Coast 2 Coast Mom

Momofuku Milk Bar Treats - Icing on Cake

While basking in the after glow of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, we walked up Fifth Ave to check out the holiday lights and decorations. Even though it was starting to rain, it was a beautiful night and end to our holiday dinner, annual Rockettes show and stay in NYC. The icing on the cake - literally - was walking into Momofuku Milk Bar for some late night sweet treats. :-) We stopped into the Milk Bar at the Chambers Hotel on 56th and picked up some treats to enjoy back at the Hilton Times Square. We tasted the candy... Read more →

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... Read more →

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... Read more →

Hilton Honors AmEx Card Helps Families “Hotel for the Holidays”

As Generation X and Millennial families leave their hometowns to settle down in distant cities, more and more families find themselves traveling over the holidays. When all of the siblings head home, there may not be enough “room at the inn” for everyone to comfortably stay under your parents’ roof, (hello air mattress, pull-out bed, sleeping bag!) so you head to a hotel. Or, sometimes the road trip home to visit family may seem too long for a weekend trip, or too expensive to fly home for every holiday, but you still want to make memories and establish traditions for... Read more →

Attending a Taping of The Katie Show

I had a blast attending Katie Couric's The Katie Show to live tweet and blog during an episode taping yesterday with special guest Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. I arrived at ABC Studios on time despite the dreary and rainy morning. I hung out in the green room and met another NYC-area tech blogger, mommytechdiary, also there to tweet and blog during the show taping. Then after chit-chatting and comparing our Midwestern roots with the online producer, she whisked us into our front row seats amidst the comedian's audience warm-up. This was my view from the front row with my... Read more →

Butterflies are back at the American Museum of Natural History

The Butterfly Conservatory: Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter opens for the season tomorrow at the American Museum of Natural History, and we have a sneak peak of this fun annual exhibit that's returning for its 15th year! Hundreds of butterfies will be on view to interact with species coming from farms in Florida, Costa Rica, Kenya, Thailand, Malaysia, Ecuador, and Australia. The vibrant colors of the butterflies are amazing to look at, and the plant life interspersed throughout the 1,200 square foot vivarium (yes, that's what it's called) brings it all to life. Be prepared though...butterflies live in humid climates,... Read more →

HomeAdvisor Re-Launches With New Home Improvement Tools

We've all been there, an appliance breaks, work needs to be done on the house, and you're not sure where to turn first, or more importantly who to trust to do the work. HomeAdvisor, formerly ServiceMagic, invited some press to learn more about their rebranding efforts, new tools and a cool new DIY app. New features add some nice value to what ServiceMagic was already doing - arming DIY consumers with the intelligence to make informed decisions, and setting expectations on costs before they pick up the phone or accept an estimate. The HomeAdvisor Cost Guide specifically caught my eye,... Read more →

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. . . Inside awaiting the Fancy Nancy musical to begin . . . There were pink feather boas and butterfly headbands inside to get even more fancy for the hour-long performance. Little C was mesmerized by the... Read more →

Visit to the newly renovated Hilton Westchester #MeetMeInWCNY

When we visited Westchester County recently as part of the #MeetMeInWCNY program, we stayed at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, NY, located amidst 37 acres of lush woods, manicured grounds and trails. The hotel just completed a $35 million renovation project in July 2012, and you could tell that a lot of thought had been put into the rooms, entryway and central lobby area. The new open lobby takes advantage of natural light, and the floor to ceiling windows bring some of the natural surroundings outdoors, inside. The natural decor with stones and tropical flowers seemed to echo the... Read more →

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... Read more →