We have a winner!

(Photo: caiti anne)

And the winner is: Chris. Here's what she said:

I love the raspberry wristlet! I could put my cash, lip gloss, and cell phone in it and then throw it in the Sophie Everyday bag,and have it handy for a night out on the town.

Congratulations, Chris! Please email me at allegra(at)jolihomeandevents(dot)com with your address so we can get your Raspberry Wristlet out to you right away!

Happy shopping!

xoxo,

Shopgirls Picks of the Week

Sorry we're late to post this week's picks. We're so excited about our giveaway that we forgot to take pictures until today. So, here they are ...

Allegra's Pick

I'm just swooning over this fabulous Squirrel and Nut necklace from Classic Hardware! I love that the artist has taken two classic images like a squirrel and acorn and drawn them in a retro tattoo style. It's the perfect combination of classy and funky. Not to mention it would look great on! Wear it with jeans or with a sassy little dress, and you're sure to get a ton of compliments!

Cheryl's Pick

This item just arrived this morning, and I immediately fell in love.The latest creation from Sugarboo Designs, these I Love You blocks are the perfect gift (under $50, too!). Rustic enough to be masculine, but sweet enough to been feminine, this art piece strikes the perfect balance. The vintage feel of these blocks (encased in wood from an old crate) would be perfect in any room in your house. (And yes, the blocks are removable.)

What do ya'll think of our picks this week? Which one do you like?

xoxo,

Emilie Sloan & Giveaway

Recognize these bags??? That's right, they're the Emilie Sloan bags we carry here in the shop. And guess where this picture was taken! At the American Music Awards Lounge. She had the opportunity to give her bags away to some famous people, like ...

LaToya Jackson

Candace Cameron

And a bunch of other people we're ashamed to admit we're too old to know. But I'm sure they're really famous and popular.

Anyway, isn't it cool to know that you could own the same bag a celebrity owns?? Now you can. We're excited to announce that we will be giving away an Emilie Sloan Payton wristlet! All you have to do is visit the Emilie Sloan site and then post a comment on our blog telling us which style bag and which fabric design you like best. Entries must be received by Thursday, December 24th at noon, and the winner will be announced shortly afterward.

Happy shopping and weekend!

xoxo,
The Shopgirls

P.S. All pictures provided by Emilie Sloan

Shopgirls Picks of the Week

We're starting a new weekly feature here on our blog, called "The Shopgirls' Picks of the Week." Each of us will choose an item in the shop to feature, and we'll post about them on Monday.

So without further ado, here are the picks for this week:

Cheryl's Pick: Bird Lantern

Isn't this lantern adorable? I'm coveting it. The birds create a bit of whimsy, while the rust color works well with other metals that may be found in your home. It would go perfectly with cottage decor! At just under $50, this would make a great gift ... if you can resist it for yourself.

Allegra's Pick: Men's Gifts

Let's face it ... men are really hard to shop for. So to make it a little easier for you, we put together a "men's table," and the whole table is my pick of the week. Items on this table start at around $10, so there is something for every price point. From desk accessories to shaving products, you're sure to find something for all the men in your life.

Hope you enjoyed our first installment of the "Shopgirls Picks of the Week." Look for it every Monday!

xoxo,

Private Shopping Event at Joli

We had our very first private shopping event at Joli Monday night, and it was a huge hit! About 20-25 ladies came in from a local philanthropic organization and enjoyed our shop during non-business hours. We set up the above spread, and the guests received a percentage off their purchases.

Do you have a group who would like to shop here during a private shopping party? Give us a call or send us an email. We'll set up some goodies for you and offer a discount to your entire group.

xoxo,

Black Friday Surprise Promotion

15% off the entire shop all day!!!

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow. We'll be open 10 a.m. till after 5:00 p.m. Don't hesitate to give us a call if you need us to hold anything or to stay open later.

xoxo,

Bella Cucina Pizza Kit to be featured on the Today Show!

Guess what! The Bella Cucina Tradizionale Pizza and Foccacia Mix and the Pomodoro Pizza Sauce are going to be featured on the Today Show December 1st! Make sure you tune in. And not only that, but they are featured in the December issue of InStyle Magazine!

Boy, do we have good taste or what ?!?

xoxo,

Juliska Feature on InStyle.com

I was browsing InStyle Magazine's website today, and saw the beautiful Juliska canape plates ($70) featured in their gift guide. How awesome is that? Stop in and order your set today!

xoxo,

It's almost like Coastal Living shops here

We just received our December/January issue of Coastal Living, and could not believe that they featured two products that we carry in their "Gift Guide"!

(click for larger image)

First of all, they are featuring the Bella Cucina Aromatic Savory Salts. We carry several flavors of these salts, all of which are delicious. And, our price is less than what's printed (we sell them at $9.00 each).

You'll notice that they are also featuring the Bella Cucina Farmhouse Lemons and the Lowcountry Produce Lowcountry Creole. We don't carry either of these at the moment, but are considering it. What do ya'll think? Should we order them??

Here's the second item they featured that we carry (well, to be honest, one of our wonderful customers bought us out of them, and we've just reordered) ... this beautiful Abalone Shell Mirror! (We sell ours for $18, by the way, not $30 as printed).

(click for larger image)

It's always exciting to see items we carry featured in magazines that we love and respect, so we wanted to share them with you too!

And as mentioned in the previous post, if you mention that you saw these lovelies on our blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter, we will give you 10% off the items.

