The Bronzed and Beautiful Summer Event at Bendels- August 14th-15th-16th
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: August 12, 2009
I attended another fabulous networking event for females through Urban Girl Squad and even though the actual event was a custom sandal making event, I got sidetracked and ended up meeting a great makeup artist- Liahnna Francisco- who works at the NARS counter at Henri Bendel. She persuaded me to buy some lip gloss and the next thing I knew I made a new friend and I was headed back to Liahnna for a make up application session a few days later in honor of my evening birthday outing.
Liahnna Francisco- Make-Up Artist
Liahnna Francisco
Nars, Make-Up Artist
HENRI BENDEL NY
712 Fifth Avenue
NY, NY 10019
For an appointment with Liahnna call the NARS Counter – (212) 904-7954
www.henribendel.com
Liahnna would love to have you and your friends at an event she is organizing at Bendel’s THIS WEEKEND. Check it out!
The Bronzed and Beautiful Summer Event at Bendels- 712 Fifth Avenue
August 14th-15th- 16th (Friday, Sat , Sun) hosted by NARS Cosmetics, Model Co. and Sun Spot Tanning Center.
Event features:
The national makeup artist team from NARS Cosmetics will be there offering complimentary makeovers and inside beauty tips/lessons
Model Co. team will be there with airbrush tanning for a post makeover finishing glow
With any purchase, as a token of appreciation, you will receive a complimentary tanning session in one of the beds at Sun Spot Tanning Center nearby at 139 East 57th Street.
Appointments are available Friday and Saturday 12pm- 7pm; sunday 12-6pm. You can make an appointment by calling the NARS counter at Bendels and asking for Liahnna (212) 904-7954
Liahnna & Stef at Bendels Post Make-Up Application
Another year older- Cool Comic Birthday Card- Thanks Katie!
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: August 8, 2009
I recently turned another year older and I have been working feverishly to sort out the content I’d like to share with you all. For my birthday I splurged and dropped my Blackberry for an iPhone 3GS. I just bought a new MacBook in March and so now my calendars, contacts, notes are synching beautifully with the MAC’s Mobile Me feature. Gotta love it. I have been exploring various iPhone applications and so far my favorite are: 1) Tweetie- to help me manage my multiple Twitter Accounts 2) Exit Strategy – an app that helps you determine not only what subway to take but which car to stand in that will bring you closest to your desired destination. Wow!
For my birthday I enjoyed a few nice dinners around the city with friends and family and celebrated with some friends at the rooftop bar on the Upper West Side. Thanks to all of you who sent me birthday wishes and who participated in the festivities.
My favorite surprise of my birthday was the hand designed b-day card I got from my friend Katie. She is so talented, sweet and thoughtful and so I’d like to showcase her card on my blog. Check this bday card out! If you want to learn more about Katie check out her website and/or blog!
Katie's Personalized Bday Card
Food Finds- Bella Vita Pizza in Times Square
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: August 8, 2009
I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about one of my favorite places to eat in NYC.
My favorite Pizzeria in Times Square- Bella Vita.
Tel: 212-730-1479
211 West 43rd Street, NYC
It breaks my heart when I see tourists eating at Sbarro’s and this random Gyro/Pizza place on Broadway when they could just turn the corner from Broadway onto 43rd street and have much better quality pizza with so many options. I spend most of my working hours in Times Square and so when I’m in the mood for pizza I always head to Bella Vita. They have delicious pizza, pasta, salad and panini. You can even order whole wheat pizza and whole wheat pasta as well.
Slice of Bella Vita Pizza- Sun Dried Tomatoes and Olives- Delish!
The owner, Charlie, does a great job at welcoming and seating people. He’s really dedicated to running a great pizzeria. In fact, he recently spent some time in Italy to learn from the best. There are sit down options at Bella Vita and a couple of counter/window seat options for a quick bite as well. I highly recommend having a slice at Bella Vita. My favorite is the pesto/mushroom slice. I also love the Fusilli e’ Pesto Cremoso- Tri Color Fusilli Pasta with Prosciutto in a creamy pesto sauce. I often get pasta at lunch time as a take out item and it lasts me two days! Don’t forget to say hi to Charlie! Buon Appetito- you’ll never eat badly in Times Square again!!
