Ahhh......There's Nothing Like The Scent of a Fresh Pine Tree

There's just one little problem.....

That wonderful aroma only lasts a few days!

At Brown & Hopkins we have just the solution!

ScentSicles!!

Finally, a smart and affordable way to make
artificial Christmas trees smell like real trees
or extend the scent of a real tree!!
ScentSicles are 6" scented sticks topped with a
gold jewel cap for inserting an ornament hook
to hang on a Christmas tree or any other Holiday decoration.
ScentSicles create the wonderful memories of Christmas
and the holidays virtually anywhere, anytime.

You could even use them in your car, closet,
school/gym locker or office!

A few customers say they are going to place it in their
desk drawer at work, so they can be brought back
to this special time of year....
especially teachers!!!

Available in the pine scent
or the aroma of Grandma's Kitchen......
cookies baking and spiced cider brewing!

One package of 8 scentsicles in a resealable bag for just $8.95!

Great for those who can't have a real tree because of allergies,
but you can still have the scent of a real tree!

You'll need only 2 or 3 Scentsicles to scent a tree!!
They are awesome!!

Cookbook Update!

The cookbook publisher tells us, if everything goes as planned,
The Brown & Hopkins Friends & Family Cookbook
will be here before December 18th!!!
Just in time for holiday gifting!!!

We had over 100 different contributors,
and over 280 delectable recipes!

I gained weight just typing them!!!!

One that I still have in my memory is "Amaretto Chicken"......it sounded so gooooooooood!

Oh, and "Auntie Ida's Chocolate Cake", which has been in one family for three generations....and now the secret is OUT!!!! Shhhhhh, don't tell anyone.

And let's not forget my own
Mom's "Best Brownies Ever"....she would bake these
and always have them on hand!
My kids loved going to Nanny's house!

I dedicated the cookbook to my Mom, Cecilia,
who would have loved working on this project with me,
and who would have been prouder than a peacock
to see her treasured recipes in print!
If you have a moment,
I'd like to tell you a funny little story about my MOM...

"Back in the 1980's, she worked for the famous A.T. Cross Pen company in Lincoln, as a test-writer, which basically meant she had to write the letter 'e' in cursive, over and over and over again, by hand, and if the pen ink refill created a drop of ink at the top of the 'e', then it was a dud, and got tossed. Well, to pass the time at this tedious job, she listened to her cooking shows on her radio headphones! And you know what happened next.......YUP, she started writing the recipes that folks would call in to the radio show!
So, I have bins full of sheets of paper,
with the letter 'e' all over them,
with recipes scattered intermittantly!!!
Oh, sure, she would get 'in trouble' for doing that
every now and then.....but she never stopped!
Eeeeeeeeeeeee heheheheeeeeeeeeeee She was a rebel! LOL"

We are taking pre-orders on the cookbook, which is a high quality, three ring binder, with a padded hard back, full color cover.
They are available for $19.95 each, with a 50% deposit.

We only ordered 300 copies! Reserve yours today!!

Also, if you were a contibutor to the cookbook,
and would like to make one of your recipes
for our Brown & Hopkins customers to try,
please contact me by email at

shopkeeper@brownandhopkins.com

I am tossing around the idea of holding a holiday party on
Sunday, December 20th!!!

I would love to try Michelle's Rum Balls, wouldn't you????

I'll keep you posted!

Wedding Details as Promised

Our wedding cake was baked and decorated by Wrights Farm Bakery.....

Lemon cake with cream cheese frosting......
served with raspberry sauce.....yummy!
The cake turned out even better than I had imagined!
It is so hard to convey your idea without a photogragh,
but Ellen at Wrights did an awesome job!
I don't know if I'll be able to wait until our first anniversary
to dive into the top of the cake....

I am thinking of convincing Bruce that we have it
when we move into the new house!!!
I think that sounds like a plan!
Don't you????

Barbara set up all 18 of our centerpieces
on the morning of the wedding!
They consisted of a large mirror as a base,
a bubble vase filled with faux green apples,
surrounded by a wispy vine, and other florals,
and the finishing touch....a rustic birch bird perched atop!
Candlelight surrounded each one,
as well as little blocks of wood with the words.....

Live each moment...
Love beyond words...
Laugh Everydaya

That's our motto!

The table numbers were actually named after trees........
Just sort of a rustic theme I was going after....
I also thought of the idea of making the
place cards out of slivers or rounds of wood,
that could double as a drink coaster if someone so desired.....
Bruce was really glad that I found
someone to make these for me.....LOL
It was one less thing on his "Honey Do" list!
But I did hand write everyones name on their placecards....
and it was a casual wedding, so I wanted the placecards
to be on a first name basis only!
That way it could be a little keepsake for our guests.
In keeping with the "tree, rustic theme",
for wedding favors, I decided upon pieces of
chocolate bark (white, milk and dark) with almonds
which were bagged and ribbon tied, and placed at each place setting.....

Making those up was a delicious job....
and there wasn't one left over at the end of the night!
Instead of sugar packets for guests coffee, I ordered little rock candy swizzle sticks for them to use in their coffee....
Unfortunately most of them got eaten as a lollipop before the coffee arrived...
Oh well, I guess I should have made a little sign as to what they were for...LOL

During our ceremony, we presented a love letter
to each other in sealed envelopes,
placed then in a wooden box
with two bottles of wine (one for me and one for him...LOL),
and closed the box.
The letters are to be opened on our 5th wedding anniversary,
or anytime in our marriage if we start to have "serious issues".
In the letters we were supposed to write
what made us fall in love with each other.
Bruce keeps thinking that I am going to peek......
I only did that when I was a kid!!!!!
I like surprises now.....

Notice how our photographer captured the reflection
of the fall foliage in the bottle of wine....I love that!!

Bruces' gift to the guys were a pair
of RayBan sunglasses, Blues Brothers style.......

And the reason behind that is that he loves their music.
In fact, during our introduction into the reception,
two Blues Brothers tunes were played......
it was sooooooooooooooo much FUN!!!!!

The girls and I, including little Clare,
wore feather boas,
which really added some more FUN to the reception!

I had made a guest book from photos
from our engagement session,
and asked our guests to write a special note to us.
Wow, did we get some interesting advice and lots of good wishes!
I wanted something to keep and look back on rather than just a book with names in it.

Here is a photo of my bouquet with
my Mom's vintage rhinestone pin attached to it.
I guess you can say,
"I'm a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll",
as alot of times my primitive side is blended with a little bit of sparkle!!
Hence, the rustic theme, with little touches of glam!

Thank you to my staff for putting up with me this year!!!!
You were all a great help to me at the store,
not to mention all the extra time spent on "the wedding"!!!!
Hugs and Kisses to everyone!!!!

Oh, and there's that feather boa......
Oh, I have so many pictures of guests
having a gooooood time with them! It was one of the best decisions I made!

OMG...I have to get to the store and set up more Christmas!!!!!!
See you soon!!!!

Snow is Flying in Chepachet!

I am so sorry I haven't taken any photos lately......

there just hasn't been enough time in the day!

Starting today,
through October 30th at Noon,
the store will be CLOSED!!!

We will be setting up the remaining holiday displays!

The sparkles and snow will be flying!

Here are the dates and times of our

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

Friday ~ October 30th ~ Noon to 5pm

Saturday ~ October 31st ~ 10am to 5pm

Sunday ~ November 1st ~ Noon to 5pm

We will send out an email on Wednesday

with more particulars

and maybe a few sneak peeks.....

Smorgasboard of Stuff To Say!

Over one week has passed since my last blog post!!

You know what that means, don't you????

We've been busy!!!

Yippee!!!

We have 8 private shopping parties booked with room for maybe just one or two more!

So if you are mulling over the thought of having one...don't delay!
Contact us at the store at 401-568-4830
and we'll let you know which dates are available!

More info on the Shopping Parties is here!!

Since we have been busy,
I have been chained to my desk
and re-ordering merchandise like a crazy woman!
That's a good thing!

Of course, I have been goofing off a bit and spending time

admiring the work of our wedding photographer!

Link to our Photographers Blog

I just love weddings...Who's getting married next???
I want to go to a wedding!!!

It was so much fun putting together all the little details.....

And when I have a spare moment,
I will create a post of just the details,
so you can see what I worked on all summer long!

But for now it is back to business!!!

Right now, all of our

Fall & Halloween decor is on sale at

25% off!!!

The most "boo"tiful items are disappearing quickly!

I will be sending out an email on Thursday

about this weekends event!!!

What???!!!!
You aren't on our email list???

Get those fingers walking right over to

our website

and sign up!!!

We send all sorts of stuff.....events, sales, recipes, coupons!!
Don't miss a thing!!!

The NEW Book is IN!!!!!

Hot off the Press!!!!!

Prim Eye Candy!!!!

Hot New Find Is Now Back in Stock!!!

I just love this funky new sterling silver ring I found!
We quickly sold out of them the first weekend

we received them back in July!
We have now stocked up a bit,

but once again,

word is out and they are disappearing quickly!

