Ladies Night Out Winner and Golf Signs from Azu

Congratulations to Janis Casey of Bend, Oregon that won the drawing for a $25.00 Azu gift card on the first Ladies Night Out Downtown Bend last night 6/26/08.

Make sure to come back Thursday 7/24/08 for the next Ladies Night Out. Visit www.downtownbend.org for updates and more information regarding participating retailers and restaurants. It's a fun way to get together with girlfriends, take advantage of great discounts and promotions and end the evening with drinks and a great dinner.


On another note...don't forget the golfer in your life (even if you haven't seen them in the mornings due to peak tee times recently). A vintage wood sign from Azu is just the thing for an office or home. Visit www.azuhome.com now through July 31, 2008 and use the promo code GOLF168 at checkout to receive 20% off this vintage golf sign.

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Ladies Night Out Downtown Bend 6/26/08

It's here! The first Ladies Night Out Downtown Bend! Thursday 6/26/08. Make sure to to get your girlfriends together, put on your fancy jeans, leave the kids with your husband, program Bend Cab Co. in your phone (541-389-8090) and head Downtown Bend from 5pm - ??? to take advantage of discounts, promotions and drawings at participating retailers and restaurants! Azu will be offering a special Ladies Night Out discount in the store as well as holding a drawing for an Azu gift card! You can visit www.downtownbend.org for more information or simply click on the Ladies Night Out image below.
Now... don't let the fun pass after Thursday. Gear up for the next event on July 24th and celebrate at home with your own festive glassware from Azu. Handmade in Romania, a full set of these glasses will make you feel glamorous each time you drink from them. Azu keeps them in stock all year long and they're also available online at www.azuhome.com. Enjoy!

Birds and Bees...and Frogs?

It's summer... finally... and everyone wants to picnic, eat outside or even spruce up their table with bright colors to celebrate the season. Here at Azu, we've noticed a new trend in salt and pepper shakers. That's right... salt and pepper shakers! The more whimsical, cute and stylized the better. We're featuring birds, bees and frogs. Each time you spice up your meal with these little critters, a smile is guaranteed to appear. Come check them out at our store or visit us online at www.azuhome.com. Happy Summer!





And Ladies... Don't forget Ladies Night Out next weeek!

June 26, 2008 - Ladies Night Out - Downtown Bend
This is the first of its kind for Downtown Bend. Ladies...put your heels on, leave the kids with your husband, grab your "goin' out" purse and call your girlfriends to meet you Downtown. The new event happens the fourth Thursday of each month (through the end of August. After August 2008, the days will more than likely change to the third Thursday of each month that follows). Bring your girlfriends downtown after work and enjoy extended hours at some of your favorite shops with promotions, giveaways, discounts and a drink (or three). Participating retailers will give you a "secret word" that you can take with you to participating Downtown restaurants/bars for special discounts and offers. Make it a tradition to hang out with your girlfriends for Ladies Night Out - Downtown Bend! Visit www.downtownbend.org for more information.

How About an EXCELLENT Pound Cake Recipe?

Ok... all of us here at Azu have a sweet tooth. We've become addicted to the amazing baking from our co-worker Ava. She spoils all of us with the unbelievable ability to turn the most simple of recipes into a flawless, melt-in-your-mouth, divine experience. We recently tasted Ava's pound cake and we all thought we were going to fall out of our chairs! Moist, buttery, moist, sweet, moist... did I say moist? Anyway, Ava has agreed to share the recipe with all of us. Don't panic when you read the ingredients. Remember, it's a pound cake! Enjoy.

Ava's Southern Pound Cake

3 sticks salted butter

8 ounces cream cheese

3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs (separated)
2 teaspoons real vanilla
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease one bundt pan or tube pan (recipe will fill two regular loaf pans). Separate the eggs. Cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy (make sure your butter and cream cheese are at room temperature before creaming). Add egg yolks one at a time. Add vanilla. Fold in flour. Whip egg whites until fairly stiff and fold them into the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out dry. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cooled.


Wouldn't it be great to have some fun, summer plates to serve your pound cake to your friends and family? How about these cute, set of four frog plates from Azu? Four designs, one of each color in the set. Check them out at www.azuhome.com!

New - Featured Handmade Lamp

There is nothing better than a beautiful piece of art that also happens to be functional! This Bardot lamp is a new addition to our existing family of handmade lamps. Made in Miami by a husband and wife artist team, this luminary is sure to spark conversation at your next gathering. Don't be afraid to showcase this beautiful, handblown glass and metal lamp with pride. The lamp is available for sale either in our bricks and mortar location or online at azuhome.com.


