When I first moved in with my husband (back when we were boyfriend/girlfriend) we fell in love with IKEA’s style so basically our whole apartment came from IKEA.  The furniture was cheap, pretty good quality and very hip and stylish.  Everyone that would come over loved every piece of furniture, bookcase and/or picture frame. They couldn’t believe it all came from IKEA.

I wanted to share with all of you that IKEA is having two great promotions going on this week.

One will be held in their Paramus, NJ store to celebrate their 7th anniversary and the other event will be held in New York City.

IKEA’s Paramus, NJ Event Details:

Come to IKEA Paramus from Thursday, July 15 through Saturday, July 17, for fantastic anniversary specials, including:

• 20 – 60% off select items throughout the store
• FREE Home Deliveries on purchases over $500 (Zone 1 only, see a Home Delivery Coworker for details)
• A chance to win a $250 IKEA Gift Card
• FREE fun family activities all weekend long!
• Kids 12 & under eat FREE all weekend!
• FREE breakfast on Saturday, July 17, from 9:30a – 10:30a in the IKEA Paramus Restaurant!

We have a newly remodeled Showroom that will provide you with brand new ideas and inspiration for your home. These special offers are only available at IKEA Paramus for three days only.

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IKEA’s New York City “Organize Your Living, Organize Your Life” Event Details:

Dates:
Thursday, July 15 (10:00 to 8:00 p.m.)
Friday, July 16, 2010 (10:00 to 6:00 p.m.)

Location:
159 W. 25th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues)

IKEA, the expert in organizing life at home, is hosting a FREE two-day public exhibit in New York City to showcase surprising new ways to improve life at home with inspirational organizational solutions that are smart, easy and affordable.

Come visit us to preview new products and ideas from the 2011 IKEA Catalog, and attend special seminars on organizational topics with experts including Cortney and Robert Novogratz of Bravo’s “9 by Design” show, and editors from Meredith publications including Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle and Traditional Home.

For more details, and to RSVP for seminars (limited spots available; RSVP starts July 7), visit www.organizeyourliving.com. Or visit them on Facebook to RSVP there.

Apple has turned iPhone/iPod Touch users crazy with literally thousands of apps available to download. Whether it’s free or a hundred bucks, people are going nuts over apps.  Ever since I got my new iPod Touch for my birthday, I have been going “app crazy” too.  I can’t help it.  I have apps for games, social media, emails, coupons, recipes and even apps for everything in New York City.   The list can go on and on. The best apps, in my opinion, are the ones that are free because if you don’t like the app, you can simply delete them without any worries that you spent your hard-earned cash for a useless app.

I remember before getting my iPod Touch, I was kind of jealous of all those cool apps that everyone was getting and playing with.  I absolutely loved the Apple commercial where you see someone playing the roller coaster game.  I kept telling my husband, I’ve got to have that! Like the commercial you see on TV; “there’s an app for that”, I truly believe there is an app for almost anything. I’m excited to share my top 5 apps that I think will be useful, easy to navigate and that are 100% free for all the New York City tourists and locals as well.

1. NYC Way – My most favorite app for New York City.  It’s perfect for tourists and residents because it’s based on where you are. You get more than thirty apps in one and it includes places to eat, nearby movie theaters, local news, nearest WiFi spot, tourism, recreations and lots more.

2. Time Out New York (TONY) – Another great app.  This has a “locate me”, sort of like a GPS so it can find what you’re looking for based on where you are.  You can easily search through neighborhoods such as Astoria, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Chinatown or Coney Island.  Any neighborhood in the five boroughs is in one app!  You can also follow them on Twitter.

3. BeeLoop: New York City at a Glance – This app is great for those of you who want to find New York City, at a glance.  It’s simple and to the point. You can search for NYC’s history and culture, night life, lodging, things to see and of course, eat.  It includes over a hundred places and lets you view the address, phone number and information on the venue as well.

