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Double Issue: Why a top teacher’s not returning to T/E (with video); Shoplifting at Devon (oh, no); Double Jeopardy, O shots (!), ALDI, HipCityVeg, Shore things, HomeCooked, SAVVY Steals & more

June 12, 2019 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

School’s out for summer.

As of this week, it’s out forever … for star Stoga teacher Deb Ciamacca.

For years, the former Marine and beloved U.S. Government teacher has urged her students to get off the sidelines. “Democracy’s not a spectator sport,” she’d tell them.

After speaking out about gun safety here – and on national and international TV – she put her career where her mouth was.

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Filed Under: BODY & SOUL, BUZZ, EAT, PLAY, Uncategorized Tagged With: Aldi, Avalon, Avalon park, Axia Women's Health, beach park, Berwyn Fire Co., bio-identical hormones, birth control, botox, Brendan Roach, Capt'n Chucky's, Catalyst, CHOP, Claire Guarino, Conestoga High School, Day of Beauty, Day Spa by Zsuzsanna, Deb Ciamacca, Debra Ciamacca, Devon Horse Show, digital billboard, Dips, Emma Boettcher, Fratelli's, Gregory Bolton, gun violence, Gusto Brew Co. La Costa Lounge, gynecologist, Happy Bird, Harriton pitcher, HipCityVeg, HomeCooked, hormone replacement therapy, HRT, ignite purpose, Impact Center, IUD, Jeopardy, Josei Kelly's Public House, Kiefer Sutherland, Kunda Beverage, Lauren Hart, Louella, Main & Vine, Main Line Health, Margate, McConnell & Associates ob/gyn, Merion Mercy Academy, Microneedling, Millennium Hair & Day Spa, Misfits, Misfits Market, Nom Nom, O shot, organic produce, P shot, Paoli, Paoli Village Shoppes, Patricia McConnell, Polka Dots, Polpo, PRP, Reeds at Shelter Haven, Revel Ride, school safety, Sean Herrmann, shoplifters, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Suburban Square, Surfside Park, Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall, Three Crazy Ladies, Tilton Square, ugly produce, vampire face lifts, vampire facial, vegan restaurant, Woodlynde School, Workhorse Brewing, Zsuzsanna Beyer

Mighty & Main Line-born, The Motherchic blog launches Nordstrom line (!); Hello, Avalon Bistro Bryn Mawr, Bartaco KOP, Rec Studio Wayne, StudioFlora Berwyn; Plus, Wagsworth, Kramer Drive, Home Grown & lots more

May 2, 2019 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Lindsey Renninger Schuster might just be the most photographed woman on the Main Line.

She takes multiple “mirror selfies” each day.

She stars in professional shoots up to 150 times a year.

She’s photographed incessantly on vacation.

Always camera-ready, she changes clothes five times a day.

No, Schuster’s not a celebrity, a socialite or even a model, at least not technically.

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Filed Under: BODY & SOUL, BUZZ, EAT, PLAY, SHOP, STYLE, Uncategorized Tagged With: ABC House, ABC Lower Merion, Anna Sicalides, Avalon Bistro, Avalon Bistro & Bar, Bartaco, Berwyn stores, Berwyne Fire Company, Bryn Mawr restaurants, Chrissy Piombino, Colby Cohen, comedy shows, Davio's, dog grooming, Elizabeth Bloom, fashion blogs, Gibson, Gino Marchetti, Habitat for Humanity, Haverford, haverford square, Home Grown, Howie Roseman, J.D. Sobota, Jerry Holtz, John Crosby, Karen Nicolas, kennels, King of Prussia, Kramer Drive, Laugh it Up in Malvern, Lauren Addis, Life Time Athletic, Life Time Work, Lindsey Schuster, Liz Bloom, Lucy Lopez, Main & Vine, Malcolm Jenkins, Mary Ann Esposito, Mary K. Dougerty, McKenzie Brew House, mentoring, mommy blogs, Myra Sack, Nicole Miller, Nordstrom, OnUp Innovators, OnUp Media, pet resorts, Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Radnor ABC, Rec Studio, school rankings, Scott Bluebond, St. Norbert, StudioFlora, Tacos, The Motherchic, U.S. News & World Report, UIF, Uncommon Individual Foundation, Valley Forge Military Academy, Wagsworth Manor Pet Resort, Wayne murder, Zach Ertz

Wawa murder on our minds; Affordable house calls; Devon’s cutest cottage; AmberNoon’s new Wayne digs; Songsan BBQ Ardmore & Rudee’s Thai Wynnewood; Au revoir, Paramour; Lionheart Tutoring & more

April 11, 2019 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

It’s been two weeks since the brutal murder at the Radnor Wawa and we’re still aghast.

We didn’t know Stephanie MIller personally, but her death seems personal. We’re taking it personally.

