Hats, Hats, Hats

Okay, I should have posted this picture when I first took it, but didn't get to it. Well, it was Saturday morning and this Mom and Dad came in with 4 adorable daughters, who of course loved everything in the store, but really fell in love with these hats. The all had to try on all the styles, with the youngest insisting on a "pancake hat" (beret). They were all so adorable, I just had to take a picture and include it here. Oh yes, you can click on the picture to see it full size.

Yay! New Clothes!

Hey everybody, we're coming out of the Long Winter.

Just as the weather is warming up, finally, we're pulling out of our Winter of no-new-clothes at Whimsy too.

We got THREE! clothes orders in this week, so now we have cute, colorful cotton sweaters from Willow, too-cool and well-priced tops from Mystree, and flirty printed skirts from MOE (and of course, since it's at Whimsy, none of it is "coordinates"--you've got to use those solid color tops you already own or your jeans to finish out an outfit).

Hang in there everybody. We've been hearing doom and gloom for months and months and you know what? We're all still here. Somehow the world hasn't ended. We're all a little nervous, but it's OK, isn't it?
I'll let you in on some personal stuff. My husband is still out of work. Again. Daniel (my son, who's 22) is hobbling around with a cane, valiantly working to recover after his very major surgery. We're all dealing with our own stuff, and it's just wrong that we have to. But it is what it is, and we're still here, aren't we? So glad that we can just wake up every day, that our world still contains color and life and great people.

Enjoy yourself. You can still create those moments of meaning and pleasure in your life. We're so lucky, aren't we?

Nancy

News About Daniel

Daniel's fan club keeps asking how he's doing. For those that know this sweet young man, you've noticed him getting around with a cane. He went through major surgery last Saturday and I've been updating the results and his rehab progress on my blog. You can get to it HERE. 

Fashion Show Pics

We had a wonderful fashion show on November 21, with lots of people watching and lots of people modeling clothes from Whimsy. Since I'm terrible with names, and all the models were friends of Nancy's, I'm not going to include any names, but lots and lots of pics.

The pictures were taken by Dr. Kevin Watkins, who commented to me midway through that it was too bad that we weren't taking pictures. Oops! Fortunately, I'd bought Nancy a camera for her birthday and she carries it with her everywhere. So, Kevin took lots and lots of pictures (though understandably a little biased toward his wife and daughter), and I am filling this blog with them. If I missed anyone, I apologize, but I think we got all the models.

Note: Just click on any one of the pictures for a larger version - it should fill your screen, and then some. Or, if you want to see a slide show of the pictures, use this link.

First, came the runway appearances by each of our models.




After the individual models, then came the parade of all the models, which of course, we only caught a portion, and not all from the front.



So, once the fashion show was complete, then it was time to hang around and talk, and shop, and talk some more.



Oh yes, we also had some food and drink. That is, we had Sangria (notice who's first at the punch bowl - me!) and Gingersnaps! I posted the recipe in my last blog, just in case you want more.

Gingersnaps

We were asked again for the Gingersnap recipe, so I've included it again (reprinting it from last year). They're not real tricky, as I prove every year by making them. I got the recipe from Nancy's Mom, and others claim it's in the old Betty Crocker Cookbook.

I always make a triple recipe, for several reasons. First, if I'm going to go to the effort of measuring, mixing, baking, and cleaning up, I want to get more than a few cookies. Second, I find the measuring easier with the triple batch - mostly the molasses. I never measure that into a cup because it turns out that half a 12 ounce bottle of molasses is exactly what I need for a triple recipe. The third reason I make a triple recipe, is that I end up making 3 or 4 triple recipes every November for our friends at the open houses - we serve a lot of cookies!

Gingersnaps - Each Recipe Makes 36 2.5" cookies
	1 Recipe				3 Recipes
Mix Together:	3/4	cup	soft shortening		2 1/4	cup
	1		egg		3
	1/4	cup	molasses		3/4	cup
	1	cup	brown sugar		3	cup
	2	tsp	soda		2	Tbs
	1/2	tsp	cloves		1 1/2	tsp
	1	tsp	cinnamon		1	Tbs
	1	tsp	ginger		1	Tbs
Then Add:	2 1/4	cup	flour		6 3/4	cup
Chill dough. Roll into balls the size of large walnuts. Roll in sugar. Place sugar side up on no-stick cookie shee. Bake until just set in cool oven. I usually end up using 325 degrees, but ovens vary so much I never know what I'll be starting with. Remove quickly to keep the bottoms soft.

something new every day

i am not a journal writer, so this blog thing is challenging. maybe i'm not very stream-of-thought, or maybe i just have no sense of humor. that oldest child thing.
the interesting blogs are funny and cool and say startling things, which
i don't
so it's weird that this is the thing to do
and i'm going to try.

i mean i'm really going to try.

monica told me she was going to link to my blog, but she visited it & it was
sad :( (my paraphrase)
man, is she right.
i've only written on it once
myself
until now.
my husband was doing vicarious posts for me last year.
then he got a job again :)

and i need to learn to take pictures and (well, first, find a camera) and learn how to get them on here.
i mean, i know it's supposed to be easy but
it all sounds hard to me.

the only mechanical/electronic thing i feel comfortable with is
my sewing machine. i have no fear of my sewing machine.

ok, so i'm writing and this just might be fun.
btw, i was inspired to write because i was up in the middle of the night looking at a magazine, and it had an article on a store called Red Shoes in Ann Arbor. so i went to her blog
i've been reading it from end to beginning, and her attitude is contagious.
go there & enjoy!

so monica, thank you.
catherine (who doesn't know i exist) thank you.
thank you! come back!
i'm learning!!

nancy

Trading Places!

