METAMORPHOSIS from the Big Apple Circus is a Great Show for Kids of All Ages

Last weekend my family and I saw the all-new show from Big Apple Circus, METAMORPHOSIS, at Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park. We all loved it and it truly is a perfect performance for the whole family, with plenty to keep adults entertained as well as older kids and tweens. My three kids, ages 10, 9 and 5, all loved the show , which is especially meaningful coming from my five-year-old son who can be a little picky about what holds his attention when it comes to live performances. The performance runs a little under 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission.

Some of the big hits with my kids were the trapeze act, the animal tricks, including an unbelievable one that had dogs riding on horses, and the Quick Change, which was a series of costume changes performed in a blink of an eye. (I still have no idea how the performers did it!)

We were seated about 10 rows from the stage, and could see everything perfectly. Even if we had been further back there really are no bad seats under the big top as no seat is more than 50 feet from ringside.

I highly recommend the show for a super-fun and memorable outing for the whole family. The Big Apple Circus is in New York City from now through January 11, so make sure you get there before it's too late. You can see the full New York City performance schedule here, and to find out where the circus is traveling to next, click here.

GREAT DEALS
There are some fantastic deals you can take advantage of when booking your tickets to select shows.

This Friday, October 31 the 6:30 performance will be a special Halloween Show with goody bags, photo ops with performance, and free cotton candy for kids in costume. Save up to $25 per ticket by using the promo code SPOOOKY.

There are also special deals for midweek performances on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

SPECIAL DISCOUNT 
When you Purchase tickets use the Promo Code BIGAPPLE and save up to $25 per ticket! Please note: this offer has limited availability and is only good on select seats and shows. Other conditions apply. Children under 3 are free when on the lap of a paid adults, one child per lap.

Thank you to the Big Apple Circus for providing tickets for my family to see the show. We all enjoyed it and opinions here are my own. No other compensation was received.

Duane Reade: Happy and Healthy with a Side of Ology!

Ah, the Duane Reade circular - how I love you.

It's true. While I'm not an extreme couponer, or even a couponer at all, I do like to get a good deal.

Duane Reade has a new in-store magazine, Happy and Healthy, and it makes it so easy to find out the Happy and Healthy items of the week, which this week are Ology - Laundry.

If you like to plan your shopping before you go the magazine is available online, but there are also plenty of magazines available when you enter Duane Reade.

After taking a meander around the store to check out things like their awesome collection of New York-y Holiday cards,

I literally followed the deals down the escalator.

I headed to the Ology section where I quickly found the sale priced Ology laundry detergent and Ology fabric softener, both which are running low at our house

 

 

and both which were priced $2 off at $4.99 instead of the usual $6.99 for the detergent, and $5.99 instead of $7.99 for the fabric softener - which I knew from having checked in the circular at home beforehand.

 

And of course, I'm so glad that Ology products don't have harmful chemicals.

 

I got a Nine candle for a certain person with a birthday at our house, and some Ology tissues in a very cute box, and at a very good price ($1.49 marked down from from $2.79), and my shopping was done.

 

 

 

Just in time to meet my husband for lunch, and then to see the Macy's holiday windows.

It was a great New York City day.

Happy Holidays!

_____________________________

I've got lots more photos from my trip over in my Google+ Album, check them out here.

You can also learn more about Happy and Healthy by following the hashtag: #DRHappyandHealthy on Twitter, as well as @DuaneReade on Twitter.

You can also find Duane Reade on Facebook and YouTube.

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric #cbBigApple #DRHappyandHealthy

Shopping at Duane Reade for Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy. Oh Yeah, and Meeting The Bloggess, Too.

Last week, I got to do some pretty great things.
Tuesday I hit up Book Expo America, or as Stephen Colbert described it, "The Lollapalooza of quietly reading to yourself."

There's something incredibly special about being in a Convention Center filled with books and the people who love them, as well as tons of authors reading from and signing books.

