A Nutty Night in NYC with #PeanutPower and the National Peanut Board!

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to a sneak preview of the Perfectly Powerful Peanut Pop-Up space, which is open today (Tuesday, March 31) and tomorrow (Wednesday, April 1) at the corner of 47th Street and Lexington Ave. from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm, and then from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

If you're in the area, definitely stop by for some free, delicious (and healthy!) peanut samples and to meet the peanut farmers who are up visiting and happy to talk with you about life on a peanut farm. It is truly a great experience.

I honestly had no idea that the story behind peanut farming was so fascinating, or that the people telling it would be so absolutely charming. If I wasn't so thoroughly incapable of growing even a single Jersey tomato in my suburban garden I would seriously consider moving down south and starting a second career as a peanut farmer.

Even though I spent my childhood in a peanut growing state, Virginia, I realized I had never even seen a peanut plant, and really didn't know anything about how peanuts are grown and harvested. For example, peanuts need to be planted every single year, and they need a very specific and warm growing season, which is why almost all U.S. peanuts are grown in just ten states, with fifteen states in all growing peanuts. 

The peanut farmers were very clear when they explained to me there was no way I could grow a peanut plant like this one in New Jersey.

In addition to seeing a peanut plant for the first time, I learned a little about how peanuts are farmed (they must always be harvested on a sunny day) and how a hurricane or other natural disaster can wipe out a whole season's crop. One farmer was nice enough to show me photos of his farm, and when I admired the neatly planted rows he explained it's done by GPS now, which makes planting more efficient and environmentally friendly. The GPS comes in handy again when it's time to harvest the peanuts, as the GPS makes it easier to "find" the plants and take the peanuts out of the ground.

I also got to meet Carla Hall of The Chew along with other bloggers:

Another huge treat was trying peanut inspired recipes from Chef Joe "JJ" Johnson, like delicious peanut butter gazpacho and an amazing chocolate peanut tart. You can find all the recipes here, as well as learn more about why peanuts are a healthy and nutritious choice.

The Peanut Board was also there to talk about #PeanutEnvy, an important initiative to help feed those in need. Make a donation of $20 or more to Peanut Butter for the Hungry and receive a limited edition Peanut Envy t-shirt.

If you're in NYC today or tomorrow definitely stop by The National Peanut Board's Perfectly Powerful Peanut Pop-Up on the corner of 47th Street and Lexington Ave. to see the exhibits, try free peanut samples, and to meet the peanut farmers and their families, who are honestly the friendliest people you will find in NYC. Once you do, you're going to want to be a peanut farmer, too.

Thank you to the National Peanut Board for including me in this wonderful special event. I received an event gift bag, which included my all-time favorite peanut butter, White Chocolate Wonderful from Peanut Butter & Co. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Have a Great Family Day at the Liberty Science Center! {Ticket Giveaway} #SpringBreakLSC

My family recently spent a fun-filled day at the Liberty Science Center as part of #SpringBreakLSC with Jersey Moms Media. The Liberty Science Center is one of our favorite places in New Jersey to spend a day. It's a great place for a family outing because there are exhibits and activities for kids of all ages, not to mention plenty of interest for adults, too. 

There were several new exhibits to check out at the Liberty Science Center since our last visit:

Sesame Street Presents: The Body -- open now through May 3, 2015, this is a wonderful exhibit for kids ages 2-8, filled and lots of Sesame Street fun and lots of hands-on opportunities for learning, with 17 different activities throughout the exhibit that has three areas that cover Your Outsides, Your Insides and Staying Healthy. 

Highlights for my kids included Oscar's Sneeze Machine (pull the lever to make a giant sneeze) and meeting the furry red monster:

You can find a full list of dates when you can Meet Elmo here.

Beyond Rubik's Cube - open just until Sunday, April 19, 2015, so catch it while you can! This exhibit is the first museum  exhibition about the Rubik's Cube, and is 7,000 square feet of games, puzzles and more devoted solely to the history, art and engineering of this amazing cube.

From the LSC.org site - I have no idea how they did the animation.

Infinity Climber - this relatively new addition to the museum described as "one structure, infinite possibilities" is an incredible play space high above the atrium floor. Made from curved steel pipes and individual platforms to step on, it is the first suspended climbing play space of its kind. Don't worry - the whole area is coverd with protective mesh wire so there's no fear of falling climbers. Please note if you are going with younger kids there is a 42 inch height requirement.

