Catch 'em soon!

Dave Jenkins ran off with the hearts of the FIRSTfriday crowd last night at his art opening at Stifel & Capra. Dave and his wife Suzanne welcomed old freinds and a lot of new fans during the open house. Dave is our featured artist during the month of August so please stop in and see all of his work (this is only one area!) during our normal business hours.

August FIRSTfriday - You are invited!

If you are in town, DO stop in tomorrow for our FIRSTfriday fun. I'll be starting my day by hanging Dave Jenkins featured artwork and trying to figure out where in the heck I am putting all of the refreshments. I keep dragging displays around the stores trying to make some room, ha! I am sure it will all be fine by the time the reception starts. Really I am sure it will.

Betsy, my number one treasure hunter, just returned from a long vacation where she found some really cool goodies! My favorite is the wacky avocado shaped guacamole bowl with matching salt & pepper shakers!

I've been finding the most lovely vintage fabrics to play with, lots of embroidered pieces and vintage style fabrics to put together fun pieces with, like these bags; LOVE the buttons.

A confession: I am a little sad this week because our local elementary school started this last Monday. Why am I sad? Because my kids no longer attend that school! Before you scoff, when do YOUR kids start complaining they are bored? When are you sick of going to the pool? Wouldn't you be thrilled to have a 2 week vacation in October (that's when we used to go to Cape Cod!)? The kids never had summer slump, that lack of learning retention that teachers so love. Teachers stay fresher, so do parents! Or I did. No, now I am just wistfully juggling my calendar because my scheduled help evaporated at the beginning of the summer and I don't feel like I am doing anything with my full attention. Nothing like trying to be at work full time and home full time simultaneously... OK, now I can hear you laughing hysterically and saying "welcome to parenthood!" I know, I know, but is it any wonder I am looking wistfully at those yellow buses driving by?

Returning customers always welcome!

Of course I love to see new clients enjoying the various wares at Stifel & Capra but I really enjoy seeing returning customers even more. Especially when they drag a new friend in with them "SEE, I TOLD you that you would like this place!" It is extremely gratifying and makes all of the hard work worthwhile.

It is especially gratifying when you meet a kindred spirit, in this case someone one with a good sense of humor but a sense of the ridiculous or is it sublime, like the lovely Gena buying one of my favorite chapeaus, the "Audrey Hepburn meets Dr. Seuss" ostrich feather luncheon hat! She mugged for the camera for me before she took it out of the shop. I really think that we should have tea or cocktails at the Ritz at Tyson's and ALL wear hats (I should figure out how to organize one of those "meet-up" groups I guess).
I dragged my daughter down to the eastern shore Sunday and Monday (thanks you Laura for watching the store today!) for a little girl bonding and to pick up some treasures for Stifel & Capra. Good thing we weren't going to sit on the beach because it poured, deluged, tempested (is that a word?) to the point you couldn't see across a lane of traffic, forget about across the wide oceanic horizon. But suffice to say I did collect lots of great treasures for the shop just in time for FIRSTfriday this Friday from 5 to 8pm. Mark your calendar and hope to see you then!