my creativity meter

So today is my last (half) day at the Dallas Market.  Heading back to the airport this afternoon to catch a flight to Nashville for a conference with my hubbie.  My “roomies” are all still fast asleep, so I am in the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub with my laptop chatting with you…  Not very comfortable, so this won’t be a long post – Ha!

Have had a great time here over the past three days, and I wish that I had an unlimited budget to spend on goodies for Creations… but that is not exactly the case.  My very favorite showroom while I was here was one that sells all kinds of beautiful ribbons and adornments.  My creativity meter went off the charts, and I am so inspired to go home and CREATE some goodies for you!!  Things that I have been thinking about for a long time.  Yep – it’s time to let those creative juices flow!  Thanks, Donna, for creating such a beautiful and inspiring showroom.  Your creativity has inspired MY creativity – and I thank you for that!  (I will tell you more about my new friend, Donna, later… and the rest of the delighful crew!  She deserves an entire blog post!)

OK – They are still snoring away in there (yes – literally!!!) so I am heading off to catch my last few hours of Market.  Toodles…!    live happy… laugh, love, dream, create

this little piggy went to market…

I always wanted to be a buyer.

I went to college and majored in Fashion Merchandising with an (almost) minor in business.  I pictured myself working for some well known chain of classy stores, traveling throughout the United States to various markets; wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of my crazy, exciting, cutting-edge career… OK.  So maybe that’s not exactly how it all worked out.  Upon graduating, I spent the next eight years in retail management; aside from the two (glorious) years that we lived in London.  It was then that I entered into the career of a lifetime…(literally).  The job was simply titled – “Mom”.  The years to follow were, and continue to be, the best of my life.  Nothing prepared me for the sheer magnitude of motherhood.  Being the oldest of seven kids sure helped – but I had no idea how much I would really love being a mom to my two kids.  It was, in all sincerity, the career of my dreams.

Kids have this terrible habit, however, of growing up.  When my twins turned 12, I started my own little home business called “Creations (by cathy) so that I would have something for myself, especially when the (dreaded) moment came for them to leave for college.  (In retrospect… one of the smartest things that I have ever done!)  Back in 2002, we still had a Market in Kansas City.  I can still remember the thrill and excitement of “going to market” for the very first time!!!  I think that I probably just sat in my car and squealed like a little piglet before I went in.  I was just SO excited!!  That market has been gone for quite a while now, and I have had the opportunity to attend Market in Denver, Chicago (twice), Atlanta, and now, Dallas.  Arrived  in Dallas yesterday afternoon so that I could spend the evening chit-chatting over sushi with a niece who is currently living here in Dallas. We laughed and talked and wined and dined.  Solved all the world’s problems… and then some (love ya, sweetie!)

The Dallas Market (click link) opened this AM – so when the wake-up call wrestled me out of a deep, dark sleep at about 6:45… I stumbled to the shower (Via the coffeemaker.  Regular.) and began my day.  Over the next 12 hours I would sit down exactly three times.  Five minutes for breakfast and 10 minutes on the shuttle bus to Market and back.  “Lunch” is defined as “food that the Reps often put out to entice you to stay in their showrooms”.  It is free, it may (or may not) be something that sounds good and it does not involve sitting.  Yep.  This is what I love.  It’s that crazy hustle, bustle “thrill of the hunt” feeling that I dreamed of right after college.  (There was just an ever-so-slight “delay of game” getting here.)  And the hunt is even more exciting and challenging this time around.  I am truly “starting over” at this Market in a fresh, new direction – shabby chic, feminine,”cottagey”… and often with a French accent!  Everything that I love!!  Woo-Hoo!!  I am truly like a little kid going to Disney World!  Today was wonderful.  Now it’s time for a little “beauty rest”.  Still have another 2 1/2 days in “The Magic Kingdom”, and I certainly don’t want to have dark circles under my eyes if I run into Minnie Mouse!

kahlua dip with strawberries…yum!

