Do the ads on my blog look obnoxious? www.Greenwich365.com I really hate to do it, but I joined the dark side and added some ads to my blog today. If I was crushing it and closing houses every week I wouldn’t have even considered it, but I’m not… I didn’t want to throw up a ton of junk so I spent a lot of time thinking about the cleanest way to do this. What do you think? As a reader does this deter you from visiting? I’ve always been anti-ads, until today… 11/17/2010

THING 31 – Check out the new Greenwich, CT assessments I wrote up a whole little blog about my feelings regarding the latest assessment (came out a day ago), but decided to pull it. If you want to talk about what’s going on with your home feel free to contact me directly. Otherwise, have fun searching through this gigantic pdf (last link) and checking out what the town thinks your house is worth. http://www.greenwichct.org/Assessor/Assessor.asp http://greenwichct.virtualtownhall.net/Public_Documents/GreenwichCT_Assessor/assessments http://greenwichct.virtualtownhall.net/Public_Documents/GreenwichCT_Assessor/2010_All_Streets_A-Z.pdf 11/17/2010

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 Open House Tuesday in Greenwich   Although this is far from news, the good point about this home is that it is now price $492,350 below assessment. It's a good deal! I had toured it before the owners had vacated the home, and since, it has been spruced a bit and shows much more easily. Without all of the things that a family accumulates over the years, a perspective owner can actually envision how their favorite furniture and art will look in their new home. 418 RIVERSVILLE RD - GREENWICH Located in backcountry Greenwich on Riversville Rd - zoned RA-4, it is situated on a beautiful 3.79 acre level lot. The house sits nicely from the road, and sprawls across 6,777 square feet. Among it's perks:  has wonderful perks:  an in-law suite with a separate entrance, a ... 11/16/2010

THING 30 – Support another Greenwich Resident, buy a book When I first started this blog I figured that I would play it by ear to come up with 365 things to do in Greenwich. My initial intentions were to focus on activities and establishments (stores, restaurants, museums, parks, etc…) as there are more than enough to talk about. I did not think about focusing on Greenwich residents and their accomplishments until I came upon Rob Mathes. Rob, as you are probably aware, was born in Old Greenwich and has gone on to become a well known record producer, songwriter and composer. I wrote about him a little while ago when he was putting on a show. Today, I have another Greenwich resident to talk about. Megan Nolan van Reesema and I grew up going to school together. She was always extremely dri... 11/16/2010

 This is not Ahmad Rashad's house in Greenwich :-)))))- rather it belongs to Daniel Czapiewski in Poland. This one is upside down with true intent. He built it to remind people of wrongdoings against humanity.  This is :  622 Riversville Rd - 06831       It's been listed on and off since 2009 from $4M to it's present tag of $2.8. It's assessed value is $2,345,770. As with any true athlete, recreation is important, so the selling focus for this home is largely the pool, tennis courts and a putting green. The new listing agent tried to get a little creative by stating that "you can practice your chip shot on the putting green before taking a dip in the pool" Golf Much?     11/15/2010

THING 29 – High School with Cones Mondays stink. You’re back at work looking down the barrel of a full week. Something out there must be available to comfort you. This is where the High School Special comes into play - 1/4lb of fried chicken tender pieces. Ask for cones (fried balls/cones of potato) instead of fries mixed in - seasoning and sause to boot. It’s a beautiful thing. http://www.originalchickenjoes.com/ 11/15/2010

THING 28 – Jump in a Pile of Leaves Yeah, so I messed up. I had this whole weekend planned out perfectly - write letters to the men and women fighting abroad on Saturday and tour Greenwich and tag sales on Sunday. The problem here is that I really don’t visit tag sales and didn’t realize that they mainly occur on Saturdays. I realized this about 30 min ago as I drove around town looking for tag sales for everyone to visit. I did find, though, a wonderful day! There is a good chance that this weather won’t last and next weekend all the leaves will be down and your windows will be frosted over, so take advantage. Let your kids (or yourself if you are young at heart) play in the piles of leaves and take in the scenery as the trees still look beautiful. This won’t last. If you are intereste... 11/14/2010

