THIS MAKES ME SMILE

This is a road that I drive everyday out of my little part of town by the water...you must go over this bridge to get into the main area of our township... which is where I opened my shop.  Yes it was intentional to be on Main Street in the center of town.

I took this photo today because every time I drive over it I feel proud and always wonder who the person is who maintains the flags on this bridge.

This bridge isn't just like this today.....it is changed out for memorial day, for 911 memorial.  The flags are always impecable and I just thought it was something to share.

I live in a very patriotic township...... Woodbridge Township, NJ is very supportive of its military and being a USMC family with friends still enlisted I am proud that we are this way.

Hope you or your town display the red-white-blue whenever and where ever you can!   God Bless America

-MJ

WHO ME......JUDGE???????

On Saturday I had the pleasure of being asked to judge a local contest.   Well....not just any contest.   It was the Woodbridge Township Greenable Museum Recycled Art Contest.  

I was very excited to be asked and was blown away but the exhibits at our local museum.  This museum is located in our local mall and it was my 1st time there since it opened.

Here are some photos I took before the contestants arrived with their parents.

Live plants growing in PVC

Jeans as insulation...wow I thought I had some denim recycling ideas

Examples of how long things take to decompose and will sit in landfills

This is one of my favorites...just because 

ABC's of going GREEN

All of the kids who participated were talented and their projects were amazing.  However the other 2 judges and I could only select 3 winners.    Winners were picked on the creativity and most use of recycled items.

HERE ARE THE WINNERS

1st Prize - Chris Negron from Woodbridge High School 

His project was the Tree of Life...his verbal description of his project and inspiration was amazing and he put alot of thought into it and it is truly a wonderful example of recycled art.

2nd Prize - The Avenel Middle School Art Class (a group of approximately 8+ students) who came up this fantastic guy Ernie the Earth Guy.  They collected trash from their own school and put together this fabulous specimen. 

3rd prize went to a lovely young lady named Juliana but she was gone before I could get her photo.  She made the Cherrios Ballerina on the back left.   She used a lot of recycled materials and had a lot of detail.

I was so honored to be apart of this contest, and amazed by the talent of these children and their knowledge and passion for going GREEN.

Thanks to the Greenable Museum, Mayor McCormac, Kelly Reidy, Caroline Ehrlich for inviting to be apart of this special event in our wonderful GREEN town.

- MJ

JOIN THE PARADE.......

One of the benefits of opening my shop on Main Street is that we have the best parades and I now have a front row seat.   Yesterday was my town of Woodbridge, New Jersey's Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade....it is a big deal in our town.  People come from all over to sit on Main Street and watch the parade...to see all the fun groups, organizations, dance schools, local officials and service units along with our local high school bands marching in the parade.  Our Mayor just so happens to be Irish so how could we do it anything but BIG!!!

My window was all dressed in GREEN for the event and (cough, cough) I am a Eco-Friendly boutique so what other was there to go that GREEN.  Did I mention my grandfather is an Irishman...from Dublin.  So today I honored him and the Loughney name and wore my green and shamrocks.

My neighbor at the skate shop and I had the table and a sofa outside and our stores were packed our front with parade goers, our families, children and friends.   Awesome crowd.

I have to say I got some great compliments and some wonderful feedback.  I was told "it's about time", "just what we need"  "how refreshing", "how awesome", "how creative and beautiful" my shop was and that made me feel great.  I think I will be well received once we get our name out a bit more and people know that I am there on Main Street now.

Here are a few pics from the days events.........Happy St. Patrick's Day to ya!  (early but still it was on this day)

My GREEN Irish window display

I even had a little leprechaun in my window too

Parade goers and people entering our little shop raffle

My husband, me and the coolest Marine...he might be cooler than the drill Sgt. from Full Metal Jacket!

I was glowing from excitement of being a business owner on Main Street

My little Irish display for the parade goers, cool stuff and snacks.  

-MJ

TIME TO SADDLE UP....AND KEEP RIDING!

Well this is the 1st post of 2012....my last post wasn't so fun (my father had just passed) and I kinda just put blogging aside.

Well it's time to saddle up again, I have big plans for 2012 and I need to make it happen.   Im in the process of opening my own physical brick & mortar shop.   I like the word shop rather than store, it feels more inviting to me....a store is where you buy your groceries. lol

Things are going well, I have met with some officials in my town to discuss the opening of the shop and it's concept.   The shop name is Lucky 7 Design    Eco-Friendly Home Interiors.  The concept of the store is to showcase furniture pieces repurposed and redesigned for today's use and therefore keeping a recycling and green concept.

I have gathered up some of my favorite artisans/crafters from coast to coast and their lines will be available in the shop.   They all have a unified concept and business mindset and I want to share that with my community here in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

My town goverment officials are huge believers in the GREEN concept and way of life.    Our Mayor has put into place some fantastic resources and we are all hoping Lucky 7 Design will be apart of that plan soon.

Classes & Workshops will be offered at the shop spotlighting ways to decorate GREEN and also how to recycle and repurpose items.

I will also be hosting a children's class once a month and teach children that there is really more to recycling that separating trash into different bins.   Each month will we create something from a spotlighted item.

I hope you all will join me in this wonderful journey, as the time gets closer I will of course share with you all of the wonderful vendors who have signed on to be apart of this dream of mine.

I leave you with some inspiring photos of my visions for the shop and the window displays and that downtown Main Street feel.

All images found through Google.

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

- MJ

IT'S A HOMETOWN HOLIDAY PARADE.....GOTTA LOVE MY TOWN

My hometown is so cool, our mayor is all about community.    I want to invite you to Woodbridge, NJ and our yearly Holiday Parade held on Main Street....yep that's right we have a Main Street and it is our downtown business district filled with restaurants, shops and hopefully the new home for Lucky 7 Design in the Spring.

Enjoy the parade and look out for Santa.............

Our train station overpass

Our stage, with our Municipal Clerk at the helm

American Legion...Woodbridge is very supportive of their veterans (new/old) and being a wife of a veteran I take pride and respect that of our local goverment.

Baseball Mascot

The Ragtimers

Local Dance School float

Cool cars

Cool motorcycles

Our wonderful men in uniform...the Woodbridge Fire Department

A vintage ambulance

Girls scouts (my daughter's troop) 

She is the petite one on the right carrying the banner

High School Band

Colonial Group

Sweet father/daughter moment

Vintage cars

This was so cool

Nothing better than the sound of live bagpipers 

A horse riding family...see we have cowboys in Jersey!

OMG....my favorite car and color

The Fallen Hero truck...created in honor of fallen police officers

She was having a good time

Here comes Santa Claus....Here comes Santa Claus....right down  Main Street

Santa & Mrs. Claus waving to the locals

My girls had a blast watching their sister in the parade and seeing the arrival of Santa Claus

This was a highlight of my day at the parade....yes a potato on a stick!   

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM

 LUCKY 7 DESIGN

-MJ