Children's Place Summer Collection

This week, I saw the Summer Collection by The Children's Place. As always, the Children's Place collection is filled with fun and creative looks for the summer. I especially love the homage to the 60's with all their tie-dyed shirts and dresses. It's retro but with an updated look.

There is a lot of red, white and blue for, of course, July 4th but with flair and without hitting you over the head.

And the shoe collection continues to improve with each season.

Head to your local Children's Place to check out the new looks for Summer but as you know, the weather will be warming up and you can wear them in the next few weeks.

And don't forget their everyday $5.00 shipping on every order, big or small.

Become a Facebook Fan and become part of the Children's Place community.

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Robert Verdi & Kristen Bell TEAM with MARSHALLS to HOST LIVE SPRING FASHION SHOW @Union Square Park -April 28

Celebrity stylist, Robert Verdi and actress Kristen Bell will host a fashion show and unveil makeovers of women in the Dress for Success program on April 28th at Union Square Park.  

The fashion show will feature the hottest designer spring trends from Marshalls, along with three women who have benefited from Dress for Success unveiling style makeovers by Verdi. The event will conclude Marshalls’ “Unlock the Shopportunity” program, which is underway now and offers chances to win designer goods by ‘unlocking’ the Marshalls’ Facebook fan page.

As a result of this program, Marshalls will donate $100,000 to Dress for Success to help dress thousands of women across the country in quality designer fashion and accessories to help them prepare to re-enter the workforce.

The show will be open to the public and broadcast via a live webcast on UStream for viewers – online and live – to enjoy a fashion show and interact with Robert Verdi throughout the event.  At the event and on UStream, one lucky Facebook fan will be announced as the winner of a $5,000 designer spring wardrobe from Marshalls.  Additionally, consumers in attendance will have the opportunity to play off-price games and will be given keys that could unlock wardrobes full of prizes live on site. 

 To enter, fans can visit: www.facebook.com/marshalls 

WHEN & WHERE:            

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

12pm - 2pm

Union Square Park @14th Street 

                                                 

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BBC Earth Offers Free Planet Earth Episode Download on iTunes (until 4/26/10)

Okay, Earth Day has passed but you can still celebrate it and enjoy PLANET EARTH in Stunning HD for Free until April 26, 2010.

In celebration of Earth Day’s 40th anniversary, the beloved and award-winning BBC Earth series Planet Earth is now available on iTunes with a special, one-time free episode download (“Pole to Pole”) until April 26, 2010.

Click here to download free episode.

This jaw-dropping, 11-part series from the BBC’s Natural History Unit presents the epic story of life on Earth. Series producer Alastair Fothergill and his team spent four years in production, over 2000 days in the field, using 71 cameramen filming across 204 locations in 62 countries to capture the ultimate portrait of our planet. It has garnered legions of fans and universal critical acclaim with Oprah Magazine saying “It is the most beautiful, wondrous and truly majestic series - the best thing I’ve ever seen on TV.”

GET THE WHOLE SERIES
Want more Planet Earth? The whole series is available for instant download on iTunes.

• Standard Definition - $1.99/episode; $20.99 Series Pass
  
• High-Definition - $2.99/episode; $31.99 Series Pass

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KIddie Cruise $5.00 Off Adult Ticket Promotion

Kiddie Cruise's maiden voyage will be taking place May 9.

Kiddie Cruise as you can tell from the name offers you and your children the opportunity to experience a cruise right here on the Hudson where you can take in great views of the Statue of Liberty and New York harbor and enjoy many fun-filled activities that are sure to entertain your kids. The cruise also offer healthy food for adults and children.

The theme of the May 9th cruise is Princess and Pirates. The Kiddie Cruise schedule runs through October. 

Kiddie Cruise Activities:

• Face painting
• Balloon sculpting
• Magic show
• Arts and crafts
• Story time
• Puppet show
• Live children's musi
• Appearances by cartoon characters
• Raffle giveaway
• And much more 

Details:

For the 2010 schedule and more information: Kiddiecruise.com

Call 212/987-9200 x311 and mention the NYC Single Mom referred to take advantage of the promotion

Boarding: 12:00 pm

Sailing: 12:30 - 2:30 pm

Leaving from Pier #40, West Houston Street @West Side Highway

Subway: 1, 9 to Houston Street

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10% OFF Portraits from Loreto Caceres Photography

New York based photographer, Loreto Caceres is offering 10% off her photographic services to NYC Single Mom readers.

