PICTURE POST OF PREVIEW...

Well girls, I promised you pictures, so here we go! The P.J. Party wasn't much of an event, but we still have Sights, Sounds and Tastes of Holly tomorrow night. I had a lot more business in the morning than we did at night! Oh well, live and learn. Have to keep trying! This is me and Cathy from My Sweet Holly that helped me host the event.

Janie from Zanie Janies Coffees. She set up a taste table in our shop and we are hoping she will open a coffee shop next door soon. What a great gal!

Dennis and Laura from Carrie's Delights!

Owner of Pigeon In The Parlour.

Dennis from Carrie's Delights at our shop in his p.j.'s and robe!

Grandson Gannon giving Dennis the prize for the best p.j.'s of the night.

Now on to some of the goodies. New witch.

Great witch hat - by Terri.

Love this old shoe with the witch - also by Terri.

Black pumpkin/acorn gal. She has an acorn hat and pinkeep.

Crowtilda - pumpkin girl with her crow. Also lots of Halloween necklaces by Kari.

Pumpkin guy and his cat - sold first thing this morning.

Oh my gosh, he lost his head!

My favorites! Rosemary and Thyme done on old bobbins.

Lots of cat goodies. How about the candy corn mouse necklace on the big doll?

Miscellaneous goodies.

Great ghost - by Terri!

Scarecrow head on an old light fixture.

Big pumpkin door greeter.

This is what you see when you first walk in the shop. LOTS of pumpkin goodies!

The greenhouse filled with more pumpkin goodies, mice and ornies.

Our "fall" area with a variety of crow items.

Witches, witches and more witches.

The mantle with spooky silouettes.

There you have our little fall/Halloween preview. We added lots more after I took the pictures and there will be more on the way! I'll try to take a few more shots tomorrow. Remember, if you see anything that tugs at your heartstrings, I will always ship! Just give me a call at the shop or e-mail me.

Have a great weekend!

Until next time...

ALMOST DONE...

Okay girls, I promise this is the last post without pictures, but the craziness of the week continued today too.
My friend Lisa came to help me move furniture and rearrange the shop and then Terri (thank goodness for Terri) came with MANY more boxes of goodies and we went to work transforming the shop into a Halloween/fall haven. We worked until about 10:30 tonight, but got most of it finished up. Just a little more tweeking tomorrow and it will be ready for our P.J. Party by 5 tomorrow night.
I so hope some of you are able to make our party, you won't believe some of the great handmades we have! I'll try to post pictures tomorrow night. I'm so darned excited!!! If you can't make it tomorrow, come on in to Holly on Saturday night for the Sights, Sounds and Tastes of Holly - we will be open until about 8 o'clock.
While you're in town tomorrow night, be sure to stop in some of the other great shops that have joined in the fun. I can't wait to see Dennis that owns Carrie's Delights - he promised to wear his p.j.'s!!!
I'm TIRED - time to hit the bed for a few hours. Be back tomorrow night.
Have a great Friday!
Until next time...

CRAZY WEEK...

Good morning! Okay, so I don't have pictures again, but I will in the next day or so. I've been so busy getting things ready for our p.j. party and carting things to the shop.
I wanted to say "thank you" to all of you that have left such wonderful comments about our move. This was a hard decision, but the only practical one we could come up with. From here on, I'm going to try to make this a fun project and look forward to the construction to start and the prim decorating. Maybe things will slow down a bit after we actually get moved and settled.
Yesterday was CRAZY!!! I took my mom to the attorney in the morning, then we took coffee and donuts to my dad, then on to the bank to set up a trust, then I delivered things to the shop (I hired someone to work yesterday), then I went back to Mom's to sort and sort her downstairs, then I went to see Dad, then I came home to cook dinner, then we went to pick up things for the shop from Mom's and deliver them, then I came home to wrap packages to be shipped!!! Whew, was I ever ready for bed!
Debbie is coming out to the shop today and she is going to help me move some things around and then tomorrow night Terri is coming with a "van load" of goodies and we are going to transform everything for our fall preview! I can't wait - even though it is a little early. I can't think of a more fun way to kick off the fall season than a p.j. party - can't wait to see some of the get-ups!
Maybe I'll take some pictures today and give you another little sneak peek - I just hope some of you are able to make the actual party!
Have a great day and we'll talk again soon.
Until next time...

LIFESTYLE CHANGE...

