Hummingbird Bridal & Events
As couples grapple with uncertain wedding plans during the coronavirus outbreak, virtual celebrations have emerged as promising alternatives—and Hummingbird Bridal & Events as the firm to make them happen. Helmed by planner Mandy Connor, the nearly 11-year-old Boston-based company can help coordinate an intimate live-streamed ceremony before whisking you away for a festive meal for two, complete with a bespoke playlist, to keep the party going. Want to make sure your guests feel the love? Connor is happy to send out DIY cocktail kits to your nearest and dearest so they can join in on the fun from afar. 213 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116, hummingbirdbridal.com.
Olympia Moving & Storage
Courtesy Photo/Meticulously manicured yards like this one are GreenOp’s specialty. The only thing more stressful than moving? Worrying about your movers. Will they show up on time, protect your china, and ensure the table makes it out of the dining room without hitting the door frame? You can let go of all of those fears when you book Olympia: The Watertown-based crew has been soothing anxious clients with their first-rate customer service (think: a dedicated move coordinator), helpful floor-and-wall protection kits, and superb shrink-wrapping skills for some 28 years. 17 Bridge St., Watertown, MA 02472, olympiamoving.com.
McCue Garden Center
Those succulents you impulse-bought are thriving, and now you’re ready to take your gardening game outside. Head over to McCue in Woburn, where blooms, shrubs, and trees of all stripes are dressed to impress. Stroll through the greenhouses to find overflowing hanging planters and endless rows of vibrant annuals, or freshen up your skills with one of the free gardening courses. And if you aren’t quite ready to dig into an outdoor project, the family-owned nursery also offers hard-to-kill houseplants and pots that are too cute to resist. 200 Cambridge Rd., Woburn, MA 01801, mccuegardencenter.com.
The DogScoop
Call it whatever you want—the Puppy Palace, the Kitty Kastle—no euphemism will ever fool pets into believing a kennel is as good as their own bed (or yours). But when you just can't bring them along on the family trip to Cabo, this is the next best thing. Indoor and outdoor play spaces, trained staffers, and stimuli aplenty make for boarding that's almost fun; at-home visits cater to the finicky, moody, or antisocial. Plus, the DogScoop's handy pickup/drop-off service makes coaxing Cupcake into the car or crate their problem, not yours. 216 Webster St., Newton, MA 2465, thedogscoop.com.
Gentle Giant Moving Company
Few people bother to write the Better Business Bureau to impart praise, but Gentle Giant, which gets 80 percent of its customers from repeats and referrals, inspires fierce and outspoken loyalty. "The 'giants' are impressive!" reads one client's testimonial for the Somerville-based chain on the bureau's website. "Their presence actually reduces the stress level!" With a number of standout amateur athletes (big ones) in their ranks, these guys can really hustle, yet they won't drop your mom's antique vase or sweat-stain your suede couch—and they frequently come in below estimate. 29 Harding St., Somerville, and other locations, MA 2143, gentlegiant.com.
Dani Wagener, Shu Uemura
For everyone out there who thinks you're attractive, chances are there's someone else who thinks you look like Shrek. Makeup tilts the odds in your favor. Fifteen-year vet Wagener works with your best features—and plays down the rest—to produce a flawless, universally appealing visage. Plus, the top-quality mineral-based products from fanatically beloved Japanese skin-care line Shu Uemura stand up to the hottest public spotlight, as well as those more prosaic 9-to-5 fluorescents. 130 Newbury St., Boston, MA 2116, .
Julie Michaud, Michaud Cosmetics
A good eyebrow artist can change your face, but a great one can change your world. Part therapist, part girlfriend, and all parts godsend, Julie Michaud is Boston's arch angel. Her minimum-pain tweezing sessions—peppered with good gossip, health factoids, and beauty tips—result in perfect but natural brows fit to flatter every face. And while Michaud's talent has turned her scheduling book into a fortress (be smart and book months in advance), it's also turned the business into a dynasty; if Julie's booked, don't hesitate to make a reservation with any of her equally adept colleagues. 297 Newbury St., Suite 21, Boston, MA .
