The Moonwalk

Started in 1998 when 65 women covered 52.4 miles within 24 hours as part of a marathon, the Moonwalk is a fundraising event that aims at spreading awareness about breast cancer causes. Nina Barough, the force behind the Moonwalk and the immensely popular ‘Walk the Walk’, encouraged women to participate in the marathon in their bras to create awareness and raise money to treat breast cancer. Today, the event has become widely popular with sponsors like Playtex joining hands to make it successful.

What Sets the Moonwalk Apart

This movement is actively involved in raising funds and awareness in the society about breast cancer. A unique thing about this event is that it takes up projects that are not easily funded. It also supports research and organizes various activities to motivate people and further their understanding about breast cancer causes. Oh, and wearing decorated Maidenform bras while you walk is Walk the Walk’s unique trademark.

Date and Venue

The inaugural Moonwalk in America is slated to take place on July 20, 2013 in New York City. The event will start at around 8 pm, followed by various activities and a light dinner. Registration is online and depending on fitness levels, participants are recommended a 16 to 20 week training schedule.

All participants receive a hat, T-shirt and a bra about a month in advance to decorate before the big event. Wearing bras at the walk is a special feature of the event and both girls and boys walk in their designed bras.

It’s a truly special event that combines charity with fun!

What are you waiting for?  Click here to sign up.

This is a sponsored post from One2One Network and Walk The Walk. All opinions stated are my own.

June is right around the corner so that means that Father’s Day is almost here! I have always struggled when it came to thinking of stuff to do or buy for my dad.  I always wound up buying him stuff like shirts and ties, etc..

I really like receiving handmade items from Z.E.N. and I’m guessing that most dads would love that as well.  I think handmade DIY gifts are pretty special and have been on the search for something that Z.E.N and I can make for Philip and both grandparents.

There are lots of DIY Father’s Day gift ideas out there.  I’ve listed some of my favorites below.

25 DIY Father’s Day Gift Ideas

1. Etched Glass Baseball Vase
2. Family Tree Wall Art
3. DIY 3D Cards
4. Thumb Print Coffee Mug
5. Photo Pencil Holder
6. Fish Keychain
7. LEGO Cuff Links
8. “You’re the Bomb” Candy Gift
9. Hand Print Father’s Day Canvas
10. Geek Power Tie
11. Freezer Paper Tie
12. “I Love You THIS Much” Card
13. Father’s Day Wreath
14. Father’s Day Photo Collage + Free Printables
15. Awesome Hand Print Canvas
16. DIY Soda Can Coasters
17. Dad’s Car Wash Kit
18. Water Color Father’s Day Card
19. “I Love Dad” Pancakes
20. Embroidered Neck Tie
21. DIY Father’s Day Mug
22. Hand Stamped Handkerchief
23. Golf Towel
24. Duck Tape Suitcase
25. Etched Mustache Glass

Have you ever made any DIY Father’s Day gifts? Do you have any more DIY Father’s Day gift ideas for me?

However, I now have so many pictures and videos on my phone which is causing me to run out of memory space.

I decided that it’s time to do something with all of those photos.  Both my mother and my mother–in-law love getting pictures of Z.E.N. My MIL is literally photo obsessed!She has photos on most walls of her home.  I’m.Not.Kidding. Take a look.

I’ve been meaning to give them some updated photos of Z.E.N. But, I’m the lazy type and can’t be bothered with connecting my phone up to iTunes to upload and print them out, so luckily, there’s an app for that! The Duane Reade App!

Using the Duane Reade app, you can easily select and print photos straight from your phone or even from Facebook. 

The process is pretty easy.  The only snag I ran into is that the app only allows you to select 5 photos at a time.  Ugh!

Plus, the upload process was pretty slow.  So last week, I decided to work on it while I was supervising Z.E.N. during bath time.

I uploaded a total of 89 photos.  For some reason it took close to 40 minutes to upload those 89 photos, but once that was done, checkout was a breeze.

I simply selected the number of copies I wanted.  I noticed there was a spot for coupon codes, so I did a quick search to see if I could find a code and I did which cut my order price in half!  Score!

