ShopGoldyn.com: 35% Off 4th of July Sale...Hello, Tina Tang!!

ShopGoldyn.com is having a 4th of July Sale!! Take 35% off your entire purchase with code "INDIE" (expires 07/04/10).  So what caught my eye?  These delicate but edgy jewelry pieces from Tina Tang: (Note:  Prices reflect 35% discount.)

• Vintage Link Earrings ($31.85) in gold:

• Teardrop Earrings ($44.20) in silver:

• Fantast Forest Bangle ($109.20) in silver:

• Small Spade Leaf Necklace ($74.75) in silver:

Bonus:  If you're a shoe size 9.5 and you've been wanting a pair of Loeffler Randall's Matilde Boots in black (but couldn't find them on sale), grab them at ShopGodlyn.com for $451.75 (Note: Price reflects 35% discount.)!

[Images Courtesy of ShopGoldyn]

Bloomingdale's: 4th of July Sale!

Bloomie's is having a 4th of July Sale (ends 07/05/10) but what's great about this sale is there is a code/coupon for an extra 15% off:

1. Bloomingdales.com:  use code "SUNNY15".
2. Bloomingdales Store:  use this coupon - Bloomingdale's Extra 15% Off Coupon.

What makes Bloomie's sales stand apart from those of other departments stores?  Their extra discounts and coupons!

BasicBoutique.com: 40% Off Sale!!

BasicBoutique.com is having a sitewide 40% off sale (excluding final sale items)!  Use code "CELEBRATE40" (expires 07/05/10).  I found this lovely silk Embroidered Dress by Shyde in light brown/neutral for $116.40 (price reflects 40% discount):

[Image courtesy of Basic Boutique]

I like the very subtle/slighty ruffled v-neckline (and I usually cannot stand ruffles).  And I love the pockets (of course).  This dress is casual, chic and comfy!!  Hmm...did I mention that it will help keep you cool when the temp goes back up to 90s?

Food Therapy: Plataforma Churrascaria

I love meat.  I know that you're never supposed to say never, but I will never be a vegetarian.  It just ain't gonna happen.  Let me reiterate: I love meat.  And every so often, I get a HUGE hankering for lots and lots of meat.  When this happens, I head to Plataforma Churrascurria Rodizio (located at 316 W 49th St (b/w 8th & 9th Ave), NY, NY; there's also one located in Tribeca but it's not as good).  They serve different cuts of meat at your table Brazilian-style!  It's a prix-fixe:  $56.95 per person.

Don't make what Sunshine and I like to call "the amateur move."  There is a very tempting buffet in the middle of the restaurant filled with salad, so-so sushi, shrimp cocktail, etc (you get the idea).  Avoid the buffet at all cost!  Everything at the buffet is just filler!!

If you're at Plataforma, you're there for meat.  Just go for it!  Each person is given a paper coaster.  One side is red (which indicates that you don't want meat) and one side is green (which indicates that you do want meat).  Slap that little coaster on the table so that the green side is facing up.  You want meat.

Here are staple cuts/meats that you can expect:  (They will also bring out filler-meats such as chicken wrapped in bacon, sausage, fish, etc...don't get the fillers!!)

• Sirloin Steak:  This is my FAVORITE!!  It's tasty, tender and juicy.  It's best when you ask for it rare.  Go for medium rare if you can't stomach such redness.

• Flank Steak:  This is a tasty cut but not as tender as the sirloin.

• Prime Rib:  Sunshine loves this cut...maybe because you get bigger pieces?  It's good but after one slice, I go back to the sirloin.

• BBQ Pork Ribs:  These bbq ribs were surprisingly decent - not because they were smoked nicely but because they were tender and the bbq sauce is sweet-ish and sloppy.

• Dinosaur Beef Ribs:  Beef ribs are a favorite of mine (especially smoked beef ribs), but they're very had to do right.  And these were unfortunately not done right.  They were dry and tasteless.  So skip these...I know, they look impressive but they're not worth your stomach space.