She walked among us.

Her 6-year-old son goes to school here.

We’ve bought coffee at that Wawa.

The store on Old Sugartown has reopened, its floors scrubbed. The only hint of the horror that happened here: a makeshift memorial on a window ledge.

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Filed Under: BODY & SOUL, BUZZ, EAT, PLAY, SOUL Tagged With: Amberrnoon, Brian Kennedy, Christine Shirley, Dan Chinburg, Devon cottage, Dina Previti, domestic violence, Erum Ilyas, FEarless Restaurants, flocked, Geoff Partridge, Guatemala, Imbibe, Jasper's Backyard, Jasper's Westside Tavern, Jim Beam, John Griffin II, Joseph Kitonga, kKorean BBQ, Lionheart Tutoring, Main Line murder, Mandarin, Marty Grims, MOMS Demand Action, Nova Nation, Paige Sullivan, Paint the Town Red, Paramour, Radnor Residents for Gun Safety, Radnor Wawa murder, red flag laws, Rittenhouse Place, Rosalie, Rrudee's Thai, SAT prep, Scott Furman, Songsan, Spread Bagelry, Stephanie Miller, Sullivan's, sun-protection, Sydney Grims, Vitable Health, Wayne Hotel, Wayne murder, Whole Foods, women's heart health, Wynnewood West

Development déjà vu in Devon; Look who’s coming to Bryn Mawr, St. David’s & Malvern; Amazing lashes in Wayne; Everyone Reads T/E; Montessori memory care in Paoli; Student suicides & more

February 7, 2019 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Remember those ever-evolving plans for Devon Yard? How they once included a hotel, apartment building and parking garage near the old Waterloo site? And how, after a series of skirmishes, feisty neighbors thwarted all three.

Well, never say never.

The same developer – Eli Kahn, in partnership with Wade McDevitt – is back with new versions of each, all sited within spitting distance of Devon Yard and the Devon Horse Show.

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Filed Under: BODY & SOUL, BUZZ, EAT, PLAY, Uncategorized Tagged With: Aldi, Aldi Malvern, Amazing Lash Studio, Avalon Bistro, Bar Avalon, Brightview Senior Living, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Cafe LIft, day center for dementia, Debbie Ryan, Devon Center Task Force, Devon Horse Show, Devon Horse Show parking garage, Devon Horse Show pledge, Devon hotel, Devon Yard, Dotti Katz, Downingtown East suicides, Eli Kahn, Everyone Reads T/E, Eyelash extensions, First Watch, Gateway Shopping Center, Giant, Gwen Burbank, Hatch Motherhood, HomeSense, Kahn Development, Main Line retail, Malvern, Marbles Bryn Mawr, Matthew's Journey, Montessori, Montessori for dementia, Operation Wildfire, Rhoads Crossing, SAG Awards, SAVVY Sailing, school start times, sneakers for soldiers, Solera Senior Living, St. David's Square, teen suicide, Villanova sports dome, Wayne

Autism ‘miracle’ in Merion; Bus stop blues & vandalism in T/E; PE pushback in LMSD; Tasty news for Tredici, La Cabra lovers; Plush digs for Bryn Mawr patients and more

January 17, 2019 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

When doctors at CHOP diagnosed Matthew Cramer with “classic” Autism Spectrum Disorder, his mother, Julie, a physician herself, had to excuse herself.

“I was retching,” the Merion Station dermatologist tells SAVVY. “I was absolutely sick to my stomach.”

“It’s not cancer,” her husband, Warren, had reassured her. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“It sort of is,” Julie countered. For a long time, she couldn’t even say the word, autism. “I used the A word instead,” she says.

Ten years later, Julie says the full word without flinching. More than that, she’s eager to share her son’s remarkable journey.

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Filed Under: BODY & SOUL, BUZZ, EAT, PLAY Tagged With: Academy of Notre Dame Art Show, art shows, autism, Beth Am Israel, Biga, Bodega, Bryn Mawr Center for Psychological and Educational Services, Bryn Mawr Hospital, bus stop, Cerise, Conestoga High School, Dish and Dine, Enoteca Tredici Downingtown, Extended Experience, Gladwyne Acem, Greg Dodge, Harriton High School, Joseph Russino, Kelly Donahue, La Cabra Brewing, LaBlast, Linda Ritter, Louis Van Amstel, Lower Merion School District, Mary Dougherty, Matthew Cramer, Merion Mercy Academy, Michele Robins, Michelle Leonard, Movement Rx Studio, Murph Wysocki, Nicole Miller, Old Eagle School Road, Patient Pavilion, St. Aloysius Academy, Susie Geib, The Bercy, The Refectory, Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors, Tredyffrin-Easttown School District, UpHome, Villanova restaurant, Woodlynde School, Zagafen, Zavino Hospitality Group

DOUBLE ISSUE: Alarming fire news; ‘Life Time effect’; Go float in KOP; Space for all abilities; Easttown trees; new Oath Pizza & Whole Foods. Plus, all-local gift ideas (w/ SAVVY savings!)

