Posts Tagged ‘holiday’

It’s true. I started decorating for Christmas inside the house a week before Thanksgiving. Don’t judge! I like to take my time and enjoy the experience. But alas, Christmas traditions never fail and I traditionally have terrible luck with Christmas lights. This year, my indoor tree lights broke. Only half the string would light up. What made this so frustrating was that I bought two new sets only last year. I thought I’d be all good. How do these things break so easily?! The Grinch in me set in. I […]

After receiving this plant follow my care instruction in this article. Remove it’s decorations after the holiday to reveal a beautiful living tree in need of your attention. Sometime in August I was walking back from the gym when my neighbor Brady called me over. “Hey, you gotta sec?” He runs upstairs and brings down a very sad looking Charlie Brown type tree. “If anyone can save this, it will be you.” I was touched Brady thought of me as a plant healer! On inspection I knew this would be […]

I went to school on Long Island and it was mostly Italian and Irish Catholic kids. There were a few Jewish and Indian children but to be frank, I wasn’t very aware of our differences, in particular with respect to religious beliefs. Of course, we read the Old Testament in CCD, but it didn’t click. I was very aware, though, that we got a bunch of days off from school because of Jewish holidays, Rosh Hashanah being one of them. And they say the school districts on Long Island are […]

A month ago, my friend Jodi and I went to the Rock-a-Block Blvd. Street festival hosted by the Rockaway Business Alliance. This event is great because it gives you an opportunity to chat with neighbors, meet business owners and stroll into stores you don’t normally visit. Since The Studio Phantasmagoria opened last spring, I’ve been curious to check it out. “What’s going on in there? Let’s go in!”  I said to Jodi. It felt whimsical, fresh and inspiring as we stepped through the doorway. I saw delicately dyed clothing, thoughtfully […]

I dropped a barrage of obscenities hanging up my outside Christmas lights. Every year I have fuses blow, bulbs that break and bows that blow off my porch, never to be seen again. How come my decorating experience isn’t like the ones I see on the Hallmark Christmas movies that I love and binge-watch? Getting frustrated and cursing at inanimate objects is not what Christmas is about. I took a few minutes (and a glass of wine) to calm myself before I finished the last string of lights. Since then, […]

My friend Rachel Krieger, yoga instructor (@yogawithintention) and co-founder of  Ladies of Business Rockaway Beach, saw my husband at the Little Bearz show at the Surf Club about a month back. “I wonder if Paula would be interested in co-hosting Rosh Hashanah with me?”, she asked. Matt responded without hesitation, “I don’t even have to check with her, I know she would love to do it!” My husband was right. He knows that I like to think of myself as the Liza Minnelli of Rockaway Beach, and that I live […]

As a follow up to my column in this weeks Wave, I’ve posted three delicious Rosh Hashanah recipes. If you try them, I would love to hear about it and see pictures! Gloria’s Noodle Pudding Honey Caramel Apple Galette Found on: girlinthelittleredkitchen.com Ingredients For the pastry dough – adapted from Alice Waters: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons, cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 3 1/2 tablespoons cold water For the galette: 2 pounds tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced into […]

Previously published in The Wave “Everyone’s Irish on Rockaway St. Paddy’s Day,” says everyone, or at least those of us that aren’t actually Irish. But that’s okay — St. Patrick himself wasn’t even Irish. He was born in Scotland and his parents were Roman. So who knows —  maybe St. Patrick’s Day should really be thought of as an Italian holiday (yikes!).  At any rate, I can at least use this as a justification for this Mediterranean girl’s enthusiasm for Rockaway St. Patrick’s Day, which has become a highly-anticipated ritual […]