FABULOUS FIND: THE TREE HOTEL IN SWEDEN

Check it out!

This is really cool: a new hotel, in northern Sweden, where each room is set high up in the trees.  With names like "The Blue Cone" and "The Bird's Nest", it is truly unique. Summer or winter, this is a treat...

TREE HOTEL

and in winter:

Kind of cool, no?



Has anyone been ? If you go, tell us all about it!

GADGETS: YOU KNOW YOU NEED THEM

Time to start thinking creatively for those holiday gifts. Everyone uses a computer.. so try out these clever gadgets: 

It's called the "oppopet" and it's a wireless mouse! 

From Elecom

"Dolphin"

"Rabbit"



Here's another fun new one: a paperclip flash drive!
From Nendo

You can actually use this as a paperclip: all your information is then on both paper and data files. Data can even be encrypted. 

How cute are these???

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

A GREAT OFFER FROM PROVENCE RUGS

In support of Small Business Saturday, and the start of the holiday season, come on over to PROVENCE RUGS where we are offering you 10% off anything and everything you buy! This offer will be good through November 30th. 

After you look around and put your items into the cart, just use

this code: BLFR2011 at checkout. If you have any problems, contact us.

Here's a sampling of what you will find: lots of goodies just perfect for holiday gifts. And, do you know, we also offer Gift Certificates!

Here's the scoop on Small Business Saturday:

You need to come out and support any and all small businesses, whether on-line or a brick and mortar store.  After "Black Friday" when everyone (make that, most people) have spent time at the huge mega malls shopping with all the crowds, this is the day to discover just what you can find at smaller businesses. 

Just click here to read more about this.

You can like it on FB, and you can sign up with American Express to receive a $25 rebate on your next bill when you use the card tomorrow November 26th, Small Business Saturday.

BEST EVER CRANBERRY SAUCE

I  L- O- V- E  cranberry sauce. But it must have the whole cranberries in it... none of this jellied stuff for me.

Maybe you saw my post a year ago. But here it is again, just in case you're still looking for the best ever crunchy, tart, and unusual cranberry sauce. It comes from Epicurious.com. This site used to be a real go-to place for me, but somehow it has "fallen out of favor". I have a recipe box over there, but you know, I haven't looked at it in months and months. Until today, that is. 

First, to find the cranberries. 

Fresh Market has them floating in a "bog"! What a great idea. So, I scooped up about a pound and took them home.

To make it simple and easy for you I've copied the recipe here:

Believe me, this is as good as it gets! Let me know if you try and how you like it!
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

AND THE WINNERS ARE.......

Yes indeed we have winners for our Giveaway of last week.

We will be sending a rug to 1)Anna Maria and 2)Paulita at An Accidental Blog

And a soap dish will be going to 1)Suzie Slota and 2) Kelly at JaxDoesDesign

We will send an email to each of the winners. However..... Anna Maria... you signed in as "Anonymous" and I cannot find an email address for you anywhere. We must hear back from you within 24 hours. After that time, we will draw another name. Hope you're reading this!!

Delana did the actual drawing, as she is 6 hours ahead of me here on the East Coast. Oh yes, it was all very scientific and monitored! Really, it was all fair and square. 

Site of the drawing: 

You can go over to Delana's blog to read all the details!

Congratulations to our winners, and we thank ALL of you for your support in our new venture.

It's already Thanksgiving week, and I'm SURE you're thinking about Christmas presents... our rugs and accessories are P E R F E C T !!!!

WE'RE SHIPPING RUGS!

Over at Provence Rugs we've had a busy first week!

Here is a peak at what YOU TOO could receive in a few short days after ordering...

First, the fabric tags are applied to the rugs. Well, actually, these had been done months ago in preparation for our opening day..

Some images of our wrapping and packaging. This is a work in progress and definitely subject to change... depending on supplies available, the season, my mood (!), and maybe even the time of day!

Always a "thank you" note.

