The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Stacey Pfeffer

How Locals with a Writing Flair are Gaining Fans

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There are currently 600 million blogs on the Internet and more than 30 million bloggers in the U.S. Without too much trouble, you can discover and enjoy the work of bloggers (whose ages run the gamut!) located in our hometowns writing about everything from their passion for pizza to parenting dilemmas. The common denominator for success? Prose composed in their own authentic voices.

 In this edition, we start with two young bloggers, one a college aged student (a Greeley grad and regular Inside Press contributor) and a second, an Armonk-based fourth-grade student!

Megan Klein, Chappaqua

Megan Klein, a junior at Boston University, started her blog freshman year of college as a way to help her process the transition to college life. She ultimately transferred after her freshman year to Boston University. The process made her want to destigmatize transferring, and other unpredicted college road bumps in her posts, which she says many people still view as taboo. 

“Everyone tells you that your four years in college are the best years of your life. But that’s not true for everyone, so I started writing about that,” said Klein. Originally the blog was a distracting outlet for her, doubling as a way to build her writing portfolio as a journalism student. While she initially didn’t tell many about the blog, that eventually changed. A year later she asked people for submissions of times where college was hard and got immediate positive feedback from long lost friends and other followers on Instagram telling her how relatable she was. 

The first section she developed was titled “No Lifeguard on Duty”. “I called it that because this really is the first time that you are own without your parents,” notes Klein. Then College Confessions stemmed from the submissions, ranging in aspects of college life from Greek life to friends to transitions. She also added a Freshman Survival Guide section. 

Klein is always looking for ways to make her blog more interactive and expand her readership by uploading photos, adding links and buttons. She also created stress balls and stickers for purchase with her blog’s tagline “Smile. It’s good for you.” This year she also started a podcast called Happiness Talks, where she interviews “positivity professionals” on various topics such as cognitive behavioral therapy and even therapy dogs. 

Klein hopes to one day compile her experiences into a self-help book similar to the You are A Badass series but for the college set. “I’d love it if it was a book that parents gave to their kids when they entered college,” she notes but for now she is happy about the blog’s growth from 1,600 visitors when she started in 2019 to 4,000 visitors this past year from more than 33 different countries. Acknowledging that those numbers aren’t astronomical, she still is proud of what it’s accomplished. “It’s all baby steps,” she says, but no doubt a part of her journey on her pathway to adulthood, albeit online. 

Keira O’Sullivan, Armonk

This fourth grader at Wampus Elementary School is a pizza aficionado. After trying the perfect trifecta of bread, tomato sauce and cheese at the tender age of three, pizza quickly became her favorite food. O’Sullivan decided to start her own pizza blog after reading an article on the best local pizzerias in Westchester Magazine in 2018. She loves trying out different pizzerias in the county often accompanied by her father, Kevin. To date, she has visited more than 40 pizzerias and tried their classic slices along with an occasional side order of garlic knots. She’s even stopped at pizzerias on vacations in Pennsylvania, the Jersey Shore and Upstate NY. She likes the fact that writing her blog has helped her become more computer literate and brush up on her photography skills.

One of the more unusual qualities that O’Sullivan likes to write about is the pizza’s “floppiness” which she says happens when the crust flops over and you can fold the pizza in half. “I like a little bit of flop and sweet sauce but no air bubbles in the crust.” She rates the pizza on a scale of 1-10 and is a tough critic claiming that she will never give out a 10 because no pizza is perfect. 

COVID hasn’t stopped her as pizza is the ultimate casual food and perfect for curbside pick-up. She’s still updating the blog and while she has no plans of becoming a restaurant critic she hopes her blog points people in the right direction to good pizza. “There is some good pizza and there is some bad and I just wanted people to know what’s good,” she explains. Thanks for the advice Keira! 

Excerpts from both blogs follow!

From Megan Klein’s ‘Operation Happiness’

You know when a book changes your life? Not to sound dramatic, which we all know I am, but after years of hearing people say that, I finally found the one. 

It’s called 14,000 Things to be Happy About by Barbara Ann Kipfer. It’s literally a book filled with an ongoing list of 14,000 things that have made her happy throughout the years: squooshing ice-cream sandwiches, TV football on mute, a good Monday and the movie We Bought a Zoo are just four of thousands.  

I’ve always been one to keep a journal. My first one was a gift from my sister for Christmas one year. It was blue and had a big M on it and was from Justice. It was a gold mine of middle school gossip. I wrote down a list of my fifth grade crushes. I wrote down a list of the most annoying people in my class, girls and boys. Too bad I haven’t been able to find that sucker in years – Mom, I give you permission to tear apart my room to find it. 

