Why overpay for a crowded cruise full of tourists when you can take a $2.75 (regular MTA fair) ferry ride!
Why overpay for a crowded cruise full of tourists when you can take a $2.75 (regular MTA fair) ferry ride! It takes about an hour and the views are spectacular. As you can see in the video below, it can get a little windy but sometimes there’s a rainbow waiting for you!
Luna Park adventure at Coney Island, NYC!
It’s still cold outside but warm weather is coming. I repeat: Warm. Weather. Is. Coming! There are so many fun things that we’re all dying to do when we don’t need to wear our ski coats and fuzzy socks just go cross the street to the local bodega. One of the things I’m excited to do is go down to the beach and maybe visit Coney Island!
For $2, you can ride a 100 year old carousel with a view of New York City!
We moved to New York City this past August. Before looking for an apartment or job hunting, we dived head first into exploring and local travel! We ran into Jane’s Carousel accidentally while enjoying the views of the city from Brooklyn’s Dumbo. For only $2 we could ride this historic carousel. Who said that carousels are just for children?
Did you know that New York has 14 miles (22 km) of beaches? Check it out!
Most people who visit New York spend most of their time exploring Manhattan, hitting the tourist spots in Brooklyn, occasionally they even set out to Queens or the Bronx, sometimes to the beaches on Long Island. Not every tourist knows that New York has many beaches to visit during the summer! In face, New York has 14 miles (22 km) of beaches!
Brighton Beach and Coney Island are the more popular and crowded ones. There is also the popular Manhattan beach and the more out of the way – yet our favorite has been Rockaway Beach. Unfortunately for us, we live in Brooklyn so it took us over 2 hours of subway delays to get here, because the subway lines in New York are mostly horizontal.
We had to go into Manhattan then grab a train down to Rockaway. It would have been faster to drive or better yet, take the ferry. You can take the ferry here from New York and from Manhattan. The ferry ride is the same price as the train, just $2.75 and it’s fast, breezy and offers a unique view of the city!
Merry Christmas from my family to yours! <3
In just one week, we will be leaving Smiley in good hands (I’m still going to cry and worry) while we leave for our 18 day trip to Iceland, London, Kiev and Prague! It’ll be our first time returning to Europe in 2.5 years and I have no idea what to expect with my Shanghai/New York perspective! It’s going to be amazing.
Yesterday we spent a day doing all the typical touristy Christmas stuff in Manhattan with Smiley. It was crazy and crowded but so worth it. Here are the photos! I’ve been posting every other day for months and it’s time to take a break. I’ll be back annoying you with my rants and videos in January!
I wish you all happy and relaxing holidays <3
We placed the order and then we waited… but not for long. Within a minute the order was processed, boxed and out for delivery! Only half an hour later we got a phone call that the wine was here. We just had to show some ID proving we were over 21 (which we unfortunately are) and the wine was ours!
Yesterday was a cold, lazy Friday night after a long week of work. Isaac and I really wanted a bottle of wine to go with the pizza that we ordered online on Grub Hub but we didn’t want to brave the outdoors for alcohol, so we finally tried Drizly.
This app that promises alcohol deliveries within an hour also happened to have a great selection for reasonable prices. There is a $19 minimum so we got 2 bottles of Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon for just over $20 including tax and tip. Before ordering, Isaac tried Retail Me Not, an app that claims to find you coupons/discounts on things.
We were skeptical that it would work on another obscure app like Drizly, but to our surprise, we got a $5 discount on the already cheap wine with free delivery! It was all too good to believe.
We placed the order and then we waited… but not for long. Within a minute the order was processed, boxed and out for delivery! Only half an hour later we got a phone call that the wine was here. We just had to show some ID proving we were over 21 (which we unfortunately are) and the wine was ours!
Our first experience with Drizly was great and we will definitely be trying it again. Previously, we had tried to use it to buy some almond Baileys, which isn’t commonly sold in stores and that was more difficult. It was being sold for $6 more than average and shipping was $10. But if you’re in a pinch then it’s a great option even with the extra cost.
I definitely recommend you to try it out and feel free to post how it went in the comment section below. Cheers!
Starting November 12th, they finally completed their move from Wilson Avenue to 54 Noll Street, Brooklyn. Their new location offers a rooftop playground, pet grooming (through their new partner Pet Wash N’Go and they will be selling organic dog products. Their prices are going up a little with the new facilities, so now cage-less boarding will be $59.99 for 24 hours and $40 for daycare including transportation.
