Well... I'm doing a little better with keeping in touch. My last post was 2 weeks ago, so they're getting closer together slowly but surely! Let's aim for no more than a week this time. ; )

This week has been one of the CRAZIEST I've ever had in terms of being busy. I was supposed to go to L.A. last Friday and had to postpone my trip. I was sooo upset at first, but everything piled up at once and I learned something valuable that's been told to me over and over for as long as I can remember: Everything happens for a reason!

I spent the week working on a new promotional postcard/flyer to pass out and leave at different places. I also took new pics for the fall/winter homepage flash animation. The best part about the week was last night's fashion show at Liv. The creator of Gold Saturn, David, who has become a good friend of mine, had a fashion show featuring his new collection. The sequined shorts and leggings for the show were provided by "yours truly" and I have to say, they went really well with David's Parisian-themed tees, tanks and tank dresses. Click link to see pics: http://www.nbcmiami.com/around-town/events/Fashions-From-Saturn-65454847.html

You'd think I would have a second to breathe in between, but nooo. Now I'm getting myself ready for an interview on Monday. I'll be on NBC live talking about fall's greatest fashions under $200 (for you and your dog lol) and I'm so excited that I get to take my lovable, cuddly baby girl Shiloh! This will be her tv debut and she is going to look FIERCE in a new pyramid studded collar and leash from Auburn Leathercrafters. Tune in Monday morning (Oct. 26th) to the South Florida Today Show on NBC at 11 a.m. to hear me talk about Dolce Vita shoes, Elizabeth Cole jewelry Linea Pelle wallets and more!

http://shopstixandstones.com

Wow... I've neglected my little blog for FOUR WHOLE MONTHS!! I feel like such a bad blogger. :( Although I can't promise not to do it again, I will try my hardest to keep you guys updated every week!

The past few months have been a blur for me: I hired a new web designer, I hired someone also to optimize my site and I am seeing lots of great changes very fast! Stix and Stones had its first Daily Candy experience in August and we had an amazing number of hits in one week.... 8,000! I was literally blown away. We had a little taste of local press at the beginning of this week, Stix and Stones was featured on NBC Miami's shopping column! Follow the link to check out the article: http://www.nbcmiami.com/around-town/fashion/Boutique-Caters-To-Ladies-and-Their-Furry-BFFs--61780257.html

I flew to NY a few weeks ago for Coterie and saw some amazing pieces for spring 2010! I saw some great stuff from lines I already carry: Matt Bernson sandals, Foley + Corinna bags, Citrine by the Stones jewelry, Dolce Vita shoes, etc. and I'm excited to be getting some new lines: Ash shoes, Local Celebrity tees and loungewear, Give and Take Tees, Botkier bags and shoes, Nine Days Denim and MUCH MORE!! I had such a fun time in NY, but my trip was way too short! I'm excited though, because I'm headed to D+A in Los Angeles (my fave place in the whole wide world) next weekend and I'll have a little time for work and for play!

Gotta run, I have a meeting with David from Gold Saturn in about an hour and I'm sooo looking forward to previewing his new collection! Can't wait to have his tees and dresses at http://shopstixandstones.com!

Before you go check out pics: Daily Candy article and some pieces I ordered for spring!!

I am in the midst of hiring a new website builder/ web designer/ search engine optimizer... 3 in 1 seems like a pretty farfetched wish, but I'll keep looking I guess.  I am excited ton start work with a possible new web-woman (what I like to call it)  named Aymee.  She seems really nice and I feel like a woman will have the perfect touch to make Shop Stix and Stones everything I want and more.  I'm ready for a major re-vamping of the site and I'm going for a really girly, Anthropologie-style look!  

So excited to welcome a few new lines also.  In the next few weeks I will FINALLY be receiving pieces from Dolce Vita, Linea Pelle and Foley & Corinna.  I can't wait! The price points for Dolce Vita are so great right now, I'll be getting sandals and closed flats for under $100 and heels for under $200. 

I'm also about to get my first order of Capri Blue room sprays, fragrance diffusers and glass-jar candles.  For those of you who don't know, Capri Blue is an awesome line of candles made of food-grade soy wax.  The wicks are zinc wicks and 100% environmentally safe.  I've been buying these candles for years and I'm so happy to welcome them to Shop Stix and Stones!

Well, I'm off to prepare for tomorrow's event at Grass.  Hopefully it will be a big success! Keep posted next week, I'll be part of Shop Miami on Thursday at the Moore Building!

