Well, it wouldn't be a perfect world really...because sometimes you can have a real crappy day. But I'm trying to be positive here, so lets focus on the good days. The days when you go to sleep and can say...I did pretty good today...Ya know?! I know I'm no Thomas Edison here, with this age old concept. I too have seen the "One Day at a Time" bumper stickers for my entire life. But cliches are cliches for a reason...because at one time, they were fresh and profound truths.
So yes, that's where I'm trying to be mentally. Handle the day, beat the day, love the day, rule the day...whatever operative word suits you best. The day is yours and it's just the right size...so do with it what you want.
And Tuesday, I did just that! The weather was nothing short of magical. Brief pause here...before I go on about the weather... As I've stated here before: I love Facebook. I've done my best to talk it up to any of you guys who have yet to sign up because it really is a fabulous tool for keeping up with friends near and far. And what's great is that a lot of you have taken my advice and we've been seeing each other daily in the Facebook universe. And this is what I'm getting at...Have any of you noticed that the absolute most popular topic to talk about is THE WEATHER! Seriously, it's so so funny. A gal in Connecticut will type "the sky is so dark, it's almost black...just about to rain cats and dogs!" and then watch out! From Jersey to San Diego to Portland, Oregon people will come outta the woodwork to add their two cents about what the weather is like in their vicinity. You can scroll and scroll down the page and read minute to minute updates of what the weather is doing in each individual Facebooker's neck of the woods. Forever, in movies, books, tv, we've attached "weather talk" to the elderly. But from my daily visits to Facebook I've learned that the weather is pretty much the hottest topic there is, regardless of age, race, or gender. It's a total crack up! Go on Facebook and test it out...just make a mention of what it looks like out your window and watch how many people pipe in!
So ok, back to my story about Tuesday. After yet another weekend of steamy rain here in Jersey the weather broke and we could sleep air conditioner free for the first time in months. Also, we were able to open up all the windows in the entire apartment and work to the sound of the breeze in the trees. What's really cool is that this drastic weather change came on September the first! It felt like quintessential September weather. It was as if, all of the sudden, the weather was no longer an act of nature, but a man made, man controlled utility. Like some guy looked at the calendar, said "oh, it's September 1st...let me turn the temp. dial to 60 degrees." It was the most absolute PERFECT weather. My favorite kind...60 something degrees maybe 70, light breeze, very sunny. Perfect weather for a visit to your local park. And apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so...The park was bustling with life. Everyone and their mother and their dog was there. We spent a busy day packing boxes, right up 'til about 5:40, which is the cut-off time in order for Aaron to load the boxes into the car and make it to the big post office a town over which closes at 6:00. After that, Aar swung back home, picked up me and our beloved Carlos, and off we went to Joe Palaia Park. It's a 250 acre beautiful piece of multi faceted nature nestled right into a neighborhood very near to us. There are thick woods, meadows, streams, little swamps, sports fields, and a paved fitness path that snakes it's way around the entire 250 acres. It was an absolutely soul cleansing experience. Within the span of 50 yards we observed a gigantic turkey vulture, adorable bunnies, and a couple families of deer. All of these animals linger within steps of the pedestrian path as if they're there specifically for our viewing pleasure. And Carlos is thrilled to see any four legged creature. He goes bananas! He barks at some of the other dogs but mostly he wants to get near them and play play play. All three of us had a blast, worked up a big appetite, ate dinner , and then came home to work the night shift part of our day. But that brief respite in the great outdoors made the work a lot easier. Which brings me to my next cluster of blog thoughts.
