Clutter My World

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Clutter My World...with a New Intern!

Hey everyone, my name is Emily. I'm the new intern at Clutter! By working here, Patty is helping me graduate from the Art Institute of Colorado, which requires an internship to complete the program. I'm studying Interior Design and hope to go into residential and hospitality field when I'm done with school. Working at Clutter gives me the opportunity to see all different kinds of furniture and fabrics from all types of styles and time periods, as well as great ideas for my own home.

I love to travel and I get to have one last hurrah(!) before graduating and joining the work force... a trip to Europe over the summer! I can't wait to see all the great architecture and eat some delicious food. I'll be done with my internship by then, but I will be full of new knowledge and work experience to carry on with me in the future. Nice to chat with you all! I look forward to meeting new and old customers...

Emily the Intern

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ALL SOLD!

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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Clutter My World in Costa Rica!!

Hi Everyone!! Wow...it's been a long time! After taking 9 days off for Spring Break I finally have time to breathe. It's amazing that I can leave the store for that long without worrying and know that I can come back to wonderful staff who took care of the store, customers and consignors! The store looks great...maybe I should do this more often!!

Costa Rica...ahhh...sun, heat, humidity, monkeys, dolphins, waves, not so great cuisine, volcano, zip lines, curvy roads, vacation! We decided this year to take a break from the snow and get some sun and Costa Rica came highly recommended. It is a beautiful country and it was great to see another part of this world. We stayed at a little hotel in Playa Samara in the Nicoya Peninsula...the hotel is called The Hideaway Hotel (www.thehideawayplayasamara.com) and it is owned and run by Rosy and Doug from Reno. It's a beautiful little hotel with wonderful staff and great food...plus it has air conditioning and a pool...a must when you are on the beach in Costa Rica! It's about a 2 mile walk down the beach to the little village of Samara and we walked it every day for lunch (we had breakfast at the Hideaway...yogurt parfaits with pineapple...yum!). There are a number of beachside restaurants in Samara where you could get whole grilled red snapper, ham sandwiches, rice and beans, etc. etc. The town isn't much but if you stay on the beach, you never know what you'll see. One evening we were enjoying a beer under some palms and along came about 20 cows...without a cow herder...looking very determined to get where they were going! We had no idea where they were going but apparently they came from up the hill where every once in awhile someone leaves a gate open and the cows escape! I can't imagine having to explain that to my boss in the morning!

We had a couple of great experiences in Samara...one day we kayaked over to a little (very little) island that is inhabited by hermit crabs and iguanas! We were the only people there and the beach was alive with crawly little crabs in all sorts of different shells. It was amazing to watch the beach crawl. Someone had left the remnants of a watermelon and between the iguanas and the hermit crabs, that watermelon was not going to last for long! Another day we hired a small boat to take us out to look for dolphins. We were not disappointed! We ended up in a pod of at least 100 spotted dolphins who were racing the boat, jumping and flipping and showing us a great time...it was incredible. I felt I was in a movie and as the boat was racing along, on either side of us the dolphins we racing with us...it was amazing!

We finished our trip in the Arenal Volcano area where we hoped to see some lava flowing down the volcano...well...the normally active volcano was not very active the 2 nights we were there so that was a bit of a disappointment, but it was neat to see that part of Costa Rica. We had a great time doing a zip line...even me, who is a bit afraid of heights and tried not to think about that when I was 200 feet up in the air zipping down on a relatively thin cable above a canopy of trees!

So, after 9 days away and a bit of catching up to do at the store....all is good. We have lots of great furniture and home decor in the store right now so come on down and take a look...you will not be disappointed! Hope to see you soon....Have a great day!

SOLD!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Clutter My World...with another Half Marathon!

Hi everyone! On February 28th I ran my 5th half marathon and had a great time doing it! My husband and I ran the Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Half Marathon in New Orleans. If you have never run a half marathon...after you get over the fact that it is 13.1 miles, you realize that it's actually a fun distance to run...provided you train well! I like to run them because for me there is less pressure to "race" the race...although because I am so competitive with myself...I race it anyway. This time I finished in 1:54:57...not my PR but I was 16 out of 407 in my age group so for that, I was happy! If I last another 3 years and run in the 55-59 age group, I would be about 5th or 6th in my age group...one good thing about getting older...but I won't wish my life away!

New Orleans...I love it! I have been going down there 2-3 times a year for the past 5 years since my daughter has been in school at Tulane. She is now getting her graduate degree and we only have one more time down there while she is there, as she is most likely moving away come May. As always, New Orleans doesn't fail to deliver....the beignets at the Cafe du Monde are still the BEST in the world, the Po boys at Frankie and Johnnie's are the yummiest (this time I had a crawfish po boy since it's just starting to be crawfish season!), Plum Street snoballs are the smoothest and most refreshing, especially chocolate and coconut, and Bourbon Street still smells like beer, in the middle of the day! We actually did something this time that we had never done...we went out to the Art museum at City Park and saw the Disney exhibit, which was great! We also finished the half marathon at City Park on a bright blue-sky, cool kind of day.