Served this yummy dip at my Grand Re-opening last week, and had several requests, as I always do, for the recipe.  It’s super-duper simple and a great summertime dessert -So here goes…

Note: In this recipe, you can certainly use “the lite version” of cream cheese, yogurt and whipped topping – but don’t ever use fat free cream cheese!!  It has the consistency of a rubber ball.  I do not even believe that it is an edible food product!!

4 oz. (1/2 block) cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

1/4 c. light brown sugar

3T. Kahlua

4 oz. frozen whipped topping (“Cool Whip”), thawed

Combine cream cheese, yogurt, brown sugar and Kahlua.  Beat until smooth and creamy.  Blend in whipped topping.  Refrigerate overnight to blend flavors.  Serve with fresh strawberries or other assorted fresh fruit.  Super delish – Enjoy!

my dad

It’s really hard to put into words the way that I feel about my dad…

Remembering back to my days as a little girl, a flood of (very) random images sweep through my mind like a “daddy/daughter” video of memories…   My dad was my “yes man”.  He was the one you asked “to do something”.  Anything.  “Can I walk to my friend’s house in a neighboring state… after dark… in the snow?  Barefoot?”  “As long as it’s OK with your mom”.  I assured him that it was. (Sorry, Mom)  When we moved after fifth grade, I was anxiously preparing for my sixth grade year at a brand new school.  It was a good change for me, and I was excited.  Got my ears pierced and my mom got me a pair of powder blue “cameo” earrings.  (A real trend setter I was back then!)  It was 1972 and everyone had long straight hair and feathered bangs.  Including me.  That is, until I got my hair cut in a “shag”.  Tears.  Tears.  More tears…  I walked in the door, eyes red and puffy from sobbing.  My dad looked at me and said nothing.  He didn’t even blink.  Just smiled and went back to reading the paper.   Didn’t even notice… or just unconditional love?  I dunno.  Doesn’t matter really.  As the oldest of seven kids, there really wasn’t a lot of “one-on-one” time.  Because of that however, the memories are treasured even more….  Following my dad through “Central Hardware” (a small 60’s/70’s hardware store) and getting “Boston Baked Beans” out of the candy vending machine by the door (refer back to the whole “Yes man” thingie…) or having strawberry crepes at the “Village Inn Pancake House”, just the two of us, on my way back to college. Sometimes my dad took on the role of “Superman”.  He knew exactly how to cut my eggs into little “roofs”.  The only way that I would eat them, apparently.   He quite possibly saved my life in a jeep accident when I was just three years old, and then saved me, once again, after the first semester of my freshman year in college.  I had gotten very sick that fall and wasn’t sure that I could continue on with my second semester.  My dad, not one to write letters really, wrote a heartfelt, encouraging love letter to me that gave me the inner strength to say – “Yes, I can!”…and I did.  (I still have that letter)

My dad is a humble man and one of the hardest workers that I have ever known.  He is a quiet, honest, patient, unassuming, gentle man with a big, strong, kind hug that I can feel in my heart when I close my eyes.   Even when we are seperated by many, many miles… as we are today.

I love my dad more than any girl could ever love her dad.  Today, I just wanted to be sure that he knows that.  Happy Father’s Day, Dad.

on this day…

“On this day, you will marry your best friend.”

And so I did.  And yes; he still is.

So many years ago…so many shared memories.  They belong to us, and us alone.

Thank you.  For being there.  For loving me.  For supporting me.  For trusting me.  For encouraging me.  For drying my tears, comforting my fears, sharing my years.  You are my rock, my safe spot, my comfort zone.  I am blessed.

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.” – Winnie the Pooh

the big day…

So it’s almost here; my Grand Re-opening at Trendz Market.  Can I just say that I am really excited…?!  I’ve been checking off all of the last minute”to-do stuff”… hanging my new sign, putting the crystals on the last chandelier, figuring out the food, stuffing the “indulgence” bags with goodies… The anticipation is just killing me!  So, if you are here in Kansas City, I do hope that you will be able to stop by – even for a minute.  I have taken the big leap to follow my true passion, and it will be so fun to show everyone what that really looks like!  Nibble on some munchies and have a glass of wine.

