what a crazy month…

Wow. What a month.

Whatcha been up to? Me? Oh, ya. I HAVE been busy. Like “Super-D-Duper” busy – Thanks for asking. The easiest way to explain my absence is a quick timeline of events (Ya, RIGHT!! Quick! That’s something I’m super good at… hahahaha!) OK. Let’s say more of a ~~never ending~~ long, rambling sequence of unrelated random words… Yep. Good at that.

It all started with New Years resolutions. Cleaning/purging the basement. BIG job. Lots of time to think. Got sick for a week. More time to just think. (Too miserable for anything else). During this contemplative period, began exploring the idea of re-entering the “retail rodeo”. WHAT?? (I know. Crazy. I blame the fever) On a total whim, I decided (on a Monday) to contact two gals that own a cute little boutique about seven minutes from my house re: rental space. By Thursday I had “verbally agreed” to sign on to rent the entire basement space of CHARM, a cute little (1905) house in “Martin City”. We agreed that I would open the basement space on Thursday, March 5. And the crazy began…

First of all, I needed merchandise. You know; something to SELL… Not enough time to go to market, so I started contacting reps, perusing my catalogs, searching online… quite a challenge really. Like REALLY!! Then there are fixtures. Gotta have a way to DISPLAY all of that incredible new merchandise! Mapped out a plan on my “to scale” graph paper, and felt really good about that. I still had my fixtures from Trendz (my previous rental space), and it appeared that they would all work perfectly. Needed new business cards with my CHARM info, and in the process of searching those out, stumbled across a site “Angie makes”. Loved the artwork/design, so ~~randomly~~ decided it was time for a complete overhaul… new logo, new website/blog, new merchandise tags WITH my new logo… along with those new business cards – the very thing that started this whole domino effect. Ya. All great ideas. Because I didn’t have enough to do already.

Everything took longer than anticipated. Of course. Eventually the merchandise started to trickle in. But the tags were delayed, because the “final answer” on my logo was delayed. Then there was a delay on being able to move in because of weather issues. It was, to say the least, very frustrating!! We finally found a “window” just days before my official open. Bad weather was due to arrive the very next day. It was literally a case of “now or never”. My sweet bro-in-law and my devoted hubbie were there for me, once again, ready to help move all of the “big stuff” over. I had three main pieces; all beautiful painted wood shelf units. Big ones. To hold lots of good stuff. The first one was rejected on paper. I realized that the height was ONE stinkin’ INCH too high for that old basement ceiling… at it’s highest point. Ouch! DOWN ONE. Stay positive. I still have two more. The second piece, a real BEAR, made it out of my Creations room to the basement door before it was rejected. The “reality check” was that it would not make the turn at the bottom of those old wooden basement stairs. Panic! DOWN TWO. OK, gotta re-think this. I will figure it out. I still have one more… So we loaded her up on the truck, along with some random tables etc. and off we went. On the outside, I was fine. But inside, I literally felt sick to my stomach. How was I going to display everything with 2 of the 3 major pieces GONE!! Ugh! Luckily, it’s a very short jaunt between my house and CHARM, so not too much time to dwell on the situation at hand. When we got there, we entered and started measuring everything between “point A and point B”. Final answer? There was NO WAY that 3rd shelf unit was gonna make it down those stairs. I’m done. DOWN THREE…

The next morning was crazy. In moving that 2nd shelf unit the previous day (the one I referred to as a “bear”…), my husband had pulled a muscle in his back and I was worried about him! I would not let him lift a finger to help. (He was not very happy with me…) But there was a big snow/ice storm coming our way, and I had boxes and boxes (and boxes) of merchandise to move over before it hit. Alone. So I started packing my car (it was already snowing hard) and began the process of moving everything over. Several trips. Box by box by box… Shoveling the snow every time to make a path to the font porch of CHARM. Not fun. But I did it! Once it was all finally inside and down the basement, I stopped to look around. There was merchandise stacked everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE! None of it was tagged yet because of the delay on my tags. There were empty holes where shelf units were supposed to be. Where was everything going to GO?? For a moment, my eyes filled up with tears at the “overwhelmingness” of it all… and then I sprung into action. Nothing about any of this has gone “as planned”. So what. This is just a “chapter” (my 2015 “word“) in my book of CHARM. I will make it work. I CAN do this.

So I DID…

a “social media” meteor…

2 / 22 / 13

No. Contrary to popular belief, I did NOT fall off the face of the earth. I was merely sidelined for awhile; a direct hit from a “social media meteor” that came crashing down to earth and annihilated my computer. A wee bit dramatic? Maybe. Anyway; Here’s the story…

So there I was. It was the day after moving my booth out of Trendz, and it was my first day forward on my new adventure. An adventure that is rooted in promoting myself and my business, “Creations by cathy“, via the world of social media. And the thing is, I really like this world of “social media”. Ok… Correction. “Liked” this world…

I had just posted pics from my Trendz move earlier in the day on Facebook and was busy working on a blogpost. Actually two. Suddenly, and without any warning, everything went blank. And black. Hmmm… “This is not good”, she thought, pensively. She was right. Her computer had crashed. And so the nightmare began.

