5 generations of Niederhauser's

We celebrated my Grandma's 100th birthday today (tomorrow is her actually b-day). She was born on August 31st, 1909. She lives at the care center in Mount Vernon now, but is still so spunky and had the whole crowd rolling all day long. About 80 of my relatives gathered to help her celebrate in Lisbon, Iowa at Whitey's. Tasha and Daron did a fantastic job and everyone had a wonderful time. It's hard to even imagine someone living for 100 years. I have a magazine from 1909 and things were so, so very different back then. It's fun to think about and even funner to listen to grandma talk about things from way back when. Love you Gram!

Ever think about how a shop makes you feel?

Yesterday turned out to be a really great day! I met with some wonderful dealers about the possibility of taking some space in my shop and spent the rest of the morning displaying, playing and helping people in my shop... I'm really enjoying being there again and I think that people can sense that. With the kids in school again, I think spending time there has been "guilt free" again and that makes it so much more enjoyable for me. Over the last 18 years the shop has really become an extension of who I am. It has evolved and it has had its share of ups and downs, just like I have. I never know what to say when a customer comes in who hasn't been there for a while and asks... "did the shop change hands?" Most of the time that is a good thing, because it means things have changed and everything in new to discover again, but once in a while its not such a great thing as they will tell me that it used to be nicer or different in some other way that they liked better. My shop tends to reflect the personality and mood of its owner and dealers. On any given day, a customer's experience at Polly Ann's will be different just based on the energy they feel when they walk through the door. Having my candles burning again feels soooooo good. I think that really helps people feel calm and relaxed when they walk through the door. There is so much more to a store than the merchandise they carry, don't you think? There are places I go just because I like being there... it feels good to be surrounded by someone elses joy. Sometimes it even feels good to be surrounded by someone elses mess (then I can feel better about my own)! I hope that everyone enjoys their visit to my store. I wish I could control a little more than the aesthetics of the shop... I wish I could make each and every dealer put off a positive energy when someone walks through the door. I guess that is the trade off I have for having someone to watch my store while I am away. It's a good trade off, but sometimes I think it makes people feel a little less satisfied when there isn't such a friendly face and positive energy greeting them. Oh, well! I do the best I can.
Anyway... enough of my rambling. My day was wonderful as I got to spend time with my honey when we went to deliver a desk and a fun daybed to a pair of beautiful sisters who recently "discovered" our little place. We went to go look at a new toy for Bob (a conveyer belt thing that should really take some work off his back moving wood this fall and winter). We just happened upon some town-wide garage sales in Central City and I found a few new treasures for the store and a fun new pair of capri pants for myself. Then it was back to the shop to deliver a secretary/china cabinet and then I had to fill in all the holes. The picture is of a sweet little English wardrobe that replaced one of the pieces. I have to run to my upholsterers this morning to pick up two chairs that I just had done. That should fill in the hole where the daybed was. Hopefully todays customers will be excited and happy about being there and I can make some more deliveries next week!

Success!!!

I feel soooooo much better! I spent my morning getting things done on my computer... bookwork and the like and then I went up to the shop to "tackle" my candle studio. Well, it took a few hours to get things organized, but then... I made candles!!! It had been a while and I was so excited to get going with it again. I made a double batch of my signature scent at the shop and a double batch of Oatmeal, Milk and Honey... my two most favorite scents. They turned out fantastic and I am so excited to get to work at the shop tomorrow and have people walk in the door and ask... "What is that incredible smell?" It smells sooooo good when you walk in the door when I am burning them. They are 100% soy and they burn so nice and clean. The only thing I have to do to keep them burning perfectly is make sure to keep the wicks trimmed to about 1/4 of an inch. I still have the smell on my hands and I LOVE IT!

Today's mission... soy candles

I have been using the excuse that it's not a big candle time of year for people... it makes me feel better since I am so far behind with making candles. Today, I'm hoping, that is all going to change. Unfortunately, I have a HUGE mess to clean up before I can even get started, but my wonderful guy has agreed to help me out a bit and together I know we can "get-r-done"!
I can't wait to have the aroma of our shop's signature scent fill my store again. People walk in the door and instantly fall in love and say... "what is that wonderful smell". I've only got a handful of candles left in the store and with the strong storms we've had overnight and this morning, I'm thinking that candles are something people are going to be ready for again. So, off I go... hi ho, hi ho...