Marathon Sports
Yeah, they're only shoes. And yeah, Kenyans run without 'em. But until you swap the Esplanade for the Savannah, you'd best take your jogging footwear seriously. The running savants at Marathon Sports know that the wrong pair might just be responsible for those niggling aches, and so guide you through the buying process with more attention—and less upselling—than you encountered when purchasing your last car. The smart selection of energy gels, water belts, and technical tees from Sugoi, Brooks, and other pro brands is proffered with condescension-free friendliness, regardless of whether you log five miles each week or 50. 671 Boylston St., Brookline, MA 2445, marathonsports.com.
Stellabella Toys
You've got years to share the benefit of your lessons learned with the next generation (video-game mastery is not a marketable skill; Elvis Costello is always better with the Attractions). For now, let your kids figure things out by doing what they do best: namely, play. Stellabella is stacked to the rafters with toys to nurture any emerging interest, e.g., Rokenbok construction sets for wannabe hardhats, Alex collage kits and sparkly PlayFoam for crafts lovers, Andean flutes for folk musicians in the making. The Inman Square flagship also offers play groups, so tots can connect not just with their interests, but with each other, too. 1360 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA 2139, stellabellatoys.com.
Good
Owner Paul Niski culls the world for art and oddments seldom seen here in Boston, and consequently Good's inventory of goods—which run the gamut from furniture to linens to pure objets d'art—is almost continuously refreshed. Among the constants in this tiny, museumlike space: John Derian's eccentric découpage pieces, handcrafted jewelry from the likes of Melissa Joy Manning and Chan Luu, and pristine Japanese lacquerware by Morihata. Above all, there's Niski's own exquisite taste, which, if you're unsure of your gift recipient's style—or even your own—is quite a reliable one to adopt. 133 Charles St., Boston, MA 2114, shopatgood.com.
Boston Center for Adult Education
Sorry guys and dolls, thanks to the Boston Center for Adult Education, there are just no more excuses for thinking salsa is merely a condiment. Even if you have two left feet, the BCAE can teach you everything from swing to ballroom dancing. They make disco cool. Hell, they'll even teach you to belly dance. And if the thought of that first dance in front of all those people sounds worse than 50 ears with your mother-in-law, they eve have a class called "Dance at Your Wedding: Choreographing the Moment." 5 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA bcae.org.
A Shining Example
When your shoes need to be as buff as the rest of you, head here. Three factors separate a great shoeshine from a merely good one. First, the high wooden thrones need to be sufficiently elevated to allow a sense of kingliness. Second, it's gotta be quick—and these efficient women move people in and out. Third is technique: They use both a high-grade canuba wax and a water spray to give the polish extra shine; they have a crisp, napping motion with the towel; and they always take an extra few seconds to retie your laces. Nice touch—after all, kings don't like to bend. 1 Beacon St., Boston, MA .
Yelena Courture
Sometimes it's impossible to resist buying something fabulous when the price has plummeted. That's when your tailor becomes your best friend/ The mark of a great tailor is the ability to pare something several sizes too big down to size without sacrificing the design. This small shop (located in the garage of The Atrium) transformed a heavily discounted Donna Karan skirt and made it look practically custom-made. The pros here also altered a heavily beaded bodice, work that required a large degree of finesse, and they did it in less than a week. The Atrium Mall, 300 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, MA .
Schumacher Landscaping
Schumacher has been the grad Poo-Bah of flora for the past 31 years, and is largely responsible for bringing a healthy dose of green to Boston's asphalt avenues. Its creative ingenuity can be appreciated throughout the city at the Fraser Courtyard in the Museum of Fine Arts, the Snell Library Plaza at Northeastern University, and Post Office Square Par. But don't be intimidated if your yard is more like a foot. These doctors of the green thumb are equally adept at smaller residential projects— say, planting pansies around the porch, installing sod over that crabgrass, or mowing your lawn when you just don't feel like it. 17 Electric Ave., Brighton, MA .
Maria Madrid
First she stares, then she brushes, then she cuts. Maria is an aesthetic genius who spends time studying the planes of your face and the way your hair curves and curls around it before she makes the first cut. The result: haircuts that work regardless of weather condition (ie. no more bad hair days). Spanish-born and very energetic, Maria's a delightful contrast to the laid-back, classical-music ambience of the salon. Snip snip, chat, chat— her topics of choice range from the problems of urban school systems to the nature of true friendship. Le Pli Salon & Day Spa, The Charles Hotel, 5 Bennett St., Cambridge, MA .