The New Year is almost here. All of us at My Friends and I are wishing you a happy and properous 2008. Our heads are full thinking of ways to make My Friends and I an even better, fun place for you to shop. New merchandise will start coming in right after New Years, so be on the lookout for pictures. Also be sure to check back often for fun give aways starting in Jan. for those of you who keep up with our Blog. Something free each month.
Go here http://www.raggedyscrappin.com/store/Default.asp for a whole bunch of free printables, like the one above. Go to the site and look at the menu at the top and click where it says freebies.
I hope you enjoy this Blog, and if you do TELL your friends!!

Only 3 more days till Christmas. I must say that it's been a great season for MY FRIENDS AND I. I've been in the crafty mood lately and dreaming of SPRING already. I know, I know, it's still Winter, BUT I can't help it. Spring is my favorite time of the year. Here is a sneak preview of some pillows I'm working on. Don't know when I will put these in the shop, probably when I can't stand Winter any longer! I am going to make a few in fall colors also and will put them in the shop soon.
A lot of customers ask how MY FRIENDS AND I came about. Well, pre-shop days I did Craft Shows, a lot of Craft shows and decided that it was a lot of work! I had always dreamed of having a shop, so MY FRIENDS AND I was born. I knew I didn't want to be at a shop 7 days a week so I decided to rent spaces and make it a collective. 25 years later we're still here and all of us at MY FRIENDS AND I still enjoy what we're doing. I can't say it enough " our customers are the best!"

Are you dreaming of a Silver Christmas? Maybe you'd like something pretty for yourself or a friend. Roseanne in Space # 4 has some really pretty silver items in her booth right now. These pots aren't just for tea and coffee they make beautiful vases for flowers in the spring. She also has lots of silver plate knifes, forks and spoons, plus serving pieces. AND all her silver is 20% off right now. Not sure how long the sale is going to last, so come in soon and see if you can't find something bright for Christmas.

Need bowls?

We have lots of vintage bowls in the store right now. Here are a few. The first 2 pictures are nesting bowl sets of Pyrex. The third is a beautiful Colbalt Blue bowl. If you need a bowl for your Christmas dinner come in and see what we have, and of course a vintage bowl to a friend is a great Christmas gift! You could even fill it up with something wonderful to eat and add a note to keep the bowl!

Send an e-card

Found this site that has some really cute Postcards you can email. It doesn't take the place of the old fashioned mailed Christmas cards, but it is fun.
http://www.christmaspast.info/postcards/
It's a busy time at My Friends and I, lots of gifts and decorations going out the door. Don't forget to think of us if you need a last minute unique gift, and don't forget to mention our name to the men in your life, you know hint, hint, hint, there's lots of stuff I'd LOVE to get from my favorite store in Niles, MY FRIENDS AND I!!

Thanks to all of you who came to our sale! It was a success! So much so, that some of the dealers have decided to keep the sale going for a while longer. If you couldn't get in over the weekend, you still have time to get a few bargains.

OR miss shopping at MY FRIENDS AND I!! If you need something special for Christmas giving, come on in, we'll help you find it. We are extending the sale thru Sunday. Every booth has something on sale. For instance space #1 has Christmas 25% off and 10% off everything else. Tell us you saw this blog and be entered in the drawing for a $100.00 Gift Certificate.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I spent Thanksgiving in IL. with my children, that's why no new blogs lately. But I hope to be able to post some good stuff for the rest of the year.

A while back I put on a link for a darling Nov. calendar page that you could print out, the Dec. one is just a cute, click here to print it. http://www.missmary.com/downloads/calendars/index.html

Don't forget that 5 Niles stores have grouped together for a SALE starting tomorrow. Read about it in my last post. Hope to see you in MY FRIENDS AND I ! All the girls are doing some kind of sale in their spaces, come and check it out.

Sale and other events in Niles

Sale.........Sale.......Sale
10 to 50 % off SALE at these 5 shops
Antique Treasures 37541 Niles Blvd.
Bite and Browse 37565 Niles Blvd.
Keith's Collectibles 37573 Niles Blvd.
My Friends and I 37521 Niles Blvd.
Tyme For Tea 37501 Niles Blvd.
Thurs. Nov. 29th
Friday Nov. 30th
Sat. Dec. 1st
10:00 AM till 7:00 PM
Print this out and bring to any of the above shops during the 3 day sale for a chance to win a $100.00 Gift Certificate that can be redeemed at any of the above stores.

More Niles events. Mark your calendars!

