Enough about all this water under the bridge. I've got enough still coming in my basement (that's another blog!)
Thank Goodness for that little side biz I started to provide the masses with 'oh so' affordable cheap knockoffs from china. Our not so cheap little hamlet needed something to offset the other boutiques selling cheap knockoffs that were over priced. It went from being a fun place to do my mortgages out of and have some pin money while all my 'commissions' (ha!) went to paying for that rehab that had to be done (to the house not me, however......) to, gasp, a full time job. Well life has a way of throwing curve balls and the "Great Recession" was a series of fast balls that I never saw coming. Who Knew? Well, we all do now. Note to self: Pay much better attention.
Que sera sera. Enough of the maudlin 'how did I get here' nonsense. I'm here and it's time to do something different. Why not something I actually like? (that would be writing) Along with our little closet full of bits and baubles, perhaps this could work? It certainly ain't paying the rent right now but I've found a solution to that as well (more later on my other 'job').
It was a hectic holiday season right down to the Christmas Eve wire. I'm not sure why the general public waits until that last minute to get er done as they say. It's a bit trying on the nerves all that frantic running around with the clock ticking. But it did bode well for the Closet as we were not just the venue of last resort, we seem to be finally getting a reputation for the go to place for inexpensive fun 'stuff'. I had to do my usual forays into NYC every week in December to stock up so as not to overshoot the retail runway.
You may ask yourself, how does one do that without a car? (it was a temporary situation, like the war) The train? Way too expensive. Flying? Way too invasive. I'm bound to be arrested at some point for my complete and utter disdain for the TSA. Enter the Fung Wah Bus. Yes, dear reader, you heard that right. Me, moi, Miss B, the gal who won't wear sneakers in public unless it's to the gym. I boarded the 2am bus not once, but twice in two weeks.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I heard about the accidents. Who hasn't careened off Route 95 doing a buck ten? In the middle of the night? For $45 dollars round trip ($30 of that was the 2am luxury liner cruise time) who could say no?
Thankfully, I can report there were no live chickens (well, I did not hear or see any), or anyone traveling with everything and the kitchen sink. There were about 15-20 of us daring souls. With the exception of the bus driver who spent the entire ride chatting and laughing (both in Chinese) it was quiet. It was also disturbing (in an envious way) to make it to Chinatown in 3 hours, 20 minutes. That whole city that never sleeps stuff? It's out like a light at 5:30am. That's why God invented Starbucks. And WTFW? Why that's my new and soon to be saying: What the Fung Wah?
Shop, shop, shop, and back on the 10am bus, in the store at 4pm. Ah, the holidays.
And now, a new year, a new outlook, etc? Time will tell. In the meantime, a new car (well, used, but new to me) and just in time as once the snow fell, the Vespa had to be retired until the spring.
That collective snapping shut of the wallets across the land I predicted after Christmas? Oh, yeah, it happened and ouch. A good time to have our first EV-VER Closet Cleanout Sale and it was music to my ears this past weekend to hear someone ask if they were in line at the store and to see so many people shopping!
How to fill in the (massive) gaps in income due to the retail slump? Hmmm, let's see. No college degree. 25 years toiling in the real estate business. Lot's of personality and style (ok, if I do say so). Ding, Ding, Ding. I am now a nanny. Seriously. Well, many who know me would not be surprised as I seem to never run out of whatever it is that makes one uber maternal. That whole caretaking thing, it's a blessing and a curse (note to self: in next life, go. to. college.). Actually I like my friends job description better Professional Child Development Councelor.
A delightful family with three little ones, a 3 yr old boy and 10 month old twins (boy/girl). Yes, crazy even for me. However, it's a snap for me and a great little salary to keep me going and with 3 ten hour days I can still run the store and do my thing . Also, let's face it, who doesn't want to get paid to hang at the beach in the summer entertaining the troops? Not too shabby.
Life is funny. It has to be because the alternative is not pretty. And we don't do 'not pretty' in the closet, or anywhere else. Tomorrow is always another day and the glass is always half full. Which is not to say I don't have my moments of questioning those notions that I try to hold onto like a buoy in the middle of life's ocean. Besides, treading water is good for the legs and glutes so you gotta keep going.
Keep it simple, but keep it stylish. On the outside and the inside.
Happy New Year.
