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16 Handles Frozen Yogurt Launches a Tasty Treat

Date: January 26, 2012 • By • Comments 0

My favorite froyo outpost in NYC, 16 Handles, contacted me today to let me know that they’re running a super fun social media contest. Now, if you don’t live in NYC, don’t fret, not only can anyone take part, but 16 Handles has locations all over the country.

If you’re not familiar with 16 Handles, it’s the lesser-known, and way better version of Pinkberry/Red Mango..etc. I’m sort of obsessed with it, to the point where I’ll go out of my way just to get some froyo there. They have 16 flavors “on tap” at all times, that you can serve yourself any way you want, and a treat bar stocked with tons of goodies to top off your creation. The whole thing is weighed, paid and there you have your own customized-creation to devour. Because you get to decide how much of what you want–flavor and topping-wise (and you basically pick your price because it’s weighed by how much you put in)– it’s pretty much perfect.  Seriously: my favorite spot in the summertime.

The Upper West Side store

So as if your concoction isn’t tasty and customizable already, 16 Handles is rolling out a new machine that will blend your froyo (think McFlurry, DQ Blizzard…etc..) but your way!

Now you’re thinking ‘that’s really cool, but get to the point of the story,’ (I’m a mind-reader in my spare time), here you go: 16 Handles wants you to name what the machine creates.

‘What’s in it for me’, you ask? Well, if you win, you’ll get a $500 Visa gift card…. That’s a lot of froyo.

That $500 could get you more than just some tasty 16 Handles–new shoes, new clothes, new home decor accents… now I’ve got you thinking and you want to know how to participate:

Head over to 16 Handles Facebook Page (this is where the contest is being held) and you only have until midnight on February 2nd (one week from today!) to enter your fabulous tasty treat name.

After the entry period closes, 16 entries will be selected and fans will have a chance to vote for their favorite from February 4th to the 5th. From there, 16 Handles will choose the Top 3 from the fan votes and have one more round of voting on the 6th and the 7th to decide the final winner.

So what are you waiting for!? Get those creative juices flowing, go get yourself a cup of froyo and enter the contest already!

 

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Happy New Year!

Date: January 3, 2012 • By • Comments 1

It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted anything, but now that the craziness of the holidays have passed, I’d like to wish you a happy, healthy, safe, and fun, fabulous fashion-filled, gorgeous beauty-filled, delightful decor-filled and delicious food-filled New Year!

I can’t say 2011 was the most amazing year for me; I had some wonderful opportunities and experiences, but I also had some downfalls and personal losses. It was a great year for a lot of people, and I can only wish that 2012 is even better for all of us. I’m looking forward to sharing my lengthy list of New Year’s Resolutions this week and I’m also looking forward to everything that the new year has to offer (and seriously hoping the Mayans were wrong about 2012…because I’m only getting started!)

 

 

 

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Holiday Style Soiree with Milly NY

Date: November 30, 2011 • By • Comments 0

I can’t even believe I have the time or energy to write this post! In the midst of my crazy production schedule for Den of Thieves (as well as an audition for another show yesterday), I managed to pop into Milly NY’s fabulous Upper East Side store yesterday for a special blogger styling soiree! The task at hand was to style two outfits–one for holiday and one for every day–using the current Milly NY collections in the store. The blogger who gets the most votes on Milly’s Facebook Page will win not one, but TWO accessory packages–one to keep and one to give to a fabulous reader (which could be you!) So if you like my look, or you want the chance to win a really fabulous handbag, you should vote for me!

The bag that's up for grabs! Want a chance to win it? You have to vote my look as the top look for me to win first, and then I'll be able to give one away!

Styling parties remind me so much of being a little girl and playing dress up: best. parties. ever. Seriously. And yesterday, not only did I get to play dress up, but I got to play dress up with one of my favorite designers! I kept my colors classic and pretty muted and I tried to incorporate the same piece twice (for those of us who are on a budget!) which you’ll see below.