Come in and try one on for size today!

Not too clunky and not too wimpy....

a nice solid sterling ring to use with your glass beads!

Change your ring to fit match your mood or your outfit!

Available in sizes 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9 and 9.5!

At just $34.95 (bead additional), these rings
are going to make fantabulous gifts!!

Coming soon....a new way to wear your beads around your neck....

I will post as soon as those arrive!!!

We have quite a few, affordably priced,
high quality sterling silver beads as well as our

economically priced,
high quality rhodium plated glass beads!!!

Our customers have forced us to reorder
this line several times since we debuted it in July!
One gal designed her own Fall bracelet
with autumn colored beads and fun beads
such as a ghost, a cat, and a pumpkin!!!!

Taking orders for holiday beads now!!!

Back to Business, but First... a Few Wedding Pics and a Video!!

What a glorious day, weather wise, it was!

Who could ask for more??? 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky!

Here are a few practically professional

pics taken by my niece, Jacinda,

and an awesome video of our first official dance!

Thank you so much, Jaci!!!!

I've watched it about 5 times already!!!!

I am getting all googly! The whole gang.... Matron of Honor, Linda, Usher, Bill, Best Man, Tracy, me, Bruce, my oldest son, Sam, my son, Kevin, my sister, Nancy, and of course, Clare, my great niece!!!!!

My sons, Kevin and Sam, (Are they handsome, or what?!)
and my two beautiful great nieces, Clare and Quinn.

Adorable Clare!!!!! We'll be hiring her out for flowergal duties....she was impeccably good!!!

A laugh between best friends.......

Just the girls!

Our first official dance!!!!!

Click below for the video!

http://pictastic.smugmug.com/Weddings/Liz-and-Bruce/9784022_TGDdi#663895607_jmnKj

It was all down hill from there! When I got home from the honey moon, I checked on the condition of my gown......Somewhere during the evening two of my buttons popped off the back of my gown where it attaches the train to the back.....Lord knows how long I went around with a droopy train!!!!

I guess everyone was having too much of a good time to notice!!!!

It was so much fun....let's do it again next week!!!

Oh, that's right, I have a store to run!!!!!

Okay, I am officially back to work tomorrow!

Thanks to all who held up the fort while I was in LaLa Land!!!!

CLOSED ON SEPTEMBER 20th!!!!!!

If you haven't heard the news...

I am getting hitched!

AM I CRAZY, you ask????

Yup, I am crazy.......

Crazy for the guy who swept me off my feet,

and took care of me while I was rehabilitating from my accident.....

Above photo taken July 2, 2007
Does he realize what he's getting himself into??!!

OH, well....too late now!

The cake is ordered!
And we all know, we can't let good cake go to waste!
On Sunday, September 20th, the store will be closed....

Everyone who works here is going to the wedding!

A great big thank you to all

who sent their best wishes over the past few weeks!

It means so much!!!!

Chow Down on Corn Chowder!

It's that time of year again!
I know we've been out of this for some time,
and were just waiting for the weather to cool off a bit to bring it back in!

It is so good! In fact...
It's Award Winning!
Corn Chowder Soup Mix Ingredients:
Air freeze-dried corn, rice, onions,

celery, carrots, red pepper, chives

and herbs.

No added salt, preservatives or MSG.
And it's Gluten Free!

Recipe Additions:
2 to 3 white potatoes

8 cups chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream
(When fresh corn is available,

cut the kernels off 2 or 3 cobs

and set aside. Add cobs to the broth

with the potatoes and continue with the recipe.

Remove cobs and add the fresh corn with the cream.)

For meatier chowder, add diced chicken breast,

crabmeat or clams.

Corn Chowder Soup Recipe

Directions:
Peel and dice potatoes and place in a 4 quart pot.
Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Add contents of corn chowder soup mix and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
Add cream and heat, uncovered, on low until slightly thickened about 15 to 30 minutes.
Remove bay leaf before serving.

Inventive Soup Recipe Variations:
Scallops and Shrimp Corn Chowder Soup:
Add 1/2 pound each of scallops and peeled

medium shrimp after adding the cream

for last ten minutes of cooking time.

You can even make this in the crockpot...
My favorite method of slaving over a hot stove....

Crock Pot/Slow Cooker Recipe Directions:
Recommended crock pot: 4 quart
Peel and dice potatoes and place in a slow cooker.
Add chicken broth and contents of corn chowder soup mix. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
Add cream and any optional additions, stir and continue to cook 1 hour on HI. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Brown & Hopkins Needs YOUR Help!

