Five For Friday

 1. I love aviator sunglasses! They are so laid~back chic, they remind me of actress like Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon, who always seem so effortlessly put together. I am ordering plenty of aviators and lots of other styles of sunglasses. Look for their arrival at Castaways in another week or so, just in time for summer, and priced around $10, so you can buy two ~ in case you tend to lose them, like I do! (These are from Burberry).

 2. Maxi dresses! We have plenty of solids and prints in every size available right now at Castaways. I just bought a super cute lilac one which looks really cute with my green necklace and gold sandals. I also love maxis with an uneven hemline ~ shorter in the front, longer in the back and maxi skirts. I WANT a green maxi skirt! (This dress is from Victoria' Secret.)

  3. Statement necklaces ~ LOVE! I just ordered several in fun colors! I like this style ~ shorter, chunkier, and with LOTS of color or I love longer ones that have smaller detailing and multi color beading on gold or silver chains.

4. Rolled up, boyfriend~style colorful chino shorts, like these coral ones from Gap (which I own and love). I have duplicated the look of these on our displays all week and have sold every pair, except one coral pair that is still there for the taking! 

5. Colorful bags! Especially messenger style, which we sell as quickly as we receive or designer bags, like this beautiful color block bag from Coach. We simply CANNOT keep our colorful Coach bags on the sales floor, they sell the DAY we get them in, so if you've got some you're ready to part with, bring 'em on in, and we'll put some cash in your wallet!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
Cindy

What I'm Wearing Wednesday

I ran my first three miles in these super cute running shoes! As 5K season approaches, and I am diligently training, I always reward myself with a new pair of running shoes. This year I have been coveting a BRIGHT pink and blue pair of Asics. However, I could NOT resist these adorable BRIGHT pink, grey, and white Avias that I found at Castaways recently. They satisfy my need for the bright, sassy color, and were ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS CHEAPER than the ones I have been wanting.

I think people tend to forget that we carry a selection of workout gear at Castaways. It's just like the rest of our inventory, all name brand and in good condition, and if you buy athletic gear, you KNOW how EXPENSIVE it is retail. We currently have a nice selection of Adidas, Nike, Reebok, and Athleta gear, and we even have a few more pairs of running shoes. Once we even took a yoga mat on consignment ~ it was so cute!  On the kiddo end of things, we also have sport shorts, swim gear, girls' tumbling and dance outfits, and baseball/soccer cleats. ALL things that, in my opinion, it is not worth paying retail for!

Remember, if you consign with us ~ we also ACCEPT all of the above items on consignment, so if you've got these things laying around your house and they're in good shape and name brand, bring them in to us!

So, what are you wearing today? Is it from Castaways? Comment below and let us know! Even better, send us a picture on Facebook!

Cindy

Ten Reasons Why We Love Haley

1. She HATES having her picture taken ~ although I don't know why ~ she's BEAUTIFUL. :) And she will probably be mad at me for posting this. ;)

2. Our baby is growing up! Haley is graduating this weekend and she will be starting an awesome new career.  We are beyond happy for her success and bright future, but we are also a bit sad, because we know our days with her working for us are numbered. :( As much as I get asked if she is my daughter, I have begun to feel a bit like she is, although she really does have a FABULOUS mama, whom I'm sure is beyond proud of her... as are we! :)

3. That girl has FASHION SENSE like none other! And BOUNDLESS, I mean BOUNDLESS energy for shopping!

4. Not only does she have mean fashion skills, but she is terrific at putting together outfits for our customers. I am sure a lot of you will miss her when she's gone.... but  I'll bet we could convince her to come back and do it on occasion!

5. Due to her budding career and graduation events, she will not be present for our employee photo shoot and Staff Appreciation Night tonight. We will miss you, Haley! :)

6. She is a creative spirit, full of fun ideas!

7. She is a workout and healthy eating machine, and boy does she look AMAZING! :)

8. She can organize our chaos at Castaways in minutes, and she usually does it with a smile on her face. (My dear, we will probably miss this most of all!)

9. I worried at first when hiring a college student, thinking she might be unreliable. I am happy to report that Haley has ALWAYS volunteered to cover shifts, work extra, or come in to help out before or after work. She has set the bar SO high for anyone I could possibly hire to be her replacement.... another reason she will be an amazing asset at her new job!

10. We will miss her because she has a fabulous smile, fantastic energy, terrific wardrobe, wonderful organizational skills, and so much more! GOOD LUCK, Haley! Congratulations. You will be missed!

Cindy

Friday Top Five

Here are the Top Five things we're loving this week at Castaways! 

The CUTE, Brand~New totes we're selling for just $35.99. Just in time for Mother's Day. The pattern I'm holding above is already sold out, and the other three (equally cute!) are going quickly. Hurry in and get yours!

We received a brand new shipment of jewelry yesterday. These coral cuties sold out almost immediately, and the turquoise ones are allllmmoooosssttt gone too! We still have orange, navy, purple, red, and several metallics to choose from. Great prices, and they are so very fun!

This rainy weather is making me crave something bright and fun! I believe these bright pink Hunter Boots would do the trick! What fashion accessory would make you smile on these grey days? 

I love the fun of doing something unexpected, like wearing leopard print flats to add some punch to preppy stripes! I think I might have to duplicate this fun Pinterest outfit today!

We have a necklace like this turquoise and gold seed bead multi strand available at Castaways, plus loads of other cute necklaces in the uber~trendy blues and greens. All of our jewelry is priced to be the perfect compliment to any outfit at under $20.00!  

Hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend, and I really hope the sun comes out soon!

Cindy

New Jewelry!

How cute is this watch? Adorable, right? When I put it in the case on Thursday, it took only a few minutes for it to catch Caley's eye! In fact, when I asked her to put it on so that I could take a picture of it, she never took it back off, she just paid for it and wore it out the door!

