Hold that Pose...With an Insta-Magnet

I'll admit it, I'm an Instagram whore. I can't get enough of the brannan and earlybird filters and I take way too many photos of sunsets/sunrises out of my apartment window, amazing meals, and I have an affinity for chandeliers (follow me and you'll see what I mean!). But I also have a lot of meaningful photos in my collection from various travels and I can't help but feel artistic when I browse through them.

It's because of this I was over the moon to find out about Stickygram. Stickygram connects with your Instagram account to let you print magnets or make iPhone/iPad covers using your carefully calibrated images. The photos we post on Instagram all seem to have special meaning by virtue of being posted there so why wouldn't you want to look at them on your fridge?

I just placed my first order of 3 sheets of 9 magnets each--two of friends and family I'll keep at home and one (above) of images I think are beautiful that I want to display on my metal cabinets at the office. Use my referral link (code: FRIENDS36N) and get $2 off your first order of magnets or $5 off your first case.

These would also make great holiday gifts! Stickygram is offering free premium shipping in time for the holidays if you order 3 sheets of magnets by midnight tonight!

Drinking in the Holiday Spirit

A couple weeks ago (on the 80th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition to be exact) I attended the Village Voice Holiday Spirits Tasting Event at Studio Square in Queens. I was really excited about this event because it was close by my apartment and my blogger friend Laura was also going with her boyfriend.

Entrance at Studio Square

I've learned the hard way that you have to pace yourself at drinking events, hence my strategy was really just taking sips of drinks from various stations and not downing entire cocktails. Favorites included:

• Rough Rider Old Fashioned served with a cherry and rock candy (Who am I kidding? I was just obsessed with the rock candy!)

Rough Rider Old Fashioned

• Dutch's Spirits' 'Fat Apple' with mulled cider with moonshine and melted cinnamon brown sugar (I'm not going to post the picture because it actually looks somewhat disgusting)
• Barefoot Bubbly in citrus fusion

Barefoot Bubbly

• Barrow's Intense Ginger Liqueur Eggnog

Barrow's Eggnog

• Brotherhood Winery's Holiday Spiced Wine which they served warm (side note: my boyfriend and I recently visited this winery, supposedly America's oldest, and fell in love with their Cabernet Sauvignon. You can take tours there too.)

• Tito's Handmade Vodka's "The Go To" with elderflower liqueur, lime juice, mint and ginger beer.

The Go To (who doesn't love a Laura photobomb?)

• Ole' Smokey Moonshine's "Southern Hooch," which was recommended to me by Laura and was really delicious. I may have imbibed the entire drink this time -- apple pie moonshine and sweet tea!

The venue was great and the live music was a nice addition. The food, however, was lacking. I got a short peek at the sliders that were coming out of the kitchen, but hoards of eventgoers seemed to maul the waiters before they even had the chance to leave the kitchen. Hence, I was very glad that I ate before the event. Whole Foods was smart though in that they were serving a root liqueur poached pear sundae, yum!

Whole Foods' Root Liqueur Poached Pear Sundae

Overall, we had a great time and thankfully only had to stumble home a few blocks before tucking in for the night. Gotta love a good Village Voice event!

Cheers!

For the Person Who Has Everything...

Calendars always make nice gifts, and with the holiday season in full bloom, have I got a gift idea that will toot your coworker's/brother's/cousin's/funky uncle's horn. Presenting, the 2014 NYC Taxi Driver's Calendar.

These cabbies know how to properly hang an air freshener and are surprisingly easy to hail. A nice percentage of them will also go all the way to Brooklyn. All jokes aside, 100% of the proceeds from the calendar are going to University Settlement, a social services agency. So you're giving a laugh and giving back at the same time.

The calendar is selling for $14.99 (you don't even have to calculate tip!) and is available here.

Holiday Cheers!

The Village Voice and their events team is at it again. If you're someone who takes holiday drinking a bit classier than a peppermint patty shot (although you have to admit those are darn delicious), be sure to check out the Holiday Spirits Tasting Event happening tomorrow night at Studio Square in Long Island City.

Of course I love that the venue is a hop, skip and a jump from my digs in Astoria, but if you've never visited the "new beer garden," you're in for a treat. In addition to their large patio, Studio Square has a fairly large 2-story indoor space which will feature drinks from more than 25 local wineries, breweries, distilleries, and specialty liquor makers. There will also be hors d'oeuvres and music all night.

