Ride Out of Here

So its finally hot in the city, and all you want to do is get out of this forsaken concrete jungle.  However, you only have your two feet to get you out of this place.  Not anymore, plan your summer escape with Mint, Cars On-Demand.  At only $5 an hour you can break free from this city for a little fresh air in the suburbs.  Go to their site and enter code "STREET" to receive this stellar deal, and free membership to their services.  You will also get $25 in driving credit for future rides.  All your reservations include free gas, parking, and insurance.  What is great about this service they are all around Manhattan and Brooklyn.  Want to go out for a sober midnight drive?  Reserve your on-demand car for that night to cruise around under the stars.  Feeling like a baller?  Hook yourself up with a Mercedes C 300.  Or European?  Then the Smart Car is your jam.  Now go sign up.  I want the city to myself this weekend!  

It's Everyone's Dream Place

So I just moved as you know from some of my recent posts, but check this out, I could have had the opportunity to live in the lap of luxury for what us New Yorkers would call pennies. Daffy's a New York institution which is similar, but a tad better than Marshall's is having a contest. Enter for a chance to win a West Village apartment for only $700 a month. Skeptical still? Well check this, it isn't a dinky studio, which faces a brick wall and gets no natural light. It is actually a fully furnished 2 bedroom 2 bathroom 1300 sq ft apartment heaven. It has floor to ceiling windows, say hello to New York sunshine. Hardwood floors for you to practice your tap routine, or just a break from linoleum. You can spend your quarters on the office vending machine, because this place has a washer and dryer. How do you enter you ask? Head to your local Daffy's and record a video why you deserve this place. I could always just sublet the new place if I win this pad.

Gotham Sunday's

So it seems the restaurant business is taking a hard hit in these economic times, hense the reason there are tons of deals for me to blog about. I was just enlightened about Sunday nights at the world famous Gotham Bar and Grill in New York City. Opened in the 1980s, the restaurant is paying hommage to its prices from back in the day. Every Sunday night until Labor Day, head down to this village staple for dinner on a less inflated dime. The menu has all the dishes that has made this place the staple it is from Hanger Steak (which I remember eating when I went there back in the day) to Goat Cheese Raviloi. I have only been here once, when I was much younger for a special occasion when the rentals were paying for a 3-course meal. But what I do remember is that the food was DELICIOUS. Make sure you take advantage of Sunday dinner because once Labor Day comes you do not want to be spending $32 for Roast Chicken, when you can get it for a fraction.

Brunch Without a Deadline

You live for Saturday's and Sunday's so you can get Brunch with your friends to catch up with what happened last week. However, Sunday seems so far away and its 8 at night and all you want is brunch munch, but have to wait a half a week to get some. Stop right there. You now can get your brunch on 7 days a week, at any time of day down in the East Village at Permanent Brunch. No need to beat the clock that its 4 PM and your Eggs Benedict supply has dried up for a whole week. Their menu reads just like you want it to, with buttermilk pancakes and omelets galore. My favorite part of the menu is the bacon bar, where you can try various types of this pork goodness. Prices are brunch friendly, i.e. pocketbook friendly. This place opens up shop on Thursday, and I will go with anyone who wants to join me, as Brunch is my favorite meal. Trust me ask any of my friends.

Want That, Need This

So if you claim to be the fashionista that you say you are you would die for anything by Balmain. But when most of their items cost more than a months rent you only aspire to owning those ripped jeans. When you win the lottery (whichever one you are playing) then you will buy a band jacket that would have made MJ jealous. However what really threw me over the edge were those shoes. If you know Balmain, you know those shoes, so I am not explaining anymore. At $2200 I was willing to sell a kidney, and search every corner of the fashion world for them. Then I came to my fashion senses.
Bored one day about a month back I was on Steve Madden's website, trying to find a good deal for shoes I didn't need. Then it happened, my jaw dropped to the floor, and I needed help picking it up. Steve Madden had concocted up a version of "The Shoe" that was much more in my price range. I didn't want to lay my money out and preorder them because the picture online made them look like a less expensive copy that was not exactly worth it. I know I was not going to get the same rich feel, but I wanted something as close as possible. Then yesterday on a whim, I stepped into the Steve Madden and tried the Brigght on. At only $130, these are a fantastic deal to get the Balmain look. In person they did not look as cheap as I expected from the website, but I still was not convinced. But once I zipped the ankle strap up, my feet were elevated to a new status. My feet looked HOT. That is all I could say. Without a thought, I bought them. I could not even risk them being snatched up by a slower fashionista. How dare she get those shoes I have been lusting after for months.

