The Elves of Sticks and Stones - Featuring Elf Sonja Meet Sonja Tell us about yourself. I am elf Sonja, the owner of Sticks & Stones. I live in the woods where even cell phone reception seldom finds us. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family including my husband Steve and two teenagers, Shelbi and Sam. I love to bead and knit but my favorite hobby these days is watching my kids play ball. They are so fun to watch, I don’t want to miss any of it as it will all be done too soon. When do you usually like to put up your tree? Tree… did you say tree? That makes it sound like we are only suppose to have one. I love decorating for Christmas and have accumulated many wonderful antique Christmas trees, ornaments, and other decorations. Sometime between the end of November and beginning of December my husband brings an entire truckload from the shed including a forest of trees and totes filled with goodies. It is so fun to see all the things after a year of being stored. We do buy one real tree also each year. Who is the easiest person to shop for on your list? Definitely my mom. She always has a list of ideas with great detail (sometimes right down to the UPC code). If it doesn’t work for me to get it bought she can do that too along with wrapping it and putting it under the tree. All I have to do is reimburse her. I think she’s in for a surprise this year…I totally fooled her and got something not on the list, hope she still likes it! Do you do your shopping throughout the year, or do you save it all for the last minute? I shop all the time, that’s my job. Throughout the year I shop for items to fill the store so everyone else can buy the perfect gift . Christmas rolls around and I say oh, what about my list of people? The scramble begins as I check out all the LOCAL BUSINESSES (had to get that plug in since it’s so important to me) for the perfect gifts. Sonja is lovin these bracelets this year. These look awesome stacked up, and we have lots of styles to choose from. They come in great colors and soft leathers, some are very simple, and some have a little bling, pair them with some of our beaded and woven bracelets for a really hot look. If these look familiar to you, perhaps you have spotted your favorite Celebrity sporting some of these Good-Works bracelets as well, they are all over Hollywood. Not only do they look good, they do good as well. The mission of the Good Works bracelet is start a movement of "doing random acts of kindness and encourage doing good works to children and familys in need." What a great way to remind yourself and others to do good all year long! Posted by sticks and stones No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest The Elves of Sticks and Stones - Featuring Elf Sara Meet Sara Tell us a little bit about yourself. I've now worked at Sticks and Stones for just over a year and love everyday at work. Beyond my job at Sticks and Stones, I work at the Cottage Cafe in Amboy, volunteer for the Adaptive Ski Program. I have many hobbies including volleyball, skiing, snow shoeing, camping, rock climbing, kayaking, and pretty much anything outdoors both summer and winter. I enjoy spending with my boyfriend John and his two kids Briann and Garret. The kids are very active with sports and keep us busy traveling to watch games. What Christmas tune do you like to listen to over and over again? Happy Christmas (War is over) by John Lennon. What is your Christmas wish this year? My Christmas wish is not likely to happen, but I would love a white Christmas. If not a white Christmas, then a blizzard soon there after!!! What is a favorite Christmas movie of yours? It is a close tie between Love Actually and The Holiday. Sara love Thymes products, her favorite scent is Kimono Rose. The Thymes products are made right here in Minnesota and each scent carries lotions, soaps, candles, perfumes, and more. The Frasier Fir is very popular this time of year and would make a wonderful hostess gift. Or pick some things out for yourself, a special holiday scent for you and a Frasier Fir candle to burn while you are entertaining guest at your home. Posted by sticks and stones No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest The Elves of Sticks and Stones - Featuring Elf Eve Meet Eve Tell us about yourself. I have three wonderful kids and the best husband in the world! My husband and I are from Willmar, MN but we have lived in the Mankato area for about 18 years. The kids all graduated from West High School. And now they are all living, playing, studying and working in Denver, CO (and yes, probably in that order!). We spend time in Colorado (love the outdoors), Mankato (love shopping at Sticks & Stones!) and at the lake in Spicer, MN (love everything about the lake). I personally enjoy anything artsy, craftsy, re-purposing, re-finishing, designing, decorating, and of course shopping. I like to spend my free time doing all the above, however, my husband guilts me into a workout everyday; usually biking, running or swimming. Christmas time makes me think of... How incredibly blessed I am that Jesus gave his life for little old me! What is one of your favorite childhood Christmas memories? As kids, we would all pile in the car on Christmas Eve to go look for Santa's sled in the starry night. Funny how he had always been to our place when we got home! Never did see his sleigh, but I still BELIEVE! What are you hoping Santa brings