Who Let The Girls Out!? Fall 2009

Lovely little Newport, WA hosted another fabulous Who Let The Girls Out!? event this past weekend. It's the third event in the last two years. The Seven Shoppes banded together yet again to throw a fun and festive progressive 'it's-still-autumn-but-we're-getting-ready-for-the-holidays' shopping party. I parked myself at Shanty for a majority of the day and happily re-entered the world of working retail. (My very first job was at Pier 1 Imports when I was 16. I loved it.)

My girlfriend Tiffany and I drove in from Spokane early Saturday morning and helped the Shanty staff tie ribbon, restock and rearrange. Meanwhile, I popped around documenting the event preparations and, admittedly, shopping along the way.

Maggie Christie, the marvelous owner and Shanty visionary, coordinated so many oh-so-perfect details for the day. Fresh fruit with mint and lemon juice, locally-baked pumpkin fudge and pumpkin maple cookies, pomegranate-speckled mimosas, hand-made cheese balls and that's not even touching on her mad merchandising skills. Of course, the first excited shopper showed up at 9 o'clock. On the dot. Let the day-long party begin!

When I did finally pull myself away from the wine-pouring and gift-wrapping at Shanty, I found more bustling foot traffic, laughing ladies, sales and shopping bags galore*. My Sister's Cottage was a classy Christmas wonderland. Just Because was any woman's dream: skin products, jewelry, handbags, champagne and chocolate. Floral Expressions was all a flutter with birdie decor and holiday trimmings. The Kitchen Shoppe was packed with people looking for the perfect wine to serve with all the holiday meals and utensils to make the meal preparation just a little easier. Oh, and we can't forget the cooking demonstrations...Mmmm...

After making the rounds I bounded back to Shanty where the ladies were still buzzing. With no end to the energy in sight, I might add. But who could blame them!? There were so many things I wanted to snatch up and bring home with me, too. I resisted many of the urges, but did end up with the below bag by Big Buddah called Tiny Dancer. It's anything but tiny and therefore a big hit in my book. I also picked up many holiday gift items, but of course I can't feature those here or I'd spoil the surprises.

Maggie, thanks for letting Tiffany and me be an honorary employees for the day! We really were honored. And thanks to all the Seven Shoppe ladies for having StudioM work with you on all of the event marketing. Cheers to another successful shopping affair. Now, bring on the holidays!

*Sadly, there were not enough hours in the day and I didn't get a chance to pop into two of the seven shops: Rivers' Edge Treasures and Into the Garden Up to the Lake. Next time! To read more about the previous Who Let The Girls Out!? event, visit this past post. If you want to be kept in the loop about upcoming events in Newport, follow the Shop Newport blog. A few of the shops have their own blogs, too.