Other favorites from our day at the Liberty Science Center included the Touch Tunnel (the most popular exhibit there) and Our Hudson Home (don't miss seeing the Harbor Tank with live fish!).

** Experience a family day of fun and learning at the Liberty Science Center **

Enter to win a Family Four Pack of tickets to the Liberty Science Center!

Thanks to the generosity of Liberty Science Center, one lucky winner will win four passes to visit the Liberty Science Center. Enter here. Entries close Monday, March 30, 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I received admission for my family and me as well as promotional items and a travel stipend. All opinions are my own.

For more photos and coverage, look for #SpringBreakLSC on Twitter and Instagram!

The Big Apple Circus is coming to New York City - Enter to Win a Pair of Tickets to See The New METAMORPHOSIS Show! {Giveaway Closed}

The Big Apple Circus will be returning to its hometown of New York City from October 17 to January 11 for it's annual engagement at Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park. This year will feature the all-new show, METAMORPHOSIS.

My kids and I love attending the Big Apple Circus, and it really is a performance that is perfect for all ages. The Big Tent is designed so that no seat is more than 50 feet from ringside, so you never have to worry about getting a bad seat. The show runs about 2 hours, including intermission. Favorite parts of the show in our family are the flying trapeze and the animal acts, especially the amazing horse and dog performances. I can't wait to see what new and exciting surprises are in store with the new METAMORPHOSIS show!

See the show!
Purchase tickets using 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.

Enter to win tickets!
The Big Apple Circus is generously offering one lucky winner a pair of tickets to the 12:30 pm Saturday, October 18 performance of METAMORPHOSIS.

Giveaway is now closed.

Enter here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Week in Review: Smurfs, Sports and More!

Summer. We've been enjoying ours, and I've been writing about it, too.

For Barista Kids I wrote about seeing Smurfs 2: A Great Summer Family Film and all about our Lake Placid Family Vacation.

For New Jersey Family magazine I wrote about Fun (and Free) Things to Do with Kids in Essex County. There's so much to do from movies to outdoor concerts.

For Wonders of Westfield, I covered Westfield's High School Sports Teams and Where to Get Ice Cream, Gelato and Frozen Yogurt in Westfield.

This week, I've promised to take the kids to the mall, the movies, to play tennis and to the playground.

In return, the kids have promised not to drive me crazy.

Next week we'll find out who told the truth! Predictions?

Have a great week, everyone!

Fun for Kids in NYC: "Grug" at The New Victory Theater

On a cold Thursday morning a week or so ago, my three-year-old son Ziggy and I decided to break from our daily routine of going to Target in the morning and sitting around the house in the afternoon and go into New York City to see Grug at The New Victory Theatre.

To be honest, at first Ziggy was completely uninterested in the idea of a trip to Manhattan, despite me breaking down the multiple fun parts of the trip. We get to take the train! And the subway! And see a show! With crafts before it starts!

 

Luckily, Ziggy was willing to give it a try and he loved everything about the day from handing the conductor our ticket on the train, to ducking under the turnstile in the subway station.

 

At the show, after ignoring all the grown-ups and kids taking part in the craft beforehand, and making me worry that I could take the boy out of Target, but not Target out of the boy, he was totally into the show once it began. And even now, days after we saw the performance, he still talks about it.

 

And I still talk about how the nosy New Yorker inquired about where his coat was, asking "Aren't you cold?" to which Ziggy replied, "Nope, I have an invisible coat! And an invisible gloves! And an invisible hat!"

 

I may just turn him into a New Yorker yet.

 

__________________________________

 

For a full review of the show, which is totally awesome, visit BaristaKids.com for Grug: A Perfect NYC Show for Little Ones.

 

I'm inspired to take Ziggy on additional cultural outings like this, because even though we both like our lazy suburban lifestyle, there's more to life than trips to Target, and occasionally, Whole Foods. And he should know this.

Grug is part of the programming from The New Victory Theater and is being performed at the New 42nd Street Studios, Studio 3A-B, 229 W 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. Performances are Thursday-Sunday, and the show ends its run on Sunday, March 17.

For a full list of show dates and times, click here. Tickets are $20; $14 for members.

 

I received review tickets to the show; neither my opinions or my son's were influenced.

Fun for Kids in NJ: The Big Apple Circus is in Bridgewater through Sunday, March 17

It's hard to say who loves the circus more, my kids (or me). So we welcomed the chance to see the Big Apple Circus, currently showing under the Big Top in Bridgewater, NJ through Sunday, March 17.

