Goodbye yesterday...

This post has been a long time in coming {and I've really just not known what to write}, but must be written nonetheless! It's time to say goodbye to this blog. As life would have it right now, we must completely put Lulu & Tutz in the past. There may come a day when we will revisit "her"...but for now, she'll be stored in the vault of my memories and be put in the past tense.

I have no idea what the future will hold and whether the resurrection of Lulu & Tutz will ever be possible. The signs are safely stored away, as are many great memories... I've just spent some time reading a few of our old posts, and while I really, really miss the old days like this one and this one...I'm banking on the fact that all good things must come to an end in order to make room for new good things.

I have no idea what those future good things are exactly, but if you follow me here or here I'll be sure to keep you up to date on my day to day discoveries and adventures. You'll find thrifty decorating projects going on and family craziness on an almost daily basis. I welcome your thoughts and comments, like always!

Thank you to our friends and customers who have encouraged and blessed us along our journey...

YARD SALE!!!

We are officially purging our inventory.

Stop by for your last chance to pick up Lulu & Tutz merchandise at very cheap prices!

Sale runs from 8am-?? both days.

Address:

125 Miller Street

Strasburg, PA 17579

{**You may NOT have seen the last of us. We're considering something NEW for Lulu & Tutz, but you'll just have to stay tuned in the next few weeks to see! Meanwhile, it's time to get rid of the OLD to make room for the NEW!**}

Join us!

Spring is peeking through...

I'm beginning to believe it might actually happen.

After a horrifically white winter, Strasburg is almost completely brownish-green again! I give it about another handful of weeks before I'm really seeing Spring, but at this point 50 degrees feels almost tropical! Almost...

I've spent the gray winter months doing some blogging here and here, some planning, some volunteering and some dreaming. I admit I am missing Lulu & Tutz and still trying to work my way into a new job that I could possibly like as much. I didn't realize it was so hard to transition from something you love to ...something else...whatEVER that is!

So, if you thought you were going to hear some announcement about a new store opening...or some other great new venture....I'm not ready to do that. Yet.

Sorry to disappoint, but I will share with you some of the things that have caught my eye this dreary gray winter.

{I apologize that I do not remember where I found some of these pictures...I saved them as ideas, but didn't save the address of the websites I found them on. If it is YOURS, please let me know so I can give YOU the credit!}

I LOVE this Cath Kidston-covered chair! {I believe I read that the chair came from Ikea.} I wish I knew where the pink chair comes from...how cute is she?!? I also love the oilcloth-covered table! {Also a Cath Kidston print, I believe} What a great way to a) cover a damaged table or b) add an instant wipeable surface that won't destroy your table.

Another oilcloth covered table...LOVE it!

Something about this dresser at Wolf's Furniture caught my eye. It's painted in a flat black paint with a scrolled leaf design painted in a glossy black paint.

{Dear Lizzie}

If I lived in UTAH...I would most definitely be spending some long afternoons here at Dear Lizzy. Perusing her website and blog makes me long for Lulu & Tutz days and I wish I could just sit in her Bistro for hours and dream! Tomorrow she is hosting a "Glitter Cups" Workshop.

Read about it on her blog. If only I could get there......

While we're waiting for the green to arrive in full swing around here I'll post a few new items along the side of the blog soon. If you see something you'd like, just let me know and I'd be glad to ship it your way!

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade..." Charles Dickens

Crown and Crumpet...

A few months ago I came across the website of the sweetest little place in San Francisco. It's the kind of place that makes my heart start to beat faster. If I were a West Coast kind of girl, THIS would be the place I would spend my freetime...a cup of coffee, a good book, and these four walls of floral goodness!

It's called "Crown and Crumpet"...

and I'm in love with the use of Cath Kidston's patterns all over the place!

I want to work right THERE!

...and I want to take my coffee breaks right THERE!

I don't plan to visit California anytime soon...but in my dreams, I think I visit there all the time. Have any of my readers ever visited Crown and Crumpet? I believe they have a new retail location called "Fancy Goods". (I LOVE that!)

These pictures make me miss Lulu & Tutz...

