Chilled Soup

Cucumber Avocado Soup

2 Each Cucumber Peeled
3 Each Shallots, Minced
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Each Cucumber Peeled, Seeded and Small Chop
5 Sprigs Cilantro
3 Each Avocado, Ripe
2 dashes Tabasco
½ Cup Sparkling Water
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a Small Sauté Pan, Cook the Shallots in Olive Oil until Soft and Translucent.  Cool Completely.
In a food Processor or Blender, Blend the remaining ingredients until Smooth. Season with Salt and Pepper. Reserve and Chill.  Just before Serving, Whisk in the Sparkling Water.  Serve Immediately

Red Beet Soup:

3 Each Red Beets, Peeled
3 Each Shallots, Minced
½ Cup Olive Oil
1 quart Still Water
½ Cup Crème Fraiche or heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the peeled beets in a soup pot and Simmer for approx. 40 minutes. Separately, in a small sauté pan, Sauté the shallots in olive oil until translucent. Cool Beets Slightly, Place all ingredients (including beet water cooed in) in the blender and puree until Smooth. Serve hot right away or Cool and serve cold.

Summer Jersey Corn Soup

4 Ears Corn
1 qt 2% milk
2 Each Thyme Sprigs
3 Each Shallots, Minced
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
¼ Cup White Wine, Dry, Chardonnay
Pinch Nutmeg
2 Strands Saffron,
½ Cup Heavy Cream (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

On a flat Surfaced Cutting board, cut the corn off the cob, by running a knife down the side. Be careful not to go too deep into the Cob.  Set Kernels aside.  Take the Cobs and one by One, Place in a Soup pot and run a spoon up along the empty cob to extract the “corn milk” from the Cob.   Once all ears are done, Cut the ears into Small pieces and place in pit with the “Corn milk”.  Add 2% Milk and Thyme Sprigs.  Bring to a slow simmer on medium heat.  Strain Cobs out and reserve hot.

In a Separate Sauté Pan, Sauté the Shallots in 1 Tbsp. of Olive oil.  Once Shallot is Soft and translucent, de-glaze the pan with the White Wine.  Simmer 1 minute.  Add to the Corn Milk Mixture.  Add the reserved Corn Kernels and blend with a stick blender until Smooth

Related posts:

1. Butternut Squash Soup
2. Pastel de choclo
3. Beet Risotto Timbales

The New Bamboo bag is smack on trend in rose-colored crocodile with bamboo handle and tassel detail; $14,900 through Gucci in Short Hills or gucci.com.

Spring Fling

Sweet Zinnia studs are adorable for moms and daughters. Opaque resin, faux pearl and 12K gold plate; $68 at katespade.com.

Derek Lam’s sea-snake straps embellish a snake-print leather platform; $950 at saksfifthavenue.com.

Tory’s romantic Indio scarf in grapefruit pink makes it easy to infuse a funky print into your ensemble; $155 at toryburch.com.

Welcome spring in oversized Guadeloupe eyewear with blush pink frames; $99 through Michael Kors in Short Hills or michaelkors.com.

Big and Bold

Channel your ’60s vibe with this striking denim tote in a kaleidoscopic floral print; $950 through Jimmy Choo in Short Hills or jimmychoo.com.

These bright stones are as captivating as Easter eggs. 18K yellow gold with 1.14 carats of diamonds, 5 carats of orange Mandarin garnets and 5.48 carats of pink spinel; $10,900 from Aires Jewelers in Morris Plains (973-292-0950; airesjewelers.com).

This pink jasper cabochon with 18K rose-gold plate is an attention-getting 1-1/4 inches in diameter; $195 at neimanmarcus.com.

Yellow Fever

Yellow Fever

Looking for a lift? Paint a little sunshine on your fingertips!

This spring’s yellow obsession extends to nifty nail colors like Sephora by OPI in Cab Fare and Kat Von D High Voltage Lacquer in Sparklehorse (pictured above), both available at sephora.com.

Other haute choices include Chanel’s Le Vernis Mimosa; Barielle’s Soul-er Powered; and Sally Hansen’s Yellow Kitty.

Yellow is the new neutral, and it looks especially amazing when paired with white and khaki outfits.

If mellow yellow isn’t your shade, try other hot picks: nude, pearl, tangerine, white, mint green and any shade of pink. Stash your bordeaux, berry and black hues until autumn; they’ll still be on trend when summer turns to fall.

Related posts:

1. Gift Guide 2010
2. Tis the Season
3. 2009 Holiday Gift Guide

The wrought-iron Grayson ceiling lantern in French black transforms any space into something special; $1,200 through Interiors at 40 Main in Morristown (862-258-3456; 40-main.com).

Related posts:

1. Love the Look!
2. Love the Look!
3. Love the Look!

In fact, Olivia grew up surrounded by laboratory samples and color charts as she accompanied Sylvie on research-and-development trips for her former job as head of Prescriptives. Today, Olivia creates trendsetting color ideas for products, oversees package designs and develops seasonal presentations for editors.

I had the pleasure of meeting this dynamic tastemaker as she was gearing up for the spring launch of Chantecaille’s Coral Reefs Palette. While new product introductions are nothing unusual, this one is special to Olivia.

“I’m particularly passionate about our Coral Reefs Palette because 5 percent of proceeds will benefit the efforts of the Marine Conservation Institute,” she says. “Although the earth is primarily blue, fewer than one half of 1 percent of the world’s oceans are protected—far below the 10 percent target set by the Convention on Biological Diversity. We especially want to protect coral reefs because they create spectacular undersea ecosystems, home to thousands of plant and animal species.”

Check out Chantecaille’s gorgeous Coral Reefs compact embossed with a coral design.

Eye shades in Pink Pearl, Reef, Driftwood–and a cheek shade in Coral–are accented with subtle gold shimmer that adds a healthy glow.

