World Burger Tour at Hard Rock Cafe

May 20, 2016 by Melissa

Who doesn’t love a good burger? I can’t tell you how many times in a week I ask Rob what he wants for dinner and he says ” a big juicy burger”. I can’t always accommodate but we have a few local spots we try to visit or create our own masterpiece at home for the grill. So when Hard Rock Cafe came to me and asked if we wanted to test out the World Burger Tour that seemed like a easy answer.

“Hard Rock is bringing its menu to life and offering a unique burger experience that takes guests’ taste buds on an international journey. Hard Rock, in conjunction with global experience agency RPMC, is offering a World Burger Tour travel package that includes stops at iconic cities including Seattle, United States; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Athens, Greece; and London, England. This four-stop, once-in a lifetime excursion celebrates the cities that inspired Hard Rock’s World Burger Tour”

Throughout May and June, Hard Rock Cafe menus* will feature the following World Burger Tour offerings:

English Breakfast Burger (London, England)– a Certified Angus Beef® patty topped with sliced ham, a sausage patty, a fried egg, a portobello mushroom, arugula and garlic aioli and served with a side of baked beans
Java Lava Burger(Seattle, United States) – a Certified Angus Beef patty grilled and dressed in a house-made espresso rub and topped with lava sauce, crunchy java onions, bacon, melted Cheddar cheese and garnished with a fried jalapeño
Tandoori Chicken Burger (Mumbai, India)– a dark meat chicken patty seasoned with aromatic spices and fresh herbs, topped with mint mayonnaise and served with a side of cucumber
Jamaican Jerk Burger (Montego Bay, Jamaica) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with banana pepper rings, mango jalapeño cream cheese and jerk mayonnaise
ATOMIC! Burger (Las Vegas, United States) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with Atomic beer-battered peppers, pepper jack cheese, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, garlic chipotle ketchup and chipotle mayonnaise
Tango Salsa Burger (Buenos Aires, Argentina) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with andouille sausage, Monterey Jack cheese, chips de batata, a fried egg, salsa criolla and garlic aioli
Greek Burger (Athens, Greece) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with arugula, feta cheese and a tomato slice
Aloha Burger (Honolulu, United States) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with Portuguese sausage, Monterey Jack cheese, a grilled pineapple ring with sweet soy glaze, guacamole, pico de gallo, served with Furikake french fries

Rob and I scheduled a date day on a rainy Sunday in Philadelphia. We walked center city, did a little shopping and finally headed in for an early dinner. If you’ve never been to a Hard Rock Cafe you’ll be taken back by the decor. It’s bold and screams rock and roll. I have a thing for ceilings and was immediately drawn to the copper tiles and HUGE sun-like lamps. There were purple drapes held back with chains and music inspired gear all over the walls. Everything you’d expect from a Hard Rock Cafe.

It was a rainy gloomy Sunday but surprisingly it was quite crowded. There were tables of people from all backgrounds. Doesn’t music bring everyone together? We sat down and waited for our server. There was no mention of the World Burger Tour anywhere. No table card, no extra menu, no add-in to the existing menu. When our server arrived we asked and he said the only burger they were offering was the Tango Salsa Burger. I gave him a weird look cause I was really hoping to order a couple different burgers and try them all.

We settled on that burger and a few other things. First to come out was the Jumbo Combo. Who doesn’t love a little bit of everything.

A collection of our most popular appetizers: Signature Wings, Onion Rings, Tupelo Chicken Tenders, Southwest spring rolls and bruschetta. Served with honey mustard, hickory barbecue and blue cheese dressing.

Our meals came out and Rob commandeered the burger right away.

Tango Salsa Burger (Buenos Aires, Argentina) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with andouille sausage, Monterey Jack cheese, chips de batata, a fried egg, salsa criolla and garlic aioli.

I didn’t get to taste it. He ate it before I got to even ask for a bite. Instead I ordered the MARGHERITA FLATBREAD. I ate half of it along with the side of Parmesan Fries I ordered. I’m a french fry junkie. Rob also ordered a side of specialty fries. While the burger was GONE we were able to take home all the extra food and feed 2 of our kids for dinner. Portions are definitely on the larger size.