What Happens in Vegas, Should Not Cost A Lot

Vegas is at the top of your list. You want to go stay in a suite and live like you do not have a care in the world. However, you do have some cares, i.e. you do not want to be stuck on hotel roof with a killer sunburn or end up without a tooth. Did the Hangover teach us nothing? Well if you are looking for a great time to remember, Southwest Airlines has the deal for you and your friends. Their enticing deal is for you to have your companion Fly, Stay, and Play for free. Southwest is offering you a flight plus 3 nights in a 3-star+ hotel room, starting at $55 a person, per night. There are some stipulations to this fab deal. You must travel between 8/17/09 - 1/07/10 and book by the 10th of August. You cannot travel of the blackout dates of 9/3 – 9/7/09, 11/24 – 12/1/09 and 12/17 – 1/3/10. You cannot travel on a Friday or Sunday.

Before you get down in the dumps because of these rules, the benefits out weigh the costs. For every second person who travels flies for free with this package. Stay 3 or more nights and get a night free. Want to go on a tour? Buy One tour, Get One FREE when you book this package. The best of the best hotels that Vegas has to offer are included in this deal from The Bellagio to The Palms. This deal is truly living the life on a budget, when you can get away for under $500 and rub elbows with whatever star happens to jet off to Vegas that week.

Happy Home, Happy Life

So I am moving into a new apartment, my first real place to call my own. This means decorating like its my home and not my dorm room. So posters of Orlando Bloom are out. However, decorating my new place like its from the pages of Better Home & Garden takes a bank account that is much larger than the one I have. I did have the option of white walls and no couches until I saved enough for the housewares from Anthropologie, but I need a place to sit when I watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians. So I went home to the burbs, to go to HomeGoods with my thrifty mother. As a frustrated decorator, she knew this was the mecca for making my new place my new home. Never the one to care about decorating I was indifferent to this process. Well, that was before I stepped through the doors of HomeGoods. Brought to you by the gods who gave us T.J. Maxx and Marshall's this place only stocks goods for your home, hence the name. Talk about being a kid in a candy store; I was in decorating heaven. This was a 1st people. I didn't know where to start or what exactly I wanted. However, everything fell into place.
HomeGoods stocks everything you need for your home. We started in glassware and table wears where I picked up a serving dish for a dinner party I am hosting. Then onto the artwork, where the next piece was better than the next and priced like the stuff you buy at hotel lobbies. However, the pieces were unique and may even be museum quality, depending on your eye. Then we traveled through furniture, where I picked up an end table, trunk, and a nightstand. They totaled about $200 for 3 pieces, sick! Onto, bedding just to browse, since I picked up something at Bed Bath and Beyond last weekend. But Jackpot! Duvet cover for one-third of what I paid at BB&B. As we rounded the corner, we headed into the bathroom section where we needed nothing, but ended up getting a candle. We needed something from each department to keep it even. So now every time I come home to the suburbs, I think I am going to venture to our local HomeGoods. Its official, I am now a novice decorator. I already have my subscription to Architectural Digest. I need inspiration to design on a dime.

Aspire to Food Bliss

You watch the food network religiously or you whip creations that should be featured on the pages of Food and Wine. Well really you just want to eat it. In Philadelphia, you have the opportunity to taste the delights of aspiring chefs through ChefAMe. Every Monday, grab your friends for the best way to start off the week. Local aspiring chefs will cook for you in local restaurants to showcase their talents people haven't had the opportunity to yet discover. Working in a "real" kitchen diners will get to see what their true potential is. Prices vary, but lets jut say they are reasonable. ChefAMe's first event charged $25 for a 3-course meal with free drinks (alcoholic drinks, not soda and water). Hello, where can you get that deal when it is not restaurant week? The next event is July 27th, Ava Restaurant located at 518 S. 3rd St. At $35 a head you are going to leave full from the culinary delights from Tom Crowe and Sarah Feidt. Tom is used to writing about what he consumes, not what he is going to feed the mass, while Sarah is an artist ready for this challenge. Want to be part of this event? Head to ChefAMe's website and buy a ticket for the best Monday dinner you have had in a while.

