Local Valentine's Day Gifts- Part I

Ever since my father gave me chocolates and teddy bears on Valentine's Day as a kid (up until the day I got married), I've always thought it was nice to have a special day in the middle of winter for some extra thoughtfulness. So I've decided to give you a few local gift ideas to get you started on buying a gift for the special woman in your life. I haven't posted about Envie on Seventh St. in a little while and with Valentine's Day on its way, I thought this was a good time. 

This piece below really caught my eye because it just shouts "Valentine's Day" to me. There's so much that you can pair it with and wear it with. It's truly a classic, can't-go-wrong V-day gift that any woman would love to own:

Super Bowl Sunday is almost here- Whaaazzzzup!

Too bad the Giants and (Hoboken resident) Eli Manning didn’t make Super Bowl XLVIII, but we still get to cheer on the Broncos (seventh timers) and the Seahawks (second timers) and that's enough reason to throw a fantastic Super Bowl Party.  Actually, as an American consumer, the commercials alone are reason enough to throw a party ("Whaaazzzzup!"). Click here for one of the all-time classics.

I think hosting a Super Bowl party is different than hosting any other party. Typical parties usually have a designated start and end time (alright, that last part may not be 100% true). But at Super Bowl parties, guests may come as early as pre-game (Fox pre-game kicks off at 2pm), which is often hours before kickoff (6:25pm ET), and they could stay until the post-game commentary. Since the game itself could potentially last up to 6 hours, your guests could be sitting on your couch for many, many hours.

As an alternative, you may want to consider hosting a "first half party", which will enable guests to either stop in at another party for the second half or finish watching in their own homes. This could mean a reasonable bedtime if you have kids and no late night driving. But be sure not to miss the half time show. I definitely won't since Bruno Mars is performing along with his signature Fedora and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (wait, that gives me a menu idea). And since this is quintessential American family entertainment, let's hope for no [accidentally on purpose] wardrobe malfunctions this year.

Whatever the game plan of your party, your mission as host remains the same: to provide crowd-pleasing food in a fun atmosphere that will be conducive to the game-impacting superstitions (a little superstition never hurts) and touchdown dances that will be going on in your living room.

Capo Ristorante- Delizioso!

Whether you live in GC or not, you should know that there's a centrally located Italian restaurant in Floral Park called Capo Ristorante (fyi- Capo is short for the owners last name). We dined here recently and really enjoyed our visit. The decor is tastefully done and it's very cozy inside with lots of warm, earthy colors. There's a huge wooden wine rack built into the back wall and a charming tin ceiling that adds a nice, old-school touch. 

Organizationally Challenged

Since I've been sticking to my New Years' resolutions, every part of my house, office, closets, garage, etc is now completely and efficiently organized... juuuust kidding. There are probably a few areas in all of our homes that need some type of organization intervention. Here's how the situation usually unfolds for me: I start tackling projects without a real plan in mind. Then I get frustrated by my (lack of) progress, which causes me to give up and arrive promptly back at square one. Not a good outcome. 

I'm hoping this will change since Inside Garden City is lucky enough to have Mary Carlomagno- author and professional organizer- join us a guest blogger! Mary is the owner of Order, a company that specializes in clutter control and organization, among a few other things like shopping addictions (ahem... you know who you are). She has written numerous books on how to organize your space and therefore your life. Mary has appeared on Oprah, the Today Show, Fox and Friends and many other shows, plus she's been featured in numerous mags and newspapers. Mary is a true authority on organizing and de-cluttering. She will answer your questions by providing real-life, practical solutions. 

I welcome our readers to submit your organizing dilemmas to Mary while we have the opportunity to benefit from her expertise. If she can help Oprah, I'm sure she can help us! Please submit your organizing challenges via our Facebook page: "Inside Garden City" or email us at insidegardencity@gmail.com. Mary's solutions, tips and product recommendations will be featured on an upcoming guest blog. If you want to learn more about Mary and her experience, please visit her website at www.orderperiod.com. Happy organizing!

