Lights ~ Camera ~ Action!!!!!

So, have you heard?

We're gonna be in the movies!!!!

A couple of weeks ago I received a call from director, Richard Griffin of Scorpio Films, asking if he could have permission to shoot the front of Brown & Hopkins for use in a film......

I say, "Tell me more....".

He says, "Well, it's called Atomic Brain Invasion."

(laughter....from me.....lots of it....)

I say, "Tell me more....".

He says, "It's a loving homage to the 1950's horror films, and it is set on Block Island, and we would have a shopkeeper out front sweeping the sidewalk, and a 50's car parked on the street. And it is G-Rated."

I say, "Fabulous, sounds fun, and of course you can shoot B & H!"

So today was THE day!

Cruisin' Bruce Palmer, RI radio personality, pulls up front with his vintage car...... a beautiful bright yellow!! Boy, I bet heads turn when he cruises down the street in that gem!

Bruce says, "Ok, Richard is here and it is going to be an action shot. He wants me to pull up quickly, onto the sidewalk, and crash into the building!".

I say, 'Well, I was wanting to do some work on it!!".

Richard walks in to the shop and introduces himself,
and says, "I have some 50's costumes in the trunk of my car."

I say, "You want us to dress up??????????????".

I am thinking, "I know Barbara is not going to go for that!".

He looks at Angela and exclaims,
"She'd be perfect! I have a little number that would fit her perfectly!".

Relieved, I say, "ANGELA!!!!! You're gonna be in the movie!!!!!!!".

We then borrowed a broom (for the shopkeeper actor)
from Jim at Farm Family Insurance across the street,
a vintage purse from Jerry at Post Office Antiques,

dressed her up and we were ready!

ACTION!!!!

CUT!!!!!!! And Richard checks the film....

It's a wrap!!!

Me getting a little creative with the chrome....

How cute is Angela!!???


Director, Richard Griffin; Cat Hainfeld, camera woman; me; and Cruisin' Bruce Palmer

You may view the trailer here....

We are all going to the premiere on September 10th at The Foxboro Orpheum...
it should be fun!!!

A Peek into My Decorating Style

Many of you know that we built a home this year, and recently moved in!
It is so exciting!
Here is a little corner that I recently decorated
and I am so pleased with it!
I love nature and crocks and 'live' things that look alive but aren't! LOL
I do NOT have a green thumb!

Every now and again, I will take some pics
and show you what I am doing in my own home!

If anyone has photos of things they bought at Brown & Hopkins,
feel free to send the photos to me at

shopkeeper@brownandhopkins.com

and I will post them!

We all need a little inspiration!

Delicious Baking Error!

So last night I wanted to try making the baked apples
with the Cinnamon Roll Walnut Jam......BUT,
I left them in the oven too long and almost ended up with applesauce.
Oh, but it smelled too good to toss out!
What could I do?
I was opening cupboards, left and right, looking for something,
anything to pair my mistake with...and then it came to me!
I had a small piece of plain cheesecake leftover from the night before!
I topped that cheesecake with my
Apple Cinnamon Roll Walnut Compote
and away to the couch I went! YUMMO!

Try it!
All I did was line an 8" square baking pan with tin foil for easy clean up!
Fill with peeled and halved Granny Smith Apples (I used 2 apples).
I melted 1 Tbsp. of butter and drizzled it over the top.
Then I heated up 1/3 cup of the Cinnamon Roll Walnut Jam
and spooned it over the apples.
I baked them at 350 degrees for longer
than I should have (about 30 to 40 minutes or so), until they were very soft!

(Sorry, no photos, but it disappeared too quickly!)
It would have been great on ice cream, but my ice cream had frostbite....as it always does! Does anyone else have that problem? I always buy ice cream, and then I never end up eating it for 2 months, until one day when I have a craving for it, and it's no longer edible!

Snow Day!

Well, at least a "Snow Morning"!

We woke up to a few inches of snow this morning,
and with school being cancelled, I decided to take the morning off!

