Work is Winding Down

How the summer does fly by!  I got a temporary job just for the summer which I started April 30th in a real estate office, it sure has been fun and I learned a lot about real estate and the market, yay, another paragraph of knowledge on my resumé!  They'll keep me on for 3 hours a day through September then they're cutting me loose.  I'll sure miss it here, it's quiet, peaceful and I did get to work on my store quite a bit, write this blog, email friends and reflect on life.  This was the best full time job I ever had!  I'll have a few weeks hanging out at home before I head back to university at the end of Oct. to work as a part time temp in the College of Music as a graduate program assistant, which I've done since 2004 and will work there through mid April.  Another fun job as I get to help professors set up auditions for the applicants, and I get to meet (mostly through email) applicants from all over the world answering their questions and sending information about our graduate programs.  Our office is right down the hall from Grusin Music Hall so we get to hear a lot of singing and instrument playing and in the winter they'll  have mini concerts at lunch.  I like being on campus, keeps me young!  On my few weeks off I'm contemplating heading back east to Pennsylvania to see my mom and brothers but geez, the airfare is outrageous!  I'll have to rethink that and maybe just stay at home and shop and work on the store.  I added some cool Doc Martens boots recently and some awfully cool genie slippers, just in time for Halloween and theme parties.  So come on over to Le Petit Marché and see if anything jump starts your imagination.

Doc Martens Light Brown 1460 Boot 

Doc Martens Tan Denim Style Boots

Naughty Monkey Beaded Pink Flats

Vintage Genie Slippers

Wedding Things

Most adults get married at least once (or more) in their lives.  And formal or informal it's still a big deal because you hope it lasts forever so you dress up the affair a bit.  With flowers, nice champagne glasses and maybe a sit down dinner or a buffet.  Whatever you want and whatever your budget can afford you can make a lovely wedding setting.   Le Petit Marché has a cute pair of Charmes de Paris Ceramic Wedding Slippers that would make a lovely gift or a keepsake of the wedding event.  They could also be used as table decorations.  They are beautiful on their own but you could put a bit of flowers or potpourri in them.

And don't forget the cake, what's a wedding without the cake?  I have the perfect cake plate with matching server.   This is a Mikasa Bone China Wedding Set  in a lovely cream color with wedding bells and flowers, it's perfect for the perfect day!

So come on by Le Petit Marché and have a look and visit the other store owners at Ecrater Stores Network for other wedding items that they have.  You just might find exactly what you are looking for, for your wedding!

Baseball Wedding

Normally you'd think baseball and weddings don't go together but I've heard (and seen 1 or 2) wedding proposals at the big baseball fields around the country where the proposal is captured live on the big screen.  And recently it was captured where the poor girl looked totally shocked and well, said no.  Poor chap, too bad he didn't see that coming! A certainly odd place to make a proposal with thousands of strangers around, but who knows what romantic thoughts go through the minds of young men after their team makes a few home runs and also after half a dozen beers.... I'm wrapping up the ESN theme of "wedding" this week with a bride and groom baseball cap from Embroidery Fashions Boutique.   They're pretty cool.  She also has a wide variety of wedding tee shirts for everyone from the ring bearer to mother of the bride.  So stop on by if you're needing some wedding attire and visit the other fine shops at Ecrater Stores Network for other wedding items or just to browse around.

Bride and Groom Baseball Caps

Smile! It's Friday, Let's Get the Party Started!

Yay, it's Friday, and with only 2 hours of work left I'm smiling already.  I'm finishing up with the ESN theme this week of smiling.  Lots of us will go out to dinner, movies, shopping, meeting up with friends for cocktails smiling and having a great time.  Others will head on home intent on saving money instead.  Hey, that's okay too and I've got just the thing from KatzzsKloset to help you save that money and put a smile on your face while doing it. It's a really cool and funky piggy bank!  She's got a real nice collection in case pigs don't tickle your fancy, so stop on by and look at her collection and while you're there visit all the other fine merchants at Ecrater Stores Network, you're sure to find something to make you smile! :)  Happy week-end everyone!

Ganz Collectibles Piggy Bank

Smiling is Free and Easy!

Smiling, such an easy thing to do and therapeutic too!  Granted, we can't go around smiling all day long, otherwise people would think we're wackos.  But think about it, how many times do you think you smile in a day?  If someone smiles at you, you probably smile back at them, and vice versa.  It's natural, and it's this week's theme at ESN for our scavenger hunter's group.  At Le Petit Marché there's lots of things in store that would surely make someone smile.  But there's nothing like the smile of a little child when they are presented with a gift.  So I've decided to feature this Adorable Plush 4 Play Stuffed Bear that would certainly make any little girl smile, probably even giggle with delight upon receiving it!  Please come visit us at Le Petit Marché and see what brings a smile to your face.

