The Charms of Asbury Park

By Jessica Vogel

If you're looking for a classic New Jersey shore town rich with history and culture, you might want to try Asbury Park. The town, once considered the entertainment epicenter of the state, suffered recently from an economic turndown. Thankfully, it is now being revitalized by a community that is not willing to compromise what Asbury is known for: its deep-rooted musical scene, artistic background, and trendy nature. I recently spent a weekend exploring the area and all it has to offer.

The town provides hours of entertainment in a few square miles. The downtown area has an extensive variety of shops, from the fun housewares of Shelter Home to the custom glassware at Candy’s Cottage. Vintage clothing shops, unique furniture stores, pet boutiques, and antiques stores also line the streets.

The appreciation and creation of art are an enormous part of the town’s atmosphere. Art galleries and outdoor sculptures dot the streets and classes in glass fusing, glass blowing, and pottery are offered at local shops.

Gourmet dining at an affordable price is another great aspect of Asbury Park. I had a meal at Old Man Rafferty’s, but there are plenty of restaurants and coffee shops where you can grab a meal or listen to an open mic night.

Although music is a major presence throughout Asbury Park, the real musical scene thrives closer to the boardwalk, at historical venues such as The Stone Pony and The Wonder Bar, and newer places such as Tim McCloone’s. On any night, you can be sure to walk along the shoreline and hear anything from hard-pounding rock to classic jazz.

After all the time I spent in Asbury Park, I still don’t think it was enough. I could have spent a few more hours scouring the antique shops for the perfect find and I certainly could have listened to another song by a local band. Any guest of the town can find something interesting, whether it’s shopping, art, dining, or the musical scene. Asbury Park is definitely worth the trip.

Real Housewives Smackdown

By Lauren Clay

When I walked through the doors of Bergen PAC on October 17, I wasn’t sure what the night would bring, I only knew that I was there for a night of “Dishing and Debates” with cast members from the Real Housewives of New Jersey and New York. My first thought was that I’d be witness to a night filled with catfights, so imagine my surprise when the night turned out to be less Jerry Springer and more The View.

Before the women even went on stage, the audience was told to cheer for who they were there to see – New York or New Jersey. It was no surprise when New Jersey won that competition by a mile. From that moment on, I knew Jersey had this debate in the bag.

Jill and Alex from New York were the first to take the stage. Even from far away I could tell that these women were all about appearance and glamour. They both looked beautiful, but I was secretly hoping that the New Jersey women would outdo them. I was not disappointed. Caroline walked out first and looked very striking in an understated but gorgeous dress. Then Teresa entered and wowed everyone in a sparkling silver mini-dress and matching heels. When she announced that just had a baby five weeks earlier, I was in total shock. If only all women could bounce back that quickly from a pregnancy, but we can only dream.

The one thing I liked about all of the women was their strong sense of pride for where they come from. When asked what they thought the big differences were between New York and New Jersey, I think Caroline said it best:

“New York has the glitz and the glamour, but on New Jersey, we’re not afraid to go on TV without makeup. We’ll put it all out there – the good, the bad, the ugly, the happy, the sad – I think we have no fear. What your see is what you get.”

When asked about why they love New Jersey, Caroline talked about how in New Jersey, “everything is a blink away” – she can be in Manhattan in 15 minutes and the shore is only 45 minutes away. Jill chimed in by praising New Jersey for not taxing clothes.

Although the night didn’t turn out to be quite the debate I thought it would be, it was a lot of fun to say the least, especially during the audience Q & A, which turned into people asking questions about the upcoming seasons and Jill, in true New York style, cutting in to say “she can’t talk about that, you’ll have to watch and find out.”

All in all, it was a great evening and in my opinion, the Jersey women represented us well and proved what I’ve known for years – New Jersey is definitely better than New York.

Fashion News: Betsey Johnson Given Lifetime Award

By Liz Donovan

Tastefully outlandish designer Betsey Johnson was awarded the 2009 Medal of Honor for Lifetime Achievement in Fashion by the National Arts Club in Manhattan. The award was given at a black-tie presentation last month, which drew a large crowd of fashion editors and insiders, and even Betsey’s childhood dance instructor (possibly the same woman who taught the 67-year-old designer how to nail that famous runway cartwheel). “I’m so excited, honored, and thrilled,” said Betsey. “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Congratulations, Betsey!