Ms. Caceres focuses on bringing a more natural and stress free process to photographing children and pets. What I like about Ms. Caceres' work is that the photos are not shot in the studio but on location. You, the parent can choose any location whether at your home, the park, the beach or wherever.

I love her quote "It is an investment that will fill your walls with timeless memories."

If you are in the market or not (sometimes we don't know we are looking until the right one comes along, right), check out Ms. Caceres' portfolio. There are some wonderful and beautiful photos in her portfolio  and I think you won't be disappointed.  And that goes for you pet lovers. I don't own a pet but her pet photos are amazing.

Loreto Caceres Photography

Contact: INFO@LORETOCACERES.COM

Don't forget to mention that you are NYC Single Mom Reader

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NYC Single Mom is Kids Club Thirteen Newest Ambassador - Woo Hoo!!

Exciting news - I am partnering up with New York City's Public TV station, Channel 13 as a Kids Club 13 Ambassador. To say that I was thrilled to be asked to be an ambassador is an understatement.

Along with being a fan of the station since I moved to New York, my daughter has grown up watching some of the best children's programming on television. Entertaining and educational shows like Sid the Science Kid, Cyberchase, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Dragon Tales and of course, everyone's all time favorites, Sesame Street and Barney.

So what is Kids Club 13? It is the new family membership program run by Channel 13.

For an annual gift of $75, your Kids Club 13 membership includes the following:

• Free events for your children (four this summer)
• Discounts to places you are already go or have been dying to try out like the Brooklyn Museum, Police Museum, International Center of Photography, Gazillion bubble Show, New York Liberty and many more places.
• Your Kid's birthday on TV!!
• Founding Family members get two years for the price of one (sign up through May 10, 2010). The membership is good for 2 adults and 3 children.

Upcoming Free and Fun Events
May 9 - Fleece Weekend at the Prospect Park Zoo

June 13 - June Bugs Month and the Mighty String Demons at the Staten Island Children's Museum
July 11 - Second Sunday with Bang on a Can at the Noguchi Museum

Kids Club 13 is an amazing way to take advantage of all the city events that you might not otherwise take advantage of and/or get discounts at venues you currently visit.

Don't wait, sign up and become a Founding Member of Kids Club Thirteen. Sign up, here.
Seriously, calculated over the next two years, it comes to under $4.00/month and remember summer is coming up.

Become a Channel 13 fan on Facebook
Become a follower at Twitter.com/KidsClub13
KidsClub13 Membership

Disclosure: NYC Single Mom was not paid for this post but did receive a family membership.

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Letters to Juliet Advance Free Screening on April 20 in NYC and Austin

An advance free screening of Letters to Juliet starring Amanda Seyfried is coming up next week, April 20 in New York City and Austin.

Letters to Juliet Synopsis 

When a young American (Amanda Seyfried) travels to the city of Verona, home of the star-crossed lover Juliet Capulet of Romeo and Juliet fame, she joins a group of volunteers who respond to letters to Juliet seeking advice about love. After answering one letter dated from 1957, she inspires its author (Vanessa Redgrave) to travel to Italy in search of her long-lost love, which sets off a chain of events that will bring a love into both their lives unlike anything they have ever imagined.

Visit the site to sign up for free passes: http://www.gofobo.com/screenings/letters_to_juliet/ivillagecom/395697

Tickets are on a first come, first served basis, so don't miss out. 

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Nobody's Perfect 20% off Ticket Price - A Play for Kids and Adults Alike

Nobody's Perfect, a musical based on the book written by Marlee Matlin and Doug Cooney will be playing at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University on May 8. 

Nobody's Perfect main character, fourth grader Megan finds herself at odds with the new student Alex. To Megan, Alex has it all: brains, beauty and athletics. Megan wonders if it's because she is deaf. When they are forced to work together on a science project, Megan discovers Alex's secret and realizes that "nobody's perfect." 

NYU is offering 20% off of the $20 ticket price with the code: NYCSM20 . This code does not expire.

"Nobody's Perfect," May 8th, 2PM at the Skirball Center for the Performing Artshttp://www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu/calendar/nobodys_perfect

Recommended for ages 8 and up. 

Running Time: 60 minutes
Tickets:ONLINE:

www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu

BY PHONE:

212.352.3101 or 866.811.4111

(Phone sales are handled by TheaterMania/OvationTix)

IN PERSON:

Skirball Center Box Office

566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South)

Open Tuesday-Saturday 12-6pm

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Cirque du Soleil's OVO Review and Family Four Pack Offer Package

This weekend, we went to Cirque du Soleil's newest show, OVO.

