A Country Roads Wedding

Looks like someone is getting married! Pam and Adam are getting married October 11th, 2008. We've all talked about this "date" forever and its hard to believe it is almost here. The picture above is their engagement photo, and they just look so cute. I've known Pam (aka: Pamela, or Little Pam) since she was five years old. Her mom use to work with me at my first store in Old Towne, Battered Barn, then at Country Roads. I have to admit, I look at Pam as one of my own kids. She is very special to me and is such an awesome person. I'm really happy for her & Adam right now!

This picture above means a great deal to me. This past Christmas, I had told my kids "all" I wanted as my Christmas gift was a picture by the sign on the side of our building. I never got one! But Pam, being the thoughtful person she is, and always remembering the little things in life, had the photographer take this picture for me. That's just Pam, you know. A big heart, always thinking of others. And, a little family bonus at the wedding, the little ones, Arianna, Riley, and Josalyn will all be flower girls! I'm always grateful for what this store, this business, Country Roads, has brought into my life. As you must know, Country Roads is so much more than "just" a store! The wedding will be on Saturday, October 11th at 4pm. So, I'm doing a first for Country Roads. . . we will be closing early that day at 3pm. After all, one of my kids is getting married, and our entire Country Roads family has to be there! We wouldn't miss it for anything.

Make the Time

Sometimes I feel like a hamster on that "wheel", that just goes round & round. I'm constantly busy, and seem never to make the time anymore to do stuff I want to do, things I use to do. I've been wanting to go to the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach for the past three years. When I was young, and not so "busy", I went every year. A friend of mine, Christie Repasy, was there again this year and I really wanted to go down and see her, her paintings and the Sawdust Festival. Brande went with me, and as we drove down Laguna Canyon it brought back so many memories of days gone by. The Sawdust Festival was awesome, and seeing Christie so happy and content, really warmed my heart. Christie has always painted beautiful, romantic floras. And to see she is now also doing beach and tropical paintings was really nice, as they are my favorite. So, of course I couldn't leave empty handed. Just being there, the art, the music, the displays and the beautiful fountains were so peaceful. It really brought back a lot of memories for me of days gone by.

After Brande and I left there, we drove around Laguna for a bit, then headed over to Fashion Island. Brande and I both have been so busy, we never really celebrated her May birthday. We had a late lunch at Tommy Bahamas, one of our favorites that we don't go to very often. If you go, just order the Pina Colada cake, no need for any other food! Then we spent some time over at Fashion Island shopping. One of my favorite stores there is "Anthropolgie". I love this store because of their displays, they are awesome, unique and always changing. I love this "hay couch" that was sitting out front of the store. It made me even more excited to go inside and see the rest of their displays. I also love their selection of books. So, I picked up a couple for myself, one for Riley, and an outfit for Brande as a belated birthday present.

We walked around some more at Fashion Island with all the other "fancy girls", as I call them. It was just such a nice day out. Riley's birthday is in a couple of weeks so we wanted to look in this childrens shop we go to when we are there. They have these stuffed animal chairs, and since Riley's room is all about the beach, Brande couldn't resist buying her the blue octopus chair(that's what is in the bag she is holding)! I can't wait for Riley to see it, she will be SO excited!

We took PCH home rather than the freeway. I live in Long Beach, about 10 minutes from the beach, so this is a much more pleasant drive. It was one of those perfect SoCal late afternoons. The sun was sparkling off the ocean, and to the right, for some unknown reason, it was clear enough to see the mountains. It made me remember how important it is to make the time, not only for yourself, but to spend it with those you love. I got an e-mail this afternoon. One of my friends, Cheryl Mitchell, isn't doing too good. She use to be our crazy gardener at Country Roads several years ago. She was at Riley's 1st birthday party last year, snapping pictures of everyone, then later showing them to everyone in Old Towne;0) That's just "our" Cheryl. She had lung cancer earlier this year, they removed her lung but its back in the other lung. She then had a stroke, and some other sad stuff has happened, all at only 49 years old. I'm not writing this to depress anyone, but to remind myself and others to never, ever take our days for granite. . "make the time", it's that simple, just make the time!

