Mango Furniture Unlimited Is Having a Grand Opening and You Really Ought to Plan On Attending

Without a doubt the yummiest place to be on the west side of the Cape Fear Rive next Wednesday late afternoon will be at Mango Furniture Unlimited. Partners Pia Hackley and Bob Bethel are having a grand opening at their Leland, NC furniture and design store and you don't want to miss it.

First of all, do you like mango? If you're not sure, here's what they look like:

Pia, who we know is an over-the-top incredible cook from the great dishes she served at Mango's ribbon-cutting a few weeks ago, is busy preparing an all-mango menu.

Check it out from a list I was able to get from Bob this afternoon:

• Shrimp/mango lettuce wraps with green curry mango sauce
• Jerked pork tenderloins with mango salso
• Mango bread
• Mango pineapple pudding
• Mango line cream pie
• Mango martinis
• Mango ice tea

Sound good? You can bet it will be.





That's Bob below behind the counter in the back of the huge furniture store. Wandering around is a lot of fun and you'll for sure see a lot to like.





If you can't wait, you can find out more about the store at the Mango Furniture Unlimited web site. Otherwise, we'll see you there next Wednesday!

Marge and Bruce Doing It Downtown on Mothers' Day

Marge and I spent some time in downtown Wilmington, NC, today, taking a break in one of our favorite places to wander. We stopped into the newly opened Fire & Spice Gourmet shop in the Cotton Exchange because I wanted Marge to see the store. When we got there co-owner Tommy Cooper was behind the counter so I took this shot.


After chatting with Tommy a bit we couldn't resist going upstairs in the Cotton Exchange to the Crescent Moon art glass gallery where our friends Joan and Mike Loch reign.

They were both excited to show us some new tiny metal flea sculpture professional and athletic them pieces they have in the gallery. They'd only recently put them on the shelves and had sold a bunch. The flea sculpture sales are really jumping!

Marge wanted a shot of Joan, Mike and me so she took this one. And no that's not a lampshade on my head, but the color and shine of my sunglasses do kind of blend in the with the vase on the shelf behind me.

I noticed they'd thoughtfully set up a TV for a couple of their glass pieces to watch, which shows how nice they are. Looks to me like that guy is trying to levitate the bowl on the table, but maybe it's a glassblowers talk show?

This piece caught my eye from across the gallery - is it gorgeous or what?

And as we were leaving Mike made sure I noticed these End of Days pieces. Surely you've heard the expression, "When pigs fly!"

Down by the Wilmington Riverwalk the cruise ship was docked. A local artist displayed her work on the walk while her small white dog enjoyed the shade in the chair.

Cruise ships are becoming more common at the Wilmington riverfront. The easy walk to the stores, restaurants, and historic district are all good draws. There was also a taxi line waiting to take people to the beach.

So we had another fine time in downtown Wilmington, as always. The weather was perfect and there were healthy crowds everywhere.


Check out our 31 Days Mastery Books on Amazon.com

Stevens Fine Homes Hosts HBA Parade of Homes Party at South Brook

We just got back from a great party at Stevens Fine Homes South Brook neighborhood model home in the back of Mallory Creek in Winnabow, NC. Stevens Fine Homes hosted the party in conjunction with the Home Builders Association as part of this Spring's Parade of Homes.

This home model, BTW, is unbelievably spacious and priced at just $72 a square foot including the lot! Wow, you must see it to believe how much space is in this home that starts at a base price of just $229,000. If you're in the market for a new home and aren't already working with another agent, I'd be honored to show you this model. Marge was so impressed she said she might even consider having more kids so we could buy one and fill it up! (May need some re-thinking here. But seriously, everyone who tours this house is blown away by the space for the money. Wow!)


Jenny Steele, Charlotte Palmer, and Craig Stevens, all with Stevens Fine Homes were the hosts and had drawings where they gave away $100 bills.


The party was catered by Middle of the Island, which is always a hit, and there were plenty of eager eaters on hand.


Even Madonna Nash, who provided the entertainment, took a turn at the buffet line.


And here's Madonna performing. She's a local artist who's making a lot of noise on the regional music scene (good noise, that is . . . seems like everyone I talk with has heard of her). She has a lot of followers and avid fans . . . including me!


Thanks once again, Jenny and Craig, for a nice party. We're pleased Stevens Fine Homes is doing so well this year and this model with it's huge bang for the buck signals continued success for the rest of the year.

