WE NEED MORE NICE IN THIS WORLD

I came across this blog the other day and just found it so inspiring.  The blog is called "modern day pioneers" and the woman who runs the blog did a feature that she named  "a little me."  She basically is vowing to send a little something small but lovely, to anyone that emails her their name and address.  It's as simple as that!  It could be a candle, jam, a little tea towel, any little thing.  She plans to work down her list of people until every person has received a gift.

 

Her one and only reason for doing this......"It's just a way to do something nice because we need more nice in this world"

 

Here at Marmalade, we couldn't agree more.  Over the next few weeks we are devoting our blog to our new nice campaign called…..” BE AS NICE AS YOU CAN BE."  We will be posting your comments, stories, submittals and general acts of kindness that cross our paths throughout the day.  We encourage all of you to make sure that at the end of each day you can reflect on at least one moment that day were you were as NICE as you could be, thereby impacting someone's else's day in a positive way. We will fill you in on more details of this in next week’s blog and by info given out within our store.

 

  In the meantime click onto "a little me" to get your name on this generous woman's list. 

 

SAVING THE BRICK + MORTARS OUR NATION IS BUILT ON

3  Think about which 3 independently owned storeS you'd miss most if they were gone.  Stop in and say hello.  Pick up a little something that will make someone smile.  Your contribution is what keeps those businesses around.

50  If just half the employed U.S. population spent $50 each month in independently owned stores, their purchases would generate $42,629,700 in revenue.  Imagine the positive impact if 3/4 of employed Americans did that.

68  For every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 of it returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures.  If you spend that in a national chain only $43 stays here.  Spend it online and nothing comes home.

1   The number of people it takes to start the trend.......you.

This was written by Cindy Baxter

CHAPPAQUA SCHOOL FOUNDATION EVENT

Do you like free food?  Do you especially like free food from Susan Lawrence?  How about we sweeten deal with not only free food from Susan Lawrence, but free food accompanied by free drinks???  Yeah, now we're talking!

This Thursday from 2-7 pm not only can you partake of the above laid-out spread, but you can also do your school district a solid.  15% of all purchases made between 2-7 pm this coming Thursday in Marmalade will go to the Chappaqua School Foundation.

Come on folks, seriously, where do you get to eat, drink and shop all while doing something good for your kids??

See you Thursday!

HOW TO OCCUPY YOUR KID

If there were awards for "most genius way to get some alone time away from your kid" this would win hands down! This heavy duty cardboard house comes in a flat box with uber-Ikea-like directions for assembly.  Once up (we're talking no more than 10 Twister like minutes to assemble) you're good for at least 3 to 4 hours.  

It is big enough for an 11 year old to crawl into and play, it has two doors, about 4 windows, and a few sky lights, just enough to keep them delighted with newness.  Then on top of that, since it is a blank slate, the ability to draw on the outside alone adds just that many more hours to the total occupation.  Also, there is no right or wrong to the drawing aspect so it is appropriate for any age whether you scribble or meticulously stencil in your address and morning glories on your pretend mailbox.

I've been trying to write about things that have to do with our community instead of just Marmalade, but I couldn't pass this up.  It is offered through our new kids addition "Clementine" and is currently flying out the door @ $65.

OUR YOUNGEST HEATHER MOORE FAN....or was it just the crackers??

Well, we successfully had our second Heather Moore trunk show this past Friday and, as usual, it was a huge hit.  To be honest though, I think some of our attendees were really there more for the Tea Forte tea and the cheese and crackers table.  I was lucky enough to catch one such client in the act.

This is Julia, probably one of the cutest little kids ever!  She pretended at first to be interested in the jewelry and was a really patient on-looker as her mom put together her Heather Moore necklace "wish list" for Mother's Day.  But then as her mom got more involved in all of the incredible charms and options of Heather Moore, Julia, in a stroke of genius spied the cheese table and slowly made her way over there, found a little 100 year old children's chair and plopped down for a hearty snack of Gouda, Swiss, and some Pepper Jack cheese.  I mean just look at her, who could tell her no.  I'm sure you're all assuming that those cheeks are full of cheese, but guess what, that's just Julia, she has those amazing cheeks that you just want to squeeze or pay tons of money for when you hit your early 50's.

BEST MOJITOS EVER!!

 All I can say is if it's after 5pm and you can't find me inside Marmalade, there is a very good chance you can find me at the bar at Don Emilio's sipping one of their incredibly delicious mojito's.

 The other night my kids and I tried Don Emilio's for the first time and were blown away by how fresh and delicious the food was.  I have the kind of kids that always find something on their plate to complain about, whether it be a texture, a color, or the ever famous "wasn't how I was expecting it to look" complaint,  but this night there were no complaints.  They gobbled down their scrumptious cheese and chicken quesado's like they hadn't eaten all day (which come to think of it, maybe they hadn't......oops!)  

A few nights later I met a friend there for drinks and that was when I discovered the mojito's.  Oh, don't get me wrong,  I'm no stranger to a good mojito, but they usually come in those little skinny tall glasses and after a few sips they usually lose that great minty flavor and there really isn't much more than a few sips of liquid in the glass, you're always wishing for more.  But that was not the case at Don Emilio's, it was served in a beautiful curved glass that held more that enough ounces to make one forget the week's worries, and the delicious mint lasted all the way until my last slurp.  I would give it a full 10 out of 10.

So, take my advice, give Don Emilio's a try, you'll be very glad you did!

100% HANDMADE FROM VIETNAM

I know I'm always saying "this is the perfect hostess gift", but these lacquer trays actually go beyond that. Each piece of metallic flake is hand placed within each of these beautifully crafted trays. Then they are finished with 20 layers of lacquer to give them a shine, luster and look of quality that is pretty much as special as it gets. These trays are manufactured in Vietnam and carefully watched over by a very dear friend of mine, who is a very hard working mom. Her company is called J. Fleet Designs. This is one brave women that can run a family of 3 boys, travel like she does and still deliver a flawless product each and every day. These trays are very hard to keep in the store due to their popularity and how inviting they are to touch and hold. Prices range from $88 for a 17 X 7 rectangular cocktail tray on upwards of $198 for the 21 X 15 serving tray. These pieces are signed and timeless. Call us for more gushing on our part or more details.