An August Day at Country Roads

As the clock ticks away the hours of Summer and Fall begins to slowly head our way, I just wanted to share some pictures of Country Roads. I'm always amazed when I walk through "Roads" snapping pictures. We have such a wide variety of merchandise and its all displayed so cool and attractive. To get ready for Fall,we've got some holiday merchandise in!
And don't forget to step out the back door into our little piece of paradise, Johnnye Merle Gardens & Nursery, named after my mom, Johnnye Merle! Set in a rustic, country setting,it lets you escape from the hustle of the City.
We just want to say "thanks" again for shopping with us. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't appreciate our customers. "If" the link below works correctly, just click it and watch a little slideshow of "An August Day at Country Roads"!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/susandulane/sets/72157606564824853

"I Love Rock 'n Roll"

Remember that old Joan Jett song, "I love rock 'n roll, put another dime in the jukebox baby?" Well, those of us here in SoCal didn't have to drop a dime in a jukebox today, we rocked 'n rolled for free! It's been awhile since we've had a quake here, and I guess no matter how many you've been through, they still catch you off guard and I still REALLY hate them!! Brande was in the family room playing with Riley. I was talking to them from the dining room, when all of sudden you hear this "noise" and stuff starts to rattle and it takes a second to realize, "oh crap, here we go". I think Brande and I both realized we better head for a doorway at the same time. She jumped up, grabbed Riley and we stood under an archway that divides those two rooms. As soon as we got there, one of my big vintage advertising signs flew off the kitchen fireplace. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw the water in the pool turning into mini waves. In those few seconds, so many things go through your head. Where is everyone, please let them be safe. I started to worry about Riley being afraid, but when I looked at her in Brande's arms, Riley was just laughing and laughing. For some apparent reason, maybe because she's always liked to dance, she thought the "rock 'n roll" was pretty funny!

As the shaking stopped, the ground that is, I was like everyone else, I grabbed my cell phone without realizing that everyone else was doing the same thing! Bryce, my son, had called me five minutes before the quake started telling me he was on the store roof, you know our old 1919 building, fixing something! I just kept thinking of him on top of the roof, and Katie, Darcy, and Brad inside the building. As you know, there was no cell phone reception, but when you are a little "shook up", you don't think logically, so I just kept dailing. Finally the house phone rang, and it was Katie. Everyone was fine, Bryce wasn't thrown from the roof, the store was okay, and thankfully most of us here in SoCal walked away with just some butterflies in our stomachs.

It makes you think though, about when you say good-bye to those you love in the mornings, that you never know what our days hold ahead for us. And stuff like earthquakes reminds me how grateful I am for those in my life I love so much, and to never take that for granite. And I'm also thankful my Riley can find humor and laughter in "rocking 'n rolling"!

Welcome to Our Family Loretta!

Recently, Country Roads has had the pleasure of Loretta Kilheffer joining our family! Having her own store in Brea for years, she is a welcome addition to Country Roads with her talent and experience. Not only does Loretta have great merchandise & displays, you will never see her without a smile. Over the years I've learned that even though it is important to have dealers in our store with talent and experience, more importantly, the one's that join us now are those that are nice, easy to get along with and positive.
As many of you know, Country Roads prides itself on the quality of the large selection of "stuff" and our awesome displays. We look forward to seeing you soon, and again, welcome Loretta, it's our pleasure to have you be a part of the store!

"Adrian Azul's" 1st Birthday Bash!

So, the youngest member of our Country Roads family just turned one year old! And I ask myself, "where did the time go". His mom and dad (Carol & Lazo) had a big birthday bash at the park this past Sunday. These kind of things, birthdays and all, mean so much to me. I'm not sure how many of you understand that when I talk about my "Country Roads family", I'm really serious. We are family in every sense of the word. The Jackson-Castillo family may not be about blood, but it is about "HEART". Our families have bonded and share a love that many blood related family's will never have. Celebrating Adrian Azul's birthday was just another example of our family ties. Look at the smile on Yesi's face as she holds Adrian Azul (I use both the first and middle name because there is still some "discussion" as to what first name he should use!). Sometimes you just get lucky, and are blessed to not only have those you love work with you, but be a part of your life, your family! I guess that's what Country Roads really means to me, my family! Click the link below for some more birthday pictures. Happy 1st birthday Adrian Azul! www.flickr.com/photos/susandulane/sets/72157606320128196

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Today would have been my parents 58th wedding anniversary.My mom died right after my grandbaby Riley was born in August of 2006. My dad passed away a few months later on Valentine's Day in 2007. I always believed my dad died of a broken heart. They had been married 56 years when he passed away. Like I've said before, I thought surviving 22 years of marriage before I went through a divorce was noteable, especially considering what a charming person my ex-husband was. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like be with the same person all those years, like my folks were. I wish I could have had that experience. It was a different generation back then, and maybe that's why we live in such a crazy world right now. We've lost the values of the generation that lived through the Depression. Anyway, I know my mom & dad are together and happy now. That is just the way they were. As long as they had each other, they didn't need anything else. So, "happy anniversary" mom and dad. I'm thinking of you guys tonight and hope you are up there celebrating because you are together, and all you ever needed was each other. I miss you.

