February Wins & Woes

Greetings, SL’ers!

Congrats on making it through what may end up feeling like one of the longest months of the year!

This winter has been interesting in terms of having some slow periods but also working on exciting shoppe projects behind the scenes. I am still feeling that dichotomy of being a little bored and a little lost at times, but also appreciative of the calmness that I currently have in my life. Being in my 30’s, I think I’ve lived long enough to have some perspective that life is full of different seasons (literally and figuratively). Some are rougher and some are smoother. It won’t always be like this, so for now I’m just trying to enjoy the peacefulness.

Beautiful snow covered beach path during the storm.

On a personal note, COVID struck our house early in the month so we hunkered down for a solid two weeks to recover. During that time, the snow storm hit us, which truly was gorgeous. I realized not only had I not seen snow in over two years, but it had been even longer since I had a snow day where I didn’t have to be in an office or at school. To be able to go outside during the peak of the storm and watch the flakes fall in such a beautiful setting was really special. I was pinching myself walking along the beach and through Cox Hall, seeing ducks peacefully swimming in the pond and the pine trees draped in pristine white. We baked banana bread, made a wood burning fire, sipped prosecco, and listened to music. I was doing everything I could to romanticize the cold winter weather, and it was awesome. I’ve said it before, but upon moving here I was afraid that winter meant isolation which would throw me into an anxious spiral. Instead, I’m becoming so appreciative of this season because I know it all is going to change in the summer when town is bustling with life again. It’s almost nice to be able to experience the best of both worlds and the best of both seasons.

The heart of the Washington Street Mall on sunny afternoon in January - newsflash, it will never be like this in the summer!

Business has been pretty slow to be honest, but landing a few winter pop ups definitely gave me a boost of much needed confidence. Sales events are critical for bringing in revenue this time of year when retail is at its slowest. My fingers are crossed that they go well! In the meantime, I still am keeping my eyes peeled for part time work. Each day that goes by feels like there is more and more opportunity, since we are getting closer to spring. I am trying to be open to everything that comes my way in terms of networking and putting myself out there, and hope that something good clicks from it soon.

There are a couple of random things that I have been ruminating over that I figure I can chat about here. I feel that the creative aspects of this business, in terms of photography and styling, come really naturally. I am considering if I should see how that could evolve by adding a service element to my business (i.e. home or event styling, or product photography for clients). I don’t feel ready to do anything drastic just yet since I’m still new and getting my feet wet as an entrepreneur, but the idea has definitely crossed my mind. If this is something you would be interested in working together on, even as a pro-bono / guinea pig type of project, please let me know!

The other thing that has been on my mind has to do with social media. I really don’t want to sound complainey (a word that I just made up), but I feel like I’m at a loss with how to work Instagram these days. It’s a weird topic for me because I truly believe in sharing authentic content and have always tried not to care about the numbers behind it. Except, maybe I do kind of care now that I am consciously trying to grow a digital business. My engagement has been so low lately (engagement..ick!). Pre-business days when I would just post random pictures around town, I would connect with so many more followers. Now, it’s like crickets when I post most things to my grid. I don’t blame anyone except for the “algorithm”, I guess? I hate how social media can feel like some kind of tactical game. I want it to just be a genuine, creative space but I also don’t want to feel like I am putting things into a cryptic void where no one even sees it. I’ve read all kinds of articles about this topic and have seen mixed reviews on posting consistently, but it has to be strong content, and reels are preferred, but you have to interact with people regularly, and so forth and so forth. I am ready to just throw my hands up in the air and say I give up! If you have an inkling of how to combat this Instagram fatigue, please let me know because it’s getting to me! And I don’t want it to get to me, I want to just be chill and not care :)))).

Walking-gram of me and Weej during the storm - he was seriously irked with me and how many photos I was taking, lol.

Aaand finally, I know last month I said I would try to share some local business recommendations that stay open during the winter, so here are a few spots that I tried for the first time!

Crackling fire at Inn of Cape May - a nice spot for coffee.

Coffee at The Inn of Cape May - very cute & homey vibes! You can sit by the fireplace while sipping your cup of joe, and appreciate the serenity because the place will be mobbed in the summer!

Breakfast at The Flight Deck Diner - yep, it lived up to its hype! Their breakfast potatoes were the best around town (& I’ve been around the block with diners here), the prices are still reasonable, and the unique local vibe is unmatched. Go, go, go!

Dinner at Panico’s Bistro - I was really impressed by Panico’s. While it’s not necessarily cheap, it’s a BYO and the prices are a little better than some of the other BYO’s here. Because of this, I wasn’t sure if it would just be “ok”, but it was great. I got a delicious eggplant parm dinner - something I don’t typically order. Beyond tasty food, the ambiance is cute too. It has high ceilings, an open kitchen / brick oven pizza oven concept, and its own parking lot which is convenient, especially when dining with the fam.

Some other spots that seem new and I have not tried yet are The Cricket Club (formerly Merion Inn) and Maison Bleue Bistro, both dinner restaurants in CM that are O-P-E-N, yay.

That’s all I got for you for this month! Based on the projects I have cooking in the SL oven, I think I’ll have good stuff to share with you next month too. Until then, Happy Valentine’s Day & Happy February! <3