Every year, Washington D.C. hosts “The Nation’s Greatest Springtime Celebration”, the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gifted 3000 cherry trees to the city in 1912, and the celebration “honor[s] the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and the continued close relationship between the two countries.”

Events run from March 20 – April 14 and include boat and land tours, parties, galleries and more. The website even offers a “Bloom Watch” predictor so you can go when the trees are expected to be at their most beautiful.

For me, this is an excuse to share how absolutely gorgeous these trees can be when in bloom. Enjoy!

Petals swirl in the water (via lucy011218)

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San Antonio Laser Tag invited a group of bloggers out for an afternoon of fun perfect for Spring Break. The Geek Chic Baby is too young for this sort of thing, so I borrowed a pair of awesome kids from a friend and headed for Hardberger Park.

The area was perfect for laser tag; there were plenty of trees to run around, hide behind and even climb, but it was easy to see the kids darting back and forth so we could keep an eye on things.

SA Laser Tag will bring the equipment to you for two hour, four hour and even overnight parties. All the sensors are on the guns so there is no need to wear a vest or other device. The guns have a set amount of “ammunition” and lives. When either of these runs out, the player is “out”, but in our case the kids could just come back to home base to get their guns reset with a special key.

This is perfect for younger children who enjoy laser tag but might get overwhelmed by the teens and adults who play at laser tag centers. It also gives the chance for unlimited play at a bargain compared to similar time spent playing at a center. My test subjects had a great time and wore themselves out running around with the other kids. I have no doubt that this would be a huge hit for a birthday party, barbecue or other event, and after talking to their mom I have a sneaking suspicion this might not be the last the boys see of San Antonio Laser Tag…

Special discount for Geek Chic Mama readers: SA Laser Tag is offering 30% off of any of their packages. Just mention that you found this discount on my blog when you order!

You can find San Antonio Laser Tag on their website at http://www.sanantoniolasertag.com/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sanantoniolasertag. You can also sign up for their newsletter for updates and discounts.

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Remember that Microsoft Store opening? I was invited to a blogger preview event where we got an early glimpse of the store and a presentation of Windows 8 and the Surface tablets. The most interesting part for me, however, was a discussion of what Microsoft wants to offer the San Antonio community.

Whoops, the official Microsoft photographer caught me tweeting on my iPhone…look at those Microsoft nails though!

The focal point of their commitment to the community (other than the millions of dollars donated to our local charities)  is a theater space in the back of the store. This area is equipped with a 103″ touchscreen and can comfortably fit about 40 people. The best part? Microsoft wants to offer this space FREE for events, meetings and other uses.

A. The bloggers sit comfortably in the theater area.
B. We got a surprise visit from Orlando Ayala, Senior Vice President of Emerging Markets for Microsoft.
C. The touchscreen helps open possibilities for presentations in the space.

If you are interested in reserving the theater space, you can contact Community Development Specialist Randy Escamilla at raescami@microsoft.com or (210)507-6650. He is extremely passionate about making this resource available to as many people as possible, so don’t hesitate to ask.

The store also offers a wide variety of free workshops in the space on Windows Phone, One Note, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., and if you like, you can even call Randy and he can help set up a workshop specific to the needs of your business. The whole reason to have a physical store in the first place is so customers can get hands-on experience and assistance with the products, so again, don’t hesitate to request a session.

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Young people
Walkability
Bikeability
Vintage Stores
Dive Bars
Vegetarian Restaurants
Artsy jobs
Vinyl stores

San Antonio came in at number 8, but it is still rated as more “hipster” than my hometown of Oklahoma City which came in at number 4. I’m not surprised about OKC, but San Antonio has a lot going for it. I suppose being a spread-out city (making walking/biking trickier outside of downtown even if the infrastructure is there) and being in Steak Country probably brought the numbers down. We’re no Austin, but I don’t think we truly rate as *that* unhip!

(Moveto via KENS5)

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Marvel has teamed up with Feld Entertainment, the company behind a large number of live events including Disney on Ice, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily circus, to bring superheroes to a town near you.

Expected to start touring in July 2014, the show will have production costs that “will likely exceed $10 million” according to Feld.

No word yet on what characters we can expect to see, but Feld gave this insight into the plot: “The world will be in jeopardy, and the Marvel superheroes will save the world.” Spoiler Alert!

(Via Billboard)

Geek Chic Baby

Race: Human
Class: Infant/Ninja-in-Training
Level: 5 (months)
Height: 28″
Weight: 19 lbs
Special Abilities: Drool Tsunami, Cereal Lunge, Has discovered how to make “The Most Annoying Sound in the World” (according to his daddy)
Weakness: Strongly drawn to his own feet, the GCB is easily distracted by them and feels the urge to place them in his mouth.

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Happy Pi Day! It’s the fourteenth of March, otherwise known as 3.14, and people worldwide are enjoying Pi Day Pies. I made these strawberry peach mini-pies complete with numerical decor to celebrate.

The numbers were baked separately to make sure they would stay put once placed. I made the pies in a muffin pan and read this tip for making mini-pies online that helped a lot: before placing the crust into the muffin pan, lay out strips of parchment/wax paper that will stick out the sides. When they’re done cooking, loosen the edges with a knife and once the pie can spin freely use the paper “handles” to lift it out.

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