I think I'll just keep on dreaming...and hoping...and living.

Spots on my glasses...

Remember these?

They sat for quite a few months on our shelves. They were the cutest things, and I wondered why someone didn't snatch them sooner...and have secretly wished I'd taken them home myself! I finally found my own...

You can read about them HERE.

Happy 2010!

The day after...

I love the day after Christmas....while there's no doubt that the malls and parking lots are filled again with the "After-Christmas SALE" shoppers, around my house we're laying low. It's actually quiet right now...no stress, no busyness, no rushing. Our family enjoyed a great day together yesterday eating, playing games, opening gifts and eating again.

We're greatly blessed to live so close to each other....we don't just gather together at Christmas, we try to make a point to get together every few weeks to catch up on every one's lives. The kids are growing so quickly, if we don't make it a habit now, they'll be gone all too soon and we will have missed our chance.

The day after Christmas means different things for different families...I have friends who are out shopping for next year's gifts already, and friends who are traveling to spend more time with family...I guess the point is just enjoying your own traditions and making new memories.

As long as you're doing it with the ones you love, then enjoy this day-after to the fullest!

May the coming year be filled with great peace, joy and laughter inside the walls of your homes...

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas...

In a time when much is unsure, the JOY of Christmas has never changed, nor will it ever. Its' message is ancient...and yet it is new every day. May the sweetness of Christmas follow you all the year through...

Merry Christmas

The Christmas Show starts NOW!

It's all set up and ready to go....from what I've seen so far, it's going to be a GREAT show! I am amazed at the amount of work that each of the women have put into getting their items ready to display! The house and the barn are filled to the brim, with new things coming in each day...I promise you will NOT be disappointed if you drop by the

"Cottonwood House at Home" Christmas Show!

There'll be a fire going at night with cookies and cider to sip on, and homemade french fries being made during the day on Saturday...

Stop by to start your Christmas shopping and take a stroll through Verna's house and barn. Bring your girlfriends or your hubbys and enjoy a few hours of Christmas wonder this weekend!

You won't want to miss this weekend, there are many one-of-a-kind items available!

Here's a sneak peek of Lulu & Tutz's setup....

Open:

Thursday and Friday 4-8pm

Saturday 10-5pm

Sunday 1-5pm

Directions: Route 41 S to Route 10 S. (Turkey Hill on Right) take 10 S 1/2 mile and take 2nd Right on Homeville Road. Go 3 miles to

3480 Homeville Road

Cochranville, PA

House on left - look for balloons or tiki lights

(*If you get lost, please call 610-764-0350)

Open House...

We're just two weeks away from the "Cottonwood at Home" Christmas Open House....and things are coming together nicely. My house is overloaded with boxes and projects...the cat just doesn't know what to do with herself...I found her trying to eat a red glittery wreath yesterday!

I thought I'd post a little glimpse of what's being unpacked and put together. I'm just one of 11 women who are setting up at my friend Vern's Home. Besides the Boutique and regular Lulu & Tutz items I'm putting together, there will be LOTS of other items. From what I gather, there'll be furniture, antiques, Christmas decorations, ornaments, kitchen items, wreaths and I can only imagine what else! Vern is literally CLEARING out her house and barn and we will be taking over the whole place for the weekend!!! Just about everything you see in her house will be for SALE! She's one brave woman!

I'm really excited for the mix of merchandise you will find...my guess is you'll want to set aside a couple of hours just to look in every nook and cranny of the house and barn! I think it'll excite you for Christmas and maybe even inspire you to start your shopping early!

Lots of fun winter hats...

JEWELRY, JEWELRY, JEWELRY

...WAY better in person...these pictures don't really do them justice!

Handbags and clutches

The beginnings of Christmas wreaths

There are alot of things in my head that I'll hopefully be working on in the next two weeks...I've got more boxes of to take with me than I can count OR know what to do with until then! My family would greatly appreciate your doing ALL of your Christmas shopping at the Open House so that I don't have to bring it back here to take over our living space!!! Just saying....

You can visit the Cottonwood House blog for more information and directions:

http://cottonwoodhouse.blogspot.com