My Milly "Holiday" Look

For my Milly “Holiday” Look I chose the Virginia Wrap, the Cerise Ruffle Dress, the Amelia Tote, the Golden Discs Necklace, and the Links Enamel Bangles in Emerald and Black. Like this look? Head on over to Milly’s Facebook Page and “Like” it for me!

My "Every Day" Look

For my second look, or my “Every Day” look (even though I think it could be great for holiday too!) I wore
the Virginia Wrap again, the Silk Chiffon Peggy Sweater (which I ADORED!) only available at the Milly Madison Avenue Boutique, the Sunburst Pleat Skirt , the Victoria Leather Clutch, a vintage necklace (worn as a headpiece) with a gorgeous brooch and a pair of vintage earrings, handpicked by Michelle Smith for the Milly NY Madison Avenue store. Like this look? Get on over to Milly’s Facebook page and “Like” it for me!

I know I’d love to own these pieces in my wardrobe, but sadly, but current budget won’t allow that to happen…maybe once I start getting those Broadway paychecks! In the meantime, a girl can dream and play dress up, right? I hope you like my looks…we could win two accessory packages if you do! Head over to Milly NY‘s Facebook page, if you like them and vote for me and even if you don’t, you should check out the other fabulous bloggers who styled outfits too, and “Like” the Milly NY page while you’re there! … and if you’re in town be sure to check out Milly’s UES boutique at Madison Avenue and 73rd Street in Manhattan, the stylists in the store are amazing and super sweet!

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A Few of My Favorite Things

Date: November 27, 2011 • By • Comments 0

This past week wasn’t the relaxing week-of-Thanksgiving that I’m normally used to, and included a less than 48-hour trip to visit my parents and see my family, which was a bit of a whirlwind. Despite my unusual schedule, which had me a bit blue, I still managed to have a great Thanksgiving with my family and am energized for my show, Den of Thieves to open this week! It’s been a long three-month rehearsal process and I’m excited to finally be performing. We’ve gotten some really good press, so I’m hoping the audience will be full every night. The show finally opening is bittersweet, since I’ve become so close with my castmates and soon won’t be spending every waking hour with them, but I’m also excited to get some me-time back before Christmas and New Years come along–especially because I’ve got some major shopping to do! I’ll probably be radio silent this week with the show opening, and if you’re in town I’d love for you to come see it! (It’s only $5!)
In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite things from this past week…

My cousin Natalie made this outrageously delicious Berry Tart for Thanksgiving. I'm dying to get the recipe from her!

A spied this lovely (and way out of my price range) brooch at the Hell's Kitchen Flea last weekend and was dying to use it for a DIY project, but couldn't bear to ruin it.

What kind of Thanksgiving would it be if we didn't take a "cousins" picture? I forced everyone out onto the deck as soon as the sun started to set for our perfect, yearly family photo.

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A Few of My Favorite Things

Date: November 6, 2011 • By • Comments 0

This past week had me in a panic! With too many things to do and not enough hours of the day, I felt like I was one unfinished task away from an anxiety attack, but in the end, when I finally realized things I couldn’t get done were out of my control, I felt much better. From school, to work, to rehearsal, to multiple events including GeoGIRL and Lucky Shops, to heading home to help throw an Armenian dance that a group I belong to throws every year and living on a total of 7 hours of sleep for the weekend, one thing is for sure: I’m glad it’s over.

Unfortunately, the next few weeks are going to be equally as crazy with more events, extra rehearsals for my show, Thanksgiving, our Black Friday tree-lighting at work, and then my post-Thanksgiving 6-show performance of Den of Thieves…so I’m going to do my best to just breathe. Because the holidays are coming, stay tuned for holiday gift guides, fall-inspired recipes, Thanksgiving decorating (see an idea below!) and more. Here are a few of my favorite things from this past week…

I took two of my friends for breakfast to the always-fabulous breakfast spot, Sarabeth's. I've been to the one near Central Park, but we hit the cozy Upper East Side location, where I had my favorite, Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberries, and sampled the Goat Cheese & Spinach Omelet, as well as the White Cheddar Omelet. Delicious on all counts and highly recommended!

