Poppy and Ivy

Installed....Improvements to Follow

I won't even post my pictures of my space at Uncovered Ruby. I seem to have forgotten how much wall space I had, that there was a light switch in my space and how BIG my space was. All easily remedied, but I feel badly because the owner of Uncovered Ruby doesn't KNOW that I can fix the current look. I was all set to head right back up this morning, but we had a staff shortage at Found on Fremont and I drew the short stick, so my trip to Battle Ground was shot.

It was fun to quietly absorb all the vignettes at Uncovered Ruby. It was closed and it was just me in the building. I definitely felt like an intruder--the "new kid on the block". But other than that, it felt really nice & welcoming.

Excuse the blur & darkness....I didn't have my 'big camera" with me. I was lucky to remember nails, Windex, hammer and tags! I loved peeking into all the different booths.

 
 
 
 
 
I left feeling kind of frustrated that I didn't acheieve the look I was after. I felt really good that I was finally IN and making the new changes. Starting a new process. Pleased that I made the move, nervous that I won't do well.

All sorts of feelings and apparently the weather and my mood were in sync. In a mere 25 mile drive, I saw rain, hail, blinding sun, white fluffy clouds, snow topped hills & heard thunder!

 
Yesterday was the first step into yet another phase of my crazy retail life.

Cheers! I wonder what Step Two will entail?

 

Spreadin' The Vintage Love

Tomorrow (or at least this week) I move into a little space at Uncovered Ruby! Just testing the waters and spreading the vintage love.

I hope my experience at Found makes me a very good vendor. For example, I won't spend half my time telling the owners of Uncovered Ruby all the changes they should make. And where they should advertise. And how they should have different hours of business. I will not presume that my paying them rent gives me the authorization to tell them how to run their business.

Not that I am bitter much.

I have a color scheme, I have been trying to shop all week, and I feel like a I got a shot of mojo to the arm!

 

At Found on Fremont, all the candy cigarettes are out and ready to be in YOUR Easter basket!

 

Follow us on Facebook! I try to be good about posting pictures there...some days (I meant weeks) are better than others.

And I will post photos of the new space tomorrow too.

Cheers!

Mojo Restoration 101

 
I came home from our vacation feeling ALL sorts of "ready to conquer the world".

Then, we landed, and it was cold and rainy.

And I was all covered up with one amazing tan & warm bones under all the sweaters and down vests.

It was confusing.

And then all my Facebooky-vintagey friends were very quiet about their vintage finds.

And it was far easier to get back into the life groove and attend softball games, go grocery shopping, garden and all that "fun stuff" than it was to shop for my store spaces.

But I am BACK baby!

I had a visit from one of our vendors Bee & Mason today at the shop...she was also feeling the "Loss of Vintage Mojo". But then we got texts from another vintage pal from Vancouver and we all got excited again! We all FOUND our MOJO!

We have Uncovered Ruby fun, Funky Junk Sisters Fun, and Vintage Gathering coming up!

 
 
 

So, time to grab ourselves by the boot straps, put our troubles aside and knock over old ladies at ....I mean start frequenting....estate sales!

And today, for the first time in FOREVER....candy cigarettes are BACK! I personally think the Easter Bunny is behind this miracle....he KNOWS what y'all want in your Easter baskets.

The Mojo Restoration Secret?

Surround yourself with good people---with good energy--and who want the same end result.

Something else I have learned (and earned) with age...make sure that the people you surround yourselves with have partners who support their desires & goals. That is SO important.

I cannot imagine if Mr. Hollands wasn't behind me all the way. Sometimes his head is into his work (fine & expected) and he is not as available to my every whim as he was when I had my shop alone (sometimes he's not even in this COUNTRY!) but every time I doubt myself and REALLY panic, I get the encouraging words (or texts) from him. That's what counts.

The guy RECOGNIZES true panic.

Between Bee & Mason, Junque Soiree and my husband, this day was JUST what I needed!

Cheers to rejuvenation!!

New Orleans and Getting Back to Basics

Tonight is one of the first nights in a LONG time that we've done our family dinner nights with locals. It used to be a revolving door of folks.....sometimes several tables all over the house. And then, with no planning, reason or purpose, it stopped over the last 2 years.

We started a monthly menu planning on April 1st. The kids fill in the blanks so it's AMAZING how the complaining came to an abrupt halt. I said "if you come home, look at the menu and don't like it...make a can of soup or a sandwich for yourself". It THRILLING how it takes the stress off of me on my nights that I work. No surprises. I KNOW what we're making.

We decided that Sundays need to go back to Family Dinner Nights. Packed tables. It's AMAZING how it makes Mondays SO less daunting when you laugh your head off, tell stories and share food with friends.

Tonight, our 12 year old friend made a cake...with FONDANT! I am am 40 and I still have never attempted that!

 
While we ate, my daughter was trying to finish a scrapbook for homework. The theme was "Memorial" and it could be about whatever you wanted it to be. Some kids did the Holocaust, some kids did Japan Quake 2012...My daughter apprehensively chose Hurricane Katrina. I had her watch an episode of Treme from HBO. She is currently reading "Zeitoun"..a non-fiction account of Hurricane Katrina from a New Orleans local business owner. Her apprehension slipped away and suddenly I watched her album take a life of it's own. She said "In New Orleans, the sense of community seems HUGE".

YES! It does!

I explained that tonight, bringing friends to our dinner table is COMMUNITY. Sharing food, breaking bread, laughing, stories...THAT is what future stories are made of...what she will pass on to her kids! It might seem "lame" and "boring" now....but this is what it's all about! My favorite part of New Orleans was that anybody would start a chat-up with you....primarily about Hurricane Katrina, but about how it changed them. Never a sob story. In 5 minutes flat you were eating dinner with a "stranger".

