An avid Netflix viewer, I discovered and fell in love with Grace and Frankie last year when it debuted. I’ve been eagerly awaiting its return, especially after its cliffhanger at the end of the season when two characters slept together who should not have, so I’m happy to report it’s coming back May 6th. In typical Netflix savvy style, they debuted the trailer on Twitter, which you can watch above:

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, with Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen as their husbands are coming back, as well as all their children. If you haven’t watched it yet, don’t fret. Season 1 is still available and an easy, wonderful weekend binge. During the first season, the men left their wives for each other but both were left with conflicting feelings about their ex’s and there were some pretty heavy ramifications. The show is funny, intense and will make you cry, I promise.

I urge you to give it a go, and come back here in a few weeks where I will finally unveil my interview with the two lady legends, Fonda and Tomlin, when I met them during a visit to the set last fall.

Disclosure: I’m a member of the Netflix Streamteam, but all opinions are my own.

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Speaking of kids, the festival also has an abundance of offerings for children, which means I can bring my own to the festival, and I’m certainly planning to this year. Here’s what’s on the docket for me, and for them:

Experimenter: Apr. 6th: Q&A filmmaker Michael Almereyda with prof. Jay Van Bavel

The edgy and singular writer/director Michael Almereyda (Hamlet, starring Ethan Hawke) paints a superb dramatic portrait of Stanley Milgram, the Yale University-based social scientist who in 1961 set out to determine how and why people could be pushed to extremes. The son of Holocaust survivors, Milgram created the “obedience experiments,” in which ordinary people were commanded to inflict pain on others by an authority figure. He asked, “Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices?” A fascinating look at an unnerving subject with an all-star cast that includes Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder

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Junun: April 8th, 15th and 16th

Academy Award nominee Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice, There Will Be Blood) takes us on a mind-blowing musical journey to Jodhpur, India. Last spring, the Maharaja of Jodhpur hosted acclaimed Israeli composer/poet Shye Ben Tzur, who has lived in India for over 15 years, along with Anderson’s friend and collaborator, ‎Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead’s lead guitarist), and his producer, Nigel Godrich. They joined a group of India’s finest musicians, including Aamir Bhiyani, Soheb Bhiyani, Ajaj Damami, Sabir Damami, Hazmat, and Bhanwaru Khan on brass; Shazib Ali on vocals; and Dara Khan and Asin Khan on strings. Together they built a makeshift studio at the Maharaja’s Fort, and over the following three weeks joyously made music together. With long, unbroken takes, Junun (“Madness of Love”) is a cross-cultural meeting point between the mystical Islam of Sufi, Qawwali, and devotional poetries in Urdu, Hebrew, and Hindi—and an extraordinary visual and sensory experience that will capture your imagination.

JeruZalem: April 9th & 15th

This crowd-pleaser—the Audience Award winner at the 2015 Jerusalem Film Festival—is a Spring Break/Dawn of the Dead mash-up set in the Holy Land! Sarah, who is mourning the death of her older brother, reluctantly agrees to travel to Tel Aviv for a beach vacation with fun-loving Rachel (Yael Grobglas from Jane the Virgin). On their flight to Israel, the two best friends meet a cute archeologist who convinces them to head to Jerusalem for the Yom Kippur break—and their Middle East holiday soon descends into a nightmare on Judgment Day. Will they escape before all hell breaks loose and the Dark Angels turn off the lights? The Paz brothers (perhaps Israel’s answer to the Coen brothers), keep you at the edge of your seat until the very end.

Youth – April 8th & 10th

Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant) says: “As soon as you see the eyes and features of both main young actors in Youth, you recognize the deep sight and nobility of Tom Shoval.” Teen brothers Yaki and Shaul live with their parents in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv. Their father has lost his job and has descended into a deep depression, and the family is on the brink of losing their home. The boys feel they must do something—and the gun Yaki carries (he is doing his military service) empowers them to decide to kidnap one of Shaul’s wealthy classmates. They hide the girl in an abandoned cellar and then place a call demanding a huge ransom for her release. But they’ve forgotten that today is Shabbat and their victim’s orthodox family will not answer the phone. Soon, time starts to run out…

The Westchester Jewish Film Festival is a tremendous source of inspiration for me, and I guarantee it will be for you. Click on the link to the schedule, study it, pick a few films and come back here to let me know about your experience.

See you at the movies.

Disclosure: I teamed up with Jacob Burns on this post and was compensated accordingly, but as always, all opinions are my own. 