We had seen the Big Apple Circus' Dream Big tour in Manhattan last year, and so I knew my kids  (ages 3, 7 and 9) would love the chance to see the new show, Legendarium: A Journey into Circus Past.

Legendarium is all new-for the 35th season of the Big Apple Circus, and hearkens back to the early days of the circus with lots of old-school tributes to yesteryear. Glorious costumes, amazing feats, and of course some clowning-around all add-up to a fantastic experience for all ages.

My kids couldn't really choose a favorite act, but when forced to choose my two daughters both thought that Elayne Kramer was the best one. Performing since she was seven, and practicing contortion since she was four, she is a six-generation circus performer. She gave a truly spellbinding performance, and left us wondering over and over again, how did she do that?

 

The Big Apple Circus is a single-ring circus, with all seating within 50 feet of the performers, so it is perfect for kids. There are amazing feats of human skill, highlights for us were an acrobat, the contortionist mentioned above, and an incredible bicycle troupe from China, all which mesmerized my kids (and me).

Also very popular with my kids (and me) were the animal acts. In keeping with the Legendarium theme of yesteryear, the dog performance was set in Victorian-era Central Park and it was delightful.  All of the dogs featured were rescues from shelters, which adds an additional heartwarming aspect to the story.

And of course, no visit to the circus would be complete without cotton candy, it's hard to say who likes it more: my kids (or me).

Big Apple Circus presents Legendairum at Bridgewater's TD Bank Ballpark through Sunday, Marcy 17, 2013. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit BigAppleCircus.org.

Performance runs two hours with one intermission. All ages, but best for 3 and older.

Next stops on the Big Apple Circus tour are Boston and Queens.

We received tickets to the press performance. Neither the opinions of my kids (or me) were influenced, and opinions here are all our own.

 

A little taste of Malaysia at Duane Reade

Duane Reade - NYC's largest drug store chain - carries just about every snack, nail polish or greeting card you could ever want. When I was there yesterday there was liquid sand polish, and even though I don't know what that is, I do know I want it. There was half-off Valentine's Day candy (my favorite kind) as well as a huge assortment of Easter treats.

 

 

New to me, there were also some great Asian Meals from Malaysia Kitchen in three varieties: Garlic Sesame, Lemongrass and Shitake Mushroom.

A few of the Duane Reade stores I visited didn't carry the soups, and the one I found them at only had two - I guess the Shitake Mushroom is popular!

My kids have been on a noodle soup kick lately, so I was interested to see what they thought of this brand, which they had never had before.  The soups couldn't be easier to make. All you do is empty the noodles, veggie packet and sauce packet into the enclosed bowl, add water, and heat for a few minutes in the microwave.

My kids liked the garlic sesame a lot, but deemed the lemongrass "too spicy."

I thought they both tasted good, but the garlic sesame would be my pick as well as it has a high-but-still-ok sodium amount of 330 mg, the lemongrass had much more sodium - 880 mg. For both the soups, I put in only about half to three-fourths of the enclosed flavor packet. They still had plenty of flavor, and I was glad to be reducing the sodium.

I was surprised by the high-amount of sodium, as all Malaysia Food noodle soups are all natural, and have no MSG, artificial colors or preservatives. Still, for ease of preparation these would be good to have when you want a quick, warm and tasty meal.

If all this talk of Malaysian food leaves you wanting more - that's perfect! This Thursday and Friday, February 20-21 is the Malaysia Kitchen Winter Market at Bryant Park, with events each day from 11:30am to 7:30pm.

Here's the full line-up (click on the image to see it larger):

You can learn more about the Malaysia Kitchen event here, and about Malaysia Food in general as well as upcoming sampling events at their website: http://www.malaysiakitchennyc.com. Malaysia Kitchen is also on Facebook and Twitter @MalyasiaKitchen.

To connect with Duane Reade, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @DuaneReade.

For more photos from my shop, check out my Google+ Album. You can also follow the conversation on Twitter at #DRAsianMeals.

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®, Duane Reade and Malaysia Kitchen. #DRAsianMeals #CBias.

All opinions are my own.

 

A Great Day Celebrating the Launch of the Peter Rabbit Line at babyGap

Today I joined the festivities at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus as a guest "mommy blogger" reader for a fun event at babyGap to launch their new limited edition Peter Rabbit line.

 

The clothes are so cute, and of course dressing-up my son like a rabbit has been a dream for a long time (you can read why here), so I think he sorta kinda hafta own this.