This weekend we also started a HUGE project in our yard. My husband's poker group came over and did the work "pre-poker". It was shocking how much they got done. My jaw DROPPED.

 
 
His friends pulled ALL the grass, laid the liner, brought up about 30 wheel barrows of gravel. They were animals!

The main goal with the back yard is to make it entertainment friendly for the spring/summers. A place we can hang out all day and night. Various garden and sitting areas. And grass free--meaning it cuts 30 minutes a week off of my husband's mowing schedule during the summer. Two extra hours a month to RELAX!

I'll tell you how well that works out for us.

Estate sales. Ug. Did I do any this week? NO! And Funky Junk Sisters is looming up! I am so mad at myself. I SAW sales, but my mind was all over the place. I don't need one extra thing in my garage until I find a few more places to sell.

Next week..I WILL post exciting finds. I WILL. I refuse NOT to!

This weekend was getting back to basics and going back to the thing we used to love. Filling the house on Sunday nights!

 

 

 

 

Sun Did the Trick

Dear Sun...thank you for making an appearance. It did the trick.

I got a lot of my chores done, exericsed, did some yoga, cleaned dark caves called "drawers", and saw a bit of my daughter's softball game. She was not scheduled to play the game at all until I left and pulled onto the highway to head home. THEN she texted me "I am on the field". Of course she was! Ha!

Look at what I found after I posted last night. Quite possibly the message and smack upside the head that I needed quite desparately.

http://bravegirlsclub.com/archives/2715

This is a love letter to artists and folks who are STUCK. And about 20 minutes after reading it, it did the trick! Her words said it all...New chapters with marriage, parenting, new projects, deadlines...all of it can stop us in our tracks. It all gets compounded and you do not know which way to turn let alone how to  proceed and get it all done.

This time of life is weird. I am sure there is some psychological term for it, but empty nest is looming, none of us are in the house at the same time, NEVER on the same page and sometimes dinner feels like dinner with strangers. Some days....it feels like strangers you'd never book dinner with again on purpose.

But. The sun helped us all. Funny how a simple change in weather can make it better.

Cheers to sun! Go Vitamin D!

This Weather is Coloring Me Grey..or Gray?

This Portland weather is dismal at best.

It's grey. Or it is gray?

Funnel clouds. Hail storms. Chilly. Dark.

It's made me lose focus, mojo, creativity, motivation.

Blah.

So, I spent my night looking for a creative, cheerful shot in the arm. I went to bright, cheerful and far, far away and then back to 'old school'.

New, cheerful & Happy!

Happy Harris. How can you NOT be happy reading the blog of a woman NAMED Happy?

My "go to girls":

Michelle Geller. One of the sweetest women ever. I met her at my old job way back in the day and she instantly had my heart. One of my favorite days ever was a road trip to an art class with her. What a day! She's been a kind supporter of me at both Poppy & Ivy and Found on Fremont.

And Sadie Olive. I had contacted her about 2 months back to re-vamp my blog header, but I think I need to see where the next few months take me. Where my path is leading off to. Because I am one up in the air lady right about now. I feel like a bag has been put over my head and someone is spinning me wildly before allowing me to take a swing at a pinata. And at times I feel like I AM the pinata!

Rebecca Sower. Clean. Crisp. The marrying of home, family, craftiness. My dream? Where I thought I was headed. Where I hope to head of to again.

Jenni Bowlin. Crafty Queen. Color & class.  

These are all the gals I started reading and following YEARS ago. WAY back in my years at Art House (a local scrapbook shop). They make me feel grounded and ---comforted! Women I looked up to, who made me think I could take off and make something really really wonderful if I blended everything I loved.

I have never hidden that change is not my friend. And I am a fast decision maker. I do not care for lollying about, no real answers. I like schedules, plans and a routine. All of that has gone HAYWIRE. With teen kids, husband, work, all the traveling (a GREAT thing...LOVELY thing, but SO much of it!),yard upside down--nothing feels like it's properly in place. I need to adjust to that I suppose. Seems that at 40 years of age, I could adjust a bit better than I do. I can own that.

So, tonight I think that my old school "secret mentors" and new school poppiness helped bring me around.

Tomorrow is going to be GOOD! I think I just needed the peace of kids, animals & husband fast asleep while I journeyed my little world of blogs! I suppose I should be happy that my "problems" can be fixed with such a simple counteractant!

Cheers to a really good Thursday. And maybe sun? A pinch? Even a shadow would suffice!

 

 

Back in the Saddle Again

Back to work today.

Back to wanting to poke my eyeballs out with spoons.

It's not easy to please so many people, get things scheduled with 20 people and cover your bases in this kind of situation. It's a lot like Motherhood...but these people aren't being nice to me to get into my last will & testament. 

I asked vendors to pick out a work night to freshen up the shop. The few I asked...It was just "TOO tough" for them to pick a day in April. Really? And you wonder why your sales are down? Do we think shoppers love seeing the same things each visit? UG.... people.

Maui has hardened me. :)

I worked from the time I walked in until I walked out. And I didn't walk out at my usual 6:30pm, but 8:30pm.

 

 

 

 
I arrived home to my Curly Girl order (YEAH!!!!), hungry kids (BOO) and a husband who wanted to 'help" so he made some insane "krab" casserole with all the wrong ingredients (I can't even BOO this....it was just...too WEIRD to even boo).

Tonight I am pricing Curly Girl cards for Found on Fremont, painting furniture for the shop and getting ready for my adventures! Pretty exciting! I have said before I am not good at changes, but this time I am making the choices and it feels pretty nice!

It's ALL good.....