Photo:
Associate editor Liz Donovan with designer Betsey Johnson. Dress by Mill Crest Vintage in Lambertville.

My Cup of Tea

By Brianne Harrison

I’ve never been a big coffee drinker, but like most people, I need a little something to get me going in the morning (and, admittedly, to keep me going all day). So what do I turn to? Tea. The venerable drink once most closely associated with Victorian tea parties and meditative Japanese ceremonies has recently become hip again, which is good news for us tea lovers (newcomers and lifers both!) because it means it’s much easier to get our hands on the good stuff.

A lifetime of drinking tea has turned me into a major snob, I’ll admit it. I can’t stand tea from teabags* and instead make it the old-fashioned way—by brewing loose-leaf tea. Plenty of people think loose-leaf tea is a pain—and yes, it is messier and slightly more work than tossing in a bag that can just be thrown away, but loose-leaf tea’s the best kind—it’s typically tastier than what you get in a teabag because it’s a higher grade of tea. It’s definitely worth trying at least once, so you can taste the difference.

But where does one buy this type of tea? As I said, the rise in tea’s popularity has meant an increase in places to buy it. Wegman’s carries loose-leaf tea, and there are quite a few teashops scattered throughout New Jersey. I, however, prefer to order my tea from Adagio, which is based in Clifton and offers pretty much any tea you could possibly want—black, flavored black, oolong, white, green, rooibos, herbal—you name it, they have it. And if they don’t have it, you can easily create a custom blend through their website. If you just want a taste without the commitment of a whole canister, you can order small sample tins for as little as $2. As a bonus for us New Jerseyans, since Adagio is a New Jersey company, your order will most likely be on your doorstep within a business day, maybe two, depending on when you place your order, so no need to pay for overnight shipping!

Another nice thing about Adagio is its website, which provides a wealth of information. If you don’t know the first thing about tea, you can learn everything you need to know there, and if you’re so obsessed you want to live, breathe, and eat the stuff, you can learn how to do that too (their recipe section is great—I can’t wait to go home and make the fresh fig and Assam Melody tea bread or the Darjeeling braised pork).

If you’re still not quite sold on tea, consider the health benefits. Tea has been credited with helping to prevent cavities, fight allergies, improve memory, lower the risk of certain cancers, lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, increase the strength of your immune system, and boost your metabolism. You can’t say that about coffee. And, if loose tea is too much of a hassle, Adagio sells many of its teas in tea sachets, so you get all the benefits of the loose leaf in the convenience of a teabag.

My Picks

Chocolate/Valentine’s teas: I know what you’re thinking—Chocolate? Really? Ew. But bear with me. This tea really does taste like chocolate. Not Hershey’s chocolate, but a nice, mellow, dark chocolate. It has all the (many) benefits of black tea, and it helps me fight my cravings for sweets, which obviously helps keep the waistline in check. For extra indulgence, try their Valentine’s tea, which tastes amazingly like a chocolate-covered strawberry.

Golden Monkey: This one’s a little bit of a splurge, but it’s worth it. The tea brews up a beautiful golden color and has a wonderful, rich caramel taste to it. It’s great for after dinner.
Assam Melody: My new go-to breakfast tea. A wonderful, hearty basic black with a slightly malty taste to it.

Silver Needle: The queen of white teas. White tea is, apparently, one of the healthiest teas you can drink. This particular tea is the best of the best, which means it, too, is a splurge, but also one that’s worth it. The tea brewed from it is light, floral, and the tiniest bit sweet. Unlike most teas, you can brew this one over and over again all day long without really affecting the flavor.

*When I say teabags, I mean the flimsy paper ones filled with tea dust, not the lovely silky ones filled with whole leaf teas. I consider those tea sachets. I told you I was a snob.

Don’t Let the Fit Hit the Fan…

Easy Ways to Enjoy a Weekend without Undoing Your Work-Week Workouts

By Molly McGrath

The work-week is crazy, at times leaving little room for fun. Then the weekend arrives and friends begin to call up to make plans… meet for coffee? Pastries included. Movie date? Popcorn and Milk Duds please. Want to check out that new restaurant? I hear the dessert menu’s great.

Why is it that sometimes all there is to do is eat? Not only that, but all there is to do is sit still and eat. I sit at a desk all week and squeeze exercise classes into the spare hours between work and sleep, then my beloved weekend comes along with its promises of fun and lures me into a haven of delicious bad decisions.