Work. Work. Work. As I've previously blogged, we had a small feature in the NY Times. It was absolutely fabulous. But there is always a downside right? In this case the downside is that our Everyday is a Holiday corporation consists of Me & Aaron in a small apartment. No matter how many orders we get, how many emails there are to answer, it is still just me and Aaron. We work round the clock and wear way too many hats. The emails alone take hours and hours. And then, it's not just the work that we have to do...there's so much preparation work we must do before we can have the luxury of sitting down to mat up prints and make plaques and cut out die-cuts. For instance, Aaron has to go buy the lumber, then go cut the lumber, fill it and sand it before he can bring it home and turn it into plaques...and the same goes for all the supply shopping, trips to the post office, trips to the printer, etc...Don't worry, I'm not gonna bore you all to death with vivid descriptions of our hard work. I know all of us work hard and we've all got our war stories. If all of us were to sit in circle and throw our problems into a pile in the center...and then we were told that we can go ahead and take any of the problems that were there in the pile in place of our own...well, I believe that each and every one of us...if given that choice, would say, "no thanks, I think I'll take back my own."
The only reason I bring up the hard work and the lack of social life and sleep is because this beautiful change in weather has got me thinking about change. Of course me and Aaron can't go on and on like this. I've brought this topic up on Facebook and a couple friends of mine said they were going through the same growing pains. What they did to help with their problems was to hire some help. And they said it's been working great. For us, that's not the answer...first, we'd never be able to afford it and second, it's just not the answer we're looking for. We just have to change what we do in some ways. I'm not really sure how yet but I'm certain that we will make some changes. I'm just so utterly grateful for our customers. Our buyers have had the patience of saints. Everyone has been so so nice. We really put a lot of care into what we do...when we get busy, by no means does the quality suffer in any way...just the time frame. I love to make things for people. I love that these pieces will hang on their walls and brighten their days. I feel absolutely blessed that I'm able to provide that for the fantastic people out there who choose to collect our art.
Anyway, I'm glad that September is here, and I'm thrilled that mother nature chose to so blatantly announce it's arrival with this gorgeous weather! And I wanted to announce that our Halloween stuff is back by popular demand and is in the shop ready for pre-orders, meaning we'll take orders now and ship Sept. 10-12. There is a slight esthetic difference with our Halloween plaques. We now take the image all the way to the edge of the board...the images are full-bleed. There will no longer be the thin black border on front. The edges of the board will still be painted black but you won't see it from the front. We made this switch with all of our plaques...we just like the way this looks so much more. We're showing last years photos because I just haven't gotten around to photographing the new ones. Also we now have a special offer on our Die-cuts. There is a special listing in our Etsy shop ...any 3 die-cuts for 46 dollars. It adds up to a pretty good savings and best of all, it includes our brand new Halloween die-cuts!! We are flipping for these! I absolutely love 'em...especially the Charlotte one with the mask on! But when I look at her next to the one with the witch hat on top I think that it's imperative that you get the pair. And I'm not saying that as a sales lady...I'm speaking from a strictly esthetic standpoint. Oh, and besides the Halloween stuff, we've got more new die-cuts. A fantastic Jumbo slice of Red Velvet Cake and a Red Velvet Cupcake! Again...how can you not get the pair?! We've got this stock pile of pastel stuff in our line and little by little we're trying to create stuff for the Red lovers out there. There's nothing like a classic red kitchen and we'd love to be able to contribute our art to you fab folks out there who rock the red! And lastly...our Charlotte cupcake...maybe you didn't recognize her in that mask. Here she is, the silly girl, sitting pretty atop a pink buttercream frosted cupcake. What I like about this one is that Charlotte kinda takes the idea of a cupcake out of the kitchen and brings it into the living room...which is exactly where we have her hanging.
So, I'm gonna wrap things up here. Please take advantage of the die-cut deal and definitely grab some Halloween stuff. Those are some of my absolute favorite paintings of ours! Thanks so much again for reading...fingers crossed that those dog days of summer don't come back for a "hey remember me?!" visit! You guys are the absolute best! xoxo, Jenny
P.S....and a very fun P.S. it is... My sis opened an etsy shop!! Come check her out!! why not pop by her blog and say hi as well!! :)