If you’re close to a Hard Rock Cafe check out their World Burger Tour and let us know your favorite. I know you’re not going to pass up on the fries either so let us know which flavor you chose too.

The Science Behind Pixar at The Franklin Institute Ticket Giveaway

April 19, 2016 by Melissa

For so many years our family has been enjoying The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. It isn’t just one of the oldest museums in the country, it’s the leading museum for innovation, science and technology. Known for it’s interactive learning and entertaining exhibits their newest, The Science Behind Pixar might be their best yet.

The Science Behind Pixar is a behind the scenes look at how the movies are made beyond just humor and entertainment. This exhibit focuses on the science, technology, engineering, math, artistry and creativity that goes into each scene. With over 40 interactive exhibits guests will have the opportunity to learn about the film-making process from where it all started, Toy Story to their latest box office hit, Inside Out. You’ll be able to see and hear first hand what goes into creating some of Pixar’s most loved characters from members of the actual production teams. This demonstration of ultimate creativity, imagination and storytelling is something you don’t want to miss.

Exhibit Highlights:

In Sets & Cameras, visitors will discover how a bugs-eye view was achieved for A Bug’s Life by viewing an actual set from a bug’s perspective through a viewing portal and then using camera angles and large-set design techniques on a touch-screen computer.
Visitors will learn how Toy Story’s digital sculptures are created based on sketches from artists in Modeling.
Visitors will enter a scene from Finding Nemo in Lighting to solve challenges similar to what Pixar artists faced in creating animated water with virtual light.
Rigging showcases how the models are given a virtual skeleton to enable the animators to add movement. Here, visitors can see a virtual model of Sulley from Monsters, Inc., which has 30,000 posable points.
In Surfaces visitors can immerse themselves in the techniques behind adding color and texture to every surface in a film by designing “skins” for computer models of characters from Cars.

The Science Behind Pixar at The Franklin Institute

March 12 – September 5, 2016

Daytime Tickets (Includes General Admission to The Franklin Institute) Adults $29.95; Children (ages 3-11) $24.95

Evening Tickets (Thursday-Saturday; 5pm-9pm)

Adults $19.95; Children (ages 3-11) $14.95

Use promo code MBPIXAR* to receive $5.00 off up to 4 adult, daytime tickets to The Science Behind Pixar. To redeem the code, contact The Franklin Institute at 215-448-1200 or visit fi.edu.

Our family has been invited to view the exhibit in the next coming weeks. We’ll share our experience on all of our social media channels and hope you follow along or visit The Franklin Institute if you have the chance. To make it easier for you to visit on your own we’re giving our readers a chance to win 4-pack of tickets to The Franklin Institute and The Science Behind Pixar.

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NRG Energy & Lincoln Financial Field

December 8, 2014 by Melissa

For my 40th birthday I experienced a first; I attended my first NFL football game. Rob and I were able to attend the Philadelphia Eagles vs Tennessee Titans at Lincoln Financial Field on November 23rd. Philadelphia fans are notorious for being aggressive and rowdy especially to opposing teams so we were a tad nervous walking up to the stadium. As you can see Rob is a Titans fan.

We supported our hometeam too by wearing Connor Barwin jerseys. He’s my football crush this year and somehow I’ve wrangled Rob into watching his plays too. Barwin plays with so much heart and passion, he’s becoming a leader on the field. That’s the kind of player I look up to.
Being at the stadium to watch the game was so much fun and we never felt like we were going to be bothered by being Titans fans. In fact in our section there were about 6 other Titans fans proudly displaying their hats, jersey’s and blankets.

The Lincoln Financial Field is a fairly new addition to the area, just opening in 2003. It’s one of the most state of the art sports complexes out there. It’s part of the largest solar array in the area and the biggest of any other stadium housing 11,000 solar panels and 14 wind turbines; generating more than 3MW of power. That’s 4times more than they can use in a season so the renewable energy is sold back to the area.

Not only are the solar panels functional they are visually stunning making the “Linc” a gorgeous landmark for Philadelphia. All of the visually-stunning panels and turbines NRG Energy brought to life at Lincoln Financial Field are important to the future of energy, with each panel and turbine serving as a tangible representation of the clean energy solutions NRG champions in our communities.

