things to do in new jersey – Pearls and Paris

On November 8, 2017 ‘A Night for Puerto Rico’ was held at the beautiful Crystal Plaza in Livingston, NJ.

‘A Night for Puerto Rico’ was an evening where we could get together to celebrate our love for an island that so many of us consider a second home as well as to raise money to help rebuild and help as many people as we could. 100% of the proceeds were donated to two local charities that are doing so much to help the people of Puerto Rico and have been since the day Hurricane Maria made landfall:

Hispanic Law Enforcement Society of Essex County & Tainas Undias

When the idea of hosting something to raise money for Puerto Rico popped into my mind, I wasn’t really sure what to expect or really how everything would come together… I just knew I had to help in some way. I am beyond proud of how everything came out but also THANKFUL.Thankful that so many people came out to support this event that Lissy and I put in countless hours to plan as well so many companies, brands and vendors that donated their time and merchandise to help us raise the most money possible.

Do you want to know how much we raised?!

$10,680!!!!

We were able to raise this amount because of the team that we had behind us supporting us in any way they could. I have to send a special thank you to the Janoff Family, who own and operate the Crystal Plaza, Marisol Alvarez (my mom) for the amazing decor, Robert Alvarez, owner of RAD Rhythms, for the great music, Mystical Entertainment for providing a photo booth for the evening with an incredible flower wall as the backdrop and a few of our family and friends who helped at the door. I also have to thank each and every person who donated monetarily or purchased a ticket to attend – because of you ‘A Night for Puerto Rico’ was possible.

I also owe endless thanks to all of the people and brands who donated an item to the tricky tray portion of the evening: (In no particular order) K. Macken Landscaping, The Lantern Fest, Lure Lash, Neiman Marcus Short Hills, Liberty Science Center, Montclair Museum, Melz Photography, Brooklyn Brewery, NY Red Bulls, Nubian Heritage, Munchkin, Aldo + Christina Sanchez, IT Cosmetics, Megan + Anthony Rivera, Nourished Meal Prep, Jocelyn Russo Group, Ryan Udvarhely, Cafe Bustelo, Cyndee Rodriguez Johnson, Fitness 121, Amanda Charise Rivera, Michele Kozlow + Tommy Hilfiger Stores #230/ #188, BLO Lounge, Maria Alvarez Jamberry, Lucia Viola, Michelle Reyes, KARMA for a cure, Bloomingdales Short Hills, Craig Brady Jewelry, Away Luggage, Emily Ackerman and Maeve Grey.

We also had a great set of vendors that participated in the evening – The Favor Studio, Mary K by Christine, Mecca Medical, Dot Dot Smile by Patrice, LuLaRoe by Sabrina, Deux Amies USA, Candles by Jennifer, LuLaRoe by Surelle, and Stikz Cigar Lounge.

Here are a few photos from the evening:

The QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning is the largest summertime hot air balloon and music festival in North America and it took place this past weekend, July 28-30th.

Every summer I tell myself I’m going to make it out there and I honestly don’t know why – but it just never worked out. This year though I knew I had to make it happen! Some of my family from North Jersey as well as Pennsylvania wanted to join so we decided to attend on Sunday and 100% knew we wanted to make it there for the 6:30am balloon ascension.

I was really surprised by how many people were already on line and waiting for the gate to open at 6am sharp. There was only 1 balloon setting up and I noticed people gravitating towards that section so we went further out since we knew a lot more would be coming and it allowed us to have our pick of where we wanted to set our chairs.

Seeing the balloons blowing up and then taking off was a breathtaking experience. The weather was absolutely perfect too which was a plus. While the balloons may be the main attraction for this festival there is so much to do for all ages throughout the day/night. There was a ton of rides and inflatables for kids, arts & crafters, magicians, fireworks, concerts, food vendors and the list goes on. One of my favorite activities was the tethered balloon ride which I made sure to get on. Overall I am kicking myself for waiting so long to attend The QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning! I will 10000% be there again next year. Click HERE to bookmark their website so you stay up to date with next years festival. If you are interested in booking a hot air balloon ride (which I HIGHLY recommend, I have done it before and the experience is like no other!) you will want to do so early on. Here are some shots from my day: