Madison Square Park Eats!

There is no question that I love NYC.

It's also quite obvious I love my job!

Not only do I enjoy what I do, I happen to work in a pretty awesome area of NYC.  My office is about a block away from Madison Square Park.  A very cute like park oasis in the middle of a plethora of office skyscrapers.

Twice a year for about a month, the park puts together "Madison Square Park Eats."  It's when a bunch of delicious vendors come together and provide tasty food to the people.  They block off a corner of the park where people can gather, eat their food, drink and be merry!  I usually just swoop in during my lunch break and take my food to-go!

I typically bring my lunch to work because I find it way to expensive to eat out all the time, but every once in a while I splurge and eat food from different places around where I work.  With the spring opening of Madison Square Park Eats ending tomorrow, I decided to run over and grab lunch.  I've already done so twice this month.  After looking at all the different food available, I thought I would give "Seoul Lee Korean Barbeque" a try.  My thought process...oh, my soldier is in Korea, I love all food, and the line is pretty long...so, it has to be good!

It was oh so good!

I was overcome with food euphoria - and I didn't want it to end.  I was so upset to find out that they actually don't have a brick and mortar restaurant open yet!  There is NO way for me to get more yummy Korean tacos....

According to their Facebook page, they are working on opening up a restaurant - and for my sake, I hope it's sooner than later!  They will be back in the Fall opening of Madison Square Park Eats, but I don't know if I can wait that long!!

I was able to try out food from two other vendors: AsiaDog and Red Hook Lobster Pound.  AsiaDog takes the traditional American hotdog and adds Asian condiments to it.  I'm loving all these adaptations to Asian cuisine!  Seoul Lee Korean Barbeque takes Korean dishes and adds some Mexican influence. 

I'll keep my fingers crossed that Seoul Lee opens their restaurant soon - or else, I'll have to wait till the fall to have my delicious Korean tacos!

Cruise Attire

I had a lot of time to myself this past weekend.  I would have typically spent Memorial Day with the soldier, but because he's overseas, I thought I would spoil myself a bit.  I needed formal attire for the two formal dinner nights on our cruise.  Sadly, I don't have anything that would fit the bill, unless I refer to old prom dresses.  So, I needed to get something that would work...and for cheap!  Evening wear can get pricey!  After shopping around in store and online, I found a couple of outfits that I'm believe are formal enough.

My steal of a deal happened with my amazing Rachel Roy dress from Macy's!  It was originally priced at $119 - and I paid only $47.60 - not bad for a designer dress.  I saved more than $70 on the retail cost  because of all the sales and the "Got Your Six" coupon I got for donating to the charity!  Now, I bought this dress "just because!"

:-)

I'm looking forward to actually wearing all my new stuff in a month or so!  I might actually wear my Rachel Roy dress sometime soon though...it's too cute!

Memorial Day Deals/Discounts

Tomorrow, I'll be thinking about those men and women that have sacrificed their lives for the benefit of our country.  It's nice that we get a national holiday to reflect and to also spend the day with our friends and family to celebrate life (or on our own).

So far, I've spent this weekend by myself.  I met up with a friend to go to Zumba, but besides that, I pretty much walked around the city shopping.  I thought because I have this time to myself, I would check out some stores to get ready for my upcoming cruise.  I need to get a couple of evening dresses - and just some other summer-y stuff that I could wear on the ship.

I found out that Forever 21 is offering 15% off to military members - really anyone that has a military ID issued to them.  I actually bought a whole bunch of stuff at the store yesterday and when I went online, I saw a note at the top left that mentioned the discount.  Nobody told me about the sale at the store, so I called and asked if I could get it applied to my purchase.  Forever 21 doesn't offer any money back - only store credit.  I took it anyway because I shop at the store all the time.   I actually used the store credit today and got another cute top.  The sale ends tomorrow!

Also, Macy's is having lots of amazing sales.  If you are feeling adventurous, check out the store for some awesome deals.  When I went in to shop, I found out about the Macy's + Got You 6 program. 

From the website: "To honor & empower American veterans, Macy’s has teamed up with Got Your 6 in the hopes of raising up to $3 million for veterans and military families throughout the American Icons campaign. Got Your 6 will be present in almost every Macy’s store across the nation, as well as online and in their mail catalogs, spreading the Got Your 6 message and changing the conversation."

