Day 2 Atlanta Gift Show continues....

3 Buildings

58 Floors
6 days.........What's a girl to do?
SHOP!!!!
The journey to the first full day at the gift show started with a freeway packed - icy, "skating" adventure. We are staying in Marietta, which is about 10 miles north of downtown Atlanta. We waited until the sun was shining pretty bright before we drove in, hoping that the roads would be a little clearer and most people would already be on their way. WRONG! But we made it, got checked in and received our buying badges and we hit the ground running. A few pics from the first day, much more tomorrow.

books - books - books..............today was book ordering day! a kid in a candy store, that was me..... a great thought for the day.........the week.........the year..........the life......

gobs and gobs of fun colorful gorgeous new aprons and textiles will be arriving soon..... Michelle, owner and developer of www.mangiocatti.com and me at her booth. I have been looking for something that I love to take the place of the Burt's Bees that we used to carry. This new Home & Body line will be arriving at The Flower Tree in March.

saw some great displays today, this one is for you Michelle!!!! few ideas for your retirement.
Ended the day at Azio, our absolutely favorite little Italian restaurant downtown. It wouldn't be the same if we didn't end our first day here with a wedge salad, Florentine raviolis and a nice bottle of Malbec.

Day 1 in ICY Atlanta

First stop on our journey north from Jacksonville was for lunch in Valdosta. You've no doubt seen the bumper stickers that say "We stop for yard sales". Well Melissa and I should have one that says "We stop for Historic Districts" because they seem to call to us from the interstate. It was lunch time when we ventured into Vadlosta and we drove around the blocks to find a parking space and ended up in front of this little diner, Kings Grill. There were other modern little bistros located up and down the street but I said to Mel "Come on, let's go for the local experience". My oh My, were we glad we did. Built in the 1800's, the diner itself was started in the 40's, and the original family is still serving up some good southern hospitality. Melissa went for the full experience, Southern Fried Chicken, creamed corn, broccoli casserole, okra with stewed tomatoes, cornbread and SWEET TEA. From the satisfied look on her face, I would say she enjoyed it!

We made it into Atlanta later on in the evening, on icy roads with crazy drivers, but we are here safe and sound. It is off to the show first thing this morning, more later!!!!!!!

wowShelves throughout the diner filled with memorabilia from the last 75 years. Lucia would have LOVED this diner.

You know you are in the south when the salt shakers are filled with rice. Had to explain this one to Mel, it is to keep the moisture out of the salt. Amazing little vintage shop....fun and great new ideas to look for at the show.

Wine Style, a franchise that we found in Macon when we were looking for a Starbucks.

Found it!!!

All About Michelle......

The week started with Michelle's Mom's 80th Birthday party. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARION! and then continued on to her last day of full time work at The Flower Tree and Red Zinnia, ended with our annual End of Season party at my house. Lot's of laughs, a few tears........it was a wonderful week, perfectly suited for two of my favorite wonderful women.

1.1.11

I rounded the corner, with regret standing there underneath the street light for all to see. I am not one to really have regrets, or at least acknowledge them as such, so it took me by surprise. Stopped myself at the next curb, and ended up parking right next to fear and disappointment. This is when I realized that my engine was still running, and I still had a lot of fuel left. I intend to use it wisely. There is no room in my life for disappointment Not when I have so very much to be thankful for. Conserving on the hills, and coasting whenever necessary I have the power to take my journey to the next level. Parking in the shade to keep myself cool, and having all the necessary tools for tune-ups, (read: travel to family and friends) and major overhauls when needed. ...........

I am not one for resolutions for New Years Eve, but I realized I do make resolutions on practically a daily basis. I resolve to swing my legs out of bed and put my feet down on the side of the good, I resolve to place my hands to my face in the morning, and if it isn't showing what I want, to actively take two fingers and pull the sides of my mouth up. I resolve to make the ordinary moments extraordinary if only by adding that extra maraschino cherry to the top of my sundae, I resolve to find the time, no- make the time to do those things that are important to those around me, including myself.

Some people draw us into their lives, whether we are ready, or able to make the journey. With Michelle leaving our daily lives to pursue her artistic talents, I have given much thought these last few days on how all of us came to play and work together. Little bits and pieces of each of us, intertwined now together to form a shawl of many colors, to drape over our shoulders when needed. We pass it back and forth, never washing off the scents of the last user, but gaining from it the strength needed to march forward in the direction our life takes us. To be surrounded by such an amazing group of personalities, I thank my lucky stars for the night they all came into my life.