4. UpNext – It’s a virtual city right in the palm of your hands.  You can view neighborhoods such as the Meatpacking District, Chelsea, Soho, Tribeca, Upper West & East side and lots more.  You can also zoom in to view each building and find out what’s inside when you double tap your screen.  It even allows you to add a business if there is a new store that just opened up.

5. Scene Seeker – New York City – Have you ever visited a place and wonder where a scene was filmed?  I am a movie guru especially when it comes to movies that were filmed in the streets of New York City – I guess that stems from being a New Yorker for over thirty years.  This app contains complete address information, interactive map, pictures and information about the film locations of movies and TV shows.  If you ever wanted to know a certain scene that was filmed on Sex in the City, this app will take you right to the exact same spot!

Watching movies is something I do every week with my family or even alone with my wonderful husband.  It’s a time where we unwind and enjoy time together.

Redbox has given us many opportunities to watch movies for free with all the promotional codes they provide.  At New York Chica, we love free, especially when it comes to movies.

So, we are giving away 2 promotional codes to 1 lucky winner.  Entering will be easy.

All you have to do is tell us what is your all-time favorite movie.

That’s it.

Winners will be selected randomly by Random.org and will be chosen on Wednesday, March 24th at Noon.

Redbox codes expire March 27th.

Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for this giveaway. The promotional codes were given to me.

I just received an email about a great event that is happening this weekend on March 20, 2010.  The Children’s Museum of Manhattan will be offering free entry to everyone all day this Saturday from 10am to 5pm.  It’s an all day event to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

The museum is located at 212 W. 83rd. St. by the 1 and 9 train.  For those of you who have strollers (for the little ones), please keep in mind there will be limited space so come early or let your kids roam around and leave the strollers at home .

They will have different activities for everyone such as Yoga for kids presented by Olay, Pampers will be sponsoring a Kid’s Zone, Story Circle from 12-12:30pm, Baby Loves Salsa from 1-2pm and lots more!

For more information, visit www.cmom.org.

I don’t know about you but I just love free stuff, I mean who doesn’t? So when I opened my emails this morning to find out a great deal from one of my favorite stores, Bath and Body Works, needless to say, I was ecstatic!

Here’s the deal:

With any $10 purchase, you can get any FREE Signature Collection Body Care item online and in-stores just by printing out this coupon.  You can click HERE to print it out.  You have until February 21st so you have a few weeks.

Limit one offer per customer.  Tell your friends and family about this amazing deal!!

And as always, Happy Shopping!

Everyone loves chocolate, right? I  know I do.  I have to eat chocolate every week.  I know it’s fattening but it relaxes me.  So when I do have the urge to eat chocolate, I always go for Hershey’s.  It’s rich, creamy and there’s nothing like it.  I was super excited when I heard that Hershey’s was GIVING away free chocolate.  It was hard to believe so I had to get on it.  So far, I’ve received 4 coupons for free chocolate.

You must be asking why is Hershey’s doing this? Well, Hershey’s is trying  to help people get through this awful recession so they came up with the “Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act”. They will be GIVING away a free chocolate bar to the first 250,000 people that register on their site every FRIDAY starting at 9AM.

Click HERE to get your coupon!

If you want to read why they’re giving away free chocolate, click  HERE.

In the August edition of Elle Magazine, there is a coupon card for a free t-shirt.  It’s their way of supporting text-free driving.  They want us to focus on driving so that we can get to our destination safely (we should already be doing this).

This is their motto that they want us to follow (and should be):

I promise to stop, hang up, focus, and just drive.  I vow to hit the road now and text later!

By showing your support, all you have to do is take the card to any Express store, buy a pair of jeans, and get your FREE T-shirt, or go to EXPRESS.COM/RADD for more details.

Don’t forget to spread the word and stay safe on the road!!

My friend Mercedes over at Common Sense with Money found a great deal and I want my readers to take full advantage of it too.

If you click HERE, you can request a free quart of Glidden paint, Eggshell finish in any color.

Click HERE to read the full article for complete details.