5 reasons to become a fan on facebook this october
1. In celebration of Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, we are donating a dollar for every facebook like we get in the month of October to Almost Home Animal Rescue & Haven. Our goal is to get 2,000 likes so we can write a check for $2,000 that will go to helping our furry friends find forever homes.
We rescued our Basset Hound, Gus over 2 years ago & he still makes us smile everyday :-)
2. FREE GOODY FRIDAY! Every Friday we give away fantastic finds to our firefly fans. All you have to do is tag yourself in the giveaway photo & you’re entered. We draw three lucky winners on Monday & you get to pick up your loot at our Rochester or Berkley location.
3. Fun Firefly Facts that are interesting & amusing like…
Fun Firefly Fact #477: The delicious flavor of mushrooms intrigued the pharaohs of Egypt so much that they decreed mushrooms were food for royalty and that no commoner could ever touch them. Don’t these stuffed shrooms look good enough for a queen?
Fun Firefly Fact #480: Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year & a popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey as a symbol of a wish for a sweet new year.
Fun Firefly Fact #448: Lemon trees bloom and produce fruit year-round. Each tree can produce between 500 and 600 pounds of lemons in a year. Who knew you could do so many things with this pretty fruit?
4. Visit our store in your pajamas. Want to see our hip Halloween display… the latest scarves & hats we put out… the load of trend jewelry our UPS man just delivered or get ideas on what to get your dad for his birthday? You can tour through all our goods with a click of your keyboard.
5. Tasty recipes that will inspire you to mix up your same-old dinner routine. What’s one thing we love besides whimsical gifts? … Delicious dishes & tempting treats! That’s why we can’t resist posting links to recipes that make us drool like… mushroom & swiss sliders with spicy fry sauce banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and poor mans smores.
I warned you about the drool ;-) So what are you waiting for? Head on over to catching fireflies facebook page & give us a thumbs up so we can give Almost Home Rescue another dollar!
Thank you for helping us make days brighter for our furry friends!
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cheesy broccoli soup
Soup season has officially begun now that the temps are dipping into the 30’s & 40’s in the evenings. One soup combination that I have a hard time resisting is the perfect marriage of broccoli & cheese.
This hearty variation I found in our Michigan Cookbook will definitely leave your family full & satisfied.
4 cups of water
1 12oz package of frozen hash brown potatoes
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
4 cups chopped broccoli
2 packages of chicken broth mix
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups skim milk
6 oz pasteurized American cheese, cubed (Velveeta)
In a large stockpot, put water, potatoes, celery, onion, carrots, broccoli, chicken broth mix, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes. Blend flour with milk. Slowly add to vegetables, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add cheese cubes & stir until melted & smooth.
Serve up with warm crusty bread & enjoy!
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take a break with toro y moi
With the days getting shorter & the nights getting colder… it’s the perfect time to throw on some chilled music like new beat & pop under the covers with book or in a hot bath.
A review reads, “Some albums are meant to be played loud. Toro y Moi’s “Underneath the Pine” is not one of them. The second effort from Chaz Bundick expands on the dreamy bedroom haze of his debut – roll your eyes and call it “chillwave” – ditching laptop sounds for live instrumenta-tion. This is music that is meant to linger in the background – the hippest of on-hold tunes.” -David Malitz
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lucky Barb is gettin’ organized
Thank you for participating in our Gettin’ Organized Giveaway. I’m soaking in all that fall has to offer by reading all your fantastic comments about the season. Also, thanks for spreading the news to your friends through facebook, twitter and email forwards. Word of mouth has always been our best form of advertising and we couldn’t do it without YOU!
Our lucky winner is Barb and her favorite thing about fall… “It probably seems really obvious but going to the Cider Mill for fresh apple cider and those yummy cinnamon sugar donuts!”
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junk with LOTS of style
Turns out there’s this chic market filled to the brim with vintage goods called Junk Bonanza that was being held just a half hour from St. Paul the same weekend I was attending The Creative Connection. Lucky for me, the lovely Leigh Standley had extra room in her van for me to tag along for this treasure hunt.
We bought the early bird tickets to avoid the crazy crowds & score the best finds.
I love the repurposing of this seat spring.
So many different collections of all kinds and displayed so creatively too! It was hard not to indulge knowing I was limited to a suitcase.
Michelle scored a sweet letter A to pay homeage to her last name – Allen
Leigh & Michelle were capturing images with their snazzy SLR cameras. I’m very tempted to add one around my neck, but for now this slim point & shoot will do.
Slides for lampshades… bike seats for necklace displays —- love clever repurposing & reinventing
Seriously… there was something for everyone.
Here’s a few goodies that came home with us. I must say… I’m tempted to drive down next year -but that could be very, very dangerous ;-)
Stay tuned for more fun from my trip to the twin cites.
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neighborhood fall fiesta
With summer vacations behind us and fall schedules getting into a groove, Steve & I thought it was a fine time to reconnect with our neighbors & hear all about thier summer adventures.
