Coast 2 Coast Mom

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Viewing Party

This year we were fortunate to be invited to a private viewing party along the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade route in NYC. We had primo seats for the parade balloons and a fabulous view on 6th Ave, across the street from Radio City Music Hall.

Our jaws dropped when we arrived at the location at the Time Life Building - it was truly perfect for parade viewing. Here's the pre-parade view looking up 6th Ave toward Central Park . . .

And the view looking down 6th Ave before the parade began . . .

Amazing, right??

We had brunch and the Kiddo and his friend colored, decorated cookies, and drank hot chocolate while waiting for the parade to get to us, which took about 25 minutes.

The beginning of the parade!

First balloons in sight . . .

Our view watching marching bands pass by . . .

Charlie Brown balloon and kung Fu Panda Po in the background

The Peanuts float . . .

 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid balloon!

 

Jimmy Fallon with The Roots . . .

Spider-Man balloon making its way down 6th Ave . . .

Pikachu . . .

Papa Smurf . . .

Near the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade . . .

The Elf on the Shelf passing by the Hilton New York . . .

Santa's coming!

Santa . . .

The end of the parade . . .

Look at those crowds!

Thank you to Time, Inc. for hosting us, and to the Hilton Honors card from American Express for allowing us to stay in NYC at the Hilton Times Square to #hotelfortheholidays and establish some memorable family holiday traditions.

 

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ANNIE the Musical on Broadway in NYC

ANNIE the Musical premiered on Broadway in NYC recently, and I was invited to preview the show a couple of weeks ago. I was stoked to attend ANNIE on Broadway as I'd only seen the movie before and wanted to see how they compared - and I was excited to introduce the Kiddo to the songs and story that led to his Aunt Annie being named Aunt Annie.

ANNIE the musical delivered pure enjoyment. The characters I remembered from my childhood embodied the lyrics and era. I remain in awe of the ability of the kid and teen actors to nail their performances and lines both on their own and as the ensemble of orphans. They rocked their comedic timing, physical humor and vocals. 

And Sandy! The rescue dogs performed so well, and created aisle-to-aisle smiles throughout the audience when they appeared on stage.

The post-war Depression era setting provided a lot of teaching opportunities throughout the musical. People living in cardboard shanties? Why? Who's Herbert Hoover? Why does Daddy Warbucks live in a mansion? Why do these kids not live at home with their parents?

Of course, the highlight for me was the music. It made me smile while driving home across the GW bridge as my son was singing "It's a Hard Knock Life" from the backseat. He had never heard the song before, and picked up the catchy chorus enough to sing it on the way home unassisted. It was incredibly sweet, and speaks volumes to just how delightful the musical was - even for those not familiar with the characters and story.

There were songs in the musical that I was hearing for the first time: "Thank you Herbert Hoover," and another sung solo by Daddy Warbucks. I was slightly bummed to not hear "We Got Annie" - one of my favorite songs from the movie.

We got Annie

So, back to the Kiddo's Aunt Annie. Annie was the first movie I saw in the movie theater as a kid, and I received the soundtrack soon thereafter. My other sister, Holly, and I played that record over and over on our Fisher-Price record player in the toy room. I'm sure even my dad could recite a few lines from the songs himself he overheard us singing and performing along to the ANNIE movie soundtrack enough, eventhough it was 25 years ago.

So when my parents told Holly and I we were going to get a sister, they let us help pick her name. The list was short, and we ALL agreed on Annie. I can't remember how many times after she was born that we teasingly (and admittedly - straight out earnestly. Hey! We were kids!) danced around singing "We Got Annie!"

I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to see Annie the musical on Broadway, and am grateful that I had the chance to take the Kiddo to experience it too, thanks to MamaDrama. I recommend every family visiting NYC for some family holiday fun see Annie on Broadway this season. #AnnieonBroadway #AnnieonBway #MamaDrama

And yes, there are souvenirs and gift ideas to remember the experience at home. . .

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Samsung Social TV in our Living Room

We've been trying out the Samsung ES8000 SMART TV's Social TV capabilities the last couple of weeks - literally from Barack to Bieber. Like most families, we multi-task when we watch TV, with a remote in one hand and a phone/tablet/laptop in the other. The last several weeks have given us several life-altering "live" events that have kept us - along with millions of viewers - tuned into our televisions and our Twitter accounts like never before.