After the Book Expo, I headed to Duane Reade to try a brand-new hair product from Unilever, Clear Scalp and Hair Therapy, as part of the Duane Reade's VIP Blogger program .

I was already sorta dying to try Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy because I've been seeing the TV ads with Heidi Klum, and um, well, who wouldn't want to look like that?

Photo source: Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Facebook page

Duane Reade had a huge display of Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy right inside the front of the store, so I found it really easily.

I spent a long time debating (in my head, not out loud) which of the formulas was the right one for me.  In the end I opted for Total Care.

I also got a bag of deLISH organic lollipops for my son, the self-appointed Lollipop King.

Outside, I admired the flowers. Leave it to Duane Reade - and Manhattan - to make the front of  a midtown drug store this gorgeous.

Back home, I gave a very happy Lollipop King the bag of lollipops:

The next day I showered and tried my new Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy products, with great success - and they smell amazing, too.

I am totally sold on the idea that the secret to hair care is by cultivating a healthy scalp.

And I was very happy to be having a good hair day because I went to hear the one and only Jenny Lawson - better known as The Bloggess - give a reading and book signing for her new release, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, right here in New Jersey.

And here my clear scalp and I are meeting her:

I was so happy with my good hair day, I even snapped another photo of me reading my new book when I got home:

For more photos of my shop, and The Bloggess, check out my Google+ Album.

Get social with Duane Reade! Like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter @DuaneReade as well as at the hashtags #DReade and #DreadeVIP.

Get social with Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy! Like them on Facebook, (there's even a page fore Clear Hair Men) and visit their YouTube channel.

I am a member of the Collective Bias(TM) Social Fabric Community(R). This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias #SocialFabric

I am also part of the Duane Reade VIP blogger team (follow along on Twitter at #DreadeVIP).

Old Photo Friday: One Kid as a Bunny and One Kid with Bunnies

Once upon a time, not so long ago in Old Photo Friday terms, it seemed the kids got their faces painted every.single.weekend. Now? Not so much. (Not that I'm complaining.)

So as I was compiling a nice little gallery of their adorable painted faces, I was happy to come across a bunny face perfect for some Easter posting, Jewish kid style.

Kay, as bunny rabbit, April 2009

And once upon a time, it seemed like every urban weekend was spent visiting a makeshift petting zoo of some kind. And now? Not so much. Again, I'm not complaining. Just noticing.

Magpie, with bunny rabbits on the Upper West Side, 2006

I still remember how much you loved petting those rabbits.

You can see more Old Photo Friday posts here, and more Easter posts here. Including one about when my daughters plotted to dress-up their baby brother as - you guessed it - a bunny.

And yes, I realize I'm posting this on Saturday. In my defense, yesterday totally did not feel like a Friday.

I'm linking-up to Finding the Funny with Kelley's Break Room and My Life and Kids because, well... that's what I do. You should too!

Old Photo Friday: My Mom and Me

My mom's birthday was yesterday. We celebrated with the best soup dumpling ever at the Shanghai Cafe in Chinatown.

We also learned that if you have a waitress who (no judgement) doesn't speak English, she will assume anything you say is a request for water or forks.

As a last ditch resort, the waitress will also bring you spoons before giving up and going to find the waiter with the perfect English, who will take your order.

The whole experience made me feel for my toddler who pretty much lives this over and over again every mealtime at our house. He jabbers, I bring him a glass of water. What? You're still talking? Bring him a fork. And then eventually if he is still trying to tell me something, that's right, I bring him a spoon. And then he, brings me a tantrum. Finally, I understand your frustration, kid. I really do.

Luckily, our experience ended free of tantrums. And full of the best soup dumplings ever.

And now, for old photo fun, my mom and me in the 1970s:

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I'm taking a trip down memory lane every Friday until I get bored of digging around my old photos, or until I run out of material.

Have you ever tried soup dumplings? And if you have, tell me the best place to get them!

