AWESOME GIVEAWAY: Happy Pancake Day! FREE Nutella!

Today, March 4, is pancake day! Hooray! Our friends at Nutella want you to spread the happy, and we of course want you to spread the awesome, sooooooo check out these awesome ricotta pancakes with Nutella and warm strawberry sauce I whipped up to celebrate my boyfriend and my anniversary this weekend (the heart was his idea--cue the awwwww!).

Here's the recipe:

Ricotta Pancakes with Nutella Hazelnut Spread & Warm Strawberry Sauce

• 1 cup low fat ricotta
• 1/2 cup reduced fat milk (I used almond milk)
• 3 eggs, whites and yolks separated
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• oil spray
• 7 oz. strawberries, hulled & thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp Nutella per pancake

PANCAKES: Put the ricotta, egg yolks and milk into a bowl and mix well. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and combine until you have a smooth batter. Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and beat until soft peaks form and then gently fold into the ricotta mixture.

Spray a large non-stick pan with oil and drop in 2 tablespoons of batter per pancake. Cook for about one minute until golden and then flip over and cook for another minute. Remove from pan and keep in warm over until ready to serve.

STRAWBERRY SAUCE: Combine the strawberries and sugar in a small saucepan and gently heat for 3-4 minute until syrupy. When ready to serve, spread 2 teaspoons of Nutella onto each pancake and top with the strawberry sauce.

Awesome news! Nutella is giving one special reader 2 jars of Nutella to make your own pancakes, spread over toast, or just eat by the spoonful. To enter, fill out the form below by Thursday 3/6. Make sure to actually leave a comment below telling me your favorite way to use Nutella or you will be disqualified. A winner will be chosen and notified by Friday 3/7. Best of luck!

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Disclosure: I was not compensated by Nutella, but did receive 2 jars of my own to create the pancakes in this post.

AWESOME ALERT: $35 All You Can Eat and Drink Party Celebrating Astoria

One of my favorite local blogs, WeHeartAstoria, conducts a best of Astoria survey every year (a real resource for me my first year living in Queens!). This year, they are throwing a party to celebrate the results!

At $35 a head, this all-you-can-eat AND all-you-can-drink deal at The Strand Smokehouse is one of the best deals I've seen all year. Also, the first 100 people will receive Astoria-themed gift bags! This is all going down from 6-9pm on Thursday 3/27. Click here to purchase tickets. I'm sure they'll sell out!

Getting to Know Gnossem

Driving is not a pastime I ever really miss (except when I want to jam out on the radio where no one can hear me, but I digress). I can hardly tell a Mazda from a Ford. However, my interest is piqued when I hear the words Maserati and party in the same sentence.

On Saturday night I was invited out to the West Side dealership (we were practically in the river, but so it goes in a city where everyone walks or takes the subway) for a party celebrating the launch of Gnossem, an Asian fashion collaborative previewing in NYC for the first time. Designers they promote include Zenchi and Zardoze each from Singapore, TOTON from Indonesia, and a host of other independent labels.

The event was jam packed with interesting characters. Some were oogling the cars, others were taking advantage of the open bar, and all enjoyed the fashion show hosted by Gnossem’s founder Lisa Crosswite.

DJ Timo Weiland spun some great tunes and the folds from Illy, Zico and Birthday Cake Wines/Ice Cream Cellars were on hand giving out samples.

Oh and remember those guests I mentioned oogling the cars? Oh right, I was one of them :)

Sweat Through the Weekend

Put away the silk shirts and stilettos and take out something you can sweat in! Two events are happening this weekend that will give you so much more than a plain ole workout (or for that matter, sitting on the couch eating your recently acquired Girl Scout Cookies) can.

Sweaty Saturday

"Get fit. Give back." is the motto for Sweaty Saturday, a second-year collaboration among close to 50 NYC fitness studios and Partnership for a Healthier America, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending childhood obesity. Studios including Barry's Bootcamp, Alycea Ungaro's Real Pilates, Cyc, Pure Barre, and SLT will be offering different classes throughout the day with a portion of the proceeds going directly to the cause.

Well + Good's Sweat Series

Speaking of Barry's Bootcamp, Well + Good is kicking off their Sweat Series this Sunday at Athleta Flatiron (126 Fifth Avenue, at W. 18th Street) with a free Barry's Bootcamp class with instructor Layla Luciano. Doors open at 9am for the 9:30-10:30 class, but it's limited to 30 people so get there early! The event will feature free post-workout treats from Drink Mercy elixirs and one attendee will win a $100 gift card to Athleta. Future events will feature BariMacro, Power Yoga and Barre3.

Shape Up Your Face at SPACE.NK

Living in the city, your skin comes in contact with, let's face it, all sorts of nastiness throughout the day. Standing next to a heavy breathing subway rider, urban pollution and stale office air, and plain old winter weather can take a heavy toll. Because of all this, I was psyched when SPACE.NK apothecary, a fancy-pants beauty store originally from London, invited me in to try a facial peel from famed Manhattan Dermatologist Dr. Dennis Gross.

While waiting for my aesthetician Salvatore, I had a lot of fun watching a customer's dogs frolic throughout the store. Not to mention the fact that the larger one was an exact replica of my mom's dog at home, any experience for me is made better when there are cute canines to cuddle.