Usually Bruce is just like a boy scout...prepared for anything!
But this storm took him by surprise, and he didn't have his plow hooked up yet, soooooooooo,

now that the town has so kindly plowed the road in front of our house, and the slosh from the road is strewn into our driveway, I would have to get all bundled up, and go out into that frigid weather, and shovel my way out of the frozen crust!
Bruce is at work now, so he would usually be the one doing this!
Of course, I can't stay at home for very long,
so I might just go do it myself, but it won't be right now!
I remember as a teenager,whenever it snowed, I would drive my mother crazy when I said, " I am going shopping!" Oh, she was so afraid to drive in the snow, and would practically have a nervous breakdown whenever I pulled this stunt! Now as a mom, I know how she felt!
Payback is something, ain't it!

If you are planning a visit to the store, please call first!

401-568-4830

You never know how the roads are in our snowbelt of RI,
so if there is no answer, we are closed!
We'll see you on Thursday!
Don't forget,

Candlelight Shopping in Chepachet
is on Thursday Eves from 6pm to 9pm!!!

It'll be so pretty with the snow all around!

Dress warm, and wear your galoshes!

"Yes, MOM!"
Geesh!

Oh, there goes another town plow................UGH!

CLOSED ON SEPTEMBER 20th!!!!!!

If you haven't heard the news...

I am getting hitched!

AM I CRAZY, you ask????

Yup, I am crazy.......

Crazy for the guy who swept me off my feet,

and took care of me while I was rehabilitating from my accident.....

Above photo taken July 2, 2007
Does he realize what he's getting himself into??!!

OH, well....too late now!

The cake is ordered!
And we all know, we can't let good cake go to waste!
On Sunday, September 20th, the store will be closed....

Everyone who works here is going to the wedding!

A great big thank you to all

who sent their best wishes over the past few weeks!

It means so much!!!!

We're Getting an AWARD!!!!

Brown & Hopkins Country Store

has been chosen to receive

the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council's

Footprints in History Award!

This is in honor of our 200th year
in continuous operation!

How exciting!!!!!!

This honor will be given during the

BVTC's, 24th Annual Awards Dinner and Silent Auction.

The event is being held on September 24th
at Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, RI.

Also being honored is Danny Smith ~ Co-Executive Producer, writer, actor of The Family Guy tv show! My kids love that show!

The event is open to the public.
Click here for tickets and more information,

or call 401-724-2200....
They are serving Chicken Piccata (YUM)
or a Vegetarian Eggplant Tower!

It is with great sadness that I won't be able to personally accept this award of the stores' behalf, as my honey and I will be on our honeymoon....

Let me know if anyone wants to stand in on my behalf.....
To accept the award SILLY,

not go on the honeymoon!!!!!!!!!!!

Flag Thief Update

Remember a while back where I posted
someone had stolen my red petunia
and 3 of my flags from the front of the store?

Well, I thought you all would be
waiting with bated breath
(where does that saying come from, anyway?! I'll google it!)
on what I discovered....

In my best detective voice......

On the morning of July 4th,
we were preparing the store
to be open for the parade.....

We had a flurry of customers
from 3pm to 4pm, and had given away
several dozen flags to customers in that hour.

At approximately 4pm,
the parade was about to begin.
A crowd on onlookers gathered out front.

I noticed a red petunia placed
upon our bench, and a couple of ladies
where sitting next to it. I assumed it was their petunia.

Then I noticed two flags placed
in our whiskey barrel.
I assumed a couple of customers
had stuck their free flags
there "to hold" while they watched the parade.

It was then, that the parade ended...
the crowd dispersed,
and the petunia and the two flags remained.

AH HA!

The "thief" must have been guilt ridden
and returned the stolen items!

What is further interesting to me is this...

Originally I reported that 3 flags were taken.
When, in fact, only 2 were.

Hence, the reason that only 2 were returned.

CASE CLOSED.