Good morning gals. I've been away a little more than usual lately, but things have been a little hectic, to say the least, in this neck of the woods.
Last weekend we had a great turnout for our sidewalk sale and sold LOTS of our summer goodies and next Friday night (31st from 5-9) is our p.j.party/fall preview. Everyone has been working like crazy and I've got some wonderful things to surprise everyone with. This will sure be a busy week getting ready though!
As you all know, my wonderful dad had a stroke in May and is in a nursing home nearby. I try to go visit most nights after I close the shop and that leaves my mom on her own. We have made the very hard decision to move to her home (since she would NEVER move) and, at least for now, give up our wonderful old historic home. I had to get down to the fact that it's "just a house". We haven't decided if we are going to sell or rent it, but we have been SO busy getting things ready to move. We are doing a total re-do of her walkout and the contractors are starting this week. I've been helping her sort, pitch and get ready for a garage sale and then I will have to do the same thing here. I'm trying to look at the bright side, our new "apartment" is going to be prim, prim, prim and that part will be fun. I'll share pictures as we get going. There is nothing more precious than family and I have been so very lucky to have such wonderful parents. They both would always do anything they could for their family and now it's my turn to give back. I count my blessings every day that I have a husband that feels the same way. Thank you Dick! We're hoping to have this all wrapped up by the end of the summer and then get back so some kind of order in our lives. Thank you all so much for the support you have shown through this heartbreaking time.
SO, on to the fun. Our Terri has been creating like a wild woman! She has made so many wonderful things for the shop - pumpkins, witches, black cats, silouettes, ornies, make-dos, dolls... (And she has been working on Christmas in between!!!) Kari (our jewelry artist) has been working on Halloween jewelry too, it is so unique! We also have MANY wonderful dolls to offer for fall.
Before next Friday we will also have more antiques in the shop. We have been selling like crazy and have LOTS of holes to fill. Can't wait to see what it all looks like when it's done.
Thursday night Terri is going to come help me put it all out (after hours) so we're ready for Friday night. Many other Holly shops have gotten in on the action for the p.j. party. My Sweet Holly (the newest shop in town) is helping me host this event. So far the other shops that have joined in are Pigeon In The Parlour, Carrie's Delights, the new candle shop and more... Hope some of you can make it - but don't forget to wear your p.j.'s to get your discounts!
On to the shop for the afternoon. Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday and "Thanks Again".
Until next time...

SUMMER FUN...

Hi gals. Finally back on to blogland, just needed a little break. This past weekend was so much fun, we got to see most of our grandchildren and spend a little time together. Abbey is learning to swim under water - she is very determined!

TA-DA! We have this little blow-up pool in our back yard for the grandchildren (or us if it gets too hot)! Abbey would live in it if we'd let her. (Check out the bathing suit Connie!)

Then we went over to visit our daughter Amanda's family. Our Gannon had to ham it up a bit! Next year he will be on the swim team.

Jack will turn 5 next month and can swim like a fish! He is busy planning his "birthday blowout bash".

Little Caroline likes to get in on the action too. Such a sweetie! Can you tell that Grandpa thinks she is pretty special?

Our Gannon called me at the shop today and said that we needed to plan a "date"! He is coming tomorrow night to spend the night and then helping me at the shop on Friday. I'll never get enough of him, he's such a doll! Is 11 close to being a teenager????? Sure seems like he is growing up fast!

On to the shop! The feeling of fall is starting to sneak into the shop. The crows are starting to land and the sunflowers are opening their sleepy heads. I've got all kinds of things on sale, trying to broom out the summer stuff to make room for our fall preview - July 31! Can't wait! Terri is going to come help me with the redo and I have a feeling we will be working well into the night. There is so much to put out and SOOOO much to do. I've got LOTS of sewing to finish up in a week, but don't we generally work better under pressure??!! Got this old garden bench/planter and I can't wait to fill it with pumpkins and sunflowers!

For those of you that have shown an interest in ordering your houses custom done for Christmas gifts, be sure to start thinking about ordering within the next month of so. I just need pictures of the front and 2 sides (including the roof and chimney lines) to send to the artist with a deposit. Just give me a call and I'll fill you in on the details.

This old crock chick waterer is SOOO cool! I've never seen one before. It would be such a great addition to a crock collection and is marked down to $24.00!

This is the printing on the front of the crock.

It is raining like crazy right now (and we need it), but we were going to haul more furniture to the shop tonight. Maybe it will let up soon, otherwise we'll have to wait until this weekend. Darn! The best laid plans...

Well girls, I hope you have a wonderful evening doing whatever you like to do best!

Until next time...

HALLOWEEN TEASE...

