Custom Shopping Trip

I received a phone call last week from Jennie, a blog reader who lives in Michigan. She was interested in purchasing one of our Paris Green Doormats, which she'd seen featured in a photo in this blog post. I told her I would of course be delighted to fulfill the sale and we talked about shipping and billing through PayPal (since the item is not currently offered in our Online Boutique...and by the way, we're happy to ship just about anything you might see featured in photos on our blog. Just e-mail us and inquire about pricing and availability.). Then she asked me an interesting question, one I've never gotten before. "Abby," she said. "I have an interesting request. If I give you my credit card number with a limit of, say, $100, would you pick out a bunch of things from your shop and send them to me? Kind of like a surprise shopping trip?" You mean would I spend a customer's money for her??? You bet I would! And I did. First, though, we discussed Jennie's preferences: I asked her about what colors she loved and which she didn't like, what her favorite categories were (home furnishings or personal items or paper or apothecary, etc.), and whether she'd rather have one big item or a mix of less expensive items. Our part-time shopgirl Jamie and I went to work hand selecting some things we thought would thrill Jennie. About a week after our phone call, she received these items in a box on her porch, along with the Paris Green Doormat which had originally struck her fancy:

One of our Small Cast Iron Vases in Antique Cream. This is one of our stock items at THE BLISSFUL, as it sells year round and can be used for a variety of brilliant purposes, from a basic flower vase to a pencil container to a holder for your makeup brushes. Also available in Rusted Green, as you can see.

A Ciao Bella Pillow. The backside is lined with burlap. Humorous, neutral in tone, and vintage-y...what's not to love? (Also available with other images, soon to be offered in our Online Boutique. Please check back soon!)

A Chandelier Tin. The white image on a distressed dark chocolate background has an effect similar to that of a photo negative.

And seen here, a custom candle by Tatine poured especially for THE BLISSFUL into a rose colored votive glass. We're all sold out of these, but look for future custom pours from Tatine at our shop.

We got such a kick out of Jennie's Custom Shopping Trip that we'd like to open it up to all of you. You give us a dollar amount, we go shopping in our store and hand select our favorite finds to meet your desired criteria and/or fulfill your wish to be surprised. We think this is a great gift idea for friends or family who love all things French and Euro-inspired. All you have to do is e-mail us at sales@theblissful.com and order a Custom Shopping Trip. We'll work with any dollar amount and invoice you via PayPal. (Shipping costs are additional.)

Thanks for the great idea, Jennie!