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Sidenote Saturday: Saturday Swag

Sidenote Saturday: Saturday Swag

Wade and I have Estate Sales to go to this morning, so this little post will be quick and painless. 🙂

Remember these boxes I bought from my sister in-law Mara?

This is what I did with them.

Sometimes I even amaze myself how my vision comes to life!

I only have two of them and they are for sale in the shop here.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and find something at the Estate Sales that will top these.

Have a fun Saturday. I hope you stop by on Monday.

Wendy

THE APPLE DOESN’T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE (8)

 

A Loving Embrace

A Loving Embrace

The summer after my 3rd grade year, I turned 8 years old.

My parents, two older sisters and some family friends drove from Iowa up to Minnesota to visit my Aunt, Uncle and cousins farm for a summer weekend getaway.

It was about a four hour drive from our house to my Aunt and Uncle’s house and also a time when minivans or SUV’s weren’t a typical mode of transportation. That being said, seven people traveling together meant that two cars were needed for everyone to travel comfortably.

As promised, the weekend was fun and full of adventure but it was time to go back home.

Communication between the two cars consisted of either pulling off the road and talking, or driving side by side while one car put a note on the window to inform the other car what they wanted to do. Technology had nothing compared to a child’s crayon printed note that said, McDonalds, Charles City, Potty, Ice Cream. 🙂 Ten minutes later, both cars stopped at the McDonalds in Charles City for a potty break and ice cream.

Being the youngest, my two sisters used the one toilet restroom first, then me.

After I was finished, I headed outside to jump back into the car, enjoy my ice cream cone and complete the final 45 minutes of the trip.

But the cars were gone.

Both of them.

I walked around and around that McDonalds for what seemed like hours, looking for those cars. I double, triple checked the bathrooms for my sisters. I kept hoping everyone was just playing a silly trick on me.

I soon figured out that there was no trick.

The cars were gone.

I couldn’t believe that they had left me!

I didn’t panic, I didn’t cry.

Even at the young age of eight, I knew I needed to make a plan.

Plan A: Contact someone in Charles City to help me.  Did I know anyone in Charles City? Nope.

Plan B: Call our neighbor Darles to come and get me. Did I have any money for a pay phone to call her? Nope.

Plan C: Did I recognize anyone working or eating at the McDonalds? Nope and Nope.

Plan D: Ask the manager of McDonalds for help.

Plan D it was, but first I walked around the parking lot one more time just incase I had missed the cars.

Still no cars.

I gathered my confidence and walked to the counter to ask for the manager.

As if I was starring in a Hallmark movie, at that very moment my Dad walked into the restaurant.

I very quickly walked to him and burst into tears.

My Dad enveloped me into the greatest Papa bear hug, and whispered in my ear I’m sorry Pooh…. I love you.

I have never simultaneously felt so much anger, joy and love in my entire eight years.

I love you too Dad.

Wendy (Pooh)

 

THE APPLE DOESN’T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE (5)

 

 

 

Guest Post: A Year of Transition

Guest Post: A Year of Transition

Well, hello there. You’ve read my name roughly 100 times on this blog and probably know I take pictures but I have the honor of knowing about all the behind the scenes things that happen at Old Lake George. Wendy asked me to start helping with the shop about two years ago, back in the Pooh Pooh Pillow days and since then I have gotten to witness the dramatic transformation that this blog and business has done.

In the early days of the shop I would help design banners for the shop or take a few pictures when I was in town, I lived 4 hours away at that point. A year ago, I moved to Minneapolis and Wendy asked me if I wanted to take a larger role in helping create the face of the shop and what would become the blog. In the last year Old Lake George has gone through a dramatic transformation.

The Photos

The transformation really started with the renaming of the shop and with a focus on the product photography. Together, Wendy and I spent hours talking about a new name for the shop. (She covered the story here.) When “Old Lake George” was settled on and a new logo designed, it really started a whole new era for the shop.

We also started photography days. Wendy and I had long talked about how important the photos for the shop were. She took the plunge and had me do all of them. Once a month I make the trip to Wendy’s house and we spend the morning taking photos, laughing, rearranging her house, and usually breaking something. Yes you read that last one right. We have broken candle holders, decorations, and completely dissembled fake flower arrangements. Its all for the perfect picture.

Our photo shoots usually take over the whole living room area. We move couches, carry tables down stairs and just generally destroy the beautiful utopia you can see in the house tour photos. We take great care to create great pictures every time and the light in her living room is perfect for photos throughout the day. The photos below show the great length we went to make a fake bedroom within her living room.

At this point we have taken over 10,000 photos. Many of these photos will never see the light of day, but they are part of the Old Lake George story. We are doing a big shoot this coming Friday. I can’t wait for everyone to see whats to come.

The Blog

I’ve always known Wendy as my Aunt but also never one to shy away from telling a good story or sharing her opinion. When she brought up the topic of a having a blog last spring, I knew she could do it well. She was nervous at first, like anyone would be when you start sharing your life with the internet. We talked on a daily basis during the first few months. She wanted to do it right, she wanted to make sure the blogs made sense… she cared that she was “doing it right.”

Now, after 50+ blogs I would say Wendy is doing it right. Wouldn’t you???? 🙂 Its been fun to see the progress the blog has made. (For the record she said I could write whatever I wanted in this guest post… so Wendy… take the compliments and enjoy them. I know you struggle taking positive feedback.)

As the blogs have been published, I have seen the writing become more fun to read but have you seen the pictures??? Sometimes I have caught myself thinking, “Did I take that photo?” Nope, Wendy has gotten 10000% better. I may be out of a job soon! 😉

What’s Next

I knew when I started working with Wendy that she would push me to help do great work. She is never sitting still and waiting for the day to just drift by. Her mind is always running and thinking about what’s next. We talk often about how to do bigger and better things. In the last few months I made the jump to working full-time for myself and helping small businesses like Wendy’s. I would never have been able to do that without her support and that of my friends and family. (If you’d like to work together… you can contact me here. Shameless plug!)

Old Lake George will always be trying new things. I look forward to what Wendy will dream up and pitch me. I know when a big idea is coming because I hear…. “Spence… what if we did this….”