Happy Holiday!

Thank goodness that the world has not ended! Yet- at least... I guess we still technically have 11 hours until we are entirely in the clear, but my gut is telling me that we will all be here to celebrate Christmas with those we love. Today happens to also be my fiance's birthday, how dreadful for the world to be forecasted to end on the day you were born! To all you other December 21st babies, I am sorry those Mayans have given us such a scare! Luckily, they may have been off just a hair or two. Since we are all still here and you are still reading (maybe while standing in line to check out while doing some last minute shopping), we wanted to wish you a Happy Holiday and Fabulous New Year!

 

We wish you and your family

a happy holiday season,

a new year filled with love and peace,

and a home that reflects all the warmth

and beauty of this special season.

 

Circa Charlotte

 

Seated left to right: Catherine Walters with daughter Cate and son Logan, Lindsay Boner with son Henry and daughter Fran, Jane Schwab and Marshall, Cindy Smith with granddaughter Wansley and Sister, Heather Smith with daughter Finley and son Whit, Eleanor Stanley and Olivia

 

Standing, left to right: Cameron Davis with son Jaylen and daughter Camauri, Kathy Smith and Sky, Patricia Flachs, Whitney Sturge and Ellie, Patrick Lewis and Ollie, Addison Ruffin and Cricket, Brigid McCarthy, Janelle Hansberger, Anna Brantley, Arevat Manucharova, Emily Williams and Margo

 

Circa Birmingham

 

Whitney Johnson and Rebecca Davis with Whitney's children (left to right) Jack, Polly and Tipton Johnson

Circa Christmas Cheer!

If you do not already know it, we are so lucky to get to work at Circa. We are made up of 16 people: 15 girls + 1 boy. In case you can not do the math, we are primarily female. The crazy thing? Well, that is that we all get along! Not only do we all get along, we all ENJOY each other. Yep- amazing. You know what else is amazing? I guess I should really ask if you know WHO is amazing, because that would be these two:

 

Pictured above: Jane Schwab and Cindy Smith

 

Those are our bosses. Each year they throw a Christmas dinner for all of us to get together, outside of the confines of 2321 Crescent Avenue, to be celebrate the season and celebrate all that we have thanks to Circa and each individual lucky enough to call Circa "home." And we all believe this... so much so that sweet Emily Williams created a slide show for us to enjoy that night and the song the photos were flipping to was Phillip Phillips "Home." (I am not blog savvy enough to have music playing while you are reading this entry, but if I were it would be on... instead, here is the YouTube, just in case you haven't heard it yet.... such a great song!!!!). But enough with the brown nosing the bosses, back to the

par-tay....

 

SO- in the past three years we have actually firmed up a Circa Christmas Dinner plan. Here is what we do:

 

Around 6:30 PM:  Gather at Jane's lovely home for champagne and hours-de-vours

 

After everyone has arrived and hob-knobbed some, the entertainment begins. This generally falls upon the young guns, but this year- as mentioned earlier- Emily took it upon herself to coordinate the entertainment section of the evening and it was wonderful! Pictures would pass over the screen showing past Circa events (including the pink gorilla singing telegram we ordered to come to Circa for Jane's birthday one year! HA!) and the slideshow could not have been better!

 

Once the entertainment segment is over, we then head to Cindy's home for a seated dinner. It never fails to be delicious. And, of course, gorgeous.

 

 

We generally sit at three different tables, with place cards, and enjoy each other's company. Husband's, boyfriend's and fiance's (in my case!) are all included- which makes it extra special. Sure we all love each other, but it is fun to get to mingle with everyone else's better halves as well.

 

Here are some more photos from the evening, courtesy of Catherine Walters. A BIG thank you to Catherine for making this blog picture filled!! Please excuse the red, demon eyes... iPhone's are not the greatest for avoiding these.

 

Enjoy and I hope that you remember all your blessings during this holiday season and may this blog remind all of us of ours as well:

 

 

Newest members of the Circa Family: Brigid McCarthy and Anna Brantley

 

William, Janelle with Mike, Patricia with Bruce, Kathy, Patrick and Addison

 

Waiting on others to find their place: Brigid, Heather and Jane

 

Mingling: Patricia, Lindsay and Brett

 

Cheers!

All ready for our voyage to the Big Apple!

 

MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Addison Weeks at Circa on Thursday!

Make sure you stop by Circa this Thursday from 10 - 3 for an awesome trunk show by Addison Weeks, a local jewelry designer!  She has great looking jewelry that would be fun for a gift...or for yourself...for the Holidays!  A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Charlotte Humane Society.  Hope to see you Thursday!



These are a few of my favorite things

ADORE! LOVE! OBSESSED! GORGEOUS!

 

These are all adjectives that bounce off of my brain every time we receive a new shipment of Lucy Cope.... anything. And yesterday we received a shipment of her matchstrikes. We try to keep some of her amazing glass lamps on the floor at all times, but they are always gone in a flash! Come in quick to pick up one of these beautiful matchstrikes. My-oh-my would someone on your shopping list be happy...

 

 

Interesting designs and colors.

 

Makes a statement- just look at how the light illuminates this gorgeous design.

 

An array of colors- But they are going fast!!

 

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....

I don't know about you, but Thanksgiving has come and gone in a whirlwind! And I feel like we just started 2012 only a few months ago. But alas, December is coming and you know what that means.... Santa Claus is coming to Circa!