December 13, 2018 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

You smell smoke, call 9-1-1, first responders rush on over.

But what if – gulp – there aren’t enough first responders?

That’s the scary scenario laid out in a new report about the state of volunteer firefighting in PA.

Numbers have fallen off a cliff: from 300,000 volunteers in the 1970s to 38,000 today. The report calls the drop-off nothing short of a “public safety crisis.”

While the situation’s not as dire here, our Main Line fire companies – staffed largely by unpaid volunteers – are hurting for help.

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Filed Under: BODY & SOUL, BUZZ, EAT, PLAY, Uncategorized Tagged With: Adam McKay, Adler, All Abilities Foundation, Art, Avalon, bellaD, Belladonna gifts, Berwyn Fire Company, Charles McGarvey, Chirp Clothes, Donna Martelli, Eamon Brazunis, Easttown trees, flotation tanks, gift guide, gift shops, Gratitude Cards, Grechen's People Soaps, Life Time Athletic, Louella, Lower Merion Fire Marshall, Main Line shopping, Mt. Joy, Oath Pizza, PECO, Performance Bicycle, Radnor Fire Company, Radnor Hunt cookbook, Rebecca, Rex Riccardi pocket squares, Savannah Bella scarves, Shannon Connolly, Sheri Reznik, Spectator Sports, St. Monica's, Stillpoint Yoga and Float, Suburban Square, Terrain, Trish O'Brien, Whole Foods Newtowns Square

Livin’ large at Eddie V’s KOP; ‘Social crafting’ at Rustic Brush; tasting new Nick Filet & Hakata Ramen; Christmas on King; Stoneleigh saved; L. Merion miracle & much more

November 27, 2018 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

The swankest dining destination this side of Center City – Eddie V’s Prime Seafood – just dropped anchor in front of the King of Prussia Mall.

Everything at Eddie’s oozes opulence: the white-coated waiters, the show-stopping chandelier, the caviar tastings, the oyster-and-champagne pairings, the walk-through glass wine cellar.

Not for nothin’ is “Living it up” the chain’s motto.

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Filed Under: BODY & SOUL, BUZZ, EAT, Featured, PLAY, Uncategorized Tagged With: Argyle Bouquet, Association, Barrymore Awards, Christmas on King, Cricket Cringle, Easttown, Fashion for All, Haverford, HipCityVeg, holiday, lost wedding rings, Malvern, Malvern Business and Professional, Old School House of Valley Forge, Our Closet, People's Light, Rachel Spiegel, Recovery Centers of America, Stoneleigh, Teegarden Park, Tony Peterman, Tracey Specter, Tredyffrin, Upper Main Line Community Theater

Standing up to hate; Great Valley shocker; Paoli contractor busted; New café & empty nester homes to Tredyffrin & LOTS of retail comings & goings

November 1, 2018 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

Hearts were heavy but heads were held high across the Main Line this week.

Hate would have no home here.

From Beth Chaim in Malvern to Beth David in Gladwyne, from the Chabad Center in Devon to Chabad Main Line in Merion, from Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy to the Perelman Jewish Day School, thousands gathered – somber and shattered, yes, but resolute in their response to the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

There would be no cowering in corners.

With growing unease, Jewish friends had watched the rising tide of hate on their home turf: the toppled tombstones, the scribbled swastikas, the bomb threats. But a massacre? In their own state? In a neighborhood not so different from Narberth? If hate could kill in Squirrel Hill, it could kill anywhere, right?

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Filed Under: BODY & SOUL, BUZZ, EAT, PLAY, Uncategorized Tagged With: Anita Friday, anne hamilton, Anne Henderson, anti-semitism, Arcadia, Bagel Factory, Barnes, Berthe Morisot, Berwyn, Blue Gene Gala, Chabad, contractor fraud, David Broida, Daylesford Abbey, Element Kitchens, empty nesters, Erin Shine, First Watch, Gateway Shopping Center, Great Valley High School principal, hate crimes, HIAS, Hope Chest, Jason Duckworth, Jeff Kellmer, Kellmer Jewelers, KIngsHaven, Little House Shop, Main & Vine, Main Line Reform Temple, mental health, Michael Flick, michael sheehan, Minding Your Mind, Narberth, Neil Cooper, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Or Zarua, Outback Steakhouse, Penn Medicine Radnor, Pittsburgh shootings, Pottery Corner, Quincy's, rabbi, Savona, Shangrila, synagogue shootings, Teegarden dog park, Teegarden Park, Temple Beth Am Israel, Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El, Todd Stavrakos, Tredyffrin, Tree of Life, Villanova Dines Out, Villanova Restaurant Week, Wayne Glen, Wayne Presbyterian Church, West Chester theater student

Remembering Radnor’s Heidi Diskin: a life of caring, cut short by depression. Plus, Paoli’s billboard battle, Target fever, Kindred Collective Bryn Mawr, Ardmore murder news, Retail roundup, Etcetera & more

October 11, 2018 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

On Sept. 7, three days after her sons started the new school year at Radnor Elementary, Heidi Diskin ended her life.

