Lowcountry Produce Tasting Event

We're getting really excited for our Lowcountry Produce Tasting Event this Saturday. We're hoping for lovely weather so we can host you all in our courtyard as we sample some delicious Lowcountry cuisine. Would you like a sneak peak at the menu?

• Peach Chutney served with Pork Tenderloin
• Garlic Pepper Jelly served over Brie
• Garden Tomato Gazpacho

Is your mouth watering yet? We thought so. The tasting will begin at 4:00 p.m. Our friend Noel will be there and ready to answer all your questions about the Lowcountry Produce product line, history, and more.

Southern Living Home Giveaway

Some of you may know that Southern Living is sponsoring the Choose Your Home Giveaway. One of the homes is here in Habersham (where our shop is located, and where we both live). Late last year, the shop and the shopgirls were filmed for promotional videos that were to be up on the site during the contest. Well, I'm pleased to announce that the videos are up!

Here (at the end), here (in the middle) and here (at the beginning) you can see some footage of the outside of our shop, and Allegra is at the very end of this video.

Yippeee ... we're (almost) famous!

Let's fall in love

That song has been running through my head lately ... and I think it might be because we have an abundance of bird and bee goodies here in our shop. See?

I can't get over those little bird salt & pepper shakers (in aqua and white) for only $8.50! We also have French bee water & champagne glasses ($10 and $10.50, respectively); Fringe candle gift sets (featuring birds and butterflies & bees) at $29.50 for a set of four candles; a wire bee skep for $9.50 and a gorgeous John Derian apiary paperweight for $56. Plus tons more that we couldn't fit into that little picture. Stop in or call us for more information!

New Product Alert: Bloomsbury & Co. Chocolate

Our order from New Zealand chocolate makers Bloomsbury & Co. just arrived. This was an impulse buy on our part. We got a clever little mailing from them last week, laughed aloud at some of the packaging designs, and decided on the spot to order! Here are the designs we ordered (some milk chocolate, some dark).


And as you can see, Allegra has already gotten her paws on the samples. Boy is it yummy ...
Wait! Why are you laughing? Do I have something on my face?

As those awesome Bloomsberry folks say ... think chocolate!

*Disclaimer: It actually took me about 10 minutes to perfect the chocolate face above. How does my 2 1/2 year old manage to get that much chocolate on his face in less than five seconds?

Earth Day: Green is the new black

In honor of Earth Day, we're happy to offer 20% off all of our "green" items in the shop for the entire week! This includes all Green Glass Co. glasses, our Paddywax Eco Collection candles, our EnVbags, our Aspen Bay Candles (Capri Blue & Traviata collections), and our domino and bottlecap jewelry from The 3 Sisters. Stop in or call us to take advantage of this great offer.

Speaking of green, we're loving the color right now. So much that we just set up a green display in our shop. Isn't it gorgeous? It really sets the mood for this time of year, don't you think? Not to mention the scents on those Paddywax candles ... New Mown Hay, Key Lime, and Verbena. Yummy!

Have a great day ya'll. We sure will. And don't forget to make every day Earth Day ... check out what the EPA suggests we can do each day to help the environment.

Go green!

Sneak Preview

Our new home fragrance line, Aquiesse, arrived this week. When our FedEx guy brought in the five large boxes, I was initially overwhelmed (Allegra's here alone this week. Mom's away). But that feeling quickly evaporated as I began opening these boxes. The packaging alone is breathtaking and more beautiful than I remembered (which makes sense since they changed the packaging after we ordered).

The fragrances are delicious too. These aren't your "everyday" scents. Originally inspired by the coastal regions of Central California, Aquiesse blends florals, fruits, citrus, ocean spray, and mountain air together to create some of the most amazing fragrances ever!

Both their candles and their diffusers feature a beautiful, heavy smokey glass. Absolutely gorgeous to look at and divine to smell. Take a look!

Hope you'll stop in soon to check out these lovely candles in person (you'd better hurry, too ... I have already sold two, and their not even out of the boxes yet)!

Have a lovely weekend, friends!

Pay it forward

What's the 3/50 Project, you ask? It's a movement started by retail expert Cinda Baxter, designed to "save your local economy three stores at a time." And it's a movement that we shopgirls are happy to get behind.

Did you know that if half the U.S. population chose three independently owned stores and spent just $50 a month there (across all three stores, not $50 in each one), those purchases would generate more than $42 billion in revenue? Not only that, but for every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. That amount drops to $43 if you shop at a national chain and to $0 if you shop online.*

Next time you need to make a purchase, think about which independently owned store you could visit instead of a chain. You can pay it forward (and improve the local economy) just by shopping at a local shop. It just takes one person to start a trend ... wanna be the first?

For more information, please visit the movement's website.

*Information obtained from The 3/50 Project.

Great gifts under $5

How exciting ... we just got our first reader question! KMag asks:

"I'm in need of ideas for a small give-away for my upcoming Kentucky Derby Day Cocktail Party. I'll need 5 bags of about $5-6 each. Any ideas?"

Confession: KMag is Cheryl's older daughter (and Allegra's big sister). But, we don't care. It's still a reader question -- and a darn good one at that -- so we're going to answer it!