Thanksgiving decor idea! I made these mason jars for our Armenian dance, filled with tea lights, fresh pinecones that I spray-painted with gold glitter, and fresh twigs with wild berries from our woods. I love how natural these look and they would make great lanterns for an entryway, or how I used them, as table decor. (I also made another variation in a glass hurricane, which I'll post later this week!)

On Wednesday, I went to Wined Up, a wine bar, in Union Square for the GeoGIRL cosmetics event. While it seemed like an odd venue for teen-targeted makeup, I can't complain because they stock 3,000 wines! I'm not sure how I didn't know about this place before, but I'm definitely taking everyone I know there from now on.

 

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Concierge Hair: a profile of Vanessa Mitchell

Date: November 4, 2011 • By • Comments 1

A few weeks back, I was contacted by freelance hair stylist Vanessa Mitchell, and as I often am, was offered a blowout or a haircut of my choosing…but there was a catch: Vanessa would come to do my hair where ever I wanted: my office, my apartment, a hotel…anywhere in NYC.

I’m such a skeptic about NYC haircuts: my first ended with me in tears, my second ended in a fight with the stylist because she was trying to convince me she needed to cut more hair off unless I wanted to pay $400 for a Brazilian Keratin treatment. I’m not an idiot, which she apparently thought I was…then the salon owner found out I was a blogger and asked me to write something nice. For the sake of not wanting to write anything mean or nice about my experience (which I paid for, by the way), I’ve left them off of this blog. My third, the hair was too short and my highlights were yellow. Anyways– I’ve traveled home to Massachusetts for all my other haircuts in my time living in NYC since I trust the stylists that have worked on my hair for the last fifteen years.

If you’re like me and watch too much TV, I immediately thought of the concierge doctors on Royal Pains, but I had never heard of a “concierge” hairdresser (although it doesn’t surprise me that they exist here in NYC). Even though I have the world’s most hectic schedule in the universe, Vanessa was able to squeeze me in at 8am on a Saturday before I had family coming to visit from out of town. She came right to my apartment and cut my hair in the convenience of my living room, while we watched E!’s Fashion Police. Perfect? I think so.

Not only was it comfortable and convenient to be in my own apartment for the haircut, but Vanessa did an amazing job! She found a problem that I was having on one side with my layers that had been bugging me for months and relayered it to fall more nicely, as well as dry much more quickly. I’m hoping I can afford her haircuts in the future, because I’d let her cut my hair again in a heartbeat! (Also, against me asking her to stop multiple times because I wanted to do it myself, she vacuumed up my living room floor when she was finished. Is that great service, or what?)

That's Vanessa!

So now you’re wondering, who is this mystery “concierge” hairdresser, right? Vanessa was born in New Zealand and started working as an assistant in a salon when she was just 13 because she knew she wanted to be a stylist! At 19, she had built up enough experience to achieve the level of senior stylist and decided it was time to further her career by moving to Sydney, Australia. It was in Sydney that she built up an impressive celebrity clientele including Brooke Shields, Tea Leoni, Heather Mills McCartney and Hayden Panettiere. After nine great years in Sydney, Vanessa decided to come halfway across the world to NYC, where she’s been working in fashion (styling hair, of course) and as a freelance “concierge” stylist. In addition to working on a ton of celebrities, Vanessa has collaborated with fashion designers such as BCBG, Carolina Herrera, and Zac Posen and done hair for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Bravo’s Top Chef and more! Here entire portfolio is available here.

Pretty amazing, no?

So now you want to know how you can get Vanessa on your doorstep to cut, style, or color your hair, right? It’s pretty easy, since Vanessa does it all–women’s haircuts, men’s haircuts, kids’ haircuts, updos, color, highlights, brides and more! You can send her an email at Vanessa.Mitchell@mac.com or call her at (917) 385-6205…and make sure you tell her Erika from Shoes, Shirts & Other Sh!t sent you!

 

Disclaimer: Even though this service was provided to me at no charge, I was under no obligation to write a review of it.