So you are on the other side of the cooking coin, and want to show off your talents? This is a little bit more difficult than just pulling up your chair to eat. They have 5 requirements; first is you must love and cherish the food you prep, serve, and eat. You must be confident in your abilities to cook. Third, your food must be the 3 D's: delicious, delectable, and devilish. Obviously you need to contact the organizers. They are not going to contact you; they do not even know you exist yet. And last but not least get ready for the praise, and don't let it get to your head. Too much for you to handle? Just get your ticket like the rest of us, and be happy to eat a good meal.

Shameless Promotion

I created a Fan Page on facebook. Since you are all devoted readers please take the time and become my fan. This way you will be clued into all my new updates and fabulous deals. I will also be posting links to deals that cannot wait for a whole post. I do not want you guys to miss out.

Eat Like You Want To

So you are sick of going from restaurant to restaurant spending about $2o on a meal that leaves you far from satisfied. You just wish you had the coin to eat at the best and trendiest places in the city. Well its that time of year again, when us, the plebeians can eat like kings. Until July 31st it is Restaurant Week in New York Cit'y; the time where you can try all the places you wish you could afford any time of year. Choose from a list of restaurants around the city for lunch or dinner and enjoy a three course meal you will talk about for days. At lunch you pay only $24.07 and dinner is $35. You have a few choices to get a taste of what these great places offer on a regular basis. Check out the selection, you can get your fill from the classic at Carnegie Deli or the new and trendy DBGB. Before heading out check the official site to make sure the restaurant features that meal as part of the event. Some only serve lunch while others serve dinner only, but most offer both. Many have their menus listed on the official site to help you narrow down your decision. Think you are going to take full advantage of this deal and have an Amex card? Register it through the official website and you are ellidgible to receive $15 in credit if you dine at 3 participating restaurants. Now to make this cruicial decision maybe harder for me than what shoes to wear, and those only go on my feet.

Sunnies For Summer

Robert Marc is at it again. He is offering you deep discounts on his most exclusive collections from summer for both men and women. Starting today at his New York locations you can finally get a pair of sunglasses for summer. You can save 30-50% on frames from Robert Marc, Badgley Mischka, Beausoleil, Blinde, Loree Rodkin, Sama and Histoire de Voir, to name a few. His glasses are some of the best quality frames you can get out there on the market. The styles are absolutley timeless and fit the sunglass needs of anyone trying to avoid direct contact with the strong summer rays. There is a reason you see the Hollywood elite like Reece Witherspoon sporting his frames on Robertson Blvd. I know on my walk home from work today, I will be stopping in.

Here are the locations:

190 Columbus Avenue (between 68 & 69), 212-799-4600

400 Madison Avenue (between 47 & 48), 212-319-2900

551 Madison Avenue (between 55 & 56), 212-319-2000

782 Madison Avenue (between 66 & 67), 212-737-6000
1046 Madison Avenue (between 79 & 80), 212-988-9600

1300 Madison Avenue (between 92 & 93), 212-722-1600

386 Bleecker Street (at Perry), 212-242-6668

436 West Broadway (between Spring & Prince), 212-343-8300

Leave the Brown Bag at Home Part 2

Living the Life....On a Budget: Leave the Brown Bag at Home

Check out the link above. Read what a great deal it was. Become sad when you realize the deal ended months ago. Now read below:

So Food Exchange has reintroduced their program when you order online you save 25%. Only valid on online orders, enter code "25off" to reap some serious savings. You can have it delivered if you are super busy or go and pick it up because you need some fresh air. According to the flier they passed out to me there are 10 reasons why this is a good deal and I whole heartily agree:

1) Avoid crowds and lines

2) Save money (DUH!)

