August Clearance Sale

August Clearance Sale

First Fruit Collection will be having a wonderful
clearance sale for the month of August. Our new
merchandise is arriving and we are running out
of floor space to show all of the new things.

We have marked lots of the floor samples,
discontinued items, and overstocks with
incredible savings. Be sure to look for orange
tags throughout the store.

SATURDAY STORE HOURS

First Fruit Collection will begin Saturday hours
beginning September 10th. We will be open
11:00 - 4:00 every Saturday. Be sure to mark
your calendars for this special day and we look
forward to seeing you.

So sorry it has been a while since we blogged last.
I am going to try to go back to a regular weekly
blog now that I have gotten my mother settled in
at Kirby Pines. I appreciate all the prayers during
this difficult time.

New Artist and Estate Sale!

First Fruit Collection presents:

Vesela Art

Growing up painting used to be my way of escaping reality by emerging into a world where everything is possible. During the communistic regime, there was not too much place for originality and freedom. It was not easy to be an artist. So, after I studied art in the University of Art in Sofia, Bulgaria, I decided to go in a different direction and abandoned my painting for years.
I returned to painting in 2008 when I found myself being a stay in home mom. It was amazing how quickly I become obsessed with creating new paintings. I felt so happy, so fulfilled. I returned to where I always belonged.
At the present I’m working from my studio at Adamsville TN as a full time artist.
My paintings create positive, hopeful feelings. I like color, texture, palette knife, big brush, big canvas, I like freedom.

We love this new tulip painting! So happy

This dog painting just makes us smile!

Come into First Fruit to experience her art up close!

There will be more of her art to come soon!

Also, First Fruit Collection will be having an estate sale.

Saturday June 18th starting at 7:00 AM.

164 Washington Street (right off the town square)

June Special

Have you ever dreamed of having that beautiful home
you have seen in a magazine photo, show home, or maybe
just a room you have in your mind? Can you just imagine
it, but somehow never really seem to achieve it in your own
home? Have you made costly mistakes that you are now
having to live with and try and somehow work with?

If this sounds like you . . . we have a plan! For the
first time in First Fruit Collection history . . . . drum
roll please . . . we are offering a free one hour consultation
with one of our Interior Designers.

In this one hour consultation, one of our degreed designers
will visit your home and recommend various ways you can
transform your home into your dream home. They will
make suggestions on paint colors, furniture placement,
window and floor treatments, accessories, lighting, etc.


Once they have visited your home, they will be happy
to meet you at the store to assist you in suggestions
that will help you achieve your decorating goals. You
will receive a $100.00 gift certificate towards any purchases
made on this or subsequent visits with your designer.

We are looking so forward to visiting with you in
your home to help make your home “Happy”. Please
call First Fruit Collection any time during the month of June
to schedule your appointment with one of our designer.

Note: This offer is valid for new clients only. Clients will pay $75 to
the designer at the time of the consultation. You will then receive a
$100.00 gift card to be used with your designer upon a store visit. This
offer is valid for the month of June 2011 only. Gift Cards may be redeemed
for a period of 30 days from the in-home consultation. Designer must be
present at time of redemption.

Does this look like a mess at First Fruit Collection?
Well . . . it is not . . . it is our 1st INDOOR SIDEWALK SALE!
We have worked all week gathering one of a kind, discontinued,
and some really great stuff for this incredible sale. These items
have been marked down from 50 - 75% off our regular prices.
Come early for best selection! You won't believe how much
stuff has been gathered for this event . . . we found stuff we
didn't even know we had. We know you will find some things
you just can't live without.

SEE YOU SOON . . . DON'T MISS THIS!

I have always dreamed of a perfect family . . . one
with a mom, a dad, two or three children, an a dog
or cat . . . or maybe both. A happy family with a
home with a white picket fence and the sound of
children laughing, the smell of bread baking
and the scent of fresh cut grass.

