It’s Time to Think Summer – Local Camp Resource Guide for Our NJ Midtown Direct Communities

The dog days of winter are here!!  But I’m thinking spring– longer days, green lawns and the first signs of budding trees and flowers.  It’s such a pretty time here in our New Jersey Midtown Direct communities.  It makes me think of all the great spring and summer resources like our fabulous farmer’s markets, summer concerts and festivals.  And come to think of it, summer is only 5 months away and many parents are now combing through the yellow pages and kids resources for the best area summer camps. Read more

Downtown Millburn Welcomes The Salad House

Downtown Millburn Welcomes The Salad House

If you’re like me, nothing satisfies my hunger better than a big, hearty salad with all the fixings’.   And depending on the day’s cravings, I like to mix and match toppings to suit my mood du jour.  So when I learned about The Salad House by Cioffi’s (www.createyoursalad.com), opening its doors in December right in the heart of downtown Millburn at 343 Millburn Avenue, I was thrilled.

Their story is a touching one.  In 1958, Antonio Cioffi arrived in America with his new bride and only $20. Read more

Down the Block Helps Neighbors Who Live in Millburn-Short Hills

Sometimes the greatest and most urgent need for charity is just down the block. Based on this heart-tugging reality, a wonderful New-Jersey non-profit organization is committed to helping their neighbors in need. Down the Block, Inc. has been making a great difference in the lives of Millburn and Short Hills residents during difficult times, near your own Millburn home. This charitable corporation raises funds for short-term assistance in households facing unexpected financial set-backs through fundraising within your municipality and also through additional sources. In other words, if you live in Millburn, funding collected in your Millburn Township is used to help your neighbors right here in Millburn-Short Hills. Read more

Playgrounds In Our New Jersey Midtown Direct Train Line Towns!

Looking for a playground in New Jersey?

Sheila Sayah has created www.NJPlaygrounds.com – all from exploring New Jersey’s playgrounds as a great way to keep her 3 toddlers busy. She recently joined Amy Lamperti of www.theplaygroundguide.com and together they have provided parents a HUGE playground guide.

Here are links to playgrounds in our New Jersey towns:

Chatham which is known for Castle Playground and Memorial Park.

Livingston Community Center, Littell People’s Park by Livingston High School

Maplewood has Memorial Park, which is in a centralized location to Maplewood Village and Maplewood Train Station.

Millburn – There’s Gero Park, right by the Millburn pool, and Taylor Park, located in town.

Madison – Visit Dodge Field, walking distance to Madison Train station.

South Orange – Farrell Field

Summit – Wilson Park, Mabie Playground, and my favorite – Memorial Field.

New Providence – Morris-Union Joint Venture Playground

Westfield – Tamaques Park, Memorial Park, and Mindowaskin Park

Berkeley Heights – Snyder Ave Park, Columbia Park

Click here for an Indoor Playgrounds!

Go ahead… “like” NJ Playgrounds on facebook and stay up to date on New Jersey Playground News!

Short Hills Halloween House is Ready to Spook the Glenwood Trick or Treaters!

Every year in our NJ Midtown Direct Town neighborhoods we can count on certain houses  getting decked out for Halloween. I live in the Glenwood Section of Short Hills and our neighborhood refer to the house in the video as “The Halloween House”. That home is for sale now and when I went on the listing appointment, we even said, ” Oh, it’s the Halloween house!”.  Now The Glenwood Section, much like the South Mountain Section, is a haven for trick or treaters because you can cover alot of houses in a short period of time. The kids quickly figure that out.  When the weather is nice, we go through as many as 12 bags of candy! But the parents are all outside drinking wine, so no one’s really counting.

One year, the day AFTER Halloween, my daughter and her friend decided to visit every house in Glenwood with their emptied pillowcases, telling the unsuspecting homeowners, ” We were sick on Halloween and couldn’t go out. Do you have any extra candy?”…. and of course – this is the day after Halloween when homeowners were anxious to get rid of their excess candy,  people emptied entire bags of candy into their pillowcases.  Pretty smart 4th graders, eh?

So witch Halloween stories come to mind for you?