Waiting for USPS pick up: 

Don't forget, we're having a Giveaway this week.  Click here for the post and leave a comment to be entered. But you must do this by Sunday, November 20 at midnight!!

PROVENCE RUGS NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

 

Five Reasons You Should Visit (the JUST LAUNCHED!) PROVENCE RUGS.COM!

• Reason #1:  You deserve a treat! Looking for something special just before Thanksgiving and the holiday rush? ...Answer: Visit ProvenceRugs.com

• Reason #2:  You're a curious person. ProvenceRugs.com is a new importing venture offering a never-before-available charming French product to the U.S. for the first time.  (We will also be adding new products in the near future!) Go ahead, satisfy your curiosity. Click on ProvenceRugs.com. It's history being made today!

• Reason #3:  It's November and you may already be tired by the cold and gray. Visit ProvenceRugs.com and enjoy the warm bright colors of the South of France and more...

• Reason #4:  You know you'll have gifts to buy this season, but you can't face the usual on-line options or the prospect of mall runs. Visit ProvenceRugs.com and have some fun!

• Reason #5:  Your home is a special place. It's there when you need it. It reflects your distinct personality, it welcomes your friends and lifts your spirits. You owe it a visit to ProvenceRugs.com.

Believe me, it has taken TWO to get this off the ground! My partner is Delana Nelsen of, among other things, the blog DuJour. I'm sure some of you know her. We have been working on this store for quite a while... and yes, that's why I went over to Provence in October (I know, it's an awful job, but someone's got to do it!) We really hope you enjoy it!

So this week, in celebration of the Provence Rugs launch party, we are offering Giveaways!  We're giving away 2 of our handmade rugs and 2 soap dishes made with the same Provençal fabric. So we've got 4 items AND  we're offering 4 different ways for you to put your name in the hat.

• Click on our site, www.provencerugs.com, take a look around, (feel absolutely free to BUY something) and leave a comment on my blog about what you think. We do want your opinions. Be gentle though, we're newbies at this.
• Mention our new site and the giveaway on your blog with a link back. *
• Follow us on Twitter and retweet our giveaway.*
• Like our site on Facebook and mention us on your facebook page with our link.*

• * Let me know that you've done these things in the comment section of this blog or by email. You get a separate entry for doing each of the above, and leaving a separate comment for each, below.
• Please, be SURE to leave your email so we can notify you if you win! If you sign in as "Anonymous" we won't be able to track you down!

There how simple can that be? Okay, maybe it's a little complicated but I'm sure you can manage. The giveaway is for anybody, anywhere and we'll close it in one week (Sunday, November 20 at midnight Eastern time) and draw the names.

Thanks for visiting our store and for all your fabulous support. 

FABULOUS FINDS: KNOBS IN THE LIVING ROOM

Yes indeed.... we needed some help here!

These knobs came with the house and yes, it's been almost a year that we have lived with them. I had filed so many links and pictures in Evernote and every so often would look them over. And, of course, as soon as you click on one of the companies, or the website, that site pops up ALL OVER the place on all sorts of pages you subsequently open. Very annoying.

Anyway... here is what we had:

seems a new one snuck in here, on the right there....

Newly installed knobs:

From KnobsandHardware

They're fun! Not too serious! Colorful!

Yes, they are just what I was looking for.

I wanted to take more pictures for you but, well, it's been just a little busy around here. 

The

grand opening of our new on-line store is in just a few days! I was busy photographing more of the rugs this afternoon, Skyping with Delana, organizing a slide show for the site, reading comments from our focus group, and getting very excited!
See you there...

NEW FROM BALLARD DESIGNS

I'm sure you're familiar with Ballard Designs.
About a week ago I received their newest catalog: Casa Florentina.Really nice! It's a limited line, but the pieces are timeless and classic.

All the finishes are hand applied and such great colors: 

You can order swatches.

You can get a different color for the inside....

Take a look and see for yourself!