I can't believe I haven't written here about our move!
We traded places!
Everything that's been at Whimsy is now at The Good Life (at 135 East Main), and visa versa.
We had lots of great help & got it done so fast. Whimsy was closed only three days.

You've got to come & see the stores! They fit their new homes so much better! We love them. We've had so many customers comment that the clothes show so much better in the wider store, and with more natural light. We agree!

Our clothing selection keeps growing, and we're getting in lots of new jewelry lines--handmade from aluminum, from china, from silver spoons, from recycled cans, and more!
We also got in some beautiful tops & skirts & jackets made from saris. Indian women are paid for their old saris, and then beautiful, and often reversible, clothing is created from the patterned silk. Silk takes dye so well, the colors are saturated. The pieces come assorted, so I can't pick colors or anything....so it's first come, first choice.

Anyway, I'm going to figure out how to get some pictures on here soon. Keep checking! Later!
Nancy

February Furniture Sale!

Hi everyone!
Don't forget to buy the furniture you've been wanting while it's still on sale at The Good Life. It'll be 25% off through the end of February--that's just 5 more days!

Christmas is Here!!!

Well, at least the Christmas ornaments are here. This posting is all about the Christmas trees - all five of them. Of course, Nancy wanted me to get the pictures taken before the open house last weekend because the trees had a whole lot more ornaments. Now, you can actually see the trees.

With all the pictures, you can click on them and make them full size - big enough to more than fill your monitor screen.

The first (red) tree is from The Good Life. It's sitting next to the Mantle where there used to be two Mantle Covers, two matching Tree Skirts, and another half dozen matching stockings. They went fast last Friday during the Open House. Oh yes, in the lower left hand corner, you can just see a bit of my favorite chair - the red leather recliner. Maybe that will be my Christmas present from Nancy?

The second tree, the one with all the flocking and feathers and birds and such, is also at The Good Life. What a wonderful tree. Nancy had me set it up and it came out of the box fully flocked and lit. I had it assembled and up in less than 30 minutes. Nancy's keeping this one, but she has another one for sale in the back room. This wonderful (I like easy) 9-foot tree is $800. Of course, even though it only took less than 30 minutes to assemble, Nancy spent 4 or 5 hours, or more, putting thousands of dollars of decorations on it.

The next tree is the first one you see when you walk into Whimsy. Right at the head of the stairs is WOW! The picture doesn't do justice to it. First, it looks better in person. Second, Nancy's friends took 2/3 of the ornaments and decorations off the tree last weekend. Nancy keeps telling me that's okay, that it's okay if her friends take the ornaments home to make beautiful trees at their houses, even if her magnificent trees at the stores go bare.

Right inside the front door is Nancy's playful tree. This is a little different than Nancy's done before, and it's really neat.

Nancy hasn't even thought about decorating our home for Christmas. That won't come until the middle of December. However, there's just one story along that line that I've got to tell. All of Nancy's friends know about her passion for creating themes that go together well, matching colors and textures to create just the right setting. That's why she can create 5 totally different Christmas trees that all feel right. Well, the thing about Christmas trees is that they look all nicely coordinated, then you get complete chaos in the wrapping papers that are used.

Well, Nancy's solved that problem in our home. Every year she finds 4 or 5 completely different but coordinating wrapping papers that become the "approved" wrapping papers for under our tree. Of course, she picks them out the previous Winter or early Spring when she's ordering all the other Christmas things for the stores. You should see it - all the presents looking different but nicely coordinated. That is, until we shred the papers ripping open the presents.

Ah yes, the last tree. Somehow, I don't think this needs a lot of explanation. With Eiffel towers on the tree and in front of it, plus "Paris" in 8" high script, tin walls and ceiling, and racks of unique clothing, this must be Whimsy.

If anyone is actually reading this blog, please leave comments. Nancy promises that she'll post something personally eventually, but for now, she tells me what to do and I try my best to do it.

Open House Results - Gingersnap Recipe

We had a great weekend seeing lots of old friends and new friends. The Christmas trees are much lighter than they started, with so many ornaments going from our trees to your homes. Fortunately, there's still a great selection for those that are still waiting to buy just the right decorations for the holidays.

We'll be closed on Thanksgiving, of course, but open again on Friday.

I was asked a number of times over the weekend for the recipe for the Gingersnaps. So, I've included it below. They're not real tricky, as I prove every year by making them. I got the recipe from Nancy's Mom, and others claim it's in the old Betty Crocker Cookbook.

