Feedback

We just received some great feedback from one of our Stone Harbor vacationers who just completed two week stay.

"We had a wonderful vacation and no sheets and towels to wash afterwards! What more can a person ask for. Take care and thanks."

We look forward to their next stay later this summer.

New Visitor Center Opens Today

The new Ocean City visitor centers opens today. It's such a beautiful building to welcome vacationers to Ocean City. Swing on by to say hi to the friendly staff at the Chamber of Commerce and to pick up a brochure of our rental items and services.

http://oceancity.patch.com/articles/causeway-visitors-center-opens-today?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001

Never pass up an adirondack chair

After a great breakfast at surf cafe in ocean city, the kiddo and I decided to "relax" for a second in their adirondack chairs.

If you happen to visit surf cafe- I love their a frame:)

Baby's first ice cream

Fox Philly

Check us out on Fox Philly.

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/video?clipId=8915839&topVideoCatNo=230351&autoStart=true

Priceless

I've always loved photography but have never been a subject in a professional photoshoot. My friend, Michelle, owner of Photo By Exposure suggested my husband and I enjoy one of our last days before the baby with a sunrise photo session in Ocean City.

The photos are stunning.  This is definitely one of my favorites.  You really can't see here that I was really, really, really pregnant...  I'll post that picture soon.

Stronger Than The Storm

We participated in the ribbon cutting scheduled today in Ocean City NJ. Ribbon cutting was scheduled up and down the jersey shore to show that he beach is open for business. Here are some photos.

A good pickup

We do lots of deliveries and pickups during the year. Sometimes it's nice to celebrate a good pickup. A good pickup is when vacationers leave their used items, in the bins provided, outside in the same location as the drop off.

Mmmm

We always thought Relax had the best employees. Now we know it. Our employee, Steve, brought in the most delicious cheese Danishes for the office. Homemade! Next time we hire we should definitely ask whether the prospective employee can cook!

Magical

There is something magical about the Crabs Claw Inn in Lavallette.  We've been going here since my Aunt Diane suggested it last year during her stay in Point Pleasant.  

We've only gone at lunch but it is usually a full house.  They have pretty good lunch specials including a soup/salad, entree, dessert and coffee/tea all priced around $10.    One special treat is hear their piano player.   My son just loves music so he gets to dance during the meal.

On this particular day, we went with my mom and dad.  My mom was dancing with him while a senior couple was also enjoying a dance together.

Our First Order

It's the third year in a row we've received an order from one customer.  This customer just so happens to be our very first customer.  She ordered for Memorial Day weekend back in 2010.  We had just started and we were so excited about the order.  

Back in the day we used to roll towels
and we didn't have cool stickers yet.

Unexpectedly, my aunt had passed away around the same time the order came in.  Her funeral was the day of the delivery and was up in northern NJ.  Relax was very small operation at the time and it definitely required help.  My husband came to the rescue and made sure the delivery arrived right on time.  Little did he know 3 years later he'd have his own delivery route:)

Now our customer has 3 grandkids and I have a little baby.  How time flies!

Beach Houses For Corporate Retreats

We've always thought it would be a great idea to rent out a beach house during the off season to host a corporate meeting/retreat.    We are working with a client today that will be hosting an overnight retreat in Ocean City, NJ.    They are going to have so much fun.  They are also going to sleep well based on all the great stuff they rented!   Sheets. Towels. Aerobeds. Pillows. Blankets. Oh my!

With the Jersey Shore in such close proximity to NYC and Philadelphia, there are so many businesses that have needs to host an off site meeting.  Back when I was a Project Manager,  we used to host monthly meetings at the Courtyard Marriott.    While I loved getting out of the office to present the latest events for our company - I always thought it would be cool to change it up a bit.  What could be better than the a work from beach day... Well maybe a vacation day but thats not too bad.

There are so many great rental homes at the Jersey Shore that would welcome a large group for a short stay during off season.   We know many great realtors at the shore that would love to help book your next retreat.   Contact us for info.

In Honor Of Prince Harry's Visit To The Jersey Shore

Prince Harry to visit the Jersey Shore.

Prince Harry will be visiting the Jersey Shore tomorrow to see the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy.  He will be visiting two of the hardest hit towns - Mantoloking and Seaside Heights.     It will be the first time in 74 years that royalty has visited the Jersey Shore.   Prince Harry will be touring with Governor Christie who was (and continues to be) so instrumental to all those impacted by the hurricane.

In honor of Prince Harry's visit to two of our top delivery towns in the northern Jersey Shore region - we are temporarily renaming our Single (a.k.a. Twin) rental sheets "Prince".

