We're still here

Me and Aaron are always trying to figure out the best ways to spend our time...well not our time really, but our energy. It feels like you're only allotted a certain amount of creative energy each day, and the trick is figuring out when and how that energy works best for you. Example...if we want to do a new painting and we want to organize the studio as well, Aaron will insist that we do the painting first because we'll be able to put our purest, cleanest, brightest energy into it. And then way later, after a long and challenging creative day we can organize the studio without the pressure of the new painting looming over us. Because when you're an artist, your next painting is the most important painting in your life. So every other task on that given day should come second. It seems simple, and you'd think after 20 years of being a working artist you'd have it all figured out...but nope. You're constantly re-writing and reinforcing your "rules".

Which leads me to this...this blog post that I'm writing after a million months of not blogging. This blog is something I really want to do...something that both me and Aaron really want to do. But we get lost in the countless other daily tasks and the blog gets tossed on the remainder pile. And I really wish that it didn't. Because it should be a priority. It's one more extension of our creative selves that we feel is pretty vital. 

So we're really trying to get a handle on the good things lately. Like taking time to go into the city, or go to an eatery we've been dying to go to, or just to walk up to the beach after we ship out that day's stack of packages. The beach is like a couple blocks away, and regardless of the current cold temps, it's the perfect place to hit the reset button and focus on a huge expanse of sky and sea and sand, rather than the screen of a handheld device.

We're not on the ocean, we're on the bayshore. So on calm days there's barely a ripple on the surface of the water and it's as close to silent as a beach can be.

Giant hunks of stuff like this are always washing up on the shore, and you wonder when and how this massive block of wood and metal broke off of whatever it was attached to. (note: when I was typing the previous sentence I said "hey Aar, if I'm talking about stuff washing up on the beach, what word can I use in place of "stuff"? And the bookworm instantly answered "detritus". To which I answered "well, I guess I'm sticking with "stuff."' haha!)

Ok...so we're constantly referencing whatever show we're currently obsessed with. Our fave show right now is Taboo on FX. Sooooo good! It's got Tom Hardy being his usual odd self...stalking around with fierce purpose, brooding, and half the time he's grunting instead of talking. Anyway, the show takes place in the early 1800s when the East India Trading Company pretty much ruled the world. So when we saw this giant slab we of course were like "hey, this thing could've broke off some East India Trading barge like 200 years ago."

Yeah, we're dorks...I never said we weren't. 

We always walk down to this giant storm drainage pipe because...well because it's there. No other reason really. haha! 

ps. giant platform boots aren't meant for rock climbing.

I love the contrast of the bright orange rusted rocks against the wintery blue monochrome beachscape.
Also, it's kinda hard to see in these pics, but directly across the bay is NYC. At night you can see it more distinctly...to the left is Staten Island, in the middle is Manahattan, and on the right you can clearly see the colorful blinking lights of Coney Island.
Our drive to NY takes a little under an hour.

When the tide is high these rocks are almost completely submerged.

I know our beach isn't the most exciting place in the world, but I don't know what we'd do without it. There have been so many heavy times, stressful times, and also perfectly pleasant times, when just a little walk up on the beach was exactly what we needed that day. 

Anyway, to get back to what I was saying about creative energy at the beginning of this post...I'm really gonna try to make this blog one of our priorities. Also we're gonna share lots more food and recipes. We actually just started a second Instagram account that will be dedicated to cooking, eating, health & exercise, etc... This will also give us an excuse to get out more and visit all the vegan food spots we've stalking.