you this year? Good health and continued retirement! What is the best gift you have ever given for Christmas? One year we gave the kids a trip to Disney World and we didn't tell them until Christmas Eve – we left Christmas Day! They loved it – so did we. Do you like to bake anything special for the holidays? Oh ya... home made lefse! It's quite a production by the time you make the dough; roll it out very, very thin; grill it; spread it with butter while it's still warm; sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar; and then sit back and savor. It's to die for. Eve wants to make sure that she and her family have lots of fun this Christmas, and that is why she loves the unique games she can find at Sticks and Stones. Bannana Grams, Farkel, and Zip-It are some great games to give as gifts. They make sure the laughter and conversation keeps going long into the night. Posted by sticks and stones No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest You're invited Shopping procrastinators, how's your gift list coming along? You can still beat the clock! From 4:00pm to 7:00pm pick a present to reveal your 25% - 50% discount on your ENTIRE purchase of merchandise! For those who are ready for Christmas, get a jump start on spending your Christmas cash. Enjoy snacks & beverages, take advantage of the fun and enjoy this great discount. Posted by sticks and stones No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest The Elves of Sticks and Stones - Featuring Elf Dan Tell us about yourself… My name is Dan. I am a college student and also the brother of Sonja who owns Sticks and Stones. My mom is elf Jan. Sticks and Stones has been a business since I graduated high school and I would not argue with anyone if they said I was the driving factor behind the concept of the business. I live in an apartment with one roommate and my cat Lenore. I was originally hired as ‘eye candy’ which means I was supposed to stand around and be masculine to drive women to the store, while the clothes inside would kept them there. However, I am also talented as an expert conversationalist and a humble worker who will not settle for less than perfection. My hobbies include, but are not limited to: stamp collection, recreational sports watching, doing whatever it takes to not make my girlfriend mad at me, and drinking coffee. Some of your holiday traditions include... Getting together on Christmas Eve and eating a ridiculous amount of small appetizers, fighting off sleep and eventually opening presents. When do you usually like to put your tree up? I do not have a tree but this question implies there is a reason to take a tree down once it is up. This simply will not do as I would prefer to go through the effort of honoring Christmas all year long. What are you hoping Santa brings you this year? I am hoping for cellular phone. I have always wanted one that would go on the Internet and do stuff like checking Facebook, and one that will text and call people. Who is the hardest person to shop for on your list? Sonja Who is the easiest person to shop for on your list? Myself Do you do your Christmas shopping throughout the year, or do you save it all for the last minute? Mostly last minute... I do all my shopping throughout the year, although I tend to wait until the last minute to buy it. Dan likes these handy little cord holders. They are a great way to keep all those cords from getting into a tangled mess. Hopefully if Dan gets that new phone he is asking for, Santa will throw in one of these handy little tools too. They work great for iPods, cell phone, mp3 players or any other gadget you might be wrapping up for the holidays. As you can tell from reading about him, Dan is quite a funny elf. Have you read up on some of the other elves working hard at Sticks and Stones? If you haven't be sure to take a look, and check back here later to meet a few more of the elves and their gift ideas for Christmas. Posted by sticks and stones No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest The Elves of Sticks and Stones - Featuring Elf Stacy Meet Stacy Tell us about yourself… Hi, my name is Stacy. I live in Waseca with my husband John, our son Oscar, a dog named Norton and Zoe the cat. We live in a little old house, that John and I, have spent many hours fixing up and making feel like “home”. I absolutely have the best job at Sticks and Stones. I am the little “elf” that comes in late at night and works on all the display and visuals in the store. I have always loved to decorate, so naturally I love the creative outlet I get from doing displays at Sticks and Stones. My husband loves it too, because now I can channel some of my artistic energy into the store, instead of painting our bedroom a different color every week or rearranging all our furniture in the middle of the night, although these habits haven’t stopped completely. When I am not working at Sticks and Stones, I spend the day playing with race cars, drawing and coloring bugs, and reading books with my favorite little man, Oscar. Life is pretty good I’d say. What do you look forward to eating during the holidays? As crazy as this sounds…the pickles and olives, they are always served in a fancy crystal dish, and somehow that dish makes them taste so good! That, and I love homemade mashed potatoes topped with corn, stuffing, buns with lots of butter, and THE DESSERTS….as I am thinking about all of it my mouth is watering! I