Spotlight on our client "The Carolina Bed & Breakfast"

http://www.carolinabb.com/

Head out on the Blue Ridge parkway driving up in the Blue Ridge Mountains until you get to "Carolina Bed & Breakfast" in Asheville, North Carolina.  It's a spectacular and scenic drive  and just when you are hypnotized by the magnificent view,  you arrive at Susan & James Murray's home. The Murrays'  history as interesting as their bed & breakfast.  Their adventure began when they accepted a post in Paris in 1980.  Susan said they never looked back and loved their adventure and the people they met in four different countries over 27 years.  Having a bed & breakfast allows them to do the things they love: cooking, gardening and restoring a beautiful old home.  Speaking of their home, this historic Asheville house was built by Richard Sharp Smith in 1901 for Maria Brown.  Smith had taken over as Supervising Architect of the Biltmore Estate following the death of Richard Hunt.  
The Carolina Bed & Breakfast is a cozy home nestled on a quiet street in the historic Montford district. From there, you can spend a day at the Biltmore Estate and return in the evening to a cheery fireplace in the sitting room in the winter or one of their two porches in the summer.  The Murrays' provide their guest with a gourmet breakfast making every effort to buy locally when available.  The large guest rooms have unique queen and king beds with luxurious linens and five of the rooms have fireplaces.  Each room has a private bath, many with a whirlpool or Jacuzzi.
The Carolina Bed & Breakfast stands out among the inns of North Carolina for it's gracious style.  You will always be welcome there!

Meet Our Clients - Emporio of Fredericksburg, Va.

https://www.facebook.com/EmporioLLC
Emporio is a sweet little shop nestled in historic downtown Fredericksburg, Va.  Their philosophy is "Welcome Home" with a traditional, romantic European flair. The logo for Emporio is "Something Old, Something New, Something Crafted just for you".
The 'old' is scouted by both Pam and Carmelita making several trips around antique fairs, flea markets and estate sales.  Vintage cameras, early paintings and antique accessories ranging from romantic notebooks to lamps, comfy upholstered armchairs, bergeres, foot stools, mirrors, picture frames, paintings, chandeliers, hand blown stemware from eastern Europe and much, much more. The 'crafted' is a large part of their inventory.  Pam personally creates beautiful wooden signs with quotes and sentiments suggested by their customers.  She also creates beautiful rings using Austrian Crystals.
Both Pam and Carmelita love to create curtains and pillows made out of Burlap (and they are becoming quite popular).  Carmelita loves to paint canvas with famous or funny quotes using the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint with both light and dark wax on them.  People seem to really love them.  Obviously, the largest part of their crafted inventory is the furniture that they upscale with paints and waxes.  They are becoming quite popular with their round tables painted with the Union Jack.
Emporio also tries to support small businesses.  They have a wonderful line of soy candles made in Ohio by a company called 1820.  The name of the company suites them well as their building was a home built in 1820.  And of course, Little Luxuries of Virginia supplies their store the the fragrant lotions and soaps that they hand selected to remind them of  the wonderful fragrances and aromas of Sicily where Carmelita was born.  If you haven't visited "Emporio" yet, you are in for a real treat!  Mention that you heard about them from Little Luxuries of Virginia.

Coming soon!  Little Luxuries of Virginia will be presenting a wonderful new product!  It's call Body Frosting and it is just plain wonderful!  Look for this new product in September!!!

Little Luxuries of Virginia presents "Pink Sugar"

It's here!  Pink Sugar for little girls is now available!
What a sweet little package for that tween in your life.
The package includes a 2 ounce bottle of spray cologne mist, a 2 ounce bottle of lotion, a 2 ounce bottle of bath gel and a tube of Cotton Candy Lip Balm.  All this for only $15.00

Amazing Zebra Night Light!

Is this not "the" most amazing night light that you have ever seen? This Zebra looks real!  Little Luxuries of Virginia is so lucky to have Chip Alvis and his skills.

Stay tuned for the unveiling of "Pink Sugar" tomorrow during Thursday's Marketplace at Shabby Cottage Shops


http://www.shabbycottageshops.com/pages/ThursdaysMarketplace.htm

Meet our Clients - Impawsible Pups

http://www.impawsiblepups.com/

Little Luxuries of Virginia is very please to highlight "Impawsible Pups" this month. We met Valerie Paul over two years ago and we want to tell you all about her.  After adopting, Cody, her first dog, she wanted to learn more about him and decided to attend dog training school.  She enjoyed it so much that she decided to do it full time, and in March 2009, she started Impawsible Pups, an in-home, dog training business.  Her mission was to help owners be as happy with their dogs as she was with Cody, and things have gone quite well.  Valerie has done a lot of work with the Henrico Humane Society in placing dogs in their forever homes and she loves seeing that there is a home out there for every type of dog.  In her effort to help dogs be happy members of their families, she came across quite of few interesting dogs and people.


One of her favorite success stories is that of CJ.  CJ was a six year old, rescued Labrador Retriever who suffered from seizures, and he was...excitable.  She remembers entering his home for the first time and being greeted by 65 pounds of jumping, kissing fur.  He meant well, but he was a lot to handle, and his owners were eager to start training.  CJ, though, was smart, and his owners were diligent.  He picked up on commands quickly and pretty soon he was sitting politely as people came in the door instead of jumping all over them.  It was at this point that his parents approached her and said they knew CJ had more to give, and they wanted him to be a therapy dog.  She talked to them about what would be required and the different test he would have to take, and they decided to go for it.


As good as CJ was, he still had some work to do.  He got really excited around other dogs, and this posed a problem during his first test.  He just wanted to say "hi", but that extra bit of pulling meant he didn't pass.  So, they practiced a little more.  They met on weekends and the dog park where she made CJ work before he could play.  She brought new and exciting dogs to CJ's house where he would have to behave well before he could meet them.  They talked about diet changes and exercise to help with both his seizures and his excitement and they worked a lot on what could be done at home when there weren't as many distractions.


It took a few months, but after a lot of practice, CJ went to take the test again.  He passed!!!  Since that time CJ has put a smile on many faces, his seizures have improved, and he has even welcomed a new brother into his home.  Valerie says that still, the memory of seeing how happy his mom was when he passed will stick with her forever.  She was supposed to be moving into her new home and was hesitant to leave her husband with the movers, but sharing in that excitement and joy was something she was glad that she did not miss.  She is still so proud of CJ and all that was accomplished.

And now, after many days and weeks and years of driving around the city of Richmond, Va., thing are changing.  Impawsible Pups is proud to announce that they are expanding.  On July 16, 2012 they will open a doggie day care and boarding facility.  Valerie will still offer training, but now can also provide other services like grooming, puppy socials and possibly even some "Doga" (dog yoga).  This is something that she has always dreamed of and can't wait to get this started.  If you have some free time this summer, stop on by 2109 Spencer Road in Richmond, Virginia and see what they have to offer.  Better yet, come to the Grand Opening on August 18th.  You can reach Valerie at 804-514-2131 or by email at trainer@impawsiblepups.com