I love the whimsy of the storyline and it got me thinking about ways to wander our own wonderland of a city. New York is a fantstical place. So, I thought I'd offer up recommendations for a few sources of fantastical things in our metropolis - starting, of course, with the amazing exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. (Catch it before April 26th!)

Got modern? MoMA Design Store, 11 & 44 West 53 Street, in Manhattan

Friendly meets funky. Fred Flare, at 131 Meserole Ave, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Unspeakably pretty. mxyplyzyk, 125 Greenwich Ave, in West Village, Manhattan.

But trust me: Catch the MoMA exhibit first!

Where are your doors to dreamland in this bustling big apple?

First, I hope all of your holidays were great and you've all settled back into your routines.  I've been hitting the gym hard to work off those holiday goodies and to look fabulous in a wedding dress (I got a special diamond ring for Christmas!).  Anybody else have an exciting holiday story to share?

Now that I'm budgeting for a wedding and maybe a new condo (I couldn't resist linking to two of my favorite sites!), I'm really trying to save my pennies!  I have to say Leslie's post about Smarty Pig was so helpful.  That website is AMAZING.  All of us are hoping to save up for something big, but what about our daily entertainment costs?  I just wanted to share two of my favorite websites EVER that specialize in free and low cost (and most importantly incredibly interesting/enlightening/FUN) events. 

The first is Gothamist.  Truthfully, I never read the Gothamist site, but I subscribe to the GothamList - their daily email highlighting 3-4 awesome events happening in the city that day/weekend.  Unfortunately because of an existing commitment I had to miss one of tonight's free events: a DJ and live musicians covering music from Sesame Street.  OMG.  You can also find Gothamist on Twitter.

The second is The Skint.  Same thing here - I subscribe to The Skint's daily email, although their list comes out mid-afternoon.  I usually get the Gothamist email un-Godly early so I can plan for events later in the day a little bit better.  I feel like The Skint is geared a little more towards free events and more shopping events.  Again, they post on Twitter.

Hopefully you find these sites as interesting and helpful as I do!  Anybody have any other good cheap-o/freebie event websites?

So let's recap:

1. Cool chicks looking for other cool chicks seeking to develop new friendships.
2. The most amazing cupcakes I've ever eaten.
3. A new wine/sangria to pair with each of the FOUR cupcakes we sampled.

Uhm...awesome.

Once we completed all of our rotations, each woman filled out a matching form.  You could choose to have your email address given to anyone who listed you as someone they'd like to know better, or you could choose to only have your information given to someone who selects you, but you also select.

I have to say, this was a total shot in the dark for me.  I thought 'oh, it might be ok' which kind of means 'I hope this isn't a bunch of socially awkward weirdos'.  Unfortunately in some of my other friend-making attempts I've run into some of these socially awkward groups.  I was very pleased when all of the women at this event were smart, grounded women who all seemed to have their 'stuff' together.  I was also pleased that the "sharing" questions were not TOO personal or in-depth, but were still topics anyone could talk about (job, family, friends, neighborhood, etc.).

I came home tonight and signed up for GirlFriendCircles, which means for a small fee ($5/month) I will have access to more of these small meet-up type events with ladies in my area.  The dates, times, and locations are picked for you to meet up with other members of the site.  I can only hope our future activities will be as much fun as wine and cupcakes!  This is a pay site, but this is done to ensure that the ladies who sign up are actively persuing and genuinely interested in developing new friendships.  GirlFriendCircles is also on Twitter.

I tweeted about this event while I was walking to the cupcake shop from the subway.  When I left Sweet Revenge, I had several responses asking what/how the event was.  I see a need for this kind of event everyday in the city, and based on the Twitter responses, women seem very interested but hesitant to try something like this out.  I can only speak for myself, but I really enjoyed my time and think it was well worth the ($15 with discount) price I paid for the great food, drinks, and conversations.

To top things off, Marlo from Sweet Revenge gave us each a cupcake to take home!  I picked the Pure cupcake.  If you can't make it to Sweet Revenge, you can make your very own Pure cupcake!!!

If you're interested but still have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me and I'll give you my two cents!

Happy Friending!

Nez Perce warrior on horse c1910

What are some other Gals doing to observe Native American Heritage Month?

So I know the economy is a mess, and as relatively recent grads a lot of us are finding money pretty tight. Well, if you're one of those who happens to be fortunate enough to have an extra $50 lying around, or you're looking to do something special for the holidays, you can be Robin Hood!

