Guys, you may as well close this e-mail now. It’s about plates. Tableware. The stuff women can eyeball, handle, and assemble forever. Most men would rather sort screws.
Add one more to your list. It’s Utsuwa-No-Yakata (www.utsuwa.com) in Edgewater. That’s Japanese for House of Pottery. One of only two stores on the East Coast—of the U.S., that is.
There is a fusion for everything Asian, including dinnerware. Whatever foods you are serving, it’s fun to look at these colorful, creative settings and decorative plates and imagine how you might put them to use.
There is even a section for children and another one for pets. The store’s website is full of interesting suggestions.
There is plenty of Japanese Imari porcelain (www.blueandwhiteamerica.com) at affordable, and sometimes bargain prices. You can find some of this at discount stores, but you won’t find as extensive a collection, and you can’t beat the prices here.
The best part about the Edgewater store is its location next to the Mitsuwa Marketplace (www.mitsuwa.com), one of the largest Japanese food emporiums in the U.S. and the only one of its kind in the East. Leave time to shop and eat in one of the many indoor cafes ringing the mega-market.
One visit and you won’t have to worry about filling those new plates.
Cleveland was the only President who served two non-consecutive terms. The only President ever to get married in the White House.
So the people of Caldwell and surrounding communities who claim Cleveland as their hometown President, celebrated the Fourth of July at his house and on his lawn.
The ice cream social featured a magician, a clown and DJ. There was a special exhibit set up out front with Cleveland facts and trivia, and historic clothing. Members of a historic committee, dressed appropriately HOW SO???, pondered adding a new building to the property to house more artifacts.
The line to get inside the Cleveland house stretched so long that folks were let in one group at a time. It didn’t seem to matter that anyone can stop by five days a week and walk through on their own.
This being the Fourth of July, folks liked connecting with the past, and this President’s house is the link. Sometimes, it takes the right holiday and the right mood to help get us through the door.
We run four or five times a week, three to four miles each time.
We loosely describe it as a run, to an observer we probably look like a distressed locomotive in need of a coal fix . The pace is slow, the route varies from track to trail to pavement. There is much schvitzing.
But the specter of a running-related injury is always hovering. Sound familiar?
Then we heard about Chi Running (www.chirunning.com). Less stress on the knees, less risk of the all-painful charley horse. So we listened.
Holmdel’s David Stretanski, (www.echifitness.com) Chi runner and teacher, demonstrated the technique with Suzanne Wilcox of Boonton. Watch the video to get a sense of it.
Basically, you lean forward and relax. Then there’s special breathing, pelvis positioning, floppy lower legs, straight feet. When everything lines up correctly, you head off for your run, looser and happier.
Chi runners say the relaxed posture helps them go faster, farther, and prevents injuries by keeping stress off the knees and hips. The same techniques are used for Chi walking.
The drawback to being less aerobic and more mental? We suppose you don’t burn as many calories. But how great not to be panting like a dog when you float past that pack of high school kids?
So fire off an e-mail to David Stretanski (
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) and find your correct zenter of gravity… before age and your knees catch up with you.
For the unenlightened, Bitten (www.bittensjp.com) is the vampy brand name of the new,anything but vampy line of clothing launched last month by actress Sarah Jessica Parker, exclusively for Steve & Barry’s (www.steveandbarrys.com).
Steve, Barry, and Sarah are a powerful combination. Previously, the store’s claim to fame was offering a line of $15 Starbury sneakers (www.starbury.com), designed by the Knicks star in an admirable effort to give less affluent kids access to status sneakers by producing an affordable, quality shoe.
Sarah’s pictures and motto (Fashion is not a luxury, it’s a right) are filling the aisles of Steve & Barry’s.
The Sex And The City actress who made those $550 Manolo Blahniks (www.manoloblahnik.com) into a closet fixture now says it’s ok to spend less than $20 on every major wardrobe item. Except maybe your shoes.
Check out the basic Bitten outfit. It has a wearable Gap-like appeal with decent fabrics and styles, a variety of sizes and a surprisingly low price tag. Most items are $8-$12.