Barbara was watching The Today Show,

and saw a segment that could possibly

earn Brown & Hopkins the national recognition it is so deserving of....

Please help by endorsing us for the nomination....

Shine a light on us by

Clicking

http://shinealight.ivillage.com/sbo-profile/?ProfileID=4426

You MUST register for your vote to count, but believe me, it only takes a half a minute, and it would really mean the world to us at the store.

If we became one of the finalists, it would be the best wedding present a gal could ever dream of.....

Come on, whatcha waitin' for?

We need a minimum of 50 folks to log on

to the link above, and endorse us!

The deadline is September 13th......hurry!

And...

Thank You!

We're Getting an AWARD!!!!

Brown & Hopkins Country Store

has been chosen to receive

the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council's

Footprints in History Award!

This is in honor of our 200th year
in continuous operation!

How exciting!!!!!!

This honor will be given during the

BVTC's, 24th Annual Awards Dinner and Silent Auction.

The event is being held on September 24th
at Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, RI.

Also being honored is Danny Smith ~ Co-Executive Producer, writer, actor of The Family Guy tv show! My kids love that show!

The event is open to the public.
Click here for tickets and more information,

or call 401-724-2200....
They are serving Chicken Piccata (YUM)
or a Vegetarian Eggplant Tower!

It is with great sadness that I won't be able to personally accept this award of the stores' behalf, as my honey and I will be on our honeymoon....

Let me know if anyone wants to stand in on my behalf.....
To accept the award SILLY,

not go on the honeymoon!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark Your Calender!!

Fall Open House!

Friday, September 4th, 10am to 5pm

Saturday, September 5th, 10am to 5pm

Sunday, September 6th, Noon to 5pm

Monday, Labor Day, Noon to 5pm

FREE Gifts for ALL*!!

*while supplies last

Sample our fabulous Pumpkin Fudge!

See how we decorate with garlands and fall florals!

Barbara has been creating again!
Come one, come all!
Help us celebrate the start of Fall!

This will be the last weekend of our
Summer Clearance Sale!
Pending weather and energy (ours)...we will have a
sidewalk sale on all
summer items!

It's ALL About The Candy!

Candy
Corn Mice

that is!!!!!!

Here's a front

and behind view!

The latest from

one of our newly

discovered prim artisans!

Flag Thief Update

Remember a while back where I posted
someone had stolen my red petunia
and 3 of my flags from the front of the store?

Well, I thought you all would be
waiting with bated breath
(where does that saying come from, anyway?! I'll google it!)
on what I discovered....

In my best detective voice......

On the morning of July 4th,
we were preparing the store
to be open for the parade.....

We had a flurry of customers
from 3pm to 4pm, and had given away
several dozen flags to customers in that hour.

At approximately 4pm,
the parade was about to begin.
A crowd on onlookers gathered out front.

I noticed a red petunia placed
upon our bench, and a couple of ladies
where sitting next to it. I assumed it was their petunia.

Then I noticed two flags placed
in our whiskey barrel.
I assumed a couple of customers
had stuck their free flags
there "to hold" while they watched the parade.

It was then, that the parade ended...
the crowd dispersed,
and the petunia and the two flags remained.

AH HA!

The "thief" must have been guilt ridden
and returned the stolen items!

What is further interesting to me is this...

Originally I reported that 3 flags were taken.
When, in fact, only 2 were.

Hence, the reason that only 2 were returned.

CASE CLOSED.

Now, if I can only figure out why
people decide to "hide" the wrappers
(or just throw them on the floor)
from the complimentary mints

we give to them,
rather than placing them in their pocket or purse.

And if I have to pick up one more used toothpick from the fudge samples we give away!
For goodness sakes, we have a trash can near the candy counter, and the coffee area!

Oh yeah, and about that phrase...

It's "waiting with BATED breath". To bate is to reduce, lessen or diminish. Waiting with bated breath implies waiting with such suspense that one is hardly breathing.

I know, you might not have been able to sleep tonight......

Fall in LOVE!!!

We have been getting in lots of great fall merchandise and it is disappearing quickly!

Lots of handmades from prim crafters!!

Aren't these little witch hat melters just the cutest?!

And they are scented with a super spicy cinnamon scent!
Gosh, I wish we had smellaputers!!!!
Great for melting, or just scattering in a bowl of potpourri!
We also have candy corn tarts, crow tarts and pumpkin tarts!!!!

Just so delightful!
Fall is my favorite time of year!