It can be very hard to find a balance between a healthy lifestyle and a fun one. But, once again, our beautiful state provides. Here are some great ideas to fill your free time with fitness… and not even notice it.

Dance Parties!

Friday nights try “Swinging with Simone’s Jersey Bounce!” in Montclair. Learn the dances and then swing the night away! For just $15 you get a complimentary lesson followed by an evening of fun from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. For more information visit swingingwithsimone.com

Or, hit the Parkway and head for Cape May for Vintage Dance Weekend October 10 & 11. Learn the traditional dances of the 19th century and then put your newfound expertise to good use at a costumed Vintage Ball on Saturday night or a Tea Dance Sunday afternoon! For ticketing packages and additional information visit capemaymac.org.

Sight-Seeing Calorie Burn

Take on the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge the weekend of October 17 & 18. Visit 13 historic lighthouses/sites throughout the state. Each participating site will have its own souvenir token to commemorate the visit. You don’t have to enter the lighthouse to meet the challenge… but you should! That’s a lot of steps! Your glutes will thank you. For more information visit njlhs.org.

Walk It Out

The easiest exercise of all—just get moving. On Saturday, October 10, enjoy a 90 minute Historic Hike through from the Morris County Courthouse uphill to Fort Nonsense. The tour beings at 10 a.m.

Or, set your own pace by wandering through one of the many street fairs going on around the state. Stroll amongst the vendors… and maybe opt to walk briskly past the funnel cake stand. Visit streetfairs.org for to find a fair near you.

When the weekend rolls around and you finally find yourself with some free time be sure to spend it wisely. Make memories, spend time with friends, learn something, see something new, spend your weekends feeling great in the Garden State.

For more great ideas to fill your free time visit the NJL event calendar.

Chic Crowds, Stiletto Blisters, and Anna Wintour at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week

Photo by Peter Stigter and

Jonas Gustavsson for The Times

By Liz Donovan

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, in all its glory, is admittedly a little intimidating. The crowd at Bryant Park is tough to please, which I learned the hard way during my first venture into the tents last fall. (One comment from a fellow attendee I tried to introduce myself to: “I didn’t know there was a life in New Jersey.”) But for the Spring/Summer presentations, September 10 to 17, I arrived in Manhattan confidently prepared to shine — and snub, if necessary. I managed to pull together a chic outfit, which required me to ditch my glasses so to not compete with my hair accessories. Vision-impairment aside, I fell into the herd, strutting from Promenade to Salon to the main Tent, taking in the newest and hottest designs set to hit stores and fashion rags over the next season. Here are some highlights from the week:

• On Thursday, September 10, Tory Burch made her debut in the tents. Burch opted for a presentation instead of a runway show — a packed house of attendees circled around the runway, where models posed clad in the designer’s newest looks.
• Shopaholics and fashionistas alike hit the streets on Thursday, September 10, for Fashion’s Night Out, sponsored by Vogue. Shops across the city offered cocktails and entertainment, among other perks, to encourage shopping and boost the city’s economy.
• NJL spotted a fierce-looking Anna Wintour leaving the Michael Kors presentation on Wednesday, September 16.
• Steven Cox and Daniel Silver, co-designers of menswear line Duckie Brown, teamed with event sponsor McCafe to launch a limited-edition glove line that will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Actress and philanthropist Holly Robinson Peete was a guest speaker at the unveiling on September 10 in the Bryant Park McCafe booth. To purchase the gloves for a suggested donation of $50, send a Twitter message at twitter.com/
  mccafeyourday.
• Funktastic designer Betsey Johnson made an appearance at the Sharpie booth Monday, September 14 to design a one-of-a-kind tee-shirt that will be auctioned off to benefit cancer research center City of Hope. Fashion week attendees were given exclusive Sharpie tee-shirts, also designed by Betsey, and were invited to create their own designs by stenciling and doodling on bracelets, headbands, ties, and clutches.

By the end of the week, I had gained one traffic ticket, countless stiletto-induced blisters, and tons of material for New Jersey Life’s fashion pages. Stay tuned for the latest trends and looks you’ll love.

Fall For Fall

By Molly McGrath

Summertime brings “summer loving” and in spring “love is in the air.” We even have a holiday where a little man in a diaper shoots us with arrows and makes us fall in love with one another right smack in the middle of winter.