Happy Friday everyone! What a week this has been! First moving the shop all around, redoing the front windows and then marking tons of merchandise down for our sale tomorrow! I'll be glad when it's over and I'm doing the sunshine dance (just for tomorrow). Thought you might like to sneek a little peek at a few of the Halloween dolls that will be out for our fall preview/p.j. party night.

A couple of Terri's creations. Can't wait to put them all out! Won't be long now.
I have boxes and boxes of great Halloween goodies - and then on to the markets in August!

Have you ever seen such a beautiful kerosene lamp holder? It is big (and very ornate)! $94.95

And look at this yo-yo quilt. All made from material from the 30's and 40's. Wish it were my colors! It is just gorgeous. I always think about the woman that must have taken the time to make something like this! Holy cow! $89.95

There are sure going to be bargains in Holly this weekend! I went through the whole store and slashed prices like crazy. I really want a clean slate to start over for fall.

This post is a short one. I'm heading up to the nursing home to visit my dad and I hope to beat the storm that looks near. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Talk to you soon.

Until next time...

SHOP REDO...

Good Thursday evening gals! Whew! What a two day marathon. Some big pieces of furniture left the shop and there were holes and, of course, one thing led to another... I have spent two days redoing everything, including mopping the floors and the front window. Thank goodness my friend Bonnie came in today and helped do the front of the shop and the window - I was out of gas from yesterday! Tomorrow Lisa is coming to help me get everything ready for the sidewalk sale on Saturday - another busy day! Thought you might like a peek - although it is all going to change again soon. This is our summer sale area - everything is on sale! All the patriotic, garden and summer merchandise. I'm really hoping the patio set will go before we start to decorate for fall!

More sale items - garden, garden, garden!

A few fall things are starting to peek out - crows and a few sunflowers.

Our new little "living room". Sure makes the shop feel homier!

Should have had the fireplace going for you!

I set up the bed and put the drying rack, rocking chair and yarn winder in the middle. Love the old bench at the foot of the bed.

Other side of bedroom area - there's my first aid cupboard!

Love the back wall of the shop! I hung all kinds of goodies everywhere! The long table is going home with Merrie (Where the Blackbirds Sing) on Saturday.

Lots more kitchen goodies!

That's what I've been up to for two days, but it's worth it when it's over. Tonight I'm going to pick up a load from Terri, she said she has been working like crazy on more Halloween. I'm not even sure where I'm going to put more - but I'm sure I'll figure it out!!!

I've decided to have our fall switch made for July 31 and our p.j. party. It will be our fall preview and should be lots of fun! You won't believe all the handmades we are going to have!!! I know it's early, but what the heck??? Hope some of you can make it to Holly that night - but be sure to wear your p.j.'s for the discounts!

Okay, off to Terri's house I go - it feels just like Christmas every time I see what she has done!

Have a great summer evening.

Until next time...

BACK TO REALITY...

Good evening everyone out there in blogland. We're back from a much needed getaway to The Little House (our northern Michigan cottage). What a wonderful, peaceful weekend we had! Our friends Kenny and Debbie were at their cottage too, so we were able to celebrate both of their birthdays with them. How old are you Debbie??? I spent some time assessing everything up there and deciding what different pieces we are going to switch out. Can't wait for next time.
Last Friday, Terri dropped off LOTS of boxes of new wares - but most of them will be a surprise when we make the switch to fall. I'm getting so excited to do that too! I might show you a sneak peak this week just as a little tease! She did bring in a box filled with packets of labels. Oh so fun! You get 8 different sizes in a packages for $4.95.

She also brought in these old crow surprises. One is a wooden pantry box, one is a vintage chip can and one is a small box.

But my favorites were these black spindle angels! Oh I want one for me! They would look so darn cute on a porch or garden fence! This one is made from an old black spindle with sticks for arms,

and this one is made from an old black spindle with vintage molding for arms. They are $29.95 each.

Terri has more and more ready to bring into the shop - can't wait to see what's next!

We will also be having lots of handmade fall/halloween dolls. The sewing machines have been smokin'! (And I'll be sharing pictures soon.)

For all you gals that live within driving distance, the Holly Sidewalk Sale is this Saturday (July 18) and you will be able to save on lots of great merchandise all through the town.

On July 31 I am hosting (along with My Sweet Holly) an evening p.j. party. Lots of the other shops are going to get in on the action. There will be discounts to those that wear their p.j.'s and prizes for the most outragious! Should be lots of fun and the hours will be from 5-9 p.m. Stay tuned for more details.

Well gals, back to the sewing machine. I miss The Little House already!

Until next time...