12/8/14

Because Everyone Needs A Light-Up DIY Ornament...

RadioShack is getting into the holiday spirit and wants to invite you to a workshop experience at at their 1565 Broadway on Saturday 12/13 from 10am - 10pm. In conjunction with littleBits--an open source library of electronic modules that snap together with tiny magnets and make music and light (for kids of all ages!)--they will be offering complimentary drinks and holiday treats, while also giving you a hands-on tutorial on how to build your very own littleBits holiday ornaments!


The first 100 attendees will walk away with a special RadioShack stocking stuffer, as well as be entered into a raffle to win a variety of holiday items.

Deets:
  • What: ​RadioShack + littleBits Customer Holiday Workshop
  • When: Saturday 12/13, 10 am - 10pm
  • Where: RadioShack 1565 Broadway (7th Avenue @ 47th Street)

12/5/14

Bust Our Your Wallet for this Holiday Craftacular

Holiday shopping season is in full swing and we're here to remind you that nobody wants that awful smelling pine candle you've been storing in your coat closet with re-gifting plans in 2014. Instead, why don't you head on over to the BUST Magazine Holiday Craftacular happening this Saturday and Sunday at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint.


BUST, the magazine "for women with something to get off their chests," designed the event to include over 200 vendors selling handmade crafts, delicious foods, gorgeous vintage finds and more. There will be a DJ and free goodie bags for the first 300 attendees. Make-and-take craft workshops and artist demonstrations will spark your creativity and give you the chance to make a gift for yourself or someone else. Wrap your gifts in style at the wrapping paper station, handcraft a card for someone special, and don't miss the Ugly Sweater Selfie Booth.

Last, but certainly not least, there will be a cat cafe. A CAT CAFE! Take a little break from shopping with adorable, adoptable cats and a nice cup of tea all while benefiting a number of great animal rescue organizations.

Tickets are $3 and available at the door.

Deets:

  • When: Saturday, December 6 + Sunday December 7 (11am - 7pm)
  • Where: Brooklyn Expo Center (79 Franklin St, Brooklyn, NY 11222)
  • How much?: $3

Dance Party = Fitness (Plus, a Giveaway!)

The idea of "working-out" used to bore me. I'd wander aimlessly around a giant gym surrounded by machines, gadgets and all sorts of weights but have no concept of what to do with them. Thankfully, the concept of boutique fitness has exploded throughout NYC within the past year, and there are so many unique options from me to choose from to stay fit.

I was recently invited to try the latest studio on the block, ((305)) Fitness, a self-proclaimed underground cardio fitness experience. Well it was literally underground (yay basements!) and definitely an experience (a really, really fun experience).

All images courtesy of ((305)) Fitness

Their website says: "We turn your workout into a party." What kind of party, though, I wasn't initially sure. In fact, when I first arrived at 9:45 on a Sunday morning with my guinea pig friend, we were a bit confused if we were in the right place as the only signage was a neon pink "GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS" ominously hinting at what might be in store for us downstairs.

The front desk

But the gal at the front desk had our names on a list and we were directed past several really neat art pieces to the super clean and colorful locker room to store our belongings before we boogied on downstairs. The 305 Goddess showed the way...

The 305 Goddess and stairs going down to the studio

The studio is basically a club. It's decked out with all sorts of colored lights, giant images of lips and mouths, positive mantras along the front mirror, and...wait for it...a DJ booth. Our instructor, JJ Montell, started the class with so much positive energy and he did something that I really appreciated and haven't seen at other studios. It was simple. He said, introduce yourself to someone you don't know. The fun in this was that we were all about to be dancing together for an hour, so it's way more fun if you at least know another person's name.

JJ Montell

We started with a Zumba-like warm-up, but the choreography quickly escalated to more advanced dance moves, sports drills, and various squats and lunges. His direction flowed perfectly with the music and the lights curated by our DJ that I was able to let loose and really feel like I was at a party. At three points in class we stopped for what he called our sprints, which were basically high-intensity drills of high-knees followed by push-ups or crunches. It was also arms day, so we did a few minutes of small-movement arm drills (ie, arm circles, holding arms out in a T, shoulder presses). 

