a hop across the border

Last week we celebrated our 42nd (!) anniversary and decided to take a spur of the moment trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake to celebrate. I called the Shaw Festival box office on Wednesday for Friday matinee tickets to see "My Fair Lady" and we were able to get seats in the 6th row. Amazing - as this is the show everyone is talking about this year. (And they're right - it's a fabulous production, one of the best we've ever seen. Get tickets if you can).


Then I thought, well, why not see if Lisa Ridout and her husband, Ben, could travel down from Toronto and meet us for lunch. Lisa and I had met in NOTL for lunch a couple of years ago and we both had loved the restaurant she'd suggested, Tony Deluca's Old Winery Restaurant, just outside the village. Trying it again, we arrived at just about the same time and had a delightful lunch on the outside patio.



While the food was delish, the best part for me was the extra-special dessert that Lisa brought with her....bag after bag full of gorgeous sterling silver and Swarovski crystal designs, many of which were new to me. We brought back almost 50 pieces of Lisa Ridout Jewellery (Canadian spelling, of course!), several of which we sold on Saturday before they even made it into the case.


Among the new pieces we have are this sterling silver Diamond Back necklace:

and the cream Swarovski pearl and sterling silver toggle Jackie O necklace:

As many of you know, Lisa's work can be found in Canadian jewelry stores coast to coast, but we are the only store that carries her in the US. Her work is unique and gorgeous, two words we like to use for JOOLZ, too.