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Get in the spirit this weekend, by rocking for a cause, or checking out some cool rocker bling!

Grammy nominee James Otto headlines the big benefit for brain cancer at Asbury’s Paramount Theatre this Sunday. Here’s the link: http://theasburyparkboardwalk.com/news/33/.

All of the proceeds go to the Monmouth Medical Center’s David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center.

Go retro-clothing shopping for another good cause at Backward Glances in Red Bank (www.backwardglances.com). If you pick up an iconic J&M music store tee shirt for someone special, all the profits go to the New Orleans Musician’s Clinic. The clinic gives valuable help—health care, counseling, other services– to that city’s hurting musicians.

Staying in Red Bank, all of the red hot King Baby rocker-type jewelry (www.kingbabystudio.com) at Glen Goldbaum 72 (www.gleng72.com) is 20% off, thru January 1st. The exclusive line is only available elsewhere in the state at Neiman Marcus.

Want to sit with Santa, or shop the outlets? Head to the discount stores in Flemington (http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/sales.asp?id=13) over the weekend, and let the jolly bearded guy help you check your gift list.

The folks at George Street Playhouse (www.GSPonline.org) are hosting a special Holiday Cabaret this weekend, featuring the talents of Tony nominees Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde) and Sally Mayes (She Loves Me).

Learn the fine art of mixing great drinks with a mixology tutorial and tasting tonight at Palmer’s Crossing Restaurant in Tenafly. (www.palmerscrossingrestaurant.com). Call 201-871-3200 to register.

Our friends at NJPAC (www.njpac.org) are hosting an afternoon of Kwanzaa activities free… the dance and storytelling workshops, arts and craftsand much more get underway Saturday at noon.

Guitarist Jose Feliciano brings his Grammy award-winning style to North Branch on Saturday, with a holiday performance at The Theatre at RVCC (www.rvccarts.org).

Know of a great weekend event in your town? Click on the Write The Editor link below, and let us know!

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In a state where gastronomy is a cherished science, there is no perfect way to pick the absolute best – so we’ll revisit some of our favorites and let you be the judge…

We wrote about New Brunswick’s Ruby Wesley and how she used her grandmother’s secret cheesecake recipe, creamy and decadent, to launch a fabulous web-based business. (www.atasteofrubies.com). Ruby is offering our readers a chance to save 10% on holiday orders—just use the code “ njmyway10” when you place your on-line order.
The original article is at www.njmyway.com/content/view/510/69/

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We took you to Magma Pizza (www.njmyway.com/content/view/487/69/) near Princeton, where the giant volcano shaped pizza oven (one of its kind, as far as we know) superheats thin crusted pizza into a sublime experience, even by tough Jersey standards.

Speaking of pies, you’ve got to stop by The Pie Store in Montclair for a turkey stuffing pie this holiday season. (www.njmyway.com/content/view/506/69/) There are plenty of dessert pies on the menu too.

If you’re avocado-obsessed, you must sample the fresh guacamole made tableside at Rosa Mexicano, (www.rosamexicano.info/) at Riverside Square Mall in Hackensack.
(www.njmyway.com/content/view/499/69/). Take home a stack of different flavored empanadas from Raul’s in Morristown. (www.njmyway.com/content/view/382/80/).

If you crave seafood, especially in cold weather, read our wrap-up of the best places to take out or eat in:
www.njmyway.com/content/view/382/80/

Make a reservation for one of the private rooms, and bring your entire extended family to Hunan Taste (www.hunantaste.com/) in Denville, for some of the best and most versatile Chinese food ever. It’s pricey, so you’ll want to think special occasion.

When we think of our favorite chocolate experiences –and there are many– Diane Pinder’s Donna & Company (www.shopdonna.com) in Cranford gets our top vote for combining so many unusual flavors. Plus, Pinder’s sales benefit the Fisher House (www.fisherhouse.org) charity, which provides housing for military families near the hospitals treating their loved ones. (www.njmyway.com/content/view/462/69/)

This is just a sampler of where we’ve been, and what we’ve written about. You can linger over our other entrees at www.njmyway.com, just click on the “food” and “restaurants” tabs on the left side of our page. As always, bon appetit!

If you’ve got a little Van Gogh on your holiday gift list, we know where you can go to prime his or her paint.

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A loyal reader told us about Jerry’s Artist Outlet (www.jerrysartistoutlet.com) in West Orange—and it may be the best thing that ever happened to the artist in all of us.

This is one of three Jerry’s in existence, and the only one in the state.

