This One's for the Girls...Who dream with everything they have....

This Friday, October 30 from 5:30-7:30 we will be hosting our October wine tasting event and we are sure proud of this one! We will be featuring five wines, one of which is a special breast cancer awareness Shiraz...yum. We will have chocolates made specially for breast cancer awareness month, new jewelry created just for our event by Sandra Wills and other new items that have just arrived. Britt and I want to give back to our community and we are very aware that wine and chocolates and pretty things bring people together. Therefore, we thought it would be wonderful to help support a local organization which provides breast cancer screenings and mammograms for underprivileged women in Pitt Co. The cost for a mammogram is around $400 and many women without insurance and other means will go without one. This didn't seem fair to us, so we hope to help.

Proceeds from the event will go to this wonderful cause. Early detection is key and every woman should have the opportunity to get screened for breast cancer.

We have a new t-shirt that will be debuted that night and we are very proud of our design. (I think I might have a new career in t-shirt design) Picture this: Beautiful green fabric, wine glasses since we are a wine store too, a pink ribbon to indicate it is a breast cancer awareness shirt and a catchy saying, This One's for the Girls.

Call them what you will...boobs, breasts, tata's, 2nd base, the girls or whatever, they all deserve a lookin' after as they say 'round these parts. So, it's pretty darn simple. Come see us this Friday, sample some wine, check out our sparkly stuff, get your shirt, show your support.

This One's for the Girls, Who've wished upon a shooting star; You're beautiful the way you are; This One's for the Girls. If you love Martina McBride, you know what I am talking about. Gosh, I am such a country music geek.

Cows, horses, sausage rolls, rides and deep fried EVERYTHING

Yes, for those of you who are living here in NC...it is State Fair time!!! I just love it. Today I went to the fair with my sister and brother-in-law and it has been way, way too long since I was last there. I believe the last time was in 2001. I know, a shame.

The NC State Fair holds many memories for me. My family and I went every year and the first stop was to see the cows. Yep, the cows. My Dad was a vet and we always stopped to see his clients that were there showing their livestock. The next stop would be to get cider, get food and then on to play some games and then off to see the horses.

The NC State Fair was an agriculture fair and to me, it always will be...well, that and a place to get fair food. Yeah, you know what I mean. Polish sausage, country cooking, cotton candy. Nowadays, they have added the turkey leg, fire roasted corn and anything you can think of that can be fried. I saw a vendor today with fried pecan pie. I mean, it was a smart person to combine two very Southern "foods"...pecan pie and grease. I just couldn't order one though. I was holding out for the NC State Dairy ice cream. Instead, I just stood there and watched everyone order the fried sweets and then I stared at their food to see what it looked like. No doubt they were thinking "Just order one already". I heard there was fried butter but I never saw it and probably best I didn't. I would have loved to have tried a bit. My arteries are closing just thinking about it.

I must admit that the fair has changed for me. It is still a magical place because of the sights and the smells but there are just too many rides and too many vendors. I wish the focus was more on agriculture. I miss that from my childhood. Being on a farm is blissful. While at the fair we were searching for vendors to provide us with NC grown products such as jellies, jams, peanuts and other sauces. Adding these products to the gallery will help solidify our desire to bring you quality handmade items from right here in our back yard. Products such as these will compliment the coffee, soy candles and wines we already stock. We can't all live on a farm, but I can bring a bit of that goodness right to you so we are working on that for you quickly.

I can promise you they will be good. And I can promise no deep fried batter of any sort. What you do with it is your choice.

Come see us.

New stuff to help bring in the Fall

We have wonderful new soy candles for Fall and I just love them! The colors are so pretty and we have several new scents sure to make you smile and think of home. The minute you walk in the store the warm fragrances envelope you and you immediately know that Fall is here. We also have other seasonal items and new baby blankets. Did I mention the wine...yep, we still have that too. Like Sangria?? Come on in then, we've got a delicious one!

Check out the new pics....taken of course, by Brittany Wright Photography.






We can't wait to see you!!

Finally Fall!

It is that wonderful time of year when the mornings are fresh, the days cooler and when you need a light sweater for the nights. Just perfect. I love the changing of the season and Fall is my favorite time of year. It is a time of starting over for me. To me, my year starts in the Fall because that is when the new school year started. I love the smells of Fall and the freshness in the air.

At MyleStone, we are busy bringing in new items for the season and for the upcoming holidays. We are very excited about the goings-on at the store. I am posting a pic of the latest event we had at the store on September 12. Mary Mac Gems had a special showing for us and we tasted several Spanish wines with an assortment of chocolate. It was a wonderful day!

What made it even more special for me was the surprise visit by some very dear people in my life. First, my best friend and 2nd Mama surprised me all the way from Virginia and I could have cried! It was wonderful. Then, a very short while later, my Aunt Diane and Uncle Joel paid a surprise visit as well!! I was so excited. Diane is my mom's older sister and I wish my mom had been here that day to see her too. I felt so blessed to have people come all that way to see me, Britt and the gallery.

Here are some pics from that day for ya....