Charlie- The Owner of Bella Vita Pizzeria
Networking, Wining, Dining, Connecting Culturally and everything in between…
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: July 31, 2009
Hello everyone,
Sorry to have fallen MIA a bit, but I have been working on getting this blog to be more focused and effective. I know, I know…. no excuses– but I’m back. Thanks for your patience and a special thank you to all of you who have provided valuable feedback. I really appreciate it. Please keep it coming–>
email: info@yourcitysimplified.com
This is definitely a work in progress; however, as of now I have decided to target my posts to fall in the following five areas:
1) Upcoming Events
2) Networking/ City Stories
2) Food and Wine
3) Cultural Connections- Ode to Italy
4) Other Passions- the infamous miscellaneous category
I’d like to take this opportunity to catch you all up on the past month or so and bring you up to speed! So here come the posts!
Thanks for reading!
~Stef
Meezoog- networking and/or dating
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: July 19, 2009
Cool Concept: networking and/or dating group called:
What is Meezoog?
Meezoog is a trust based community for those who wish to meet, date and network amongst people they can trust. It is an answer to those who are not satisfied with the fake profiles, random mixture and quality of people often found in the open dating and network sites.
How does it work?
As everyone in Meezoog is connected in up to four degrees of separation, when you search for someone single in your area, you can see the chain of relation for each person in your search results. The benefit of this is that you’re not going out totally “blind.” Also the shared background that you have with a Meezoog member may result in a better long term connection or a more successful date than with a totally unrelated stranger. In other words, even if Meezoog members don’t hit it off romantically, there’s a much better chance they’ll remain friends.
I’m not single. Is Meezoog for me? What else is there to do?
- If you’re new in your city and want to meet like-minded people, Meezoog frequently hosts interesting online and offline events and parties for everyone.
- Become a Meezoog Matchamker! Meezoog is about friends bringing friends and friends helping friends. If you’ve already found love in your life, why not help someone you care about find it too? Be active – search for them and suggest a match. We give you the tools so you can break the ice and really make a difference in perhaps the most important aspect of someone’s life.
- Meezoog members tend to be well educated and professional. More than half of our members have a masters degree or higher. A large portion do volunteer or non-profit work. If these are the kind of people you like to associate with, Meezoog may also be the social or career network for you.
If it’s a closed network – how does it grow?
Meezoog grows from the inside out – a friend brings a friend. It started as a seed group and as the circle spread outwards, new communities organically formed. Now we have healthy, growing communities all over the world.
What is Meezoog’s Social Proximity gauge?
A part of each profile is a Social Proximity gauge that uses Meezoog’s unique algorithm to give you a sense of how well you can “trust” that person. It takes into account subjective and objective factors such as the type of relationship between members, the duration of the relationship, and more. It answers the question – how well do people really know their friends?
How can I join?
If you have not been invited by someone directly, you can search to see if there’s anyone you already know inside using your email contact list for example. Once you find somebody, you can connect to that person as long as they can vouch for you. Click here to see if there’s someone you know in Meezoog.
ChikaLicious Dessert Club
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: June 21, 2009
I went out to dinner on Thursday night with my friend Alessandra who was visiting from Italy. We had a so-so dinner and so we both agreed that we needed to have an excellent dessert. I Googled “East Village” AND “Dessert” on my Blackberry and the top hit was a dessert bar only a few blocks away called ChikaLicious Dessert Club. The place was crowded but luckily there were two empty seats at the bar left just for us. As soon as we sat down we knew that this place was special- in many ways. The presentation and experience was very unique:
Napkins were presented from above with a smile.
- Napkin Presentation
Water was delivered in an elegant pitcher.
This water pitcher was awesome!
The chef came out from behind the counter/kitchen to hand deliver the desserts to the tables too.
Chika- the owner spent her time delicately decorating and creating desserts behind the open bar which was like watching an artist. There was another chef who mixed batter, the waiter had a friendly smile and happy demeanor and even the bus boy had a special glow. (Okay, maybe now is time to admit that I have a secret crush on MOST bus boys- they are so helpful and often go unntoiced! Let’s hear it for the bus boys of the world!) My friend Alessandra and I were snapping photos left and right. It’s acceptable for her– she’s a tourist after all, but for me?! Ah, whatever, I have blog now and I’ll do what I want!