Now, if I can only figure out why
people decide to "hide" the wrappers
(or just throw them on the floor)
from the complimentary mints

we give to them,
rather than placing them in their pocket or purse.

And if I have to pick up one more used toothpick from the fudge samples we give away!
For goodness sakes, we have a trash can near the candy counter, and the coffee area!

Oh yeah, and about that phrase...

It's "waiting with BATED breath". To bate is to reduce, lessen or diminish. Waiting with bated breath implies waiting with such suspense that one is hardly breathing.

I know, you might not have been able to sleep tonight......

My Baby Turns 21!!!

I was going through my box of memories the other day,

when I came across this collection of photos!

It was Sam's 7th birthday,
and it is the look of his little brother Kevin's face
that is so expressive and priceless."Ooh, Look at those candles........."

Little devilish voice inside Kevin,
"I can't wait to blow out those candles........!"



"Hey............no fair, I wanted to blow them out!"
Of course, we were probably all saying to Kevin..."It's your brother's
birthday, don't blow out the candles..." Meanies, huh?

"Awww....he gets to lick the frosting too............................. "
Sam, "That's right 'cuz it's MY birthday!"

" Ooh, maybe that's my piece!!!"
Oh, I am afraid not Kevin...this is Sam's big day!

Say, "Thank you Mom, for not using the completely naked bathtime photo!"
Your welcome Sam!

You'll always be my baby!
Happy 21st Birthday Sam!

Love, MOM

Here is a current pic of Sam doing what he loves most.....
Rock crawlin'.......Keep on truckin' Sam!!!!!

If I Ever Won The Lottery....

I would buy this bed!!!

I love, love, LOVE IT!!!!!!

It's just a mere $5,000...... LOL

Better start buying those tickets......

Boy...Am I MAD!

My sister gave me two gorgeous,
huge hanging pots of red petunia's
for the front porch of the store!
And last night, some *&%&$#@!!! stole one of them,
along with 3 American flags! Not too American, if ya ask me.

I truly hope they enjoy their hot petunias and American flags.

Cookbook Update

I am sooooooooooooooo lucky!!!

Why?

Well, for those of you who don't know,

let me explain....

For months we have been collecting recipes from friends and customers

so that we may put together a
200th Anniversary Brown & Hopkins Recipe Book.

It was a long process of gathering the recipes, proofreading, etc.....

And just when we were all set to deliver the recipes to the printer,

I had to email a question to them.....

And I never received a response!

So then I tried phoning.....

and the phone just rang and rang and rang......

*&%?!#$!!*&#%!!!!!! WT!!!!

They are out of business!

I just spoke to the gal about a month ago,
and told her the recipes
were going to be on their way shortly!!!!

All I can think at this point is
"I am so lucky that I didn't send all those recipes off!!".

So I am now in the process of typing each recipe out by myself.......

Have you ever seen me type? I use 2 fingers and each thumb.......

This may take a month of Sundays.

If anyone out there is an excellent typist,
knows how to cook,
has excellent punctuation,
has a PC with newer Windows based operating system,
I could sure use some help!

Oh, and while I am at it,
if anyone else would like to submit some recipes,
now would be the time!
We have about 250 so far,
and we could use some more, in every category, except Baked Goods.
I need them by the end of June!

The cookbook will be ready by the end of September!!!!

Fingers and Toes crossed......

It's Funny How Life Turns Out Sometimes....

When I was a little girl, I always loved horses. How many of you had one of these steeds as a child?
This is a photo of me at four years old....just 43 years ago as of this Friday!!!
OMG, did I just tell you how young I am!!??? LOL

Do you remember riding the mechanical horse at Ann & Hope for a dime?
Oh, a trip to that store, was never complete without a ride on that wonderful pony with the western saddle..... I remember it like it was just yesterday.

As I got older, I also remember how I would make jewelry, or seashell mirrors, or pet rock paperweights, and go around to all my neighbors, and ask them if they would like to buy something. So, I guess you would say that my entrepreneurial skills go way back. It's just in my blood. I love people, and I love seeing them happy with their purchase. And some days, you may visit Brown & Hopkins, and not buy anything, and that is OK too. We enjoy the visit with you.

