Shopping
Last Minute Valentines
Tue, February 09, 2010

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 ...
Art & Culture
Arts and Crafts
Mon, February 08, 2010

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. ...
Dad In The Box
Super Bowl Redux
Fri, February 05, 2010

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, ...
Weekend Picks
First Fridays, Chocolate Tours, Jamboree
Thu, February 04, 2010
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 ...
Food
Food With Heart
Wed, February 03, 2010
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 ...
Shopping
For Your Valentine
Tue, February 02, 2010
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 ...
Jersey Kids
Going Indoors
Mon, February 01, 2010

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 ...
Dad In The Box
Cafe Addendum Errata
Fri, January 29, 2010

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. ...
Weekend Picks
Benefits, Snoopy In Space, Polar Plunge
Thu, January 28, 2010

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 ...
Food
Cupcakes and Aprons
Wed, January 27, 2010
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 ...