Elmo Christmas Stocking

Just when you thought Elmo couldn't get cuter! Now he's a singing Christmas stocking. Sure to delight your kids and anyone else who sees him! He's a perfect stocking to be stuffed!

~Erin

Story Time Bear

Story Time Teddy Bear reads the entire poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas". The video shows the first minute, the whole reading takes about 3 minutes. For some reason the sound and motion do not sync correctly when I upload videos to youtube, but please note that his mouth moves perfectly with the words.

~Erin

Hip Hop Randy

Hip Hop Randy is a musical christmas teddy that your kids will love whether they are toddlers or teens! He's hip, he's trendy and he knows how to rap! He brings a fun and young vibe to Christmas with all of its age old traditions.

For some reason the sound and motion do not sync well in these videos, but please note that he moves along perfectly with the music.

~Erin

What's New With You?

It's been awhile. I have been enjoying the beautiful Spring and now Summer weather too much I suppose. So, what's new since early May?

Some updates on some of the other posts, well we finally got the old Spike from First & Main back in stock and he's been moving quickly. He really is an adorable bulldog stuffed animal and I am truly thrilled that they went back to his old design.

All of the other dogs breeds I mentioned awhile ago have also come in, though a couple have already sold out.

We are still awaiting the shining stars, as expected, - they aren't due in until August, but I've also ordered a Thanksgiving Turkey and a Christmas assortment so I look forward to receiving them along with all of the others.

We'll be running a "Christmas in July" sale soon. I need to clear out some of our holiday items from last year to make room for the new. I'm expecting my Christmas orders in around late August, early September, so they will be added to the store as they come in. We're getting in some nice items that I am excited about such as a singing Elmo stocking from Gund, it's soooo cute!

In addition to the holiday items that will be on sale, we'll also have some of our other toy and gift items on sale. It will be a great time to stock up on holiday decor and gifts for your kids, other family and friends. Check in with us in July for the sale. I will be trying to start it off in early July, but that's approaching so quickly that it might be a little bit later on in the month.

I've been working on some changes to make to the home page. Nothing too major but just some stuff that I hope will make it look better and provide a better experience for our customers. I am always concerned with the usability of the site. Hopefully these changes will be implemented by my webmaster (and brother) in the next week or so.

The creator of the shopping cart program I use for the store is due to release a new version, perhaps by the end of the summer, so if it features some things I am looking for, I may upgrade to that. I would like a better shipping calculating system, as well as an easy way to add things like an insurance option and I'd like making an item a gift easier to do at the end of a shopping trip and so on. One thing I hope this new version will feature is a way for customers to go into a category and then to be able to search by price, high to low, low to high, etc. So we shall see what this upgrade brings, and we'll probably be utilizing it if it adds up to a better shopping experience for our customers. That is always my goal because you aren't going to want to shop with us if it's not a good experience, and we wouldn't expect you to.

So, that's the news for now. Personally my husband and I have been getting work done around the house and yard. Taking down hedges, painting rooms, that type of thing. We're looking into getting a new fence. Our existing one is a wooden split rail fence that is probably about 15 years old and is rotted through. Our dogs, especially the one I call the beast, my pointer Tucker, are not helping the longevity of the fence, so we need to do something before they take it down.

And, as I said, we've had such lovely weather that we are just out there enjoying it as much as we can while it's here.

Don't forget to check in at the store in July for some nice savings on a bunch of items and check in later in the summer to early fall to see our new holiday inventory!

~Erin

Shining Stars

Russ Shining Stars are the new big thing and I am happy to report that Lady Abigail's will be carrying them, though our first order is not due to arrive until August.

I am excited to get them because not only do you get to register a star when you buy one, but you also have access to the Shining Stars web site which has activities and games for children of all ages.

Most important to me though, is that the Shining Stars are adorable and high quality stuffed animals in their own right. I would buy one of these at the price they retail for if I saw it in a store without the star registry and web site access included.

So I am looking forward to carrying them and if you've had a hard time getting your hands on one, check back in the store in August. I've also already ordered a special Halloween edition cat, so look for that around September. I hope that the Halloween cat means they will have something special for Christmas as well, and if so, I hope to carry that as well.

I actually think the Shining Stars are a great idea. My husband has often asked me how I would feel about his naming a star after me as a gift, and in all honesty, I've always given a thumbs down to the idea. In truth, what do I care about having a star named after me. However, once you tie this idea to a cute stuffed animal, access to the Shining Stars web world and lower the price, it becomes a terrific gift idea! And Shining Stars gives back, a portion of the proceeds from each sale go to the Starlight Starbright children's foundation.

