Run the City Brooklyn Half

Get special deals and discounts, along the course and off, in Dumbo and all over Brooklyn! Refuel at restaurants and bars, shop for gear, check out entertainment options, and more. You’ll be helping to support participating businesses throughout the Borough of Kings. Runners can show their race numbers and friends and family can show a Run the City pass.

Kaaterskill Falls, Greene County, via Wikipedia

This post is sponsored by Carpingo.

This post sponsored by Carpingo – Car sharing to get around town or for getaways to points more exotic

The words “Catskill Mountains” conjures up a number of images: Tuxedoed comedians entertaining the dinner crowd at a Borscht Belt resort. Hippies living off the grid. Mountain men grabbing trout out of a freezing-cold stream with their bare hands (okay, maybe a fishing pole is the preferred method). And, most recently, a nearby escape (see Upstate.Brownstoner for details) that feels worlds away, populated by quirky motels and inns where you can sip coffee outside while a brook babbles in the background.

Indeed, the Catskills’ reawakening as a vacation destination has been a long time in the making. For a couple of decades after the rise and fall of the Borscht Belt, the mountain towns languished. These days, the hills are dotted with inns, motels, hotels, resorts and campgrounds just waiting for the Weekend Warrior crowd to settle in for the night. From far and wide they come: The swimmers, hikers, hunters, fishers, kayakers and amateur nature photographers, looking for a place to stay that’s special, a place that’s off the beaten path. Are you one of those? Looking for the perfect hidden spot that’s also within driving distance? Then today’s your lucky day….

Our friends at Carpingo have put together a great list of nine offbeat spots to stay, divided by county, during your Catskills getaway, and when you’re ready to roll with them, they’ll give you $75 in driving credit. Just use the coupon code “Getaway75″. Read the rest of this entry »

This post is sponsored by Jennifer Schonborn.

Jennifer Schonborn is a holistic nutrition counselor who helps people make lasting changes to their diet & lifestyle.

If you’re anything like us, you mitigated the stress of the endless winter with bacon burgers, beer, and frozen pizza. Spring is finally here, but with it comes the reminder that summer swimsuit season is right around the corner. All that junk food may have gotten you through the cold and the dark, but it’s wreaked havoc on your waistline. If you’re worried about eclipsing the sun at the beach this year, we’ve got a giveaway that can help you eat healthier.

Jennifer Schonborn, a Brooklyn-based, AADP-certified holistic nutrition counselor, helps clients who are either looking to lose weight, alleviate digestive problems, reduce stress, recover from past eating disorders, or who simply want a healthier, more wholesome life.

Jennifer sits down with you first for a free consultation, which you can sign up for here, to determine what your food and health issues are and to establish some goals for you.

Her plans don’t involve crash diets or starvation regimens. Once you sign on for a program, Jennifer breaks your dietary transition into discrete, manageable steps to ensure that your habits change slowly and you move towards permanent healthier food choices. “My approach is to introduce the healthier foods and crowd out the unhealthy foods,” she says.

You meet with Jennifer twice a month for three or six months (depending on your program) to discuss how her suggestions are working and to take on more. In addition, Jennifer offers email support, sample foods, and nutritional guides. And, according to her past clients, this gradual system works.

Jennifer is giving our winner a free consultation and two free counseling sessions worth $250. All you need to do is submit your name and email below and you’ll be signed up for the contest and Jennifer’s nutrition newsletter. As usual, you can earn extra entries by following, liking, and retweeting Jennifer’s pages and referring friends. And even if you’re not the lucky winner, you can still take advantage of her initial hour-long consultation. So send her an email and she’ll gladly help you shake those winter food blues.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is sponsored by Carpingo.

Carpingo is Brooklyn’s car sharing community. Cars by the hour or day, available 24/7.

Just a reminder folks….

We have teamed up with Carpingo to give one lucky reader a Friday-through-Monday car share and a $500 gift certificate* to the Inn at Lake Joseph, a beautiful upstate retreat near Forestburgh, New York. Finally you and your honey can flee the concrete jungle grass, trees, and a body of water that isn’t the Gowanus Canal.

