Our Favorite Things 2012

New things to see and do, and places that we have loved all along: that’s what’s on the Our Favorite Things list this year. Maybe some of them are your favorites, too. Read on to see what made our most-anticipated list of the year!

Home & Planet

Back when eco-conscious design and sensibility was something you read about only in national trade and décor magazines, this stand-out retailer on Bethlehem’s South Side was making a name for itself by finding the designers who make innovative home furnishings and personal items from recycled goods.

Home & Planet is the place for the forward-thinking consumer who wishes to combine sensibility with style. You won’t find an assembly-line type couch at Home & Planet but what you will find is that one-of-a kind statement piece that defines your home or office.

We also love the personal care products, candles, housewares and jewelry, especially the colorful purses made from recycled newsprint. Explore all the way to the back of the store and you’ll find the special space H&P devotes to community artists to display their works—another great way to enhance your home with something unique.

The Denim Project

We were so excited when we heard this cool and fashionable denim heaven was opening in Easton. The great buzz about its merchandise offerings was validated at its spring 2012 opening where customers browsed labels like Cheap Monday, MEK and Cult of Individuality. An added bonus—the Valley finally has a unique retail opportunity for both men and women.

The space itself is welcoming and fun, bringing urban boutique shopping back to Easton where it so rightfully belongs. Owners Richard Lepowsky and Sandy D’Imperio made many good choices when it came to stocking the space, as well as styling it; interiors expert Bibi Monnahan creates a hip, inner-city vibe that helps make DP a destination shopping experience.

Premium denim choices are paired with proper toppers and a combo of trendy and essential accessories like fedoras, canvas bags from BedStu and rockin’ belts.
We can’t wait to see the store stocked for fall!

In the Mood

When strolling the cobbled brick sidewalks of Downtown Bethlehem we always stop at the little shop with big ideas: In The Mood. This is the place to go when you need a hostess, birthday or cheer-me-up gift with panache and personality. Owner Norene Dreher says her customers also come back time and again for the versatile wardrobe options she offers. From casual sportswear to more structured looks that work for the office, In the Mood offers fashionable, comfortable styles that can be beautifully accessorized with the collection of scarves and jewelry she carries.

The store’s four jewelry cases sparkle with handmade, ethnic and vintage-inspired options, something for every taste and ensemble.

Dreher feels her store is a success because she has come to know her clientele well. “My customers love to travel, love their pets and they love items that are handcrafted,” Dreher says.
And don’t miss their awesome collection of Parisian and Tuscan-inspired kitchen wares and notions!

In business for 16 years, Dreher says she can’t imagine doing anything else. Well Norene, we can’t imagine Main Street without In the Mood.

Wearever Wardrobe

Though only open for a few short months, Wearever Wardrobe piqued our interest because it is a destination for those wardrobe-building essentials that women of all ages need to have in their closet. When owner Katie Rothermel moved from Pittsburgh to Salisbury Township with her husband and two teenage sons last year she noticed that something was amiss with our area’s retailers. “The Lehigh Valley needed more women’s clothing—period! And how about a little customer service?” Rothermel’s no-nonsense approach to retail led to the March opening of her adorable boutique nestled along Emmaus’ Main Street shopping triangle. Mixable and matchable pieces for work and play are expertly mingled with a few on-trend items to keep you current. We love that most of the inventory is priced under $100 and made in America. New pieces come in weekly so repeat trips are a must!

Weil Antique Center

To give you an idea of how many antiques this beloved boutique mall boasts, understand that before Rick and Cindy Weil claimed the space in 2002, it was a warehouse storage facility. These days, more than 150 dealers create an unparalleled antique shopping experience with a variety of changing collections. Vendors vary their stock on a bi-weekly, if not weekly basis, so at any given moment shoppers can discover an array of clocks (what Weil’s is famous for), furniture, china and vintage clothing. We love that the inventory is chock full of quality items and the staff is always ready and willing to offer up their knowledge and expertise.

Wandering around this massive store is a literal walk down memory lane. Hand painted murals (readers can stop asking—they’re not for sale!) depicting scenes of old Allentown lend to the store’s nostalgic vibe. If you don’t get your shopping fill with the selectively vetted wares inside, head out to the parking lot for the anything-goes flea market that runs through October. Even if you’re not an antiques aficionado, we guarantee you will get lost in this store for hours and emerge with hands full of artifacts and perhaps, if you’re lucky, a one-of-a-kind find.