 

Please join us on Wednesday, December 5th to welcome Santa in from the North Pole.

 

Children are welcomed and dogs are encouraged! We will have cookies and crafts to keep everyone happy, while mommy and daddy are allowed to sip on some wine and see what could be on their Circa Christmas list. We hope to see all of you next Wednesday!

From the pages of House Beautiful....

We just got our December/January issue of House Beautiful and spotted a few things that we have in our shop! 

 

 

Lee's Bobby McAlpine Spider Back sofa is one of our favorites, too!  It is in our Simply Circa section for $2,600!

 

 

Check how good these Visual Comfort lamps look in House Beautiful!  We have a pair at Circa for $450 each.

 

 

 

Coffee table books make great Holiday presents or hostess gifts.  Barbara Barry's book Around Beauty is absolutely beautiful!

 

 



New from Market!

Fall Market orders are in....come visit us and check them out!

Lee 1211-01 Swivel

Fabric: Ferris Onyx

$1,595 ea

 

Lee 3701-01

Fabric: Winthrop Camel

$1,460 ea

 

Lee L1935-01

Leather: Tuscon Olive

$1,764 ea

 

Lee 1673-41

Fabric: Hunter Flax

$1,670 ea

 

Lee Drum Ottomans 9203-10

Fabric: Franklin Bark

$360 ea

 

Hickory Chair Gunnison Chair

$1,100 ea

 

 

Common Grounds: Cornucopia 2012

As we have mentioned in the past, Patrick has become a baking celebrity in Charlotte. All thanks to the hard work of the Common Grounds market (you can read our past post on Patrick's Chocolate Bread Fame here ). Some of you may be aware of the Cornucopia that Common Grounds puts on annually, but if not you surely need to check it out!

 

This years is taking place Saturday, November 17th from 11:00-3:00 PM

on the front porch of Theis Mortgage (119 Huntley Place).

 

The Common Grounds cookers are busy, busy creating their specialty treats that are perfect for the holidays. Go by to pick up some easy meals or deserts... you may even find some perfect gifts for this season! Whatever you do- be sure to get close to Patrick's Chocolate Bread. And, if any remains, grab a loaf! You will be VERY happy that you did, I promise!!  

 

 

What's new in Birmingham...

It's beginning to look like Fall in Birmingham! We re-arranged the shop last week, and the shop is looking gorgeous! Let us know if you see any must-haves to help get your home ready for Thanksgiving!

Hey Tipton!

Thought everyone would enjoy this picture of Circa Birmingham's precious model, Tipton Johnson!

Now, who can resist these gorgeous wooden French planters? 

$2800 pair

circa 1800

Simply a Sneak Peak

 

 

 

 

We can not wait for yall to come in tomorrow! Seriously- it has taken everything I have (plus some rules put in place by Cindy and Jane) to not buy everything before yall get a chance to see it. The Simply Circa section looks AWESOME (thanks to Cam and Co's hard work)! And MAN are there some deals going on. Please drop by tomorrow morning and have a coffee with us and feel free to stay until lunch! Again, we will be serving gourmet soup and salad in to-go boxes if your work hours force you to run out on us!!! If not, stay and lunch with us!

 

See you tomorrow, I hope!

Simply Circa

 

 

We are so excited to announce that we are launching a new line: Simply Circa. Simply Circa will introduce beautifully crafted and aesthetically pleasing pieces at a lower price point. If your lunch hour permits, we will have a delicious soup and salad to-go-box ready for you to take back to work (or stay and eat with us!), so you are able to peruse the shop and see how these wonderfully priced pieces can blend with your home, while proving that freshening up or re-designing does not have to bury you in credit card debt!

 

Please come and visit Simply Circa on Thursday, November 8th and be simply blown away.

 

We can't wait to see you.

 

 

 

**TIDBIT: The meal is being catered by Encore Catering, which is a wonderful non-profit that gives jobs and real life experience to students and alumni of the Community Culinary School of Charlotte. All proceeds go back to the school to help fund the education they are providing to many.

"Villa Perfecta"

 

 

Perhaps my favorite quote in our most recent publication is the following, stated by Cindy and Jane's client:

 

"We wanted as much light coming into the house as possible, to live outdoors as much as possible, and, since it's right on the ocean, to be able to walk through the living room with sand on our feet and not have to worry about it."

 

This is exactly what Jane, Cindy and the talented architect they teamed up with (Thomas M. Kirchoff) created. The home is absolutely gorgeous with neutral tones throughout- allowing the outside in. Of course, my scanned images do not do the palette justice, but I hope you forgive me and then run quickly to the nearest grocery store or news stand to pick up your own copy and melt into the pages.
Believe me, it is worth it!

 

 

 The November-December 2012 Veranda article, entitled "Villa Perfecta," does a wonderful job at whetting your whistle in preparation for the release of Jane and Cindy's upcoming book, The Welcoming House: The Art of Living Graciously. As hinted in the article, this featured home is also one of the leading muses giving much inspiration to their book. We could not be more excited by Veranda's interest in this gorgeous Palm Beach jewel or the upcoming release of the book. There will be much more to come as we get closer to the release date, but for now... I hope that you enjoyed the sneak peak Veranda was able to pass along to all of us.