Workout Gear and Free Yoga.

Lululemon Athletica (try saying that five times) is a new athletic gear store on Smith Street.  The outside of the store is very striking with a swirling metal design wrapped around the brick building and a big heavy wooden door also adorned with swirling metal.  There's no name just a symbol, which you can see below.  With such ornate signage we were a little surprised to learn that they sold athletic clothing and gear.  We also found out that they have a running club that meets once a week and complimentary in store yoga.  Check the link above for more info on that.

New Sushi on Smith.

There's a new Japanese joint that has taken over 170 Smith, which used to also be a Japanese restaurant, Yoshi.  The new place is called Aji 53.  The name and decor are a bit flashy but they have a location in Bay Shore that gets good reviews.  Good sushi is always welcome! Has anyone tried this place yet? Please share your reviews!

Free Intro to Social Media Class.

Seeing as though you may already be reading this on Facebook, you may not need this intro to social media class being offered by BRIC and Brooklyn Public Library.  But just in case you do here's the info.  You can also pass this along to someone less savvy.  This 2 hour class will teach the basics of Twitter, Facebook, and video blogging.  It;s offered at Central, Kings Highway and New Lots Libraries.  For more info on this and other classes click here.

Bastille Day!

                                                                                                          Flickr/hsingy
One of the coolest annual events in the area has to be the Bastille Day celebration on Smith Street, which is coming up this Sunday.  The center of these celebrations is definitely the petanque tournament. The photo above will show you the scale of this event and the quote below from smithstreetbk.com talks about how this all goes down.

With the help of neighborhood resident John Quadrozzi, who for the past 11 years has been donating and spreading the sand with his trucks, the joie de vivre of our heroes at Bar Tabac,  and the participation of many other Smith Street chefs, we produce the biggest Bastille Day party (the French equivalent of our 4th of July) and Petanque Tournament outside of France in the world -- right here in Brooklyn.

Wine Dinner at Red Gravy.

We received an invite to this wine dinner at Red Gravy, 151 Atlantic Ave, and thought we'd share it with you. It's on July 16th starting at 7pm and will be featuring wines from 5 different regions of Italy.  Wine makers will be present so those interested in learning about these wines will be able to ask plenty of questions we're sure.  It's $125 per person plus tax and gratuity.  If this sounds like fun you can RSVP at 718-855-0051.

Library Reopening Soon!

The Carroll Garden's Branch Library has been missed, especially by those with kids who need a fun thing to do on a hot day.  After being closed for about a month it will be opening back up this weekend, July 6th.  Phew!  They'll have some improvements.  One of our favorites of the bunch is a long overdue book return slot (we meant the slot was overdue not the books, although hey, let's face it, those are probably overdue too). 

New Butcher coming to Atlantic!

Happy 4th everyone!  While many of you may already have the idea of grilling juicy burgers on your agenda today, we'd like to share this find with you. There is a new butcher opening in a few weeks at 193 Atlantic and from the blurbs we read on their website, it sounds fantastic. Along with their prime dry aged meats, they will also carry gourmet edibles (cheeses, breads, etc.) as well as butchering tools and utensils. 

Cesar's Grand Opening!

The grand opening for Cesar's Garden Restaurant at 192 Columbia Street is this week.  We took the pic above last week and, although it looked totally set up, they weren't quite open yet.  They did have a sign saying they'd be opening July 1st.  Also noteworthy, they had a seamless sticker out front so we expect you'll be able to order online delivery from this place pretty soon.  Definitely a good way to try a new place out.

Brooklyn Herborium on Columbia.

We saw this signage in the window of 275 Columbia Street.  It's an herb and skincare shop started by two Brooklyn moms, Molly and Emma.  Right now they have a really nice website, where they sell their products.  This is the first storefront for this online company.  About the products? They say on their website that they "want to make the world a better place for our children, a cleaner safer place, one where we don’t have to constantly stress about products and chemicals that we expose them (and ourselves) to". 

Bareburger closes doors temporarily.

After waiting for months for the new Bareburger on Court Street neat Atlantic to open they only opened for a short time before the brown paper went back up on the doors and windows.  The sign outside last week said the "exciting things are happening" and they will re-open with "COOL improvements".  Air conditioning? We can't really guess what could be going on behind that paper but definitely strange that something needs improving after being open for such a short time.  We're growing curiouser and curiouser.