Easy Kale or Collards

1 bunch of kale (or collard greens) washed and sliced into thin ribbons
1 onion, sliced into half moons (optional)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin, unrefined is best)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce (1- to 3-year aged brands such as Mitoku or Eden brands)

Put greens in a large cast iron skillet on a high flame. Add olive oil to pan, then onions (garlic if desired), a pinch of salt, and saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add greens, then soy sauce, and saute for another 4 to 5 minutes or until slightly wilted, but not colorless.

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Roasted Root Vegetables

1 sweet potato
2 parsnips
2 carrots
2 turnips or 1 large rutabaga
1 daikon radish (or substitute/add in your favorites, like squash)
Olive oil
Salt
Optional herbs - rosemary, thyme or sage (fresh if possible)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and chop all vegetables into large bite-sized pieces. Place in a large baking dish with sides. Drizzle with olive oil; mix well to coat each vegetable lightly with oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs. Bake uncovered for 25-35 minutes until vegetables are tender and golden brown, checking every 10 minutes to stir and make sure veggies are not sticking.

Any combination of vegetables or even one kind of vegetable will work.

Kale Chips

3-4 leaves of fresh kale
1 tsp Olive oil
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste - make sure to use less salt that normal as kale absorbs salt, and your regular amount may render the chips to be salty

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry the kale leaves. Cut/tear the kale leaves into bits sized squares. Lay them out on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with paprika, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes or till they become crisp. Be careful as these chips bake really quick, so you may want to check after 4 minutes.

Steamed Vegetables (Nishime Style)

Use a combination of whatever vegetables you have on hand.

1 carrot, cut into large chunks
1/4 cabbage, cut into large wedges
1 onion, sliced into large wedges
1/4 cup hard, sweet winter squash, cubed
1/4 cup daikon, sliced into large chunks
2-3 inch strip kombu, soaked and sliced into small strips
1/2 cup of spring or filtered water for steaming

Place kombu and its soaking water in bottom of a pot. Layer vegetables on top of one another in the following order: daikon, onion, cabbage, squash and carrot. (Burdock and lotus root, cut smaller, also may be added.)Cover pot and bring to a boil over medium-high flame until there’s steam from the pot. Lower flame and cook without disturbing pot for 15-20 minutes or longer. If water evaporates during cooking, add more water to the bottom of the pot. When vegetables are tender, add a few drops of soy sauce and mix. Replace cover and simmer 5 more minutes. Remove from flame, let sit, and serve after a couple minutes.

Other combinations to try:
- turnip, onion, carrot, shiitake
- carrot, leek, cauliflower, corn, daikon, shiitake, daikon greens
- burdock, carrot, onion, squash
- butternut squash, parsnips, carrots and turnip

Wedding Insurance

When we started to plan our wedding, we had a very particular place in mind – the place we have visited before and fell in love with… Imagine our disappointment when we learned that the place was closing down because of the developer’s bankruptcy. Well, at least we have not lost our deposits, we kept thinking to ourselves. And, then, it occurred to me – what do you do if the place where you put the deposit down, goes out of business (and in this economy, you just never know), what if the hotel destroyed by the hurricane and is closed down for renovations for a year? What if the airline cancels all the flights because of the weather? The answer is simple…

Buy wedding insurance…

There are several companies who offer wedding insurance. Coverage of each policy will differ so make sure you read the policy prior to purchasing. All offer coverage for cancellation & postponement up to the amount selected by you. Other coverages to consider are: Extra Expense (if you have to spend additional money to re-book or re-schedule the event), Photo & Video, Gifts, Special Attire, Special Jewelry, Loss of Deposits, and Counseling (on some policies).

http://www.wedsafe.com

http://www.protectmywedding.com

http://www.nasep.org/wedding-coverage-summary.html

http://www.fdeanfl.com

http://www.firemansfund.com

http://www.onedayevent.com

Coupons

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AmericanExpress gift cards
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Substitutions

Sometimes, while cooking, I realize that I am out of an ingredient. Did you know that you can almost always substitute an ingredient in a recipe? An added perk - sometimes, the substitution may be even healthier for you.

Here are some healthier substitutions for cheeses:
Cream cheese - American Neufchatel (don't confuse it with French)
Brie - Camembert
Gruyere - Swiss
Havarti - Gouda

Cook your own pumpkin

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You can make your own pumpkin puree very easily. Buy a sugar or pie pumpkin (don’t use the big pumpkins that you carve — they don’t taste good), cut in half and remove the seeds. Brush the inside of the pumpkin halves with vegetable or olive oil. Place them on a large rimmed baking sheet, cut side down, and pour in about 1 cup of water. Bake the pumpkin at 350ºF until tender (it can take between 1 and 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size of the pumpkin). Let it cool, then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh, and puree it in a blender or food processor. You’ll get about 1 cup of puree per pound of pumpkin. Pumpkin freezes well and can be used in recipes later in the winter.

How to recycle your CFL bulbs

We have been slowly replacing our old lightbulbs with energy-saving Compact Fluorescent lightbulbs. Today, our first CFL burned. Since CFLs contain mercury (look for symbol Hg on the lightbulb to confirm whether it contains mercury or not), they CANNOT be disposed in your regular garbage. Click on the link here to learn how to dispose of your used not-broken CFLs.

Wedding Photography

Photography is one of the most important things on your wedding day. You want all of your precious moments and memories to be captured for future generations. However, with some professional photographers charging up to $10,000, what a bride to do to get her wedding memories preserved? You would be surprised how many other options there are besides having your aunt Rose taking amateur shots… Of course, there is nothing wrong with having your guests take amateur pictures. However, please do not rely solely on those or you will regret it for the rest of your life. If you are on a budget, as most brides are these days, consider supplementing your amateur photos with some taken by a professional photographer hired only for few hours. Here are some suggestions on how to get the best wedding photographs without breaking a bank:

1. HIRE A PROFESSIONAL ONLY TO SHOOT & ASK FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION DIGITAL IMAGES ON A DISK
  • It seems that gone are the days when the wedding photographs consisted solely of formal unnatural posed shots. Yet, the photographers who were trained in that style are still around, and you can find one for very little money (even as little as few hundred dollars for 6-8 hours of work!). However, if you're like me, I prefer a more photojournalistic, story-telling, non-intruding style – which is more artistic and therefore expensive. An experienced professional who takes photojournalistic photos can charge up to $10,000 (depending on location), but you can find a less experienced (yet with some experience) photographer on Craigslist at a fraction of a cost. Just make sure you review their work (and their blogs) and interview several photographers to pick from.
  • If the photographer can be retained by the hour, consider hiring him/her only for the hours you need and insist on getting all high-resolution images on CD/DVD.
  • If the photographer only offers packages, purchase only the basic/budget package and insist on getting all high-resolution negatives on a CD/DVD. This is where you will save a lot of money. You can print your own pictures from the digital negatives at a fraction of a cost.
  • Consider calling your local school and asking for a student photographer. They may need to build their portfolios and you will get your wedding pictures at a fraction of a cost.
  • Browse bridal blogs in your area and search for recommendations from other brides. In fact, that is how I found our photographer.
  • Attend local bridal shows to get recommendations.
2. HAVE GUESTS EMAIL YOU THEIR PICS

3. RETOUCH PHOTOS TAKEN BY THE PROFESSIONAL AND GUESTS AFTER THE WEDDING

When you get your high-resolutions digitals from the professional photographer, they will be unedited and not retouched. The same goes for your guests’ amateur photos. If you are using Snapfish or other photo sites, some basic retouching such as color correction and cropping is offered to you for free.

Here are some sites where you can get more advanced retouching and editing -
399retouch.com
Charges $9.99 for Standard Cosmetic Retouch per photo with 1 person to be retouched – retouch will include things such as dark areas under the eyes, yellowed teeth, minor wrinkles and scars. For $3.99, you can get cropping and color correction of your photos (but remember that you can also get those services at photo sites such as Snapfish for free). The site also offers wholesale retouching prices on 25 or more images. You must certify that you either own the copyright (i.e. you or your guest took the photo) or have permission of the copyright owner (i.e. professional photographer) to have them modified by 399Retouch.com.

photohand.com
Photo retouching starts at $3.50 for simple, $5.95 for moderate and $11.95 for complex retouching. The site also offers photo restoration services (starting at $11.95 for simple, $24.95 for moderate and $37.95 for complex) and photo book design that starts with $6.00 per page for design only or $9.00 per page for design and retouching.
Retouchassistant.com
The site charged $5.00 for “flagship retouch” - all of standard facial retouching such as stray hairs, softening bags under eyes, removing blemishes, whitening teeth/eyes, removing a second catch light, softening facial glare, etc. For $10.00, you can get all of the above retouches plus more extensive work such as eye enhancement, removing bags under the eyes, wrinkles, opening eyes, swapping heads, etc. For $20.00, in addition to the above services, you can add or remove people, recover images (under/over exposed images), slim your body and add other glamour retouching. All prices are flat per photo no matter how many people are in the photo.
Photorelive.com
The site charges $6.99 for face smoothing, color correction and some enhancements; $9.99 for wide retouching, skin smoothing and full body enhancements; $14.99 for technical work such as torn photos, colorizing, black & white. Make sure to check out special “offers” on the bottom of the page.
Retouchmax.com
All retouches are $10.00.
Carranddash.com
$39 for artistic photo-retouching per photo. Although it is the more expensive service, you may want to get a couple of those very fancy artistic wedding photos.
4. DO-IT-YOURSELF EDITING AND RETOUCHING

If you’re really on a budget, there are many free photo editing programs that you can download. These programs give you basic image editing features to perform standard photo enhancement tasks. Click here for a list of top 10 Budget Photo Editors for Windows (PhotoScape, GIMP for Windows, Paint.NET, Serif PhotoPlus, Pixia, VCW VicMan's Photo Editor, PhotoFiltre, Ultimate Paint, ImageForge, Picasa).

5. MAKE YOUR OWN ALBUMS

If you purchase the digital files from the photographer, you can make your own photo albums through any of the photo sites such as Snapfish, etc. If you purchase the albums from the photographer, they would cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars (albeit, the photographer’s albums are of better quality and may last a little longer, but then you have your own CD/DVD with all the images – you can always reprint your albums in the future if their quality suffers over time). Here are some other sites through which you can make your own albums:
Have fun!

Spinach-Mushroom Lasagna

1 jar 26 oz marinara sauce
Lasagna noodles
20 oz frozen spinach (or use canned spinach)
1 lb mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1.5 tsp dried basil
8 oz reduced-fat cream cheese (do NOT use fat-free)
1/4 cup vegetable broth (or water)
3.75 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Soak noodles in hot water until soft for about 10 minutes. Squeeze dry the thawed spinach in a colander. Set aside. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and saute mushrooms until well browned, 5-7 minutes. Add spinach, stir and remove from heat. Stir in basil, cream cheese and 1/4 cup broth or water. Smear 1/4 cup marinara sauce over the bottom of the baking dish, then make layers in the following order:
- lasagna noodles
- 3/4 cup marinara sauce
- some vegetable filling
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Top it off with the last noodles, 3/4 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover with foil loosely. Bake at 400 on the lower-middle rack until bubbly, about 40-45 minutes. Uncover and turn oven to broil leaving the pan on the same rack. Broil for 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven and let it sit for 10 minutes. Cut in squares and serve.

To make your own marinara sauce for this recipe: saute 3 minced garlic cloves over medium heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until garlic starts to sizzle. Add one 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes and 1/4 cup water or vegetable stock. The sauce should be neither thin nor gloppy. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for about 10 minutes (this will make 3 cups of sauce).

Roasted Tomato Marinara Sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil
6 lbs. tomatoes, cored and cut in half
1/2 large onion, chopped
Any other vegetables (zucchini, peppers, carrots, celery, etc.)
5-6 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. of each dried thyme, oregano, basil,or use 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp pepper

Pour olive oil into large roasting pan. Cut the tomatoes in halves and place the cut side down into some of the oil and slide it to the edge of the pan. Repeat with all the tomatoes until the pans are full with a single layer of tomatoes and the oil has been distributed evenly. Scatter chopped onions over the pans, tucking them into the crevices. Add other vegetables, if any. Drizzle balsamic vinegar. Add garlic and any other herbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 45 minutes at 400 or until vegetables are soft. Remove skins with tongs, as desired. Process briefly in a blender or processor for a chunky sauce, or more for a smooth sauce. Use right away, or pour into quart-size freezer containers leaving an inch or two for expansion, date and label before freezing. Makes about 2 quarts.

