Paris By Night

I'm having the best time this afternoon watching the Blue Angels practice. We have a great view from the store and this year, I was able to see a lot of the show. One of these days I'm going to get to take in their entire show and I can't wait - they are just so amazing!!

It's been over a week since we returned from our European adventure and it's such fun getting to tell our friends and customers about our adventures. It was such fun being in Paris on Bastille Day. In addition, it was the 120th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower. The line of people waiting to go up the tower was really, really long, so we elected not to go up. Even though I'm an ex-pilot, I have a horrible fear of heights and the last time I was in Paris only made it to the mid-point of the tower before chickening out and returning to terra firma, so I wasn't too upset. Even though I'm not a fan of ascending the giant structure, I love wearing jewelry that features the monument. The Enamel Eiffel Tower Bracelet by La Vie Parisienne is one of my favorites. The sleek black enamel has a tiny line of gold framing the outside of the bracelet and the tower sparkles with tiny jewels, the whole thing reminiscent of a night in Paris.

As the store gets busier and our time gets spread thinner, we have elected to make a wee change to the blog. We will still be writing posts, but instead of daily blogs, it will be several times a week. As our loyal blog readers know, we have a Facebook page that we post goodies on every day, so become a Cursty Bella fan and get the scoop updated to your personal page on a daily basis.

SHOP FOR A CAUSE

Tomorrow, Curtsy Bella will donate 10% of our total sales to Smiles for Marin Rose. This Children's Hospital Guild helps cover the costs of uncompensated care. In these days when so many have lost their insurance, this is a vital need, so please some out and help us support them.

XOXO

Curtsy Mama

Mary Jo

Glad to be back at Curtsyland today!

After the long trek back from Europe, I got only two (rather sleepless) nights in our bed before the Captain and I were off to our annual Potholes camping trip. We so look forward to this trip, and the Captain's sister & brother-in-law go all out to make it amazing & memorable. We always do a dress-up theme night. The first year we went, we did Talladega Nights. Last year was just general costumes...we were the pregger kids from Juno, there was also Pam & Kid Rock in attendance, as well as Marge & Homer Simpson. This year, in addition to white trash theme night, we all needed to play Olympians in the official 1st annual Potholes Beach Beer Olympics...

The games were supposed to take place on Saturday. However...the Olympians proved very talented at drinking mass amounts of yucca juice, and we never made it to the opening ceremonies. Not much worries us when at Potholes, so the Olympics were postponed until Sunday morning when said Olympians were semi-sober, and we jumped in our white trash garb after the medal ceremony. Us ladies left most of the beer drinking events to the men....we had to compete in the bedazzled formal swimwear competition! I went with an ocean theme...I made a bikini top out of two rubber crabs that I glittered & jeweled. My bottoms were ocean blue with glitter sand lining the top, adorned with sparkly sea shells, a jeweled octopus, and glittered jellyfish & seaweed hanging off my hips. My jeweled crabs won me the title of Ms Potholes 2009!!



New goodies from Tokyomilk arrived while we were away! Divine bottles of bubble bath are a new addition to the line. Each bottle has one of the gorgeous images that Tokyomilk has come to be known for printed on the inside of the back label, so it appears magnetized in the bottle. We also received some new flavors of the bon bon lip balms. I love the Honey Blossom!








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EEK! The Boss is Back!

If any of you have ever wondered who's the real boss here at Curtsyland, it's Danielle. It's because of her attention to detail (and her creative genius) that the store always looks so wonderful each time you visit. After we returned from our 2 week trek through Europe, she had one day in town (I wouldn't let her come in to the store on that day) and then took off for another week to go on an annual camping trip with the Captain and his family. She's due! She worked so much overtime last summer when my mom was ill and never once complained. I have spent the week trying to dig out my desk from the mounds of paperwork that piled up when I was gone and doing all of our second quarter tax reports - in other words, big, big fun! What I haven't been doing is spending much time cleaning, so today, it's been crank up the music, dance a bit (makes cleaning much more fun) and try to make the store at least presentable when she returns tomorrow.



