For years the Woolworth Building, located in the Financial District, has been off-limits to visitors, allowing only the lucky few who scored tickets to the annual Open House New York festival to gain entry. Now, finally, anyone can take a tour of the famous skyscraper built by five-and-dime magnate, Frank W. Woolworth. Although the sign outside still says "no visitors allowed," official tours are offered regularly, giving a glimpse into the lobby and lower level of what was once the tallest high-rise in the world. On the tour, guests hear fascinating bits of trivia and history about the Woolworth Building and old New York. Here are just a few of the gems my family and I learned from our guide.

Last summer when my family and I were lucky enough to visit Singapore for a whole week, one of our favorite activities was going to the hawker food stalls, which are just what they sound like: stands in a sprawling indoor market. Going to the hawker stalls is quite an event; they are hot and crowded, and there’s exotic, interesting, amazing food everywhere you look.

Our travels in Asia were fantastic, but NYC never lets us down. It seems like no matter what adventure we enjoy around the globe, there’s a version of it right here at home. Yes, Queens, the undisputed center of the universe for international cuisine, has its own take on hawker stalls in Flushing’s Chinatown. It's the New World Mall Food Court, which offers incredible, inexpensive eats from China, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Korea and Thailand all under one roof.

With so many choices and lots of menu items not listed in English, the food hall can be a bit overwhelming and chaotic. We took a visit to share some tips on how to make the most of an ethnic food adventure in the Asian food halls of Queens with your kids.

I love batik. Or I should say, I love the way batik looks, and I love the idea of making batik, but actual batik is really hard, meticulous and, frankly, kind of tedious to do. I've been looking for a simpler way to make batik and recently shared these batik-style card designs. I think they turned out great, but they are only paper simulations of batik.

But I finally found an easy batik method. Do you know Design Mom? Blogger Gabrielle Blair is one of those people who makes you wonder, "How does she do it?" She is somehow managing to raise six children, run her super website and make everything seem beautiful, graceful and balanced. Luckily for us, she has just wrapped all that beauty and wisdom into her new book, Design Mom: How to Live with Kids: A Room-by-Room Guide.

What I love about this book is that it isn't just about home design. The lovely Gabby shares many of her family's traditions and ways they make living with kids work. These are my favorite parts of the book, and that's right where I found my easy batik technique.

I've adapted Gabrielle's method a bit to make it even simpler so that a little kid can do it. You can literally use this technique on any piece of cotton fabric; we did T-shirts and tote bags.