Olivia, who grew up in Far Hills, now resides in Manhattan, just across the street from her friend, fashion designer Derek Lam. She says that her limited-edition Coral Reefs Palette complements the corals, yellows and blues in Lam’s Spring 2012 collection. A full line of paraben-free Chantecaille skin-care, makeup and fragrance products is available through Neiman Marcus Short Hills and chantecaille.com.

Coming into Bloom
Spring is here—and there are so many reasons to be excited about the change of season.
Although we love our tights and boots, it’s time to lighten up, girls. The hottest looks for spring include:

1. chunky platforms and wedge shoes
2. iridescent fabrics and sequins
3. batik and ikat prints
4. bright, mixed-media bags and shoes
5. “Rorschach inkblot” prints
6. bright and patterned pants
7. skinny pants with unusual belts
8. playfully patterned, layered looks
9. full and accordion-pleated skirts
10. lots of white, especially long white dresses
11. silver strappy sandals
12. retro styles and vintage finds
13. perky pink and spring’s new neutral: yellow.

Think about updating your hairstyle, too. Try bangs a la Zooey Deschanel and Reese Witherspoon. Or invest in a Coppola keratin treatment to ward off frizzy warm-weather locks. (Look for my keratin beauty report in our next issue.)

While you’re pulling weeds and sprucing up your flower beds in April and May, schedule your personal spring cleanup, too. Zap blackheads with facial peels, conceal spider veins, tone problem areas and wax, wax, wax.
Looking and feeling your best is one more reason to celebrate the season!

Fun Find: Somerset Hills StyList

Related posts:

1. Getting to Know Derek Lam
2. Go for the Glam
3. Cosabella Flirts With Color

The Thames foyer

The London skyline

the sitting room of the Royal Suite.

No two rooms in the Savoy are alike. Above left, a river-view room in Edwardian style.

the American Bar

the River Restaurant, which has views of the Thames.

The Savoy’s entrance is one of the most distinctive and grand of any urban hotel.

The Savoy’s remodeled front hall (they eschew the term lobby),

The staff of the famous Savoy Hotel in London had plenty of advance notice that the guest would have needs that would stress them out. (Stress, though, is something they never allow a guest to see.) The guest would be arriving with his 60-person entourage, all of whom would need rooms in the hotel, plus working space. He himself would occupy the $15,000-a-night, six-room Royal Suite. He would bring from Paris his personal fleet of automobiles, which would need garaging. He doesn’t eat sugar, so all cookies and desserts and such would have to be made sugar-free. Finally, he stays on Saudi Arabian time no matter where in the world he travels. So the staff would have to conform to his schedule.

The guest, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, at 56 trim and jaunty with an Omar Sharif mustache, a tan leather jacket and a drop-dead gorgeous wife, Princess Ameerah Altaweel, is the owner of the Savoy, in fact of many luxury hotels, including the Plaza in New York and the George V in Paris. If the 600-member Savoy staff could pass muster with the Prince—Forbes magazine’s 19th richest man in the world in 2010—everything else would be a breeze.

The occasion for the Prince’s visit was the reopening of the Savoy on October 10, 2010, (10/10/10) after a three-year closure for a complete gutting and restoration. The job took a year longer than anticipated and went $188 million over budget, for a total cost of $345 million. Most of the staff were new hires and had been training intensively for months. To add to the pressure, also on hand would be Britain’s Prince Charles.

In fact, everything went off without a hitch and both Princes were delighted with the new Savoy. The grand old building, which is managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, had never been closed a day from its opening in 1889 to its shutdown in 2007. In the interim, a who’s who of celebrityhood had made the place legendary—to name just a few, Marilyn Monroe, Babe Ruth, Humphrey Bogart, Lena Horne, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Marlon Brando, George Gershwin, Judy Garland, Oscar Wilde, Louis Armstrong, Elizabeth Taylor, Winston Churchill, who lunched at the Savoy with his cabinet during World War II, and Marlene Dietrich, who liked pink roses and a bottle of Dom Perignon to await her in her room.

The style is, as ever, Edwardian and art deco, but shrewdly understated. One of the first things you notice upon entering the imposing mahogany lobby—with its high ceiling, white frieze, large oil paintings and luxurious furniture—is that there is no check-in desk. Nor are bags and suitcases anywhere to be seen. That is because check-in is handled in advance so guests can go straight to their accommodations, the doormen whisking all baggage directly to the rooms via dedicated elevators. (Thanks to the Savoy’s vast front-door canopy, no one ever gets wet stepping out of a car on arrival.)

Formerly carpeted, the lobby (front hall is the preferred term)now has a black-and-white marble checkerboard floor. The checkerboard pattern continues in the grand room just past the front hall, the Thames foyer. This is the social hub of the hotel. With its capitol-like glass dome in the center letting in daylight, and its abundant plush armchairs, couches and cocktail tables surrounding a central gazebo where a pianist holds forth, the Thames foyer is an ideal place to see and be seen—and be served cocktails, high tea or even a meal while you do so. You might want to try a melba and bourbon vanilla tartlet, inspired by the original peach melba recipe created by the Savoy’s first executive chef, Auguste Escoffier.

But there are many alluring places in the new Savoy in which to, as the British say, tarry. The famous American Bar is back. (Its head bartender, Erik Lorincz, was named Condé Nast Traveler’s Hot Bartender of 2011.) Then there is the art deco Savoy Grill and, for the most upscale fine dining, the River Restaurant, with its leopard-pattern carpet and its big window views of the Thames River and the Embankment Gardens. All-new is the dramatic, black-and-gold cabaret called the Beaufort bar, where the menu offers an extensive selection of champagnes by the glass, including rare vintages from Louis Roederer and Cristal.

