Jacaranda reached a new record at the New York Gift Show this past month! The new Lou Harvey cosmetic bags have been such a success! Thank you to all who came and bought from us. We are very thankful to have such a nice team to work with in South Africa. We couldn't be happier! :)

Ginny from Cachet in Wellesley at the NYGS. Wonderful customer and dear friend!

Jacaranda Goes to Atlanta

Morning jog in Pretty Historic Park in Atlanta

Pretty Reservoir

Santa-Does-Yoga towels by Julia Baille :D

My favorite thing in the booth: Sunshine pillow! Beautiful for home den or kid's room. $28.50 wholesale

Those set up days...

Another shot of the park in the morning before day one at the show!

Nantucket Inspirations

This weekend my family and I were treated to the best stay at the newest hotel on the island, The Nantucket. Thanks to our good friends the Snyder's for pulling off such a trip, we were able to visit some of Jacaranda's stores on the island and see some of our old friends.

Our sailboat onesie in the Cherche Midi! So much love to the warmest person, Laurie, store owner, who has styled her store with patriotic pride for the upcoming holiday! :)

Our Beachy Debbie Gibson towels and tissue box covers in Blue Beetle :) A happy selection for summering in Nantucket.

Behind the Photoshoot: Jacaranda Sleepwear

Mother and Daughters in their Jacaranda Nighties on a Summer Morning.

An Inspiring Read: Delivering Happiness

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh is so inspiring and made #1 on the Best Seller list.

Having just finished the first 50 Shades of Grey (and eager to finish the series), I picked up Tony Hsieh's Delivering Happiness. My mom gave me a brief summary of the book when we were in Paris and his terrific drive to make money stayed with me. I've grown up in an entrepreneurial home. My dad's passion of immersing into start-up companies. I love the idea of owning my own business one day, but realize it's important to work my way up by learning more about start-up companies and the steps to success. As an intern for Paydiant, a start-up offering a mobile payment platform, I am learning about the ways to market, advertise, test and trust your product you're promoting to the public. It would be amazing to start my own business one day just like my mom, Cathy Deale, did.

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, shares his inspiring journey to succeed in a different kind of corporate business culture. It was important for Tony to make money because he was so ambitious but he wanted to make others happy in the process. he invented small businesses that gave him profits but also made life for many college kids easier as there was a pizza business he invented with friends where people could gather and watch sports games in one social area.  This led to his personal triumphs and happiness to see others happy. He learned many business lessons and as a result started LinkExchange, acquired by Microsoft, then Zappos, the online retailer that's doing over a billion dollars in gross merchandise sales annually.

I love this book and have recommended this book to my friends and family. This book instills confidence in yourself and in your ideas. It pushes you to be money hungry while keeping you aware of other people's needs. If you trust yourself you can achieve so much more than you think. Also, if you work to make others happy by delivering happiness in any way you can, you will increase your own happiness.

Yummy Cadbury's Chocolate Recipes

I absolutely love cooking and baking. I am so excited to get started on the recipe below! Just mouth-watering chocolate goodies, especially when it's made with Cadbury's dairy milk chocolate, my favorite type of chocolate in the world besides Cailler and a few other Swiss brands.

http://www.cadbury.co.uk/recipes/cakes/Pages/ChocolateSwissRoll.aspx

Cadbury's is everywhere in South Africa but is unfortunately only seen in a few pharmacies and stores in America. The recipe below is one I made in South Africa and added my favorite colorful chocolate Smarties to the chocolate side. The left side is oats and raisins and the right side is Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate, oats, and Smarties. :)

 Full Recipe: (Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 17 minutes.)
 - 2 cups flour
 - 4 cups old-fashioned oats
 - 3/4 tsp. baking soda
 - 3/4 tsp. salt
(beat the below ingredients separately in a different bowl then add to dry ingredients above):
 - one stick of butter
 - 1 cup milk
 - 1 egg
 - 3/4 cup white sugar
 - 1 tsp. vanilla essence
Separate the batter if you want to have one half raisins, one half chocolates. Then add chocolate chips or Cadbury's chocolate to one bowl, and raisins to the other. Spread the two batters evenly in one square dish that is at least one inch in height. If you want softer Crunchies, cook for 15 minutes. If you want crispier Crunchies, cook up to 20 minutes.

I often change the recipe around adding in what I like more and getting feedback from friends and family. I've changed this recipe around a lot.
Other favorite recipes of mine are chocolate biscottis, crunchies, and walnut oatmeal chocolate fruit banana bread.

Mother-Daughter Time in Paris

During the week leading up to my 21st birthday, my mom came to visit me in Paris where I studied abroad for my Fall semester.

Walk along the Seine River in Paris on her first day. 

Visiting Musée d'Orsay on our second day.

The beautiful Eiffel Tower.

In the Tuilleres gardens, about to begin a long walk to the Arc de Triumphe!

A gorgeous shot of the sunset by the fountains in the Tuilleres gardens.

Ladurée for tea and a sweet tooth fix: SO necessary :)