Christmas Open House set for December 1st!

Can you believe that it is that time of year again? It is time for Maplewood's annual Christmas Tree walk! For those of you unfamiliar with my location, my shop is actually located in Maplewood, just two blocks outside the St. Louis city limits.

What is the Christmas tree walk? All the little boutiques in the area will stay open until 9 or 10PM on Friday, December 1st. We all decorate our windows and stores and stock them with gift items. There will be a trolley, a Santa, lighting ceremony and so on. There are hundereds of people who attend this event and St. Louis Magazine voted it last year as one of the top 10 things to do in St. Louis during the holiday season.

There is a window decorating contest and most shops serve food and drink. Last year, I did the store all up for New Years' - all chocolate and gold. I served champaign punch and everything chocolate. I even had a bubble machine on my balconey over the store. The entire ceiling was covered with gold and chocolate balloons. I also had about 400 glass balls hanging from lights and chandeliers to represent champaign bubbles. It was a lot of fun.

What am I going to do this year? Well, it will be much more simpler than last year. Last year was the first Christmas as a very newly divorced woman, and I decided I just wanted to skip Christmas all together and go right into the new year...remember what I said about having a personal theme when doing your displays? Doing a New Year's theme was very personal to me last year.

Well, this year, I have another personal theme that I will explain to you after the 1st. It will be different from year's past, but it will have real meaning to me, although not clear at all to anyone else. But that is okay.

I am excited to announce that I am starting my own line of Elizabeth House Products. This first batch is for the body: Bath Infusion, Soaps, Diffusers, and Body Butter. I designed these with an artisian who uses only pure and essential oils. I will have a new posting about my products in the near future. But I am very pleased with them.

I will also have many items on sale - especially my floor sample items such as my queen bed, dining set, and mantel. I am ready to restock the store with fresh inventory, but have no room! So, on the 1st, there will be some very good deals on the bigger pieces.

I will also have some gift baskets, lavender, French Soaps, candles, sachets, hand-crafted journals, hand-crafted charms on ribbon, locally made chocolate bark in many flavors, and gift books. I will have some seasonal items, though not a lot. And all seasonal items will be on sale as well. I usually stock gift items that are different, great price point, and special.

I will be closed the Tues -Thursday prior to the Friday the 1st in order to get everything ready. I will open on Friday, December 1st at 4PM and remain open until 9 or 10PM. The elves will be busy!

I am looking forward to spending the evening visiting with my friends and clients. I use this evening to catch up on what is going on and how everyone is doing. If you are able to stop by, I would love to visit with you. I will be the one holding the champaign glass, laughing and hugging everyone!

I want to wish you all a very special Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those who know me know that it is no secret that I give my greatest thanks to my Lord for blessing me with my friends, family, health, my talents, and my ability to help others. I am eternally grateful for these gifts.

I hope you feel blessed this season as well.

From my house to your house,
Elizabeth
www.elizabethhouse.us

Welcome my new Gem!

 
I would like you to meet my new gem - who is not a diamond in the rough, but all shiny and polished and ready for a setting. I am just lucky that the setting is Elizabeth House. Please welcome Ara. She and I met about four years ago when I first opened my store. She walked in, and we immediately bonded. We chatted for a long while - and then, we never saw each other again. She had just moved from San Francisco, and I from Texas. She was married and so was I. She worked in the creative field, has traveled to numerous places, and so have I. But after that first, and only meeting, we never saw each other again.

I placed a blind ad for the position at EH, and she answered it. After reading her email and resume, I sent her my website and told her about the store. She emailed back and said, "we already met!" I didn't recognize her name, but I recognized her beautiful hair the moment I met her for her interview.

A lot has happened since we first met. I divorced and she is now divorced. She has a fiance who has a knack for antiques, and my love for antiques keeps growing. She has just moved into a beautiful home in Soulard, and I have, since first meeting her, moved into the apartment above the store, which was featured in Mary Englebreit's Home Companion magazine. The list goes on and on.

Needless to say, I feel very blessed to have her be a part of the EH family and feel that Ara will make our customers feel at home at EH. So, please welcome Ara when you visit the store. She is the one that is all "shiny and polished."

From my house to your house,
Elizabeth
www.elizabethhouse.us 

Why is it when a group of women gather together for fun, we all of sudden become "girls"? I had the pleasure of being a part of my friend, Karen's birthday gathering. When we gather together with our friends, it is such a good reminder that we are not alone in this world. That no matter how many work hours we put in a week, or how many phone calls we cram in a day, none of those hours are ever more important than the hours spent your friends.

Girlfriends especially are there for you in just about any situation. Going to move? Call your girlfriends. Just got a promotion? Call your girlfriends. Got stood up on a date - definitely call your girlfriends and then go out for cocktails. Mother in the hospital, call your girlfriends, Boyfriend dumping you, husband leaving you, or blind date gone from bad to worse....girlfriends are there for you.

But not just in the sad times, but in the joyous times as well. A new baby, a first home, getting back into our "skinny jeans," getting that raise, a negative test result, or even something as simple as painting a room a new color - girlfriends are the first to call.

What a joy and a blessing to be surrounded by such good friends. The older I get, the more I understand the importance of friends, and how they may share in my tears with my burdens, my sadness, my disappointments, as well may share in my laughter with my hopes, my dreams, my successes, and my antics. I hope those of you who are reading this, will send this page to a girlfriend that you haven't seen or talked to in a while. She will love you for it.

Thank you for letting me share my joy.
From my house to your house,
Elizabeth
www.elizabethhouse.us