Last-Minute Holiday Shopping at the 72nd Street Duane Reade

Last Sunday, we met our friends on the Upper West side to see Little Red, a pantomime performance at the ArcLight Theatre. We go every year to see the annual holiday Pantomonium show, and this is one of my favorite holiday traditions.

We were coming by car from the suburbs, and wanting to make sure we weren't late, actually ended up getting to the Upper West Side early.  Perfect.  I had a few things I needed to pick-up from tape to teachers' gifts, and now I had the time to make a quick run into Duane Reade.

We walked into the Duane Reade at 72nd Street (2075 Broadway), and I will admit it:

I was shocked and impressed.

This wasn't just not like the Duane Reade I knew, this wasn't like any drugstore I knew.

Wondering why I'm saying this wasn't exactly an everyday drugstore? For reasons like these...

Organic baby food:

Keith Haring bibs:

A Bar, where you can have growlers (reusable containers) filled with beer:

And this was just downstairs. We headed upstairs via escalator, much to my children's delight,

and once we got to the second floor I will admit I took a moment and admired the view below of Broadway:

Then I spied the gigantic cosmetics area, and the many awesome holiday gifts. Like tons of nail polish choices:

The kids of course got confused (as often happens) that we were there to buy stuff for them, so there was some distraction when Ziggy saw his beloved cars:

When Kay saw those big eyed animals she adores:

And Magpie, well, you could hear her screams downtown when she spied "DUCK TAPE!!!"

All in all, it was a great - and unexpected - holiday shopping expedition.

And in case you were wondering, yes, I remembered to get tape.

We left with a few gifts, including perfect-for-teachers Lindt chocolates:

We all left happy - me, ready for the holidays and the kids, ready for the rest of our day in New York City.

For my son, this meant a cupcake at the Red Velvet Westside Bakery (141 West 72nd Street):

And a call at the corner pay phone:

Thanks Duane Reade for the great shopping experience, I can see why you're called the Jewel of the Upper West Side!

To see more photos from our shopping trip to Duane Reade, please check out my Google+ Album.

You can follow Duane Reade on Twitter @DuaneReade and via the hashtag #DReade. You can also like them on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DuaneReade).

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias.

All opinions - and money spent at Duane Reade - are my own.

SantaCon

My son Ziggy getting his SantaCon on last year:

I'm sorry to be missing SantaCon this year.

But next year? We're so there.

Can't Wait for "Dear Edwina" and Our Day in Union Square!

Tomorrow my daughters and I are going into New York City to see the musical comedy Dear Edwina at the DR2 Theatre in Union Square - and we can't wait.

This is the third season Dear Edwina is playing, and I'm excited we are finally seeing this holiday favorite that's been on my must see list for too long. It looks like a lot of fun.

After the show, we'll be sure to enjoy Union Square at holiday time including the incredible craft Holiday Market, the year-round Greenmarket, and (if my daughters have any say in things) the legendary Max Brenner.

Dear Edwina is playing at the DR2 Theatre at 103 East 15th Street through Friday, February 25, 2011.


Dear Edwina tickets are $39.00 and are available on Telecharge.com, by calling 212-239-6200, or in person at the DR2 Theatre box office (103 East 15th Street). Tickets are also available for groups (10 or more) and birthday and holidays parties (20 or more), with party space available, and can be purchased by calling 646-747-7400. The performance schedule varies – visit www.dearedwina.com for additional details and full playing schedule.

I received four free tickets for review purposes, but my enthusiasm for seeing the show is my own.

I'm about to have a perfect NYC Day... without my kids!

That's right, as of 9:00 am Wed. morning I am "off the clock" and going to the Big City for a 24-hour furlow while my worldly Parisian friend is in NYC on a layover until Thursday morning when she jets off to Las Vegas (because yes, that's how she rolls).

Other then sleep in on Thursday morning, what should I see/buy/eat/drink on my one-day-and-one-night in the City?