I have ordered jewelry and accessories off and on for Castaways, and recently I have backed off, because we had been taking SO much jewelry on consignment. Yet, when we recently cleaned out our display cases, we realized that not much of it was selling and very little of it was actually the on~trend stuff that you guys are REALLY looking for. 

So.... with all the other awesome changes at Castaways, I have decided to buy new jewelry so that you are able to find the perfect piece to set off the amazing outfit you're sure to find at our store! I will always be searching the magazines and of course Pinterest to stay on top of the very most current jewelry. Our find of the moment is this amazing wrap watch. Out of our shipment from last week, we have three neutral colors remaining. Tomorrow I will be placing another order, and this one will be all about color! Purple, coral, navy, tangerine, and of course, the super cute turquoise shown above!

So, what would YOU like to see us selling, as far as jewelry goes? Big statement necklaces? Sunglasses? Cross bracelets/necklaces? I will be placing another order within the next week and since you are going to be the ones BUYING it, who better to offer me input on ordering? We want to keep our selection fabulous just for you! (We will continue taking Lia Sophia, Silpada, and Stella & Dot jewelry on consignment as well, so if you've got anything you aren't wearing, by all means, bring it in!)

Have a fabulous Monday!

Cindy

The Story Behind Yesterday's Makeover

A few weeks ago, my friend Angie had a great idea. (One of MANY!) :) She sells Mary Kay and she has worked with Castaways and another one of our friends, Kellie Felmey, who owns a salon called The Bird's Nest on occasion doing Ladies Nights Out at the shop. These events have been so successful for us, that Angie wondered what would happen if the three of us put our resources together to do a makeover for someone in the community who needed a little pick-me-up. And that very day a BRILLIANT idea was put into action.

We immediately created an email address and got articles posted in newspaper, ads up on Facebook, and even did a spot on television promoting our makeover contest. Chevie Ruder, Director of the Washington Chamber of Commerce, graciously agreed to take on the extremely difficult task of deciding which nomination was going to be the winner.

Here is the email that she finally decided on:

"Kendra Mueller is a local single mom of two whose house burned last month.  Her family has been displaced for 4-6 months while her home is repaired.   Throughout the loss of their house and possessions, Kendra remained strong and positive. Within a week of the house fire, her kids' paternal grandma passed away.  I think she deserves to be pampered.  She works at LGS as an aide.  please consider her for your pampering.  Thanks."

Once that decision was made, we contacted Amy Blankenship, the nominator, and arranged through her to meet with Kendra.  The ONLY problem with Kendra was that she was already SO cute!  Check out her BEFORE PICTURE:

So cute, right? Well, at least we knew it would be super easy to make her look amazing!  We got her sizes and some ideas of what she would feel comfortable with for her transformation and made arrangements for Saturday!

Kendra's first stop on Saturday morning was The Bird's Nest, owned by Kellie Felmey to get a cut and style. 

She really wanted angled bangs, and Kellie also trimmed and styled her thick, pretty hair~

Next up? Makeup!!!

Angie Kisch was at the ready to help Kendra choose colors from her Mary Kay selection and to offer guidance on how to apply it. She also graciously gifted Kendra with some amazing product!  They had a blast!

Doesn't she look AWESOME? Now that her hair and makeup were complete, it was up to us at Castaways to choose her outfit! Fortunately, that is what we do best, and employee Haley Herrmann is exceptionally good at it! She chose the perfect outfit for Kendra, and we headed over to the GORGEOUS setting at our neighbors', All In Bloom, to take Kendra's AFTER PICTURE:

Stunning, no?

So pretty!

Her pretty, kind, and funny friend Amy Blankenship, who nominated her for the contest, also showed up to enjoy the fun!

The gorgeous flower arrangement was provided for Kendra by All In Bloom! Did we all pamper her properly, or what???

The whole crew L-R: Angie Kisch of Mary Kay, Cindy Keller of Castaways, Kendra Mueller, and Kellie Felmey of the Bird's Nest!

We had so much fun doing Kendra's makeover! She was super easygoing and genuinely a delight to be around! The whole experience was fantastic and all day long, people kept making suggestions that the three of us should band together to do this kind of thing more often. We decided that we definitely will! What do you think? We'd love to hear what YOU would like us to do next, we like nothing better than a great idea!!!

Cindy 

10 Reasons Why We Love Kathy!

1. Yesterday was her birthday! Look at these gorgeous flowers she got! (Our awesome neighbors at All In Bloom created them for her!) We also took her out for delicious Mexican food and MARGARITAS at our OTHER awesome neighbors, Sol. Best salsa EVER.
2. Kathy has been with us since the beginning of Castaways in Washington! She has always been an amazing worker and it has been fun to watch her grow right along with my business.
3. She can rock a belt like no other!
4. She is HILAROUS! Her one~liners from the back room throw me into knee~buckling hysterics! Once, when completely overloaded with tagging intake, she held up a sign to our little window that said "Help Me". So FUNNY!
5. Speaking of tagging, she is a MACHINE! She can tag approximately 84,00 pieces of clothing per day!
6. When she's not at work, she is STILL crazy busy. She volunteers for WCBU and Wildlife Prairie Park and she plays frisbee golf and regular golf and sometimes hikes with her hubby. She also helps her family out with things they need and still manages to squeeze in time to travel a little. And shop!
7. She is an excellent role model on how to incorporate trends in a way that is completely age appropriate.
8. However she still manages to have her own little personal boho twist to her style.
9. She is almost always EARLY to work!
10. Did I mention that aside from being an absolutely fabulous employee, she is also a great friend? Yep, she's pretty great! :)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! Hope to see you at our Open House tomorrow!

Cindy