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I’m a consultant. Therefore, I work with a mix of people. On a daily basis, my world consists of phone calls and emails. I juggle one task after another yet ultimately accomplish what I want for each individual client. Some days I work well into the evening, but my hours are my own, and the work always gets done. There is one topic I know a lot about: Being supported by and supporting women.

Right now I’m working on several different projects – from a United Nations NGO to a global summit to a bilingual resource for children to promoting an international tourism/foreign policy expert to joining the team at a remarkable media firm (I can’t wait to talk about this but must wait!) but guess what? My two managers there will be female.

Yep, I’m working with smart, resourceful, and especially supportive women. Some of whom I’ve actually worked with before (clearly smashingly), so we’ve reunited on new projects. Some were brought to me through referrals, who happened to be women. All of the work is rewarding in its own rite, but when you work with people who trust, respect and applaud you, it makes all the difference in the world, and I must admit, it’s a great feeling to have these cemented relationships.

I should know. When I first moved to NYC, my first job was working for a major TV network. My first two managers were two men, but later I moved across the department to work for two women. The tables actually turned on me, but not for the better. While the men were extremely supportive and my biggest cheerleaders, the women were vindictive, looking out only for themselves. The irony is that it was a women’s network. I worked for the other big cable network for women years later, and it was very much the same way. While the head of the network was all our biggest cheerleaders, the women under her were the first to stab you in the back.

You’re probably thinking, “Well, she’s not meant for the corporate world.” Well, trust me, I’ve thought that. But when I went back to work after having my first child, the woman who hired me was determined to make everything work for me, being my first job back in the world post-babies.

That woman (who passed away, unfortunately, from breast cancer) created the most amazing schedule for me and for a while, I was truly able to have it all with a largely flexible schedule. That job kicked off my consulting career, where I’ve mainly reported to women, but not always. The men I’ve worked with have been equally supportive but they don’t necessarily come back to me with additional opportunities the way women have.

The women I love working with are considerate of my time. They know that I’m juggling several things at once but want to grow in my career. The women I love working with are creative and business savvy and ensure that my workload is substantial and satisfying. The women I love working with toast my achievements and provide an amazing level of collaboration. They give credit where it’s due. The women I love working with address conflict and don’t sabotage me…or themselves. They care deeply about work ethics and treat me like the professional I am.

And that suits me fine.

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I’m a sucker for feel good films that make me want to get up and do something.  Some movies have made me feel as though as I could do anything, like Billy Elliot and Shirley Valentine, for example. These movies have a major theme in common – determination and fulfilling life long dreams. I’ve seen both again and again and have been waiting for another film to come along in the same vein.

And along comes Eddie the Eagle – another British film, ironically, like the two mentioned above, and like both films, it’s about people from a lower-class background with dreams. However, Michael “Eddie” Edward’s dream is not so ordinary. Played by Taron Egerton, he’s an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself.  With the help of a retired coach, played by Hugh Jackman, and supportive parents who foot the bill for just one year while he trained to become a professional Olympian, Eddie takes on the establishment quite literally as the British Olympic contingency has no interest in recruiting a guys who had only trained for one year of his life and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making a historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, with the help of a supportive publicist, played by Ania Sowinski and a famous author/ex-ski jumper played by the legendary Christopher Walken. His journey is surreal as he never gives up, and his determination and victory to get to the top left me reeling in my seat. If you go into this movie feeling down, I can assure you that you will come out soaring.  

The film was written by Kingsman writer Matthew Vaughn and directed by Dexter Fletcher, best known for his character actor roles in many of Matthew Vaughn’s films, including Guy Ritchie’s debut Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (which was also brought to Sundance).

An Interview with Hugh Jackman, Taron Egerton and Ania Sowinski

I was fortunate enough to join a small group of bloggers early this week in a discussion with Hugh Jackman, Taron Egerton and Ania Sowinski. All had vivid recollections of Eddie growing up. Sowinski, who grew up in the UK, remembers her brother doing impressions of Eddie. “He was a big deal at those Olympics. And it was very much like Princess Di and Charles’ wedding. You know, everyone was around their television sort of rooting for this guy from the middle of nowhere in England. So, I have very big memories of it. Obviously I was a child. I was eight years old, but it was huge.”

The movie is as inspiring to the actors as it is to the people seeing it. Jackman saw the movie and said, “When I first saw the movie, I saw it with a bunch of friends. And one of their mum’s came out, actually, and just said, ‘Every parent should take their kids to see this, because it, it just goes to show you don’t have to win to be a winner.’ It’s like there’s so much pressure on kids these days to be LeBron James or to be at the top, you know? And it can kind of create this pressure sometimes that is not necessary for kids. And so anyway. That’s what I loved about it. I took my kids to see it. They really love it. But you’re right. You end up pulling for him so much, because he’s such an every man, you know?”

