Hope and Glory Vintage is taking the neighborhood by storm with its elegant take on shabby chic. Owners Deanna Waddell and Sandra N. Fails (Sandra jokes that the "N" stands for Never!) have taken over the former Union Boot location at 253 Washington Street.

Folks here at Union Square Main Streets are happy to meet the effervescent Sandy but even happier to see Deanna's dream of a shop to come true at last. Deanna first got in touch with us back in 2005 looking for help to get her business off the ground. It's a been a long process and while her retail-baby gestated Deanna's volunteered with USMS on a whole range of projects from soliciting farmers market customers to take our survey to gathering our press clippings into presentable form. She is perhaps most famous to the general public for the fabulous one-of-a-kind trophies she's created for the cooking contest winners of the Fluff festival. We're so pleased she's sharing her creativity and stylish eye everyday now with the shoppers of Union Square.

Deanna and Sandy welcome everyone to celebrate their store opening with them on Friday, November 7 at 6 pm at Hope & Glory Vintage. Stop over to see their great selection of painted furniture, a range of affordable collectibles like china and milk glass, and unique finds like vintage cosmetics. Everyday you stop in you'll find something new on display. You can get a preview of the store and keep up with these energetic women on their blog.

Bull McCabe's, after a long delay, is finally open in the former home of the Tir na Nog. Christopher, a Union Square resident, wrote up a fine review on Yelp.

He reports: " I live across the street from this fine establishment, and have adopted it as my new alcoholic home. . . .Upon first walking in I was greeted by a friendly bartender who promptly got me a pint with a smile and some brief conversation, and soon I found myself talking to the rest of the patrons in the bar. . .This is the old Tir Na Nog, and they're taking up the mantle, offering live music most nights of the week. Apparently Peter Wolfe even showed up and did a few tunes a few nights ago."

Maybe we should get used to brushes with fame. We won't start the eclectic list of famous people who have made their mark on this side of town. (Babe Ruth, Olympia Dukakis, Areosmith, Barack Obama. Don't even whisper the name Archibald Query!) These celebrity moments certainly do please us immensely.

This month the world famous person to be in our Square was Shepard Fairey. The LA-based artist, perhaps best known for his ubiquitous stickers of Andre the Giant, has a show at the Institute of Contemporary Art. As part of the exhibit, Shepard enlisted a trusty scout, neighborhood resident Geoff Hargadon (he of the Somerville Gates fame) and they cast about for a place to put the muralist's work in its "natural habitat" - out there on an urban wall for passersby to admire. And so they came to Union Square.

They selected Grand at 374 Somerville Ave as their site because, besides being a cool store with hip, welcoming landlords, the store has a perfect wall -- the side of the brick building has few windows and faces the traffic from a corner, making the artwork easy to see by everyone traveling down the avenue in Union Square from the west.

It was also pleasing that "Chronicle," the long-running local magazine show on Channel 5 came to the neighborhood. They called us "a gem" and featured several businesses in their profile of Boston area squares - Grand, Neighborhood Restaurant, Ricky's Flower Market and Sauces N Love.

Shobu isn't just for Aikido anymore. The marital arts instructors at 34 Allen Street have been joined by Jenn Pici to offer a series of yoga classes.

Come by the dojo on Monday and Friday nights at 6 pm for Restorative Slow Flow Vinyasa Yoga and on Friday afternoons, to glide you into the weekend, for a Gentle Yoga class. Jenn incorporates a wide variety of musical genres into her classes making her instruction even more engaging.

You can attend register for classes one at a time or you can get a discount with a 2-class introductory package. For more information visit Shobu Aikido's website.

Two groups working with youth on opposite ends of Union Square are reaching out to the community.

There's an Open House at the Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School at Lincoln Park at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 18. Somerville has controlled choice for families' selection of schools, which means families can send their children to schools throughout the city. For Union Square area families, however, the Argenziano at 290 Washington Street is within an easy walk. Opened in September 2007 the sparkling facility boasts an exceptional, state- of-the-art learning environment.

Principal Dorothy Rudolph and School Committee members Teresa Cardoso (Ward 2) and Adam Sweeting (Ward 3) will introduce the school to Somerville parents and guardians with a tour and be available for open discussion and to answer questions. For more information, call 617-625-6600 ext. 6680

On the other side of Union Square at 181 Washington Street the Boys and Girls Club welcomes new members.

Member of the Month at the Club is Grace Ann Stewart. This warm and ever-smiling 13 year old is someone who always goes the extra mile to make the Club an ever better place to be. The organization welcomes new members to join Grace and her friends to be part of the many fun activities taking place at the Boys and Girls Club.