And to those of us that we are privileged to call our customers, our friends, our family - May the new year bring you joy and happiness. May it bring you peace, calm and merriment. May your paths lead you to journeys filled with excitement, and may the travels that lay ahead for each of us take us in the direction that we long for. While I wrote parts of this many, many years ago, it is so very much more appropriate now, to remind myself of all the good that comes to us on a daily basis.

Happy New Year, Susan

Do More of What You Love

Part 2 in my year end thoughts takes us to Michelle.

This last month she made the final decision to retire from The Flower Tree & Red Zinnia to pursue some of her other passions that have been taking a strong hold this last year. She is an amazing watercolor artist, and many of you may have seen a few of her paintings on display in the artists gallery hallway at Red Zinnia. I have quite a few hanging in my own house also. I think she always knew she had the talent, but it wasn't until she decided to take a class at the community college two years ago that everything seemed to fall into place. Now she will not only have the time to devote her energy to this creative path, but along with that, she is going to raise chickens!! That's right, RAISE CHICKENS!! When we were at the Chicago show this last August we encountered a booth that sold chicken coops. Every time I would venture down the aisle a little bit, I would have to turn around and go back to see where Michelle was, still at the chicken coop booth.............I would go a little further, turn around, go back............there she was, still at the chicken coop booth.............and again the next day, "Let me just take a look at it one more time.." Seems she was taking pictures, talking to the owners, and trying to figure out just how she was going to build her own when she got back home. That is - once she figured out if legally she could have a chicken coop withing city limits. Well, it turns out she can, and so it looks like I might get some fresh eggs next spring and summer.

So follow your passion, do more of what you love. Whether it is painting with watercolors, raising chickens, or my own goals, to write more....just see where they lead you. Who knows, maybe I will see watercolor paintings of chickens on the walls of Red Zinnia someday....hmmmmmmm

End of the year wrap-up

Every year at this time the paper and magazines seem to be filled with "how-to" articles that are supposed to make life easier. Business tips on taxes, filing tips for office control, exercise tips to get you up off the couch, and yes, gardening tips to get ready for next spring. This year I decided to start ripping the articles out of the paper a few weeks ago when I felt they may have some useful tips for me, and stash them on the side table by my morning chair. They are starting to stack up a little so I thought I would go through a few of them this morning and see if they still need to stay in my pile.

1. Clean out the clutter: OK, this one can certainly pertain to many areas of my life. It was written in the home section of the paper, but it really seems to have a more powerful meaning, at least to me, when I apply it to my thoughts. Mental Clutter - all those thoughts that sit there on a daily basis and are either, unwanted, unneeded, or just plain troublesome. I realized the other day, after an extremely lengthy - and insightful - discussion with my husband, that I seem to put way to much stock into words that are just "tossed out there", and don't really have an meaning other than taking up space in the wind. Do I really NEED to worry about whether the seed racks are going to fit along the wall this year, or in the middle of the aisle or, if the dogs need their booster shots 6 months from now, or should I give maybe 2 seconds thought to it, then throw it in the "thoughtcan", my new word that will help me visualize throwing the thought away.

Tomorrow: Do more of what you love, and less of what you feel obligated to do.

Sunny and Wonderful

(This post was written back on December 12th, but I forgot to post it. Since they are calling for snow-snow-snow, and ultra cold weather this weekend, thought it would be nice to remind myself, and my fellow gardeners, that sunny days do happen - even in winter.)

December 12, 2010: Today was one of those amazing December days in Nevada. The sun was shining extra bright, there was no winds and it was 60 degrees!! in December!!! I was fortunate to have the day to putter in my own garden. Started with raking up the thousands of leaves that still seemed to cling to the cottonwoods, and then noticed that I had bags and bags of bulbs still to be planted. After tucking tulips into every spare space of soil around the roses in the front beds, and then continuing around to the side yard, I noticed I hadn't cleaned out the large pot that sits in my morning area. I grabbed the soil scoop - has a better tool ever been invented - and started digging out the annual grasses and flowers that had been so lovely all summer. Dug out a bunch of the soil and piled it around some perennials that I had planted just a month ago, and then started layering the bulbs into the pot. Then I moved another pot over, and another pot, and another pot. Soon I had quite the arrangement going. Can't wait to see it in the spring, filled with color and the early promise of what's to come.

(Chopper always loves to help)