Sophistikate

A trip to Sophistikate is unlike any other shopping experience in the Lehigh Valley. A bold statement, we know, but if you’ve ever perused the chic Downtown Bethlehem boutique stocked with premium
designer apparel then you know what we’re talking about. When owner Kate Falasca opened Sophistikate in September 2010, she set out to bring in high-end designer labels you’d otherwise have to travel to Philly or New York to procure. The boutique created an immediate splash among our area’s fashionable females (it’s cocktail dress central!) and Falasca proved to herself and others that she was up to the challenge of becoming a young, first-time small business owner amidst a challenging economy. Eye-catching window displays that rival many Manhattan storefronts, daily Facebook posts of the newest items and most recently a growing collection of menswear and shoes seem to be the driving force behind Sophistikate’s stylish success.

Steamed Canadian Mussels at EDGE

Mussels are an amusing-looking food that you either eventually acquire a taste for or you don’t. We weren’t convinced until we tried the Steamed Canadian Mussels at EDGE restaurant in Downtown Bethlehem.

Chef Tim Widrick uses a combination of just a few simple ingredients: sherry, cream and thyme to coax these black-shelled mollusks open and then adds a generous crumbling of applewood smoked bacon to the opened and plated shells. The result is a flawlessly prepared mouth-watering meal-starter that you could easily eat by the dozens—succulent and perfectly seasoned. We urge you not to, though, as the rest of Edge’s Asian and French-inspired menu beckons.

Roasted Beet Salad at Emeril’s Chop House

Wisps of baby mustard greens wind about the rectangular white bone china plate in perfect symmetry to a trail of parsley and basil puree. A purposeful scatter of roasted red and then golden beets are arranged on top of this beautiful bed of vegetables to create an appetizer that is expertly prepared and plated. It doesn’t overwhelm you as some appetizers can. It merely creates a fresh-tasting introduction to your fine dining experience at Emeril’s Chop House at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.

Executive Chef Tony Page’s secret for this special salad starts with partial roasting and then simmering the beets in a combination of vinegars, wine and spices. This creates a perfectly fork-tender mouthful of fresh-from-the-garden flavor that makes us pine for the recipe.

The crowning touch? A drizzle of 18-year old balsamic and a sprinkling of Misty Lovely goat cheese completes this little plate of heaven for the roasted root vegetable fan.

Soumaya & Sons Bakery

When fresh, authentic Middle Eastern food is on your mind, there’s only one place to go—Soumaya & Sons Bakery in Whitehall. Since 1979, husband and wife owners Joe and Lucy Ballan have been delighting customers with Joe’s mother’s signature family recipes. Their fresh tabouli, hummus and kibbee—to name only a few of their famous delicacies—have attracted area foodies with a taste for international cuisine.

The Ballans are approaching their 10-year anniversary at their current Fullerton Avenue location, which has become a convenient, tasty pit stop for those looking to delight family and friends with the fresh pita (arrive early!) and other traditional treats of the Middle East. Lucy maintains that the Ballan’s family presence in the kitchen is how they sustain a great business and attract loyal customers. When she isn’t lovingly preparing succulent spinach pies, Lucy is chatting with customers who just might appreciate the warm family environment as much as the homemade baklava. Quality ingredients and recipes made with love keep us coming back to this essential destination when planning a party menu guests won’t soon forget.

Fat Boys House of BBQ

Whether it’s a sandwich on the run for one or a complete family dinner package, Fat Boys House of BBQ shares generations of down home recipes from its clever take-out truck centrally parked along Allentown’s Union Boulevard.

It was such a simple concept, really, for the enterprising husband and wife team, Aaron and Crystal Calla of Bethlehem. Friends and family had been telling them for years that the Calla family recipes where ready for prime time. The question was “how?” Should they open a restaurant? Should they cater? A wonderful compromise was struck and now we are all in luck because Fat Boys secret recipe—pulled pork piled high on a crispy

Italian roll and layered thick with their time-tested vinegar-based slaw and French fries—is a lip-licking thrill for the senses.

Other recommended offerings include the slow-roasted brisket, the hearty and juicy burger combos and Gram’s mac-n-cheese. Yum, yum, yum—such saucy fun! So stop by the truck where the swine is fine! Check them out on Facebook or online for current hours.

Yoga in the Valley

It’s official, one of our favorite ways to get toned, flexible and de-stress is practicing yoga. We’re lucky to have so many great yoga studios in the Valley and the Style staff loves to frequent their faves.
Tucked away on a tree-lined street in West End Allentown is West End Yoga Center, a calming, peaceful retreat from even our most stressful days. Mom and daughter instructor/owners Cat and Leah make sure that everyone feels welcome and benefits from their years of skill.

