A Simply Beautiful Thanksgiving Dinner

Holiday Dining SALE

{Nov. 15 - Nov. 21}

It's our first of two Holiday Dining Sales that we are hosting this season and we hope you will take advantage of some great deals with us as you prepare for the Holidays this year with your family & friends.  If you are getting ready to host Thanksgiving Dinner, then let us help you set your table beautifully this year.

Our 'Constance Collection' Dinnerware, a simple but beautiful earthenware collection made by hand in Portugal, are the beautiful beginnings of classic table settings.  We have plates, pasta bowls, cereal bowls, & dessert plates in classic white and dessert plates available in Poivre (Pepper), Mastic (Tan), & Verde (Green) that can be mixed in beautifully with the classic white collection.

Add in a lovely selection of cotton placemats or dinner napkins to add color, texture, & interest.  Or, if you want to forego the laundering of all the linens, choose from our collection of Kitchen Papers Placemats, Cocktail Napkins, & Paper Runners - an elegant yet easy way to entertain a large crowd.

Wishing you a wonderful & very Happy Thanksgiving with your family & friends!

Save the Date - Holiday Open House 2012

It's coming, coming quickly! 

Our Annual Holiday Open House will be the second weekend of November this year,

so mark it on your calendars & plan to join us, Nov. 9 & 10. 

We will feature all of our new holiday decor, ornaments, gifts, & more,

so you definitely do not want to miss out this year! 

Getting Crafty

Okay, I don't really consider myself crafty.  I have tried my hand at scrapbooking & even pottery painting, but have discovered utter failure each time.  However, having this little Bella shop, I most often times have to resort to some sort of crafting.  Window displays are such tricky little things in the retail biz.  It has to be eye-catching, reflective of your goods, & able to tell some kind of story, all of which challenge me greatly on a fairly regular basis.  Lately, I have been noticing on my new addiction Pinterest all of these really amazing flowers, leaves, garlands, wreaths, etc. that are made out of book pages.  I LOVE the look and completely admire that someone came up with this idea!  The book pages add great texture, interest, & simpleness of color to whatever you create.  Being that it is fall & all, I decided to give my un-crafty hand at making branches with book page leaves to complete my fall-themed, leaf-themed window display, and to my ginormous surprise, I think they turned out okay.  I gathered branches from my yard, used old newspaper (I couldn't quite bear to cut out of a book just yet, but I think any old book that you don't love will do), dug out my hot glue gun, & began my crafting.  If I can do it, well, I am completely confident that you can do it too.  Give it a try, get creative, & have fun with it.  Happy crafting!!

{I just gathered really big branches out of my yard, cost = free! 
Added bonus = saved my sweet husband from having to clean up the branch pile}

{You can use any leaf shape, just find a template that suits your project. 
I thought about going with maple, or oak, but that seemed a little wrong being
surrounded by aspens so this is my best attempt at duplicating the shape of
 an aspen leaf}

{This is a really bad picture, but it was part of the process, so forgive me for my 
amateur ways.  I re-discovered my hot glue gun, which was a necessity & quite powerful
in adhering these fragile newspaper leaves to these old branches}

{And, the finished project....not too bad!}

For the Love of Burlap

Fall is coming!  And, I love it because I just absolutely LOVE fall!!!!  It has always been my favorite season - I love the colors, the smell, the flavors, the feeling, the light of the sky - everything about it.  I am obviously very ready to fully embrace the season, but, alas, we have still been experiencing summer like weather, since after all, it is still officially summer.  So, what to do in your homes during this late summer/early fall transition time? Oh, there is SO much you could do, but I think the texture & color of burlap is such a lovely transitional accent.  It can bring such warmth and coziness while also allowing for a light yet earthy neutral that hints of picnics and the enjoyment of the outdoors.  Pair a burlap runner with a large glass vase full of yellow sunflowers and I am instantly happy!  Toss some burlap throw pillows on your mudroom bench, sofa, a favorite chair, or a guest bed & bring a little touch of the transition easily into any room.  The possibilities are endless...how do you love burlap?  I would love to hear and see how you integrate the love of burlap into your home as you transition into the upcoming season!

Modern Gingham

I love jam - good jam, and I long to have the time to make it myself.  But alas, since I don't take the time do that, I try my best to find creative jam makers that are taking the time and have the talent of mixing amazing flavors (goodbye just plain strawberry jelly!).