My memories are quite different when I think
of my home life as a little girl. I did have a mom,
a dad, a sister, but no dog or cat . . . only strays
that somehow always disappeared. I do remember
the smell of fresh cut grass, but I was the one mowing
the grass . . . . at an age that is unimaginable in today's
world. I grew up in a different age and time, we worked
from morning til night with all the chores that my parents
could find for us to do. I remember breaking bushels full
of green beans, (I always told my mom I liked the store
bought ones best) peeling peaches, apples and tomatoes
to can. We had a two acre garden that we had to "work"
so that we could eat in the winter. I truly think there is
still some food somewhere that we canned . . . we could
never have ever eaten all of the food we "put up".


We were made to scrub floors, toilets, walls, and anything
else that needed cleaning. My sister and I were my
mother's dishwasher . . . when people would ask if
she had a dishwasher, she would respond "I've got
two . . . Jan and Lisa". I also cooked a big portion of
the families meals, complete with salad and dessert.

I remember begging to go and live at the Children's
Home. We would pass by and all the children were
playing out in the yard and it looked pretty good to me
as a child . . . no work . . . just play. Somehow she
never did drop me off, no matter how much I begged.
I also considered running away from time to time,
but couldn't think of anywhere to go. So I stayed.

I married very young to escape my home life . . . there
had to be a better life for me out there. I didn't even
think about loving the person I was committing my life
to . . . but saw this as an opportunity to escape this
home I felt trapped in. As I left the home for the last
time . . . on my wedding day . . . I remember my
mother, still in her nightgown, waving goodbye and
good luck! Oh my . . . to think of this behavior now
is appalling.

So over the past 30 years I have isolated myself from
this past that I have tried to block from my mind, with
occasional visits to my mother over the years, becoming
more infrequent as the years have gone by. Every time
that I am around her now, the memories of the past are
resurrected and I am so thankful that God has given
me such a better life. I have always desired to have
that perfect white picket fence life for my family.

The past couple of years, my sister and I have noticed
the phone conversations with my mother become very
repetitive and sometimes not making sense at all.
This has progressively gotten worse and we made the
decision to go to see her and evaluate her condition.

We surprised her for her 81st birthday on April 9.
She was worse than we had anticipated. Her income
taxes were not filed, she had no homeowners insurance,
no idea of how much money she had,and didn't remember
much of anything about the past at all. We were convinced
she had to have some help. One of us, my sister or I, had
to bring her back with us to live. Well, to make a long story
short . . . she chose me and Memphis. In two days, we
listed her home with the real estate, changed her address
with the post office, signed over the Power of Attorney,
went to two different banks to change all necessary
information, cleaned out her refrigerator and all the
closets (with all the clothes she has ever owned)
hired a lawn man to take care of her yard, packed
her clothes, and brought her home to live with me.

So, my mother, Nell, is now living with me. We have
toured retirement and assisted living places, taken
her to two doctor visits, and tried to adjust her to
living with us.

I have noticed a complete role reversal. I am now
helping her dress, fix her hair, make the bed,
reminding her to eat and take her medicine,
explaining things over and over to her. It is
like having a child all over again. I feel guilty
leaving her alone, tip toe around the house so
she won't be woken up, fix her plate and encourage
her to eat all her food. We even gave her a "Clean
Plate Award" one night after she ate all her dinner.

This has been one of the hardest things I have ever
had to do in my life. I have my mother living with me
who really doesn't remember much of anything at all.
Maybe, just maybe I can have the perfect family I
always wanted after all. . . we both just will not
remember all the bad.

Happy Decorating,

Lisa

I have never been interested in fine jewelry. The
only fine jewelry I have owned has been my wedding
ring. I haven't had to worry about safety deposit
boxes or my home being broken into and all my
fine jewelry being stolen. I had always worn
what I called "Junk Jewelry"which was always
purchased to go with a particular outfit.

My daughter, Ashley, has other interests.
If it is shiny, gold, silver, diamond, ruby,
and expensive . . . she loves it. She has
always loved jewelry . . . she spent hours
playing "Pretty, Pretty Princess" when she
was a little girl. She always loves sparkle and
flash . . . I remember a gold metallic bikini
at age 4 that she would wear with her plastic
red sparkly high heels. She would parade up
and down the street in this outfit with a popsicle
in one hand and a purse in the other.