Something fun for you that gives back to others, doesn't get much better than that!

~Erin

The Figurines Are Coming! The Figurines Are Coming!

I have been personally collecting animal figurines for I’d say at least 15 years now. It all began when my mother brought me home this adorable little unicorn figurine. I don’t think she realized what that one little figurine would start! 15 years later, I have a lot of figurines and am still collecting.

Because I love animal figurines just as much as I love stuffed animals, I have wanted to carry them in the store since I opened it. Well I am excited to announce that in the coming weeks we will finally be adding animal figurines to our store. The main delay with stocking animal figurines has been finding companies to buy from, a lot of figurine companies will unfortunately not work with internet only stores. But I have found a few companies that will, and more importantly, they make high quality figurines that I will be able to sell for reasonable prices.

Out of the companies I have found to work with, I have placed orders with three that should start arriving next week or so. The companies are Sandicast, Quarry Critters and Country Artists. Sandicast has an adorable line called “Snoozers” which features sleeping animals in adorable poses. In addition they have a variety of sizes of animal figurines and Lady Abbies will mainly carry the small size. They specialize in dogs but also have cats and wildlife figurines. I own a few Sandicast figurines, including the black and white springer snoozer above, so I can attest to the quality, value and sheer adorableness!

Quarry Critters by Second Nature Design are resin animals made to look like they are carved from stone, hence the name. These animals, though usually done in simple grays and browns, are still incredibly adorable due to the sweet faces and expressions they are given. Due to the simple colors of most of their figurines, it makes the splashes of colors added in some all the more vibrant and fun. In addition, they have a new floral line which consists of animals covered in big, bright flowers. Quarry Critters also makes stuffed animals and we will be carrying a few of them as well.

Last but not least of the three figurine companies we will be adding to the store is Country Artists. This is a great line that is full of adorable animal figurines. I have an adorable schnauzer puppy figurine in my collection from Country Artists. The figurines from this line range from incredibly realistic looking animals to whimsical animals. In either case, the detail is fine and the quality is superb.

I will be starting out with a small collection of figurines from each company to see how they do but I certainly hope to offer a wider selection representing each in the near future. I hope you all enjoy them at least nearly as much as I do:)

~Erin

Happy Easter & Happy Birthday Dad

Happy Easter Everyone!

For those of us in Southeastern PA, it feels a little bit more like Christmas. I think weather-wise Easter will actually feel more like Christmas then Christmas did! If that makes any sense:) We were even supposed to have snow today but that ended up going further South. That's a relief, don't want to see anymore of that! Once Spring technically arrives, I expect the weather to automatically change over into sunny 70 degree days. Doesn't usually happen that way, but oh well.

Nevertheless, it is Easter weekend and I hope you all enjoy it with your families and friends!

I have to admit it will be a bit of a weird day for me tomorrow. Easter happens to fall this year on what would have been my Dad's 52nd birthday. Yup, would have been.

Hard to believe it was only two years ago that we were celebrating his 50th birthday with a surprise party. I bought him an inflatable walker and everything, all the stuff to rub in the age - over the hill and all of that. Even harder to believe that at that birthday we didn't even know he was sick. We found out in August that he had esophageal cancer and the cancer was bad. It had already spread to other parts of his body, he didn't even know he had it until he developed a lump in his throat that made eating difficult - which led him to go to a doctor. I don't want to bring anyone reading this down with all of the horrible details, too many of us know what this disease is like already, but it was my first time (and how I wish it will be the last) that I ever dealt with cancer so up close and personal and it was awful.

Dad passed away in November of the same year, just 7 months after his 50th birthday party. Suffice it to say, my mind will be on him a lot tomorrow. I am sure losing a parent at any age is difficult and in many ways I was lucky to have my Dad in my life for as long as I did. But 50 certainly feels young these days. My parents were young parents too, so I guess I had just taken for granted that they would be around for a long time to come.

So, wherever you are Dad, Happy Birthday. I'm thinking of you and I love you.

I would like to end this post with a little something that was read at my Dad's memorial service. I am not sure where it came from and believe it is anonymous, but it resonated with me and if any of you out there reading this have lost someone you loved, perhaps you will find some comfort in these words as well.

When I die, give what is left of me to the children. If you need to cry, cry for your brothers and sisters walking beside you. Put your arms around anyone and give them what you need to give me. I want to leave you with something, something better than words or sounds. Look for me in the people I have known and loved. And if you cannot live without me, then let me live on in your eyes, your mind and…your Acts of Kindness. You can love me most by letting hands touch hands, and letting go of children who need to be free. Love does not die, people do. So when all that is left of me is love… give me away…

~Erin