I was sweating buckets and almost every muscle burned by the end of class, but my endorphins must have skyrocketed. The music was a perfect mix of new and old, the latter taking me back to my days in middle-school hip-hop dance classes (what what!?!).

My friend, an avid soccer player who tends to stay away from dance-based workouts, said she had a lot of fun trying something new. In her words, even though she couldn't follow along all of the dance moves perfectly, some of the more traditional conditioning sequences were natural for her to follow and that's where she pushed herself the most.


I would highly recommend this workout to everyone. Classes are $32 each, but they have an intro offer of 3 classes for $36. The locker room is well stocked with all the products you need to get ready (and self-locking lockers) and has 2 showers. Towels are available at the front desk.

Good news! We're giving away a free class for one lucky reader and a friend. To enter, use the rafflecopter form below and enter before midnight on 12/10. Best of luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

12/3/14

Some Chamber Music With Your Meal?

Every so often I hear about an event concept and think, "well, that's unusual." It isn't until I actually experience the final product altogether that I'm amazed at not only how well it works, but how much I want to share it and let others in on the action. Tertulia is just that.


Helmed by Artistic Directors Julia Villagra and James Austin Smith, Tertulia was founded in 2007 as a way to bridge the delights of chamber music, good food, and unique venues. The organization plans a monthly series of concerts--with changing musicians--planned around a 3-course menu at a variety of NYC restaurants. We were invited to the most recent event at Harding's NYC, which featured clarinetist Todd Palmer with violinist Jesse Mills and pianist Rieko Aizawa.

Todd Palmer with Jesse Mills and Rieko Aizawa at Harding's
The "itinerary," as my program described, was planned around an amuse bouche, main entree and dessert. Your ticket price ($80-$140) includes food but not drinks, but "bar only" tickets are available for $25 that do not include dinner. What a steal!

First course was pumpkin soup with Stravinsky's 3 Pieces for Clarinet Solo and Milhaud's Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano Op. 157b. The soup was adorably served in a mini shot glass, but it was so tasty, I could have had a whole bowl. The music pieces in this course were perfect kick-off choices. The first featured Palmer skipping among the tables in a curious manner. I think everyone was entertained with what he would do next. Whereas the second piece, a bit more traditional (ie, no skipping), really said "you're in for a treat because these musicians are more talented than you even realized."

Pumpkin Soup
For the second course, I opted for the beef medallions with sauteed asparagus and fingerling potatoes and my friend had the Atlantic branzini grilled whole with herb oil, lemon zest, white beans and green garlic. Both entrees were solid and sophisticated. The music choice for this course was the longest overall--Harrison's Grand Duo for Violin and Piano. I kind of loved that the piano and violin players were husband and wife. I pictured them practicing together at home for this concert and thought that must be a nice life. Listening to lyric-less music often sends me into deep daydreams like this and I kind of love it. Note to self: go to chamber music concerts more often.

Beef Tenderloin
Atlantic Branzini
Dessert was something special. We tried one of each--pumpkin pie with whipped cream and chocolate cake. As it was the week before Thanksgiving, I was thrilled to have my first taste of pumpkin pie for the season, but the chocolate cake was something decadent, super rich and creamy. The music accompaniment, Weber's Grand Duo Concertant for Clarinet and Piano, was the perfect finale. It featured each of the musician's individual strengths and combined them harmoniously as well. 

Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Cake
The program said the evening would consist of about 60 minutes of music, but the whole event was about 3 hours. I left with a whole new appreciation for chamber music and would highly recommend this to everyone from the novice/scared classical music listener to the most experienced. Sometimes it's nice to just disconnect from your life (cell phone) for a few hours and just enjoy good company, food, and music. Tertulia will definitely help you do that. Check out their calendar here for 2015 concerts--next up is the Dover Quartet at Tarallucci e Vino on January 11.

12/2/14

Belay and [Adult] Beverage

Now here's a fun event combination for you. Flavorpill is taking over the Tuesday night group belay class at Brooklyn Boulders next week for some rock climbing followed by partying with Mike's Harder Tea + Lemonade and Mike's Harder Tea + Peach Lemonade to cool down.


You must be 21 to participate and RSVP here as space is limited (they'll confirm attendees via email).

