No, we don't do Black Friday, never have, never will... that's a whole level of Crazy I don't wanna be Exposed to! *LOL* Sure, we might drive around the Night before just to see the Sideshow-Like Mania of miles of folks Camped outside a Store in the Cold without a Bathroom in sight, just to Hopefully 'Score' a Ninety-Nine Dollar Big Screen TV... but personally, I don't want or need anything that bad, I really don't. And I can't even Imagine going thru all that NOT to 'Score' what I came for, I'm not surprised it sometimes incites Riot! Black Friday Crowds just remind me of voluntarily jumping into the Ocean during a Shark infested Feeding Frenzy, not my Idea of Fun or Sanity on any level.
I've waited perhaps Forty-Five Minutes in Line to get into a Special Show or Event... but that's about my designated Time Limit and that way I'm not gonna go off the rails if it doesn't work out as I'd Hoped or feel like I've been in a Cage Fight! *LOL* I guess I'm just not that Committed to any Shopping Experience or all that Patient... plus I'm not a Fan of Shopping Frenzies, so instead of Black Friday we typically opt for a Small Business Saturday the day after the Insanity and Chaos! *Winks*
I personally always find way better Treasures at my Favorite Small Businesses anyway and at the Antique Malls or Shows that rent Space to Small Entreprenuers like myself who don't own a brick and mortar Shop but Enjoy the Thrill of the Hunt or Creating their Art on a smaller scale. I also prefer to Support Local Small Businesses, which I still feel are the backbone of America and usually Appreciate their Clientele more and treat their Employees better and with more Loyalty than any Mega-Corporate Entity.
So... this Post will be a mixture of our Small Business Saturday Adventures at my Friend Carol's Shops COTTAGE GARDENS 1 and 2... and our Antique Mall, THE BRASS ARMADILLO WEST.
The BRASS ARMADILLO Mall had Santa there Today and was taking FREE pixs with Saint Nick... so Princess T and I hopped up to tell him what to bring us and get our pix taken...
And Prince R stayed behind my Camera to capture the Image at another angle... he's at that "I'm Thirteen And Too Cool And/Or Embarrassed To Do That" Age... you know how it is. *Winks* Yes, I try not to get so Old that I forget what it was like to be Young... so Gramma just Rolled with it and didn't try to Guilt him into doing it Under Protest.
And yet, Strangely enough, he wasn't too Cool nor Embarrassed to agree to look positively Psycho doing this at my Friend Pamela's Booth, Go Figure!??!??! *LMAO* Well, guess that's his version of 'Merry'??! *Smiles*
And to be sure he wasn't the only one looking positively Psycho... we both had some Fun with it... this is me tryiing to look Merry with the G-Kid Force in tow... can Stress actually BE Merry I Wonder? *LOL* And, yeah Pamela, you Set me Up again and Knocked me Down with your Scrabble Tile Holiday Creations now didn't ya?!? *Winks*
But I NEEDED this you see, so that I could complete my Message to Santa on the newly Decorated Mantle for Christmas. *LOL* Yes, I also spent the last two days taking Halloween and Thanksgiving Harvest Decor down and put into Storage, and getting some of Christmas in place as is our Custom. Only have the Mantle done so far... more Images will follow in another Post of the Completed Project.
This Post is devoted to Santa-Time, of which I've been having plenty of since it's obviously Working Out Well for me! *Winks* And you know how it is, if it Works, Work It I always say!!!
Source: BRASS ARMADILLO PHOENIX Facebook
And I wasn't the only one getting in on my Santa-Time... Alice Cooper showed up to get in his requests to Saint Nick at our Phoenix Location!
And the Post is also devoted to Shopping Small Businesses... since Carol's Shops had FIFTY PERCENT OFF of some of my Favorite Designer's Creations!!! So yes, I got this Awesome 'Wings Of Lace' Doily Top 50% Off...
And this AHHHHHMAZING 'Wings Of Lace' Gypsy Skirt in Burn-out Velvet and Tea Stained Lace, that I've been Lusting after FOREVER, for 50% Off as well... and now I had FINALLY lost enough weight that it fit PERFECTLY!!! *Happy Dance*
Guess it was just meant to be mine, huh? *Winks* It is after all, VERY ME to a tee dontcha think?
And I got my Laura Van 'Fix' by soaking in the Beauty of her newest Creations that Carol just got in... this Frame was my Favorite... though every Laura Van Creation is Beyond Amazing!!!
I would have every pix in the house Framed in a Laura Van Creation if I could! *Smiles*
This Frame was my 2nd Favorite... and check out that Sweet Crowned Bird!
Of coarse there were also plenty of the Classic Laura Van pieces as well as the new Line of her Creations.
And if you too are a Fan of 'Wings Of Lace' Creations, right now Carol has the Line marked 50% Off so you better hurry on it and get yours while there's still some left!!!