I go through periods where I forget to blog and I haven't written in weeks... and it's DEFINITELY NOT that I have nothing to write about, so I apologize. I'm just soooo tired, but here goes:

My 22nd birthday was 2 weeks ago and I had the best bday ever.  I celebrated all week long. I started off with a family brunch on Monday, then Wednesday (the real day) went shopping with Mom, dinner with family and out for drinks with my besties!  I discovered this new place called Crazy Pianos and it was a blast!  Two guys battle it out on the piano, they sing and play the drums and I have to say their performances were a little better than mediocre, but we had an awesome time.  I've never had more fun singing Piano Man, Outfield and Santeria.

If that's not enough, I continued the celebration Friday night.  Went to Michy's (Michelle Bernstein's restaurant) with my boyfriend Mario and his family, the food was AMAZZZING!  One of my best friend's, Jamaloan, works there in the kitchen and I've been dying to go.  The restaurant was everything I expected and more.  

I spent Saturday and Sunday in the Keys with Mario, most of my friends and my brother Derek.  Of course there were "extreme thunderstorm warnings" on Saturday.  I must mention that it's sunny down there 99% of the time, so this rainstorm of course scheduled itself for 1 of the 2 days of my mini vacay!

Either way we had a great time and the perfect weather on Sunday made up for Saturday's monsoon.  I went parasailing for the 1st time and LOVED it!! We rented jet-skis and drank pina coladas and just layed out all day.... What a good week. :)

Back to the real world, though..  Work and school and more work.  Saturday I'm doing an event at Grass I'm excited about.  $5 admission, great shopping, free drinks and the best part, free food!  Hopefully it's a success.  We'll see....

♥ -A

Celebrate!

 I had such a great time at Shecky's! The 2 days were exhausting, but so much fun! My display came out really pretty and I made a lot of new customers. :) Now, on to the next event I'm doing... the Backlot Bazaar at Cheap N Chic! This Friday and Saturday from 12-6 we're doing a sale in the back of the store. Ingrid and Mario are putting clothes for $10-$20 and I am putting some merchandise at 4-%-60% off!  It should be a lot of fun and we'll be able to clear out old merchandise and make way for great new summer stuff!  Some new lines I'll be getting soon are Linea Pelle, Foley and Corinna, Argila, Coclico, Dogeared, Catherine Page Jewelry, Raina belts and MORE, can't wait!

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter! Follow ShopStixandStones.com:

http://twitter.com/StixandStonesAl

http://www.facebook.com/pages/ShopStixandStonescom/68761090668?sid=e628b05216910c6e648b4a65e236bc94&ref=search

Lazy summer (yeah right!)

I went to the beach yesterday and... fell asleep! It was so relaxing, I haven't had a day like that in forever. I have to add I got a pretty good tan too. :)

No more relaxing moments for me, though- atleast not for the rest of the week/weekend! I have 2 events coming up this week and I am sooo busy doing last minute preparations for both! On Wednesday, I am participating in a "yappy hour" at the Grovenor House dog park in the Grove.  That should be fun; I'm taking all my dog stuff and I'm raffling off a really cute leash!

Thursday and Friday I have a HUGE event, Shecky's Girl's Night Out, at the Moore Building in Downtown. I went to the event they had in November at the beach and it was lots of fun.  There were free drinks, a goody bag with great stuff worth $100 and awesome sales! This time I am going to be a vendor there and I'm looking forward to having as successful of an event as I attended in the fall (fingers crossed).  I am going to be selling my newer merchandise with 15% off and older stuff up 60% off!

That's the easy part, though.  The tough days will be now-Thurs!  I am working on the display so I have been running all around town taking care of last minute details.  I want my booth to be simple, but still colorful and eye-catching.  I have my display sign to pick up tomorrow and I still need a few last minute touches to decorate my table.  The biggest thing: I still don't know how I will accept credit cards there! AAHH!!

I'm sure (I hope lol) I'll figure everything out by then.  Wish me luck!

Summer is (almost) here!

What a crazy month and a half I've had and I have sooo much to share! I've been sick THREE times (believe it), participated in a charity event for Stand Up for Kids, was a vendor at PetNet Poolside, and I had the Fall 2009 Show in L.A. ♥

The show was amazing. I saw so many great pieces

 for fall season... These are a few new lines I'll be getting for fall: Foley and Corinna handbags, Linea Pelle handbags and studded leather wrap bracelets, Mike and Chris shoes, Modern Vintage boots and Catherine Page Jewelry (amazing story behind this designer: she uses vintage Chanel baubles, beads and chains in all her jewelry-INCREDIBLE)!  

Besides the show, my trip was soo much fun! Did a lot of window shopping (LOL) and ate so much good food! Note to all of you:

 the Griddle, Toast, Pace are a few MUST go-to restaurants.  We went to a dog park in the mountains, I was missing my babies of course. They would have LOVED to run around up there!

