65 Days to go….

View #1

We’ve had lots of folks asking to see the expansion “before” we pretty it up…So, here you go. Visualize all our fabulous bedding, great old bed frames, furniture and the expanded The Velvet Frog, our apparel store within our store.

View #2 Toward the Entrance

“Bungle” Up Your Grads & Send ‘Em Off!

Great for Grads

Instead of “bundle” we say “BUNGLE” with these cute items from Bungalow!! Bungalow is just one of the cool products we have for high school grads! We are excited to have such fun and interesting “stuff” for graduates, and it is an exciting time to see them get ready for that next phase of their life. Bungalow is one of our favorite items for these kids heading to college because of the great storage, cool colors, practical items & good prices. Two of our favorite pieces are the laundry hamper (on the left) and the file folder box or book box. All of the Bungalow pieces flatten for easy transportation to and from college, the new apt…you name it. In fact, there are several pieces ideal for a laundry room, the back of the car for storage, it goes on forever. In fact, forget those grads, get some for yourself!! Oops, they’re doing so well we won’t have enough for our Grad party next week! YIKES!

Earth Day…Start with the Plastic

Fab Rug Bags

So, it’s Earth Day…hmm, I find myself so stuck. Organic? Natural? Eco-chic? Environmentally friendly? All these buzz words are so confusing — and I’m in the business of buying and studying this stuff! I will say that we have fabulous towels that are 65% bamboo – environmentally friendly because bamboo is an easily renewable resource. But, I also like them because, in this humid environment, they don’t mold! Even though finding “Green” products can be confusing, there are some things you can do that make an impact each and every day. Plastic bags sit in our landfills for generations, while we carry them around for less than an hour. And, when you consider we are using 100 million bags a minute, to stop using a plastic bag is an easy first step. So, when you go to the grocery store, the pharmacy, anywhere where they ask, “Paper or Plastic”…say no thanks and carry this bag (or any bag that you can reuse). I like these because they are made of rug materials and will last a lifetime. I throw it in my car, I carry my computer through the airport, heck, half my life could be in that rug bag at any given time. I also like the beautiful colors they mixed. This is just one example of the many different color waves presented by Dash & Albert…love ’em and love what they do (subtly) for our environment.

Hand Me a Napkin!

Ready to laugh?

Next time someone needs a napkin hand them one of these hysterical pet napkins with clever sayings such as “The Fish Started it” or “I’m not a plane, train….I’m just your dog, Charlie” They make me laugh every time I see them. And, funniest part – we always know when a customer has come upon these wonderfully funny napkins, they start laughing immediately. Just thought you’d enjoy a little funny for this Sunday evening.

Welcome Murval!

Serving up Murval

We are excited to introduce Murval handbags and travel bags…from Paris to Columbus, who knew? These bags are so affordable it is easy to buy a bright pink faux croc bag or one of the new lime green patent faux-croc flat wallets. (Prices range from $20 – $65)
Just about since we opened last year, we have used this large vintage farm table as a center stage for our fabulous dishware/tabletop collections. (I keep waiting for the table to get sold and have to start all over again! HA). But, I really wanted to do something new, add a bold swath of color – so Murval became center stage, making the store bright and fresh, and fun! Now, if I could just figure out what to do with the window!! Hmm, have some ideas, but I think I’ll sleep on it & see what inspires me. Today, a new wallet inspires me…just have to decide if I want the pink, orange or green…or go tame with black or brown….no, going wild!!

The Experts At Work

Vegas picks her Favs!

As we begin to prepare for an expansion later this summer, we will be adding to our currently limited pet category. So, we called in the experts…Vegas, the Silver Barn Queen, and Wrigley, hoping to someday get to come to the store, sat down to pick their favorite items for our first order. We loved, loved, loved the Up Country catalog which we found through a contact on Twitter. We will be carrying their product and we would’ve never found them without this great marketing tool. (Wrigley likes Twitter; Vegas says until she has a page, she has no interest.)

Wrigley Peruses Puppies

“Mom? What Did You Find on Twitter Today?”

Wrigley Studies Twitter

Wrigley, our white Lab, so named for my beloved Cubs and their beautiful baseball field in Chicago, was excited to find out I have finally found some great pet products which we’ll be bringing in soon….stay tuned!

An Accessory Adds Accent

Pretty in Pink

Sometimes it’s the little things that can really make a statement…these little pink glass mosaic bottles are a great accent piece for the bathroom, bedroom…even a more masculine bar area to throw the traditional a curve! Don’t overthink an area when one little piece with add the va-va-va-voom you are looking for.

Save Furniture…Save the Planet

A Great Find

I truly believe that vintage furniture finds can be a fun addition to an eclectic decor and help save the planet. Imagine, if you took a chest like this one from the dump, or Aunt Jane’s old house, or whatever…take it home, change nothing more than the knobs, maybe a coat of furniture oil or two, you will keep it from becoming part of a landfill, save money and give a beautiful and worthwhile piece of furniture new life. What is wrong with that idea for spring? Save a piece of furniture….give more room for the flowers and trees. We bought this at an auction we attend for furniture really in need of repurposing, but all I did was change the knobs to these really cool old fashioned timepieces. For under $200 I got a piece of furniture, cleaned it up and changed the knobs. I also love the detail of the drawer door dropping down. You could use this as a night table and have a place for all your magazines!

Fun Knobs Make a Difference

This House is Having a Birthday

Celebrate