Over the past two years, these one-of-a-kind, and whimsical plush monsters have made their way into the hands (and beds) of hundreds of happy little sleepers while being made by hand from Erin’s home in Queens NY. The business thrived initially through word-of-mouth and craft fairs, and then cultivated a steady online clientele after launching their website. They now celebrate a growing brick and mortar presence at the Jewish Museum in New York City and a bevy of boutiques around the country. Their daughter , six year-old Astoria native , is the inventive force behind Lyla Tov Monsters. Lyla Tov (“Good night” in Hebrew) Monsters were conceived by a then three year-old, Lyla Black, when deciding her Daddy really needed a good Monster as a holiday gift. Lyla drew a picture and asked her mom to, “make it real.” Fortunately, Erin Black, is a masterful textile tactician, winning two Emmy’s for costuming on Sesame Street, and later teaching costuming at NYU. The first Lyla Tov Monster was created and joyously received by Lyla’s father, Eric. “I was awed by her creativity and dedication,” said Eric Black. “So much so, that I actually said ‘awww’ when I got my Monster. I was so impressed with both Lyla’s creative vision and Erin’s willingness to help her put it together. Then we thought, who better to fight bad monsters and childhood fears than good monsters?” remarked Black.

The Lyla Tov Kickstarter campaign has been almost completely funded but you can still get in on the action and receive a unique monster made by this amazing local mom. Kickstarter funds are only distributed if the campaign reaches its goal, so Lyla Tov Monsters will offer creative incentives to entice potential backers, such as: exclusive Lyla Tov Monster pins, the opportunity to own one of the first limited-edition Lyla Tov Monsters, one-of-a-kind Lyla Tov Monsters, and the chance to attend the Lyla Tov Monster launch party “Demand is a great problem to have, but we find ourselves running out of production room, manpower, and funding to reach the next level,” said Erin Black. “We want all kids to have a good night’s sleep, but in order to grow we need help. We hope our fans will want to help us reach our goal, spread the good Monster message, and have a good night’s sleep,” Black continued.

Using the entire Monster experience as a teaching tool for their children, Erin and Eric Black donate a portion of all Monster sales to children’s charities of Lyla’s choice. More information may be found at www.lylatov.com.

The Lyla Tov Monster Kickstarter Campaign runs  June 4 – August 12, 2013, with a goal of raising more than $15,000 on the crowdfunding site to produce a limited-edition factory run of two Lyla-designed Monsters.

In late March, KFC launched the Li’l Playground Makeover Facebook Contest and invited fans to enter to win makeovers for their local community playgrounds. Now, the winning playgrounds are on their way to getting some TLC, courtesy of KFC. “We received stories and photos from some very deserving organizations,” said Jason Marker, Chief Marketing Officer for KFC U.S. “KFC is pleased to be able to give ‘a li’l help’ to these playgrounds, and help make them even better places for the children in these communities.” The two grand prize-winning playgrounds are located in St. Clair, Mo., and Broad Channel, Queens, N.Y.

Nominated by a local mom, Jennifer Mungeer entered the contest on behalf of the Broad Channel community and the Gene Gray Playground. In Broad Channel, the community will use their $11,000 grant to rebuild a playground that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.  “Every house in this area was destroyed. I want to help make a positive impact for the children of the community that have seen so much destruction.” Mungeer said. “We want to make this a place of joy so kids can focus on being kids again.”

As part of KFC’s new Li’l Bucket Kids Meal launch, educators, administrators and community members from all around the country were invited to enter the contest in hopes of winning a makeover for their school/local community playground. Nominated by Broad Channel resident who wanted to make a difference in her community, Gene Gray Playground is among 5 lucky winners from across the nation. The $11,000 grant will be used to rebuild the parks infrastructure, which was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. KFC is thrilled to help make a difference for the children of Broad Channel and provide a space where kids can be kids again!

SEO – Search Engine Optimization…. it sounds fancy, buy it’s really not.

If you have a website then you must know at least a small amount of Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the fancy way of saying that Google and all search engines for that matter, are word search tools. They only search words, words that will direct the reader in the right direction toward what they are looking for and what it most relevant to them. For this reason, a potential client will likely not be searching for “your company name” they will be searching for “specific product or service”. For this reason you must consider if your website describes (in words) what it is you provide. Fancy graphics and photos will not allow Google to find you let alone your clients. There are countless articles about SEO online and to learn more…. simply Google it! Make sense? Ok, let’s move on.