I think you should plan a trip to NOLA this year...you won't be disappointed! In the meantime, run on down to Clutter and look at all of the great clutter we have in the store! Here's just a few pictures:

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Had to show you my daughter's Mardi Gras tree! Decorated with throws from the floats...look closely, there is a ton on clutter on this tree....Priceless!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Clutter My World....with Billy and Elton!

Hi everyone! A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of going to the Billy Joel/Elton John concert at the Pepsi Center. It was supposed to be last fall but due to Elton having the flu bug....they postponed it til last week...thank goodness it wasn't cancelled as it was one of the best concerts I've been to! I've seen Elton before and he didn't disappoint...but I've never seen Billy and I have to say, he was fabulous...not only his voice and music, but his personality! He really connected with the audience...even those of us in the nosebleed section and those behind him. In fact, his piano rotated on the stage so that those sitting behind him had a chance to see his face and not just his bald, graying head!! The concert was 3 1/2 hours...Billy and Elton played together, then Elton played alone, then Billy played alone and then they came back together for 4 or 5 songs finishing with "Candle in the Wind" and "Piano Man!" If you ever have the chance to see them again, make sure you leap at it.

Anyway, as I was taking pictures of furniture that we have in the store, I was trying to think about what Elton and/or Billy would like if they happened to come into Clutter...here are some of the things we have in the store that the 2 superstars might enjoy having...come take a look at them yourself!

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Grandfather clock! $1800

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Kreiss Chair...orange with furry back pillow....$425

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Clutter my World...away from the Snow!

Hi everyone! Well...as I'm sitting here looking at the snow that is STILL falling (it's been 3 days!), I'm thinking of the great weekend I had last weekend with my husband in Cabo. Ted decided to take me on a surprise trip....he told me to pack for warm weather and that's all. We left for the airport at 6 AM the morning of Thursday, Feb. 11 and I had no idea where we were going. In fact, we flew to LA and I still didn't know where we were going until we got to the gate for our next flight and found out it was Cabo! We have never been to Baja California so it was going to be a new adventure. We stayed at the Hilton which is between Cabo and San Jose del Cabo...it is a beautiful resort and we had 3 days of peace, quiet and relaxation in the sun...a much needed rest!

On Thursday nights in San Jose del Cabo, it's art night and all of the little art galleries are open until 8 PM. It was really fun walking the streets of San Jose and meandering in and out of the galleries...one of the galleries that I loved is called Zoko. It's owned by a husband (Arturo Ortiz) and his darling Swiss wife who do beautiful sterling jewelry. They don't have a website but if you are ever in the area, their store is on Alvaro Obregon St. in San Jose del Cabo. You must check them out!

Speaking of jewelry...I have some fun jewelry in the store right now. The artist is Melissa Fannis and she makes earrings and necklaces from broken windshields! Please come take a look, I think you will find that they make great gifts for someone who enjoys something different!

We also have some great furniture in the store right now and more coming tomorrow....so if you haven't been to Clutter in awhile or if you came in yesterday...come in again and see what we have!

SOLD...but we got a neat pine one in on 3-8-10!

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Laurier long black dresser....call for price

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Art Deco Hutch....$225

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Clutter Your World....with Football! GO SAINTS!

Hi everyone! Well, I can't really say that I am a football fan. I've really only been interested in it a few times in my life...when I was at the University of Michigan during the Bo vs. Woody days....when my daughter was at USC and they were playing for the National Championship (Texas won...boo!), and today....the Saints vs. the Colts. I still can't say I'm really a football fan, I'm more a New Orleans fan and have been ever since my daughter, Kelly, had to evacuate from her freshman year at Tulane due to Katrina. That was quite an experience...but Kelly survived and went on to graduate Phi Beta Kappa from Tulane with 3 degrees in 2009 and is currently getting her graduate degree in Environmental Biology from, you guessed it...Tulane! New Orleans also survived, but it's been a tough road for so many people down there. We have been going back to New Orleans at least twice a year since the fall of 2005 and we have seen New Orleans recover slowly but surely. Those first few trips back were sobering....visiting the 9th ward and seeing the devastation....homes obliterated, no one in sight except volunteers helping to sift through debris....driving down Carrolton and seeing the bathtub rings on the sides of houses and the large X indicating if there were any deaths at that house, seeing restaurants that we had been to boarded up.....running down the empty St. Charles Street Car line and watching the weeds take over the tracks. As the years have gone on though, we have seen the joyous signs of recovery....schools once again alive with the sound of children, houses being built in the 9th Ward thanks to the efforts of Brad Pitt and his Make It Right foundation, restaurants like the Camellia Grill once again open for business, street artists rimming Jackson Square....and now, a great football team seeing their first Super Bowl!

So, even if you aren't a football fan....for today, please cheer on the New Orleans Saints...that great city that is so full of life could use the win! Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler and Who Dat!

And while you are cheering on the Saints...think of Clutter and all of the wonderfully comfortable sofas and chairs that we have in the store right now. It's too late to buy for this Super Bowl...but there is always next year and if you buy it now, it will be well broken in for the Super Bowl next year!

Bring in any type of Saints paraphernalia (t-shirt, hat, bumper sticker) and get 15% off any one item. This offer is good through Feb. 12, 2010!