Entries from December 2008 ↓

Be bold.  Be cheap.  Make art.

RecessionGirl is totally stoked to have received permission to host these fine pieces of art from Super10 on her site.  You are getting a sneak peak as the book has just been completed and is awaiting distribution and debut. This is, without question, some of the best illustration talent going on in the hood.  All of the work posted is from local Brooklyn artists.  For more information, check the link below.  Super10 will launch on December 11, 2008.  All images courtesy of Super10.

 
RecessionGirl is also proud to Present the work of Thomas Palme in conjunction with Super10.  This image is a sneak preview and is courtesy of Darling Publications Cologne. To learn more about Thomas Palme and Super10 click:  http://www.myspace.com/super_ten_01

Be bold.  Be cheap.  Make art.

 

Be bold. Be cheap. Drink wine.

RecessionGirl loves to drink wine, but hates to spend too much. Here’s a toast to the five dollar glass.

The Jake Walk

http://www.thejakewalk.com/

The $5 Montepulciano and $5 Domaine De La Batardiere experience made RecessionGirl feel quasi-fancy. The Jake Walk serves in apple shaped wine glasses that let you get all of your senses involved in the wine experience. In terms of economy, this type of glass may tend to reduce the amount of wine you consume because it easily solicits your sense of smell, whereas drinking wine in the Italian-style, high-ball glass tends to induce more consumption as it misses your nose. RecessionGirl says, consume less, save more.

Joya

http://brooklyn.citysearch.com/profile/35693129/brooklyn_ny/joya.html

The $5 wine by the glass here is hands-down the heaviest pour in all of Cobble Hill. This is consistent and encouraged by the management, I think. Again. I’d like to stress that by volume, this is without question, the most vino for your buck in The Hill. So what that it’s Yellow Tail. I don’t care. Neither does my wallet. If you want more sophisticated wine reviews regarding more upscale brands, RecessionGirl recommends getting down with OPB (Other People’s Blogs). Like James Carville said: “It’s the economy stupid.” Paper cuts rock. Cheap trumps labels. I’m drinking Yellow Tail and I’m lovin it.

The Boat

http://brooklyn.citysearch.com/review/11351710

The $5 glass of house wine here tastes a little bit like a $3 glass. I like to romanticize dive bars as places of retreat that guarantee big bargains and I just wish I was getting a better deal. $5 meets the mark, but I wanna give you a heads up that it tastes quite similar to a $3 glass. Having said that, if they actually carried a $3 glass, I wouldn’t drink anywhere else for the rest of the season. Cash is a King that I obey. Just a pipe dream that I would like to extend to the universe. And also maybe the managing partners of The Boat. Outrageous I know. But so is this recession. Kudos to the Boat anyway for making the list for the $5 glass.

Miriam

http://www.miriamrestaurant.com/live/

Miriam is a fantastic place to get your wine on and keep your wallet in tact. For those of you who haven’t been let in on the not-so-secret secret, Miriam features ½ price bottles of wine on Monday and Tuesday nights. The lowest priced bottle is $20 dollars, which is $10 on discount days. If you are two or more people, you can have a good time and not break the bank. RecessionGirl was sad to see that the Court Street location was recently closed, but the Park Slope location offers the same deal.

Harry Bolands Pub

http://www.yelp.com/biz/harry-bolands-pub-brooklyn

Harry Bolands wins the prize for cheapest glass of wine so far. They sport a $4.50 glass. This might be the closest thing to true love RecessionGirl has encountered. The wine doesn’t taste so good, but at $4.50, it definitely isn’t bad.

Be bold. Be cheap. Drink wine.

And Always Remember:

***No matter how broke she finds herself, RecessionGirl always tips a minimum of 20% for table service of food items and a minimum of $1 per drink ordered at the bar. She recommends you do the same. It’s industry standard, spreads good karma, and more importantly, it might solicit a free drink for you going forward. And RecessionGirl knows the joy of a freebie. We might be broke, but we are defiantly not rude. Servers should be respected via cash contributions and if we can’t swing it, maybe we should opt for nights at home until sufficient funds clear for appropriate tipping. It is completely unacceptable not to pay for services rendered in a drinking or dining establishment. Please don’t fake foreign accents in an effort to slip through the gratuity cracks. Just not cool. RecessionGirl loves you and knows you’ll do the right thing regardless of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Kudos Brooklynites. We’re gonna get through this.

Be bold. Be cheap. Mentor.

Especially if you are a dude. As RecessionGirl has researched this one for you, she knows for sure that Big Brother’s Big Sister’s (BBBS) of America has a ridiculous shortage of man-mentors for their program. Fellas, step up and represent your gender.

Mentoring through BBBS is a great way to give back to your community. Making the choice to participate in the program should not be made willy-nilly as being a ‘big’ is a substantial commitment. If you sign on and become a mentor, the contract period is for one year. Before I was RecessionGirl, I was a three year veteran of the program and now share a relationship with my little sister outside of the agency.

New York City is a great place to be a mentor as there is an endless supply of cheap stuff to do with your little brother or sister. Some of the highlights of time spent with my little sister include trips to the Coney Island Aquarium, the Big Apple Circus, The Bronx Zoo and The Museum of Natural History to name a few.

Ladies, I didn’t mean to ignore you on this one. Please show your support by mentoring too. Make sure to tell your man-friends that they ought to consider participation as well.

Click the link below and schedule an appointment to meet with a BBBS coordinator to learn more about mentoring.

https://aim.bbbs.org/einquiry/einquiryzip.aspx

Be bold. Be cheap. Mentor.

Be bold. Be cheap. Try to buy a house.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors helps low and moderate income Brooklyn residents to secure quality housing and build financial assets. http://www.nhnhome.org

RecessionGirl has done the investigating for you. After taking NHN’s 12 hour seminar designed to help educate first time homebuyers, RecessionGirl gave NHN two thumbs up.

One of the highlights of the NHN First Time Home buyers program is the federal grant matching program. The program works by providing $2 federal dollars for every $1 you save and is capped at $5,000. You can use this toward your down payment or in conjunction with any other money you may have saved toward the purchase of a first home.

The staff at NHN are friendly and they are not trying to ‘sell’ you anything as they are a non-profit of course. They provide a safe environment for question and answer that might be intimidating if you were to deal directly with brokers, sales people, lenders, attorneys, inspectors, etc.

NHN is committed to providing the highest quality of service in order to:

• Educate and counsel people so they can help themselves
• Organize people so they can act collectively and help one another
• Network with other community organizations
• Serve as an advocate for and conduit of resources in the community.

Smooches to NHN for caring so much about the citizens of The People’s Republic of Brooklyn.

Be bold. Be cheap. Try to buy a house.