Do You Tweet?

There’s a pretty awesome North Jersey bridal community that’s growing over on Twitter. Lots of popular wedding pros from all around the area are steadily active on it and it’s proving to be a great way for casual interaction and introductions. With so much activity, it’s sometimes difficult to keep up with exactly what cool kids from the North Jersey wedding community have joined, so we’ve put together a list of local North Jersey wedding professionals on Twitter.


To be included on the list, simply leave your twitter @name along with your specialty as a comment below and we’ll publish the complete list in a future blog.  Don’t forget to drop by our twitter page, follow us, and say “hi”!

p.s.: please help us spread the word and tell other wedding professionals in the area.

No Time To Cook? There’s an APP for that!

Here’s an app I think all of our busy singles, nesties and knotties will appreciate.  RealSimple has recently released their No Time To Cook app – designed to give you weekly grocery lists, step by step instructions, and how-to videos for more than 850 easy dinner recipes that can be prepared in 40 minutes or less.  It will cost you $4.99 and is only available for Android, iPhone, and iPAD.  Start cooking now and download this RealSimple app for your Android or iPHONE/iPAD today!

Have you already started using this app?  Has it made your life easier?  Tell us your experience below.

EXPOSED: Angela McKnight of Care About You

Throughout life, our parents are the ones we rely upon most for guidance and emotional strength.  After all, they mended our wounds after the first fall, walked us through the doors on the first day of school and dried our crying eyes after heartbreak.  The mark they leave on our lives is hard to ignore and impossible to erase.  Sometimes though, a day comes when our parents can no longer function alone and the parent-child roles become reversed.  Admittedly, anyone who’s ever experienced it will confess that it’s a jagged little pill where the side effects include feelings of being overwhelmed, bereft of answers, and inability to find adequate help.  Thankfully, the world still holds within it, individuals who care enough to help lighten the load of children caring for parents and empower elderly parents to reclaim as much of their independence as possible for as long as they can.  I like to think of them as Ambassadors of the Elderly and I’d like to introduce to you to Mrs. Angela McKnight, CEO of Care About You and a diva with a big heart.

Company Snapshot

  • Name: Care About You
  • Established: February 2010
  • What is your main line of business? We provide administrative and social services to senior citizens. The mission of Care About You is to address the needs of senior citizens and help them live life to the fullest. Whether a senior citizen cares for themselves or receives care from a loved one or caregiver, we are committed to helping senior citizens keep their independence.
  • What is the inspiration behind your business? My late mother & granny. Also, seeing many seniors being neglected, mistreated, and confused as to what to do next.
  • What is the best business advice you’ve ever received? Do what your heart tells you

Reflections

  • Hometown: Jersey City, NJ
  • School Creds: BA in Business Management
  • My First Job: Sears sales person in the children department
  • What keeps you up at night? Nothing, I love my sleep
  • What are some wise words that you live by? “This too shall pass”, “God does not give me too much to handle” and “Live your life”
  • What was/is your best career decision? Leaving the corporate world to dedicate my time helping senior citizens

Diversions

  • Reading now: My son’s homework assignment, The Bible, God’s Little Instruction Book for Women, Entrepreneur Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, Time Magazine, O Magazine and the Draft of my first book for caring for senior citizens
  • Reading next: Wouldn’t you say that my current list is too much to think about what’s next lol
  • Last fun purchase: Broccoli and Cheese Quiche from Houlihan’s
  • When you’re not working you can be found doing what? Working…lol

Playing Favorites

  • Hotel: The Westin (the heavenly beds are to die for)
  • Getaway: Aruba or Atlantic City
  • Guilty pleasure: Pizza

Looking for More Information

Destination Decadence: Dinner in the Sky

Have you been looking for a unique and exciting dining, wedding, or meeting experience?  Well, what would you say if I told you that you can delight in a gourmet dining experience, with friends or colleagues, while being suspended 164 ft in the air?  Pretty exciting, right?  And it’s true thanks to a unique company called “Events in the Sky” and their series of exclusive and unique dining packages, the most popular of which is called Dinner in the Sky.

Available in sessions that can last anywhere from 25 minutes to 8 hours, Dinner in the Sky is hosted at a table that is suspended, by crane, at heights that reach 164 feet in the air.  Each event can accommodate up to 22 people per session and includes 3 wait staff members (chef, waiter, and entertainer) who fit comfortably in the middle of the table.  If you need a little extra entertainment, they will hoist a second and conjoining platform into the sky.

Your reservation includes a number of benefits including a VIP cocktail reception, hors d’oeuvres and champagne toast during your Dinner in the Sky flight, a souvenir red carpet photo, your choice of entrée and access to the VIP cocktail lounge. Entrée choices include the Take It to the Top Fillet Medallion (filet mignon medallions with Bordelaise sauce sautéed in mushrooms and accompanied by au gratin potato and fresh asparagus with garlic and butter sauce) or the Sky Chicken (baked chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto, artichokes and gorgonzola cheese, apricot sauce and risotto).

