In need of a last minute chocolate run? The Godiva Shop at The Cherry Hill Mall (www.cherryhillmall.com) has extended hours over the weekend. They’re open until 10pm on Saturday and from 8am to 7:30pm on Sunday.
They’ve got some of the best bling around, and you’ll save big in Verona at Yanina & Company’s Valentine’s Day sales (www.yanina-co.com). It starts Friday at 10am, and runs through Saturday afternoon.
Looking for a more affordable way to say “I Do?”. Stop by Goodwill Industries of Southern NJ & Philadelphia 2nd Annual Valentine’s Bridal Sale Extravaganza (www.goodwillnj.org) on Saturday in Maple Shade. New and used bridal gowns starting at $49.
Don’t forget your four-legged Valentine. Order the paparazzi pink Bella ...

The arts… and the crafts are keeping us warm in  En Jay even in the deep snowy days of February.
Curl up next to the fire with this fine slice of Scottish history and romance.  Morristown’s Morgan MacKinnon new novel,  The Mirror,  blends the former AT&T executive’s amazing knowledge of Scotland with romance and time travel.
MacKinnon toured Scotland in ’97 and was inspired:  “There is something about the country itself that grabs hold of your heart and never lets go.  I think part of it is the passion of her people; the rest, the ancient history that has touched every square foot of her land.”
The author lives in with her three cats, Tabitha, Merlin, and Vinegar John.  Here’s the link to buy the book: (www.amazon. ...

The Super Bowl is this Sunday. This gives us a good excuse to drink beer in front of the TV, as opposed to most other Sundays, when we drink beer in front of the TV without a good excuse.
After a lengthy drinking binder of playoff games, which started with the World Series, the champions of the NFC (National Football Conference) will finally play the champions of the AFC (American Football Conference) for the championship of the NFL (National Football League) on CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) at 6:30 pm EST (Eastern Standard Time) just before the TMA (Too Many Acronyms) awards.
Super Bowl XLIV (Size 44, Extra Large Intravenous) pits the New Orleans Saints against the Indianapolis Colts. The Saints have a fleur-de-lis on their helmets, ...

Celebrate the end of the long workweek at the Jersey City Museum’s Target First Fridays, beginning at 5pm. (www.jerseycitymuseum.org) It’s all free including a wine tasting, entertainment, refreshments, and open galleries.
Funnyman Bobby Collins brings his offbeat brand of humor to the stage Saturday night at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal (www.axelrodartscenter.org).
This Sunday’s 1pm Yoga Class at the Princeton Center for Yoga and Health will raise funds for Haiti earthquake victims (www.princetonyoga.com).
It’s all jazz at Words Bookstore in Maplewood (www.wordsmaplewood.com) Saturday at 7pm, when singer Sarah Partridge entertains, and author Sandy Josephson shares passages from his book Jazz Notes: Interviews Across the Generations.
Help Ridgewood’s most deserving students to attend college, by attending the exciting, high ...

Add Water And Stir: The Water Club (www.thewaterclubhotel.com) in Atlantic City has some rooms open, and higher end packages still available… you can upgrade to a suite for $1200, includes a $50 credit towards breakfast in bed. Make sure you make dinner reservations at any one of the hotel’s great restaurants.
Woo Her: With the Love Rocks collection from Long Beach Island’s The Chocolate Bar (store.chocolatebarnyc.com/loroco.html).
Have a Heart: Order a dozen Red Velvet cupcakes with hearts on top from Cupcakes By Carousel in Ridgewood (cupcakesbycarousel.com/holiday.html). The store is donating a percentage of sales to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Haiti, and other proceeds to the American Heart Association.
Crazy For Her: Cookies that spell out your devotion from Middletown based Edible Gifts Plus (www.ediblegiftsplus.com)
Custo ...

As you prepare to embrace that special someone in your life, we’ve assembled a no-excuses smooch worthy gift-guide from our own En Jay businesses.
What’s a hot date without a hot car? Englewood based Gotham Dream Cars (www.gothamdreamcars.com) has the ultimate gift for anyone who dreams of driving a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Bently but can’t afford to buy one. Pricing starts at $449 per day and includes amenities such as no refueling requirement, complementary tolls and GPS.
Georgie Girl Boutique (www.georgiegirlboutique.com) in Haddonfield is featuring its Bring Your Sexy Back Valentine’s specials. Keep your love alive with a large selection of new intimate apparel to fit most bodies!
Old-fashioned gestures of love never go ou ...