(No joke, folks, you gotta see this house! I know I promote stuff and get all excited and everything, but this house is an incredible value!)

Pleasant Springs Pottery at the Azalea Festival

Our favorite potter on the planet, Bebe Poor, of Pleasant Springs Pottery in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, will be displaying (and selling!) her works this coming Saturday and Sunday downtown Wilmington, NC during the Azalea Festival.















The Pleasant Springs Pottery booth at the Oyster Festival last October.





Stop by and tell Bebe and Alfred that Bruce said "Hi!"

UNCW Masters of Public Administration, Graduate Student Association-

On Tuesday evening I had the honor of speaking to the Graduate Student Association of UNC-W's Masters of Public Administration program about business networking and relationship marketing. I had a fine time and appreciated the opportunity to present and field questions from this knowledgeable and involved group.

Below, MPA-GSA Shamair Faison introduced me.







The half hour passed quickly (they actually let me go on for almost 40 minutes) and I had a great time. Thanks again to Shaimir and all the student and faculty member of the GSA and MPA program who were in attendance.

Also, Tom Barth of the MPA Faculty told me about an important annual service recognition program the MPA department puts on. Each year the MPA department sponsors a Public Service Awards Reception. In Tom's words, "It's a marvelous opportunity for the region to celebrate outstanding examples of public service in the government, nonprofit and corporate sectors."

Tom's group is looking for nominations for this program as well as sponsors. They hold a reception free to all nominees and their supporters and, according to Tom, typically draw about 125-150 people.

If you're interested in attending, nominating, or sponsoring this fine community recognition effort and event, I've posted three documents you can access, an description of the awards program, a Call for Nominations, and a flyer from last year's event. You can access them at this link: MPA-GSA Public Service Awards Program.

BNI Business Attractors - Meeting 3/10/10

This week's BNI Business Attractors meeting was a lot of fun.

Guest and prospective member Roxanne Shurcliff of Mona Vie extolled the virtues of that product




Guest of London Williamson of Easter Seals UCP was a substitute for member Scott Schmidt of Carolina Creations, Inc.




Bookkeeper Terri Andress (who also keeps the books for the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce) was substituting for Vice President Ken Schiess of HdVest.



Member Mimi Kronkowski from AFLAC didn't duck her 10-minute presentation duties but gave us the lowdown on some new AFLAC products.



We meet every Wednesday at 8AM at Antonio's in Leland, NC. The coffee's free and guests are always welcome.

Wilmington Bloggers Ride Again to the Beam Room

Wilmington Bloggers, an informal wide open learning and sharing group focused on personal and business blogging, has started up again thanks to Shannan Bowen of Star News Media. The first incarnation of this group fired up in the Fall of 2008 and met one Saturday morning each month at the former Connections Cafe on Racine. When Connections closed, so did we.

Now, thanks to Shannan and other enthusiasts from Star News Media, Wilmington Bloggers is back in town, meeting the second Tuesday of each month in the Beam Room at Front Street Brewery in downtown Wilmington, NC at 9 North Front Street.

There's no fixed agenda to the meetings other than checking out each others' blogs on the Beam Room's huge screen and sharing tips, techniques and cool stories. Expertise level ranges from some to none to a whole lot (so if you're thinking about blogging and have questions or already rock your blog and want to show it off - this is the place!).

In the photo below Si Cantwell, Star News columnist (and occasional rocker with his band "They're Only Mostly Dead"), Shannan Bowen, Star News reporter Shannan Bowen, and in the background Front Street Manager Charles Scott hook up a laptop to the big screen in preparation for the meeting.


Star News Intern and disability blogger David Morrison and reporter Shelby Sebens were also early arrivals.


Part of the group: Shannan, Si, Maria Cantwell ("They're Mostly Only Dead" videographer) and David.


Shelby, Amy McEachern Hodges (the TShirt and Jeans Mom) and Star News reporter Ana Riberio.


The next meeting of Wilmington Bloggers is April 13th from 5-7PM. See you there.

SIMPLE I - The Movie

For more info on SIMPLE 10K, including audio files and transcripts AND the next program, SIMPLE II in early Fall 2010, click this link or go to http://AskBruceBrown.com.

Bob Jenkins' SIMPLE 10K - Day 3

For more info on SIMPLE 10K, including audio files and transcripts AND the next program, SIMPLE II in early Fall 2010, click this link or go to http://AskBruceBrown.com.