Our first Saturday Night of the Season

"The boardwalk was where all of New Jersey came together; Where New Jersey for better or worse, met itself."  

- Junot Diaz, Pulitzer Prize winner, NJ native

We kinda didn't even realize it before the very moment that we left the house this past Saturday night, but we had been dying for a night like this. It wasn't some amazing life changing transcendent experience. But wow it felt good to be able to walk down to the shore on a perfect jacket-optional evening. The winter had stretched on forever, and we spent so so much time working at home huddled in front of a space heater. This little spring break for an al fresco slice of pizza felt well earned.

And jeez, if you've got a place like this within walking distance you'd be crazy not visit whenever the opportunity presented itself. The carousel in the old carousel building is gorgeous. It sits dead center in a ballroom shaped hall beneath a nearly forty foot high gabled ceiling. What is it about marquee lights? Why are they so magical?

But really, our main goal that night was to get our first slice of the year from Pizza V. When Aaron was young he actually worked here for a brief stretch, but back then it was called Pizza Villa. I believe he was paid either 1.00 or 1.25 an hour. ha! Rolling in the dough…both literally and figuratively (rolling dough balls was one of his chief duties) He mainly worked there so he could spend his summer days alongside his best friend who also worked there.

So now, it's got a new name, it's in a new building (since the original one was swept away by Hurricane Sandy), but the pizza is exactly the same. The recipe has not changed one bit. 

As a rule, all up and down the Jersey Shore, boardwalk slices are substantially larger than most pizza parlor slices

And they're always thicker, they fold great, and never flop. Perfectly designed to be eaten while standing or walking while also trying to keep an eye your clan of kiddies. 

Yeah, did I mention that I love marquee lights?

There are a handful of adult sized rides but the park in general leans toward a kiddie audience. I actually worked in this section of the park when I was a teen. My job was at the top of the Super Slide putting little kids in burlap sacks and sending them down the slide. Among my coworkers the ride you see above and below was only called the Mini Himi.

I love that each cart is adorned with a mini winter scene.

This ride, The Crazy Caterpillar, dates back to before me and Aaron were even born I believe. Of course it's been repainted a million times over though.

And yeah, one must get something fried and absurd when one visits a boardwalk. I think Confucius said that.

At the very last boardwalk stand they've got Funnel Cakes and Fried Oreos, pictured above is the latter.  I swear, what a strategically placed business. It's almost an afterthought…like, oh before we go home let me get one last bite of absurdity. Also, it's a perfect last minute treat-stop because the night is over, and who cares anymore about getting a third cup of powdered sugar all down your front.

What a perfect way to spend our first Saturday night out of the season. 

We hope to bring you guys many more Jersey Shore sights and experiences this summer!

xo, Jenny & Aaron

Meet artist Katie Holland our Feature Sponsor for April!

You may already know a bit about our feature sponsor if you've clicked and visited her button on our side bar. But in case you haven't then this is a great introduction for you! And if you're already familiar with her work, now's your chance to dig a little deeper and see what a talented, dedicated, down to earth, and unique artist she is. We're so thrilled to share this little Q & A with you all today! Grab a cup of coffee, (maybe iced) or maybe a cup of tea (that you'll make too hot, let cool, and then have to heat up again. ha! isn't that so so true?!), and get to know a little more about Katie Holland.

………….

1. What is your name and/or business and blog name?

I'm Katie Holland and my business is called simply "Katie Holland Art"

2. What do you do? ...and when did you start?

I've been back and forth with making crafty items and doing fine art, but recently I've been mostly focusing on the art side of things. 

I've been making ever since I was a kid and seriously got in to painting about 2002 when I was in college. I've kept on ever since, 

I really can't imagine art not being a part of my life! 

3. What/Who are you inspired by?

Generally I am really inspired my vintage items such as etiquette books from the 50's and 60's. I collect them and they have been a huge source 

of inspiration for my work. 

