My Hideaway

I created a space, just for me. Four blank walls and a new desk. The ideas are endless, but where do I start. I guess I start with this blank page. Here goes...

A few months ago I decided to add onto the boutique. A simple plan: create a studio to take pictures of items for my online shop. We knocked down a wall, painted... mission accomplished. Along the way, I started mulling over another idea.

We have high ceilings, maybe, we should make an attic for extra storage above the studio. In the process, the attic turned into a hideaway -- my little space.

I access this space with a pull down ladder, essentially a fire escape. It's a bit dangerous and it makes everyone nervous when I climb up. But it's just me climbing. No one else.

This space was built just for me. I feel lucky and grateful to have it. I'm able to have clarity here and to get away. This is a creative space where no one judges or critiques what I do or how fast I do it. It is without limits and boundaries, without plans, without expectations. I can do something here or nothing at all. It's existence is success to me. It is a two-part plan that worked -- a photo studio at the bottom and a hideaway at the top.

This plan was six months in the making. It came at my weakest moment. Rock bottom for me. The year before, I opened Like New and hoped for a new beginning. The name of the shop became my mantra. I moved across the country. I quit my stable job and moved back in with my family. I was beginning the divorce process after six years of marriage.

365 days of complete chaos. Everything imploded in one year. I felt worthless, had no confidence. It took everything I had to wake up in the morning and get moving. Like New was my anchor through it all. I had somewhere to go, something to do. I came in everyday. Walking around the shop I could see all the work it took to get here. I saw the bright paint on the wall, new customers, clothing from consignors. This shop was taking shape. It was something tangible and it was growing beyond any expectation I had. It was no short of a miracle.

Last year I saw lots of changes. I developed good habits and hobbies. I ran a half marathon with my best friend. I dealt with mental instability. And I said goodbye to two very important people: my grandfather, and then, my father. I learned how to cope with death. It was a year that broke me wide open.

With the support of my family, Like New has been one of my greatest blessings. It is a place where I express myself creatively. It keeps me challenged and engaged. My hope is that this little shop, created with love, brings a little sparkle to your day.

I am thankful for all that has come my way. I have managed to ride the wave. I am excited for what my hideaway brings. If nothing else, it will be a place where I find balance and explore whatever will be next. This is everything I wanted -- a new beginning.

6 & 24: What do these numbers have in common?

Never know what lessons you are going to learn in a day. Today, Julie and I learned a few lessons from a new consignor.  Julie was curious so she asked, “Why is a size 6 bringing in size 24 clothing?” And so the story begins. 

In the past year, she shed 140 pounds through diet and exercise. From losing weight, she changed wardrobes 2 times over and needed to find a cheaper way to shop. She told us she felt privileged to be in America, the land of opportunity. Both her and her husband took on the responsibility to live their best lives financially, emotionally, spiritually and… physically. She had worked towards three of the four challenges. She called her husband her eating buddy and after seven years of marriage and an intense job, the pounds crept up, 140 pounds heavier than their wedding day. She felt she had put herself and her health last.

Within three months of dieting, she slowly added exercise to her weight loss regimen. She rewarded herself along the way with makeup, facials, haircuts, healthier alternatives than a sundae. Every few weeks, if she ate well and exercised, she rewarded herself. As one of her rewards for sticking to her regimen, she bought herself a lipstick at the boutique next to the gym. The key to her success was redefining her sense of gratification.

Because she had taken responsibility in every realm of her life, not only was she lighter physically, she radiated positive energy, the ultimate reward.

5 Get-Ahead Rules

I am inspired by these top five get-ahead rules. They can be applied to your professional ventures or your personal goals. This is one political campaign manager's strategy for getting ahead. My favorites #4 and #5 Here goes:

1. Work for someone you admire.
"I've been very fortunate to work for great people--so even when the political process gets ugly, I find inspiration in the people around me"

2. Work for what you believe it.
"There's nothing harder than going on TV and saying something that you don't believe. I don't do that anymore."

3. Be energized by defeat.
"After a losing campaign, we dig in and start working."

4. Don't focus on your next job.
"It'll come to you--but only if you're doing right then and there really well. You can sense [people who are focused on what's next], and it generally doesn't make for a good member of the team."

5. Stay in fighting shape.
"I work out very early every day. I get it out of the way first thing in the morning, because I know if I wait, it doesn't happen."

Where's my tutu?