3) Save paper

4) Nutrition info online so you can make the correct, healthy decision

5) Free delivery

6) Get it your way; no mayo, no problem

7) Pick up when you have a free moment

8) Fresh food delivered

9) Create a wish list of favorites for easy fast ordering next time

10) Easy to navigate

This great deal lasts until the end of the month. So tell your coworkers and get some good chow for your money.

Tickle The Ivories

So my time at piano bars in the past have been a little bit more wild, and had more fight in them. Big Bang do you miss me? But now that I am mature, I am ready for an evening out, that I do not regret the morning after. If I were over on the left coast I would hit up Angel's in Santa Monica. Brought to you by Temple Bar Concepts, this is their latest, newest, most novel venture to bring hip places to LA residents. Finding influence in decades past Angel is a nostalgic, dim Piano Bar and Supper Club for you to unwind at. Step back in time to the 30s and 40s where you will find absinthe decanters, vintage spirit recipies, tunes from yesteryear, and plush seating. You get some old, and some new--like the gourmet, tapas style menu accompanied by premium wines and other beverages. While you are transporting back to a better era, you may even get to listen to contemporary artists that you have actually heard of. This place is both great for the single set (i.e. me) and those romantically involved (i.e. someone I am jealous of). Sit at the bar and mingle with those who are looking for a change in the traditional bar scene. Reserve a cozy booth for you and your significant other and forget you are at a piano bar. Take a break from your usual "going out" routine and introduce some change. You will thank me later that you are throwing back to a better time.

He Looks Good In That Shirt!

So the man (well really boy) in your life is looking a little shabby these days. Honestly his t-shirts has more holes than a good block of swiss cheese. And not to mention those jeans! Hello, painter's pants are reserved for painters. So head over to Self Edge Denim before the months end to get your man dressed appropriately for this century. Located at 714 Valencia St, at the corner of 18th Street in San Fran, you can style you and your compadres in the latest in luxury denim. Want the experience, but are nowhere near a cable car stop? Don't worry, they sell their goods online for all to enjoy.
Help your guy pick out a pair of Dry Bones jeans, the fabulous Japanese Denim line, that can only be found in a handful of places this far west. Once you have got the bottoms covered, help complete the look with a t-shirt or other top to make him look like he knows how to dress. Great news, Urban Daddy is helping you out. Mention them when you are in the store, and you can receive a free t-shirt or 40% off another top. Start with one outfit, and your boy will mature into a well-dressed gentleman.

Doodle While You Drink

I went to my fair share of Hi-lighter parties in college, but never could really appreciate my artwork unless I was under a black light. I am a want to be struggling artist at heart, and when I found out about Doodle Bar in London, I was about to book my flight for this Friday's party, End of Week's Doodles. My London friends and followers should mark their calendar for this Friday, and upcoming Friday's to head down to 33 Parkgate Road, SW11 4NP. When you step into this place, get ready to embrace your inner Monet and doodle on the walls, tables, waiters, fellow patrons. If it is there, you can doodle on it. Together with other doodlers you will create a unique piece of artwork and share an experience that is different to the standard bars. Interested in a more serious drawing experience? On Tuesday's the Bar holds drawing classes for you to perfect your figures. At only 10 pounds a session, you are on your way to getting your work on the walls of the Tate Modern. Charcoal and paper are available for a small price, or bring your own materials that inspire you. Head to the Doodle Bar, and let your mind wander, your teacher is not there to yell at you.