Shoppers are biting. At the Livingston Mall store on a recent weekday, no retailer attracted a line at the register like Steve & Barry’s. Granted, the Starbury high-tops were still the draw. One youngster strutted his proudly, and a sign at the register warned that customers were limited to “ten boxes of Starbury sneakers per day .” But most shoppers were ogling the new Bitten brand, and plenty were buying.
Why should you get Bitten? Because you’ll spend less, and be able to buy more. You’ll be Forever 29 (or 39) , and you can afford to pair your new SJP $20 dress with your new Manolos. Chew on that for a bit.
We’ll be on the beach for a few days, so we’re giving you our picks for the week… and the weekend a little early.
The big, big party on the Fourth is Macy’s Fireworks. Watch it from Liberty State Park (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/liberty.html) beginning at 9 p.m. Get there by 3 p.m. for a concert featuring Gary U.S. Bonds. Or go to Boulevard East, atop the Palisades in Weehawken and West New York—just remember that to get a spot in the front you need to arrive early.
Down the Shore, Long Branch says its Oceanfest is the region’s biggest free Independence Day celebration,” running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. www.longbranchchamber.org/oceanfest.htm.
Where sand meets sea there will be plenty of places to watch be fireworks, beginning at 9 p.m. A short list, from north to south, includes Asbury Park, Bradley Beach, Point Pleasant, Seaside Heights, Beach Haven, Ocean City, Stone Harbor, and Cape May.
For a real lesson about the Fourth of July, costumed park rangers at Washington’s Headquarters in Morristown National Historical Park perform a public reading of the Declaration of Independence. There will be stories, riddles, jokes and an inspection of troops. www.nps.gov/morr or (973) 539-2016.
Saturday is the last day for the Cumberland County Fair, in Millville. There are amusement rides, tractor pulls, eating contests, live music, farm and garden exhibits, a petting zoo, and Clydesdale hayrides. www.cumberlandcofair.com.
And at the other end of the state, the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Branchville hosts the Sussex Powwow Native American Festival (www.redhawkcouncil.org/calendar/july10.htm). More than a thousand Native Americans from across the continent will share their history, art, music, dance, and traditions. Food includes buffalo burgers, wild rice, venison stew, corn soup and fry bread. Great craft shopping as well.
Enjoy all your celebrations. Look for us back in your in-box on Monday the 9th!
Long Beach Island may be the Hamptons of New Jersey. But if you are looking for a hotel room, with few exceptions, you’ll be sweeping sand off the sheets in a low-rise family-friendly motel.
Soon, there will be a new alternative. And we predict you’ll like it.
Leave the kids with your mom and book a room at the Williams Cottage Inn (www.williamscottageinn.com) in Beach Haven this summer.
Pick one of the eight brand new, luxury rooms and baths just a few doors down from the ocean in a historic house that was rescued and renovated by a local family. None of them is the same; they range from romantic to Asian-influenced, from spa-showers to soaking tubs. Some have both.
The Innkeepers – a lovely couple, are living on-premises and right out of central casting. The home-baked butter Danish will fuel your island explorations.
Jim Blahut, whose family chipped in and bought the 1886 Victorian says it was in a state of disrepair, from its peaked roof to a porch which had been enclosed by windows, hiding the fascade.
With some family members acting as interior designers, others as construction workers, the Blahuts have re-created the details of past glory and added unpredictable features. We got a This Old House-like tour a few weeks ago.
“Twenty years from now I don’t want anyone to walk into this bathroom and say this is what they would have done in 2007, “ Blahut says.
It’s pricey, the rooms range from $325 to $425 in season. But then again, there are very few B&Bs on LBI. You’ll have to head north to Spring Lake, or south to Cape May, to find a full selection.
The Inn opens for business at the end of this month. If you go, let us know how you liked it.
We saw the work in progress. We think you’ll enjoy this new Old House.
Guys, you may as well close this e-mail now. It’s about plates. Tableware. The stuff women can eyeball, handle, and assemble forever. Most men would rather sort screws.
Quick. Which President’s face is on the thousand dollar bill? Actually, when was the last time you held a thousand dollar bill?
We’ll be on the beach for a few days, so we’re giving you our picks for the week… and the weekend a little early.
Long Beach Island may be the Hamptons of New Jersey. But if you are looking for a hotel room, with few exceptions, you’ll be sweeping sand off the sheets in a low-rise family-friendly motel.