think I look forward to eating in general during the holidays. What are you hoping Santa brings you this year? For the last decade or so, I have jokingly let anyone who would listen know that I wanted a vintage camper for Christmas. My husband must of finally had enough, and couldn’t stand hearing that one more year, because this summer he got me an 1968 Avion camper as an anniversary gift! What a guy, huh!!! So this year I am asking for a record player, I decided to make it a little easier on the poor guy (Santa and my husband). What is your favorite Christmas song (or album)? At our house we have been listening to A Very She & Him Christmas non stop. But I can’t name a Christmas song I don’t like, I have even been know to play some of my Christmas CD’s in the middle of summer because I like them so much. What is the best gift you have ever received for Christmas? 2 years ago I was very pregnant with Oscar, our house was under construction, and we planned to travel out of town for Christmas, so we decided that we would hold off on the Christmas decorating that year. Well, a blizzard canceled our trip out of town, and being pregnant and hormonal, I was a “little” bummed that we would spend Christmas without a Christmas tree. So my awesome husband surprised me Christmas Eve morning with a tree of our own. Our tree was probably pretty sad looking to others, it only had a few ornaments hung on it and ½ of the lights were burnt out, but I thought it was the best Christmas tree ever (and Christmas present). What is your favorite Christmas movie? Just like Christmas music, I can’t seem to get enough of Christmas movies either. The top three on my must watch list are; Love Actually, A Christmas Story and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Stacy's loves to give something homemade as Christmas gifts, so she is absolutly loving the new Junk & Jewels at Sticks and Stones. With Junk & Jewels it is so easy to create something unique as a gift for you or someone else. All you have to do is choose your charms, gems, or other knick knacks and add them to the necklace chain. The charms are so unique, some are vintage pieces and some are things that other may have overlooked as "junk" but with a little imagination have been turned into a really cool piece. What Stacy loves about these necklaces is that you can really make them to fit the personality of the person you are giving it too. It is sure to be a gift they will treasure forever. Posted by sticks and stones No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest The Elves of Sticks and Stones - Featuring Elf Sandi Meet Sandi Tell us about yourself. Holiday Greetings from Sleepy Eye! My name is Sandi. I have been blessed with a wonderful and very supportive husband, James, for 25 years. We have lived in Sleepy Eye, in our quaint home where we have raised two independent, adventurous, and passionate children. In the very little free time I have, I truly enjoy spending quality time with my family. Also, I love to embroider, take walks in our woods, cook, scrapbook, play cards and board games, read, curl up with a blanket and watch a funny movie, and most importantly take time out of my day to do something nice for someone. Don’t forget to stop everyday and smell the roses and be thankful for all the precious gifts, friends, and moments of the day. Furthermore, I truly love my job at Sticks and Stones. It’s like my second home away from home! I previously taught 1st grade for 21 years. I am currently working as an Administrative Assistant/Staff Coordination/Home Health Aide at Sleepy Eye Area Home Health where I serve our Volunteers of America Assisted Living Campus. Some of your holiday traditions include… Sending out Christmas cards, baking cookies, cutting down a tree from our woods and dragging it home, decorating for the holiday season the day after Thanksgiving, watching my kids put their own special ornaments of the tree that were given to them by my extraordinary sister (their second mom), watching the movie Elf with my husband and kids laughing, playing games, buying a special gift for someone in need, and many more. What do you look forward to eating during the holidays? I am truly looking forward to fonduing during the holiday season. I promised my son who is coming home from Portland, Oregon that we would. Who are you hoping to catch under the mistletoe? I hope my sweetie finds a mistletoe this year and uses it for ME! Favorite Christmas music? My favorite Christmas CD is Holiday Jazz and Best of Christmas. Christmas time makes me think of… Christ, happiness, rest, ice and snow, Silent Night, treasures, my family and friends My Christmas wish is… That my children make it home safe and sound for a fun filled Christmas. My Christmas wish for all of my family and friends is that they have a merry Christmas and many blessing s throughout the New Year. We have a great selection of jackets at Sticks and Stones, and Sandi thinks they make a great gift for any fashionable lady. She plans on giving this army green jacket from Pink Martini to someone very special this year. Whoever this cute coat goes to will have a very stylish winter! Posted by sticks and stones No comments: Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest Newer Posts Older Posts Home Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Two Locations {Mankato, MN} 1027 N. 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