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“Christmas In August” With Radio City Music Hall

August 27, 2010 By Samantha Leave a Comment

When I was a little girl my grandparents took me into “The City,” better known as Manhattan, during the wintertime to see all of the tourism hotspots. This included the display windows at Saks Fifth Avenue, the big Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, even those warm roasted peanuts from the street vendors. They all made up that warm and wonderful feeling during the holiday season, but none brought as much excitement for me as did the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City. I was fascinated by the Rockettes, and the magic that seemed to loom within the show.


While performances don’t begin until November 5th, the Rockettes and everyone at Radio City decided to give us a little holiday joy in August. When I arrived at the event, one of my favorite things in the world was awaiting me: cupcakes, specifically Magnolia Bakery cupcakes. There was a table filled with goodies to build my own cupcakes, which was a ton of fun and a delicious treat.

Shortly afterward, I went on a V.I.P. tour of the backstage area , and you could really feel the history there. The maze that is Radio City is filled with framed posters and memorabilia of famous performers, as well fantastic costume rooms. After the tour, I went to take a photograph with a couple of the Rockettes beside the Christmas tree, had a lovely lunch whilst wearing my Santa hat, and for the first time in my life- actually won a raffle. I got to go home with a hardcover copy about the history of the Christmas Spectacular, which was really exciting and is now a featured fixture on my coffee table.

I don’t care what season it is, I can’t wait for Christmas, and in particular, to go see the Christmas Spectacular again as an adult exploring my inner child. I did get a small fix as the crowds gathered on Sixth Avenue in front of Radio City for “Kicking Across America,” where Santa and the Rockettes visited their fans, and had us all excited for the show’s opening. Is it November 5th yet?

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Filed Under: Event, For Mom, Holiday

Toy Story Is Taking Over My Life

July 28, 2010 By Vera 1 Comment

My children cannot stop with ‘Toy Story’. It’s all about Woody and Jesse. ALL THE TIME.  Yes, I’m already thinking about Halloween costumes and my children are NATURALLY going to be their favorites this October.

This character is from CDI Toddler Costumes and is available in both Toys’R’Us and Walmart.

Now Toddlers can dress-up as their favorite characters such as Disney Princesses, Marvel Superheroes, Toy Story characters, Dora the Explorer and more.

Have you started to think about Halloween? What are your kids thinking about dressing up as?

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Filed Under: Featured, For Kids, Holiday, Wear Tagged With: halloween costumes, toy story costumes

Inside The Kitchen: July 4th Desserts (EASY To Make)

July 3, 2010 By Vera 7 Comments

I LOVE holiday weekends! It gives me the chance to get a little creative in the kitchen. I am the QUEEN of the trifle. I make it a number of ways (including Oreos) – but today it was all about the berry. Red, White and Blue!!

Here are two variations of dessert using the same ingredients. Choose whichever you like.

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Lemon Berry Trifle (ala Paula Deen)

  • 2 (24.2 ounce) tubs of ready to eat cheesecake filling – *Editor’s note: Couldn’t find that so I used the Jello boxed version. You have to mix with milk and let stand for a while. The top layer looks watery because I got impatient. Let it sit before you pour into trifle.
  • 1/4 cup lemon curd
  • 2 boxes of vanilla wafers – crushed
  • 6 cups of fresh berries (have more on hand just to be safe and don’t use blackberries – what a mess!)

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In a large bowl, combine cheesecake filling and lemon curd. Since I had to make the cheesecake filling with the Jello mix, I followed those instructions first and then remixed with curd at the end. Please let it sit for a few minutes before you attempt to place in trifle bowl. While you are waiting, crush the vanilla wafers. Instead of taking them out of the bag and making a huge mess, I just crush while in the bag.

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Wash berries and cut up strawberries. I also added blackberries – DO NOT add blackberries. Holy MESSY!

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Start to assemble. Cheesecake, wafers and then berries. Unfortunately, I only had one box of wafers – so my final product is missing a layer. You get the point though. Refrigerate at least an hour and serve! YUM!

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I had some cheesecake filling left over so I decided to make a flag with mini phyllo pastry cups (found in freezer section of market). I saw something in a recent Food Network Magazine that gave me this great idea. Just in case someone wasn’t into lemon, I decided to make some with a different filling. For the second filling, I mixed a container of marscarpone cheese and 4 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

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Then I folded in a few tablespoons of CoolWhip. The color was noticeably different – so you should stick to one or the other. Doing both is great to please the crowd, but it really messes up the look of the flag!

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Either way – these are SUPER easy 4th of July recipes to share with your friends!

Do you have a recipe you’d like to share? Email me! I’d love an invite inside your kitchen.

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Filed Under: Featured, Holiday, Inside the Kitchen, Personal Blog, recipe Tagged With: july 4th

Tips For Safe BBQing

June 30, 2010 By Vera 1 Comment

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BBQing is one of America’s favorite pastimes, especially during Fourth of July weekend.ChicagoHealers.com Dr. Martha Howard M.D. provided the following tips for staying safe during summer grilling:

  • Clean the grill: get rid of the old fats left over from previous meals.
  • Avoid petroleum starters for charcoal: If you use charcoal, use a wood starter and stack your charcoal up in a 2 pound metal can with the ends cut off. Lift off the can with tongs and spread out the coals when they are well started.
  • Proper timing: Avoid a time gap between opening the valve and starting the grill.
  • Wash your hands: Keep your hands clean and use separate plates and cutting boards for raw and cooked meats. Be sure to wash hands again before putting on long, heat-proof barbecue gloves.
  • Trim meat: Trim most of the fat from meat; less fat means fewer PAHs.
  • Use marinades: This protects the meat from charring. Put the marinade on, and refrigerate until use. Don’t let meat sit out.
  • Pre-cooking: Use pre-cooking prior to grilling, especially for items like raw brats. Avoid taking burgers, chicken or other meats directly from the freezer to the grill.
  • Cutting techniques: Cut meat and chicken into smaller pieces so they cook through.
  • Flipping: Turn down the fire, and turn your burgers, steaks, chops, or chicken often, so they cook through, and come out golden brown.
  • Meat thermometer: If you are cooking a thicker portion of meat or chicken, use a meat thermometer.

* Chicken: 165 degrees
* Hamburger: 160 degrees
* Pork: 150 degrees
* Hot dogs: 140 degrees
* Steak: 145 degrees for medium rare and 160 degrees for medium.

  • Cleaning up: At the end of the barbecue, be sure to put out your charcoal completely, and if you are using propane, be sure the valve is turned off.
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Filed Under: Eat And Drink, Featured, Helpful Tips, Holiday Tagged With: bbq
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