I tell you, jet lag absolutely KILLED me last week. I'm normally an early riser, but I was waking up every morning at 3AM, wide awake and ready to go. By 8:30 at night, I can't keep my eyes open! Thank god for my Mary Green Sleep Mask. It has made it so much easier to fall asleep when the sun is still up. I think that finally today, I'm over the hump.

Shop For A Cause

This Saturday August, 1st, we'll be donating 10% of our sales to the Children's Hospital Guild Smiles for Marin Rose. This guild concentrates on helping to fund uncompensated care at the hospital. Please come out and help us support the important work they do. We'll be serving up some sparkling, cold, libations to help you cool off.

XOXO

Curtsy Mama

Mary Jo

Seafair's coming! Reading about all the activities of the next week has put me in a nautical frame of mind. I think I'm going to grab one of the Sailor Jerry Anchor Bandannas and walk up to the Torchlight Parade tomorrow night. It's only a couple of streets away from where I live and I've never experienced it before.

I've heard about the infamous Seafair Pirates and their antics. So I thought it would be fitting to throw some pirate booty into today's blog. I loves me this Crossbones Beer Mug ...arrrr! It come in it's own treasure chest to insure it stays safe from the rest of the crew.



I imagine that the captains berth in a pirate ship has some finely crafted tables to hold his bounty. Even the tough guys would probably want to keep the wood nice by using this cool Skull & Crossbones Coaster. What, you don't think pillagers like nice things too? OK - quit your laughin matey - jet lag has taken over me brain this afternoon!


XOXO
Curtsy Mama
Mary Jo

Discoveries

I've had all kinds of "first timers" (or Curtsy Virgins as I like to call them) in the store today. There is nothing that thrills us more than to have someone new discover the wonders of Curtsyland. The only advertising we're doing these days is our monthly Shop for a Cause events and word of mouth. We are always so appreciative when customers share the fabulous shopping karma they get at Curtsy Bella with their friends. I've had lots of people in here today looking for just a little gift to give someone. In today's tough economy, our customers love that they can find gifts in all price ranges here and they love even more our complimentary gift wrap.

Little Glitter Heart Purses are the just the right size for a night on the town. Small enough to stick into your jeans pocket with your ID and a bit of cash, they're also pretty enough to tuck into a evening bag. Add to that the fact that they come in all sorts of delicious glittery colors and they make the perfect little gift for someone.


Walking the streets of Paris, we encountered so many cute little antique shops with all sorts of treasures displayed in their windows. Unfortunately, as we were there on Bastille Day, many of them were closed, but we loved window shopping. These new little Ceramic Paris Letter Trays are the perfect place to stow your jewelry at the end of the day. A few of them scattered around the living room with candles burning on them would set the scene for bit of romance. Maybe you'll be inspired to write your own love letters.

XOXO
Curtsy Mama
Mary Jo

We're Back!!!

We're doing our best today to recover from a long day of travel yesterday. Twenty one hours on the road with 16 of those in the air makes for 3 people who are so very glad to be back in Seattle. Our trip was fabulous. It was just so much fun to travel with both of my kids, who are now adult - we found that we all have pretty similar travel styles which made for a really great trip. London, Paris, Milan, Florence and Rome were our destinations and each one held it's own allure. In each city we spent many hours walking and exploring. All of the walking helped burn up all of the extra calories that we were eating. Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in London, lots of crepes, cheese, pate & bread in Paris, pasta & gelato in Italy - there's truly nothing like eating your way through Europe.