I eventually graduated to leather bound books, where I tried to keep a daily record of what happened and how I was feeling. 

And honestly, I now realize that the way I was journaling was counterproductive. Yes, I was writing down my thoughts and my feelings. But, I found that if those thoughts or feelings were negative, I was just re-hashing them on paper instead of letting them go. 

Then I found this book. 

Every night I write five things down that made me happy that day, whether it be something I ate, something I did, a song I like, or if nothing comes to mind, I think back on happy memories and write those down. I call it Take 5 Write 5 journaling.

Here are a few things I have written down in my book: a hot shower after a cold rainy soccer game, ABC Family Harry Potter weekend marathons at home, sourdough bread and falling asleep to the Dear John piano soundtrack. 

Now it’s your turn. 

For more blog posts from Megan, visit www.operationhappinessblog.com

Reviews from Keira O’Sullivan’s Pizza Ratings

Hartsdale House of Pizza
Rating = 8.9

We got a plain slice, tomato slice, and some kind of pepper cheese slice, which my Dad ate. The tomato slice was really good and the plain slice was good. The garlic knots were HUGE. I couldn’t really eat the garlic knots because I had a wiggly tooth. My mom wanted to try this place for a while. I recommend this place. It was good.

Villagio Pizzeria – Tuckahoe, NY
Rating = 7.4

I was going to review Roma Pizza because Westchester Magazine said it’s the best pizza in Tuckahoe. But they were closed so my mom went to this place instead because she thought it looked good for me. I got a plain cheese slice and a focaccia slice that just had tomato sauce on it. The plain slice was pretty good. It was not floppy. I liked the amount of cheese even though I sometimes take it off after 5 bites. The sauce was good too.

The focaccia slice only had one chunky tomato on it which I was not very happy about. Overall I would go there again and recommend it.

Sal’s Pizzeria, Mamaroneck, NY
Rating = 9.2

This pizza was really good. We got a plain cheese and a Sicilian. It was really good. It had the right amount of flop. Bread was really good. Just really good pizza in general. I liked everything about it. I would highly recommend this pizza. It was so good. My mom and dad have been telling me about this place for a while.

For more blog posts from Keira, visit, www.keiraspizzarating.home.blog

Chappaqua’s Térron Richardson Creates Candles and Soaps to Please in the Age of E-Commerce

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Térron Richardson, founder, Chandel Atelier Photo Credit: Randi Childs

When I want to create a cozy and inviting ambience in my home, I often light candles. The glowing light, the soft scents permeating the room, the candle’s wax melting ever so slowly offers a sense of serenity in a chaotic world. Apparently, I’m not alone in my love for candles as prestige (or what industry experts call premium) candle sales totaled $101.9 million in the US in 2018, according to market research firm the NPD Group. Growth in this category particularly from fashion and fragrance companies who are entering the market is expected to continue. And COVID hasn’t put a strain yet on consumer spending of candles. In fact, premium candle sales grew by 6% this March when COVID hit compared to the previous year, as consumers hunkered down in their homes.

A recent arrival to Chappaqua from Harlem, Térron Richardson knows a thing or two about prestige candles (and soap) as the owner of newly launched e-commerce site, Chandel Atelier. The site sells candles and soaps and Richardson’s background in luxury fashion and design has served him well as he seeks to expand his business. Richardson says that he has always been enamored with fragrance. At any given moment, he owns a “perfume library” with a roster of 20+ rotating scents.

Prior to launching his company, Richardson worked for Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Coach and luxury home décor company Jay Strongwater. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, he credits his professors in igniting an interest in sustainability. Richardson uses eco-friendly slow-burning coconut wax and wooden wicks which burn much cleaner, and don’t get the carbon build-up that needs to be trimmed off of cotton wicks.

In addition, he works with a wooden wick supplier that partners with Trees for the Future, an organization working to end hunger and poverty for small farmers through revitalizing degraded lands.

Many less expensive candles contain paraffin which can release toxins. “Paraffin is not regulated in the US,” explains Richardson and candle companies are not required to disclose it as an ingredient. Richardson wants customers to know what his products are made from and that his products are safe.

A self-taught candle maker, Richardson watched YouTube videos to learn the craft of candle making. “It was a quick process. I knew how to source suppliers from my experience with Jay Strongwater and then I spent 3-4 weeks figuring out how to make candles,” notes Richardson. Before he would settle though on a fragrance for the candle, he sometimes created 20 versions using a scent blotter and then used feedback from friends and family to help him solidify the scents.