All 268 rooms, from a basic double ($550 a night) to the Royal Suite, have been rebuilt and redecorated in faultless Edwardian and art deco style, though no two are exactly alike. Of the total, 38 suites and rooms offer picture-window views of London and the Thames River. Non-Edwardian amenities include high-speed broadband access, two-line telephones, modems, iPod docking stations, digital radios and LCD TV screens. A new staff of Savoy butlers has been trained (and trained) in pampering residents (the Savoy frowns on the term guests) in the suites. Among other things, your butler will unpack and pack for you, be your personal shopper and secretary and even help you get dressed to the nines for a big night on the town.

London INSIDER tips

Centrally located on the Strand, the Savoy (fairmont.com/savoy) is just steps from boutique shopping at Covent Garden. Opera and ballet are five minutes away at the Royal Opera House and the Coliseum. The Savoy is blocks from the West End (London’s Broadway). Simpson’s on the Strand, famous for its prime rib, is on the Savoy’s doorstep. Also nearby is the Delauney, one of London’s trendiest new restaurants. Hot art tickets in London include Davd Hockney at the Royal Academy and the megabucks bad boy of contemporary art, Damien Hirst (he of the preserved shark in a tank) later this year at the Tate Modern.

Related posts:

1. Fly South

We love blue.” When Dan and Samantha Anderson, a young couple embarking on the creation of their dream home in Morristown, told this to Scott Sanders, he knew this project would be special. As it just so happens, the Manhattan-based designer loves blue, too.

The Andersons enlisted the services of Sanders—who’d honed his talent at Ralph Lauren where he created the company’s first interior design department—while the house was still in the planning stages, giving him a clean canvas and endless possibilities. His challenge was to create an interior that would harmonize with the Dutch-Colonial style of the 9,000-square-foot farmhouse envisioned by Clinton architect Cyril Beveridge. Completed in 2010 after four years of work, the result is celebrated in Picture Perfect: Designing the New American Family Home (Pointed Leaf Press).

At the start, Sanders took into account the lifestyle of the couple and their active young daughters, Julia and Alexandra. The family loves to entertain, and the hub of the house is the kitchen, breakfast room and family room. Considering this, Sanders selected

“a very long table that can be made longer, with side chairs and armchairs fashioned of wood and covered with reversible seat cushions that can be changed if there is a spill.” He chose wood floors for the kitchen and breakfast area to allow for fallen food to be swept up and for chairs to slide easily. For the rest of the house, he sought carpet that was “very forgiving”
and durable fabrics with kid-friendly patterns.

With such a large home, Sanders needed to establish continuity throughout the rooms. Enter the Andersons’ beloved blue, which Sanders used as a common thread. “Blue is universal: It could be warm or cool, and it plays well with other colors,” he explains. “I tweaked it so that in the formal part of the house it’s softer, and in the library, kitchen, breakfast room, and family room it’s brighter.

In between is wallpaper striped with blue and green so there’s always this backdrop of blue.”

Julia and Alexandra chose their favorite colors—pink and purple, respectively—as a base for Sanders’s design in their bedrooms. Since children’s tastes evolve, he selected white furniture and added personality with carpet and drapery fabrics that incorporate a variety of colors. “So, five years down the road, they can paint the pink room yellow and won’t have to change anything else,” he says.

Sanders’s most audacious moves were with the lighting. “There’s a chandelier in the family room that Dan and Samantha originally said ‘no’ to, but which I felt was perfect,” says Sanders. ”It was an unusual fixture: a combination of traditional elements with rustic wrought iron. Though it was a little bit of a stretch, they went for it. When they saw it installed, Dan said, ‘I’m so glad I listened to you.’”

For Sanders, the house’s showpiece is the “man room.” “I had never done one before. Dan didn’t give me any direction other than a Sotheby’s ad with a vignette of a burgundy drape, dark wall, and dark cabinets, and to say that he wanted to do manly things there,” he says. “I made it slicker with a zebra-skin rug, upholstered the walls in navy blue felt, and put nail heads on the walls.” A testament to Sanders’s versatile design, the man room has since transformed into a family room, in which the Andersons often gather to watch movies or entertain.

“It doesn’t feel like there is a velvet rope anywhere,” says Sanders when asked what he appreciates most about the home. “The family and their guests feel like they can enjoy every room.”

The serene master bedroom expresses the same simple, elegant style as the rest of the home. Here, a window framed by toile pinch-pleat drapes, a checkered Roman shade, and a comfy club chair upholstered in striped silk and highlighted by button-tufting, create a perfect space to unwind.

The living room (above and below) has clean, simple lines and a restrained palette that delivers a light, airy feel with a classic tone and a hint of formality. A pair of wool-silk damask sofas provide plenty of seating for comfortable conversations around the fire. Muted prints on the footstool and pillows and a cream-colored silk rug offer texture and interest.

No related posts.

Recent Grammy winner, jazz virtuoso and a soon-to-be author Christian McBride is that rare, prized specimen among males: a multitasker.

There’s evidence on his website, where a few clicks lead to discoveries about the non-musical passions for which he makes time even when he’s on the road, which is frequently.

But the best and most irrefutable evidence materializes when you meet him in person.

“Are you hungry?,” the 39-year-old wants to know when this reporter arrives at his Montclair door for an interview on a February morning. Never mind the answer. McBride is starved, so after a brief introduction to Jessie, his bichon frise, and Ella, his beagle, it’s back into the car for steak and eggs at the Pilgrim Diner in Cedar Grove, followed by a run to the UPS store (he’s expecting a package—a jacket ordered online). In two weeks, he’ll head to Russia with a young trio he recently put together. Winter in New Jersey has been mild, he notes, but in Russia he’ll need the extra layer.

Warm receptions—the kind McBride has gotten used to since he started playing bass for audiences as a teenager—can only do so much to ward off an arctic chill.