With the Samsung SMART TV, we simultaneously followed our friends' social media updates while watching Hurricane Sandy coverage, the American Music Awards, and the single most tweeted event in history, the 2012 Presidential Election.

Here's Stevie Wonder singing at the AMA's, you note Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) has tweeted on the right.

2012 Election night coverage.

Like hundreds of apps that you can download to the Samsung TV, the Social TV app has made it convenient to connect to Twitter, Facebook and Google Talk. Since we DVR (time-shift) almost everything we watch using our Tivo Premiere, live events are really the best way to connect with our friends - and to get all their tweets and Facebook posts overlaid onto the TV is pretty cool.

How it Works
The remote that comes with the TV helps choose three different overlay options and you can choose how the TV content is displayed relative to the social media on the screen. The older model of our 55” TV came with a QWERTY keyboard which made it easier to respond, but not as practical.

The Social TV app automatically updates the total number of posts by placing a number next to each corresponding feed, or by an alert that will appear in the bottom right of the screen. You switch the screen view to hide the updates, and a number will pop up at the bottom right every so often showing you how many status updates have been updated so you can click and switch to show them if you'd like. If you consider that the night of the election there were 31 million tweets, and at one point 327,452 tweets per minute when the election was called, that’s a lot of reading and scrolling on your TV.

I have a feeling we'll be watching some holiday classics this way - perhaps starting with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special tonight. :-)

A huge thank you to Samsung for providing the television for us to try out, and for sponsoring my blog these two months as part of their #FamiliesInMotion initiative.

United Nations Foundation Shot@Life App Launch

The United Nations Foundation recently celebrated the launch of an app for their Shot@Life program, an initiative to protect children worldwide by providing life-saving vaccines. The lovely ladies of Trumpeting Media invited us to attend the event and donate to the program, which we happily did.

The UN Foundation worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics to launch the Shot@Life app to help parents track children's milestones while raising awareness of the need for life-saving childhood vaccines worldwide. The premise behind the app is that 1.5 million children die globally each year from a disease that could have been prevented by a vaccine - like polio, diarrhea, measles and pneumonia. The parents of those 1.5 million children don't get to celebrate the usual childhood milestones like a first smile, first steps or losing a first tooth.

Fancy Nancy the Musical in NYC

Fancy Nancy the Musical premiered at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on the Upper West Side of NYC this weekend, opening the Vital Theatre Company's 2012-2013 season of family programming. I was delighted to have been invited to attend the purple carpet press opening and see the show for myself!

I even borrowed a fancy li'l friend, Little C, to join me for the experience. . .

Ford Fusion and MILK Studios Unveil "Wall To Wall: The Fusion Collective"

If you're like me, when you look at a car, you don't instinctively see it as art, but rather as a functional vehicle to take you someplace . . . although you could agree that the auto industry produces some impressive masterpieces to that end! So it explains why Ford would partner with the revolutionary MILK Studios to create "Wall to Wall: The Fusion Collective," a very cool multimedia art experience.

Last night in New York City, Ford unveiled the "Wall to Wall: The Fusion Collective" exhibition, at an amazing event that showcased amazing creative talent, and prepares for the release of the newly redesigned 2013 Ford Fusion next month. The event included celebrity appearances by the likes of Shawn White and Adrian Grenier (of Entourage fame, and now partnering with Ford through his eco-friendly company SHFT).

However, the real stars of the night were the artists ("The Fusionists") from MILK and Ford. These accomplished multimedia artsits collaborated to create an immersive digital and real-world gallery experience - literally from wall to wall of the studio space.

Among the exhibitors were individuals from Ford responsible from everything from design within virtual reality environments (far left picture), the scale model builders (middle), and the graphic artist (who was photoshopping a rendering of the Ford Fusion live on his latop).

 

Here are pics from the great pieces that were showcased last night. The first set are from Matthew Williams entitled Rose, and using the latest in digital technology to project white and color images against a cascading wall of mist.

This piece by Nathaniel Brown is entitled The Birth of Eve was a "rock concert for your eyes and ears" as he described it.  This piece is certainly a visual and aural experience, as you're enclosed in a three-sided cube being bombarded by images and music (headphones are located in the center of the cube).

And last but certainly not least, the 2013 Ford Fusion!