This deep freeze leaves us looking indoors for playspace for the little ones—our furniture just can’t take it anymore!
Springfield mom Shelia Sayah, founder of www.njplaygrounds.com, has prepared a listing of various indoor play spaces and is offering some of her top picks for the area:
Best pay-per-play area: Unbelieva-Bills in Montclair (www.unbelieva-bills.com). Admission is about $5 for the jungle gym and $4 for 20-minute shows. On Saturdays, they offer “Drop Off Parties” where parents can have a night off while their kids play with adult supervision. If you sign up for their emails, they also have some free bagel/coffee Fridays once in a while.
Top picks in Essex County: Funtime Junction in Fairfield (www.funtimejunction.com) has a ...

Like many people, I am addicted to caffeine. This is a pretty wimpy confession, but it does have serious consequences, because it means that at some point in our desperation we have all entered a Starbucks.
Learning to be a Starbucks customer is not easy. When I first walked into one of their stores many years ago I was quite bewildered: everyone spoke Latin. “Half caveat emptor,” the employees shouted to one another across the store. On a chalkboard overhead the coffees were scribbled in what looked to be a listing of United Nations members. African, Amerasian, Antarctican...
I was even confused placing my order. “Would you like a Latte?” asked a nice young woman with blue hair from Paramus.
“No, just a little,” I replied. “Black.� ...

Maplewood’s Strollers (thestrollers.org) present How To Eat Like A Child (And Other Lessons In Not Being Grown Up) with a cast of two dozen middle schoolers. The show opens Friday at the Burgdorff Center.
The best Napa wines are in Kenilworth as Winemaker Mario Monticelli hosts a special dinner at Boulevard Five72 on Sunday, beginning at 5pm (boulevardfive72.com).
Bottles as art? In Jersey City, more than two thousand are bundled together for Bottled Project Version II, supported by the city’s museum. It opens this morning in the Mack Cali building windows on Christopher Columbus Drive, between Washington and Greene. (bottledproject.org).
All weekend long at the Jersey City Museum, you can see the African Diaspora Film Series (jersey ...

Nestled in bucolic Upper Montclair there is a former flower shop designed like a fashionable boutique. Found within the sun-drenched windows, is a bakery of fabulous cupcakes… But not your usual paper wrapped confections.
It is here in this Victorian home Sonya Newton’s Red Velvet Cupcakes (www.lovemycakeboutique.com) are to be found. What makes theses cupcakes unique is the flavor of whipped sugar, butter, dense cake and cream cheese topping. A healthy splash of deep red food coloring runs through the sweetly succulent concoction. Finally, this confection of a cupcake rests within a Mason jar!

Sonya explains that the recipe comes from her Southern born and raised mother, from the time when ladies “put up” vegetables and fruits for the cold winter mont ...

We know how stressful planning the perfect holiday party can be. While it’s fun to invite friends and family, orchestrating an event with a colorful theme and food that will please the masses can be a daunting task.
Take the guesswork out of your next party with the help of Basking Ridge party planning pro Dawn Sandomeno and her party blueprints.
Dawn is co-founder of PartyBluprints.com ä, the first ever website to provide e-party plans, and author of the PartyBluprints Blog (www.partybluprintsblog.com), a “real girls’” guide to home entertaining which received a “thumbs up” from Good Housekeeping.
She is also a regular expert contributor on various party and entertaining sites and she does this all ...

Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? Weight loss is one of the most common resolutions that people make at the beginning of each year.
Susan Jakers, of Avenel, is a Certified Health Coach. After battling her own weight problems for years,  she’s developed a system to help you manage your mind and your body, and is dedicated to the achievement of health and well-being.
Inspired by the other female entrepreneurs in her family, Susan teaches you (www.healthandwellnessadvisor.com) to improve your mental attitude and trust in yourself as tools to achieve your healthy body and weight goals. Through smart eating, enjoyable exercise and self-esteem building strategies, you’ll learn to maintain ...

Some people would say that Jim Barbour is a saucy kind of guy. But the West Windsor entrepreneur would take that as a compliment!
After launching his own line of all-natural barbeque sauces called FunniBonz (www.funnibonz.com) in December 2008, Barbour has been treating En Jay residents to his unique blends of sweet and tangy flavors. The inspiration behind the sauce came from Barbour’s own entrepreneurial spirit and love of cooking.
“I was always the kid at my mother’s apron strings and I have always had a curious fascination about good food,” Barbour said. “I spent a lot of time grilling out and I could not find a sauce that I really like, so I decided to make my own.”
After quitting his day job as an account manager in the city, ...

