Goodbye to Summer

Cooler temperatures are finally here.  Now begins that special schizophrenic time of year, where the day time highs can still reach the 90's and the night time lows make you wish you had a sweater!  But before summer comes to an official end on September 23rd, you still have time for one more big BBQ blowout.  Now, we all know the staples for a great grilling experience, hamburgers and hotdogs.  But if you want to take advantage of the last few long days, you have to spice it up and stretch it out. 

A great recipe for getting it started is a delicious BLT dip that I found in Taste of Home's August issue.  It is really simple and so darn good.  All you need are 6 little ingredients!
1 cup (8 oz) of sour cream
1 cup of your favorite Mayo
4 oz shredded cheese (I love sharp cheddar)
1 cup chopped, seeded tomatoes
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (too hot to stand over a stove still?  Try precooked bacon, zap them in the microwave a little longer than recommended to get them nice and crispy)
1 Tablespoon green onions
Mix this all together and enjoy on crackers or chips.

Since this dip whips up in a single bowl, mix it in your pretty crockery to take it from fridge to table with as few dishes as possible!

We know all that hard work making that dip (no one has to know it took less than 10 minutes) will make you thirsty.  Now, a beer is great with brauts, but sometimes it isn't appropriate.  So we found a recipe that gives that summer time staple, Lemonade, a taste-lift with the iconic flavor of watermelon!

Watermelon Lemonade
6 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 8 large lemons), 4 squeezed lemons reserved
4 cups chopped watermelon

Bring the water, salt and sugar to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove the pan from heat, add reserved lemons, cover and let stand for 10 minutes (this is your syrup).  While that is sitting, puree the chopped melon in a blender or food processor with 1 cup of water.  Pour syrup and watermelon puree through a strainer into a pitcher.  Stir in lemon juice. This lemonade can be made up to one day ahead.

Don't forget to decorate for your party.    Never underestimate the value and versatility of a terracotta pot!  Paint them or leave them natural and you can use them to hold utensils.  Line them with parchment and you can use them as serving bowls (new ones only please, and give them a good wash just in case they come in contact with the food).  Large ones filled with sand can be used to hold tiki torches (tacky I know, but we love them anyway) or citronella garden candles.

You can even use them to hold wine glass and wine bottle stakes, like this one (left) from giftedgrape.com.

Galvanized buckets and tin pails are great for BBQ's too.  A large bucket (like a #10 washtub) can be filled with ice for use as a cooler.  Smaller pails can be used like the terracotta pots above.  You can buy painted or plain metal ones.  Dress them up with a bandana folded into a triangle and then tied around the pail "bandito" style.  Fill them with flowers, candles or anything else that strikes your fancy. 

Most of all have fun, summer only comes (and goes) once a year.  Try to remember the feeling you had as a kid, the excitement of summer and the promise of fall.  Of course, you aren't a kid anymore, so don't forget the sun block.  Saddle bag skin is so last year, people (http://www.skincancer.org/Go-With-Your-Own-Glow/).

Finally....

The kids have gone back to school, and you know what that means: before long they will be Batman and Princesses, kittys and pumpkins.  Only one thing comes after that...Christmas.  Ok, I know it is still hot out there, so there will be no herald angels harking quite yet.  But we are thinking about it, and we know you are too, even if you don't admit it.  Well, we are going to make that "most wonderful time of the year" a little less stressful and a little more wonderful.  September 3rd we are hosting a Sip N Shop, grown ups only please, to debut our newest additions to our family of quality products.  Stop in and see our varied stock of toys, including Melissa & Doug's line of quality wood educational toys.  We will be open from 7-9 pm for this exclusive shopping experience and will be providing drinks and dessert.  While you browse the store, you will be able to take advantage of special discounts only for those who attend, as well as learn more about our exciting "Letter to Santa" service.  We will provide wish lists that you can fill out, gift certificates for purchase, and free gift wrapping on anything bought that night!  We will see you there!

Friday the 13th! Yikes?

Friday the 13th is traditionally an unlucky day. And while I have always known this, I have never known why. So I went on a quest to find out the history of this unluckiest day. First of all, I found out there is a name for the fear inspired by this day; it is friggatriskaidekaphobia. This word was coined in 1911 and appeared in “mainstream” in 1953.


