How to Decorate Using the Principles of Feng Shui

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese belief that states that the way your home is organized will, in turn, influence everything else in your life. From your finances to your inner happiness, the aspects that feng shui influences are limitless. If you want to decorate your home in a way that better serves your feng shui, use these basic principles.

  • Keep things minimal. First and foremost, improve your home’s feng shui by getting rid of everything that you don’t need—including furniture, clothing and even kitchen supplies. This will leave you with more space for movement, creativity, and positive energy.
  • Maximize natural light. Take down heavy drapes and blinds and replace them with sheer curtains that allow in as much natural light as possible.
  • Add plants. Feng shui emphasizes the importance of having green plants to clean your home’s air and add a peaceful look to every room. Try options like jade plants and aloe plants that require little maintenance.
  • Leave entryways clear. Feng shui says that the doors allow positive energy to flow into your home, so be sure to leave yours clear.
  • Face the doors. Important pieces of furniture, such as your desk and your bed, should always face the door of the room without sitting directly in front of it.

Feng Shui 101 for Your Living Space [Wonder How To]
10 Easy Feng Shui Rules You Should Follow [Kris Carr]
Feng Shui Decorating Tips [Real Simple]

Villa de Colombia: Delightful Recipes

Expand your culinary horizons with some authentic Colombian food at Villa de Colombia. Huge portions, a welcoming ambiance, authentic recipes, and nice prices make this a great stop for lunch or dinner. The lunch special gets you an entree with vegetables, plantains, and rice, plus soup, beans, or salad for a mere $7.95. Favorite dishes are the Bistec Encebollado – steak with onions and mushrooms, Pechuga en Salsa de Campignones – grilled chicken breast with mushroom sauce, Bandeja Paisa – grilled plantains, steak, and pork topped with a fried egg, and Arroz Con Camarones – shrimp with rice. No liquor is served, but you can bring your own – they’ll even make you some sangria.

12 Mercer Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
(201) 343-3399

Public Domain/Public Domain

Uncle Louie G’s Italian Ice & Ice Cream: Cups, Cones and Sundaes Galore

Uncle Louie G’s Italian Ice & Ice Cream is a one-stop dessert shop for all of your favorite sweet, icy treats. Whether you prefer the creamy flavor of ice cream or the cold, refreshing taste of Italian ice, you’ll find both at this old-fashioned dessert shop. The small chain of ice creameries has locations across the East Coast, but the Bergen County location is one of the best places in town to cool off on a hot summer day — or any day of the year, really.

There’s never a bad time to enjoy a colorful, gourmet Italian ice, a velvety scoop of vanilla ice cream made with real milk, or a thick, creamy milkshake topped with whipped cream and a cherry. The flavors change from day to day at Uncle Louie G’s, and there’s always something new to try. If you’re planning a special occasion, you’ll even find custom ice cream cakes that can be personalized with your own message.

Uncle Louie G’s
111 West Pleasant Avenue
Maywood, NJ 07607
(201) 909-5151
www.unclelouiegee.com/locations/1244/new-jersey-maywood

Amarone Ristorante: Authentic Italian Feast

For an authentic Italian meal look no further than Amarone Ristorante, Teaneck’s premiere Italian eatery. Amarone takes classic Italian dishes and imbues them with personal touches, similar to old style home cooked meals. From the warmth of the atmosphere to the wine selection every bit of Amarone conspired to make and unforgettable dining experience. Chianti, a bold Italian wine, seems like the natural choice to accompany dinner of rich pasta and succulent meats. All the favorites are right here. Start out your meal with a fresh Caprese salad or funghi Portobello, which is mushrooms grilled in a garlic, balsamic, and olive oil mix. Fried calamari comes in your choice of sauce, while the Carpaccio features thinly shaved slices of beef with arugula and cheese. Amarone’s signature pasta dish is fettuccine Amarone in a traditional Bolognese sauce. There’s also lobster ravioli in champagne cream sauce, and broccoli and sausage with diced tomato.

Amarone Ristorante
63 Cedar Lane
Teaneck, NJ 07666
(201) 833-1897
www.yelp.com/biz/amarone-ristorante-teaneck

Butting Heads in the Office? Here’s How to Deal With Difficult Coworkers!

Whether your job requires collaboration or you simply want to establish friendly relationships with the people you work with, difficult co-workers can complicate things. Here are a few ways to handle bad attitudes in the workplace.

  1. Keep your cool. First and foremost, never lose your temper on a fellow employee, no matter how bad the situation gets. This will only make you lose face in front of your bosses and the rest of the office. Simply remind yourself to maintain a calm, even voice, or just walk away from the situation.
  2. Practice good conflict resolution skills. If the co-worker in question frequently disagrees or argues with you about work issues, learn how to resolve these conflicts before they start. Identify common ground by pointing out a mutual goal, and be sure to hear him or her out completely before giving your point of view.
  3. Address the issue in private. No one wants to be viewed as unprofessional, so privately point out when a co-worker is being particularly dramatic. Say something neutral, like “It seems like you’re getting very angry about this.” This might make your co-worker notice the error of his or her ways.
  4. Don’t be a pushover. It pays to be kind, but don’t let this difficult co-worker feel that he or she can walk all over you. Adopt a fair yet stern attitude that shows that you can’t be manipulated or disrespected.

