Our Holiday Motto

 This sign, made from vintage flashcards, was the perfect sentiment to grace our holiday window.  And it didn't last long.  Someone spotted it on her morning run and had it at her house by the end of the day. Had to order another one for the window ASAP because it just about says it all.  We have lots more of these somewhat quirkily inspirational signs. Come find one just right for you.

A post with no picture but instead a poem

There has been an absence of posts lately because I have reached my blogger limit of free storage space and I have to upgrade (and that is like asking me to pump my own gas! ha , I'm an Oregonian thru and thru) and I just cannot motivate myself to go through the tekkie gyrations of doing so.  But I will soon, I promise.  In the meantime I found a little e.e.cummings poem  on FB today about putting up a Christmas tree which  seemed just right.  And I also wanted to tell you, it has been a kind of nice time around the store lately.  We are busy as elves and it's starting to feel a little festive  and it's not so crazy busy with customers and everyone seems to be able to shop in a sort of relaxed, thoughtful kind of way.  And I like that feeling.  So today I offer you poetry instead of pictures -

something to ring in the impending holiday season with.

 

little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower

who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly

i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don't be afraid

look the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,

put up your little arms
and i'll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won't be a single place dark or unhappy

then when you're quite dressed
you'll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they'll stare!
oh but you'll be very proud

and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we'll dance and sing
"Noel Noel"

E.E. Cummings (1894-1962)

A Lovely Passionflower Bride

We are trying not to count our chickens before they hatch, but the very talented Melissa Ferrell , the bride you see above, just had photos from her wedding picked up by a big wedding blog!!!!!  We had the pleasure of doing her flowers and  you'll see lots of other Passionflower touches in her wedding too.  For sure we'll let you know when it posts.

And click here to get a little preview of the wedding in an album on our Facebook page.

photo courtesy Kacy Kizer.

Welcome Little One - Some Baby Gifts

 It's taken me a while - oh say like the last four or five years, but I'm finally getting the product mix in baby/children's section, where I like it.

It's mostly items for newborns/little ones.

 But a few big kid things too!!

 And at last, the perfect baby blankets from Austrian designer David Fusenegger.

  Sized and priced just right!

Setting an Inspired Thanksgiving Table

A great big shout out and thank you to Cara Munez and Christina Sherk from our daily paper, the Register Guard for coming over to my house and photographing and  writing up a story on creating a festive Thanksgiving table with ideas by yours truly.  I tried to make it simple and  approachable and not intimidating because you really do want people to have fun with their tables. I thought they did a great job.   My favorite line was the first - "...creating a beautiful Thanksgiving table requires a topic."   Read the full story here.

photo courtesy Register Guard

The ever fascinating, always inspiring jeweler Susan Goodwin shows her work at the store Thursday the 29th of November.  That's the Thursday after Thanksgiving.  You can come over to the store in the afternoon from 4-7 and Susan will be here.  She'll take over our large middle table with color coded gems, one of a kind pieces and her own very special magic.  We'll play some Pink Martini and have a little bubbly, learn about some new gemstones, try on everything, and just have some fun.

  Click here to see a Facebook album of some of Susan's recent work. 

And click here if you'd like the event link so you can invite someone to go with you.

A Classic Book for the Holidays

I am so happy to be offering this book at the store.  It's a collection of three Capote short stories, vaguely autobiographical, about his life growing up poor and rural and not quite fitting in.  Okay, not remotely fitting in.  Here we see the tender, sensitive, young Capote,  early on, demonstrating  his sense of style and his flair for the dramatic. I try to read the Thanksgiving Visitor every year about this time and I always end up bawling.  I would love to read this aloud at Thanksgiving with a group of folks.  A little wonky but why not? We seem to have lost the fine pastime of adults reading aloud to each other.  Or perhaps it is something we do as couples more often.  You know, "Honey, check out this story in the paper today".  But not so much as a group.   I love it when someone reads aloud to me.  It is like being transported back to childhood.

The Care and Feeding of Loved Ones

When I first started the store, I did not know much about orchids.  I did not know a ladyslipper from a moth orchid, or that they grew in bark, or which ones were fragrant, or that the vanilla plant was an orchid.  All I knew is that they were beautiful and exotic and a little hard to come by.  Nowadays they are everywhere for sale, but, to me, no less beautiful.  I almost always have a blooming orchid in the house.  Right now I have a big arching white and magenta spotted phaleneopsis at the end of my bed.  And an almost done mini yellow "phal" (as we call them) in the kitchen.  They bring me profound pleasure.

 So if you are anything like me, over the years, you might have accumulated your share of orchids done flowering - considerably less magical with their floppy leaves and slow growing habits.  But what I am here to tell you today is that, should you find yourself in this position, now would be a very good time to start feeding those orchids some bloom food.  Start a regularly weekly feeding and chances are pretty good that come February or March you might find yourself with a beautiful blooming orchid.

In the meantime, we've got a great selection and happy to sell you food as well!

Birds of a Feather

Just so you know, this is one of my favorite boxed sets of stationary, ever!!!  We've carried it every holiday season and I never tire of it.  It's always good to have a box of notecards handy for the quick thank you.

Thanksgiving Centerpieces in Eugene Oregon

 We would love to help you with flowers for your Thanksgiving table.  Whether you'd like a few spectacular blooms.....

to put together on your own.....