Carpingo is New York City’s only home-grown hourly car sharing company. Their service is easy – reserve a car online for when and where you need it, and it’ll be there. No lines, no paperwork, no office hours – just unlock and drive. Cars are available by the hour or the day, 24/7. Carpingo will even cover gas and insurance.

So get out of those pajamas and enter our contest by submitting your email below, and as usual – earn extra entries by following/liking/retweeting and referring friends! It’ll be the perfect way to usher in the warm weather and support a great new local business.

*Applicable to room rate only. Gratuity and taxes not included.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is sponsored by Carpingo.

Carpingo is Brooklyn’s car sharing community. Cars by the hour or day, available 24/7.

Spring is almost here and you’ve totally missed all your chances to get out of the city: ski trips fell through; snow-shoeing plans cancelled for lack of snow; or maybe you find it impossible to get out of bed on the weekend before the sun sets at 4 p.m. We’ve got just the tonic for those hibernation blues: a weekend trip to the country!

We have teamed up with Carpingo to give one lucky reader a Friday-through-Monday car share and a $500 gift certificate* to the Inn at Lake Joseph, a beautiful upstate retreat near Forestburgh, New York. Finally you and your honey can flee the concrete jungle grass, trees, and a body of water that isn’t the Gowanus Canal.

Carpingo is New York City’s only home-grown hourly car sharing company. Their service is easy – reserve a car online for when and where you need it, and it’ll be there. No lines, no paperwork, no office hours – just unlock and drive. Cars are available by the hour or the day, 24/7. Carpingo will even cover gas and insurance.

We know how it is. Sometimes you bought too many groceries at Trader Joe’s or have to move that kayak that’s been lying in your hallway since May. You just can’t do it without a car. But why bother with the hassle of alternate-side parking and mooching friends who “forget” to offer gas money? Sign up and you’ll not only get access to a car whenever you want, you’ll support a Brooklyn business that partners with great NYC organizations like Rooftop Films, St. Francis College Athletics, and Gotham Girls Roller Derby. With Carpingo, your money stays local even if you’re on the move.

So get out of those pajamas and enter our contest by submitting your email below, and as usual – earn extra entries by following/liking/retweeting and referring friends! It’ll be the perfect way to usher in the warm weather and support a great new business.

*Applicable to room rate only. Gratuity and taxes not included.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That sleek VANMOOF look.

We know you love your bicycles, so we’ve got good news: we’re giving one away. No, we didn’t scrounge up a vintage Huffy with pegs and streamers (that’s so last year). We got our hands on a sweet new game-changing commuter bike from one of the coolest and most conscientious bike makers around: VANMOOF.

VANMOOF, headquartered in the Netherlands (yeah, the country that managed to essentially ban cars from one of its towns), is dedicated to bringing bicycles back to power. In this vein, it has produced the ultimate city bike: the VANMOOF 5. It’s made of light-weight aluminum, so you won’t get a sweaty back after riding over the Manhattan bridge; it’s got an integrated chain lock, so you’ll never lose it; and it’s outfitted with super-bright, pedal-powered Philips front and rear lights so you can see and be seen at night.

Did we mention this thing looks awesome? Don’t just take our word for it. VANMOOF has won serious design awards for its bikes, including the prestigious Red Dot award and the Dutch Design Award; and the VANMOOF 5 has received the EUROBIKE and BikeExpo awards, among many others.

One of you lucky readers is going to take this baby home. So what are you still doing here? Opt into the contest by giving VANMOOF your email below and earn extra entries by following them on facebook & twitter and sharing the contest with your friends.

The VANMOOF Giveaway!

This post is sponsored by Vanmoof.

Helping city dweller’s move around town fast, confident and in style

From Dumbo Gem Spa: End of Summer Special through October 15, 2012.

Dumbo Gem Spa
57 Front Street
718-576-3173

From Dumbo Gymnastics: Sign up before August 25, 2012 and get 5 free open gym sessions.

DUMBO Gymnastics (dumbogymnastics.com)
68 Jay Street, Suite 509, Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-222-1012
Email info@dumbogymnastics.com