Fall is all alone. Fall gets a bad rap sometimes, stealing summer away the way it does. In my humble opinion, though, it is the greatest time of year. I have had an ongoing love affair with fall since I was a little girl. I can smell it in the air in the last weeks of summer. I can’t help but smile the first day it’s cool enough to wear jeans and a jacket. My feet jump for joy when I retire my flip-flops and pull out my socks, sneakers, and boots. I believe that there should be a celebration of love in autumn, just as there is for every other season. That celebration will start right here—it’s time to fall in love with fall.

The first reason to love fall is a no-brainer—just open your eyes. Our state isn’t called “The Garden State” by accident. Fall in New Jersey is beautiful. The changing leaves paint a picturesque backdrop to our daily lives for an entire season! Go outside and take it all in. There are plenty of parks and forests calling your name. Find one near you at the New Jersey Department of Parks & Forestry’s website, nj.gov/dep/parksandforests.

Reason #2 to fall in love with fall: Harvest activities. Apple picking, pumpkin picking-carving-or-painting, corn mazes, festivals. Who could ask for anything more? What could be better than spending the day with your family sipping apple cider and munching on donuts in a sweater and jeans? Who doesn’t love crisp, cool, sunny days? Or grab your friends and make your way through a corn maze—you may become hopelessly lost, but at least you’ll be together. Check out the Tewksbury Harvest Festival on September 26 at Christie Hoffman Farm in Califon, visit one of the many “pick your own” farms in our state, or head out to Stony Hill Farm in Chester for “Maize Quest” the biggest corn maze in the state!

Foliage and fall festivals are the obvious reasons to love autumn, but for me, there is a less recognized one too.

Fall is a great time to help others. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Women, join the fight for yourselves and for each other. Men, join the fight for the women in your life. The Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation will hold three walk-a-thons across the state this September. Visit kohnj.org to find out how you can get involved. Then, in October, take up the fight during Breast Cancer Awareness month. Visit cancer.org and find out how you can participate in a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5k.

With Labor Day behind us it’s time to face the facts: summer’s days are numbered. But the doldrums of winter are still months away! So before you let your summer lovin’ go into hibernation, try having a fling with fall.

Fit is It

By Molly McGrath

After months of rolling around on my basement floor trying hopelessly to instruct myself through myriad exercise DVDs, and hours of considering the financial magnitude of a gym membership, I had given up. Monumental registration fees and long-term contracts were the demons that scared me away from the gym and into my basement, where I stretched, crunched, lifted, flexed, squeezed…and right back upstairs for a snack. “Home-Gym” had become my own personal oxymoron. It just wasn’t working out. It’s not you “home-gym”… it’s me

So there I was, with nowhere to exercise, a fitness vagabond. It was time to face the music.

Ok, enough with the dramatic overtones. It was literally time to face the music—I signed up for Jazzercise. This is not the leg-warmer-wearing, leotard-sporting Jazzercise of the past, though, ladies. We are talking 60 minutes of fast-moving, heart-pumping, calorie-burning FUN! Combining moves from hip-hop, yoga, Pilates, jazz dance, kickboxing and resistance training, your friendly instructor will lead you through routine after routine set to tunes from yesterday and today. You can burn up to 500 calories in one session!

Don’t be nervous about joining this group fitness class alone or not knowing the dance moves: everyone is very welcoming and works at their own pace. Do your best and have a great time doing it! (And if you’re really nervous you can visit jazzercise.com and learn the moves ahead of time!)

Jazzercise is a lower-cost, high-impact, high-fun way to get fit. With classes offered multiple times a day, almost every day, it’s a perfect match for any schedule. Join an exercise community! Look great, feel great, break up with bad habits and make fit… FUN.

There are Jazzercise locations all over the state. Find one near you at jazzercise.com.

Misadventures Down The Shore

By Molly McGrath

Since I was six I have spent one week each summer in Wildwood. This year’s vacation began like any other—wake up at the crack of dawn, load the car, pile in, and head for the Garden State Parkway. Here, my misadventures began.

Misadventure #1: The philosophy of “wake up early to beat the traffic” has become a farce. By 8 a.m. the traffic was backed up just to get on the parkway and our E.T.A. of 10 a.m. was quickly pushed back to 11:30. A minor setback in the grand scheme of things, but a pain in the butt nonetheless.

