GC Lifestyle

Fall Fun in GC

Posted on by insidegardencity

It’s that time of year again: days are shorter, weather is colder, the windows close, the heat goes on, noses sniffle (particularly in the seat next to me when I’m on mass transit)… Oh the glories of fall! As I try to get into the fall spirit, I have to admit that it’s a real effort for me. I just can’t feel genuinely excited and happy about cold weather, jackets, no more days at the beach- especially when the only season worse than fall (winter) is right around the corner. I do get a small amount of pleasure from some fall-related indulgences though (leather boots for instance). However, the season is upon us and I am putting in a good effort to find and enjoy a few fall things in my new digs. Let’s face it. it’s either that or start looking at Florida real estate. Here’s my list of 5 ways to enjoy fall in GC:


Visit the pumpkin patch on Stewart Ave and Nassau Blvd. In addition to tons of pumpkins, there are flowers, scarecrows, pies, breads, lots of halloween decorations- all for sale. You can also catch live music on the weekends and activities for kids like “storytime in the patch”. The pumpkins are driven all the way from Navajo reservations in New Mexico. Each pumpkin purchased helps provide education and medical services to Navajo families. And you thought you were just buying a pumpkin!

Take a short drive to Hicks Nursery for lots of fall related fun. You can take a hay ride, feed the animals at the petting zoo or even buy a 10 foot inflatable black cat for a lawn ornament. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like any of my new neighbors own one of these!  

Have a fall-inspired cupcake (or any of the yummy flavors) from Honestly Delicious- Garden City’s newest bakery cafe.

Hang out at A New Leaf on Seventh St. and drink a cinnamon almond spice. Lots of delicious, warm drinks for the fall season are brewing at the tea emporium. Not to be missed. 

And the one must-have that I enjoy every fall: a pumpkin spice latte from… anywhere. This always makes me a little happy about fall!

How will you be celebrating the season?

My First Bunco Night

Posted on by insidegardencity

“You’re seriously playing Bunco??” is a question I would teasingly ask my older sister when I was living the life in the city and she was in the burbs with a husband and kids. I would envision her sitting around with a group of sweat pant-wearing moms, chatting about potty training, playing a silly game, eating chips and dip, while I would be out at some hot new club or restaurant. I vowed I would never play. My, how times have changed. 
Since moving to Garden City three months ago, I received my first Bunco invitation. Initially, this seemed like a cruel joke, another one of those “face it, you’re in suburbia now” moments- similar to joining Costco. I debated going as these thoughts ran through my head: I have so many other things I could be doing, would I like the other women, do I have to make a commitment, I’m not a game person, I don’t want to listen to other people’s kid stories all night, I don’t like dip, etc etc. 
In an effort to “put myself out there” in a new town, I accepted the invitation and attended my first Bunco night. This was no sweat pant-wearing, potato chip eating crowd. They were fun, fashionable and friendly. The host graciously welcomed 12 women (even us newcomers) into her beautiful home, fully set up with various tables for game-playing. And there were no chips and dip in sight! Instead, it was catered by a local Italian restaurant and dinner was creative and delicious. Even better, the wine was flowing and continued to flow all night. I met women who worked in a variety of fields- law, medicine, business, fashion, etc.. There was no potty training talk here, nor was there much Bunco playing. The night mostly revolved around good wine, lots of food and good conversation- three of my favorite things. We eventually did get around to a little Bunco, but I think that was mostly in honor of the newcomers, so we could say that we actually played. 
In the end I did learn the dice game, which is a bit effortless (I was right!) but hey- if it leads to a night of fun I’m all for it. I also made some new friends and came home much later than I had in a while. My preconceived notions of Bunco were totally wrong and I was happy about that. What I thought would be a mundane night of game playing was really a disguise for a fun night of socializing that had very little to do with any game. I’m on board with that. It was a great time with great women and, if you twisted my arm, I guess I could commit to this ; )

Drive Everywhere Syndrome Challenge

Posted on by insidegardencity

One thing I’ve noticed since leaving urban life and transitioning to Garden City is that DES, Drive Everywhere Syndrome, is rampant. Even those suburbanites who’ve left city life and say they miss walking everywhere have fallen victim. This could be for a variety of reasons- convenience, things are naturally more spread out in the burbs, comfort, the euphoria of having ample parking, etc. 


