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.

NYC Gets Nutty with the Perfectly Powerful Peanut Pop-Up! #PeanutPower

I'm checking out a special preview of the Perfectly Powerful Peanut Pop-Up space tonight in New York City, which will be open (and free!) on Tuesday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 1, from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm and then from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm both days at The Corner at the Roger Smith Hotel (47th and Lexington).

Stop by to enjoy free peanut powered breakfast and snack samples as well as to visit exhibits and learn about how America's peanuts grow and are feeding the world. You can even get your photo taken with a peanut farmer!

I'll be back tomorrow sharing photos of the Pop Up space as well as recipes from Chef JJ Johnson of The Cecil restaurant in Harlem.

To learn more, visit the Perfectly Powerful Peanut website.

The Perfectly Powerful Peanut Pop-Up is sponsored by The National Peanut Board, which represents America's more than 7,000 peanut farming families.

Toy Fair 2015

I'm hitting up Toy Fair 2015 in New York City today if snow and winds and blizzards and (please, no) power outages don't keep me away.

I always try and find the unique and off-beat at the Toy Fair, like this favorite from last year the Heart of Gold.

Not pictured: the thyroid, rectum or mammary.

I always like seeing the latest from Ty, a favorite of my stuffed animal loving daughter, Kay.

I'll definitely be looking for the Squishable Booth, the new favorite at our house. I'll be interested to see what's new this year, though the Narwhal will be hard to beat.

I always like to see what the latest trends are (last year eco-friendly was one of the most popular) as well as what's new and innovative both in design and toy technology. Not to mention toy storage and organization.

I'll be back with a full report on Monday!

My Five Best Travel Tips for Families

Taking a trip with the kids? While I have no tips on making them be perfectly behaved on the airplane flight, or adventurous diners in new locales, I do have a few travel tips from our family trips:

1. Pack Downey Wrinkle Releaser. This stuff actually works, and is great to de-wrinkle clothes after they've been packed in your suitcase. You can get Downey Wrinkle Releaser in three sizes, including one that's small and perfect for travel. It also helps eliminate odors which is a feature that can come in handy on a trip, too.

2. Bring something fun for the kids to play with that's new to them. Even if your kids usually pass the time while traveling with screens and books, it's always fun to bring along something unexpected to capture their amusement for awhile. A friend told me about surprise balls, and they are the perfect addition to a trip. Surprise balls are filled with trinkets and candy, and kids have to peel away the layers of streamers to reveal the treats. My kids, ages 5 to 11, loved unwrapping their surprise balls. We got our from Reveries & Fancies on Etsy, and they were perfect ($8 - $18 depending on size, lots of fun designs available).

Another great pick for a travel to is the Tegu Pocket Pouch Prism ($25), which is a set of six magnetic blocks with a carrying case that is just the right size for on-the-go fun and is good for all ages.

3. Make sure your kids carry a bag. Depending on their age, this may be more for their own amusement, but as they get older you'l find that even a small bag shouldered by a kid is one less bag being shouldered by you. There are so many cute options for kids from backpacks to tiny duffel bags, to rolling suitcases. One innovative option is Trunki ($40) which is a ride on suitcase made just for kids.

4. Make sure you can find your stuff. Tie a ribbon on the suitcase handle, add a stripe of colorful Duck Tape to the side of the bag, but nothing is worse than arriving at your destination and having to hunt for your luggage. I love these whimsical luggage tags from Miamica ($5).

5. Look for discounts on museums and other attractions ahead of time. I had no idea there were so many deals if you buy tickets before you go, not to mention that a ticket in hand often means you can avoid entrance lines. CityPASS is a great deal, offering significant discounts when you purchase a book with entrance to multiple places within a single city. You can buy CityPASS online for various cities including Manhattan, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta and Philadelphia. The price and number of attractions varies in each city, but all offer big savings as well as the ability to bypass most lines.

