A Good Tired

I'm now working everyday from ten in the morning to eight at night. Now I know very often I work hours longer than that running the shop and then going to auction....not to mention pick up and drop off of kids, meals, laundry and just boring must dos. However, it's the time a year that the doors are open at HiHo for ten hours everyday. A special time of year.... yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas and all that, but the only time of year that I leave displays to sit for weeks. Not one room in transition, not one room being flipped or refreshed, just sell, sell, sell. Longer visits with customers and the feeling of a well planned project completed , at last. Some how the thought of working the shop for ten hours is not overwhelming and is energizing. It's the last weekend before Christmas, snow is pending, the stock levels are diminishing, customers are weary, I am just a good tired and ready to do it again tomorrow.

A Pink Saturday Update

It's Pink Saturday, it happens every week , with me or without me. It has been months since I have participated and it has not been without regret.....because... Where have I been??? Working, here at HiHo and using facebook to keep the world informed that I am still alive. The retail fourth quarter can be overwhelming on it's own and have I mentioned, I have three teenagers, woops, sorry one turned 20 this week. HiHo, my shop, has sky rocked to new levels, since we were honored with the title of Best Gift Shop in the Hudson Valley, {well... we are meeting a lot of first time in customers anyway :)}. While using facebook has attracted a whole new customer base and is a great way to communicate with HiHo Fans, it has pulled me away from my beloved blog postings. Amazingly Beverly sends me an invite every week to join in on Pink Saturdays. Each week I read her email shake my head and think....I can't fit that in this week. DARN. This week I thought how dumb it would be if I didn't fit a Pink Saturday post in, me the avid 30 year collector of vintage pink Christmas ornaments.... I know all the followers of PS will appreciate my obsession and I love to share.

I don't usually share shots of my home. I attempt to use this blog to promote and inform about my shop, HiHo. However the holiday season in my home seems to scream Pink Saturday. The houses and deer sit behind the corner of the couch in my living room and the ornaments are from my tree.

May your season be bright and pink!

To continue more pink fun click on the I Love Pink button in my sidebar...thank you, Beverly, a big pink lipstick kiss to you;)

We Now Have A YouTube Channel

see other slide show videos of HiHo, http://www.youtube.com/user/HiHoHome

Extended Hours for Christmas Shopping

Start Wednesday....

don't miss it...

...a picture's worth a thousand words...taken by, photographer, Michael Gold of, The Corporate Image

#6 Christmas Theme

The Wine Theme. In honor of being a Special Attraction on the Shawangunk Wine Trail, I decided we would decorate the Hemingway Room in a Wine Theme.

I collected empties from the wineries and gathered items in deep hues, burgundies, golds and mustard. Red glass, shiny chargers and classic traditional table china and small white lights.

Vintage draperies for a formal feel and of course a tree covered in wine bottle ornaments.

Dark wood furniture topped in layers of textiles and one of the richest Christmas themes HiHo has ever created.

#5 Christmas Theme 2009

Gifts in Green. The plan..., show fun items being wrapped as gifts. A wrapping station all done in greens.
Use clean cardboard boxes with shred, use lots of curling ribbon and layer in even more green. Use everyday items like chairs, but hang on the wall to feature the boxes of gifts. I'm not sure where the idea for striping the wall in lights and fabric came from, but when the light bulb goes off, I usually just go with it. I ended up loving the effect.

Our little wrapping station has pickle ornaments and bubble night lights.
More boxes, wrapped this time as lifts for the trees and we wrapped ornaments ready for sale, that are displayed on the trees.
Sweet laser cut mirrored ornaments adorn the mushroom knobs on the dresser. Another room done for the holiday.

#4 Christmas Theme

A Birds Eye View. The Hothouse area is snowy and bright. Every year I try to have a theme that brings the outside in . This year the cardinal's brilliant red color pops right off the white birch branches for a festive natural look.

I love it when the design in my head goes from drawing to the display and loses nothing in translation....it doesn't happen often.