If you’re not familiar with Christian McBride, the only explanation is that you’re not a jazz fan: Since 1989, when he entered the Juilliard School in Manhattan after growing up surrounded by music in Philadelphia—his father, Lee Smith, is a well-known bassist there, and so is his uncle, Howard Cooper—he has shared stages with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Betty Carter, Pat Metheny, Wynton Marsalis and Chick Corea. But his acceptance among jazz’s revered old guard hasn’t stopped him from blazing his own trail. In February, he won his third Grammy for The Good Feeling (Mack Avenue Records), his first record as leader of a 17-piece big band.

“I like anything with a hard groove,” McBride says in his car on the way to the diner, turning on a George Duke CD. That explains how he came to play not just with jazz heavy-hitters, his own hand-picked crew in the big band and his quintet, Inside Straight, but also with the Roots, Sting and James Brown—a personal hero and the only artist among McBride’s non-jazz obsessions, a list of which he can tick off without a pause (see box, page 32).

“Anybody who even remotely knows me knows how much I love James Brown,” says McBride, washing down his side of toast with a second cup of coffee at the Pilgrim, then pausing to shake the hand of a woman who introduces herself as a fan. “I remember the first time I met him. I was maybe 11—my uncle had free passes to a lot of the shows in Philly. We went backstage and there he was, sitting in a chair in a red robe, filing his nails. Just filing away. I was in love with him and his music.” McBride is just finishing a book about Brown, despite tour commitments that will take him not just to Russia this spring but also to St. Louis and the West Coast (he’ll also perform April 30 alongside Herbie Hancock in Washington, D.C., on International Jazz Day; and fulfill his regular obligations as co-director of

the National Jazz Museum in Harlem). “I’m calling it, ‘And I Didn’t Even Get to Say Goodbye.’ It’s about my relationship with him—I wanted to chronicle the JB odyssey for those who didn’t know him. I find little holes in the day to work on it,” says McBride. He plans to self-publish the book this spring or summer.

Multitasking his way to authorship won’t come at the expense of expanding his musical horizons after the Grammy win, though. McBride says the best part of accepting the statuette was the recognition it garnered from other musicians: “Two of my biggest arranging heroes, John Clayton and Lalo Schifrin, got in touch with me and told me how much they like my writing,” says McBride, who wrote six of the record’s 11 tracks.  “Now I’m getting calls not only to play bass but to do some arranging,” which is a different experience than when he won his other Grammys, as bassist on McCoy Tyner’s Illuminations in 2004 and with Joe Henderson for Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn in 1992. “This is the first time I won as a leader, not for playing on somebody else’s project. And this was my first nomination as a leader. It feels different. Really good.”

In addition to the individual recognition, the victory for The Good Feeling is satisfying because of who he’s sharing it with: his wife, Melissa Walker, provided vocals. Walker is a jazz singer and the founder of Montclair nonprofit Jazz House Kids, a jazz education program for area students.

“I’m so proud of her,” says McBride. He serves as artistic chair for Jazz House Kids, and has brought in colleagues including Esperanza Spalding and Pat Metheny to mentor the budding artists. Jazz House “reminds me of Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, an after-school program I went to in high school. You get so much out of a place like that.”

The place McBride himself is getting a lot out of these days is Montclair, where he’s lived since marrying Walker in 2005. But he wasn’t always eager to admit it.

“When I first started dating Melissa, I’d come see her in West Orange, where she lived, and then go back home through the Lincoln Tunnel feeling bad because I actually liked the other side”—the other side being New Jersey, he says. “I always thought of New Jersey as being an old folks’ home, a place for people who couldn’t handle life in the city.” Now he feels differently. Friends and fellow jazz players including Oliver Lake and Steve Turre are locals. Plus, “there’s the rhythm of it—it just feels like New York.”

He can also get a lot done here, he reflects post-breakfast in the UPS parking lot; the jacket, he learned after a dash into the store, hadn’t yet arrived. “It’s not often I get a whole day off, but when I do, everything I need is right here, very convenient,” he says.

With that, he backed out of his parking space and cued up James Brown for the short drive home.

Christian McBride’s Non-Jazz Obsessions 

James Brown

“At this point, do I really need to explain that I have been a junior James Brown authority for quite some time?,” McBride writes in a recent blog post on his website. “Believe me, I know about almost every bootleg recording (audio and video) that’s ever hit the market. There’s probably not one James Brown bootleg you can mention that I don’t have. When someone innocently asked on Twitter if I’d heard James Brown Live at Newport 1969, they might as well have asked me if I had Kind Of Blue. I knew about the Newport concert before it was released. Through my inside sources deep within James Brown land (Brown’s family included), I’m covered on almost everything.”

Football
Especially the Philadelphia Eagles. “I considered playing professionally. Sometimes I still consider it,” says McBride, smiling. Both the performing arts high school he attended in Philadelphia and Juilliard, however, aren’t exactly breeding grounds for athletes.

“Law & Order” 

“I just wrote my first movie score, and it’s for a documentary called Contradictions of Fair Hope. The director is S. Epatha Merkerson, who plays lieutenant Van Buren on Law & Order. I found out she was a jazz fan, and we became friends and she asked me to write the music. I couldn’t believe I’d get the honor to work with her. I love the show, and it’s always on some station wherever I go. I even watch the reruns.”

Fume Cigar Shop and Lounge 

“It’s this cigar bar here in Montclair, on Bloomfield Avenue. It’s a total locker room. My wife once looked in the window and said, ‘No way. I’m not going in.’ She asked me, ‘What do you guys talk about in there?’ I said, ‘Exactly what you think we’re talking about’,” McBride says. “Now she’s never coming in.”

No related posts.

HIGH SCORER: Lori Brown, lacrosse enthusiast and owner of T3 Lacrosse in Bernardsville, takes time out from an indoor training session at TEST Sports Club in Martinsville.

When Lori Brown moved to New Jersey in 1992, she observed one glaring difference between her new home and the Pennsylvania suburb of her childhood: the girls’ lacrosse scene was notably lackluster on this side of the Delaware.

