Around here

We had been locked into a pretty tight schedule for the past week and really couldn't find the time to run our usual errands. So this morning we decided to take a trip to Target, which is a great store to hit if you want to do all of your shopping under one roof. Aaron got some tshirts, we got some dog stuff for Carlos, make-up, and a whole bunch of groceries. 

Before we left I realized that I had not yet posted a pic since touching up my hair color. I shared a pic on Instagram the other day showing my hair dye boxes...one pink, one lavender. I figured I could mix the colors to get the exact shade of pink I was looking for.

 Right before me and Aaron left for Target I snapped this Ussie. I definitely like the new shade. It's not a drastic change but I can see it.

I've had pink hair for years. I've tried many many brands and shades. I was platinum blonde forever before going pink, so I was already used to bleaching. I like my pink to be very pale, but there aren't any great straight from the bottle pale pink dyes. So I often will mix a magenta type pink with conditioner to dilute the color. 

I was very happy to find this new dye color at Sally Beauty Supply. The shade is Rose, and the brand is Ion (Color Brilliance). I had used it last month as well, but this month I decided to pick up a tube of Lavender to mix with the Rose. It was exactly like mixing paint. I got the tone I was looking for...making sure to go with a cooler shade, that way the finished product wouldn't have any peachy tones.  

Well, I'm very happy with the outcome you see in the above pic.

I know that in my last post I mentioned that we were having a 20% off sale in our shop...and that the sale code was PIZZAPARTY. But I forgot to actually share our brand new pizza slice diecuts. I had shared them on Instagram and Facebook, and totally thought I shared them here on the blog as well. We've been super busy working on brand new die cuts. We now have macarons, pizza, doughnuts, bunny babies, and a couple new signs as well. The warm weather always gets our inspiration up.

 We offer the slices in plain and pepperoni! And Vegan options as well! (wink wink)

And ready for this... they come in real pizza parlor boxes! So fun right? 

And there is nothing more rewarding to an artist than when other people "get it". And when we went through our latest invoices we realized that tons of people "got it"! So many orders for our brand new designs. Above is just a portion of the die cuts we had to trace and cut out on the scroll saw.

Again, the weather was gorgeous, so Aaron did all of the wood cutting out on our sunny deck. It really was about two days straight of cutting and sanding. As you can see from the above pic...Aar was exhausted.

And today after we put away our groceries and stuff that we got at Target, we decided that it would be an absolute crime not to go out and enjoy the weather. If not for our own good...then at least for the sake of our little old man Carlos. He's been craving a trip up to the beach. 

It was PERFECT weather. There were people swimming all up and down the shore.

I put my feet in the water and it was CHILLY!

Carlos also cooled his heels a few times in the waves. It was great...he'd stand there facing away from the water, and then a wave would sneak up on him and he'd scurry away.

He really loves it up on the beach. I feel like he's so distracted when we walk the neighborhood with sniffing every tree and bush in sight. On the beach he just hangs out.

Ok, just wanted to check in. Tonight True Blood returns for it's final season. We've got some organizing to do before then. And tomorrow it's back to our orders. We hope all of you guys are having a wonderful Sunday!

xo, Jenny & Aaron

Friday Favorites

Sometimes the rhythm of your life skips a beat or two, but eventually you'll get the tempo back on track. Getting things back to normal takes forever sometimes. I've been so spotty with blogging lately...really ever since we went to Memphis. The build up to that trip was super busy, then we got back and life seriously changed with the loss of Little Jack. And then there was so much catching up, deadlines, LIFE, and a million other things.

 So it thrills me to be back with some Friday Favorites. It feels one step closer to relative "normalcy". And believe me...when you live as abnormally as me and Aaron do...even a smidge of relative normalcy is extremely soothing to the soul.

We've been working a lot, creating a ton of new pieces, and feeling way better in this awesome weather. We are so inspired right now...have so much stuff in the works...and probably the biggest issue is figuring out in what order we'll complete all the stuff. I guess it's not a bad problem to have. Sorta the opposite of writer's block. All the ideas are there...we just need more hands...and hours in the day! :) 

So...speaking of inspiration...I've got a few things here in this post that make my world spin, for a moment or two at least. 

First off is the above mural! If I were an urban dweller, and this could be the stairs to my apartment or studio, life would be dream-like. I tried to find more info on the origin of this pic but I didn't get too far. It's just been floating around pinterest with no real image credit. But from the little I've gathered, it is said to be in Tehran, Iran. 

Everything about this top! I could pair it with a skirt or jeans. It's a little bit Tim Burton, a little bit Paris, a little bit circus, and a lot bit adorable. Of course doing a google image search brought me no results as far as where to buy it! So for now it will just serve as inspiration. Boy I wish I could sew! 

Black nails are my everyday nails all year round, and that's the way it's been for nearly 17 years. I'll change it up sometimes with pale pink or aqua, but black is my mainstay. Oh jeeez, I adore these nails. Those rose clusters totally bring back memories of our furniture painting days. We had a collection that we sold to stores all over the country. Besides our larger furniture there were all sorts of hand painted accent tables, flower pots, and boxes. A good portion of the collection featured lots of black and roses. It's possible you saw them in magazines. We called our look Cottage Fabulous...being that a lot of the furniture itself had more basic cottage lines to the design...but then the pieces were all dressed up in fabulous decorative painting. The line was super fashion inspired. Anyway...these nails look like some table tops of ours. I'm not sure if these are decals or hand painted. Either way, they're gorgeous! 