Each candle retails for $45 and has a top, middle and base notes and these many layers lead to a sophisticated aroma. He offers new varieties of candles seasonally as well as a core collection of three products. Anguilla, one of the core products was created to pay homage to his birthplace and offers notes of linen, freesia, eucalyptus and moss.

Ever passionate about scent, Richardson decided to expand his product line with bar soaps that are sulfate and paraben-free using either goat’s milk or shea butter and flaxseed while still having a beautiful aroma. These natural ingredients increase the skin’s moisture level which can help combat dry skin during the harsh Northern Westchester winter months.

When not promoting his line, Richardson and his partner are enjoying exploring the area and dining locally. He notes that he is also an active member of New Castle’s Council on Race and Equity. Citing the challenges that BIPOC business owners face such as receiving small business loans, Richardson is hopeful that the Black Lives Matter movement will educate consumers on the importance of supporting Black-owned businesses such as Chandel Atelier.

Plans are in the works for a Chappaqua-inspired candle this spring featuring notes of wet fern, moss, musk, gardenia, ylang ylang, and jasmine.

To learn more, follow Richardson on Instagram, @chandelatelier and visit www.chandelatelier.com.

What Area Restaurants Are Doing for the Holiday Season In Light of COVID

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Editor’s Note: The challenges to restauranteurs continue as a new wave (and anticipated) spike in COVID strikes across the country, including New York, and here in Westchester County too. After we went to press with our editions with Stacey Pfeffer’s story which follows, Governor Cuomo issued a new order for statewide SLA, State Liquor Authority, licensed establishments (i.e. these are primarily bars and restaurants) to close their doors at 10 p.m.. “In theory, indoor dining, outdoor dining, you’re at a table, Cuomo stated, “You only take down the mask to eat or drink, but what happens is that setting is very hard to police; it’s very hard for people to maintain the discipline of sitting there eating and drinking and chatting and having a good time and laughing and keeping a mask on.” 

Will local restaurants be using yurts to keep worried diners eating outside as the weather turns cooler? Just as some New York City restaurants have done as the holiday season approaches, area restaurants are looking for ways to attract diners while keeping them safe and also offer enhanced catering/take-out options during the Thanksgiving-New Year period. The statistics for the restaurant industry have been grim since COVID hit with one in six restaurants nationwide shutting their doors according to the National Restaurant Association and more are expected in the coming months.

The restaurant industry in Westchester is under different guidelines than New York City with regards to indoor dining according to Natasha Caputo, Director of Westchester County’s Tourism & Film. While NYC restaurants cap indoor dining to 25 percent capacity, Westchester restaurants are allowed to host indoor diners at 50 percent capacity. But meeting that capacity is challenging even in times prior to COVID. The holiday season is traditionally a “win” or “loss” season with upscale dining establishments noticing as much as a 60 percent decline in profits during a holiday like Thanksgiving when many people choose to cook at home. In times of COVID, restaurants can also no longer rely on holiday office parties to boost revenue during the season.

So what’s a restaurant proprietor to do?

Beloved Chappaqua eatery Le Jardin du Roi has seen its share of challenges from construction downtown to devastating storms to COVID. Still they remain a popular restaurant with a loyal following and their outdoor patio area has always been a choice spot for dining during warmer weather. But as the weather was turning colder, General Manager Wendy Egan knew they had to act fast so they were lucky enough to secure a rental tent, which has been in short supply due to COVID. The tent has a special non-propane heater as well as two openings to ensure proper ventilation and the same rules for spacing out diners applies to the tent as it does to the indoor restaurant. We plan to have the tent out for as long as we can,” said Egan.

Tents do require town board approval which can be a timely process especially when your restaurant is housed in a historic stone train station like the Pleasantville restaurant, Pub Street. Chef/Co-owner Mogan Anthony is actively working to get a tent approved at Pub Street as of press time. He’s also busy planning special holiday menus for take-out that will be available to view online on the restaurant’s website at least ten days prior to the start of the holiday.

While restauranteurs have to cope with the additional costs of tents, sanitizer and heaters, indoors some have also had the extra expense of upgrading their HVAC systems to ensure customer safety. “We upgraded our system to include HEPA filters. Once more people realize that we have HEPA filters, we hope more customers will want to dine inside with us,” says Egan. In addition to dining on-site, Le Jardin du Roi has excellent catering capabilities to help customers get through the holidays including BBQ as well as seasonal favorites such as smoked turkey, cornbread stuffing and mashed potatoes. Menus are posted on their website.