First day of school... first day of freedom!!!

Kids are off to school this morning and Bob and I can finally feel free to tear in. First it's off to the tag sale house to load up a load for Houseworks, then on to Kalona to move out of my space at Pink Begonia there... then, who knows? The possibilities are endless, we just have to be home by 3:30pm. Ah, school is good!

Puppies, kitties, and morning glories, OH MY!

A sweet little black kitty cat... she doesn't seem to be scared of the cute little scottie dog puppies. I think they get along swimmingly. In fact, I think they might even be plotting to come home with me. It could happen since I love morning glories and don't have any real pets... hmmmmm? On second thought, I think they are plotting to go home with someone else... could it be YOU? The scottie pillow is so very yummy. I love the little frog! The morning glories adorn a dresser scarf and the kitty cat is made of chalk and has green eyes.

Storage with character!

I got this with the other bank cabinets out of the old Springville bank. It must have been safety deposit boxes at some point. All of those drawers have limitless possibilities. The wooden cubby hole cabinet that they fit into is awesome all by itself too. I wish my life was a little more organized so I could put this baby to work, but, alas, I'm a deranged loony with way too much stuff and no ambition whatsoever to deal with it... instead, my life's ambition is to go find more!

Great day ahead!!!

I get to go garage saling with my BFF/big sister, Lisa, this morning. No big plans for the day, just junkin' and lootin'. My honey took burgers and chicken out to grill tonight and suggested that we have a nice little fire and relax this evening... hopefully that means he's cooking. It usually does! Lucky girl I am today!!!!
I got a lot of stuff done at the shop the last three days. I'm there again tomorrow and Monday and am looking forward to finishing up a few of those projects I started last week and got pulled away from and never found my way back to finish up. Ever have that happen to you?
I'm looking so forward to getting to spend some quality time with my sister today. Things have been really crazy for both of us and garage saling is one of the things we love to do together. We'll probably stop at a Goodwill or two, just for good measure.

This here is a picture of a sweet little craigslist find of mine. I painted it a soft pink and have pretty everyday dishes displayed in it. A mom was looking at if for a dresser for her daughter's room... I think it would be sooooo sweet in a bedroom, or even in a bathroom filled with soft pastel colored towels and perfumy, girly stuff! I've recently been described as "girly". Do you think that suits me? I think I would like it to? I'm always trying to figure out how to be a little more girly, but always seems there is too much work and heavy lifting in the way. I think of myself as more of a workhorse than a girly-girl, but was sure happy to hear that someone else saw me that way.

I displayed the white and green cabinet, but really don't like how it turned out, so I think I'll redo it tomorrow or Monday and try to get a post up about it.

Gotta run... my BFF has arrived!

My new wainscot green cupboard

We bought this cupboard sight-unseen at the Rochester show from the folks we bought our white and green one from. They both came out of a church in St. Charles, Minnesota. Bob is going to make a new top piece for it, because the one that was on it was completely trashed. There is soooo much great storage in this one and it's huge, to boot. A little over 4 feet wide and more than 7 feet tall. The bottom would be so great for quilts and blanket storage and I can only imagine how many games you could keep in the top part. The hardware is wonderful, too. I filled it with all sorts of creamy goodies... planters, linens, lace, shells and more. I can't wait to play with the other cupboard tomorrow. Stop back and check it out.

Does anyone recognize what breed of bird these are?

The two tall flamingo"ish" looking birds stumped me. I'm not sure what they are. We sell lots of flamingos like this, but I have never seen this bird before. Does anyone out there know just what it is? A sticker on one of them says "her highness" . I think they are absolutely wonderful!

My find of the day...

A pretty brown transferware Daffodil pattern Grindley platter.

Storage galore!!!!

Oh, how wonderful these cabinets are. The finish is so fantastic... years of hot and cold have crackled it perfectly. Perfect for paper storage or filing. These came out of the basement of the Springville bank. Not sure if I really want to part with them, but if they went to a really good home I guess it would be okay.

Rochester Gold Rush Antique Show

I found a few new treasures to bring home with me in Rochester... two wonderful cupboards! I've got a lot of rearranging to do at the shop to fit in all of the new and wonderful things I've acquired. The kids will be back in school next week and I am looking so forward to getting back into a routine and having more time to spend making my shop my favorite place to be again.