Another CR Makeover!

We were SO unbelievably busy yesterday, that my legs are screaming at me, "please don't make us go back to the store today, we're tired"! They'll get over it as we head back for another day at my favorite store, Country Roads. I've been trying to take some pictures of all the makeovers that are going on at the store, but when you are as busy as we have been, it makes it difficult. Yesterday, I did have a few minutes to run back and take a few pictures of Kate's area. She has taken and additional little space across from where is has been. Here's a few quick pictures that I took very quickly yesterday.




I have to caution any of you that are looking at these pictures and think you see something you might like. Kate's stuff sells very quickly and she changes things up just about every other day. So, I suggest you come down to see us soon! To all of you that kept us so busy yesterday, "thank you"! We appreciate each and every one of you. And you were all so nice as well. Our customers are the best. Take care.

Extreme Makeovers at CR

As I mentioned last week, seems like at the beginning of each new year, Country Roads changes things up. And we don't waste time doing it either. The space above belongs to Eileen Johnson. And those of you that shop with us know that the big spaces in the first building have floors on them that came from the old Laguna Beach boardwalk. The problem has been that some of the floors aren't that stable. Eileen made the decision to have her floor taken out and to give her space a brand new look! With the help of Bryce and her husband, Carl, here is Eileen's new look. And since the concrete floor below was put in when our building was built in 1919 it has an awesome look to it!





There are several other areas at Country Roads that are changing up. The first picture below will be painted and prepped for a brand new dealer that specializes in European antiques. Can't wait to see what he (sorry, I did forget his name) will do with this area of the store.
Below is a picture of Robin & Steve's space. They are scaling down to a smaller area. For those of you that shop with us, this is the space on the first aisle straight down from the front door with the big old window shop case. Yesterday Bryce and Matt took out the window and what a difference! It opened the space up so much. Sue Lennon, who is currently under the stairs, will be moving into this space above. I'm very excited to see what she will do with it. Her style and display are unique and I love the "look" that she brings to Country Roads. I've lusted after this couch ever since Sue brought it in. It was priced at $1000, so obviously, I couldn't "justify" paying that, no matter how much I loved it. To my surprise, she had the couch marked down yesterday to $550. A customer placed a bid of $400, she countered at $425 and the customer walked away. I swallowed my guilt and I can now say the couch is mine! The one way all of us in this business can justify buying something we have guilt about is we can turn around and sell something. So, I have to old Morris chairs on their way to Country Roads with price tags on them. I hope you all find some time to stop by and is all of our extreme makeovers this month. I'll have more pictures of these up soon!!

Looking to Exercise, Lose Weight & Sleep Good?

So many people are always looking for ways to exercise, to lose weight, to keep busy and sleep well at night. I can tell you, look no further, because I hold the solution, the answers to all the above. Spend a couple of days with Bodhi, Riley, and Morgan and I assure you that my grandbabies will promise to get you in shape!! That's another reason their Gramma hasn't been blogging as much the past two days. Here's how I've exercised the past two days. And I swear, Bodhi, at six months is now almost the same size as Morgan even though there is a 13 month age difference between them. I'm wondering if that is why my back hurts?







Nothing better than a picture of a sleeping baby, so sweet and innocent! That is going to be me pretty soon, although my mouth will probably be hangin' open with drool coming out, and snoring. And with all that said, I couldn't be anymore grateful to have spent my past couple of days in my own little three ring circus! Wouldn't trade my time with my babies for anything! I'll be back soon with some Country Roads "eye candy" when I go back to my "other" job tomorrow! Take care.

White Wednesday

This "White Wednesday" finds me at home cleaning, putting away Christmas, and cleaning some more! With all the Christmas gone, I put together a new centerpiece on my old farm table. As I cleaned & cleaned, and bitched & bitched while I was doing it, I did take the time to notice the different "whites" in my home and their varying textures and colors. So, here's few of my favorites from my home, all cleaned up!






What I love about cats, is they do what they want to do. This cat (not mine) showed up in my garden right after the rain and cold had started to clear away. He is so white, beautiful, and big, but would never pose for me! Maybe another day. I hope you all take the time to stop by and visit Kathleen, our hostess that has gathered all of us together for "White Wednesday". Happy New Year to you all!!!