And there's always so many Gorgeous Bohemian Bling Creations from various Artists that Carol has Sourced from all over the Country.
By a narrow margin this was my Favorite Piece of Bohemian Bling that I spied Today. But Santa {aka: The Man} has already been exceedingly Generous this Christmas, he's so Good to me... so we'll wait for our Anniversary or something before I make any more requests. *LOL*
But I must say that Carol and the Shop Gals had Created Pure Winter Wonderland Christmas Magic in both Shops and there were tons of great Inventory that I was drooling over! If you don't have time this Christmas to Create your own Burlap Stockings... check these Creations out by Mudpie!
I was Adoring ALL of them, especially the ones with lotsa Ruffles!
And if you are picking up your Needle, Thread and Burlap this Holiday Season... this should give you plenty of Inspiration!
I HAD to come away with at least one Ornament for our Tinsel Tree... and since Carol had similar Champagne Tinsel Trees I could tell that this would look Positively Amazing on ours... so I got one!
I wanted to get one of these Sweet Doily and Bling Ones too... well, maybe Later...
And how Cute are the Pearlized Button Ornament Balls?
And how about this Awesome Burlap and Lacy Lampshade... I LOVE IT!!!
Every Angle was loaded with Creative Accents...
I ain't gonna lie, since I couldn't afford it, I'm totally stealing... ummm... I mean borrowing this Idea for one of my Lampshades for an Old Lamp at Home! *LOL* Festooning an Upcycled Old Shade with Favorite Objects is so stinkin' Cute and Interesting!
And since I took that Paper Lantern Class I've been eyeballing every Paper Lantern Idea I can set my peepers on for added Inspiration to Jazz mine up... and I liked this use of Crocheted Trim, don't you? I've got a wealth of Antique Trim so my next Paper Lantern Creation will certainly be sporting some!
It was Cute to see all the Husbands lounging on the Porches of the two Shops whilst their Wives were inside Shopping... certainly this is a Relaxing setting for the Menfolk while us Gals do our Marathon Holiday Shop-A-Thon! *Smiles*
Most of the Guys don't get as Mezmerized and Gushy about the Christmas Enchantment... or at least they wouldn't Admit to it anyways... *Winks*
Though they probably don't mind us Gals Replicating a similar Ambiance at Home do they? *Smiles*
And of coarse I wouldn't expect The Man to get as Excited as I do about the Bohemian Bling Creations...
Or the Bohemian Bag Creations...
So he Encouraged me to Get Away and have a brief Girl's Day Out since I'd done the Santa Thang with the G-Kid Force and took them out for Breakfast earlier in the day... and to pick out Christmas Gifts since Prince R was worried I wouldn't get it right so he asked if he could choose his own Gifts this year, he didn't want any 'Surprises'. *LOL*
So while I was out Supporting Small Businesses this Afternoon... at Home I'd kept the Kiddos busy wrapping and Decorating Presents for me... and fluffing the Tinsel Tree which The Man had put together for me so that we could Decorate it later... and then he'd settled in with some fresh Baked Cookies {Local Bakery... Sorry, I'm no Suzy Homemaker for the Holidays... LOL} to watch his Football Games.
So I figured they'd all be Occupied for at least a couple hours before they began Tormenting and Fighting with each other again and I'd get "The Call"... *LOL* Carol and Staff can Attest that "The Call" did in fact come in at just about the two hour mark... *Le Sigh* And you find yourself saying things you never thought would fall out of your mouth in your Lifetime, like: "Give her back her Elephant..." {Yes, that is an actual Quote as a Hysterical Princess makes 'The Call'! LOL} And No, I don't even know what Elephant they're talking about and now fighting over because really I don't care... I'm just the Designated Mediator to such Insanity in our Home! *Bwahahaha!* Which is another reason why I DON'T take on more Insanity by doing a Black Friday! *Winks*
And so I take one last look at these Lovely Reproduction Ornaments, which are so very Reminiscent of the Gorgeous Antique ones I Inherited from my European Grandparents... I'm Jazzed that they're making Replicas of these Beloved Designs since so few of the Real Deal have Survived or can be had.
I'm Fortunate to still own some of the Real Deal, but I'm always a bit loathe to risk hanging them on the Tree whilst we still have Young Children and Chaos at Home... when an Ornament is on the far side of a Hundred Years Old then I'd be Heartbroken if it met with an Unfortunate Accident! This is a great Solution to that dilemma, to get the Look but without the high risk. And we're definitely a high risk Familia. *LOL*
And I'll finish the Post with an Awesome Vintage Christmas Tree Stand the likes of which I haven't seen in YEARS that is being offered at our Mall... Remember when they looked like this? What a heady Rush of Nostalgia! Now back to the Asylum I go... um, I mean Bohemian Valhalla. *Winks*
Merry Christmas from the Arizona Desert... Dawn.. The Bohemian