Then I selected the store location where I wanted to have the photos printed and waited for them to send me an email indicating that they were ready.

They were ready pretty quickly and picking them up was hassle free. They came in a sturdy box and were waiting for me when I arrived at the store.

I will definitely use their services again, after all, I have a LOT more photos that need to be printed!

For more photos of my shopping trip, check out my Google + photo album.

To download the Duane Reade app, please be sure to visit iTunes here!

For the latest on Duane Reade please be sure to check out Duane Reade on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. All opinions are 100% my own.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for
Collective Bias® and Duane Reade. #DRApp #cbias
#SocialFabric

May 15th is National Chocolate Chip Day. As the country gears up to celebrate National Chocolate Chip Day, you may wonder about a few things that make this tiny little morsel such an important part of the culture.  Ruth Wakefield is credited with inventing the chocolate chip cookie during the 1930s.  Wakefield was a dietician who ran the Toll House inn with her husband.  Interestingly, her discovery was an accident.  But, by 1939, she had perfected the chocolate chip morsel as it is currently known.

No one really  knows who created National Chocolate Chip Day, but many use the day to celebrate and share recipes with one of the country’s favorite ingredients.  In addition to the famous cookie, chocolate chips are used in a variety of foods from cakes to muffins.  They are also used as ingredients in breads and pancakes.

Are you a chocolate chip lover? Here is a great list of chocolate chip treats that will help you celebrate this super sweet day!

25 Chocolate Chip Treat Ideas

1. Browned Butter Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
2. Biscoff Cookie Dough Dip
3. Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Muffins
4. Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars
5. Triple Chocolate Scones
6. Peanut Butter, Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Energy Bites
7. Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
8. Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
9. Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
10. Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies
11. Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
12. Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Muffins
13. Banana Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Chip Bread
14. Chocolate Chip Granola Wedges
15. Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes (Paleo)
16. Raw Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
17. Potato Chip Chocolate Pie
18. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Surprise Cupcakes
19. No Bake Chocolate Chip Chunks
20. Triple Chocolate Chip Muffins
21. Chocolate Chip Everything Bars
22. Chocolate Chip Breakfast Scones
23. Almond Walnut Chocolate Chip Biscotti
24. Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Brownies
25. Strawberry Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

What’s your favorite chocolate chip treat?

This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. It is very hard for me to accept the fact that there are children, here in these great United States, that are going hungry. Therefore, I donate periodically to food banks and other local organizations that provide meals to those that need them.

A Celebrity Cast

Though Sandra Lee headlined the event by selling her world-famous goodies, including the strawberry cupcakes that vaulted her into fame, other celebrity chefs and cooks and food-lovers took the stage as well. Emeril Lagasse of “Cooking With Emeril” fame attended, as did Bobby Flay, and Mario Batali. The event was marketed by these celebrity chefs, as Sandra Lee and others sent out emails to the entire city advertising the event as a “sweet way to be sweet”. Nearly three dozen New York City restaurants added their own baked specialties, ranging from flans and tortes to pies and chocolate bars.

Check out some of the delectable delights that were on offer.

There were so many yummy looking treats to choose from.  All treats were priced at $5.

After the event, the celebrity chefs autographed kitchenware and memorabilia, then auctioned them off with the proceeds going to the charity.

I did my part and came home with a few delicious treats.

How You Can Help

If you are interested in helping out the cause of ending child hunger, there are still many ways to support the project.

• Between now and May 31st, Kmart will donate $1.00 to Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry up to $10,000 each time you spread the word on Facebook and Twitter or share a Sandra Lee recipe card with friends and family.
• The Recipe For No Kid Hungry accepts donations of both money and food items that will go towards providing meals for families in poverty.
• Your local food bank will also be willing to accept donations as well as volunteers to prepare and serve meals.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Kmart and Shop Your Way  for Sandra Lee’s World’s Largest Bake Sale.  #WorldsLargestBakeSale #cbias #SocialFabric

So, the first thing I did was browse though my Nail Design Pinterest Board to look for some ideas.  I found lots of great ideas, but decided to also do a Google search to see what else people had come up with in the past.  I liked the look of this design and decided that I wanted to do something a little similar.

