Petit Amoir - My New Adventure!

I thought I better do a bit of a post about what I've been working on for the last 6 months. Finally on 8th September Petit Armoir was born! She has been a labor of love and I'm more than pleased with the result. 

Whilst there's still a long way to go in both renovations, website development and stock, she's looking so good and it's been flat out since opening. 

Here's what she looks like....

Street view

Front window

Signage (which I love!)

Inside

Front counter which is yet to have the logo added. Note awesome chandelier!

Kids play area complete with perspex barrier in front of TV so no breakages!

Linen from BABU & 'and the little dog laughed'

Babies

Boys & Girls sizes 2-14yrs

There's still lots to do like wallpaper the back wall, more stock to buy, advertising to organize etc. But so far so good. I'm so proud of what I've put together and I've had lots of great feedback. It makes all the long nights after working all day in the old shop worthwhile!

What do you think? 

Back to life

Life finally feels like it's getting back to normal around here. We're back to work, back to 6am starts with a toddler, back to the housework and back to paying bills. The mundane life I adored has returned.

Somehow it's a better kind of normal. There's more sharing of the load, there's more caring and there's more loving. I keep waiting for it to end but so far so good.

I feel like I can set some new goals now. The new shop is built and next on the list is the website. Do I dare start planning for our dream house? A family holiday? Another baby? Right now I think I'll start with planning the rest of the month. If we can make it through that in one peice I'll plan until Christmas and then reassess.

It's easy to get carried away in this blissful bubble. It's not totally perfect but it feels pretty damn close. And like I said, part of me is waiting for it all to end, the other part is lapping it up and enjoying all that I've missed out on in the last couple of years.

 

One day at a time......one day at a time.......

Finally! Answers!

I haven't been able to blog for the last week and a bit. It's been both due to time and just because I haven't been able to put the last week or two's events into words until now. 

Oh where to start.....

Petit Armoir is finally up and running. Not everything got done on time such as the website, wallpapering the back wall, some stock hasn't arrived yet and not everything was put into the computer by opening. But I still managed to pull off a huge grand opening and even though I was meant to close at 2pm, people were still trying to get in at 2:30pm and I didn't get out the door till well after 3pm. 

All of this was achieved despite massive personal challenges over the last 2 weeks. For anyone who's ever been married to or lived with someone suffering from anxiety and/or depression, you know what a roller coaster it can be. Every day you wonder what mood the person you love will be in. Will he be happy? Will he be sad? Will he be angry? It's been the most difficult two years of my life and over the last week it all came to a head. 

I won't go into too much detail but finally there is a sense of relief. Rock bottom was finally hit and although it's not how both he and I would like the diagnosis and realization that there was something wrong to have happened, we're both glad it did. I nearly lost him, but with some help from a wonderful medical team and friends and family, we now have a diagnosis, a treatment and a plan. There's more hope than there has ever been. 

It's no surprise that this week I feel completely flat. I've been running on pure adrenalin for so long now that it seems even though all the drama has stopped, my brain can't quite slow down. I'm craving silence. Even the tapping of the keyboard drives me crazy. It will pass. It's the waiting I hate. Time heals and all that. 

Emily is of course over the moon. She's settling more easily and happier to go to childcare knowing she has both Mummy and Daddy home. 

So a new beginning and a bright future is in store. I'm determined to quieten my mind this week and stay focused on what's important. My family. 

Emily's First Photo Shoot - and she's 2 years old!

Emily was up at 5am this morning and bounced into my room telling me to "get up!" and declared she was ready for shopping. I'd promised her last night we were going shopping today and she went straight off to sleep so the morning would come quicker. 

I thought I was brilliant of course. I'd solved the 'how to get Emily to stop wandering out of the bedroom and go the f*ck to sleep!" problem. In doing that I created the "how to get Emily to sleep past 6am" problem. I've made promises at bed time previously and although she's slept soundly all the way through, she's always up early the next morning and remembers exactly what I promised the night before. 

So up at 5am and by 7:30am this was my sookie little girl......

Of course I was in full housework mode by this time. Dishes were being done, washing was on, I was considering vacuuming the floor..... My little miss just wanted to go back to bed! 

Problem was we had a haircut booked for 9am and photo's booked for 10:30am. How the hell was I going to get her dressed and out the door by 8:30am? I know, I'll let her choose her own dress for the photo shoot! I held up a pink dress and a cream dress positive she'd choose the pink one as it's her favorite color at the moment. 

Of course she chose the cream dress.....the one that would show her spencer underneath and every bit of food and drink she consumed on the way. 

All ready to go complete with annoying bloody baby in pram and handbag over shoulder!

First up at the hairdressers and she would not let go of me. I had plans to cut her hair into a bob just above her shoulders. She refuses to let me do her hair most mornings and I'm sick of the battles so I was determined to chop it off and that way all I had to do was chase her around the house with a hair brush and not worry about tying it up. She wouldn't have a bar of it. She squirmed and cried and clung onto me like the lovely hairdresser was going to chop her head off. We couldn't even get the cape on her! I gave up and decided we would go to the cafe next door instead because mummy really needed a caffeine fix!

By this time it was 10am and she was already telling me she wanted her dummy and hippo, a clear sign she was tired. We raced to the shopping center for our free Pixie Photo's portrait sitting. 

Now I have never been a fan of Pixie Photo's I "won" this free portrait (along with a hundred other mums I suspect) and the woman on the phone convinced me to take advantage of the free offer and there was no obligation to buy. I've always thought of Pixie Photo's as the type with fairy dresses and babies sitting in terracotta pots holding sunflowers etc. Definitely not my style! I'm a plain jane, prefer the classic, hate cheesy kinda gal. 