Hopefully we'll have so much more personal interaction with you guys in the coming months. That was sort've our only New Year's resolution...just to get out there more, be more present, and don't let weeks slip by unnoticed. We're going to try to put the good things at the top of the list each day. 

xo Jenny & Aaron 

Our day at the New Egypt Flea Market

We've been meaning to share our day at the New Egypt Flea Market with you guys for a while now. I think we went the same weekend as the Country Living Fair. It had been such a long time since we hung with my sister Melissa, aka Missy, for the entire day. We used to all the time but it seems like our schedule has been so full lately that we barely get any time away from the studio. Well this particular day was perfect. We spent it zig zagging all over Jersey, stopping at flea markets and antique shops in search of things to add to our respective collections. It's actually shocking that we had never been to the New Egypt Flea before. We've spent yeeeears traveling the Jersey back roads and stopping in every little hole in the wall junk shop, but somehow we never once ended up at the New Egypt Flea Market. We had heard very little about the place and really had no idea what to expect.

Well we pulled in to see all of this. Rows and rows of these gravel lanes full of tables, and all of those little buildings are individual shops that are full of all sorts of stuff.

The place is nestled into the woods and sorta feels frozen in time. Apparently all of these buildings (maybe 40 of 'em in total) are old army barracks that were trucked here from Fort Dix in the early 1970s.

Missy found this little handmade cabinet in one of the first shops we came upon.

We parked in a central location behind a row of buildings, so it was convenient to carry stuff back to the car periodically throughout the day. 

And besides these little shops there are also all sorts of storage containers and big trucks kinda being eaten by the surrounding wilderness.

The shops are full of antiques and collectibles, but there are also lots of tools, semi new things, and even handmade stuff like this Folk Art by Bob Justin. 

I loved this big Santa cut out! love the pink bear and doll...she looks like she could belt out some Italian Opera music. And see that marble top dresser?…it was sooo cheap.

We were trying to get Missy to buy these. 

Sweet little Charlotte. I prob shoulda bought her. But I'm telling you…it was like this whirlwind of goodness and weirdness overload. I guess I was more focused on the place itself and less focused on the actual shopping.

I also probably should have grabbed this entire bin of candy colored vintage plastic doll house furniture that was sitting out in the sun. 

I had to come in to see what the "Nick Nack Nook" had. Because we all know Jenny is beyond down with Nick Nacks! Well they had souvenir plates galore! Totally right up my alley! 

And lots of pennants! 

I was hoping for a Wildwood or an Atlantic City pennant, but no luck. 

But I did score this sweet Wildwood plate! 

Here it is hanging in our bathroom among our little Jersey shore souvenir plate collection! :)

Ok, back to the Flea…a box full of kitty figurines basking in the sun.

As soon as I downloaded the photo of the box full of kittens to my computer I was reminded of this classic pic I found on the internet years ago.  

And while we were there Aaron decided to open his own shop. Ha! I actually don't remember what was in this shop. But if it really was Aaron's it would only be Kluttered with BOOKS! (And by the way…he bought about a dozen books on this outing. He's crazy.)

Ahh and this sweet lil guy! The perfect Flea Market pup. And we heard from his owner…or to be more  politically correct, his Human Companion…that this was actually his first day at the flea market! And he couldn't have been more friendly. What a sweetie! 

I love these little buildings!

If the New Egypt Flea had a mayor, or a spokesman, or a poster guy...this fella should be it. I had to take his pic. 

This gal needs a tubby and some moisturizer. 

Missy got this awesome bag!

This is Kevin and Denean, the owners of This or That Store. They had great stuff. And in our brief conversation with them we learned some interesting things about the Flea Market and about their own past. Kevin was once a famous New Jersey professional wrestler known as The Pine Baron. And keeping in true pro wrestler character, he popped on his shades right before I snapped this pic.

They had a great selection of old bottles. We'll definitely be going back and next time we're going to bring our shopping A-game.

This is Keith, the manager of the place. Here he is holding a painting of the place done by a local artist. I wish I wrote down the name of the artist!

I can't tell you how much I love this sign on the door. 

After we visited every bit of the New Egypt Flea we got back on the road and instantly had to stop at a diner to recharge. If you are road tripping in Jersey, diner stops are a must. We are the diner capitol of the world. 