Robin Hood is an organization that is working to fight poverty and hunger here in NYC. According to their website, about 1.3 New Yorkers rely on emergency food. Robin Hood has partnered with FreshDirect and for a $50 donation, FreshDirect will provide a Thanksgiving meal (turkey with all the fixins) for a family of eight.

If you're feeling extra generous, there are other ways to donate to Robin Hood, but there are FREE ways you (ESPECIALLY you social media gals out there!) can help! It's called Robin Hood Responds and they invite you to be Robin Hood by spreading the word about poverty in NYC by posting a pic of you holding their downloadable "I am Robin Hood" (or your own) sign on Flickr, donating your Facebook status and photo, or sharing (ReTweeting) poverty stats on Twitter. There are also graphics available to embed on your blog or Web site (like the ones above and below).

I always like to check out an organization's Charity Navigator rating before donating. Robin Hood has received a 4 star (the highest!) rating from Charity Navigator based on their efficiency and capacity.

I am Robin Hood. Are you?

Marisol originally posted about Shecky's Girls Night Out and this event is pretty much the same deal, but with a holiday twist.

I really love the atmosphere at these events.  I am by no means a girly-girl, but I find myself giggling and talking about boys and celebrities every time I walk into one of these events, and frankly, it feels good.  For the warm-fuzzy (dare I say pink?!) feeling I have after the event, plus the free drinks and goodie bag (usually valued at $100-$125), I think the price of the ticket is well worth it.  However,  right now tickets for the Holiday Night Out and goodie bag are being sold at half price!  Not too shabby for $15.  Plus, I've never felt pressured to buy anything, and I received a ton of free samples of products while shopping (a self-tanner mitten, Softlips, etc.)  My favorite purchase was a necklace made of an Austrian postage stamp from 1972.  Random, but awesome.

Check out my bag o' goodies below (the photos show 2 bags worth of goodies - from two separate Shecky's events)!

***Note: I did run into a snag at my first GNO - they ran out of goodie bags!  Never fear, I received my bag shipped to me about two weeks later, as well as complimentary entry and goodie bag tickets to another Shecky's event!  While it was disappointing to not get my bag right away, a Shecky's rep took my information at the event and contacted me to let me know my bag was on the way.  There was also an option to be reimbursed for the ticket price of the bag - but I wanted my goodies ;)  All in all, I think the situation was handled well, and I did get my fabulous bag at my next event with no problems!***

(Other Gals' Guide cities - Shecky's has events in your cities, too!)

Goodies Galore!!!Shower and skincare products (yes, those are full size bottles)Eyes, lips, teeth, nails, faceFood and supplements (Confession: I ate both bags of veggie chips before taking this picture. Too delicious!)Personal ItemsAnd last but not least!

Books and music

That changed last week when I stumbled upon Manhattan Users Guide (MUG), a web site and daily email that discusses everything NYC related categorized by Arts and Entertainment, Shopping, Food & Wine, Info, Leisure, and Services. MUG gives you the up-to-date information of what’s happening in New York on a daily basis. The site also has a bookmarking feature called "My MUG" that allows you to mark your favorite posts for use later. If you like photography of the city, every day in "Joe’s Corner" a new photograph of New York is posted.

MUG is an easy way to stay up-to-date on the events happening throughout the city. Whether you are a seasoned New York veteran or a newbie, MUG is a great resource to keep you in-the-know in NYC.

I hope to run a marathon someday.  In the meantime, I participate in some shorter races, usually in Central Park.  If you enjoy running (or walking, or just being outside and doing cool stuff), I encourage you to check out New York Road Runners.  NYRR hosts a race almost every weekend at varying distances, from a mile to a marathon, for professional runners, joggers, walkers, and everyone in between.  NYRR also has running classes and clinics, and cross training activities such as deep water running and pilates.  The NYRR races I've participated in in Central Park are always a great atmosphere (even in the rain, 8 degree temperatures at race time, etc.) with tons of support and encouragement along the way.  This is great for a novice like me, and I'm sure gives the more experienced runners a boost, too!  Each race does have an entry fee, but the fees are less for NYRR members.  For more casual (and cheap!) running or walking, I've found that it's easy to find an impromptu group at any NYC park on a Saturday morning.  NYC has a ridiculously friendly running/walking community and I encourage you to check it out!

Are there any other marathoners/runners/walkers out there?  We'd love to hear your stories!

Now let's see if New York City can keep the celebration rolling with the Yankees' 27th World Series title!