We took the Chunnel Train under the English Channel from London to Paris. From Paris to Milan we boarded a sleeper. Our tiny compartment had just enough room for each of our suitcases on the floor. There were 3 bunks, one on top of the other and a ladder to get up to the top 2. With the luggage on the floor and the ladder going up to the bunks, it was quite an adventure getting out the door of the compartment to head to the WC. Trying to change our train tickets from Milan to Florence was an adventure in itself, especially when none of us spoke Italian and most of the train agents didn't speak English but we made it without getting tossed of the train.

We did have one glitch on our last day in Italy. We had finished a wonderful lunch at one of the al fresco cafes that are everywhere in Rome and they brought us a plate of little cookies. Danielle took one bite of a cookie when we realized that it contained pine nuts. She's seriously allergic to pine nuts! Poor thing was pretty miserable for the rest of the day, but at least she didn't eat enough to have to go to the hospital. It was a bit of a challenge making the Italian pharmacist (who spoke no English) understand that I needed antihistamine pills - thank god for my mini dictionary.

I came back this morning to find a beautifully clean and organized store - thanks to Pamela & Heather for all their hard work while we were gone. Thanks also to the Captain who filled in last Friday. We are just so lucky to have such wonderful people in our Curtsy Corner!


Some wonderful new Madam & Monsieur Napkin Rings arrived while we were gone. Reminiscent of some of the many little out of the way cafes we visited while in Paris, these will add that special touch to any table.

XOXO
Curtsy Mama
Mary Jo

And We're Off!!

The Curtsy Girls along with son/brother, Josh, will be departing tomorrow for a well deserved 2 week vacation. During that time, the store will be staffed by the fabulous Pamela and Heather. Our store hours for the rest of this month will be Monday through Saturday from 10AM - 6PM and on Sunday from 11AM - 5PM. While we're gone, the blog will be on hold, but we'll be updating our Facebook page with pictures as we travel to London, Paris, Milan, Florence and Rome.

XOXO
The Curtsy Girls

Curtsy Bella

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My Pretty....

A shipment of new Tarina Tarantino earrings arrived today....along with the My Pretty collection book, which we have been anxiously awaiting. And it does not disapoint....such eye candy! This look book and collection have been receiving lots of wonderful press....see reviews on Nylon, Perez Hilton, and Fashionista. It features Kelly Osbourne & Debi Mazar, as well as newcomer Holly Owens, this beautiful poster-size book features Dorothy's journey through a sparkling technicolor world. Be sure to stop by Curstyland to drool over the book and get a sneak peak at the My Pretty jewelry collection which will be shipping soon!!







The earrings we received are new colors in the now classic filigree flower chandelier earrings. I didn't take a picture of the new ones before leaving the store...sorry! The flowers are black diamond - as shown - but the lucite chandelier teardrop beads come in the updated colors of juicy lime and yummy strawberry pink. Perfect to accessorize that summer dress with the nice weather we have been having....

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It's Child's Play

With wedding season in full swing, sometimes the littlest members of the wedding party get forgotten. Here's the Bride is a wonderful set of paper dolls reminiscent of the 1950's. Packaged in a cute portfolio with a heart closure, it includes Bride, Groom, Maid of Honor, Best Man, Bridesmaid and Flower Girl. All have extensive wardrobes that will insure hours of fun.


What do Happy Days, Stadium Hot dogs & Cereal Box Prizes have in common? They're Guilty Pleasures! Things you love, but probably wouldn't admit to loving in a million years. This handy little tome has them all and some fascinating facts about your dirty little secrets as well!



One of our customers planned the Great American Road Trip with her husband and 4 kids this summer. Prior to their departure she bought the Family Road Trip Box of Questions. Filled with games, quizzes and conversation starters it is sure to keep the entire family entertained as they cross the country. Unfortunately, we heard over the weekend that their son suffered a serious broken arm during their very first stop. I know they were looking for adventure, but that's probably a bit more than they had bargained for. The Curtsy Girls are sending Karsten our best wishes for a speedy recovery! Whether your family is heading across the state or across the country, this little box is a fabulous addition to the trip.

XOXO
Curtsy Mama
Mary Jo