AWESOME ALERT: Free Mini-Facial Event at Sephora Today and Tomorrow

Does your skin need a pick-me-up? Sephora and the Japanese-based Skin Inc are here to help! They are offering fully-customized 15-minute mini facials to clients today and tomorrow and you're invited! Check it out, after all, when was the last time you got a professional facial?

Deets:

Friday, October 24th

Sephora, 130 W 34th street (Between 7th Avenue and Broadway)

Saturday, October 25th

Sephora, 5 Times Square (200 W 42 Street)

12-6pm

Good Things Come in Smaller Batches

Artisanal is all the rage these days. The smaller the better. In her new book Small Batch, NYC-based author Suzanne Cope celebrates the local pickle briners, chocolate temperers, and whisky distillers who have changed the climate of food consumption as we know it. To celebrate its publication, she's throwing a party (why not?!) and there will be plenty of "small batch" food and drink stuffs to sample and purchase.

Deets:

When: Wednesday, November 5, 6-8pm
Where: jimmy's no. 43 (43 E 7th St, New York, New York 10003)
What: Tastings! Cocktails! Door prizes! Celebrate the publication of SMALL BATCH by Suzanne Cope and chat with local artisans whose goods will be available for sample and purchase.
Attendees include: Brooklyn Delhi, Plate & Pencil, Sans Bakery, Crock & Jar, Bobolink Dairy & Bakehouse, Farm to People, Divine Brine Foods Inc, Anarchy in a Jar, A&B American Style, Salty Road, & more!

Want Some Stink With Your Cider?

Cider week is upon us! Having just returned from the Basque region of Spain, I'm newly educated in the intricacies of cider making (and drinking!) and have a whole new appreciation for this beverage. It's more than Martinellis y'all!

Our friends at Stinky Bklyn--in Chelsea--and Back Label Wine Merchants (107 W 20th Street) are celebrating in the best way possible...with a stinky cheese pairing class! On Saturday 11/1 from 4-5pm you can join them to taste a selection of handpicked ciders and cheeses for only $40. The best part is that you get a $20 voucher for anything in the store at the conclusion of your class.

If you want to sip your cider in Brooklyn, the flagship store (215 Smith Street) will be hosting several FREE classes for the duration of the week:

• Victory Brewing Co. Tasting, Thursday, October 23 @ 6-8 pm: Draft and bottle tastings from Pennsylvania's famed Victory Brewing Company. Beers featured will include Wild Devil, a Brett-fermented IPA, and Storm King, a bittersweet Imperial Stout. They'll also be offering 20% off growler fills!

• Wolffer Estate Cider Tasting, Saturday, October 25 @2-4 pm: Hailing from the Hamptons, Wolffer Vineyard and Cidery will be in-store with samples of their Dry Rose and Dry White ciders. Borrowing fermentation techniques from their wine production, their ciders are crisp and refreshing, and are great in lieu of wine for your dinner or cheese board.

• Cider Mimosas, Sunday, October 26 @ 1-3 pm: Say what?? Cider Mimosas? That's right, they're mixing up fresh, tart cider from Champlain Orchards in Vermont with NY's own Critz Farms Rippleton Original Sparkling Hard Cider. It'll become your new Fall brunch libation of choice.

• Virtue Cider & Crown Finish Caves Cheese Tasting, Saturday, November 1 @ 1-3 pm: They'll be pairing a variety of Virtue ciders with cheese from Crown Finish Caves in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. One featured cheese will be the Humble Herdsman, washed in Virtue's Red Streak. Our beer buyer Aiyana Knauer both suggested and ordered the Red Streak for washing to Benton of Crown Finish Caves, so this tasting will bring all elements of the cheese (and cider) full circle!

• Guerrilla Hot Sauce Tasting, Saturday, November 1 @ 3-6 pm: Go sample fresh, local hot sauce made by Stinky Bklyn's own cheesemonger Brendon Doyle!

For more NYC Cider Week events, please click here. Happy sipping!

Party Like a Lush

Just got news of a new opening of one of my favorite bath and body stores, LUSH. Check them out tomorrow! It seems like there's swag to be had!

Deets:

LUSH Herald Square

44 W. 34th Street

(212)564-0254

RSVP: heraldsquare@lush.com

When: Saturday 10/18 12-5 PM

Uncommonly Great Gifts

Searching for the perfect gift is never easy. You may think you know the perfect item to bequeath to your BFF for her promotion or your father-in-law for his birthday, but how do you decide where to purchase from? Enter Brooklyn-based Uncommon Goods.

The 15-year-old retailer is the perfect place to shop for everyone from your mom, your dog, your boss, and (because why not?) yourself. We're a big fan of their selection of NYC-centric items and eco-friendly packaging, not to mention their commitment to supporting individual artisans and designers. To test out their service, Uncommon Goods recently sent me a pair of their Fern Frond Earrings ($68).

How unique, right? I can't tell you how many compliments I've received on a simple pair of earrings! What I loved most was how they came packaged in a sock-like pouch made of recycled t-shirt material. Score one for the planet!

Among the aforementioned NYC-themed items, our favorites are the following:

Manhattan Rooftop Honey Flight ($45)

Elements of Nyc Pillows ($35-$55)

Hand Embroidered City Pillows ($158)

DIY Embroidery Poster - Brooklyn Bridge ($20)

Comment below with what strikes your fancy. Happy shopping!

A Buzzworthy Happy Hour

Don't get your beans in a bunch, but Monday 9/29 is National Coffee Day! So prep your percolator, clean your Chemex and be ready to celebrate and enjoy some delicious brew (preferably while reading a novel in a cozy wingbacked chair under the comfort of a fuzzy blanket and curled up with a golden doodle...just sayin').

If a fuzzy blanket is not in the cards for you on Monday, the second best option would be to check out the Coffee Happy Hour being hosted by Hudson Valley’s own Crown Maple syrup and Irving Farm at the latter's Grand Central Terminal kiosk from 7-9am.

For $2, they will be serving The Crown Maple Medicine Man--named for a classic cocktail, the drink will include a blend of Crown Maple, lemon and sage and Irving Farm’s Los Lorios coffee blend. The drink will be available after 9am for $4.

Rosh Hashana Ramen?

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, starts tonight and sundown. Traditionally, RH feasts include apples and honey for a sweet new year and round things like pomegranates and circular challah bread to symbolize life's cycles. I'm all for tradition, but I'm also for creating awesome new traditions. So when I saw GrubStreet's list of 10 Delicious Ways to Celebrate Rosh Hashana in New York, I had to share.

Glazed challah braided with marzipan and topped with sliced almonds?!...swoon! Apple-and-honey galettes?...Yes, please! And definitely throw in some of that chopped liver!

For your information, I'm going totally off the wall tomorrow night and indulging in Dassara's Rosh Hashana ramen. Pics to come. Happy and healthy new year to everyone!