmello stars as Aimee Semple McPherson, the trailblazing media superstar whose passion for saving souls was matched by her passion for making headlines.

But as her popularity grows, so do her enemies, until her sermons, her celebrity and her past combine to put everything she believes in on trial. Two-time Tony Award® winner George Hearn leads a remarkable cast of 20 in this new musical about one woman's incredible rise to glory…and fall from grace.

All my readers are in luck! I'm giving away a pair of tickets to Scandalous! There are 4 easy ways to win, and each comment counts as an entry. Be sure to leave your email in each comment so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

1) REQUIRED - Follow this blog by clicking on the button on the right panel and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

2) REQUIRED - Leave a comment letting me know your favorite Hollywood scandal and why.

3) Follow me on Twitter @yaelleah and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

4) Tweet about this contest "I just entered to win 2 tix to @scandalousbway on Awesome In New York! http://bit.ly/RZxQCj" and let me know with a link to your tweet.

Winners will be chosen using Random.org on Wednesday 11/20. You have until Wednesday 11/20 at 12 p.m. EST to enter the contest. Good luck!

A winner has been chosen! Congratulations @kohenda for being the 21st commenter and winning 2 tickets to Scandalous! Thanks to all who entered!

Dance Your Awesome Off

Want to dance like this?

Well, I can't make you any promises, but there's a free dance event going on tomorrow from 2-6 pm at The Ritz Park Plaza (235 W 48th St.) that may help you discover your left from your right feet. The New Yorker Social Dance Club hosts "Dance Your Way to Health" and will offer group classes, performances, local healthy vendors, live music, dance fashion, and face painting! Admission is free and it looks like a great way to spend an afternoon!

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 2 Tickets to Chaplin the Musical

If there's one man who invented and then re-invented the movie business, it was the late, great Charlie Chaplin. His most well known character, the Little Tramp, has warmed his way into many a family's memories and hearts, but the little-known story behind the character is perhaps more intriguing, and ultimately more heartwarming than I ever could have thought.

The new show Chaplin: The Musical stars Rob McClure as the legendary silent film star and features a book by three-time Tony Award® winner Thomas Meehan (Hairspray, The Producers, Annie) and Christopher Curtis, and music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis. Everything from the costumes and make-up, to the set and the brilliant choreography contributes to one of the best new musicals I've seen in a while. The show had such an effect on me that when the curtain fell, I immediately went and added at least 10 Chaplin movies to my Netflix queue.

All my readers are in luck! I'm giving away a pair of tickets to Chaplin: The Musical! There are 4 easy ways to win, and each comment counts as an entry. Be sure to leave your email in each comment so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

1) REQUIRED - Follow this blog by clicking on the button on the right panel and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

2) REQUIRED - Leave a comment letting me know your favorite Charlie Chaplin movie and why.

3) Follow me on Twitter @yaelleah and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

4) Tweet about this contest "I just entered to win 2 tix to @ChaplinBway on Awesome In New York! http://bit.ly/S3dsO5" and let me know with a link to your tweet.

Winners will be chosen using Random.org on Friday 10/26. You have until Friday 10/26 at 4 p.m. EST to enter the contest. Good luck!

Congratulations Elizabeth! She was the 17th commenter and wins 2 tickets to Chaplin! Thanks to everyone for entering! Better luck next time.

If you don't want to take any chances, you can purchase tickets for as low as $49 by visiting BroadwayOffers.com and entering code CLSCD925. You can also call (212) 239-6200 and use the code CLSCD925.

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: 5 Pairs of Tickets to the 17th Annual 2nd Avenue Halloween Bar Crawl

Everyone loves a good bar crawl, especially when they are Halloween themed (or really anything themed is good when alcohol and wandering around the city is involved). Lindy Promotions is planning their 8-hour marathon 17th annual 2nd Avenue Halloween Bar Tour on Saturday October 27th, and it promises to be a good time.

Here are the deets:

• A Ton Midtown East Bars All w/in 2 Blocks!
• $2 Domestic Draft Pints
• $4 Mixed Drinks
• Various Food & Shot Specials
• FREE Souvenir Pint Cup (first 700pp)
• Beads, Giveaways and More!

Advance discount tickets start at only $7 online, and advanced ticket holders are guaranteed a souvenir cup. Use the promo code AWESOME for an additional $2 OFF!

Walk-up tickets will be available from 1-6pm at TG Whitney's (53rd St. btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave.). Prices are $10 with costume and $15 without.

But wait! All my readers are in luck! I'm giving away 5 pairs of tickets to the 2nd Avenue Halloween Bar Crawl! There are 4 easy ways to win, and each comment counts as an entry. Be sure to leave your email in each comment so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

1) REQUIRED - Follow this blog by clicking on the button on the right panel and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

2) REQUIRED - Leave a comment letting me know your favorite happy hour deal and where I can find it.

3) Follow me on Twitter @yaelleah and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

4) Tweet about this contest "I just entered to win 2 tix to the @lindypromo 2nd Avenue Halloween Bar Crawl on Awesome In New York! http://bit.ly/TyqiCU" and let me know with a link to your tweet.

Winners will be chosen using Random.org on Wednesday 10/24. You have until Wednesday 10/24 at 4 p.m. EST to enter the contest. Good luck!

Don't Be Scrooge, Drink At Le Poisson Rouge!

(Le) Poisson Rouge is an awesome venue. Don't be put off by the smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-NYU-territory location, because LPR features everything from classical to rock, folk to Thrillist parties.

In light of their mantra "serving alcohol and art," LPR invited me to sample their brand, spanking new cocktail menu on a recent Friday night. Mixologists Laura Smith, Amy Wilkinson, and Renee Rogoff spent significant amounts of time at the bar concocting recipes with one-of-a-kind alcohols and mixers, not a bad job if you ask me. The result is a new menu of 10 drinks ($14 each) ranging from the crisp Cool Hand Cuke to the woodsy Distillery Gibson to the inside-warming Sticki Hot Lemonade.

I'm a fruity-drink lover, so I started out with the Slow Jam. This drink was practically made for me. With cachaca, lemon juice, and ginger beer mixed with a dollop of apricot jam and garnished with dried apricot, the drink made me feel warm and fuzzy with out too much of a sweet kick. My guest decided to start off adventurous and tried the Distillery Gibson. This drink will probably grow hair on your chest, but the good kind, if you know what I mean. The pickled onions were an amazing addition to this gin, dry vermouth, and balsamic and sherry vinegar mixture.

The LPR Bar

Slow Jam and Distillery Gibson (left to right)

While sipping our first drinks, I perused the food menu and it looks killer! Truffled mac n' cheese anyone? How about grilled chicken sliders with caramelized onions or a spicy tuna roll? They also serve milk and cookies for dessert...how oddly quaint!

Next up, I opted for the other jam drink, the Purple Haze. This was another drink made for me with gin, green chartreuse, lime juice, and blackberry jam garnished with mint. My guest went lighter and sampled the Rhuby Slip, with rhubarb liquer, Aperol, and prosecco. Definitely refreshing.

Purple Haze

Rhuby Slip

(Le) Poisson Rouge is located at 158 Bleecker Street in the village.