Photo Credit: Realf Schermer
The natural beauty of Flat Rock Brook Nature Center now until April 26, 2016
Bergen Performing Arts Center located at 30 North Van Brunt Street in Englewood, New Jersey presents “A Walk in the Woods.” The photographic exhibit “A Walk in the Woods,” is a celebration of the natural world and is an effort to showcase the beauty of Flat Rock Brook Nature Center located in Englewood, New Jersey. The Exhibition is in residence at The Intermezzo Gallery on the 2nd floor of the bergenPAC now until March 26, 2016. The gallery is open to the general public during box office hours Mon-Fri 11AM – 4PM and Saturday 12PM to 4PM. more
From home decor to clothing, shop the hottest accessories for that special guy in your life. more
Urban Agenda Magazine is continuing the Oscar celebration with a selection of dazzling gold products.
The Oscar gold was spread around last night with Spotlight winning Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay; Leonardo DiCaprio taking home Best Actor for The Revenant; Mark Rylance and Alicia Vikander were named best supporting actor and actress, respectively, she for The Danish Girl; and Brie Larson took the best actress prize for Room.
Shop Gold! Simply click on each product image to purchase. more
The 88th Annual Academy Awards takes place this Sunday, February 28, 2016. The awards ceremony was first broadcast to radio in 1930 and televised in 1953. It is now seen live in more than 200 countries. This year's ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre is Los Angeles and is hosted by comedian Chris Rock. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname, Oscar.
As an ode to the prestigious ceremony, Urban Agenda Magazine has selected a series of unique products inspired by the nominees. To purchase, click on each product image.
Break a leg! more
Meet Tata Harper
Tata Harper is the scientist and visionary behind the coveted Tata Harper skincare and beauty line. Originally from Columbia, Harper now resides on a large farm in Vermont with her husband (business partner Henry Harper) and their three children. Her interest in all natural skincare began when her stepfather was diagnosed with cancer. During his treatment, Harper was determined to find products that were free of synthetic-chemical ingredients. She searched at Whole Foods and other stores, but could not find exactly what she was looking for. more
Celebrate man's best friend.
Urban Agenda Magazine has hand-selected our favorite gifts for dog lovers. Check out the many Scottish terrier, French bulldog, and Labrador Retriever motifs in the form of clothing, accessories, and home decor. Simply click on each product image to purchase!
This time of year calls for something different to change-up the routine. Why not dash off to a warm weather getaway to indulge in some yoga, fine dining, and relaxation? Below, Urban Agenda offers up some suggestions. Simply click on each product image to purchase. Bon voyage!
Friday, February 5
ALL DAY Commit this month to an unparalleled fitness experience at Equinox in Paramus and your initiation fee goes to Cycle for Survival, the national movement to beat rare cancers. Contact www.equinox.com for more information.
ALL DAY Flywheel has planted a seed in the Garden State with a studio in Millburn. Located in the heart of downtown, the state of the art studio features high tech bikes, stadium-style seating, and proprietary TorqBoard. Call (973) 232-6476 for class information. more
Valentine’s Day is often associated with flowers, chocolates, and teddy bears; however, this year, Urban Agenda Magazine is offering up a few new options. These gifts are suitable for all ages, male and female, young and old. To purchase, simply click each product image.
By Taylor Smith
Are you ready to work miracles?
Author and public speaker Gabrielle Bernstein thinks she can help. With May Cause Miracles, Bernstein offers a 40-day guide to creating subtle shifts in one’s life. Bernstein tackles roadblocks like self-image, compassion, fear, forgiveness, and risk taking. Her approach is youthful and fresh. She cites her corresponding iTunes app and web videos, as an additional resource.
Named “a next generation thought leader” by Oprah Winfrey, Bernstein is a New York Times bestselling author and regularly appears on The Dr. Oz Show. She is also the founder of HerFuture.com, a social networking site for women to inspire, empower, and connect. more
New Jersey's First Pressed Juicery
Fresh, cold pressed juices will now be available at a mall near you thanks to Pressed Juicery. The company offers over 7 varieties of green juice, along with root vegetable, citrus, fruit, coconut water, and coffee based drinks. Addicted, yet? Pressed Juicery will deliver right to your home for a flat monthly fee. They can also recommend customizable cleanses that will suit your specific goals and caloric needs. more
Snowed in?