Jay Patel, the owner of Indi-Q in Armonk, is used to a flurry of guests for office holiday parties with a location on Old Route 22 next to several office parks. A popular choice pre-COVID was their elegant lunch buffet but with COVID they have now created individualized lunch boxes which feature an entrée plus rice, a vegetable side and nan bread. They’ve also increased their catering and delivery options for groups and can provide medium or large platters for groups from 15 people to 50 people which can come in handy for holidays ranging from Diwali to Thanksgiving to Christmas.

The roomy outdoor space has heat lamps spaced throughout the entire area and Patel also reports that customers are now getting more comfortable eating indoors versus at the beginning of the pandemic as the restaurant follows stringent protocols set by the CDC, state and local governments.

No matter what restaurants do to entice customers, COVID has been the most challenging time for them. “Local support is so important,” acknowledges Egan. “We always give back to local charities like the Chappaqua School Foundation with gift cards and such.” And now and throughout the holidays is the perfect time to show your favorite restaurant a little local love back.

The Corona Chronicles: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

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Creative pursuits: A lemonade stand with proceeds going to frontline healthcare workers

This past February my neighbor and I drove to the city with our kids to see National Geographic Encounter’s Ocean Odyssey. As we sped down the Saw Mill, she asked me if I’ve been following the news about a new virus called COVID-19 that originated in China and was now raging through Italy. Yes, I had heard murmurings but the illness was somewhere else not on our shores. “Buy toilet paper, Purell and plenty of wine,” she said. Thank goodness for well-informed neighbors.

Now that my kids have completed iLearning, I’ve had the time to reflect on how COVID has impacted our family. Each family has had their own struggles living in the “new normal” and this is a glimpse into ours.

The Good

Let’s start with the good. Life pre-COVID, our life was in the fast lane–running from one activity to the next from after school activities to birthday parties to playdates. COVID put that to an abrupt halt and our lives have slowed down significantly. My mom always admonishes me saying that we run ourselves ragged. “You didn’t have a million after school activities and you turned out ok.” Hmm, maybe she has a point.

Isolation forces your kids to come up with their own entertainment when they weren’t on devices. I’ve enjoyed watching my kid’s creativity blossom from making a lemonade stand to raise money for frontline healthcare workers to devising carnival day in our house, my kids have created fun options that don’t even cost a cent. Having weekends devoid of activities, we’ve had a chance to explore treasures in our backyard with hikes at Ward Pound Ridge and Pruyn Sanctuary.

We’ve had more time together and one of the best things about this has been our ability to have dinner as a family every night. With my husband’s long hours in the office and frequent business trips, we sometimes managed to only have dinner as a family once or twice a week and I’ve always wanted more of them – but be careful what you wish for. I’m up to my eyeballs in dirty dishes with everyone home 24/7.

The Bad

I am not a patient person and some of my most harrowing moments of this pandemic has been iLearning. I realize how fortunate I am – I haven’t lost loved ones or have a job that puts my life at risk during this pandemic but iLearning has tested every fabric of my being. I had to sit down with my first grader for almost every assignment, prod my fourth grader into completing assignments and then harass my sixth grader daily who at first showed the most promise with iLearning but then lost motivation after it extended beyond anyone’s wildest imaginations. The yelling, the crying, the role of being the resident nag–it was all too much. And all this fighting was going on with my husband in his home office trying to be on conference calls. “My clients are wondering why WWIII is going on in the background,” he said so many times I lost count. So I let my kids go back to playing Fortnite as default entertainment.

The lack of planning for a dinner with the grandparents or a trip to a museum in the city has filled me with sadness. It’s this lack of possibilities and planning for the future that I am mourning most during COVID which leads to the ugly section.

The Ugly

The lack of predictably with COVID and who will fall victim to it scares me. Right now with the NY infection rate hovering at 1% as we go to print, I feel like we are in a “sweet spot”. It’s only a matter of time though before it gets worse again according to epidemiologists. And so I wonder should I stock up again on canned beans and Clorox wipes?

Each morning I scan the New York Times headlines. Never before have I felt so hopeless about our future. The politicization of mask wearing, the high infection rates in the Sun Belt, the double-digit unemployment numbers and the racial disparities in how this disease is affecting our nation, it’s too much to absorb. I now shut down after reading for a half hour instead of compulsively reading like I did in the early stages of the pandemic. And each afternoon while I hash out the day’s headlines with my neighbor in my cul-de-sac during a “COVID cocktail hour”, I’m grateful she suggested in February that I stock up on wine.

When Bill Clinton Sightings & Selfies Were Part of Life, Pre-Pandemic

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Earlier this month, President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea virtually convened top government, public health and philanthropic leaders as part of the Clinton Foundation’s 12th annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) where university students from around the globe tackle the most pressing issues facing society. Obviously with COVID-19’s rampant growth as a global pandemic, the CGIU focused solely on this issue and even included President Clinton interviewing Governors Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom.

