Are you a Dummy, Mommy?

How do you explain the books "Such and Such for Dummies" to a 7 year old who knows it isn't nice to call someone a dummy?   I got the book "Blogging for Dummies" at the library to try to stretch my new blogging legs and learn just what the heck it is all about, and how to get people to follow mine.  My son just didn't get the humor in the title.  (Altho I have a sneaking suspicion that he likes the permission to call me a Blog Dummy and get away with it!)   Kids take things so literally.  I can't wait til he is a little older and we can share some good old fashioned sarcasm and laugh together!   A friend of mine told me that kids that are extremely silly and goofy are just stretching THEIR humorous legs and learning to have a good sense of humor.  Thank goodness if this is really true, as both of my boys feel the need to "get the sillies out" on a regular basis.   My 7 year old son thinks that making a part of your body sound like a rude bodily function is the best way to get a few good laughs, especially at the grocery store, at a restaurant or anywhere where it is pretty much completely socially unacceptable.  I have to tell myself that this is all shaping his good sense of humor and that he will be entertaining me for years to come!

Speaking of entertaining and decorating, I am loving my new Willow House items that I have purchased recently!  My house is looking so good, thanks to the new touches Willow House has given me!  I got a few nice mirrors from the NEW OUTLET, and I am thrilled!!!   Check them out!!

Venetian Mirror

Wall Sconces

Flower Market Door Bucket

Acanthus Wall Flourishes

At this rate I will not make any profit, but that is ok because I truly love the beautiful products in my home...
and now that we can shop online, it is just going to become easier and easier to order anything I want!!!

And now if I can just figure out the blog thing!!  :)

Home Business Meets Online Shopping!!

The perfect marriage of the Willow House home based party business meets shopping online!!! What does this mean to you?
Easy, Easy, Easy!!!
You will now be able to shop in the convenience of your own home for all of our beautiful products! Decorating or re-decorating your house has never been easier! You can choose from MODERN HUES, or EASY ELEGANCE or NATURAL HABITAT--what is your favorite decorating style??

                                                         Modern Hues:

  COLOR-This fresh color palette features blue and green hues accented by soft neutrals.
  TEXTURE- Shiny and matte finishes, and accents add playful interest
  STYLE- The secret to style is the delicate mixing of traditional pieces with modern accents.

                                                             Easy Elegance:

  COLOR-Classic becomes contemporary when neutral grays and browns are accentuated with
   jewel tones like rich greens and purples
  TEXTURE-Neutral backgrounds allow for subtle texture combinations to stand out and add interest.
  STYLE-The secret to the standout style is incorporating repetition, grouping similar items together.

                                                              Natural Habitat:

  COLOR:  Spice up your neutral casual palette with warm and rustic brown and rust tones. 
  TEXTURE:  Rustic elements can add a casual touch to more refined items.
  STYLE:  Keep your natural habitat look unified by sticking to the color palette while mixing and matching
            eclectic pieces in coordinating color hues.  This is a more casual style.

 Simple, easy design! You can combine the styles also to bring a little bit of each into your living areas!
Willow House will still be the big home business that it always has been too! Would you like to earn extra income while sharing in the excitement of all the programs that Willow House has to offer? Click on the "contact me" button and find out how you can become a consultant and join the fun today!!! You can join with a low-investment starter kit!
The holidays are upon us, what better time to get out there and ENJOY all that life has to offer--YOU DESERVE IT!!!
Thank You for stopping by!!
Hope to see you soon at a party or online shopping!!

A Diamond in the Rough

While lying awake in bed last night (I am a severe insomniac) I was thinking of all the things I really love.  Other than the obvious being my friends and family, I was thinking of things that make me happy and what I want to do when I finally grow up!   I was trying to figure out if selling Willow House was a good fit for me.  I have never really been good in sales.  I am a more behind-the-scenes kind of gal.  For instance,  I love diamonds (what girl doesn't??), but I really love diamonds under a microscope, looking at the essence of the diamond, the color of it, the inclusions (imperfections), the qualities that make that diamond what it is.  I also love colored stones--there are so many interesting stones out there besides the run of the mill rubies, sapphires and emeralds.  Stones in all colors of the rainbow interest me. The deep navy blue of a London Blue topaz, the many shades of purple of a tanzanite, the uniqueness of a tri-colored tourmaline... And I love estate jewelry, old pieces created for someone long ago, those that surely have a wonderful, romantic or sentimental story behind them.  The mass marketed jewelry in the mall stores don't really interest me, even though some of it is beautiful.  It doesn't evoke any feelings in me, or make my heart go pitty-pat.   When I lived in Hawaii just out of college I worked in an upscale jewelry store.  Little did I know how much that little store would change the way I looked at jewelry and the enormous amounts of knowledge I would take away with me from working there.  I could have cared less about my commission, or if I sold anything, but boy did I care about the new parcel of loose stones we got in that day!   I couldn't wait to get my hands on them, or my tweezers on them, and check them out, magnify them, look at them under different kinds of light, and see how much fire they had!  That was what took my breath away!  Needless to say I never earned much money working there, but I earned-big time!-an education on diamonds that would rivial the Gemological Institute of America!   You see, the owner, Michael, had such passion for what he did, for what his product was, for a making sure he only sold the top quality stones, and for educating his employees (actually mentoring his employees to LOVE gemstones) so we knew all the ins and outs of what we were selling to the public.  He wanted his customers to buy something they would be proud of for generations to come.   After leaving Hawaii and my job at that store, I never found anyone or any place jewelry-wise that could compare to Michael and his gems.  I tried to work at a store when I moved to FL and to me the passion wasn't there.  It was boring, run of the mill stuff that wasn't special, and that job never held the same interest for me.   I worked in the inventory dept to get away from the sales part of it, thinking I would get back to that same excitement I used to feel when new items would come in, but it wasn't the same.  I think it was because my boss didn't really care if a beautiful piece came in.  If I tried to show him the beauty of something, he would brush me away and ask if I priced it high enough.  He only cared about the money that went into his pocket.  He didn't care about the happiness of his employees or his customers, all he cared about was his profit margins.  I must say it was night and day for me.   I realized that if you don't care about what you are selling and you don't care about your customers, there is no way it can fill you up with any kind of satisfaction or excitement!   Then I thought about Willow House, and how much I love their products and I thought, it would be the right fit for me if I can draw up that passion I have for the other things that I love (decorating and home decor)  and pass that along to my customers then it would be the right job for me.  I need to stop thinking of it as just being a sales job, and more of what I am bringing to the customers homes and to their lives.  To help them surround themselves with things they love and a home that can bring them joy and peace when they are in their home.   Ok, so that is now my focus and my goal!   Lets see if I can do well at it!