This store is tucked into the Essex Green Shopping Plaza. It’s narrow in front, but so deep you’ll feel a little like Alice in a rabbit hole of sketch pads, paints, picture frames, and paint-by-numbers. You’ll wander and wonder at this amazing collection of whatever you’d need to express yourself on paper, canvas, or the side of your house.

There are some serious paints, print making supplies, and ready-to-mold sculpture busts. There are easels for toddlers, teens, and adult recreational painters. You can get your work framed, or you can select from hundreds of ready-made frames.

Jerry’s is swimming in do-it-yourself projects for kid’s parties, and plenty of those last minute gifts. It also had the biggest paint boxes we’d ever seen (33 magic markers, 36 pastel oil crayons, dozens of colored pencils, three water color kits). The price was reduced from $39.95 to $14.99. The case is so large a little artist will need a wagon to tote it around.

“Do you have to have any artistic ability to use this?” We overheard this from one woman customer holding up one of the multitude of project kits.

“None,” replied a helpful employee. “You just have to have imagination.”

It’s a sensitive topic, but not totally insurmountable. Is all the bad news taking the swash out of your buckle, the steam out of your engine?

The folks that promote events, places, and ideas sent us some suggestions to combat this predictable fallout from all the clouds of economic doom and gloom.

Our friends at Mindful Living ( www.mindfullivingnj.com) think you should sign up for a group session with a well known marriage and family therapist. Psychotherapist and media commentator Esther Perel is going to try and "fix your relationship in a day."

On January 18, at Seton Hall University in South Orange, Perel is offering a workshop on keeping intimacy alive despite the anxiety of times. The cost is $175 per person, which is less than the average session with a shrink. You can get more information on the Mindful Living workshop or at www.etouches.com/estherperel.

Maybe comedy is the cure?

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Go see the New Jersey Repertory Company’s (www.njrep.org) new musical production of Cupid and Psyche, a comic tale of ancient forbidden love.

The comedy is “set on a modernish Mount Olympus where gods participate in such daily activities as wet toga contests, fawn tossing, and centaur races…” The show is playing now through January 18th at their theatre in Long Branch. You can spend New Year’s Eve at the play, and attend a party afterwards.

Finally, there’s the ultimate escape.

Give your out-of-town guests your house and your kids, and stay close to home in a luxury hotel, where an indoor pool, a spa, and great room can help put some sizzle back in your steak—so to speak.

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The luxury Westminster Hotel in Livingston (www.westminsterhotel.net) has all of the above and special holiday room rates for under $100. You’ll have the maid service, instead of waiting on them hand and foot.

One of the above should help cure what ails you. Don’t forget to keep the mistletoe handy!

Once upon a time, two bookworms and ultra-savvy NJIT graduates, George Burke and Shamoon Siddiqui, were budget conscious and tired of feeling guilty as they burrowed in bookshops to read the newest releases over a cup of coffee.

They searched high and low to fulfill their need to Read More, Spend Less!

Finally, they put their tech and business savvy heads together and in 2007 created En Jay-based BookSwim – the first and only online book rental site, www.BookSwim.com

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It’s Netflix meets the Bookstore– with millions of titles just a click of the mouse away.

As a member, you enjoy unlimited rentals per month, can read to your heart’s content in the comfort of your home, return each book for free, then repeat – all for a nominal monthly fee ranging from around $20 for 3 books at a time to around $40 for 11 books at a time. If you love to read, imagine the savings compared to buying those books!

Your first month is 50% off the plan price and there is no contract, so you can cancel at any time.

If you fall in love with a book and want to add it to your library, you have the option to purchase it.

And, if a particular book is not in its “pool,” just ask for it and BookSwim shoppers, who work with major suppliers, will reel it in for you.

The company is eco-conscious — it helps the environment by reducing the number of trees cut down to create paper. They use only 100% recycled packaging for shipping. And, for every BookSwim Gift Card purchased for the avid reader on your holiday list, they’ll plant a tree through their partnership with Ecolibris www.ecolibris.net which promotes sustainable reading worldwide.

We don’t think BookSwim will ever replace your favorite bookstore or public library. After all, the library is the ultimate bargain. At the bookstore, it’s all about the coffee and the company. Plus, there’s plenty to be said for lining the shelves of your home library with your favorite companions.

But if you just want to feed your steady appetite for books — and save the cost of purchase, plunge into BookSwim. It’s a good idea at a time when many of us are struggling to stay afloat.

Guest contributor: Pamela J. Principe-Golgolab of PNA Associates Inc.

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This weekend, you can beat holiday stress by making gingerbread houses with your family, or learning to line dance with your new best friends. Or escape it all, with spa treatment, and a girl’s day out.