Speaking of dogs, I was a vendor at PetNet Poolside. What a great

 event (Shiloh loved it too, she is seriously a social butterfly LOL)! The Humane Society of Greater Miami put the event together and it was at Cabana One in the Grove. Lots of people donated money and came with their dogs to enjoy a Sunday afternoon of fun in the sun by the pool and doggie shopping for collars and clothes.

On March 27th I volunteered at Art is Life, a Stand Up for Kids charity event at Chi Alma art gallery in downtown.  The event was wonderful: there was live art, free cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, a d.j., a band and pieces created by homeless kids that live at the Miami Bridge Shelter.  I donated Alex & Ani bangles and a Julez Bryant necklace for the silent auction and between all the great donated items (airplane tickets, massages, signed Miami Heat basketball, etc.) we raised over $4000 in one night!  

The event was touching and heartwarming, especially when a little boy donated $1 and then I found out that he lives at the Bridge. I wanted to cry and this experience just made me realize that no matter what, you can always give SOMETHING (even just $1) to help an important cause.

-A

"Love is in the air"...

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, most of us are stressing about what to get our significant other! I have always thought of V-day as an unnecessary holiday; if you love someone, why should you wait for ONE special day to show it? Love is an emotion that should be expressed every day of the year (including V-day)!  But, this year, I got caught up, just like everyone else, in the stress of shopping for my boyfriend. I've done all the "cutesy" stuff before: Once I baked a giant cookie shaped like a heart (well, more like slightly resembling a heart, really), I've made picture collages more than once, and a few years back I decorated his house with balloons and streamers.  I've pulled all the stops before- so yesterday, out of ideas, I walked the mall aimlessly hoping something would just come to me... I was so wrong! I found nothing (but I did find something today). So this why I am writing right now:

Hoefully my gift guide will make it easier so you don't have to go through V-day anxiety every again! No matter who you love on Valentine's day: whether it be your boyfriend, husband, best friends, mom (or your dog), there is a great, from-the-heart gift for everyone!  

For all the dog-loving women, show your devotion to Fido and wear your heart... around your neck with a "Must Love Dogs" necklace from Alisa Michelle.  For your significant other: an "enjoy it together" gift usually works best; think couple's massage, dinner for two, or my personal favorite- vacation! Single girls can play Secret Santa with a twist and call it Secret Cupid (or something to that effect, LOL).  Surprise your girlfriends with matching wrap bracelets (friendship bracelets) from Citrine or fun undies from Honeydew.

I hope everyone has a fabulous AND glamorous V-day! ♥ ♥

Crazy busy...

Between last week and this week I have had waaay too much going on! I have been so busy! My friend Stacey had a party at her store Scarlett in South Miami, I was there with my merchandise selling along with Ashley (Poodlies headbands) and another girl selling jewelry. The party went really well!

On Sunday was the Grand Opening Party of Dr. Jarrett's Wellness Center (http://drwjarrett.com).  It was a huge event and I was lucky to be a vendor there! There were free smoothies, italian ice and food from different restaurants, AND there was a huge raffle with tons of prizes. I won a 1-hour massage, woohoo!! :0)

This week I received new wrap bracelets and headbands from Citrine by the Stones, undies from Honeydew Intimates and handbags from Beautiful People.  Beautiful People is this new bag line that is amazing; the designer is based out of Miami and the prices are so reasonable.  I am so excited about carrying the line!

On Saturday I will be doing an accessories party at Midway Cafe in Islamorada.  I am bringing all my merchandise for a night of shopping, champagne and cupcakes with my Keys girls!  Best of all, we'll all be heading to the Full Moon Party at Morada Bay after.  I always have so much fun at the Full Moon, I can't wait!

New year, new (or old) look!

In 2009, a lot of old trends are being re-invented!

Fringe is back, and so are feathers (bigger and better than ever)!  I just picked up a new line called Poodlies, a line of feather headbands handmade by a local designer, Ashley.  They are sooo cute and have a 1950's vintage feel; I think they are super glamorous!

Not only are feather headbands back in style, but so are hippie headbands!  In a few weeks, I will be getting the cutest 70's style headbands from Citrine by the Stones.  I can't wait to wear one!

Peace signs and skulls are also hotter than ever! Everywhere I turn, I see someone wearing one or the other if it's on a necklace, a scarf, or a t-shirt.  I just got the cutest skull and peace scarves in AND mini charm necklaces with peace signs (so new they aren't even on the site yet)!

I finally got my new collars from Hollywood Collars, they are beautiful! I am never dissapointed when I place an order with them.  Now all my dogs have matching collars. Above is a new pic of Sake and Shelby (you can't see Sake's face, but you can see her collar)! 

I will be posting more pics of the dogs soon, and of new merchandise! Can't wait for all the new stuff I'll be getting in the next few weeks!