February 2013 marks our 10th Anniversary here at A. Dodson’s and that seems like a fine reason to celebrate. These 10 years have been more amazing than we ever could have imagined.  And from what we can see so far, the next 10 years look even more amazing.

But we know our success has everything to do with you, our loyal customers, our fabulous reps, our silly friends, our funny family and, alas, our fellow colleagues in this wild world of small business. So we’re throwing the anniversary playbook out the window and we’re celebrating YOU all month long. All. Month. Long!

Here’s how it goes. Every day in February we’re going to post a question on Facebook. You’ll have all day to answer it in the most creative way you see fit. The next morning we’ll pick a winner and that person will receive a $100 gift certificate to A. Dodson’s. Did you get that? Each day in February* you’ll have a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to A. Dodson’s.

Round here we don’t play when it comes to celebratin’!

Some of our questions will require you to interact through Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter so if you don’t have accounts there, you might want to mosey on over and set them up. That’s just a friendly tip because we’re all friends here, right?

Cheers to 10 years and still growing strong! Thanks to YOU!

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Ok, here’s the fine print so get your spectacles on and read up.

1) Gift certificates will not apply to sale or custom order items.
2) Gift certificates must be used within 30 days from the date it was issued (not from the date you pick it up). So if you win on February 2nd, it will expire on March 4th. Get it?
3) If you’re not local, you’ll receive an online gift certificate to use on the website.
4) You can win multiple times so get comfy and be ready to play all month.
5) Contest only runs on days we’re open in February. Hint: We’re closed Sundays and President’s Day.
6) Winner will be announced around 10am each morning for the previous day. The exact time of the announcement depends on when the coffee kicks in so just hold your horses.

We’ve made some big decisions over the last few months. Most notably we announced our Interior Design services in yesterday’s blog post.

With all big decisions comes change. In order to focus on our Interior Design clients, we’re closing the consignment shop next door. A blowout sale is happening as we speak and there are some amazing items to be found! You should really be there instead of here right now.

But since you are here, maybe you can help us decide who moves in next door? There’s no shortage of great ideas but there’s one in particular we know fills a huge need (and, let’s face it, one that we really really want). A cafe!

And not just any ol’ cafe. The kind that makes you want to hit the pause button, breath deeply and sink on in. The kind you think about long after you’ve left.

If you’ve got a dream and a plan and a huge desire to do something great, let’s talk. We’re offering a great opportunity to make this dream a reality for the right person. Email us at shop@adodsons.com with your plan and a way to reach you.

Spread the word! Now go check out the deals at our consignment store before it’s gone for good!

We all have a special recipe passed down from one generation to the next. But do you have a magic potion recipe? It’s ok, we play well with others here at A. Dodson’s and we also like to share our toys. And potions.

Alison learned a special technique from her momma, Alice Dodson, for removing water spots or scratches on furniture and hardwood flooring. When we were preparing to open our Home Decor Consignment Shop next door, I caught Alison on her hands and knees with a Ball Jar. And then I saw magic happen right before my very eyes.

Alice’s Wood Cleaning Magic Potion

1/2 Raw Linseed Oil

1/2 Turpentine

Instructions:
Dap the mixture on your stain or scratch
Use #400 Steel Wool and rub with the grain of the wood.
Wipe with a heavy towel then let sit overnight. Heavy stains or scratches may take two rounds.

Alice's Magic Potion

BEFORE

AFTER

Alice learned this trick from Jimmy Winn from Mt. Vernon Antiques in Port Norfolk, VA. When we asked Alice how long she’d been using this technique her answer was “how old am I?”

And now, our dear friends, go forth and show us some of your Before and Afters!

Grab this car magnet at A. Dodson’s for $1.99 or spend $75 and receive one free at checkout! If we spot you out and about, you may find a “You’ve Been Spotted” note under your windshield. In addition to being our Spotlight Customer of the Month, you’ll also receive a $20 gift certificate to A. Dodson’s.

These magnets are spot on, but quantities are limited. Get Spotted today!