Take a look at these lovely items ... descriptions and prices will be offered below.

1. Punch Studio pocket/purse notepads ($3.95 + tax). These little gems are awesome because the magnetic closure and fold-over cover prevent the pages from getting torn or wrinkled. On top of that, they're adorable. We carry several collections including Le Petit Village -- an assortment of 12 shops, gardens, houses, and restaurants (like the one pictured here).
2. Ballmania "Around the World in 80 Days" Lip Balm ($2.95+ tax). Have you ever seen a cuter lip balm? Featuring SPF 20 and a mild vanilla cream flavor, Ballmania is loved by all (it's been featured in numerous magazines from InStyle to Oprah). Plus it contains twice as much lip balm as a stick. With eight different styles, you can get one for each of your give-aways plus one or two for yourself!
3. Natural Life Token Key Chains ($5.00 + tax). These are probably the cutest key chains we have ever seen for anywhere near this price (Allegra has one). Featuring various shapes and sayings (like an owl that says, "Listen to Your Heart" or a flower that says "Live Love Laugh"), you could a different one for each bag.
4. Jeremie Hanging Wire Heart Vase ($5.00 + tax). Quite possibly the most wonderful thing we have ever carried for this price. If you think it's cute in the photo, wait until you see it in real life. One of our customers hung it on her back door, and it looks fantastic (how awesome would it be to have fresh flowers welcoming you at your door every single day?). This is a fabulous gift for just about anyone.
5. Natural Life Compact Brush Mirror ($5.00 + tax). Another fabulous item for your purse. Girls from age 8 to 80 find this sweet little brush/mirror a must have. Once again, this items comes in a variety of styles/quotes, so you could pick out a different one for each bag.

We hope these suggestions provide you with some great ideas for your Derby Day party, KMag. And since you're family, we'll be looking forward to your order soon (you know where to find us).

If any of you other dear readers have additional inquiries about the products featured above, please send us an email to allegra(at)jolihomeandevents(dot)com. Or, if you're one of our sweet local friends, please stop in and see us!

Love,

Thanks for stopping by

Hey ya'll. Thanks for coming to our blog. We hope to see you regularly! The shopgirls decided to start this blog because we wanted to share ideas with you and tell you a little bit more about those awesome items you just bought in our shop (we hope).

We can't promise that we'll be posting every day, but we can promise that we'll try to post every week. Sometimes we'll post decor tips or entertaining ideas; other times we'll feature different product lines that we carry in our shop. Occasionally we'll share funny stories with you. As you may already know, the two of us are always up to some sort of mischief, so we promise that whatever you read here will not be boring (except maybe this one).

Anyway, enjoy yourselves. We're getting ready to test our "First Friday" event this evening. Hopefully it will be a success, and if it is, we'll try to post about it (we'll even include pictures).

Thanks again for stopping by. Show us some blog love by commenting or following us, please!

The Shopgirls

Where it all began

Welcome to our little blog. We hope you enjoy what you see and read here. With so much going on in all our lives, we thought that the blog might be a fun way for you to get to know us and our shop. To start off, let's give you a little history ....

Cheryl (aka Mom) has always had a knack for decorating and entertaining, but until about 10 years ago, it remained mostly a hobby for her. Once her kids were out of school and fairly self-sufficient, she decided it was time to take her skills to the next level. She enrolled in design school and used the skills she acquired there to start a small retail business in a co-op outside of Philadelphia.

Allegra's (aka the daughter) favorite pastime as a child was to play "store." She'd price all the items in her mom's living room and then help "customers" with their purchases. Her least favorite pastime was washing all the dishes her mom dirtied in putting together her famous soirees. While she hated the dish-washing part, she loved the entertaining aspect, and it stayed with her into adulthood. After planning the ultimate soiree -- her own wedding -- she started a part-time wedding planning business. She found that while planning weddings and other events (she was an event planner for an ad agency in a former life), she was constantly consulting with her mom on decor, food, flowers, and more.

Fast forward a few years to when Cheryl and her husband purchased property in Habersham, a new-urban development in Beaufort, South Carolina. When Cheryl heard about the plans to build a Marketplace there, an idea hatched in her brain ... we'll get Allegra and her husband to move here, and we can open a shop.

Allegra and her husband only had to think about it for about 30 seconds once they saw the beauty of this lovely coastal town and the views around the neighborhood. After a few minor delays (and a kid), we finally made it down here.

Joli was born in October 2007, from the hard work, passion, and dreams of a mother and a daughter. Their tastes are compatible yet different enough to make for an eclectic shop filled with everything from original oil paintings to jewelry made from recycled bottle-caps and dominoes.

In Joli, we've created a shop filled with unique home decor accessories, artwork, furniture, gift items, candles, jewelry, and more. We strive to purchase items that you won't find everywhere and items you can feel good about purchasing (recycled glassware, Fair Trade products, products which donate to children's charities).

We hope you enjoy this blog as much as we enjoy writing it. Here we will be sharing design and entertaining tips; providing you with additional information about our great products; and letting you know about upcoming events. Enjoy!!

The Shopgirls