Honeybean Sneak Peek!

Oh my stars! I moved today's Wedding Wednesday post back a few hours so I could share this teensy weensy tiny lil sneak peek with you all! Last night I was phone with the family who is doing the renovations on our camper and she told me she took a few pictures of it. I was so nervous! I had this vision in my head of exactly what I wanted and I was so afraid it wouldn't be spot on and I'd be heartbroken. Well honeybees... I'm elated! Several parts are different from what we first imagined, but it's coming together so very well!

Thursday and Friday she's getting her exterior paint job as well as a new roof sealant... and then hopefully Saturday we'll pick her up (if time allows!). If not, we're loading up the car Sunday no matter what and we're bringing our baby home! (Okay, I say no matter what but we'll see!) I cannot tell you how excited we are! Our hard work and passion is finally paying off! AHHHH!

I'm only giving you a small little snippet of the inside! This is the "dining" area and side shelves. A table will go in between the two dinette benches and it'll have big plush cushions on it, too! 

Look at that floor! a;lkdfja;sldj! I can't even! We didn't think the floor was going to happen but it was like a crazy miracle and she called us as we were meeting with some flooring people in town! It couldn't be more divine! 

Can you believe it?! It's actually happening! Thank you SO much for being part of this adventure with me!

The Next Step...

I recently shared with you all my trials and tribulations with my current job. While the hours are minimal, the grief and headache are plentiful. I'm just not happy. I plan on staying there as long as I need to, however, because I know jobs are hard to come by. A few weeks ago I started daydreaming about the idea of taking my shoppe mobile before trying to plant myself in a brick and mortar shop. My career goal has been to have my own independent retail shop since I was in 11th grade. I took a detour from the course for a short time to fulfill my NYC magazine dream (I did it... twice!). Now I'm back on course and more determined than ever.

If you guessed the camper doodle was the secret yesterday, you were right!

What got me thinking about this was my lovely blogger pal, Amy (Punky) and her Haberdash. (Fun fact: Would you believe that she was the first person to ever blog about my outfits? Truth. Four years ago today! We were friends on MySpace and StyleMob! So long ago!) I've also taken Indie Biz 3.0 and was inspired by Jill of Lune and her first mobile branch! I know mobile vintage shops and the like are really trendy right now, but this will allow me the freedom of movement... to change location and destination. We had every intention of staying in Nashville permanently after finding our little home sweet home at the end of March. We nixed Wilmington because of all the competition. Well honeybees, it seems new little boutiques are sprouting up everywhere these days and unfortunately the supply currently outweighs the demand. I think competition is a vital necessity to a flourishing business, without a doubt. But when you enter a crowded market with the same inventory, you're bound to be let down. With that being said, a mobile shoppe will allow us to travel to new destinations, meet new people, spark interest and network. And once we find that sweet little home for our brick and mortar, the little shoppe will always be part of it. The mobile branch will also allow me the ability to buy wholesale from other small, indie designers and offer their wares around and about! This will give me buying experience when it comes time for the big deal!

The exciting thing: We've already found a little family biz that will do all of the renovating for us! We had thought long and hard about whether we wanted to do it or not, but with our lack of handyman ability, limited schedules, and all around absentmindedness, we thought it best left to professionals. We looked at 4 or 5 campers today, but we're waiting until we find "the one"... and I know she's out there!

We have our heart set on a 1960's Shasta camper. Something about the little wings on the side gets me everytime. We have paint colors and a custom paint job already picked out (Pale peach and white, with small scalloped lace-like edges!) The tough part will be parting with everything on the inside. We haven't fully narrowed down exactly how we want the interior. Both of us want to keep some of the features but know that it will be hard if we plan on having a lot of the inventory on the inside. We'll figure it out though!

With all of that being said, from here on out, 100% of the earnings from Hive + Honey, Kaelah's Closet, and 50% of the earnings from Little Chief Honeybee will go toward our little mobile dream shoppe! I can't wait to make this a reality and to share with you all of the branding we've been concocting! It's going to be so much fun! xo

PS; My bike is going to match the trailer! How cute is that?!

PPS; Are there any other mobile retail shops you just love and would like to share? I'd like to pick the brains of so many of the fabulous ladies! I only know of Jill and Amy in the retail world! xo

Begin Again...

I've been thinking a lot about life lately... 

First off, thanks for all of your sweet comments (and emails, tweets, etc) about my little cry sesh at work. As silly as it sounds I think everyone should have to work in a service industry (especially food/beverage) for at least a week. Just one week would totally change their attitude about how they treat others. Most of the time they may not even realize they're doing it. The best dating advice I ever received: Never date anyone who is rude to his/her sever. That's how they'll treat you in 6 months! Someone on Tumblr said it better than I could have... they said that sometimes people just dehumanize us when they're being served. It's so very true. Ever since taking my job bartending when I was 18, I've made a conscious effort to try and tip well (or even over-tip)... even when the service is less than perfect. I've never worked in a restaurant setting as a server. I can't imagine the hustle and bustle of trying to remember everything. I applaud each and every one of you who work in settings like that. 

