Grand Heron 2010---

We have, as a family, suffered muchly through the last 3 LONG years of getting this ol' gal back on her feet.

Blood, Sweat and MAny ManY tears have been shed.

Today, we came full circle..

When I arrived for the Open House this morning I pulled up across the street from this beautiful historic building and had to take a deep cleansing breath, so not to cry..I just cannot tell you how important this day was for all of my family. I went to bed nervous that no one would show up. I heard in my head things like..

Its been too long...

We have found another great place to shop...

things like that..

But today..

TODAY..

you all made my heart sing. Each and every one of you, with your huge smiles and willing hugs.Your joyful gasps when you opened the door.

righ now, its too much even for me to write about.

We Metkes thank you from the bottom of our little hearts for your support.

We appreciate you beyond words.

Thank you Thank you Thank you.

we are back where we belong.

Will decorate for hugs..

<3 

Change..is in the air

Clearly, the rains have arrived to Washington State.

Im not sure Im ready for this part of the year.

My roof is still not fixed

NO THANKS TO FARMERS INSURANCE

People, if you learn one thing from reading this mindless nonsense I write about here, its this.

if you have FARMERS insurance

Please PLEASE do yourself a favor..

FIND.ANOTHER.COMPANY!!!

We ask nothing more than to get our roof fixed from dammages we suffered

LAST DECEMBER

5 bids from qualified contractors state the roof is in need of more than repair, caused by the "wind lift"

FARMERS INSURANCE, who I have had for 15 years..

SENT ME A CHECK FOR $118.00

The lowest bid for fixing the damage, you ask?

25,992.oo

This is all separate from any problems that my glorious

GRAND HERON has had.

Thats another dreadful story.

<>

PEOPLE PULLLEEEEEZZZZE!

Whats in store...Grand Heron Style, girls..

Hey there!

Its a new day dawning at

Grand Heron

Yes, it is..we are going to start carrying a little more coastal style.

That said, A good designer of terrific casual interiors is going to find its way into the shop.

Anne Selke of Pine Cone Hill fame is starting to show up!

Yes indeed..

wonderful 100% cotton woven rugs and runners in great kicky stripes of any color combo or size you can imagine.. my fave here, sunflower ticking on the stairs..
or yet another fun color combo..
shes got great wooden trays in this white wash or a terrific dark black wash..
the BEST EVER, fleece cozy pjs.. oh yes..
There are great bedding combos, too numerous to even photo. I mostly have ordered pillows and throws to start, but if you see something you want, I can totally get it for you..
I am very excited about the new style direction part of the shop is going to transition into.

Check out pineconehill website and see what I mean!

I cant wait~~What do you think?

Lisa

coastal nest

:)

"Hey, Lisa whats new at Grand Heron?" ...you ask

Like to see it?

Here we go..

adorable reproduction brown transferware plates, 7 different styles, cute sachets and a handful of darling bird prints...

A great few dozen bracelets, perfect for this time of year. Tons of fun greens and blacks with a few kicky colors added in for a great relaxed look and lots of interest.

Art on your wrist! (my mom wears 2 or 3 at a time!)

I absolutely love these new "vintage" look gathering of wood canes.

great instant collection, if you want.

Hello, miss beautiful! gorgeous Marilyn Monroe style chandelier, Not sure why I called it the Marilyn-but.. its very stylish and sexy in white glass, I am going to find just the right shades for this beauty at market this weekend. Then.. you just wait.. Magnifique..no?

the double frame oval. adorable. perfect for your beach house..(or MY beach house!)

Then theres this SWANKY chair, I ordered. I adore it and think I will divorce BobVilla and marry this chair.

Hello Black and white new armless chairs and fun FUN FUN houndstooth ottoman.

not to mention the gorgeous YELLOW vases..

I ordered this for Pdub..think shell come and get it? yee haw! totally cute and unexpected.Wouldnt you say? On a cowhide rug, no less-
Another chair..It was the week of chair delivery, if you havent noticed. Cute and cuddly, great chair to cozy into and read a book or two..
Then theres this chair..Okay..If I havent told you yet, my boyfriend is going to come in and buy this chair, right after he gets done TOURING..

I know you know who I am talking about and I am sure you can see him and his beautiful bod in this sexy SEXY chair, leg flung over the arm saying

come on over baby..sit by me

now for all you readers click on that "come on over" above for the~reveal~

please read the whole thing, because you will see at the end who will look so goooooood in this chair~~~

Oh, its hot in the city...tonight!

When it all starts coming together...

