Saturday, March 31, 2007

Hopping to it!


Well, are you ready? Easter is next weekend, and will company be coming over? We've had several people coming into get a new wreath for the front door, or pots of tulips to sit here and there to welcome their families and guests. There's still a few bunnies and chicks out there left for you to put some final touches in the living room kitchen and guest bath! Not having Easter dinner at your house this year? It's always nice to bring a little hostess gift along. Napkins, spreaders, even our tea is a wonderful little thank you saying - "Thanks for having it, so I didn't have to clean up my house!" (at least that's what my hostess gifts say!!!) Up top you will see a picture of some of our new eggs. Aren't they gorgeous!? They will be so neat to decorate with. These eggs can be used for Easter, however they are an everyday item you will see in the magazines, and decorating shows. There has been a push towards nature, birds, and grasses. Wallpapers, pictures, decorations - they are all "going to the birds!" This is a hot trend that will be pushed stronger through the year - just watch! Something else I wanted to show you were some pictures of things in our store - with magazines pictures of the same things - just look.......


First we got the Country Living magazine and saw our plates and napkins - right there on the page (we were really impressed!) Then, the
next week I got my Country Home magazine, and, low and behold, another item in the Summer Kitchen. Check out the cloche in the magazine - just like the one in the store! (Note the bird theme!) Well, I was excited and thought I'd show you, that - hey, Northwest Ohio is right there with the best of them - even in little Helena!

Friday, March 23, 2007

Spring Fling


It's Friday, March 23rd. During the day there was gentle spring rains, a peak of sunshine here and there, robins chasing each other, and the start of our annual Spring Fling Open House! The signs are here - spring has sprung! Hope you will be able to join us this weekend. We have such fun new things! There was a shipment that came last night before we closed, so we had to put some of it out. I have the picture of the enormous clock, for those of you with those vaulted ceilings - this is a great space filler! Check it out behind the table by the cooler - big, eh? I forgot to take pictures of the neat candle holders - I'll try to remember to take a picture tomorrow to put in! As usual, mom outdid herself,
topping her own record - 14 total different kinds of cookies - take a look! I think sometimes she is insane! (In a good way....) Well, they went fast today (don't worry there is PLENTY)! Toland flags didn't make it for the weekend. We kept on hoping the UPS or FedEx guys would stop by to bring them - but no such luck. They will probably be here on
Monday - just watch! This Iris flag is my favorite that is coming - isn't it pretty? We've got six or seven new designs, as well as some old favorites - I can't wait. Putting out a Toland spring flag means gardening will be around the corner soon! Patios, picnics and get-togethers - hurray!
Well dear hearts, we hope to see you soon - enjoy the signs of spring!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Thinking Spring


I had a panic attack yesterday. I realized that not only did we have a week until Open House, but, that 1. not far behind it was Easter (no Easter outfits yet) 2. I will be having a new niece or nephew by the end of the month (need to get a gift) 3. A niece with an April birthday that ALWAYS sneaks up on me (need to get a present) and 4. The Easter Bunny needs to get working on those baskets (aughhhhhh!) Now, those of you that have been reading the blog for a while, will remember that this happened in December. So, I thought of that, and realized - it all worked out for Christmas, and this would be no different! So I sat down and organized a list of things that need to be done. Easter outfits needed to be purchased - my little guy is outgrowing everything and needs a few new pj's that fit, and pants that are not high waters (if he were a girl, I'd just turn them into Capri pants, however, I haven't seen them advertised for boys as of yet). A dress, just perfect for the daughter, and a new shirt to go with a tie that we didn't wear for Christmas for the oldest. Of course, the husband could use a new shirt and tie also - and then there's me....and let's not forget the baby gift, niece's gift and we'd better look at ideas for those baskets! After work I came home and decided that today I'd get most of that shopping done - until the family decided they would all go along! (Do I hear moans out there???) Well, we started of by going to the shoe store and getting new tennis shoes for the kids (haven't gotten new for them since school started), and it figures that each of their feet have grown one size....that means you HAVE to get new shoes for sure - or your a bad parent - right??? After that we went to eat at Uncle John's Pancake House. I've got to tell you, this is our families favorite place to eat a RELAXING meal. Sometimes, all of the loud noise, TVs blaring, and fancy menus just don't permit you to enjoy a conversation with your children. After our supper, we decided to split up. The boys and Dad went to the bookstore while my daughter and I went to find those Easter outfits. Well, we got into the mall, went to Children's Place and got one outfit. We were moving fast, and I thought that we would get this all done lickity-split! We were walking and I made the mistake of going down the isle that had Build-A-Bear.........do I need to go any further - you know that I got suckered into going in there just to look, and that after we got in there my daughter reminds me that she brought her money with her. Let me again remind you that it is 7pm on a Saturday evening....... We left a 7:55. Yes, it was
swamped, yes I knew I wouldn't get anymore shopping done (meeting time was at 8:15pm), but I had a happy little girl, AND a green turtle (for St. Patrick's Day) named Clover....."Lucky" Clover - get it.....for St. Patrick's Day. Oh well, guess we will try that shopping trip again - perhaps WITHOUT the family! All in all it was fun, the kids had a nice time - and they did get to go to Toys R Us and spend their Christmas gift cards, and I did get a present for the niece. Well, some things got taken care of, and so what if I have a list of "to be done" yet. I guess I'll just have to try it again - darn!