I received a free sample of Downey Wrinkle Releaser and a Manhattan CityPASS. All other items our personal picks from years of traveling with my kids.

Seen in NYC

How cool is this?

Spotted at Metropolitan Locksmiths, 165 7th Ave in the West Village.

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.

Blue Man Group is a Great Family Show - and I have Tickets to Giveaway!

This spring, my family and I went to see the Blue Man Group in downtown Manhattan. Our kids are ages 10, 8 and 4 and while I was pretty sure the older two would love it, I wasn't quite sure about the youngest.

My husband is a huge fan, and has seen Blue Man Group perform eight times. I've seen the show twice myself, but not recently, so we were both thrilled to share this show we both enjoy so much with our kids.

All three kids loved it, and it really was captivating, even for our four-year-old son, Ziggy. The show has some written word portions, but Ziggy was able to follow-along just fine even though he doesn't read since there is so much that is expressed through the performance. Also, perhaps worth noting, the "blue men" on stage don't talk at all. Like not at all.

I highly recommend the show for a great family outing, just be sure with younger kids they can sit for the duration of the performance, which is about an hour and forty-five minutes without an intermission, and that they know there will be some bright lights and loud noises during the show.

Here are my daughters after the show, thoroughly delighted to meet the Blue Man they had just seen perform on the stage. It was a very special day, and my kids still talk about how much they loved the show.

Go experience the amazing Blue Man Group yourself! 

Blue Man Group performances are at The Astor Place Theatre, located at 434 Lafayette Street, New York, NY.

GIVEAWAY

I'm giving away FOUR TICKETS to a performance of Blue Man Group. Enter here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Small Print:
Winner will receive two vouchers, each good for two tickets to a Blue Man Group performance Sunday-Thursday, subject to availability. Further details about the offer are explained on voucher.

I received tickets to the show for my family and myself to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum

My mom lives near the newly opened National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the National 9/11 Memorial Museum) so she was able to be one of the first to visit it, and to do so free of charge. The museum officially opens today, May 21.

My mom admits that she went thinking she would not like the museum at all, but left feeling it was a beautiful and solemn tribute to a terrible event. In addition to an emphasis on the events of September 11, the museum also focuses on the construction of the twin towers, and the complex and massive engineering feat that construction was, as well as on the rebuilding of the towers that are present today. On display are a few of the massive beams, as well as other relics from the original towers.

There is also a "museum within the museum" where personal artifacts, photos of those who died, and other personal tributes are displayed, which while sharing important historical pieces from September 11 does not necessarily complement the feeling of reflection and contemplation brought on by the open spaces of the rest of the museum complex.

One of the highlights of the museum is the ten minute film Rebirth at Ground Zero created by Project Rebirth, which will be permanent part of the museum.The film, which is a time lapse compilation of the reconstruction of the towers, is the final piece in a series of nine short films which followed nine people directly affected by the 9/11 attacks over eight years. You can read more about the film, and the experience of viewing it at the museum in their press release "Rebirth at Ground Zero" Opens at the National 9/11 Museum. The film's score is by composer Philip Glass, and is magnificent.

In general, my mom thought the 9/11 Memorial Museum was very well done, with just a few misses. One of those misses is the regrettable choice to have a gift shop, and the other, to charge a very steep admission fee -- $24. (Both of these choices are discussed in 9/11 Memorial Museum's Admission Fee, Gift Shop Spark Controversy.)

In addition to the museum there are also 9/11 Memorial walking tours of the area.

{GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED} Amazing Giveaway for RoC Brand Eye Cream and Night Cream Products!

The Giveaway is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Ellen of the Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms!


I am a member of the Collective Bias® (#collectivebias) Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. #Eyes4NYC #ad


I'm so excited to be working with RoC® Eye Care and Duane Reade to host a giveaway for one lucky reader to win an amazing prize pack of RoC eye cream and night cream products valued at more than $100.