I then headed out to Walgreens to see shop for some more polish.  Walgreens had a huge selection of Sally Hansen products.

I was also happy to see that quite a few shades were on sale.  In particular, polishes from the Xtreme, Salon Effects, Diamond and Insta Dri collections were on sale for $1 off .  I was not sure exactly which colors I would use, so I picked out five shades from the Sally Hansen Hard as nails Xtreme Wear collection.  The shades I picked were: Black out, Celeb City, Crushed, Marine Scene, Purple Potion and White On.

When I checked out, I used my Balance Rewards card and was happy to see that I scored some great deals!  Woohoo!

Before I actually did my nails, I tested out a few different color combinations and decided to stick with only 3 colors.  I used Celeb City, Purple Potion and Marine Scene.

To achieve this look, I first polished my nails with a base coat and let that dry.  Then I applied the Celeb City shade and  allowed it to dry as well.  Next up, I balled up a small piece of Saran Wrap.  I then let a drop of the Marine Scene polish fall onto the balled up piece of Saran Wrap.  I blotted it once on a piece of paper towel and then dabbed it at random on my nail.  I did this for all nails.  I didn’t apply a lot so I really didn’t wait for the nails to dry before moving on to the next shade, Purple Potion.

It was a bit messy, but not as messy as I thought it would be.  Clean-up was a snap.

I really like how my nails came out!

For more photos of my shopping trip, check out my Google + photo album.

To learn more about Sally Hansen products and to find a Walgreens near you, make sure to visit them online.

Have you tried nail art?

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and COTY #cbias #SocialFabric #IHeartMyNailArt.  All opinions are 100% my own

I started my first Twitter account (@DianeNassy) back in 2008.  Back then, Twitter was only a few years and a pretty novel idea.  I signed up because of all the buzz, I really didn’t know how to use the platform and had no idea as to what I was doing on there.

In an effort to learn how to use it, I searched online for tips and tricks on how to use it effectively.  One piece of advice I kept seeing time and time again was to follow everyone who follows you.  I didn’t really get it back then and regrettably, I didn’t heed that advice. Had I had indeed followed that advice, my Twitter following would be huge.

Fast forward to 2013.  A few months ago, I had the chance to sit down with a very well known social media guru.  This person has over 100,000 followers on Twitter. As we talked about Twitter, he mentioned that he truly believes that following people back on Twitter is the way to build your following.  After hearing this, I thought to myself, if only I had followed that advice 5 years ago.  My guru friend went on to detail some of his methods as well as a tool he uses to help build up his twitter following.

After our meeting, I became determined to build up my following for the twitter handle associated with this blog – @Philzendia (follow me!).  I took the tips I had learned and went to action.

Here is a screenshot of my twitter profile page taken back on February 28, 2013. (click to see larger photo).

You can see that at that time, I had 7,799 Twitter followers.  A little over one month later, I had increased my Twitter following to 13,915.

These are the steps I am taking to increase my twitter following:

1. I am following everyone back – the thinking behind this is that following back is a simple gesture of kindness.  It’s like smiling back when someone smiles at you.  Nevertheless, I won’t follow back anybody who’s using the generic Twitter egg logo, spammers, or those who tweet in foreign languages, because I really can’t tell what they’re saying!
2. Un-following those that do not follow me – there are a couple of reasons behind this one: (1) Twitter automatically limits the amount of people that you are able to follow based on their follow/follower ratio.  If my account is limited based on their ratio, I won’t be able to follow back the people who are following me, so I get rid of non-followers;  (2) Some people will follow you and then unfollow you right after you follow them back in an attempt to inflate their numbers.  Umm, no!;  (3) It’s just good to clean out your account.
3. Seeking out new followers – I am finding new followers who share my similar interests by following people who are similar to me. So for instance, a fashion blogger would want to follow other fashion bloggers, DIY bloggers would want to follow other DIY bloggers, etc.…
4. Use a tool to make it easy – I use a tool called Just Unfollow.  Here’s a screenshot:

The above screen shows me a list of the 1,099  people who are not currently following me back on Twitter.  I un-follow these people.  As you can see, using this tool makes it really easy.  I just hit the red unfollow button and I’m done!