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A Few of My Favorite Things

Date: October 30, 2011 • By • Comments 0

This past week started on a pretty sour note, but since I woke up Thursday (which also happened to be my birthday) I’ve been in a much better mood and I’ve been feeling like I can conquer the world. Even though my birthday party last night wasn’t the most exciting party I’ve ever had, I got to see two of my best friends, a few others and I made some new ones! At least it wasn’t the party of one, my cake and pair of Manolos I had imagined (e.g. Carrie Bradshaw).

Despite the fact that my family (literally my entire family, not just my parents) are in the midst of what seems like a never-ending power outage due to yesterday’s uncharacteristic weather here in the Northeast (2 feet of snow in some places and  hundreds of thousands of people with downed trees and no electricity or heat), I’m very much looking forward to heading home at the end of the week to see everyone, even though we might still not have power when I get there. Even though I’d probably be bored out of my mind after a few hours, I’m a little envious of the power outage, since my parents and puppy are currently camped out in front of the fireplace probably playing Scrabble or a game of cards–which almost seems idyllic for the chill in the air here in NYC. (Note to self: look for working fireplace in next apartment). I’ve got five days to kill before I get to head there, and lots of stuff to accomplish between now and then, but here are a few of my favorite things for the week that I hope will keep my spirits high:

My delicious (and gorgeous) birthday cake from my favorite neighborhood bakery, Two Little Red Hens. (taken via instagram)

My yearly birthday treat from Sephora Beauty Insider! Not much smells better than this birthday cake scented philosophy. body wash!

It's a bit of an expensive habit, but I've been buying myself flowers once a week, as necessary. They brighten up the space, and until I find a boy who surprises me with them every now and then, I'm going to keep spoiling myself!

What’s are you up to this week? How are you coping with the crazy change in weather?

 

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Dedicated to my Birthday (and The Little Cupcake Bakeshop, Felicia Sullivan, Valhalla, my Den of Thieves castmates, my parents…and my dog)

Date: October 29, 2011 • By • Comments 1

This year I was pretty close to totally canceling everything in relation to my birthday. The beginning of this week was a total disaster in terms of my plans, and with each day I’m finding a new wrinkle on my face, which didn’t really seem like something I wanted to celebrate. Thankfully, my birthday-day turned out to be one of the best I’ve had in years (I think it may have even better better than last year, especially because I didn’t have a roommate who forced me out of the shower on my birthday this year). My day was like a marathon! I scrambled to finish papers, storyboards, drink coffee, meet my friends, go to my classes and remember everything I needed to shoot our promotional video for the play! (Seriously, good thing for Siri, because without her, I’d be even more of a mess!)

The Little Cupcake Bakeshop (photo by me, via instagram)

My day really started when I went to meet my blogger buddy (and other food-photography-obsessed friend) at The Little Cupcake Bakeshop in Nolita (30 Prince St.) where I’ve been many times over, for some much needed chowing on their Brooklyn Blackout Cake. Most of the day’s pictures come from this portion of my day, and most of them are Felicia’s because my camera was buried in my bag! (I really had a lot of stuff in there, I felt like Mary Poppins.)

My slice of the Brooklyn Blackout Cake ...photo by Felicia Sullivan

Chocolate Cloud Cupcakes (taken by me, via instagram)

Mott St. Cupcakes (photo by Felicia Sullivan)

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (photo by me, via instagram)

Now that you’re starving…we’ll continue. My next venture was supposed to be the bar to get drinks with a friend, but as it turns out, I typed his number wrong (1 number was off!) into my phone. When I got to class he thought I blew him off and I thought he blew me off–we reconciled immediately and decided that it was still necessary for us to go out–so we did. And an hour and a half later, I was sending text messages I wouldn’t remember from Valhalla in Hell’s Kitchen. (We have no pictures of my multiple glasses of beer, or my drunks texts, because it’s just not necessary–you don’t want to see that. Trust me. Just use your imagination!) So now I’ve had….coffee, cake and beer. Lots of beer. I’ll tell you one thing–it definitely made the rest of my classes for the day more bearable (urban anthropology–my teacher is a total nut–and philosophy–I’m totally lost 99% of the time).