It will be so good to see you…!  

what are you looking for?

What we see depends mainly on what we look for.  -John Luubbock

So what do you see in this picture?

I see “flowers”…  Little mounds of fluffy, sunshine yellow flowers.  OK – Dandelions definitely have their own little thing going on – but I like that about them.  If they were sold in the garden center, I’m  betting you would (gulp!) buy them.  Yep.  I’m saying that you would pay money for a dandelion “flower”.  But you never will.  These little “flowers” are free spirits.  Wildflowers.  They are the happiest color in the world because, no matter what, they are true survivors.   Try as you may, you cannot crush the spirit of a dandelion. There are real lessons to be learned here – so if you’re having a bad day, I suggest you go find yourself a field of “wildflowers”… and soak in a bit of sunshine!

“If you’re feeling blue – try painting yourself a different color.” Hannah Cheaton; Age 8

From the mouth of babes; well said, Hannah!  I’m going with “sunshine yellow”.          Live happy…

the key to life…

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’.  They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”    John Lennon

This quote is hanging in our home, and it makes me happy to read it!  I hope that you have a beautiful weekend… 

live happy~ laugh, love, dream, create

double the trouble; twice the love

picture reposted from “lavender-colored glasses”

I see children as kites. You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you’re both breathless…they crash… you add a longer tail… they hit the rooftop… you pluck them out of the spout… you patch and comfort, adjust and teach. You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that someday they’ll fly.
Finally, they are airborne, but they need more string and you keep letting it out and with each twist of the ball of twine, there is a sadness that goes with the joy because the kite becomes more distant and somehow you know that it won’t be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that bound you together and soar as it was meant to soar… free and alone.
Only then do you know that you did your job.

Erma Bombeck (February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996)

It has been almost 22 years since God gave me the gift of a lifetime;  my two precious babies.  Thank you, Erma, for your beautiful words of wisdom…  

live happy~ laugh, love, dream, create

big ben

I have to admit that watching the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration over the past couple of days has made me a bit nostalgic…

It seems like a hundred years ago, now; our life in London.  It was 1986 when the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself to these two young, 20-something newlyweds.  The next two years play out in my mind  like a slideshow of beautiful memories, unforgettable friends and extraordinary experiences.  Here we were, two young kids from the midwest.  We were suddenly living in the heart of London, in a small flat (apartment), with a refrigerator that was not much bigger than a small “bar” refrigerator and a washer/dryer “combo”.  (Yep. One contraption takes care of both.  Go figure.) Two of the modes of transportation were a huge underground subway system (“the tube”), or a car (our little white Jetta) with the steering wheel on the right side of the car, that you were, somehow, expected to drive on the left side of the street!  We learned that a “boot” is the trunk of your car, if you need an elevator, you ask for the “lift” and for goodness gracious, if you have to go potty, you need to find the “loo”!!   We fell in love with Indian food, the theatre and the English countryside.  I fell “head-over-heels in love” with “afternoon tea”… the finest tradition on earth, in my ever so humble opinion. I did not, however, fall in love with “pub food”.  Just saying.  We learned that drizzly rain is just that… drizzly rain; and it doesn’t stop anything. When the sun did make an appearance – it was a gift and a glorious celebration.  We learned that no one there cares if it is Thanksgiving back home and that the holidays are a time that you really do miss your family…  We made lots of friends, however.  Good friends; with people from all over the US, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.  Those friends, along with our many, many experiences, have proven to be truly unforgettable.  There is so much more to share in future posts – but suffice it to say that our time in London was absolutely, positively “splendid”!!  Cheers!

“From the top of the bus she could see the vast bowl of London spreading out to the horizon: splendid shops with mannequins in the window, interesting people and already a much bigger world.”   – Julia Gregson