According to the Wikipedia, one theory states that it is a modern amalgamation of two older superstitions: that thirteen is an unlucky number and that Friday is an unlucky day.



In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve hours of the clock, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, twelve gods of Olympus, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness. There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.



Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century's The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects. Black Friday has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s. It has also been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, according to Christian scripture and tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday.



But whatever the origin, we can be sure that it is another reason to party! Why not throw a Friday the 13th Freak Out party, with some simple decorations and a roaring good time? Make sure you invite the appropriate number of guests, 12, so that with you included you have a total of 13 people. Start the party off right with an open ladder in front of your door, so that all who enter will have to pass under it. Open some colorful umbrellas and sprinkle them around the room. Horseshoes hung so they point down would make great decorations at the corner of a “Friday the 13th” banner. If you were interested in party games you could toss PLASTIC mirrors to each other, until someone drops it. You could have saltshaker relay games. Be sure to incorporate your favorite superstitions while you are thumbing your nose at traditional fears.



What ever you decide to do for entertainment, make sure you remove all solid wood items from reach…there will be no knocking on wood at this party!

Sweet taste of summer

So summer is upon us, beating down with a vengence.  But don't let that heat keep you from entertaining.  With a little planning you can still have a wonderful get together, without over heating.  One of my favorite ways to keep cool is with a tall frosted glass of Sangria.  And the best place to find delicious recipes for Sangria is at http://www.easysangriarecipes.com/.  My favorite is their Cherry Cherry Sangria. 

To whip up this easy drink all you need is the following:
1 Orange
1 Lemon
1 Lime
1 Medium all purpose apple, pared, cored and sliced
1 cup pitted cherries
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
3/4 cup brandy
1 (750 milliliter) bottle of dry red wine
1 (12 oz) can lemon-lime soda (to taste)
1 cup orange juice (to taste)
Slice the fruit into thin rounds. Place the citrus in a pitcher with the apples, cherries and pineapple.  Pour in the brandy and refridgerate for 2 hours.  During this time, chill the bottle of wine, the soda and the orange juice.  Gently crush the marinate fruits with a spoon, then stir in the wine, soda and juice.  Add additional brandy or orange juice to taste.

And of course, you will need an appetizer, but who wants to heat up the kitchen?  With this delicious recipe from the October 2007 issue of Southern Living you can have a finger food that will taste like it took hours.

Marinated Mozzarella
3 8oz blocks of mozzarella
1 8.5 oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes, drained and halved
1/2 c olive oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
garnish: flat-leaf parsley or fresh rosemary stems

Cut the blocks of cheese into 1 inch cubes.  Arrange cubes and tomato halves in an 8-inch baking dish.
Whisk together the olive oil, chopped parsley adn the next 6 ingredients.  Pour evenly over cheese cubes.  Cover and chill at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.  Transfer mixture to a serving plate.  Garnish with fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, or spear tomato halves and cheese cubes with short rosemary stems, if desired.  Drizzle with marinade if desired.  Serve these with wheat crackers or thin slices of french bread.

Now you have a few ideas, so get out there and party to beat the heat.  But remember to encourage your guests to drink responsibly.

Tis the season.....Spring!

I don't know what genuis designated winter as the "gift giving season" because he obviously wasn't paying very much attention to Spring!  And really, why limit anything as great as giving (and getting) gifts to one season anyway?  Along with Easter, mothers day and fathers day here are some great reason to give and get gifts:
March 30th-National Doctor Day (nothing says thanks for the colonoscopy like a nice box of truffles)

April 4th- Tell a Lie Day (If you celebrate this one you better have some jewelry waiting for your wife to make up for it!)

April 7th-No Housework Day (check out our aprons for a great gift idea!)

April 10th-Golfers Day (how about getting him FOUR gifts?  Ok-that was cheesy....sorry)

April 23rd-Lovers Day (do you really need an explanation?  It's like Valentines Day without the little man in a diaper)

April 27th-Tell a Story Day (how about a great journal for your story teller?)

April 28th-Great Poetry Reading Day (journals would also be great here-for the great and not so great poet in your life!)

May 4th-National Teacher Day (sorry we don't sell ear plugs and Prozac-but I am sure we can fine something nice for the people who put up with our kids at least half the day!)

