They’ve Come A Long Way Baby!

August 12th, 2009

There’s a new generation of faux flowers that have replaced the shamefully fake flowers of yesteryear! I remember them well, although they never found their way into our home. Even as a child, I noticed that they were unable to satisfy any desire to invite the outside in.

Not so with the beautiful water gardens created by award winner Laurie Burke. Her artistic arrangements dare to imitate nature and encourage a double-take from even the most discerning eye.
She arranges an interesting mix of high quality faux flowers, giving them a sense of motion as though they had not yet been cut from their rooted stems.

These beautiful botanicals will add interest to any room…from a colorful welcome into a large foyer to a sense of calm on a bedside table. Choose flowers to mimic the other colors in your room, bring life to an area with less than optimal light needed to support a living plant or maybe you just don’t have the time to nuture the real thing. In any case, accessorizing is a great way to add interest to any room. I highly reccommend that you take a look at Laurie Burke’s lasting water gardens. See them and Buy them at www.ACozyGift.com.

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If Puff Chairs Could Talk…

June 17th, 2009

They’d be able to fill you in on the movie that you slept through in the comfort of its soft comfy cushions. They’d be able to keep your babysitter awake until you return home, tell your four year old a story or help your college student study for tomorrows exam and wake him when he drifts off to sleep in the sublime comfort of his favorite chair.

Ahhh, but the Puff Chair was created to accomplish a very different mission in life. Whether you choose the Milan wooden frame, the metal framed Scroll Chair or the Scroll Rocker, you’ll expect only one thing from your CTC Puff Chair…that’s the sweet sound of Comfort…a little sigh, a little hummmm even a little snore! However you relax- the Puff Chair will bring a whisper of quiet contentment to your busy life.

See it, Want it and Buy it at www.ACozyGift.com. Type in the word BLOG in the promo code at Check Out and receive free shipping. Every home should have at least one Puff Chair!

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Monkey Haters Keep Out!

June 9th, 2009

Isn’t it fascincating how our mind files away memories until they’re conjured up by some sight, sound or smell? The first time that I saw Umi, Jala and Risa collectible monkey dolls, dressed in their cute baby onsies, I was taken back to my childhood days. My little sister and I were trying to convince our parents to increase our family of five by one member…or should I say one monkey! It seemed like a reasonable request; monkeys are smart, you can dress them in “hand me downs” and they’re sooo cute! We wanted one in the worst way, but sadly, there was no convincing Mom and Dad. I compliantly accepted the bad news but Marianne’s righteous indignation prompted her to post a pointed sign on our bedroom door…”Monkey Haters Keep Out!”.

Now, years later, each time I look at the So Truly Real (TM) collectible Umi, Jala or Risa, I drift back to that day with my little sister. I have no doubt that if Mare were with us today, she’d be wearing a big grin just like mine, at the sight of these lifelike baby organutang dolls. You can see them too at www.ACozyGift.com. I think it’s rather theraputic to surround yourself with things that bring back happy memories!

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Smiles at Any Cost

April 14th, 2009

Isn’t it nice to know that no matter what the budget you can surround yourself with personal affects that will bring a smile to your face, or for that matter, any face that you choose. My website, www.ACozyGift.com, is a great place to start when an affable grin is your goal. Take the adorable flowered baby hats for instance, there’s nothing cuter than a big colorful cabbage rose on a soft little jersey hat when it caresses the chubby pink cheeks of an infant. At $13 you’ll want one for every little one in your life! Who says that dolls are just for little girls? My Grandmother grinned from ear to ear when I presented her with a doll for her 82nd Christmas and my Mother was delighted by the beautiful doll that my Father gave to her when she was in her 70’s.

The dolls on my website are designed by Master Doll Artists and are incredibily lifelike! These So Truly Real (R) dolls are fashioned from a special vinyl that looks and feels like real skin and their hand- rooted hair and delicate eyelashes add to the wonder of the amazing dolls. Decorate your bed or sit them in a little chair and voila!…smiles all around. Most are under $200, a very reasonable price for collectable dolls…bet you’re smiling now!

Now for those with deeper pocketbooks, say to the depth of $3000 or so, you’ve got to log on to www. A Cozy Gift.com and take a look at the handcrafted copper frogs by sulptor J.A. Cobbs. At 4-5 feet tall, these whimsical frog characters are practically guaranteed to evoke wide grins and provoke entertaining conversation! I love the Farm Girl Frog, whose apron makes a perfect container for a bright bouquet. Then there’s St. Francis frog who kindly serves the abiding birds a generous mix of seeds. Any patron of the arts will surly appreciate the Degas frog in her tutu of copper wire. Maybe you’re a restauranteur with a great sense of humor, Chef Frog will catch every eye as he welcomes patrons into your trendy establishment. If your menu is as imaginative as your decor, you’d better order more bread and tell your customers to say cheese!