Similarly, you can see a list of: people who unfollowed you, people who followed you, your current fans, etc.…   You can also se a list of inactive people.  I tend to also un-follow those people as well.

The copy followers section of the tool is also very powerful.

If you come across a blogger with a large following on Twitter, who is similar to you in terms of niche and interests copying their followers and encouraging them to follow you can help increase your own visibility.  All of them may not follow you back, but some will!

I use the tool about three times a week.  It use it until I hit my follower limit for the day which usually takes under 20 minutes.

Since I put in this effort to build my Twitter following, The number of people following me has grown significantly.  As of right now, I have 16,633 Twitter followers.

Not too shabby eh!

We had a long cold winter here in the Northeast, but happily, it’s starting to warm up around here.  Anybody who knows me knows that I absolutely hate the cold. I’m really looking forward to the warmer months ahead and have actually started to prepare.  Last weekend I visited one of my favorite stores, Duane Reade, and noticed that they came out with a new Spring edition of their magazine called Happy and Healthy.  I took one home so that I could browse through it to see if anything caught my eye.

I found quite a few things that would help me on my quest to get ready for the upcoming warmer weather. Read on to see what I bought!

Preparing for Outdoor Activities

As the temperatures rise, I find that we are starting to spend a lot more time outdoors.  We’ve already started gardening, grilling and just having fun.  However, being outdoors can also lead to bumps and bruises and bug bites.  In fact, just yesterday, Z.E.N. ran inside complaining of a scrape he got on his arm while playing basketball with his cousins.  So, in an effort to get ready to survive the outdoors, I decided to purchase some first aid supplies.

Specifically, I purchased:

• Walgreens Triple Antibiotic Spray – I always worry about cuts getting infected so I’m happy to have found this antibiotic spray.
• Walgreens Liquid Bandage Spray – this is perfect for those little scrapes and cuts that don’t really require a bandage.
• Walgreens Bite & Sting Relief Spray – mosquitos love Z.E.N. and I so I’m hoping that this will provide some relief when we do eventually get bitten.

All of the above products were reasonably priced and I was also eligible to receive a free first aid case.  Unfortunately, they were all out of the cases so they cashier gave me a rain check that I could use on a future visit.

Preparing for Upcoming Road Trips

May is going to be a crazy month for us.  We’ve been invited to numerous birthday parties, baby showers, a wedding, a first Communion and more. You know what that means…road trips!   Travelling with kids can be stressful at times, but I find that as long as I pack plenty of snacks, drinks and toys, Z.E.N. doesn’t have a problem.  so with that in mind, I noticed quite a few snacks listed in the Happy and Healthy Magazine.  I didn’t purchase a whole lot, because we already have a ton of snacks in the house, but these caught my eye.

• Good & Delish Tortilla Chips – this big bag of chips was only $2.99 with the Duane Reade Balance Rewards card. Great deal and great snack!
• Good & Delish Freeze-dried Apples – this caught my eye because we love apples. Z.E.N. always wants me to peel and slice his apples.  It’s not always feasible for me to so so when we’re travelling so I’m happy to try these.  They’re 100% real  fruit and seem like a good snack for travelling.
• Nice Whole Cashews – Philip loves Cashews.  These were also on sale for $2.99 so I picked up a can for him.

There were so many great snacks in the Happy and Healthy magazine to choose from.  I wish I could try them all!

Preparing For Summer Beauty

Now that summer is just around the corner, it’s time to get beautified. As I flipped through the magazine, I was on the lookout to find products to solve three issues.

(1) I have pretty clear skin, but it’s been feeling kind of congested lately, so I need to address that.

(2) I need to get my toenails ready for sandals.  Since I’ve been wearing shoes and boots all winter, my toes are a travesty right about now.

(3) I conditioner wash my hair and wanted to find a new moisturizing conditioner that was sulfate free.