The other day we had some very nice compliments........

A man said, "I just love coming into this store. It is such a stress reliever!".

A lady said, "In this day and age, customer service is everything, and I always feel so appreciated when I shop here.".

Another said,"This is my most favorite store in the whole wide world!"

And from a child, "This is the best store in the world!".

Comments like those make our day!
Thank You!
Oh, and one more thing......
Since my birthday is Friday,
We will be giving away gifts to
47 lucky winners!
All you need to do is subscribe to receive automatic emails of our blog...
Just fill out the form in the upper left hand corner,
and don't forget to
activate it
by opening the email you receive,
and clicking on the link.
Only active subscribers
will have a chance to win!!!
Winners will be announced in a blog post
by 6pm on Friday!

10 Bullet Points That Describe My Current Thoughts

In no particular order:

* I am wondering why 196 days seems like so much shorter a time span than 6 1/2 months??? Bruce and I are tying the knot in September, and the days are just flying by!

* I am so proud that my two boys will be ushers in my wedding, and that Sam has agreed (with very little arm twisting on my part) to escort me down the aisle.

* I am thankful that business has been good, and that I need to reorder so many different things!

* I am having a heck of a time choosing a song for my bridesmaids to walk down the aisle to.....I am pretty "particular" about listening to the lyrics and making certain they convey how I feel about them. Did I say "particular"......I really meant to use a four letter word beginning with "A".

* I am sooooooooooooooooooooo excited to have found a gown that is "me"! At this time I would like to thank all the bridal shops for putting up with me!!!! Ya know, trying on bridal gowns is just about as personal as delivering a baby........There are usually several people in the room, you are half naked and all are watching! HA

* I am sad that my tenants moved out of my rental apartment, but happy that they bought a home. They were dream tenants.....

* I don't like the guy who walks his dog on my lawn at the store, allows it to do its business, and then claims it isn't his dog..... Well, let me tell you, yesterday the proof was in the pudding....his (and Fidos) footprints were left in the snow, as well as the doo~doo. Grrrrrrrrrrr

* I feel so much more alive now that it isn't getting dark until 7pm!!!

* I am looking forward to two new additions to our extended family this year! My niece and my nephew and his wife are both expecting babies soon! I wish that we got together more often......

* I love laughing everyday.............. it's always nicer when the laugh lines override the frown lines. : )

A Moment in The Life of This Shopkeeper

I woke up this morning at 5am...... which is unheard of for me!
A thought popped into my head....

"I don't think I mentioned the dates of the Red Tag Sale in the email I sent out yesterday!!!!"
"Oh #@*^!!!!!!!"

So I try to roll over and go back to sleep, but it just was not going to happen.

So I get up, and then discover, I was supposed to get coffee filters, as I had used the last one yesterday....

But I forgot!

I am nothing without my coffee!

NOTHING, I tell you!!!!

I then remember I have a 4 cup coffee pot packed away in a box somewhere, with 4 cup filters....also packed away in a box somewhere in the house!!!

So at 5:30 I am rummaging through all my boxes of stuff, that probably will go unpacked until 2015 (at which time I will decide to have a yard sale, but that is another story!)

Eureka...I found them!!!!!

Now, I can get the caffeine running through my veins and I will go check the email, that I, and Angela, and Barbara had all reviewed before hitting the "send" button......

Barbara and I were obsessing over the spelling of vacuum.....I have been spelling it wrong for my whole life...... I could have sworn is was "vacumn"!

Anywho, long story short.........

I did neglect to provide the dates
for the Red Tag Sale!

They are..........drum roll please......

January 2, 3, 4!!!

So that, my dear friends, is a moment in the life of this shopkeeper!

Do you think it should become a regular addition to the blog?

Please leave a comment......
I am going back to bed.....