As a dad, Jackman has thought a lot about his children’s long-terms goals, and when asked what he would do if they wanted to do something as bold and singular as Eddie the Eagle, if he would stop them, he said, “He (Eddie the Eagle) wanted to be in the Olympics from when he was five and nothing was going to stop him. So, look what came of it, you know? I kind of get that. But I understand. It’s a horrible thing about being a parent, right? I’ve got a 15-year-old so probably in a year or two he pretty much is there to pick up the pieces, right? In all, basically they’re going to make their own mistakes. It’s the hardest thing.”

Egerton, who also starred in Kingsman, had a huge job playing Eddie the Eagle. He got to know the real Michael Edwards during the shoot but says that the real Eddie was not particularly interested in the filmmaking process: “He finally said, ‘Don’t be mean, you know? Do a good job and I’ll see you on the other side.’ And that’s kind of what happened. He came out and saw us and all of that stuff, and then we watched the movie for the first time together, which, as you could imagine, was a fairly intimidating afternoon for me. But thankfully, he loved it.”

Ski-jumping is almost like another character in the film. The actors were intrigued by the filmmaking process, depending largely on a team of real ski jumpers, not stunt men. Jackman said, “Those great shots in the air, one of the best shots is created by two ski jumpers, and one has like three cameras attached to him. So he goes like a half a second behind the first guy….. when they took off, first guy took off, the second guy went over him and touched him on the shoulder and went past him in midair and landed in front of him. And when they got down, we were all just in shock.”

The three actors spoke a bit about their acting careers, all visibly considering the roads taken to get to this point in time and on their own sense of determination and relating to Eddie in that way. About acting, Sowinski said, “I think you have to have a backbone of steel, actually, to just keep driving through, you know? And there’s all these great stories. Meryl Streep has the classic story of being told she wasn’t pretty enough, or Julie Walters has some fantastic stories about being turned down for roles, but she never stopped.”

Jackman remembered being offered a role on Britain’s Neighbours the same weekend he got into a prestigious acting school 20-odd years ago. He had a weekend to make a decision about what to do – take a two-year show on a big show or go study acting. His dad told him to make his own decision, and so Jackman agonized but then asked himself, “After two years on Neighbours, would I feel like I deserved an audition at the Royal Shakespeare Company? And the answer was no.”  It was his dad’s way of helping him to learn to make his own decisions.

The three actors clearly loved working on the film and all had great stories to tell about the process, but Sowinski wins for telling a great story about “kissing Wolverine” during an unscripted scene in which she and Jackman flirted at the airport, take after take after take. About the scene, she said, “I’ve never laughed so much in a set in my life. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.”

Egerton and Jackman clearly had a great chemistry on and off set. Sowinski relished every moment working with them. But they all had particularly great things to say about Christopher Walken. About him, Egerton said, “He’s a total one-off. He’s a unique performer and very, very lucky to have witnessed a bit of him performing.” Jackman added, “He’s got that thing of everyone watching him. Literally the monitors. People, like, Taron and I weren’t working when he was first working, but we stayed to watch. Everyone was watching.”

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Every now and then, my tween and I take time out and head to NYC, a mere 15 miles away from where we live, for a bit of city life. A former urbanite and a Broadway junkie, I often crave the city and there is nothing more fun than experiencing a night in a hotel with my 12 year-old daughter. It gives us a chance to absorb a bit of culture, eat good food and literally take time out, away from our daily routines.

Our recent jaunt to the city included a stay at The Muse, A Kimpton Hotel, and it was pretty much perfection. The hotel is centrally located, just a block from the best shows on Broadway and Times Square. We took the train to Grand Central and just strolled a few blocks to get there, stopping for a quick bite at one of our favorite restaurants, Xian, for some of the best and cheapest Chinese food in the city.

We have had very good experiences with Kimpton Hotels, so we had nothing but good expectations about our visit. The Muse was bound to be nothing short of what we had experienced, having had stayed in Kimpton Hotels in Virginia, California and other American cities. The hotels always have a modern flare and amenities that make travel a little bit easier, ones that appeal to kids.

The Muse Welcome

Sure enough, when we walked into The Muse, they were preparing hot chocolate and wine for guests, available daily from 5-6pm. We were smitten with our hotel room, one of 181 guest rooms and 19 suites.The guest rooms are stylish, with bold pop art decorative pillows and silvery blue walls. They match the modern, upbeat spirit of NYC. We had a king-sized bed in a suite with a sitting room, Wifi access, a lovely bathroom with a rainwater shower head and pop-up reading lights. As a member of Kimpton’s member loyalty program, we had complimentary Wifi.