The partnership between the Philadelphia Eagles and NRG Energy is one that is beneficial to everyone involved. They’ve introduced sustainability in a new and attractive way that demonstrates the ability to incorporate a green future that positively affects many.

Learn more about NRG Energy and how you can incorporate sustainable energy in your own home with NRG Home

Macy’s Holiday Window Display Unveil Philadelphia

November 18, 2014 by Melissa

It’s time for our family to get into the Christmas Holiday spirit. We’re planning to spend our Saturday with Macy’s in Center City Philadelphia as they debut their holiday window display. We’ll head in-store for a variety of family friendly activities, events, celebrity spottings and of course a visit from Santa himself.

Since the early 1870s, Macy’s has been stunning visitors with its festive holiday window displays and exciting family friendly events. Center City Philadelphia was the first store to ever feature holiday windows created for the pure fun and joy of the season and the tradition that still lives on today.

Available at every Macy’s store is the Believe, Write a Letter to Santa campaign. Have your child their letter to Santa and help make wishes come true. Macy’s will count all the letters received and donate $1 for each to Make-A-Wish(R), up to a total of $1,000,000.

Find out other ways your local stores are celebrating the season and don’t miss the fun. Be sure to make new memories with your family and hopefully start new traditions.

NRG Energy Eagles Fan Plan Giveaway

November 13, 2014 by Melissa

As the official energy partner of the Philadelphia Eagles, NRG is pleased to provide its customers with the Eagles Fan Plan. The energy provider wants to reward its customers and ultimate Eagles fans by offering competitive pricing, sustainable energy solutions and exclusive Eagles fan gear.

NRG Home is now available to power your home (in select markets) with rebate programs, green energy options and secure & flexible pricing plans to work with your budget. Take a peek at options that might be available to you.

Football Plan

Authentic Team Merchandise
5% Solar-Generated Electricity
12 Months of Fixed Pricing

Essentials Plan

$25 Enrollment Bonus
1% Cash Back Quarterly
25% Wind-Generated Electricity
Month-to-month Variable with
3 Months of Promotional Introductory Pricing

Renewable Plan

Ongoing Goal Zero rewards quarterly ($339.96 MSRP)
100% Wind-Generated Energy
12 Months of Fixed Pricing

As a subscriber to the Eagles Fan Plan users will be eligible for a 2¢ Sunday perk. This one-time rebate represents a refund back to a 2¢ per kWh supply price for all estimated Sunday usage during your first six months of electricity service.

Unfortunately NRG’s Eagles Fan Plan is only available in the Philadelphia (and select surrounding areas) market. While you may be an Eagles fan on the west coast this service is not available to you at this time. Contact them directly to see what is available now or what might be coming to your neighborhood in the future.

Never fear though because NRG wants to reward an Eagles Fan no matter where they live. Enter the LookWhatMomFound.com Eagles Prize Pack giveaway. It includes an Eagles jersey and autographed Connor Barwin football. Just tell me who your favorite Eagle is, past or present.

A photo posted by Connor Barwin (@connorbarwin98) on Jul 7, 2014 at 6:49am PDT

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Your entries must follow the rules or they won’t be eligible for prizes. This contest ends 11:59 pm, Thursday, December 4, 2014. The winners will be emailed and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. This contest is open to Contiguous US residents, age 18 or over. For complete rules please read our blog contest rules page.

It’s easy with Five Star Home Foods

September 16, 2014 by Melissa

With 2 months of successful meal plans and delicious dinners using Five Star Home Foods I wanted to share more information about the plan itself.

Five Star Home Foods is a home delivery service for frozen foods. This includes meats & poultry, fish, vegetables, side dishes and prepared entrees. These are the same high quality foods you’ll find while dining out instead they are prepped to give you the ease and flexibility to “dine out” at home. Pricing is determined by the products you choose, the size of your family and your budget. You are in control.

About every 3 months a Five Star Delivery Specialist arrives with YOUR menu of food items to stock your freezer. Your new order is rotated with your existing items so there are never any surprises lurking in the back. Food items such as chicken breasts, crab cakes or twice stuffed potatoes are individually packaged and sealed to provided ultimate freshness and convenience. After proper temperature controlled processing of your food items are flash frozen at -50°.

