Prioritizing.....

....is a scary word for me. I've always been one to live in "organized chaos". Though I've done my best to be a list-maker and keep everything wriiten down and scheduled, it never works out that way. My bank account balance, errands and to-do list usually resides in my mental notes and hardly ever gets committed to paper.

That's going to have to change. This is why.....I'm opening my business, organizing products and wholesale arrangements, getting everything ready to build a house by the start of Spring....oh, and let's throw in a wedding to make it even more complicated, lol. Yes, that is the timeline.....set up the boutique, break ground on the house, then get married (I want to wait for a fall wedding).

I think I might just be having one of those days. I don't feel well....something has been going around and I sit here typing with a Vapo-rubbed chest and achy joints, holding a kleenex up to a nose that feels like it's on fire from rubbing it so much. I think that with the pains, the stress of just simply thinking about it all has come crashing down on me because I hate being sick, especially when I have this much to do....I feel like my world has hit a standstill and I don't particularly care for standstills (I'm not a very patient person).

I think I'll just go rest and hope that with a new day, my body will be back to regular health and my mind will be ready to tackle anything! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Finding a Home.....

This is where I live (or part of it). 62 beautiful acres. If you look at the photo and imagine slightly to your left.....that is the spot that my fiance and I have always planned to build our "nest". We've looked for house plans for three years, and we either come up with nothing we like or it just got pushed aside until later. Well, it looks like the time has finally come. We have found a house plan that we both love and if everything goes as planned, we will be in our "nest egg" by the end of this summer.

This is a better pic of the area the house will be in. The horses will have a different pasture by then, of course, lol......but just in front of those pine trees, where our gentle giants are grazing, will be our house. And (insert drumroll here).........

Here it is!!! It's called The Azalea Crossing and we found it at Don Gardner. The porch is enough to make me drool. It's been a life long dream of mine to have two things in a house 1.) a wrap-around porch and 2.) an attic. This one has both. And what's even better is that the attic space is above the garage and my darling, sweet and wonderful man has promised it to me for my studio!!!

This is the first floor. Looking at it, I still can't believe it! I keep wanting to pinch myself!

This is the second floor and a pic of my "proposed" studio space!!! I am so excited I just wanted to share!

My Manifestation....

From the post before......I forgot to post a picture of my "manifestation", lol. This is my man in all his glory (along with my little man), complete with the goatee that he keeps just for me (he really hates it and would not have one if I didn't like it so much). He's eight years older, which is one of the things I remember writing on my list, I wanted a mature man. Up until I met him, I had never dated anyone over the age of 22, so needless to say, he swept me off my feet, lol.

I still remember when we met. I was out with friends and from across the room and coming through the crowd....all I could see was a cowboy hat. Here's a little history....I grew up in the country with horses and had an uncle who competed in rodeos. But, we had drove about an hour to a different city to go this particular location.....so there was nobody there in a cowboy hat. Suffice it to say that when I saw the hat, I thought...."oh, someone in my element" lol. I approached him....can you believe it? I had never done that before. Now, here we are, five years later, planning a wedding and building a house. Life is just unbelievably miraculous!

"The Secret" and "Love Lists"...

Louise Hay, Author of You can Heal Your Life and ambassador of "The Secret" way of living.

I want to share a story with everyone. I've always believed that life is a circle, a big reeling sphere that goes on and on, but what I didn't realize was that I am the creator of that sphere.

The story begins with my search for marketing possibilities for Signature Vintage. I had just picked up a recent issue of Romantic Country and in it, I saw an ad for Make Mine Pink. I made a note and later that day, visited the site. I joined the forum and contacted Joyce Lucas for a design quote and for further information about joining Make Mine Pink. After emailing, Joyce contacted me over the phone and I was struck by her kindness, her ability to make me feel instantly at ease when I had been so nervous to talk about my business and what my plans were for it.

As we talked, I felt like I was speaking to a friend, which made me divulge information that I probably wouldn't have shared with anyone else. I told her of my fears, of how most of the people in my life were not very supportive of my choice to start a business and that negativity was a daily hardship that I felt I was constantly beating back. She asked me....."Do you know about The Secret?". I told her that I had seen the book, but that was the extent of my knowledge of it. After explaining some of the key aspects, she said that she had an extra copy and would be more than happy to send it to me. She also told me that I had to begin a vision board. The idea of a vision board had always been something on my list....the list that never got tended to...the list that had items on it such as......"buy yourself a new pair of jeans" or "do something just for you today".