OVO (Egg in Portuguese) is described as a wild, colorful world, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in anon-stop riot of energy and movement. A mysterious egg appears in their midst brought by a "foreigner," the insects which include scarabs, fleas, ants, butterflies, spiders and crickets become awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives.

If you have seen any of the Cirque du Soleil shows, you know that they are wildly acrobatic, colorful and just plain amazing to watch and OVO is no different. The cast is comprised of 54 performing artists from 16 different countries and every segment is one "oh" and "ah" after another.

What I liked about Cirque du Soleil's OVO:

• The insect theme. How completely and utterly unique, right. I can't even imagine another creative team bringing this to the stage and pulling it off.
• The staging was spectatular, as always. The show ranged from slapstick comedy to adorable love story (between the lady bug and the insect stranger) and of course, all the amazing acrobatic feats of each of the performers.
• The costumes in a word - Wow! Each insect's costume was truly bright and colorful just like in nature. And when I mean colorful, I mean the colors just "pop" on stage. And how in the world, does somebody create a cricket costume without making it look ridiculous but fully formed and real without being creepy. Again, just phenomenal.

The Opening Scene

• Holds your attention from the opening scene (where the biggest egg just disappears) to the last song (and the waterfall of confetti coats the audience) with very little talking. In fact, the only person who talks or somewhat talks is the insect stranger. I don't want to single out any one segment because I was impressed with every segment. My daughter was equally impressed and was completely engaged throughout the show. You can't ask a show to do much more than to entertain a child.
• Equal blend of acrobatics and comedy. My daughter was laughing quite heartily throughout the comedic segments. As I mentioned, Cirque du Soleil comedy is very slapstick and kids like that.
• The choreography and the music combined were just captivating, engaging and well- thought out. I had to resist buying the CD but may break down and order it.
• The semi-circle stage. The company has gone to great lengths so that no seat is a bad seat, of course, being closer is better but if you are ten rows back, it's still a good seat.

What I did not like Cirque du Soleil's OVO:

• Nothing

And finally, for those who like to be pampered there is the VIP Tapis Rouge package which includes the best seats in the house and access to the VIP suite one hour before the show and during the intermission, food and drinks and much, much more. (Note to VIP Tapis Rouge company, - you should include more kid-friendly food, the food was incredible for adults but not much there for kids to nosh on other than fruit.)

For more details on what is included in the VIP package, visit cirquedusoleil.com

If you have a chance to see it in New York or the rest of country, it is so worth it. The show is playing through June 6 in New York City.

Ticket Information and schedule: www.cirqueduesoleil.com and Family Four Pack Offer.

American Express offer: For preferred seating and other special advantages for American Express

Cardmembers, please visitwww.cirquedusoleil.com/amex

cool mask

This is an original NYC Single Mom Reviews post. Read Linda's latest posts at NYC Single Mom, NYC Moms blog, NY Metropolista and travelingmom.com 

Disclosure: OVO tickets and VIP Tapis Rouge Access were provided by Cirque du Soleil for review purposes only.

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Nickelodeon Storytime Live Review

Last week, we attended Nickelodeon's Storytime Live Review at Radio City Music Hall. The show features live action characters from four of Nickelodeon's best-known shows: Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan and Wonder Pets.

This was my first live action show and I always wondered how they would translate animated characters into live action stage show.

If your children watch Nickelodeon and are aware of the characters, they will thoroughly enjoy the show and if aren't they will as well. The show is a lot of fun, musical and engaging. That said, I think that only two of the stories are more engaging than the others.

There are four vignettes:

Ni-Hao Kai Lin - Kai-lin and her friends go to meet the Monkey King and help bring the Pandas to the panda party.  
Kai-Lin was cute and the story line was engaging. 

The Backyardigans - Major Stinkypants (Austin) has forced the all the other characters (Tasha, Tyrone and Uniqua) to take part in the Festival of Dirt.
This by far was the weakest of the four stories and somehow did not retain the animated show's sense of "backyard" adventure. I also did not like the entire Stinkypants, Filthingham theme and all the characters were dirty. 


Wonderpets - This storyline was all about Alice in Wonderland and gathering all the characters for a party.
The theme song is enough for me. 