As you know about a year ago, we were wonderfully delighted to find LemonBird Jams.  Amy Deaver is the jam artisan behind LemonBird Jams, and she is brilliantly sourcing all of her wonderful ingredients from local farms in California and then mixing them with other local spices & ingredients to create some decadent and very artisanal jams.

About a week or so ago, I was even more delighted to find a jam artisan who is working right here in Denver, sourcing local Colorado fruit, combining them with spices from a local Denver shop, and creating samll batches of gourmet jams - right here in our back yard!

I LOVE finding local goods, and I am just thrilled to introduce to you Modern Gingham Preserves.  Just a bit about MGP....

"Modern Gingham Preserves (MGP) is a local company. Aiming to use organic produce from local trees, gardens, and farms (hand-picked whenever possible), we search for unique flavor combinations to bring out the flavors of each fruit and vegetable we preserve.  As a Denver enterprise, MGP has made every effort to use local businesses-from the logo design and photographs taken, to the labels and jars, produce, and spices-we aim to obtain all components of our preserves from Denver based companies.  When you eat our products, you know you are supporting the Denver economy, sustainable farming practices and eating something good for you." ` Katharine Lee, Artisan Jam Maker

I absolutely love what Katharine is doing right down to the very precious detail that she is literally hand-picking all the fruit herself - AMAZING!!  Her jams and preserves are absolutely delicious & we think you will agree.  We currently have MGP's delicious Strawberry Black Pepper Preserves & Capitol Hill Apricot Preserves on our shelf and will be getting more delightful flavors in soon.  In the meantime, try these - you will be so glad you did!!!

Gifts for Your Wedding Attendants

As mentioned in our post last week, we are deep in the heart of Wedding Season!  And, if you are a bride-to-be or a mom of a bride, you may be thinking (or starting to think) about all the wonderful people who will be standing with you the day that you say "I do" - your maid of honor, bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers, etc.  So if you are looking for something a little different for gifting these special people on your special day, then let us help!  We have lots of unique & beautiful little sentiments that will be a special way to say thank you.  A few of our ideas are posted here, but as always, we can work to create something special that will fit in your budget, and most importantly, that you will feel

 super-delighted to give!

  

For the Maid of Honor or Shower Hostesses:
A beautiful glass hobnail candle paired with a matching fingertip towel

For the Maid of Honor or Bridesmaids:
 A beautiful collection of soap, bath salts, & petite hand creme
 from Lollia, a Denver based company

For Bridesmaids, Shower Hostesses, or anyone else on your list:

These 2oz Soy Candles come in a variety of scents that you can

mix & match or give all by itself

pair with a decorative mini match box to complete the gift

We think these little floral earrings would be a sweet gift
for a Flower Girl who has pierced ears!

For the Best Man:
How about this classic Shaving Set?
An enamelware mug filled with shaving soap & a shaving brush

For the Groomsmen or Ushers:

Atticus Caramels handmade in Denver are dark delicious caramels

made with Colorado Whiskey, Smoked Salt, & Cane Syrup

Add a bottle of Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey for the perfect touch

For the Groomsmen, Bridesmaids, Ushers, or anyone else on your list
 who might enjoy a really good martini:
This Pure Olive Juice is delicious & paired with a bottle of Vodka
 would be deliciously perfect!

'Tis the Wedding Season

So it's June & I do believe that June is the "unofficial official" kick-off month to wedding season!  Bella Vita is located in a beautiful spot that is directly across from the Evergreen Lake so when I leave in the evenings, I often see in the near distance a wedding going on at the Lake House.  Evergreen Lake is a beautiful place to get married - I especially think so because that is where my sweet husband & I said our vows almost 9 years ago!  Being reminded almost every evening this month that the wedding season is in full swing also reminds me that our little shop location is quite handy for those having a wedding here in Evergreen or just attending one.  During the summer months especially (but even throughout the year) we often get folks into the shop that are either attending a wedding or wedding shower and want to pick up something for the bride & groom that is unique but beautiful and that will celebrate their start of a new journey together.  And, I am always delighted to help them find just the right thing!  Below are a few ideas of items that we can put together for the new couple, but we also have so much more to pick & choose from.  So if you are heading to a wedding or a wedding shower this summer - let us help you find just the right beautiful thing for the new couple!