Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Butternut Squash Soup Tomorrow!

You do not want to miss out on this delicious fall soup put together by Barefoot Contessa and some added help from the Burch Family! We will be serving this to our guests at the Fall Event tomorrow! YUM!

ingredients:
2 T olive oil
2 large onions
2 butternut squash
2 apples
1 T thyme (or seasoning of your choice)
salt and pepper, to taste
about 2-4 cups water (or chicken stock)
heavy cream or half and half
optional: honey, spinach, bacon, sour cream, lemon

A Preview...

*News Flash: Our Velvet Pumpkins are Back in for Tomorrow Night! New Colors and Fabrics that we've never had before!
Just to get all of you excited for our fall event tomorrow from 4pm-7pm - we thought we'd preview a couple of our hats that will be gifts-with-purchase! You don't want to miss out on these!




Call or stop by The Willows to order your own special hats! Our own Willowette, Krista, specializes in themed party hats including birthdays, baby showers, even cooking parties! Use your imagination!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

It is funny how trends in dishware and linens change. I just inherited my great-grandmother's floral print china from Japan, and although I love it for it's sentiment and heirloom quality, I don't suspect I'll be rushing to set the table with it this Thanksgiving. While we once needed the complete, matching set of everything, it is now more appealing to collect vintage silverware and eclectic serving pieces for their charm and mystery. Table linens once pressed and perfect are now better left wrinkled if just a little stained and tattered. They show more signs of love and memories this way.
This is why we love the look of vintage linen. It is classic in style and gets better with age. No one does this look better than our newly-discovered company from Meulebeke, Belgium who use ecologically friendly practices to weave natural flax into superior-quality table linens. We currently stock their tableclothes, napkins and dishtowels - and plan for more to come!
That is why tomorrow's Wednesday Madness is all about table linens! All table linens in the store are 20% off! Thanksgiving will be here before we know it so stock up early, and be ready to impress your guests this year!
Don't forget Thursday night we will have a table-setting event with an expert in table-top design at our fall event from 4pm-7pm. You don't want to miss it!

Fall Festival This Thursday!


Saturday, September 26, 2009

Blabla clothes!




For those of you with children to buy for, we have a big announcement. Blabla dolls now have changeable clothes and accessories. The blabla dolls have been hugely popular for years with their soft, knit construction and adorable animal and human characteristics. Where before the dolls had their clothes knit right on, there is now another option - dolls in their bloomers with removable cotton and knit dresses, shorts, sweaters, boots and hats to change in and out of! These make perfect gifts - also a great donation for our toy drive going on now at The Willows!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

We absolutely loved Brooke's post on her Velvet and Linen blog today talking about what to do with all those empty bookshelves and built-in cabinets in your home!
We decided to use her advice, but with items from The Willows!

First, fill your bookshelves with books! Not a novel concept there we know, but the key is what type of books you choose!

We just received amazing old books tied together with twine that make a beautiful display when lumped in groups.Also, if you have an old encylopedia collection or some old children's books, you can also wrap an old leather belt around them to make a great display or find a neat korbel or other object for a fun bookend! If you have some old books, but they've seen better days - just wrap the covers in burlap, linen or old paper to get a great monochromatic look on your shelves.
Put the books on the shelf first, then work in your display pieces - Brooke's tips are to keep the color palatte simple, add some sparkle, and relax! These items can always be changed up and moved around - in fact, that's what makes it fun!


We love changing our displays seasonally and whenever something new and amazing catches our eye.

What will you come up with? Send us your bookshelf pictures and we'll post them on the blog!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

First Day of Fall

It is officially the first day of Fall today, and as summer comes to a close, our thoughts wander to family, holidays and the comforts of home. This is the time to begin sprucing and decorating our homes in anticipation of the many guests who will be visiting soon. We at The Willows know that this has been a long year and want you to know how much we value you as clients and, more importantly, as friends.

For this Wednesday Madness - buy any pillow or pillow insert 20% off in the store. This includes Euros, shams, pillowcases and all decorative pillows. Pillows are the perfect way to refresh a room for the holidays!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Holiday Helper

Willow says don't forget to stock up on fabric pumpkins this year for your holiday decorating! They are great for under cloches, stacked on lazy susans and used to line a mantel! Just keep them out of her reach because she likes to chew on the real pumpkin stems!

Also did you know that The Willows has burlap pumpkins this year? Exclusive to The Willows! Quantities limited!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

What Will Matter

What Will Matter
By Michael Josephson

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no days, no hours, or minutes.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevant.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will all expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you come from, or on what side of the tracks you lived.
It won’t matter whether you are beautiful or brilliant.
Your gender, skin color, ethnicity will be irrelevant.
So, what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built;
not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people knew you, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Are You Listening?

For this Wednesday Madness, we thought we would reward all you diligent blog-checkers with an AMAZING, ONE-DAY-ONLY 40% OFF ALL APPAREL SALE!
Don't rub your eyes, you read that correctly.
It's only tomorrow though - no exceptions! If you show up tomorrow and mention our Wednesday Madness blog, you receive 40% off any apparel of your choosing!
See you tomorrow!
Sale does not apply to jewelry. Discount cannot be combined with any other coupons or discounts. Sale does not apply to previous purchases.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Ready for Halloween!

