Adventures in Curtsyland!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Fashionistas

I have been in fashion heaven the past few weeks as designers around the world have been showing their Spring/Summer '09 RTW collections in New York, London, Milan and now Paris. I wake up every morning and can't do anything before seeing what collections have been posted online. And every night....I look forward to tv shows that give a glimpse into the world of fashion, whether it be fiction or reality based. And even more, I look forward to when I can......in some small way......connect said shows to Curtsyland. So you can imagine the squeals of joy that kept sneaking out of me last night while watching Gossip Girl. Throughout the episode.....all the PYT of the Upper East Side could be spotted sporting Tarina Tarantino jewels!!!! And a few weeks ago.....on America's Next Top Model.....Tarina herself appeared as a guest designer and guest judge. Elina.....the model who won the challenge also won her own photo shoot for an upcoming TT campaign.



Another show I look forward to every week is Project Runway. Thus....I have been anxiously awaiting the goodies that arrived today. Fashion Angels.....makers of uber cool tween products.....has teamed up with Project Runway to create design kits for the budding fashionista. We received the Fashion Design Sketch Book, in which the designer can create an entire collection on a sketch pad pre-printed with models using the included colored pencils & design guide. Another Project Runway Challenge......Postcard Design from the most fashionable cities in the world.....New York, London, & Paris. Each set includes postcards with pre-printed scenes of each city....the designer gets to design the outfit and send her fabulous fashions off to be seen by the world.

And for the fashionista more drawn to what goes on behind the runway.....the Make-up Artist Sketch Book. I wanted to start playing with this as soon as I laid eyes on it. The set includes a 22 color make-up artist palette, 16 make-up brushes & applicators, 8 colored pencils & sharpener, make-up artist sketch pad, color chart & preview wheel and a full color make-up artist guide. Everything needed to explore the glamorous realm of make-up artistry!

xxxx

Friday, September 26, 2008

Fun & Games


The weather's turning a bit cooler, but you, clever one, know how to keep things HOT! The Lace Scandal Babydoll from Lucy B is sure to light the furnace of that someone special. Curtsyland has it in this sizzling fuchsia color or in pure as the driven snow white. Also new from Lucy B are some fabulous lace trimmed leopard panties - very ooh la la!


Anyone who's been in a relationship, knows that it takes some work to keep things exciting in the boudoir. Sexy lingerie is great, but for an added bit of fun, try the new Sex Scratchers Lottery Tickets. Every card is a guaranteed winner, for someone. Nice to give, even nicer to receive. With 100 tickets in each book, perhaps you can take turns, I mean really, isn't that what relationships are all about.....give and take?

REMINDER: Wednesday, October 1st is the next Mommy Mixer. Longing for a night out? Can't remember the last time you had a date with your significant other? Come to Mommy Mixer to meet a bunch of reliable Seattle area sitters eager to help. To attend, you must register at their website www.mommymixer.com.

REMINDER: The Curtsylicious Recipe Exchange will be held Wednesday, October 8th from 6:30PM - 8:00PM. Bring copies of your favorite recipe to the store to share, if you want to make a sample of the recipe to bring, we're not gonna stop you! We'll have our favorite recipes as well as some of Curtsy Grandma's favorites along with sparkling libations. We'd appreciate an e-mail to info@curtsybella.com if you think you're going to join us.

XOXO

Curtsy Mama

Mary Jo

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Too Too Cute


Snicker dog had a visitor this afternoon. Little Miss M came in to get a sparkly pink pair of uber cool shades and to visit her favorite friend. She was so gentle with the old man, petting him and feeding him many, many dog treats. Definitely worth waking up from his nap!

Danielle and I got so excited today when our new shipment of Adorable Tutus arrived. There's one that's filled with mini Eiffel Towers for la petite fille - tres chic! Two of the styles are perfect for Halloween. Dress up your little pumpkin in a green or black leotard and tights then slip on the orange Boo Tutu and Headband and she's ready.

Have a kitty lover at home? The Leopard Tutu Set comes with a matching headband and cat mask she'll look just purrfect!

REMINDER: Wednesday, October 1st is the next Mommy Mixer. Longing for a night out? Can't remember the last time you had a date with your significant other? Come to Mommy Mixer to meet a bunch of reliable Seattle area sitters eager to help. To attend, you must register at their website www.mommymixer.com.