Wine and Champagne picks for your party

The following suggestions were compiled for my wedding but you can adopt them for any party...

Red, white, or rosé wine?
Consider serving equal amounts of one red and one white wine if the reception includes a meal or hors d'oeuvres. If you want to pour just one wine with the meal, go with a dry rosé.

Top White Wine Picks:

Sauvignon Blanc:
2007 Geyser Peak California Sauvignon Blanc ($12.00 per bottle)
2007 Matua Valley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand ($12.00)
Pinot Grigio:

2007 Nobilo Regional Collection East Coast Pinot Gris, New Zealand ($13)

2006 Four Graces Dundee Hills Pinot Gris, Oregon ($18)
Chardonnay:

2007 Valley of the Moon Russian River Valley Unoaked Chardonnay ($16)

2006 Beringer Stanly Ranch Carneros Chardonnay ($20)

Top Red Wine Picks:

Cabernet Sauvignon:
2005 Charles Krug Peter Mondavi Family Yountville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($26)
2005 Three Thieves The Show California Cabernet Sauvignon ($13)

Pinot Noir:

2006 Belle Vallée Willamette Valley Whole Cluster Pinot Noir, Oregon ($16)

2006 Sebastiani Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, California ($18)

2005 Domaine de la Croix Jacquelet Mercurey ($23)

Rose Wines:

2007 Beckmen Vineyards Purisima Mountain Vineyard Santa Ynez Grenache Rosé ($18)

2007 Frog's Leap La Grenouille Rouganté Napa Valley ($14)

2006 Mas de Gourgonnier Rosé, France ($16)


Top Sparkling Wine Picks:

Zonin Special Cuvee Brut Prosecco ($11)

Maschio Cavalieri dei Valdobbiadene Brut ($20)

Greg Norman Estates Sparkling Pinot Noir/Chardonnay, Australia ($15)

Top Champagne Picks:
Piper-Heidsieck Brut ($33)

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut ($30)

Janisson & Fils Tradition Brut ($34)


Top Sparkling Wines to be served with dessert:

Most sparkling wines are labeled "brut"- i.e. they're quite dry and contain less than 1.5% sugar. Therefore, look for a "demi-sec" sparkling wine with 3.3%-5% sugar to complement the dessert:

Mumm Napa Valley Cuvee M ($19)

2004 Schramsberg California Cremant Demi-Sec ($37)

2006 Ceretto Moscato di Asti Santo Stefano, Italy ($19)


Consider the season of your event:

Spring and Summer events:
Select brisk white wines, dry rosés, and light- to medium-bodied red wines. Brisk whites include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio, unoaked Chardonnay, Riesling, and sparkling wines. Medium-bodied reds include Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Italian Valpolicella, Spanish Rioja, and Rhone Valley Côtes du Rhône.
Winter and Fall Events:
Select heavier Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz, and Zinfandel wines.

How much wine to buy?

It is better to have too much wine than not enough. You can always take the remaining bottles home for future parties. The standard 750-ml wine bottle holds 5 servings of wine. The Champagne or Sparkling Wine bottle will yield 6 servings (since it is served in flutes). Each guest will consume 1/2 bottle of wine every 2 hours. Therefore, consider having 1 bottle per person for a 4-hour party. Some people will drink more, some less and some not at all.


Reliable brands that consistently deliver good quality at very fair prices are:

California: Chateau St. Jean, Geyser Peak, Joel Gott, Kendall Jackson, Rosenblum, Sebastiani

Washington: Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, Hogue, Reininger

Oregon: Argyle, A to Z Wineworks, Belle Vallée, Firesteed

Australia: Greg Norman Estates, McWilliam's, Rosemount, Yalumba

New Zealand: Brancott, Matua Valley, Villa Maria

France: E. Guigal, La Vieille Ferme, Louis Jadot, Perrin & Fils

Argentina: Alamos, Andeluna, Bodega Norton

Chile: Concha y Toro, Vina Santa Rita

Italy: Castello Banfi, Falesco

Spain: Bodegas Montecillo and Bodegas Muga


Other tips and suggestions:

  1. Consider shopping at discount stores such as Costco and Sam's Club for the best deals.
  2. Keep your eye on local wine shops and supermarkets advertising specials.
  3. Discounters and large markets buy in huge quantities and thus get deals that they pass on to customers; mom-and-pop shops place smaller orders and don't get the same deals.
  4. Most stores give discounts on full-case purchases, usually ranging between 10%-20%.
  5. If the venue charges a corkage fee, consider negotiating it down.
  6. You can personalize your bottles with custom-design labels at website such as SignatureWines.com, PersonalWine.com, and Windsor Vineyards.
  7. Visit snooth.com for aggregated wine reviews from users or wineloverspage.com.
  8. If you have the time, buy few of the recommended wines and taste them at home before the party.

Wedding Stationery

You can pretty much make all of your own stationery - save the date postcards, invitations, response cards, maps, programs, seating cards, thank you cards.

SAVE THE DATE:
Consider emailing Save-the-Dates to cut down on printing costs and postage. Another idea is to use one of your photographs and print Save-the-Date postcards using Snapfish.com or Vistaprint.com.

INVITATIONS:
You can purchase paper online or at stores such as Michaels, Staples, etc. Check out clearance racks or consider discontinued sets and styles – you can always purchase plain paper and decorate it with various embellishments the way you want it - use overlays, ribbons, rhinestone buckles, etc. You can start your search by visiting Formal Invitations. Or, check out fabulous templates created by Anna Skye at Download & Print. Purchase ribbons in bulk to cut down on cost. Or, buy rubber stamps from Impress. The same goes for response cards, programs, thank you notes. Check my other post on free templates and monograms.

NUMBER OF INVITATIONS:
When drafting your guest list, categorize guests into 3 categories (MUST be invited; SHOULD be invited; WOULD LIKE to invite if possible). Include your guests’ significant others but omit casual dates.

FONTS:
Choose a script font for a formal or semi-formal wedding. Two beautiful fonts can be downloaded for free here. Some fancy fonts from Dafont include Chopin Script, Champignon, Renaissance, Scriptina, Brock Script, Tagettes, Exmouth, Old Script. Also, check out Ecolier or Freebooter Script. Some beautiful choices are Sacker's English Script, Lucia BT, Vivaldi, Edwardian Script or less formal-looking Regalia. Some other less formal suggestions are Garamond, Lucida Handwriting, Book Antiqua and Papyrus. For more free fonts, check these sites:
Fonts.com
Dafont.com
1001FreeFonts.com
Urbanfonts.com
AbstractFonts.com
ClearChinese.com
SearchFreeFonts.com
HighFonts.com
Do not use more than 2-3 font styles on your invitations, and stay away from the most commonly used fonts – Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New.

WEDDING CLIPART
Free wedding clipart can be found here.


FONT SIZE:
Play around with the sizes. Select the longest line on your invitation and try making it different sizes. Start at 18 point but no more than 22 point – this is the same range most professional printers use.

MONOGRAMS & BORDERS
Consider adding borders from the standard WordPerfect formats. Or, find free wedding clipart at WeddingClipArt.com. Or, here are some ideas on how you can create your own monograms:
  • Go to Vistaprint, create a monogram to be used for one of their products, then cut and paste into your WordPerfect document. Use as you wish on your stationery by cutting and pasting.
  • Visit this site to view tutorials on how to create your own monograms in Adobe Photoshop.
  • Visit Youtube to view tutorials or this site for instructions on how to create monograms using PowerPoint.
  • Visit Youtube for instructions on how to create a monogram in Microsoft Word. After you are finished, copy your image into Microsoft Paint and save in several formats, such as JPEG.
  • For more ideas on using your monograms, visit this site.
INVITATION WORDING:
Google the “wedding invitation wording” and find the most acceptable format for you. Be creative – you don’t have to follow all the formal rules. For more information, check out Verse It. Or, if you need help with love quotes, visit Brainy Quote. Instead of having separate reception cards, include your reception information on the invitation. Do not ever include registry information on your invitations – but rather, include the website info (it is acceptable to have registry information on your website). If children are not invited, you can either include a separate card with your invitation making a reference to it being Adults Only Event or state so on the invitation itself. Do not say “No children please.” You may also call each guest with children to discuss your your “no children” rule upfront.

RESPONSE CARDS:
Use response postcards rather than response cards with envelopes. It will cost you $28.00 in postage for every 100 postcards vs. $44.00 for every 100 response cards with envelopes. Also, consider Vistaprint for your response postcards. Sign up for their mailing list or google promotional codes for Vistaprint to get codes for 100 FREE postcards – you will only to pay shipping and handling.

THANK YOU CARDS:
For thank you cards, have one of the guests take a picture of the two of you with a “Thank You” sign during the reception. Order photo cards online through websites such as Snapfish or Vistaprint and send it out as Thank You cards.

MAPS & DIRECTIONS CARDS:
See my Wedding Maps post on how to make your own wedding maps or order them online to match your stationery.

ADDRESSING ENVELOPES:
Check out Verse It for instructions on how to address the envelopes.

ADDRESS LABELS:

Get those free from Vistaprint.com – just google Vistaprint promotional codes and pay only for shipping and handling. You can even find the labels that will somewhat match your invitations.

STAMPS:
Select invitation that can be mailed using only one stamp – in other words, stay away from square invitations or those 10-page folded pocket invitations – both of which will require higher postage. Do not forget to have the post office weigh the invitations prior to mailing to get the exact postage.

Rather than paying for fancy wedding stamps, visit your post office and ask for wedding-themed stamps. The stamp on the left is one of the designs currently offered by the USPS.

If you have any embellishments on your invitations, ask the post office to have your invitations "hand cancelled" with a stamp rather than being run through a machine (to avoid ink smudging and black marks). Also, visit this site for directions on how to properly address your invitations.

If you have any other ideas, please feel free to drop me a line...

Wedding Maps

Together with your invitations, you should include maps and direction cards which will make it easier for the guests to find your ceremony/reception location. Nothing is worse than having your guests lost on their way to the wedding or reception. If you are ordering your invitations from a vendor, you can order the maps at the same time to match the invitations.

Or, you can make the maps and direction cards yourself. Some suggestions are:
  • Decide on one or two central locations from which to start the directions (such as airport, one of the main highways, or from a central attraction well known to your guests).
  • Try to include maps and direction cards (you can have a map on one side and directions on the other). If you have to pick between the two, direction cards are often the better choice because they appear a little more classy and are often more useful than maps. You can use Google or Yahoo maps to determine the directions, then print them using the font and the paper to match the rest of your stationery.
  • Include the phone number for the ceremony/reception location or for someone in the family with a cell phone just in case if the guests get lost and need to call someone for guidance.
  • Google "wedding maps" and shop around to find the best deal. For example, if you want 100 printed maps with directions and 2 locations (one for ceremony and one for reception), it will cost you $80.00 at Mainstreamaps.com, or $149.00 at Idoweddingmaps.com, or $223 at Weddingmaps.com. If you want to get the PDF file and print the maps yourself, it will cost you $89 at Idoweddingmaps.com or $100-$110 at Mainstreamaps.com.
  • You can also purchase the print-ready PDF map file and print it yourself. For example, Design & Illustration by Alex offers PDF files of the wedding map for $25 (with single location) and $35 (with 2 locations). The file also includes driving directions or parking info on the back if desired. Not a bad deal.
Or, you can create your own maps for free (well, not totally free – since you still have to pay for the paper and ink). Check out this post how to make maps using Yahoo maps. Or, click here on detailed instructions on how create beautiful wedding maps. Maximum time spent 6 hours. Now you just have to decide whether it is worth to pay someone $80-$223 (or more) to print your maps, or whether you want to spend 6 hours to make your own…

Growing Basil

This year we grew some organic basil on our balcony and were surprised to find out how much basil you can get from a small container. It amazes me that the store-bought basil costs at least $2.99 but does not taste nearly as good as your own grown basil. Now that we are drowning in basil, I started to research the recipes we can make with all that basil… First thing came to mind is pesto! Just throw some basil, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, nuts, garlic, salt and pepper in the food processor and pulse until smooth.