It was a real mess. I had no acess to my email, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Pinterest – No pictures, files, internet. I was (sniff!) all alone!! And every time we thought we had it all done, we would hit another roadblock. So blah, blah, blah. Besides a few minor issues, I think it is pretty much behind me and I have transferred everything over to my laptop from “up in the cloud”… Whew!!

So this whole experience really got me thinking about how much we really rely on all of this “technological technology” to get us through our day. Our world. Our life….

So “what if”…??? What if our world still revolved around typewriters and adding machines and people paid cash… What if we waited by the mailbox rather than our “inbox” or a text message? What if our phones still had a (gulp!!) CORD! And what if our biggest distraction while driving was the AM radio (cassette player) being too loud…? Yes – the world would certainly be different than it is today. Better though? I dunno. In some ways… definitely yes. But we are here and there is no going back.

It’s kinda funny (??) how much more time you “find” when you aren’t able to tap into the old computer, though… During my “time away” from the social media world, I was actually able to steer off in a completely different direction. Several, actually! We finally started several “home renovation” projects that we have been putting off forever. Truth is – We are having so much fun!! We are still in the middle of everything, but I promise to share pics and stories! I have also been playing with my new camera (Christmas) and cooking (currently hooked on soups** with this “lovely” cold weather – Ugh!) AND continuing my attempts to organize (Let’s just say a long, long way to go with that! HA!)

So anyway – onward and upward. I know that I kinda, sorta, maybe implied that I was fed up with technology… but that’s only when it’s not working. You know, the old “love/hate” thingie. Besides, I just saw on Pinterest that the Mac comes in pink…??? What the heck? Are you kidding me?

Ya. I’m back.

**Check out my Facebook page today for 101 soup recipes!!

(french) deals and donuts

9 / 6 / 12

For those of you who are “Kansas City friends”… You are probably aware of the fact that I have a booth out at Trendz Market. Well, I have to let you in on some breaking news. This week (thru next Tuesday), I have the “item of the week” (big gasp; then silence…) Yes. It’s true. While you are sitting here reading my blog post, you could be up at Trendz saving 20% on anything french…! Oooo la la, my friends. (Click on my Facebook page if you want a “sneak peek” at some of the featured items! For store hours and info, click on “shop with me at Trendz” link at the top of my blog site) OK. Maybe you are not here in Kansas City, or you are a new reader of my blog, and therefore have no idea what Trendz is… No worries. Simply click on the links at the top of this blog page…”who is creations by cathy” and “shop with me at trendz”. That should get you up-to-date. So now you’re sad. You wish that you lived here so that you could stop by Trendz and check it out. I’m sorry. I do, however, have two bits of good news that might cheer you up a bit.

Number one; I am working on getting a little shopping page together so that I can share some of my Creations goodies with all of my friends, near or far. It will be the “shop now” link at the top of this blog site. I will keep you posted.

And reason number two (the more delicious of the two); I found this yummy looking recipe at Camille Styles blog site. (Thank you, Camille!) Indulge and enjoy…

Baked French Breakfast Donuts

Adapted from Cooks.com

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat donut pan generously with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg; mix well.
Sift flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk.
Fill donut tins half full. Bake 15-20 minutes. Take out of pan immediately and swirl tops into melted butter, then sugar and cinnamon mixture. Makes 6-7 big donuts.

*Note: These work just as well in a muffin tin, too!

live happy… laugh, love, dream, create

this little piggy went to market…

6 / 20 / 12

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!

the big day…

6 / 13 / 12

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…!

creating yourself

6 / 5 / 12

And so who is “creations by cathy“…? Hmmm… well, that’s kind of a long story. OK, let’s be honest here. I don’t know any short stories. Period. Better that you know that from the start. But I try. Really, I do. In fact, I will try right now. This is gonna be the short story of “Creations”…

Well, let’s see… I started Creations almost 10 years ago in July 2002. During that time I specialized in giftware and hand-painted glassware (by yours truly!), participated in about a million different shows and had booths in four different locations (stores) throughout Kansas City (at different times). Presently, I can be found at Trendz Market, an upscale boutique co-op in south Kansas City (151st & Nall for you “locals”!), where I have been since it opened, just over three years ago.

Everything changed in early 2012. I finally found the inner strength to follow my true passion; a very “Shabby Chic, English/French Country, cottage-y, feminine” sort of look… (How is that for a description!) This meant completely changing EVERYTHING about Creations… my merchandise, logo, business cards, Facebook site, Blog ( and here we are!) and, soon to come, my new website! Whew! (A big “shout out” to BRANDtabulous and my “re-branding buddy/partner-in-crime”, Jerrod!!) Now that I am almost done with the whole process, I have to tell you that I am SO HAPPY! I love the look and feel of everything… it just feels like ME! It feels so good to be true to your authentic self – and that is where I am right now. (I will elaborate more on the whole “authentic self” thing later. I’m a big believer!)

So here is a toast to creating yourself, and more importantly, to RE-creating yourself..! live happy~ laugh, love, dream, create