Dinner in the Sky is now operated in more than 30 countries and has the official authorizations from Canada, Australia, South Africa and yes, the US – but only in Las Vegas and NYC – but in reality, tables can be hoisted anywhere, including a golf course, park, race track, castle, vineyard, etc. as long as there is 5000 sq. feet of space that can be secured.  Prices start at approximately $289.00 per person and for more information check out www.eventsinthesky.com

The luck of the Irish…

We’d like to wish all of our readers a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. If you’re like most of our friends, you’re one of the 94 million people who are wearing green today and your day will end only after you’ve stopped by an Irish Pub or two and are – dare we say it – tipsy? In anticipation of the tipsy part, we thought we’d help make those slurred drunken words you’re sure to be screaming out by night’s end sound almost impressive when recapping any of these cool facts about St. Patty’s Day.

  • St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17th because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he died on March 17th in the year 461 AD.
  • St. Patrick was not Irish but actually of Scottish descent
  • It is considered lucky to find a four leaf clover on St. Patrick’s Day and Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.
  • The tradition of eating corned beef and cabbage is solely an American invention – the Irish don’t actually eat it to celebrate the day. Likewise, many of the local pubs are closed on St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland.
  • Shamrocks are the national flower of Ireland. In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.
  • It is estimated that 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people.
  • Over 8 million St. Patrick’s Day cards are exchanged in America making today the ninth-largest card selling occasion in the US.

If you’re still unsure of where to go to, what parades to attend or bars to crawl, check out this list of St. Patrick’s Day activities worldwide.  And we’d love to hear any of your St. Patty’s Day facts and encourage you to share them below.  Cheers!!

Amazing Orchids

Any florist will tell you that if you’re looking for a flower that is not only beautifully radiant but also durably versatile, orchids are the perfect choice. After all, there are over 25,000 species of the flower, all of which are edible, and come in every color except blue.

The glamour and irresistible allure of more than 300 types of species and hybrid orchids will take center stage at The New York Botanical Garden from March 5 through April 25, 2011.

The Orchid Show is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will cost $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students with ID, $8 for children ages 2-12, children under 2 are free. For more information, please call 718.817.8700 or visit www.nybg.org

Digitize Your Handwriting

PHOTO CREDIT: SHOCKMD.COM

Handwriting has long been a skill that, like fingerprints, identifies us from each other and while modern day technology has taken over some of the heavy lifting; it remains an integral part of who we are, giving everything we do that extra-added personal touch.

A social communication that has been largely overshadowed by modern day technology but will never go out of style is the time tested handwritten note. After conducting a very non-scientific poll of my closest friends, it seems that many of us have good intentions of sending handwritten notes of gratitude and appreciation but never do, citing, horrible handwriting, lack of time or a complete transition to digital life as the most common reasons.

Click for Free Download

But leave it to technology to save us from…well, technology.  Online sites like Fonts For Peas allow you to download from a variety of handwritten fonts (complete download included below) while YourFonts allow you to convert up to 200 of your submitted handwriting samples into fonts that can be saved to your computer.   Both sites allow you to submit your fonts for free (note: Your Fonts will cost $9.95 to download your favorite fonts onto your computer) and can help rescue you in the moments when email just won’t do.

Found: A SoleMate

I think just about every woman has experienced that horrible moment when she realizes the heel of her new stiletto just sank in between the cracks of a city sidewalk.  It’s a paralyzing feeling; leaving you unable to look down because you know, more often than not, an unsightly and oftentimes irreparable scuffmark will be left behind. In an instant, your shoes have gone from fashion statement to fashion faux pas.

And as a wedding planner, there have been moments when I’ve found myself silently encouraging every muscle in my core to carry me  across the many grassy knolls that set the backdrop for outdoor weddings.  It’s an experience that becomes that much more difficult when your “greener pastures”have recently been watered by Mother Nature.  Ah, the joys of womanhood!

So, imagine my delight when I heard about SoleMates High Heeler®, a clever high hell protector that attaches to most stiletto and kitten heels to reduce heel pressure and prevent the heel from sinking into grass or falling into cracks. Ladies, I do believe all of our shoe prayers have been answered!!

They are currently available in four colors – Clear, Black, Silver and Gold – and will cost you about $9.95 a pair.  If you order directly from the SoleMates website, you’ll be treated to 10% off any order of 10 or more or free shipping on two or more pairs.  Retailers, such as DSW, David’s Bridal, and Kleinfield Manhattan, also carry SoleMates High Heeler® but you can also use their online zipcode finder to locate SoleMates in a store near you.

Getting Married Outside?  Then SoleMates are a must have accessory for any bride and her bride’s maids. Better yet, order in bulk and place them in a decorative container near your sign-in table for all of your female gal pals to pick up on their way in.

**all images courtesy of thesolemates.com**