Playing Bears

A family that lives on the outskirts of West Milford , NJ decided to build a sturdy, colorful playground for their 3 and 4 year old sons.

The Beauty Sample Sale

Tonight I went to the Beauty Sample Sale hosted by Pretty City and sponsored by Shape Magazine. What is the Beauty Sample Sale, you ask? It's a a beauty bonanza bringing together the best names in beauty, all under one roof.

This was an awesome event to attend. Guests received sample complimentary beauty services courtesy of the world's prettiest brands, from hair care to skin care from cosmetics to cosmeceuticals. Oh and did I mention the free goodie bag full of sample products? We were also treated to free drinks (midori sours) and appetizers (mini cupcakes and choco truffles) at the bar.

The cost of this event is $10, but Shape Magazine offered a free registration code for its readers so I was able to attend the event at no cost. There were lots of people at this event, mostly women of course. The best table was a Spinning Wheel where guests received prizes based on the number on the wheel. Cool prizes included a white Shape vest, large size samples of night cream and shampoos, Venus razors, a Shape measuring spoon and light blue Shape knapsacks.

My only complaint of the evening was that I waited in a long and confusing registration line but it wasn't necessary to receive the free gift bag (filled with even more goodies). I would recommend going early to avoid the crowds. Here are some pictures from the event:

Restaurant Review: Yamaguchi

Yamaguchi
63 Main St
Port Washington, NY 11050
516-883-3500

To some, Yamaguchi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chugoku region of Honshu island. To those in the know, it's a crazy good Japanese restaurant located just steps from the LIRR in Port Washington, NY.

After months of hearing about this great place from our friends Sorry-hime and You-sama, we were finally able to hook up with them to see for ourselves what was so fantastic about this place.

To start off, we had kaki age (fried oysters)
and beef tataki.

The beef tataki was served with some kind of ponzu dipping sauce, while the kaki age was served with both BBQ and tartar dipping sauce options. They were both comparable to what we've eaten at other Japanese places.

We followed this with nasu hasami age:

You're probably wondering "Well, what the heck is that?" Nasu hasami age is fried eggplant stuffed with crabmeat and fish paste, served in a special sauce with ginger. Before I say anything else, let me clearly state that I-HATE-EGGPLANT. I dislike everything about it - the color, the taste, the texture - it's pure UGH! And yet, the nasu hasami age was one of dishes I liked the most at Yamaguchi. So I'll amend my hate statement to I-HATE-EGGPLANT-EXCEPT-FOR-YAMAGUCHI'S.

For our main course, we had 2 orders of the Chef's special. The special is $40 per order and comes with 1 sushi roll - it is not listed on the menu. We also ordered some uni (sea urchin) on the side since Sorry-hime and You-sama are uni crazed!
Keep in mind that since we ordered TWO(2) specials, the amounts of sushi and sashimi are roughly doubled. I couldn't name everything in a technically correct manner, so what you see is what you get! I will, however, call attention to the ike nestled underneath the clam and the scallops that you cannot see in this picture behind the clam.
Our orders came with an unagi (eel) roll and a scallion & fatty toro (tuna) roll.

The fish was some of the freshest we've had in New York City and the menu was reasonably priced - slightly upscale, but not overly so. But the real endorsement comes from my fellow blogger. She normally refuses to eat anything raw, but she happily scarfed down everything. I think she's close to making a real breakthrough and soon I won't be ashamed to be seen in a Japanese restaurant with her!

I would definitely recommend this place and hope to return soon (*psst* Sorry-hime!).

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation

This year, I'm going to go watch the balloons inflate for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Since 1927, giant character balloons are brought to life in the streets around the American Museum of Natural History.

The action starts around 4pm on Thanksgiving Eve on 77th & 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. Regular attendees recommend getting there around 5pm and the event ends at 8pm.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
4:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Central Park West and Columbus Avenue on 77th and 81st Streets

Get more behind-the-scenes info about the preparation work that goes into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade:

Building the Floats

Creating a Balloon

Radio City Christmas Spectacular

For those visiting New York City during the holiday season, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular is a once in a lifetime event that should not be missed! I've only seen this show once but I know many parents who have taken their young children to the show. With that said, it is enjoyable for people of all ages. Where else will you see a mixture of Rockette dancing, ice-skating, flying reindeers, and new this year....wait for it....camels! If someone can explain to me why a Rockette should be dancing next to camels, please let me know. Unless it is in the Nativity scene. Okay, that makes more sense. Here is the formal description of the show from the website:

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the world famous Radio City Rockettes is an unparalleled show featuring the Rockettes' signature eye high kicks and precision choreography in multiple show stopping numbers including: the legendary "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers," and "New York at Christmas," a dynamic holiday celebration. Families will be delighted as Santa flies high above the crowd and touched as the true meaning of Christmas is brought to life in the awe-inspiring "Living Nativity."

This legendary Spectacular has dazzled and inspired over 65 million people for more than 75 years and continues to create memories that will last a lifetime.

Click on the image above for ticketing information.

