Are You Ever Going to Open?

I have recently been very busy finalizing plans for and then celebrating Jim's parent's 50th wedding anniversary!  It was a wonderful thing to not be working full time so that I could really focus on doing everything to make the event wonderful!

But fun continued with Zoe as well!  I received 3 other hat boxes that I had purchased for decor and have enjoyed looking at them and considering their possibilities.  I have one left to receive from California.

On Friday evening, just as I had returned home from decorating the venue for the party, I got a call from my broker to let me know that the landlord is ready to sign the lease and I should receive a signed lease from them on Monday.  We have one area that they have not yet received clarification on that will likely require us to do an amendment to the lease.  I am willing to sign so that they can get started on their portion of the buildout.  I hope to be reporting great news this week!

It has been a great deal of fun to see the different marketing strategies for small local businesses as the Christmas holiday season approaches.  Although I am NOT a Black Friday shopper (I do most of my shopping pre-Thanksgiving or online), I may go to some of my sister boutiques in Alexandria on Friday to see the level of crowds and activities.

Tomorrow evening, web designer Mark and I will be reviewing his design of my home page.  I am so excited to see what he has done with my comments following the mood board review/selection.

As you can imagine, I got LOTS of questions about Zoe during the party.  I know that people wonder why it has taken me 6 months to get this far!  Except for what I've felt were longer than I'd like delays with the leasing process, I've felt the timing has been just right.  I hope I still feel this way when I open in Spring 2011!