Romantic Homes Magazine & New Grass!

Today turned out to be a really nice day. I was really stressed about it at first because Romantic Homes magazine was coming out to do a photo shoot of my house. I know I've got some cool stuff, but I always assume so does everyone else. My house is like the painting that is never done. I always have more than one project going on, and before one is finished, I've added another. Jacqueline and her photographer were great and made me feel so much more at ease. Jacqueline brought the flowers above over with her, and their "Vroom" book is doing another edition, where a couple of my table settings (which I think is what the book will be about, table settings)may be featured. It was fun to help gather different items with her for each of those shots. I've never, ever thought of my home as "magazine material", but their excitement over the house eased my nervousness! The issue that my house will be in won't be out until early next year, I'm looking forward to it.

I'm kind of obsessed with having a "green" front lawn. I have no idea what happened to my front lawn, but it has been dying a slow death and its been really depressing to me. I kept telling my kids, "I've never had a dead lawn in my entire life". I know that sounds trite, especially with so many important things going on in our world today. Anyway, I was concerned it would look bad with Romantic Homes coming to the house. Bryce dug out the lawn on Sunday, and Brande ordered the sod on Monday. The problem was it couldn't be delivered until today! The girls from the magazine were cool about it, and actually I had let that issue go before they arrived myself. As Bryce and Brande put my new grass in today, working side by side, it just meant a great deal to me. Something I'll always remember as I look at my new front lawn! As I said, it was just one of those days that was different from the rest, and really nice, and I am grateful to have had a day like today. . . thanks everyone!

Summer in July at Country Roads

It's summer, especially here at Country Roads. Our favorite summer songs are playing, we've all got our flip-flops on, and all the summer "color" is throughout the store! As I was walking around yesterday, while at work, I couldn't help but get a good feeling with all the colors of summer everywhere. I started taking some pictures to share. What is always exciting to me is that each and every day there is always something new at my favorite store, Country Roads! I hope you enjoy the slideshow below and stop by to see us soon. We really do believe, "nice matters"!
www.flickr.com/photos/susandulane/sets/72157606058276831

Can't Help It, I'm a Geek!

I'm being really honest here, I have a big part of me that is a geek! I don't like war, or bombings in general, or violence but I have this fasination with miltary aircraft. I live near Cal State Long Beach (no, not in a fancy neighborhood, just a regular one), so I get to see the planes fly north of me into the Long Beach airport. Thankfully they fly north of me and not over my house!!

Since Boeing is located there, I get real excited when the C-17's fly in. If I hear them when I'm in the house, I'll run out back just to watch the big dumbo's as the "waddle" through the sky. Brande has promised me that one day she will get me a ride on one. So, this morning, while I was babysitting Riley, I was reading our local paper and they said the big B-1 Bomber was going to land at Long Beach airport at 1pm. When my kids were little, my dad always threw them in his old VW bus (of course there were no seatbelts)and drove them over to the airport to watch the planes land.

So,after I read the B-1 Bomber was flying in, I loaded Riley in my car (in a saftey approved carseat this is)and off we went. I have a place, by the Auto Club, that I like to park, it is right next to the runway. So, me and Riley parked by all the other geeks, which were mostly old men, but that was okay. I had a big ass plane to show Riley. The B-1 Bombers weigh 190,000 pounds! They are all black and really, really loud. Sometimes when they take off, they cause a sonic boom, awesome! So as I sat in the car by the runway anxiously awaiting the arrival of "my plane" Riley played with the steering wheel on my car, turned all the buttons, etc. BUT, she did get excited when JetBlue either landed or took off. On the landings, she would wave "hi", like as in "welcome to Long Beach". On the take offs she would yell, "WoooHooo", which was very cute, I must add. Actually she is very cute!

Time passed, jets landed and took off. Yet, no B-1 Bomber. Then someone had some bad news. It now was suppose to come in between 5pm and 10pm. Riley was still cool about it as we left. Me, I was disappointed. So, I've been out by my pool for awhile this evening waiting for the B-1 to arrive. It's now almost 9pm and it still isn't here!! What's worse, its dark and I probably can't see it now, only here it, that is if it ever does get here! What's with the Air Force, can't they make us geeks happy by being on time!