sparkle and flash at Solid Rock....

We have been so blessed to have Solid Rock's studio in our building (and now some of her photography on our blog). I adore the ballerina shot of a local senior printed in sepia on metallic white paper. It's simply stunning...

the glamour of gold...

Lounge among the shimmer and imagine yourself in a French salon.

the greenhouse...

"I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven."
Emily Dickinson

winter's garden...

Paper-whites, pine boughs, snowflakes and statuary... even the garden decks itself for the festive season.

a winter fairyland...

In Britain, they call strands of Christmas lights "fairy lights". I'm beginning to see why. A little sprinkling of snow, sprigs of green... and voila!

mercury, silver, and glass...

It catches the glimmer of the fire's glow and twinkle lights, making it seem as if a bit of wintery starlight glistens all about you.

the men's study...

A little bit lodge, a little bit library.... lots of cozy comfort that makes you want to curl up with some Dickens and a cup of hot cocoa.

a glimpse before sleeping...

Just a quick peek at a sample of the shop before I fall into my bed for a rather meager allotment of hours. So much to finish up in this last day and a half.



I snapped this with my phone this afternoon as I was dashing out to go vote.

In other news, for the sake of sanity... I've determined that the website will officially launch the week of November 10th { which is next week, so don't fret! }.

Anyway, lots of photos of the shop pre-event will be posted once I tidy up the clutter and run the vacuum one more time...

Goodnight!

decision day....

Well, the end is finally here.

{ And no, I don't mean the end of the world if your candidate of choice is not elected. }

What I mean is: the end of the sign-stealing, the end of the pundits prophetically projecting, the end of negative ads, the end of ads of any sort. The end of debates, of avoiding a topic with those you love but politically disagree with (or vice versa), of the he said-he said. The end of the world's longest election season, which has been going on for almost 18 months now.

Now I'm not foolish enough to think that by the time the election is ratified everything will be hunky-dory and the ideological tenets that are the fundamentals for each party are going to blend instantaneously. Yet I am confident that the balance point will be found sooner rather than later. Why, you ask?

Because it always has. We are a country founded on UNITY. On the brotherhood of all men and their inalienable rights.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Glorious words, no? Even more grand are the realities attached to them. We might disagree on the policies, but not the principles.

This election cycle, I have been described as one of the most sought-after voting blocks: an independent 'unaffiliated' white woman. But I describe myself as far more.

I am: the child of an immigrant, a business owner, the daughter of baby-boomer parents, and a believer. Those "roles" have made me weigh each candidate carefully, to think and process only to start all over again.

Yet when I walk into the voting booth, I will be nothing more than those people standing on either side of me: an American.

My father's family owe their modern day liberty to the defeat of Mussolini and fascism in Italy and the rebuilding that occurred after the victory of the Allies. I've even heard tales that my grandmother sold things on the black market during the war in an effort to keep her family together and fed.

In working on our genealogy with my mother, it's been discovered that our relatives were some of the first to establish parts of Virginia and Kentucky, with military service that ranges from the Revolution on into the Great Wars and Korea.

The struggle and hardships both sides faced have afforded me a great luxury: Possibility.

My future is no longer tied to what a monarch or dictator decrees. I am not born into a "lot" in life and that is all to which I should ever aspire. Instead, I am blessed with an abundance of freedom, which I far too often take for granted.

I love quotes and one of my favorite presidents was Abraham Lincoln. Below I've listed some of his words of wisdom. Odd how they resonated so strongly with me today....

___________________________________________________

You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence.

Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets.

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow.
The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us
from the support of a cause we believe to be just.

___________________________________________________

Thanks for indulging my little political musing today. The polls will be opening in just a few short hours for those of us on the east coast. { Or as my brother is calling it, "battleground state" } And while I'm so tired from a hard day in the shop that the thought of climbing the stairs is exhausting, I'll be there bright and early. { And probably still coated in a fair amount of glitter. }

Not because I'll get free coffee from Starbucks, free ice cream from Ben & Jerry's, or because it's "cool". Not because I'm voting against someone or wanting to be on the bandwagon of a historic candidacy. Not because of spin or talking points. Not because of personality, popularity or endorsements.

It's because I can. As a citizen I get a voice, I get a vote -- and what good is having either if you don't let yourself be heard?

getting closer....

It's official -- I'm a week away. A week away from food, fun, frivolity, festivity, and fabulous-ness.

But I have to get there first. Climb through the mounting lists of things to "get done". Stave off a cold until next week. Marshal the troops in countless directions and being content to let them do what I ask instead of thinking I need to keep my hands on everything.

There are three basic categories to the lists: Store, Website, and Personal. Pretty self-explanatory, but when you have to remind yourself to pick up dog food and toothpaste, things are still on overload.

Yet, in other news, things are certainly getting exciting.

Our monthly shipment of Romantic Homes magazines arrived in the store, though I won't put them out for purchase until the Soiree. Couldn't wait to peek into the box and flip to the back....



Our new ad! Hooray! Who is that darling crown bedecked child? Why, it's "little alice" as she's been christened by Heather and I. And now that she's been revealed...



In other exciting news, I couldn't resist photographing (not to mention wearing!) some our darling jewelry that will be making it's debut on both the website and the shop.



And in other Christmas yummy-ness, I am busy parceling out oodles of delicious ephemera perfect for packages and projects for you and yours.



Enjoy!

the vanishing explained....

Had you begun to think I'd fallen over the edge into the brink? Or crawled into a box of new product and fallen down a rabbit hole into Wonderland?

Well, regardless of what might have been the case, I'm pleased as punch to tell you that I've been busy photographing product, receiving orders, placing new orders, handling paperwork and all other general shop duties in order to get ready for our annual event. I hadn't forgotten you, dear ones... but when you find yourself pausing in the middle of the day to wonder whether or not you've combed your hair, you officially have too much on your plate.



Isn't the postcard delicious? Heather did another phenomenal job for me and I'm tickled about how great they look. Next I'll be labeling and getting them to the post office post haste!

So mark your calendars {even if you aren't local and able to stop by}! Because on top of the Soiree, the website will have it's official launch the very same week! It'll be a party in every way imaginable. But those details will need to kept a secret just a LITTLE bit longer...

Every day seems to fly faster and faster though, as the date approaches. {Or maybe my dwindling sleep hours makes it seem that way.} Nonetheless, I promise to reveal hints and sneak peeks here and there over the next TWENTY days. Yep, just twenty days... oh, how I can hardly wait!



In the package with my postcards from the printer came my new business cards! Here's a glimpse at the back of it. "Shopkeeper". Yep, that's me...

And a quick reminder, if you are local and want to be added to my actual mailing list, please email me {adair@tusco.net} with your address or sign up for our e-mail newsletters in the sidebar to the right!