It's beginning to look a lot like...

I'm not much for the annual holiday-music domination of radio stations, or for the fact that Macy's usually has its halls decked while it's still hot enough to don a swimsuit. But there's something about decorating our stores that dusts off my Christmas spirit each November. The ornaments, presents, wrapping paper, ribbon, tinsel, and lights create a hustle and bustle in the air: a new kind of anticipation even if the store is quiet at the time. Something about the festivity also brings the staff together like a second family as we string up lights and decorate a tree with mardi gras masks and beads. Simply: it's a lot of fun and we're a group of grown ups that really digs being silly.

Black Friday Sale Event at Finders Keepers Stores!

Save Three Ways when you Shop Finders Keepers Consignment Stores this Black Friday! I'll let you in on a secret: we love sales just as much as you do! So this Friday we're bringing you three ways to save as each of our stores hosts its own sale all day long. All you have to do: celebrate Black Friday by wearing black when you come in to shop. So here's the scoop:

Finders Keepers Fashions: 20% OFF all full-priced coats, jackets, and blazers if you wear black. Also enjoy shopping new markdowns. Many items have been reduced to half price!

Finders Keepers Furnishings: 20% OFF all holiday decor if you wear black! Also, shop the bargain room at half-off the lowest marked price!

Finders Keepers Boutique: 20% OFF all handbags, scarves, jewelry, and shoes if you wear black. Accessories are necessities!

You save money whenever you shop at Finders Keepers, and this Black Friday is no exception. Remember, you have to wear black to get the sale price!

We Want to Win the Best of the Best!

OMG - we've been nominated as one of Aol.com's City's Best! But we wanna be "Best of the Best" - and we need your help to do it! Click on this link:

http://www.citysbest.com/atlanta/lifestyle/best-thrift-vintage-stores

and then click on "Finders Keepers." That's it! You can vote once a day. The website is really cool, and has tons of categories. Check it out at: www.citysbest.com/atlanta/ and if you're not from Atlanta - or if you're traveling this holiday season - get the scoop on what's hot in most major U.S. cities: http://www.citysbest.com/

It's a mess!

"You can't take pictures now - it's a mess!" Linda told me when I pulled out my camera. My response: "Umm where?" Finders Keepers Furnishings looked as beautiful and inspiring as always, and I'd already eyed four or fives things I wanted to take home with me. I mean this girl KNOWS a mess - like last weekend when my husband helped me clean out my car, during which he unceremoniously unearthed a book called "Tips to Unclutter Your Home" from a pile of food wrappers, water bottles, a couple of jackets, a pair of rainboots, elastic cables, and moving blankets. Or my purse, which currently holds: my wallet, a smattering of wadded up receipts, a paint-can opener, a pack of bobby pins, a measuring tape, a camera charger, nine fun-sized starburst packs, and an empty box of gum. Linda relented - mostly because she was too busy rearranging ENORMOUS pieces of furniture in the lower level of the store to waste time arguing with a very stubborn me. I'll let you be the judge: do you see a mess? Because I sure don't!

7 Simple Ways to Dress Up your Holiday Table

One year during my childhood, my mother asked me to be in charge of the centerpiece for Christmas Eve dinner. Nearly 20 people were coming - including my grumpy uncle - and my mother's centerpieces always wowed them (well, except for the aforementioned grumpy uncle - but nothing really "wows" him) so the pressure was intense. I decided to go a bit of a... non-traditional route and created a geometric 3d sculpture with candles, vases with different color marbles, and my multitude of beta-fish pets that I'd accumulated during our many trips to Walmart. Do I recommend the flaming, fishy centerpiece... well, only if your family has a sense of humor (and doesn't bang the table when they eat or argue.) But I do recommend taking a tour down the path of non-tradition. I wouldn't say my grumpy uncle was "wowed," but he stared at the fish so much that it was the quietest I think he'd ever been. Thankfully, I'm not the main source of creativity around Finders Keepers Furnishings. Here are seven of Betsy's ideas to help you make spectacular centerpieces a snap:
* Fill a basket with fruits and nuts. Scatter some of the nuts around the basket on the table.
* Make an arrangement of different sized pumpkins, gourds and squash. Scatter a few leaves around the centerpiece and add orange, brown or dark green candles.
* Cut the tops off small pumpkins and scoop out the centers. Place votive candles inside and make a grouping.
* Make a bed of pine needles in the center of the table. Fill a basket with pine cones and tie a brown plaid taffeta ribbon on the handle.
* Make floating walnut candles: scoop out the meat from walnuts and set aside the shells. Melt the stubs of old candles in a coffee can set in a pan of water on the stove. If you place the shells in a pan of sand it will be easy to fill each one without dripping wax on your hand. Use a short wick and hold upright in the center of each shell as you fill it with the melted wax. Float the candles in a pretty bowl filled with water.
* Fill a bowl with water and float the tops of flowers such as chrysanthemums or marigolds. Surround with fall colored candles.
* Instead of a centerpiece, create a tiny arrangement of fall flowers in little vases, cups or glasses at each person’s place. Use fall colored napkins & tie each one with ribbon. Tuck a flower under each ribbon or bow.

New Arrivals!

I stopped into Finders Keepers Furnishings yesterday and was floored by how much it had changed in only DAYS! From simply modern to charmingly chic - you've got to check out the new arrivals from this weekend:

Walnut Farm Table (72 in. round)

1960's walnut bar cabinet with mirrored back

Black leather and chrome sling chair

French shabby-chic end table (set 2)

Cherry full-sized bed

Marble-top dresser credenza

A pair of club chairs

Another picture of the French end tables

Set of 6 New York Design Ctr. dining chairs

Vintage tea cart

Janet Jackson is Sleeping in our Bed!

Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls" comes out in theaters today. We at Finders Keepers Furnishings are HUGE fans of Tyler Perry - not only because he's super talented and tackles hard issues in his productions, but also because he's a sincerely nice man. We get the honor and priveledge of working with his set crew when they frequent our shop for set furniture and decor. In "For Colored Girls" most of Janet Jackson's character's bedroom set is from Finders Keepers Furnishings! In honor of our pseudo-cameo, here are a few pictures of other beds currently available in our store:

Ikea King-size Bed

Cannonball King-size bed

King-size sleigh bed

Tommy Bahama King-size rattan bed

Consignment Store Bus Tour This Saturday!

So I went shopping at Home Depot yesterday and couldn't believe my eyes: Home Depot already has her party dress on! Christmas trees, lights, ribbons, ornaments, wreaths, snowmen, and reindeer were everywhere. And then I realized with a start: "I haven't gotten anybody anything yet."

Why am I telling you this? Because this Saturday, from 10am - 5pm, Back By Popular Demand is hosting its own Consignment Store Bus Tour - which means you can be chauffeured around Atlanta on a chartered bus, enjoy a catered buffet lunch, go home with a goody bag, and find gifts for loved ones (and yourself!) from FIVE of Atlanta's fantastic consignment stores. AND bus tour participants will enjoy 20% off their purchases all day long.

All of the sudden this whole holiday shopping madness seems a lot less like work and a lot more like spending a great day with people who love resale shopping just as much as I do... Tickets are $35 a piece, or $70 a pair and are available for purchase online at http://www.bbpdconsignment.com/