A Family-Friendly Hotel

The Muse just introduced two new programs to cater to its youngest guests.  The 2-night Inner Artist Package, an exclusive partnership with The Children’s Museum, offers museum admission for a family of four, private art lesson, and a kid-friendly clay set as an in-room amenity for kids to unleash their inner Basquiat or Picasso.  The “Mini Muse” amenity program accommodates kids with complimentary morning chocolate milk, nightly juice of sparkling cider, kid-sized animal print robes and an organized Scavenger Hunt!

Our Night on the Town

Our list of things to do was a mile long, but we managed to narrow it down. There’s so much to do right outside the hotel. We started our evening at Junior’s for a slice of real NYC cheesecake and then went shopping at the Disney store and Forever 21 (stores stay open REALLY late in Times Square). Then we ended up backstage at Hamilton, a show we’ve seen and loved, and met a few members of the cast. It was truly a great night, despite the fact that it was the coldest night of the year!

The bottom line: The Muse is a great getaway for families. We loved enjoying NYC but we also loved hanging out in the room, which was comfortable and cozy with great appeal to a tween. The hotel staff was extremely helpful, the amenities were top notch and it’s a considered a value compared to other accommodations.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary stay at The Muse to facilitate this review and others, but all opinion are my own.

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When I received an invitation recently to go on a Gogobot field trip, I was completely intrigued. For one thing, I didn’t know much about Gogobot, a travel app. For another thing, I was excited to go on the actual field trip. I’ve lived in and around NYC for over 20 years, but even I know that there are still dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of places I have not yet been to!

The company arranged the trip to celebrate their 5th anniversary and the fact that its users have shared over five million photos and postcards. During its five years in business, more than 43 million people around the world have relied on Gogobot to discover great places to stay, eat and play. People have spent a total of 238 years sharing and discovering amazing places on Gogobot, and I was eager to be one of them.

Travis Katz, co-founder of Gogobot.

Travis Katz, co-founder and CEO of Gogobot, came along for the ride. He’s a really interesting, laid back guy and was completely open with us about the company’s growth and how it makes money (via bookings, ads, content partners and investors – over $40 million to date). He started the service as a result of his own frustration looking for a tool to provide tips on where to go, eat and play when he was living in Europe with his young family a the time. He and I talked about my own experiences and how I related to that angst of not being able to find travel info for my own family ago when I started my own blog in 2010.

That search soon led him to co-find Gogobot. He has since teamed up with major brands like HomeAway, CitySearch, Owners Direct, Leonardo Hotels, Kiwi Collection and TripCase to integrate Gogobot content into their sites to build better relationships and more engagement with their customers. With Gogobot’s 19 Tribes (Adventure Travelers, Foodies, etc.), users get personalized recommendations on things to check out from other travelers who have the same travel style as they do. Gogobot encourages people of varying sets of interests to share their experiences. I’ve already joined a few including Family Travelers, obviously.

We set out on our NYC adventure, meeting in Union Square to board The Ride with front row seating on the coach, giving us a great view of the city. It was a beautiful fall day, so we had clear views and the city I love was glistening. Using Gogobot, we ventured to Williamsburg to discover a few of its best places to eat and play.

The gang at Gogobot had an interesting afternoon planned. Camion food truck provided a delicious selection of spicy tacos and actually ended up following us to Brooklyn when the trip was running late. At one point, a guy who must work for The Ride serenaded us and the result was a wonderful, real “ONLY IN NYC” surprise. Check it out above.

Our first stop was Sweethaus, an adorable cafe in Williamsburg that served us delicious mini-sized cupcakes and pumpkin latte.  The owners, who hail from Virginia, created a comfortable, vintage style environment. The shop offers baked goods galore and the result is mouth-watering, particularly that pumpkin latte.

135 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249; Tel: 718-710-6627

Then we headed to Streb, an actual circus studio, where they offer classes for children and adults called Kid Action. We were given a tour of the studio and shown the space. The owners told us about their classes, which reflect the high energy, fast-paced movement that kids experience all around them everyday. Kid Action is based on POPACTION, which intertwines dance, athletics, boxing, rodeo, the circus and Hollywood stunt work into bristling muscle-and-motion vocabulary! STREB’s work is of particular interest to young people who are continually testing the limits of their physical universe. Seriously, this is why kids in Brooklyn are so freaking cool! They have options like this.