A star midfielder, Brown was a two-time All-American at the University of Richmond and a member of Team USA. Lacrosse had surrounded her as long as she could remember, so the void was obvious. But she was busy working in sales for pharmaceutical company ICI and, soon enough, raising her daughters, Samantha and Devon.

Facing divorce in 2002 and realizing that she had to get back to work, Brown dreaded leaving her daughters—then 7 and 5—every day. “I really didn’t want to go back to corporate work,” she says. “This was a time to think about what I wanted to do with my time, what I’d really love to do, and still be available for my kids.”

Suddenly, the lack of lacrosse presence in New Jersey was less a sad reality and more a promising opportunity. “I decided to see if I could build a business doing something that I love and help girls build success,” she says. “I was lucky because my timing was good. Lacrosse was just taking off.”

For two years, Brown worked alongside Marc Moreau at Leading Edge Lacrosse in Far Hills, developing training programs for girls in tandem with his booming boys’ lacrosse business.  By 2005, her work had grown so fast that she set out on her own, starting T3 Lacrosse (short for triple threat) out of her Basking Ridge home.

T3 now has more than 8,000 registra

tions a year—“from the little ones who get so excited when they first catch a ball to girls who are trying to get onto college teams,” Brown says.

The offerings are broken into four categories: elite teams, leagues, tournaments, and training programs for players and coaches. The elite teams now number 20 (10 T3 North and 10 T3 Shore teams, all New Jersey-based) and the T3 website—
t3lacrosse.com—boasts dozens of high school players who have been recruited to Division I teams, from Rutgers to Duke and USC, including many top-10 programs.

For Brown, this is a twofold accomplishment. T3 helped put New Jersey on the map, with Garden State players “earning respect and showing they can play.” (T3 hosts events to showcase the work of its elite players for college scouts.) But it also shows that an increasing number of girls are following Brown’s path, playing on a college team. “I love that they’re taking the sport with them and finding success and teamwork,” she says. “It’s rewarding to see them make that choice.”

COACH MOM: Brown with her daughters, Devon, left, and Samantha, who agree seeing their mom launch a business has been inspiring.

One athlete who made that decision is Brown’s daughter Samantha, a junior at Ridge High School, who has already committed to High Point University. “It all happens so early now,” Brown says. To help athletes navigate that process, T3 offers guidance to its players and has developed connections with college coaches. John Buccarelli, who Brown married in 2008, co-owns the business and runs the recruiting side of things. “He had to make the transition from Wall Street broker, but the job really suits him. He’s so personable, and he works hard to build relationships with these colleges.”

Working with her husband, she says, helps them maintain a work-life balance that keeps T3 running smoothly while allowing them to be attentive to their kids: Brown’s daughters and Buccarelli’s two sons. The business is booming, but also consuming. After running T3 (which includes year-round programs) for almost a year on her own, Brown’s staff has now grown to five, including co-director Chris Raichle, plus 30 part-time coaches, some T3 alumni.

The office is still at home, something she and her staff have grown accustomed to. “We’re working hard, but it’s comfortable,” she says. Brown is at her desk from 9 am to 4 pm, taking a midday workout break and hitting the sidelines for her kids’ games. “The hours are long, and there’s a lot of night and weekend work. When you own your own business, you never really shut it off,” she says.

But Brown, 45, says the most exhausting stretch is behind her. “When you’re building, it’s the hardest time, and I was guilty of trying to get everything just right. I think that’s what has made it such a success, but it takes a lot of work.”

Now, she says, T3 runs so smoothly she could franchise it. Building that reputation and finding the right coaches has paid off. “It’s truly amazing to witness what Lori has done for all the girls and for the sport,” says Debra DeWitt, whose twin ninth-graders have been involved in T3 since they were first-graders. “She truly cares about these kids and wants to help them realize their dreams via sports…T3 has instilled a deep passion for the game in my girls.”

As someone with a longtime passion for the game herself, Brown could not be more thrilled with where it’s taken her. “There was no one moment, but gradually over time I realized, ‘This is actually working! I’m supporting my family, I’m home with my kids, and I’m offering this great opportunity for girls.’ It’s really such a happy story.

Lessons Beyond Lacrosse

No related posts.

Related posts:

1. Season to Sparkle
2. Street Smart
3. All the Trimmings

Shop Wine and Dine president and founder Anna Maria Sorrentino was born in Torino, Italy, and has resided in Millburn/Short Hills for more than 30 years. In 2004, after a career devoted to the travel industry, drawing on her innate knowledge and appreciation of the food, wine and culture of her native country, Sorrentino launched Shop Wine and Dine, a tour company that focuses on trips for wine collectors and wine enthusiasts. For more information, call 973-467-4418 or e-mail annamaria@shopwineanddine.com.

Tell us about the regions you visit. We feature top wine-producing regions of Italy, such as Piedmont, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sicily, Puglia, Le Marche and Umbria. Upcoming excursions include Sardinia and Emilia Romagna.

How do the trips work?

The tours are customized food- and wine-centered programs ideal for families, groups of friends or corporate events for any occasion or number of participants. We include a tour manager, who stays with the group throughout all activities, including meals. We provide private bus/drive transportation, select all the menus and pair the wines.

What trips are upcoming? 

Through a new partnership with EATinerari—a travel-based brand of Eataly food emporiums—we host a tour featuring the Great Wines of Friuli Venezia Giulia and the famous San Daniele Prosciutto Festival, June 23-29. An October tour will include Slow Food’s Salone del Gusto in Torino, the Piedmont wines and the Alba White Truffle Fair. Trips are limited to 12 guests, and geared toward the wine connoisseur, collectors and serious wine aficionados.

Related posts:

1. Brooke Sabel
2. Amanti Vino
3. When a Cigar is Not Just a Cigar

Ingredients

1 ounce Cointreau

1 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 dash Angostura bitters

Stemless cherry, preferably brandied
Turbinado sugar, for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass with a half turbinado sugar rim. Garnish with a cherry.