Sparkly gems, baubles, bubbly, red, white, Spain, clementines in chocolate...

What do these things have in common? Well, they will all be in the same place this Saturday at the gallery. Jewelry by Mary Mac and a wonderful selection of Spanish Wines for your sampling pleasure.

Come check us out on Saturday, Sept, 12 from 12-4 and see what we have in store for you. You will enjoy some Spanish Cava, a very unique white and rose with a hint of bubbles, a delightful to drink white and a luscious red. Did I mention the chocolates?? Oh yeah, we will have some, too. All of your senses will be delighted you came!

See you there!

Ginger, Nola and Doughtnuts???

Today you get two postings from me...I know, woo hoo! I am inspired to write because I had two special treats today. The first treat came in the form of Nola, a super-cute, sweet, furry, four-legged girl whom I have only seen in pictures thus far. Such a doll baby. Next time I know I will win her over. The second treat was provided by Nola's mom, Ginger, as she brought Britt and I cream filled doughnuts from the Brownie Bakery in Little Washington just because she knew we needed it this week. There were 12 in the box and I promise you, there are 11 left and it is 11:00 in the evening. I have no idea why I haven't devoured say, five, in the eight hours they have been in my possession. Must be because I have been concentrating on the postings for the blog and being a very good girl. (Note to the Brownie Bakery...Yummy!)I had the pleasure of meeting Ginger after my sister, Brittany, photographed her and her sisters' (also named Brittany) dogs for a rescue dog book, a wonderful work in progress. At the photo shoot, my Brittany learned that Ginger sews bags in cool fabrics. Bells started going off and since we were looking for someone who sewed bags, we asked Ginger to bring some of her goodies by the gallery.

Little did Brittany and I know that Ginger is this incredible ball of energy and a plethora of information. We talk her poor ears off every time she comes into the store. (What? Britt and I talk your ears off? I know, what a surprise!) She can provide info for just about anything you are looking for and knows just the right people to help get you to where you want to go. We realized it was a very small world in many ways and that we also share a love of Africa. She even knows where Danville, VA is....Not only is she an animal lover and a creator of the cutest bags as seen here and for sale in the gallery, she is the founder of the non-profit organization, Hope Aid International. After visiting Uganda, Ginger realized something needed to be done to assist and as a result, Hope Aid was founded. Proceeds from the sale of her bags go to support Hope Aid.


I could tell you about the organization but I know it would be worth your time to visit the Hope Aid site at http://www.hopeaid.org/ to learn more. Her blog I See Hope will inspire you and make you laugh too http://iseehope.blogspot.com/.

MyleStone Gallery is so pleased to have Ginger as one of our artists. She has become a fast friend and earned big points today by bringing Nola and the doughnuts. No really, we would still like her even if she didn't bring doughnuts. Really, we would. As long as she still brings Nola to see us.

Now, eight hours is plenty long to have gone without a doughnut. You have your two postings, I can have my two doughnuts.

Ben...dreams of being a model for a wine/beer label or is he just jealous??

Ben (also known in our family as Chocolate Dog or Brown Dog) is a shop dog today to see how it goes. I got the worst puppy dog eyes when I went home to let him out and I thought ok, come on. So he gingerly jumped in the car (it was hot) but once he realized he was going to the store, he was so happy.

He came in and checked everything out to make sure nothing or no one had come in that wasn't supposed to be and then he sat down nice and calm. He sat down in front of the Duck Rabbit beer and I grabbed the camera because I think Ben is hoping he will be the next model for a beer or wine company. He was curious why there was a duck/rabbit on the box instead of him but now understands how Paul, the owner of Duck Rabbit, came up with the name and he is ok with the logo. Ben did ask me why they couldn't have worked something out with him though as a Chocolate Lab would have also been a huge selling factor. He was appeased though when I showed him the Ellie's Brown Ale from Avery Brewing Co. which, rightfully so, has a Chocolate Lab on their label. However, he has taken offense with the labels on some of the wines we have here, Chateau Morrisette. First, a little about them...The Chateau Morrisette winery is on the Blue Ridge Parkway of VA and is absolutely gorgeous. I recommend anyone visit there at any time of the year as it is a very special and beautiful place. The wine is wonderful, the food is wonderful and the view cannot be beat. We carry their Our Dog Blue (white), The Black Dog (red) and the Angel Chardonnay. The people that own the winery are huge animal lovers and have labs and since they are their mascots, include them on their labels. I noticed Ben kept staring at the bottle and snarling and then it dawned on me, he's jealous! He wants his own label.

So here is Ben in various poses and also with his Va Tech collar trying to show people that he has talent. He could be a model for a label. He wants those dogs on that mountain in VA to know, he's just as handsome (spoiled too) and has what it takes to be a star DOG. He is also very modest. He personally thinks they need a Chocolate Lab on a label. He's dreaming about it now...they can call it, Chocolate Dog Dessert Wine. What a hit it would be!
Silly Ben! Come on down and check out our wines and beer. Maybe Ben can help you pick something out, when he isn't preening and posing, that is.