After talking with Joyce, I waited slightly impatiently for the book to arrive and when it did two days later, I sat down and read it from front to back the same night. After reading it, I knew it would change my life, but little did I know how much it had already affected my life.

That was about two weeks ago. Today, a family friend came to visit. In the midst of chatting, she (out of the blue) announces that she is watching Oprah today because there is a special topic that she just can't miss. I love Oprah, but I couldn't tell you the last time I watched it, so I inquired about what was so important that was on. Sighing as if she was getting ready for me to laugh at her, she told me that she had recently read a book called "The Secret" and that the show would be about it. Gasping, I relayed my story and we both laughed. Convinced it was fate, she stayed and we watched it together.

In the show, they talk about a "Love List" that is featured in this moth's Oprah Magazine. As I was listening to this "list" theory, something kept nagging at me. Call it a voice, a feeling, whatever it was, but it stayed with me throughout the discussion. When you get into "The Secret", it talks about the universe's law of attraction and that everything you put into the universe, you get back in multiples. Committing things you want onto paper or into the universe and focusing on them, gets you those things.

There are untold stories of women making these lists and after, finding their perfect partner. I do make lists like these, especially since I read the book, so I thought that I was getting that "familiar feeling" just because I agreed with it, because it made sense to me. It was not the case, lol. Could've been part of it, but definitely not all.

So, after my friend left, my sweet and darling boy approached me because he wanted to go to the store and spend his allowance. I said yes and we hopped in the car and headed out. Standing in line, my angel holding his precious toy, I look over and see the magazine that was talked about in the Oprah show earlier. I thought, "Oh, well now I can read the "love list" article for myself." We made our purchase and journeyed home. I sat on the couch and curled up to read the article.

And out of nowhere it hits me. Memories of the house I owned .birthday.....and my fun-loving room-mate buying me a gift. I open the gift and it's from one of my favorite places......Borders. It's a kit. A SOULMATE kit. See where this is going? We sit down, light the candles like the instructions say and I write. On a piece of paper that is pink, I write qualities that I will find in my partner. I try to be objective and remember that whatever I wish for could very well come true so I make sure that everything I wish for is explained. "He will be tall.....but not too tall." He will love me.....but not suffocate me." I use all five sheets of paper that the kit supplied, and as the instructions say, I place the papers in a dish and while rubbing a pink stone, I wish with all of my heart. Just as the directions say, I wait until I feel I am ready and I light the papers on fire. As they burn, I am still wishing.

Yes, folks.......I asked the universe for it, and can you believe it, a year later, I found him? That kit at the time was a bit of a joke (or so I thought). Back then, I didn't think th esimple wanting of something could manifest it. And, I believed in the power of the mind before, but it hadn't really hit me until today. Until I was shown proof that in my life, if I ask for something and feel gratitude for it before it's even there......I manifest it.

I made that list about a year before I met my fiance. I had forgotten about that list that my friend and I had had so much fun with probably a couple days after the fact. Now, over five years later, I realize that I put something into the universe and it answered me.

Updates......

Things have been super crazy with the setting up of Signature Vintage, then the midwest was hit with a major snowstorm which slowed things down a bit. I had planeed to take pics and make flea market rounds, but the snow kept me inside all weekend. So, I've been over at the SigVin Blog, getting that set up and am having a blast with it!

A give-away is in the works for the SigVin Blog, which should be lots of fun! Some of my signature pieces will be included in the prize pack, so it's going to be a good one! I'll be sure to post here when I've gotten that set up!

Wild Oak Design

Wow.......all I have to say is that if anyone ever needs a website built, the best person to go to is Trudy of Wild Oak Design! I was already impressed (as one of my earlier posts clearly conveyed) and I didn't think I could get much happier with the whole process until she emailed me and told me that she was finished installing the site!!! It took her all of maybe 3-4 days to finish my site.....and most of that was due to my late response times with my emailing her back.

Amazing. And so nice!! I think I've not only found a fantastic professional for all of my graphic needs, but also a great friend! Check out Wild Oak Design if you haven't already!!!

I'll give you a sneak peek at all of her hard work....keep in mind....this entire site was designed from scratch (with no help from me, lol) and installed in 3-4 days!!! I'm still setting up, but stop on by Signature Vintage and see how incredible Trudy is!