A Smashing Success

Ruthanne and I.

Last night, The Blissful Home propped its door wide open and welcomed a couple hundred of our sweetest friends in for Paris in the Springtime. What a turnout we had! The event was from 5 to 8 PM and our 1500 square foot sales floor was body-to-body with people for the first two hours. Waaaay past fire code. You know how you reflect after every party and think of what you would do differently? For us, it was the air conditioning! We were expecting rain, so I thought, great, it’ll cool off, we can leave the door open and get a nice breeze. I had forgotten how warm it gets in here almost every afternoon. We had never used our air conditioner before and it took about an hour for us to realize it wasn’t really working. Thank goodness my boyfriend is handy. He figured out how to flip the breaker in our circuit panel and after a while, it didn’t feel quite so much like a steamy evening at a Paris café in here. We only wanted to take the authenticity so far, you know! But the wine, the petit fours, and the Brie were in ample supply, and everyone looked pretty happy.

Thank you to everyone who came and made our very first event so special. It truly was one of the best nights of my life and I will never forget it. The support, congratulations, and well wishes that were poured out upon us mean so much. It's memories like the ones we'll have of last night that will get us through the down days--and we all have them! Last night was just the opposite. For me and my mom and dad, it was a window of glowing grace.

As always, I can never thank the Jackson-Belden Chamber of Commerce enough for their support. They are the reason we feel so at home here in Jackson Township. Ruthanne Wilkof presented me with a gorgeous plaque commemorating our Ribbon Cutting. That will get a special place of honor in the shop.

Please enjoy these photos, all taken by Chet Niewierski of the JBCC.

We could not have pulled last night off without the help of four amazing women: Janice (my boyfriend Matt's mom), Vicki (Matt's aunt, who in fact introduced us to one another way back in my Barn days), Michelle (Matt's gorgeous cousin, who is soon to be married!), and Kelly (jewelry designer from These Flowers, This Moon, and more importantly, my dear friend). And I do mean we could not have done it without them. Last night was the first time I ever thought we needed two cash wrap areas.

Enough said.

Snip, snip. The actual ribbon cutting part felt like a big turning point for me. I will never forget the feeling of those golden scissors slicing through that blue ribbon. See my red Dorothy shoes?

I didn't even know my store could hold that many people.


Congratulations to the winner of our $100 Gift Certificate.


Bottles of Perrier, a Paris Bistro chalkboard, and a blue and white fleur de lis tablecloth set the tone for an evening a Paris au printemps.

Family portrait with Ruthanne.

We tried our best to keep the long lines moving.


Paula Blangger says hello.

I got a little choked up there for a minute during my thank-yous to the crowd.

For more photos from Paris in the Springtime, visit the link to our event on the JBCC website. Merci!