Cherry Reds, Chapter 4: The July 4th Edition

I had a great time again Friday evening, face painting at Cherry Reds in Wyckoff.  As an aside, I highly recommend the blueberry, strawberry, and banana smoothie, which is my absolute favorite.

My first "customer" of the evening was one of the owners, who suggested a koi - my very first time painting one!

And then this little cutie's grandma suggested something patriotic for the holiday.  Good thing, too, since at my actual annual July 4 event at the Indian Trails Club, we were so slammed I didn't have time for a single photo!  Without this one, I'd have no patriotic photos at all this year.

Later in the evening, a contingent of teens came in, some of whom were visiting from Texas.  Great group of girls, and so fun!

They were all into the sea life...

... and a dog.

Another Busy Weekend: Cherry Reds, Chapter Three

First Friday Fun Nights at Cherry Reds continued this past Friday night (yes, I know it was the second Friday, but I had the Zoo Do last week).

A blast, as always!

Cherry Reds: Chapter Two

First Friday Fun Nights is becoming a hit!  This time when I was at the restaurant, I had people lining up almost as soon as I set up, and I heard them saying they'd come because of me, which is a great feeling.  Some had also checked out the Facebook photos and my website, and already decided what they wanted to be.

Because of that, I had a zombie girl all lined up, as well as several butterflies.

And one young lady just knew she had to be a tiger.

The funniest two may have been this Batman,

And this girl, who got an elephant at her mother's request.  She works at Cherry Reds, and when she told her mother about me, mom requested an elephant because they're her favorite.  When she texted a photo to her mom, mom said she was jealous and wanted one... how fun would it be if mom showed up for a face painting?!  I'm all for it!

This puppy and this pony thought they were challenging me, so it was fun to see their reactions once I was done.

The real challenge was actually this young lady, who took me up on my "I'll try anything" offer with a mischievous glint in her eye and asked for my first ever full-face fish painting.  There are things I'd alter now that I look at it... hindsight is 20/20, after all, but I think it's not bad at all for a wing-it first attempt!

The biggest coup, though, was this young man, who wasn't at all into getting painted until I started listing some ideas that might appeal, and he seemed intrigued by the dragon idea.  Well, by the time he saw the mirror, he was asking his parents to have me at his birthday!

Score!

Cherry Reds: Chapter One

There's a new smoothie/shake/ice cream/soup restaurant in the area:  Cherry Reds.  It's just a town over, and we found each other on, of all places, Facebook!  There's something to be said for Facebook, I suppose, and definitely something to be said for supporting small, local business, which Cherry Reds does as much as humanly possible.

The couple that owns the restaurant is really terrific, as are their three kids.  They've jumped right in to the neighborhood, setting out to form relationships with other small businesses in the area and working on becoming a local hangout and party venue.

On Friday night, I had the great pleasure of face painting there for a few hours!  Their daughters were the first up.

Even more fun, they convinced mom to get involved!

I had so much fun during the two hours I was there, I can't wait for my next time!

In the meantime, the Cherry Reds family and I are planning lots of other sorts of events too, so stay tuned!

It's Finally Spring!

Or at least it is as far as I'm concerned.  There may still be snow on the ground, but the clocks have changed, so I drive in the evening in daylight, and yesterday even drove home with the window open and rock on the stereo!  That's spring in my world.

Plus, last week was the first annual FLOW Green Fair (Franklin Lakes, Oakland, and Wyckoff, NJ), organized and hosted by the three Environmental Commissions, with participation from a lot of terrific groups, like the Northeast NJ Beekeepers Association, the Shade Tree Commissions, the Green Teams, Princeton Hydro, Hackensack Riverkeepers, the NJ Audubon Society... you get the idea.

It was pretty awesome.

And I got to face paint!  I'm on the Franklin Lakes Environmental Commission, but since they and the Green Team had all the organizational stuff well covered, we figured I could better serve by doing what I like most and do best.  And I was a pretty big hit - kept busy all day long!

Then again, so was everyone else!

If you're in the area and didn't make it this year, definitely make plans to come next year!  And if you did come?  Well, bring the family again!