So I dropped these invites in their mailboxes a couple of weeks ago & we had a fine fall party last Sunday. (Not realizing that the 1st Lion’s game was also on at this time, I made sure to have our television tuned to the channel for score updates throughout the afternoon. GO LIONS!)
Since tomatos & basil are so tasty right now, I made a few of these delish skewers to add to the appetizer selection.
So many of the neighbors thanked us for hosting this little get-together and it was soooo easy to make it happen. All you need is a few chairs, card tables (covered with cute tablecloths helps:-), some random weeds/flowers placed in flower vases/jars, a few of your favorite beverages on ice, paper plates, plastic forks & napkins. And voila… you’ve got an afternoon of getting to know your neighbors a bit better!
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celebrate our 11th birthday!
Can you believe our original Berkley location is eleven years old? We’re pretty proud to have made it to the 5th grade of the retail world… thanks to fantastic firefly fans like YOU!
So to celebrate, we’re offering 20% off our entire store on Saturday, September 24 from 10-6 at BOTH our locations & onine.
Plus, we’re donating 5% of the sales that day to Camp Casey of Royal Oak. They brighten days by providing horseback riding programs for children with cancer.
And we’ll be serving up sweet cider & donuts all day long… the perfect fuel for a day of serious shopping.
Still craving for more? Our sister store, Yellow Door Art Market in downtown Berkley will also be hosting a Day of Deals! You will be able to score bargains galore from 12 artists as they fill six tents with gobs of goodies marked at deliriously low prices!
Looking forward to seeing your smiling faces at the party on Saturday, September 24. Cheers to another year of making days brighter :-)
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gettin’ organized giveaway
Now that fall is in full swing, there’s no better time to fine tune your organizational skills. Always have a card ready to send for any occasion with this handy greeting card organizer. Remember your summer concert experience for years to come by collecting your stubs in this clever ticket stub diary. Keep all your passwords in one spot with this cute & portable password book. And jot down the day’s itinerary on this stylish dry erase message board wall sticker. ($59.84 retail value)
So how can you get organized for free?
There are 3 ways to enter – you can do 1,2 or all 3 to better your chances.
1. Comment at the bottom of this post and tell us: What’s your favorite thing about fall?
2. Spread the word about our giveaway on your Facebook page by clicking the Share on Facebook link below then comment on this blog post saying that you did.*
3. Tweet this link: http://bit.ly/Gettin-Organized-Giveaway
-then comment on this blog post saying that you did.*
We’ll draw 3 lucky firefly fans names on Wednesday, September 20th, 2011 and post it on the blog.
Have fun, good luck and thanks for playing!
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hittin’ the books
Even though our firefly crew doesn’t have to report to school tomorrow, they still have some favorite books they’d like to add to their backpack.
I absolutely love that this doodle book encourages imagination, which is why I recently bought it for my niece. She can pick it up or put it down whenever she’s feeling creative. Do You Doodle? 12.95
Living in Michigan does not afford me this privilege, but believe me–I would live in flip flops year round if possible. I love the easy-going attitude of this book. It reminds me of things that I love, but tend to forget in the grind of everyday life :) How to Live in Flipflops $12.99
That’s exactly what this book offers, a lot of little treats to make your party or get together a success. Mezza means a little bit of everything and this little book has everything. 500 Appetizers $16.95
The perfect place to keep your child’s memories and of their school experiences. I can’t wait to use the one that I bought for my son as he starts Kindergarten this Fall! School Years Keepsake Album $16.95
Each day write something that you are feeling grateful for. On a day of despair take out this journal and you are sure to put yourself in a better mood. Gratitude Journal $14.95
I bought this book for my daughter before our summer road trip and we spent hours playing! It brought back memories of my childhood and created new memories with my daughter. Cat’s Cradle Book $9.95
Are you joking? There’s a hole in Idaho that requires a boat to get to the green? I just added one more thing to my bucket list. Great gift for any golfer in your life. Golf’s Best Kept Secrets $22.95
I bought this book for a very good friend of mine that i grew up with and we do not get to see each other often. So I bought this book and I wrote messages on some of the pages about things we did as kids together. She loved it and will cherish always. You’ve Got a Friend $14.50
Before there were snazzy books like this… I distinctly remember a middle school art project that involved coloring a full sheet of paper with various crayons, then painting over it with black paint & after it was dry, creating a a magical picture using a wood stylus.
How awesome that there is a book full of these fun sheets. I’m tempted to purchase one so I can doodle in it 25 years later :-) Scratch & Sketch Book $12.99
I purchased this book and use it all the time. Nothing is better then coming home from a busy day and having dinner already for you in your crock pot! It has wonderful recipes with simple ingredients that your whole family will love! 101 Things to Do with a Slow Cooker $9.99
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making days brighter for kids in our community
WOW! Have I mentioned how fabulous our firefly fans are? Because of your generosity, we were able to donate lots-0-school supplies for kids in need.
Thank YOU Operaiton: KidEquip for being such a light in our community.
Cheers to a great start of another school year!
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