I am definitely a culprit of this. I’ve succumbed to DES on numerous occasions. I’ve driven when my destination was just a few blocks away but I was short on time. I would never have done that in Hoboken. I would have just walked faster. I’ve also caught myself jumping into the car simply because it’s there. It’s becoming the default (plus I now have a driveway which makes parking a lot easier). However, I’m going to stop DES now, while there’s still hope for me. I am committing myself to walking to at least two places this week, within reason. I’m not going to lie- You won’t see me lugging my groceries home by foot just to make a point. But maybe by taking baby steps every day, I can avoid DES and help some of my neighbors to do the same. 

I encourage all suburbanites to accept the challenge- step out of the comfort of your car just two times this week and walk or bike instead. Who knows what you might find, who you might run into, and you may just actually enjoy it. 

What is GC wearing? (Sept. edition)

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What is GC wearing?
I didn’t know what to expect fashion-wise when I first moved here. I had heard a variety of things that would send an urban girl running such as “you can’t wear the same thing twice” and “the women wear tennis skirts every day”. Well, I was pleasantly surprised.

Summertime revealed a lot of very simple, casual dressers. Whoever was not away at their summer homes was around town in shorts and tees, casual summer dresses and sandals. The sports fields had much of the same casual look. But the start of school has revealed a whole different fashion animal that did not disappoint- distressed jeans, skinny jeans, cool scarves, awesome shoes and great bags- with a notable Louis Vuitton presence.  I’ve also spotted a fair amount of studs (on clothes, shoes, accessories) and bright colors. Everyone seemed to bring their A-game to the start of the school year and I’d say the crowd is definitely well dressed and on-trend, but not overdone. Although I’m not a fan of the cold weather (or football), I am looking forward to seeing what fall fashion brings to GC.

Cool at the Pool

Posted on by insidegardencity

One thing I’ve discovered, and totally enjoyed, is the Garden City Pool. This has been great for me. I have a place to go with my kids on hot summer days when we are in town and still don’t have any friends. Lol. It requires zero planning and it provides tons of entertainment for them (i.e., less work for me).

There are three beautiful pools, one of which is complete with a huge, crazy jungle gym inside of it (easily the coolest kiddie pool I’ve ever seen), and an additional baby pool. There are two very tall, very twisty slides like you’d find in an amusement park and there’s a playground as well. Live bands, movie nights, ice cream socials, story time, arts and crafts, and games and contests are a few of the activities throughout the summer.

The snack bar serves great salads and healthy fare as well as the traditional dogs, burgers, etc. There’s also a picnic area if you choose to bring your own food. Or, if you’re really in the know, you have a pizza delivered to the pool. It gets delivered to the main gate and you’re set. Although if you’re inexperienced like me, you forget that the delivery guy is going to call your cell phone and as a result, you spot him walking around the pools calling out your name, pizza in hand. Once again, not the best way to be introduced to your new neighbors, but I’m on a roll with that lately.

Not knowing the rules, I’ve been “reprimanded” a few times for various crimes- once for allowing my kids to wear swimmies, another for bringing a boogie board, a third time for swim vests, and most recently for eating strawberries on the pool level. I plead ignorance (but I think they could lighten up a bit also). Aside from my faux pas, I think the Garden City pool is a great place to hang out and not look like you’re the newcomer. There are so many families and kids, it’s easy to just blend in with the crowd and pretend you’re an insider.

Smackdown with the Mailbox

Posted on by insidegardencity

Funny thing about suburgatory- even the mailboxes are different.  Now maybe I’m a naive city girl, but I have never seen a drive up mailbox — just one of the many “conveniences” that you get in the burbs. Forget those days of unnecessary walking to mail a letter. You simply pull up, throw the mail down the chute that sticks out like an elephant’s trunk and drive away in your minivan.  Seems like a perfectly safe and convenient way to deposit your mail. Well, sort of… if you’re not a suburb newbie.