You can spice up the season by bringing your kids to learn to make gingerbread houses at Palmer’s Crossing Restaurant in Tenafly (www.palmerscrossingrestaurant.com) on Sunday. Reservations are required: call 201-871-3200 and ask for special events, to sign up. It’s $60 per family.

Scoff up homemade cookies and treats when you do the Cookie Walk at the Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills – doors open Saturday at 9am. (www.visitingnurse.org/events.htm) .

Singles, couples, and families - join a night of line dancing at the Mount Laurel Library tomorrow, beginning at 7p.m. Work off your holiday meals by doing the cupid shuffle, cowboy boogie, and the tush push. (www.mtlaurel.lib.nj.us)

Or party with Coors Light and Jersey2Night.com at a Code Blue Party tonight at Trinity on the Hudson in Hoboken. Holiday cheer, beer specials and a live DJ ‘til midnight with a holiday gift raffle. Sign up at www.jersey2night.com to get on the guest list.

The Seaview Resort & Spa in Galloway Township has a winter getaway special for the whole family which includes a special reception, quality time with Santa, family movies, and free transport to nearby Atlantic City –plus discount coupons for outlet shopping. Here’s the link: www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-deals/aiynj-seaview-resort-and-spa-a-marriott-resort/

Haddonfield –always a pleasure to shop—makes the experience even more special with candlelight, and a whole array of seasonal delights including carriage rides, Santa spottings, and choirs.

Check the town’s website (www.haddonfieldnj.org/eventscandlelight.php) for specifics.

You can ride a horse-drawn carriage in Red Bank as well. Plus, hit all the shop-a-holic’s hot spots. www.redbank.com has the details.

Exhausted yet?

Grab another free manicure on Saturday at DeVenir Beauty in Millburn. Call 973-379- 4450 or E-mail NVpublicity@gmail.com to book your appointment.

Or join an all- afternoon massage party, at the Morning Star Community Center in Linden, complete with hot wax and appetizers, call 908-245-3221 or e-mail whitley559@comcast.net to reserve your place. Cost is $50.

Remember to send your weekend picks to us at the Write The Editor link below. Have a wonderful weekend!

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We eat healthy organic food. So why shouldn’t our pets? That’s why Edison-based K-9 Confections (www.k9confections.com) launched a new line of organic dog and cat treats.

The two–year-old company is the brainchild of an area woman, Jennifer Wilner, who was concerned about her beloved pet boxer’s food allergies. The line of tempting treats is completely free of wheat, corn and soy, and made from organic grains and vegetables, and high quality manmade ingredients.

Wilner says the company “brings to the marketplace what most pet owners want, and that’s a desire to give their pets high-quality, great tasting, good-for-you treats.”

Signature products include Pumpkin Biscotti, Peanut Butter, and Bitchin’ Beefy Bites.
Sounds good enough for friends of the two-legged variety!

Another enterprising Jersey gal has just launched pure and little (www.pureandlittle.com), “ a one stop shop carrying pure products for your little ones that are natural, safe and eco-friendly.”

Former public relations executive Kaitlin Spreitzer of Warren created the web-based business, which includes organic baby towels, sheets and blankets, along with clothing and bath items.

And North Jersey’s Kim Bloom recently purchased Rosie Hippo (www.rosiehippo.com) because she believes the right toys and other products “can help encourage positive development of skills and values in all children.”

The website features a huge array of hand crafted toys made from natural materials, that are the product of Fair Trade, and promote imaginative growth, diversity, and community involvement. A NJ My Way bonus; if you enter NJMW in the promotional code box, you’ll save 10% on your purchase.

Spend some time on these websites; you’ll likely find a gift that will help the planet, and bring some real green to these break-out businesses.

It’s that time of year to remember the folks who are important to us, so we asked our old friends to help make your holiday gift giving a bit easier.

The gals from Oradell who make Puppy Purse (www.puppypurse.com) have some brand new pet fashions that will make your best friend very happy. They are giving NJ My Way subscribers a 10% discount on any purses priced over $45. Use the code NJMYWAY in the “comments” section when you put in your order.

You can save on handmade soaps, scents, and accessories at Red Bank’s www.soapmarketonline.com. Just put njmyway (one word) in as your code, and they’ll take 10% off your purchase as well.

Browse through Robin’s Closet (www.robinsclosets.com) in historic downtown Boonton and you’ll take home designer goodies with a complimentary 10% discount for our readers. There’s a nice selection of sportswear, jeans, and dress-up stuff– mention NJ My Way when you check out.

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Feast with friends at David Burke’s Fromagerie (www.fromagerierestaurant.com) in Rumson. You can pick up a gift card of $100 or more, and you’ll get a 10% discount, just for being one of our readers!

