Patch Picks

Patch Picks For Healthy Families

Simple changes can improve your family's health as the holidays (and holiday eating) descend.

Sure, 'tis the season for pumpkin pies and peppermint sticks, but for that very reason, November is a great month to think about healthy eating. The national Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has designated November as Healthy Lifestyles month. Knowing that a healthy child can achieve and learn more, local PTAs nationwide are encouraging families to increase their physical activity, eat fresh fruits and vegetables, develop community oriented physical activity programs and promote lifelong healthy behaviors. As for adults, we all know the holidays are coming. Minimize their effect on your waistline by making some easy changes at home now. Shop smart "Limit the junk you have in the house," said Kim Seiden, a Northbrook nutrition consultant, …

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Northbrook's Small Businesses Are Optimistic As Village Vacancy Rate Drops

Despite the overall stagnant economy, Northbrook's smaller retailers are not all stuck in the dumps.

What does it take to shepherd a small business through today’s tough economy? Several local mainstays seem to have the answer in Northbrook, where bike purchases are up and sales of books at the indie bookshop are steady two years after the official end of the Great Recession. Depending on the product, the state of locally owned retailers ranges from outright boom to decline. And in several cases, business is surprisingly good given the gloom-and-doom stories afflicting specific industries. Take the Book Bin in downtown Northbrook. The venerable independent bookstore run by Janis and Lex Irvine threw a successful 40th-anniversary bash on Sept. 22. Crowds mobbed the cramped aisles to snag 40-percent-off books. Because the Book Bin has built…

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Jennifer Fisher

9:49 am on Tuesday, October 4, 2011

I agree, the Book Bin is a great local bookstore. 40 years is an impressive tally.   more ›

Patch Picks

Patch Picks For The High Holidays

Consider these additions to your Rosh Hashanah celebration.

Rosh Hashanah, like many family holidays, is rich with traditions that link the celebration to its religious roots. Following are a few ways to honor those traditions and make your celebration of the Jewish New Year the sweetest of them all. Add your own traditions in the comments section below. Dinner treats The round challah at the dinner table symbolizes the circle of life. Pick a loaf that all your guests will enjoy, at Deerfield's Bakery, which offers plain, poppy-seed, raisin, sesame-seed and even a gluten-free round challah loaf. The bakery also offers decorated shofar cookies; the sound of the shofar (ram's horn) is used to mark important Jewish events and ceremonies. Good reads To grow your holiday spirit before your guests arrive…

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Northbrook, in Pictures

Scenes From The Book Bin's 40th Anniversary

Northbrook's own independent bookstore filled wall-to-wall with people for a celebration of longevity and customer service.

Just months after Borders Books on Waukegan Road shut its doors, Northbrook's independent Book Bin celebretes four decades of success. Read about the bookstore's 40th anniversary celebration in our story, "Bibliophiles Celebrate 40 Years Of Paper Editions At The Book Bin."

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Patch Picks for Back to School Reads

Build enthusiasm for the school year with one of these children's books, recommended by local librarians and booksellers.

The return to school and structured days after a summer full of fun and sun is easier for some families than for others. Help your child get back into the swing of things with one of these reads, recommended by our local experts. Eliza's Kindergarten Pet by Alice B. McGinty Peg Ciszek, School Liaison for the Northbrook Public Library, recommends this picture book about a class guinea pig. Eliza does not like the new kindergarten pet, so she watches the other children taking turns caring for the pet. But when the guinea pig escapes, Eliza helps to find it and discovers out that it is not as frightening as she originally thought. My Kindergarten by Rosemary Wells At Northbrook's Book Bin, owner Janis Irvine recommends My Kindergarten for …

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Get Out: Fish Fry, Rapunzel, Benefit For Local Schools And More

It’s Thursday, and you’ve got no idea what you’ll do for the weekend.

Patch is coming to the rescue. We’ve got the best bets for your done-work-outta-here time. Check our picks for the activities to hit and new places to explore. 1. GEO. BENJAMIN POST 791 / AMERICAN LEGION FISH FRY Where/When: Sportsmans Country Club, Friday, 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Why Go: It’s a Northbrook tradition. Plus, who can say no to all-you-can eat cod, perch or walleye as well as coleslaw, veggies, potatoes, rice and fries. Pricing: $10.95 cod, perch or fried shrimp dinners; $11.95 walleye, $12.95 grilled salmon 2. DISTRICT 31 EDUCATION FOUNDATION WINTER BENEFIT AND AUCTION Where/When: Fields Infiniti, 7:30 p.m., Saturday Why Go: Johnny's Tap, Gulliver's, Claim Company, Tapas Gitana, Go Roma, Elegance in Meats Catering, Moon Wok, Marcello's…

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Local Mystery Writer Returns to the Sixties

Curl up in January and 'Set The Night on Fire' with Northbrook author's seventh book.

Northbrook resident Libby Fischer Hellmann didn’t set out to become a mystery writer, but after a long—and very successful—road through journalism and then public relations, that’s where she wound up. Known for her Ellie Foreman and Georgia Davis mystery series, Hellmann came out with her seventh novel this December. Publisher’s Weekly called Set the Night on Fire (Allium Press) “a top-rate standalone thriller...that explores a fascinating period in American history.” A mystery about a young woman who is being stalked in modern day Chicago, the book flashes back to the late 60s and also follows the lives of six middle class kids living in Old Town at the time. Young and idealistic, they are all searching for something, and the definition …

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Best Books To Give As Gifts

A teacher, librarian and book-store-owner share their top picks for presents.

Toys can be broken, clothes are outgrown or go out of style, but books are a gift of words that can live in our hearts and minds forever.  Patch asked a local teacher, bookstore owner and librarian for their tips. Whether you are looking for gift ideas or simply for some great winter reading, here are a few suggestions.   FOR KIDS Recommendations by Jessica Mann, Excel teacher at Meadowbrook Elementary School 1. Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini,  picture book, preschool – grade 3 In this colorfully illustrated tale, Gritch the Witch sets out for Old McDonald's farm to catch some plump piggies. The piggies outsmart her, however, and send her off at the end with the Big Bad Wolf. The book is full of humorous references that parents will enjoy. …

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Turning the Pages for 18 Years and Counting

Store manager Allison Mengarelli has been working at Northbrook fixture The Book Bin since she was a junior in high school.

Asked if she specializes in a particular genre of books at The Book Bin, store manager Allison Mengarelli says, no—she reads everything. And the variety on a bookstore's shelves is key to the experience, Mengarelli added. "It's about discovering new things, finding something you didn't know even existed," she said. As store manager, Mengarelli must be familiar with everything in stock. She also oversees orders of more than 300 books each week, occasionally hosts discussions and serves regular customers with a smile—a job she has held since a junior in high school. The Northbrook native began working at The Book Bin in 1992 and worked part time for two years before she headed off to North Park University in Chicago.  After college, she …

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