As far as artists who inspire me, I would have to say Tracey Emin is at the top of that list. Her work is so bold, I really admire her. 

There are so many other people, too many to list! I truly enjoy following my favorite artists on social media and seeing what they are up to. 

A (very) short list would be Ashley Goldberg, Tuesday Bassen, Lisa Congdon, and Michelle Armas. And of course Aaron and Jenny here :)

4. Where do you create? home studio? kitchen table? sofa?

We have a small second bedroom in our apartment that is office/studio space. It's a bit cramped, but I make it work! I am hoping for a bigger space one day of course, but it's a lot better than working in my kitchen, which I have done before.

5. What are some of your fave movies/shows/bands/music?

I'm starting to realize that I have a bit of a TV problem, haha. Recently I've been watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, West Wing, Trailer Park Boys, House of Cards, and House Hunters. 

For music it depends what mood I'm in, but I listen to most genres and tend to listen to punk the most. I love listening to comedy podcasts too! 

6. Do you collect anything?

It's probably for the best we have a small space and it limits what I can collect! For now I collect buttons and vintage postcards. I don't really have anything on display at the moment, it's mostly just for my enjoyment. 

7. Favorite art/craft supplies?

I have really been into a more fluid acrylic paint lately as opposed to a heavy body one. For crafting I love washi tape, it's so fun.  

8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I hope to make more of a name for myself in the art community. I would like to be a homeowner by then as well and be able to make a cozy home filled with art (our walls now are full!).

9. Three favorite websites/blogs/shops...etc?

Curbed Chicago (I love looking at architecture and interior design)

Pinterest

Tumblr- I love following such a variety of blogs (comedy, architecture, art, etc)

10. anything else you'd like to add :)

Thank you for having me! It's so nice to share my work and what makes me happy. I've been following your blog for years and am SO glad I found it way back in the day :)

………….

Katie's great! We love her style and we're so happy we could share this little profile with you guys. 

If you'd like to see and know more make sure to visit her blog and her website.

And if the urge to shop strikes you, visit her Etsy shop where Everyday is a Holiday readers can use code: HOLIDAYANDKATIE 

for free shipping on anything in her Etsy shop (US only).

Thanks again for reading! Happy Sunday! 

xo Jenny & Aaron

Around here...

Sooooo, you see these?! These are mini donuts we vowed to try once the boardwalk opened for the season. When we went on the day before Easter the boardwalk was only partially open, so we'd have to wait until next time to grab some mini donuts.

  Well this past weekend we had walked over to Aaron's parents house for a visit, and on the walk back home we took the longer route which lead us directly through the boardwalk. 

They're fried much like funnel cake is, and come with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. They're good and seem to disappear like magic. The only trace that they even existed in the first place is the dusting of powdered sugar that trails down your shirtfront. The stand also offers iced coffee, which will be perfect in summertime.

Besides those fantastic little donuts the past week has been a blur. What else is new? This is the daily scene around here. Aaron cutting loads and loads of wooden plaques...cakes, cupcakes, pancakes, macarons...

We are almost totally caught up on all of our open orders. So many donuts are out in the world…which is so so fun to think about! 

And not only our single jumbo donuts…but our new boxes of donuts too! 

I've been trying to do some Spring cleaning while batches of donuts and things are drying, but I always get so side tracked. Every time I try to put away my jars, boxes, and tins I have to stop and ogle the candy colored bits inside.

Vintage buttons are truly some of my favorite things! Total eye candy!

And this box…I had stashed it away last year and totally forgot where. I do that often. Well I was so happy to find it the other day. I love everything about it. The imagery, the colors, the typeface used.

Another thing I came across while cleaning, was an extra one of these pins we made last year! So I had a little giveaway over on Instagram. I asked everyone to tell me what cute things they make, and boy that was some great reading and clicking! 

Here's the little package of goodies we sent off to the winner. I think we will be doing these random fun little giveaways more often! 