51 N 1st St, Brooklyn, NY 11211; Tel: 718-384-6491

Brooklyn Winery was our next step, an urban winery in the heart of Brooklyn. I was stunned – I didn’t expect to ever encounter a winery outside Napa or the Northfork. While on a tour of the winery with owner C, we were shown barrels of wine in production and learned a little bit about distribution, while of course being treated with a glass of wine. I’d love to go back to another time to indulge in a few more glasses.

213 N. 8th St., Brooklyn, NY 11211; Tel: 347-763-1506

The last stop on the tour was Modern Pinball, taking us back into the city.  Two rows of pinball machines, unlimited play for $12 and a selection of pinball games from my era – the 1970s and 1980s – pure heaven. My son is going to seriously love this place and I never would have known about it if not for Gogobot.

362 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016; Tel: 646-415-8440

Gogobot has a friendly sense of community where travel and dining enthusiasts enjoy sharing local treasures they’ve found with the tribes in which they are members. This trip was proof of the experience the app has to offer. Download it today and give it a whirl, then let me know what you think in the comments.

Disclosure: I was invited by Gogobot as a writer to cover the tour and was treated to a day in the city but as usual, all opinions are my own.

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When my tween daughter came home from camp this past summer, all she wanted to do was lie in bed and watch Netflix. She literally wanted to stay home 24/7 for several weeks. It was hard to get her out of the house. My mother told me that she reminded me of someone she used to know…..and that was the truth. I used to love my TV

Here’s a short list of TV shows my tween loves and your tween will love, too – bearing in mind, I may be a more lenient parent than many of you (she provided this list):

Vampire Diaries

I must admit, I don’t watch many of these shows with my daughter (though we have ventured into Gilmore Girls, Felicity and Glee zone). But she has been binging Vampire Diaries for weeks and weeks and weeks (I guess it’s been on forever?) I recently saw Ian Somerhalder speak IRL at the Social Good Summit and all I can say about the show is that it has a lovely lead actor…. The show is about a brother and sister who get involve with vampires after their parents are sadly killed. It’s based on the series of novels by L.J. Smith.

Pretty Little Liars

Based on the books by Sara Shepard, my tween is mildly obsessive over Pretty Little Liars. She’s all caught up and is watching new episode on ABC Family every week, and for the life of me, I can’t keep up. The show is about a group of friends who have known each other all their lives. Four girls – four lives – lots of secrets.

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time is the one show out of this group that I could actually sit down and watch with my tween (only I haven’t yet). It’s the story of a new world, one in which fairy-tale legends and modern life collide. There are princesses, Prince Charmings, Evil Queens and other characters straight out of fairytales.

Melissa and Joey

Four seasons but all 1/2 hour sitcoms – at least it won’t take her forever to get through Melissa and Joey. After a family scandal leaves Mel, played by Melissa Joan Hart, a local politician, alone with her niece, Lennox, and nephew, Ryder, she hires a man named Joe, formerly a trader, to become the family’s male nanny, or “manny”. Very 2015.

Young and Hungry

Ha! A show about a food blogger. When food blogger Gabi finds out wealthy tech entrepreneur Josh needs a personal chef, she wants the position. But Gabi must prove herself to Josh’s aide, Elliot, who would rather have his boss hire a famous chef. Gabi gets help from best friend Sofia and Josh’s housekeeper, Yolanda, in order to turn the opportunity into employment … and maybe love. The show is cute – I’ve sat down with my tween and watched a few episodes. Lead actress Emily Osment, and Ashley Tisdale from High School Musical fame exec produces.

Disclosure: I am a member of Netflix’s Stream Team and write monthly posts but all opinions are my own.

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I was inspired to write this post because the NYC Dumpling Festival 2015 is headed our way. The Dumping Festival will be held on the First Ever National Dumpling Day, which is very exciting.

If you’re looking for a good batch of dumplings in New York City, we’ve done the research. Here are three dumpling spots we love:

Mandoo Bar (2 West 32nd Street) in Korean Town serves up our favorite dumplings, which they call Mandoo. Women stand at the front of the restaurant, making them from scratch in the window. We’re partial to the pan-fried dumplings, but they also offer steamed kimchee, veggie and pork stuffing and pickled cabbage.

Xi’an Famous Foods is a chain restaurant that’s cheap and cheerful and offers up delicious dumplings, such as spicy & sour lamb dumplings, stuffed with ground lamb and served in a sour & spicy sauce, topped with cilantro. They also have spicy & sour spinach dumplings, stuffed with ground spinach and vermicelli noodles.

Source: newyork.seriouseats.com

Vanessa’s Dumpling House (220 East 14th Street) is in Union Square serves up crazily inexpensive, yummy dumplings, from vegie to non-vegie. We usually indulge in their soups and sesame pancake sandwiches, too. 

