Dresses

We had lots of fun last night in stone harbor. My mom was interested in looking for a dress for my brothers wedding in Italy.  We figured we may find the one!

She didn't have much luck but I did. I picked up 3 fantastic dresses. One for the rehearsal, one for wedding and the other for a day in Capri. The rehearsal dress and Capri dress  are from Skirt. I saved 70% because I bought 3 summer items. The wedding dress is Nicole

Miller from the attic. 

Lets hope for warm weather in mid October!

Beach bars

Beach bars have always been one of my favorite places to hang at the Jersey shore. In my twenties, I would frequent the Shell on LBI to hear Dog Voices while enjoying some drinks outside. Recently we realized beach bars are fairly family friendly for happy hours. This summer the Golden Inn in Avalon has been at the top of my list. On Sunday evening we went to the beach bar at the deauville in Strathmere. Why did it take so long for me to discover this gem!? Bubba Mac was playing, the beach chairs were comfy and the food was whatever.... 

Vine anyone?

We love the youthful spirit of our summer team. Prior to this summer, I can honestly say I didn't know what vine was. As of today, we have our first Relax vine. Who knew folding towels could be so cool. Thanks Tor!

Beach or bay

We normally pick beach over bay but after a long day we opted to go to a spot where we could park close to the sand.

We decided to drive to the somers point beach. We parked very very close to the beach and walked up to the water. 

 We had lots of fun just playing in the sand.

Vacationer tip: the somers point beach is a less traveled option should your little one not like waves. It has free parking, lifeguard and public rest rooms. It's also across from the anchorage and near smittys for post or pre dining. 

Sidewalk Sales in Stone Harbor and more...

Sandwich from Yvette's

One of our team members was in Stone Harbor on Saturday to make beds at a rental home.  She reported lots of activity downtown for the annual sidewalk sale.  While I didn't get a chance to think much about it a the time, I had a chance to check it out today...

I'm impressed that most stores had sales!  We stopped by a few favorites for some clothes for a fall trip to Italy.  Skirt, People People,  Free Shop were all at the top of my list.  We had the most success at People People scoring a few Ella Moss and Splendid t-shirts.  Skirt had lots of great Trina turk and Shoshanna but the kiddo wasnt in the mood for shopping.

After we hit the favs, we stopped by Yvette's for lunch. I've heard great things about Yvette's so it was about time. I had a delicious Brie sandwich with strawberries and pears. It was a little $ but after saving all that money shopping it was totally fine.

The end of Summer means that its almost the start of fall wedding season.  We love to help families hosting weddings and parties at the shore with their bed linens.  

We were excited to speak with a family yesterday renting a former bed & breakfast in Beach Haven.  They will be hosting a large family party in early October  where they just want to hang out and enjoy time with their loved ones instead of making beds and laundering lots of sheets and towels.  

If you are booking a vacation home for a large event at the Jersey Shore,  give us a call for bed linens, towels, etc.   WE'd love to help!

How many donuts this week?

I just realized I has 3 donuts this week! I'm not sure if it has something to do with getting my fix of summer favorite places or that I just like donuts, but I did have 3. Based on this I could either jump on a treadmill or use my taste buds to make a recommendation.

Exciting donut flavors
at Fractured Prune

Hot Oves donut

We had" Last Day of Work" donuts for Ashley from Fractured Prune. They have fun  flavors. I also had an Oves cinnamon sugar donut last weekend. Yesterday my dad brought back some creme donuts and fritters from Dots. 

 My favorite of the week : Dots!

I hope to transition to salad reviews next week::)

Sunrise Sunset

Sunset at the North end of OC

It's hard to decide whether I like sunrises or sunsets more. I think both are amazing  to see over water. In the off season we post many sunrise photos over the ocean. We don't get a chance to do that nearly as often during the summer months. We do try to catch sunsets over the bay when we can though.

Here's a photo of last nights sunset from Ocean City. An Ocean City sunset isnt complete without the water treatment plant in the background... haha. They should just make it look like a lighthouse.

Vacationer Tip: wake up early one day and catch a sunrise. Take a photo too!  If that's not your thing - definitely plan to walk to the bay for a sunset.  Overachiever?  Try to do both on the same day.

Crib Day Wednesday

Our crib and other bedtime rentals bring sweet dreams to many babies staying at the Jersey Shore.  Most of our rentals are from Saturday-Saturday; however,  today we rented more cribs than normal for a Wednesday-Saturday stay between LBI and Ocean City.   My best friend is also down for a Wednesday-Saturday stay with her little one.

Four fun filled days of fun in the sun may be just the right amount of time to relax and enjoy away from home!