My little upset-schpeal wasn't brought on just by the lack of tipping or the incredibly rude crowd that was there Friday night. Instead, it was a culmination of various events and feelings that just sort of happened. My ABC license (to bartend) expired a few days ago. Five years. I have been there over five years already. (Five years, one month, and three weeks actually). I never in a million years thought I'd stay that long. Even the other bartender Angie made me promise to get the heck out of dodge when I graduated college. I'm not at a place where I can quit yet. It may only be 10 hours a week but it provides job security, earnings of more than a 40 hour a week job, and it affords me the entire work week to do things I actually do love. I get to blog, work on my shoppe, read business books and formulate a real business plan. Just knowing that I have to go get re-certified is sort of a slap in the face because I never intended on being there this long. Here I am with a college degree and I'm serving alcohol 10 hours a week. It was sort of a wake up call. I hadn't been happy with my work situation for quite a while. I don't mind the job itself, I love my co-workers, and I try not to complain too much because I know that I'm very fortunate to have the job that I do (especially in this economy). But no amount of money or spare time is going to give me the happiness that I seek professionally. I know exactly what I want to do, and I'm working on a plan to get there. That's something that I can't wait to share with you all. You've been so supportive all along and I hope that this is something that you'll experience with me. 

(♥)

I've felt loads better about the whole thing because as soon as I woke up Saturday morning I started thinking of what actions I needed to take to get where I want to go. My brain has been a'buzz with so much clamor and commotion since then. The inspiring kind! Friday night was a revelation of sorts. I think I'd rather struggle for a little while trying to make my dream job come to life than to sit back and watch it all pass by so I can work 10 hours a week. The (semi)formal business plan writing starts today! I'm fortunate to come from a family of entrepreneurs and business-minded people. I plan to seek each and every one of their advice, guidance and opinions. With a notebook full of ideas, I'm going to read and re-read every business book I have available and I'm going to stop waiting for the right time to show up. This whole time I've had the mentality of "Oh in the future..." or "someday..." I'm over it. Today is someday, right?! Why not! I don't want to look at the weekend as something I dread because I have to go to a job that is less than fulfilling. I want to look at it as a high traffic opportunity to share my dream with others and to bring true pride to my life. Even my freelance graphic design work isn't bringing me the feeling I had hoped for. So I'll try and try again! I'll work at it until I get it right! I hope that if you find yourself in a position that you're less than happy about, you don't just sit on the sidelines and let it continue. Before you know it you will have lost so much time. Even if your current situation only allots you two hours a week to scheme and dream, do it! Use those two hours for everything you can. No more reserved Kaelah! Who's with me?!

Motivation?!

The past day and a half has been a rough one for me. No details needed really. Well, no specific ones. Just a feeling of being unsure. I'm in my final semester of college and I'm looking out to an economy that isn't all that accepting of art degrees. That's not what has me down though. Some of my friends are securing jobs (and I'm SO proud of them!), some are moving off to grad school, some are getting married... I just feel like I'm here. Susannah asked me the other day if I ever felt like everyone else was getting it right, and believe me, I do. I feel like I'm just floating along... no real direction. Of course, I tweeted this and @bluevisitor responded with "yes-- but I have learned that there's no way THEY have it "right" for ME, just for them... so I say, enjoy your floating!! :)" It was amazing how that little sentence totally changed my day and made me feel that much better. But still, that feeling crept back in and I'm trying to not let it take over. Sometimes I get in these moods.

I talked to Mike about it a few days ago and believe me, I'm not ungrateful to be in the position that I am.  I've spent the past 4 years getting a degree from an amazing school, and I've had the opportunity to intern at the magazine of my dreams with the staff of my dreams for two summers in a row. Yet still... I feel empty. I want to do something that ignites every bit of passion that I have. (Believe me, I've always wanted to work at BUST... I would greet that with open arms and a fit of excitement... I just don't know my destiny yet. And I guess that's part of the fun, right?)

Of course, my dream job from day one was to own my own independent retail store and/or a bakery that I designed last semester (remember Sweet Cheeks?!). I feel like that would bring me so much happiness... so rather than sitting here sulking, I need to get on it. There's no such thing as too much planning. Within the next few months, I hope to be designing, sewing, and selling dresses that I've made, among various other goods. I need to throw out all of my procrastination and self-doubt and put on my big girl pants... and just do it! 

The good thing about this is that even though I can't wait to open my own brick-and-mortar shop, I will have plenty of time to sell online and various craft fairs or independent shops while Mike and I decide where we will set up our future home. 

I have a lot of goals to share with you. I see that Elsie has ignited quite the buzz around the blogosphere with her 4 Simple Goals meme and that's so exciting. I love to read what you all strive for. Mine won't be as simple... well, some will, some won't. But I keep them written in the first page of my "Little Book of Ideas" so I can always reference them. From this point on... It's go time.

I will no longer let anyone (fiend or foe) bring me down for any reason... whether intentional or not. This is my pledge to do what is right for me and me alone. To make decisions regarding my career based on where I'd like to see myself. I will compare neither my work, nor my life, to anyone else. Instead, I will congratulate those on pursuing their dreams and work tirelessly on my own.

Here are a few images that will hopefully inspire you!

What inspires you? What motivates you? What do you want to achieve in your lifetime? What is your dream job? I want to know it all! 

xoxo