We're all alive (barely)

I have neglected my blog, true -but for good reason. See my sweet little boy? This is him on his 7th birthday a few weeks ago. Notice the nice looking cast? He had an accident and literally cut the tip of his finger off in a door. In case you didn't read the last blog I will quickly update you: We have had two surgeries, 3 doctor's visit, an infection and the re-growing tip flying through the air in one of his wrestling fits (it was like slow motion watching it happen. I sat there and said, "that was just his tip"). That has all happened in three weeks. OH, and did I mentioned we moved 3 weeks ago too??Here is what you've been waiting to see. This is the checkout "bar". I call it a bar because it will end up looking like the bar my husband put in TASTE. I think it turned out wonderful, its obviously not completed but I like it. I think the broom adds an extra nice touch...don't you think?

I don't wan to give the whole store away so I won't show you too much, just a little sneak but behind this gorgeous sewing machine you can see just how we've displayed the fabrics.

This machine was given to display in the window by the sweet, generous Meryl, owner of Dr. Jazz three doors down. They have been so incredibly kind to us these past months. If you've never eaten at Dr. Jazz you must give it a shot, especially for ice cream!
This is how we've hung the fabrics. They are railroad type ties. Pretty industrial. I like how it looks. We still have plenty to do before opening day which is....(drum roll please).....not this weekend like planned. :( sorry, too much happened and pushed me back at least a week. I will have the store "opened" for the Jazz festival on the 17th. I can't have a big open house that day because the street is closed off for the big festivities that day but if you just can't wait any longer you can come take a peek. I will update everyone on the big opener.. promise.

Don't forget, there is still time to sign up for the bus tour. I've read emails from the other shops and they have some pretty fun and amazing things planned for us. Email me if you'd like to join us!!

What I've been spending my time doing....

I've been working so much this summer that we haven't been able to do much as a family. I decided a weekend trip to Chicago was in order. We had a great time. My mom came with us to join in on the fun. We visited Shedd's Aqarium, The Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry (a crowd favorite), went to the beach, went up in the Willis Tower aka Sears Tower (who changes the name of a famous building?!?!), ate at Gino's East Pizza and of course visited IKEA. Made a haul for the shop! It was great to get away with my favorite guys (and mom).The day after we returned from Chicago my Max boy slammed his finger in the back door of a friends house. He cut the entire tip of his finger off. I won't go into detail in the chance you're reading this while eating, but it was pretty serious. Here is my trooper at the ER. He was amazing, and so strong. He handled the pain so incredibly well. Two days later he had surgery to try to repair the finger. They couldn't reattach the tip but they are trying to "regrow" it. Who knew you could regrow a finger. He has another surgery next week.School started yesterday. My two oldest are in full day and the little blonde is hooraying that he gets mom all to himself. Cute kid. And as if I'm not doing anything else...we're moving this week. My good friend Laura Gunn is moving to DC for two years and asked us to move in and remodel her home. Isn't it crazy how everything happens at once? Oh, and yes, I'm still opening up a shop. So if you're wondering why I haven't updated many pictures of the shop as of lately....well....you know why. Sigh, now back to packing up boxes.

Things are happening...you just can't see them yet

I've had a few comments lately from people who walk by and peek in. "Wow, you still have a ton of work to do...." I'm not sure how to take that. What is amazing is the amount of work you do but yet almost none of it shows. Kind of like being a stay at home mom. Mom's, you work all day long and what do you have to show for it at night?? Maybe a swept floor and clean dishes - for sure sore feet, headaches and exhaustion. Opening up a shop is a lot like that.

The shop will be simple, so simple that as soon as we finish putting up the trim thats it. I don't like a lot of clutter - I think it takes away from things....specifically fabric things.

So if you happen to walk by and think, "wow, she has a ton of work to do still" remember the dream, the image, simple, simple, simple - and most importatly, don't panic! It will be open!!

What could be more fun then getting fabric??

Boxes....lot of boxes to cut up and make into rockets and homes and who knows what. Bennett has been asking me if he could dress up like a bolt of fabric and stand outside the shop with a sign waving to people. He went out and practiced.

This is nothing....you should see my sewing room.

Floors - check

Here are some pictures of the shop. The kids were with us, naturally. Check out Ollie's shirt. Isn't it hilarious? He is so stinkin' cute. Love that kid.

Voila! The floors. They are incredibly gorgeous. I can't believe how well they turned out.

There is our fireplace. It's not finished obviously but there it is. The painting will start tonight!!!

Human Sander

It has been interesting (to say the least) trying to juggle 4 kids - all boys for that matter- summer time, trying to sell our home and starting a new business. Anytime I need to go to the shop I either have to pack them all up or get a baby sitter. Most of the time though.....they come with me. The last time we were at the shop Max (pictured below) was running around in the hall and hit his head on the corner of the wall so hard we had to take him to get it stitched up. That all happened while I was meeting the Moda rep. Talk about professional....

Here is Max again, wanting to help sand the floor so he put the machine sander around him and rolled around. At least we can give him points for being creative!
And yes...I just said sand the floor. Here it is. Isn't it beautiful?! 4 layers and tar later, there she lies. The final sand happened today and the staining. I can't wait to have it all finished.
We also have finished the fireplace. It looks AMAZING! It will still be a little while before the whole place gets fully painted and you can see the style and feel really come out but for the mean time think - Anthropologie meets Restoration Hardware.

Today I was at the shop three times and I'm proud to report no injuries. That is a feat. I will end on that good note. Please feel free to continue to post comments in my "suggestion" box from my last post. Its always great to get others opinions and ideas.

Floors and more floors

We've been at this floor for weeks now. You'd think we'd be done already....but nope. There is beautiful hard wood that was buried under three nasty layers of carpet, tile and plywood. They all were glued to one another. Yuck!! Talk about a lot of work!

On a positive side (although I think everything about this business is positive) we have framed in our fireplace. I'm sooo excited about this detail. It will add the perfect touch to the shopping experience. I hope all our friends will love it just as much as we do.

Picking out colors today and I ordered some fabric last week!! EEKKK!! I would love some suggestions of what you would like to see in the shop. I know what I like but I want to know what you like too. Feel free to leave a comment. Think of it as a suggestion box.

Thats all for now. Ta-ta!