REMINDER: The Curtsylicious Recipe Exchange will be held Wednesday, October 8th from 6:30PM - 8:00PM. Bring copies of your favorite recipe to the store to share, if you want to make a sample of the recipe to bring, we're not gonna stop you! We'll have our favorite recipes as well as some of Curtsy Grandma's favorites along with sparkling libations. We'd appreciate an e-mail to info@curtsybella.com if you think you're going to join us.

XOXO
Curtsy Mama
Mary Jo

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Hokey Pokey



Penis Pokey is probably one of the funniest books we've ever seen! It contains no nudity, no profanity, absolutely nothing obscene! It's an illustrated board book with a large die cut hole in the center. Each spread contains a dazzling full color illustration with one thing missing, a banana, perhaps a fire hose, maybe a sea serphent. Male readers can complete the illustration using their own equipment. Too, too funny!


Sorry this is a short blog tonight - we've just had another computer meltdown and I need to deal with that before going home.

XOXO
Curtsy Mama
Mary Jo

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Cupcakes & Skulls

It was that kind of day today at Curtsyland, like the merchandise that came in, a little sweet and a little scary! I had the sweetest little boy in this morning, who kept Snickers company the entire time his mom was in the store. Even though he was little, he knew all the right places to scratch Snick dog and send him into ecstasy.

For the sweet little newborns in your life, we have just received Boxes of Cupcakes. The little bakery box comes with 2 onesies (Pink, blue or yellow) made out of super soft 100% cotton. They look like cupcakes with a little treat on top. Perfect Welcome to the World for the new human on the block.




We go from sweet to scary - these glittered Tattoo Masks are my absolute favorite out of all of our Halloween decorations! They are actually made to be worn as they have black ribbons attached to tie around your head, but I think they would look smashing grouped on a wall. We also received a tattoo, skull votive holder, and an A M A Z I N G tray that matches.


If you can't tell, Halloween is one of our favorite holidays. One of my best memories of Halloween was when my son Josh was in elementary school . I volunteered doing what ever tasks they needed help with at school. One of the jobs I was given was to go around to the classrooms and give the kids fluoride to rinse their teeth with as the town we lived in didn't put it in the water. I was known as the Swish and Spit Lady (pretty fancy title, yes?). As Danielle was younger and not yet in school, I would take her with me and she would get to "help". It just so happened that our normal day to volunteer was on Halloween, so.....I transformed us into Swish, the Fluoride Fairy and my little pal Spit. I made us costumes out of hundreds of the little cups we used and made up a poem about us to read in each classroom. It was actually one of the tamer things I did to embarass my kids when they were in school :).

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE HAVE RE-SCHEDULED THE CURTSYLICIOUS RECIPE EXCHANGE TO WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH FROM 6:30 - 8PM. PLEASE SHOOT US AN E-MAIL TO INFO@CURTSYBELLA.COM IF YOU'RE THINKING OF COMING SO WE CAN INSURE THAT WE HAVE PLENTY OF SPARKLING LIBATIONS!

XOXO

Curtsy Mama

Mary Jo

Monday, September 22, 2008

Home Again

Today is my first day back at work after 2 very long weeks. Danielle finally gets some time off - much deserved I can tell you. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing business partner (and daughter). The entire time I was in Florida and then upon my return when I was moving, she kept telling me to take as much time as I needed. It's been a difficult year, watching my mother's health decline. As you know, I've made numerous trips down to Florida to be with her and am so very glad that I did. In the end we had said everything we each needed to hear.

This Little Piggy Went to Prada is the perfect gift for the new mother/fashionista. Subtitled Nursery Rhymes for the Blahnik Brigade, author Amy Allen has re-written the verses we all grew up with.



We received a little box full of goodies from Butter London today. Fabulous new fall colors like Chimney Sweep will put you in the mood for a roaring fire, a hot toddy & someone to snuggle with! Feet not quite snuggle ready? Check out Rock Off their amazing callus remover or Stiletto Stick, the hydrating heel balm.

DUE TO RECENT EVENTS, WE HAVE RE-SCHEDULED THE CURTSYLICIOUS RECIPE EXCHANGE PARTY THAT WAS TO BE HELD THIS WEDNESDAY. IT WILL NOW BE HELD ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH FROM 6:30 - 8PM. PLEASE SHOOT US AN E-MAIL TO INFO@CURTSYBELLA.COM IF YOU'RE THINKING OF ATTENDING.