Petbuddy Services is a smaller family daycare and dog boarding that’s currently working on expanding their facilities as well as services. Before they accept your dog, they require a trial day that costs $25 and can last all day. If your dog passes, the daycare costs $40 a day (including transportation) and they are open from 8 AM until 8 PM.
Previously I wrote about a different daycare that we also used for Smiley that unfortunately didn’t work out. He was anxious at the other one and needed one-on-one attention otherwise he would spend all day trying to escape. The staff told me that while they could handle him because they had enough experienced staff to give him the care he needed, he clearly didn’t enjoy being there. So I tried taking him to Petbuddy Services instead.
After meeting Oscar only twice, I am convinced that he has supernatural dog whispering abilities. Him and his dad are dog lovers and are great at keeping up to 20 dogs calm and content throughout the day. The only time the dogs bark at PetBuddy is when someone new is coming or leaving, otherwise they are just hanging out! That’s an amazing feat with so many dogs!
Since Smiley didn’t enjoy the first daycare, I was worried that he would hate all daycares. But he did really well at PetBuddy for 12 hours, two days in a row. He was still crazy at pickup, but when they went to get him for me and put his leash on, he was chilling with the other dogs. It was a huge relief knowing that there’s a place to take him where he was safe and happy.
Although Smiley will be spending most days staying at home where he is more comfortable (we have cameras set up to watch him to make sure that doesn’t change), we will definitely be using PetBuddy again the future. Probably for boarding a well as daycare, since we trust them and know that he is happy there. In the mean time, he gets a 30-minute social walk through his old daycare that is more than enough on our average work day.
Anyway, back to PetBuddy. Starting November 12th, they finally completed their move from Wilson Avenue to 54 Noll Street, Brooklyn. Their new location offers a rooftop playground, pet grooming (through their new partner Pet Wash N’Go and they will be selling organic dog products. Their prices are going up a little with the new facilities, so now cage-less boarding will be $59.99 for 24 hours and $40 for daycare including transportation ($5 increase, but transportation used to cost that much anyway.)
I wholeheartedly recommend Petbuddy Services and vouch for Oscar and his dad. They do cost a little more than other daycares in the area, but it is 100% worth it. I am excited to visit their new place and see how much they have grown.
– $16 for a 30 minute social walk
– $25 for day care under 6 hours
– $35 for day care over 6 hours
– $45-60 for boarding depending on the length
Having a dog in New York can be a little complicated, especially when everyone in the household is busy with full time jobs! When we first got Smiley, we didn’t have to worry about it because I was still job-hunting from home while Isaac brought home whatever the vegan version of bacon is.
Timing is a weird thing, however, and as soon as Smiley came into our lives, I started getting interview requests after two months of cricket chirps. That’s when I started panicking and doing research about what to do when I finally started work.
I first heard about Brooklyn Bow Wow while walking Smiley at a local park. Several people mentioned their dog-walking services and had nothing but amazing things to say. Being the paranoid dog-mom that I am, a walk just didn’t seem enough to keep Smiley safe and happy.
To add to my stress, one I finally got the job, my first week of work ended up being at the same time that Isaac had Walford training upstate resulting in him having to leave at 5:30 AM and returning as late as 8 PM! At the same time, I was leaving by 7 AM latest and getting back by 7 PM for my first week.
Since we had only had Smiley for a few weeks, we didn’t feel comfortable leaving him alone that long even with a 30-minute walk around noon. The only solution was to take him to a doggy daycare. Which was expensive, a long walk away and we didn’t know if he would be happy there.
Before the week we brought Smiley in to meet the dogs and hang out for 30 minutes to see how he behaved. He was extremely calm around all the dogs and seemed content to be there. It was a great start! On my first day of work I dropped him off without a second thought and went to work. I called at lunch to make sure he was okay and found out that he was! It was all great.
By the time I picked him up, I found out that after 2PM he got very anxious and tried to escape. He was so focused on trying to escape that he ignored all other dogs and didn’t respond to commands and basically acted like an unhappy, spoiled child, which was not good.
The daycare said it was normal at the beginning and that we were welcome to bring him back. Which we did for two more days, during which his behavior did not improve. The staff at Brooklyn Bow Wow was great and so patient with both me and Smiley. They explained that he just didn’t want to hang out calmly with other dogs, needed one-on-one attention from the staff and seemed unhappy there.