Add and Maintain Your Title Tags- What Searchers See When they Google You

A Title Tag is essentially the title that search engines pick up and present to the general public when they search for content. Remember, Google is a word search tool only, it does not search images, video, and documents unless specific words are attached to the file. Your title tag is located at the very top top top of your web page when you visit it and it it the title of the article when the site is searched. All of your title tags should NOT be the name of your business as it likely does not reflect the type of business you do, make sense? Look at this page right now and see if you can find our title tag. The name of this article is “Business Series: How to Improve Your Web Traffic Online” but the title tag (all the way at the top of your web browser) is “How to Improve Your Website in 5 Easy Steps | A Beginner’s Guide ” which is what Google will pick up in search.  The Title Tag of your pages such as About Us, Home Page, Services, Products, and Contact should be loaded with relevant words that reflect what your business actually does. Here is an example:

Let’s Say that you are a retail store and your primary product is cloth diapers. Here is how your title tags could look:

Home Page: Cloth Baby Diaper Service in Your Location | Your Company Name  OR  Your Company Name | Cloth Baby Diaper Service in Your Location

About Page: Your Company: Who We Are

Products Page: Buy Cloth Baby Diapers, Organic Cotton, Delivery Services in Your Location

Individual Product: Organic Cotton Cloth Diapers | Your Company Name

Contact Page: Contact Us: Your Company Name

How to create the ideal Title Tag:

Be your client. Think about who they are and what they are likely to search for online. Is it “cloth baby diapers, Queens”? “coupons and discounts in Brooklyn”? Whatever you think your ideal client will look for, make sure to add it into your title tag. A great tool to use for this is the Google Search Word Tool. This nifty website allows you to type in your title ideas and see how many people actually search for that word combination. Beware however, this is a time suck, and you will be at this for hours….

Links – To Your Other Products and Services

Any website, your website, needs to be easy to navigate and for this reason you should make sure to link to the right content wherever you can. Make sure that if you write the words ” we create unique cloth diapers for babies” the words “cloth diapers” links to the page where you sell those diapers! Try to avoid linking to words like “clock here” and “this” as search engines and people do not like these types of links. Link to descriptive words instead of non descriptive ones.

Give good names to your images

Remember again, Google is a WORD search tool. This means that the beautiful image on your website, unless accompanied by words, will not be found online. Many people search Google images for content as well as words but you must make sure that your image files have the right title name when you upload it to the web. Make sure that your image file’s name  does not simply say “image 1″ but “a description of what your image is” instead. This is an ideal place to start adding your company name (especially to your logo) so that people can find you easily. Remember, the web is supposed to be easy… for readers that is… for you, it is work.

Thats it! easy right? well yes and no. Depending on who works on your website, this could cost you a few hours from a local developer but in the end, it will be worth it. Make sure to give your developer all of the tools they need to do the work for you. Add a large list of links with matching title tags so that they know exactly where to put the right tag. If you are doing the work yourself, then go ahead and locate the place in which you add your title tags, and if you can’t find it then there is always your search engine of choice to guide you!

Small Baby Showers

Waltz Astoria

Location: Astoria NY

Food: You Can Cater

Waltz is a cafe and small low key event space that you can pretty much make what you like. The space is small but it is an easy solution for a creative DIY shower.

My Kitchen Restaurant

Location: Forest Hills NY

Food: American

Casual and comfy My Kitchen Restaurant has a nice back yard garden that is ideal for a shower as well as a party room that fits about 75 people.

Astor Room

Location: Astoria NY

Food: American Vintage

The Astor Room by Kaufman Astoria Studios has a party room and a chic, speakeasy look. The menu us delicious and the venue is nice and private.

Dog and Duck

Location: Sunnyside

Food: American Pub

Yes, Dog and Duck is a pub but do not be skeptical, this venue has a lovely outdoor space and great food.

Dee’s

Location: Forest Hills NY

Food: Italian

A Forest Hills party staple, Dee’s has a popular menu and enough space to fit a medium sized party.

Cascarino’s

Location: College Point, Bayside, Whitestone NY

Food: Brick Oven Pizza and Italian Food

This cozy Italian restaurant is a great space for a shower in Eastern Queens with multiple locations in College Point, Bayside, and Whitestone.

Large Baby Showers

Verdi’s

Location: Bayside NY

Food: Italian – Catered Buffet or Sit Down

This large event hall can accomdate hundreds of people and can cater and furnish your shower form start to finish.

Water’s Edge Restaurant

Location: Long Island City

Food: American Fusion

Who doesn’t want to have their babu shower overlooking Manhattan? This venue has amazing food, and a wonderful window filled party room that overlooks the greatest city on earth.