- Chika making dessert while customers sit at the dessert bar
We ordered the 3 course dessert and we each had a glass of dessert wine. The desserts were beautiful to look at; however, the portions were miniscule and the bill for dessert and one drink a piece came to more than our dinner that night!
- Course 1- Sorbet to clean the palette
- Course 2: Chocolate Cake with Peppercorn Ice Cream / Watermelon Honey Vanilla Dessert
- Course 3: Sugar Cookie, Coconut Marshmallow, Chocolate cake with icing
I’m going to say that this is a great place to go for the EXPERIENCE, but I would make sure you have an out of towner with you or go on a special occasion. All in all, I’m happy we went that night to ChikaLicious. We had fun being tourists and taking in the ambiance but the food itself left us wanting a little more for our money. Don’t get me wrong, the staff was friendly, the presentation was great and there was even music playing for you in the bathroom! Just wish I didn’t have to make a trip to the ATM the next morning so desperately!
Anyway, when we left ChikaLicious there was a long line of people waiting to get in. So despite my review… you be the judge!
Line to get into ChikaLicious on a Thursday night
Rickshaw Dumpling Truck and Twitter
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: June 21, 2009
Working in Midtown in the heart of Times Square just got a little more bearable. This is all thanks to the arrival of the Rickshaw Dumpling Truck. It brings a whole new meaning to TGIF! Every Friday the vibrant, red Rickshaw Dumpling Truck strategically parks itself in Midtown. It travels to different neighborhoods each day during the week and part of the experience of getting your dumplings is checking the truck’s updates on Twitter. Check it out at www.twitter.com/rickshawtruck or follow @RickshawTruck.
Make sure you check Twitter before heading out because I learned this the hard way: one time the truck’s generator broke down and I forgot to check Twitter and I was literally heart broken when I didn’t see the truck parked on 45th and 6th. This was definitely my own fault because the Rickshaw Dumpling people definitely did Tweet that the generator was down and that the truck wouldn’t be out that day. Oops, my bad. Anyway, the lines get really long in Midtown and so I recommend waiting for the Tweet that they are parked and then rushing over ASAP. Don’t forget to get your frequent dumpling card and cool postcard/sticker when you pick up your dumplings! Buy 8 dumpling orders and your 9th dumpling order is free!
Although I am most definitely a hardcore carnivore, my favorite dumplings would have to be the vegetarian edamame dumplings. Other dumpling options on the truck include: chicken and basil, pork and this past week they even featured duck dumplings on the truck. There are 6 dumplings in each order and each type of dumpling comes with its own dipping sauce. Please note: you cannot mix and match dumplings so I recommend you go in on it with a friend or a co-worker and get a few different kinds and sample each others dumplings. Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?! Don’t forget to try the Watermelon-Ade too. It’s unique and very refreshing and you feel healthy because you just drank watermelon juice, nice!
So what are you waiting for? Get on Twitter and start following @RickshawTruck at www.twitter.com/rickshawtruck. You’ll be in the know and be the envy of your coworkers when the truck is in your ‘hood.
Tina and Stef ready for a shared lunch of a variety of scrumptious dumplings!
Ok, so if you’re not into Tweeting just yet, I’ll give you a little cheat sheet (but please don’t take my word for it. Best to check Twitter just to make sure before venturing out just in case!):
Mon- Dumbo: Wash St & Front St
Tues- Midtown: 52nd & Lex
Wed- TBD: Check Twitter
Thur- Financial: Coenties
Friday- Midtown: 45th and 6th
If you want to visit the actual Rickshaw Dumpling Bar it’s located at 61 West 23rd Street between 5th Ave and 6th Ave. There are a few more menu options at the restaurant than on the truck for obvious reasons, but visiting the dumpling truck is a very fulfilling and worthwhile experience. Added bonus: you might make a few new friends while you are waiting in line who share your love for dumplings as well.
Oh, one more thing, they have great t-shirts for sale with sayings such as: ”Who’s your edamame?” and “Nice dumplings…” Heck, I want one or two… okay I’m going to stop now!
Anyway, check out their website at www.rickshawdumplings.com It’s a fun, well designed site to browse and the music is catchy as hell!
Tina ready to enjoy our dumpling feast!