May 6th-Beverage Day (we have great wine glasses, as well as some adorable friendship tumblers)

May 11th-Eat what you want Day (and we want Ice Cream-a nice ice cream dish set would be a perfect gift on this day)

May 16th-Wear Purple for Peace Day (we have some beautiful purple shawls that would be great on this day)

We are always here to help you find an excuse...er....reason to give and get! Oh by the way, happy Waffle Day!

french fries, french kiss....french maid?

This is not your mothers apron!  Since Adam and Eve made the first aprons from leaves man and woman alike have used aprons.  Now, fashion and function have collided (with a dash of humor) and there are a wide variety of aprons available.   We carry PVC aprons in bright, bold and fun patterns that will repel water as well as that spagetti sauce.  Besides the french maid, we have cheerleader, hula dancer and ballet dancer patterns.   Each PVC apron also has matching rubber gloves.  We also carry fashionable fabric aprons in adorable patterns, for women and girls.  Not to leave out men, we have some great butcher aprons with witty grillin' sayings (I turn Grills on and My grills hotter than yours). 

Super hat!

It's a bandana! It's a hat!  It's a bandana hat!  These things are adorable and they are going like hotcakes!  The great thing about these hats is that they will fit anyone, adults and children!  The basic principle is a bandana with a bill, so you simply tie them around your head and adjust them as needed!  I can't gaurantee you will look this cute, but I promise you your friends will love it!  We carry a variety of colors and the price is unbelieveable!    I wouldn't wait too long though, they are flying off the rack!

20 questions

What is better than a game of 20 questions?  Maybe one of these adorable question games by The  Box Girls!  With fun themes, and hilarious questions, these games cover any occassion!  From baby showers, to wedding showers, girls night out and slumber parties, you will get to know your BFF's better than you ever have before, and have a hilarious time doing it!

Spot Light on Lolita

I {heart} Lolita!  The fun, sassy designs are so bright and energetic you can't help but smile! CR Gibsons Lolita line is melamine (translate as "go ahead, have another margarita, if you drop the glass it won't break) madness, that is perfect for a girls night in!  The appetizer plates feature a cool cut out for your wine glass, so it leaves your other hand free for gesticulating wildly while you rant about your ex!  Then, to make it even better, there are wine glasses that compliment each plate!  On the bottom of each whimsical wine glass is a recipe for a mixed drink.  And they come packaged ready to give (if you can bring yourself to give them away that is!  Are you sure they wouldn't like that hand knitted sweater that Aunt Edith made you last Christmas that you only wore once?)

And if you are going to have drinks and snacks you might as well pick up that staple of girl's night hilarity...Bunco!

Product spot light on Snoozies

Ok, what is a Snoozie you ask.  Snoozies are amazingly soft slipper-sock thingys that will keep your feet warm and keep you from falling on your butt as you run across the hard wood floor to answer the phone.  They are lined with awesomely cuddly fleece lining and they come in the cutest of patterns and styles.  They also have adorable sleep shirts and really make a great gift.  What could be more perfect for the Mom to Be to take to the hospital?  Everyone loves pajamas and warm feet, and with 6 more weeks of winter (thanks a lot Punxsutawney Phil!) what would be say "I love you" better than nice toasty feet (and it goes both ways, Darling Husband buys them for his Lovely Wife and that means he doesn't have cold feet on the back of his legs!)

Product spot light on The Good Bead

We are so proud to be able to say we are the exclusive dealer in our area for the Good Bead Company's fantastic jewelry line!  The Good Bead Comanys Bauble Lulu products are a beautiful yet surprisingly affordable interchangeable jewelry line that is known for their distinctive style and quality materials!  If you have ever found something you loved, but wished it was in a different color then this is jewelry line for you.  You simply choose your foundation jewelry (earrings, necklace or bracelet) and then you choose the beads the will go on it. The best part is that once you have your foundation you can change the beads whenever you want with just a twist!  Bauble LuLu's high quality beads fit on all the popular (and expensive!) brand name chains. Beautiful hand-blown glass beads and unique charms await your inspiration.

We are finally done, for real this time!

Just when we thought we were finished, we noticed that the great walls made the carpet look horrible!  Shampooing it didnt' help so we had no choice but to replace the flooring.  We chose a beautiful oak finish flooring. It took 3 days to lay out the new floor but it was worth it, it looks fantastic-a million times better than the carpet.  Of course in this photo the base boards aren't on yet (rest assured we did put them back! 

