Thankfully Yours
In this season of giving thanks, we often find ourselves reflecting on the many blessings in our lives. The true spirit of Thanksgiving encourages the conscious expression of gratitude. Its focus is spending time with those that you love and encourages giving back in a meaningful way. While ambition, competition and slaying goals can be very healthy, forgetting to place importance on being present, enjoying the ride and appreciating those around us that have helped us along in our journey, can leave us missing out on what truly matters. We’ll never be content if we look outside ourselves and at our possessions or titles to determine if we are fulfilled. True contentment comes from within and from fulfilling who we were made to be.
Does it sound too simple to say that I am grateful for this day? We know that tomorrow isn’t promised to us so, living fully present in this day and adapting an “Attitude of Gratitude” can keep us hopeful. Here's to the moments we have and being grateful for them all.
Our November issue is dedicated to stories of gathering, gratefulness and giving back to our community. We are so thankful for the residents and businesses in our community who support so many wonderful organizations and help make our town the vibrant community that it is. We are especially thankful for our advertising partners who help bring this magazine to your doorsteps each month. They are part of our vision and purpose of bringing inspiring stories and the good news of the community directly to you. This holiday season as we prepare to gather with our loved ones, and in the true spirit of thanksgiving, let’s set time aside to consider what truly makes life meaningful and stop to reflect on those blessings.
Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you and your family!
MONIQUE DOMINIQUE, PUBLISHER @WESTORANGE.CITYLIFESTYLE
November 2024
PUBLISHER
Monique Dominique monique.dominique@citylifestyle.com
MARKET SUPPORT COORDINATOR
Barb Forbes
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Martta Kelly, Angelina Silvester
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Martta Kelly, Angelina Silvester
Corporate Team
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Matthew Perry
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HR Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Zach Millers
LAYOUT DESIGNER Kathy Nguyen
NOVEMBER 2024
city scene
WHERE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE AND BE SEEN
1: Elizabeth Welch/ Pollock Associates with Matt Keane/Guaranteed Rate grab a snack at the Arts Fair 2: The Volunteers that made the Pollock Arts Initiative 2nd Annual Arts Fair a success 3: The Columbia High School Marching band engaged the crowd. 4: Over 40 vendors participated, including Luna Stage of West Orange. Hannah welcomed visitors. 5: The coolest flash mob was delightfully in sync. 6: Shanai & EJ shared the vision of Soul Xpresssion School of the Arts in Orange 7: Vanessa Pollock of Pollock Properties Group and amazing team “Have a Heart for the Arts”
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GREG MILLS PHOTOGRAPHY
GREG MILLS PHOTOGRAPHY
GREG MILLS PHOTOGRAPHY
GREG
SEPTEMBER REALTY REPORT
business monthly
Diana Maurizaca of George’s and Sons General Construction Ventures into Real Estate
Diana Maurizaca of George’s and Sons General Construction is now connecting buyers and sellers with their ideal home through her association with Hanna Rand Realty. As your local real estate agent, she is deeply rooted in the community and looks forward to helping you find that perfect match.
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Dr Gibson-Delaney Launches Quality of Life Psychiatry
Welcome to Quality of Life Psychiatry, a new kind of psychiatric home. I focus on treating depression and anxiety, and have a special interest in providing care for those in caregiver roles, in comprehensive, empathic, and supportive ways. I work to help clients navigate life transitions and self-doubt, all while enhancing resiliency and ability to care for self in the process. Looking forward to creating resilience, respite, and community with you.
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New Business Alert: Luxury Nail Studio
Luxury Nail Salon has opened its doors and is providing Gel Mani, Dip Powder, Acrylic nails, UV Gel, Pedicure & Wax and more, all in a beautiful, inviting location on 643 Eagle Rock Avenue. Come in for the luxuriously stellar experience.