THING 27 – Make a Card for the Military In the spirit of the holiday weekend the American Red Cross and My Favorite Place (spectacular burgers I’ll talk about later) are partnering up for a neat family event. From 3:30pm to 5:30pm My Favorite Place on the Greenwich Avenue (between Starbucks and Richards) will be hosting Make a Card for the Military – “Give our service men and women a touch of home this holiday season by making a card that will be sent to the troops.” This sounds like a great family event and something that will be appreciated. Ps. Tomorrow I will be talking about visiting tag sales in Greenwich and already noticed there are a bunch on today (Sumner Road for example). If you know of any good tag sales for me to reference tomorrow please feel free to post a comment today. 11/13/2010

THING 26 – Go Outside! It’s a beautiful day. Turn your computer off, tell your boss you have a “family emergency” and enjoy the weather. The official activity for today is “Tennis at Bruce Park,” but there are a million other ways you can enjoy the weather. 11/12/2010

THING 25.2 - Post Your Appreciation A tremendous amount of gratitude to all that have served and continue to serve. www.facebook.com/greenwich365 www.greenwich365.com 11/11/2010

THING 25 – Go to an event I won’t be at I’m not going to make up some junk about how excited I am for the grand opening of Kimara tonight (from 6 to 8pm at the new store -88 Greenwich Avenue). I’m really not that interested. My wife does her own makeup shopping and I, as a manly-man (see THING 24), don’t use makeup. That all being said, some of my groupies (I wish) have suggested I put this event on Greenwich365 so it must be worthy, right…..? Have fun girls, I’ll be watching Pawn Stars on tivo. 11/11/2010

THING 23 – Drink Down Your Daily Fruit At $7 a drink I’m not sure how long my finances can handle daily smoothies, but they taste so freaking good. I guess this addiction is better than Starbucks coffee. Now I just need to figure out how to make them at home. With 139 Locations so far this Manhattan Beach, CA store has caught onto something. I've been trying to come up with something clever to say about the little patch of sod they put into some drinks and the suddenly ubiquitous Acai and Pomegranate fruits, but I’ve got nothing. Anyone else out there have an addiction to smoothies? 11/09/2010

THING 22 – CONSIGN IT Sometime after I stopped getting an allowance I worked for a wonderful store in Greenwich called Consign It (I’m hoping you can figure out what they do…). My job was simple - I was a mover. I moved lamps, I moved tables, I move jewelry, I moved rugs. I was part of an elite special ops white gloved moving crew. You laugh, but let’s see how easy it would be for you to move a Chippendale dresser through a dining room full of crystal, without so much as a nick or chime. Although I, at the time, was trying to understand what this dresser had to do with guys in tiny bathing suits, I was pretty darn good at my job. June (moving crew captain) taught me well. I learned a lot about the town as I drove around it all day. I learned a lot about furniture as I spent more time ho... 11/07/2010

THING 20 – See an accomplished Greenwich native perform. (Rob Mathes) I thought this might be a neat event to attend tonight. Rob Mathes, born in Old Greenwich, is an accomplished record producer and composure. It should be a wonderful show. “ Back by popular demand, an encore performance of Rob Mathes' original song cycle, At Night A Song Is With Me, with lyrics by world-renowned Irish poet Micheal O'Siadhail. Don't miss Grammy and Emmy nominated Rob Mathes and this spectacular evening of music featuring The New York Chamber Consort, an orchestra drawn from some of the finest musicians in Manhattan, including members of the New York Philharmonic; and singers, including the Christ Church Choirs, and the amazing Pop and RnB vocalists Laila Biali and Mike Harvey. Rob will also be singing ... 11/06/2010