I was also the recipient of some incredibly happy (unexpected) mail. This adorable necklace with hand stamped charms featuring a cupcake and a J heart A. It's from our talented friend Mary of Hope & Celebrate! I love it! And I love her packaging! 

She also sent me this adorable "eat cake" bar necklace. So so so cute! I wore it today! 

We have been working on so many projects. Some are pretty darn exciting ones that we can't wait to tell you more about. As soon as we are able I promise we will! ; )

Tomorrow is Friday! And for once it actually means something. Now that the boardwalk is open for the season we can take a walk down there any weekend. We may just have to get some boardwalk pizza very soon!

Hope you guys are having a great week!!

xo Jenny & Aaron says hi!

a little Easter recap

We're still waiting on Spring to show up. Today is a little drizzly, but this weekend might hold some warm sunny weather. If that's the case we're certainly gonna get some air. We definitely earned it this week. We've been real busy packing and shipping orders all day and night since Easter. And that's why I'm so late in posting this little Easter re-cap. Also I figured I'd post this today in place Friday Favorites since it's National Sibling Day and I rarely get together with all of mine.

We normally work on weekends, but we always take Easter off. It's a great way to start off the new season and the perfect day to catch up with family. This year my parents and brother Jason came down to visit us from way upstate NY! In preparation for their visit we got as much work done as possible before hand. It was just a whirlwind of cutting wood, sanding, painting, packing, and shipping.  

I love the special holiday offerings at bakeries, so last week we made a few trips to our fave local place for Eastery treats.

And for Easter Sunday we picked up a seven layer cake and a big cookie platter to bring down to my brother's house. 

It had been so long since the whole family was together. There are five of us kids, so it's always hard to get us all together at the same time. This year was quite a big gathering. Not only was it my parents, siblings, me, and Aaron...but also my brother Richard's girl, and her mom and siblings.

 And of course this little peanut!

 Our niece Olivia! It's honestly shocking that I got a semi-still pic of her. I snapped this while she was spinning in circles and bouncing around like silver ball in a pinball machine. This is what happens to a 3 year old after eating half of a solid chocolate ballerina and half of chocolate bar. Happy Easter indeed!

This happens to be one of my favorite pics from the weekend. My Dad, my brothers, Rich, Walt, and Jay, and my sister Missy. They look like they're giving Olivia a group tickle, but in truth they were all trying to keep her from squirming out of her Daddy's arm so that we could get her in the group shot. It's going to be great looking back on this pic years from now.

Oh and let's just take a moment to look at my dad's fancy Easter outfit. Yes, he had "real clothes" packed for the trip…(optimistically packed by my mom)...but somehow he always ends up back in sweatpants, beat-up tees, and his USMC hat! He is a total character and he knows it! It's just non stop jokes…and most of the time the jokes are totally abstract and therefore over-your-head. But not over-your-head in a clever way. Nope…just in a nonsensical way. But not to worry. He's his own best audience, and he cracks himself up. Which in the end cracks us up.  

Gosh there were so many people in my bro's apartment. At one point in the evening Aaron and I paused a conversation to just stop and listen to how loud it was. So many conversations going on at once, and non-stop laughter. I swear it peaked right on the tail end of dessert…way too much sugar! ha! 

I was behind the camera most of the time, but here is a rare pic of me. It is non stop silliness when we get together, do not let my straight face fool you. 

It was really great being together. We ate a ton of yummy food, gave lots of hugs and kisses. I took a bunch of pics.

 We are all looking forward to Olivia's 3rd Birthday party coming up, and I'm hoping everyone will be able to make it again. 

Crazy to have a pic of all of us! And it wasn't easy. I think my dad disappeared a couple times. 

And speaking of…will you just look at THIS! 

My dad purposely makes the dopiest faces when we take pics. In another big group shot of both families he's ducking behind everyone and peeking over their shoulders. Every family photo ever, this is him. Even in his junior high school year book, there's a shot of him on the swim team and he's doing the same thing! 

 I've said it forever…his goal in life is to bust chops.