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We are excited to announce the incorporation of sports medicine services at our West Orange, NJ office, where we already offer a wide range of aesthetic treatments. Our aesthetics and sports medicine services will address all non-surgical sports medicine and musculoskeletal-related injuries for patients of all ages, accepting major insurances in New Jersey. This addition perfectly complements our existing aesthetic services, emphasizing both external beauty and internal fitness. Our mission is to keep you active and healthy while helping you achieve your aesthetic goals, enhancing your natural self and boosting your confidence.
ARTICLE
AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTTA KELLY
MANAGING STRESS DURING THANKSGIVING AND THE HOLIDAY SEASON FOR PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA
HELPING LOVED ONES
Thanksgiving, with turkey and all the trimmings, ushers in the fall/winter holiday season and people look forward to celebrating with family and friends.
real food. Blinking lights may also be distracting to them.
• Consider what will be most comfortable and enjoyable for them when
“THE TRANSITION FROM INDEPENDENT LIVING TO A RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY CAN BE DAUNTING...”
However, for those living with dementia, it can be a stressful time.
Jeanette Lauture, a certified dementia practitioner, memory care advisor, and director of marketing at Arden CourtsProMedica Memory Care in West Orange, deals exclusively with persons living with dementia. “People with dementia often have trouble communicating their needs,” she says, adding that a roomful of people may be overwhelming to them. Providing a quiet place for them may be helpful, where they can feel comfortable.”
She offers the following tips, provided by the Alzheimer’s Association, to help make the holidays more manageable for all:
• Involve persons with dementia in safe, manageable holiday preparation activities that they enjoy.
• Avoid using candles or artificial fruits and vegetables as decorations since some people living with dementia might confuse them with
making holiday plans, while keeping safety in mind.
• Maintain their normal routine as much as possible so that holiday preparations don’t become disruptive or confusing.
• Focus on the things that bring happiness and let go of activities that seem overwhelming or too risky. Taking on too many tasks can weigh on both of you.
• Build on traditional memories but introduce new traditions that might be less stressful or better suited, such as watching a holiday movie. Lauture, who has worked in healthcare for more than 30 years, began taking care of her mother in 2016 after she took a fall.
“At that time, it was discovered that my mom had vascular dementia,” she says. “Therefore, I had to educate myself about dementia.” This led to a desire to help other families dealing with a loved one living with dementia.
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“The transition from independent living to a residential community can be daunting, for both the family and the person living with dementia,” says Lauture, who has worked at Arden Courts for two years. “But I love my job helping families navigate the transition.”
Lauture is quick to point out that Arden Courts is not an assisted living facility, but a self-contained community that is totally focused on care for persons living with dementia. It serves communities in 58 locations around the country. In addition to West Orange, Arden Courts has communities in Whippany, Wayne, and Cherry Hill in New Jersey.
The 56 residents living in the West Orange facility have fully-furnished rooms within four self-contained “houses” with their own living rooms, kitchen, bath, and laundry room. There are exercise classes, an indoor walking track, lectures, current events discussions, movies, and musical programs. Outside, residents have access to an expansive, secure campus that includes a walking path, a community garden, and a picnic area, all within a private, safe environment. “Wandering is common with some people with dementia,” Lauture says, “but they can’t get lost here.” In addition to the vigilance of staff members, there are cameras to ensure residents are always safe.
All staff members are given regular training about interacting with persons with dementia, following by tests of their knowledge. Although a variety of physicians and healthcare professional visit patients at Arden Courts, there may be times when a resident needs to consult
“I LOVE HELPING FAMILIES NAVIGATE THE TRANSITION.”
with a provider outside of the community. “We offer instruction for hospital personnel on communicating with people with dementia who have trouble expressing their needs to staff,” Lauture says. “They also may require more time during their visit.”
Additionally, Arden Courts offers a monthly dementia support group specifically geared towards families and caregivers.
Arden Courts is home to people in their early 60s and older in different stages of dementia, according to Lauture, who explains that residents are not separated by stage. “We find that both people with late-stage dementia and those in the early stage of the disease feed off one another,” she says, adding that early-stage persons can sympathize with what those in later stages are going through, while those with late-stage dementia can receive assistance from early-stage persons.”
