It's a Ho Ho Holiday from Retreat

'Twas the night before the Open House' and all through the store,

Little Elves are creating Christmas Joy galore!

It's a HoHo Holiday for you from Retreat:

We've got cute, we've got bright, we've got happy and we've got sweet!

We've done marvelous things with what used to be beds

You can now rest your seat instead of your head!

We've filled every nook, cranny, cubby, and shelf

with vintage decor - it's divine, if we DO say so ourselves!

The chandeliers are hung from the ceiling with care,

and ornaments sparkle EVERYWHERE!

We've lit up the place with red, white, & light

sure to make your season Merry & Bright!

Peek in the mirror, glance thru the door,

you'll be amazed by what we have in store...

We've loaded the room with furniture, decor, and a gift or two -

you'll find something that is the perfect gift from YOU!

...or maybe FOR you!
We've got it all ready, it sparkles & shines

So come to the party and have a good time!

*<|:o{D>

Santa Says:

Visit Retreat at Poppyseeds
Friday Nov. 20th and Saturday Nov. 21 

10 AM to 8 PM
'Block Party' Open House
Christmas music, refreshments, and 20% off almost every single item in the store! (Many other shops and restaurants in Stanwood are participating, as well. And make sure you also drive another 2 miles West to Terry's Corner on Camano Island and check out the artist shoppes at Brindles!)

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Mod Holiday: Retreat Style

So just to clear up any misunderstanding, I'm NOT decorating for Christmas already! The photos I'm sharing here are of our past Holiday celebrations, in our former home. I'm still in the planning-choosing-collecting mode for Christmas '09, and will get around to decorating after Thanksgiving. I'm a traditionalist that way, especially after 34 years in retail spent decorating Christmas trees on Halloween night!
 
Here's a peek at another of our Holiday decor schemes from the past: 

I decided to go a bit more contemporary than I usually do with my holiday decor one year. For me, who usually revels in excess, it was a HUGE challenge.But I was inspired by clean lines, chartreuse green, and the very hip 1960's. So I cued up some Dean Martin tunes, polished up Bob's collection of chrome martini decanters, and got started!

I filled the bowls and trays and glasses with SnoWonder, one of my very favorite tricks as a display designer and photo stylist - it's a powder that you mix with water and voila! It becomes SNOW. As in cold, a bit wet, mushy, formable SNOW. I extol its virtues every chance I get.

Coming soon, yet another Holiday decor scheme we've enjoyed in the past...

Tattered Holiday: Retreat Style

So many people who see the varied styles we present in our show booths ask us what our home decor is like.... Well, our business has quite literally grown out of our practices of thriftiness, recycling-reusing-restyling, and the constant rearrangement of furnishings & accessories that I tend to do. ;0) I love decorating seasonally, changing rooms around to fit how we use them at different times of the year.

You might guess that our Holiday decorating is not exactly 'normal'.
Every year, it's a new theme with a new color palette. I have boxes and boxes and boxes of ornaments and ribbons and accoutrements for the Season, and every year I combine different elements to create a whole new look. (Our kids can not remember ever having the same Christmas tree twice.) I like to play with new ideas, what can I say?! In my other life as a retail visual designer/display stylist, I am constantly coming up with new ideas and concepts for my clients, so home is just one big design lab for me.

A few years ago, our previous home's Holiday decor was my version of a 'Tattered & Torn' look, inspired by Deb Dusenberry at the Curious Sofa and Carol Hicks Bolton of Homestead. (My travels to see my daughter in Texas have helped, too!) Lots of warmth in ivory/cream/brown/copper tones, elegance & sparkle with crystals and silver serveware, texture in burlap/ torn muslin/velvet and natural elements all combine to create a look that is new & old at the same time....

Hope you enjoyed the tour! This year, it's looking like we'll be heading toward a 'White Christmas' around here... every shade of pearly warm white imaginable, with lots of texture to keep it interesting, and seashells thrown in for good measure. Something along the lines of this:

What are your plans for holiday decorating this year?

Retreat on the Road...

Oh yes, we did.

But I can't start there.....

I have to start by telling you that Bob's Dad is home from the hospital, doing MUCH better than expected, and Bob has set up a home nurse and physical therapist to visit so that he continues to receive excellent care - and so that Mom isn't having to do more than she can. Out look is currently positive, and we will be setting up our schedule to return to SoCal every other month for a few days to check up on them. Thank you all SO much for your thoughts and prayers for Bob and his family..... you just don't know how very much we appreciate it.

OK, so, we left Bob's Mom & Dad's in the desert Saturday, and went to MY Mom & Dad's in Orange County. My darling sister Stacy and brother Scott came for dinner, and we had a great visit. I even got to enjoy the company of my niece Hannah! We spent the night, and then this morning headed out.... and along the way, we decided to stop at the Rose Bowl Flea. I mean, it's there, we're here.... it's just physically impossible to drive by it on the 210 without stopping. 

Trust me. ;0) Here's why:

See what I mean? Oh, and you just run into the most interesting people...

We spotted Jenny Doh and Heather Bullard when we walked in the gate at noon, gathering with their gals for the Brocante Flea Event. Check out Heathers Blog for info on that. I went over to say hi and Heather was pretty immersed with the other gals, so a quick hello had to suffice. By the time I looked up from our short conversation, Jenny was nowhere to be seen.... off in search of another treasure, no doubt!