Speed Dating
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: June 21, 2009
Rainy but busy week here in NYC. You can’t rain on my parade! On Wednesday night I participated in a speed dating outing with www.8minutedating.com. There was a good turnout of males but not so many females. Strange but true. Never fear, since the guys weren’t given what they were promised- an equal amount of women- they were all given coupons to participate again in another speed dating session for free. For those of you who don’t know exactly how speed dating works, here’s the gist of it: You arrive and get a name tag with your first name only and a unique number. You are also given a chart where you list the first name of your date, his/her number, any notes you want to make about the person, and whether you are interested in this person for friendship, business, or a second date. The evening starts with a ring of a bell (rung by the event hostess) and then you have eight minutes to chat freely with the person matched with you. At the end of eight minutes a bell is rung again by the event hostess and you each take down your respective notes on the sheet of paper and move on. Usually the women stay put and the men rotate seats and move on to the next female. At the end of the night you are free to grab a drink at the bar and mingle with the other speed daters. The rules are that no last names, email addresses, phone numbers business cards or other personal information is to be exchanged. This way you are completely anonymous. The next day all participating parties are told to go online and rate their 8 minute dating partners in the 3 categories yes or no for: friendship, business, or a second date. Only EXACT matches will be reported. For example, if I pick friendship and “Bob” picks second date. Our information will not be exchanged. However, if we both picked friendship or if we both picked second date, then we would each receive an email from www.8minutedating.com saying that we had a match. This was my second time participating with www.8minutedating.com. Both times I had an enjoyable experience and met interesting people. I would definitely recommend this activity and plan to do it again at some point soon. If you are interested in giving speed dating a shot, but don’t want to go alone, shoot me an email at info@yourcitysimplified.com and put Speed Dating in the subject line and we can arrange to go on the same day! www.8minutedating.com usually holds their events on Wednesdays after work. Want to know more about this experience? Write a comment or shoot me an email.
Gyspies, Decorating, BBQ and Street Fairs Oh My!
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: June 15, 2009
And on Wednesday I was worried I wasn’t going to have anything to do this past weekend! Haha I was wrong.
Shuki invited me to the NY Gypsy Festival Party with Zlatne Uste & Raya Brass Band on Saturday night. We danced to ethnic music from Serbia, Macedonia & Bulgaria at Drom on Avenue A.
Stef & Shuki @ Gypsy Party
I crashed at my Aunt Ruthie’s apartment and she is an early riser with always something fun to do. She told me to get dressed quickly because she had signed up for a free seminar at Pottery Barn on 59th Street. Being the “event junkie” that I am I agreed and left the topic up to chance. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the topic of the seminar was entertaining outdoors! I got some great ideas for my upcoming birthday party that I am throwing. Shhh it’s a secret though. I’m not spilling the beans here!
After the Pottery Barn seminar Ruthie and I met up with my friend Ashley and her boyfriend Matt.
Ashley, Matt & Stef @ BBQ Festival in Madison Square Park
Off to the Madison Square Park BBQ festival for us!
Aunt Ruthie with Ribs Galore
10 Ribs, 1 pulled pork sandwich, and one corn on the cob later we were off to see Billy Mays of OxiClean who was there as a sponsor and giving photo ops. Strange but true. I guess BBQ Sauce is messy so everyone was in the market for some Oxiclean. (Sadness- two weeks after I took this photo with Billy Mays he passed away. RIP Billy. We miss you!)
Billy Mays the OxiClean Infomercial Guy at the BBQ
Last but not least, on the way back to Ruthie’s car we spotted a street fair on Third Avenue.
At first, I admit i said that street fairs are normally all the same, but Ruthie and I could not resist and we were pleasantly surprised. The first booth we hit we met a very talented caterer. Ruthie and I split a rich Kaluha Cheesecake as we patted ourselves on the back.
Caterer at Street Fair
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Delicious Baked Goods
Neither of us like to miss out on anything! We were strolling down the street fair and then Ruthie shouts out, “Stefanie look at this booth!” Next thing I know some guy is saying, “Hello Stefanie check out our soaps.” Hmmm I’m thinking either he thinks he knows me or he is really creative and he overheard my aunt call me Stefanie so he picked up on it too for his marketing ploy. Turns out he was legit! It was Gregg Schwartz my recent Facebook friend who I met at a networking event in the East Village a few months ago. I forgot that he sold soaps and didn’t think that I’d randomly run into him at a street fair! Small World! I agreed to sample his products and I really liked the Salt Rub and lotion. My favorite kind was the Coconut Lime with a touch of Vanilla.