XOXO

Curtsy Mama

Mary Jo

Friday, September 19, 2008

Creepyland

Well clearly I am a quite a mess without my Curtsy Mama....apologies for no blog last night!! I started writing it and completely forgot to finish. Soooooo.....as I began telling you last night.....I got a good portion of our Halloween treats out. We received these gorgeous canvas prints in two sizes all with different images and related quotes. A bat warns that now is the witching hour......a black cat awaits to cross your path.....a palm reader dares you to look into your future.....and someone can read your mind! We also received some decorative pumpkins that look great with these prints....each adorned with scrolls and images of bats, ravens, and creepy crawly spiders.



From Two's Company.......some very kick ass soaps arrived. The black & white plaid box contains four french milled skull soaps. We also received black tapers with a white skull & crossbones from Two's Company...they come packaged in a gift box with that same plaid.



From Seattle based Party Partners......shake things up at your Halloween shindig this year with their fun painted wooden maracas. We have them in a witch & a skeleton. These make a great, unique party favor if you happen to be the host.....La spook-a-racha!!! (They came up with that...I can't take credit ;-))

Even though I am missing the sunshine already.....the gloomy past couple of days has put me in the mood for fall & thus has made me even more excited to turn Curtsyland into Creepyland! (I came up with that one.....not quite as clever I know.)

xxxx

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Oh what a day....

So much to report...and no energy to report it! Today did not go as planned. I was hoping to start getting Halloween goodies out. I will be getting a few new pieces of furniture at Curtsyland arriving on Saturday and have big plans for them being included in Halloween displays. So I had it all planned out how I was going to get everything else out apart from the things that will go with the new furniture. However when I arrived in the morning.....our front computer....the one we ring all sales up on....had a black monitor even though it was turned on. So I got our computer guy on the phone asap and he thought it sounded like we had a burned out monitor bulb. So while he is trying to track down the part we need all day.....I am having to hand write all the sales....and of course it was busy all day (no complaints about that though!) THEN.......our fabulous UPS man brought us waaaaayyyyy to many giganto boxes! I barely had room to start unpacking them with all the Halloween merch in the back room. A few boxes arrived from a particular company that we ordered lots of Halloween & Christmas items from. Only about half of the Halloween items had arrived before today.....so I was anxiously awaiting the rest. Three big boxes from that company came and they contained......Christmas things. Of course.

So that is how my Wednesday went! It is killing Curtsy Mama to be away from Curtsyland even though she is back in town. She is moving on Saturday....and thus has only two more days to pack up everything!!! Anyways.....I will update you on all the goodness I hopefully will get around to unpacking tomorrow. What doesn't kill you....makes you sparkle more, right?!??!

xxxx

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Welcome Home Curtsy Mama

Oooh all the goodies we are receiving at Curtsyland for Halloween! I am still awaiting a few key shipments but will start putting some stuff out tomorrow. Curtsy Mama is home now......I was soooo happy to see her today! And the Snick dog was ridiculously excited to be back at Curtsyland....and he had a surprise waiting for him. I asked Curtsy Mama a few weeks ago what Snickers was going to be for Halloween. She said he was going to be Super Dog again. I promptly replied that he can not be Super Dog again....that would be uber un-exciting. So I bought him a new costume. He is going to look f'ing amazing this Halloween. He will be dressed up as an animal I have always longed for.....any guesses??!? Stop by on Halloween to find out!

A few books I didn't mention yesterday that also arrived with the Assouline shipment.....the Music Game Book and Poker - The Ultimate Book. The Music Game Book is amazing....a fourth addition to Assouline's popular Game Book series....we always sell out of it very quickly. It contains an assortment of games, puzzles, trivia & clever, short essays all based on twentieth century music history. The Poker book contains all you've ever wanted to know about the most practiced table sport in the world.......including its history, legends, and psychology; the cheating, money, casinos, rules and tournaments; movies and championships; the Internet; a dictionary of terms; and much more.