Dora the Explorer - A witch has placed Boots under a spell. Of course, the spell can only be broken by a true princess. Dora has to become a true princess in order to save Boots.
This by far was the finale and the showstopper. It was not so much the story which was cute but it worked because of the interactive nature of the singing and the characters. Let's face it, if your child  watches this show, you know all the cues from the opening, Dora Song to the backpack and swiper no swiper music. Even I was thrilled to hear the music and sang along. More importantly, you could tell the kids in the audience were excited  just by how loud they were singing and yelling back at the characters.


I would definitely see the show especially if your children are familiar with the show and if they aren't they will like it for the music and dancing.


The show ends April 4th at the Radio City but continues it's tour of the United States. Check the NickLive site for shows in your area.

Disclosure: Tickets to the event were provided by MSG. 

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Latest Giveaways at NYC Single Mom Reviews

Here are the latest giveaways at NYC Single Mom Reviews.


Couples Retreat Review and Giveaway (ends 4/20)

Juicy Couture $25 Gift Card Giveaway (ends 4/16)

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Season 1 & 2 Army Wives DVD Giveaway to celebrate the premiere of Season 4 of Army Wives- CLOSED

congrats to the 10 winners of the giveaway
I am sure that all you Army Wives fans know that Army Wives: Season 4 premiere is happening on Sunday, April 11th at 10 pm EST/9pm CST on Lifetime.

To celebrate the Season 4 premiere, NYC Single Mom Readers is holding a DVD giveaway of Season 1 and Season 2 for all you loyal fans and future fans.

• 10 DVD copies of Army Wives: The Complete First Season 
• 10 DVD copies of Army Wives: The Complete Second Season 

For non fans - Army Wives delves into the lives of a diverse group of women with one thing in common -- they're wives of Army soldiers living on a base together. The women must deal with the pressures of the military, as well as having to leave their life behind for that of an Army wife. Based on the non-fiction book originally titled Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives, by Tanya Biank, the series is set at the fictional Fort Marshall in Charleston, South Carolina, home to the also fictional 23rd Airborne Division. Fort Marshall is presumably based on the actual 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg.

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Couples Retreat Review and DVD Giveaway

Congrats to Cheryl W. on  being the winer of the Couples Retreat DVD. Enjoy.

Couples Retreat, a comedy released in 2009 is about three couples who agree to go to Eden, an island retreat to help fellow married couple, Jason (Jason Batemen) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) save their marriage. Jason and Cynthia are on the verge of divorce, after unsuccessfully trying to conceive and going to the resort is their last chance to make their marriage work.

The other couples along for the ride  include Dave (Vince Vaughn) and his wife Ronne (Malin Ackerman), Joey (Jon Favreau) and his wife, Lucy (Kristen Davis) and recently divorced, Shane (Faizon Love) and his twenty-year old girlfriend Trudi (Kali Hawk.)

The movie consists of the couples undergoing "therapy" with Eden's unorthodox owner, Marcel (Jean Reno) and their encounters with various "therapists" on the island.

What I liked about Couples Retreat:

• Vince Vaughn - Sure, he is doing same rif as we have seen in his previous movies but darn it, he is funny. 
• Jason Bateman - Again, Bateman's deadpan delivery works for me every time. The scenes with the powerpoint presentation is hysterical because of his delivery. 
• Scenes with the various therapists
• The island retreat scenes are to die for. 

What I did not like about Couples Retreat:

• The entire Joey (Jon Favreau) story line. He came to the island just to score and the entire scene with the massage therapist was just plain ewww.  I have to guess that Favreau did the movie as a favor to Vaughn but note to Jon, you are the director of Iron Man (a great movie) and the upcoming Iron Man 2, you do NOT need to do this kind of creepy, sleazy married man looking to score role. 
• The two Kristens - Kristen Bell and Kristen Davis. Both are completely miscast. I love Kristen Bell and again for some odd reason, her manager or agent continue to steer her to romantic comedies/comedies. You are Veronica Mars, dammit, find a role that is worthy of your talents. As for Kristen Davis, every role since SATC is just a rehash of Charlotte. 
• It's pretty predictable. 

When this was released in 2009, I opted not to see the movie because for whatever reason, it just did not appeal to me even though I am fans of both Jason Bateman and Vince Vaughn. 

That said, as a rental it is definitely worth your time on a rainy day and you need some good old-fashioned laughs. 

One lucky NYC Single Mom Reviews reader will win a copy of Couples Retreat DVD.




Disclosure: Couples Retreat DVD for review and giveaway courtesy of iVillage.com

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