Girls Night Out Recap & Memorial Day Weekend

Girls Night Out was a Hit!

We had a blast last night at our soap making party!

I think it is safe to say that everybody, everywhere

LOVES SOAP

It doesn’t matter how old, man, woman, child.

Last night at our garden party we had men, women and children of all ages making soap and having so much fun!

Jo & Taylar melting the vegetable glycerine to make custom soap!

We met a former Marine who crafted patriotic soap, a teenage boys who worked hard to craft the perfect soap, and young kids that got very creative with soap!

Being that this was an invitation as well as open event, we had some interested wanderers roam in the doors. They were timid at first, but were quick to jump on the vegetable glycerin band wagon.

Long time attendees and devoted Girls Night Outers loved the evening and even helped out the first-timers, showing them the ropes.

Since people love soap, our featured item of the night was soap!

All Primal Elements soaps were 25% off!

For those guests who printed out a coupon from the e-vite the PJ girls sent out, the soaps became 50% off!

Anyone that RSVPed received a $5 off coupon for anything in the store.

One of the many pleasures of being on the guest list are special insider information

The lovely Alissa sipping on some iced tea

Our delicious treats and drinks were yummy and enjoyed by all.

Iced Tea

Veggie Plate

Mini Sandwiches

Cookies

One true joy of the night was the sweet guests thanking us for putting on the Girls Night Out.

This night is always a treat for the PJ Girls.

Jeana & Beth sure do love our Girls Night Out parties!

We find so much happiness in watching strangers become friends, parents interacting with their children, laughter filling the room, all mixed with creative juiced pumping the party up even more!

Thank you so much for those of you who came! We are looking forward to our next party together!

Check out some of our guests wonderful work:

Memorial Day weekend is always a huge Flagstaff party!

The weather is gorgeous.

There are many events to attend and enjoy.

Click Here for local events going on this weekend!

Friday May 28

Movies on the Square! Bring your camping chairs, blankets and sweaters. Beverages & treats for sale.

Downtown Flagstaff’s Heritage Square

Entertainment begins at 6:00 p.m. Show starts at dusk. 6:00 p.m.; free

High of 74 degrees & clear!

Saturday May 29

Memorial Day through Labor Day Ranger Guided Ledge Hike begins!

Hike with a Ranger through Sinaguan ruins in the backcountry of the monument. 3+ hour hike, 3 miles, strenuous. Reservations required.

Walnut Canyon National Monument 9:00 a.m.; free

High of 68 degrees & clear!

Sunday May 30

Community Farmers Market starts back up for the season!

Featuring the freshest in regional fruits, vegetables, honey, baked goods, fresh flowers, tamales, jams, breads and more.

Flagstaff City Hall Parking Lot 8:00 a.m.-noon.

High of 72 degrees & clear!

Monday May 31

Heritage Square Trust's Summer Concert Series

Presents Ballet Folklorico de Colores, Heritage Square.

A delightful afternoon with traditional Mexican dance, Mariachi and more.

Downtown Heritage Square 2:00-4:00 p.m

High of 72 degrees & clear!

Ya'll have a blast in Flagstaff!

Girls Night Out, Garden Party Style

The end of May is upon us, and you know what that means.

It's Time for a

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

GARDEN PARTY

Wednesday

May 26th

6-9pm

What is Girl's Night Out?
Girls Night Out is a FREE customer appreciation event.

The girls at PJ want to thank you for being so amazing, so we want to thank you...

WITH A PARTY

We've been celebrating all of you at our Girls Night Out parties for 6 years now!

Girl's Night Out is not exclusive to the female gender.

It is actually a family event and all are welcome!

What is going to happen at this party?

Soap Making

You will be designing your very own soap bar by using shapes & pouring in liquid soap we've melted.

Shopping

Our store is full of fun spring & summer goodies. Perfect to celebrate your own party!

Like THIS Fun Book

So you can take the party home with you!

Porch Parties

Cocktail Recipes & Easy Ideas for Outdoor Entertaining

By Denise Gee

Yummy Treats & Goodies

Since we will be transforming our shop into a Garden Party

it is only fitting that we snack on some garden goodies too!

There will be:

Garden Treats

Finger food

Cocktails

Refreshing Drinks for Adults & Kids

Good Times with Good People

We are looking forward to chatting, catching up, s nacking, drinking, laughing & making soap with you all!

This is an open event, but if you do decided to RSVP you will get a special gift from the PJ girls.

Yes I will be there!