DIY Wedding Program Fans

This is my next DIY project: a fan that can be used as a ceremony program at weddings or other special occasions. I think this is a cute alternative to the traditional wedding booklet. While I wished I had done this for my wedding, this is more appropriate for spring or summer weddings or if the theme is a beach or English garden party. The program itself is quite easy to make - consisting of 6 'blades' printed on cardstock paper and then cutting out and assembling with an eyelet or ribbon.

Materials (per fan)

2 sheets of 110 lb cardstock 8.5x11 in size
eyelet or brad or ribbon/tassle depending on how you want to assemble the fan

Other Materials

scissors or ruler and knife-cutter
computer
printer
Optional: hole-puncher

Template

Open the template document in MS Word and personalize the information with the details of your wedding ceremony. (Post a comment with your email address if you're interested in the template)

Optional: Select a clip art or image and copy onto the template. Make sure to select the image behind the text so that the wording can still show through. This is a wonderful way to enliven your ceremony with lovely details!

Directions

Feed the cardstock through the printer and print. Cut out the pieces using the knife-cutter and ruler on the straight edges. And I would recommend using the scissor for the curved part of the 'blade.' Use a hole-puncher to make a hole on the bottom of the blade and assemble using a brad or ribbon. If you are using an eyelet, you can skip using the hole-puncher.

That's it! Repeat the directions for each fan and then sit back and enjoy your beautiful programs!

Chocolate Show New York 2008

From TheNibble.com, Three days of chocolate tasting, lectures & presentations!

Are you passionate about chocolate? Or do you just really think it’s fun?

If you can answer “yes” to either question, make sure you schedule at least one day in November for the The 10th Annual Chocolate Show. Or, spend all three strolling through more than 40,000 square feet devoted to chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, at Pier 94, West 54th Street at the West Side Highway, in New York City—a new, more spacious location.
Visitors to the show will have the opportunity to sample prestige American and International chocolates and attend more than 65 demonstrations given by top pastry chefs and chocolatiers. Chefs and authors will be on hand to sign their cookbooks (every year, it seems as if every book every written about chocolate is for sale at the show). To celebrate the 10th anniversary, there will be a week of mini events leading to the kick-off chocolate fashion show that traditionally opens the festivities on Thursday night.

The cost for immersing yourself in all this chocolate:
$28.00 Per Adult
Held at Pier 94, 54th Street and West Side Highway, New York City

For ticketing information, click on the image below.

Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies

My coworker recently baked me cookies (what a sweetie!) and they were delicious! She confessed that they came from a Cindy McCain recipe called Oatmeal-Butterscotch cookies. Allegedly, the recipe is copied from a Hershey's website but let's not talk about stealing and lying on this blog. Cindy McCain submitted her "recipe" against Michelle Obama's Shortbread Cookies and Bill Clinton's Oatmeal Cookies...and in an election with 8,000 submitted votes, she won with 54% of the votes!

Click here to read more about the cooking controversy. Scroll down for the easy-to-make recipe.
Tip: Use the Old Fashioned Quaker Oats for best texture. Avoid the Quick 1-Minute brand for cookie recipes!


Ingredients
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1-2/3 cups butterscotch chips

Directions
1. Heat oven to 375F.
2. In a large bowl beat the butter or margarine, granulated sugar and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.
3. In a medium-size bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir until blended. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Random thoughts while watching 2008 campaign coverage

I'm sitting here watching 2008 campaign coverage on TV when the news takes a commercial break. I don't really pay attention to commercials so I'm multitasking (Facebook, blogging, etc) when the part of my mind that's paying attention to the commercials hears:

"Flomax may cause...[blah blah blah]...and reductions in semen."

After I hear that, I'm pretty much thinking "W-T-F?!?!?"

I'm curious, so I go to the Flomax website to see what their website discloses about the side effects. In the sexual side effects section, it says that up to 18.1% of men who take the higher dosage (0.8mg) experience abnormal ejaculation - defined as:

• Not being able to ejaculate
• Decreased amounts of ejaculate
• Retrograde ejaculation - ejaculate enters the bladder instead of leaving the body through the penis. This problem is usually painless and harmless. Men with this problem may notice cloudy urine after sexual intercourse.

This probability decreases to a mere (mere!) 8.4% if you take the lower dosage (0.4mg).

So here's a question for you - if you had BPH would you want to take Flomax to treat it if 8.4-18.1% of the time you'll experience abnormal ejaculation? Or would you rather suck it up when it comes to the urinating problems that result from BPH? Without having experienced BPH myself (or knowing anyone who has), personally it sounds like I would rather deal with having to go to the bathroom a lot...

On a side note, watching the campaign coverage on CBS in High Definition is really nice since they use the side bars that aren't visible in Standard Definition to show the Democratic/Republican status of the states and their associated electoral votes.

Making the Double Happiness decoration

Today I went to a bridal shower and we were making arts and crafts! Since the bride needed Double Happiness decorations for her house, her bridesmaids decided that we would make them for her! We were given white paper, red tissue paper, red/gold glitter and gluestick to work with. Armed with a template of the Double Happiness symbol, I drew the outline and decided to fill it with pieces of red tissue paper. It was very simple to do (although it was quite tiring to rip and roll up small pieces of tissue paper).

Here is what it looked like half way through my gluing process. The final result looks wonderful. I can't wait to see it on her wedding day!

Click here to read about the history of the Double Happiness symbol in Chinese weddings.