If you’re interested in checking out Gregg’s products you can do so here at his website:
2578 Broadway, Suite 137
New York, NY 10025ph : 917 364 3265 fax : 888 434 2940 contact@priel.com 
- Gregg Schwartz at the street fair on 3rd Ave
After that I collapsed on the train and headed back to Westchester thoroughly satisfied with my weekend NYC adventure. Can you believe I was still hungry as soon as I returned home? If you can’t believe this then you obviously don’t know me well enough yet! So keep reading!
Buona Notte,
Stef
Urban Girl Squad- A unique networking group for female friendship in NYC
Posted by: yourcitysimplified on: June 14, 2009
One of my favorite networking groups is URBAN GIRL SQUAD www.twitter.com/urbangirlsquad. This group plans fun events for young professional females in New York City. Financial Seminars, Spa Nights, Hair Stylings, Knitting, you name it! Amanda Goldfine Hofman
Stef & Amanda
does a great job planning events and negotiating great deals. She is very welcoming and is the perfect hostess. She helps to introduce girls to each other and even though her events are female only she has a great network of friends and I hear she is a talented matchmaker as well! 
Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending:
Summer Hair Night * 6/11 * 7 PM * The Warren Tricomi Salon at The Plaza
“Urban Girl Squad had a night of summer hair and style with the Warren Tricomi salon stylists at The Plaza! We mingled with friendly Urban Girl Squad ladies and received blowouts, manicures, gift bags, wine, and cheese. Check out Guest of a Guest for the fabulous pics!”
Wow, what a great deal and such a fun night. First of all, I randomly recognized one of the girls to be my tour guide from my pre-frosh visiting day at University of Delaware.
UD Blue Hen Ambassador Tour Guides Reunited
We hadn’t seen each other in 9 years but I recognized her as she was my favorite tourguide of all time and was very memorable!
Wine and cheese appetizers were supurb and West Side Story (the movie version) was playing on a large televised projector screen.
"I Feel Pretty" West Side Story on TV during the event
Shuki, my hair stylist did an amazing job styling my hair with a curling iron and her magical skills.
Shuki my hair stylist and new friend at the Warren Tricomi Salon via UGS Event
Shuki's masterpiece hairstyle
If you would like a style or cut by Shuki you can contact her at :
email: sukranalmac@gmail.com
cell: 646-623-9319
We stroke up a conversation and realized we both like international crowds. She invited me to a concert next week to hear Italian pop singer Jovanotti! I’m really looking forward to this. We exchanged contact info and then she invited me to a Turkish Gypsy Party in Alphabet City over the weekend. Not only did I get my hair styled via UGS (Urban Girl Squad) but I gained a new friend. That same night I got to know Amanda, the organizer, better and I met many other fun Urban Girls as well as we showed off our amazing new dos and nails and got bottle service at the Whiskey Bar around the corner.
Urban Girl Squad hosts events on a monthly basis. The next event looks great! Reserve you space early or you will be closed out!
Custom Sandal-Making Event * 7/8 * 6PM – 8PM * Tuccia di Capri at Henri Bendel
Join Urban Girl Squad for a night of custom sandal-making with Tuccia di Capri at Henri Bendel. Choose from a variety of styles, colors, and trimmings for your custom Capri sandals! The cobblers will size your feet and then craft your custom pair of sandals while you wait.
At this event, you’ll mingle with friendly Urban Girl Squad ladies and receive:
- $25 off any pair of sandals at the event
- A Bendel’s gift bag featuring Bendel’s favorite beauty brands
- Wine and cheese hors d’oeuvres
Custom sandals start at $130. Space is limited for each girl to have time with her personal cobbler, so sign up right away by paying in advance. Tickets are $35. Buy your tickets by clicking here! This event begins at 6PM, but latecomers are more than welcome!
To join Urban Girl Squad and sign up for updates, click here.
Join us on Facebook: click here.
Join us on Twitter: click here.
