Summer Hiatus

Hi all,

I deleted Phoebe's Freebies because I hadn't added anything in SO long and then, like a sign from the heavens, in about a week an a half:

- I attended this in-store event hosted by Vogue magazine and Gap 1969.

- I got a yummy giveaway of Sabra hummus and Stacey's Pita Chips at Union Square

- Fab friend, L, passed me her spot at NYC's first Diner en Blanc and it was magical.

- And generous pal, E, took me to a Nadal match at the US Open with fab seats (see pic taken above) on a gorgeous summer evening.

Given the abundance of freebie fun it seemed criminal not to resuscitate the blog. Apologies for my fair weather blogging!!!

Crowns at Michael C Fina and Allure Breakfast

So many freebies - Summer is really kicking off!

First, the Michael C. Fina "Crowns" event was well-executed, as they always do events at MCF. There were replicas of historic bejeweled crowns sprinkled around the store, as well as prosecco, yummy fancy snacks, and this table of mini Crumbs cupcakes with crowns on them:

The crown exhibit will be in MCF's NYC store for some time, so if you're in the 45th and 5th Street area, check it out. Very cool.

Also, it's National Doughnut Day today! This means free doughnuts at Krispy Kreme stores nationwide, and a free doughnut at Dunkin Donuts when you buy any beverage.

Finally, this Allure Breakfast event is happening in NYC and Scarsdale at Lord and Taylor stores on Saturday, April 11th.

You have to RSVP, but if you can get up early, it looks worth it!

Quick Crown Freebie

Sorry I have been such a slacker. Summer travel heated up and blogging was the first thing to go.

Just a quick post for this crowns exhibit at Michael C. Fina tomorrow. No idea what it will be like, but I've RSVPed and my last MCF event was awesome. Whitney Port was there and they had Dean and Deluca cheese plates!

Here's hoping for more of the same, and some nice crown oogling...

In-Store Event 101

Lifestyle event guru pal, C, informed me about the Cole Haan event mentioned earlier on this blog, and last night we attended at Rockefeller Center.

It was simple, yet perfectly executed in-store event fun.

1) Great staff/customer ratio. When you showed up, people greeted you and offered champagne or pellegrino. The store never felt overcrowded, nor was there the awful crush to get any form of drink/food you sometimes have at such events.

2) Simple treats done well. They were featuring their new spring color palette, which is kelly green, bright yellow, and black. In keeping with that combo, they had yummy mini-cupcakes, decked out with white chocolate disks that had the colors brushed on top. Here is a pic of two, side by side:

3) An enticing in-store deal: 25% off all purchases. C needed a new wallet and bought a very chic one.

Thanks C and Cole Haan, for showing us how it's done!

Scoop in-store event

Although I'll be in Arizona, I thought I should post that Scoop in SoHo is hosting a book signing next week: Tuesday, March 15th from 7-9pm

Free cocktails!

Freebie Slacker

Due to a busier than usual schedule, I've been robbed of my time for freebie events! I actually turned down a VIP art show last weekend - Agony!



Things will improve slightly this Thursday, as pal C and I plan to hit the Cole Haan spring event:



It's happening nationwide, so find a Cole Haan store near you and get some shoes!

Mall Freebies

My friend L and I attempted a Freebie Triple Header yesterday, at the mall at Columbus Circle. There was a buzz of Fashion Week affiliated action, which turned out to be rather minimal compared to what we'd expected...

First, we had prosecco and strawberries at the Wolford shop on the ground level. It was nice, but there are only so many stockings to browse in this jewel box-sized shop, and as it got more crowded we had to seek sanctuary upstairs.

Upstairs, they were prepping a central atrium "Club Coca Cola" lounge with free Coke products and nuts/finger food. We couldn't wait to get in there, and I took this photo before the event began: We bided our time in Bebe, where they were serving champagne, sparkling water, and very very undercooked/overhandled hors d'ouvres. After a short while the potent smell of bad perfume and terrible crowding drew us back upstairs to see about the Coke event...

...only to discover there were door guards armed with RSVP lists. Agh! Freebie Faux Pas! I didn't know it was an RSVP event! While all the less-deserving-looking people walked in, we were negged at the black airport style barrier (so embarrassing!) and we headed down to Whole Foods to lick our wounded egos.