3 weeks and no Ballet Barre. It's the new thing you know. It's not real ballet, no pointe shoes, no tights or leotards, no tutus, no chignons necessary. I am in withdrawl. Three weeks and counting, waiting for my class to return. I loved my instructor, don't know if she quit, went to another studio or... you know got the boot. Either way, I am counting the days until my class returns to my yoga studio.

I do have backup. A studio just focusing on Ballet Barre is opening down the street. I keep following/stalking their Facebook fan page to see when they open their doors. It has been 3 months and counting. I would do Ballet Barre everyday if I could. It is my drug of choice, my new addiction. I have never said this about a sport or activity.

My mom always wanted me to do girly things. She asked if I would try dance or ballet a few times growing up. I always said no. In the back of my mind I knew they would force me to wear a leotard, a dreadful experience. For I was the chubby kid. Being graceful was the last thing a chubby kid would be. Instead I played soccer, basketball, softball and later lacrosse and rugby. I played ALL the sports, all requiring baggy clothes.

Over the years I have thinned out so I decided to try ballet barre, not afraid of the spandex anymore. What is ballet barre you ask. It's part pilates, part yoga, part ballet. It focuses on strength and toning. And it's working out to dance music. Think Flashdance meets White Swan. Some girls wear leg warmer socks with the toes cut out. I haven't gone completely Ballet Barre accessorized. I instead go barefoot.

I am not graceful and I have no flexibility or rhythm, can't touch the toes. But I love working out to the music. No need to get all gussied up for a night on the town. Since being a part this Ballet Barre phenomenon (sounds like a Billy Blanks Tae Bo infomercial), I am beginning to have an ass like a shelf. I can see my muscles toning up. An added bonus, I can do pushups, not the girly kind.

I keep working out by going to yoga and running, not the most fun activities. But I continue waiting like a longing lover with patience and grace for my Ballet Barre to come back.

My Chi

I have officially been doing yoga, no, "practicing" yoga for three full months. If you are a yogi, please spare yourself and don't read any further. 

My reason for trying yoga is to see why people like it. Why do they practice it and what can I gain by trying and watching what they do? How do I find my chi?

At the beginning, I got frustrated why am I not concentrating on my breathing and being in the present? Why when I try breathing in and out on command, do I hyperventilate? Why do I stare at everyone else and not listen to the instructor? I just seem to unintentionally go off and do some variation of a pose I may have invented. 

After a few weeks I gave into temptation, why try to control it. I sit in the back as much as possible, in case I fall asleep. I let all my thoughts run wild, letting my mind wander wherever it may go, without any guilty feelings about it. And most importantly, I decided to use yoga as adult nap time. 

On one particular day, while I was doing my glorified stretching (aka MY PRACTICE). I was looking in the mirror. I saw a man with his shirt off. Not once did I look at his face. He had randomly placed tatoos all over his back, chest and neck. There was space between each one. Those damn tatoos were so distracting, I kept wondering what each one meant and in which phase of his life did he acquire them. Then, I decided it was selfish of him to interrupt MY PRACTICE with billboard signs all over his body. Put on a shirt!

Of course I have developed a set of rules for MY PRACTICE:

1. Wear light makeup, there are mirrors.
2. Have a thick mat for comfort, why use a thin one, the floor is hard enough.
3. Nail Polish, don't leave home without painting the toe nails. I stare at my feet throughout class and probably everyone else does too. 
4. Let the mind wander, my most creative moments just happen right there, so let it be.
5. Breathe as needed, don't suffocate by not breathing enough, and don't hyperventilate by breathing too much. When I hear a person breathing all the way across the room, that is just nonsense.

Sometimes I think of yoga as punishment, a vision of what jail would be like. So I tell myself, do the time, don't let the time do you.

Funny thing is, I keep going back for more of this punishment. I walk away every time in a daze. It is so relaxing. I figure the more I "do the time" and develop MY PRACTICE the chi will find me!

Drills

Lately I've been preoccupied with drills. A coat rack was falling off my wall, two screws halfway out and I had a few pictures needed hanging. I went to Home Depot to pick up a drill. A very helpful salesman/retail assistant helped guide me to the drills. I asked him if they carried a pink drill. Because everything is so much better in color and more fun to use. I figure I will do more projects with cute tools. No pink drills. I got a black drill $25 or so and then I asked, "where are the screws and nails." The retail assistant guided me to those about 2 aisles over. It only makes sense that the screws nails, and bolts would be next to drills and hammers, seems logical, but no. I bought all the supplies I needed, but I was unsatisfied with my purchase. The drill was expensive and not colorful, not girly enough for me and I felt the store was so unaccessible for me to figure out where everything was without an assistant guiding me through the process.