They explained that they had enough staff to provide the one-on-one care that Smiley needed, which was a great relief… but they felt bad about Smiley being unhappy and so did I. I fully intended to take him to them again on Thursday and Friday, because I just couldn’t leave him home alone, but after walking by a different, slightly smaller doggy daycare that Smiley had previously visited, I spontaneously decided to take him there just to see what would happy.
For some reason, Smiley preferred that particular daycare (which I will write about in another blog post). We were definitely not done with Brooklyn Bow Wow and we were disappointed that Smiley didn’t like their daycare! We did have a trial walk scheduled with them and hoped to switch to daily walks once our schedule got less crazy.
Just last Saturday, while Isaac and I were out, we had a walker from Brooklyn Bow Wow come over (we had left them the key) and walk Smiley for 30 minutes. It went really well so we are excited to keep using them for regular walks!
Being the paranoid dog parents that we are, we also got a $35 camera to watch Smiley at home. Our apartment has thin walls and a no-dog policy (which our landlord waived as long as Smiley doesn’t disturbed anyone) so we wanted to 1. have peace of mind, 2. see if he barks during the day and 3. see if there’s anything he tries to get into so that we can hide it.
So because of the camera, we got to see (and hear) the Brooklyn Bow Wow walker come in, greet Smiley who was excited to see him, put his harness on and then play with him briefly after dropping him off. We’re not sure if he even noticed the camera (and we resisted scaring him by saying hello through the two-way microphone) so we are extremely satisfied with how the pick up and drop off went. We assume that the walk was just as good!
From now on, we will have the walker come Monday – Friday and since we have a less crazy schedules, Smiley will never be alone for too long and we now know exactly what he does when he’s alone – he snores on our bed like a good boy!
If you’re looking for a doggy daycare, boarding or walking, I definitely recommend Brooklyn Bow Wow! They are located by the DeKalb Subway Station (L train) and they have great prices.
We have just started using Brooklyn Bow Wow but have so far had a great experience and high expectations for the future. To save some $$ we prepaid $550 for their services that gives us $600 of credit. If you are interested in using them, give them a call or send them an email and schedule a trial visit and/or walk. You won’t be disappointed!
The Bridge and Tunnel Brewery is an amazing dog-friendly bar right on the border of Ridgewood, Queens and Bushwick, Brooklyn. The delicious draft beers cost $5, dogs are welcome and the staff is incredible!
The Bridge and Tunnel Brewery is an amazing dog-friendly bar right on the border of Ridgewood, Queens and Bushwick, Brooklyn. The delicious draft beers cost $5, dogs are welcome and the staff is incredible!
My first visit to the bar was on a quiet night. I got to try many of the beers, I got to sit at the bar or at one of the tables and the few people who were there were fun to talk to. On my second visit the place was packed with people, dogs and children forcing me to stand, but the atmosphere was so great that I stayed anyway!
On my second visit I also got to meet the owner and his family. His twin daughters ran the Halloween dog costume competition like professionals! Isaac (the hubby), Smiley (the dog) and I met some of long-term patrons of the bar and had a great time.
Not only was the day fun, but Bridge and Tunnel added a dollar onto all of their beer prices which raised money for a local shelter: Bobbi and the Strays – we met a few people from the shelter and they were amazing too!
We will definitely be coming back to hang out, refill our growler and enjoy some delicious beers at a great price! My favorite beer is their sour IPA – make sure to try it when you visit.
Check out some photos from the event on Bushwick Daily.
Amazon was an obvious option but the plants there were expensive and didn’t always have the best reviews. Plus ordering a plant online is risky in case it’s not handled correctly. Does any package deliverer look at “fragile” or “this way up signs”? Not in my experience…
I’ve always been a fan of carnivorous plants and had a bunch in Prague. After the move I got back on the hunt and I started searching in for some hungry plants. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any even though I’ve heard of them being sold everywhere including Walmart.
Amazon was an obvious option but the plants there were expensive and didn’t always have the best reviews. Plus ordering a plant online is risky in case it’s not handled correctly. Does any package deliverer look at “fragile” or “this way up signs”? Not in my experience…
Finally I found a place, Midtown Carnivores, but didn’t have a storefront which made me nervous. I emailed the owner with my order and some questions and he answered me almost immediately. He was friendly, communicative and offered to meet me in Brooklyn with wide range of possible times.
He arrived on time with the plants well-packed and healthy. He provided an info packet on care and said to email him any time with any questions. Although I haven’t had any yet, I am confident that he would answer quickly and help me if I did. If you live in NYC and want a carnivorous plant friend, I definitely recommend Midtown Carnivores. The prices are great, the owner is professional and the plants won’t disappoint!
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