Walt & Val 

Aww and here is Rich, Steph, and Olivia (who is holding Daddy's wallet).

 Again, I'm shocked that Olivia isn't a blur here…she was ready to take that wallet and run! 

It was a great time. We really needed to unplug and leave the studio for the day. 

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend, with family, friends, or even alone…just relaxing.

Thanks bunches for popping in!

xo Jenny… and Aaron says hi!

Our Easter Eve walk up to the Boardwalk

New Jersey in the winter can be kinda crummy. But New Jersey in the summertime can be fantastic. Especially where we are…down the shore. And yes, we happen to live within walking distance of the beach and amusement park. As I said in the previous post, Easter weekend marks the start of the season for Jersey Shore amusement parks and boardwalks. On Easter Sunday everything opens for real. But today, on Easter Eve it was a soft opening. A good portion of the kiddie rides, some food concessions, and a couple arcades opened up.

Knowing that tomorrow we'd be visiting with family, today we tried to cram in as much work as we could, and once 5 o'clock rolled around we decided to take a walk down to the boardwalk. First off, it hasn't gotten entirely warm yet, and the wind today was BRUTAL! If I was more agile I would've walked backwards the whole way there. Once we arrived it was apparent that the wind was a big deterrent for everyone. The place was empty, and all of the businesses were just beginning to close their shutters. But this didn't bum us out in the least. Today felt more like we were dipping our toes in to test the water that we'll be swimming in this summer. We really only wanted a to check out the place and see the further improvements since the Hurricane Sandy rebuild.

One thing we noticed was lots more paint! Last year all of the stands were plain white concrete block. And this year we saw so much more color. I love that Lemonade sign up top, and this cotton candy one here. 

We were lucky to get the last batch of fries before closing.

Why are fried potatoes so amazing? And how is that they can make simple ketchup and vinegar taste like nectar of the gods?

I love the color of the benches! And I also love how desolate all of these photos are. It really was like me and Aaron were the final two customers of the day.

The big rides will open up tomorrow. 

Have I mentioned that I love Skeeball? It's a boardwalk staple and brings back so many childhood memories.

The arcades have changed a lot over the years, but pretty much since Aaron was born, (yes, he's a lifer in this town) the two main arcades have been Bev & Wally's and The Game Room.

Don't these ponies look like they're on ice?…like at the fish market or something?

I wish these donuts were prettier…but then again maybe I don't…because winning at a Crane Game is practically impossible!! 

But Aaron still tried…well the stakes were higher here…the prize is real life donuts!

After failing at donuts he tried the candy crane since it looked impossible to lose completely. 

And he was right! Look at this tremendous bounty! One whole taffy each!

I'm not even a candy lover, but I sure do like to look at it. I actually took this pic with my friend Lizzy in mind. She'd flip for all those giant candy pillows on the top rows.

Again, all of this will be in full swing tomorrow. We can actually hear this place from our house all summer long. Luckily the scents of the fries and waffles don't reach us…that would be trouble.

On our walk home we stopped for veggie burgers at this great place called Baxter's Burgers. It's in a super old brick building with tin ceilings and great fixtures.

And then we hit our favorite Italian specialty shop Tutto Bene. If your Italian specialty shop doesn't have it's walls plastered with Mafioso memorabilia, then I assume you don't live in Jersey.

We stopped there for what else?…cookies of course!

We got a box full, which we ate half of upon arriving home, and I'm thinking about finishing off that other half right about now. Despite the wind I'm really glad we took the walk. The Spring is the perfect time to come alive again. Get out, get creative, have fun. That's our goal.

I'm so excited to see my entire family tomorrow. My parents and brother are visiting from way upstate New York. My mom will be cooking up a storm as usual, and my brother Jay will be there. We haven't seen him in a while! And holy cow, our niece Olivia is getting so big. She'll be three this month!
Tomorrow should be lots of fun!

Wishing all of you a happy holiday weekend! 

xo, Jenny & Aaron