Earlier this week we attended an exclusive invite-only celebration for Carolee 40^th Anniversary. The company celebrated this wonderful milestone at New York’s newest luxury hotel destination, The Setai.

There, Carolee unveiled a 40^th Anniversary Legacy Collection and a collection of Limited Edition Charm Bracelets. Five dollars from each Legacy piece and Limited Edition Charm Bracelet will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Karen O’Brien, Carolee VP Worldwide Marketing, announced an annual Carolee jewelry design scholarship program that will commence this Fall.  Dr. Joyce Brown, President of FIT, acknowledged Carolee’s industry leadership and thanked the company for the scholarship and for sponsoring an ongoing FIT student design competition.  The competition will last through the Spring and will culminate in five winners whose designs will be manufactured by Carolee and distributed to stores this Fall.  Joel Fivis, President of Carolee, emphasized the value of the company’s relationship with both the BCRF and FIT and thanked all of Carolee’s retailers and employees for making the 40 year milestone possible.

Congratulations to Carolee and cheers to many more years!

More images from our amazing photographer John Alston Jr.

Follow us on Twitter @JohnSimonJSD for Live Updates.

One of the biggest surprises came via video with the announcement from the brand’s newest partner Ellen DeGeneres. The renowned television personality explained her excitement to return to jcpenney, the place of her first job, and help the brand with its relaunch.

The entire experience provided guests a look at the evolution of jcpenney – from past to present – offering a glimpse into the future with sneak peeks of new and established product vignettes that will be featured in stores across America.

For Aaron Greenwald, the founder of BOLD Organics, practicing a healthy diet does not mean giving up what you want to eat.

As a competitive tennis player in high school Aaron started his gluten-free and dairy-free diet to drop some weight, while at the same time aiming to be stronger. When he tried to find frozen pizza to satisfy his taste buds and his dietary requirements, he found few choices. Of those, the lack of flavor disappointed him and he wanted to make a pizza that everyone could enjoy, regardless of their dietary needs. In an effort not to sacrifice taste, he teamed up with Chef Eric Brenner o create their original frozen pizza, BOLD Organics. As a team, they developed their special mixture of organic herbs to enrich the taste.

Thanks to Aaron’s bold move as a young entrepreneur and Chef Eric’s renowned talent, everyone, including people with allergies to gluten, dairy, egg, peanut, and/or treenut can enjoy real Italian pizza with delicious rich flavor. For vegan pizza-lovers, this will be your dream come true. But for those who love meat, BOLD Organics also has non-vegan pizza made with nitrate-free meats.

We got to try Chef Eric’s original recipes during a fun and interactive open kitchen demonstration. Our favorite toppings were: sundried tomato and brussels sprout added to the Vegan Cheese Pizza and lobster on the Meat Lovers Pizza. (For more topping ideas, check out BOLD Organics YouTube channel and their website! Chef Eric’s rich signature organic tomato sauce compliments any tasty topping you chose. Tend to leave the crust on your plate? Forget it, even the crust is full-flavored.

When we asked why he picked pizza out of any dish in the world to create, Aaron said “because it’s Pizza!” with full enthusiasm. And he was right: who doesn’t love pizza?

Now, it is time to have a worry-free pizza party. Check out BOLD Organics FaceBook page for discount coupons!

BOLD Organics currently offers the following:

Vegan Cheese Pizza (V) – 11oz -($6.99 – $8.19)
Melt in your mouth vegan cheese will convert even the most skeptical pizza lover. Put any toppings you want on it and you have the healthiest and most delicious pizza of your choice!

Veggie Lovers Pizza (V) – 12.50 oz – ($8.29 – $9.79)
Chock full of seasonal vegetables such as organic roasted red peppers, organic roasted yellow onions and shiitake mushrooms.

Meat Lovers Pizza – 12 oz – ($8.29 – $9.79)
A carnivore’s delight. Loaded with an abundance of uncured pepperoni & juicy cooked Italian sausage.

Deluxe Pizzas – 13.50 oz – ($9.29 – $10.79)
All your favorite toppings loaded on this bonanza of a pie. Uncured pepperoni, juicy cooked Italian sausage, organic roasted red peppers, organic roasted yellow onions and shiitake mushrooms.

For more information about these products, visit www.bold-organics.com -YuuiVision

Media producers, writers, bloggers, and of course professional bowlers filled the private room. We dined on high end snacks and appetizers compliments of Chef David Burke, who designed a full menu for Bowlmor—awesome food you would never expect from a bowling center!

To kick-off the evening, event guests mingled and casually played a few games of bowling. Then, bowling industry professional and PBA bowler Parker Bohn III (who is extremely nice by the way) took over the floor, where he gave a brief description of the sport of bowling, how he got his start and some bowling industry trivia for a chance to win a few of his signed bowling books.

Parker finished up with the “chair trick” that was shown on the Today Show by Chris Barnes, and then invited three attendees to be seated on chairs down the center of the bowling lane, where he proceeded to throw a strike down the center of the chairs!

Above: Parker, with his boys Brandon, 8 and Justin, 7 both future bowling stars, awed the crowd by demonstrating a few patented trick shots.

At the conclusion of the evening guests received gift bags containing a hat from Bowlmor as well as a $20 coupon towards our next game! Overall, a fun way to spend a night out in NYC and de-stress after a long work day.

Here are some fun facts about the bowling industry…

· An average of 70 million Americans bowl each year

· The sport has more than a $10 billion impact on the U.S. economy annually

· This year marked the fourth consecutive year that the sport has grown in popularity, driven mostly by females and younger audiences.

· According to 2010 Simmons Data Research, adult consumers bowling participation amongst female “mom” consumers, aged 25-34, has experienced a significant spike, rising 31 percent year-over-year, with approximately 35 percent having bowled over the past year.

· The emergence of family entertainment centers and high-end bowling centers – such as Bowlmor – has also helped heighten cachet and fuel the popularity of bowling among women and multiple audiences.

A few days ago we had the pleasure of attending The Aftermarket event, which is apart Ultimat Vodka‘s “Find Balance” campaign that takes an irreverent look at the social lives of busy professionals. Guest enjoyed specialty cocktails, passed hor’devores, and fun photoshoot. Ultimat also let guest try out their new app which basically give you a rundown about your social life. Here are some deets…

Ultimat research revealed as work pressures increase, our bandwidth for interpersonal social connections decreases, that Americans now believe Facebook is the best gauge of a person’s social activity and…

· Almost a third (32%) of Americans believe that a person’s Facebook page tells them the most about their social lives and that it is a far better indicator than other measures like an upcoming month’s calendar (22%) or credit card statements (14%)

· Four in ten (40%) people ages 21-29 place this much faith in Facebook feeds, while fewer (30%) of those 30+ share this belief

The Social Life Audit, Ultimat’s app that assesses one’s offline social life using online technology. The app uses facial recognition technology and analytics to assess Facebook photos and check-ins to yield an overall Social Life Audit score and customized infographics in several specific categories. Check it out: www.sociallifeaudit.com.

Always remember to drink responsibly!