Prize pack includes the following RoC® skincare products:

• RoC® RETINOL CORREXION® Eye Cream
• RoC® RETINOL CORREXION® Sensitive Eye Cream
• RoC® MULTI CORREXION® 5 in 1 Eye Cream
• RoC® RETINOL CORREXION® Deep Wrinkle Night Cream
• RoC® RETINOL CORREXION® Deep Wrinkle Daily Moisturizer with Sunscreen BROAD SPECTRUM SPF 30
• RoC® RETINOL CORREXION® Deep Wrinkle Serum
  

ENTER NOW!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



To learn more about RoC® eye care and skin care products visit them online and join the fun on Thursday, April 24, for a Twitter party from 12:00 to 1:00pm, EST - no need to RSVP just search for the hashtag #EyeHeartNY.


And if you're in the New York City area, join us on Thursday, May 1 from 6:00 to 7:00pm at the Duane Reade at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue for a great event that includes a "Walk the Aisle" with prominent NYC dermatologists and health experts who will discuss RoC® product benefits and anti-aging/skin care in general, a well as answer questions.  Hope to see you there!

Notes from the New York Toy Fair

One of my favorite events of the year is the New York Toy Fair. I go every year to see what's new in the world of toys. And while I saw a ton of amazing products that I can't wait to write about and also to buy my own kids, I also saw a bunch of stuff I just don't think is good for kids.


There's a ton of pink for girls, and blue for boys which just seems so limited.


There's a ton of Hello Kitty and Snow White and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on decks of cards and board games, which I think would be just as good (i.e., better) without the commercial tie-in.


But alas, pink princesses and Disney characters sell stuff, and so I do get it.

I shared my picks for the best and the worst from the Toy Fair at Barista Kids. You can read Trends and Top Picks from the 111th Annual American Toy Fair HERE.

Farewell Noel: The Greatest and Most Depressing Christmas Tree Video You'll Ever See

For anyone who has ever laid awake at night wondering what happens to all those New York City Christmas trees, this video reveals the sad truth.


Farewell, Noel.

With thanks to A.E., the genius behind Farewell Noel.

Guess How Many People Follow Duane Reade on Twitter?

Do you know how many people follow Duane Reade on Twitter?

 

Wanna make a guess?

Do you think 10,000 people do?

Or 100,000?

How about 1,000,000? Or, precisely (as of this writing) 1,140,836. That's right, well over 1 MILLION people follow Duane Reade on Twitter.

In fact, Duane Reade went from 10,000 followers to over 1 million followers in just one year.

Duane Reade celebrated this amazing achievement last week, and I was honored to be part of the party which was a great time with wonderful people, and I even got my eyebrows shaped by a RAMY-trained consultant (Ramy himself pictured below). How many parties can you say that about?

 

 



I am also incredibly proud to be part of Duane Reade's VIP Blogger group, which was recognized for contributing to this incredible social media success story.

 In addition to being an example of smart and savvy social media use and of how to attract and retain followers by delivering quality content, it was inspiring and gratifying to hear Duane Reade talk during the celebration about the contributions of the VIP bloggers to the social media efforts overall, and towards reaching the million follower mark on Twitter. Duane Reade's VIP blogger program is a perfect example of how brands and bloggers can work together to do amazing things.

I'm so glad to have joined in the celebration for Duane Reade hitting the 1 million Twitter followers milestone.

Congratulations, Duane Reade. I can't wait to celebrate when you reach two million!

 

If you aren't one of Duane Reade's followers already, go join the million+ folks over at @DuaneReade on Twitter.

 

You can also follow the conversation on Twitter via the hashtags #cbias and #DR1MM.

 

To see other posts I've written about Duane Reade as part of the VIP Blogger program, click here.

Erev 9-11

 

Tomorrow is 9-11. More than a decade has passed since the horrible events of September 11th. An anniversary that matters very much here in New York City, and an anniversary that I sometimes get the feeling matters much less in other places.