Related posts:

1. Pisco Sour
2. Lemon-Tinis
3. Chocolatini

Relationships sometimes end and people move on. When it’s over—whether it’s a marriage, a steady thing or a fleeting fling—you might be in need of a little mental readjustment and the support of friends and family. Whether you require salve for your wounds or are ready to party hearty in ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead fashion, the cure might be as simple as an evening at home with your girlfriends, or as lavish as a ladies’ night out, complete with humorous invitations and a specialty cake. No matter how you slice it, one thing is certain—tasty food, luscious libations and your very own cheering squad are bound to lift your spirits.

We’ve got tips for selecting a fun venue, a personal story from one newly single East Hanover resident, ideas for streamlining baggage (literally), and setting up a posh home that reflects the reinvented you, after the party is over (no pun intended).

Kick up your heels

Book a party space (or the entire dining room!) at your favorite restaurant or nightclub. Choose a hot spot like Moonshine Supper Club in Millburn. You’ll need plenty of room to spread out, especially if you plan to open gifts, take photos or dance. Serve a signature cocktail such as a Ginger Sidecar or a Lemon-tini (see recipe at parkplacemag.com/lemon). Moonshine offers a generous and creative menu of specialty cocktails.

The restaurant has a hip vibe with its gray/black walls, plaid banquettes, smoky mirrors and jazzy, upbeat music that set a sophisticated tone for an evening of fun. Start with the bar menu, which features innovative small-plate dishes—truffled gnocchi and meatballs, and paprika-spiced shrimp. Just for laughs, assign cute breakup-themed names to the hors d’oeuvres you choose (Single-Again Sushi, Better-Without-Him Blintzes and I-Will-Survive Shrimp). To make it a night to remember, check out all the breakup and divorce party favors at etsy.com, and visit your local party store.

Let them eat cake

When Danielle Sturniolo heard that her friend Lisa Marie Latino had canceled her wedding to her fiancé of three months and boyfriend of three years, she decided to throw Latino a party to “get her back out there into the wild.”

After Sturniolo, a cake decorator at Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken, shared the East Hanover resident’s story with her boss, television personality Buddy Valastro, the “Cake Boss” offered to create a specialty cake for the big event. Neither Valastro nor Sturniolo had designed a breakup cake before, but they were excited to invent something fun.

Sturniolo invited Latino’s closest girlfriends to a surprise party at Nine in Hoboken to celebrate her newly single status as well as her new television production company, Long Shot Productions. “When we broke up, I thought, ‘If I have to start over, I’m going to start over completely,’” Latino says of launching her own business. “I could worry about me now and create the life I always imagined having, prior to him.”

Latino’s friends released her back into the dating scene by giving speeches, sipping cosmopolitans and noshing on New American appetizers. “I was genuinely surprised,” she says. “They wanted to celebrate me, which I thought was ridiculously nice.”

Admittedly, the breakup cake stole center stage. The three-tiered dessert, a vanilla pastry with lemon French crème and fresh raspberry, was sculpted with a large slice missing from each of its tiers. In lieu of a traditional happy-couple cake topper, a scorned brunette bride triumphantly kicks her groom to the bottom tier with all his belongings strewn about.

The party and cake reveal were featured last summer on an episode of Cake Boss. Latino maintains that the special dessert was just “icing on the cake.”

“How can you look at that cake and not be cheered up,” she laughs. “It was just awesome.”

Reinventing Your Home Space

If the greatest logistical challenge posed by your breakup was having to retrieve your toothbrush from his place, consider yourself lucky! But, if you’re experiencing a separation or divorce, it’s obviously more complicated. You may need to downsize after the marital home is sold. But scaling back doesn’t have to mean sacrificing style. In fact, some recently divorced people find it freeing and cathartic because downsizing forces them to finally get organized.

Transition can be uplifting or intimidating, depending on your outlook. If you’re not sure where to begin, there are plenty of local experts at your service.

“Divorce is an emotional time, so it’s important to start fresh, without a mess,” says certified organizer Patricia Diesel of Basking Ridge (908-766-9670; keepitsimplenow.com). “Keep only the items that are true to your heart. Purging is a rebirth that can help us manage some things when we have no control over other things. It’s a freeing experience to let go when we are holding on so tightly to things, especially our emotions.” Diesel will also recommend storage options such as basket filing systems, pantries and closets.

If you decide to install closets and other custom space solutions in your new space, contact Angel Martin, co-owner of Affordable Closets Plus (800-823-4227; affordableclosetsplus.com).

“When people downsize to condos and smaller homes, they typically exchange their walk-in storage for reach-in closets that are only two-feet deep with a single hanging rod. Clients are always surprised that we can reconfigure and maximize the space to double their storage,” she says. “For added convenience, we also recommend using your main closet only for seasonal everyday use.”

Still have stuff to part with? Call Drew Trautman of 1-800-GOT-JUNK (1800gotjunk.com). His team

will pack up your unwanted items, load them and take them away. “Downsizing can be an emotional event for clients, so we stay very flexible,” says Trautman. “Our staff is trained to be sensitive to homeowners’ special needs. And we don’t hire anyone unless we would feel comfortable sending them to our own grandmother’s house.”

Finally, once you’ve moved into your new space, depend on Jodi Topitz, founder of we2me: Women in Transition (we2me.com) to help you ease the transition in style.

“Downsizing or reinventing your current space can be extremely challenging. But the proper use of color, furniture placement and room accessorizing can positively impact your emotional well-being as you navigate through changing times,” says Topitz. “Your home should be comfortable, make you feel good, reflect your personal style and fit you well.”

She starts by giving each residence a “space lift” by repurposing existing furniture, accessories and art. The end result enhances and reflects clients’ personal style and promotes a positive state of mind, creating a perfect space.

