During the Holiday season a lot of garlands, trees, pointsettias, and baubles are bought to decorate your home. I have noticed this season a growing amount of people hurrying in to "finish up" a room with pictures, lamps, mirrors, and even larger pieces of furniture. The Holidays come so fast that our plans to finish a space for a party never seem to work out. The only regret for this "quick" decorating is a costly mistake that you will regret in the future. So try to buy only what you would have bought for your home, say, last June, when the frenzy of a time crunch wasn't upon you. If you truly can't find the piece that is right for you...skip it. Your guests will never know the difference, and you will not have to look at the piece and think every time "I never should have bought that".

As alway, Traditions will let you take a couple of items home to try, "on approval", to test them in your home before purchasing them. Lots of times this is the only way to really know what will work or not. We do, however, need to have the items you do not want back in the store within a couple of days. So come on in and see if that perfect piece is waiting for you at the shop. We are still getting new artwork, mirrors, lamps, decorative accessories, and small accent pieces of furniture in every day.


Our after Thanksgiving hours are extended to: Thursday evening open until 8 pm, and we will be open on Sunday from 12-4. Remember we have lots of gift ideas for under $30. Also, we will wrap up your gift in our toile gift tote or our toile Christmas wrapping paper...free of charge.

Come on in and just enjoy the store..even if you don't "need" to buy anything...
Talk to you soon...Sue

New Arrivals

We are still receiving stock everyday! A great hit, even before Open House, was the little hot and cold dip servers. You put ice chips to keep the dips cool throughout your party so you don't have to worry about them spoiling....great with one of our dip mixes for a gift around $20. Also back in stock are the Frasier Fir candles and room spray... a wonderful fresh pine scent. Great to use in a room with an artificial tree!

Which reminds me...we do have some artificial trees for sale. Almost all of the trees displayed are for sale. We should have them in the back still boxed.

On Monday I will be decorating a tree for the Festival of Trees. The theme is Garden Terrace...Try to stop by to see all of the beautifully decorated trees.. The preview night is Tuesday.. at $40 per person...open to the general public on Wednesday, November 22 from 10-9, Thursday, November 23, from 3-9 pm, Friday 10-9, Saturday 10-9, and Sunday 12-8. Go to the link www.saintvincenthealth.com/festivaloftrees/events.htm for more info on prices and schedule of events.

I promised you some more recipes from Open House. The following is the recipe for Turtle Cookies that my Mom, Frasha, made.

Turtle Cookies makes 48 cookies Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

1 tsp. vanilla
3 egg whites
2 cups (4 sticks) butter softened
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup caramel apple dip
2 cups Merkens Lite Wafers (these are chocolate wafers used for baking, these are Wegmans brand)
4 cups flour
2 cups crushed pecans

1. Mix together softened butter, vanilla, confectioners sugar, and flour until a soft dough forms, roll dough into 1 inch balls.
2. Dip each dough ball into egg whites, roll in crushed pecans.
3. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Make a thumbprint indentation into each dough ball.
4. Bake 15 minutes or until bottom of cookie is light brown.
5. While still warm, drop a teaspoon of caramel dip into center of each cookie.
6. Melt chocolate wafers in microwave on LOW for 3 minutes, stir halfway through cooking time. When cookies are cool, drop about 1/2 tsp. melted chocolate over top of caramel dip, just enough to cover dip. Allow to cool until chocolate hardens.

Mocha Pecan Balls were made by my Aunt Shenia for the Open House:

Mocha Pecan Balls 48 cookies Pre-heat oven ro 375 degrees

1 roll (18oz.) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookies
1/4 cup baking cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant espresso coffee powder
1 cup finely chopped pecans
48 milk-chocolate candy drops or pieces, unwrapped (chocolate Kiss)
3/4 cup powdered sugar

1. In a large bowl, break up cookie dough. Stir in cocoa, dry espresso and pecans.
2. Shape dough into 48 balls (1 inch), wrap iach around 1 Kiss. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately transfer from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
4. Roll cookies in powdered sugar. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Roll cookies in powdered sugar again. Store in tightly covered GladWare container.