Current Vintage

So you spend your time in the vintage shops of the East Village, or scouring the racks at the Good Will to find that one vintage piece to set you apart. You head to the dressing room, to put on that dress that is going to be your hit item of the season. So you look in the mirror and your excitement boils down to pure disappointment. That hot dress, makes you look like an amish in floral. Looking through all those racks can be tiring. Or you could spend all your time at the tailor making your cheap finds current. That $5 dress is going to end up costing $30 with all the alterations. And then you have to wait for the tailor to finish the garment. Why not check out Fabulous Fashion Finds on my favorite website Etsy. This Etsy boutique does all the hard work for you, so you can get those great vintage finds that look like you just bought them from the hippest store in town. Most of the vintage pieces at this Etsy shop, are reworked vintage pieces. The owner will take a boring, matronly dress and take it up a notch, by shortening and adding modern, current detail. I am sure the Floral Bubble Lover, was once mid-calf length, with a high-cut neckline, and much longer sleeves, but now, its got a cute cap sleeve, a bubble hem line, and a much lower-cut neck line. Wear this number out next weekend, and your friends are going to ask if you got it at the Top Shop sale I told you about earlier. Most of her pieces are under $50, so your new one of a kind look won't set you back. With my eternal love for vintage, I am going to stalk this Etsy shop, for when a dress is listed in my size.

Did I Just Eat That?

So your bikini body this summer is banging, but keeping it up is just as hard as getting to that point. Or are you still struggling with shedding the last 10 pounds? At this point I bet you wish you had a personal nutritionist to follow you around to make your healthy eating decisions. Well since we aren't Madonna and can't afford to have our trainer follow our every move, My Fitness Pal is the next best option. Set up your free membership at the website to gain access to all the tools you need to help shed some of those pounds. At the core, your new Pal will help track all the foods you eat to help you recognize what your food culprits really are. Providing the right tools to make your food log, My Fitness Pal will help you see results on the scale. This will no longer be a tedious task, but one you will soon realize will help you in the long run. Its so easy that you are more likely to return to the site. The more you log, the more the site remembers you. Do you eat grilled chicken more often then you brush your teeth? The site will remember that. There are over 200,000 food options for you to choose from. You ate it, they will probably have it listed to add to your log. So maybe you have had too many cheeseburger and fries days in a row, this site will help you realize that a change needs to be made. This will teach you, that you can have a cheeseburger and fries once a week, not once a day.

You wish the holiday weekend would last the whole summer. You can't even believe I am mentioning the word work right now. I know this is true, but after all the fun is done, you have to face the fact that reality is knocking this Monday morning. But hey, there can be fun during the week. That's what Happy Hour is for. If you are working, living, playing in the Miami area this summer head over to Badrutt's Place. Until the 15th of July enjoy free white sangria or 2-for1 cocktails from 5-8pm. Enjoy your drinks with their tapas that are under $10. Located at 1250 S. Miami Ave gather your colleagues or friends and decompress after a long day at work. Situated in the booming Financial District, it looks like it won't even be a far walk or drive from the office. Now this is the perfect way to continue the perfect holiday weekend into the work week

Yowza! You Saved How Much?

If my fingers weren't always tapping away at my crackberry, I would probably be stuck in game world on my iPhone. So my jealousy of those who have apps galore increased when I found out about Yowza and its shopping power. For those of you who have the power of the touch screen, I strongly suggest you download this application. Looking for a deal and steal in your area? Yowza does the work for you and finds what stores are having sales in your current location. They work directly with retailers to bring exclusive deals to shoppers only available through Yowza. Want to start saving? Get this free application through the apps store via iTunes. Now as you save bundles, spread the love to your fashionista friends who are nursing their Blackberry thumbs. They deserve a deal too.

Top Sales

As I went through my morning emails, I was alerted to a great sale going on at Topshop. From my countless posts about this store you knew I was jumping in my seat when I got this email. However, all it said was sale starts today. Instantly confused, I wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery. With a box of scooby snacks in hand, I hit up the Topshop site, but no answers there. Then calling the Soho store, I got a floor associate who gave me the great news. You, the topshop enthusiast can save up to 50% off various Topshop pieces. Last week, when I was in there they still had that great jumper I told you guys about. Online, it doesn't say its on sale, but if you are in the New York area, stop in and see if the brick and mortar store has put this bad boy on sale. I spotted the Spotty Net Skirt Dress (no pun) last time I was there, and fell in love. But, throwing down $90 when I need to pay rent wasn't something I could really handle. Now at $40 its affordable, really affordable. Maybe I will fight the crowds and head down to SoHo to try on this little number. Its perfect for day time with a cardi, or at night with some killer heels. I will keep you posted on my fashion adventures downtown.