I always make a triple recipe, for several reasons. First, if I'm going to go to the effort of measuring, mixing, baking, and cleaning up, I want to get more than a few cookies. Second, I find the measuring easier with the triple batch - mostly the molasses. I never measure that into a cup because it turns out that half a 12 ounce bottle of molasses is exactly what I need for a triple recipe. The third reason I make a triple recipe, is that I end up making 3 or 4 triple recipes every November for our friends at the open houses - we serve a lot of cookies!

Gingersnaps - Each Recipe Makes 36 2.5" cookies
	1 Recipe				3 Recipes
Mix Together:	3/4	cup	soft shortening		2 1/4	cup
	1		egg		3
	1/4	cup	molasses		3/4	cup
	1	cup	brown sugar		3	cup
	2	tsp	soda		2	Tbs
	1/2	tsp	cloves		1 1/2	tsp
	1	tsp	cinnamon		1	Tbs
	1	tsp	ginger		1	Tbs
Then Add:	2 1/4	cup	flour		6 3/4	cup
Chill dough. Roll into balls the size of large walnuts. Roll in sugar.
Place sugar side up on no-stick cookie sheet. Bake until just set in
375 degree oven - around 10 minutes, then remove quickly from
pans to keep the bottoms soft.

Open House

You’re Invited

to a

Holiday Open House

at Whimsy

and

The Good Life

Refreshments

15% off everything!

(In-store only)

Friday & Saturday,

November 16 & 17, 10 am – 8 pm

Whimsy &

The Good Life

133 & 135 East Main Street in

Historic Downtown Madison, IN

nancysstores.blogspot.com

the most

fun gifts,

beautiful clothes,

yummy food,

pretty stuff for your home,

& holiday decorating ideas

all at your favorite stores

Whimsy &

The Good Life

make sure you come to our

once-a-year sale and open house—

a holiday gift to our great customers

We're Open!!!!!

Yes, we've moved to our new location at 135 East Main Street - right next to Whimsy! The new space is 2-3 times as big as the previous location, so now there is that much more of The Good Life!

As you would expect, there are all the familiar things from the little store at 113 E. Main - great gourmet foods, kitchen tools, entertaining items, linens, glassware, dishes, barbecue tools, Shannon Martin items, and lots of other things that Nancy will be amazed I didn't think of and remember.

Plus there are lots of completely different and wonderful items to enjoy. In the front window you'll see Pine Cone Hill bedding products. You just have to stop in and feel the blankets and the fabrics used in the sheets, duvet covers, and pillow cases. Besides looking beautiful in your home, they'll feel wonderful when you cuddle up to sleep.

Across the aisle Nancy finally has one place to display all (well, almost all) the dishes, glassware, and table linens. In one massive (15 feet long by over 8 feet tall) glass and wood cabinet, you'll find familiar favorites and many new lines.


Beside the cabinet you will find those unique and special tablecloths. With so much more room, Nancy has added even more linens with many more arriving in the coming weeks. You will want to stop in regularly to see the latest selections.

Another big change with the added space is Nancy is now able to offer more of the special and unique furniture pieces that she's carried on a limited basis at Whimsy. In addition, she's branched out into other areas that she never had space for before. As always, everything is beautiful and unique. For instance, everyone seems to love the little red recliner - it's a wonderful small size, reclines fully (so tempting to fall asleep in!), is wonderfully comfy
with great lumbar support, and (of course) is beautiful. It comes in other colors, but the red is so neat.

There's another really neat thing about the new store location. Now, it's even easier to shop both Whimsy and The Good Life as they are right next to each other. With over 300o square feet of beautiful, fun, tasty, interesting, unique, comfortable, exciting (you get the picture) clothing, cards, dishes, glasses, furniture, gourmet foods, cooking items, bedding, gifts, and so much more, you'll want to stop in often!


Oh yes, on a personal note, now that we're open, and the remodeling is 95% complete (oh yes, there's still more to do while we're open), I'm excited that I can finally get cleaned up and maybe even stay clean for a day or two. Remodeling (at least the way that I do it) is very dirty work.

Progress

Lots of pictures, mostly pictures in this post. Nancy had the last two days off, so she spent most of them on her hands and knees laying tile. With a store of almost 1900 square feet, and each tile one square foot, it's pretty easy to figure out that we've got to lay almost 1900 tiles - Wow! The first picture was taken shortly before noon on Tuesday - only an hour or so after Nancy started.

The last two pictures were taken this afternoon. In the back corner you can see a beautiful red section - a carry over from the current location of "The Good Life". Nancy plans on putting all the great kitchen stuff and probably the delicious gourmet food back there.

If you look to the left of the red wall to the area where we previously stored over a ton of demolition (and two tons of demolition before the last ton), you can see piles of boxes. Between Monday and Tuesday 4 semi's arrived with goodies for the store. My favorite was the 400 pounds of art products - all in one huge box! Oh yes, the one box was on top a pallet sitting inside the trailer. But the room is now full of furniture, art, more furniture, and more stuff is scheduled to arrive every day between now and the end of the month!

In the last picture you can see a green wall section which, with additional trim work and decoration, will hold some of the great dishes and glass wares. You can see that Nancy has 2/3 of the tile down - she's just sailing away!