I just happened to be in Target (one of my favorite places to go) while browsing for a few things I came upon exactly what I was looking for, not only a drill that was pink, but an entire packaged set of pink tools and supplies needed for household jobs. I couldn't be more thrilled. And the price of the entire kit $25 or so.

I concluded from this experience, my one experiment on the matter, that Target is much more suitable for a woman's needs (yes, I said it). The layout of the store is organized, clean and it makes logical sense where you would find items. Home Depot on the other hand, is a man-cave -- dark, dreary, not colorful except for that awful orange color, and definitely not neat and pretty. Why did they not have a pink handy-woman kit I ask myself, just maybe, it's just a hunch of course, they would like to keep us out of their man-cave.

I haven't purchased the Target handy-woman toolkit yet, but I took a picture and it's on my mind. Instead, I took back the Home Depot drill, screws and nails, and those plastic screw holders (I learned about those in the process). And I purchased an Ikea drill for less than $9. I used it to put together a desk, fix my coat rack and put up picture frames. The Ikea drill wasn't powerful or fast enough for more extensive projects, but it got the job done and now I'm waiting to see how much I will use it. In time I figure, I will upgrade to handy-woman pink toolkit status!

My future pink toolkit!

Itty-Bitty Nails

On occasion when I'm feeling more flashy and sassy, I head over to Nancy's Salon Pizazz. I let her do whatever she wants on my itty-bitty nails. Yep, my hands are the size of a five-year old's and you might have to look through a microscope to see my nails, but Nancy, a Business Owner-Artist-Nail Technician goes wild and does what her heart desires! For the next two weeks I get to enjoy these!

And my thumb

My signature polka dot

PS: As you walk through Like New you might love the colorful glittery floor as much as I do. It was all Nancy. The floor was her canvas. Check out the dressing rooms the next time you're in!

A Little Valentine for You!

Haven't bought a Valentine for that special someone or your BFF? A little gift for Valentine's Day from Like New... A FREE card to download! I'm calling it the Recessionista's Card, made from patterned paper, scissors and crayons! Two options to choose from both 5x5 inches, front and back. 

You will need to use a glue-stick or double-sided tape to piece together. Click on the links for two pdf downloads to print,  Valentine's Card 1 and Valentine's Card 2.

See what they look like below without clicking on the download:

Option 1: Front

Option 1: Back (add your own message)

Option 2: Front

Option 2: Back (add your own message)

Poppin' Collars

My doggies needed a little pop to their collars. On a mission to style my doggies, I remembered seeing a booth for pets at the Little Italy Farmers' Market so I headed there Saturday morning, specifically looking for a polka dotted bow tie for my dog Beanie at the Handmade Green booth. They didn't have one on hand so they sent me to the Market Basket a block away. Just a few months old, the Market Basket features products from the Little Italy Farmers' Market all week long not just during the Saturday morning market. There I found a bigger selection of super cute eco-friendly products.

Check out Beanie looking like a professor in his picnic checkered bow tie!

I couldn't leave Marley out so I bought her a mustard flower and pink paisley collar to match. Her fur was too thick to see her flower so I had to call in backup...

Model #2: My brother in the doctor/flapper girl collar. He's single ladies... Buy an outfit, get his number! (I have no shame:)

Happy Anniversary!

This is officially my first post on my new blog. I thought this would be the proper time to begin writing, just after celebrating Like New's First Anniversary with a huge blowout sale lasting three days. 

First things first, thank you to our 600+ consignors and over 1,000 buyers who have found our little shop and keep coming back for more. I have met some pretty phenomenal people along the way, making this first year of business wonderful and a whirlwind, more than I ever could have imagined. 

So you wanna know what this girl does in her bright pink office in the back of the shop?! I am itemizing your pre-loved clothing, while doing a few things behind the scenes to make our little place the best consignment shop in San Diego. I do a little bit of everything. I fix things, sometimes clothing, sometimes our computer system. I love to organize and collect clothing. But most of my time is spent designing our e-newsletters, building the website, creating advertisements and marketing the shop for our events.

This blog is a space to share stories from the shop, to write about the little things that inspire me, to show all that I find and love: the clothing and products I like, the people I meet; and the places I go. With this online journal, I will document my experiences inside and outside the shop, all that puts a smile on my face. This past year I have discovered there are no limits to what I can create. This blog is the place, I will explore and challenge myself. I will take you on my journey...