We have a red carnival light up arrow in the store and it points up.  I have started to attach good vibes/luck to it.   I don’t think it matters where we get this energy from or what inanimate object we attach it to.  In other words I will take it wherever I can get it.   On on  a totally unrelated topic the tea room is not happening so I am selling the teapots I have collected over the years.  This is not sad, this is moving ahead.   I am going to the fancy food show today to check out loose teas and tins.  We are planning on selling tea and cookies in tins in 2012.   

Woo hoo on Tuesday, February 7th at 6 p.m.  Heartfelt will host a talk and book signing event with Sam Mogannam of Bi-Rite Market.    Snacks and tea will be served.  We are so lucky in the bay area to have masters of food know-how.   Sam will share words and then sign books so gather at 6:00 please.  See you at the store!

It is interesting as busy as I am now I feel reflective and grounded regarding the store.   Shopping just like anything has it’s ying and yang moments and hopefully we provide a sense of fullness when you are feeling empty.  Not sure what to get someone and feeling bogged down by the holiday lists and seeming requirements, a search around the store at its holiday best can turn up many easy answers.   I frequently see moods change and spirits lift with just a little help from our folks.   It is also fun to see what surfaces to the top as a hit or top seller.   The log pillow is truly soaring towards 1st place this year.  Come on by and check it out. 

I am in Paris and it is a constant stream of inspiration.   My mind is jumbled series of images from the Tea shop Angelina to the paintings at the Musee d’Orsay.  I have never seen so many Bonnards in one place.  Even the orderly rows at the local patteserie inspire me for Heartfelt.   I was at the Cafe du Commerce and if could speak French at all I would have asked them where the paper table covers were from because even they were cool with their orange borders and clean white square shape.   So here I am on the couch in the wee apartment and a blast of inspiration comes this time from home…. via Heartfelt.   A sample of some baby jackets we are working on to sell in the store truly one of a kind from old fabrics I have collected for years!   Thanks Brook!

Here are the bears from the “Bear In Underwear” book.   I approve of the idea of a story about a stuffie.  One gets to know aspects of his or her personality and then the imagination can make up all sorts of delightful imaginary stories of one’s own.   The bear and the book make a great gift.  

I survived Halloween and now we enter the High Holy Days in retail.   It was fun dressing up as Cruella and I think some of the kids that got their picture taken with me wondered why their parents approved of me enough to let a photo opportunity happen.. after all was I not the one planning on making a coat out of puppies.   They would crane their necks and look up at me wondering if this really was safe.    

Stay tuned for details re: our more than ever full walls.  We truly  have the best gift items this year.   I still swear that giving is the best getting.

I bought these hand crocheted pot holders at an estate sale and washed them.  They hung on our deck for a few days and I like how they look all in a row.   I am putting them out for sale this weekend.  Come on by.

I really appreciate the bounty the bay area offers and pink pomegranates in October is one of them.   The seeds are pale pink and much softer and sweeter than the red ones.   I use them in salads, on pancakes and just snack on them.  A lovely gift would be two or three and two perfect bowls.