Greenwich On The Cheap » CT

Funky Byram? Old News

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:07:43 +0000

I wrote this post in late September 2009:

Trendy boutiques and New-York glam type salons – not to mention the restaurant of the MOMENT, Lolita Cocina (more on that in future posts) – are popping up all over formerly ramshackle, Byram. Combined with the splash that the Tarry Lodge (right down the street – but over the Byram River, placing it squarely in Port Chester, NY) created when it opened last year, this folksy, quiet section of Greenwich is quiet no more. One of the more notable and appealing newly-opened shops is Mill Street Home at 227 Mill St. (203) 813-3600. The three owners have very different tastes and work well together, so while one buys timeless classics, another purchases, say, “Tea Leaf Reading Kits,” ($12). Mill Street Home promotes the work of local artists - one exhibiting now whose work will be featured in the New Sex And The City Movie (selling at Nest in NYC for $1,000 per piece. Here, $850 and less on the artists website, which the store owners generously provide). There’s an Old English Alphabet 10′X8′ bamboo floor covering perfect for dorm rooms ($200) and lots of candles, soaps and funny greeting cards. “People come in just to read the cards and sit and laugh, “said owner, Christina. ”We’re kind of like a retail Cheers.”

And now, the Stamford Advocate has finally caught up. Read yet another of my odes to Byram here. This little niche is beginning to catch on – which thrills me as I grew up a “Byram” girl!

Home Design Center, 428 W. Putnam Ave. Has Surprisingly Inexpensive Finds

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:08:40 +0000

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve passed the non-flashy low-slung Home Design Center at 428 W. Putnam without any desire to go inside. I have my own interior designer (thanks Annette) and all the patio furniture and fireplace-ware I’d ever need. So, really – there was no need. Then one day, my never-to-be-ignored intuition compelled me to stop in, and I was quite delighted to find stuff for hearth and table I’ve never, ever seen before. Take, for example, the melamine French Country plates, bowls and trays for a fraction of the cost of their ceramic doppelgangers (pasta bowls $25, trays $32, dinner plates $14). And the STUNNING custom-made crushed-glass fireplaces – not on-the-cheap, but not over top, either. There are great appetizer platters and hanging lanterns and plenty of accouterments for your plain old fireplace. Stop in – you’ll be happy you did.

Get Free Tickets to Cirque Dreams Holidaze – MGM Grand Theater – Foxwoods – on November 12 @7pm

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:38:41 +0000

Yet again I send you out of town. I know – Foxwoods is not in Greenwich. Not even close. It’s with the other Indian casino in Mashantucket, CT about a 2 hour drive. But this is a very nice freebie and I just couldn’t resist. See Cirque Dreams Holidaze at Foxwoods MGM Grand Theater for FREE on it’s opening night – November 12 @ 7pm. Just have each person in your party bring 5 cans or other non-perishable food items to the box office and get your free tickets (one per person allowed). Donations will be collected from November 9 – until the 12th and will benefit the Gemma E. Moran United Way Labor Food Center in New London, CT.

Ticket prices range from $30 – $70, so this is a nice, “give-back” deal.

Focus on Glenville; Glenville Pizza

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:01:52 +0000

Glenville Pizza was the pizzeria of my youth. Each slightly charred thin crusted-pie was the pizza against which I measured all subsequent discs of dough, cheese and tomato sauce. Most failed miserably. So, I’m happy to report that Glenville Pizza, still on that part of Glenville Rd. where it’s nearly impossible to park, continues to churn out their incomparable $15 large cheese pies. Naturally, the Pizza Hut nearby shut down – that was inevitable in the face of such unfair odds. Mushy grease vs. crispy perfection; what were the Hut people thinking?

Glenville Pizza

243 Glenville Rd.

Large only; $15 for a cheese pizza that is anything but plain.

A Word About Diane’s Books on Grigg St. (Just Off Greenwich Ave.)

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:43:36 +0000

When my kids were little, we’d watch a certain set of Peter Rabbit videos together. The movies would always begin with an un-animated Beatrix Potter, carrying pallet and paints as she ran into her cozy cottage as it began to drizzle. There was a tea-pot on to boil and a fire in the fireplace and oh, how I wanted to crawl into my television to join her. I flashed back to that scene when I first stepped foot into Diane’s Books right off Greenwich Ave on Grigg Street (where the Popcorn party place used to be). Small, cozy and genuinely devoted to the written word, Diane’s is a warm cup of tea on a cold, rainy day. With its low ceiling and a heavy emphasis on children’s books, this independent bookshop could occupy junior bookworms for hours on end. I’ll be posting about upcoming author events, you can be sure.