They used to bring all the sides to your table but now you have to select your sides (there's no limit).  My favorite sides are mashed potatoes, fried bananas and this sauce to put on your meats:

Yummy-Yummy Tip:  They used to have asparagus risotto at the buffet (back when I was an amateur (gasp!), I would start with the buffet) but now they have sun-dried tomato risotto at the buffet.  The sun-dried tomato risotto is good but not as good as the asparagus risotto.  The former is much heavier (more cheese?) so it fills you up quickly.  Don't get hooked on it.  If you ask nicely, they will make the lighter asparagus risotto.

Dessert is NOT included in the prix-fixe price (nor are drinks).   But the dessert cart is truly scrumptious looking.  If you love sweets the way I do, you will end up getting dessert despite being full beyond belief.  We ended up getting this chocolate mousse cake to share:

It was okay.  The liquor mixed into the chocolate mousse was a surprise (an unwanted surprise).  I should have ordered the regular chocolate mousse or the creme brulee:

Random Thought: Easy-Bake Oven & Cabbage Patch Kids

After watching Toy Story 3 this weekend, I have two toy-related childhood stories to share with all of you.  The first story popped-into my head while I was pondering my penchant for foods cooked in the oven (whether it's baking or roasting).  The second story came to mind as I was writing the first story.  Here goes...

Story 1:  As a little girl, the one toy that I really Really REALLY wanted (aside from a Cabbage Patch Kid) was an Easy Bake Oven.  Since my dad was a toy manufacturer for Hasbro back-in-the-day, there really wasn't a good explanation as to why I couldn't get one, right?  Wrong!  Unfortunately for me, my father manufactured dolls.  Easy Bake Oven was under the domain of a completely different division of Hasbro than the one he worked with.  Yes, there were lots of free My Little Ponies and Barbies but really, they couldn't hold a candle to one Easy Bake Oven for me.  

Why not just ask for one when I was in a toy store, you ask?  I don't think I ever bought a single toy in a toy store.  In fact, I was rarely taken to a toy store as a child.  I believe my parents' reasoning (sound for adults but shaky for a kid) was this: why do I need to take my child to the toy store when we can take her to the Hasbro sample toy room?  So I never had the opportunity to come face-to-face with an Easy Bake Oven at a toy store, and do the point-and-pout routine.  

Every now and then, I think about getting an Easy Bake Oven...just to try it once!!  I love using the oven in my kitchen to bake and roast.  Perhaps it's because I was deprived as a child of an Easy Bake Oven?  Did you own one?  Or were you like me and just dreamed about one?  Hmm...maybe I should get one.  How often do you get to fulfill a childhood dream so easily?  (Because I'm sure not buying myself a pony.)

Story 2:  If you're around my age, then you remember how Cabbage Patch Kids were all the rage.  Everyone had to have at least one Cabbage Patch Kid.  Let's just say that I was very adamant and vocal about getting one.  I never really asked for toys (I knew I had a lot), but this was one toy that I could not not have.  And yes, they were practically impossible to find in the stores...sold out everywhere.

So what did my dad do?  He had a friend in the toy business give him a fake (hmm..."fake" is not the right word.  Imitation?  Yes, let's use "imitation."), imitation Cabbage Patch Kid.  I was soooo excited when he showed up with it.  But let's be real.  Kids are not dumb.  Kids are really Really REALLY smart when it comes to things they want.  It's really hard to hoodwink a kid with an imitation anything.  What's the first thing I did?  What any kid would have done:  I pulled off the pants of the imitation doll to make sure that it had a signature on its ass.  And then, yes, I threw a huge tantrum when I realized that he tried to give me an imitation Cabbage Patch Kid.

Apparently, my father didn't know about the signature on the ass (for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, the company that created Cabbage Patch Kids cleverly stressed the importance of authenticity; every child knew to check the ass of their Cabbage Patch Kid for an authenticity signature).  It was a very clever marketing scheme of the company and it worked: no signature on the ass = not a real Cabbage Patch Kid.  My dad was somewhat bewildered when his daughter started ranting and raving about how the doll wasn't real because it didn't have a signtuare on its ass!

In the end, he came out like a champ.  About a month after the whole hoodwinking incident, I received my very own real Cabbage Patch Kid.  Actually, I received two.  One was a newborn and the other was a red-haired girl with bangs and pigtails.  Life was good.