we did it, we did it!!!

What a day!!!

It was pretty scary at first.......

Our first customer came and said nice things.........

Our brother Brendan organised a bit of an opening surprise............

Some old friends visited.......

With precious ones to meet........

All went well and then....

Take a deep breath..............

We tweaked and fussed and then said bugger it..........

We've stressed and sweated and then said oh well.......

The final touches have been started but sometimes left until another time............

We've decided that we can't put it off any longer, it's time.......we are officially............

......on Saturday!!!!

16 house: CHALKBOARDS

16 house: CHALKBOARDS
We are a tiny bit obsessed with chalkboards at thread and seed so this post is heaven in a blog.........

Loose ends.....

The week has finally arrived when we can no longer put it off.....

I'd like to say we have everything all sorted and now we are opening but it has come time to just take the leap, undone bits and all!!! We have quite a long list of things still to do but it's a sort of ongoing, never-ending type of list that feels like it's growing and not getting any smaller.

We will open this week

We just need to work out when..............

wait staff in training........

Ta Da...........

As promised...................

I think this makes it official..........

Long overdue update.....(as usual)

We are sooooo close to being able to give a specific date for our opening. It will be within the next 2 weeks (for those that I told within 2 weeks 2 months ago I really mean it this time!!!) We've been plugging away getting through the 'to do list' at what seems like snails pace.

Today we have crossed off a few more things and I think that it's been a good day. We spent the day with someone that is as excited (possibly more) as we are, someone that reignites the stuff in me that started this crazy journey. It's nice to be around someone that is inspiring.

Perhaps we'll get more crossed off tomorrow, but I think it's going to be one of those add more to the list days. It's getting close so hang in there we'll show all soon....

Will it ever end??????

I'm starting to think that we'll never get to the end of this part of starting a business..............

One thing at a time.....

It was like magic.....one day it was a skeleton and the next our shop counter.............

 I realised while I was away that it didn't really matter when we opened. We had set ourselves goals that we had no control over and because of this we were turning ourselves inside out when things went wobbly.....
I decided that I had to let it happen as it was going to and keep plodding along at a pace that was realistic and sane!!!

 Things are happening and finally it is starting to look like 'something'!!!

 Everyone is getting excited!!!

 Do you think it suits me????

 He'd look good anywhere!!!!

Mini Break here we come........

Things were slowing down there for a while but now everything  seems to be gathering momentum again. One of Christine and Scott's friends is going to the shop tomorrow to make us a counter and to put our new secondhand sink in. Woohoo by the time I come back from our little holiday the shop will look very different....

This is the view from the front door of the shop.... sometimes it gets a little obscured by the traffic!!!

Have a fabulous rest of the weekend!!!

So much to do..........

This isn't our cafe, just a little piece of inspiration!
We discovered today that we need to get permission from (ie. pay them some money) Unity Water to put anything in to the sewerage system, get permission (ditto the $) from Moreton Bay Regional Council to put up signs and also pay someone else if we play the radio!!!!
My sister has told me that I've been sounding a little negative so I won't go on about that instead I'll tell you about our bench top that Little Brother is making for us. He 'found' a small timber veneer benchtop at his work and is extending it so that it fits the $40 base that we bought from a salvage place. Yippee! It's great having clever brothers!!!

My Brother-in-law has been really awesome as well, he looks pretty comfy in the surroundings!!

Our opening date has blown out this week with the floors not going according to plan and some complications with the stainless steel benches but we are still hoping for a September Opening (Note to self....probably should tell Chrissy before putting on blog).
I'm really excited about it all but am going away for a wee break this weekend that is a bit more tangible and closer timewise. The weather is looking beautiful and we have lashed out a bit in our choice of accommodation. Woohoo can't wait!!!!

Something to smile about.........

Catastrophe diverted, all looking pretty sweet!! The man wasn't very happy with us but you get that and in the end he did what we asked and a bit more so all is shiny!

We must really be doing this!!!

 

 Two good looking girls just hanging out in their shop..........What do you reckon?

Is it too late to quit???

The tiny bit of enjoyment I was having while being stressed and beside myself has come to a grinding halt........ I seriously thought of cutting my losses and chucking (love that word) it all in. We had grand visions of moving some things in this weekend and making the place look like it's supposed to when we were completely disillusioned by our concrete floor polisher tradie guy first up Friday morning.

It started when the guy was supposed to be meeting us at the shop at 7am on Thursday but ended up being an hour late. That afternoon when Christine went to pick up the keys she found all his rubbish and all the old floor coverings still lying out the back but no sign of him. She managed to lug all the lino out to her car but she couldn't move the large, opened bag of cement that he'd left in  the middle of the walkway. Anyway I was naively still pretty excited about being able to move in this weekend and was imagining floors that were shiny and funky when we went to meet the builder on Friday morning . My good humour didn't last long when I saw the mess that was our shop floor.