I thought it was pretty cool, so I donated!

I'm sure there are a whole bunch more sales/discounts going on this weekend!  How are you spending Memorial Day?

Guest Post: Top 10 Reasons to Vote Troop ID as the Most Veteran Friendly Business in America

Hi everyone!  I wanted to share a great guest post from the Troop ID folks.  Vote now for this fabulous organization that helps find deals and discounts for military members and their families!

The search is on for the most Veteran Friendly small business in America. U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Hiring our Heroes program is hosting a Small Business Tournament of Champions, a battle royale to bring awareness to companies dedicated to employing veterans and helping the military community. After a tough round of competition, Troop ID has made it to the Final Four! They are just one step away from named the most Veteran-friendly small business in America!

In a nod to our democratic system, the Chamber of Commerce is awarding the title based on votes: whichever company has the most votes by May 30th takes it all. You can vote up to once a day until May 30th, and it only takes a moment to cast your ballot.

Troop ID is in it to win it: Here are the top 10 reasons why Troop ID deserves YOUR vote: 

1) Troop ID is Veteran Owned: Founded by two former Army Rangers, Blake Hall and Matt Thompson, Troop ID has a unique understanding of the military community because its leaders have worn the uniform and faced the same stuggles as many men and women of the Armed Forces. 

2) They Don't Believe in Chairs: At the Troop ID headquarters in McLean, VA, chairs are quarantined to the conference room and reserved for sit-down meetings with guests. At their desks, Troop ID and TroopSwap employees stand tall or balance skillfully on exercise balls. If you can stand, why sit? That's just lazy talk!

3) Troop ID is Committed to Hiring Veterans: Hiring veterans is not only the right thing to do, it's also the smart thing to do from a business perspective. Veterans make great employees. And Troop ID should know: more than 35% of the employees at Troop ID today are Veterans.

4) Troop ID is Committed to Hiring Military Spouses: With frequent moves and a demanding lifestyle, military spouses are true homefront heroes. Troop ID hires these Household 6 specialists because they're great at multi-tasking, cool under pressure, and are on the front lines of what military families want and need. In fact, the entire Troop ID/TroopSwap local sales team is composed of Military Spouses, and headed by a Military Spouse!

5) They're Not Too Proud for Pushups: Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and on the rare occasions when Troop ID employees run late for a meeting, miss a typo, or forget a co-workers birthday, they're ready to hit the deck and give 'em 20!

6) Troop ID Exists to Help Veterans Everyday: Troop ID was created with Veterans in mind. Unlike active duty service members, many Veterans don't have an ID card that proves their military affiliation. Moreover, no Veterans have an online credential that proves their service to businesses or organizations that want offer benefits as a Thank You. Troop ID was created to solve this problem! Troop ID is an online ID card for the military that allows members to easily get great deals and military discounts online, access employment and educational opportunities just for veterans and service members, tap into VA benefits, and get assistance with financial resources. Your Troop ID allows businesses to recognize your service, and grant you access to exclusive perks.

7) Troop ID is About Helping the Entire Military Community: Some purveyors of military discounts acknowledge active duty service members, but not the military spouses who support them and soldier on in their absence. Some don't recognize veterans or military dependents. But Troop ID is not just for Veterans: we are on a mission to help the entire military community. So Veterans, retirees, active duty, military spouses, and family members can all benefit from signing up for a Troop ID.

8) Troop ID Supports Wounded Warriors: Troop ID and TroopSwap are proud to host events like last weekend's Jumping for a Purpose that not only raised funds for Wounded Warriors, but also raised awareness of the sacrifices these brave men and women have made for our country.

9) Troop ID Gives Back with Mentoring: Troop ID employees serve as mentors to both veterans and military spouses, doling out advice on everything from how to create a lean start-up, to how to best prepare a family for the struggles of deployment through MilSpouse and Veteran eMentor Programs. In addition to these year-round efforts, the executive team serves as volunteer mentors at the annual TechStars Patriot Boot Camp, helping military entrepreneurs make their dreams a reality.

10) Troop ID is Always Free for Members of the Military Community: Paying a fee to access military discounts seems backwards: you've already earned the reward, why should you have to pay to access it? Troop ID and TroopSwap membership is always free for members of the military community.