We turned a corner and there was DeWayne Lumpkin, of Home Economics in Eugene, Oregon. He was our neighbor at the Funky Junk Show last month, just sellin' away in Pasadena! (He did NOT want his photo taken!!!) Nice to chat with him.... We also ran into the Olde Good Stuff guys - they have always been so generous with their products at gift shows, allowing me to use them in my stage displays when I speak about visual merchandising & display.

Then it was into the truck and onto the freeway heading north. It's a LONG drive from Pasadena to Seattle.... we are still en route as I write this, and are looking forward to being home soon. Even tho we'll miss being barefoot and in shorts. ;0)

Retreating

Whew. Sometimes life really hands you a STOP sign. Usually it happens when you have a plan in place, and are set to step out and move forward in a particular direction that you have chosen. You lift your foot, swing your leg, and just as you are ready to put your foot back down on terra firma in a new place - BAM! The unforeseen swoops down and stops you in your tracks. You THINK you know where you are going, but suddenly all of the roadsigns start pointing in every other direction than THAT one. Confusion and frustration result. We're there, my friends.

We were told many years ago that this occurrence was a test of our 'devotion'. We've learned that it is, actually, a test of our flexibility! We are most certainly devoted to and determined to pursue our goals and plans for our life and for Retreat... but the underlying mission statement of our business is that 'we will be building this business and developing it to benefit our family and help other people & families along the way'. If we can help others build small businesses doing what they love, and that can bless their lives and families, as well as contribute to a growing local economy, it fulfills a large part of our mission.

While we are planning and waiting for the 'big parts' of that plan to unfold, we've also been working out ways to take smaller steps 'in the meantime'. One was to have begun this past week... but our emergency trip to California has stopped that. Will it ever happen? Yes. We just don't know when. Ditto for the big stuff. It's a bit frustrating to be standing here staring at signs that look like that photo above: 'Turn right! No, turn left! No, go straight! STOP! GO! Yield! U turn!' All we can do is what we can do at any given moment. I know you've probably all felt that way at times, too, so you understand. Especially our generation, who are all working on balancing our own lives with being parents of adult children and parenting our aging parents.

Being in SoCal, considering whether or not this situation necessitates our relocation back here, and discussing how that would impact our life, our family, and our business, is a very heavy subject for us right now. It is not our choice to do that - to leave behind all that we have discovered, built up, and planned for in Washington. There's that concept of 'flexibility'.... are we willing to do that? Are we willing to change everything and for the time being give up our goals, our business, and life in our house on our island in Washington -  along with the very real chance that we may never get the opportunity again? Or are we willing to work harder to find a solution that will benefit everyone, and not cost us what we have worked so hard for up to this point? Our choice is the latter, but we may need to be willing to be flexible.

We are watching the roadsigns and listening for guidance so that we make wise and workable choices. I guess you could think of it as our Universal 'Garmin', whispering directions in our ear as we travel this road...

Our Little Angel..... um...... Lil' Devil.....

We thought we'd share a peek at how we spent our Halloween....

This is our second grandson, who is our son Joel's son. Mr. Cute Stuff up there is Jameson Ward Kennedy, AKA Bubba, Jamers, and Lil' Dude. As a result of our last-minute trip to Southern California for a family medical emergency, we got to see all four of our kids and our grandson at the same time. No small feat to accomplish that, let us tell you! Seeing Bubba in his Lil' Devil Halloween costume was the highlight of our day today.

We have enjoyed having some special family time together with Bob's parents, our girls, our son and his wife & son. And yet, on everyone's mind and heart is the failing heart of Bob's dad, and how to help him and mom as things proceed. One thing we've learned about in life: Enjoy every moment, and remember that the happy often accompanies the sad.

We had some plans in mind for Retreat's next month or so, but this trip has put all of that on the back burner. Right now, nothing is more important than family. We are trusting that our needs will be met as we help here with everything we can...

Halloween 'ReTreats' at Poppyseeds!

Today we added more Halloween Re-Treat goodies to our space inside Poppyseeds! The punch of black looks fabulous with the soft grays & whites in the space, and a few creepy details make it perfect for haunting:

Madame Matilda, ensconced in her crystal ball, glows eerily... or you can get a slightly less creepy non-lit version!

There are still ivory and tan Sweet Sweater Pumpkins to be had, and now you'll find some Sweet SWANKY Pumpkins in black & white, as well. Great for decorating all fall season long!

Two of the mini-chandelier ornaments in black are still available!

Altered books & bottles are ready for use in your Spells & Incantations...

And for the first time at Poppyseeds, we offer Deb's original 'Junk Queen' Crown creations. This time, it's a special Halloween version with smoky vintage crystals - perfect for the 'Scream Queen' in YOUR life!

Or maybe, just for your Halloween pumpkin?!

As an unadvertised special offer for our blog readers, All Retreat Halloween products are 50% off of our already low prices, this week at Poppyseeds! We aren't advertising this offer in the store, only here on our blog. So just ask Julie or MaryBeth for the discount when you purchase our Halloween products at the store!