(click above to RSVP)

For questions, call us at

928-774-0009

Time for an Overview

Girls Night Out

Garden Party

Free Event

Food & Drinks

Shop

Create a Custom Soap

Enjoy and Evening with PJ Girls & Friends

There is no way you can miss out on all of this fun!

So we'll see you at the Garden Party in PJ Chicottage

Wednesday May 26th from 6-9pm

Can't wait!

Love,
The Girls at PJ Chilcottage

Bike to Work Week

Have you ever felt like this before?

The girls at PJ sure do!
This awesome Curly Girl Design Wall Art is inspiration and encouragement to
Go Out and Change the World!

To change the world to become greener, cleaner, fresher and longer lasting, the girl's at PJ, along with all the townsfolk of Flagstaff, AZ are very excited about partaking in and supporting

BIKE TO WORK WEEK
May 16-21
2010

To get you excited about the festivities I have roamed the streets of downtown Flagstaff, and would like to share with you some awesome bicycles I have found.
Maybe as some inspiration!


Here are some
Schedule Highlights
of the Bike to Work Week Festivities

May 16th
Bike Bazaar

May 17th
Bike to Work Challenge
Monday-Friday

May 18th
Jack & Martin's Excellent Adventure Cruiser Ride

May 19th
Bike to Breakfast Day

May 20th
Bike to School Day

May 21st
Bike to Beer
New Belgium Cruiser Raffle at Green Room

Those are just the highlights!
There is much more fun as well...
Can you believe it?!


To get you ready for the fun
Here are some awesome

Bike Accessories

Handle Bar Covers

Bike Horns
THIS JUST IN
(literally JUST got here)

BIKE BELLS!


So come on by the
Old Town Shops
in the heart of
Downtown Flagstaff
at
120 N Leroux
and get some fun goodies for your bike


For more information about the bike happenings of Flagstaff head to
flagstaffBIKING.org
or come on in the Old Town shops and grab a newsletter!

Have fun and be safe on that bike of yours!
We'll see you 'round!

Love,
The Girls at PJ Chilcottage

Mother's Day Contest Winner Entries

For Mother's Day 2010 the PJ girls decided to create a contest!

To Enter
People wrote in entries telling us why their mom was the best mom ever
To Win
They had to prove to the PJ girls that their mom was the best
The Winners Won
$100 Thymes Gift Baskets for the sweet mother they wrote about

Now let me tell you, this was difficult!
We had 87 sweet and touching entries but had to chose 3 winners.

Well folks...
The PJ girls read them and we have chosen our winners!

Lisa
nominated her
Mother-in-Law

Casey
nominated her
Mother

Giovanna
nominated her
Sister

Today we are sharing their touching entries with you!

I recommend you reading each entry, because if you do, your heart will be a little bit softer, your eyes will be a little bit puffier, and your appreciation for mothers will be much grander.


Lisa

I would like to nominate my Mother-in-law. Her name is Kelli Knipper and she lives in Bridge City, TX...ever heard of it? Probably not because it is a very small town located on the border of Texas and Louisiana with a population of 8,600. You recall Hurricane Ike that hit in 2008? Well Bridge City, Texas was hit and the town was pretty much wiped out by it (we'll get to this part later in my letter.)