We also decided that the back wall needed a mural, so we decided on a dandelion fairy theme. 

I started this with nothing but a cheap kids watercolor paint brush and white latex paint.  I think it turned out pretty well, and it only took 2 days to do it!

Nothing wrong with a little mud...

One of our favorite gifts to give an receive is pretty much anything from Mud Pie.  Their high quality, whimiscal and often beautiful designs are sure to put a smile on anyone's face.   Any occassion you can think of, any age, any reason, Mud Pie has the gift for you!  Here are just a few of our favorite things Mud Pie has to offer (and which we will offer in our shop).  This adorable set has a plate, bowl, cup and utensil set, all boxed and ready to give.  Not only will we have one for the prince, but another for the princess all in pink!  But before you have the baby, you have the wedding!  And we have that covered too with these whimsical champagne flutes for the bride and groom!

These come as a set and are packaged as shown!  I wish I would have had these at any of my three weddings!  Here's to you!  And we hope to see you soon!

Product Spot Light

Why should men have all the fun at the last bash before the wedding?  Inviting Company says it doesn't have to be that way-and we agree!  These adorable buttons are just one of the items we will be carrying for that last girls night out!   Created by Naughty Betty for Inviting Company, they come packaged in a sweet organza bag, and are ready to party!

Long days night....

And we have been working like dogs!  Well, that isn't really true, dogs mostly lay around.  But we have been busy!  Did I say we were done??  I don't say this often, but it seems I was wrong.  Hopefully now we have finished and I have some awesome pictures to prove it.  Now I know the shelves are a little bare, but more items are coming in every day.  I will also post some more product spot lights!  As you can see, we cater to children as well as adults, and will not only have gifts but you will have several options to make that special gift extra special.  Some of the several services we will be providing is gift wrapping at our gift wrap station,

you can have your purchases made into a gift basket, with your choice of baskets, or you can even have your gift stuffed into a giant balloon!  There are so many ways to make the day of someone you love, and we are eager to be able to help you do it!  Don't worry ladies, we will have gifts for the men in your life with themes like hunting, fishing and poker.   Half the fun has been choosing all the wonderful things we have purchased for the store (ok, maybe more like 90% of the fun, because I have to tell you, once the paint choosing was over, the redo was not much on the fun side!).  We can't wait to see you at our grand opening!

Calling all Artists!!!!

We are looking for any artist that create handmade gifts who would like to place some of their creations in the Shop.  If you are interested (or know someone who would be) please contact us and we will set up a time that you can bring your items to the store.  Some examples of what we are looking for would be crocheted/knitted blankets or other items, quilts, fabric creations, wood working, paintings, handmade dolls or ceramic bibelots.  We will look at anything you would like to bring and if it is a good fit we would love to have it in our store on consignment!  So get crafty and give us a call!

...Go!

We are finally done!  The painting, the sawing, the nailing...all finished!  The place looks great, and we have even started putting up what items we have received so far!  I will post after pictures later today.  I can't wait to get more product to deck out our shelves!

Day 3

Tria Mera!  Well, we are out of paint, but have no fear, a quick trip to the paint store will solve the problem (quick trip?? The closest paint store is in Cabot-but quick enough I guess!)   The burgundy is almost gone-that is the great news!

Day 2

Ok, day 2.  Paint, paint and more paint!  We have half of a counter (no we are not getting any thing for that product shot....ahhhh!!! Coke!) and we are cutting down the second 1/2 wall.  I am once more going to do some great shopping!  We have run out of green paint and will have to go get some more tomorrow, and the blue is going up over the hideous lavender.  Soon we will be able to say goodbye to all of the horrid wallpaper (yay!!)  We found some fantastic paisley fabris that is the exact colors of our walls-talk about serendipity-and no one but us (well, and I guess you) will ever have to know we didn't plan it that way! 

This is the end of day 2, my stripe narrows on the right end, so tomorrow I get to fix it.  I can't wait to paint over that burgundy paper, I will be glad to see the last of it!