You can still get the flower pot shots and props are still offered, however we went for the plain backgrounds and let Emily be the star. I was very impressed with the way the photographer and assistant managed to get Emily to dance and jump and lie down and look into a mirror. Now if only I could make her do things for me on command! 

A bit grainy but it is a photo of a photo. 

So while I was impressed with the photo's I wasn't surprised with the prices of their packages. Starting at $300 for 5 images, you need some serious dough for these guys! They were shooting through a family an hour so that's 8 potential photo packages a day! Even if everyone bought the base package, it's still $14,000 a week. I should have been a bloody photographer.......

Anyway, I chose my portrait (the picture above), said it was Emily's nap time and I would consider the packages and come back with my Mum next week (who'll totally buy half the images). I'm considering this gorgeous one for my bookshelf. 

Kinda glad we didn't cut the hair off now

What's a reasonable price to pay for a photo pack of your little angel/s? 

Are these pictures boring and should I get some outside pictures done when the summer comes? Should I chop her hair off or leave it alone? 

Help! 

Reason, Season or Lifetime

I saw this today and it just seemed to make sense:

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
— Unknown

Disruption to Routine is My Enemy

Today was slightly better than yesterday. I feel like I got a few things achieved finally. I still don't know how to use my new accounting system but I did get all but one of my winter 2013 orders completed.

The last order was for Fabrik, a label I love. Exquisite designs and gorgeous fabrics. It ticks all my boxes.....

"Fabrik marries that neat little girl with nanna’s handicrafts, warmth and care, a splash of colour, a dash of inspiration and wraps them all together in a unique and environmentally friendly package."

 

 

I'm thinking I might need some of their summer range too so tomorrow's job is to contact them/my agent and see if I can get some last minute stock. It's just too beautiful!

 

Just as I was about to walk out the door I got a call from one of my newest suppliers, Lullaby Linen. Helen, one of the owners, was absolutely lovely and so helpful.

 

How often do you see really great boys linen? I haven't seen a range as sophisticated and suitable for babies through to teens ever! I absolutely think this is an exceptional rage of linen and I'm so excited to be stocking it.

 

 

So finally I got out of there and loaded my car with some boxes of coat hangers to make some space in my overflowing storage room. I picked up Emily who had apparently been allowed to sleep from 1pm to 4:15pm!!! Any Mum of a 2 year old knows this is a disaster. Her bedtime was less than 3 hours away and there was no way I was going to get her off to sleep at that time now.

 

At 7:30pm we did the usual bedtime routine of bottle and story while she cuddled her hippo and laid quietly in bed. No sooner had I shut the door when I hear "Mummy!".....and so began my night of bedtime negotiating and re-settling. In the end I gave in and sat beside her holding her hand and patting her off to sleep. It was 9:30pm when I left her room. She was up at 5am this morning and she was beyond over-tired tonight.

 

It's times like this that I really struggle with loving having my own business and wanting to stay with my little girl. Routine is so important to her at the moment. When Daddy doesn't pick her up on the nights he's supposed to she's beside herself asking for him all night. When she doesn't sleep properly during the day or if I'm away working for a night she takes a couple of days to settle back into the routine. 3am wandering into Mummy's bed is not unusual for Emily.

 

But we'll work with it and struggle through for now. Just a couple more weeks and things can settle down and I can spend more time with her. At least that's the idea......

 

 



 

 



The Thin Line of Sanity

So apparently swapping from my current accounting and inventory system to my new one wasn't going to be so easy.......

One of the many hiccups this week as I go on the countdown to the opening of Petit Armoir.

Today I received the script for the radio ads I've booked and it was laughable. i really think I should be given a discount for all the times I've written the scripts for them. I'm not big noting myself here, a five year old could have done a better job. Cheesy and loud is not the way I want my boutique represented.

I have been doing a back and forth with my printer for three weeks now just trying to get a quote for business cards and stickers. How hard can it be? Apparently very hard because I get the same quote over and over again and my repeated calls to talk to the general manager who's sending me the quotes results in more incorrect quotes and emails. Today I finally snapped and emailed him that I would be using someone else. Actually it went more like "your gross incompetence" and "lack of customer service give me no choice but to take my business elsewhere" and that was me being reserved! I won't name them but lets just say there's no longer a 'darkhorse' in the running for my business!!

One of my major labels still hasn't advised if they can supply me by grand opening on September 8th. I've been chasing them for quite some time and I've had excuse after excuse. I email and call and no-one gets back to me. So I'm two weeks away from opening and I'm trying to decide if one, I tell them where to go, and two, who can I replace them with at such short notice since you would normally order 6 months in advance.

Telstra still haven't sorted my phone and broadband change over (surprise, surprise!) and my bank is giving me grief about the new merchant terminal I'm getting installed.

It's all happening at once and threatening to drive me insane!

The one thing that puts a smile on my face every single day is my little girl. I pick her up from childcare after a rotten day and as soon as she see's me she runs into my arms with an excited "Mummy!" and holds on tight until we get to the car. The whole way home she non-stop chatters about her day and who her friends are and what they did. She is totally oblivious to my worries and while I listen to her they temporarily fade away.

Emily is my blessing every day. She keeps me sane and keeps me moving forward. She makes me laugh and gives me the biggest, warmest cuddles.

Thank God I have this weekend off. I plan to make the most of our time together because the next couple of weeks are going to be so busy.