Set a Lovely Table for Dining

My grandmother always set a lovely table for the holidays, and it was so much fun to have the family gather around the table for conversation and fantastic food.  Things sure have changed over time and I wonder if people still have family meals, maybe on week-ends and holidays.  We are such a rushed society anymore and running all over the place taking kids here and there and attending all kinds of events.  So while I was looking for "dining" items (ESN's theme this week), I came across these lovely salt and pepper shakers that got me all nostalgic for the "old days" of sit down meals.   This beautiful pair is from Eccentric Thrifter and would be a lovely addition to any table setting.  So stop on by and see what she and the other scavenger hunters have to help you with your dining needs.

Salt and Pepper Shakers England Apple Design

A Gazillion Places and Ways to Dine

Dining is this weeks theme at ESN.  No matter how you look at dining, it comes down to eating doesn't it?  And people from all over the world have all kinds of names for eating.  There's breakfast or the morning meal.  There's lunch or brunch or the mid day meal or maybe just a few minutes for a quick "nosh".   Then there's dinner or supper, or the evening meal.  All of these dining experiences can happen in a simple way or a very elaborate way. I find myself too often eating at the kitchen sink looking out the window or eating in front of the TV.  Bad habits indeed!  That's why I love eating in restaurants, and we have so many here from very many countries, that you cannot possibly get bored eating at any of them! I also love a good picnic or barbeque.  But most of the time I am eating at home and I tote my lunch to work everyday, my job is such that I can't leave for lunch.  Le Petit Marché has a nice Dinners for 2 Book and CD if you're wanting to make a nice romantic dinner and stay in.  It's chock full of recipes from master chefs and includes a CD of  music that includes Bach, Vivaldi and others, performed by the San Francisco String Quartet.

Maybe you just want something simple for your bbq or picnic or maybe a party.  Here's a few bowls that could add some fun to your setting. Four Different Shaped Wooden Bowls.                               

Crafty Crafters Crafting Crafts...

Whew!  The title is a mouthful and perhaps doesn't roll of the tongue nicely, but I chose it because on ESN we have many members who make crafts.  They knit, sew, make jewelry and lots of other stuff that maybe I haven't discovered yet.  And "crafts" is the theme of the scavenger hunters this week.  I am so envious of the talents the men and women have on ESN, as I said before I could not craft my way out of a paper bag.  I don't know what my talent is but it sure isn't making "things"!  I'm going to feature several crafters here, so come on by to Ecrater Stores Network and take a look at their handmade wares.  They are lovely and high quality!  Visit  Nancy's Doll Closet for a large assortment of American Girl handcraftted doll clothes.  Here is just one of her creations:          American Girl Doll Pink Butterfly Jean Set

Next we have Hazel's Hodge Podge who makes infant size crochet caps and booties.

Newborn Cap and Booties 

 Next we have Embroidery Fashions Boutique, she embroiders hats and t-shirts.  This t-shirt is one of my favorites that she makes.                        Mom's Sippy Cup

And to finish it up here is Eccentric Thrifter

Handmade Scarf and Cap

Crafting as a Hobby or for Income

The ESN theme this week is "craft".  Well, I am no Martha Stewart, I couldn't craft my way out of a paper bag.  Oh sure, I tried it, putting cute little decorations on wreaths for Christmas, doing rug hooking panels, even scrapbooking.  But I am just no good at it, I have great ideas in my head but can't seem to get them to come through, I am absolutely "talentless".  So, I don't crochet, I don't knit, I don't paint.  My on-line store is my hobby and that's about as good as I get. There's all kinds of stuff out there regarding crafting and I'm sure a lot of you have that special talent  in whatever it is you love to craft.  And maybe many of you craft for a living.  There's lots of talent out there and I know several people who make all kinds of things as their sole income.   Le Petit Marché has a couple of cute bags that you could use to tote your crafting materials to your clubs, groups, whatever.  They could even be used as purses if you wanted.  So come on by and have a look at these cool bags that are, I am proud to say, handcrafted right here in Boulder, Colorado, so I don't know where the whole Wallaroo kangaroo thing fits in....anyway, come visit!

Wallaroo Handbags