Really Fun Tag Sale

I have been so busy and neglecting my blog and I apologize for that. However on the weekend we had our first Tag Sale. We invited customers from the shop and close friends to come and enjoy refreshments and spend the afternoon shopping for wonderful goodies at their leisure. It was a huge success and we will hold another Tag Sale on November 4th - just in time for Christmas shopping.

We featured all of our sale items in the Unique Sleepwear section of Soul of the Rose Gifts and of course had all of our usual product lines. This week I am shopping for new goodies for the store and if all works out I will have a really nice new batch of lovelies to choose from in Bath and Body, Children's and Women's Sleepwear that I am really excited about. Think feminine, think floral, think vintage and very hip. Oh and just for Christmas think chocolate too!

Getting to the half-way point...

At the risk of sounding like Bridget Jones:

Pounds Lost – 30! Inches Lost – 10.5!

That is a lot of weight for me to lose and I am very happy that I have made it this far. If I have not been updating this blog it is because I’ve been spending most of my free time trying to get in some exercise. I was walking about 3.5 to 4 miles a day but I have taken to swimming laps with my gal pals and we really like it.

I have had many mornings in my life pondering: "What shall I wear today?" Or more likely, "What fits today!" Now I am finding I have the same problem but this time the clothes are way too big! I have gone down more than 2 sizes and have already given away most of my clothes. It is already time to clean my closet out again!

I have taken to buying a lot of things at Target. I realize that this is not the house of fashion, but I cannot bring myself to spend $60 to $100 on a pair of jeans when I know I will not be in that size next month. Lucky for me it is mostly T-shirts and jeans from Target so I think I can get by like this for a while.

I promise to post a good before and after picture of the real me, but I decided not to dilute the effect with a halfway shot so you will just have to wait. I should reach my goal around the December. Oh, and no, I am not afraid of gaining weight during the holidays. I seem to have found a really nice way to eat for life and I really like the exercise too. I am hoping Santa brings me a beach cruiser bike! I still find ways to work in some of my favorite splurges – just not so much. Nina and I had s'mores over the fire pit last weekend and it was way yummy!

Comfort in a box...

I really like these. I just added these to the Gift Boutique at Soul of the Rose Gifts. I am a big fan of Sarah Ban Breathnach, I have read most of her books: Simple Abundance, Something More and her most recent Moving On. One of the consistent themes running throughout these books is the idea of making the time to take special care of your self – nurture your self. She suggests creating a Comfort Box and filling it with special goodies for yourself whenever your mood needs a lift.

I put together these adorable boxes packaged in our pretty little suitcases. They are filled with all sorts of fun everyday prizes that can make you feel special in a flash. You will find a designer toothbrush, floral pocket tissues, a beautiful box of matches for lighting your candles, honey soaps from France, Asian brocade lipstick or coin purse, floral note cards, fragranced bath salts and a cake of Clause Porto soap from Portugal. Each box is semi color coordinated so the display is really nice when it is opened. Once I sent Amy a box like this (filled with pink goodies of course) and she really loved it. I added pajamas to the mix to make it extra nice (what can I say – she is extra nice herself).

I think of the Comfort Box as sort of like a Christmas stocking – a treasure trove filled with wonderful necessities. This is a special keepsake box that you can always add to whenever you see fun little things here or there. It is a unique gift for a friend or a daughter. The items are all hand selected and sometimes vary depending on what we have in stock. Most importantly the items are all chosen with love and the anticipation of being enjoyed. Believe me these gifts are so fun to package!

If you would like a custom Comfort Box you can contact me through the Store or through this blog about creating a unique box just for you or your friend.

It's hotter n blue blazes in the desert

Crazy I know, but we went to the desert - Palm Desert area to be exact to check on some property. We congratulated my buddy Sylvia on her new home there. She is planning to move out there full time, after she sells her house out here. What will she do in that heat? I get a little panicky when it's 115 degrees and I can not get into the air conditioning! We go to the desert a lot but we are there vacationing - at the pool or the air conditioned movie theater. How do you live a full time life in that heat? Oh well I think she could cook up a cute little cactus get up like this one and not worry about the heat!

Put another candle on my birthday cake!

Saturday was my birthday! I had a wonderful day. It was a bit on the indulgent side. I went on a shopping spree! I went to Macy's and made a significant investment in Clarins skin care - I have always liked their goodies and feel that I deserve it at my new mature age. I bought just about the entire line for my skin type (I have always wanted to do that). I must go back for some magic serum thing that will turn me into a hot 20 year old French girl next month - that was the only thing I did not buy. I then went to J. Jill and bought some really cute goodies on sale - how very prudent of me!

Our family went out for dinner at the Fish House Vera Cruz - which I absolutely adore and I indulged in one (1) glass of chardonnay - how very stringent of me!!!! My best buds Sylvia and Majid showed up to join us as a surprise so the night was very fun. I ate my Jenny Craig birthday cake and was surprisingly satisfied. I have lost 20 lbs - well, just 4 0z shy of that but I always round up when it involves weight loss.

Matt got me an ipod and the kids got me some itune cards so I plan to spend at least part of today getting my music thing set up. I do love the ipod!!! I get really into mundane things like housework and exercising with the ipod. It is also great for art projects!

There is one significant difference to this birthday that I discovered on Friday. Nina and I went to the Del Mar Fair and we were having a grand time when we decided to ride some of the rides. OMG - I realized I am sooooo not 20 any more!!!!! That's it for me I am off the carni-rides for good now. All I did was scream and holler! NO NINA, NO NO NO!!! Well, I am embarrassed to tell you that it took about an hour to recover and for my legs to stop shaking. So, no more carni-rides! I just don't do those things anymore. That is how I know I am getting older, and I am ok with that.