Here, anyone who lived in or near downtown Manhattan remembers the day. Like it was yesterday. I have my own tale of September 11, though it is more a story of where I wasn't than of where I was - Stamford, CT. Oddly enough, even though we live in New Jersey now, my husband will be in Stamford for a meeting tomorrow.

I remember waking up in my Upper West Side apartment to the sound of a lone bagpipe in the early morning on the first anniversary of September 11th. We knew it was coming from the firehouse on the next block over, which had suffered terrible losses on September 11th. My husband and I recall that chilling sound every year on the anniversary, and tomorrow will be no different.

Four years after September 11th, I was full-term with my daughter. My doctor had my due-date recorded as September 10th, but at my prodding, admitted it was September 11th, but that she thought it was best to move it a day for reasons she wasn't quite willing to articulate, but which I clearly understood. And I won't lie - I was hoping the baby would wait a few days past that day to make her appearance, as she did.

This year, marks twelve years since September 11th. Twelve years. That fact alone leaves me in disbelief. But so does everything else. How has so little changed since that day?  The global issues that brought us to that point our still here, probably worse, and definitely not better. I would have thought more would have changed in a dozen years, in international relations, in progress towards a greater tolerance of cultural and religious differences. That all these years later the mere thought of a mosque near grand zero would not be thought of as a "slap in the face."

And as much as tomorrow will be a day of horrific sadness and remembrance for many - way too many - I hope it will also be a day when we all think of what we could do to make the world post-September 11th a better one than it was pre-September 11th. And, perhaps, that is the best way we can honor those whose lives were lost, or forever changed by loss, on that day.

The photo above of the World Trade Center towers was taken by my brother. He has more amazing images of the towers here.

This post originally ran on September 10, 2011.

Duane Reade "Happy & Healthy!" #cbias #DRHappyHealthy

It's no surprise to regular readers that I'm a big fan of the drugstore Duane Reade.

Even though I live in New Jersey, I love to shop at this New York City chain, and I'm looking forward to the day -- hopefully soon -- when there are more than just a handful of locations here in the Garden State.

I took the train from New Jersey into the Big City all by my lonesome, which is always a treat, to do some summer clothes shopping and to stop by Duane Reade.

I took a few minutes to check out on my phone which items were being featured, in the latest issue of  Duane Reade's Healthy & Happy newsletter, which is available both online and in stores.

The latest Happy & Healthy features lots of great deals and a very glam Fergie on its cover:

I immediately spotted a few Ology good deals, which has become one of my favorite brands since being introduced to the laundry detergent and fabric softener on a previous Duane Reade trip.

We had just run out of dish soap at our house, so I was glad to see that was one of the items on sale ($3.99 with card).

 

After a quick debate over whether I wanted fragrance free (my usual default), I chose a bottle of citrus scented liquid dish detergent with the feeling this may be my new go-to dish soap of choice.

I also picked up three bottles of seltzer (99 cents each) for the price of two which was a total score because my daughters and I drink seltzer like it's well uh water. Super-yummy orange and lemon flavored carbonated water.

Of course, I used my Balance Rewards card, and now I'm soooo close to my next 5,000 point award.

So with a nice collection of new summer clothes, as well as a stash of dish soap and seltzer, I headed back home to Jersey, another successful trip to Duane Reade and a great day in my favorite city.

And of course, immediately did the dishes, because that is my glamorous suburban life.

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: #DRHappyHealthy on Twitter, as well as @DuaneReade on Twitter.

You can also find Duane Reade on Facebook and YouTube.

Win Two Tickets to Listen to Your Mother in New York City! {Giveaway Now Closed}

 

Giveaway is now closed.

 

Congrats to the winner, Quiana!

 

 

This Sunday is Mother's Day.

This Sunday is also the Listen to Your Mother Show at Symphony Space in New York City.

The show, which also takes place in 23 other locations across the country, is a collection of stories about motherhood, read by the women who wrote them. What better way could there be to celebrate Mother's Day?