Day 1

We are here, for day one of intense manual labor.  Yeah, me too, I just haven't started yet!  I have taken the before pictures as promised and will  upload them for your visual horror today.  Remember these are BEFORE pictures.  We (I say we in the royal sense, James, the muscle, really did it) have removed the horrible peg board and have begun to measure the groovy 70's style half walls for cutting down to counter height.  We have plans for a "wrapping station" to create beautiful packaging for our beautiful products, and a courtesy area for coffee and drinks for our customers, and you of course, dear reader.  We are in the process of finalizing the "party room" decor plans, to make the perfect space that will be available for rental for parties, meetings and other gatherings.  I get to do my favorite thing today-shopping.  Yeah, it's just for brackets and plug covers and things like that, but hey, shopping is shopping right??  All right, I am getting dirty looks from the "hired help" ( Just kidding James, love you) so I better let you go.  Till next time, dear reader!

The saga of 2.5 inches

2.5", seriously, was all that stood between rolling our new displays into the store.  2.5" was enough to have us locked out in the cold.  And did we have a screw driver....sure,  a huge flat head.  But did it fit, of course not-the displays were held together with little tiny phillips screws.  Well, we did manage to get the displays in...an hour later.  And hey, they are awesome, and it only took a few hours to warm back up.

We have gas!

Ok-that sounds strange, but we are excited to have heat going.  Tuesday brought us light (yay!  Power tools!), Wednesday came with phone and DSL service, and low and behold-the heater wasn't heating!  But all is well now that the fantastic gas man turned us on and got us going.  Thanks so much Gas Guy!  Then to top yesterday off, our "coming soon" banner arrived in the mail all the way from California (you are so awesome Uncle Kevin-I am still jealous of all your awesome talent) Today we expect delivery of 2 awesome product displays (we LOVE visual merchandising! Pretty packages tied up with string....yeah, I'm singing.) Friday we begin cutting and painting (tired of hearing about that wall paper yet?  We are really tired of looking at it!). We can't wait to finish the "bones" of the store so we can flesh it out with fantastic products!  And we are really excited about meeting you, dear reader!

Product Spot Light

We love Inviting Company!  You know who they are....you don't?  Well crawl out from under that rock!  Inviting Company has been a leader in the invitation industry for years, and they are always adding new fantastic items to their line of whimiscal inviations and party supplies.  Some of the new lines they have added are invitations from wedding planner Mindy Weiss, fabric guru Heather Bailey, and hilarious Naughty Betty...just to name a few (no, we havn't forgotten you Erin Smith or Ashley Woodman!)  We are proud to be able to bring some of the fantastic designs IC offers to our store.

Here a just a few of the awesome fill-in invitations and thank you cards we will be carrying for childrens parties.  Each of these designs have a matching thank you for easy gratitiude!

Um-so where are the pictures??

We promise, we will soon upload some photos showing our progress on not only getting rid of that awful wall paper (really-it's horrible!) but also our evolution from dingy building to awesome store front! I promise...really!

Meet the gang

Well, here we are-another day closer to getting to know you. I guess we better give you the low down on our staff!
Gail Hooper is the owner of Dandelion Wishes, and this is her dream. All her life she has made wonderful things for friends and family, and for most of it she has seen the joy these handmade items have brought to the ones she loves. Many of the skills that she has taken for granted have been lost to other people, and she always wanted a place where anyone could showcase the things they have learned how to do. She passed on this love and sense of accomplishment to her daughter, Regina. Gail is the one you will see the most, building her business with the same love and patience she put into crafting her art.

Regina Stiffler (that's me) has had the chance to grow up in a family of artists. She has watched as beautiful things have unfolded from the hands of her family, from painting, sewing, calligraphy, quilting, and crocheting to knitting. And standing at the knee of her mother, she has learned to appreciate the work, time and love that goes into these hand made items, and even to make some of them herself (though admittedly not as well)! While you won't see Regina as much, she will be there to help whenever she can.

Soon we hope we can count on you, dear reader, to become part of our "family" whenever you need a unique creation for yourself, or those you love. Or, if you just happen to need a little retail therapy-we will be there for you!

Ready...set....

If you have ever had a dream come true, then you know how we feel! We are watching this store rise before us, the culmination of 30 years of wishes. There is a lot of hard work ahead (and the first thing we are doing is getting rid of that horrible wall paper!) We hope that people will fall in love with our store the way we have! We will keep you posted, please come visit us soon!