Anyway, she has encouraged me to "invest" in a
few nice pieces of jewelry and has thrown away
all of my old jewelry. She started last Mothers
Day with a pair of diamond stud earrings. Then
a few bracelets here and there, a small strand
of pearls and a monogram necklace for Christmas
this year. I have enjoyed these pieces and see
the value of a few good pieces.

This all has led to my wedding ring. . . it is a wide
band, yellow gold with a single 6 prong setting with
a single diamond. My husband gave it to me for
our 15th anniversary. Well, that was 15 years
ago. I thought I was happy with it . . . a classic . .
right?

Well . . . think again. I purchased another gold
setting to change my diamond out with . . . thinking
that this was a good thing . . . WRONG!

Ashley Toney informed me, as we walked to the
jewelry store, that maybe, just maybe, I may want
to consider changing to a white gold or a platinum
setting? Really? 30 years ago no one would ever
consider white gold! Now . . . was I out of style?
Well . . . the answer is yes, as the jeweler told
me that my jewelry would only be used for
"scrap gold" that no one would want it unless
they were wearing orthopedic shoes?

What had happened in the jewelry world? I
felt like I had fallen asleep for 30 years and just
woke up . . . where had I been? All the rage
is now the antique pave (Not pronounced
pave . . . like asphalt) but paaaa - veigh
(oh so fancy).

Well, I had better get with it, I can't be
wearing a gold setting in this day and age.
And I certainly am not ready for orthopedic
shoes . . . although some days they would
probably feel pretty good.

My jewelry quest had begun. This was the
beginning of the worst shopping experience
of my life. The jewelry world is a different
world. I felt like I was in a foreign country
and a foreign language. Oh, this is the
retail price . . . oh, what is the price?
Oh, no one really knows. I found
that the people that work in the stores
don't even know the price. How am I
supposed to know if I can afford it if I don't
know how much it is . . . why don't they
put a price on it, a price that it would
sell for if I wanted it? Is that too much
to ask? Why are all the tags turned over
in the case . . . what are they trying to
hide . . . not the price . . . because they
don't know the price.

My opinion is that they would sell a whole lot
more jewelry if it had a price on it! How
could I stay in business if I didn't know how
much anything was in my store. You wouldn't
want to shop here . . . would you?

My advice, for what it is worth, is that the jewelers
need to be straight forward, honest, with realistic
accurate prices on merchandise so that I would be
able to go in and buy what I see. I think I would
buy a whole lot more jewelry if this were the case.
This is just a thought . . . my opinion . . . but this
is the way I wish it could be.

Wall Covering

Do you have a horror story about wall covering . . . how you

have spend hours, days, even months steaming, scraping, picking,

peeling, sanding, and floating your drywall? Have you sworn never

to ever paper again? I have been there, several times as a matter

of fact . . . swearing to never hang a piece of wallpaper again!

You wonder what you were thinking . . . all those ivy vines

and marching geese of days gone by. What was I thinking?

Well . . . . to be honest, I love wallpaper . . . just the smell

of the book sets my heart to spinning . . . oh the possibilities.

I do love wallpaper in small baths, laundry rooms, and other

small areas. Especially on the ceilings of small powder rooms.

Well, I say all of this to let you know that First Fruit Collection

is now a Thibaut (Tea Bow) dealer. Thibaut has always been

my favorite brand of wallcovering and fabrics. They have colors

that are so clear and true . . . there is nothing like it.

We also have a complete line of their fabric books . . . they

are so amazing. We oohed and aahed the day they arrived.

You would have thought it was Christmas!

Our prices are also the best in town. We are committed to

offering you the best price around . . . better than online.

My laundry room at home has a collection of bugs scattered.

Coordinating fabric for the window treatment.

Cute powder room paper . . . more bugs.

My green toile dining room with the matching toile fabric

on the drapes and chair cushions.

A custom window topper covered with wall paper and drapes

made from the matching fabric.

Don't be afraid to use wall paper in your home. Just be sure to

size the walls properly before you hang and you won't have the nightmare of removing it later. Sizing will help it release when you go to remove it.

I hope you rethink wall paper for your home. It is kind of like

childbirth, you hopefully forget all the bad and only see the beauty.

Happy Decorating,

Lisa