The cardinals have small clips for easy placing.

Our HiHo relishes and toppings have been stocked and make great hostess gifts.
Remember just because the shop is full of wonder holiday treats doesn't mean we don't have great furniture choices this time of year.
The set of dishes are sold, however the vintage etched crystal stemware is waiting for the right home, a set of ten.
We even have the famous Aunt Sadies pine scent candles with a cardinal label.

#3 Christmas Theme

A retro Christmas....an unexpected twist in a romantic shabby chic setting.

I ordered the bulk of this rooms holiday merchandise in August....maybe July. It was my intent to redo our rustic cabin room and present it as a mid century modern room, moving forward. Not that I was going to get rid of all things rustic, I was just going to integrate those items into other places in the shop. Well, long story short I never got to it and decided doing a complete room makeover would be better suited for after the new year. HMMMM, what to do about all that retro merchandise I ordered??? Make the Haute' Haven room have a huge surprise factor and do retro Christmas in there. WA LA!!!

#2 Christmas Theme

I knew I wanted traditional Christmas colors and the mantle over in the card area. I just wasn't sure about spreading the candy theme around the corner. You can see from my drawing....at first, I was thinking of using topiaries with the candy and striped paper. Then I went on the hunt for plaid paper. I found it! The hat boxes were an eleventh hour find and the cherry on the top of this display.

The butler is so ugly he's wonderful and the Dark Almond Bark, is boxed in red plaid tins. Don't you love it when everything falls into place??

#1 Christmas Theme 2009

In an attempt to blog posts of this year's Christmas themes (in some sort of a timely manner) , I have decided to post each theme in the order in which I created them in my mind. What do I mean by that? OK, lets see....in the Spring, when HiHo introduced candy at the counter area, it was because we had always done well with candy during the holiday season. So I would say in April it became clear that the Headliner Room would showcase traditional colors and a Candyland theme for the 2009 Christmas season.Peppermint Bark, Ribbon Candy, Melt-a-ways, Candy Canes, we have them all this year.Lots of options for small gifts, paired with tons of nostalgia, books, candles, boxed cards, boiled wool pom pom garlands, mistletoe and many other treats.
Vintage furniture in playful colors, lend a whimsical playful feeling to this room. The pair of chartreuse chairs are from the Metropolitan Opera House they are outlined in tassels and are FANTASTIC!!! I took a photo of this rooms featured tree....blurry, coming soon. Hint, hint we did a little monkeying around :) with this tree.
In my mind, since August, this themed room featured a hanging clear pail light fixture loaded with candy, I'm happy to say in real life it does too. Stay tuned for many more shots of the 2009 Christmas themes at HiHo and the stories of their inspiration.

In the Begining of Last Week

Lets see what have I been up to????

I have been working and working....and not much more. The shop is set for Christmas and the Open House weekend was a success. Every year we transform the shop in one weeks time from Fall to Christmas. Each year I challenge myself to top the displays of the previous year. It takes a lot of planning, lots of support from family and friends, but most of all many continuous hours of merchandising and decorating by yours truly. I LOVE IT, on so many levels. The transformation started last Monday night when the HiHo elves arrived and went right to work...Daughter Aubrey with friend Lucy Carol and Maggie Ms. Ashley Claudia and Liz Steph Robin and Vicki Mr. HiHo and son Everett Eva and daughter Whitney Natia and WhitneySusan

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching may I just state how grateful I am for these elves. I have not had a moment to take shots of the finished rooms but I promise to post them soon. Whats next??? I see sleep in my future :)

Boxed Note Cards...

....a Season's Greeting. Each year I ponder whether we should offer boxed cards at HiHo. We have carried a few, but I have never found ones that felt like they belonged in our merchandise mix....until this year.

Please forgive my flash on the boxes, I assure you the photos are wonderful. Well....and charming, sweet, nostalgic and melt your heart squeeze a cheek fantastic.