Friday Nov. 23, Saturday Nov. 24, and Sunday, Nov. 25
Niles shops have their Annual Christmas Open House

Friday Night Nov. 23
Christmas Tree Lighting 6:00 - Parade of lights 6:30
Information 510 792-8023

Saturday December 8th
The Niles Main Street Association presents the annual
Christmas Home Tour
There will be 8 to 10 Niles homes on tour this year.
Cookies and coffee will be served at the Essay Museum along with short silent films from 3:00 to 5:00
You can buy your tickets at My Friends and I for $15.00 in advance or $20.00 day of. Tickets and info also available at www.niles.org

I'm always looking for new goodies on the Web to pass on. These are so cute. They are paper tea bag envelopes that you can print out, cut, and fold. When your done, it will look like the one below. Give them to your friends with your favorite tea bag flavor . What a great way to present a little something to someone you care about. Would'nt a co-worker be surprised to find one of these on their desk? Make sure you check out the other free printables this gal has on her site. Lots of fun stuff here!http://www.thetoymaker.com/Holidays/Gifts/1Gifts.html

Some Gift Ideals

Know a Disney Collector? This Micky is soooo cute. There are other Disney items in the store right now that are pretty cute too.
The two little boxed Snowman candles would make a great hostess gift, teacher gift, thank you gift, etc. etc. You could take them out of the box and have two little gifts.
All these little guys aren't made to just sit around and look cute, they have a zipper in the back so you can fill their see through tummies with goodies, like candy, jewelry, money, etc. etc.
Here are some different gift tags. They are handmade with vintage braiding and buttons. It's a gift in it's self, especially for a sewer.

Old Tins

These aren't actually my tins, but I have a thing for them. Any kind. Kitchen cannisters are at home in my office, sewing room, family room as well as the kitchen. I guess you'd say I collect them! I saw these pictures on another blog site and thought I'd share with you. I will take some pictures of my tins in the next day or two and post them. MY FRIENDS AND I has some in the store right now that you might want to check out if the tin collecting bug is starting to get to you. Really, you can store so much in them. I have some full of buttons and thread and I have an old tin bread box full of bills LOL, and a Bread box that I keep receipts in. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking "I might need some more!"

CALENDAR PAGE

I found this site on the web today and printed off the November calendar page. CUTE! Go there and print one off for your selfs.
Be sure to mark the Friday after Thanksgiving with a star, it's our Annual Parade of Lights and Christmas Tree lighting in Niles.
http://www.missmary.com/downloads/calendars/

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween. Come in and check out what's left of our cute Halloween merchandise, it's marked down, so get a treat to put away for next year. I really Love vintage clipart. This one is just too cute!

GREAT HOLIDAY SITE

Monica, who is dealer #2 in the shop sent this site and said maybe all of you who read the blog would like to see it. After I looked at it, I was sure you would. Check out all the other things you can do from the site. Not too early to think about the holidays!
http://www.northpole.com/kitchen/cookbook

MORE PICTURES

The girls in picture #2 are my favorite. The deer are so Retro looking. #3 is second. Don't you love all the sparkle?

Super Recipe

This is a really quick and easy recipe, that is also delicious. It makes a yummy weeknight dinner with little effort. I like to serve it with a green salad but if your feeling really hungry you could make rice and refried beans.

CHICKEN ENCHERITOS
4 cups cooked chicken, shredded
( for this and almost every recipe I make using chicken, I buy a prepared rotisserie chicken from the grocery store deli and pull all the meat off )
1/2 onion chopped
1 4-oz. can diced green chiles
1 cup taco sauce (I use Thick and Smooth Mild sauce by Ortega.)
1 cup enchilada sauce
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
6-8 tortillas burrito size

Heat oven to 400F. Saute onions in a little oil in a skillet. When softened, add chicken, taco sauce and green chiles.In a separate pan, heat the enchilada sauce. Heat tortillas to make them pliable (about 20 seconds in microwave). Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture on each tortilla and roll up restaurant style.Place on a greased cookie sheet and rub top of burrito lightly with oil. Bake until golden, about 10-15 minutes.Spoon warm enchilada sauce on a plate, lay chimichito on top, add a spoonful of sour cream and sprinkle with cheese.

MORE PICTURES, HO, HO, HO!

PICTURES OF THE SHOP

Here's a some pictures I took today of the shop. Don't wanna come shopping ??!!

AND THE WINNER IS......

Here's a picture of the lucky winner of the $100.00 Gift Certificate we gave away at our open house this last weekend. Congratulations Dee, and happy shopping!

A Huge Thank You!!

Our Christmas Open House this weekend was a BIG success, thanks to all of you WONDERFUL, SPECIAL, LOYAL customers who attended.
We're sorry that a lot of you for one reason or another were unable to attend, but let me assure you that we still have plenty of Christmas and Gift items left! Come on in soon, say hi and see what we have done to the shop for the holidays. I was so busy the last 10 days getting ready for the Open House that I haven't blogged at all. BUT tomorrow I am going to take pictures of the shop and post them tomorrow night, and be much better about posting. So come back soon and see what's happening at MY FRIENDS AND I, and in Niles for the rest of the year.

Moving stuff around

We've been cleaning and moving stuff around.

The large display case is now in the middle of the store and is filled with some great collectables.

Red, White, and Blue is one look that never goes out of style, and is a good reminder of how lucky we are to live in America.

Collections

People are always asking me, what do you collect? I always answer "Lots of stuff!" and that really is the truth. I thought it might be fun to share some of my collections from time to time. The pictures you see here are SOME of my Lusterware bird vases and flower frogs. I have a thing for birds and flower frogs as you will see in future blogs.

