White Wednesday

This "White Wednesday" finds me aimlessly walking around out behind Country Roads in Johnnye Merle's Garden & Nursery. This is one of my most favorite places to escape to when the work day at "the store" gets to be a bit much! We've been lucky, over all the weather has been pretty mild this summer so it's been really nice out in our gardens and nursery!









The pictures above were just a few of the "whites" that caught my eye in my secret garden. I think there is something magical about gardens and nature. They always draw me near and grab hold of my heart. For more great "White Wednesday" posts, stop by Kathleen's blog and you will find yourself lost in a sea of white! Take care.

Some New Displays

What I believe keeps our customers coming back again & again to Country Roads are the awesome displays we ALWAYS have at the store! The dealers that do well KNOW the importance of good displays. We've not only had some moving going on at Country Roads, but our dealers have been working SO hard on their displays and product. Tim just brought in this amazing table he made from old wood. The picture doesn't do it justice, but trust me, it is so cool! Below are some more of Tim's creations along with some of our other Country Roads family. They've been busy!
Loretta and her husband, Jesse, completely re-did their entire area in the Full Bloom Cottage room! They moved everything around. As always, their displays never disappoint, but to see the entire room flipped and re-done is amazing, and looks great!

Here we have some photos of Pat Fillipi's move. I ALWAYS like when dealers move around in the store. Even though much of their merchandise may be the same, a different area gives them a whole different look, you know?

Pat Estrada moved a bit down the aisle to a different area of the last building. She too is still working on her new area, but here are a few preview shots of what she has done so far!!
The pictures below are "only" the beginning for one of our new dealers, Mike. No, I don't remember his last name although I do know he has some great stuff. He's got a big space and I'm very anxious to see what he does with it!!


With all the pictures above, you would think that is it, we are done shuffling and moving and re-displaying. The coolest part of Country Roads is that we are NEVER done, we NEVER quit, we NEVER give up, and we ALWAYS keep the store looking fresh for YOU!!!

New Country Roads Family!

We have been doing a lot of moving around here at Country Roads. We have some of our existing Country Roads family re-locating to different area's of the store. And in the big shuffle of ours we picked up some new Country Roads family as well. Joining us from Laguna Beach is Jan Hatch, Molly English, and Al Sorry Al, I forgot your last name. As you look at their awesome stuff, please know that this adirondack look of theirs is the real thing!



What appeals to me personally about Country Roads is the variety of merchandise we carry. Right now the store looks so good. If all goes well for me this week, I want to try and put together a slide show so you can see what I'm talking about. And if you haven't been by in awhile, I would really try to stop in. Things are looking really good these days!

Crazy Hot Saturday

Yesterday was a really crazy, hot Saturday. Even with the a/c on in the store it was 85 degrees inside!! One thing I've learned on days like yesterday, do NOT eat sushi for lunch. After work yesterday I went to Azul's birthday party. He just turned three years old. Where does the time go. Actually the park was much nicer than I expected and there was a breeze which felt great!! Below are a few of my favorite pictures of the celebration!







I say it all the time, but my Country Roads family truly is MY family! We not only work together, we play and celebrate special occassions together as well. And today, the temp is going down and supposed to continue each day afterwards! So, I hope you find some time to stop by the store. We have had some moving around and some new dealers that we've just added to our ever growing family. I'll have some pictures tomorrow of some of the new looks here at Country Roads.

Summer IS Here!!

So, apparently it is really Summer here in SoCal! We went from mid 70's to upper 90's in the blink of an eye. I'm told it's only temporary. Even with the warmer weather, Country Roads continues to stay busy. I'm amazed at our awesome our customers and dealers are. Why do I mention my dealers? Check out these pictures and you will see why! They don't care about the weather, they care about YOU, our customers. So, they keep their merchandise and displays fresh!!






To be honest, I could have even posted more photos. The store looks so good right now and if you are down are way this week-end, I hope you will stop by. We do have air conditioning, and even though it's not freezing inside, it is much cooler than the outside! Today would have been my parents 60th anniversary. They have been gone for a few years now. When I had to move them into assisted living and pack up their house, I found this card my mom wrote to my dad. Her dementia was pretty bad then, but they truly cared about each other. Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad, we miss you!!

Technology & Junkin' Is Amazing!

I am continuously amazed with technology. It changes daily, and it keeps me fascinated. I'm also saddened with those that don't want to keep up with it. Why? Because there is now a wealth of information at our fingertips. Now days most of us own cell phones that can receive and send emails, texts, pictures and are basically like a hand held computer. Pictured above is Mr. & Mrs. Money Ring!! Bryce received an email from Money Ring's guy that helps them when they are out here from Japan to shop. In the email from Money Ring's guy, he forwarded Bryce pictures of the Money Ring's shopping in Brimfield. They randomly showed up on someones blog from back East. And so I don't get in trouble, these are their pictures that I lovingly borrowed! These people were also shopping at Brimfield and had snapped a few pictures of the Money Ring's! He wrote the reason was because they "were this cool Japanese couple"! Which is absolutely correct! He wanted to catch up with them but they had disappeared some where in the fields at Brimfield. What I absolutely LOVE about this business of antiques/junk is that it brings so many of us together. Friendships are formed all over the world because of technology. Even though I've yet to get to the shows in Texas, I feel already that I know so many of you there and consider you my friends and know I would always have a place to stay if needed!! I think the combination of technology and all of our passions for "junk" is such an awesome combination. It was so great for me to see Mr. & Mrs. Money Ring shopping at Brimfield only days after they had left Country Roads! Thank you technology for letting us all share so much!!