Talk to you soon, Sue

The shop has been fast and furious for the past week...it truly hasn't settled down a whole lot from Christmas Open House! We are busily trying to replenish the stock, but some of what was sold were one-of-a-kinds...but there is still so much to look at. I promised so many people an update on some items they were waiting for to come in...the dip mixes are back, but we are still waiting for everything else. Meanwhile, we have about 12 furniture pieces waiting to unpacked and lots of accessories that have already arrived during the week. Come in and take a peek.


I promised you some of the recipes for the great treats that were served during Open House.....Here are just a few to get you started. I have also posted some pictures of the "Process of getting ready for open house" so you can see how messy and crazy it really was! Bye for now..Sue

Cherry Nut Loaf pre-heat oven to 350
1 lb.margarine
1 lb. confectioners sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
6 eggs
3 cups flour
2 cups pecans
1 8 or 10 oz. jar marachino cherries
Cream margarine. add sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time and beat after each one. Add flour one cup at a time. Fold in nuts and cherries. Mix well with spoon. Grease pans well.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Test to see if more baking is needed.
*This recipe makes 6 small loaves (4x6) or 2 long loaf pans. The small loaf pans will bake quicker. Recipe from my Mom, Frasha Evanoff

Poppy Seed Bread pre-heat oven to 350 Makes 2 loaves or 5 small loaves

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds (dry)
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring
1 1/2 tsp. butter flavoring

Beat all of the above ingredients together on medium for 2 minutes. Grease and flour bread pans.... Bake large loaves for 1 hour and the small loaves check to see if done after 30 minutes. Cool on baking rack. Glaze when cool.
For glaze: (place loaves on waxed paper)
Mix with whisk in a small bowl:
1/4 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. almond flavoring, 1/4 tsp. butter flavoring, 2 tablespoons orange juice,and 1 cup sifted powdered sugar. Drizzle over cooled bread. This recipe is actually mine from an old friend Leslie Curtis.

Christmas Open House

I think our Christmas Open House was a great success!! On both Friday and Saturday there was a steady stream of visitors and a jam packed parking lot. Thanks to everyone for coming...and if you weren't able to make it I have included some pictures for you on this site. I started with pictures taken on Wednesday while we were closed. We basically moved every piece of furniture in the store! Then on Thursday we started bringing in all the Christmas from the storage bins...hard to find a path to walk through. On Friday it definitely got worse before it got better. By 8 in the evening I knew we needed to wrap it up soon because we were all really getting tired, and the next morning we had to be "fresh and cheery!". Everyone at the shop: Beth , Sandy, Marcia, Maria, Suzanne, Louise, Leslia, Shenia, my daughters Stacey and Kelli, and my Mom worked many many hours to get the store ready.

I think the upside down tree was a great hit! Ken Honard decorated it for us. It looks like it is suspended from the ceiling but it isn't. We have a "Winter Wonderland" area with silver and glass snowflakes , glittery birds, snow topped nests, and a lighted village with tiny white trees decorated with silver balls. A garden fountain is next to the "Greeenhouse Tree" complete with potted roses, hydrangeas and snowdrops. Once again we have ou "Sugarplum" tree with lots of peppermint and gumdrops...as well as our "Nature Tree" sporting leaping deer, pewter grissly bears, and feather balls.

There is so much to see!! If you were in during open house you must come in again so you can really "see" everything. The crowd was great, but you can't experience the enchantment with so many people around.

I promised many people the recipes for all of the yummy treats that we had at open house. My mother, Frasha, and aunts, Rita and Shenia, baked every morsel we had!! I will post the recipes as soon as I get them all together. I still have to find a way to get into my office today...when we couldn't find a place for something, into the office it went. So have a little patience with me. I'll get them as soon as possible. Also, I promised a lot of you info on incoming goods...candles, artwork, lamps, furniture, etc. I will try to rememeber to post incoming items so you can plan accordingly.

Hope you enjoyed the photos. Come back soon to view more photos!

Come see us!

Sue