A. Dodson's You've Been Spotted Car Magnet

It’s time for another installment of the A. Dodson’s Small Business Everyday initiative. At every turn the girls (and boy) at A. Dodson’s are scouring the earth, ok fine the town, for small businesses who are kicking some behinds and taking names. And when we find them, we climb the tallest mountain and start screaming their name (ok fine we start blogging which is really close to the same thing). There’s no such thing as competition in our book because, as far as we can tell, we’re all in this thing together!

So… *clearing throat* here goes! We love these guys and we think you should, too!

CAFE STELLA is a coffee shop in Norfolk’s Ghent neighborhood and we love them for mixing up freshly roasted coffee, great homemade food and found objects. And they offer fresh almond milk if you don’t care for milk or soy in your latte. This husband and wife duo is lovely and sweet, kinda like the creama on my espresso. When you go, tell “Maurice” we said hi!

Cafe Stella | See that contraption on the right? It's their in-house coffee roaster!

And what goes better with a cuppa Joe than a gourmet donut? Uh, NOTHING! So next on your tour of A. Dodson’s favs is O’doodleDoo’s Donuts. Right down the street from us, in fact dangerously close to us, is a little unassuming building that you may not notice if you weren’t keenly trained to look for the SOLD OUT sign. They’re open everyday beginning at 5am until the donuts sell out. They make each donut from scratch, by hand with whatever flavors float their boat (and are in season). Check their Facebook page for daily flavors. Today they listed 11 including baby ruth, blueberry pancakes n bacon, whoa! Bacon? Gotta go!

O'doodleDoo's Donuts | Is that a S'mores donut at the top? Somebody hold me back!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a snapshot is worth a Haiku!

sleeping silently

a february warm rain

greeting us hello

If you know us, you know we love to use what we already have when it comes to decorating and fashion. Take a look at a few of the things we used to decorate our walls using things we had laying around.

We found a tree knocked down after Hurricane Irene so we brought it into the shop and made it look like a tree is growing through the floor. We stapled craft paper to the ceiling and hit it with some green spray paint and added twinkling white lights.

We tore out pages of old Mad Libs and made a sort of DIY wall paper out of them! Perfect for a kids room or a guest bathroom.

We bought a huge roll of craft paper and tore of pieces, scrunched them up and staple gunned them to the wall.

We collected tons and tons of wine corks and hot glued them to a wall. Perfect for a memo board in your mudroom or kitchen!

We stapled greenery all over the ceiling of our garden room and laced twinking white lights in them to create an absolutely magical look. Perfect for a little girls fairyland bedroom!

First there was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday and now Small Business Saturday!

While we appreciate the attention on small business, we sure hope it’s not limited to a yearly tradition. How about Small Business Everyday? In honor of small businesses everywhere, A. Dodson’s will regularly pay tribute to those shop owners and their dedicated staff who keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive 365 days a year.

Here’s a shout out to our favorite local, small businesses:

Alison loves Connie’s Kids Children Clothing for personal service and a designer’s eye along with The Royal Chocolate for their fondues and chocolate covered apples! Another favorite is Rooms, Blooms and More for that one of a kind piece for your home from someone else’s home.

Sarah loves Enochs Eye Care for their stellar customer service and Bennett’s Creek Farm Market for so many delicious reasons!

Amy loves Master Cleaners because they are soooooo nice and always know her name.

Kim Wizzle loves Wendy Spain Photography because they rock, duh!

Miss Pitty Pat loves the Baby Boutique for great finds and friendly service and La Parilla as a great family-owned restaurant.

Laurel-Manette loves The Heritage Natural Market for their knowledgeable staff and hard to find items.

Kim G also loves Bennett’s Creek Farm Market for the best bbq and creek slaw this side of ever along with Norfolk Ice Cream Company for letting her run a tab when the family stopped by during a bike ride without a wallet.

Who do you love? Give them some love in the comments below. And don’t forget to get out and shop with them this Saturday. And the next day. And the next day. And the next day…