People always look at me kind of strangely when I tell them Halloween is my favorite holiday.
It is a little strange, I guess. I mean Christmas would be the obvious front-runner in holiday favorites, and why would anyone choose goblins and ghouls over Santa and his reindeer? I think it's not really so much about Halloween, but the anticipation of the start of the holidays that gets me so excited. We are finally allowed to begin dreaming of cooler weather, and for those of us in the lucky parts of the U.S., season changes even. We begin to bake again, we can dust off our winter coats and boots, and we begin to really start decorating! The decorating is my favorite, and Halloween is first in line in the long process that finally stops in late-December (unless you are one of the New Year's and Valentine's Day decorating people in which case I applaud your stamina)! So, maybe it's just the anticipation of all the holidays that makes Halloween so great to me.

But really, can anyone resist the Halloween decorations we have at The Willows???




Thursday, September 10, 2009

Ruby Grace says "Come visit vanilla chair at The Willows where you can play dress up, read books, make believe and meet other kids!"








Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Wednesday Madness

Our Wednesday Madness this week is in preparation for all your fall table-setting and baking!
All Vietri dishware in-store and special order is 20% off Wednesday only!

We have a beautiful selection of Incanto dishware in-store in stripe, lace, baroque, flower and grape. Ruffle and Incanto Mare also available for order!




Fall and Holiday patterns and colors available for order!

Most items in stock and ship immediately!

Also available to order from Vietri - garden, lamps, bath accessories, urns, glassware and flatware!

Fall Food for Thought

"The sweet red, green, and yellow cornucopia (of fall) heralds the start of pie season and unabashedly coaxes our inner-bakers to emerge." -La Vie Claire fall

Laura's Pear Cranberry Yogurt Pie


1 Vermont Mystic Pie Shell (any pie shell may be substituted)
2 eggs
5 oz granulated sugar
1 1/2 oz King Arthur All Purpose Flour
12 oz Vermont Plain Yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ripe Pears
Cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place sheet pan in oven. Place eggs and sugar into a bowl and whisk together. Add flour and mix with whisk until smooth. Mix in yogurt until smooth. Pour into pre-baked, cooled pie shell approximately 3/4 to the top. Add thinly sliced, peeled and ripe pears neatly and decoratively on top. Add cranberries on top. Place in oven for 35-40 minutes or until it is fully baked. It will puff up and there will be no jiggle. Refrigerate over night and serve.

Visit http://www.clairemurray.com/ for more pie recipes!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Closed for Labor Day

We will be closed on Monday, September 7 for Labor Day!
Have a safe and fun-filled weekend!

See you Tuesday at our normal hours! Don't forget to come see vanilla chair - our new kid's boutique! Our games and girl's accessories are selling like hotcakes!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Toy Drive for Kids!

The Willows has been approached to do a toy drive for two at-risk youth groups on the westside and south-side of Phoenix. This toy drive is run through PLEA charities (Phoenix Law Enforcement Association) and will run through the month of September.
PLEA is also taking tax-deductible donations in the form of checks which can be dropped off at The Willows and made out to PLEA Charities.

We recommend you stop by and pick up one of the fun, eco-friendly and educational children's toys at vanilla chair - the new children's boutique inside The Willows!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Hubband Swim Event!





The Most Amazing Cake in The World

Emily Burch wins the mom-of-the-year award for the back-to-school cake she baked for her children this year. Not only was there a full outdoor dinner by the pool complete with crowns and pizza on the grill, but she surprised the kids with this cake below:





*Note: To make - you must bake lots of layers separately and have lots of food coloring on hand!

Check out the rest of the back-to-school fun on Emily's blog!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Wednesday Madness

In honor of the grand opening of Willows Child yesterday, we thought it would be appropriate to make this week's Wednesday Madness for the kids!
All items in Willows Child are 10% off today only!
This includes a great selection of:
-games
-organic toys for boy and girl
-purses, hair accessories, and jewelry for girls
-books, binders, and journals
-stuffed animals
-and so much more!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

It's Fall at The Willows

You may not realize it with temperatures still above 100 degrees, but it is fall at The Willows. We Willowettes have been busy invoking visions pumpkin patches (yes, our velvet and new burlap pumpkins are here!), autumn baked goods, apple orchards and corn stalks, and even black cats, ghosts and pumpkin carving for Halloween!
Come see what's brewing!
Wreaths and pumpkin stakes are ornaments for the front of the house.
Bev and Krista work on hanging an oversized oak leaf garland on a mirror.

Laurie makes a perfect fall table setting.

Meg uses real fruit and nuts to showcase our glassware and Arte Italica dishware.
Halloween lanterns with witchy tongue-twisters hang from an old arched window.
Velvet and burlap pumpkins fill an old trough while hazelnuts hold pillar candles in their place. Oversized ghords make a fun table topper.

Bucket ghosts sit waiting to be lit up with candles on your front porch!
Halloween games, garland and candycorn pumpkins wait to be brought home!

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