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

Friday Favorites

Hey guys! Happy Friday! And I'm gonna go ahead and jinx myself and say Happy Spring. I admit that I'm trying to use the power of positive thinking here. We've had two whole days in the 60s this week, and it should be fairly warm this weekend. I'm just really really hoping it stays this way. 

Traditionally the Jersey Shore wakes from it's long winter's nap on Easter. All of the seasonal businesses open their doors for the first time on Easter weekend. The boardwalks will be open…maybe not exactly in full swing...but the Tilt o' Whirl will be whirling, the fry stand will be frying, and the Super Slide will be clogged with kids eager to get their first bumps and bruises of the season. Ha! seriously, I used to work the Super Slide when I was a teen, and believe me…kids + burlap sacks + super steep humpy slide =  cruisin' for a bruising'.

So, to begin with...I just adore this hand stitched felt bunny brooch above by An Astrid Endeavor and I bet you do too. I feel like it's got a vintage appeal and a modern feel all at once.

I was thinking about how I missed a few Friday Favorites these past weeks. And now since it's Good Friday I guess its is as good a Friday as any to decide to get back to tradition. Which makes the above sign perfectly fitting

We have been thinking about moving our studio upstairs, and if we do, we will be going bright whites and creams, with black anchor pieces, and random pops of color. I've been pinning lots of inspiration, and this pic just made me swoon. I love love everything about this! 

How magical does this cake look? It's like fancy and classic/old fashioned all at the same time. The piped pink roses look so fantastic with the glittery gold. It happens to be one of the many creations made by our friend Beca of Tumbleweeds Handcraft. As if she's not busy enough making amazing wood veneer sunglasses, utensil sets, handmade brushes, etc…she also finds the time to whip up bridal shower cakes on the side!

 You can see her steller story about this cake. If you haven't checked out Steller yet, you must. We love it. It's such a cool way to share the story of a day, or maybe a step-by-step project. We look forward to creating a few more of our own. Beca & Doug's Steller contributions have been so inspiring. You see the pics and read the stories, and you just want to jump into their little world down in the Florida wilds. 

Even if it is messy, I just love this pale pink hair paired with that light, pretty, peachy makeup. This is a back stage shot of Charlotte Free.  

Ohhh these two dresses are just beyond beyond pretty! So so up my alley! The pink may be a smidge too peach, but I'm going to pretend that it is just the lighting. 

Those stars! the ties! the ruffles! Yes! Can I please just have these in my spring summer wardrobe?!

 I came across the pic on pinterest, which only lead to a dead tumblr link. So…the search continues! 

Ok… this bench is amazing. But here's the thing…the description doesn't say what color the fabric is. My mind is seeing it as classic black…but I've been fooled in the past, only to discover the black is actually navy. But once again…who cares...we will do some pretending. This absolutely black and cream bench would look so so good in our home! 

And for good measure I think I'll maybe accent the bench with this Nathalie Lete pillow . Oh geez…wouldn't that be so so good?!!! 

I laughed when I saw this. I swear I've typed this exactly in a few texts to some close friends. ha! I love this image. It would look amazing framed. 

And let's finish on this. I would love love love to sink my teeth into one of these right now. With a tall ice cold glass of almond milk. They happen to be 5 Ingredient (healthy) No Bake bars!! Absolutely making these very very soon.

Well guys, that's it for me. It's raining on this friday night, and we plan on putting a few more hours into work before going up to our room to snuggle with the pups and do some netflixing, which happens to be an actual word. Here's proof. ;)

If we don't pop in again before Sunday…Happy Easter! or Passover! or Spring!

xo Jenny…and Aaron says hi!