Lehigh Valley Yoga has also done its share of converting Style staffers into back-bending yoga lovers. Owner Jacqueline Porterfield and her team keep things friendly and warm (literally, as this studio has the best Hot Yoga classes around!).

When we need to revive and revitalize, we go to Kula Heart Yoga and Wellness Center for restorative yoga. Owner Silver Kim (who opened her first location in Nazareth in 2008) provides all levels of yoga instruction and training in a locale that also builds better bodies with massage, bodywork and Pilates classes. What we will really like about Kula is the calming effect its environment has on the mind. Plus, you can take an hour-long community class for just $5! We’d have to call that a calming effect—on the wallet.

The Euro Lounge at Yianni’s Taverna

The Valley has needed something like this for a long time: a comfortable, yet sophisticated hot spot to canoodle with pals and enjoy drinks either before dinner or as an aperitif. The lounge was designed to capture the feeling of a night along the Mediterranean with its white leather sofas, matching white cabana drapes and azure blue walls. Atmospheric lighting and ethnic music to match the mood have you ready to forget the day you had and prepare for the night ahead.

Relax and enjoy one of their many Greek ouzo varieties, a delicate imported wine or a $5 glass of Sangria at their weekly Happy Hour on Tuesdays from 4 to 7 p.m. Whatever your pleasure, you will surely be transported from the every-day to somewhere unique at the Euro Lounge.

The Clotheszing! Wardrobe Audit

Imagine, if you will, that you have a very stylish, very honest girlfriend sorting through your closet making sense of all the clothing and accessories you’ve amassed over the years. That’s what it’s like when you enlist the help of stylist and closet guru Kathy D’Angola-Moses of Clotheszing! While D’Angola-Moses offers image consulting, personal shopping and styling, it’s her wardrobe audits that really caught our attention. If you’ve never experienced a wardrobe audit for yourself, then know that it’s quite possibly the best way to address the age-old frustration of “I have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear.”

Surprisingly, D’Angola-Moses’ approach is not to clean out your closet and throw everything away—quite the opposite. Before buying any more items, she will evaluate what you have and determine what you should keep, what needs to be tailored and what items to toss. Outfit combinations are created and D’Angola-Moses snaps pics so you’re left with a visual look book of what works. Then she makes a shopping list of anything she thinks is missing from your updated wardrobe to make it even more functional. And while this service can be helpful to any woman at any time, many of D’Angola-Moses’ customers benefit from this kind of outfit overhaul when faced with a major life change (new job, weight loss/gain, new mom). Rest assured, this experience is worth every penny when mornings are made easier.

Makeup by Carmen Toro

When putting your best face forward is a must, so too is an appointment with makeup artist Carmen Toro. Known for creating flawless complexions and making Valley ladies look and feel their very best, Toro has built a reputation as the go-to gal for beauty. Stroll by American Hairlines in Downtown Bethlehem on a Saturday morning and you will no doubt spot Toro working her magic on a bride-to-be and her bridesmaids. And while she’s been a permanent fixture at this salon for more than 12 years, Toro recently parlayed her expertise into an online-based mineral makeup line called Beauty Alibi. This versatile line that Toro spent years developing features customizable colors in a good-for-your-skin formula with Vitamins A, E and D. Also available locally at Hellertown salon NVS.

Vegfest

Sure, the Lehigh Valley loves our messy, mile-high burgers and BBQ-slathered chicken wings. But we also can appreciate the fruits of our farmers’ labor—the abundance of produce available at our fingertips. So, when a late summer festival celebrating fruits, veggies and healthy eating came to South Side Bethlehem last September, it was no surprise that it was such a success. If you weren’t among the 10,000 attendees of the inaugural Bethlehem Vegfest Street & Foods Festival then let us fill you in on why it’s become our favorite.
Vegfest brought together an array of natural food providers, national speakers and chefs, and educational exhibitors eager to teach the benefits of eating fresh. The judgment-free event had meat-eaters and vegetarians mingling in a place where everyone could talk directly to food producers, enjoy tasty food samples, shop the newest culinary items on the market and discover where to get vegetarian foods. The event was such a success that this year’s Vegfest will last two hours longer, include even more activities for kids and a Beer Garden for those over 21. Mark your calendar—Vegfest 2012, themed “Holy Crop,” will take place on Saturday, September 8, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.!

The Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market

Some people never miss their opportunity on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays to make the trip to the Allentown Fairgrounds to stock up on the freshest meats, baked treats and garden goodies that you just can’t find at the big-chain grocery stores.

The dependable vendors come from environs far and wide and also just inside our twin counties to provide their goods and services, always with a smile and their down-home way of doing business that just makes you feel good.

Not to mention, this is an experience of sights, sounds and smells that you never seem to shake and always seem to crave. Picture it if you will: The atmosphere is equal parts county fair, grandma’s kitchen and the neighborhood butcher shop. One whiff of the fresh flowers, glazed doughnuts and funnel cake and you’re hooked. One taste of your purchases and you’re convinced that the afternoon spent shopping there was time well spent.

Cedar Beach Destination Playground

Not all playgrounds are created equal. Sure, the goods ones have a swing set, a slide, some monkey bars. But the great ones have all that and things like interactive sensory equipment, a cable spider web for climbing—all situated on a kid-safe rubbery surface. That’s why parents all over the Valley take their wee ones to Cedar Beach Playground. The 20,000-square-foot playground paradise situated off Allentown’s Parkway is all kids need for active outdoor fun.
Games of hide and seek are never boring as there are a million little hiding spots, NEOS electronic games keep kids on their toes as they have to follow the dancing lights, a scavenger hunt has kids exploring every square inch of Cedar Beach Park and there are plenty of benches in the shade for mom and dad to relax. Best yet, the park is perfect for kids of all ages and abilities with a rubbery surface underfoot to avoid injury, and plenty of wheelchair ramps so no one has to be left out of the fun. So many things to do, no two trips to Cedar Beach are ever the same.

Dutch Springs

We just love the fact that the largest freshwater diving facility on the East Coast outside of Florida happens to be located in Bethlehem. Internationally known in the scuba diving community since the 1980s, Dutch Springs became truly one-of-a-kind in 2004 when divers’ children could get in on the fun at the Aqua Park on the other side of a 50-acre lake. Today, Dutch Springs has definitely proven itself as a one-stop destination for extreme aquatic family fun.

Still regarded as a hidden gem, this natural playground offers untreated, chlorine-free water with fun floats (this summer look for the new Wibit inflatable expansion) and camping opportunities on the weekends. Sky Challenge, the two-story ropes course and rock climbing wall looks formidable, but adults and kids will get so comfortable in their full body harnesses they’ll want to play for hours. Beginning this summer, visitors who would love to learn to scuba can now take introductory scuba and snorkeling classes with expert instructors passionate about sharing their love for the sport. No matter your age or fitness level there’s a fun experience waiting for you at Dutch Springs.

Saucon Rail Trail

On any given sunny day, outdoor exercise enthusiasts from Hellertown to Coopersburg can no doubt be found jogging, biking or strolling along the Saucon Rail Trail. New life was breathed into the former SEPTA rail line last spring when it was converted from an abandoned, overgrown railroad line to a revived gravel trail stretching five miles from the heart of Hellertown to the rural roads of Coopersburg. The lush, tree-lined trail offers so much to look at beyond the natural splendor. Beyond the brush, you’ll gain a glimpse into the shops along Hellertown’s Main Street, the varied residential properties along Upper Saucon’s country lanes, the expansive fairways of Saucon Valley Country Club, DeSales University’s campus and into Upper Saucon Township Community Park. Plans to expand the trail further into Bucks County are in the works so it’s only a matter of time before more miles will be added. We can’t wait!

Expansion of the Allentown Art Museum

The Allentown Art Museum is our favorite go-to locale for culture—the pinnacle of the local museum experience. AAM’s recent expansion invites a new generation of visitors and offers more than ever before. Culminating from the successful completion of a $20.4 million capital campaign ($15.4 million for improvements, $5 million for the Museum’s endowment), AAM added an amazing 10,000 total square feet—3,000 of which is gallery space.

The benefit of all this extra space is that museum-goers can finally see more of the permanent collection (we used to see a mere two percent of their treasures) and AAM can accommodate larger traveling shows. Entering through the Museum’s gorgeous, airy lobby sets the tone for this new experience, and we just can’t get enough of their expanded gift shop and sunlit café overlooking Arts Park. To reach today’s tech-savvy patrons, AAM now provides handy QR codes for selected works, which provide detailed information about exhibition features, and they’ve even developed an app that allows instant access to facility events.