“The warmth of a friend’s presence brings joy to our hearts,
sunlight to our souls, and pleasure to all life.”

Hello all and happy August to you!

We’re buzzing with excitement this month! For the first time ever… we’re holding TWO SPECIAL EVENTS in August! First is Mulberry Cottage’s 17th Birthday Celebration on Sat. August 1st! We’re having a party and you’re all invited! We truly hope you all come! Our 2nd special event is our Fall Open House on Sat. August 29th! Since Labor Day, and “back-to-school” falls when would we normally hold our Open House, we’ve decided to would hold it earlier so more of you can attend. More on that later! I want to talk about our Birthday Celebration!

To celebrate our 17th birthday we will be having a birthday cake made by our own very talented cake baker and designer Michelle Vanlerberghe. Her cakes are always so beautiful, and very tasty. My husband Mitch can attest to that! If you haven’t seen or tasted any of her cakes yet, stop in for a slice before it is gone. We will also have refreshments. There’s also a free gift for the first 17 customers (with a $17 min. purchase), and a birthday raffle in which 17 lucky people will win a gift certificate! You’ll get a free raffle ticket with any purchase! Also, anyone who stops in and just says “Happy Birthday!” will receive a special birthday coupon for 40% off any item! This is to thank you all for your love and support. It’s because of you that Mulberry Cottage has thrived for 17 years!

Now for our Fall Open House… I know some of you may be thinking… “Fall? I don’t want to think about Fall yet, I’m still enjoying summer!” Well, I struggled with that thought myself when deciding to move our Fall Open House earlier this year. But, then I thought about how you Mulberry Cottage shoppers are all so very organized and prepared for your holidays! So this year, you’ll have a good head start on Halloween and Thanksgiving.

If you’re new to Mulberry Cottage, you’ll notice some drapes that are hiding certain areas. Behind the curtain, some very talented display gals, Veronica and Michelle are working hard to help me get the shop ready for the Open House. The gals and I take such pride on having our very special and loyal customers be so surprised on the day of our Open House. We do this all for you, so you will truly have a magical experience when you shop at Mulberry Cottage! This time we’re doing something special for Halloween that hasn’t been done at the shop before. Now don’t worry, it’s still done is the same fantastic fashion as always, but we’ve added a “special touch”. So put a big star on your calendar on Aug. 29th so you don’t miss this event!

Besides all of the wonderful Halloween and Thanksgiving treasures you’ll find at our Open House, the first 75 customers who spend $25 will get a free goodie bag. We’ll also be having some very tasty food sampling and refreshments. Our Kitchen will be filled with many wonderful food items and delectable treats for your family gatherings! You must pick up some of our famous House of Webster Pumpkin Butter, Apple Butter, and Jellies. There’s also Barefoot Contessa, easy fixing Sticky Finger Scones, and so much more. I have also chosen some truly beautiful tableware and linens to help set your Thanksgiving table. When it comes to Halloween, we carry everything from the scary fun to the whimsical. We even have a sleepy hollow forest filled with your favorite Boyd’s and Bearington Bears and other forest creatures! Witches, spiders and ghosts oh my! They have joined us at the Cottage too! Also to help get you in style for Fall, the new Vera Bradley Fall line has arrived! I know you Vera fans have been waiting for this, and you’ll just love her new colors. We have so many wonderful treasures, I guarantee you won’t have to do any more shopping, looking or hunting for that special item to make your Fall gatherings complete! You will be finished… Well, almost finished. There’s always the last minute trip to the grocery store that I can never seem to avoid.

So you can see we have a lot happening this month and the Mulberry Gals and I hope you can join us for the special festivities! Make sure you read the calendar for all the specials going on each week. There are some good ones!

Busy month, I would say… but never to busy to say “Thanks to all of you we’re still here and with God’s will and your support we’ll continue to be here.” I also want to say “Happy Birthday” to some special people in my life; my sister Cheryl who’s Birthday is August 13th, my sister Terri who’s birthday is August 16th and to my Dad who’s birthday is August 22nd. I miss you Dad and I’m thankful you’re watching over me and for the values you’ve instilled in me.

Much love to you all,

Jamie