Here is the recipe for pesto:
Homemade Pesto

Here are some other recipes in which pesto can be used:
Chicken Pesto Pasta
Pesto Pasta Salad
Black Olive-Pesto Pinwheels
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Pesto Butter
Mediterranean Pizza

Mediterranean Pizza

1 pizza crust
1 cup pesto sauce
1 cup artichoke heart
1 cup sun-dried tomato
1 cup wilted spinach leaves
1/2 cup kalamata olive or black olive
1 cup prosciutto
4 ounces feta cheese
4 ounces mozzarella cheese-provolone cheese mix
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Brush pizza shell with olive oil. Spread pesto sauce thoroughly over the surface of the shell, leaving the edge as a crust. Top with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, wilted spinach leaves, meat and cover with cheeses. Place pizza directly on oven rack for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted from centre to edge. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

Pesto Pasta Salad

4 cups uncooked spiral pasta
1 cup fresh basil pesto
2 Tbsp chopped green olives
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup fresh or frozen peas, defrosted
12 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
several fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Cook pasta al dente. Mix in fresh basil pesto, green olives, and pine nuts. Gently mix in cherry tomatoes, peas, fresh basil leaves and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill or serve at room temperature.

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Cook pasta and reserve ½ cup of the cooking water. Toss cooked pasta with pesto, shredded chicken and halved cherry tomatoes. Add the reserved cooking water as needed to get the pesto to mix in smoothly. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Homemade Pesto

4 cups fresh basil leaves
¾ to 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 minced garlic
½ cup pine nuts or walnuts
½ to 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Toast the nuts in a small skillet (don’t burn them) and cool. Toast the garlic until it has brown spots on all sides (this should remove the raw garlic flavor that can spoil so many homemade pestos). Place basil, nuts, Parmesan cheese, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until it turns into smooth paste. Slowly pour in oil. Mix in processor until combined.
  • Did you know that walnuts could be stored in a freezer for long-term storage?
  • Some recipes mix spinach with basil.
  • Stir pesto into hot cooked pasta or use as a sauce for a Chicken-Pesto Pizza.
  • If you’re going to store pesto, pour a bit of olive oil on top so it stays fresh
  • Some people freeze pesto in ice cubes and then pop them into a bag for easy storage in the freezer, however, some chefs opt for freezing a basil puree which can be transformed into pesto after defrosting. This is how you would do it: Submerge basil leaves in boiling water and cook until soft, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander and cool with cold water. Drain again and press gently to remove excess water. Place in a food processor with a dash of salt and some olive oil. Process until pureed and freeze in small packages.
  • For other ideas on how to use pesto, click here.

3 Reasons to Ban the Plastic Bottle


Waste: It is estimated that annually 22 billion empty plastic bottles are thrown in the trash in the United States. Can you imagine what would happen to our planet if we don’t cut down on all that plastic waste?

Save money: Tap water is just as a clean and safe to drink as bottled water, and it is free. Think of it this way – before plastic bottles were invented, people did not die of thirst. The only investment you may wish to make is (1) filtration system for your faucet and (2) safe reusable water bottle.
  • To further minimize lead concentration in your tap water, before using it for drinking and cooking, run the cold water for a minute until it is as cold as it can get. This will flush out the water that has been sitting around for awhile so lead concentration won't be as high (the longer that water sits in pipes, the greater the exposure to lead). Also, use only cold water for drinking and cooking since hot water dissolves lead more quickly than cold water.
  • If you are still concerned, call your local water utility company to find out contamination levels at your water source. The Environmental Protection Agency tests for 84 different contaminants, including the carcinogenic trihalomethane chlorine by-products. Compare your local contamination levels to national standards by calling the U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).
Plastic bottles are not safe: #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) is the most common resin used in disposable bottles. Although the #1 bottles are safe if only used once, if they are reused (as they commonly are), they leach chemicals such as DEHA, a possible human carcinogen, and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), a potential hormone disruptor. Also, because the plastic is porous you'll likely get a swill of harmful bacteria with each gulp if you reuse #1 plastic bottles.

For more information, check out Take Back the Tap campaign launched by a non-profit Food and Water Watch. Another website with a wealth of information is Filter for Good.

See this article on How to Choose a Water Bottle, and here are some suggestions on reusable bottles:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 clove minced garlic
1.5 cup chicken broth
2 cans 14 oz. stewed tomatoes, pureed
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 cup salsa
1 tablespoon cumin
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Add all ingredients to the slow-cooker. Cook on high for 6 hours. During the last 30 minutes, add cilantro. If you don't have the slow-cooker, you can cook it on the stove, but make sure to simmer the soup for hours. It taster even better the next day. Can be frozen in individual containers to be reheated at a later date. Serve with cheese and tortilla chips.

Vital Health Screenings


When was the last time you had seen your doctor, or had an annual physical? These days we get so busy that we forget or don't have the time to make our health a priority. Take care of yourself before you start taking care of others! Below is the recommended schedule for some of your vital health screenings.

Blood pressure: Check at least every 2 years.

Cholesterol Test: Starting at age 20, check at least once every 5 years.

Blood Glucose Test: Starting at age 45, check once every 3 years.

Thyroid Test (TSH): Starting at age 35, check every 5 years.

Eye Exam: Starting at age 18, check every 2-3 years, OR more often if you have vision problems.

Hearing Test: Starting at age 18, check every 10 years.

Skin exam: Starting at age 20, every year plus monthly self-exam.

Dental Exam & Cleaning: Once every 6-12 months.

Colonoscopy: Starting at age 50, every 10 years.

Clinical Breast Exam:
Starting at 20, once every 3 years. After 40, have annual exams.

Mammogram: Starting at 40, once every 1-2 years, or sooner if at risk.

Pap Test & Pelvic Exam:
Starting at 20, every year.

Chlamydia Test:
Every year if sexually active.

Emergency Fund

I am sure some of you have heard that most financial planners recommend to have an emergency fund that you can access in case of an emergency. Although buying a new pair of Manolo Blahnik does not qualify as an emergency, becoming unemployed or having your car break down can be a financial disaster if you don’t have any emergency cash saved.

Determine the amount you will need to save.
The experts disagree as to how much you should have in your emergency fund – some recommending 3-6 months of living expenses and some advocating going as high as 6-8 months – but you should save whatever amount you are comfortable with. First, calculate your outgoing monthly expenses. Include rent or mortgage payments, utilities, student loans, car loans, credit card payments, groceries, day care, etc. Multiply that amount by the number of months you think you will need in case of an emergency. Now, this is the amount you will need to save.

Start small. Don’t get discouraged by the amount you need to save. The goal is to start small - – it could be as little as $25 per week or month. You can always trim your expenses and find that extra cash, just see some creative 22 ways to build your emergency fund here.