Festival For Families Who Live in Millburn

Do you know what you’re doing this Sunday? I do! I will be having a great time visiting and meeting neighbors who live in Millburn and Short Hills! The annual Millburn Street Fair and Art Festival is on Sunday, Oct. 2nd, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Millburn Avenue and Spring Street. This is a must-do community event and admission and parking are free, although it’s only a short walk from your Millburn home.

Over 150 crafters, artists and other vendors bring you the best Millburn has to offer on this special day and cars will not be allowed on Millburn Avenue or Spring Street for the event. A wide variety of food, some international, along with pony rides, a petting zoo, and other circus type entertainers will be available, too. Be sure to stop by municipal parking lot 5 between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. You may discover an outdoor dance party by DJ John or a live performance by the Flying Dogs of Jupiter Band. The Millburn-Short Hills Chamber of Commerce host the annual festival and this year’s Premier Sponsor is Investors Savings Bank. To find out more, click here.

Video: Give Home Buyers and Sellers What They Are Looking For! Sue Adler and Kenn Renner Share Video and Website Strategies at Keller Williams National Convention

I’ve been fortunate to speak at several major real estate conventions over the years, but this time, I was lucky to have the King of Video, Kenn Renner, on stage with me because he filmed our whole panel! Read more

Analysis of Millburn/Short Hills & Summit Home Statistics for August 2011

Whether you are buying or selling real estate in New Jersey, you can benefit from having an understanding of the local market.  The average listed sales price of a Millburn/Short Hills, New Jersey home for the month of August, 2011 was $1,250,000, with a median sales price of $947,926 for sold Millburn/Short Hills homes.  Housing inventory has decreased in Millburn/Short Hills when compared with August of 2010, with 94 active listings being reported for the last day of August for Millburn/Short Hills versus 107 in August of 2010. Read more

Fireworks & Fun Near Your NJ Midtown Direct Home

Our New Jersey Midtown Direct Towns know how to celebrate the Fourth of July! If you live in Millburn/Short Hills or a home in Chatham, you know what I am talking about. Red, white, and blue is the name of the game as we express our love for our country, family, friends, and fireworks on Independence Day! The following are some great ways to spend your holiday weekend and share some special time with your family and neighbors throughout our midtown direct towns of Chatham, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Summit, and South Orange.

• If you live in Chatham, you’ll be happy to hear that the Chatham Borough Volunteer Fire Department will celebrate its 57th Annual Fourth of July Celebration on July 4th. Following a flag raising at the Chatham Borough Firehouse, a parade with Grand Marshal firefighter and Vietnam War veteran John Clark will kick off the event at 10:30 a.m. The parade starts at Main Street and Hillside Avenue will continue to Chatham Middle School on Main Street. That night the Middle School field will come alive with performances by Magic Moments featuring Gina and Pepe from 7 to 9 p.m. The World Champion Santore Brothers of Garden State Fireworks Company of Millington will produce an amazing fireworks show beginning at 9pm.
• Maplewood residents have special events planned near their Maplewood homes, as well! At 7:45 a.m. Ricalton Square will come alive for the Annual 109th 4th of July Opening Ceremonies, complete with flag salute & a performance of the national anthem. Following that, Maplewood residents can enjoy a true community parade at 8:15 a.m. where anything that can move and be decorated in red, white, and blue participates and competes for awards. The parade will conclude at Memorial Park and a party, complete with circus, music, food, fireworks, and fun can be had for $10 per person.
• Near your Millburn -Short Hills home, you will find an exciting display of fireworks offered at Millburn High School, located at 462 Millburn Avenue. Beginning at 7 p.m., you can gather to experience Krazy Kat DJ and the 50-50 raffle, along with refreshments and glow in the dark items for sale. The fireworks will begin after a performance of God Bless America by Millburn’s Patty Hetherington at 9 p.m. Be sure to bring your blankets and chairs and dress warmly. Advance tickets can be purchased at Town Hall or various Millburn town shops for $10 and tickets at the gate are $12. You can also purchase tickets to just see the fireworks for $5 that night at the gate. Click here to get more information.
• At Flood’s Hill, located at 70 N Ridgewood Rd, near your South Orange home, you will be delighted by the Village Parade. Beginning at 9:30, South Orange residents will gather to create a safe bicycle course and give instructions prior to the 11:30 a.m. Village Parade. Bike, strollers, wagons, skaters and skateboarders will roll from Floods Hill to the South Orange Community Pool where prizes will be awarded. This event is free and more information can be found here.

