Dee "List-meister Food photographer" W.'s Profile

During my son's winter break, he was itching to get out and about.  Luckily, I found out about the Artic Winter Break classes and he has been loving it!  He's been coming home with fun stories to share about what he did and how fun his camp teachers are.  It's a wonderful concept and the Chandler Newberger Center is a really great location.  I will definitely be taking advantage of camp when his regular school is on break.  

The Chandler Newberger Center has a huge parking lot and is also right off of the Central Purple Line stop.  We've also attended birthday parties here which are wonderful and well set up, too.

After having a newborn and also a rambunctious toddler, I was thrilled to see a good deal for 3 hours of a cleaning service.  I quickly scheduled and booked a cleaning appointment for 3 hours of service two weeks in advance.  The day of the appointment, they were late and I called them.  They informed me that their car had some troubles and to make up for it, they would give me an extra hour of service.  

They arrived slightly late to the rescheduled appointment and I was surprised that they didn't have a broom, mop or vacuum and had to use mine.  I also was put off the fact that they wore their sneakers into my home and I reminded them that I was going to be given an extra hour of cleaning and showed them what needed to be done.  After 1.5 hours, they told me that there was nothing left to clean and they were done.  I tried to point out that because they wore their sneakers into my home, I could see footprints on my hardwood floors.  I also pointed out that they didn't do nearly half the things that I had asked of them on my list.  They insisted that would be an extra cost.  I reminded them that I paid for THREE hours and was supposed to get a complimentary hour for them cancelling on me.  They said that they did what they could and anything more would be extra.

After they left, I was so disappointed that I had to do more cleaning up after them and that's when I realized that they broke my vacuum cleaner!  When I called to complain, they told me that my vacuum cleaner was already broken.  I have been going back and forth trying to get my money refunded since I prepaid for THREE hours and not just 1.5 hours.

Growth Spurts is amazing - I was turned onto this place through The Parent Circle and love the fact that it's right by the Linden train station.  My son loves taking the train here and everything about Growth Spurts is wonderful!

Of course, my son fell in love with their train table but I like the cafe idea that has organic food and drinks for both the parents and children.

There are also blocks, various games and toys, a painting area and crafts to a great indoor house and a sand table.  

I ended up purchasing a ten visit pass since it allowed for a bit of a discount and can't wait for our next visit!

Amazing and delicious!!  I fell in love with these at the Yelp Holiday party and immediately headed there that same week and picked up ten of these for all of the different teachers at my son's school and also makes a great hostess gift for some of the holiday parties that we're attending.  So far, we've tried the original, cinnamon, walnut, nutella and coconut and the nutella and walnut.  All are amazingly delicious!

They tasting amazing and are a great steal for the price you pay!  Service is friendly and helpful and I couldn't help but keep a nutella and walnut one for myself and the family.

As our first getaway from the kids after our daughter was born, we were lucky enough to get on the RSVP list for the Yelp Holiday party so we quickly set up babysitters and we were there for the Elite Hour which was great!

Practically no lines and loved the space with the fun and gorgeous artwork!  Minus one star for the bathrooms but that can be forgivable with the whiskey tasting and the Remy shots and the Guinness.

There was a good amount of Asian food there from Ra Sushi, Union Sushi (I got one of the rare tenderloins), Isla Pilipina, and there were some delicious chimney cakes (I've gone there and picked up some as holiday gifts for our son's teachers at school), beard papa cream puffs and we picked up really cool Yelp watches, too!

It was good to be back at a Yelp Elite event and I look forward to another fun time!

I attended a child behavior workshop here and found the space to be very inviting and comfortable.  Parking was a little confusing as it was in the back but I parked in front.  They have smaller rooms that are connected together with various themes.  My son loved their indoor play gym as well as the train table - they also have a fun playground outside, as well.

They offer family drop in hours as well as organized hours.  This makes for a great rental space for organizations that involve small children or throwing birthday parties for those under 4 years old.  I believe that their prices are $250 for two hours for up to 50 people.

What a fabulous experience!  We picked up the Groupon deal which was $56 for two VIP tickets, a meal which included an appetizer, two entrees and two glasses of wine.

Parking is free or you can valet park, and easy to do.  We were able to reserve seating in the premiere section which is 21+ since they offer a bar upstairs.  Being able to reserve seating is key because you don't have to worry about getting there an hour in advance to make sure that you can get a seat together!  My husband was pleased that he could get a beer and enjoy the movie.  Seating is plush and almost too big but super comfortable.

The restaurant/bar in there is called Bogart's Bar & Grill and the food was good.  It wasn't amazingly delicious but it definitely hit the spot.  We went with our usual calamari appetizer and both got the sirloin with came with a good amount of mashed potatoes and grilled zucchini which is nice.  Overall, it all hit the spot.  My husband was thrilled that he could replace his glass of wine with Maker's Mark and I found a good Alamos Malbec on the wine list.

Screens, sound, food, and overall, really great experience.  Hoping that Groupon will offer this again so the hubby and I can enjoy another date there!

I made it out here for lunch with friends the other day and they definitely start to get busy at noon!  Luckily, we made it in before the lunch rush hour so it was a quick process to place the order and not too long before our food came out.  We had the Tocilog and the Tapilog which both were delicious with garlic rice, egg (asked for two which wasn't a problem), delicious meats, and three lumpia.  Yum!

The staff was super friendly, especially RJ, and the prices are a good steal for the quality food you were getting!  I can't wait to come back on a warmer day for their Halo Halo - deliciousness with red beans and taro ice cream!

Overwhelming - partially because we came on a day where it was half off the entire store!  We walked out with so much stuff that I don't even know where to start.  I picked up enough winter clothing for my toddler for less than $20 including a $1.50 snowsuit that is practically new, $2 Mickey Mouse corduroy jacket, $2 leather bomber jacket for him and even some stuff that still had tags on them!  My husband walked out with a H&M pinstriped blazer for only $2.50 and two pairs of Levi jeans for less than $3 each.  My biggest steal was a purple Jones New York 100% silk wrap dress for only 40 cents.  My sister's favorite purchase was a Fossil burgundy leather laptop bag unscratched with tags still on it which retails for over $140 brand new for only $6.50.

Next time, I will be bringing either my own bags (but hey, if they're selling a Kenneth Cole duffel for only $2, might as well pick it up!) to store/carry stuff.  And the days where the entire store is half off, expect lines to be at least 45 minutes long!

Also, if something doesn't have a tag on it, don't pick it up or fall in love with it!  They won't sell it to you without a tag!

I have now used Fogo twice for group dinner reservations and on a Saturday night, they were very accommodating and we were seated almost immediately.

As usual, the salad bar was delicious - the only thing that I felt was missing was either some cut fruit or a fruit salad.  The kids were a little bummed that there wasn't too much for them but they loved the fried polenta and bread which they kept filling up on.  The guy who kept checking up on our group of 14 was really accommodating and if we wanted to try any kind of meat, it was immediately sent over to us.  Since the kids mostly ate the bread, maybe a little bit of meat, and the polenta and fried banana, when the bill came, the kids weren't charged on there at all which was most appreciated.

The wine list is extensive and one of our guests actually owns a winery so he was very pleased to see that his Spanish wine was on the list and we also ordered Brazilian caiprinhas for the entire table which even though I did not partake in it, everyone enjoyed it and found it to be a refreshing with that splash of sugarcane.