Luckily, Whole Foods gives out freebies to all, and we enjoyed sampling gourmet pickles, this amazing granola, and kimchi.

All in all, not a bad way to spend an hour!

Holiday Shopping Freebies

Westcoaster C arrived in NYC for Christmas, and we hit the shops for some last minute shopping. Did you know the stores go into overdrive handing out sweet freebies the weekend before Christmas?


Free mini candy bars dished up at Bed Bath and Beyond:

Free candy cane sticks at J. Crew:
Free peppermint bark at Williams-Sonoma:

We enjoyed our shopping feeding frenzy! Ho ho ho!

"I just stuck my pizza in my purse." - L

Congratulations to L, winner of the Brooks Brothers Holiday Party Quote Vote!

Buttoned-Up Freebie

Last night, lovely L and I attended the Brooks Brothers Holiday Party extravaganza in midtown NYC. As expected, it was a mob scene.

The entire men's store was decked from top to bottom. This is a shot of the first floor, where they had open bars, hors d'ouvres, giant urns full of candy canes and Brooks Brothers Hanukah gelt, employees dressed in four-plaid pants (yes, four plaids on one pair of pants!) and a stage for performers:

If you rode the escalators up to the children's floor, every surface was covered with gingerbread (check out these Brooks Brothers gingerbread people!):

Also upstairs, Marlo Thomas was reading from her new book, and they offered the kids an ornament decorating station.

After our initial egg nog (delicious - see beverage station pic below),

We headed around the corner to the Women's store, where we took a photo with Santa (a very classic, classy Santa too), witnessed four Edwardian carolers singing their hearts out, and encountered a cookie decorating station.

Then we dashed back to the Men's store in time for the cast of Billy Elliot to perform some holiday carol medleys:

All in all, this event was just huge. There was so much going on, but it was very crowded. Here's my breakdown:

Food: A-minus. The high-point were the mini latkes, but they also served sliders, pigs in blankets, mini pizzas, doughnuts, sugar cookies, blondies, brownies. There was simply just a mad rush to any person with food that made getting the food tremendously unpleasant.

Drink: A-plus. A host of options: warm cider, egg nog, apple martinis, white wine (no red, because, as one server pointed out to a man "This is a clothing store." (???)), and pellegrino.

Entertainment: A-plus. We couldn't even stick around for Winton Marsalis and the Harlem boys/girls choirs because we had dinner to eat. The Billy Elliot kids were adorable, there was an awesome jazz band at the women's store playing in front of Santa, and the Edwardian Christmas Carolers were a neat diversion too. For the kids, the cookie and ornament decorating stations looked really fun. And though we didn't get close enough to SEE Marlo Thomas, we could hear her and that's pretty cool she was there!

Swag: A. No gift bag or anything, but we were able to walk out with some specialty Brooks Brothers gelt, as well as a really cute/odd pic of L and me sitting on Santa's lap.

Don't forget to vote for our Quote Vote at the top right of the blog!

"Why is a Swedish travel agent running the cash register?" - P

Winner of the Hilfiger Holiday Party Quote Vote is...moi! :-)

Holiday Party at the Hilfigers

Is there anything better than an unexpectedly awesome in-store event?!?

Last night, talented showstopper pal S and I met on 5th Avenue in midtown to admire gorgeous holiday windows (see the 57th St star fully illuminated here):

Our other objective? Attend a mysterious "Holiday Party at the Hilfigers" at the Tommy Hilfiger flagship store on 54th St. This was one of those in-store events where all we knew was the date, time, and location.

Could it have been a bust? Absolutely.

Was it? Absolutely not! It was fantastic.

When S and I entered, they checked our names off the list and indicated that there was a photo booth downstairs on the "hipster clothing floor." We whisked down there and took a cool old school photo booth set of pics before the booth got infested with bedbugs from a zillion people sitting inside (Yes, I am that neurotic New Yorker!).

The party was in full swing by the time we grabbed our beverage of choice, a few yummy appetizers, and started to wander.

The event was co-hosted by InStyle magazine, which I will say ALWAYS seems to do a good job with in-store events. Here are my grades:

Food: A-minus. While it was very highbrow (veggie stacks of root vegetables, carrots topped with mushrooms, proscuitto wrapped pear) it was all lukewarm and very veggie-heavy.

Drink: A. They had sparkling water, sparkling cava, and a signature cocktail the "Pear Fizz" which was pear nectar, ginger ale, and Bombay Sapphire gin.

Activities: A. Between the photo booth, "day to night" dressing demo, and ample room to browse the wares, there was lots to do.

Swag: A. Getting a free photo booth strip is awesome - and they were thoughtful enough to print out two (one for each of us). While not explicitly swag, everyone was welcome to take a December 2010 issue of InStyle as they left the party, and that's a nice thing to have for the gym! Oh, and there was a really cute gift wrapping station that I snapped a pic of, which kind of counts as swag if you purchased something:

S and I both scored substantially discounted necklaces, purchased from a Swedish tour guide who was inexplicably ringing people up.

Don't forget to vote on the Quote Vote in the top right corner of the blog!!!

Brooks Brothers Holiday Extravaganza

OK, this Madison Ave Brooks Brothers event just looks insanely awesome. RSVP NOW.

International Freebie

How cool is this ad?

Italian lingerie line Intimissimi is offering an awesome bra-recycling program. You bring old bras into their stores, and get 3 euro towards a new bra for every bra you recycle.

The material from the old bras will be made into soundproofing panels for buildings.

Bring this freebie stateside, per favore!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Holiday Freebie: Elf on Broadway

M & I have a college friend who is actually a bona fide Broadway star! And I try to see him in all his productions, to support his skyrocketing career.

Anyhow, he is currently the star of Elf, a holiday Broadway musical based on the Will Ferrell movie.

Earlier in the week, Broadway cousin, T, invited us to tag along to a preview of the show! Free tickets to see our fellow alum sing in green tights and curly tipped shoes? Yes, please!

I don't think I'm allowed to write anything about the show, since it hasn't officially opened yet, but we had so much fun. Afterwards, we strongarmed our way backstage and got to congratulate our friend on his new role.

Ho ho ho! Two holiday shows already, and it's not even halfway through November. Overkill?

Who cares?!? Ho ho ho!

p.s. Fashionable cousin Z was also at the show, and she gave me a full blow-by-blow of her experience getting the aforementioned free $50 gift certificate at American Eagle earlier this week. She actually skinned a knee in the melee, but also managed to get a free shirt. Freebie Rockstar!

The Best-Laid Freebie Plans...

Yesterday was supposed to be a big day for freebies...and it was.

Just not in any of the ways I'd expected.

I found out from a colleague that Schnitzel and Things (a street food-vendor truck that serves Austrian/German food that's apparently delicious) had been booked by Austrian Airlines all week in a giveaway promotion.

Yesterday they were stationed at Park Ave and 26th, near our office, so we took a lunch break stroll to check it out. Here's a photo of the truck, covered in Austrian Airline wallpaper:

The schnitzel of the day was chicken, and it was delicious! Very thin pounded cutlet, lightly breaded, served with a giant lemon wedge. And a side of chipotle sauce that I wasn't sure how to use, but ended up dipping my chicken piece like a giant Austrian McNugget! Oh, and you get to enter a contest for a pair of free roundtrip tickets to Vienna too.

Today and tomorrow, the truck is in the 50s. Thursday: 52nd St between 6th & 7th Ave.
Friday: 52nd St & Lexington Ave. Hours each day will be from 11am-3pm, or until supplies run out.

After work, intrepid friend, J, and I headed to Williams-Sonoma at Columbus Circle for a book signing.

It was totally ill-attended, no wine (even though the book was a winemakers cookbook), and almost no food, except for a "display" of radicchio and blue cheese that I thought was samples and accidentally ate. AND I THEN GOT YELLED AT BY A PRICKLY W-S LADY! It was a huge serving platter of food on a counter - How was I supposed to know?!?

We fled the scene to the Lladro/Steiff event, which was event worse.

