Sunday, September 27, 2015

An Abundant Life - The Best of Both Worlds

Everything's up to date in Jersey City, and with Hoboken right next door and a beautiful waterfront walk to downtown or within an easy walk down the hill from the Heights, you can spend a season's worth of weekends enjoying all that the two cities have to offer. There's so much to share and today I'll be highlighting two of my favorite weekly seasonal events, with a special highlight on two of the local artists I've gotten to know and cherish.

IN HOBOKEN

Rummage and Ruffage at The Church of the Holy Innocents on the corner of 6th and Willow in Hoboken is home to Hoboken's Midtown Farmers Market and a haven of farmers, vendors and rummage sales every Saturday from 10am until 2pm through October. The event was designed to raise funds for the renovation of the church so that it could be a community space that hosts events for the area. Before 10am there's yoga and coffee, and yesterday when I went by they had a beer garden starting at 11:00! Years ago a friend told me about a tradition on weekends in her family to have "Elevenses" on Saturday mornings, and though I had too busy a day to stop and sample the hand crafted beer and Absolut Bloody Mary's, it was such a lovely and outdoorsy setting it was very tempting to stay. There are games for children and a lovely open yard for all of us to play in, the church rummage with fun and eclectic finds, and there's one special vendor who I always make sure to stop by and visit, Bill Maggs of R. William Maggs Designs.

On the Facebook page for R. William Maggs Designs you'll see the description, "Florist - Event Planner - Art Gallery," but Bill is so much more. Under his five star reviews I read, "You know when you're in the right shop when the owners are friendly, attentive, and passionate about what they do!" and that only begins to describe what meeting Bill is like. When he had his shop in Hoboken, it was a pleasure just to walk around and smell the flowers and scented candles and look at the lovely home furnishings and design ideas he has, and his tent at Rummage and Ruffage is its own special place within that special space. He'll be there through October, and year round you can always contact him on Facebook or through his website at R.WilliamMaggsDesigns.com.

Abundantly special finds from Rummage and Ruffage and Bill Maggs




IN JERSEY CITY HEIGHTS

Up the hill at Riverview Park in Jersey City Heights they have a Farmers Market on Sunday mornings with local fare of eatable and visual kinds. One of my favorite artists, Jill Koproski, is found here sitting under a shady tree every third Sunday through October. I am a fan of beautiful pottery, and Jill creates some of the most amazingly gorgeous pieces, classical designs with her own special touches. Contact her at jillann6@verizon.net or stop by the market and enjoy the beauty all around you and especially under her tree.

Abundantly Beautiful Pottery from Jill Koproski

ACROSS THE RIVER

On Friday I had the opportunity to meet another beautiful artist, Holly Lance, where she had a table outdoors on 6th Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets in Manhattan. She's there on Tuesdays and Thursdays through Saturdays when the weather is fine, and all other times you can find her mixed media art and jewelry design online at UndiscardableCards.com.

Card courtesy of Holly Lance, mixed media artist, UndiscardableCards.com

BACK IN JERSEY CITY

While shopping in the Newport Mall area I saw this beauty

And then I saw this beautiful group near Journal Square


I was shopping for groceries and picking up items for my morning oatmeal when I saw the group honoring the last day of Ganesh. The best way I've found to make me really feel ready to start the day is to have a good hearty cereal in the morning, oatmeal made with steel cut oats, or home made muesli made with rolled oats. I add about one tablespoon each of whatever dried fruits and nuts I have on hand along with a teaspoon each of things like coconut, flax seed meal, wheat bran or wheat germ, and add a cup of fresh fruit, a dash or two of cinnamon and top it off with plain yogurt. I like to use a variety of nuts, but for some reason they've been really expensive lately, so today I opted for unroasted, unblanched peanuts, something I've never tried before but the price was right and they are delicious! Even when I find good prices and can have other nuts around I may keep buying the peanuts. They're not so strong in flavor when they're unroasted, and peanuts are a great source of protein and healthy fats that can keep us feeling fuller and more energized and satisfied when we're running around during a hectic day.

Great morning cereal add-ons from Newark Avenue

Blessings,

Jannie Susan








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