i dare you.

i dare you.

try and figure out how it's possible for catchy. to pump out fresh, delicious salads, soups and sandwiches all day, unique and delicious catering all weekend AND have our chef Laura create our NEWEST phenomenon in her downtime: catchy.'s weekly farm to table specials. did you figure it out yet?? yeah, i can't either.

just when you thought salad was all we did. just when you thought our ridiculous candy bacon & mini bacon bleu cheese sliders were the best we got - THIS HAPPENED!! our kitchen sat down with us last week and suggested we try and wow our customers right before the holiday season. you know, show them a little of what could be ordered and delivered like, RIGHT TO THEIR TABLE (!) for the holidays. you want a piece of this? don't blame you one bit. so do i.

we've got chipotle & orange pork tenderloin over a roasted sweet potato hash. we've got a spinach & artichoke stuffed chicken breast over red quinoa with a parmesan cream sauce. we've got a farm to table grilled swordfish over roasted golden beets & baby bok choy and even some risotto stuffed peppers. i mean REALLY?!? who does that? i fed my kids reheated buffalo chicken pizza last night. i'm ashamed to say i went to cooking school around this crew.

and all this on a week with halloween mayhem in the kitchen pumping out parties, luncheons and events (to say nothing of making halloween costumes and managing their regular lives). my crew are nothing if not astute multitaskers. it's just what they do. ask them to work hard and they will just work harder. that's why i hand selected them for my shop because thrive on making our customers events special, memorable and unique. that's my team's goal and they crush it weekly.

wow. what a week

wow. what a week.

i write this blog almost every sunday night at the same hour. it's generally around 10:15-10:30 at night and my brain gets quiet and the pace slows. my kids are tucked in bed, the house is silent, and i get a moment to reflect on the week that's passed me by. was it positive or negative? did i do all i could to show up for my kids? did i service my customers and make their event the best one possible? and after all that, did take care of myself in some small, meaningful way that filled up my bucket?

it's rare that i can answer each of those questions with a yes. some weeks it just isn't in the cards. my kids? they always get top billing. i grew up in a generation where we were we raised somewhat like feral cats. we went out to play unaccompanied until the light in the sky dimmed and we heard my dad's whistle. we did our homework on our own without much parental guidance as my mom was flying around to carpool five kids to sports, food shop, cook dinner, do the laundry and whip up lunches - i wished for more but there was only so much one woman could manage and i think that determined my parental style to always make sure my kids got a little more than perhaps they actually require. i can make a 24 hour day feel like 36 by just moving a little quicker and getting sh*t done and it's important to me that my kids know when they need me, i'm there even when there may be three different places at once (moms can clone themselves if you didn't know).

work is always the easy show. sailing into my shop each day, i know that while i may be asked a dozen questions and there may be a few fires to extinguish, i have a staff on hand that is so competent, so first world FABULOUS, that no matter the quandary, my intel isn't so much needed as they are just keeping me in the loop. we were approached to cater a wedding yesterday with just six weeks to plan it and we crushed (sorry, sounds overly confident but i'm just reporting the facts: when three dozen people tell you the same thing, it becomes your gospel, word). every detail was recorded, every request was met and the celebration, though a tiring 15 hour day, was the reason i got into catering in the first place. pure happiness.catchy. is teamwork, execution, camaraderie. we are about putting people at ease and reassuring them that there is nothing too much for us to handle. it's what i was born to do and i pinch myself each time i find myself flying high after a seamless event.

that third cog is a tough one. fitting in self care for anyone is tough let alone a working parent with a handful of kids who is short on time and long on demands. but even on a weekend cluttered with weddings, lacrosse tournaments and dogs eating headphones (clean up is a bitch: damn plastic) i'm beginning to see the benefits of staying in my pajamas some mornings, ordering takeout for dinner rather than cooking and even just listening a little deeper to the sermon at church and enjoying the message i'm graced with. it doesn't have to be some grand gesture, just buying myself a bunch of gerber daisies at the metropolitan plant center feels like i am putting myself on the calendar. i glance at them and realize "i matter." i didn't get that message every day for the last 45 years but i'm getting it now. no one is going to send that message to me but ME.