Changing Things Up At Country Roads

I LOVE January's at Country Roads! Seems like each year we do some moving around and shuffling of vendors which gives the store a completely different look. Below are some pictures of a few of our vendors that are in the middle of some "extreme makeovers"!
For those of you that shop with Kate you know that she is always changing her look & style on her little porch by in the back of the main building. She's taken on another little area, and yesterday afternoon I caught her in the middle of the "new" look, so I snapped a couple of quick photos. I'll be sure and have some more when she is finished. Although with Katie, she is never quite finished. Always changing things up.
In the photos above, you can see a couple of small vignettes that Eileen has been working on. She has a big makeover coming this week. The old floor that is so uneven is coming out, and she will be working on a new look as well once the floor is out. This is a major project and I can't wait to show you the finished result.
Sue Lennon, one of our new vendors is already moving. You may recognize the photos above. Sue is under the stairs, near Kate's space. She will be taking a bigger space down the first aisle which will truly be an extreme makeover for her and my boy Bryce! The big window showcase that sticks out in the aisle will be gone, and a brand new look that I promise you that you won't want to miss will soon be put together by the weeks end! Robin & Steve that are currently in that spacing are moving over to Sue's old space and will also be sporting a "new look"!And lastly, I want to say a HUGE "thank you" again to everyone that shopped with us New Years Day. We were so incredibly busy, and please know how very appreciative we all are for this! And an extra thanks to Katie, who DID all the tickets from the huge sale as you see above. It may not look like much work, but it took her most of the day to get them sorted, put on cards, added and put in the books. She wanted our Country Roads family to see how well they did on New Years Day! Also, one more really BIG "thank you" goes to Ginny, Cindy, Stacey, and Eileen that came in to help us on Saturday. There were so many customers, I don't know what I would have done without them!! To me, this is what makes Country Roads so very special to me. We aren't just a "store" we truly are family. I'll get you updated with the "new" looks of Country Roads as they transform. And again, as we start our 18th year of business, NONE of this would have been possible without all of you, our customers. You ARE the best!!

Our Customers!

As many of you know, yesterday was our big New Years Day sale! Each and every year, I'm totally amazed by our customers. They never, ever let us down! We were "slammed" all day long, and as I limped home last night and crawled under my warm electric blanket, I thought of the day. I remembered all the kind and caring things that my customers said throughout the day to all of us. Sometimes I have to step back and look, really look at this "little" place called Country Roads!





Country Roads, I don't think I would have ever dreamed eighteen years ago it wold turn into the store it is today. And for that, I have to thank my Country Roads family of dealers for the quality & display of merchandise they continue to bring in daily. And our awesome customers, never disappoint me, are are just amazing. I can't even begin to explain to you how much their kind words mean to me. I am always humbled to hear such nice comments, thank you. And a special thanks to not only my "kids" (staff) that worked yesterday, but I sincerely appreciate that Cindy, Ginny, Eileen, and Stacey volunteered their time to help us out. It made our jobs so much easier. Thank you. And again, I have no real words to express my gratitude to all of you that made "I'd Rather Shop Than Watch Football Sale" such a success. Thank you!

What Lies Ahead?

We made it through 2010, and here we are today on 1-1-11! What happened last year is now in the past and today we get a brand new beginning, a fresh start and the future can be whatever we "choose" it to be! I subscribe to "Simple Truths" online and they send you little things here and there that are inspirational. Below is what was in my emails this morning. I wanted to share it will all of you. And if you have time, read it a couple of times, it's worth it!

An Excerpt from
The Strangest Secret
by Earl Nightingale

"George Bernard Shaw said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them."

"Well, it's pretty apparent, isn't it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry - his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing... he becomes nothing.

How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I'll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land, and it's good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn't care. It's up to the farmer to make the decision.

We're comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn't care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant.

Now, let's say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land...and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted.

As it's written in the Bible, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."

Remember the land doesn't care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants - one corn, one poison.

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn't care what we plant...success...or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal...or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant".

Above is a picture Brande sent me last night. It is the last sunset of 2010 in Seal Beach. I wish you all a wonderful 2011, and I'm looking forward to seeing many of you at Country Roads today! I like to work, that is just the way I'm wired. So what better way than to spend the first day of the year doing what I love, working with my family. Happy New Year to you all!!