Lauture stresses the importance of making the residents feel part of a community, where they have the freedom to participate in a host of activities or choose to read a book in the privacy of their room. “This place is their home,” she says.
ARDEN COURTS-PROMEDICA MEMORY CARE COMMUNITY
510 Prospect Avenue West Orange, NJ 07052
973-736-3100
thanksgiving cornucopia
How To Decorate Tables With Noteworthy November Flair
ARTICLE BY JULIE BROWN PATTON
Whether traditional or modern, formal or fussfree, Thanksgiving centerpieces set a memorable ambiance for November gatherings.
• An old dough bowl or wood trencher makes a great low centerpiece when filled with seasonal pumpkins, gourds, pinecones and flowering branches.
• Fill a stoneware sugar bowl with seeded eucalyptus, chrysanthemums and pears.
• Use one or a nest of baskets, floral foam and some blooms to craft a themed stunner.
• Incorporate family heirlooms by using an inherited (or thrifted) antique teapot, surrounded by other vintage finds.
• Stack two cake plates on top of each other with bite-size edibles; add other, shorter floral arrangements in pitchers or vases, if desired.
• Add soft candlelight with rustic textures of wood and lots of fall color via an assortment of fresh and faux gourds, silk sunflowers and dried seed pods.
use vintage finds
deliciously edible
Make an edible bread cornucopia, ‘horn of plenty,’ for the Thanksgiving table using refrigerated bread or pizza dough, a plastic bottle mold and aluminum foil. Wrap the bottle with foil, make a tail at one end and then layer adjoining strips of dough on the foil. Brush cornucopia with melted butter, remove the plastic bottle and bake at 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes on the lower rack, or until it turns a golden, shiny brown. Fill with sweet or savory nibbles, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, gourds, nuts, rosemary breadstick twists or even cookies, for an impressive centerpiece that’ll keep guests happily munching while they wait for the main meal to begin.
HOME-GROWN
HOLIDAY
A Nostalgic Visit to Wightman Farms
ARTICLE BY ANGELINA SILVESTER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGELINA SILVESTER
When visiting Wightman Farms, I was immediately reminded of the way fall felt as a child. There is something about the change in seasons that makes you nostalgic, and both the farm and its accompanying general store seem to capture the feeling of a simpler time. Fresh fruits and vegetables are for sale, spilling from wooden crates, and seasonal flowers bloom in hanging planters and pots. The buildings are a classic farmhouse red, and the signage looks perfectly rustic. Scarecrows abound, and pumpkins are nestled between bales of hay. The entire experience encourages you to reach back through time and to return to the simple things.
This feeling of timelessness could come from the fact that Wightman Farms has been run by family for several generations. Currently run by the head farmer, Adam, the farm has been kept in the family, and helped by close friends.
Wightman Farms was founded in 1922, when Albert Wightman and his wife bought the land that would become the farm seen today. After planting fruit trees and vegetables, Albert sold his harvest in nearby towns. On their website it’s said that even today, customers that have been visiting for years remember how things started out: fruits and veggies sold beneath a mulberry tree.
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The farm itself boasts apple picking, hay rides, and a cider mill—classic fall activities perfect for a day with loved ones this Thanksgiving season. A highlight for kids and families alike might be their apple cider donuts, which are made fresh, with the process visible to the public. Pies of every flavor are for sale as well, along with other breads, cakes, and candies, satisfying even the most particular of sweet tooths.
Wightman’s also offers the chance to make your Thanksgiving shopping a one-stop experience. Not only are there desserts, but there are fresh cuts of meat for sale, as well as holiday staples like potatoes, yams, and green beans. If you’re in the mood for a home-grown holiday, look no further than Wightman’s Farms this fall.
www.wightmanfarms.com
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I’m here to help you find solutions to life’s more difficult questions whether you are seeking help for yourself or someone close to you.
• Certificate for NJ LSW’s getting their hours for licensure
• Specialization in Counseling, informed consent.
