March 20, 2009

Mother's Day Jewelry

And now...our latest great find..."Chic~Lit" jewelry has arrived. It's your turn to play designer!

Step 1-Choose a handmade glass bead color. Step 2-Select the name, date or word you want on it. Anything you want (there are some restrictions on word size) will be hand stamped onto a sterling silver band and wrapped around the bead. Step 3-To finish it off, decide if you want a necklace or a bracelet.

There is no limit to what you can say--part of the great design challenge is to see how clever you can be with a few words. Of course, it's great for putting names and birthdays on too! The colors range from earth tones to punchy brights. It's a great way to put a little self expression on every day. P.S. Attention Mothers...ready or not here it comes. Time to make the reservation for brunch and start dropping hints. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10th. Like all good things, this jewelry takes a little time to arrive, so best to order early-send him in NOW!


March 18, 2009

Michigan

Greetings all! Went off on a "ramble" this weekend to Michigan. 100+ inches of snow this winter has broken every record on the books, and kept me away from our little lake house. But no more-loaded up the dogs, and off we went. Going around the lake encountered a "whiteout" and had to share the road with a snow plow, but nothing really stuck-thank heavens! The eagles have returned to the lake, and are pulling out fish every day now. The deer continue to nibble the ewes around the house-much to the dog's distress-and a very loud owl has moved into the tallest of the pine trees. Always amazing to observe the constant wildlife activity up there.

I had a chance to visit one of my favorite places Blue Star Antique Pavilion and poke through all 100+ booths for a few treasures. Saturday was gloomy and overcast and still quite chilly, so it was the perfect place to spend an afternoon-new items are brought in daily by the dealers, and it's never the same place twice. You really have to go around several times to take it all in. Among my finds are a bunch of great vintage bottles-my latest obsession-and, a terrific vintage set of carnival game pieces. I think they'll make a neat jewelry display-stop in to see them if you're curious-they make a great visual!

We had friends over for a boisterous Chili dinner and sat around the fire catching up on all the latest gossip on the lane. Biggest news: The communal pet goose, Gus, has been taken by our rivals one road over. We hatched our (brilliant) plan to recover him fueled by lots of good wine. Stay tuned...we'll either get Gus back or all end up in the county jail together. Maybe I should stash some bail money just in case...

March 6, 2009

Kim's Clever Cake

The Clever Girls here at the store truly do live up to the title. Case in point: Kim's Chocolate Cake. This is the best-ever-piece-of-homemade-goodness-you'll-ever bake. And it's quite simple to make too; pastry proficiency is strictly optional. Now, Kim found this little gem of a recipe in an old file of clippings from newspapers and magazines. Being a good and righteous clever girl, she'd like to give credit where it's due, but there is no chef or date on the little torn out piece of paper. Therefore, if in the early 90's you invented this magic cake let us know, and we'll be happy to give you the accolades you so richly deserve. As it stands, our Kim the Clever put that little scrap to good use, and life is all the tastier for it. So, here it is: The Best Ever Chocolate Cake. Made and loved by clever girls everywhere...
Chocolate Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 55 minutes
Chilling time:30 minutes
Yield: 15 servings
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tTeaspoons baking soda
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 cups sour cream (not non-fat)
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
FOR CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup whipping cream
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut into small pieces
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, coca, baking soda and salt into bowl of electric mixer; stir in sugar. Add sour cream, butter, eggs and vanilla. mix together in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed; increase speed to medium. Beat about three minutes. Transfer batter to greased and floured 9-by-13 inch pan; smooth batter with batter with spatula.
Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.
For frosting, stir sugar and cream in heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer 6 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in chocolate and butter until smooth; stir in vanilla. Refrigerate until set but not solid, about 30 minutes. Beat with wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Spread on cake.







March 4, 2009

Winter Sale





Final Days for the Winter Sale!
Final mark-downs have just been taken on remaining winter items including clothing, hats, scarves, handbags and jewelry. Savings up to 75% while they last...

March 2, 2009

Alphabet Soup

A, B, C, or D-- what ever letter is right for me!
Our new little letters are a "charming" way to display your initials. Mini sterling silver disks are hand engraved and strung on sterling silver chain. So cute! We love anything personalized--and with a price under $30.oo, these make the perfect gift too. Clever Girls know that a personalized gift is always a bit more special...and our new, petite charms fill the bill perfectly. Speaking of gifts... Did you know we ship anywhere in the USA? If you need us to dispatch a gift on your behalf, the phone is your best friend. Simply dial us up, tell us what you need, and cross it off your list. Your gift will be sent in our signature box, tied with pink ribbon and we'll even add a personalized card. The direct line to Clever Girl headquarters is 708.246.5050, and operators are standing by. Actually, that's the general phone number to the store, and we don't, technically, have any operators, but we do have an amazing staff on hand from 9:30-5:30 Monday-Saturday and were all more than happy to assist. Your wish is our command.

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