so ladies and gentleman, PUT YOURSELF ON THE CALENDAR. it's the hurricane season. it's busy, life is stressful and we all have a plate so full it spills over onto our unswept floor (because who has time to sweep every day damn it!). if you can order your mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts and pumpkin bread from catchy. for the holidays do it. no one is judging but YOU. we know you can bake. we know you are a loving mom. don't put yourself in the hospital bc you had to make the appetizers for your mother in law's party when you could spend that time reading to your kids or even better, getting a 10 minute massage at the nail salon. order your dinner online at www.thecatchycaterer.com a few nights this season and leave the supermarket behind. spend that time in the flower shop picking out some blooms for you bedside table and let those buds remind you that YOU MATTER. because if you don't, who the hell will?

gray is the new black this week.

gray is the new black this week.

with everything in the news this week, you would think my mood would be in the sh*tt*r. pipe bombs. torrential rain storms causing catastrophic flooding. one more mass shooting that could have been prevented in more ways than can be debated. the world seems to be coming to an end and darkness can certainly prevail if left unchecked. however, while i (and many others it seemed - thank you for reaching out and sharing) struggled last week to find my serenity, i realized that reaching out, as always, helps me feel not quite so alone in the madness of it all. amid all this heartbreak, there are pockets of joy and sunshine and i have found exposing my struggled always manages to bring just the thing i need to me at just the time i need it. thanks to all you readers for buoying me up on a dark day.

sometimes it's just that one thing that can tip the balance and then it all starts to flow again. seeing something bright leads to the next thing and then to the next and suddenly i'm smiling again and can't quite remember what brought me down in the first place. we celebrated my mom's 78th on friday night and while my dad is no longer around for it, the excitement and air of love and laughter was everywhere. we each wrote toasts. the grandkids sent funny/classic/sometimes totally incomprehensible sentiments and seeing the love that has been created in one household brought tears to my eyes. i learned my love for parties, entertaining & celebration from my mom. no one loves a party like her and watching her soak up all the love and joy and allow herself to be taken care of by us for a change was a wonderful thing. here's to many more nights celebrating the family she & my dad made.

so my blog is short and sweet today. i have more pumpkin bread to get cooking, we have halloween parties still streaming in and parties to plan for the weekend so this girl needs to get cracking! don't fault me if one of those loaves of pumpkin HEAVEN above doesn't make it to the shop for sale...that sh*t is off. the. chain. ridiculous and i can be held responsible for that much chewy, sweet, delicious goodness making its way to the cafe. pop by the shop and pick up your loaf or order straight from our website www.thecatchycaterer.com. & have it delivered!

i think that burger is going to be the only thing that gets me through this...

i think that burger is going to be the only thing that gets me through this...

do you ever have those moments where you just can't shake your sh*tty mood? no matter how many gratitude lists you write, how many affirmations you tell yourself, no matter how much damn yoga you fit into your week to get away from your crappy thinking and connect a bit more with your consciousness, you just can't seem feel better? yeah. that's about where i'm at these days. and before you ask, yes, i've tried tequila. it didn't help.

call it my mid-forties. call it a rough patch in my marriage. call it a freakin' dog i was convinced i could handle without missing a beat and was wildly overconfident about. i don't have the answer for what got me here, but i sure wish i could cycle my way out of it. ahhhhh, come on sunshine, send some special lazer beams of light my way. i could use you right now.

thank god for catchy. having a door to walk through that lights me up inside these days is what will get me through. i've been here before. we all have. those momentary dark periods when life just seems to keep handing you sh*t sandwich after sh*t sandwich. but i know what to do, i just have to grab hold of the part of myself that trips the switch back to bright. my love of food & serving people has always been just that for me. thank god for the holidays and the excitement, busyness and fun that radiates from them each year. i could use nothing more than a dozen parties to organize each weekend to remind me who i am and what i love.

i'm so lucky i found the courage nearly three years ago to open the cafe. to take a leap of faith and decide that the catering business i had been nurturing for over a decade and a half had a place in this town, with all you people. cooking for you, bringing you & your families joy was, and is still is, what motivates me each morning (well, after my four *ss-kicking kids of course). and i know that this season and it's typical chaos will help bring me out of my spell and put a smile back on my face again.

