Christmas before Halloween - Sneak Peek

Life of a retailer! 

I thought I gave that up years ago

 as relented to alpaca sweaters in June! 

Here is a little peek at

 Chartreuse and co.

It is so very holiday goodness!

Architectural pieces

A French Provincial Bar 

A Perfect Server

  A bedroom set...warm and creamy with sparkle to boot.

Oh the sparkles!

 Hand painted and sparkled cup cake boxes

 New Christmas sign!

 Handmade votive

Christmas and Holiday signs

 Sayings make the perfect gift...

I love Winnie the Pooh...thoughtful and fun.

 "CHARM"-ing word necklaces, dictionary words with definitions.

Oh and I made the hanger from an old dry sink harp

 Ohhhhhh the signs....the signs, the signs!

 Little mini for the tree, or a gift or a bottle!

And some vintage toys...

I love the pull toys, old tin Raggedy Ann kitchen set

 and my fav game of Tiddely winks

and pick up sticks from the 30's.

So you see,

Alas...with three little shops to supply

and special orders,

AND THE SIGNS 

I have tendinitis.  

Usually my shoulder gives out...

now it is my shoulder and elbow! 

Yep...tennis elbow,

 or should I say...

painting,

distressing

and waxing

elbow!

But it is cute, no?

Elbow be dam#ed...

I have  gifts suitable for everyone!

So come see me at our

OPEN HOUSE

HOLIDAY

 FIRST DIBS

SHOPPING PARTY

Nov. 4

6 - 9 p.m.

Sparkles, decor and gifts galore.

I need to rest!

Molly



A Peek into my REAL life...

My official uniform.

Come on...Isn't it pretty?

This is what I wear to do

my best work.

It generates creative energy...

brings about great works...

I was having a pretty serious conversation

 with my 16 year old the other morning. 

She stopped, looked at me and said,

"Really Mom?"

I was like, "What?"

She pointed at me.

Huh????

(long pause)

What?

The rest was unspoken.

Could it be the stains,

tears,

 missing buttons

that had her in awe?

No.

How could she take me seriously like this,

 she explained.

WHAT?

Now I have been known,

well...no one sees me I dare hope,

to work in my nightie.

I paint,

sand in the garage,

drive to school with a trench coat over it,

clean the house,

and run my business in it.

Now I manage to keep this private,

well, it used to be private.

Wrong you say?

Don't argue with an artist(said with flare)!

Tattered...torn

Adorned with paint...wax...

whatever else I get into to...

It is what it is. 

I love it...the softest of cotton knits,

 lovely. 

It even looks good with any shoe choice

and a hoodie makes it work year round.

It is me. 

I wake and am OFFFFFF...

weilding brushes, sanders and creating.

Why ruin yet another pair of jeans or sweatsirt?

Oh and my office...ahhh, island.

My dining room table....

ahh, breeding ground of custom cut stencils...

Baskets o' wood ready for

some inspirational words...

in my dining roon corner.

Me, my life and my things of beauty.

I love it.

Tell me your secrets...

(Yes, my working peers owe me for telling you  my secret...

I may be known for a story or two while working with my girls!

They made me promise to tell.)

Molly

Holiday La la land

We just completed October sale at

Chartreuse and co.

and it was so great to see

so many friends and fabulous customers...

my most grateful thanks

for all your support.

I am deep into my new items for the holidays...

 my brain won't

stop

and I am thinking and rethinking my strategies....

color

sparkles

 sayings for signs...

This week is finely time for

CREATING!!!

So off to my

office(ahaha)

and

into my

uniform

(more to come on that

and you do not want to miss it)

Molly

Things that make me happy...

I have been thinking about

what makes us all feel like

 home is

HOME

  (My new love is this antique European trunk!)

Yes, of course, our families, pets...

 but for me
it is the little things that

"I like". 

Things I had to have
that I have found

 in all kinds of places...

fancy smancy shops,

resale shops,

vintage shops,

Mom's living room or

even the garbage picking find.

It is this accumulation
of these things,

over time,

placed just so 

that define "home" for me.

Some of these things I move about,

 creating new vignettes

to please my eye that day...
that season.

Sometimes I stow them away
and then months
or even years later

I bring them back out with

new
lusty gusto!

One day this "thing"
may be a side table,

next a bathroom storage unit
and the next a
"canvas" for new art.

It is what
creates
the look I love...

time worn,

 patinas rich,

funky,

classic,

strange or new.

  This eclectic combination of

well loved items,

 touched and retouched...

moved about and

arranged and rearranged.

So
here
are just a few
of those things...

I adore this china pattern...Calico Burleigh Staffaordshire from England.

 Over my kitchen window...

 More in my china closet with a bee hive of course!  Oh and tassels...

 A ceramic pumpkin no one else would like but
 I love the turquoise leaf!

 A cow tag I managed to wrangle from my friend Gail

with my home address numbers from my childhood.

A French locus for good luck from my Mom

with lavendar grown in my back yard.

A bee in my powder room, or two!

I love this drawer from my hubby when we were first married,

 old books from family and this LOVERLY lady strolling.

This scale...turquoise again!

My headless angel...loooong story but important to me,

my mercury glass hive and birdies!

This drives my husband crazy...

two light swiches and I choose a candle chandelier!

My husbands Grandmother's little European print

she always had in her foyer...now I do!

 A garbage find mirror!

This cabinet I have had for 20 plus years...

I never tire of it. 

Even the silly Halloween kitty likes it.

A cast iron pumkin on the stoop.

My copper window boxes with

mini boxwoods and pansies...ohhh, LOVE!

A mug from my sis with a nod

to my love of blue and white Calico dishes,

a voodoo doll given to me by a dear friend and

MY BRUSHES,

ALWAYS MY DEAR BRUSHES!!!

Tell me about

one thing you love

that makess you feel just

so

in your own home...

Molly

I haven't even started in on
 the little furniture pieces
collected over my 24 years of marriage! 
Another time...



PLEASE VOTE!!

News from THE COTTAGE GALS

Friday, October 1

We've Been Nominated!

The Cottage has been nominated for

Loudoun County Small Business of the Year Award!

We are so tickled to have just found out on our 5th Anniversary!

But we need your help -

please vote for us on

 http://www.loudounchamber.org/

 go to

Events

 and look for

small business awards

and VOTE for

The Cottage!

Thanks for your help and we hope to see you  soon.

Linda and Ann

(Molly too!)