visions of sugarplums

If I am allowed to say so without sounding too biased, I think our kids' section this holiday season is quite magical.  It is kind of like stepping into Santa's workshop.  The lights, the glitter, the colors, the toys - its wonderful.  Come take a look...

My grandson Finn ever so graciously modeled one of our darling little snow hats.

We asked Finn what his three favorite things in the kids' section were this year and he quickly picked four.  Too much good stuff to choose from, I guess.  Anyway, Finn's top recommendations were the wooden tree house toy, a wooden sword, the bamboo race cars (specifically, the green one) and the "fantastic mr. fox" (his name for the Blabla fox stuffed animal).  And speaking of Blabla, how cute is their latest holiday ad... 

I cannot believe how busy we have already been this holiday season!  I am starting to worry we won't have a thing left by Thanksgiving!  Thanks to everyone who has stopped in!  We love seeing you all!

thrilled

A little late, but we just discovered that we were mentioned on the Metis Linens blog!  

Luckily I was able to stop drooling over all their goodness for a minute to take this picture.

They have the most amazing items!  I think I could have stayed there all day.

Now I just need to convince them to take me on their next trip to France...

don't you love a good magazine?

I love looking at all the lovely pictures on blogs as much as (ok, probably more than) the next guy, yet there is still nothing that can beat a real magazine.  Something to hold in your hand, take outside with your coffee and lose yourself in the pages of.  And we have the most amazing magazine currently gracing our shelves at the Willows.  It is called Anthology and I promise, you will LOVE it.  Between our other favorite magazine and this one, you could put together the perfect holiday gift for that friend that appreciates home decorating, design and creativity as much as you do.  Here's a little sneak peek to tempt you into the store to buy your own copy...

a little fall love

Since it is still actually Fall and not actually Christmas season yet, I decided I needed a harvest table out back to get me in the mood for all things Fall and give a little more attention to that poor, often-overlooked holiday Thanksgiving.  Nothing major, but enough to give off that nice Fall feeling when I sit out back and try to envision Fall leaves and chilly days...

summer revisited, part 2

I have had this skirt in my closet for several years now and it is still one of my favorites.  I bought it at a local boutique a few years back and I love how versatile it is.   I have dressed it up for mass or thrown it on with sneakers and a t-shirt for running errands.  I have always wanted to replicate it and this summer I finally made a couple similar to this to have as my go-to at the beach.  Once I started looking closely at how it was made, I couldn't believe I hadn't tried to copy it sooner.  It is four identical panels, straight stitched down the seams, simply folded over with a straight stitch and elastic at the waist and serged around the bottom.  I made mine slightly different, but it literally took me 5 minutes.

The 5-minute skirt How-To:
I cut four identical panels 24 inches by 12 1/2 inches (this was roughly what the other skirt appeared to be).  This skirt ends up being a size 4 to 6 and hits a little below the knee, so adjust accordingly.

I serged all four pieces together to make the skirt.  If you don't have a serger, the skirt I was copying simply straight stitched the pieces together and didn't even finish the edges.  Don't you love that the raw, frayed look is in fashion?  Then, I folded over the top a little more than half an inch and serged all around, leaving an opening to run the elastic through and then finished serging.

Finally, I serged around the entire bottom of the skirt and was done.

And there you have it.  5 minutes and a whole skirt.  I have spent more time taking pictures and writing this post than it took me to make that skirt from start to finish.

The original skirt had the two middle seams on the inside and the two side seams exposed, but I serged all of mine on the same side.  I wore it both with the seams in and out...  looked cute either way.  And there you have my beach uniform...

So, I realize its not really time for a fun summer skirt (unless you live in Australia!), but I thought you could find some fun Fall material and throw it together with leggings or boots and be ready to go in your cute new skirt.  Or bookmark it and try it next May.  Either way, I hope you enjoy it!
Perhaps I will just have to whip up my own Fall/Winter version...

happy veterans day!

Thank you to all those who have fought and continue to fight for us.

we love hearing from you!

We love when our customers share their ideas with us or even just drop us a line to say how happy they are with something they bought at the Willows.  One of our customers, Jackie, bought this amazing antique 6-drawer piece from us, added legs and turned it into her coffee table.  Don't you love it!

Another customer, Becky, bought this adorable purse from the Willows and handmade the fabulous embellishments.  We have been trying to convince her to sell some of these flowers at one of our first friday flea markets.  Don't you think she would sell right out?

And, lastly, Mary shared with us how some of her Willows' holiday decorations are already gracing her home this season.  How sweet!

Thank you, thank you to all of our wonderful customers!

We love each and every one of you!