THING 19 – Bar Pie and Shuffle Board There are few things in life more satisfying than a bar pie at BPG (Bruce Park Grill). Think microwavable pizza cooked in a vat of oil – simply beautiful. You’re all probably thinking I’m a sucker for bad-for-you-food, and I am, but I promise to bring up some healthy edibles soon. I am starting to get addicted to Robeks, although my wallet is having a hard time catching up. Now back to BPG; in addition to the bar pie, the shuffle board table makes for a very rewarding activity throughout a night of drinking. This little bar is right up the street from, you guessed it, Bruce Park and across the street from Prime Meats. The décor isn’t much to talk about and the location really isn’t around the corner from Greenwich Avenue, though it is a great place t... 11/05/2010

THING 18 – Play Some Fall Ball Being able to play at The Griff (Griffith E Harris Golf Course – next to the Westchester Airport) is one of the best parts to being a Greenwich resident. I’m not going to say it’s the greatest golf course out there, nor is it the easiest to get to, nor is it the least expensive; though when you put all of those factors together it has to be one of the best deals going. For $145 (annual membership) and $26 (weekend golf rate) [less if they consider you a young or old human] you get to play at a wonderful course throughout the year - can’t beat that with a stick/wood/putter. It’s a great way to meet locals if you want to play a round as a single. I’m not sure how long into the winter the course is open, but right now you are good to go. http://greenwichct.vi... 11/04/2010

THING 17 - Take out the Trash – I’m not kidding, this place is awesome. Living in Greenwich, CT has many many perks, but one that is commonly overlooked is, yes, access to The Holly Hill Facility (aka. Dump). Maybe I’m getting old and boring, but this is one of my favorite locations/things-to-do in Greenwich. Seriously, the Greenwich Dump is a wonderful joyous happy-place. You can pretty much take anything there and toss it for free. Couches, beds, old exams, old tax returns, drafts to the poems you write your wife every week, clothing that doesn’t fit because it’s too tight large – I’ve tossed it all. The last time I moved I drove a U-Haul up there and started to toss out everything item by item until I realized I could drive the truck directly into the trash pit/dungeon. This place is... 11/03/2010

THING 16 – Best Onion Rings, period Bone-in rib eye, gorgonzola salad, onion rings and garlic bread – these are a few of my favorite things. I’ll never forget the phone call I received a couple years ago while away at business school notifying me that Manero’s (best butcher in Greenwich) was going to be closing down. Manero’s was an institution. Manero’s – home of the famous van Reesema burger (Giant burger patty, onion rings and gorgonzola sandwiched between two pieces of garlic bread) – was now going to be the site for some new condos… Fortunately to all, James Dadio (butcher at Manero’s) started Greenwich Prime Meats after Manero’s ended its 50 year stint serving Greenwich. Together with Sal Genario, Prime Meats has been able to replicate many of the Manero’s recipies (the onion ring... 11/02/2010

THING 14 – Get the highest return on your Trick or Treating There is nothing wrong with dressing up like a ninja and strolling around your local community asking for candy on Halloween. You will have a lot of fun and will probably come home with a healthy (bad choice of words) sack of goods. But, for those of you out there who take this annual event more seriously I’m here to give my advice. There are three areas to focus on when trying to get the highest return on your Trick or Treating a) Costume: There is nothing you can do about your age, height or weight, so whatever you’ve got lets work with it. Your main goal here is to gain as many cuteness points as possible. This is to distract the home owner while you steal their goodies. Some may try for the more revealing outfits and others... 10/30/2010

THING 13 – Howl & Prowl Dogs are supposed to be tough manly creatures that fetch the paper and your slippers. They are not supposed to be put into handbags or wear sweaters. Dogs are not accessories (sorry Paris), they are companions. They are supposed to fetch large dog bones (Manero’s - tear tear) not play with Busy Bees (Best in Show). They should wear spikes around their neck, not cute collars with preppy prints on them. They should guard against intruders, not cuddle with them (RIP Gusto). Dogs are man’s best friend and deserve all the recognition they can get (only in Greenwich would a dog inherit millions….). I’m kind of on the fence as to whether dogs should be dressed up in costumes. The grumpy old man in me thinks that’s why dogs bite people…..on the other side, who can’t love... 10/29/2010