xxxx

Monday, September 15, 2008

The Fashion Questionnaire

We received some new books in today from Assouline.....publishers that create gorgeous books dedicated to the topics of fashion, photography, art and design. New York Fashion Week just finished and all the fashionistas have made their way to London. For the past two weeks I have been in fashion utopia pouring over images of all the new lust-worthy spring fashions.....and singing praises to the amazing designers that created them. So I was super excited to see The Fashion Questionnaire arrive today. It was created in the tradition of Assouline's bestselling Proust Questionnaire....but recast with a fashion angle and posed to the fashion industry's most important and influential designers. I can't wait to dive into it.....it is said to contain handwritten answers that intimately reveal the personalities and tastes of legendary designers including Thom Browne, Ennio Capasa, Pierre Cardin, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Roberto Cavalli, Alber Elbaz, Diane von Furstenberg, John Galliano, Carolina Herrera, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Karl Lagerfeld, Catherine Malandrino, Nicole Miller, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Rucci, Sonia Rykiel, Olivier Theyskens, Isabel Toledo, and Valentino. And like Proust, this volume also includes blank questionnaires for readers and their friends to answer. After London Fashion week we still have Milan & Paris to look forward to.....maybe a Fashion Questionnaire party is in order!

We also received The Gift of Wine: A Gift Wrap Kit in today from Chronicle Books. Perfect thing to keep on hand for when those last minute hostess gift emergencies arise. The kit has everything needed to transform ordinary wine bottles into fabulous gifts. It includes twelve decorative wine sleeves as well as gift tags, elastic ties, and labels for personalizing each bottle. Hopefully oodles of holiday party invites will start arriving....and wont you look fancy arriving with the best dressed bottle of wine!

xxxx

Sunday, September 14, 2008

My Grandma

Our Curtsy Grandma passed away last night. My Mom noticed a change in her breathing....she was able to take a hold of her hand and she passed within a matter of minutes...quick & peacefully. Over the last few days, as I have been reflecting over all my memories of my Grandma, I've noticed how many similarities we shared. They say some things skip a generation....now don't get me wrong - I am without a doubt my mother's daughter. But I am also very much my Grandmother's granddaughter. My favorite similarity was our fanciness for all things fancy. She used to wear original Chanel suits and classic ballets, loafers & pumps by Ferragamo. (She didn't, however, enjoying shopping much...."Just not my cup of tea" she would always say.) She took such exquisite care of the pieces she loved....saving the original boxes & stuffing of handbags & shoes. I try to always do the same.....my shoe boxes stacked to the ceiling and my endless purses arranged in their duster bags.....tickles the Captain.
Another....not so fancy...similarity is our aversion to asking people for help. I think my Grandma never liked to ask anything of anyone as she never wanted to be a burden. I, however, think it is usually my strong headed Leo tendencies that leads me to believe I can do everything better myself. Either way....encouraging her to reach out to us helped me learn a thing or two. I'm pretty sure I inherited my dancing feet from my Grandma. We both loved a great musical full of dancing....our feet always twitching while watching wanting to jump up & join in. We also shared some physical similarities that seem almost silly to mention...but they mean the world to me as I know they came from my Grandma. Our petite size 7 feet.....which my Mom has always been quite jealous of....if only all three of us could share shoes!! Also.....our very strong and always long fingernails....weird I know - but every time I have to file them down yet again, I think of her. And Angel perfume.....ohhhhhh!!! Ever since I can remember my Grandma wore Angel by Thierry Mugler. I started wearing it about 8 years ago and haven't been able to leave the house without smelling of it since. It is such a strong & distinctive smell that so many can't wear.....but my Grandma & I could and I will never stop....it is our scent. These little pieces of me I know came from her will always make me smile.

I will forever cherish the memory of her.....M. Joann Zook.....she loved potato chips & crosswords, she never let her tank get under 3/4, she liked her garbage to be "clean", she loved golf - playing it & watching it, she loved Ol' Blue Eyes, she was an absolutely amazing knitter, she was tough to beat at Gin Rummy.....and she loved her family. R.I.P. Grandma Zook.....

xxxx

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Offensive + Delightful

Apologies for sans blog Thursday....my head & heart are in Florida with my mom. Our Curtsy Grandma suffered a massive stroke after her hip surgery. She is now in the Hospice center of the hospital....they are keeping her comfortable which is most important right now.

I have to run to Portland tomorrow to meet with some of our reps....Curtsy Girl SarahRose will be watching over Curtsyland. We received oodles & oodles of boxes from UPS today....most of it being Halloween & holiday goodies. We did receive a huge shipment of new OplusD cards......all perfectly Offensive & Delightful as always. My fav new birthday card reads "OMFG!! If you're going to insist on looking this good....we might have to kill you. Happy Birthday Good-Looking!" And a few that could be used for oh-so-many occasions....."Bad Ass Motherfucker"....and "you're a fucking rock star."