Have I made you hungry yet? You’re in luck. Guess what’s coming to town? The 2015 Chef One NYC Dumpling Festival and Dumpling Eating Contest! On September 26th from 12-5pm at Sara D. Roosevelt Park at E. Houston St (next to Whole Food Bowery Store), you will be able to witness a record-breaking “Dumpling Eating Contest”, a Giant Dumpling Cutting ceremony, a walking Dumpling Mama mascot, delicious food/drinks, live cultural performances (Belly dancing, Korean Drum, Hip Hop), A Dumpling Making class, raffle draws (including a grand prize of two round-trip tickets courtesy of Delta Airlines) and much more.

The day of activities is sponsored by Chef One, Bruce Cost Ginger Ale, TBaar, Dumpling Go, Bibigo, Mika and Yaso TangBao. The current record for the most dumplings eaten is set by competitive eater Molly Schuyler who has been taking the competitive eating world by storm. She will return this year in an attempt to set another tough-to-beat record of over 90 pieces in 2 minutes.

In addition, one man and one woman will receive a grand prize of $2,000. Second and third place winners of each division will win $1000 and $500 respectively. If that isn’t enough to make this year’s Dumpling Eating Contest a must-see segment of the event, world famous competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi will be serving as one of the judges for the first time ever. But not before performing his own 30-second demo of Dumpling Eating to show audience and the contestants how it is done!

100% of all proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Food Bank For New York City. Food Bank has served for over 30 years as the city’s major hunger-relief organization working to end food poverty throughout the five boroughs.

The day of activities is hosted by Chef One along with various local sponsors that made the event possible. Since 2004, Chef One Corp., a leading food manufacturer based in Brooklyn, has been hosting the NYC Dumpling Festival with its famous Dumpling Eating contest as a way to give back to the community. Chef One Dumpling can be found at many local super markets; such as Fairway, Shoprite and etc.

General admission to the event is free. A $20 ticket can be bought on-site at the event, which entitles the ticketholder to choose up to four tastings from participating booths throughout the Festival.

For more information, visit www.dumplingfestival.com or facebook.com/chefonecorp or call 718-744-6999. Also ollow them on Twitter at #dumplingfest2015.

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When we were recently planning our family trip to Texas, I immediately knew that I wanted to start in San Antonio. I had heard great things about the city and thought it would be the perfect place to start our tour of The Lone Star State.

I can tell you that when we told people we were heading to Texas, we got a lot of questioning, particularly about how we were going to be traveling at the hottest time of the year. August in Texas is indeed as hot as they say, but given the right amount of planning and an itinerary that includes air conditioning, swimming and good Tex Mex, kids should be able to handle it.

I didn’t mind the weather talk – I knew I ‘d love San Antonio, and I did. It was a great entry point for my family. For one thing, it’s an easy city to get around. For another, there is plenty do with kids from history at the Alamo and its many missions to culture and history at its many museums and attractions. There are also amusement and water slide parks (including one of the biggest in America). The city’s River Walk, which is entirely below street level, is a sight to behold, and makes San Antonio one of America’s magical, unique cities.

Before you book your trip, be sure to download an app called SAVE (stands for the San Antonio Vacation Experience) to get coupons and discounts on tickets to attractions, restaurants, tours, shops and at least 15% off your hotel stay. I found it extremely useful.

Here’s the low-down on where to stay, what to do, where to eat and how to get the most of your trip to San Antonio – with the kids in tow.

Where to Stay

The Hotel Contessa is perfectly situated on the banks of the River Walk. It’s also the only luxurious, all suites hotel in the city. Every room was built to cater to families who want comfort and space and they also offer modern decor, soft bedding, relaxing sofas, oversized bathrooms and a large living room with a sofa bed offering additional privacy, always a blessing when traveling with kids. The hotel’s vibe is sophisticated and welcoming with staff pulling out all the punches to make us feel right at home – from the concierge, who was full of helpful ideas on where to go (and where not to go) for dinner to the bartender, who we managed to spend time with while the kids were resting in the room. Best of all, the rooftop pool offers a hot tub and beautiful view of the city. We all witnessed our first set of Texan bats over our head while going for a swim and cooling off from our adventures. Breakfast in the hotel is either by buffet or menu in the lower level restaurant facing the River Walk, and my son indulged in chocolate chip pancakes while we munched on Mexican omelets and drank cups of hot java. It was also really easy to hop onto the River Walk, grab a shaved ice or take a cab to the market for authentic Tex Mex from the hotel. Valet parking made it really easy for us to get in and out. The hotel is located at 306 W. Market Street  or call 1-866-435-0900 for reservations.

