Friday on my mind

I can now count it in weeks, yes weeks! (eight, to be exact.Plus a day.) til Black Friday 2007. Oh bliss! Oh joy! Oh set the alarm for 2am! Nothing short of labor would keep me away--days after eye surgery this past year I was happily #3 on line in sub-freezing weather at Electronics Expo with a group of newly-discovered warm close and personal friends, all of us united in a desire to score a fantastic doorbuster bar-goon(Oh, did I mention this encounter took place by 2:45am?!)
We take the day very seriously in my household. It starts weeks before: emails from sites like Black Friday Ads, builds up to the Wednesday-before circulars and, finally, Thanksgiving night strategizing of who goes where and what we are buying. Typically Herb goes to Best Buy, Circuit City and Staples, while I head for Borders, Target and anywhere else I can sleepwalk into before 12 Noon.
Oh the adventure of it all! The countdown Has Begun!

A Rose by any other name

And this one is sweet indeed. If you're invited to someone's home during the High Holidays (good new year's wishes by the way)--or for any other special occasion--of course you are bringing some kind of hostess gift (this is probably the one bit of "visiting etiquette" my daughters will say I drilled into them from early childhood!) Right next door to Gabriel's Fountain in Martinsville is The Purple Rose. Wonderful source for lovely gift items that you just don't see everywhere. Lynda also specializes in Judaica (she carries names like Rosenthal and Tamara Baskin) and the myriad of Vera Bradley fans cut a path to her door! Right now is especially fine time to shop here--a 25% sale is going on (and I hope my Amy and Jim are not reading this--I got your housewarming present here, a stunning contemporary etched art glass vase by Stephen Schlanser). The Purple Rose is at 1946 Washington Valley Road; 732-868-9000.

Hair There and Everywhere

Had to clue you in to a really cute ponytail holder. It consists of a flat circular floral painted disc suspended on color-coordinated elastic band. Made by trendy West Coast accessories company Zad I just found it at my hair salon, The Vanity Room, in Bernardsville.

I just got an invitation in the mail

(for the Fred Astaire fans you'll of course recognize the opening lines to "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails"!)


"Downtown Somerville business owners would like to invite you and your fellow shoppers to Somerville Sampler Day on Saturday, September 15th from 10 am - 5 pm.

The day will feature outdoor sales, special deals, giveaways and free restaurant tastings.

More information is at www.findsomerville.com

Downtown Somerville is home to many one-of-a-kind, independently owned specialty gift, antique, home decor and clothing stores."

Basking in the sun

This sunny morning driving from Bernardsville to Martinsville I shortcutted (not really but I like the scenery!) thru Basking Ridge's lovely shopping street, South Finley Avenue. What an inviting couple of blocks! An avenue shaded by beautiful old leafy trees, old-fashioned store signs outside an interesting assortment of shops that are housed in authentically quaint buildings. A downtown setting to soothe the nostalgic and entice the trendy. Other places try to create this sense of shopping comfort; this is the real thing! I'll be back!

I'll drink to that!

Did you know that there are exactly two drive-thru beverage stores in the state...and we've got one of them?! I have driven past Elliott Beverages The Beverage SuperMarket numerous times and never made the time for it. Until a week ago when my curiousity was greater than my usual desire to get from point A to point B with no stops in-between. Wow--brought on immediate and intense fantasies of drive-thru shoe stores, drive-thru bagel shops, drive-thru bookstores...you get the picture. And, yes, you actually drive through the store and shop without stepping foot (hopefully the one that is on the brake pedal) outside your vehicle. Over 850 varieties of sodas, seltzers, teas, water and over 250 brands of domestic and imported beers and micro-brews as well as a complete line of wine and liquor. Don't see what you're looking for? Ask Jim DiLorenzo and his staff and they will assist. Elliott Beverages is at 573 Union Avenue in Bridgewater.