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Look Out Philly Chefs, Local Culinary Kid Kills It on Chopped Junior
Story by Cassie Hepler Marty Snyder, age 9, from Berwyn, Pa., loves to play baseball, basketball and bowl. You can often find him outside hanging out on his hover board with his dog Sophie and his favorite subjects in school are science and art. He’s what you would call a pretty typical 9 year old boy. But when it comes to meal time, this is when this 9 year old is anything but typical because he’s the cook in the family. From a very early age when most children were ordering chicken nuggets and pasta with butter in restaurants, Marty was eating off his parent’s plates. Not only was he eating…
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Carrabba’s Italian Grill Begins Wine Pairing Dinners for a Steal
Story by Meg Arbo Let’s face it, Tuesday is generally nothing to get excited about. In fact, it can be pretty ho-hum at best. So when Explore Philly was invited to a wine pairing meal at Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Willow Grove, we were pretty happy because, hey, that beats the usual Tuesday night of nothingness. This was a chainwide, national event for Carrabba’s and was touted as the World’s Largest Wine Dinner with over 4000 bottles of wine uncorked for the 7000 diners’ viticultural pleasure. Four curated wines with four courses for $40 – a steal! The dinner began with a salad course with a Northern Italian pinot grigio…
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Turn a Passion for Cocoa into a Profession and Empower Impoverished Women
Mars, Incorporated announced today the launch of THE COCOA EXCHANGE™, a direct to consumer platform that provides a rewarding way to turn a passion for cocoa into a worthwhile profession. THE COCOA EXCHANGE™ products are designed to be experienced, not to sit on a store shelf, which is why the brand brings them to consumers directly through specially curated in-home experiences. Cocoa has been a passion of the Mars family for more than 100 years. Launched in the family kitchen in Tacoma, Washington, today Mars, Inc. is the world’s largest chocolate company. This exceptional pedigree, combined with the contribution of three in-house culinary chefs, brings chocolate to life in unexpected…
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Find Your Forever Space with Our Main Line Wedding Roundup
Story by Explore Philly, courtesy photos Kittens and butterflies and rainbow and unicorns, oh my! At least you should feel like one of those magical things when you’re about to get married or you’re doing it wrong. And now in chilly Philly, engagement season has come to a close (unless you do the super cheese Valentine’s Day proposal). All of a sudden, there is an urgency to find a wedding venue. But where? Philly and the burbs have you covered from farm, to country club to hotel to cozy restaurant. Which will you chose as your wedding nest? For starters, Normandy Farm in Blue Bell is your one-stop shop. Rustic-chic barn setting with resort…
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Falling in Love with Breathless Resorts in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler Since I was a teen, I wanted to live a bi-coastal life with my favorite seasons on the East Coast (Spring, Summer and Fall) and escape chilly Philly to somewhere warm in the winter (usually California and sometimes Florida). Perhaps I don’t own any warm weather property (yet) however I can escape the cold to the land of sunshine and lollipops, especially now that my back is fixed up with no pain and I’m literally less than 5 degrees curved now from scoliosis fusion surgery! So this trip was extra special and an encouragement from my Scoliosis Inspire & Inform group to take a one-year…
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3000BC WellMed Spa in Philadelphia is a Place for Zen Relaxation and Pampering
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler Philadelphia has a gem that is not so hidden away. 3000BC was founded in 1992 by Korin Korman as a result of her MBA thesis at the Wharton Business School. During her research, she discovered that Egyptians had fully developed the use of essential botanical oils in and around the year 3000 B.C. In 1993, 3000BC began to provide services as a testing ground for its name sake product line. The flagship spa established a cult following that enabled the relocation of the flagship. In 2008, 3000BC became 3000BC WellMed Spa merging the world of wellness and the world of medicine, with the addition of FDA…
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Find Out Where SNL Comedian Jay Pharoah Eats Cheesesteaks During PunchLine Philly Comedy Tour
Story by Cassie Hepler Jay Pharoah is not just an actor and stand-up comedian. Former funny man on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Pharoah is best known for his wide array of uncanny celebrity impressions, including former President Barack Obama, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Stephen A. Smith, Kanye West and Chris Tucker, as well as recurring character of school principal Daniel Frye. Now he’s coming back to chilly Philly to perform at Punch Line Philly on Thursday, Feb. 2 to Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017. We caught up with him on a “phoner” interview, which can be hilariously misinterpreted through the sound waves by the way. Q: Is SNL like 30 Rock…
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Here’s How To Have Unlimited Networking Contacts
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler There is really no big secret to networking. Yet people make it seems like it’s some mysterious endless array of pay-as-you-go business mixers that usually leaves them deflated and uninspired. Don’t be silly. You can literally network everywhere you go. All you need is some inspiration. People (even my niece) said to me, “You have a friend who does everything,” and in part that is true. I have been building a network of professionals, creatives and friends since I moved to Philadelphia in 2006. But the key element of that is the follow-up. No matter if I’m going to a private dinner or a gala,…
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Dreaming of Tropical Paradise? Explore Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Photos, videos and story by Cassie Hepler This time of the year is perfect… perfect for an escape out of dismal, sludge covered chilly Philly! Seriously though, that point of will winter ever end, where is Spring and missing glowing orb called a sun can be daunted on even the most die-hard Philadelphian. This writer has tried to make it a habit to escape most winters for a couple weeks to somewhere warmer and sunnier where the living is easy with sand between your toes. So we reached out to one of our Penn State alums who works as a travel consultant at CheapCarribean.com to help nail down some tropical locations.…
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Body Painting Gallery Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary in Philadelphia, PA
Story, modeling by Cassie Hepler Gallery ML was Philadelphia’s premiere fine art body painting gallery inspired by artists Lawren Alice, Noah Musher and Tom Lovelund. The gallery is the only art space in the United States that features various professional body painting artists. With heavily diversified artistic backgrounds, this creative crew has made a significant dent in the art community and continues to draw some of the world’s best and most unique body painting artists. Lawren Alice is an award winning body painting artist who is not only an important part of the gallery, but also close friends with Tom and Noah. With a background in graphic design and face…