Deets:
  • What: Go HAM with Flavorpill & Mike's Harder
  • Where: Brooklyn Boulders (575 Degraw St, Brooklyn, NY)
  • When: 12/9, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
  • Price: FREE

See Stars at the Bryant Park Tree Lighting

Bryant Park never does anything small, so why would they just light a tree at their tree lighting ceremony tonight? (The tree is a 50-foot Norway Spruce decorated in over 30,000 white and red LED lights and 3,500 starbursts, balls, snowflakes, and icicle ornaments, by the way).

Starting at 6pm, check out the festivities including performances and appearances by AINY favorite Ingrid Michaelson, indie Singer-Songwriter Catey Shaw, and 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Evan Lysacek. You can also watch professional synchronized skating routines from The Haydenettes on the rink. All of it will be hosted by New York Live and LX TV’s Open House front woman, Sara Gore.


The entire event is supporting the humanitarian aid charity, (RED), and raising awareness and support for the fight towards an AIDS-free generation.

Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park’s Tree Lighting Ceremony is open to the public, free of admission. Skate rental fees are $19 for children and adults during public skate windows during the event. Locker usage is free with locks available to purchase for $9.

12/1/14

Stuff Their Stockings at a Made in the USA Designer Trunk Show

So say you didn't get all your holiday shopping done on Black Friday. That's cool. In fact, we prefer online shopping and specially-curated holiday markets instead of braving the Bloomingdale's masses at 7am.

Speaking of holiday markets, the Carlton Hotel (88 Madison Avenue, between 28th and 29th Streets) is hosting one full of Made in the USA designers next Wednesday 12/10 from 5:30-7:30 pm.


The hotel is partnering with Caravan Stylist Studio to celebrate the holidays with a festive event and trunk show. Guests will enjoy LaMarca Prosecco, holiday bites by SO DELICIOUS, and a vocal performance by Lisa Puccio Kobin with keyboard accompanist Clare Cooper. Featured designers include: Beau & Ro, Samuelle Green's Basin & Main, and Catrinka. RSVP here.

Awesome Reads

Awesome in New York New York restaurants

Awesome Keywords

art gallery art museum Astoria atlantic city awesome alert Awesome Deal awesome giveaway awesome savings bakeries bar bar crawl BBQ beach beauty beer beer event birthday Book Launch brazilian breakfast Broadway Brooklyn Brooklyn Bridge Brunch Bryant Park carnegie hall celebrity spotting Central Park cheap tickets cheese Chelsea Market Chinatown Chinese Food Choice Eats class cocktails coffee columbus circle concert concert in the park contest cookies cooking creativity crunch cuban dance Deals Delicatessen delivery designer clothing dessert. food dinner Dior discount spa treatments discounted tickets doughnuts Downtown drink specials drinks East Village Ebates Entertainment event exercise Facebook giveaway fashion film fitness Flatiron Flushing Meadows-Corona park Food Food event food truck free Free Champagne free coffee Free Concerts free cupcake free dessert free drinks free food free museum admission free stuff Free Ticket free wine French food fundraising gift Gilt City giveaway gourmet food store Grand Central Greek Greenwich Village Groupon Guggenheim Museum half marathon halloween health healthy living helicopter tour hell's kitchen historic site history holiday shopping hot chocolate Italian food jazz jazz club jewelry lincoln center local food Lombardi Long Island City Lower East Side lunch macaron Madison Square Park Manhattan margaritas MCNY memberships Met mexican food MOMA movie premiere ms walk museum music New Year's Eve New York new york botanic garden New York City Food and Wine Festival New York Magazine New York Times New York Wine Expo Nolita NYC Off-Broadway online shopping open bar out of towners outdoors pancakes party photos pizza public art publications Queens restaurant Restaurant Review Restaurant Week Riesling Crawl rooftop roosevelt running sake save money shopping shopping deals skincare social media Social Media Week Soho spirits summer Super Bowl sushi sweetery tapas taxi TDF Terroir The Jewish Museum Theater thrift store Thrillist Times Square travel Twitter giveaway upper east side video views Village Voice volunteer opportunity website West Village williamsburg win wine wine class wine event Yankee Stadium yelp yoga Ziegfeld Theater