We are exhausted.
I could elaborate on that, but I will not. I’m choosing self care and rest (and hey, if you’re looking for a fall-themed way to take care of yourself, check out the Seasonal Self Care Deck).
Amy and I have done a lot in the last couple of months. We’ve driven 4,007 miles across the country. We’ve built a wall. We’ve painted other walls. We’ve driven to NYC and worked a trade show. We've fulfilled all our regular orders throughout all of this. We’ve taken Raffy to the vet several times (he's fine, by the way. One of those times, it took us 5 hours into the night to learn that... he had gas).
More recently, we’ve gone to Home Depot as many times as we’ve gone to work (shoutout to them for being ;this year's runner-up “Best Hardware Store” according to the Greater Merrimack & Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce). I've learned that Amy wants a pink paint that’s “not too yellow," “not too blue,” one that “pops” but doesn't “clash."
Speaking of paint, I have some thoughts about paint color names. Some of them are fantastic. This year’s “Color of the Year” for Behr was called “Cracked Pepper.” Dope name, even if it's for an impractical color. Pinks, on the other hand, need some work. Taffy Twist, Beauteous, Gaiety? Cupid Arrow?? Poetic Princess??!?
Do you know what it’s like to have to go up to a 70-year-old retiree (who is presumably working the Home Depot paint counter to stay busy), and ask him for a gallon of “Beauteous”? Well, I also don’t know. I got too nervous and asked Amy to do it. She ended up getting “Gaiety,” because "Beauteous” was too blue.
But it’s all done now, and we have a shop... finally We have our fixtures and our product, and Amy's figuring out how she wants to merchandise it all. We have a space where I can hide in the back and work on our online and wholesale orders, while Amy mans the front. We’ve got our disco balls strung up, our signage (mostly) where it’s going to go, and our plants that we're using to hide any unsightly bits that neither one of us are handy enough to fix.
It was exhausting. It is exhausting. We are exhausted. I’ve said "the end's in sight" so many times now, it's basically lost all meaning. Each time, it’s been a mirage, a desert lake fading when we approach, as more things go wrong and other things come up that we learn we need to learn how to do. But now, I can say it, and it has to be true — it’s done!
It has to be, because our grand opening is Saturday September 30th, from 1pm- 6pm. We’ll have old school jams and giveaways for everyone who comes — if you're in our area and want to come in and see the shop, we’d love for you to come. More info our our new shop site, shopprettywitty.com.
If you do come visit and you tell us how great everything looks, just know that we WILL be weird about it, because neither of us knows how to accept a compliment. So, consider this a preemptive thank you :)