Blanket and comforter time of year

The end of summer brings lots of orders for our blankets and duvets.  The temperatures may still be in the 80's but vacationers often question whether the rental homes have cleaned their provided blankets at all during the season.

While we think its a great idea for homeowners to rotate blankets and comforters every other week for cleaning,it doesn't happen at most places.

For your next end of season vacation, we suggest renting blankets and duvets! We wash them with each rental.

Stunning flowers and linens

Here's a picture of one of our deliveries to a homeowner client in the gardens section of ocean city. The flowers are stunning and so is the home.

Sweatshirts

I took one look out the window today and declared it sweatshirt weather for the baby and I.  

Jersey Shore sweatshirts are my favorite. I've owned ones from Cape May with oars (yes the oars one), Lbi with oars(ok I thought they were cool), lifeguard ones (I am not a good swimmer), Stone Harbor and a modern collegy Manasquan one. I've recently bought the baby one from ocean city and a friend gave him his first Jersey Shore sweatshirt from LBI.  He looks too cute in it.

There is definitely something about them though. Whether it be a sign of a crappy beach day, some bad sun burn chills or just a chilly night - they definitely bring a bit of comfort along with great memories. 

That's right I don't own an Ocean city one. It's been on my list for over 10 years. Now that's a great Christmas gift idea for anyone looking to get me something:)

All the way up

We love getting our workout on a delivery day. Here's an example of a delivery and the crystal blue skies that welcomed vacationers this week.

Family

It's amazing how much family help with running a small business. This year we've received lots of help with babysitting this summer. Family has also been so important to the success of relax. Today my husband is out doing deliveries and my dad is helping me with some deliveries and office stuff.  Today he put together our other adirondack chair. We bought 2 when we got the store and have only had time to make 1. Now it's complete!!!

Pamper Scamper

Lots of babies waiting
to start the competition

Strategy session with
 Relax team member Tori

We won our heat!

We had a great time yesterday in the ocean city pamper scamper. It was a great event for infants on the move and their families.

We have been practicing for months. We couldnt believe the time had come.

We knew what to wear and what to bring and a prop. We were entered in the "under 12 month" category.  C was happy with his outfit choice of sweatpants and a short sleeve shirt. He also loves our prop- our dogs water bowl which gets turned over at least 5x a day.

He won his heat finishing in 28 seconds and qualified for the finals.

Did he win? Les just say he chose to make a friend at the starting line instead of focusing on the competition.

Fun Stop On Way Back From Pickup

We love it when we get to mix business with pleasure. Today we had a pickup scheduled in Brigantine.  After doing this, we figured it would be cool to visit Gardners Basin. I've never been before but have seen the artist shacks featured in magazines.  We also got a good tip on a restaurant from our employee Darla. 

It's a little tricky to get to since its kinda by the Revel. Upon our arrival, there was a lot of free parking. We were tempted to stop at the aquarium to visit the sharks during shark week but we are saving it for another time.  We decided to walk around the few stores that were open and then headed right for Bay Bay Ale House.

This restaurant is pretty cool. Lots of folks were outside with dogs at the bar. We opted to sit on the porch. Food and service was great. My steak sandwich was fantastic and so was my allagash white beer. For a quick second I felt like I was in Key West. I will be back- probably after another weekday Brigantine order:)

Saturday wrap up

A happy delivery ready
for vacation!

What a busy Saturday for deliveries and pickups at the Jersey shore!

We were all over making vacations more relaxing and enjoyable for our guests from Manasquan, Ocean Beach, Long Beach Island, Brigantine, Ocean City, Sea Isle, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Wildwood and Diamond beach!

The day started with a little chill, then some rain and we even were sunkissed!

We are already gearing up for next weekend. 

Sharks!

Happy Shark Week Vacationers!

Sunday marks the start of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.

In the spirit of this, Relax is celebrating Shark Week too. We've included sharks with our orders. Watch out!

It's a shark in our sheets!

Vacationer tip: Visit the Shell Museum in Ocean City to take a picture inside the shark jaw.

Rainy day ideas?

So it's raining again today at the Jersey Shore.  We were hoping it was going to be a beach day too.   Our beach equipment had high hopes for a bright and sunny day:)  Not to worry, the weather forecast looks good for the next few days.  
In the meantime, we have some ideas for making the most of the rainy weather on your family vacation:

Share some of the pictures you have on your smart phone with your loved ones.   We take lots of photos but we dont always get to show others our great shots.   Why not order some prints of your favorites while you are at it at your local pharmacy or online site?

Learn how to prepare a family favorite meal.  You may be stuck inside today but you may have a good cook in your presence. Why not plan out a great recipe for dinner and learn how to cook it?  All the family members could get involved from setting the table, shopping for ingredients, preparing vegetables, etc.  Write down the recipe while you are at it and use it in the future!