Better Homes & Gardens, meet Walmart

It seems that BH&G has climbed aboard the over sized Walmart bandwagon. I know many of you have very strong feelings (many justifiably so) about the retail mega-giant and it's policies here and abroad. I personally do not answer the "attention Walmart shoppers" call to arms (I'm a Target addict) but I am curious to know more about this seemingly odd pairing. Walmart has purchased the Hearst publications (BH&G's parent co) 30 Days of Home Magazine which it will use to promote it's new line of home furnishings, so the segue into branded furnishings seems a natural progression for the two. I just wonder how this partnership will affect the BH&G's brand. Even Martha Stewart couldn't make a profit on the sale of her products at K-Mart but raked in a mint due to the solid nature of her contract.


The tag line in their ads in House Beautiful is:
"Make my bedroom look like a picture in a magazine and not lose sleep over the price."


I must say that judging from the very few products that I could find on the Walmart website there is no clear brand signature to these items. I put together the combinations shown here - there is no cross product marketing that I could see. It seems to be a jumble of the same product style and quality that you would already find at Walmart and does not seem to have a strong brand image or increased quality that you would expect from a BH&G product.


I will have to take a closer look at how it is displayed in the store but I think they may have missed the boat on creating a "collection". Perhaps they should have taken some lessons from Martha Stewart - at least you could immediately tell which products were hers at Kmart.

Let me know if what you think about these products if you take a trip to the Big W anytime soon.....

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I hate to beat a dead horse but.........

KW

Emerald City Munchkin

Emerald City Hat Lady

KW

Devo

KW

The FOL Guys

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Bedroom of the Week

Soothing pink and white textures combine beautifully in this lovely bedroom from Karen Fletcher of Accents on Interiors in Houston, Texas.

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Sarah Palin as President

Please go here immediately and click on everything in the picture for gut busting laughs galore !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( hint - scroll over and click on everything more than once)
I almost peed my pants.

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AMBER ALERT - Las Vegas

Law enforcement officials are broadening their search for 6-year-old Cole Puffinburger, who was kidnapped at gunpoint from his northeastern Las Vegas Valley home Wednesday morning.

An Amber Alert was issued for the child at noon Wednesday. Puffinburger is described as 3-foot-11, weighs about 48 pounds and wears silver-rimmed glasses. He was last seen wearing a black John Cena WWE wrestling shirt, dark jeans and a black, zippered, hooded sweatshirt with white, black and blue stars decorating it, and tennis shoes with a white stripe

Up to three men knocked on the door at the child's home posing as police officers, police said. After entering the home, they tied up the child's mother and her boyfriend, then ransacked the house, police said. When they didn't find money, they took Cole Puffinburger and left.

The suspects are described as Hispanic, and one is described as in his 30s, weighing about 150 pounds with long, slicked-back dark hair.

Anyone who sees Cole Puffinburger is asked to call 911

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Come See Me at the World Market Center

If you are looking for some fresh inspiration I will be a featured speaker at a special event at 11:00 a.m. onTuesday, Oct. 14 at the new Las Vegas World Market Design Center. I'm giving a seminar on current window treatments trends and construction. It should be a fun and informative event and it's followed by a hosted luncheon. The schedule also includes an in depth seminar on choosing the correct fabrics for upholstery and draperies sponsored by Robert Allen in their beautiful new showroom. There will also be seminars taking place in several other showrooms and the day long event will be followed up by a cocktial hour. I'd love to see you there....


The World Market Center has been growing in size and showroom space since it's groundbreaking several years ago. The photo above shows it's current configuration which includes three enormous buildings and a new parking garage.


This model shows an approximate view of the completed project which will consist of 8 buildings totalling more than 12 million square feet of state-of-the-art exhibit space on 57 acres in downtown Las Vegas. It's hard to believe that this huge complex is going up in my own back yard after years of schlepping across the country to High Point!

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Since we're broke I'm thankful that:

As our country and the entire world are headed for a serious "financial slump" ( more like a spiraling nose dive) I am thankful for the following:

• I have been poor before and I am confident I could do it again in style.
• I am an expert seamstress and could make fashionable clothing and home decor out of a potato sack (do they still have those? - I might have to use hefty bags)
• I'm not a highfalutin gourmet - I can get by on tuna and crackers with the occasional pasta dish or peanut butter & jelly sandwich thrown in.
• I never got on the Starbucks train so I won't miss my expensive daily coffee fix.
• I don't drink alcohol at home so my happy hour won't be affected.
• I have already lost my girlish figure so shopping is not really a priority for me, I won't miss the mall.
• I work at home so gas is not an issue - I only need to make it a few blocks away to the local grocery store.
• I have enough crap in my garage for a thousand yard sales that could generate some serious cash if I ever got off my butt to sort it all out. That day may be coming!

Things I can't live without:

• Diet coke with crushed ice
• Work
• Scented candles
• Never ending home improvement projects
• The internet
• TV
• Electricity
• Air conditioning & heat
• Toilet Paper

Have a great weekend - Spend sometime being thankful instead of worrying.

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