General admission tickets are $50 (update: use coupon code THANKS for $25 tickets) and will be available at the door. VIP tickets are $70 and will let you in an hour earlier than everyone else and you will take home a commemorative wine tote with event goodies. Everyone will be able to take home their tasting glass as well, and ticket fees will partially support the ASPCA.

Details:

Studio Square

35-44 37th Street

Long Island City, Queens 11106

Thursday Dec. 5

General Admission: 7:30-10:30

VIP Entry at 6:30

Purchase tickets here.

AWESOME GIVEAWAY: Earrings from Wordstobeadby

Earrings are one of my weaknesses--I can never have enough. So when my friend Lindsay opened her Etsy shop Wordstobeadby, based out of Long Island and the city, I must admit that I spent way too much time oogling her designs and laughing at her witty names for everything (shell pieces shaped into Hot as Shell earrings, I mean come on, that's awesome!).

Lindsay, a lawyer by day, crafts each piece herself using Swarovski crystals, one-of-a kind beads, and vintage charms and ships each item free of charge. All earrings can be converted to clip-on style for those without pierced ears at no extra charge. She also recently started including druzy pendants in her collection, both in delicate bracelets and statement making earrings. Her prices are very reasonable and I'm just deciding which pair I want to buy for myself (Vintage Blue and White St. Tropez or Mint Condition Earrings?...But seriously, how beautiful is the Blue and Gold Druzy Double Strand Wrap Bracelet?).

All of my readers are in luck! Lindsay and Wordstobeadby are giving away a pair of earrings made especially for Awesome in New York! You don't even have to live in NYC to win :) Behold the Holidaze Silver Druzy Earrings made with silver beads and authentic Siam Swarovski crystals.

If you're coveting something (or things!) else in the Wordstobeadby store, please use the discount code AWESOMENY5 for 5% off your total purchase and free shipping through February 15, 2014.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fix Your Closet in a Stitch

Like it or not, living in New York City makes me very fashion conscious. I've always been a bit of a shopaholic and with the advent on online shopping (Gilt and Rue La La, I can't sing your praises enough but my wallet certainly can) buying the latest looks has become even easier. But if you've always dreamed of taking the shopping experience one step further and hiring your own personal shopper, have I got the site for you.

A coworker recently told me about Stitch Fix, and from the minute she said "it's like Blue Apron" for clothes, I was intrigued. The way it works is you log on, create an account, and fill out a fairly extensive survey about your style. You will answer questions about everything from your sizes to which body parts you like to flaunt and from color palette to what your life is like. Once that is done and you decide to schedule a fix, you get an additional paragraph to explain in detail what you're looking for in a fix. I asked my stylist to focus on flowy long sleeve tops for winter and at least one dress I can wear to work. At this point I would highly recommend being as specific as possible about what you want (ie, brand names you usually buy, what piece is missing from your closet, price range) because there is a live person on the other end of things sourcing just for you.

I scheduled my first fix and I anxiously awaited my box. I've always thought personal stylists were uber expensive and not for me, but it felt like I was giving myself an awesome win-win present. When the box came to my doorstep, enclosed was a note personally signed by my stylist, Catherine, and information about how to proceed.

My First Fix

I was told to try everything on and send back whatever I didn't want within 3 days in the postage paid envelope. I was charged a $20 styling fee but that would be deducted from whatever I wanted to keep. Also, if I opted to keep all 5 items, I would receive a 25% overall discount.

The first item was the Gold Tone Love Birds necklace, that I thought was cute, but for $32 I thought I could find something I'd like way more so I decided not to keep it.

Gold Tone Love Birds Necklace ($32)

Next was the Florence Colorblocked Dress by 41Hawthorne ($68). I didn't really like this out of the box but I put it on, and behold, it not only fit perfectly but it was something new and different! I love this dress because I can pair it with a blazer and ballet flats for work but could gussy it up with some sparkly jewelry for a date night or holiday party.

Florence Colorblocked Dress ($68)

My fix included 2 flowy shirts. The first, Rossi Polka Dot Print Neck-Tie Blouse by Renee C ($48), was a bit too librarian for me and I sent it back. The skirt I was also a little disappointed in because it was the most basic black pencil skirt that anyone who works in an office already has at least one of. Needless to say, I sent the Violet Ponte Pencil Skirt by 41 Hawthorne back as well.