I first met Kelli in 2002. She lived with her two kids (Wes who I am getting married to on 10-10-10 and a daughter Whitney) and her awesome husband Doug in Temecula, CA. A few years after Wes and I started dating, Doug was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer. Kelli, who could never really get over the shock of her husband being sick, was at his side for two years straight. As he went through chemo, radiation and surgery, she never left his side once. I have never seen such a family pull together like the Knippers family did. Kelli, who was not much of a hospital person, slept by him on a cot or chair while he stayed at the City of Hope for many months. At times she even laid with him on his bed. When they found out the surgery had not been a success and the cancer had spread, Doug was brought home and hospice was brought in. For much too long, Doug laid in his death bed with no hope of ever recovering. Kelli did everything for him from changing his feeding tube to shaving his face. Kelli did it all...things I couldn't even watch. When Doug passed away in June of 2006, a piece of Kelli's heart was taken up to heaven with him. I knew after that day things were going to change but I had no clue they would get worse for the Knippers family. Doug was buried in Texas where he grew up and Kelli decided to move back there to be with her family. She couldn't stand to continue to live in a house where her beloved had once been. She would say to us that she could picture him on the couch watching a basketball game or in the backyard mowing the lawn. She put the house up for rent and packed her things. Her and Whitney moved to Bridge City, Texas that following year to be close to her family. I haven't even mentioned the debt this poor lady accumulated after her husbands passing. From the hospitals bills to the house payment he was no longer making, put her under. Doug did not have life insurance nor was he able to bring in any income once he began treatment for the cancer. Two years later you can only imagine what Kelli was going through trying to pay whatever bills she could. She had never worked, she had never needed to and now she had to start all over. A year after Kelli and Whitney moved to Bridge City, Hurricane Ike hit. Luckily they all evacuated safely and no additional family members were lost but their house was destroyed. When Bridge City announced the residents it was ok to return, Kelli and Whitney pulled into a lot that once looked like their front yard. The house still stood there but was filled with water. Snakes swam through it and rodents took shelter in the roof. All their furniture (beds, sofas, dining room table, etc) was completely spoiled and ruined. I remember Kelli calling us in tears asking what was next. How much more tragedy could this lady go through? The next year, Kelli spent all her time and money repairing this once perfect home. She never gave up and was determined to get a roof over her daughter's head once again. In 2008, Kelli lost her California home to foreclosure. The house she didn't want to lose, the house her late husband once lived in, the house she once called her home was lost. What was next? What more could Kelli endure? When the economy crashed last year, Wes and I lost our jobs. Who do you think offered to help us? Who sent us checks of whatever she could come up with? KELLI!!! Kelli was not about to give up either. On April 9th, 2010 Kelli gradated from Nursing school. The one person I never thought would work in a hospital, at the age of 47, went back to school and got her nursing certificate.

Everyday I look back at what happened and how she pulled her and her family through, I thank the Lord I am becoming apart of such an amazing family. I am grateful I was able to know Doug and see him when he was well. I miss him everyday but then I think about Kelli. I can't imagine living one day in Kelli's shoes. She is an amazing, strong, independent woman and no other woman deserves to be the Best Mom. Kelli Knippers IS the Best Mom!!!

Casey

My mom is the best because she makes me complete. It has to be recognized that I wouldn't be here without her. She created me, she lives within me now, and her energy will continue to flow through my children. The love I have for my mom (and she for me) is pure. It's beautiful and nurturing. I live over a thousand miles away and when I get to see her, even if only a few months have passed, the warmth and safety I feel when she embraces me is incredible. It makes me happy to see her, to smell her, to hear her. She's kind, funny, and smart and I can't imagine my life without her.

My mom is a nurse at a university medical center. I can't think of a better profession for her. She's knowledgeable in the field and she brings her loving energy with her to work every day. I think about how fortunate the students she treats are to be under her care. I think to myself, "That's my mom."

I can only hope to be as great a person as she is. She gives me something to aspire to. She supports everything I do and makes me feel good about the decisions I've made. She, of course, makes sure to throw in her two cents every now and then, and quite often I end up doing the opposite of what she tells me. I tell her, "I don't always like what you say, but please don't stop saying it." She knows what to say even when she doesn't know what to say. I don't know how she does that, but it always works.

This was a short description of why my mom is the best. I can't possibly fit every reason in one piece of writing. I hope I've been able to communicate how special she is to me. This is a good contest because now I've shared my joy of being her daughter with at least one reader. I wish for everyone to have a mother as wonderful as mine. But then again, how could they? She's the best.

Giovanna

I wish to submit my sister Norma's name for this contest because she is my best friend, my older sister and my mom. My mother has been deceased and my sister assumed the role and responsibility as my mother. Norma has older children of her own, but she took on the job of mothering her younger brother and sisters since we were children. Even before my mother passed on, Norma was there for me as a younger girl. She would give me advice on what changes a girl could anticipate going through as she made her way to becoming a woman. Norma is there now, even though I am a woman. When I need suggestions, moral advice, tips on making one of my mother's recipes or feedback on being a mother, myself, Norma is there.
My sister recently went through cancer treatments and is a cancer survivor. This is in lieu of doctor's telling my brother and I that Norma, at the time, was given on three months to live. My sister's inner strength, determination and positive attitude brought her through this beyond what doctors could explain. That same strength is what she used to guide her brothers and sisters to adulthood.
She is all the above and Norma is my Hero-Mother.
Thank you for allowing me to share.



Now go get some kleenex, darlin'.
You know you need it.



Thank you to everyone who told us about their moms!
We read some amazing stories about truly fabulous moms.
We received 87 entries and it was a very touch decision for our 13 readers.

Your stories touched our hearts, made us cry and deepened our appreciation for mother's everywhere.

Love,
The Girls at PJ Chilcottage