Thanks to my uncle-in-law, I’ve been able to spend summer weekends in Ocean City, NJ. What a blessing that has been! Ocean City is a simple beach town full of Philadelphian’s taking their summer vacation. The whole phenomenon of going “down the shore” was new to me before meeting my husband in college. It’s an amazing thing – family rituals and traditions start and consist of beach time, BBQ, boardwalk and pure relaxation. Some families will rent the same house for generations. Others are lucky enough to own a summer home which provides the freedom to come and go as you please. The locals hate the transients but for three months they are severely outnumbered. You’ll see Eagles, Phillies, Penn, Temple and maybe if your lucky a Scranton flag. Not to mention the red, white and blue in full effect for the 4th. The one thing you won’t find is Snooki, thank god.
Tags: Jersey shore, ocean city, ocnj, Snooki
I was heading to one of my favorite bead/supplies store in NYC and I passed by Macy’s… to my surprise and excitement I saw the following window displays!
Clearly it’s not natural seaglass but it shows the beauty and inspiration that this Swedish company had while making thier glassware 
Tags: beach glass, glassware, macys, seaglass, sweden
100 Waves of Summer
In my hunt for beachtown boutiques, I came across Mary Tantillo’s shop in LBI, NJ called Swell Colors Glass Studio. Her stained glass is amazing and I specifically love the idea she had for “100 Waves of Summer.” She made 100 different stained glass windows for each day of the summer… and a couple of Indian Summer days in fall www.swellcolors.com
Tags: glass studio, lbi, mary tantillo, nj, stained glass, swell colors
“A real friend is someone who takes a winter vacation on a sun-drenched beach and does not send a card.” ~Maya Angelou
Tags: beach, card, earth, friend, grain, maya angelou, sand, silent sun, story, sun, vacation, walt whitman
What is normally a beautiful fall festival turned into a sloppy cold mess because of the rain and wind 
…BUT the silver lining is that I saw some great old friends and got the AliRay Designs name out there! Every little bit helps!
The weather stayed perfect for all of the runners… I might attempt it this year!
Tags: cow harbor day, festival, northport, ny
Serene Photo of Northport Harbor
One of my favorite photographers is John Ellsworth. He is a resident of Northport, NY & focuses his work on local waterscapes, boats and one of my favorite places, the Northport Harbor. If you haven’t seen his work, definitely take a look here. www.johnellsworth.com. His artwork is great for a beach house, bathroom wall or even home office. They exude serenity and a relaxing connection with nature.
We will both be displaying our work at Cow Harbor Day on 9/27 so come out and celebrate with us! www.northportny.com
Tags: beach house, cow harbor day, john ellsworth, northport, ny
Check out www.seabags.com to see some real ingenuity & eco-friendly fashion. This is a great company that recycles old boat sails and turns them into tote bags, beach bags, wine bags, etc. Prices are a bit steep for a standard tote bag but the craftsmanship and durability probably stand the test of time. A great gift for the beach bum in your life. You can even customize to put your favorite number or image on the bags.
Tags: boating sails, eco-friendly, recycle, seabags.com
This week is a very special one. It kicks off the ‘official’ summer season and things get very busy for me! I have a couple of new orders to finalize and stores to follow up with…. not to mention the lack of a free Saturday until the end of June. AND I am celebrating the 10th year anniversary of meeting my husband! How time flies…. carpe diem…. xoxo AliRay
Tags: anniversary, busy, june, memorial day, summer
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