The Aurora Gallery

Location: Long Island City

Food: Catered to your liking

This open art gallery space is a beautiful venue to make your shower your own. You can rent tables, chairs, and cater to your liking for your guests.

Attic Studios

Location: Long Island City NY

Food: Catering available

Attic Studios is GORGEOUS. The location is set up for photo and movie shoots but you can also host your shower here as well.

Best Time to Visit: 12 Noon

The middle of the day or late in the afternoon is the best time to visit a NYC public pool. Lines to get into the pools are the worst in the mornings for the first swim of the day as many parents bring their kids before the sun gets too strong. The best time to go is actually during lunch/ nap time when the sun is at it’s worst, many people have gone home for food or shade at that point. Be sure to check with your pool of choice, as they are not open all day, pools in NYC close down for cleaning at scheduled times and you do not want to to get stuck waiting even longer.

What to Bring:

Make sure to bring everything you need to the pool or it will cost you. You cannot enter a NYC public pool without the following items and this could cause you to be turned away at the door.

• A bathing suit….. no skinny diping in the NYC pools
• A lock
• Swimmie diapers for babies are a must.
• Some pools require the use of a swim cap so check before you go if that is the case.

Also bring with you an umbrella to shade yourself if you do find yourself waiting, sunscreen, towels, and cash to spend on consession stands inside the pool area.

What NOT to Bring:

These items are not permitted into NYC Pools so bring them at your own risk.

• Food
• Pool Toys
• Cameras
• Phones
• Beach chairs
• Baby strollers
• Beach balls

Other Tips:

Have a back up plan

If you get to the pool and it has been shut down for one reason or another (poop in the pool etc. ) have a back up plan of something else that you can do in that area. That way your entire day is not totally shot.

Eat before you go

The NYC public pools do not allow food inside their facilities yet some do sell snacks once you are inside. Make sure to eat before you go so you don’t need to jump off the line for a bite to eat.

It is amazing what children can create. Enhance your child’s creativity with these local art classes.

MOMA P.S. 1 in Long Island City. Photo by No. 2 Man.

Enjoy the weekend!

Updated 5/2013

The only firework display on the east river happens in Astoria Queens! bring a picnic blanket and hang out under the stars while you enjoy a great show. Kids are welcome! The Queens Symphony Orchestra is also performing its first concert in over a decade at Astoria Park. The concert will feature popular tunes and classic favorites that will undoubtedly bring out your inner patriot spirit.

View Ice Cream in Queens NYC in a larger map

1. Maggie Moo’s in Bayside makes their  own ice cream and has fun treats like a frozen banana.

2. Unusual Flavors and frozen treats in Queens are scattered around Flushing and Corona. If you are in an adventurous mood then check em out.

3. Eddies Sweet Shop is Queens’ oldest ice cream parlor. You can get ice cream floats, egg creams, and old fashioned treats.

5. The Lite Choice is located at the end of of “The Forest Hills Mini Mall,” a brick-lined walkway in Fohi. It is a healthier alternative to ice cream.

5. Piu Bella specializes in homemade gelato

6. Max and Mina’s This funky little shop is home to more than 5,000 rotating flavors. They range from banana chip to beer, from Tahitian vanilla to horseradish.

7. Yogo Monster Starting at just 20 calories per ounce for Original Tart, you can choose a dish or cone of fat-free frozen yogurt in four different flavors

8. Lemon Ice King of Corona offering more than 40 flavors, all of the fruit ices are filled with bits of real fruit. Prepare to get decisive because you can’t mix flavors.

9. Long Island Food Truck Lot is open this summer from Tuesday through Sunday and will host Andy’s Ices and Coolhaus.

10. La Dolce Via serves 24 flavors of gelato at a time and some rotate every couple of days. Their most popular flavor is hazelnut for gelato, and limoncello for sorbetto (non-dairy)

11. Sunnyside frozen treats – looking for a local adventure? check out Thai, Mexican and more frozen treats in Sunnyside.

12. Homemade Ice Cream if you are not feeling much like venturing out.

13. Jahn’s in Jackson Heights was a place of many Queens childhoods and now has only one store left. We recommend the banana split.

14. Malu in Long Island City has home made ice cream in Western Queens.

15. Mamas Frozen Yogurt in Astoria has a self serve yogurt station.

16. Di Cosmos Italian Ices in Rockaway make home made flavors like strawberry and grapefruit.

17. Steve’s Ice Cream serves yummy ice cream on the Rockaway Boardwalk.