Diner en Blanc NYC 2022

Last night I attended Diner en Blanc NYC right on the Hudson River outside of Brookfield Place. This year marked the 10th anniversary of Diner en Blanc in NYC!

At Diner en Blanc, thousands of attendees dress up in white, head to toe, and gather together for a large dinner celebration. What is unique and fun about this event, aside from everything being in all white, is:

• you need to bring your own table, seats and picnic for dinner, however you can order a gourmet picnic basket

• the location is a secret until just a few hours before the event

• at the start of the event everyone waives their white napkins

Chef Todd English & I

The highlights of the night included delicious bites made by none other than Chef Todd English and featured champagne from Baron de Rothschild Champagne. I was lucky enough to had the opportunity to meet and chat with Todd in the media lounge, he was so down to earth and friendly!

Fun facts I learned about Todd English, despite using caviar for his high end clientele he is NOT a fan of caviar, but IS a fan of anchovies, in fact he likes to eat them straight!

Can’t wait to see where the Diner en Blanc will be held next year!

Cheers

Baron de Rothschild Champagne

Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the 87th annual Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting ceremony with my younger sister. This is one of the most iconic symbols at Christmas and in NYC.

This year’s 77 ft tall tree originates from Florida… upstate New York. weighing approximately 14 tons, 46 feet in diameter and about 70-75 years.

While it was freezing, it was very surreal to see the tree lighting in person!

Up Close & Personal with the Times Square NYE Ball!

As 2018 comes to an end, one of my favorite ways to ring in the new year is to watch the NYE ball drop in Times Square.

This year, I had the pleasure of getting up close and personal with the Waterford Crystal ball that drops every year on NYE at One Times Square!

Check out my interview with Waterford Crystal’s Tom Brennan, who was the lead in designing the amazing ball that is seen across the world on New Year’s Eve!

Fun Facts:

The Waterford Ball is:

• Illuminated by 32,256 LED lights

• 12 feet in diameter and weighs 11,875 pounds

• 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles are bolted to 672 LED modules, attached to the frame of the ball

Surprisingly the ball was only located a few flights up from the 21st floor. However, this did not take away any of the allure or grandeur of the Waterford Ball. It is just phenomenal up close!

One of the Waterford Crystal Triangles

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Rainbow Cookie Ice Cream topped with Homemade Lemon Meringue from Bona Bona Ice Cream

Celebrating National Ice Cream Day at the 3rd Annual NYC Summer Ice Cream Blizzard - with a variety of NYC's most unique artisan ice cream makers and flavors.

For those of you who know me well, you know I have a big sweet tooth and LOVE ice cream!  

Today I attended the 3rd Annual NYC Summer Ice Cream Blizzard at the Grand Baazar NYC on the Upper West Side. There were so many varieties of ice cream it was hard to choose where to go! There was everything from ice cream mochi from My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream, ice cream sandwiches from Melt Bakery and Thai ice cream rolls from Minus Celsius Ice Cream to ice cream stuffed donuts from Stax Ice Cream, ice cream like cookie dough from 2 Dough Boyz and deep fried ice cream from Sam's Fried Ice Cream to name a few.   

I decided to get something new that I had not seen before (which is rare when it comes to ice cream) - rainbow cookie ice cream topped with toasted lemon meringue from Bona Bona Ice Cream! If you’re wondering, yes it tastes as good as it looks!  The rainbow cookie ice cream had bits of rainbow cookie in it (one of my favorite cookies), and the toasted lemon meringue added a nice touch, definitely a good decision made today! 

Thank you to my friend Della for indulging in my love of ice cream and attending this, despite the intense heat today!  

Until next time, stayed tuned for more ice cream and foodie adventures!  

New York Edge Summer Kickoff Soiree

New York Edge Young Professionals Council (L-R): Mateo Creamer, Eileen Tublin, Rose Wisniewski, Evvie Kelley, Chris Creegan, Diana Arias, Elizabeth Tam, Robert Strang, Kinja Dixon, Kyle Deleon

Last night the New York Edge Young Professionals Council (of which I am president of) and I hosted the 4th Annual New York Edge Summer Kickoff Soiree at the Ainsworth - East Village.  I want to thank everyone who came out to support our event! 

I am so happy to say that all of the tickets were SOLD OUT!

I want to thank everyone who came out to the Summer Kickoff Soiree and helped us raise money to benefit New York Edge in providing free after school programming to students across the Greater NYC area!

New York Edge has been and still is one of my favorite non profits to work with.  They are the largest provider of free after school programming in NYC, reaching over 35,000 students in over 130 schools!

As a product of NYC public schools, their cause really hits home for me and is something I am very proud to support!

New York Edge Young Professionals Council (L-R): Eileen Tublin, Ian McCarty, Mateo Creamer, Kinja Dixon, Evvie Kelley, Rose Wisniewski, Chris Creegan, Diana Arias, Elizabeth Tam, Robert Strang, Kinja Dixon, Kyle Deleon

SASF 25th Anniversary Luncheon

Today marked the 25th Anniversary of Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation, the largest provider off free after school programming in NYC and a non profit that i hold near and dear to my heart!

SASF serves over 125,000 students in over 130 schools across NYC.  I first got involved with them in 2013 when I was Miss NY, I absolutely fell in love with them and all that they do. Now in their 25th year, they have re-branded and will now be operating as New York Edge. 

As President of the SASF Young Professionals Council, I have definitely had the opportunity to see all the progress and phenomenal accomplishments they have made over the years as well the tremendous growth my board has undergone as well.

Congratulations to the winner of the Legacy Award Nico Elmaleh and Gold Star Award winner Matthew Petrula!

I look forward to seeing all of SASF/New York Edge's continued success in the next 25 years!