At the end of the interview, in a touching moment, Governor Cuomo told Bill Clinton that he missed him.

I understand the Governor’s sentiment! I’ve missed President Clinton too, so  I was glad to hear that he had been busy preparing for this important initiative. Admittedly,  I was starting to wonder and even worry a little about what he was doing to keep himself occupied at home during COVID-19.

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Up until COVID-19 reared its ugly head, I had a pretty good idea of what he was up to thanks to the Chappaqua Moms Facebook page which has always offered a bevy of Clinton sightings and updates. But lately there was hardly any news about him besides a recent pizza delivery from the Clintons to several Westchester-based hospitals.

Pre-COVID-19, I knew that he liked to take a pre-dinner stroll up and down our many hills which can rival San Francisco’s. He had a regular route which is often documented in photos on Facebook and selfies with town residents meeting him on his walk. Everyone had a chance for a photo from merchants to eager Girl Scouts to construction workers – he believes in equal opportunity for all as long as you ask politely and chat with him. That’s what he likes best.

I know he hasn’t frequented one of his favorite local restaurants, Le Jardin du Roi, lately where he usually holds court on one of the first warm days of spring when the dining turns al fresco on their terrace as soon as it hits 70 degrees. There are tons of photos taken with other customers and wait staff anytime he goes there. He’s always willing to oblige and take photos with everyone from crying babies to garrulous bartenders and he makes it a point of taking the time to connect with each person. He’s the ultimate non-social distancer.

Perhaps he’s taking advantage of their take out menu but I do hope he sends someone else out to get it since his age makes him high-risk. I’m willing and able if he’d like. All he has to do is send me a Facebook messenger post.

He hasn’t stopped by our Starbucks lately which has its doors downtown shuttered. This is probably his number one photo backdrop in town as my Facebook feed attests. Everyone from high school athletes to septuagenarians has photos of him here. When there was a Dunkin Donuts in town, I almost wanted to abandon my loyalty to the brand just so I could get a photo of myself with him there. I even plotted my drink order- skinny hot chocolate as I wouldn’t be caught dead drinking their (in my opinion) bitter coffee.

Miracle of Miracles: My Photo Op

President Bill Clinton with Delilah, Samuel and Abigail Pfeffer

But then one day it happened. There’s a sense in my town that you know you are a true Chappaqua resident when you’ve snapped a photo with him. It was a Sunday night around 6:30 pm in May and I had bathed and fed my three young kids, bribing them with Carvel if they cooperated. It was an odd time to be driving in downtown Chappaqua which in totality is probably less than a mile but then I spotted him with his unmistakable thick white mane walking by the Citibank on my right. Excitedly I rolled down the window and with all my Queens moxie shouted, “President Clinton, I’ve lived here five years and I have been dying to take a photo with you.” He stopped in his tracks as I pulled closer to the curb and he looked closer at my car.

Unbeknownst to me there were Secret Service cars across the street but I guess my big SUV with various camp and sports team magnets looked harmless enough. “Sure, let’s do this,” he replied.

My heart was beating fast. “Well, I have three young kids with me,” I said and some were still strapped in their infant car seats. “I can take them out,” I said.

“No need for all that trouble,” he said. “I’ll just open the door and stick my head in,” he said. Dear God, he’s going to see all the Cheerios splayed out on the car floor, I thought to myself. Oh well and he swung open the door but before we took the photo, he conversed with my kids. My son was wearing a dinosaur pajama top and he asked him about his favorite dinosaurs. My daughter and him had an animated conversation about Elmo and my infant baby remained oblivious to all of the hoopla. He asked how long I had lived in town and where we were going.

I had finally gotten our selfie. I thanked him profusely and he told us all to enjoy our ice cream. We did and as I finished my cone, I posted the pic to Facebook which has been one of my most well liked photos. Once we got that first photo, my luck changed and I’ve since been able to capture photos of him and my kids  in town and at my husband’s town baseball team playoffs.

Abigail Pfeffer, President Bill Clinton and Delilah Pfeffer

After the 2016 election, Bill and Hillary took several walks on our town’s beautiful hiking trails that are normally filled with solitude. Reporters came out in full force though trying to track them down on one of their woodsy walks to see if they could get an interview or photograph. I often wonder if that’s where Bill is spending his time now that CGIU is over – walking in the woods but then I have second thoughts. He craves human connection like most of us and if he runs into someone, well a photo op or selfie just may be too tempting. Maybe now that CGIU finished, he’ll have time to binge watch “Tiger King” like the rest of us regular folks stuck at home. Or not….