Wall To Wall: The Fusion Collective travels next to Los Angeles, so look for it there...

The Amazing Max: A Must-See Magic Show in NYC

We were recently invited to attend a magical and giggle-inducing performance of The Amazing Max at the MMAC Theater (Manhattan Movement and Arts Center) near Lincoln Center in NYC. It was everything we had hoped it would be. Max perfectly wove magic tricks with spontaneous family-friendly humor that kept everyone from tots to grandparents smiling through the whole show. It was, in fact, amazing!

We took one of the Kiddo's friends with us to enjoy the show, and we also had the Kiddo's class "pet," Rocky the monkey, along with us. He had to take pictures and write in a journal about what he did while Rocky stayed with us. Taking him into NYC for a magic show was the highlight! :-)

Rocky traveling over the GW Bridge...

We arrived to the MMAC and were seated in the magic carpet ride ticketing area right up front for crazy good seats in front of the stage.

From the minute Max rode out onto the stage on his big wheel, the kids were squealing with laughter and mesmerized by his mind-blowing tricks. The show incorporates volunteers from the audience, and nearly every child's hand goes up immediately. The Kiddo was chosen to participate in one trick involving a bell that rings for Max, but wouldn't ring when the Kiddo shook it.

Then - get THIS! I was called on for the next trick. Max didn't just blow my mind, his prop pig Hamlet READ my mind. (I had to write down a name on a normal piece of paper, tear the paper off to keep to myself, and give him the pad and ink back.) Some fun Barry White music played while Hamlet stared at me from the stage, then he "told" Max the word I'd written down and Max wrote it on a big board. Absolutely correct - and mind-blowing. It's one trick nearly everyone in line for autographs later asked me about. How'd he do it??

Check out the permagrin on the Kiddo...he had SO MUCH FUN!!

The Amazing Max and The Box of Interesting Things shows Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. through June 30, 2012. He's also available for birthday parties or off-site private parties. We ourselves are debating a birthday party with Max. We've seen him twice now and I'm sure we'd all be smiling after a third. I know the Kiddo can't wait to introduce his friends and classmates to The Amazing Max, so hopefully we'll narrow down some dates and check availability :-)

The boys still grinning even after waiting in line after the show for an autograph and photos:

A huge thank you to @TheAmazingMax for inviting us to enjoy the show.

21c Museum Hotel an Unexpected Gem in Louisville, KY

Our stop in Louisville, KY introduced us to the 21c Museum Hotel - a fabulous find along our coast-to-coast road trip. It's part hotel and part contemporary art museum, which gives it just the right touch of modern quirkiness and classy yet comfortable Southern decor for a unique boutique hotel experience. I've sung the praises of the 21c Hotel ever since our visit, and now recommend our friends visiting Louisville stay there.

The hotel's located a block from the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum, and is on West Main Street within walking distance of several restaurants along Kentucky's Museum Row, allowing ample opportunity to take in some of the amazing historical architecture and local street art.

Foods of NY Walking Tour of Greenwich Village

While attending the "Working Moms Night Out" at the Residence Inn by Marriott last week, we were treated to a delightful Foods of NY walking tour through Greenwich Village. Our guide, Sephra, was thoughtful and funny, going into shops ahead of us to put in special requests. She established our expectations and rapport right off the bat with a silly napkin grader for each stop and her sense of humor and attention to details along the way ensured that all of us had a terrific time. 

While the tour stops for each neighborhood may vary each time, we started our tour off at Joe's Pizza on Carmine. Here's some of the photo highlights from the walking tour:

 
Where we had a slice of pizza...

 

Nike Advertising: What Type of Consumer and Athlete is Nike Targeting These Days?

Oh, Nike. (Sigh.) In case you haven't been following the recent Nike advertising and marketing announcements, Ad Chickadee has a thoughtful synopsis on just why I'm sighing right now. Nike announced that they've re-signed Michael Vick to their athlete roster, and also started selling Nike shirts with phrases like "Dope," and "Get High," on them - which while controversial, seem the opposite of phrases that a healthy active athlete would be touting anyway.

There was a reason we stopped getting excited about your products, Nike...and it had nothing to do with your marketing. We didn't start buying Under Armour (among others) for their marketing. Their products were innovative and sexy, so we gave 'em a try. We liked how they made us look (how athletic and flattering!) and how they wicked as we ran (how comfortable!).