 Ok, so I have to explain this pic. That's my plate bottom right. Aaron's plate is on the bottom left, our shared fries in the middle, and Missy's plate on the top right. Missy's is a Chicken Caeser Salad Wrap, which came warm, no actually hot. And the whole idea of a hot salad was a complete turn off. She was not thrilled. And Aaron, for some crazy reason strayed from the tried and true and ordered the "Swiss Cheese Sandwich". Yeah, even the waitress had to double check the menu for that offering...like really? She had to double check to see why in the world the menu would list something so boring. And in the end Aaron concurred…it was capital B Boring. 

I was the only smart one who stuck with tradition and got "The Happy Waitress"…which is grilled American cheese on white with tomato, and a pickle on the side. You can't lose with The Happy Waitress. It's my go-to. 

After the diner we ended up in Point Pleasant, grabbed ice coffees, and hit up some antique shops. Missy scored some great stuff that she'll be using for her pop up shop displays, and we saw some good stuff but nothing that we HAD to have. And apparently we didn't take any photos in Point Pleasant…sorry folks!

After Point, we headed to Asbury Park, which is where Missy lives. It had been a while since we had been in town.

We ended up running into some old friends and staying out way too late. We got delicious Korean street tacos at Mogo's and ice cream on the boardwalk, and laughed a ton. It was such a fun fun day. 

We hope to do some more weekends like this before the summer is up. And of course we'll come back to share all about our adventures. Thanks so much again for reading!

xo, Jenny…and Aaron says hi!

Dear Boardwalk Snow, you're pretty to look at, but we'll be happy to see you go. Love, The Jersey Shore

I know, I know…for a girl that says she HATES the cold, and a guy who dreams of living in San Diego, we sure seem to play in the snow a whole lot. Over the past few weeks it seems like we have spent a lot of time up to our knees in snow, on the coldest days, and in foolhardy locations such as the icy beach. There we are trudging through snow drifts and slipping on ice, always with a camera in hand. And as I said before…it's not as if we actually like being outdoors in these conditions…we just figure if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. We have been locked away in the house with the heat pumping (to insufficient result) for months, and our daily walks to the post office to ship out packages act as a sort of short term cure for our cabin fever. These small doses of the season at hand are good for the soul. 

Today happened to be sunny and almost all of the snow has melted. During this period what happens here on the shore is flooding. Lots of clogged catch basins and interminably soggy lawns. But heralding signs of Spring are upon us. We're waking up to birds we haven't heard in months. 

So I want to share these pics from a few days ago as a sort of farewell to the Winter. Hopefully these will be the last snowy pics you will see this season! 

Again, this little excursion occurred after we had shipped a bunch of boxes at the post office. It was super sunny and bright, but still very cold. As per usual, we had our camera and figured we'd walk up to the beach and boardwalk to capture a uniquely Jersey Shore experience on film. I love that the above pic of Scooters, which is the bumper cars, can appear to be white sand or snow, depending on how you look at it. 

The "Haunted Manor" is even more creepy all covered in snow. We were hoping for more icicles though.

To be honest, as I was taking this shot I was thinking about how I'm a grown woman sneaking up onto the closed boardwalk for pics. I mean, it's not like anyone would truly care that we were up there. But let's say there was some wayward overzealous security guard that I had to run from in my Napoleon Dynamite moon boots…I could only picture myself falling face first in Aaron's tracks. 

A typical Jersey Shore boardwalk mural, in that the sandcastle looks like its constructed of graffiti style letters that either spell out "Jersey" or "Sexy"…words that are somehow interchangeable in Jersey. It's hard to explain, but if you know what I mean…then you know what I mean. 

It was so clear up on the beach. Such a great view of New York from here…which never shows in photographs. This was further down the beach than our usual spot. I believe the fencing was put in to help protect the newly formed dunes that were installed after Hurricane Sandy. 

We had to stop to take a pic of these candy colored chippy pillars. So perfect!