GAME. ON.

well that got your attention. sixteen calls since last week's email blast went out and the holiday parties are rolling in. i guess it's here:

GAME. ON.

i'm not sure how it happened. it seems so sudden, but i think autumn is here to stay. the air has turned crisp and chilly, fall sports are in full swing and while i've had enough rain to last me the next six months, i could have used a little more indian summer. i need some more sunshine in my life to keep my flagging spirits from tanking with the approaching holidays. as much as i love kicking thought the colorful leaves while i walk this hyperactive, neurotic puppy every morning, i can't say i'm ready for the change. it's been rough year. lots of changes happening that i'm not quite managing too smoothly and the constancy of the seasons that used to keep me grounded seem to be getting away from me. the late summer/early fall sunshine always managed to get me through that crazy transition from unfocused summer days to highly charged back to school routine but this season seems to bring with it more clouds and gloom then i can remember. is it me or does it seem like gray is the new black? i can't seem to get my droopy mindset on the right track with all this dank, drizzly weather. come on weather gods, bring on some sunshine for me!

so for now i will try and find my sunshine at work. food has always provided me with a framework for managing difficulty. i can't count the number of times people have asked "how (i think they mean why??) do you do it with four kids and a restaurant?" why?? truth be told, food is my way to connect to life. nothing brings me more joy than creating a satisfying, comforting meal for someone i love. it just always has. and with the upheaval i think so many people feel lately (myself included), it's nice to have a medium to show people you care. there are days i just can't manage to get anything right, but at the end of the day, heating up a home cooked meal for my kids after they've navigated their day seems to be the language that connects us. my food tells them i love them. i don't need words. i don't need grand actions. it's that simple. i love you, so i cooked for you - my meals say you matter to me.

so if you are feeling like you've been through the mill lately (pull up a chair while you wait for your sandwich to be made and we can trade stories on how life just seems to SUCK *SS right now), let us show you that wecare. bringing our home cooked, fresh & delicious food to you matters to us.

guess what time of the year it is??

guess what time of the year it is??

yes indeed. the holiday season is upon us!! i know, i know. it's only october 10th, you say. well, guess what peeps? that leaves five weeks until thanksgiving and just ten until christmas & hanukkah....WAIT WHAT?!?! how is that possible?

it just is. calendars are crazy like that. so call the shop, book your staff, pick your menu (we've got some RIDICULOUS new options) and cross this one off your list. because come mid-november, i know just what's going to happen. the calls will start flooding in and people are going to get their knickers ALL in a twist because staff has run out and now they have to have their neighbors kid who is glued to his cell phone and doesn't smile when he says "would you like some lobster salad on endive" serving their party??

seriously folks, we can help you avoid that. i have dozens and DOZENS of amazing servers, bartenders, chefs and coat check kids. but i need to reserve them or they go to another party.

make your life easy. i get it, you like to cook. no one loves baking more than me. and you can decorate your house like martha flippin' stewart with pinecones and cranberries and you even dry your own rosemary for your wreaths. i know, that's awesome. but in no one's judging you for calling in the big dogs to give you a hand during this, the happiest season of all. it's not the happiest season of all. it's the HOLIDAY season and that means too much sh*t to do and not enough time in the day to do it. route 17 is a nightmare, supermarkets are a nightmare, and generally speaking everyone mood is in the tank besides your kids who are anticipating that fly new iPhone, the newest lego contraption or the hottest pair of Uggs out this year.

so do yourself a favor and call this one in. our catering line is 917.721.9217 or just pop by the shop and natalie, erin or erica will take care of planning your event with you. for great visuals, take a peak on our website: www.thecatchycaterer.com.

and don't delay another week. unless you want to get your bake on.