If you have a home in Livingston, you can participate is an extensive, all day celebration at The Oval, located at 10 Robert H Harp Drive, starting at 9 a.m. This 75th Annual Livingston 4th of July Celebration includes a car show, baseball game, fair, rides, and games will occur alongside patriotic readings and ceremonies. Various bands will perform throughout the day and a spectacular fireworks show is planned at 9:15 p.m. To find out more, click here.

Soldier’s Memorial Field is the place to be if you live in Summit!  The Flag Raising Ceremony begins at 9:45 a.m., followed immediately by the Children’s Decorated Bicycle Parade where children ages four through ten compete for trophies by decorating their bikes in red, white, and blue. Following the awards, Polka Dot will entertain the children with music and the day will continue with carnival rides, ponies, crafts, games of attractions will run until 1 p.m.  The Kootz will perform at 11:30 a.m. to liven up the event and encourage Summit’s Emergency Services as they hit Memorial’s Softball Field at noon for a very competitive game.  The Cameos will entertain that evening, beginning at 7:45 p.m. until the Grand Fireworks Display at 9:15 p.m. in the sky over Summit’s Memorial Field. This event is a highlight to families who live in Summit, and more information can be found here.

Strawberry Festival – A Reason to Live in Millburn!

Each spring, families and friends who live in Millburn/Short Hills gather for some of the most anticipated events of the school year, one of the Millburn School District Elementary School Strawberry Festivals. Children from all five of the township elementary schools gather at these exciting events, as do their friends and families.  

Onlookers may refer to it as simply a school carnival, but Millburn/Short Hills home owners know that this is THE event of the year!  Glenwood, Hartshorn, Deerfield, Wyoming and South Mountain elementary schools are materially involved and a committee of Strawberry Festival Chairpeople are selected to plan for this huge event attracting volunteers, vendors, parents and teachers who work and live in Millburn/Short Hills.  Everyone works hard to the ensure the success of the popular Strawberry Festival!

Each year, the night before the Strawberry Festival, my kids run through our Millburn/Short Hills home, preparing endlessly, too excited to sleep.   They have a tradition of getting their t-shirts autographed by all their friends and can’t wait for the morning of the festival.   The excitement continues throughout the school day until at last, the dismissal bell rings. 

The children rush out to view the Strawberry Festival, in all its glory, with plenty of volunteer Millburn/Short Hills residents waiting for the kids to arrive!   With strings of tickets and colorful wristbands, the children race outside to enjoy all the rides, games, food and fun. Groups of achool-aged friends enjoy their independence at the festival, since all the parents act as volunteers, as the Millburn/Short Hills community rallies together to form a productive team for this four hour event.

At Glenwood Elementary School, one of the most popular areas, is the goldfish station. Children are given a net and try to scoop out the “most beautiful” goldfish from the pool.  Their prized pet is then placed in a bag of water where it can join its proud owner and enjoy the festival, and hopefully a new home in Millburn/Short Hills!  As a family, we have lost many goldfish in our past nine years as members of the Glenwood Elementary School community!

Most people wonder as to the origins of the name of the Strawberry Festivals.  While we know that the festival dates back forty years, noone has been able to confirm the reason behind the name.  Could it maybe correlate to strawberry season?  Maybe it stems from the fact that the volunteers are so sweet?  Perhaps at one time, strawberry vendors coursed through the festival?

No matter what the reason, there is plenty of food to be enjoyed at the festival, from  pizza, cotton candy and snow cones to burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken sandwiches, salads, and lastly…..STRAWBERRIES and CREAM!  Maybe the reason it is known as the Strawberry Festival is because just the thought of the festival makes the people who live in Millburn/Short Hills smile, as do freshly picked strawberries.  The Strawberry Festival brings together all of Millburn/Short Hills, the students, graduates, and grown ups in a 100% happy experience – don’t miss out on your chance to be a part Millburn/Short Hills history!