Or say something more spectacular for an entryway or a buffet or a mantle.....we are so here to help you do that.  We aim to have  a great selection of unusual blooms, fruits, foliage, and berries to help you set a perfect harvest table. 

Tis Almost the Season

 

Today is the day.  We're going into work on a Sunday and starting to put the holiday decorations up....I am trying to psyche myself up for this.  I like to be in the holiday spirit.  But , like most things, it takes me a while to warm up to it.  Once we crank up the tunes, and start pulling out all the fabbie ornaments things will start looking up.  I'm sure of it.  They always do.  But I don't like to put it all out at once.  And I like a slow build up to the holiday.  Even though conventional retail wisdom says all your holiday merch ought to be up by now, hey it's my store and I get to do it how I want, right?  Click here for more of my retail thoughts on holiday madness.

photo courtesy one of our favorite ornament vendors Cody Foster

Bamboo Dishes from Juliska

Can we say big yummy?  These bamboo design dishes from Juliska are never going out of style.  There's just something faintly glamorous about bamboo while still being earthy and organic.  I ought to buy myself a set of dishes instead of just waxing poetic about them.

photo courtesy Juliska

The Festive Table

May we help you find something lovely for your Thanksgiving table?  Beautiful crewel placemats and runners just might fit the bill.

Fall Jackets

Some people just are born with it.  Case in point, our friend, the lovely Iris modeling this Knitted Dove jacket.  Alas, for those of us who need a little help putting it all together, we're here to help you find the perfect something in our upstairs clothing boutique.  We have some nice jackets and sweaters.  Plus gloves, did we mention gloves?

photo courtesy Becky from her iphone

Juliska Country Estate

I am really thinking it would be fun to cook some baked apples in these Juliska ramekins.  This design is from their Country Estate pattern.  It's Juliska's homage to toile and the idyllic country life.  We can get behind that!  Lots of platter, cake plates and bowls make great layering pieces on the table. 

The Big Storm

Wow,  the emails have been pouring in from our East Coast vendors - things like,  "we are all fine and out of harm's way but our warehouse is damaged", "we expect to reopen our shipping department next week", or "the power is out and we have not been receiving emails or faxes"...  a florist wrote about finding her dumpster overturned in the middle of her shop.  Basically, it's not life as you usually know it for lots and lots of folks - Silver Seasons Jewelry, Juliska tabletop, the beloved striped Ana Candles, Graphic Image, all these vendors and more are experiencing deep delays and disruptions because of the storm on the East Coast -this during what is probably one of their busiest delivery times of the year.

  Reading these emails just puts things in perspective for me.   Because I can be impatient.  And sometimes a lot impatient.  Okay, those of you who know me, stop rolling your eyeballs and snorting in agreement with the last statement.  What can I say? I give the best service I can and I expect the same from others.  But you know, if my holiday jewelry order is 2 or 3 weeks late, and if I run out of my favorite striped candle,  I guess I'm just going to chill out and swing with it, because I didn't come into work today and find the dumpster in the middle of my sales floor.  And I;m not sending long emails to my customers explaining why I'll be completely  unable to meet my commitments to them.  It's just bad out there.  And I feel bad for all those left picking up the pieces.   And a little helpless too.

All I can really do is practice some patience. 

Wreaths Celebrating the Harvest

 I have always been a wreath maker.  At least in my floral career.  There is something about the circle, the mandala that seems extremely life affirming to me.  And here I am twenty years later, still loving the endless possibilites of the form.   

Summer Wedding Flowers

I know it's the beginning of November, but thought you might want to see some photos from one of our favorite weddings of the summer.  It was up at Eagle Rock Lodge which we think is a perfect spot for a destination wedding in Oregon. Click here to see more photos from the wedding.    I especially loved the photo of the couple out in a classic McKenzie River driftboat.  Moxie Events was the co-ordinator, Heidi Tunnell did the catering and a good time was had by all.  Thanks so much Rachel and Sam, we loved doing your wedding flowers.

My Messy Fantasy

 

 The Register Guard came over to my house earlier this week to do a photo shoot about Thanksgiving Centerpieces.  I made a huge mess and had a grand ole time living out my fantasy of being a  prop stylist.

 

So I had all these leftover flowers and veggies and I made this:

 

Which made me pretty happy.  With a super big thanks to my friends over at Lively Organic Farm who helped me out at the last minute with some beautiful bright orange squash and peppers and gourds.

A Fall Food Palette

 I have always loved the warm, woodsy, nutty brown colors of the fall landscape paired with a soft, soothing, creamy white.  Always!!!  And now it appears to be right on trend which makes us happy because it means there's lots of fun product out there: like the extremely versatile creamy burlap runner and the plaid napkins seen above.  My manufacturer calls it their Belgian inspired offerings.  Ha!  We call it Little House on the Prairie.

 And oh happy days, here comes Chronicle Books cookbook cover that's right in the same colorway!  We are super excited to dive into this cookbook.  Homemade butters, Irish Stew and soda bread all sound pretty perfect right about now. With great photos and fun  illustrations, this cookbook makes you want to cook.  And isn't that what a good cookbook ought to do?

 

So here I go, and just for entertainment purposes,  I think I'll cook food that's all in my nutty brown and creamy color palette too!!!

Click here to see post about my other favorite Chronicle cookbook.