Have you ever realized there are fewer men’s clothing stores in our towns? Well… one Maplewood woman is filling that gap.
Renee Kingston opened Grade A Goods…(21 Scotland Rd South Orange 973-761-0876) a Soho style men’s clothing store  in the heart of downtown South Orange. The store  features an "urban classic trend," according to Kingston that mixes and matches styles. The store opened its doors in December, 2008.
Renee is a recent Cornell University graduate with a major in textile and apparel management. She opened Grade A Goods because she felt there was an absence of men’s clothing stores in the area.
Renee’s target customers are young men- twenty to early thirties- who are sophisticated, outgoing, and wil ...

Tanya Blue of Woodbridge knows that women going through chemo therapy have special worries about how the treatment will affect their beauty.

Hair loss, skin reactions, exhaustion—Tanya experienced all of it when she was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago, just before her wedding. But Tanya was determined to maintain her beauty routine, and battled the disease by always putting her best foot forward.
Blue, who dresses Broadway actors for a living, knew that if she looked good, she would feel better and stronger. So she created Chemo Beauty Box (www.chemobeautybox.com) a web-based business where she combines accessories and cosmetics that women need into pretty gift boxes.
“I work in the theater, the land of make-believe, so what be ...

Keep the address 99 Rumson Road in mind this weekend. It’s the annual spectacular Stately Homes By The Sea (www.statelyhomesbythesea.com) showcase—it opens this week and you won’t regret making the trek to tour one of the foremost properties in this ultra-exclusive ‘hood. It’s all for a great cause, the Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey.
In South Orange, you can celebrate some of the town’s magnificent homes, and help the town historical society this weekend by attending the Gems of South Orange House Tour on Saturday. (www.sohps.org).
Travel Around The World in Eighty Days without leaving En Jay this weekend, by taking in the Shakespeare Theatre’s (www.shakespearenj.org) production of the Jules Verne novel.
Watch former bandleader-turned-cabaret star Eddie Bruce’s famous tribute to Tony Bennett ...

NJ My Way sought out three purportedly delicious cupcake spots and sampled them in order to guide you, our readers, towards a more perfect pastry experience.
Cupcakes by Carousel (www.CupcakesbyCarousel.com) in Ridgewood has a variety of cupcakes beautifully displayed in the fun little shop, and evokes child-like enthusiasm for dessert. The cheerful staff happily answered my queries about flavor and ingredients, chatting welcomingly. The vanilla-on-vanilla cupcake I selected had dense cake coated in a generous layer of thick, sugary frosting. The cupcake prices ranged between $2.25 and $3.75, depending on how elaborate the flavors. On my way out, I grabbed a free colorful magnet and complimentary temporary cupcake tattoo. Cupca ...

Sitting on the side of a forlorn lot just off the main drag in Florham Park, Viet Ai (www.vietai1.com) will delight your taste buds. The small lot in the back fills up quickly, so you may wish to park off Columbia Turnpike. Walk in through the back.
Smiling faces abound this nearly two year old temple of all things Vietnamese food. All from scratch and cooked with abundant love.
 This gem of a "hole-in-the -wall" restaurant serves "classic" Vietnamese food like Pho, the salubrious national soup dish, chock full of any kind of meat your heart desires. Rare beef is king here, as are navel, stomach, brisket and sweet slices of smoked then grilled barbequed pork.
One can never go wrong with a summer roll consisting o ...

This weekend, we devote our “picks” to helping the victims of the Haiti earthquake--- How can you help? Your options are all around you:
Wegmans throughout the state (www.wegmans.com) will accept customer donations at checkout through Saturday January 23rd. Donations will go to the American Red Cross.
The Peapack-Gladstone Bank is collecting donations in support of the Red Cross relief efforts, in all of its branches. Checks made payable to the American Red Cross can also be mailed to Peapack-Gladstone Bank, PO Box 178, Gladstone, NJ 07934.
Students at Gateway Regional School district in Woodbury Heights will be collecting spare change for the cause through Friday January 22nd.
Millburn students will be collecting funds in the downtown on Saturday January 23rd and Sunday the 24th.
Morris County churches are holding foo ...

{mosimage}A powerful exhibit from Holocaust survivors at the Monmouth Museum (www.monmouthmuseum.org ). This multi-media display features suitcases of survivors filled with scrapbooks, photographs and letters; and award winning art from local students.
They’re going to the dogs tomorrow and Saturday in a big way at the NJ Convention & Exposition Center (www.njexpocenter.com). Root for your favorite breeds from the New Brunswick Kennel Club (www.nbkc.org).
Head out on Spring’s first birding adventure at Duke Farms (www.dukefarms.org) on Saturday morning. You’ll need to pre-register on their website for this hike with naturalists from the New Jersey Audubon Society.
Environmentally friendly Earthshare (www.earthsharenj.org) is holding a fundraiser at the Laurita Winery in New Egypt tomorrow, which includes a wine t ...