If you are on the mailing list, you should have your yellow Spring Fling postcards.

Spring Fling is next weekend, and you guessed it - Mom has been busy making some delicious cookies. She is making some of the recipes from our new "500 Cookies" cookbook - they look really yummy! Hope to see you:

SPRING FLING

Friday, March 23rd 10am-8pm
Saturday, March 24th 10am-5pm
Sunday, March 25th 1pm-5pm

There are some really fun things out on the floor. This week we were busy with customers wanting some of those neat-o things. We had to re-order those Bethany Lowe bunnies again - just love them! Velveteen bunnies that people want for Easter, but also for everyday. I have spent all week taking pictures of the store, so I will be putting some of the spring pictures throughout the blog tonight. I am trying to get pictures so that we can put them on the new web pages - I'm really anxious to get it up and going. People want to know if we will be putting things up for sale, but I don't know if we are ready for that yet. We might try one or two things - we will see!

Home Show 2007 went well - hope you enjoyed the display pictures. Saturday had a long lull, but Sunday went super fast. When we got back, we not only had to put away our 10 x 10 square we took out of the store, but we had 12 or so boxes that had come for us to unpack, AND we decided to re-arrange the store for Spring Fling. Sunday night we got some things done, and continued Monday afternoon. Tuesday, the main floor of the store looked pretty good - for the Red Hat ladies that were scheduled to come, however, the back room looked like a twister had hit! It took us nearly the whole week to get things unpacked, priced and put out or put up for summer! I know you think it's such a glamorous job......we could tell you stories! Yesterday, I finally felt like we had pulled ourselves together - it looks so effortless - doesn't it?!! Friday, I did do something "fun", though. I went through old pictures and copied them to put in our frames - so when you come in, be sure to look at all of the picture frames - you might recognize someone you know - or you might get a kick out of them - who knows! If you have a fun, old, black and white picture from the 1940's through 1960's - xerox it off and bring it in and we'll put it in one of our frames. We love old pictures, and they make it more interesting to look at for everyone - so if you'd like to share - please do!

With April fast approaching, and the Spring weather peaking around the corner, we have planned the next tea party. It will be Sunday, April 22nd at 2pm. There will possibly be another, this we will decide this week. This Tea Party will be another benefit tea, like the one we had in December for the Liberty Center. Cost will be for a suggested donation of $15 and proceeds will go to Heartbeat of Fremont. We will have a lovely meal for you again - and hope for you to join us. Call us at 419-638-4205 or email us at summerkitchen@sbcglobal.net for more information.

Well, see you soon - remember - spring is around the corner (no matter how many times it snows!)

Friday, March 02, 2007

It's Show Time!


Hey there!
The first day of Home Show went well. Seen a lot of old friends, and we were pleased to meet a lot of new folks. Karrie and I (and our wonderful husbands), headed over to set up around noon, and finished up about 2:30pm. All went very smooth, and thankfully we had no rain- that makes it easier to bring in everything!! Sure, there were things that didn't show up - but we did have two last minute shipments
come in late afternoon. Check out the new blue plates on the back cabinet - so pretty! We also got in these cool metal shoes that can be used on the floor, outside or hanging on the wall - don't know if you can see them over on the floor next to the chair and the navy cabinet. Fun stuff - some we couldn't bring, because we were packed full! After the show tonight, we snapped some pictures up for you, so enjoy! I think the colors are fabulous - and the girls really draw attention!

Tomorrow we will be there from 12pm - 8pm and Sunday from 12pm - 4pm if you'd like to come out.

Enjoy the pic's!

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