Leave it alone.
Remember that this fund is for emergencies only, it is not to be used for anything else but for emergencies.

Make it automatic. Enroll in automatic deductions. This way, it will be automatically deducted from your account and you will never see that money, i.e. you will not be tempted to spend it.

Some good places to start with your emergency fund are:

Emigrant Direct

ING Direct

Save Yourself Account
through Ameritrade and Suze Orman (Open a new non-retirement Save Yourself account at Ameritrade and make 12 consecutive monthly deposits of $100 or more, and Ameritrade will give you $100)

Roth IRA - I will write another post about Roth IRAs at a later date and will keep this short for now. You can use your Roth IRA in an emergency. Remember your contributions can always be withdrawn tax-free and penalty-free. However, your earnings (on your contributions) cannot be withdrawn – otherwise, you will have to pay the penalty. Also, if you do contribute to a Roth IRA, be aware that if you invest in stocks or mutual funds, and they go down in value by the time you have to withdraw your contribution in a case of an emergency, you will lose money. Therefore, if you are contributing to a Roth IRA that you also earmarked for emergencies, it is best to invest in some liquid safe investments, such as short-term CDs or savings accounts, etc.

Saving $$$ - Shopping at CVS

If you have not been shopping at CVS and taking advantage of CVS ExtraCare Rewards Program, you are losing a lot of money that you could be spending somewhere else on something else, or repaying your student loans, or saving, or investing, etc.

Let me give you an example – last year, as a project, I kept a record of all of my purchases at CVS. I then totaled the amounts (1) I would have spent on the items if I did not participate in the ExtraCare Program, and (2) the actual amount I spent out of pocket. I was shocked to see the difference – I would have spent $2,962.96 but I only spent $869.06 out of pocket. And, this is for the entire year! Intrigued? Then, let me tell you how...

First, sign up for the ExtraCare. You can either do it online here and the card will be mailed to you, or you can stop by any store, ask for an application and get the card right there. Second, pick up a copy of the CVS weekly circular and take a look. Almost every week, CVS offers items that are “FREE AFTER EXTRA BUCKS.” Make sure you read all of the small print – the description of the item, brand, size, and offer limit. For example, the circular will have this item:

If you can't see the small print, it says:
Paper Mate 1.2 pens 10 ct.
You Pay With Card 99c
Extra Buck Reward 99c
It’s like getting it for… FREE after extra bucks.
Extra Buck offer limit
of 2 per household with card.
After Tuesday: 99c with card & no extra bucks

What it means that you have to get the exact item as described, you can only get the maximum of 2 to get the rewards, and the offer ends on Tuesday. In other words, you will get NO extra bucks if (1) you buy Paper Mate 1.0 pens 24 ct (because it’s not 1.2 10 ct), or (2) you buy 3 packages (you will still get the extra bucks for the first 2, but not for the 3rd because the limit is 2), or (3) if you buy the items on Wednesday (since the deal expired on Tuesday).

At the register, provide your ExtraCare card to the cashier to be scanned and then pay for the items. In the example above, you will pay $1.98 for 2 packages of pens plus tax, but when you get your receipt, it will have $1.98 attached at the end as your extra bucks. Treat them as cash. And they do expire, so pay attention to the expiration dates.

Next time you go to the store, just give the cashier your card and pay with your extra bucks as cash. For example, if your purchase is $2.00 and you give the cashier $1.98 in extra bucks, you will only pay 2 cents plus tax.

That’s all, that’s the magic!

This week, CVS offered the following items FREE after extra bucks:
Memo book (limit 2)
No. 2 pencils (limit 2)
1’ Vinyl binder (limit 2)
Paper Mate pens (limit 2)
Filler paper (limit 2)
CVS Pantiliners (limit 1)

Couple of notes:

