August 31, 2009

THE RECORD-REVIEW "Talk of the Town"

By BONNI BRODNICK

Girls, girls, girls! Silhouette, a store exclusively for girls in the‘tweens and teens zone, has officially opened on Westchester Avenue. Along with offering great-priced jewelry, hip scarves, funky T-shirts, swanky Betsyville bags, and bangles galore, they also host birthday parties. While most of Pound Ridge is a ghost town at this time of year, Silhouette is party-popping with activity. Themes range from “Darling Diva Party” to “Divine Diva Party” and “V.I.P. Diva Exclusive.” Don’t lift a finger as they help you create your own theme from a list of à la carte options like 60s Mod, 70s Disco, and 80s Glam. The happening scene includes hairstyling, mini-manicures, make-up, and music. They’ll even provide food and paper goods (you bring the B-day cake).

Ella Weinstein, a rising second grader at Pound Ridge Elementary School, wrote “Talk of the Town” with the following review of a swell girly birthday party she had just attended: “Hi! I spent two hours at Silhouette in the center of Pound Ridge. The new shop is pretty pink and you can have your own birthday party there. At the party I went to for my friend, we had makeup, hair, nails, and fake tattoos. We also danced and played ‘Stick the Earring on the Girl’ game. The people who work at Silhouette are very nice. If you want to have fun, stop by.” Bling it on! For more info, call Kathy Harrington, proprietor, at 764-3440.

Dick Major, president of the Historical Society, and Vince Manna, trustee, are busy putting final touches on their soon-to-be-released book, “Images of America: Pound Ridge.” Their chef d’oeuvre features 210+ photographs — from the late-1800s through to the 1930s — that depict life, homes, barns, maps and the landscape of old Pound Ridge. Most of the material was scanned from the Historical Society archives, but there are also previously unseen photos from private collections of several residents. Many of the shots reveal the open space of Pound Ridge that existed here at the turn of the 20th century. Marvel at the old country store located in the present day hamlet before its demise to fire in 1903. Check out the details of the five original school houses in Pound Ridge. (As a fellow historian, I love this stuff.) More info on how to reserve your autographed copy is forthcoming. In the meantime, to keep up to date on the launch of this terrific book, visit www.poundridgeny.com.

We ran into Pound Ridge’s own Earth Mama (AKA Angela Jobe) at O2 Living Holistic Spa and Center for Wellness, a yoga studio, health spa, and whole and living foods café that’s ramping up at Yellow Monkey Village in Cross River. On the topic of gardening, Angela gave us advice to consider once this heat wave subsides. “After the last bloom, many think it’s best for perennials to chop them to the ground. Don’t do it! Along with the birds eating the seeds and perching on the plants during winter, withered perennials in the snow can give the garden a beautiful architecture. Put an inch or two of mulch on them before the cold and they blooms will be back to charm you next summer.” The takeaway: Plants may whither, but beauty is perennial.

“Back to the Garden,” as Joni Mitchell sang 40 years ago at Woodstock . . . Cynthia Wetzler and Lisl Steiner-Monchek had a contest going all summer for the tallest sunflower. Cynthia’s, whose bronzy-beauties are hovering at a supersonic 10-feet tall (WOW!), are definitely in the lead of Lisl’s, whose sunflowers, well… they never came up. (AWW.) “I fertilized mine when I planted them in June, and once again with fish emulsion in August,” Cynthia wrote. “Sunflowers carry a light-hearted joy. They seem to have scoffed at all of the rain we had earlier this summer.” “Cynthia wins the sunflower contest,” responded Ms. Steiner-Monchek, "but it’s our friendship that truly wins.”

Who can believe Labor Day weekend is nigh? As we take in the last of sunny days poolside or sailing on Long Island Sound, relish BBQ’s with friends and a few more s’mores. Embrace the sounds of cicadas and crickets. Listen to the summer before it falls.

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