Misadventure #2: Attempting to walk on the Wildwood Boardwalk between 9 a.m. and noon. One morning my mom and I decided to go for a walk. Minutes after arriving a loud “BANG!” rang out. A gun shot? A car backfiring? Oh, no. No, no. A rental-bike-tire-blowout. I kid you not. One second this man is having a great time riding his adult-size trike down the boards and then suddenly he’s swerving uncontrollably and trying to regain his balance. It could happen to anyone. It could happen to you. And if it doesn’t happen to you, you could still be the poor pedestrian who gets his foot run over. No one is exempt from rental bike misadventures between 9 a.m. and noon.

Misadventure #3: Attack of the killer salps. Ok, so they weren’t “killer” exactly, but they sure were gross. Cape May County was inundated with what seemed to be baby jellyfish—salps. The problem got worse and worse each day until they were piled as thick as slush in the winter and you could leave footprints in them. One man on the beach even suffered from salp-infested chest hair (uh, ew). And how about the thousands of mussels that washed up in Ocean City last week… sorry I missed out on that one.

These misadventures happen to us all—seagulls attacking us for our food (my own grandmother once took a wing to the back of the head and lost her sandwich in the fight), small children driving into us on their bikes, drivers from *insert-least-favorite-state-here* slowing us down… and yet we keep coming back. The traffic gets worse, the crowds get bigger, the salps attack… And yet every summer there we all are.

The Jersey Shore is an undeniably magical place. Why? Because it’s where we’ve all grown up. It’s possible to overlook the misadventures because of the things that always stay the same: the way your heart beats a little faster when you see the ocean for the first time in a year, the smell of salt and the sound of the waves crashing when you first set foot on the sand, the way the lights on the ferris wheel and the sounds of kids laughing instantly make you smile and remember that… down the shore everything’s all right.

New Jersey: More Than Just Corrupt Politicians

By Brianne Harrison

It seems like New Jersey really can’t catch a break. Just when we start clawing our way toward respectability, some new corruption scandal erupts, and we’re back to being the subject of national jokes, much eye-rolling, and comments of “Of course, it’s New Jersey!”

Which really isn’t fair at all. New Jersey has a lot of good things going for it, although out-of-staters seem to think it’s one giant mob-run garbage dump populated with characters from the Sopranos and the Real Housewives. I grew up in and very near New Jersey, and when I think of the state, I tend to think of charming small towns like Lambertville, where I now work, and Princeton, where I now live. Or Collingswood, Haddonfield, or Westfield. I’m not naïve—I know there are lots of non-idyllic places in the state, but the charming spots are out there. People don’t think of small towns when they think of New Jersey—they think of dangerous cities. I’ll admit to falling victim to that once myself, feeling nervous the first time I had to go into Trenton on my own, but what I found surprised me. The area I was in (granted, it was the nice area of town, near the Capitol building) was lovely, and the people were quite friendly. They smiled at me as we passed on the sidewalk. When was the last time someone did that to you in New York?

New Jersey is a small state, which means it’s easy to criss cross it and take advantage of everything it has to offer. You could, theoretically, spend your morning strolling along the Delaware or popping in and out of antiques shops in Lambertville, perhaps sipping a nice, house-roasted coffee from Rojo’s Roastery; then head north and enjoy the nightlife and views of the Manhattan skyline from Jersey City or Hoboken. After you’ve slept off the night’s revelries, you can cruise down to the shore, choosing from a wide array of towns to suit your mood (hip and happening? Laid back and quiet? You’ve got it!) and work on your tan. On our way home, pick up dinner fixings at one of the many farm stands, farmers’ markets, or mom-and-pop specialty shops that dot the state. There aren’t too many places where you could accomplish all this in a single weekend, if you have the stamina.

Does New Jersey have its problems? Yes, but what state doesn’t? New York’s politicians certainly can’t brag about their squeaky-clean noses, but I don’t remember too many “Oh, of course, it's New York,” comments after the Spitzer scandal.

There will always be corrupt politicians out there. Another scandal will come, and we Jersey defenders (or apologists) will roll our eyes and cringe. When that happens, we’ll do just what we’re doing now—smile grimly at others’ jokes at our state’s expense, try to put our faith in the good politicians out there (and we do have a few!), and remind ourselves of the many great things New Jersey has to offer.