There you have it, isn’t there someone in your world who needs a smile or even a good hardy laugh?
Visit www.ACozyGift.com for unique and usable gifts to give or to keep!

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It Takes a Grandparent

April 5th, 2009

As a Grandmother, I’ve been very fortunate to have easy access to my grandchildren. Tristan, now eleven, is the oldest grandchild and from the time he was an infant we spent lots of time with him. I’m not certain who enjoyed our time together more, Tristan or his Grandfather and I. One thing for sure, we got the most out of our time together, focusing on important behavioral issues while weaving an element of fun into each lesson. Grandparents have an edge over the parents when it comes to training…we already made all of the mistakes with our own kids! Blessed by the opportunity to make some corrections in our training techniques, we found that we were able to integrate important lessons into just about everything that we did together. Since we were so in love with this precious little boy and we weren’t encumbered by the lack of sleep and all of the daily concerns that plaque parents, our patience seemed to be never ending.

One of the first things that we did on a weekly basis was to take Tristan out to eat, at kid friendly restaurants of course. The ride to the restaturant even incorporated important teachings. We used to start by asking the question, “Who Loves Tristan?” The answer came with a litany of all of the people in his limited sphere of influence including all sides of his family, however, Jesus always held the first position! At first my husband and I, otherwise known as Poppie and GoGo, made sure that every loved one received a mention but before long it was Tristan who fed us all of the names, in no particular order. Ride after ride, we asked the same question and Tristan was content to provide the answer. The next thing that we introduced on our rides was “Red Light-Green Light” pointing out the traffic lights and how Poppie knew when to stop and when to go. Again and again, GoGo and Poppie drew his attention to the color of the lights and ask him whether we should stop or go. It wasn’t long before Tristan was checking out the lights and giving us the corresponding directions on his own. He really surprised us when he began telling which way to turn in order to get to the restaurant! Our next mission was to teach him the basics of restaurant manners; Stay Seated in the highchair from the beginning to the end of the meal, No Yelling and most importantly…”Thank you Jesus for our food and every blessing!” This was surprisingly easliy because we were already on such happy terms from our ride. Consistancy was and is always the #1 key to training. Tristan always knew what to expect from our restaurant outing. He also knew that obeying the rules would never interrupt our fun but disobedience would come with a price…none of us would be laughing.

Unlike some, I never did believe that “it takes a village to raise a child” but there’s no doubt that the love, attention and direction that Grandparents offer plays a very important role in the developement of their children’s children. Now that Tristan is becoming a young man we have new territory to cover with him and two more infants ready for road trips with GoGo and Poppie.

Visit my website, www.ACozyGift.com for wonderful gifts and games for the children in your life!

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Sweet Dreams

March 21st, 2009

Have you ever had a night when any dream at all would be a bonus? Insomnia was driving me crazy, I tossed and turned and watched the clock tick away hours at a time…3 AM, 4 AM…Help, I have to sleep fast! To make matters worse, RLS, restless leg syndrome, had me beating my mattress into submission on a nightly basis! Fortunately, I was introduced to Sanna Carapellotti, Hypnotherapist. She told me about her Sleep CD and the wonderful little speaker pillow that is part of her sleep system.

I purchased the set, and that night, I placed the CD into my player, attached the wire from the speaker pillow into the CD player and voila! I was able to listen to Sanna’s voice as it lulled me to sleep without the distraction of earphones! My husband’s sleep was not disturbed in the least. That really was the beginning of sweet dreams for me. I don’t have to use it every night because I’m able to repeat the method that takes me into a dream state. If I do have difficulty getting to sleep, I can go back to the CD. It was so helpful to me that I asked Sanna to partner with me and allow me to make her Sleep System available to you via my website, www.ACozyGift.com.

So if your sweet dreams are few and far between, do yourself a favor and get help! Just visit www.ACozyGift.com and click on Sense Appeal and Sanna’s Sleep system. Her package includes 3 CD’s and the petite speaker pillow. You’ll wake up feeling refreshed instead of that feeling you get when a truck runs over you!

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Give Your Room A Split Personality!

March 21st, 2009

I recently found a great new accessory for my website, www.ACozyGift.com! It can transform a game room or den, where an unsightly flat screen television hangs on the wall, to a cozy and inviting room perfect for entertaining! Although male readers might find any negative reference to a flat screen TV to be offensive, I’m willing to bet that their wives or girlfriends will see it my way!

