An Abundant Life - Growing Wings

Christina Andersen's studio is one of those places where I would go just because I was in the neighborhood and needed a breath of fresh air. Located in the Monroe Center in Hoboken, Christina can be found by appointment and on special occasions in a room filled with beautiful pottery and flowers, with fresh blooms and dried arrangements all perfectly arrayed in a way that feels comfortable and homelike while still being so orderly and precise that you can tell an Artist's eye created it.

I met Christina a few years ago when she was selling flowers and pottery outside at a farmer's and community artisan's market in Hoboken. I love flowers and I love pottery, so I naturally stopped, and Christina herself was like a breath of fresh air, a piece of the country in the mile square city of Hoboken. I talked with her a while that day and learned that in addition to her studio, at the time she was selling flowers and pottery in one of the local shops and that she also works with some local businesses and restaurants to create weekly flower arrangements for their decor. And ever after that, whenever I saw some flowers that I thought might be hers, I'd ask and find out that they were.

Around holidays she creates special arrangements, and during community events like the Hoboken Art and Studio Tour which took place this weekend, she opens her studio for visits. Her studio is a lovely destination any time, whether you're looking for a gift for someone or yourself, or just want a few moments of cheerful inspiration. You can always find something lovely at Christina Andersen Floral Design as the designer herself is as beautiful as her flowers. Take a few precious moments for yourself to stop and smell whatever she has blooming there and give yourself the gift of life. There's a feeling of freedom when the soul gets near growing and blooming plants, and in Christina's studio you might just find yourself remembering a time in your life when you almost thought you could fly.

Christina Andersen Floral Design
Monroe Center

720 Monroe Street

Studio E506

Hoboken, New Jersey

https://www.christinaandersenfloraldesign.com/

From A Seasonal Spring Into Summer Display

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Cafe Life

One day last summer, a woman who I had been introduced to by email but had never met in person suggested that we meet at Ohlala!, a restaurant on Bergen Avenue in Jersey City. It happened to be Bastille Day, and she said it was a French Cafe, and because I'm always interested in finding out about new places and my mother had always celebrated Bastille Day, I said I'd meet her there. When I looked up the address I knew exactly the area where it was because a friend has a gallery a few steps away and I had also gone to other events at other friends' spaces nearby over the years. But I couldn't picture Ohlala!, and when I made my way over for the meeting, I realized that it had seemingly sprung up overnight, like a beautiful flower that blooms after a spring rain. And indeed Ohlala! has the feeling of springtime, even on the hot summer day when I first went there and again on a cooler day in early October when I stopped by again as I planned to write this post. Plants fill the windows and there is a lovely jewelbox like quality in the charming space inside. It is not large, but it feels somehow very comfortable, as if you could sit back and relax while you take in the delicious tastes and lovely sights all around you.

Started by friends who had an idea of wanting to create a community space with wonderful French inspired food, Ohlala! has one of the best Chefs in town behind the counter. The first time I went there, Fallou made me the most delicious chicken curry I've had, so delicious in fact that when I went back, though I wanted to try other things, I had to have that curry again. I'm sure that everything he makes is wonderful, and I know I'll want to go back to try everything, because the other dishes I tried on my two visits, in addition to the lovely curry, were that wonderful combination of being homemade but having that extra special something that only a true Chef can create. As I've written in these pages before, I love to cook and I'm very good at it, but I know when I'm eating at the table of a Chef of another level, and the meals Fallou is making are extraordinary.

When I first went to Ohlala! they did not have a liquor license, but now they serve wine. And along with the regular meal times they have special occasions and special dinners that reflect different holiday seasons and times of the year. One thing that I wanted to try when I was there the first time was sold out, and when I had it on my second visit I could understand why. Fallou's Banana Pudding is the perfect combination of custard and fresh bananas, sweet enough to be a desert to love but not too sweet or heavy in any way. I had taken it to go and at home with coffee the next morning, its perfect lightness and depth of flavor made my morning routine seem like it had been magically charmed. With Fallou in the kitchen, the lovely decor, plants all around and friendly and helpful staff, Ohlala! French Kitchen is a perfect place to go where every day is a beautiful one and everything, like their motto says, is made with love.

Ohlala! French Kitchen

688 Bergen Avenue

Jersey City, New Jersey

http://iloveohlala.com/

A Taste Of Ohlala! At Home

Blessings,

Jannie Susan