Happy shopping!

xoxo,

Martha Stewart loves Vance Kitira

(click for larger image)

That's right! In the November issue of Martha Stewart Living, Vance Kitira's candles (which we carry) are featured in her "Good Things" section, under "Favorite Flames. The magazine suggests:

"Make a centerpiece by arranging pillars on glass or silver plates or trays, which reflect the flickering flames. We love the mottled look and subtle colors of these pillars."

We love the look and colors of these candles, too. Not to mention the extremely reasonable prices, and the fact that they're unscented. That means they won't interfere with the aromas of the food you're serving.

Come in and check out our awesome selection of Vance Kitira candles, and if you mention that you saw this on our blog or Twitter or Facebook, we'll go ahead and give you 10% off your Vance purchase.

xoxo,
The Shopgirls

Dessert before dinner

Join us this evening at 5:00 for some yummy desserts! Biscotti and shortbread cookies dipped in these delicious spreads: Meyer Lemon, Blood Orange, and Chocolate Hazelnut. Yummy!

See you then!

xoxo,

P.S. Enjoy 10% off the above items if purchased this evening!

Great Idea -- Owl Pitchers

We're not the only ones who love them. Do you see our owl pitchers in the picture above? They're featured in the November 9th issue of People Magazine, under "Great Ideas." Mad Men's Bryan Batt owns a shop in New Orleans, and he carries the same owl pitchers we do (we always knew we had good taste).

And better yet ... we sell them at a slightly lower price than he does. The small owl pitcher is $12 in our shop; and the large pitcher is $29.50 (compared to $15 and $36 in his store).

xoxo,

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage!! We'll send off your lantern to you today!

We had a total of nine entries for the contest, so the odds are pretty good. If you liked this give away, and want us to do more, leave us a comment!

xoxo,
The Shopgirls

Favorite Things & Devine Design

As you know, we shopgirls are quite the social butterflies. So you can imagine our joy over making new friends at the Harvest Festival last weekend. One in particular, Diana Hudson Kresnye of Devine Designs, has made us particularly happy. She's a well-known designer living in Ohio, and she liked our shop so much that she is featuring us on her blog today. Not only that, but we're doing a giveaway on her site! Stop on over at her blog (once you read, we know you'll be addicted like we now are), and follow the directions to enter the giveaway.

Hopefully many of Diana's readers are reading this, so we'd like to say hello to all of you. Welcome to our little blog. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy writing it. Hope you love that lattice lantern, and that you enter the giveaway. Please visit our website often, as we will update pictures and specials. And of course, please become a follower on our blog. We love to see new readers, and try to communicate with you often.

Thanks to everyone reading. Don't forget to show us blog love by entering the giveaway and commenting on our blog and Diana's (not just now, but all the time).

xoxo,

Bella Cucina in Southern Living

Check it out! Bella Cucina's Farmhouse Olives are featured in Southern Living's November issue. We carry the 10 oz jar here for $13.75. Southern Living is right ... these do make a great hostess gift, so stock up now!

xoxo,

Pizza Party Tonight

Please join us at 5:00 p.m. as we debut our new Tradizionale Pizza and Focaccia Dough Mix and Pomodoro Pizza Sauce. Mom’s going to make an awesome little pizza and some focaccia with the delicious Carmelized Onion, Golden Raisin, and Fennel Antipasti. We will, of course, being serving wine along with these delicious goodies.

So be sure to come by this evening at 5:00 to try the new items. And, receive 10% off your purchase of the items sampled.

Can’t wait to see you there!

xoxo,

P.S. Limited quantities. First come, first served.

Awesome customer suggestion

Customer Peggy Wilson had a great suggestion for this lovely glass log votive-holder (one that she's applied herself): put fresh Rosemary inside!

Doesn't it look pretty?We also put fresh Rosemary in those sweet little squirrel bud vases that we have, but we didn't get to capture that on film yet.

Thanks, Peggy, for such a great suggestion!

xoxo,

Five minutes of fame

Allegra got interviewed on Saturday at the Harvest Festival. It's for a promotional video for company Live Work Learn Play, who has been helping the Marketplace out over the last year.

She felt very glamorous for about five minutes ... and then she went and played with the artist dogs :)

xoxo,

HHF Recap: The Tasting

Before moving onto the tasting, I almost forgot the final arrangement from Barbara Ehret: the fern! Beautiful isn't it? We ended up selling this vase with the fern in it at the end of the night. Great job Barbara! Thanks so much for doing this for us!

We also made good use of our neighbors for the tasting. We asked Eileen Grayce and Ginny Parker to come up with some yummy deliciousness utilizing our Lowcountry Produce and Bella Cucina products.

The results was a delicious spread of appetizers, mini entrees, and desserts. All of it was fantastic, as evidenced by the fact that there was none left!

Here's our display set up next to the tasting tables.

The crowd during the tasting, sampling all of the fabulous goodies.

Unfortunately, I didn't catch these lovely ladies' names, but they perched themselves here on these chairs all afternoon, and kept watch over the food during the tasting to make sure no one overindulged. They were adorable!

Everyone raved about the food at the tasting. We thank Ginny and Eileen so much for putting together such a wonderful late afternoon feast. We know everyone enjoyed it (including us).

xoxo,

HHF Recap: The Flowers

We found out that one of our neighbors, Barbara Ehret, is extremely talented with flower arranging. So we gave her some of our vases and containers, and asked her to put together some simple, easy-to-create flower arrangements using items we could find in our gardens. Here are the fabulous arrangements she made for us.

These lilies are the only flowers she had to purchase. This arrangement was one half of a pair she created that she envisioned sitting on either end of mantle.

Love how the Goldenrod plays off the color of the container.

I think this one is my favorite. I adore the hydrangea!

xoxo,