SUCCESSFUL FALL OPEN HOUSE...

Good evening prim pals. Just wanted to pop in and thank everyone that helped make our Fall Open House a success today (and throughout the week too). There's nothing like customers that have turned into friends!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of a great visit from Janet of Old Crow Primitives - all the way from Ontario, Canada. Sure wish she lived closer, she is so much fun and such a sweet gal! Today Earlene from Primitive Passion Decorating came to the open house with her sister Sharon. It is always so much fun to see other bloggers!

Carol, Dick and I had a ball waiting on everyone and chatting it up a bit too. Whew, looks like we might have to go on another buying trip!!!

Mr. Dan Hays came to sing for us again and was a real crowd pleaser! He is getting to be quite popular in our little village. Thanks again to everyone that we've had the pleasure to seeing this week.

As the open house was wrapping up, one of the gals that works in another shop (Natalie) came into town after her wedding for her photographs to be taken. One of Zanie Janie's customers brought their 1959 Ford in for a "prop". All of the bridesmaids, bride and groomsmen were dressed in vintage outfits and it was beyond adorable! Congratulations to the new couple.

Wish you could have seen them all in person!

Click on the picture and check out all of the vintage dresses. What a great idea!

Well friends, time to take a little time to relax and then tomorrow we are going to the Little House for a couple of days. Hope Dick wants to go fishing so I can just sleep, sleep, sleep. I'll be back next week to leave comments on your blogs. I've kept up reading them this week, but just haven't had time to comment. Have a great Sunday!

Until next time...

COME TAKE A LOOK...

Okay Prim Pals, I promised some pictures, so here we go! We're not quite finished for the open house yet, but it sure looks better than it did two days ago. You know how it is, tweeking, tweeking and more tweeking. Ready for a two-bit tour? When you walk into the front door, you see a lot of handmades on our buggy seat and filling lots of other spots.

I love, love, love the make-do chair! We have LOTS of dipped lights, battery candles, rice lights and more.

This pumpkin bottle doll is one of my favorites too.

To the right we have a good variety of crow and sunflower goodies - including new tin crow molds.

Up on our step, yup more fall goodies and furniture.

Do we have the candles! Have you tried Black Crow candles yet? The packaging is prim perfect!

I'm also crazy about the new 1803 candles and melts - YUMMY! Can you see? We now carry Mercantile Gathering and A Primitive Place magazines.

Our Halloween tree was already a big hit today, the ornies are going fast!

There are so many great textiles to choose from. Need a shower curtain, rug or towel?

Keep walking. See the 12 original tin pie safe we got yesterday? It is stunning. Also lots of beautiful, handmade tin items.

This old gateleg table is awesome, so is the buffet behind it. You can't see them, but there is a wall of Billy Jacobs pictures.

Isn't the little witch's dress and hat adorable? We have all kinds of mousy goodies too, along with a good selection of pillows.

Come step into the log cabin section for the really primitive goodies. We have stove covers (noodle boards), table risers, more tin, and some great primitive furniture - like this old sawbuck table.

The fireplace area is loaded!

But this area is my favorite place in the shop!

Thanks for coming along on the tour, but I hope you all come by the for the open house on Saturday. There will be lots more goodies added before then!

Have a great day and we'll talk again soon.

Until next time...

GET READY, GET SET, AND ALMOST GO...

WOW! Am I ever pooped! After four days of non-stop shopping, hauling, pricing, and then two 12 hours days of moving the shop around this old body has about had it! BUT, the good news is, the shop has never looked better. I think the goal has been reached and we are finally back to our prim roots. I got rid of my work area and opened the "log cabin" back up and it feels so great to have so much more space to fill. Just have to do the front window and out front and we'll be ready for the open house on Saturday (August 27th). Hope you can make it!
Our live music will be starting on Saturday at 2 p.m. and we'll have tables out front for your comfort (if we don't get rain). If you haven't heard Dan Hays sing before, then you're really in for a treat!
I hope to have lots of pictures to share by tomorrow, but for now, it's back to do some tweeking!
Until next time...

TO MARKET, TO MARKET...

WHEW!!! What an amazing four days Carol and I just put in. Talk about shop until you drop!!! We took off for Ohio on Wednesday morning, made a stop in Washington Courthouse to visit North Shore Primitives and then on to our hotel to get settled in. What a great surprise, we got a suite and it was just perfect for our stay. Each day as we shopped, we brought our loot up and priced and repacked. It was so nice to have a couch and coffee table to spread out on.

Great little kitchenette! We packed lots of goodies and ate just about every meal in. We were so ready for the air conditioning and the couch by the end of the day.

Nice bedroom and comfy beds - but I wish I would have brought my own pillow!!!

Nothing like coming back, putting on your jammies and having a cup of coffee.

Yummy good food, we even found a farm market for fresh tomatoes, corn and watermelon.

Oh yes, and a little wine never hurt anybody! Here's to you Carol for all the help for four full days.

We ended up with two hotel carts to pack everything up after one day of shopping.

Time to start loading - can you see the watermelon we are bringing back?

By yesterday (our fourth day of shopping), this is how full the van was...

...and we still had to fit this inside! Do you think we can do it?

Of course, there was still room for the wine box!

Ta-da!!! It all fit, although poor Carol had some of our groceries under her feet and legs.

You won't believe your eyes when you come into the shop and see what all we brought back! I think we found some of the best prim goodies we've ever had, including candles, textiles, great handmades, handmade tin work, fall yard art and more, more, more...