• Counseling groups for teens ages 13-17yrs
• Convenient South Orange location and virtual sessions
• 33 years of private practice experience.
• Individual psychotherapy,
• EMDR treatment for trauma and anxiety
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THE GIFT OF GRATITUDE
Ushering in the Holiday Season with “An Attitude of Gratitude”
ARTICLE BY ANGELINA SILVESTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGELINA SIVESTER
The beginning of fall marks a shift in the weather: brightly colored leaves, cooler days, and the start to the holidays. In addition to the pumpkin-spiced foods, the warm drinks, and the sweaters and coats many are more than happy to pull out of storage, there seems to be a feeling of gratitude in the air. The beginning of fall is a time to take stock of the things you’re grateful for, and a time to gather your family together and create new memories.
While we are grateful for our own lives, we can also spread that feeling to others by giving back to the community around us. As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, here are a few ways that West Orange and the surrounding towns are sharing that gratitude.
“Serve Neighbors In Need” is the mission of Toni’s Kitchen, a soup kitchen turned full meal service started in 1982. Parishioners at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Montclair set out with the intention to help their neighbors, and this grew into a community of now more than two thousand volunteers.
I was lucky enough to get a tour of the facility. The space was warm and welcoming. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that not only does Toni’s Kitchen serve food, but they have a thrift store available as well!
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If you are interested in donating to the kitchen, they have a list of foods they need the most, as well as clothing items and financial donations!
For a way to give back right in your hometown, West Orange’s own Holy Trinity Church also hosts a soup kitchen—Christine’s Kitchen, open for free lunch on Saturdays from 12 to 1PM. The food pantry is open on Tuesdays, and their thrift store is currently looking for fall clothes!
The wider Essex County community is also helped by MEND Hunger Relief, a food pantry that also has mobile markets through their “MEND on the Move” program. As seen on their website, MEND’s goal is to ensure “everyone in their community has access to nutritious food.”
Want to help people state-wide? The Jersey Cares Coat Drive is another place to help serve your greater community. They have collected and given out thousands of winter coats to people in need.Their donation spots will be open again in November, just in time for Thanksgiving!
Whether it’s at home or across the state, there are plenty of ways to help give holiday cheer around the West Orange area. Consider giving the gift of gratitude this season and contribute to one of these groups!
www.toniskitchen.org www.holytrinitywo.org www.mendnj.org www.jerseycares.org
ktubloomfieldnj
Your Home, Your Personality
Let SBC Interiors help you transfer your special personal touch and style to the design of your home. Happy to work within your timeframe and budget. We are eager to assist and help you create the home of your dreams.
HOW TO: seasonal home scents
PFUL TIPS A N D R E C IPES FROM S
Fall essential oil combinations provide a warm and cozy scent while also protecting those from sickness prevalent in the colder season. “Seasonal scents are cozy and warm” states Kecia Doll, who is an esthetician from Sweet Be Wellness, “the seasonal scents remind us about how a new time is coming: it’s a time of renewal.” Follow these oil combinations to create your own seasonal scent.
immune boost
DIRECTIONS :
Combine the following essential oils with a base oil (coconut oil).
INGREDIENTS:
• Cinnamon: Antibacterial; Antiviral
• Clove: Antibacterial; Antiseptic
• Lemon: Uplifts, Kills Bacteria; Reduces Inflammation
• Oregano: Antimicrobial; Antioxidant
• Eucalyptus: Decongestant and Provides Healing
HOW TO USE:
Apply to wrists or feet. Do not use it on your face.
home defender
DIRECTIONS:
Combine the following essential oils.
INGREDIENTS:
• Orange: Reduces Stress; Antimicrobial
• Eucalyptus: Decongestant; Provides Healing
• Cinnamon: Antibacterial; Antiviral
• Black Pepper: Supports the Nervous System
• Clove: Antibacterial; Antiviral
• Rosemary: Reduces Stress; Helps with Respiratory fatigue
HOW TO USE:
Fill the diffuser with water and apply the desired amount of drops.
ARTICLE BY CELENA CISCO
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