Weekend Update

Can we just say splendid!
Where to begin with all the fun activities of this past weekend.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a spring planting workshop. My cousins have been doing this for a couple of years and thankfully invited my mom and me to join them this year.



We went to Shady Hill Gardens in Elburn, Illinois. It is a gorgeous, sprawling, well organized greenhouse that I love to visit. They offer a Spring Container Workshop in which you can either bring in your own container or purchase one of their gorgeous options. (Can't guess what I chose??)

The fun part about the spring planting is that you plant with very small "plugs" and really don't know how they will look until they grow up. I really get the sense that this is how pots and planter get that professional look.

I was able to put at least 10 plugs/plants in each pot because they were so tiny. Now this is the best part of the story...since I do not own a greenhouse, Shady Hill will tend to my pretty little creation until it is warm enough to put outdoors. They water, fertilize and even talk to my new friends, so they will grow just right.

Can't wait to see how they turn out.

The next big event of Saturday was the Daddy Daughter Dance. Hannah allowed me to rag roll her hair and make it extra thick and curly. She had so much fun with it and so did I.


Before


After

Hannah and The Accountant had a grand time tripping the light fantastic or even better yet, they learned how to dance hip hop. Oh, to see the Accountant's white mans overbite, priceless!





If that wasn't enough fun....Sunday brought another outing for me. Peggy and I headed into the city to McCormick Place for the 2009 International Home and Housewares Show. It is a very large venue in which most big manufacturers come to display their new wares.



No cameras allowed for this event, but I have to say I would not have taken pictures of too many items. Most of the items were not in my scope of interest, well at least for my potential business. I can buy cookware and "stuff" with the best of them.

Personally, I gravitated to dishware and table setting options. There was a great preponderance of tiny serving ware with little bitty spoons, those I could buy to my hearts content, not sure if anyone else would???

There were very few gift ware representatives, but oodles of Chinese Importers with lots of plastic items. We stayed far away from those booths as it was just too scary to look at all that colored plastic.

Because this show is directed to the bigger retailers, we now now what will be at places like Target, Walmart, and Macy's come next season. You will be happy to know we saw a lot of cottage floral patterns and some americana themes. Some black and white pieces but not the exact colors that I like.

Our excursion taught me that I do not want to follow the main stream production line. I think a better approach, for me, would be to blend the two different worlds, because I have to admit, there are just some items that would be cost prohibitive and impossible to produce without these big guys. I couldn't live without Target, my house would not be the same, but it wouldn't be the same without the flea market and individual works of art as well. Balance again becomes a theme...hummmm.

I like my individual sense of style, I love things that are carefully made with lots of attention. I love the mix of old and new, items with a story and multiple functionalities. Hopefully I can cultivate my loves for these two different loves into a business one day, as I always say...that is part of the evolution.

I promise to be true to myself and in turn know I will figure it all out. What works for me and my family is most important and that will be my main focus as I move forward.

ps....as soon as I figure out how to get my pictures off my cell phone I will post the pots I put together...arrrhhhhhhhhhh technology.