Send the one you love something sweet for Valentine’s Day! From the perfect cup of coffee to a festive box of Cadbury chocolates, these gourmet delights and comforting gifts are sure to warm the heart. Simply click on each product image to purchase. more
According to the weather report, this weekend may very well be the debut snowstorm of 2016, and Urban Agenda wants to make sure you make the most of it. Below, we put together a list of some of the best sledding hills in Bergen, Essex, Morris and Union counties. So this weekend, swap your Netflix account for your Toboggan and enjoy some good, old-fashioned snow day fun. more
For this month’s Urban Insider, we are celebrating the act of getting outside and being physical in spite of the winter weather. There are so many opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors in Princeton, be it at the D&R Canal or the grounds of Battlefield State Park. Here, we have hand selected our top picks for looking stylish (and feeling great) all winter long. Simply click on each product image to purchase! more
Meet the Astro Twins
Identical twin sisters Ophira and Tali Edut are professional astrologers whose uncanny predictions have reached millions worldwide. Through their website, AstroStyle.com, Ophira and Tali “bring the stars down to earth” with daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly horoscopes. Their unique style emphasizes a lifestyle-based approach to astrology. The sisters also have many celebrity clients and have appeared on Bravo TV’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey. more
Image courtesy of www.pelotoncycle.com
By Taylor Smith
Peloton Cycle is bringing the boutique indoor cycling experience into the comfort of your own home. For the cost of the bike ($1,995) and a monthly subscription ($39), users are able to stream an unlimited number of live classes to their living room. These classes are filmed and broadcast from Peloton’s New York studio in Chelsea. From the seat of your bike, you will see the instructor, hear the music, and pedal along to the rhythm of your fellow classmates. And don’t worry about timing; you can live stream any of the classes catalogued on the Peloton server (past and present) at anytime of day. more
Thanks to Helaine Knapp, founder and CEO of CityRow, New Yorkers can get the benefits of rowing without enduring the elements, getting their shorts wet, or traveling to a body of water. In fact, they just have to make it to 5th Avenue, home of the CtiyRow studio, in order to experience the feeling of rowing on water. Using the innovative WaterRower row machines, CityRow’s clients work against the resistance of the water inside of the machine. The result of their rowing efforts is a high-intensity, low-impact total body workout that provides full body cardio. Moreover, CityRow offers various classes that combine rowing with signature yoga and pilates movements. For example, the Row and Flow class offers intense rowing intervals followed by 30 minutes of yoga, while the Row and Core class alternates between rowing and pilates. Between the spirited (and insanely fit) teachers and the on-point playlist, CityRow is bound to make newbies rethink their old workout routines. For this month only, CityRow is also offering Saturday workouts in Montauk, so check them out before it’s too late!
To learn more about this high-concept fitness trend, we turned to CityRow’s founder and CEO, Helaine Knapp. more
Cryotherapy expert Julie Shanebrook explains how three minutes in -260 degrees can lead to a healthier you
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
On September 9, millions of viewers watched as Michael Strahan from Live! with Kelly and Michael entered into a “Whole Body Cryotherapy” chamber provided by the Texas-based company, CryoUSA. Although the idea of cryotherapy – and the cryotherapy chamber – looked like things of the future, according to Kelly Ripa, Strahan, and thousands of cryotherapy diehards, it’s time is now.
There’s no better proof of this than the new cryotherapy spas popping up across the country like Westfield, New Jersey’s Chill Cryotherapy. Opening its doors early next month at 327 South Avenue West (directly across from the South Avenue Train Station), Chill Cryotherapy will be bringing this European craze to north Jersey. So, what exactly is cryotherapy and why is it becoming the next big thing? Urban Agenda turned to owner and founder of Chill Cryotherapy, Julie Shanebrook, for more insight on this innovative health trend. more
From high school prom dates to international fitness gurus, homegrown husband and wife team Fred Devito and Elisabeth Halfpapp reveal their secrets to love, fulfillment, and of course, fitness
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
The couple that plays together really does stay together. Husband and wife team and Hamilton, New Jersey natives, Fred Devito and Elisabeth (Lis) Halfpapp have managed to transform their work into play as vice presidents and founding members of Exhale Spa and co-creators of the workout routine, Core Fusion. While Fred and Lis’s version of play might include planking, lunging, and weight lifting, it’s certainly kept their relationship strong—32 years strong to be exact. more
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
Americans are often criticized for using their mobile devices too much and for exercising too little. But what if cell phone use and exercise were combined? Luckily for us, “there’s an app for that,” in fact, there are several apps for that. From paying users to go to the gym to tracking their caloric in-take, there are apps designed for nearly every area of health and wellness. Below, Urban Agenda NYC outlines some of the best apps to download in order to stay active and motivated.