For the art lover in your life, artist Virginia Pearle is offering a similar discount on certain prints at her Toms River gallery (www.virginiaperleartgallery.com). Also, all this month, a very special exhibition of Pearle’s noted shore paintings, along with jewelry, photography, and pottery from different artists.

And our friends at Goldtinker in Deal (www.goldtinker.com) will take off 10% on the oh so trendy Poor Cat Designs (www.poorcatdesigns) jewelry. So trendy that maybe even a network anchor was spotted wearing one of the best selling bracelets.

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We know your gift list is not compete without sweets. Think stuffed cupcakes at newly re-opened Petite Café (www.thepetitecafe.com) in Nutley. They’ll take 10% off for you too.

Thanks to our old friends for these secret savings. We’ll keep it for our NJ My Way family!

Combine gift shopping with philanthropy this holiday season, and you’ll have twice the joy! Here are some suggestions—with plenty more to come this month.

Today —and through the weekend at the Montclair Art Museum, (www.montclairartmuseum.org check out a huge sample sale to benefit the arts education, and enjoy great discounts from top notch vendors. Here’s a link that lists times, details, and some of the sellers: www.suburbansky.org/MAM_Holiday_2008_Event.php

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You’ll also want to support our friends at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (www.shakespearenj.org), by attending A Very Gorey Christmas, a shopping event and silent auction inspired by artist Edward Gorey. Plenty of food and drink, fabulous shopping and loads of goodies to bid on. It all gets started Sunday, at 4pm, at Drew University’s Mead Hall. Call 973-236-2998 for more information.

Jersey City Museum is raising money by showing you the cartoons the New Yorker wouldn’t allow you to see. (www.jerseycitymuseum.org/template.cfm?cid=52) .

On Wednesday, December 10, the Museum is hosting a fundraiser with New Yorker cartoonists showing off work that is “too bizarre, too risqué, or too politically incorrect” to be published in the magazine. You can purchase copies of The Rejection Collection at the Museum Shop.

Then there’s… East Hanover’s Armand Cuccciniello… still in Iraq, working as press officer in the U.S. Embassy in Bagdhad.

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Cucciniello – profiled on NJ My Way last March (www.njmyway.com/content/view/373/100/) has created a special Christmas ornament for a cause. The pewter ornament, bearing the likeness of the Embassy (also known as the Republican Palace) is being sold on www.baghdadstuff.com.

The proceeds go to the Andi Foundation (www.theandifoundation.org) which helps young women who want to go into the fields of politics and media find scholarships and assistance. The Foundation was created by family and friends of Andrea (Andi) Parhamovich, a young woman who was killed in 2007 in Iraq, while working for the National Democratic Institute.

We’ll keep you posted on other worthwhile holiday buys, as the month goes on. And make sure you let us know about your favorite shop-for-a-cause events by clicking on the Write The Editor link below.

Plenty of ways to enjoy the magic of an En Jay holiday this weekend!

At Storybook Land (www.storybookland.com) in Egg Harbor Township you can bring the little ones to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus, and enjoy the Fantasy of Lights.

Nearby, in Atlantic City, the Casinos are hoping you’ll sprinkle some tinsel their way… by providing all kinds of holiday-related entertainment.

The Tropicana’s (www.tropicana.net) got a holiday musical light show, along with a musical revue. Harry Connick Jr. is crooning at the Borgata tomorrow night (www.theborgata.com) and Mannheim Steamroller is at Harrah’s (www.harrahs.com) on Saturday.

You can also ride the train with Santa on Saturday, by boarding at the Mountainview-Wayne train station, or at Glen Rock, on Sunday, for a 90 minute ride. This event is sponsored by the Volunteer Railroaders Association (www.vratrips.org).

More than 160 artists and crafters from across the country are showcasing their stuff at the Morristown Armory all weekend… the show includes photography, jewelry, and specialty foods. Here’s a link with all the info: www.artrider.com/mtownH08_frames.html

Another great holiday craft sale is ongoing at The Pierro Gallery in South Orange, it runs through the weekend with free admission and serves as a major fundraiser for the gallery. Here’s a link: http://southorange.org/TheBairdArts/event.asp?event=125.

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Four past American Idols are performing at Bergenpac (www.bergenpac.org) tonight. Kimberley Locke, Diana Degarmo, David Hernandez, and Chikezie appear in a special holiday concert, directed by Idol’s Michael Orland.

You can meet master Chef Rocco DiSpirito at Bookends (www.book-ends.com) in Ridgewood on Saturday. He’ll be signing copies of his new book Rocco Gets Real: Cook At Home Every Day.

So much to do in every corner of the state—we hope you enjoy every sight and sound!