Moving out and moving on  

Breaking up is hard to do, especially if you’ve cohabitated with your significant other. AVE’s residential suites in Somerset and Union can ease the shift into single life. “Our suites include all of the comforts of home, from linens and kitchenware to a full-size washer and dryer in every residence,” says Lea Anne Welsh, AVE’s president.

Its flexible-stay options are perfect for singles in transition. There are no leases, only day rates, for fully furnished one- and two-bedroom corporate suites. “Those who are newly separated can move into apartment-sized accommodations for a month or more, without a long-term commitment, while their life is uncertain,” Welsh says.

Relationships require a lot of give-and-take. So this is the time to take advantage of your new solo status and focus on you. AVE’s state-of-the-art fitness center and massage therapy suite will have you looking and feeling single and ready to mingle.

This time of transition also is a great excuse to explore social relationships. “We provide opportunities to meet and greet new friends regularly at our resident receptions, movie nights under the stars and health and wellness classes, such as pilates in the tranquility garden,” Welsh says.

For more information on AVE residential suites, visit kormancommunities.com. —Deborah Carter, Ashley J. Cerasaro, Susan Brierly

Related posts:

1. Break out the Bubbly
2. Party Under the Pergola
3. The Art of the Party

NEIGHBORHOOD STROLL: Akshay Nanavati trains for a month-long, 342-mile ski trip by dragging tires—to simulate the sled of supplies he’ll lug—through the streets of Basking Ridge. He hopes to raise $10 for every mile he skis for Doctors Without Borders. To donate, visit existing2living.com

Why live in Basking Ridge?
My wife and I originally settled in Basking Ridge because she has family in the area. I love the small-town feeling with ample amounts of open space for me to run, bike and connect with nature. And my wife feels that the area is safe, family-friendly and modern with old-world charm.

What are some of your favorite local spots?
Lord Stirling Park is a great place to run and cross-country ski. I’ve spent hours exploring every inch of the trails. Some of my best days are biking around the Great Swamp and running through its wet, muddy trails.

Tell us about your work.
I operate Amara Adventures, an adventure-tourism company, currently offering trips to India and Tanzania. I also work as a life and executive coach using my experiences and training with accomplishment coaching to help people live the life of their dreams. Both jobs give me the freedom to travel the world. In my spare time, I climb mountains and explore some of the most hostile environments on the planet. In April, I will ski 342 miles across the second largest ice cap in the world in Greenland.

No related posts.

Blue Morel’s cuisine is full of surprises. Just off the lobby, inside the Westin Governor Morris in Morristown, the restaurant’s dining room is somewhat formal: dimly lit, white table cloths and muted colors. The 120-seat, bi-level space is attractive, upscale and comfortable, a tad traditional even. The menu, however, stands in contrast to the decor with unexpected pairings and unconventional combinations.

Opened in August—replacing Copeland—Blue Morel emphasizes farm-to-table cuisine and seafood, including a broad array of sushi. The menu’s diverse offerings are overseen by Thomas Cizsak (the former executive chef of Copeland, who is now executive chef and partner at Chakra in Paramus), but are conceived by executive chef Kevin Takafuji. A native of Hawaii, Takafuji attended the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan. His prestigious dining credits include working under Eric Ripert at New York City’s Le Bernardin and at the well-regarded Pluckemin Inn in Bedminster.

For his menu, Takafuji taps local sources, including a hydroponic greenhouse in Orange, Oak Grove Plantation in Pittstown, Uncle Bill’s Farm in Far Hills, Madison Seafood in Newark, and Valley Shepherd Creamery in Long Valley. Takafuji updates classic dishes by infusing them with seasonal ingredients and a touch of international flavor. For example, the steak tartare starter is complemented by hazelnut, truffle, egg yolk and chives and served with herb-toasted ciabatta. A butter lettuce salad is enhanced by wontons, pear, blue cheese, spicy cashews and black-sesame dressing. Takafuji’s grilled octopus may not count as a revamped traditional dish, but it’s definitely a must-try. Served with roasted red pepper, dried chorizo, blistered shishito pepper, rosemary and a bed of arugla, this tasty dish illustrates the chef’s talent in blending diverse ingredients. There is also a selection of sushi and sashimi, including a sampler and several platters that allow you to assemble a few favorites.

Main courses are similarly eclectic. The truffles-and-sprouts entrée incorporates fungi—the restaurant’s namesake ingredient—with roasted Brussels sprouts, frisse, and truffled chick-pea panisse. Tea-smoked duck breast is a winner with the addition of house-made Tasso ham (a favorite Cajun preparation of pork shoulder) glazed with an Asian spice, cranberry beans and broccoli rabe.

Desserts, by pastry chef Ernie Rich, often include Jersey-fresh cranberries and blueberries whipped up in crisps or trifles. If you have room, try the caramel and roasted banana pot de crème that is accompanied by a malted-milk shooter.

Enjoy a nightcap in the comfortable bar area (there’s a good selection of specialty drinks, and more than 70 wines by the glass). The restaurant is open for breakfast daily, 6:30 am to 10:30 am, and serves lunch Monday through Saturday, 11:30 am until 2:30 pm. Dinner is served from 5:30 to 10 pm. A buffet brunch is available on Sundays from noon until 2:30. A separate wine room is available for private parties. —Deborah Carter

Related posts:

1. Riding High
2. On the Boulevard
3. Toscania Trattoria

At Fancy That, and you’ll not only be greeted by a colorful assortment of furniture, home décor, candy and gifts, but also by the equally welcoming storeowner, Carol Jafferjee.

The store predominantly carries two national brands—MacKenzie-Childs, known for whimsically patterned, brightly hued home accessories, and Dylan’s Candy Bar, with its signature Belgian chocolate bars and candy-colored apparel. “They’re both really happy, uplifting, and fun brands that I think merge well,” explains Jafferjee, who opened the store on Valley Road in Upper Montclair last September.