Ever wonder what might happen if you try to stick 120 letters (i.e. new address cards) into one of these things at once? Well, they get stuck in the chute. Yup they got stuck and of course, instead of letting the professional mailbox people handle it, I took matters into my own hands and stuck my arm down the chute to push them in further. When that didn’t work, I then tried to pull them out and inadvertently pulled out another person’s mail. I think there’s a federal crime in there somewhere- but I did put it right back- 5 second rule?


Mailbox manufactures must have a good sense of humor because they make these things just the right size so an arm easily goes in but doesn’t so easily come out. In the midst of this, a fellow suburbanite pulled up and asked if my arm was stuck in the mailbox. Um, kind of. Yes… this was my embarrassing introduction to the new neighborhood. After waving him off, I then proceeded to rock the mailbox forward and back to loosen said mail out of the chute and into the box. There must be a law against this too but in my defense, why wasn’t it secured to the ground? 

I noticed a neighbor watching me from behind a hedge at the corner and decided it was time to drive away with the little dignity I had left, leaving my mail stranded in no-mail’s land. Before I pulled away, a man came over to the opposite side of the box, pulled down the handle and revealed a big, normal mailbox opening. He dropped his envelope in and left. Why hadn’t I looked on the other side for another opening? Why? Because where else but in suburbia do they have drive up mailboxes to spare you the “inconvenience” of getting out of your car? So much for a peaceful morning in the burbs and a quiet introduction to my new hood. 

City Girl Meets Costco

Posted on by insidegardencity

I had my first Costco experience last week. Coming from tiny food markets, specialty stores and one small grocery store, I didn’t know what to expect from the warehouse.

Truly massive containers of everything filled the shelves- salt, peanut butter, hummus, etc… After wondering why anyone would need such massive quantities, I realized what everyone must have in common: STORAGE SPACE. That is certainly one thing that city dwellers lack and constantly envy. Now that I have ample storage space, I was free to join the crowds and buy, buy, buy. Randomly placed free samples of food seemed to attract the shoppers. I think I saw the same guy in different disguises go back multiple times to rock extra crab dip samples.  I’ll have to remember this tip for next time if they’re offering something really good, like anything chocolate.

I wisely kept my first trip short and after being persuaded by the guy at check out to upgrade my brand new membership to the gold star executive level, I pushed my massive cart out to my minivan (yes, I now own a mini van). Now I’m at home with fifteen half gallons of milk in the fridge (seriously), a box of Cheerios that’s the size of my microwave and an eight-pack of Neosporin- some of which I will bequeath to my grandchildren. The take home: I prefer the intimacy and charm of those tiny, overpriced city markets, but I can say that I survived Costco, even accepted it for it’s place in suburbia, and will likely return for more Cheerios one day.

I moved to Garden City

Posted on by insidegardencity

I moved to Garden City, NY on June 30, 2013. I came from Hoboken, NJ- a vastly different place and one that grew dear to my heart. I went from urban to suburban with my four city kids and husband. I could proudly say that my kids didn’t know what a lawnmower was and never played in an empty playground. But they could hail a taxi and order a latte.
 
As I am making my way in a completely different setting, I feel like I’m in a new world or on the other side of the fence- the Garden City side of the fence. It’s a new place that’s filled with possibilities- new faces, new places, new experiences. That’s an exciting thought, but it’s also unexplored, far from my bustling, energetic city where I knew every corner, store, and restaurant like the back of my hand; where I had countless friends and even more social activities on my calendar. I was a true insider. 

It would have been so easy to linger a bit longer in Hoboken. But now I am in a brand new place with very few friends and familiar faces- using my GPS each time I pull out of the driveway. I’m trying to get back onto the other side of the fence again. The insider side. My question- how does a former insider who is now an outsider become an insider again? I will let you know as I figure it out myself.