We also received some fun new drink stirrers. For our rock star customers.....pink, aqua, & black guitar stirrers. And for those with a loaded finger......revolver stirrers in silver. I had a customer buy a ton of them today and was planning on tying them on the top of presents....cute idea! And to complement your new decked out cocktail.....new cocktail napkins that read "Martinis.... they're not just for breakfast anymore."

xxxx

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Ohh my bones...

Well....my Curtsy Grandma is not doing well. I am glad that my mom is able to be there right now. She made it through hip surgery yesterday...but stopped breathing this morning. They were able to resuscitate her and she is now in ICU.....it is yet to be determined if there is any permanent damage caused by whatever happened. Please send lots of Curtsy love and get well thoughts their way.

Every minute I wasn't with a customer this past Sunday....I was in the back room glittering some bones to use in the windows for Halloween. I have skulls & feet & random leg & arm bones.....how divine to decay away in glitter!!! ;-) Anyways....today a big box full of already glittered bones arrived. Bones that we ordered back in February and I completely forgot about. I immediately posted a large mental sticky note to my brain to get better at reviewing the pending orders!! Anyways.....the bones that just arrived are for you lovelies to be creative with as you see fit. My bones will be hanging in the window sparkling in the afternoon sun.

We also received a couple of things that had been backordered from our recent Papaya shipment. Some aaaahhhhhmazing Halloween greeting cards arrived.....which I can't wait to put out! We also got a wonderful 2009 Weekly Planner. It features an accordion pocket and note pages....and gorgeous full-color interior pages. Puts me in the mood to get organized.

xxxx

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Bon Voyage

I have to make this a quick blog tonight......apologies! As Curtsy Mama mentioned...she made her way to Florida this morning to be with my grandma. I got a call that my gram made it through surgery ok....they put pins in her hip....but she was still sleeping when my mom got there. Will keep you all updated on her recovery.


Just about to jet off to a Bon Voyage party. My brother's best friend recently found himself free from the restraints of a job....and decided to take advantage of his new found freedom and travel the world. I am uber jealous! He is off to travel around southeast Asia, Australia & New Zealand.....and will be gone for about five months. As we are all wanting to live vicariously through him and make sure we hear about every detail of his travels.....we wrapped up the leather World Travel Journal from Graphic Image for him to take along in his back pack. The journal has a total of 320 pages......80 full-color maps and 240 journal writing & editorial pages.


xxxx

Monday, September 8, 2008

Ouch!!


Curtsy Grandma has had a rough week. She has been in the hospital since last Thursday for what may be yet another compression fracture in her spine. This morning, being the stubborn, self-sufficient woman she's used to being, she got out of bed without asking for help and fell - broke her hip. To top it all off, yesterday was her birthday! Needless to say, I'm heading back down to hurricane country to offer my support. Think I'll throw a tin of these cute little Ouch Bandaids into my suitcase. If nothing else, maybe they'll bring a smile to her face.


As she's going to be off her feet for a while, I'm also packing one of these Hazard Puzzles to keep her mind occupied. Billed as one of the world's toughest puzzles, you need to arrange the 36 pieces into a 4 X 4 square so there are 4 un-broken routes of pipe or so the image on each corner matches the image on the adjacent corner. ooh..makes my brain hurt just thinking about it.

XOXO

Curtsy Mama

Mary Jo

Friday, September 5, 2008

Sparkles & Snuggles


When throwing a party, I want my table to look special, so that my guests feel special! At Curtsyland we're all about anything pink and sparkly and when it's something functional as well, it makes us oh so excited! This Crystal Pink Ice Bucket will dress up the bar for your next soiree. We all know that great outfits have the perfect accessories, so we also have a matching Wine Cooler and Cocktail Shaker to complete the ensemble. Tres chic - yes?



For those who have been patiently waiting, we received a shipment of Lil Snugglers from Douglas Cuddle Toys today. These squares of softness are absolutely irresistible to the baby & toddler set. What usually happens is that the new parents receive one as a baby gift. A few months later, they come back in and buy 2 or 3 more of the same style, as "backup blankies". Anyone who's ever had kids knows the absolute trauma that can come from a lost blankie. Soooo soft, soooo cuddly...mmm I feel like a nap now!

XOXO
Curtsy Mama
Mary Jo

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Mommy Mixer!!!