The entire Lladro showroom smelled like a heady floral air-freshener, and the place was packed with figurine collectors. J and I discovered a table set with wine glasses and another empty table that seemed to be a proper site for hors d'ouvres, but nary a beverage or nibble was to be seen.

FreebieFAIL. We fled Event #2 and got dinner at a very delicious, very not free establishment!

But all was not lost! As I left the Bloomingdales area, I checked my watch and reckoned it was perfect timing for me to walk 10 blocks north on Madison Ave to check out the aforementioned Ralph Lauren mystery light showing at 8:30pm.

It was, in a word, amazing.

First, the show:

RL used the new building on Madison as a projection screen for a 10-15 minute music and light show. These projections were creative and truly fun.

See photos below:

This is what it looked like as they projected the mansion "opening up" - kind of like a dollhouse, to show an interior "fashion show" on a descending staircase:


And then they went totally fantastical, projecting polo players and giant belts and all kinds of things. The coolest was when they had giant neckties flop over the mansion, as seen here:

Also, the scene:


As I walked up to 72nd St and Madison, there were police barriers around the older RL store, and all kinds of preppie people milling about. There was a party happening inside the older RL store, but it was by personal invitation only (Drat!). So I ensconced myself with a great view, directly under the awning and directly across from the new store where the show would be happening.


At about 8:28pm, all of a sudden paparazzi flashes started blinding me and I realized I'd inadvertently gotten a front-row spot beside the red carpet.


Why it was Ralph Lauren, in the flesh! Himself. The snow-haired, orange-skinned man. In a gorgeous light tan toggle coat. He brushed right by me, took his even better view front row spot, and the show began!

If you want to see what the light show was like, click here to watch a video.


FreebieSUCCESS, after all!

Upper East Side Mystery Light Show

I don't quite know what's going on, but some sort of free outdoor light show is happening tonight outside of the new Ralph Lauren store at 867 Madison Avenue (72nd St). Apparently "screenings" of the "digital innovation" will be occurring at 8, 8:30, and 9pm on the facade of the store. An online "screening" will go up tomorrow.



According to the New York Times, this is a new "4-D" form of projections. In addition to using the exterior of the building for projections, there will also be sound and "a mist of fragrance."



I don't know how I feel about a building spritzing me with perfume, but I guess it's more pleasant that the summertime drip of a/c units!

Too Many Events!

I have just been invited to this exciting lifestyle event on THIS Thursday, November 11th:

7 For All Mankind 10th Anniversary Celebration in Soho

Ah, 7 For All Mankind... Has it really been ten years? It feels like just yesterday that I tried on my first pair and my own personal jeandom was forever changed.

Unfortunately, I'll have to pass on the anniversary party since I'll be attending another fun freebie night of Holiday Theater: Elf on Broadway, courtesy of awesome Broadway cousin, T!

However, I promise a full report on tomorrow's lifestyle events at Lladro/Steiff and Williams-Sonoma!

Leopard Print, China Figurines, and Teddy Bears, Oh My!

Two exciting freebie events on the horizon:

This week: Friend J and I plan on making an appearance at the aforementioned Williams-Sonoma book signing, and then wending our way several blocks to the Lladro/Steiff event!

It's past the RSVP deadline for the latter, but I'd call and see if you can add your name if you'd like to join us:


Love that there's going to be a Steiff appraiser on site. If only I had my brother's old teddy bear that made a "roar" when you tilted it. This not-so-roar-like noise earned the stuffed bear the vivid name, "Farty the Bear." I am not kidding.

And then, next week on Thursday, November 18th - a NATIONWIDE EVENT for all of us! A "Girls Night Out" at all Bebe stores, starting at 6pm.

No rsvp neccessary for that one - enjoy!

American Eagle Freebie

Attention NYC shoppers:

To celebrate the opening of their Soho store, American Eagle is giving out $50 gift cards to the first 500 shoppers this Tuesday (11/9)! And an official "Mud Truck" will be on site to provide refreshment!

I have to be at work, but it's 599 Broadway, right by Houston St. I'm not sure what time it opens (I'd imagine 10am?), but if you're currently unemployed or have a flexible schedule, I would get there early.

$50 at AE is nothing to sneeze at!