I came across the following products:

• Ology Conditioner – this conditioner smells really good.  It’s nice and thick and leaves my hair feeling silky soft.
• wet n wild Fergie Nail Polish – in the magazine, I saw a cool really colorful sparkly polish.  I couldn’t find it in the store and got this gold sparkly version instead.  I can’t wait to use it!
• Studio 35 Beauty Masks – I’ve never tried these masks before, so I’m not sure how well they work, but I’m willing to try them to get my glow back!

I loved how smoothly my shopping trip went because of the fact that I was able to flip through the magazine ahead of time and create a list of the stuff I wanted to buy. The items in the magazine are on sale until mid May, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be back for more!

For more photos of my shopping trip, check out my Google + photo album.

For the latest on Duane Reade please be sure to visit them on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  All opinions are 100% my own.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Duane Reade.  #DRHappyHealthy #cbias #SocialFabric

Have you heard of Screen Free Week? Screen Free Week is an annual event where parents are encouraged to turn off all screens including televisions, computers, tablets and video games in order to improve children’s well-being and connect with their families. This year, Screen Free Week will be observed during the week of April 29th.

Believe it or not, there are many alternatives you can use to get your kids away from the screen and interested in other activities. Here’s a list of ideas to get you started:

Start a Book Club

Of course, many parents will encourage their children to read during this time. However, you may have an easier time encouraging your kids to read if there are other kids involved. Find a book the children will enjoy and set a time to hold discussions to keep them engaged in the book.

Get Back to Nature

In most parts of the country, the weather starts to warm up quite a bit in late April, so you can make plans to take advantage of the weather. Many outdoor areas including beaches and water parks may wait until Memorial Day weekend for grand openings, but there are still plenty of things to do outside. You can take your children on a walking trail, or to a local park.

Organize Play Dates

Having an old-fashioned play date may be a great way to get your children away from the screens. Offer to get with other parents and take the kids to the park or another recreational spot such as a museum. You can also organize a gathering such as a pizza party so that the children can play board games or even learn some of the old-fashioned games you used to play outside such as freeze tag or hide and seek if you decide to take the action outside.

Get Kids Interested in New Hobbies

You can also look into providing your children with other interests that will take them away from the screen. For instance, some children still strive to learn music instruments, so you can find out if they can take lessons. Comic books have also resurged as a hobby with many people of all ages, so you may even look into finding a series or two your children may like. Even old hobbies like model plane or train building may spark your children’s interest.

Plan Family Game Nights

Electronic games may be prevalent, but there is still some charm in playing old-fashioned board games. Getting the family together after dinner to play a classic board game can be just as fun as a video game. I still remember games such as Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Trouble, Clue and, of course, Monopoly. Now, there are even games based on popular films and television series’ that your children may enjoy.

Here’s a list of even more ideas:

• visit a library
• take a walk
• explore your city
• go for a bicycle ride
• go fishing
• have a dance party
• plant a garden
• bake something
• clean up and declutter
• go to the zoo
• visit a museum
• go ice skating or roller skating
• paint a picture, a mural or a room
• play cards
• build a fort
• volunteer
• meditate
• have a picnic or barbecue
• go see a live game
• do a jigsaw puzzle

Because my main source of income comes from me being online, I won’t be able to disconnect completely, but I will be making an effort to get the family outside to have some good old-fashioned family fun!

What other screen free activities can you think of?

The new Evian commercial is called “Baby & Me,”  and it is super funny!  The commercial was the brain child of a creative agency known as BETC.  The commercial begins with an adult male walking to the bus stop and suddenly catching a glimpse of his reflection through the reflective glass doors on the bus.

He then notices that his image in the doors appears to be that of a baby and soon other adults catch a glimpse of themselves via a department store window as their infantile selves.  The adults then begin to dance as Evian babies in celebration of how great they feel as their youthful selves.  I love that they are dancing to the 1990’s hit “Here Comes the Hot Stepper“.  I used to love that song!

“Baby & Me” is similar to the popular “Roller Babies” ad that was featured in 2009.  In the “Roller Babies” commercial babies were shown roller skating and break dancing to “Rapper’s Delight“.

I invite you to take a look at the commercials.  It is sure to have you smiling and will certainly brighten up your day!