  • For some reason, the deals in Brooklyn are always different from the deals in Manhattan. Based on my experiences, the CVS stores in Brooklyn offer more “FREE after extra bucks” items than the stores in Manhattan. Just be aware of that and always check the location’s circular before purchasing.
  • For more information in helping you to plan your shopping trips, check out this website (I also posted a link to Iheartcvs on the left under Blogs to Visit). The site also posts future CVS circulars which will help you to plan future trips in the weeks ahead.
  • In addition, you can also check the weekly CVS circular on the CVS website by entering your zip code and planning your trips out before you head for the store.
  • For more information about the program, including enrollment, visit CVS website.
  • I personally get the items even if we have no use for it in our house – so that I can donate them, give them away, etc.
  • If you have any questions or comments, please leave me a note in the comments and I will respond.

~~~ Pulled Pork Sandwiches ~~~

3 lb boneless pork roast
salt to taste (omit if watching sodium intake)
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce (we use Sweet Baby Rays Hickory & Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce)
6 hamburger buns
2 cups prepared coleslaw

Trim excess fat from pork roast. Sprinkle with salt. Place in slow cooker and pour vinegar over roast. Cover and cook on low until roast is fork-tender and pulls apart easily, 8-10 hours. Remove roast from cooker and shred meat into small pieces. Discard cooking liquid. Return pork to slow cooker and stir in barbecue sauce. Continue to cook until warmed through, about 30 minutes.

Spoon coleslaw onto bottom half of hamburger buns. Layer with pork, then top with the other half of the bun.
  • 578 calories
  • You can swap in 3 lbs of boneless, skinless breast or even pork chops in place of the roast.
  • Serve with sides such as corn on the cob or steamed green beans.
  • LEFTOVER IDEAS - any leftover pork (before you add the barbecue sauce) can be wrapped in foil and refrigerated. Use the leftovers to make hash for a weekend treat to serve alongside scrambled eggs and toast.
  • FREEZER IDEAS - if you still have more pork left (before you add the sauce), cool the meat, wrap tightly and freeze. When ready to eat, defrost, add barbecue sauce and heat for 30 minutes, and serve. A truly 30-minute meal.

Food Network NYC Wine & Food Festival


For all the foodies out there, check out the 2nd Annual Food Network NYC Wine & Food Festival on October 8-11, 2009. The Festival range from extravagant walk-around tastings to educational wine and food pairing seminars led by the industry's biggest names (including one of my personal favorites -- Alton Brown – the host of “Good Eats”), to kids-oriented interactive cooking experiences, to local events incorporating the businesses in the host area, the Meatpacking District. This year's participants include Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay, Paula Deen, Ming Tsai, Giada De Laurentiis, Tyler Florence, Anthony Bourdain, Alton Brown, Martha Stewart, Tom Colicchio, Guy Fieri, and others. Go to the website to buy tickets or get more information.

Go Green on a Budget


1. Switch your light bulbs
Replace them with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) - not only these bulbs will last longer, but they also use less energy and will reduce your electric bills.
2. "Kill vampires"
Plug your electrical appliances into surge protectors that allow you to cut the juice with the flip of a switch. Did you know that displays on your TVs, DVD players, stereos, and electric toothbrush docks continue to glow even when “off.” Annual savings are estimated at $200.
3. Save on postage
Pay your bills online and you will save on the stamps and eliminate paper waste.
4. Shop at the farmers market
You will get fresher produce that didn’t require a lot of gas to transport from across the country or from another continent. To find a farmers market near you, use your zip code to search Local Harvest.
5. Take public transportation
Or consider a car-sharing program such as Zipcar or Ucarshare. Companies in some cities have cars that you rent by the hour, so you have a car only when you need one. You pay either an hourly rate or a flat rate for the day. The cost includes insurance, gas, and miles.
6. Recycle your electronics and donate your used clothes and you will get a tax deduction.
7. Avoid paper waste
Don’t use paper plates, plastic utensils or paper cups. Use a travel mug for coffee or tea instead of paper cups.
8. Avoid plastic waste
Don’t buy bottled water. Install water filters on your faucets or use Brita filters and buy a stainless steel water bottle. See my post on reasons to ban the plastic bottles.
9. Avoid more plastic waste
Use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic grocery bags. Or you can reuse those plastic bags to serve as garbage bags in smaller garbage bins.
10. Grow your own vegetables or herbs on your window or balcony
Save money and help to fight global warming by eating food that did not require transportation.
11. Save water
Turn off the water when brushing your teeth.

Movies, opera or music under the stars...

Movies, opera or music under the stars, family and friends (and a fireworks finale after Philharmonic in the Parks) make for a perfect summer evening. And the best part -- it's all free! Although these events offer an opportunity to experience a taste of New York culture, most importantly it is a chance to get together with your friends and enjoy drinks, snacks and a good conversation. Me and my friends used to go to these events every summer, without missing a single one… Don’t forget to bring food, drinks, candles, sweaters, bug spray or citronella candles, and most importantly, blankets to sit on.

2009 HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival Schedule:
The Bryan Park Lawn opens at 5 pm for blankets (no plastic tarps are allowed). The film begins at dusk between 8-9 pm.
July 13
How Green Was My Valley
July 20
Harold and Maude
July 27
The Defiant Ones
August 3
Kramer vs. Kramer
August 10
The Magnificent Seven
August 17
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

2009 Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks Schedule:
July 14, 2009 at 8 PM, at Great Lawn, Central Park
July 17, 2009 at 8 PM at Great Lawn, Central Park


2009 Met in the Park Schedule:
Monday, July 13, 2009 at 8 p.m. at SummerStage, Central Park


Shakespeare in the Park:
Although performances are free, tickets are required. Tickets are available on a first-come first-served basis on the day of the performance at the Delacorte Theater beginning at 1 pm. There is a 2 ticket per person limit. The performances take place Tuesday - Sunday at 8 pm. The next performance is:


The Bacchae (August 11 - September 6, 2009)
Directed by Joanne Akalaitis, music by Philip Glass, translated by Nicholas Rudall

Planning a Wedding & Wedding Budget

My fiancée proposed on Valentines Day, and it was the most romantic moment of my life… Unlike all the other brides, however, I did not jump on planning our wedding right away… Something always came up which required my attention, and I kept putting it off as long as I could… After all, I was never one of those girls who had a wedding binder by the time they were ten… And, thus, I avoided the planning for as long as I could -- I guess, in that sense, I am very un-bridezilla like – but I have procrastinated long enough, and now is the time to start… So, please join me on my journey of wedding planning as I hope to share the tricks -- and “secrets” I uncover along the way -- with those of you who will be some day planning your very own wedding…

First thing first… I was told I have to create my very own Wedding Binder... Ahh, that infamous yet mysterious Wedding Binder…. At the very least, your Wedding Planner should have the following categories:

  1. Your Budget
  2. Checklist & Timeline
  3. Dream Wedding Dress
  4. Guest List
  5. Reception
  6. Ceremony
  7. Photographer
  8. Flowers
  9. Cake
  10. Food
  11. Music
  12. Favors
  13. Invitations
  14. Miscellaneous
It makes sense that the first thing is to set up a budget. If you are not sure what your budget should be, you can obtain some estimates based on your zip code at this site. Mine is something along the lines of “Champagne Wedding on a Beer Budget.” I made a list of what I call “priorities” (things we absolutely must have) and crossed off all the items we personally see as not important to us. For example, there will be no Bridesmaids' Dresses – my bridesmaids will wear whatever they want in any color they want… What is important to me is that everyone has a good time – regardless of what they wear… Am I breaking a tradition? Perhaps… But aren’t all traditions meant to be broken?

*** NOTE: If you have not seen 27 Dresses yet, I highly recommend renting it for all brides-to be…

The bottom line is, budgets are very subjective as they will be based on what kind of wedding you want to have. Will it be a backyard vs. ballroom, big vs. small, summer vs. winter, local vs. destination wedding, etc. Due to the size of our families, we are going to have 2 ceremonies/receptions – one for our families in NYC and one for our friends in the Caribbean. Both will take place in the fall of 2010, which gives us plenty of time to plan…

To be Continued…

~~~ Baked Amish Oatmeal ~~~

1/3 cup butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla + 1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 - 1.5 cup milk
3 cups oatmeal (I use steel-cut oats)

Melt butter and let it cool. Grease your baking dish. Beat eggs, add brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well until there are no lumps. Whisk in butter and milk, then add oatmeal/oats. Stir well, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, bake uncovered at 350F for 35-45 min. Serve hot with warm milk poured over.