Just a reminder too about the upcoming events in Downtown Bend:

June 21 & 22, 2008 - Bite of Bend / Downtown Bend
The mission of The Bite of Bend is to celebrate our local culture and create an event that accurately reflects the food of our region. This event is free to the public and includes a wide array of activities such as a children’s area, performance stage, beer garden, fine food and wine as well as a live Iron Chef competition; not to mention local food booths offering “bites” of their locally created provisions. www.thebiteofbend.com

June 26, 2008 - Ladies Night Out - Downtown Bend
This is the first of its kind for Downtown Bend. Ladies...put your heels on, leave the kids with your husband, grab your "goin' out" purse and call your girlfriends to meet you Downtown. The new event happens the fourth Thursday of each month (through the end of August. After August 2008, the days will more than likely change to the third Thursday of each month that follows). Bring your girlfriends downtown after work and enjoy extended hours at some of your favorite shops with promotions, giveaways, discounts and a drink (or three). Participating retailers will give you a "secret word" that you can take with you to participating Downtown restaurants/bars for special discounts and offers. Make it a tradition to hang out with your girlfriends for Ladies Night Out - Downtown Bend! Visit www.downtownbend.org for more information.

July 4, 2008 - Old Fashioned July 4th Festival & Pet Parade
It's a Downtown Bend tradition! Come early to get a good seat on the sidewalk and watch the pets and their owners march through Downtown. The parade begins at 10am. The West Coast Bank July 4th festival goes from 11am-4pm in Drake Park. Food, fun and lots of sunshine! Stick around Downtown Bend for the First Friday Art Walk (5pm-9pm). Retailers will be open later than usual with drinks, music and good old fashioned socializing with locals. The fireworks for the 4th are scheduled to begin at 10pm from Pilot Butte.

July 10, 17, 24, 31, 2008 - Munch and Music in Drake Park
Presented by PacificSource Health Plans and The Bulletin, Bend Memorial Clinic's Munch and Music features the best of national and regional musical entertainment, 20 food booths, arts and crafts vendors, all without cost of admission, every Thursday night from 5:30pm - 8:30pm July 10th - August 14th. It's FREE! www.munchandmusic.com

July 24, 2008 - Ladies Night Out - Downtown Bend
Grab your girlfriends after work and head Downtown for the second month of "Bend Ladies Gone Wild". Well, not really wild, more like...having fun! Come find out what the deals are for participating retailers and restaurants/bars. Don't forget the "secret word" that gives you fun and exciting specials at participating restaurants/bars too!

Hi to Everyone from Azu

Well...this is new for us... and we're taking the leap! We recently launched our online store azuhome.com and are learning all kinds of new things related to internet capabilities and communication. We thought a blog would be a great way to keep customers updated with the happenings at Azu and Downtown Bend. So, we'll keep this short and sweet and list some of the upcoming events for the end of June through July:

June 26, 2008 - Ladies Night Out - Downtown Bend
This is the first of its kind for Downtown Bend. Ladies...put your heels on, leave the kids with your husband, grab your "goin' out" purse and call your girlfriends to meet you Downtown. The new event happens the fourth Thursday of each month. Bring your girlfriends downtown after work and enjoy extended hours at some of your favorite shops with promotions, giveaways, discounts and a drink (or three). Participating retailers will give you a "secret word" that you can take with you to participating Downtown restaurants/bars for special discounts and offers. Make it a tradition to hang out with your girlfriends each fourth Thursday for Ladies Night Out - Downtown Bend!

July 4, 2008 - Old Fashioned July 4th Festival & Pet Parade
It's a Downtown Bend tradition! Come early to get a good seat on the sidewalk and watch the pets and their owners march through Downtown. The parade begins at 10am. The West Coast Bank July 4th festival goes from 11am-4pm in Drake Park. Food, fun and lots of sunshine! Stick around Downtown Bend for the First Friday Art Walk (5pm-9pm). Retailers will be open later than usual with drinks, music and good old fashioned socializing with locals. The fireworks for the 4th are scheduled to begin at 10pm from Pilot Butte.

July 10, 17, 24, 31, 2008 - Munch and Music in Drake Park
Presented by PacificSource Health Plans and The Bulletin, Bend Memorial Clinic's Munch and Music features the best of national and regional musical entertainment, 20 food booths, arts and crafts vendors, all without cost of admission, every Thursday night from 5:30pm - 8:30pm July 10th - August 14th. It's FREE! www.munchandmusic.com

July 24, 2008 - Ladies Night Out - Downtown Bend
Grab your girlfriends after work and head Downtown for the second month of "Bend Ladies Gone Wild". Well, not really wild, more like...having fun! Come find out what the deals are for participating retailers and restaurants/bars. Don't forget the "secret word" that gives you fun and exciting specials at participating restaurants/bars too!