This week has been really busy at MY FRIENDS AND I. We are changing around spaces, and trying to focus on getting all our Christmas Merchandise marked and ready to put out for our Open House on Sat. and Sun. Oct. 20 and 21. Remember, we will be closed the 15th through the 19th. It's going to be a great open house.

Another Christmas Teaser

Here comes Christmas!

Our 25th Christmas Open House is Oct. 20 and 21 this year. The boxes are coming daily. This cute couple just got unpacked and I thought I'd give you a teaser of things to come in each Blog from now till our Open House. Your in for a treat, we have some really, really, cute things this year. Along with the new merchandise, we will be having drawings and give aways all day long on both Sat. and Sun. We will be closed 5 days the 15 thru the 19th and open up again on Sat. the 20th. MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Sidewalk Sale

Niles is having it's Annual Sidewalk Sale Sunday the 30th. We will be having some things outside with big mark downs and some items on sale inside the store. Other shops in town will also be having stuff on the Sale.
Hope to see you in Niles this Sunday!

Here is a cute book I bought and was going to sell. BUT........ I think I have to keep it for awhile. The pictures are bad, my scanner has lost it's self somewhere in computer land and won't work today. (will have to see if I can help it find it's self another day!) Anyway I wanted to share the cute verse, look below the last picture for a readable copy of it, and the cute illustration with it. There really are 1001 verses and each one has a different Cherub to go with it. I will be sharing them on this Blog

from time to time. I am looking forward to reading them all!

Good Old World

I like the poor old

world, I do.

I sing its praise in

ode and sonnet...

It's strange it's not

a whole lot worse

With everybody

picking on it.

Garden Art

Aren't these cute? They look like they are saying "who us?" Now's the time to add some personality to your fall garden. Come in and check out all our garden critters.

Monica in space #2 just got in a new shipment of these jewelry holders. It's not too early to think about holiday gift buying. I know, I know! BUT it will be here before you know it, and we aim to help you be prepared early!

Now you know by my past blog postings that I just can't resist showing off some of our new Halloween merchandise. These are just in today. The Orange Glittery BOO and glitter pumpkins are so cute, but the best is the giant pumpkin with the cat inside, it lights up. It's from Bethany Lowe who has the neatest stuff.

Some pretty glassware

Look at these green dishes that just came in. They would be great on a fall table . They sure would look good at Halloween and Thanksgiving with oranges, yellows, etc., then they would look wonderful at Christmas time. Also just in is the beautiful Red glassware. It's not too early to start thinking of the holidays!

Talking about some Oranges, Yellows, etc. Check out the cool stuff on this table! Just in time for the Fall season.

Summertime Iced Tea

So refreshing on a hot summer day!

2 large teabags

6 fresh mint leaves

4 c. boiling water

1 cup sugar

6oz can frozen lemonade concentrate

5 c. water

fresh mint for garnish

Steep teabags and mint leaves for 5 minutes in boiling water. Discard teabags and mint. Add frozen lemonade, sugar and remaining water, mixing well. Serve over ice and garnish with fresh mint.

Why not flavor the ice cubes! Fill your ice cube tray with lemonade, orange juice, or other fruit jucice instead of water, then freeze.

Look at these cute Raggedy Anne's dressed up for Halloween!

and check out the sign, being a Grandmother I know it's true.

If your having a hard time reading it, it says

"A Grandma pretends she doesn't know who you are at Halloween!"

News, News, News

Here's the latest from MY FRIENDS AND I

There's going to be spaces available for rent in the near future, and we are looking for friendly, outgoing, gals who would be interested in selling Antiques, Collectables, and gift items. Although we are sad about loosing some of our old time dealers, some for personal reasons and some because they have or are going to move away, we know that change happens and are ready to start the interviewing process for finding new dealers.

Here's a little bit of info on how it works at MY FRIENDS AND I.

Both the City of Fremont and the State Board of Equalization permits required.

Monthly rent plus commission.

Work 4 days a month, one being a weekend. Extra days that don't count as one of the 4 required work days, such as, open houses, Niles events, etc.

As I said this is just a bit of info. If you or any one you know might be interested in renting a space and want more info. just call the shop at 510 792-0118 and leave a message and I will be happy to give you a call.

You can also email me at myfriendsandi@comcast.net.

Thanks,

Carol

p.s. I'll be back blogging tomorrow, with more pictures and a really good tea recipe.

We now carry Romantic Homes in the shop. They have some great pictures and articles. This is the Oct. issue. They are going fast. I think there are only 5 left out of the 15 we just got last week. The next picture is from one of the articles.

With all the warm weather just about everyone who comes in the shop says "I can hardly wait for fall!" Well us too! It will be here before you know it and the punkins and sign below are perfect for fall decorating.

Tired of Halloween pictures yet?

Thought you all might like to see other things besides Halloween, so here are a few pictures.

WHOOPS

I HAD to do just one!