She was 44.

We share this with you because Heidi would want us to.

“One hundred percent, she would want her story told,” said her husband, J.D., in a phone interview. “My hope is that what happened to Heidi can be a teachable moment. As terrible as this situation is, it’s an even worse tragedy if it doesn’t help others.”

To family and close friends, Heidi’s suicide was a sucker punch – a heart-wrenching coda to 20 years of pain.

To those less close, it seemed, well, inexplicable.

Because Heidi had made mental health advocacy and suicide prevention her life’s work. She’d started a brain health foundation, she’d spoken to countless groups, she’d even hosted a cable TV show about mental health. How could Heidi Diskin – of all people – have succumbed herself?

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Filed Under: BUZZ, EAT, PLAY, SHOP, STYLE, Uncategorized Tagged With: Anthropologie, Ardmore murder, Bill Claypool, bipolar, Blue Gene Gala, Blue Octagon, Blue Octagon Too, Brigid Stasen, Bryn Mawr, Campli PHotography, Carla Zambelli, Catalyst Outdoor Advertising, CCC Sale, Center for Social Impact, Christina Carlin-Kraft, Circe, Clockworks, Community Clothes Charity, Dan Maxwell, depression, Devon Target, Devon Yard, digital billboards, DMAX Foundation, Eaves, Eaves Townhouse, Etcetera, Finneran Pavilion, flower walls, Haverford College polling place, Heidi Diskin, J.D. Diskin, Jordan PIncus, Kindred Collective, King of Prussia mall, Krissa Wichsser, Louella Boutique, Madeline Miller, Malvern Prep, Minding Your Mind, model murder, Nicol Floral Design, Nicol Segel, North Italia, Paoli billboard, Parlour, Parlour Ice Cream Ardmore, Pattye Benson, Radnor Fireworks, Radnor suicide, Revivalist Gin, Robin Halpern, Skinny Pizza Paoli, spotted lanternfly, suicide, surrey services, Target, Tredyffrin billboard, Tredyffrin Township, True Food Kitchen, Ventnor movie theater, Villanova, Wayne Target, William claypool

Julia Rae Schlucter: glamour & grit in the gifted girl next door; Radnor’s fab new library; Sweet spots, summer beauty fixes & sunny workouts; Ivory Tree & more

July 12, 2018 / By Caroline O'Halloran / /

It would be easy to write about Julia Rae, née Julia Rae Schlucter, as yet another precocious Main Line talent.

We’d tell you she was performing in regional theater at age 6.

That she was recording original songs professionally by age 15.

That she’s been a featured singer in the 6ABC Thanksgiving Day Parade for eight years.

That she skipped senior year at the Academy of Notre Dame to pursue a music career in LA. That, still a teenager, she walked the Hollywood red carpet with Brooke Shields after one of her original songs was featured in a Shields movie.

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Filed Under: BODY & SOUL, BUZZ, EAT, PLAY Tagged With: 6ABC, Anchored In Sea Isle, Anchored in the Main Line, Ardmore, Aubusson Home, Belle de Nuit, Blurred Lines, Cereal bar, Chester Valley Trail, CNN Town Hall, Company C, Heather Heyman, Hummingbird Yoga and Massage, Ivory Tree Portraits, Jordan Burnham, Julia Rae, Julia Rae Schlucter, keratherapy, keratin, kettlebells, King of Prussia Town Center yoga, laser hair removal, library, Linwood Park, Main Line Art Center, Main Line hiking, Main Line walking trails, Melissa Lees, Microneedling, Minding Your Mind, Miss Philadelphia, Moo Moo Milk Bar, Nancy Campbell, Newtown Square, Nothing Bundt Cakes, outdoor exercise, photographers, Purenergy Studio, Radnor Library, Radnor Memorial Library, REI King of Prussia, Ringpfeil, Ringpfeil dermatology, Roots2Rise, Shirley & Co., Studio H Color and Design Group, suicide, suicide attempt survivor, Trail Tuesdays, Trek Travel, Valley Forge Park Alliance, Wayne Art Center, Wayne portrait studio, Will Schlucter, WillPower, yoga, Yoga on Manayunk Bridge

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