It was just confirmed that Seattle's next Mommy Mixer will be taking place at Curtsyland on Wednesday October 1st from 7 - 8:30pm!!! The fabulous gals at Mommy Mixer are back in action just in time for the new school year and upcoming holiday season.....ready to connect you with fab babysitters. If you are not already familiar with the wonderful service that Mommy Mixer provides to busy families.....they hold mixers at which moms and babysitters have the opportunity to meet and interact face to face before deciding if they're a great fit. Each mixer begins with the sitters briefly introducing themselves and their background in sitting/childcare....then the moms take a turn to introduce themselves and explain what they are looking for, number & ages of their kids, etc. Then everyone gets to mingle! Moms leave armed with The Babysitter Book - which is chock full of babysitters resumes', contact info & photos.....babysitters leave with jobs possibly already lined up and the prospect of extra shoe $$$!!! You can register to attend on Mommy Mixer's website....be sure to sign up ASAP if you are interested in attending.....they fill up uber fast and have to close it often!!!

Yesterday I attended the International Retail Design Conference which just by luck was taking place in Seattle this year......they hold it in a different city every year. I had an absolute blast and left with oodles & oodles of ideas and inspiration for the future of Curtsyland! Most of the day I had the opportunity to listen to the wisdom of experts who have been in the wonderful world of retail forever.....but I also got to participate in the the Iron Merchant Challenge which is a timed visual merchandising competition. They split everyone into teams, gave a basic theme from which you had to find inspiration, supplied each team with a wire "cage" that served as our store window, and a table of random things & supplies in which to build your window. It was absolute chaos!!! I believe in previous years they limited the teams to five creative peeps.....this year they wanted everyone to participate so the teams were each about 15 people strong. As I am sure you can imagine.....trying to get 15 bull-headed, creative visual merchandisers to decide on one idea and execute it within 30 minutes.....is laughable. Somehow most of the other teams pulled it off but the team I was on produced something resembling a car crash. They event was well documented so as soon I can track down some pics I will share!

xxxx

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Back to School


Back to school time already! Remember those first day/week jitters? So many rules, so many new kids, SO MUCH STUFF TO REMEMBER! A great way to send your love & encouragement to school with your child is to tuck one of these Lunch Mail cards into their lunch or backpack. The cards "pop" open to reveal a message inside.


Do you have a budding Van Gogh or Renoir who is constantly bringing masterpieces home from school? Treat these treasures with the respect they deserve by slipping them into our Instant Masterpiece Frame. It's an inflatable, gilded old masters style picture frame that makes any artwork look great. What's even better is how proud your little artist will feel seeing their work framed and on the wall.

This Saturday is the Huskies first home game, which is scheduled to begin at noon. No need to stay away from the store that day, we always insure that our parking places in front are kept free for our customers. In fact, we have found that once the game begins, it's pretty quiet in the neighborhood.

XOXO

Curtsy Mama

Mary Jo

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Partners in Celebrating

Hope everyone had a fab holiday weekend!! Curtsy Mama kept Curtsyland open yesterday and it ended up being a busy day for her. The Captain and I however, had the day off and were bored most of the day as everywhere we tried to go that we thought would be open was in fact not. We ended up at the store hanging shelves in our new little sale niche. We received new Tarina Tarantino fall catalogs today......LOVE!!! I put oodles of Tarina jewels on sale today to make way for the new goodies.....hurry in before they get snatched up.

We received fun new party props in today from the fabulous peeps at Party Partners who are actually based just downtown in Seattle.....we love to support other Seattle bred companies! One of my favorite things they make are their party picks....they can be used on cakes & cupcakes....in hors d'oeuvres....in drinks....anything you fancy! Most of them have an accordion part that folds out and they come in tons of styles for all sorts of occasions. We received adorable ballerina picks that would be great for a tiny dancer party....birthday cakes perfect for guys or gals of any age....and fancy bride & groom picks fab for a bridal shower. We also received lots of Halloween goodies from Party Partners....I am getting soooooo excited to get all our amazing Halloween goodness out. Still feels a bit early but I will let you know as soon as I do.

Also from Party Partners.....the cutest Itty-Bitty Birthday Banner! It measures only 1.75" tall...21" long. Perfect for celebrations in those itty-bitty dorm rooms.....or to stick in with a card for someone far away that you can't be with to celebrate!

xxxx