Salvatore explained to me that the line of products offered by Dr. Dennis Gross is clinical strength, but vegan friendly and paraben-free. All products are multi-functional and good for all ages and skin-types. He is most known for his Alpha Beta Peel, a combination of 5 Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Acids plus retinol, ubiquinone, resveratrol and a host of antioxidants, vitamins and soothing botanicals, which is what I tried. It was designed to brighten the skin while eliminating scarring and sun damage as well as any wrinkles if you happen to have them. 

My skin was cleansed and Salvatore started a 3-step process of applying different products to my face. The first two tingled and almost burned, but they weren't too uncomfortable. He likened the sensation after the second product to what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar - at first there is a drastic reaction, but then it slowly fizzles down. The last one was very soothing and immediately stopped all the burning. 

Immediately after the peel, which normally costs $225 in-office, I noticed some of my acne scarring (darn teenage years!) had gone down significantly. Several days later I still notice a difference, and had no adverse reactions on my skin, which can often be sensitive.

If you don't want to shell out the big bucks for an in-office peel, I'd recommend checking out the daily Alpha Beta peel packets. You can do them at home and BONUS! Good Morning America announced a special 50% off deal on several products from Dr. Dennis Gross. You can view the deals here, but know that they are only good through tomorrow 2/21 3am EST.

Awesome Works Out Again! (Bonus: FREE CLASSES)

Fitness has lately become a well-documented thing on this blog, but I'm keeping the endorphins flowing with yet another class recommendation!

I came across Cyc Fitness a few weeks ago in an email newsletter (check out Well + Good for all things healthy living in NYC if you haven't already!). Cyc is a Madison, WI spin studio transplant that recently opened up shop within the David Barton Gym at Astor Place. It's similar to your Soul Cycle or Flywheel in that it offers a full body workout using 2 lb bean bags while you are spinning. But I found it unique in that the workout incorporates various other "sports," like swimming and basketball to name a couple, to get you having fun while working out.

Cyc calls its instructors cycologists, a clever play on words, but also relatively true in that the instructors seem to get to know you throughout the class, always encouraging you to do better and push harder. I had Amber as my cycologist, and would highly recommend her high-energy class! The rest of the staff at Cyc was wonderful as well, helping me set-up my bike (much fancier than any spin bike I've ever ridden!) and answering any questions.

It's both a blessing and a curse that Cyc is located within a well-established gym. Blessing because you get open access to the entire gym up to 2 hours before and after your class and you have access to a full locker room (bring your own locks!) with showers, towels, etc. However, you will have to deal with the crowds that come with a giant gym, and if you've never been inside, well, David Barton Gyms have a certain vibe that is fairly club-like and in-your-face. So if that's not your thing, be warned.

Classes are normally $25 (shoe rental $2), but you can take advantage of their awesome snow day offer to score a free class! If it snows more than 2 inches, all classes are free the next day. This promo goes through March 17. Also, it doesn't appear that they are being too strict with this policy, as I know it hasn't snowed that much in the past day, but you can book the 7am, 12:30pm, and 5pm  classes for free tomorrow 2/19 (5pm with Cyc founder Keoni!). Hurry up! There are limited spaces available. Sign up here!

Awesome Works Out

New Year's resolutions or not, I have always loved trying new workouts. Logging constant miles on the elliptical or crunching hundreds of times gets insanely boring and make me burn out. So when the folks at Alycea Ungaro's Real Pilates (177 Duane Street) invited me to come try their signature class SpringTONE, I was all for it!

The studio is on a very pleasant, very "TriBeCa" block, and it was super warm to walk into out of a snowstorm on a Monday evening. I was greeted by Alycea herself and shown around the studio. The upper level is where private sessions take place, and I watched as clients from all walks of life seemed to be pulling, pushing, and breathing their way to fitness.

My class took place downstairs, where there were 10, for lack of a better word, contraptions; one per student. If you've never taken a Pilates class (I'm not talking mat Pilates here, but anything with a machine), it can be a bit intimidating. Reformers look especially like torture devices with all of their metal springs, leather straps, and metal and wooden bars.

My class was taught by Vanessa, a playful instructor who had the ability of seeming truly pleasant as she talked us through exercises that made me feel like my inner thigh muscles were going to explode out of my legs. For 45 minutes, I pulled on springs, hollowed out my core, balanced in a squat position, burned all of my muscles, pulled on some more springs, and finally stretched out. It's funny how much of a work out you can get from minute movements, but I was seriously sore for 2 days after this class. As for difficulty level, there was nothing I felt I couldn't do, but I did occasionally have to bend my knees when Vanessa asked us to keep our legs straight.

Alycea Ungaro’s Real Pilates recently launched a brand new luxury lifestyle boutique curated by What Not To Wear's Amy Salinger. Clara's Lifestyle Boutique is an all inclusive luxury one-stop-shop and features 'fitness wear with a function.' It features a range of lifestyle items and features some of today’s top fitness brands including Lole Women, Nancy Rose, Om Girl, Beyond Yoga, among others.

Classes are $30, but they get cheaper when bought in packages. I would highly recommend the studio as it's clean, friendly and close to multiple subway lines. Be sure to report back if you try it!