I'M. NOT. HAVING. IT.

well, it's another cloudy, rain-in-the-forecast kinda of day and i'm telling you, i have had it with these weather gods. saturday and sunday were glorious. literally game changers to my mood, and then along comes a day or two of these gloomy clouds and it's like everyone goes under cover. well I'M. NOT. HAVING. IT. i ain't letting this weather ruin my day!

we have a special day at the cafe today. we are supporting a PHENOMENAL cause: the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. Today when you shop at catchy., 15% of all proceeds go back to the AFSP for any food purchased in the cafe, by phone or ordered from our website (www.thecatchycaterer.com) when you mentioned AFSP (not when you use UberEats, DoorDash or GrubHub as they already take a large percentage from us and so can't be combined with this offer.

suicide is on the rise. there isn't enough talk about it. my dear friend kelly anderson who is leading the charge to get the word out in hohokus today with this fundraiser asked catchy. to help and we were thrilled to partner with her. there are too many stigmas around suicide. not enough talk about depression and anxiety and in bergen county especially, we have experienced the pain of it first hand. please come join the fight by ordering lunch or dinner at catchy. and mentioning the AFSP to get the 15% directed back to helping spread the word. the menu is below and we promise it will be worth it!!

i'm struggling tonight.

i'm struggling tonight.

it's taken me an extra two days to sit down to this blog because, while typically, i tend to be a fairly upbeat human being who focuses on the humorous things in life, lately, stuff just don't seem very funny to me. i know i am going through my own personal drams, as we all are, but it just seems the state of the world has just tilted so far off it's normally swervy axis that i struggle to get my bearings and understand how to right myself in this confuddled environment. and sister, if I can't figure it out, as a (relatively) intelligent, educated 45 year old woman, how do i hope my kids will understand what is going on??

i won't even touch on the actual topic in this blog. the specifics of the issue isn't really what matters, though it's a topic that both so heartbreaking and close to my heart that i have difficulty separating myself from it at times. what i will say is people's responses to the topic are what have me wondering where the humanity has gone in our world? when did people decide that skulking around behind their keyboards, viciously attacking others for their opinions was the way of the world. what happened to the golden rule people? where has civility and acceptance gone?

i have taught my kids two critical guideposts all their lives. since they were old enough to understand the english language i've stressed two simple values above all: kindness and inclusion. it's that simple. if you are kind and you include people, you can almost never go wrong. do we always want to invite the quirky kid in the dora explorer shoes to sit at our table? no, not always. sometimes we just want to sit and laugh with our best friends and not have to work to bring a stranger up to speed about the jokes we tell. but walk a morning in that kid's dora shoes, the one over there who doesn't have anyone saving her a seat or being their partner at four square or asking her over to their house after school and you will understand why making sure you forfeit an extra 10 inches of picnic table real estate isn't asking too much. it's just not that hard to be kind and show humanity to someone who is brave enough to put one foot in front of the other and show up for themselves.

so what can we do about it? think global, act local. so a little story for you: i ran out of gas yesterday morning after dropping my high schooler to highlands. i had left my other three to get ready and when my car sputtered to a stop, i suddenly thought: holy CRAP what the hell am i going to do now?? when out of nowhere, a tall, kind-faced man walked his dog towards me and asked what happened. i told him and within minutes, he had run home and returned to the scene of my stupidity with a plastic gas tank. he filled me up using all his gas for his lawnmower (he told me i was saving him the effort) and when the car started after a half dozen attempts, he started whooping and hollering and laid a fat high five on me. i couldn't believe it. what a rock star. what did i do to deserve this?? having no money to give him in appreciation, i told him i would be sure and pay it forward to anyone i could before thanking him profusely. it made a deep impact on my recent skepticism and negativity. the littlest things can restore us to believing in the good of people.

i believe the way i can effect even just the smallest amount of change is to pay kindness, acceptance and understanding forward. do what you can: hold a door. walk your elderly neighbor's newspaper up to his doorstep. ask the new kid over to play. wave at the annoying woman who you can't stand (come on, we all know one). be kind. you never know when it's going to make a difference to someone in need.

on that note, catchy. is partnering with the hohokus school and the afsp (american foundation for suicide prevention) next week on october 2nd to raise funds for suicide awareness and prevention. mention the AFSP in the notes section when ordering online or on the phone when you call in your order (or in person) and 15% of the cost of the meal will be donated to the AFSP. another way to stand in the light of kindness and understanding.

go forth and be kind people. the world needs more of it.