Remember this dude, from the last post? Uncle Butch. He has been, and always will be a sign painter. FROM WAAY BACK.

Its the only thing he does, well he does lots of custom stuff, including custom work like Harley Bikes, tricked out cars or trucks, anything that needs a cool custom paint job- hes the man.

He did our new signage for the new temporary location.

I adore it.

Simple

great black and white, easy to read, and it lets the potential shopper know what exactly is inside the shop.Behind the counter, in white with a little silver stripe.

Just in case you need to remember where you are when you are writing that

LARGE check... for all you fabulous interiors you just purchased

from

MOI!!

Here are Dad and Uncle Butch up on the awning. BE CAREFUL OLD DUDES!!!

Here are some cute little helpers. Lord those children are

ADORABLE, agree? I knew you would.

This, my friends, is my favorite new piece of signage.

The marquee sign.

THIS can get a girl going.

Although its a temporary spot its turning out to be a

magnificent start...

to something even more

GRAND!!!

stay tuned

Its been 4 months..forchrissakes!!!!!!!!!

It AMAZES me that I have been out of work since

December 3rd, when hurricane force winds DESTROYED our lovely

historic Masonic Temple building that housed my beloved

Grand Heron..

My parents, are having the highest anxiety of their collective lives. Stress beyond belief.

EVERYDAY

There has been absolutely little to no communication from our lovely insurance adjuster.

Its almost like we do not even matter.

NOT ONE CENT.

20 YEARS

TWENTY!!! and this is the treatment you get.....

This company SHOULD BE EMBARASSED beyond belief AND COMPLETELY TOTALLY

ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!!!!!!!

Im sure they arent.

They are scary!!!!

Here are some photos of my passion, my mothers passion and a store that will never "be" again.

It breaks my heart.

SOOO

sad.

sorry- had to vent.

Beautiful, huh?
This photo was taken before the open house in November 2007
Our beautiful front doorMore lovliness

I could cry...some more...

The wheels of progress turn slowly, my friends...

I am so disgusted. FURIOUS in fact- so, please be aware that a rant will ensue. I am sorry, I just have to.......

THE INSURANCE "GAME" S U C K S!!!! BIG TIME. I cannot believe that we STILL to this very day, January 14Th @ 4:30pm west coast time,(wind storm was Dec 3rd, mind you) we still have not heard anything from our adjuster. Only to let us know that is our RESPONSIBILITY to secure the roof, which If you remember, is laying on the ground in our parking lot like a wet newspaper. My dad has had a very large construction company atop the building 4 times, its still leaking like a sieve. EVERy Day we go and empty the many many buckets of water that have found their way to the floor, everyday we hear nothing. Let it be known that we have dutifully followed the instructions of "him" almighty insurance adjuster- the first time "he" appeared, 5 days after the storm. Still no phone calls, no return calls and no response. I AM GETTING TIRED OF STAYING IN LIMBO MODE! Save the building, dont save the building. The stress on my parents is unbelievable, kind of like one of those life changing moments where you wake up and your hair is white- and when you went to sleep your hair was brown. You know the folklore, I can see the wrinkles and stress on them everyday- new. It is shameless and "insurance man" should be spanked-hard. We are waiting.........still..

SORRY!!

Thanks, I feel better-a little

LOVE YA

Lisa

Is this a dream?

Here are more photos from our disaster. They are painful for me to post and very painful to even look at.

This time of year should be full of dressy clothes, a deluxe gift wrap job for all the gorgeous gifts purchased, and smiles of delight from customers checking off their to do lists, because everything anyone could dream of gift giving was here, as the high season was, and I think is, in full gear. Not so, not even close

.......NOT FOR US!!!!!!!!

As you can see, there was a lot of water, and alot of damage in the shop. Luckily, after daybreak we got inside the Grand Heron and got tarping. Which saved a majority of stock. My brother is a painting contractor and had tons of this plastic runner, he did a great job.

There is over 1million dollars worth of damage to our baby, this is only structural. This is heart wrenching.

Last photo. My mom and dad book ending my 3 delights, after a hard day of work,
We are all safe, our electricity is back on, and the love still flows. Like water through a building.

take care-
Lisa

a sad, sad day

This is our parking lot at work, That black ball of stuff is our roof.
Remember how beautiful this window was 1 month ago today when I posted?
And this one?
We have been reduced to nothing but sopping wet goods. The 100 plus mile winds we had Monday night ripped off our roof,blew the windows in and spilled so much water into the shop. There was nothing anyone could do... except cry.