There's an amazing line-up of women reading including some of my favorite Jersey girls:

- The hilarious and inspiring Kim Forde of The Fordeville Diaires
-  Playwright Sandy Rustin of the musical Rated P for Parenthood
-  Writer Tracy Beckerman, who just released her new book, Lost in Suburbia

And.... I have two tickets to Listen to Your Mother to giveaway to one lucky winner!

To enter just leave a comment with what you think moms should get on Mother's Day.

For me, sleeping late and not cleaning-up anything that came out of my offspring top my list!

For additional entries:
- like Random Handprints on Facebook
- follow Anna_Sandler on Twitter
- follow Anna Sandler on Pinterest

Good luck! Enter now - giveaway ends at 11:59EST on Wednesday, May 8.

__________________

The Listen To Your Mother Reading Series NYC Show will take place on Mother’s Day, Sunday, 5/12 at 5pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95^th Street).Tickets are $25 (advance), $30 (at the door) and can be purchased in advance online at www.ListenToYourMotherShow.com/NYC.

For more information on the Listen To Your Mother Reading Series please visit www.ListenToYourMotherShow.com.

Disclosure: I received two tickets to giveaway to the show as well as two tickets to attend the show myself.


Contest small print:
Contest open to U.S. residents age 18 and over. Contest ends at 11:00pm EST, Wednesday, May 8, 2013. Winners will be randomly selected and announced here as well as emailed with the good news. Entrants must provide contact information in their comment. If winner does not respond within twenty-four hours, a new winner will be selected.

 

The New Duane Reade App is Awesome

 

As many of you regulars know, I've been working with Duane Reade as one of their VIP Bloggers for over a year. Most recently, I worked with them to check out their brand new Duane Reade App (it's available as a free download on iTunes).

While I have an iPhone and consider myself to be somewhat of a techie, I have a pitifully small number of apps on my now 4-month old phone. I just don't know what besides FourSquare, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram I'd really need, or use.

So I was somewhat surprised to find that the Duane Reade App is awesome. Who knew you could so so much with an app on your phone?!

First of all, downloading the app is totally easy, which you might already have guessed it would be. I've always had app download anxiety, but no more. It literally takes nothing to go to iTunes and download the Duane Reade app (under Walgreen Co.).

And here you can see the app joining the sparse company on my phone:

Just as the download was easy, so is using the app. I was able to print photos with the QuikPrints feature,  which enables you to print photos from your phone and then choose a Duane Reade store location for pick-up, usually within an hour.

It quickly became clear my bigger problem would be picking which photos to print.

At the store, prints are waiting for pick-up:

 

In addition to the Quikprints feature, there are lots of other useful tools on the app, and as I scrolled through the functionality it was clear I would also be easily able to use the Refill by Scan and other options when I want to use those as well.

Another cool feature on the app is that can also check your Balance Rewards point balance, and you can save the information from your current card to the app, too - I think that might be what people mean when they say sync, so yes even better than saving your information, you can sync it with the app (I think).

I should also mention that even though I usually go to my same "usual" Duane Reade locations, I used the store locator feature on the app to find a nearby Duane Reade as I was in the Fashion District for an event at the Duck Tape pop-up store - which is incredibly cool and absolutely worth a visit, with every pattern of Duck Tape they sell all in one place. Swoon.

One of my favorite patterns: "retro owl," it was the winner of the "my design" contest.

Overall, my experience with my first "real" app was a great one, and I look forward to the day soon when the blue expanse of my iPhone screen is filled with apps as good as this one from Duane Reade.

See more from my trip to Duane Reade and to the Duck Tape pop-up store - I've even got photos of  Project Runway contestants! Go over and see it all in my Google+ Album.

You can also learn more about the Duane Reade app by following the hashtag: #DRApp on Twitter, as well as @DuaneReade on Twitter. Duane Reade is also on Facebook.

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 Duane Reade. #DRApp #Cbias #SocialFabric