Eilan Hotel & Spa is located just outside the city center in the Texas Hill County and was a slice of heaven for all of us after a long day out at Schlitterbahn. Part of the Marriott collection, this boutique hotel offers comfort expected by the chain and also better rates for rooms than you would find in the city center, and it’s so worth the visit. The hotel’s architecture was inspired by the Mediterranean and is completely exquisite with pillars, marble tiling, an elegant Romanesque terrace and a winding staircase. There is a beautiful outdoor pool to use after a busy day of sightseeing and a path that goes around the hotel to take an evening stroll. Our room was air-conditioned and spacious, with two Queen-sized beds with lush linens, a desk, a coffee maker, Wifi access and a flat-screen TV. The look and feel is sophistication with an international flair. The hotel is located at 18603 La Cantera Parkway or call 855-739-4118 for reservations.

For dinner, we ate at Sustenio restaurant & bar, which was simply sublime. A farm to table restaurant, we indulged in ceviche, deviled eggs, flatbreads, southern brisket, honey fried chicken and seared salmon. It was quintessential Texan cuisine, created by Chef Stephan Pyles. We drank delicious wine and tried various appetizers and desserts – including the butterscotch pudding with salted caramel was perfection. My son, who was not a Tex Mex fan before the meal, converted after having the Tortilla Soup. It was a real culinary experience.

What to Do

We were only in San Antonio for a few days but due to the compactness of the city center, research and guidance from Visit San Antonio, the local CVB, we managed to do what we wanted to do. Here is a list of our top picks:

The River Walk

The River Walk is nearly 15 miles of winding passages along the river that can be viewed by a stroll or boat ride and is a must do. It’s literally the largest urban ecosystem restoration in the nation and it’s quite a spectacle and a welcome to any stroll (or stroller, for that matter)-loving family. Most hotels have passages that join up with the River Walk or offer steps that take you down, as ours did at The Hotel Contessa. The downtown portion is full of restaurants with outdoor patios, lovely bridges, fountains, artwork, lily pads and well-kept foliage. We passed by a Mariachi band singing and dancing in the evening and joined in and watched.

Rio San Antonio Cruises.

A good way to get orientated to both the city and the River walk is by boat, and on our first night we jumped on the Rio San Antonio Cruises. The line was long but the wait (30-40 minutes) was worth it, as it offered interesting background and provided a historical context to the area. The kids were as amused and entertained as we were, giving us views of both sides of the River Walk. The cruises run all day and tickets are quite affordable, particularly for young kids.

Sight Seeing

We took a ride around town on Alamo Trolley, a hop on/hop off tour, starting at the Alamo, and going past sites including Mission San Jose’, Mission Concepcion, Market Square and the Institute of Texan Cultures. The option of jumping off allowed for flexibility and the chance to manage our self-guided tour, making stops in La Villita, a restored art district, and St. Paul Square Historic District, where we witnessed restored, historic buildings centered around the 1902 Southern Pacific Railroad Depot and had lunch at the Guenther House’s restaurant, Pioneer Flour Mills, offering yummy American & Tex Mex fare.

King Williams District.

You can’t visit San Antonio without a trip to the Alamo, but as locals confided in me, it doesn’t take long to walk around this small monument, which was true. Founded in 1718 as the very first mission in San Antonio, it’s also the site where the Texans fought against Santa Ana’s army in 1836. Today it’s a shrine to the men who died defending it, the most famous being recognized as Jimmy Crockett (I was glad to recognize a familiar name from my childhood education). There’s a wall of history we read from start to finish which also gave us a better idea about Texan history. Before visiting the Alamo, to keep your kids interested, visit the adjacent AMC Rivercenter 11 with Alamo IMAX and catch “Alamo…The Price of Freedom.” My kids probably appreciated the movie more than the actual landmark but I was happy they got a dose of history.

Fun/Amusements

I managed our time in San Antonio wisely, giving the kids time to explore Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, the Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, Guinness World Records Museum and Tomb 3D Adventure Ride and Arcade. At Ripley’s Believe it Or Not, they wandered around the Odditorium’s 500 exhibits and rode their 4D adventure. My son particularly enjoyed Guinness, which brought his favorite books to life. We joined them in the Haunted Adventure, which was pretty horrifying.

We also paid a visit to The Witte Museum, San Antonio’s science and natural history museum. Locals told us it would give us a sense of the story of South Texas with its thousands of rare artifacts and demonstrations, and it did. There are interactive, hands-on activities, an outdoor area and climbing rock wall.

