And of course after all these freebies, I'm going to need a free membership at the gym to erase the evidence that I had a birthday.
And as for me being old? Pssssshhhhh. Never gonna happen. At least not mentally.
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So I have a birthday coming up, and my inbox has been getting hit with lots of special offers and free things. This is why I love the last week of September/first week of October. Because I've got my friends at various vendors e-mailing me to invite me to come visit and get something free. There's a FREE bottle of champagne with my name on it waiting for me at Kellari Taverna (they also do the same thing when your anniversary and Greek nameday are coming up). There's a FREE food/drink reward waiting for me at Starbucks. A FREE chocolate martini at Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar. FREE ice cream from Baskin-Robbins. And this is only some of the offers I've received. The list goes on. I know in the past I've gotten discounts from various retailers as well, such as Victoria's Secret and The Limited. So seriously --- get out there and enjoy your birthday.
And of course after all these freebies, I'm going to need a free membership at the gym to erase the evidence that I had a birthday. And as for me being old? Pssssshhhhh. Never gonna happen. At least not mentally.
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So every now and then, in the game of life, a curveball is thrown at you and it's all about how you play the game. So guess what folks -- this time I'm the pitcher and you're the batter and I'm throwing you my curveball -- instead of giving you a post about something you can do for free or cheap, I'm giving you a post about a free event I attended last weekend. And I'm sorry that I couldn't fill you in on it so you could attend as well, but honestly -- I found out about this event maybe a couple of hours before I went to it, but just didn't have the time to post about it.
Last week, my lovely former roommate and I attended the grand opening for Vanity Projects -- a nail salon that specializes in nail art, where there was free wine, champagne and Perrier to sip on, free yummies from Luckybird Bakery to munch on, and free mini-manicures. Now anyone who knows me know that I usually like to keep my manicures simple because of the fact that if they chip, it's not really noticeable. But seeing how nail art has been all the trend now for a while, and seeing how it was free, I just had to indulge. So we put our names on a list and were originally told it would be a 3 hour wait (yes that's how many people showed up to this soiree) before we could have our nails done. Luckily for us, a good number of people left that we were able to get our nails done by Mr. Luis before the 3 hours were up. While the talented and fabulous Mr. Luis did some random designs for Mel, he gave me peacock feathers on my ring fingers. And since he found me so charming (and also because he saw that I had some henna stains on my nails from my friend's wedding the week before), he decided to bend the rules for me and paint the rest of my nails to give it a more cleaner look. And this is why I say people need to be more engaging and more friendly. It really does pay off to be nice sometimes. And although the designs are still pretty fresh looking on my ring fingers, as usual, the rest of my manicure has chipped. So now I must go paint my own nails until I can afford to go back to get another awesome design from Mr. Luis. So it's been 2 weeks since I last posted, so to make up it up to you -- this post has got something special for y'all. But you've got to read very carefully.
So I'm one of those people that likes putting costumes on dogs. Not because I think it's cute. But rather because I think it's HILARIOUS. Bahahahaha yeah I know -- I'm messed up. Oh well. While the first three pics in the gallery above are results of a Google search for dogs in costumes, the last picture is of my favorite golden retriever, Sam (his owner was my roommate in Boston). When his owner asked me if Sam could come live with us, I agreed but on one condition -- she had to let me put a costume on him. And without any hesitation she agreed. I really wanted to put a lobster costume on him, because I honestly think there could not be a much funnier sight than seeing a golden retriever dressed as a lobster. But sadly I could not find one in time for Halloween. So therefore, poor buddy (but much to my amusement), he got to dress up as the one thing he loved chasing after -- a squirrel!!!! Then after the thought of a golden retriever dressed as a lobster, my next food costume choice for a dog would be...and this is definitely so cliche...but it would be a dachshund dressed as a hot dog. Bahahahahaha. Now I'm not saying that dogs dressed as food are the funniest thing ever. I actually love seeing the dog in a Yoda costume more. But a dachshund dressed as a hot dog is pretty up there on my list of funniest dog costumes. And speaking of hot dogs, those used to be another staple food for me. Loved eating them. But since I became a born-again vegetarian a couple months back, I can't say that I've missed them. However, I know there are plenty of people out there who love their hot dogs. And for those people -- this is the post you really want to pay attention to. Because here's what I'm about to tell you: Every Wednesday at Spring Lounge, they're giving out FREE hot dogs starting at 5 p.m. until they're gone. And apparently these hot dogs are cooked in the Spring Lounge's favorite beer selection of the week. And for those of you who are not into Hot Dogs, well what about a FREE Bagel Brunch...ehhh?????? That's right -- because I neglected A lotus and some... for 2 weeks, I've decided to make up for it by giving you 2 free deals in one post. So getting back to this Bagel Brunch -- every Sunday starting at 12 noon, you can get a free bagel w/ fixins', while supplies last. So there you go. Grab some free food at the bar, and then use the money you saved to tip your bartender! Donuts. Who does't love a good donut? I mean seriously. The best part of my Sundays (food-wise) is eating a donut at church (unless we actually have food food. Then who cares about a donut those days?!? We've got food!!!!!!)