Most boardwalks up and down the Jersey Shore open up for the year on Easter Sunday. We are hoping for some great weather this Easter (which rarely happens). I can almost smell the cotton candy and boardwalk fries! 

Hope you are seeing some signs of Spring wherever you are! 

Thanks bunches for popping in!

Love from the Jersey Shore.

xo Jenny…and Aaron says hi! 

The Ocean Grove Flea by the Sea

Every year me and Aaron try to get to the big Flea by the Sea in Ocean Grove, NJ. I think the two of us have been going to the Ocean Grove flea market for at least 16 or 17 years. It's massive, it's right on the ocean in a beautiful little town that's chock full amazing Victorian homes and cottages, and it's nearby. And this year we were lucky enough to have amazing weather. Pretty much 70 degrees on the button with tons of sunshine and cool ocean breezes. Since it's such a pleasant, quick, and easy ride we decided to take the train down to Asbury Park, which is literally a stone's throw away from Ocean Grove (if you're the type to throw stones at friendly neighboring towns)

Ocean Grove is a tiny little town...like less than a square mile...and the flea market draws so many people that parking your car is near impossible. So taking the train quashed any parking worries. We got there fairly early...a little before 9am...got our iced coffees and scones, and hit the market.

The market is set up on the gigantic sprawling lawn that's in front of The Great Auditorium...and if you guessed that the giant building behind Aaron is The Great Auditorium you'd be correct. Fun fact: that giant cross on top was a gift from Woody Allen. He filmed Stardust Memories in Ocean Grove and The Great Auditorium's exterior was used to represent The Stardust Hotel. The old cross was in disrepair, so after they wrapped on the film Woody gave the town a new cross as a thank you gift.

The Great Auditorium as The Stardust Hotel.

There are all types of vendors there, and current trends definitely influence what the vendors are selling. I definitely noticed a lot more small things and not as much furniture. I can remember when chippy paint cottagey furniture was big...you could find a TON for cheap. 

I had to grab a pic of this incredible headboard. When I see a piece like this I imagine it painted...maybe in the perfect pale vintage aqua with a great "dirt wash"...or possibly a matte finish grey or black. Then pair it with some old school Ralph Lauren bedding with big florals and bits of classic Ralph leopard print. I can see it in a room with a big chippy original paint armoire. Yeah, sometimes just dreaming the stuff up is plenty...and it's free! :)

I brake for old chippy medicine cabinets. I love love love them! I want them all! 

We don't collect clown stuff, but we loved the look and color of these. These two pieces were the only things left of an arcade in Seaside Heights after it was hit by hurricane Sandy. They were floating in a left over tide pool. If we had more space I think we could make them fit in with our vintage jersey shore themed bathroom. 

I had my eye on lots of vintage kitchen implements and utensils. I saw so many there. Finding what you want is easy...your eye instantly goes to the colored handles. I loved seeing this soda crate brimming with miscellaneous utensils, though none of these are my deal...I'm into pale aqua, pink, black, cream, or white.

I'm always looking for old crates and rustic pieces to mix in with our sweet pastels here at home. 

This crew totally cracked us up. That farmer dude in the mix?? He's got such youthful features, so I'm thinking he prematurely greyed fighting against GMOs encroaching upon his crops. 

This sign was GREAT! It was aluminum I believe, and as you can see...super faded! If only it was more of an aqua I woulda died! I hope someone bought it!

Ok, so there really wasn't anything I died over at the flea....except this piece. From ten...no twenty feet away it had my heart. This booth belonged to a guy named Steve and he made this piece himself. It's constructed of old stuff...chippy white wooden shelves, and the backing and top/roof was galvanized metal. I am a total sucker for house shaped items! I saw this and envisioned my collections perfectly displayed on the shelves...probably against the back wall of our living room. But...we came to the flea market on a train...and, truth be told, I just really didn't have that much money to throw around. But I did get Steve's info and he said he'd be into making another in the near future!