For exercise, we headed to Schlitterbahn, a water park 45 minutes outside the city center. Again, we were advised by locals to make the trip to one of the nation’s biggest water parks, featuring 4 miles of slides, chutes, water coasters, water playgrounds, pools, lazy rivers and more. The only drawback? The lines were crazy, as school hadn’t started yet in Texas.

Where Else to Eat

Market Square.

Mi Tierra, located in the very busy Market Square, must mainly cater to tourists (though we were referred by two locals), with its massively sized restaurant, Christmas lights as decor, a big bakery and Mexican singers gracing the room. The lines are long – we had to wait 45 minutes but enjoyed hanging at the bar drinking margaritas and shirley temples. We ordered big plates of chips and queso, salsa, enchiladas, tacos, beans and rice. After dinner, we walked around the market and looked at knick-knacks and other kitsch, touristy items.

Zushi Sushi was my son’s choice, as he desperately needed a change of scenery after consuming what he considered a lot of Mexican food. We negotiated by having sushi one night, a food we all love, and spent an evening devouring eel, spicy tuna rolls, avocado, and other Japanese delicacies.

See above: The Contessa Hotel, Guenther House and Sustenio

Time to Myself

I was invited to the Mokara Spa during my stay in San Antonio, so I nipped away from the family for a morning. It was just a 10-minute walk from The Contessa, where I had stayed the night before. I was treated to a complimentary Aromatherapy Massage, which was heaven on earth. The therapist used oil blends, which we chose together, and she explained how she would be applying pressures to stimulate my nervous system. Having recently had an accident where I damaged some of my muscles, I wondered if the treatment would decrease some of my muscular tension. The unique full body massage experience, drawn from a fusion of eastern and western techniques, enabled my therapist to focus on body, mind and spirit and I have truly felt better ever since.

Mokara Spa.

The Mokara Spa has received kudos from Travel & Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler, and it’s easy to see why.  They offer a complete menu of treatments and services guaranteed to restore the body and mind.  Other services include massage therapy, body treatments, facials, manicures, pedicures and hair care services. They also have sanctuary lounges where I sat with a warm compress over my eyes, under a wool blanket and hot tubs, a steam room and sauna where I veg’d out. The spa is located at 212 West Crockett Street. You must book an appointment today to have your own lavish, fulfilling Mokara experience, by calling 210-396-5840 or 800-830-1500. 

Overall, San Antonio was quite memorable. If you’re planning to visit, you only need a few days, but make the most of them, just like we did.

Disclosure: Some of the items mentioned in this post were complimentary, such as the two hotel visits, the spa treatment, the meal at Sustenio, our visit to many of the attractions in San Antonio including Schlitterbahn.

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(If there are typos in this post, I may offer the excuse of having one hand, but I promise to proof-read before I hit “publish”.)

There is just too much to love about this show. Not only do you have Jane Fonda, who plays Grace, and Lily Tomlin, but also Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston, who play their husbands who reveal they are gay and love each other. They’re all nearing old age and a new definition of “family”. The results are hilarious and heart-numbing at the same time.

(Note: the word “numbing” has a particularly close relationship to describe my physical state the day after surgery.)

The show is one of the first I’ve seen in a long time, I suppose since the lovable Golden Girls, that reflects accurately the perils of aging. These characters are in what is unquestionably the last few chapters of their lives and are trying to find the shoe that fits best. I may only be in my 40s, but I often wonder what will become of me down the road when my children grow up and leave home. My husband and I will have been together for many years and we will have decisions to make about our respective futures. It’s about friendship – Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda leaning on each other for support whilst embarking on a solo journey for the first time ever. And on the side, Sam Waterson (who I adore!) and Martin Sheen who have waited 20 years to come out, to avoid hurting their loved ones.

The chemistry between Fonda and Tomlin is as good as it was 30+ years ago in Nine to Five. It’s like watching old friends re-enact what life will be like for me in 30-odd years. There are so many amazing lines that come out of their mouths, like these:

“Is there a group for wives of husbands who turn gay in their 70s?”

“Who hasn’t wondered about Ben and Jerry?”

“If anyone is gonna sit on Ryan Gosling‘s face, it’s gonna be me.”

There are really too many good ones to mention but the writing by Marta Kauffmam, as are Tomlin and Fonda muttering them with dignity and zest.

And me, I want to grow old gracefully and honestly like these four wonderful characters,

Go watch it! And let me know what you think about how media depicts aging in the comments below.

Disclosure: I’m a member of the #StreamTeam and receive complimentary Netflix service but all opinions are my own.

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