Rossi Polka Dot Print Neck-Tie Blouse ($48)

The second was another item I wasn't sure I'd like out of the box. The Crowley Sheer Front Pocket Blouse by Sanctuary ($78) neared the top of my price point for a blouse, but it's high quality and fits me really well. Due to the sheer nature of the shirt, I have to wear a tank under it, but the color is unique and I've already worn it a bunch.

Crowley Sheer Front Pocket Blouse ($78)

One thing I thought was really unique and a nice touch was that Stitch Fix includes style cards with each piece to give you an idea of how you can dress each item up or down with items you already own.

So I didn't end up getting the 25% discount, but I sent back feedback with each item so that the next time I order they will hopefully hit the nail more square on the head. I don't think this is something I'd invest in every month, but I will definitely try it again soon, if only for the surprise. Do any of my readers use Stitch Fix or is anyone interested in giving it a try? Sign up for an account here.

AWESOME ALERT: Blue Apron is the Answer to Your Kitchen Prayers

Contrary to New York City tradition, my oven is not used for storage, and I love to cook. I love everything about cooking in fact--the way my knife sounds when slicing an onion, the spoonfuls of sauce I taste before deciding it is just right, licking the batter spoon before putting cookies in the oven, and the way my kitchen smells when I've been simmering apple sauce in my slow cooker all day long. One thing I don't like though is schlepping home heavy bags of carefully selected groceries home only to find my perfect tomato smushed at the bottom of the bag or finally getting upstairs to realize I forgot the ground turkey and have to go back out.

Enter Blue Apron. As a base description I would say this online recipe/ingredient delivery service is a cross between Birchbox, the Food Network, and Fresh Direct. Basically, the company sends out weekly emails describing their recipes for the next week (typically 3 meals a week for either a meat or vegetarian menu) and you can opt in to receive all the ingredients you need (minus only basics like salt, pepper and olive oil and basic pots and pans) hand delivered to your door. Busy that week or don't like the menu items? No problem, just opt out with no consequences. It's not a diet service so don't think of it like that, but the recipes are generally for healthy and wholesome meals (500-700 calories each).

Convenience, fresh ingredients, new recipes? I was sold and decided to give it a try (well, my coworker giving me a free week was also an added incentive!). I've been traveling a lot lately so finding a week I was going to dedicate to cooking in at least three times was not as easy as I thought it would be. My shipment looked a little like this, after I'd arranged it all pretty of course:

On first glance, I was really pleased with the quality of the food. The produce seemed as it was just plucked from the farm, the meat was all high-quality Pat LaFreida, and all of the condiment type ingredients were measured exactly to how much I needed so there would be minimal prep required on my part.

For my first meal, I went with the beef and millet stuffed bell peppers. Laying out all the ingredients was kind of fun and made me feel like I was the host of a cooking show.

The recipe cards were easy to follow and included pictures of each step along the way so you would know if you were doing something wrong before you got to the final product. For someone who never cooks, this would probably be the most advanced recipe of the week because there were several steps, but I'm confident that anyone who could slice and dice some veggies and follow instructions could complete this just fine. The finished product was scrumptious and made so much food! Each meal is supposed to be for 2 people but I easily made 3.5 meals out of it after adding another bell pepper I picked up from the grocery store.

The next meal was Italian inspired but with a twist: Spaghettini with shrimp, lemon and mint. I have never thought to use mint in a savory dish, but I loved it especially with the addition of spicy red pepper flakes. This dish also turned into 2 rather large portions and I loved that they give you enough ingredients in order to garnish your plates as well.

The last menu item was Mexican-style chopped salad with chicken and corn--a fairly basic salad, but something I've never really made like this before. The queso fresco was a nice touch as were the 2 different types of lettuce and the lime mayo dressing. Also, who knew you could slice corn fresh off the cob without cooking it? I certainly didn't.

All in all, Blue Apron was a hit in my kitchen and I will most likely try it again. This service would be perfect for someone who likes to cook but doesn't know how or doesn't have the time to shop for ingredients. It would also probably be better for a couple, because I had A LOT of food to eat that week and felt bad going out at all because I didn't want anything in my fridge to go bad. At $9.99 per person, per meal, it's cheaper than going out but potentially a bit more money than just going grocery shopping yourself. But really, who's going to measure your ketchup for you or make sure that you're cooking something new every week otherwise?

Blue Apron is available all over the country, but they are based in Brooklyn so support a local NYC company and place your order today :)

I was not paid by Blue Apron for this post. The opinions expressed here are completely my own.