What's great about going to the OG flea is that we always run into our Jersey peeps. Here we are with two of our faves in the art community...Laura Mchugh and Suze Weinberg. Off camera are the handsome husbands John and the Lenster. We love that we can run into Suze in Jersey, or at Art is You inConnecticut, and even in California at CHA. Suze is ever present and ever cheerful. And Laura is one of the sweetest and most positive gals we know! We drove with her and some friends to the Country Living fair over the winter. Yesterday she was a vision in lavender! She even had a bit of purple in her hair! And yes...Suze is known for flashy footwear! 

We also brake for vintage portraits of kids. This little gal was cute...the color pink was perfect...but honestly, she's maybe just not creepy enough for us. A smidge more of creepiness added to her cuteness woulda sealed the deal for us.

We just had to pick up this big old "tractor wrench" for my brother Walt. It'll look great hanging in his shop. 

I wanted to offer this naked baby in a box some of my sun block. I forgot to apply at home so I bought some spray on 45 spf right there at the flea market for 4 bucks. Yes, I am white as can be and I plan on staying that way. 

Loved this sign. And it wasn't for sale...this was the actual sign for the Lemonade stand. Classic! 

Ohhh the sweet scent of kettle corn mingling with the ocean air...theres nothing like it! 

And wow, the beach was perfect! Clear skies, crystal clear breakers, and warm but with the most perfect breeze. 

So if you look closely at this pic you can get an idea of how HUGE the flea market is. I took this pic from the boardwalk and the flea market extends all the way to The Great Auditorium, which looks like a tiny speck in the distance.  

Here are some of the famous Ocean Grove tent houses. I've blogged them before. They pop them up in the summer. They're the jewel of Ocean Grove and have been in families for generations. 

Just beyond cute! And they all have their own personality. 

I had to take a pic with the Ocean Grove sign. The front of the sign says Ocean Grove, and this is the back of the sign which is visible as you leave town. I remember first finding Ocean Grove over 20 years ago...we were shocked to find a town filled with gingerbread cottages, a ton of Victorian bed & breakfasts, cute shops...and it being that proverbial stone's throw away from urban Asbury Park. And this sign just made it even more surreal. You don't see this sort of thing in Jersey much. The kind hearted folksy village thing seems more southern to me. 

There is a foot bridge between Ocean Grove and Asbury Park...and get this...there is a sign that states that the gate is locked from midnight to 5 am! It's sorta like a throwback to when the whole town was gated on Sunday for the blue laws so that there was no driving, etc...on Sundays.

So we walked the foot bridge back over to Asbury to grab something to eat, check out some shops and say hi to friends. It was such a great time. We'll be going back to Asbury soon and we'll devote an entire blog post. It's an amazing town that had it's revival fairly recently, and it's getting better by the day. 

So when we got home we unpacked our little purchases from the day. We grabbed some old bottles which normally go for anywhere from 4.00 to 12.00 in most antique shops or ebay. These were 1.00 each. And the cute vintage cream cheese crate we got for only 5.00. And I love the adorable old Ball jelly jar with zinc lid. 

I love it! I figured we could use it to hold sea salt or sprinkles! 

And we are suckers for any vintage crow/raven related items. This is a page from an old target practice book from Sears. I'm thinking maybe it came with a BB gun? I'm glad we got the page unused...maybe since the kid never practiced many crows were saved. We bought a few other things in Asbury Park that I may share another day.

It was such a fun day. We got the 5:45 train home and met some sweet ladies who also attended the flea market and were riding home to Jersey City. We all chatted about what we bought, what we saw, the things we collect. And there was a guy with a keyboard on the train...he was dressed like Fab Five Freddy pretty much...sunglasses, hat, tie...and he was playing the keyboard, a full size keyboard, at full volume...every breakdance hit from the early 80's and then some. It was a full-on dance party on the train. What a great capper to the perfect day.

Thanks again for reading! Back soon!

xo, Jenny & Aaron