Testers & Oddballs Fundraiser for the Sparrow Club

Every year in January we gather up all our testers and samples and bits & pieces and onesies and put them all on our front porch for our Annual Testers & Oddballs fundraiser. It's all good stuff (candles, lotions, soaps, cards and whatnot). Some of it may have lost its packaging or got a wee bit dinged up for various reasons. Still perfectly usable. Some of it is brand new and perfect.

Here's how it works: you take what you want, and pay what you want. So easy (cash or checks only, please). Every year we choose a different charity to give the proceeds to: this year, it's the Sparrow Club! So come in and do a little digging, pay whatever you can, and go home with some great goodies. Or, do as some dear long-distance customers and friends did: send a check (made out to Sparrow Club) just to support the cause (we'll save them a little treat!). It goes through the end of January (and we keep adding items as we find them), but you better hurry in for best pick.

Pomegranate Home & Garden
120 NE River Mall Avenue
Bend, OR 97701
541-383-3713

New winter hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30-5:30 and Sundays from 12-4. [We'll be open on Mondays again in late spring.]

Monogram etiquette

We love our custom monogrammed glassware program (lead-free crystal, dishwasher safe, made to order in less than two weeks). Such a great gift, starting at $39 for a set of four monogrammed tumblers (all sorts of shapes available, from wine glasses to pilsners). It's a wonderful wedding or housewarming gift (perfect thank-you for RE agents whose business might be picking up a bit these days).

Lots of people ask about the proper way to set up a monogram, so I thought I'd pass on some of the etiquette guidelines.

Married couple with the same last name: JBR (her first initial; their last name initial; his first initial). Note the middle initial (last name) is usually larger than the letters flanking it. A lot of people think the husband's first name goes first, but they would be wrong. Ladies first!

Single person: JCE (first initial; last initial; middle initial).

Married woman with her own monogram (usually used for personal stationery): JBC (first initial; last initial; maiden name initial).

Couples with different last names: B & C (an informal alternative, can be first or last name initials... first name initials are more casual).

You can also just choose a single initial for anyone. Using the last name initial is usually the way to go, but first name initial is less formal. I would choose the first name initial if this was a gift for a single friend, or a young girl (e.g., a monogram stamp for her stationery), or who knows, someone with just one name (if your friends include quirky celebrities), or (gulp) a girlfriend just divorced (who wouldn't necessarily want to celebrate her last name).

Come by and see us at Pomegranate for some more ideas... we're happy to send or fax an order form and info for our fabulous glassware. Just ring us at 541.383.3713.

Don't take it from me: fashion notes

There was a time in my life when I might have been somewhat stylish, fashion-wise. These days, it's more about comfort and durability. If you've been out to Pomegranate, you know how the property is a bit rough and tumble. I don't want to take a tumble, so I wear low-heeled shoes. I'm always tearing clothes on the big old rough ice house doors, or the snaggy wild rose bushes. Getting splinters and smudges from the front door or mailbox post with the flag on it. So I just go for comfortable, neutral basics. Pretty boring.

But I do scan fashion magazines and blogs. I just like to know things. My radar is up, because I think fashion is loosely related to interior design. You have to take it with a lot of restraint, however. Just because ruffly tops are in this year doesn't mean you should be ordering ruffly fou-fou window valances. Never! But there's always a little thread that runs through it all, even if limited to a few patterns, textures, or colors.

There's one style this year (actually, last year, but just now hitting the mainstream) that I cannot begin to like. I didn't like it in 1978, either. It's that shiny satin blouse with a big bow tied at the neck. It's Dianne Feinstein, 1979. No offense, Dianne, but it's fusty and matronly and I just don't get it. In the 70's it was a way to soften up the severe-looking suits that professional women were compelled to wear. Ugh. There are some variations on that look that are really cute and stylish (with a lower neckline, for instance), but the basic thing still looks so wrong to me. Maybe next year I'll slowly begin accepting it again (funny how that happens)... just in time for it to be totally passé. Fashion is so fickle, isn't it?

Now that's just ugly (above). But don't listen to me...