A Beautiful Saturday.....

Our Spring Back Door Sale was quite a success! We hold the sale twice a year and this allows us to offer inventory we are ready to clear out to our customers at quite a savings. Here are some pics from the fun day full of savings...and we lucked out with absolutely beautiful weather!

These are the AM helpers....as in 6:30 a.m.! I am really lucky to have a wonderful family who enjoys helping out at the shop. Thanks again Aunt Phyllis, Aunt Terri, and Aunt Mary.

And the PM helpers....thanks Lori and Candi! The day got a little crazy around 4:00 and these lovely ladies helped keep me organized and packed up quickly...Thanks Again!

The side yard was full of tables with marked down merchandise. Here the shoppers are perusing the bargain offerings.

Picture Perfect....

We have added a new collection of Inspiration Photo Frames to our selection. The first shipment flew out faster than we had time to take pictures to share, but we just received a new batch. These would make wonderful gifts for just about any occasion or even a nice little gift to yourself. They have beautiful quotes and are available in various matting and frame combinations. So without further ado......

Spring Back Door Sale

Its closing in on that time of year again....time for your favorite shops on Main Street to start gathering and marking down some of their excess inventory and offer you fabulous savings!!!!!! There are 9 locations to save this time...so start planning your route for the day. We (dahlias) will set up in our side yard again and will have toted and marked things down for your buying pleasure. The savings will happen:

Saturday

May 17, 2008

8:00 am - ?????

Sale Locations Include:

Jake's On Main ~136 S. Main St.

Main Street Books ~ 307 S. Main St.

dahlias ~ 525 S. Main St.

Heritage Place Antiques ~ 600 S. Main St.

Maison Rive ~ 603 S. Main St.

Jansen Clocks ~ 608 S. Main St.

The Satterfield's ~ 715 S. Main St.

Main Street Marketplace ~ 708 S. Main St.

Finishing Touches by Charlotte* ~ 825 S. Main St.

*formerly This Olde House

Going Green?

I love the color green, but the thought of actually going "green" well its a little overwhelming. What actions can I change that will make a difference? Where do I start.....at home, at work? Do I start small, adding a few changes here and there? Will it really affect the way I live my day to day life? Ahhhh what do I do? This is about the point I decide eh, I'll think about it later and then nothing happens, nothing is changed!

So in an effort to actually make some changes...I am going to think about it and find a few places to begin and attempt to add from there. I can hear Maria from the Sound of Music, "Let's start at the very beginning, its the perfect place to start..." And that is so true the beginning is the perfect place to start. Where is my beginning? How about at the shop, its where I spend most of my time so hopefully its where I can make the biggest impact.

In January I made the effort to introduce at least one new product that had an environmental conscience. I found some of my favorite vendors were introducing or already had products that met the requirements. K. Hall Designs offers a wonderful array of goodies to scent your home. They also are quite eco-friendly. The containers for their diffusers are made with recycled materials, they offer ideas on how to reuse their glass candle jars, their diffuser oils are available as a refill, which means the glass diffuser bottle can be reused. Their candles are made with renewable resources, good for the environment and your family.

Hillhouse Naturals introduced several new eco-friendly fragrance collections. We included the Botura Collection in our Spring 2008 Goodies. The collection includes candles made with a 100% natural soy wax blend and plant-derived essential oils. The diffusers' packaging was printed at a facility that uses 100% Wind Power.

That is a look at my "beginning" in an effort to make the world a greener place. I still have a few eco-friendly goodies that have yet to arrive. One I am very excited about includes purses, clutches, and reusable totes. All of these are made by re-purposing clothing and other fabrics, thanks Abby for directing me to them! Now my question to you.....Do any of you have simple changes that could make a difference and be the "beginning" for others?

Weddings....

In 2007 four very good friends tied the knot. Two were my very best friends...one is staring her first anniversary in the face...wish her and her hubby luck, they leave for Vegas to celebrate this week. The other just celebrated her fifth month of marriage. The other two brides...well let's just say we have history....as in knowing one since we were little bitty tots and the other since Kindergarten.

Four weddings comes with four shower gifts (sometimes more), four bachelorette party gifts, and the all important four wedding gifts. While I do like to give the newly weds practical gifts from their Registry Lists. Its nice to give a meaningful gift...something that will remind them of their beautiful day.

So as the "2008 Wedding Season" gets underway I gathered photos of some meaningful gift ideas for the weddings on your calendar...Enjoy!

This would be the perfect addition to any gift...
the Bride can stow this Brag Book in her purse and be able to share her favorite photos.

"To Love and to Cherish."
A beautiful way to display the vow exchange.

"What are you doing the rest of your life?
North and South and East and West of your life.
I have only one request, that you spend it with me."
-Bergman

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It never was between you and them anyway."

- Mother Teresa

Two plaques with beautiful passages from the Bible.

April Showers Bring May Flowers....

Well in that case we are going to have quite a garden full, aren't we my friends? We don't necessarily require watering at dahlias, but we have had quite a crop of new goodies arrive. One of our favorites is a new line of hand made photo frames, brag books, photo albums, calendar holders, post-it holders, and art work brag boards.

Display your family photos in style with a new frame.

A simple reminder to always "Cherish Family"."Its not the years in your life that count, it is the life in your years."
-Abraham Lincoln

"Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters."

-Margaret Peters

Transport candid shots of your little ones with a brag book.Always have your "Good Times" photos handy with this totable brag book.

Gather your holiday or vacation photos in one spot with a stylish new photo album.

Stay organized with a quirky calendar holder

Jot down a quick note from the hanging sticky pad holder.

Clear the clutter on the front/side of your fridge by displaying the latest masterpiece of your budding artist on a brag board (or two!).

Easter

We thought we would share some of our Easter essentials.....with Easter popping up on us earlier than usual (March 23) we really tried to lean more towards Spring goods, but we had to throw some Easter with glitter in there too....we couldn't resist! So here are some top favorites from our Easter selection....stop in soon to add to your collection.



These glittered greeting post cards are among the top picks for every holiday....and the Easter ones do not disappoint. There are six styles (2 each) with a total of 12 post cards per tin. They are great to frame or fill out an Easter wish for the Easter baskets on your list.



Chirp, chirp, chirp! Can you hear them calling your name? A basket full of chirping chicks...just what your Easter collection needs.

These dreamy, glitter bunnies are part of the our vintage Easter collection this year. This artist never fails to deliver pieces that are hard to resist. Both the bunny on the striped box and the egg open....soooo instead of an Easter basket this year...these can hold the candies and goodies. The pearl handled Easter bunny basket is just a classic Easter statement....done in shades of glittery ivory.This fun retro bunny box actually opens and is very festive with a palette of soft spring colors.
We wouldn't want to forget your garden.....this bunny peaking from the cabbage is on a stake and would be the perfect addition to anyone's front yard or garden sanctuary. We chose these because they can be left out long after your Easter guests have departed. Those are curly cue carrot stakes behind the bunny.....you can't have one without the other, right?!