It looked just like a dirty shed floor and was really shoddily done with lots of sections still really uneven and pot-hole like. I was completely shocked and nearly burst out crying there and then..... It actually got worse because we realised that the kitchen area out the back was really badly done as well with the flakes on the floor being inconsistent and not sealed properly. I still can't believe that anyone could do such a shit job and put their name to it and worse, expect to get paid for it!!!!!!!!!.

 I ranted and raved for a good couple of hours and then rang him to tell him to come and fix it. He has agreed to come back on Monday so hopefully he'll rectify the problems. I'll keep you posted!!

How not to start a business!!!

 For the last month I have spent quite a bit of time in a semi-anxious state that easily escalates to hysteria when plans go awry. Part of the anxiety is bought about by not really knowing what I'm doing but having that feeling that if I think about it too much I will not sleep and will become frozen with fear.

Now you see it......

 No amount of reassurance can make this feeling go away. I am beginning to think that it's part of who I am -  a mad woman that deliberately ignores feelings of fear and self doubt because I can't imagine what life would be like if I stopped seeking out adventures and opportunities to redefine who I am. Don't get me wrong I am definitely not an adrenaline junky or anything just sometimes I feel like I'm invincible and perhaps running out of time to do the things I want to do.

.......now you don't!!!!

 I'm guessing from some of the comments I received that you are wanting to know what we are up to?? Well we will share but we want it to be fun as well. Today I'll give you some photos

and a vague idea of location....

The water views are pretty awesome........
 

The Threads and the Seeds...

 Or maybe it should be the paints and the timbers and the blood and the sweat and ,of course, the tears, that it takes to create a real live business, have been keeping me away from blog-land. Yes we (meaning my sister and I) have begun the scary, exciting journey that is starting a business. One that has tables and chairs and a counter and shelves and big chunks of who you are out on display for everyone to see. It's been years in the dreaming stage, months in the planning stage (planning is probably too strong a word to use), weeks in the designing/building/creating stage and hopefully days to the opening!

 We are hoping to share this crazy journey with anyone that wants to come along for the ride. Hopefully our ramblings learnings might be of use to someone!

ups and downs and ins and outs!!!

I've been having a good week, I mean it's still crazy and still has lots of ups and downs but it feels different because I feel like I'm getting somewhere. I've been wanting it to be better, wanting to not feel soooo bogged down but it hasn't been happening just because I wanted it. I have tried a different tactic this week and just made it a week of 'doing'. You know how sometimes it's easier to keep thinking and wondering and what-iffing and NOTHING changes.... Well I can report 'doing' changes things, obvious right! Well now it is....
I remember discussing with my baby brother that sometimes the right answer/solution may not ever become evident but if you just make a decision then whatever the outcome is it will be alright because most times there is no 'right' answer just different ones with different consequences. Does that make sense to anyone else?

I've got something started with finding a 'place' to begin the next part of my employment journey. I am beginning to know the ins and outs of starting a business without actually starting one (yet)!!! It will keep me blogging for sometime so I'll let you know what I'm on about in the blogs to come..............

Hey good lookin'.........

Long time no see........

I think I must be the most inconsistent blogger in the world.
Life feels a bit like it's speeding by me.....
                                                                                                                                 

I'm trying to jump back in.....

Once I've worked out what I need to do to make the leap I'll be back.....

One giant leap....

I have a feeling this is going to be a week to remember....I've included a clip that brings up so many memories (some I'd rather forget) it's also a reminder for me to not take life so seriously.....

Sorry I couldn't resist!!!!

The Scary Shed.

I can't believe how fast time goes the older you get!!! The last 2 weeks have gone by in an absolute blur, I feel like I'm doing that Road Runner thing where his feet don't touch the ground and his legs spin in circles in mid-air. I really admire people that can manage time well, it's certainly not one of my strong points. My intentions are always good but somehow I drift off the track and the next thing you know I'm cleaning the dreaded 'shed'........ What is that about??? The 'shed' is a scary place that lurks at the back of my yard waiting for unsuspecting procrastinators....

I found this treasure that I'd almost forgotten, can't decide if it's a 'keeper' or a 'too heavy and bulky so just get rid of it' piece? Any suggestions?

It's been a strange couple of weeks where people have left and created gaps in my life. The space is evident all around my family and I don't think we quite know what to do. I'm not used to people leaving and I don't think my son is either. We are slow to let the enormity of it sink in, not quite admitting they have moved away.

I've missed being on here and don't really know why I didn't just say hi, but anyway I'm here now so hope everything is good in your world.

Have a fabulous week!!