Leah Itz decided to hang up her scrubs after being a nurse for 28 years to open an outdoor furniture store on the southwest corner of Friendship Lane and U.S. 87 South.

Once she saw Berlin Gardens pieces in a Rockport shop, she knew the lines would be well received in Fredericksburg. This May, Sittin’ Happy opened its doors.

“I prayed that if this was not in God’s plan, he would close the door,” Itz said. “He did continue to open one after another.”

A breeze flows through the Sittin’ ...