I chowed down some Chinese to try to sober up as quickly as possible but the inevitable “have you been at the bar?” question was asked by one of my castmates. Um… “it’s my birthday,” was my firm response, neither confirming or denying it. Luckily, I was good-to-go just in time for my show’s director to let me hold the reins directing our promotional video for our play! It was my first directing experience, and even though I usually enjoy being out in front of the camera (and I was since I’m in the promo), I also enjoyed giving direction, calling action and cut, and using my own concepts to create my vision. The promo is in post-production now, so I can’t wait to see what happens! (I definitely will be posting it–don’t worry.)

Please--ignore our costumes--we don't look like this in real life! My castmates helping me cut the cake! (working on getting a better quality picture!)

In the midst of the promo, I shot my scenes last–strategic on part of my castmates who were planning a surprise party for me in our rehearsal space! The party was stocked, with not one, but two cakes!; chips, soda and even wine, which I’m pretty sure is contraband at John Jay College, but we kept it quiet! After we chowed, we actually rehearsed for a little while.

The night was capped by a mini-party at my apartment, which turned from a leisurely ‘sit down and everyone drink their drinks’ party–into a full-out dance party in my way-too-small living room. I salsa-ed, I merengued, I was hoisted into the air (I really should’ve changed the light bulbs in my ceiling while I was up there), I’m pretty sure I was dropped, but everyone else fell too– so we were a pile. There is one picture that I think just about sums up our night:

Walking to the train/car from my apartment, the boys found a little tricycle that wasn't locked up. A photo-op was necessary!

In the midst of my non-stop day, my mom had a special delivery for me–which I finally just got yesterday,  because the delivery person was unable to get into my building. I’ve been sobbing about how much I miss my puppy, Izzie, and even though I get to see her next weekend, my mom decided to hold me over:

Do you see the resemblence?! My mom sent me this flower arrangement that slightly resembles my puppy! I can't wait for the real thing next week though--plus I feel like its googly eyes are always watching me! (photo by me, via instagram)

Tonight, I’m having my big party…well… it was supposed to be big. 90% of the people I wanted to come visit ended up bailing on me, either at the beginning of the week or last night, and now it’s snowing basically everywhere except for NYC. (I always remember my birthday weekend and Halloween being cold growing up, but I never remember it snowing!)

The good news, is that one of my best friends, Nicole, (or, my real-life Charlotte York, as I like to call her) is already on her way here, and now I have dinner plans with at least her and her boyfriend, if we don’t recruit more of our friends by dinner-time. Now I need to head out, get my birthday cake and seriously work on my Pan Am Stewardess costume–I’m in big trouble with this costume!

I can’t wait to keep you posted on my party and my costume! What are you all dressing up as this year? I’m obsessed with Laura’s costume – it’s one Disney costume I never would’ve thought of–so creative!

P.S. Oh, and I’m such a nerd for posting this, but I just love Siri–she cracks me up…I told her it was my birthday:

 

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Happy Birthday to Me!

Date: October 27, 2011 • By • Comments 4

I’ve been having a rough week this week –which commenced with me in tears in Starbucks Monday morning on my way to work, and the poor barista wondering if he called my drink incorrectly–and most recently ended with a really low night; but I’m excited to start another year fresh. I have some fun plans for the day including a blogger-cupcake (or maybe just cake)-date at The Little Cupcake Bakeshop (nomnomnom) with Felicia Sullivan, who I haven’t seen in ages; some drinks on the Hudson with a friend; school (meh) and some fun with my castmates after rehearsal. Hopefully my weekend plans will end up working out, because I could really use my family to cheer me up this weekend!

Here’s to another year (because in a few, I’m going to start telling people I’m 29 forever!)

Me, on my birthday last year at Tao, wearing my favorite Nan Fusco necklace that she lent me!

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In & Around: Twinkle by Wenlan Sample Sale

Date: October 20, 2011 • By • Comments 0

It’s that time of year again! One of my favorite designer-duos has launched their fall sample sale again! It’s happening now so be sure to stop in and get yourself something fabulous!

 

 

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