Day Off

Most of you who read the blog on a regular basis know that Mondays are my day off.  "Day off" is a bit of misnomer in that it only really means that I'm not at Zoe.  One recent Monday was a very busy "Day off" but energizing and fun at the same time.

Let me first note that you normally could NOT tell that I own a boutique with the way I am dressed on my day off - very casually and comfortably!  But this recent Monday was an exception so I put on make-up and one of my Kathlin Argiro wrap dresses!

I started my day with a breakfast meeting at a local coffee shop.  Let me first take a brief break from the blog to share one of my pet peeves.  When employees of an establishment do not know/understand a deal being offered by that establishment, it is VERY frustrating!  The coffee shop had a "Check In" deal on FourSquare.  The person waiting on me did not understand the deal and I had to finally give up on trying to explain it to her.  I will likely not be going back to this establishment.  End of rant.

My breakfast meeting was with a man who is developing software to better connect and integrate small businesses with charities.  We were put in touch with each other by a mutual friend who knew that I had the small business experience, a desire to integrate further with charitable causes, and an IT background.  We had a lively discussion on the possibilities for the software and I shared with him ways that it could be helpful (and not helpful) for businesses like mine.  They are currently in an Alpha testing mode and plan to do something with me in August of this year.  It was fun getting to be on the user side of software development!

From there, it was off to Staples for office supplies and to send a multi-page fax.  (No fax hogs this time around).  And then to the cleaners to have a dress taken in.  Pet Peeve Number Two of the Blog Post!  As a retailer, I am constantly puzzled by what my designers are doing with sizing.  I had ordered this particular dress for myself based on what I know about this designer (one that I carry in the store).  And it came in HUGE!  This is why I have to try on everything that comes into the store - so I know how things are going to fit people!

From there it was off to my monthly meeting with my counselor and then a dash back to Old Town for a luncheon meeting.  This meeting was also business-related - with a woman who owns a luxury fashion branding and marketing business.  We had known each other through Twitter but really connected after Jim had met her and her husband and asked them how they liked their Mini Cooper (they were parked close to Zoe one Saturday morning).  When Jim happened to mention his wife owned Zoe, she gave him her card (which he passed on to me) and I realized that I "knew" her.  Some follow-up emails resulted in our lunch meeting.  It was fun to "talk fashion" and share our different perspectives on the business.

I finally had to take a "time out" after our lunch meeting and rush off to a long overdue pedicure.  By the time I finished it and trips to two grocery stores, it was after 5 pm and I hadn't been home since 7 that morning.  Some day off!  I made up for it this past Monday (Memorial Day) when I did NOTHING!

A Side Note:  I did leave out one thing from my previous post on Boutiques Give Back.  When Jim and I arrived at the store that Saturday morning, there was a dead bird laying outside the door.  While I did not feel that this was a particularly good omen on a day I was dedicating to animals, it appeared that the bird had flown into the window on the door and that is how he met his demise.