IT'S TIME FOR A SUMMER SALE!!!!!

how cute is this!!!!

The shop is being over run by gnomes and their accouterments.......... The mushroom banks are killing me!!!

The land of tillandsias and gnomes

I have a love affair with tillandsias this year. In fact, I love them so much that the we literally have a few hundred of them at the shop this week! They are so easy to love and even easier to care for......

These tillandsias look great adorning this tulipiere - kind of an unexpected pairing!

We also have lots of happy little garden gnomes.......we even have a "gardening" gnome and the craziest gnome I have ever seen - the "biker" gnome. Unfortunately, I need a better photo...so tune back in to check them out...or better yet, come on down to the shop and take a gander....the espresso is on us!

Lastly, Frenchy and I went out for dinner with some friends - the ever charming Sue and Eric at a relatively new restaurant downtown - Pinot American Brasserie - it was delicious! Nice interior - tasty food and excellent service! A perfect combination!.....Sorry for the bad iphoto - but we started with the duck fat fries (yum!) and a great beer!...Ty it for yourself at SW 12th & Washington........

Have a great Sunday!

Last day at the New York Gift Show.

Last couple of hours really. I kind of went crazy in the Gnome
department. It's like I am going to have a gnome store for the holidays.........

Time to get shopping......

YIPPEE!!!!! The holidays are here! I love this season, even though I am in retail..LOVE IT! I am so excited about all the lovely things we have received in the shop over the last few weeks! I had almost forgotten what we were getting since I had placed all these orders in August/September, so what a treat to open all the boxes! I made a conscious effort to buy lots of small but beautiful hostess and tank you gifts for all the fabulous parties you will be attending like Middle Kingdom porcelain vases, each presented in its own little linen box with toggle closure, Aquiesse candles and sooo much more. Our holiday windows will be installed on Nov 25th and will be featuring my favorites! One window will be filled with hand knit sock monkeys from Nepal along with beautifully colored lacquer serving trays and boxes. The other window will be the second time we will have "the tipsy gnome xmas party" with LOTS of gnomes of great character having a party in the forest along with concrete mushrooms, hand felted mushrooms and hand felted gnome ornaments. I can't wait to put in the windows! I love good window displays! I love going to a big city - bigger than Portland, like NYC or London and check out the windows. I was in Chicago in Sept. and the Ralph Lauren windows on Michigan Ave were magnificent!

But if you are looking for a gift that goes above and beyond the hostess gift - for your sweety perhaps, we just got the new Marquetry merino wool throws by Kelly Wearstler for SFERRA. Dear God they are beautiful! They have a reversible abstracted faux bois pattern in three colors; mandarin, cove and slate. All so lovely! Perfect for a cozy winter evening to keep you sweety warm! We also got the Thistle cocktail napkins....hostess gift anyone???

It has been so blustery here in Portland this last week - perfect Winnie the Pooh weather. Makes me want soup and stew and warm drinks. It is just about time to make up a big batch of hot buttered rum mix - you know the one with butter and ice cream - it truly DOES NOT SUCK. I remember the first time I made it - at the home of Miss Sus - now lives in Pittsburgh - bummer! Anyhoo......we had so much fun making the batter and eating it and drinking the results that Frenchy had to come retrieve my sloppy drunk self after work. YIKES! Do you remember that Sus? Thanks again - 5 years later......

OK then.......I have been a busy little blogger this morning - a morning at home with a sleeping Stella made it all possible.....off I go now....I have to meet the darling Mike Darcy from 'In the Garden with Mike Darcy' on KXL radio - Since I am a HUGE Jane Austen geek - I just consider him to be my personal Mr. Darcy - anyway - he has a business selling HUGE and beautiful garden containers and I need to get cracking on a Spring '10 order - then the lovely Miss Sue and I need to record our next episode of http://www.homestlyehappyhour.blogspot.com/ for Wednesday. Where are we going for happy hour? It's a mystery....guess you will just have to check it out on Wednesday at 6.....

Have a great Monday!