We've always offered Queen and King linens without ever really associating them with Royalty.  We thought this would be a great way to welcome Prince Harry and spread the word:  THE JERSEY SHORE IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS.

By no means are we going to rename our Full size rental linens for anyone else on the tour. :)

We look forward to seeing you this Summer at the Jersey Shore.

(For those interested in the history of bed sizes - check out this wiki.)

How We Spent Our Weekend

We are happy to be up in the northern beach area for a few more weeks before moving back to Ocean City.  We usually move back down in early May but this year we are staying a little longer since its closer to my husbands office.  

This weekend we enjoyed walking around the stores in Manasquan on Saturday.  We finally checked out Root, home furnishing store.  I pretty much want everything in there.  We made our standard stop over at Waterlilly where my mom bought me the cutest Tom's lace shoes as my Mothers Day gift.  We also stopped into Palm Place to check out the Lily stuff.   After all that walking, we got some delicious iced tea at Sweet Tease.

For Mother's Day we stayed local for the morning and early afternoon.  We attempted to go to a few favorite breakfast spots but we didnt have reservations.  We normally dont have a problem getting in at our normal breakfast time (8am) but now with the baby we got the show on the road a bit late.  That was just fine with me cause we got to hang out and enjoy.   We wound up at Harrigan's in Sea Girt for their Sunday brunch.  It worked out just fine - especially after their delicious Bloody Mary:)   Afterwards we sat out on the beach and played in the sand until we headed out to visit our moms.

Happy Mothers Day

Im so excited to be celebrating my first Mothers Day as a new mom.

I'm so lucky to have such an amazing mom who has always been supportive of everything I've done. She has been so helpful in making Relax a success.  My mother in law has also been so wonderful with the baby and with Relax projects.  This summer both moms will be helping out with the baby while I'm at the office.

We wish all moms, grand moms, aunts and dads acting as moms a relaxing Mother's Day. Enjoy your time together.

Congrats To Dawn!

Congratulations to Relax team member Dawn on her new job at the Long Beach Island Foundation.    

ARTspiration By Dawn

The LBIF's mission is to promote the arts and sciences on Long Beach Island and in the surrounding communities by enlightening, educating, and stimulating thought and discussion about current trends in the arts and sciences and by providing broad educational and cultural programs for all ages.  

They offer many summer camps and classes to those living and visiting LBI.   You may be in a class led by Dawn.

Dawn is a very talented artist.  She has a great studio at her home where she creates many creative works of art.  You can find some of her work on ETSY and at dawnmcdonnell.com.  We are excited that Dawn will continue to Relax with us this summer.   

Way to go Dawn!

You Don't Get An Order For This Every Day

We received a request from a homeowner for linens for their home for tenants during the summer.  They have several twins, a full, queens, kings and also california queens.... California kings? Nope. Queens.  Even we had to look this one up.

The California Queen is 4 inches longer than the standard queen making it the same length as the California King.  Our queen fitted sheets are 60x80 but for california queens its 60x84.

You learn something new every day.  In any case - we are happy to fill this request.

Jersey Shore Marathon

Congratulations to my sister (and Relax volunteer), Katie, for completing her first marathon! The slogan for the marathon was "up and running" since the jersey shore was affected by superstorm sandy. Between the runners, stores, streets and homes many are definitely "up and running"!

It was a beautiful day to run (or watch in my case). We first saw her on Ocean Ave in Deal. The homes and streets in Deal looked great. From there, we went to Asbury Park to see her race past the Stone Pony.  We popped into the Pony to show the kid a good bar and a place where legends are made.  After a quick tour "we" raced to Long Branch to catch Katie at the finish line.

Fun Day In Point Pleasant

We've been having so much fun now that the weather is getting nicer at the shore.  We've been taking short day trips before I head back into the office full time.  We had a great time visiting the boardwalk at Point Pleasant with my sister, mom and of course my baby.   It was so nice to see activity on the boardwalk.  The shops and attractions near Jenkinsons looked great!  Our first stop was over to Martells for a drink.  My sister convinced me to try their fresh squeezed orange drink... Wow.  Glad we were there for one drink and not a whole day at the beach.  The newly rebuilt tiki bar looked fantastic.  They have a great new bar at the waters edge too.  From here we stopped at Jenkinsons candy shop.  It's a must visit whether you are in the mood for fudge or any sweet treat.   Our main destination was up next - Jenkinsons Aquarium.  I've never been before and only live 5 minutes away.  I don't know what I've been waiting for.  It was so much fun to visit with the baby.  It may not be the Baltimore or Camden Aquarium but its a great place to visit at the shore. While we were having fun we totally forgot to make dinner. Thanks to joe leones we picked up some delicious chicken Marsala to end a perfect afternoon.