 

The event had face painting for the kids, arts-and-crafts, and lots of bunny-rific snacks, as well as a photo booth where you could embrace your inner rabbit.

I loved reading Emma Thompson's The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit to the kids, and in addition to these photos here from my brother

 my daughter (and future blogger) took some as well I'll post tomorrow.

The event also collected books for local Boys & Girls Clubs via a great non-profit, Milk & Bookies, and I'm glad to have had the chance to support their amazing efforts to provide all kid with books of their own.

Thanks to babyGap for including me in this event and to everyone at the Garden State Plaza babyGap for making the event so fun for everyone. A huge thank you too to my New York City friends and family who joined us in New Jersey!

What do babyGap, Peter Rabbit, Books and Me Have in Common?

Just a few days ago babyGap announced it's new Peter Rabbit collection, which was created in partnership with Beatrix Potter, featuring "our favorite mischievous rabbit re-imagined for the next generation."

To celebrate the launch of the Peter Rabbit line, babyGap is partnering with Milk & Bookies, a non-profit whose sole purpose is to celebrate the love of reading and to help kids get books into the hands of other kids. There will be multiple events at babyGap locations where participants can donate books for local Boys & Girls Clubs.

So there you have the connection between BabyGap, Peter Rabbit and books.

Where do I come in? Here:

Yes, that's right on Saturday, January 26, at 11:00am there will be a fabulous and fun event at the Paramus babyGap (Garden State Plaza mall) where I'll be reading the instant classic The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson in my best Joisey British accent.

 

If you're here in scenic New Jersey, I'd love for you to join us in celebrating books, bunnies and baby clothes.



And if you're elsewhere, click here for the full list of events taking place nationwide.

I am not being compensated for this post or for my participation. I am receiving an advance copy of the book.

Rookie USA Grand Opening with Carmelo Anthony this Friday, October 12

I'm a huge fan of the Rookie USA store on the Upper West Side, and so I couldn't be happier to be sharing the news that they are having their Grand Opening celebration this Friday, October 12.

In addition to a full day of giveaways, raffles and prizes as well as a live D.J., there will also be the chance to meet Carmelo Anthony from 5-6pm.

Yes, THE Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. To receive a wristband to meet Carmelo Anthony, just be one of the first 200 people to make a Jordan/Melo purchase on Friday. Please note: you will not be able to join the autograph line without a wristband, and no outside product is allowed.

To learn more about the great athletic apparel and shoes available at Rookie USA, check out photos of the store here and just some of the great brands like Nike and Levis you'll find at Rookie USA here.

To keep up with all the happenings at Rookie USA, follow them on Twitter @RookieUSA and via the hashtag #RookieUSA, and like them on Facebook /RookieUSA.

Rookie USA is located at 808 Columbus Avenue @99th Street.

Disclosure: 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™ and Rookie USA #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.

GapKids Holding Shine On Family Events Saturdays in August

This post is sponsored by GapKids. Check out all the fun Shine On activities at your nearest Gap store. For event dates and locations, visit Gap’s Facebook page and join the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #ShineOn.

Looking for something fun to do with the kids? Saturdays in August, GapKids is hosting Shine On events at stores across the country. At these events kids will be able to unleash their inner artist when they participate in special art projects created by Merrilee Liddiard of Mer Mag.

Shine On projects are inspired by the GapKids and babyGap fall collection, which features a new 1969 denim - Jewel Box Skinnies for girls (an update of the new skinny jean in bright stretchy denim) and Action Stretch Denim for boys (denim made to move and play).

Projects include creating geometric canvas art with paint and tape and make-your-own journals.

To catch some of the Shine On spirit, just watch this video from GapKids & babyGap and then get ready to get your own Shine On with your kids!



Here in New York City, Shine On events are being held the next three Saturdays at three different locations in Manhattan:

Saturday, August 11
Make Geometric Art
10am-1pm
GapKids @ 54th & 5th 680 Fifth Ave
New York, NY 10019

Saturday, August 18
Create Your Own Journal
10am-1pm
GapKids @ 85th & 3rd 1511 Third Ave
New York, NY 10028

Saturday, August 25
Make an Animal Character Badge
10am-1pm
GapKids @ 17th & 5th 122 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10011

And if you're not in the New York City area, there are lots more Shine On activities in other cities including Philadelphia, Dallas and Boston. You can check out the full list of Shine On locations here.


I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.