The idea of having the flat screen available when the mood strikes and being able to cover it up just before company walks through the door is brilliant, especially when the cover is a gorgeous tapestry! Hold onto your seat guys… there’s some about this idea that’s right up your alley. It comes with its very own remote control! Each beautiful tapestry is factory installed on a motorized rod with a remote control that makes it simple to hide that big screen at a moments notice. European tapestries transform an otherwise manly hide away into a secondary seating area where art becomes the focus. The machine woven tapestries are made in France and Belgium and the hand woven tapestries in China. Both are lovely, scenic and colorful and will add texture and style to most any room. When purchasing, you’ll want the tapestry to be about 10 inches wider than your Flat Screen TV to ensure good coverage. You can view these tapestry flat screen TV covers at www.ACozyGift.com and see how to give your room a split personality!

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Me…A Techie??

March 14th, 2009

Yesterday, when my husband asked me to connect his new printer, he referred to me as a techie! Me… a techie? What an absurdly funny idea! Why I’m from the Royal typewriter era! I will admit, I love sitting down at my computer to work on my website, www.ACozyGift.com. When I do, 4 hours seems to go by before I know it. As a matter of fact, I just read that sitting for long periods of time can put one at risk for blood clots…something else to worry about!

I think my husband is one of a dying breed. An astute business man who uses his computer on a daily basis, he would never turn in his 3×5 cards or his Day Timer for even the most expensive Blackberry! He is also a thoughtful man who will take the time to write a personal note. I’ll bet most people can’t remember the last time they either sent or received a handwritten note.

When I chose to show the beautiful 5×7 note cards by photographer Clare Ascani of Very Clare Photography on my website, www.ACozyGift.com I did so in the hopes of stirring up some interest in the dying tradition of handwritten notes. Clare’s photographs are printed on acid free paper using acid free ink. That means the personal note that you write will last for generations. Wouldn’t you love to have something written by your Great Grandparents? The next time you email family or friends maybe you’d consider snail-mail instead?!

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Tune In to Turn Your Customer On!

February 5th, 2009

My work as a concierge for a four star Pittsburgh hotel provides daily opportunities for me to shine in the eyes of my guests. That desire to shine is the first step to great customer service, in other words, great customer service means caring about the needs of your customer and what you can do for them.

We’ve all had enough negative customer services experiences to recognize the dynamics in an unacceptable encounter; disinterest on the part of the service provider, a tone of unfriendliness, poor listening skills, no problem solving skills, to name a few. So shouldn’t it be as easy as the “golden rule” when the poverbial shoe is on the other foot?

In my estimation…it is as easy! There’s no reason that any of us in a service industry can’t be the best among all the rest of the folks vying for business in todays tenuous market. It all has to do with what I think of as the “tune in factor”. It’s the opposite of what you do when you tune your kids out! Whether over the phone or in person, AM or PM, first guest of the day or the last at night, I must be tuned in to the wants and needs of my guests or customers and ready to engage them in helpful conversation.

So you’re tuned in, but what does that look like to the customer? I’ll share some of my findings from 30 plus years in customer service oriented positions such as radio and tv advertising sales, retail and hospitality. The easiest way to make anyone comfortable right of the bat is to SMILE and make eye contact. By the way, smiling is just as important to a phone call as it is in person. Even if the customer is coming to you with a problem, a genuine smile can be very disarming.

“How may I assist you?” is my way to let them know that they have my full attention. I LISTEN to their words and watch their body language and resist the temptation to interrupt! That’s a tough one at times! In very short order I’m able to assess their needs.

I often ASK specific questions so that I have a clearer picture of their preferences and time frame. Then I go to work to give them options; restaurants, places of interest, entertainment, shopping, day trips and other creative ideas that will make for a memorable visit.

Here’s an important tip to consider, BE PROACTIVE! Whether solving a problem or a regular service encounter your own special touch adds lasting value to your endeavor to accommodate your customer. Give them a little something that they didn’t think of or ask for. In my case, it may mean showing concern for their ease in returning to the hotel by providing a phone number for a reliable transportation service. Pittsburgh is not a cab city! It might be offering ideas for a surprise marriage proposal or pressing a suit for a guest who is preparing for an important appointment. Whatever I can do to show my willingness to go out of my way for my guest is what I do. Of course some things are easier to accomplish than others!

I love making people comfortable, so seeing to the needs of my guests is a great daily misson for me. I want every guest to feel like a VIP. Just imagine how great it would be if the next time you went shopping, the clerk went out of her way to make you feel that you were her most important customer of the day!

There you have it…my RX for great customer service: SMILE, LISTEN, ASK QUESTIONS, OFFER OPTIONS and SOLUTIONS and BE PROACTIVE with your own special touch. When your customer knows that you’re tuned in to him/her you’ll leave a lasting great impression. Great customer service leads to great impressions and great impressions lead to the best form of advertising…”Good Words of Mouth”!

Looking for great customer service and terrific gifts and indulgences online? Please take a look at my website, www.acozygift.com!

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