I love 'em glazed. I love 'em filled. I love 'em frosted. I love 'em with coffee. I love dipping 'em in my coffee. If you haven't gotten the point -- I love eating my donuts. I really do. Even though they're not the greatest thing for you, but that's a whole different story. Now I grew up with Dunkin' Donuts, so those will probably be my favorite 'til the day I die...or until I finally can get my hands on a cronut. Then my food tastes will probably get all bougie, although The Food Emporium at Union Square does sell creme-filled croissant donuts. What if I told you that you could get a FREE DOZEN DONUTS from Krispy Kreme? And this is not just a New York deal either. September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day. So on that day, you walk into a participating Krispy Kreme location, and you talk like a pirate, you get one FREE Original Glazed Doughnuts. If you walk in dressed like a pirate wearing at least 3 things on their list of things that a pirate wears, you get a FREE dozen of Original Glazed Doughnuts. It's that simple. You just have to be willing to have no shame for a few minutes. It's like what would you do for a Klondike Bar? But substitute Klondike Bar with Krispy Kreme Doughnut. So Blow Me Down! And get yourself some free donuts!! So I grew up in a town a little over an hour north of Manhattan. It was a nice town and all, and my parents still live there so I do go up there every few weeks or so to visit them. And while there are some great things about my experiences growing up in that town, one of the things I really disliked was the lack of cultural diversity and ignorance. I remember going to India with my mom when I was 10 for my uncle's wedding and I came back with mehndi (henna) on my hands, and some of the kids in my class calling me dirty because they were ignorant fools who didn't know any better, and didn't even have the decency to ask me what it was. Or maybe my expectations of a 10-year-old's cultural understanding was high even back then. I guess it's a classic case of "Who came first -- the chicken or the egg?" Who will really know???
ANYWAY... One of the things I love most about living in New York City is that it's such a huge cultural melting pot. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying everything is all hunky dory. I mean racism and prejudice and ignorance still exist in today's world (and it is a sad thing that it does). But i just feel there's a much better sense of acceptance and admiration here than in other parts. I mean we have neighborhoods like "Little India" and "K Town". Then there also come the various celebrations and festivals and free events that occur in the city to celebrate such cultural diversity. And one of those would be no other than the Maharashtra Tourism Diwali at Times Square happening on September 22nd. A festival will be taking place from 11am - 6pm, featuring a celebrtiy autograph/photo booth, fashion show, musical and dance performances, dance lessons, diya/rangoli paintings, lessons in how to drape a sari, henna tattooing and more. Then from 7pm-9pm will be the Light Up Times Square Concert featuring a laser light show and fireworks. Oh and one more thing -- admission is FREE!!!!!! And for those of you wondering what Diwali is -- basically it's the Hindu/Indian New Year, also known as the festival of lights. It's a festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. It symbolizes new beginnings -- something that I am a strong believer in. So for those of you who are always asking me for free things to do or into immersing yourselves into a new cultural experience, here's one you probably will enjoy. So I know I've said I'm a wine drinker. But what a lot of people don't know about me is that once in a while, I like to enjoy a good scotch on the rocks. I have no idea how this came to be, but it did. Well actually I can tell you that I grew to love Jameson when I spent 6 weeks studying abroad in Ireland last year. But where my enjoyment of whisky stems from, I seriously don't know.
Don't get me wrong -- it's not something I like to dabble in on a regular basis. It's one of those things I have to be in the mood for. And it's not one of those things where I down glass after glass. I kind of like to just sip on and enjoy one once in a while. One of the reasons why my guy friends refer to me as a "guy's girl". I'm not really your fruity girly-girl drink type. So it's been a while since I had some scotch. The last time I drank some was in Ireland, after one of the girls who was in the program with me, had just returned from a weekend trip to Scotland. Now mind you, I've always wanted to go to Scotland to look for Nessie, so I'm jealous that she got to go. But I got over it when she decided to share some of her honey Scotch with me. And it was amazing!! And since it's been over a year since I last had some good Scotch, imagine how excited I was to hear about Raise the Macallan, an exclusive FREE Scotch tasting taking place from September 17-20 at The Altman Building. But fear not my non-NYC friends -- there are actually quite a few tastings taking place around the country. To find one that's closest to your neck of the woods, you'll have to visit their website. And as always -- drink responsibly. And my disclaimer of no responsibility on my part for your actions still holds true here. So I used to be one of the most disorganized people ever. No joke. I would constantly be losing things and constantly forgetting about appointments. It got to be more annoying than anything else. Then something happened and I slowly became one of those people who needed order in her life. I mean, don't get me wrong -- I'm no Monica Geller. But, yeah, I like keeping my life organized. It helps me stay on top of my game. Never a forgotten appointment. And most of the time, I can locate what I'm looking for.
But when it comes to having to organize things involving other people, it gets to be difficult. It's hard to plan meetups and hangouts with friends when our schedules are entirely different. Not everyone is on board with doing a group chat of some sort. Not everyone has group texting options. Not everyone does "Reply All" or understand the need for a specific email thread to talk about something specific. Which irks someone like me when trying to stay organized. But luckily, one of my colleagues from school introduced me to Doodle, which makes scheduling a meeting so much easier. The organizer just sends out an e-mail invite to participants and everyone enters in their availability for a given time frame. Makes trying to plan things with other people so much easier, so that there can be time for a crisis intervention if need be. |