I adore this Apothecary mirror from Dot & Bo. Most of our furniture at home is either black or white, and the lines are fairly simple and straight forward. I like hints of industrial or medical style cabinets. This mirror would work perfectly in at least three rooms in my house.

This Stop to Smell the Roses  rug is very close to where I'm at aesthetically. All over floral prints like this have always been my thing. Very Betsey Johnson...a perennial fave of mine...even the handwriting kinda resembles hers.

Oh mannnnn, these Late Night platforms in gold glitter from Hello Holiday. And for me, it doesn't need to be a late night for me to rock these. Any old Tuesday afternoon will do. 

I'd like to bring a positive charge to my day with this Pink Pixie Quartz on a vegan leather braided chain. And I just love pairing shiny gold with pale pink.

I really got a kick out of this! Totally my type of home remedy. I've never been about simply subtracting. The trick is to subtract by adding more. And I think this embodies that spirit.

And on that note...I'd like to add that the days have been getting brighter over here at Casa de Holiday. We have been subtracting more and more of the things that zap our energy, and adding a ton of positive stuff. I'm thrilled to keep in touch with all of you guys, and me and Aar look forward to sharing so much more of ourselves!

Thanks for reading!

xo, Jenny...and Aaron says hi!

Ice Cream, Macarons, and a little make over

Weather is a HUGE deal for me and Aaron. Or I should say seasons are a huge deal. As soon as the temp warms up, and we can keep the windows open all day long, we both seem to come alive. We're instantly more productive, and we finally can find the time and energy to realize all of the ideas we had been storing up all winter (we do the opposite of those squirrels with their nuts). 

The past couple weeks have been paint filled and positive. On some days we could start a project from scratch in the morning and have it photographed and in the shop by early afternoon. That would never happen in January or February. For some reason, the birds chirping in the trees, and the sound of itty bitty kids gleefully screaming on the playground down the block, inspires us to create. Well that, and the sunshine...and not having to blow into our fists to warm our fingers up. It was a crappy winter...but so far it's been a glorious Spring. The requisite Jersey humidity has not yet kicked in...and for that we are super thankful. 

I guess we express our thanks by painting a whole lotta new stuff!

This Ice Cream pennant is our latest finished piece. Again, this is something I sketched up ages ago but could never find the time to bring to life. I'm a huge fan of vintage souvenir pennants. I loved going on class trips, or daytrips with my mom, or vacations with the whole family, and coming home with a pennant from whatever touristy place we had visited. 

So the idea for the Ice Cream pennant was to capture the feel of those souvenir pennants, but to celebrate a classic summertime treat instead of a tourist destination or sports team. We definitely root for Team Ice Cream. 

And yes...or I should say Yaaaaaaassssss! Macaron diecuts are finally here. We always wanted to paint a trio of 'em, so we started with the pink one that you see above, and told ourselves that we'd get around to doing the other two in maybe a few days or a week from now.

But as soon as we saw this one done, we said 'nope...we cannot wait.'

And so right away we painted an aqua w/ chocolate ganache version.

And pretty much before the paint was dry on the aqua one, we then did a chocolate/chocolate version. We love how they look up on our wall. Like giant flying macarons are coming in for a gentle landing. If UFOs looked like these I'd drive to Roswell tomorrow and wait in the desert with upraised arms. 

And by the way...if you're interested...all this stuff and more is now in the shop. And there is still time to take advantage of our 20% off sale. Just use code: PIZZAPARTY.

And somehow, I've even been able to find time for some little personal projects! I picked up this super adorable piece when we were at Art is...You in Tennessee. Our friend Lesley was at the vendor table directly next to ours, and she gave this to me for a steal. When I originally brought it home and looked at it with all my stuff, I considered keeping it as-is...unpainted. I really love the look of the old wood. As-is it looks exactly how it would look if you pulled it out of a dusty attic...and I'm all about the dusty attic thing. But then I put a pic on Instagram and asked what everybody else thought I should do with it. In my head I was pretty much 50/50 on whether or not I'd paint it. But an overwhelming number of friends said I should paint or do something else creative with it. So, I took the pro-painting response as a little boost, and over the past couple days I got it done. 

First off...that roof could never ever remain one solid color. Those squares were just screaming out to be "tile-ized". I love the random pattern of colors...varying shades of pink, some tan, some black. And little dollhouse-esque compartments like these lend themselves perfectly to collage backgrounds. I used some pages out a ledger from 1905!, some amazing little patches of vintage pink floral wallpaper, and a couple fave vintage photographs. Notice that I put the car pic where the garage would be!

 A hint on fitting your little squares of paper ephemera into their respective cubbies: always cut them a little small instead of trying to wedge them in there perfectly. In the end, a tiny space around the paper won't matter. And plus, after I sealed the whole piece with a clear coat and let it dry, I then brushed an antique wash (I actually call it a "dirt wash") into all the nooks and crannies. When the wash settles in around the outer edges of your collaged backgrounds it looks perfect.

