If there is one thing we seriously love at Hoboken Girl, it’s women supporting women. Lucky for us, Galentine’s Day is the best day of the year to do so {although we’re firm believers in celebrating women all the time}. Aptly named by Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope {aka Amy Poehler} to celebrate the gals in your life, we’ve rounded up a few local ladies that we are totally crushing on this year.
Each one of these ladies is doing something cool + unique in Hoboken and Jersey City — whether it be working as a fitness maven to working hard to make sure children have a fun and safe environment to grow and thrive, these 13 ladies in Hudson County are the real definition of “killing it.” Read on to meet our 2020 Galentine’s Day crushes.
Joan Lazar of @mindful.rebel
{Photo credit: @mindful.rebel}
Making some progress on those 2020 #fitnessgoals can be easier said than done, but with the help of Joan Lazar, those goals can be brought to fruition. This personal trainer works closely with her clients each and every day to help them look and feel their best + healthiest. She also works as a coach and manager at Intrepid Gym in Hoboken, so be sure to stop by and say hi. It’s devotion to her work, however, that makes us love her so much.
Rene Gonzalez of Bambino Chef
{Photo credit: Amour and Lace}
OK, so there’s nothing cuter than watching little ones try their hands at cooking, and with Rene Gonzalez’s help, many kids are on their way to becoming top chefs themselves. As the woman + mastermind behind Bambino Chef, Rene has created a fun + exciting environment for kids to immerse themselves in the world of cooking at her Jersey City-based cooking school. “Food brings joy. It allows people to come together and be with each other,” Rene said, and she’s teaching our local little ones just that. Her love of food and passion for teaching are why we’re crushing on her so hard this year.
Veronica Manning of The Jubilee Center
Veronica is the executive director of The Jubliee Center in Hoboken. In addition to running this haven for kids across the Mile Square, in her role, Veronica has worked hard to create a fun and educational atmosphere for children to thrive and provides them with providing children with the proper skills to help them prepare for their futures. Her hard work and dedication to such a great cause are why we’re crushing on her this year.
Ewelina Augustin of The Vegan Warehouse
Co-founder of The Vegan Warehouse {an online shop for vegan products}, Ewelina is helping make adopting a vegan lifestyle even easier. She runs her business with her husband + co-founder, Carl, out of downtown Hoboken and is working towards making obtaining vegan products {from food, beauty, fashion, home, etc} more accessible. Having dedicated herself to making what might be a challenging lifestyle change easier, we’re totally loving Ewelina and what she does.
See More: This Hoboken Galentine’s Day Party Will Make All Your Pink-Themed Dreams Come True
Michelle Caba of 718 Beauty Bar
If you’ve ever paid a visit to this beauty haven at 718 Washington Street, then you’ve probably encountered owner Michelle Caba in one way or another. Having opened up her shop in June 2019, Michelle has been helping Mile Square locals feel their best through the relaxing beauty services she offers at 718 Beauty Bar. We’re crushing on her because of her seriously entrepreneurial spirit and how she combined her passion for business and beauty in a single, amazing project.
Sabrina Browne of The Taste of S
A single person wearing many different hats can be a challenge, but for Sabrina Browne, it comes naturally. This Hoboken resident is a lifestyle influencer, a public relations executive, advocate, and world traveler — and she’s crushing it at each and every one of these roles that she possesses. Oh, and she’s also survived a brain aneurysm, which happened in 2007, which inspired her {at the ripe age of 16} to “find the joy in the journey, no matter what life would bring my way.” Her ability to make juggling so many different roles and the dedication + passion she approaches each with is why we’re seriously crushing on Sabrina here at HG.
Priyanka Ramesh of PAYARU
Starting your own businesses is no small feat. In today’s industry, it is tougher than ever to start a successful business. For Priyanka Ramesh, however, she’s done just that. As the co-founder and president of PAYARU, a Hoboken-based skincare company, Priyanka spearheads her company to ensure that each customer or buyer of her product is left “feeling good about what we put on our skin.” And no big deal, but she has also pursued her Ph.D. in neuroscience {seriously, NBD at all}. It’s Priyanka’s drive and dedication to her business that makes us love her.
Julie Hartigan of Cooking w/ Julie
If there’s one thing we’re obsessed with, it’s food that is both tasty and good for you. Luckily, Julie Hartigan of Cooking with Julie creates just that. This former Hoboken Girl of the Week and Hoboken-based chef helps “home cooks feel more confident in the kitchen and find that perfect ‘happy-meets-healthy’ balance in their lives” through her brand, Cooking w/ Julie. The fact she helps us home chefs craft something delicious and healthy is why we have the biggest crush on her this year.
Erica Li of Grooming by Erica
OK, here’s the deal — we love our four-legged friends and Erica Li of Grooming by Erica helps keep those friends fresh and clean. Beyond being an excellent groomer + pet-parent resource, Erica is the mastermind behind her aforementioned namesake business and is an ovarian cancer survivor. She spreads a sprinkle of joy to everyone she meets through her inspiring story and dedication to helping our furry family members look and {hopefully} feel their best.
Claire Viehman of Makeup by Claire V
{Photo credit: @makeupbyclairev}
Former HG of the Week Claire Viehman knows a thing or two making her clients feel beautiful. This Hudson County-based makeup artist who specializes in “soft, effortless, natural makeup.” She does looks for the red carpet, runways, weddings, Fashion Week, events, photoshoots, and more. “I love making my clients feel like the most beautiful version of themselves,” Claire said. We’re crushing on Claire due to her drive to help locals feel beautiful in the skin they’re in.
Crystal Cosine of Love Lane Salon
{Photo credit @crystal_coisne}
Jersey City and Hoboken locals are familiar with Love Lane Salon, but they might not be familiar with Crystal Cosine. This local babe is a hairstylist and texture specialist over at Love Lane Salon and spends each day helping her clients look and feel their best. Like Claire, we’re loving Crystal for being such a driving force in help Hudson County residents feel their best and most beautiful on the inside and outside.
Read More: All the Galentine’s Day Events in Hoboken + Jersey City
Rachel Mansfield of RachlMansfield.com
{Photo credit: @rachlmansfield}
Rachel Mansfield is the woman behind her namesake website, RachlMansfield.com. She’s a local gal, wife, and mom whose “passion to fuel her body with some good tasting food and share it along the way” has allowed her to become a driving force in the healthy recipe world. Beyond her recipes, she’s also very open about her personal successes and failures on her website, and its that raw, inspiring vulnerability that makes us love her so much on this Galentine’s Day.
Lara Dominianni of Little Miss Foodie
{Photo credit: @_littlemissfoodie}
Lara Dominianni makes food literal food for thought on her well-known Instagram account, @_littlemissfoodie. As a previous Hoboken Girl of the Week, she inspires her followers on a daily basis to live their healthiest lives by creating simple, cost-friendly, and fun recipes. She says that her goal is that “through this is to help people feel better – to notice what may bother them, to find out what that is, and to modify their diet to just feel GOOD. I am always open to helping people create healthier versions of their favorite classics, or even modify recipes to omit certain ingredients.” Simply working so hard to help her followers and fellow locals make their lives a bit healthier {even if it’s just to inspire them to try something new through her IG}, is why we’re crushing on her this year.
And there you have it, our 2020 Galentine’s Day Crushes — we love them so much and so should you. Show them some local support and visit their businesses, check out their Instagram accounts — simply show them some love! Happy Galentine’s Day, everyone!
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