At dinner time you’re meats are tender, juicy and full of flavor due to all the measures already taken. It’s foolproof. The next step is to find that just right recipe.

Citrus Salsa Steak

Ingredients

1 1/2 Lbs. London Broil
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Chopped Green Onions
3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/8 Teaspoon Hot Pepper Sauce
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic

SALSA:
2 Navel Oranges (sectioned, peeled and chopped)
2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Chopped Green Onions
2 Tablespoons Cider and Red Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Chopped Lemon
1 Tablespoon Chopped Lime
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Fresh Cilantro (chopped)
1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Preparation

In a large resealable bag, mix all six ingredients and add the london broil. Seal and refrigerate at least two hours. (overnight is preferable) Drain and discard the marinade. Grill or broil the london broil for 4-6 minutes on each side.

To prepare the salsa, simply combine the salsa ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Cut steak in thin slices and serve with the salsa. Enjoy!

There is no advertising of Five Star Home Foods. Their business is built on word of mouth from happy customers sharing their experience to their friends and family. The referral method has worked well for 25 years and they aren’t changing much to that.

Are you interested in learning more? Check out the Five Star Home Foods menu of foods and schedule a consultation with a specialist. Mine is Jay, a customer turned employee who was patient and knowledgeable about the whole process and the food.

Five Star in headquartered in King of Prussia, PA and services the entire Delaware Valley. In Pennsylvania, Five Star delivers as far west as the York and Harrisburg areas and as far north as the Poconos. Five Star also delivers to all of South Jersey, the entire state of Delaware, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Five Star also has the ability to ship orders all across the USA.

Please feel free to call 1-800-246-5405 to inquire about home delivery to your area.

Summer at Longwood Gardens

August 18, 2014 by Melissa

Almost 2 years ago I was invited to be a Star Blogger at Longwood Gardens. Since then we’ve used our complimentary membership a handful of times to take in the gorgeous displays and nature scenes. With over 1000 acres of meticulously manicured gardens, fountain areas, a greenhouse, woodlands and exhibits it’s definitely a must see attraction in the Philadelphia area not just during the summer but any season really.

The history of Longwood Gardens runs deep and it what makes this botanical garden so special.

The kids and I recently visited for a relaxing day out. We went to see the new Meadow Garden, an 86 acre span of native wildflowers with walking trails, butterflies and pavilions.

The Conservatory is an exploration in art using nature. This stately greenhouse is home to multiple exhibits and displays throughout the year including the iconic Christmas display in the main conservatory. The dramatic palette of colors is tended to throughout the day and changes with the seasons. The waterlily display is open till October.

The Indoor Children’s Garden is a pint sized collection of fountains, sculptures and interactive displays but it lacks in size it makes up for in imagination.

The Trial Garden this year is full of striking and colorful Zinnias, Cannas, Clemantis, Dahlias, Salvias and more. This garden is used to see what can be cultivated successfully for future displays and exhibits. Zinnias scored high so I’ll be eagerly waiting to see more of them in coming years.

If you’re ever in the Philadelphia/Brandywine Valley Area stop at Longwood Gardens is highly recommended.

ConKerr Cancer Pajama Party Recap

May 6, 2014 by Melissa

Sometimes it takes just a small gesture to make a big impact.

In 2002 a young man, Ryan was diagnosed with cancer. Throughout 6years of treatments, recurrences, surgery and therapy his mother stood by him to create some light in his world. This came in the form of a homemade pillowcase. This separated his pillow from the rest in the hospital and made his stays a bit more inviting and warm. This sparked the start of ConKerr Cancer, and their efforts to bring a smile to every child’s face that is going through similar battles with cancer and other illness.

This past March was the 2nd ConKerr Cancer Pajama Party. We were invited to be Ambassadors to share the news of the event and bring awareness of how simple it is to do something for a child in need. We attended the party at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. From the start I never would’ve guessed this event was only in its 2nd year. The participation and attendance was amazing.