I'm definitely happy that I painted it.

Ok, just wanted to stop in for a quick progress report. I still have to share all the pics and details from the Country Living Fair. I'll be back very soon. In the meantime, we hope the season is treating you guys well. If you need us, we'll probably be painting.

xo, Jenny...& Aaron

Life Lately...

It seems like so long since we last blogged. I think it's been about 9 days, but it seems longer. With the change in weather (and mental state) we've been getting out of the house and studio a bit more. And I gotta say...it feels really good. Our weekend spent upstate at my parent's cabin was just what the doctor ordered. Muddy midnight quad rides through the woods seems like as far as you can get from painting pink cupcakes! Not that there's anything unpleasant about painting cupcakes...but everyone needs a break.

 After getting back from the cabin trip, just a few days later we went to the Ocean Grove Flea Market...another great time! And this weekend we went for the trifecta and hit the Country Living Fair up in Rhinebeck, NY. I can't recommend the CL Fair highly enough. I took lots of pics, but because we've been working on getting lots of orders out the door, I still have to go through and edit the photos! But we plan on blogging our day at the CL Fair later this week! It was such an AMAZING show!  

We've been working round the clock on orders, but we pepper in an hour here and there to work on new designs. The latest that we are so excited about are our Victorian era inspired Cat wooden diecuts. We referenced a bunch of antique clip art as well as photos of adorable kitties. We gave them complimenting ribbons in pink and aqua, complete with tiny jingle bells. We once had a tabby of our own, so we started with our fave. We got a great response almost as soon as we shared them on Instagram and Facebook. So that's very exciting! We've already got a handful of kitty diecuts that we'll be sending to new homes across the country later this week! 

And being that last Friday was National Doughnut Day we made sure to paint a classic pink frosted doughnut with sprinkles just in time.

Here's Aaron with his prize...and it looks as if he doesn't want to give it up. He's generally a veggie and fruit guy when it comes to snacks...but he's a sucker for doughnuts. Remember the Amish Doughnuts from our trip upstate? Well these are about that same size! ha! 

We had a sale going for Doughnut Day, but we are keeping it going another few days. So if you'd like a Doughnut, or Kitty, or anything else in the shop...right now you can take 25% off using code: DOUGHNUTS 

Here it is hanging along side our Vanilla Extract bottle diecut. 

And this may be my very favorite of all of our diecuts. We did it a few weeks back but it's still brand new to me. I guess because I had been wanting to do it for so so long. I think I've had Bunny Baby diecut sketches for years! Bunny Baby is one of our most prized collectibles (and family member/muse). I think our collections are my absolute favorite subject to paint.   

Isn't it so BIG?! So fun! 

And I couldn't be happier with the response! You guys "get it"! We shipped a bunch of Bunny Babies this past week and have another batch going out this week.

I love this photo that our friend Elena posted on Instagram of her bunny baby laying in a pool of pink tulle, surrounded by bunny friends and a pink heel. The second she shared this pic I knew Bunny Baby was in a more than worthy new home! ha!

And as we were packing orders this morning, we stopped and considered how much we love Instagram. We did these above paintings in square format and cropped them in the style of perfectly zoomed in Instagram pics. 

Through Instagram, not only can we connect with new collectors of our work...we've also made so many new friends. It's great to find other artists and makers who are creating and hustling in the same way we are. And there is just so much eye candy on Instagram. What a simple and great way to document daily life. We love scrolling back and seeing months of our life...the meals we have cooked, the things we have painted, fun with the pups...and yes, it stings my heart a bit when I scroll to a pic of little Jack. He has his own #hashtag....#littlejackthechihuahua. Gosh I love him so much! 

Here's a super fun display of our Instagram inspired plaques in our friend Lisa's kitchen. I love the phone, the lighting, the BAKE...

And I just had to share this! Such a fun surprise. I was tagged on Instagram, and the tag led me to a sweet friend's feed... (@bingobuttercup) she did this adorable illustration of me!  So unexpected. And her kind words made me smile. 

I love good mail days...but what I love even more are GREAT mail days. I just couldn't believe my good fortune on the most recent great mail day. I opened a package which was wrapped like a gift, and inside was a total surprise! It was sent to me from one of the cutest gal's I know, Lizzy, aka The Connoisseur of Cute. We met through the aforementioned awesome Instagram. Yep...this is the Betsey Johnson, Ice Cream cone wristlet that was a Friday Favorite of mine a while back. I have seriously had this on my wish list! If you love it and would like one of your own you can find them in Lizzy's shop! It's perfect!

Ok, that's the rundown of Jenny & Aaron's life for now. Like I said...I'll be back to recap the Country Living Fair very soon. We've got all the windows open today and the fan is blowing, helping to dry some paint. I love warm temps, but dislike super cold and super hot. I know we only get so much of this mild weather, so I'm fully appreciating every bit of it. I hope you guys are comfortable in your respective climates.

xo, Jenny...and Aaron

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