The shop’s walls are decorated with a black-and-white checkered border designed to match the Courtly check print featured on many of MacKenzie-Childs’ hand-painted ceramics, tableware and decorative ottomans and pillows.

“My customers can go on the Mac-Kenzie-Childs website, find something they like and come see it here rather than ordering it without seeing it, or making the trek into New York, which is expensive and time consuming,” says Jafferjee, who lives in Weehawken. “I tell my customers, ‘if you like shopping locally, go on their website, call me and I’ll order it to the store.’”

Along with home furnishings, there are treats from Dylan’s Candy Bar, a company founded  by Dylan Lauren, daughter of Ralph Lauren. The brand’s slogan, “Unwrap Your Sweet Life,” is depicted on the racks of Whirly Pops and on apparel and rain gear that’s great for all age groups.

Fancy That has a bevy of other upscale and creative finds such as Sferra fine linens from Italy and hand-embroidered pillows from Catstudio’s geography collection, with its very own New Jersey line.

“It’s a nice downtown shopping experience with a broader range of products,” says Jafferjee. “Although we sell nationally recognized merchandise, at the end of the day we’re still a local business.”

Related posts:

1. Fun House Furnishings & Design
2. 4 Ever Michelle Couture
3. The Sisters Glynn 07924

But have you? Consider these signs that you are indeed evolving into dear old mom, and indicators that you’re not.

10 Signs You’re Becoming Your Mother

1. You tell your child she is not going out of the house dressed like that.

2. You recalculate every restaurant bill, just in case they overcharged you by a nickel.

3. Rap? That’s not music, that’s noise.

4. You wake up with the sun, no alarm necessary.

5. And only stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve (when you go to bed at 12:02).

6. You never have to be reminded to write a thank-you note.

7. You enjoy folding underwear.

8. You’re shocked, shocked, by what you hear coming out of characters’ mouths on prime-time television.

9. Wearing silver and gold jewelry together feels as wrong as putting ketchup on ice cream.

10. And speaking of ice cream: No ice cream for you unless you finish those vegetables.

And Five Signs You’re Really Really Not Morphing into Mom

1. Your daughter wants to borrow your clothes…but you wouldn’t let her go out of the house dressed like that.

2. Throwing a dinner party means ordering three extra pizzas.

3. You hire College Hunks Hauling Junk just to watch them carry your old sofa from one side of the room to the other. Except, now that you think about it, you really liked it better back on the other side of the room, and doesn’t he want to take his shirt off?

4. You still aren’t sure exactly what a Swiffer is.

5. When you take your kids out to dinner, you eat ice cream first. Who cares if you don’t have room for the entrée?

18 Ways to Rush the Season

Related posts:

1. Turning the Tables

If you want to feel like a queen for a day, take a trip to Morristown’s historic Glynallyn Castle during the month of May.

This one-of-a-kind estate is the much-anticipated venue for the 16th annual Mansion in May Designer Showhouse and Gardens, sponsored by the Women’s Association of Morristown Medical Center.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the property is a fine example of authentic English Tudor architecture in the United States. It’s a treat for the eyes, with abundant museum-quality details: 575 stained-glass windows, plaster-carved ceilings and mantles, stone-carved faces, coats of arms, and arched porticos.

The 32,000-square-foot castle, with its 66 rooms, 19 fireplaces and 7.5 acres of terraced gardens, will be returned to its original grandeur and made relevant for 2012 living, thanks to the skill and imagination of more than 60 interior designers and landscape architects.

The event will be open to the public from May 1 through May 31. Proceeds will benefit the new Inpatient Hospice and Palliative Care Center at Morristown Medical Center.

More than 20,000 visitors participated in the May 2010 mansion tour, luncheon and boutique shopping, so snag your tickets early at mansioninmay.org.

Related posts:

1. Life is a Garden. Can You Dig It?

The fundraiser will be hosted on April 17 at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster. Lunch and dinner tickets are available, starting at $120.

Silent and ticket auctions include experiences, trips, concerts, gourmet dining, gift certificates and more. For reservations, call 908-508-0495.

Summit Speech School teaches children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to listen and speak. The school serves 200 students, from infants through teens.

No related posts.

It’s not uncommon for teenaged girls to have an affinity for pink, but for 14-year-old West Orange residents Carly Kriak and Anabelle Scalora, who began volunteering with the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s North Jersey affiliate in 2009, the hue is a symbol of hope, education and action.

In fall 2010, the junior volunteers, along with affiliate founder Deb Belfatto and volunteer development manager, Coleen Miller, launched Pink Princesses, a breast cancer awareness initiative aimed at spreading the word to young people about early detection and education and encouraging them to get involved.

In January 2011, Scalora’s mother, Sharon, was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the coming months, she would undergo a bilateral mastectomy, four months of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation.

“The Pink Princesses became more meaningful after my diagnosis,” says Sharon, who describes daughter Anabelle as a nurturer who always gravitates toward people in need.

The Pink Princesses attend Susan G. Komen North Jersey fundraising events, sometimes with as many as 50 girls (many whose lives have been touched by the disease through family members or friends), all clad in their signature pink tutus and tiaras. What else would princesses wear? “They are pure goodness,” says Belfatto.

The “co-queens,” now high school freshmen (Scalora at West Orange High School, and Kriak at Mount St. Mary’s Academy), and their team will lend a hand at the annual 5K Race for the Cure (908-277-2904, ext. 14; race@komennorthjersey.org), scheduled for May 6.

Last year, the Pink Princesses helped create oversized tulips for the race’s Garden of Hope, where patrons “plant” messages for loved ones battling cancer. The tulips raised approximately $5,000.

Related posts:

1. Grounds for Celebration
2. Fashionistas Unite to Raise Funds
3. Get Moving to Move On

Related posts:

1. Chocolatini
2. Pisco Sour
3. Lavender Lemonade Cocktail