The community rallied together to donate their time and money for this cause. Throughout the evening 1000 guest were invited to explore the museum, enjoy local food and drinks, sew pillowcases, mingle with local celebrities and athletes, bid on auctions and play with animals from the Philadelphia Zoo.

Sabreena was the first to sew a pillowcase with the help of some volunteers.

We thoroughly enjoyed the event and were proud to be a part of such a phenomenal organization.

Learn more about ConKerr Cancer and how you can donate or volunteer.

#MacysProm Event at King of Prussia Mall

April 10, 2014 by Melissa

We are in the height of prom season, at least it is in most other high school senior households. I’ve just been informed that Sabreena isn’t going. No real reason except she doesn’t feel like spending so much money for one night. I tell her she’s going to regret it but I can’t force her to go. That didn’t stop us from first attending the #MacysProm and trying on dresses.

King of Prussia Mall, one of the best malls in the country, own Macy’s store hosted the #MacysProm runway show this past Saturday. We had the best seats in the house so we got the best shots of every dress that was strutted down the runway. I didn’t know what to expect but DJ Arun was playing awesome music and the models were walking to the tunes of Jackson Harris. It’s been many years since my prom, in fact I went to 5 of them. Each of them in very different dresses, from Black Mermaid to Teal ballgown to Glitzy White to Sexy Red. This year the trends seem to just as diverse.

Macy’s says Sherbet colors are hot this year. Personally I think they always are especially for prom. It’s a fresh bight burst of color that is eye catching and shows up well in photos.

Something Blue was a collection of, you guessed it, blue hued gowns and social dresses. My favorite of the day is the short tulle and sequin navy dress. Did you catch the little serenade by Jackson Harris, so sweet.

Every girl is pretty in pink. The flowing layers stood out on the runway. I especially loved the organza weaving on the bodice of the long pale pink gown.

Sabreena’s favorite collection was Vintage and Lace. She’s got an old soul when it comes to clothing and accessories. Every formal dress she’s ever purchased has been lace of some sort.

After the show we headed to the dress department for a little dress-up play ourselves. Sabreena loved this beaded dress. It was similar to one that was on the runway. If only it came in a deeper hue she might’ve been talked into going to prom this year.

Join @ConKerrCancer PJ Party, Philadelphia Please Touch Museum

February 18, 2014 by Melissa

While a world free of cancer would be a dream come true right now we have to focus on research, compassion and treatment. Bringing smiles to the faces of those working through diagnosis, healing and living is one of the best ways to show support and kindness.

ConKerr Cancer was created to bring smiles to some of the 44,000 children in the US that are going through cancer treatments each year. Their mission is to bring a smiles to children with life changing illnesses and to make them feel special.

ConKerr Cancer provides children with their own special pillowcase to help brighten hospital stays. For a child a hospital can be a scary place. It may be unfamiliar, cold and intimidating but something as simple as bright and cheery pillowcase can soothe and comfort.

On March 21, 2014 my family has been invited to join other families in the Philadelphia area at the ConKerr Cancer Pajama Party at The Please Touch Museum. The night is put together to celebrate special kids, the PJ Party Stars, and their families with a fun night dancing, silly picture taking, meeting celebrities and even sewing pillowcases. All of the fun will be had in our jammies.

If you are interested in attending the Pajama Party or sponsoring a child in treatment to attend tickets are available for just $25.

Donations are always accepted also. Any contribution is welcome and will bring a smile to a sick child.

They spend day after frightening day stuck in a hospital room when they should be outside playing with friends. And each and every day, ConKerr Cancer volunteers work selflessly to bring them comfort and smiles through a simple act of love called a pillowcase.

If you are local to the Philadelphia area and want to join us for this event we’re giving away 2 tickets. Let me know if your family has been affected by pediatric cancer in any way?
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To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED entry above. Please note the changes to the entries and frequency, entries that don’t follow rules may be disregarded/ignored/deleted

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Your entries must follow the rules or they won’t be eligible for prizes. This contest ends 11:59 pm, Wednesday, March 12, 2014. The winners will be emailed and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. This contest is open to Contiguous US residents, age 18 or over. For complete rules please read our blog contest rules page.

Citrus Salsa Steak

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