PACT
Download Price: Free to download with cost of cash stakes to keep “pact”
“Earn cash for exercise, healthy living, and eating right.” — Gym-pact.com
If an app that gives users money to make their fitness goals sounds too good to be true, consider the fact that Pact also takes users’ money when fitness goals are not met. The Pact app (formerly known as Gym Pact) allows members to make a “pact” to exercise, log meals, or eat vegetables daily for a user-specified period of time. When people sign-up, they can have $5 to $10 deducted from their credit card or PayPal account for every day they miss. On the flip side, if users stay committed to their pact, they get paid 3¢ to $5 per week until they reach $10. Their payout comes from users who didn’t make their pact. How does the app know they’ve been committed? Users are expected to check into one of the 400,000 gyms in the Pact database and stay in its location for a minimum of 30 minutes. To prove they’ve followed their meal goals, users must take a picture of their food using their mobile phone. Other users are encouraged to vote down photos that shouldn’t count to prevent cheaters from cashing in. more
There’s a free fitness movement sweeping North America and thanks to November Project New York, it’s just a hop, skip, and jump away
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
It’s 5:30am on a dreary Wednesday morning in New York City. There’s ice on the taxi windshields, a chill in your bones, and all you want to do is climb back into bed. But somewhere in the city, a swarm of people, clad in brightly colored clothing is planking, sprinting, and hugging, while blasting Celine Dion’s greatest hits. This weatherproof, spirited group of individuals is November Project New York and all they want is for people to “just show up” to their early morning workouts. more
Urban Agenda NYC calculates the monetary value of your body “products” from head to toe
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
The question, “How much are you worth?” might cause you to go on a philosophical journey to uncover your intrinsic value, but in this case, the question is more literal. It’s asking how much money your body parts are worth. While you’re probably now imaging the posthumous trafficking of your organs on the black market, there is a thriving legal market for those looking to sell their body “products” while living. From human hair to blood, people around the United States are cashing in on their bodies. more
Healthy Dessert might sound like an oxymoron, but these health-conscious bakeries prove that guilt-free treats do exist
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
Babycakes NYC
Website: https://www.erinmckennasbakery.com/new-york-city/
Location: 248 Broome Street
Celebrated vegan baker, Erin Mckenna, owns Babycakes NYC where patrons can indulge in vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and refined-sugar free cupcakes. Mckenna (who isn’t even vegan herself) substitutes white sugar for agave, rice and coco milk instead of dairy, and coco oil instead of canola. But the one thing that is not substituted for at Babycakes is the incredible taste of its products. Stop by McKenna’s quaint Lower East Side shop to try them out for yourself. more
The homemade cook tells us about her new book, The Homemade Kitchen
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
Have you ever wondered why your attempts at cooking never look like the pictures in the glossy recipe books? Well, cookbook author, food blogger, and working mother Alana Chernila certainly has. And while Chernila writes books with gorgeous images of food inside, she is the first to admit that her cooking is far from picture perfect. Working at home in a house that she shares with her parents, 17-year-old sister, two young daughters, and husband in the Berkshires, Chernila’s life is a controlled chaos. Clear boundaries have to be set while Chernila is working so that she doesn’t go off to clean the bathroom or do laundry once she’s in her workspace. more
Escape the stresses of the city at these premiere urban spas
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
Spa Castle New York, www.spacastleusa.com
There’s no shortage of rooms and services at this eclectic spa in College Point. Its modern facilities include a meditation room, sleeping room, sundeck, and fitness center – and that’s just their Healing Zone. Spa goers pay an entry fee to enter and are eligible for unlimited daily access to Spa Castle’s myriad of facilities. Any additional treatments guests undergo (and food and alcohol they consume) are tracked by a watch that is provided to each guest upon their arrival. more
From rosehip oil to baby bonnets, the creator of Ballet Beautiful and loving mother to Lumina Belle shares the ten items she loves most.
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
Photos provided by Ballerina Mary Helen Bowers, copyright Ballet Beautiful
Even though Mother’s Day has passed, Urban Agenda decided to extend our appreciation for all the resilient women in our lives beyond a single day. So, we sought out the woman who has built an entire brand on her understanding of mothers-to-be, Mary Helen Bowers. Professional ballerina turned fitness mogul and proud mom of 16-month-old Lumina Belle, Bowers has become a global icon for mothers. more
NAMI and the Hope & Grace Initiative launch the StigmaFree campaign to combat mental health stigma
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
Consider this: 1 in 4 adults experience mental health issues in a year; 13.6 million Americans live with a serious mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, 1 and only 41.3% of U.S. adults ever seek treatment for it due to the stigma.
Affecting more than 450 million people worldwide, it is clear that mental health issues are a pertinent problem in our society. Hopefully, today marks the beginning of the end of the stigma. more
From facial hair to pedicures, grooming connoisseur, John Allan tells us what it takes to be a barbered and buffed gentleman
By Sarah Emily Gilbert
Fashioned after an exclusive club where men can kick back with a cold drink while getting a new hairstyle, John Allan’s Premiere Men’s Grooming Clubs cater to the modern man. Built on John Allan’s desire to help men refine their style while enjoying male camaraderie, he’s revolutionized men’s grooming. The result is an old school-style NYC barbershop with high-end touches.
“My upbringing was composed of strong men who were established characters and definitely influenced me with style. I was always intrigued by that brotherhood, so it kind of took me into the direction of [men’s grooming].”