America Vs. The World: Grab 20% off Tickets to the BNP Paribas Showdown #ad

Looking for an epic night out with legendary tennis players that are sure to keep you on your toes in excitement? If you're in New York and a big tennis fan, grab your sweetie for a date night or the entire family for an evening at Madison Square Garden for an unforgettable evening at the BNP Paribas 10th anniversary. You'll get the chance to watch Tennis icon Venus Williams take on French Open Champion Garbine Muguruza, fan favorite Juan Martin del Potro play Japan's Kei Nishikori & top ranked American Jack Sock battles Australian up start Nick Kyrgios.  American tennis legend and Grand Slam champ Andy Roddick will match up against Australia's former world number one player, Lleyton Hewitt and it's surely going to be a fun night for Tennis lovers. Having only ever watched on television, I know I'm looking forward to seeing it all live in action, especially some Black Girl Magic from Venus Williams! 

Disclosure: Opinions expressed are 100% our own, we received tickets to attend the event.

Revel In New York: A Date Night Viewing of Bright Star, A Broadway Musical

We don’t usually do date night – not with any regularity anyway. Special occasions – sure. But we don’t have date night penciled in on the calendar every 4 weeks. The reasons for this are usually strictly logistical. Firstly, my husband works long hours often and without much notice. Secondly, we have three kids, 3 grandparents working full-time and one PhD-pursuing auntie which means child-care has to be arranged weeks in advance. So, as much as I would love to have a nighttime rendezvous to look forward to every month, the realities of successfully coordinating the busy schedules of my hard-working family make regular date nights a fantasy I rather not tease myself with. 

All that being said, I completely understand and whole-heartedly believe in the benefits of date nights. To put aside the time for your spouse, away from work and home, kids and coworkers; to have some else cook your meal for you , pour you a drink and then clean it all up afterwards; to go to the movies, to the gallery, to the park, to go dancing; it all helps. It gives you time and proximity. If I can get my husband to myself for 3 hours outside the house – that’s major! We operate on completely different terms then.  It’s not only what we talk about that changes but how we talk to each other. And if our date gives us something to talk about other than “our daily bread” – well, then we are that much better for it. So when Danielle dropped these tickets in my lap to go see “Bright Star” on Broadway, I did everything in my power to make it happen.

A Patriotic, Striptease Date Night with Wasabassco Burlesque #RevelinNY

Disclosure: The opinions expressed are 100% my own and I received 2 tickets to review the show as a social media curator for Flavorpill. No other compensation was given.

So I'd like to share with you guys our most random, yet very entertaining way to spend the Fourth of July here in NYC. Our kids ended up spending the holiday with their nana watching the fireworks from  her apartment in Queens and the hubby had to work the night shift at the midtown restaurant he works for because his boss thought they were going to have an influx of customers, seeing that the fireworks had been moved to the east side of the city. Totally wasn't the case by the way. This year started off by far as one of the most boring 4th of July's I had ever celebrated in my life. We usually head to Long Branch and spend hours on the beach, or BBQ and this time around I was pretty peeved I had to watch the fireworks solo from our rooftop with my neighbors instead of with my boys. However  I was beyond excited that I signed up to spend the evening at a Wasabassco Burlesque show in the city that I was given tickets for to review.

Have you ever been to a Burlesque show before? Does the thought of one sound like a lot of fun or does the idea of seeing a bunch of scantily clad women and men make you a bit uncomfortable? Well this was our second time, the first performance we'd seen was more of a circusy type show with hula hoops, bubbles and those sorts of things and although entertaining not very provocative. Honestly we didn't know what to expect from this show at City Winery but we were completely open-minded and up for anything!

We freakin' loved the show from beginning to end, everything from the venue and music to costumes and just the performers personalities overall made for a great show. Right from the beginning Nasty Canasta (pictured at very top) got the energy level up and made sure the crowd was excited to be there. The audience was filled with couples, friends and a few bachelorette parties who decided that was the place to celebrate and rightfully so because you could tell throughout the evening from the laugher and applause that filled the room, that everyone had a great time. I didn't bother to look into the venue beforehand but it was a plus that City Winery had an open bar and delicious flatbreads for those with the late night munchies.

It would seem that most of the guests didn't want to be too up close and personal and passed on the seat that was in the front, dead center. Oh but not me, I grabbed the hubby's hand and told the hostess we were fine sitting up front. I assured him, after he gave me a discerning eye that nobody would pull him up on stage or make him wear tassels, lol but what the heck did I know. Honestly even though I know he'd kill me, I was secretly hoping someone would. Fortunately for him the show wasn't so out of control that you'd feel too nervous to be sitting center stage, the ladies did some tassle twirling, some splits and a lot of seductive, leg lifts, bends, shaking and teasing but it was all tasteful and fun to watch. The most the hubby got was a few winks and smiles as the ladies lustfully, unzipped and tossed costume pieces across the stage floor. But hey I got a few winks myself, so we'll call it even.

This lovely lady photographed with the hubby was always standing by to pick up any items the performers may have left behind on stage and managed to pick them all up while showing us how flexible she was. I must say we were completely impressed with how poised and limber she was, she was shaking what her momma gave her and she was so cute while doing it.

There was an amazing playlist of music to keep the crowd engaged, everything from old school blues and jazz, to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air's Summer Time, to hard core rock and songs by Kiss. The costumes matched the portrayal of the characters and featured a variety: from coy women dolled up in sweet little maiden dresses, to stunning divas that were glammed out in sequins and feather boas and ladies who rocked edgy, sexy leather and completely dominated the stage. Of course twirly tassels and bedazzled and laced gloves to seduce and add to the allure were a necessity. It wasn't a surprise to learn that these ladies received accolades and awards from around the country with the way they worked the stage.

Seeing as it's a live performance do keep in mind while enjoying the show to live in the moment and try not to watch from behind a camera. Throughout the evening it was highly recommended by the hosts that we put down our phones so not to miss anything, otherwise what was the point of being there in the flesh to see it? And to keep in mind that Facebook and Instagram would still be there at the end of the show.

This date night was completely an out of the box night out on the town, but we were so glad we took advantage of an evening sans the lil' monsters. An evening with the fantastic ladies and gentleman of Wasabassco really saved what started off as an epic fail for a holiday and turned it into an entertaining & explosive performance of striptease that was unforgettably fun.