I HOPE that by Wednesday, we'll have the shop moved around and lots of it put out, but I'm hoping even more that our Fall Open House on August 27th will be amazing. We have a few days of HARD work to do, but it will all be worth it in the end. I promised that we would return to our primitive roots and I think we have done just that. I hope to have some pictures later in the week.

Until next time...

MARKET DAYS...

Just wanted to pop in and remind everyone that the shop will be closed Wed, Aug 17 and Sun, Aug 21. Dick and my friend Bonnie are going to take turns taking care of Holly Hills Primitives Thurs-Sat while Carol and I head to the markets. We should have all the new merchandise out by August 24th (I hope), but we will be open. DON'T FORGET to mark your calendars for our Fall Open House on August 27th - I promise you won't be disappointed.
Can't wait to see everything that's new out there in "prim world" and try to bring back the best we can find. Carol and I have the best time together, but Connie will be sorely missed this year as these are the shows that we've met at for the past few years.
SO - keep watching and we'll talk again as soon as we return.
Until next time...

A DAY OF SADNESS...

Good afternoon prim pals. No pictures this time. I had a phone call from my friend Connie last night and I am still whirling in shock. She lost her wonderful husband Rick yesterday afternoon, the one that made her laugh, the one that went on adventures with her and the one that helped build dreams together. Rick had been struck with cancer a few months ago and was in the healing process after many surgeries. Please say a prayer for my dear, dear friend that this healing process will ease some pain. I plan on traveling to Tennessee in the near future to spend time together and "porch set" for as long as she needs me. I love you Connie and you know that Rick will be missed by many, many friends.
Until next time...

FOX 2 NEWS DETROIT...

What a great day!!! Our little village was alive with action at 7:30 a.m. Dick went down to the shop and opened at 7:30 and I got there about 8:00 and the town was swarming with people! Fox 2 News Detroit was in town doing a "Zip Trip" about Holly. They have been featuring different Michigan towns that aren't far for people to drive to, but that have lots of activities. Can you believe they picked us??? The truck and satellite was parked one door down from me, next to Zanie Janie's!

The weather man was parked right behind him and ready to do the forecast.

There was a car cruise already started at 7:30 and it was sure a hit. "Hit The Bricks" in Flint and "The Woodward Dream Cruise" in Detroit are both coming up this month. Guess the cruisers are all getting anxious.

The station did a lot of interviews out in the street. If you didn't get a chance to be here and get on t.v., you will probably see shots of it on tonight's news.

Thank you Fox 2 for bringing so many people to our village today and for the rest of the summer. I was slammed all day long (a really good thing) and have to go pick up another load of furniture tonight! Thought I was going to coast until we go to markets next week, but I'll take all the business that comes my way.

We handed out a ton of flyers for our Fall Open House on August 27th - hope they all show up!

Well prim pals, it's time to go pick up another great load of antiques. Talk to you soon.

Until next time...

MAKING ROOM...

Good morning Prim Pals! Whew, what a busy week so far. We've been trying to clean, pitch and sort at the shop to get everything ready for our return from the markets. I'm doing away with my work area at the shop to make room for more goodies. AND TODAY THE SLEIGH IS GOING! I love it, but it takes up so much room.
I wanted to share the little island we put out this week. It is so adorable and would work so well in a smaller kitchen. It has one door, one drawer and is on casters.

One of my favorites lately is this reproduction trencher. Is this cute or what???!!! I ordered two and one might just have to come home with me.

I'm crazy about these candle paddles that hook over an old cupboard door. I've never seen anything like them before.

More new lights are arriving too. This three glass lantern is really a cutie!

And we got another Santa Fe lantern in too.

If any of you local gals would like a chance to be on T.V., some on into town on Friday, April 12th at 7:30 a.m. - yup you read that right. Fox 2 Detroit will be here doing a feature on our little village and you might just get on t.v. If you come in and make a purchase between 7:30 a.m. and 10 a.m., I'll buy you a cup of coffee from Zanie Janie next door.

ALSO - MARK YOUR CALENDARS for August 27th, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for our Fall Open House. Carol and I will have returned from the markets with a GIANT load and will be waiting to have some fun with you. We will be having cider and donuts and in the afternoon there will be live music with Dan Hays.

Got to get into the shop and gets LOTS done today, but we'll talk again soon.

Until next time...

SITES, SOUNDS AND TASTES OF HOLLY...

I'll say it again, I love living in a small town! Last evening was the Sites, Sounds and Tastes of Holly and everyone had so much fun. Huge tents were set up down one whole block and were filled with different area restaurants. You bought a block of tickets and could go to each vendor to sample their wares. YUMMY!!! I think our new Fire and Ice and Blackberry Bakery (same owners) must have been the best there. The townspeople packed our little village and everyone seemed to have such a great time. There were bands at the other end of the street (and even a belly dancer).

But down at our end of the street we had our very own music. Dan Hays set up and did he ever draw a crowd!!! He sings a variety of music from country, to soft pop, to old songs, and even a little gospel. He ended the evening with "God Bless The USA" in honor of the latest attack on our servicemen. If you ever need someone for an event you can contact Dan at danhaysministries.com you won't be disappointed.

Our little corner kept getting bigger and bigger crowds as the evening progressed.

Our own Zanie Janie (Simply Coffee) and hubby Steve danced in the street. (They taught dancing for 9 years and they are so much fun to watch!)

If you ever get to Holly, you won't want to miss the Blackberry Bakery and sample some of Barb's DELICIOUS treats.

So, that wraps up another fun evening in the village of Holly. Wish you all could have been here to play with us!

Until next time...