Preparing for House Guests

If you've been following our blog for any length of time, or know much about us, you know we're passionate about family! Although many of us live close enough to visit on a weekly basis, some of our favorites are scattered around western Canada.
As often as possible we get together. This usually means preparing the guest room. It can be so much fun getting ready to host guests. Preparing beforehand takes away some of the stress and simply allows us to enjoy our time together.

These are some of the things we do to create a comfortable space for our guests.

• Ideally guest rooms have their own bathroom or are in a part of the house with easy access to one.
• Fresh flowers on the nightstand or dresser are a quick and simple way to decorate the room and welcome our friends and family.
• Beds are dressed in fresh linens; flannel in the winter and crisp cotton in the summer. Each guest gets two pillows.
• A set of fresh towels, including bath, hand and face cloths, are available for each guest.
• An alarm clock is great so guests can get themselves up on time.
• A small selection of books and magazines is available for night time reading.
• Closet space and a couple of empty drawers are important, especially for those staying longer than a weekend.
• Something unexpected, like gourmet chocolates or a pretty bar of french milled soap, is a thoughtful luxury and a way to say welcome!
• Typically meals are planned in advance and most of the shopping taken care of before guests arrive. We always leave room for guests to contribute. This could be a bottle of wine for dinner or accepting an invitation out for lunch. 

Sometimes you want to take your prep a little bit further. This video gives you a few more thoughtful ideas to make your guest's stay the best it can be.

How to Prepare a Cozy Guest Bedroom

Now the only left to do is enjoy catching up, snapping fun photos and enjoying the time together.

Creative Ways to Remember Your Vacation

Vacations are important, just ask Terri. She really needed to get away and just returned from a wonderful jaunt to Mexico where she saw sail fish, whales, dolphins, and turtles. She also visited a location boasting more than 400 species of birds! And she has the tan to prove it. Quite the trip, one she won’t soon forget.

But sometimes that’s just what happens, you forget. Real life hits you full force and the memories begin to fade. We thought of some great ways to help preserve some of the memories. Hope these ideas inspire you too!

•  Journaling each day documenting breakfast at cafes, stunning art at world-class museums, and foreign words mastered is great. Train tickets and postcards can be tucked inside the pages. Write down names of people and how you met, favorite shopping excursions, and quirky customs you observe while away.
•  Create a yearly calendar of your travel history as a gift to share with family and friends.
•  Small boxes or pottery purchased at your travel destination can become mini treasure chests filled with favorite keepsakes from your vacation.
•  Mount a menu or tear sheet from your favorite restaurant as art for your kitchen.
•  Use labels peeled from beer and wine bottles native to your destination to create a collage on canvas.
•  Old-fashioned scrapbooking is fun too. Creating a vacation album is a great way to bring other family members together. Have everyone design their own page and relive the moments.

And on a simpler note, the tried and true photograph inside a great frame is also a way to keep your vacation at the forefront of your memory. The Willows has a great selection of frames. Stop by!

The Artistry of Glass Beads

Once upon a time I was very crafty. Everything from decoupage to embroidery to the time Rhonda and I cut, measured and sewed four jean quilts for the cabin bunkhouse in a mere weekend. Those quilts are still on the bunkbeds and still look great!

Well, times have changed and so have schedules. Crafts do not make it onto my top 10 to do list any longer. But that momentarily changed when I was offered safety goggles and a blow torch. The crafter in me resurfaced.

During a three hour introductory bead making course at Bavin Glassworks in Invermere BC, my sisters and I donned our fashionable safety gear. We were instructed in the basics of glass bead making; how to wave the glass rod of our choice back and forth through the flame of the torch to begin the melting process. We learned how to catch the glass onto a madrel and how to twist the mandrel creating a circular bead. We also learned how to add different colors, even texture, using the same techniques and different colored glass.

Our finished beads didn't look half bad, and after stringing them along with some pretty silver spacers onto jewelry wire, they were worn with pride and gave us some pretty interesting dinner conversation. My love affair with jewelry continues. At The Willows we have an excellent selection of jewelry from Thomas Sabo and Troll Beads.

Many Troll Beads are glass beads and although manufactured on a much larger scale, the principles of glass bead making apply. Enjoy this video of a very skilled glass bead artist.

We encourage many of our jewelry clients to start a wish list in store. From there, anyone wanting to buy a gift for them can pick out exactly the right bead, and still make it a surprise. It is also a great way to build on a family keepsake.

This video shares a keepsake Troll Bead bracelet being created over the years. Enjoy!