Three Tips to Deal with a Passive-Aggressive Colleague [Harvard Business Review]
20 Ways to Deal with Difficult Co-Workers [iVillage]
Ten Tips for Dealing with Difficult Co-Workers [allBusiness]
How to Deal with Difficult Co-Workers [Forbes]

Fill Your Pantry With Fresh, Healthy Groceries From the Paramus Whole Foods Market

When you’re planning out your grocery list for the week, consider taking your shopping trip to the local Whole Foods Market in Paramus. This popular health food superstore is one of the most frequented grocery stores in the area for its beautiful selection of fresh, local produce, hard-to-find ingredients, and health-boosting supplements that will take all of your dishes to the next level. Whether you’re looking for local bee pollen to add to a dessert or Korean kimchi for tomorrow’s lunch, you’ll find just about everything at Whole Foods Market.

Once you’re done shopping for take-home groceries, sit down to enjoy breakfast or lunch on the go with a selection from the large hot food bars and salad bars. There’s a coffee shop that doles out ethical, organic blends and handcrafted espresso drinks, as well as a bakery counter with all of the pastries and cookies to go along with them.

Whole Foods Market
300 Bergen Town Center
Paramus, NJ 07652
(201) 226-1244
www.wholefoodsmarket.com/paramus

Pa De Thai Restaurant: Thai Cuisine in Edgewater, New Jersey

Craving Thai food near Edgewater, New Jersey? Head to Pa De Thai Restaurant, where some highly-regarded Thai cuisine's on the menu. Settle in for your meal with a tasty starter like Veggie Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay, Fried Chicken Wontons or Steamed Vegetable Dumplings. A big bowl of flavorful noodle soup is also an option, like Tom Yum with chicken or shrimp in a savory sweet & sour broth, or Chicken Noodle Curry. Pad Thai, Green & Red Curry, and Pad Kee Mow – spicy noodles, are some of the authentic dishes on the menu. All can be ordered with beef, chicken, pork, seafood or tofu. Pa De Thai Restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner.

Pa De Thai Restaurant
264 Old River Road
Edgewater, NJ 07020
(201) 945-9999
www.padethai.com
www.yelp.com/biz/pa-de-thai-restaurant-edgewater

Classic Quiche Cafe: A Local Classic

Pot pie’s sophisticated older brother is paid homage to by the Classic Quiche Cafe, a Teaneck eatery that specializes in quiche and so much more. This underrated dish is the star of the menu among many other heavy hitters.

Appetizers include such upscale fare as mussels, fried mushrooms with melted cheese, and a cheese and fruit platter for something fresh and tasty. For something truly different try the cold peach soup with shredded coconut. More traditional soup choices abound of course, including corn chowder, French onion, and garden vegetable. Besides sandwiches and wraps, Classic Quiche Cafe offers specialty entrees including vegetarian chili, raspberry chicken, and homemade manicotti. Quiche flavors include bacon mushroom, crabmeat, asparagus, and apple walnut.

Classic Quiche Cafe
330 Queen Anne Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
(201) 692-0150
www.classicquiche.com
www.yelp.com/biz/classic-quiche-cafe-teaneck

Stealthy Meets Healthy: How to Sneak More Fruits and Veggies Into Your Child’s Diet

Many parents worry about whether or not their child is getting the proper vitamins and nutrients. Until your picky eaters are old enough to fully understand the benefits of healthy eating, you may need to adopt a tactical approach to their meal prep — one that involves sneaking in some fruits and veggies! These recipes are so tasty, they’ll be none the wiser!

  1. Make your own ice pops. Instead of giving your kids sugar-laden, store-bought ice pops, replace them with homemade versions that are just as delicious. Make your own using 100 percent fruit juice and frozen berries in an ice pop mold.
  2. Stir spinach into your pasta. If you make a family-sized pot of pasta for a weeknight dinner, stir spinach into the sauce for a full serving of veggies that the kids likely won’t even notice. You can even add the mild tasting green to macaroni and cheese!
  3. Make a cauliflower pizza crust. If your kids refuse to eat pizza topped with vegetables, cut calories and incorporate a sneaky serving of veggies by using a recipe for cauliflower crust.
  4. Top burgers with fresh veggies. For children who are less squeamish about veggies, make treat meals like cheeseburgers a bit healthier by topping with fresh vegetables. Add fresh spinach, sliced tomatoes, and even onions in addition to the burger patty and melted cheese.

Cooking Tips [Fruits & Veggies More Matters]
5 Ways to Sneak Veggies into Family Meals [Eating Well]
Sneak Vegetables Into Your Kids' Food With These Tasty Recipes [All You]

Bring a Sweet Tooth to Bischoff’s Ice Cream & Candy

People with a sweet tooth all understand that when that sweet craving strikes, there’s nothing you can do but indulge. At Bischoff’s Ice Cream & Candy you’ll find a wide variety of delicious desserts to satisfy any sweet craving, from old-fashioned ice cream sundaes to gourmet chocolates and gummy candies. This charming shop features a colorful wall of candies lining its wooden shelves, as well as more ornate boxes of candy that make perfect gifts for a friend or sweetheart. The shop’s specialty chocolates, truffles, and chocolate-covered sweets fill a separate display case near the register.

If you came for the ice cream, Bischoff’s offers more than 40 homemade flavors from which to choose, and you can get them in a crispy waffle cone or a small bowl. The sundaes and banana splits are some of the shop’s most popular items, however, and they taste even better when shared with a friend!

Bischoff’s Ice Cream & Candy
468 Cedar Lane
Teaneck, NJ 07666
(201) 836-0333
www.yelp.com/biz/bischoffs-ice-cream-and-candy-teaneck

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