Mix and match table settings and shop update

First of all~ thank you sooo much for your supportive comments 

yesterday on my announcement of opening my retail shop.

If you missed that post you can read it here.

I have been pleasantly surprised at each step of the way so far.

I was expecting to have to go through a permitting process

and pay for all kinds of site plans and traffic studies and 

floor plans to scale~and instead after being called to the 

building department for a meeting all I have to do is meet at the

shop on Thursday and get it inspected for immediate occupancy!

**Pinch Me**

I couldn't believe it~its a message from the city that they would

love to have a shop like this in that neighborhood~

it is in a neighborhood business zone 

so they are kind of careful what they will and won't allow.

My first step in getting a shop was letting my fingers do the tapping

right over the keyboard on the computer~

I looked through the neighboring areas to see what was out there

and that is where I saw this listing. But many shops aren't online, and they

are advertised by little signs in the windows with a phone number.

My shop was advertised not by owner, but by a broker, so I will 

be paying half a months rent to her as a commission~

something I discovered yesterday as I had no idea....I 

guess it is in the small print on the online ad listing~but 

since I had no clue as to what I was doing, I learned this after the fact.

So this is the kind of stuff I guess I will be finding out the hard way.

I do think ignorance is bliss~and it helps me just go for it!!

So anyway, I met the building owner and checked out the interior

and it was really quite awesome, or it will be after I am done with it.

 This is the inside of the shop and what you see when you walk inside~

there is a huge mirror (odd but workable) along the back wall, 

a radiator stuck in the middle of the room and 

horrid commercial grade carpet covering the floors.

Upon first inspection of the place I went to the corner of the room and 

looked underneath to see what kind of floors this hideous rug was hiding...

they were nice fir floors!! On my second visit the following day I met the owner and 

we hit it off!  I think he is going to be a great landlord~he loves the idea of my shop.

I asked him if he would pull up the carpet and have the old floors sanded for me

as I wanted to do a painted finish on them and seal them myself~

He said, "Oh I saw something like that on Martha Stewart"~

I gave him the high five~as he agreed to my proposal. So stay tuned

for that process as it may be as early as next week!!

This view is looking towards the front entrance of the shop.

This is a beautiful old building~over a hundred years old built in 1899

with bead board on the walls covering up to 7 feet high, 

with plaster above. They removed a wall at some point down

 the middle of the space and installed some columns...

overall its a big bright space with vintage character galore!

Can you picture lots of chandeliers hanging in here

with a lighter airy palette and all kinds of pretty fabrics and 

gorgeous painted antique pieces???

So that's my update this morning~

on Thursday I meet with the bank to talk about a small

business loan (which is totally new ground for me)

and then i head over to my shop to sign the lease and start

writing checks and grab the keys to my destiny!!

Switching gears, I am sharing the table I set for Easter dinner.

This was a very casual dinner with only 5 of us dining.

 I realized that something I do quite often with my 

table is that I tend to just add lots of different patterns

in fabric runners or place mats and mixed up china and glassware~

and thought maybe I would share that here with you.

 I like the happiness of a mixed up table setting~I made this quilted

 runner out of the edge of a bed quilt that I used for slipcovers~

I had another quilted runner on the opposite side of the table~

I like to use runners along the edges so they serve as a hybrid 

of a tablecloth and placemat.

 A pork tenderloin with pineapple would 

be served on a big purple transferware platter.

Have you noticed that transferware mixes with any pattern?

Its a great neutral~I take my platters off the wall,

wash them, use them, wash them, and then hang them right back up!

Jami from Freckled Laundry brought me a

 set of these pretty brown and white Limoges crescent shaped dishes as 

a house gift~I am not quite sure what they are supposed to be used for 

(I wondered if they were finger tip bowls)~

I served a fruit salad in them at the dinner.

My son's dad, Barry, brought me a pot of pansies, 

dusty miller and sweet alyssum~

 You can personalize a potted plant by adding an unexpected element 

and make it cute quick centerpiece!

 So it was a lovely quiet dinner with some of my favorite people in the world!! 

Handsome and sweet Colin home from college for only 24 hours~

Handsome and thoughtful hubby~

(who is behind my shop endeavor and is as excited as I am)

and there was my MIL and exhubs~not sharing their pics though.

My darling Dillon~his head is as soft as chinchilla fur..

if you have never felt chinchilla...go to the fur section in your local 

Macys and say you are looking for chinchilla...just to rub it! Its amazing!

(not trying to offend the animal rights groups here...its just the only way I know 

of to touch a chinchilla!)

So mix it up~pull out your florals and stripes 

and pink and blue glasses and granny's plate 

and the garden urn and set a fun 

and fabulous table with no effort at all!

I'll be back at the end of the week showing

more of the shop and what is going on!