Movie nights at home

Netflix: We have recently signed up for Netflix, which we absolutely love. For a low monthly fee, a movie is delivered to your mailbox, you can watch it anytime at your leisure, and then -- when you are done -- drop it in the mailbox in a PRE-PAID ENVELOPE and wait for the next one. We love the selection of new releases (beats our cable which generally plays older movies). And, you can build your own list of movies so that the movies are continuously shipped to you after you return them. There is no driving to the store to pick up or drop the movie off. And the best thing – there are no late fees, no matter how long you keep the movie. Also, if you have the right equipment, you can get the instant streaming to your TV. Netlix unlimited plans start with $8.99 a month plus tax (1 DVD out at-a-time) and go up to $16.99 (for 3 DVDs). You can also select the $4.99 a month (plus tax) plan for a 1 DVD at-a-time (with a limit of 2 per month). We have the $8.99 plan which works for us. On average, we get a new movie once a week (if I mail the movie back Monday morning, there is usually a new movie in our mailbox by Wednesday-Thursday). If we managed to watch it the same day we received it (which we never do), we probably would have gotten more movies. But, you can select the plan that works the best for you based on your needs and lifestyle.

RedBox: Another option is the RedBox. It is basically just that – a stand alone Red Box usually found at supermarkets or pharmacies where you can rent a movie with a swipe of your credit card. The cost is just $1.00 (plus tax) for 1 night. BUT the catch is that you have to return the movie the following evening by 9 pm or you will be charged an additional $1.00 (plus tax) for each night you are late. This option only makes sense if you remember to return the movie the next day, otherwise, if you are – like me – don’t want to be bound by any time constraints and would like to watch the movies on your own terms, you would be better off signing up for Netflix. Although Redbox is available throughout the country, when I searched the Redbox locations in Manhattan, only 2 came up -- Walgreens at 350 5th Avenue and Walgreens at 1471 Broadway. There are some additional locations in Brooklyn as well. So if you are one of the lucky ones to live near those locations, this may work for you. Also, Redbox sends out promotional codes for a FREE MOVIE every Monday to customers who sign up to receive SMS text message. In addition, you can google Redbox promotional codes to get your FREE MOVIE, just don’t forget to return it on time.

Hulu: Check out their site here where you can watch your favorite or missed TV shows and movies, all for FREE.

YouTube: Finally, don’t underestimate Youtube when you looking for clips, etc. For example, I use Youtube to watch cooking demonstration videos (for example, how to make a miso soup, or how to cut up a chicken), destination videos (for example, videos of resorts before we book our travel), music videos, or clips of shows I missed on TV. You can pretty much find everything on Youtube – I even found a video of the town I grew up in…

Now, grab some popcorn and enjoy your movies!

Weekend in Atlantic City

If you need to get away for a weekend, check out $29 coach fares from Penn Station to Atlantic City on Atlantic City Express Service ("ACES") train. There is only 1 short stop in Newark, and the trip takes 2 hours 40 minutes. Once you arrive, there will be a FREE shuttle service to take you from the Rail Terminal to Borgata, Caesars or Harrah's Resort in only minutes. For more information, click here.

In addition, don't forget other promotions offered by individual hotels. For example, Tropicana currently runs a promotion - if you register for their Diamond Club card, you will get $25 to spend at the slot machines (valid for Saturday-Sunday stays, promotional amount is reduced to $10 for midweek stays).

Coney Island Events

You can visit this site to see what is going on at Coney Island throughout the summer, but here are some of the highlights...

Event: Mermaid Parade
Date: June 20, 2009, 2 pm

Cost: Free
The Mermaid Parade is the nation's largest art parade and one of New York City's greatest summer events. The Parade is characterized by participants dressed in hand-made costumes as Mermaids, Neptunes, various sea creatures... Each year, a different celebrity King Neptune and Queen Mermaid rule over the proceedings. In the past, David Byrne, Queen Latifah, Ron Kuby, Curtis Sliwa, Moby, and David Johansen presided over the assembled masses. See the website for more information.

Event: Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Championship
Date: July 4, 2009
Cost: Free
The Nathan's Famous International Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Championship has been held each year on July 4 since 1916, according to archives.

Event: "Coney Island Boom-A-Ring" presented by the Ringling Bros.
When: June 18, 2009 - September 7, 2009
Cost: Tickets start at $10
The show includes Vincenta Pages and her seven white Bengal tigers; the Urias family, known as The First Family of the Motorcycle Globe; the New York debut of The Negrey Troupe, a world-renowned retinue of Russian acrobats; "Eccentric Personality Extraordinaire" Justin Case; and a trio of Asian elephants. The show runs on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. For additional information, visit the site.

Event: Brooklyn Cyclones @ Keyspan Park
When: Ongoing
Price: $8.00 (for bleachers) and $12.00 (box)
Baseball games... Should I say more? See website for more information and tickets. Click here for a special promotion "Buy 1 ticket get 1 FREE" with a purchase of Kraft singles cheese.

Shecky’s Girls Night Out

Gather your besties and enjoy five hours of the coolest cocktails, delicious beer and food pairings, hot summer fashions with fantabulous markdowns, fun beauty discoveries, and of course, Shecky’s Famous Goodie Bag. Tickets are $30 in advance or $40 at the door.

Date: June 23 - June 27, 2009
Time: 5pm-10pm (1pm-5pm and 6pm-10pm on Sat.)
Place: The Puck Building293 Lafayette St. (@ Houston St.)

For more information, check their website.

Dining Out in NYC

If making dinner reservations in NYC, you can use Opentable.com to earn points which can be redeemed for dining gift certificates (2,000 points will get you a $20 certificate, 5,000 points will get a $50 certificate, and you can get a $100 certificate for 10,000 points). Standard reservations earn 100 Dining Reward Points each. You can also earn Bonus Points -- just look for "1,000-point" reservations on the site.

In addition, twice a year (usually in January and July), there is a unique opportunity to experience some of NYC finest restaurants for a fraction of the usual price. Throughout the city, restaurants participate in "Restaurant Week" where they offer a three-course lunch for $24.07 and dinner for $35. Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to try out a restaurant that may usually be out of your budget, or test some new restaurants with a little less financial risk. You can also use Opentable.com to make your Restaurant Week reservations. The next Restaurant Week is coming up (July 12 - July 31, 2009) so make your reservations early.

Finally, check out Restaurant.com where you can purchase dining certificates for listed restaurants at a discount. For example, you can get a $25 certificate for only $10. If you google promotional codes for Restaurant.com, you can purchase those certificates for even less (I previously have gotten $25 certificates for only $3 using promotional codes).