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Events Guide for Your MLK Weekend

Who doesn't love a 3 day weekend? Inside Garden City has got you covered with some local and some not-so-local holiday weekend events:

Central Park Ice Fest- Celebrate the cold in Central Park on Sat 1/18 from noon to 3pm. Enter mid-park at 72nd St. Pack your thermos of hot chocolate (or buy some there) and see some very talented ice sculptors at work on the most amazing NYC sculptures.
http://www.centralparknyc.org/about/news/central-park-news/ice-festival.html

Broad Hollow Theatre Company 700 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont. (516) 775-4420
Don't miss Shrek the Musical on Sat., 1/18 at 8pm and Sun., 1/19 at 2:30pm. Price: $14-$25

Butter Makes it Better

Some people have a sweet tooth and some have a savory tooth. Lucky (or not so lucky) for me, I have a serious sweet tooth. When I visited Buttercooky Bakery on Jericho Turnpike for the first time last weekend, I was very excited to try a variety of their sweets.

One of my go to desserts is always a cannoli. I chose the chocolate covered shell. Did I mention I had a sweet tooth? For some reason, I didn't manage a picture of the cannoli... Let's just say it was solid. However, if you're into crumb cake or biscotti, I wouldn't say Buttercooky is your first stop (more about that in another post). Can't resist paraphrasing a Godfather quote to sum this up: "Leave the crumb cake and biscotti... Take the cannoli." 

It seemed that people could not get enough of the cakes. They were coming in left and right to pick up cakes, order cakes, buy pre-made cakes and order wedding cakes. The pre-mades cakes in the cases looked fantastic, although I didn't try them. At this point, my jeans were begging me to stop. Here are a few that are worth a return trip:

                          

I met a fellow GC customer at Buttercooky, who confessed to being a regular. He told me I couldn't go wrong with the Grand Marnier Chocolate Mousse cake. I may have to come up with an occasion just to order this in the near future:

I spotted these on the way out and since Superbowl Sunday is coming up, you may want to order a few when you're planning your menu:

Buttercooky's cupcakes all looked picture-perfect. They would make a great addition to any party or shower. Who could resist these?

They also have a Manhasset location. But it's time for a trip to the gym before I visit that one!



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Raising the Party Bar

Moms and Dads are super busy these days and often don't have the time, talent or desire (I admit to this last one) to plan a proper birthday party for their children. But they still want to give them an awesome party. What's a parent to do? Well, hold onto your cupcakes and goodie bags because there's a new player rockin' the kids party scene in GC.

Ok, so Lil' Athletes is not really a "new player." They're experts at running children's classes and have been holding birthday parties in Huntington for eight years. But did you know they started hosting parties for ages 2-10 in West Hempstead in November? We were one of the first families to hold a birthday party there.

I was a little nervous since Lil' Athletes Sports Academy just opened their doors at Island Garden Basketball (former home of the ABA NY Nets and Dr J back when he was dunking red, white and blue basketballs in the 70s), but I was assured that it would run as smooth as silk. And it did. The owner, Brett, and his wife Jennifer ran the show along with a great staff. I requested the party be run like one of their classes- lots of playtime, zero downtime, fun for boys AND girls. I got exactly what I asked for and saw nothing but happy kids laughing, running, playing, jumping, throwing, etc. What kid doesn't enjoy pelting the coaches with rubber balls? 

There were plenty of enthusiastic staff members on hand to help out with activities and serve food/cake. We were never rushed. They were helpful when I wanted to take group photos. I got the feeling that the staff was enjoying the kids and party as well. I know from other children's parties I've been to and even some of my own, that is not always the case. I often see uninterested "I'm too school for cool" young teenage assistants who would rather be anywhere than working a kiddie birthday party.

Another thing that distinguishes Lil' Athletes is that the owners are very easygoing with how YOU want to run the party. If you want to have face painters, a bounce house, t-shirt airbrushing, characters, tattoo artists, etc..., they will likely say "Bring it." I don't know about you, but I love this can-do attitude from people I do business with.  

The best part-- the kids had a blast. I heard from many of the parents that it was the best party they had been to and their kids were talking about it weeks later. So get your party on at Lil' Athletes! 516-874-0345.


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