While I'm taking my 24-hour sabbatical, I'll also take a rare break from my online perseverations to enable myself to fully experience the ultimate hackable app. My friend mentioned (gasp!) that she is not even bringing her computer. Of course, I'll be back to share here the full story of what non-mom-like hijinks we get up to.

I can't wait.

Update: My one-day-and-one-night in NYC was terrific, but produced nothing suitable for blog to share. Maybe next time? My friend has a stop-over here on her way back to Paris, too.

A Perfect New York City Day: The ArcLight Theatre, Jacques Torres Chocolate and... SantaCon!

Today was a quintessential New York City day. I felt like I still lived in the City, except for when I couldn't find my car keys and really needed my suburban SUV to change the baby and stash my purchases.

The day started with taking Magpie and Kay to a very special birthday party for their beloved friend from the old neighborhood. While they were at the festivities, my husband and I walked around the Upper West Side with Ziggy. Our first stop was Tip Top Shoes (155 W 72nd St), possibly the best shoe store ever. I had planned to get Ziggy his only itty-bitty toddler-sized Uggs so he'd quit tripping around the house in his sisters' oversized ones, but he pitched such a fit when the saleswomen put them on him, I thought to myself: this is not the reaction that should precede buying ninety-six dollar footwear for a sixteen-month-old.  So we tried on a cheaper more basic pair of shoes, and he raced around the store happily. He still didn't seem as enthusiastic about these new shoes as I would have liked, but I guess boys will be boys.

Next stop was Z'Baby (W 72nd and Columbus) which is just about my favorite place to buy both girls and boys clothes, especially when price is no object. I love essentially everything they carry, but I especially love the Z'Baby brand which has lots of fantastic dresses that are both blingy and comfy.  For my son, they had Blume tees with real ties and for the extra-festive, a tie and vest.

After our Ziggy shopping spree, we still had a few minutes left before it was time to pick-up the girls, so I convinced my husband we should be productive and get a few holiday gifts for the assorted teachers, crossing guards, trash removers and home cleaners who make our lives possible and to whom I am truly grateful this holiday season, and every season of the year.

We went to Jacques Torres Chocolates (285 Amsterdam Ave between 74th and 75th St), and got a ton of yummy presents: Chocolate Cherries, Pure Bliss Brownie Mix, and my favorite, big canisters of their Hot Chocolate.

We also got ourselves one of their legendary chocolate chip cookies to eat right that very second on the street, 'cause it's only fair if the kids were having birthday cake at the party... right?

Our last stop before meeting-up with the girls was Sabon (Broadway and 71st St). Sabon is another place where I want one (or two) of just about everything. I especially love their pretty and great smelling soaps, so the wrapped-and-ready to go Soap Stack was perfect for a few more special gifts for special people.

Even though I wanted to get something for myself, I remembered our purpose and just bought for others as 'tis the season.  And speaking of the season, I just realized I've left out the best, most New York-y part of our day: SantaCon!

SantaCon is, according to their site, a non-denominational, non-commercial, non-political and non-sensical Santa Claus convention that occurs once a year for absolutely no reason.

To my stroller-pushing, suburban-dwelling, married-Jewish-lady self, it was nothing less then awesome. Santa's everywhere!

I even got a few drunk good-natured santas and elves to take a memorable holiday portrait with Ziggy.

Ziggy at his first (of I'm sure many) SantaCons.

I know it's a holiday memory my son will treasure forever. I know I will.

The last stop of the day was to join the girls at the ArcLight Theatre (152 W 71st St) for the very fun and funny Holiday Pantomime (or Panto), Snow White and the Several Dwarfs (its playing until Dec. 19).

We meet our friends every year to see the annual holiday offering from Pantomonium Productions, and this year's show was as great as ever, made all the more great by knowing than more than 50% of the tickets are donated to underprivileged children and families.

It was a perfect New York City Day.

Update: In response to my mom's email: I was not paid to write about those stores.  I geninuely like those stores as much as I claimed to like them. SantaCon really does exist.