The Other Side of Life

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We just finished up the third week on Lost & Found’s new blog platform! It has been a lot of work establishing new traffic and getting the site up and running, but I’m so happy with its progress.  My faithful wordpress.com followers have come with me, and 20 of you have become new subscribers! Thank you!  The best part by far though has been getting to better know my fellow bloggers.  Thank you to so many of you blog ladies who have stopped by to comment, introduce yourself, and say hello: Dawn from We Call It Junkin, Marty with A Stroll Thru Life, Nita at Mod Vintage Life, Rachel from Maison De Pax, Alison with Nancherrow, Linda at Itsy Bits and Pieces, Lisa with 161 Street, Camille with Gustave Voltaire, Cassandra at Renaissance Ministries, Kathryn with The Dedicated House . . that’s not an exhaustive list, there were more and please forgive me if I forgot to list you! To all of you though, I look forward to continuing along with you in our blog journeys.

Now on to something else . . . this week has not been the most productive week for antique dealer Melanie.  Sometimes I seem to be able to fly through projects and inventory flies out of my space, but not this week! My sales have been down and my projects are stalled . . . I share that to encourage you who wear many hats like I do, that sometimes our entrepreneurial selves have to take a backseat when “life” happens.

My most time-consuming project this week was prepping items to put in a local children’s consignment sale. If you are a mom with young children, you definitely should explore the consignment sale world.  I have bought a good portion of my 3 boys’ clothing and shoes through sales, and this will be my fourth time as a consigner.  It’s a great way to save lots of $$ on your kids’ clothes and gear, and then make a little bit along the way. I’m hoping to make enough money in this sale to pay for my youngest’s preschool registration fees.

There are several consignment sale companies out there, but my favorite and the one I participate in is RheaLana’s. I actually know the namesake of the company, Rhea Lana Riner, from our days back in Arkansas.  Mu husband and I were co-workers with she and her husband in a college ministry.  I used to volunteer to work her sales back when she only had two sales in the central AR area.  Now she has franchised out her sales nationwide! Her story is amazing, and would be an inspiration to all you mom-preneurs out there. Check out her site and her bio, and see if she has a sale near you!

My other big task of the week is related to the above . . . I need to buy some clothes for my kids! My oldest son is especially rough on his clothing and shoes.

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These shoes were new in August . . . ughh.  He has also worn at least one knee hole in every single pair of pants he owns.  So, we will be heading back to Rhea Lana’s when it opens tomorrow and to a few other places to find some non-hobo clothing for my kids.

I did manage to do a tiny bit of work on my chair project. I shared last week about the awesome Wisteria-inspired gray finish I achieved on the frame.  I was in love with the look, but when I put the fabric up next to it, it just didn’t look right.  I think there wasn’t enough contrast between the paint and fabric detail.  I debated for awhile about getting new fabric, but decided to stick with what I had.  My only real option was to paint the chair again . . . which I did using a light coat of ASCP Aubusson Blue.

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It works fabulous with the fabric now, but has taken the chair from elegant and chic to fun and whimsical–which I’m ok with, but it wasn’t my first vision.  Sometimes that happens in a makeover project, and you just have to go with it.

So the chair is sitting painted, again, waiting for fabric.  I probably won’t get a chance to work on it this weekend, because along with the kids clothes shopping I also have my next race on Sunday!  I’ve been training hard (with exception of 2 weeks out for the flu) and am really excited to run the Cowtown Half Marathon in Ft. Worth.  I have a goal time of 2 hrs and 8 minutes, which is getting me much closer to breaking that 2 hour mark which is the line between competitive and recreational running.  I’m running with (well, more behind . . .) my friend Amanda, who is awesome!

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Sorry for the dark cell phone picture . . . Races are so much fun and I honestly think they bring out the best of humanity.  I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true!  People of all different shapes, sizes, and colors gather together and are so happy and cheering for each other–it’s just an amazing. I’ve you’ve never run in a race, at least try a 5K sometime in the spring. You won’t regret it!

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I’m looking forward to adding to my medals–yes, you get one just for finishing!  My boys always think my medals mean that I won; I think I’m going to let them believe that a little while longer.  It makes mommy seem more cool than I really am.

So it’s been a week of having to wear my other hats more–wife, mom, budget planner, friend (and I didn’t even tell you about the extra doctor’s visits and broken dishwasher . . .). When you’re running a business in this stage of life, that’s just how it goes sometimes.  If you’re there with me, be encouraged, you’re not alone!  And for my readers, thanks for being patient with me.  Next week there will be more great Lost & Found content.  I appreciate you all!

This post is based upon my own experience and knowledge of Rhea Lana’s Children Consignment Company. I was not compensated in any way by Rhea Lana’s.  

Linking up to:

Nancherrow
All Things Thursday Blog Hop
Common Ground   

 

Andrea

Friday 14th of March 2014

Coming over after seeing your fabulous chair recover on MMS- congratulations on completing it and sharing all the steps clearly. I say "completing" because don't we all have projects like this stalled mid-stage, eternally in some stage of partial completion? It's my spring goal to finish what I have started, without starting anything else! Congrats on your running time- my husband and I did the Cowtown, too and love the friendly TX running scene. Andrea

Melanie

Friday 14th of March 2014

Hi Andrea! Thank so much for stopping by. Yes, I do have many half-completed projects lying around, mostly the ones I do for my own home :) My husband jokes that I'm much quicker about redoing things to sell in my shop than things for us to use around here. That's great about the Cowtown--I enjoyed seeing some new parts of Ft. Worth, and so fun that you and your husband did it together. Please stop back by again and come see me in McKinney if you make it up that way ever!

Camille

Monday 24th of February 2014

Hi Melanie! What a busy lady you are!! It's hard sometimes to juggle all aspects of life... I'm sure things are going to fly again at your antique space next week. For you chair, I really like that shade of blue, it's lovely in contrast to the wood appearing... And it matches the fabric. Like you said, sometimes you just have to go with the piece that you're working on, even if the final result doesn't match your first vision. Can't wait to see the final result! Good luck with your race! xx

Melanie

Monday 24th of February 2014

Thank you Camille for your comment. Sometimes life gets a little too "crammed," but things will slow down again soon. I did have a better weekend at my antique booth, and I'm sure the start of Spring will get things going too. I'm warming up to the blue on the chair and hope to have it finished this week. My race went fantastic--I met my goal time and then some, so I'm ready to move on to other projects now. I so appreciate you stopping by and your encouragement. Have a fantastic week!

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces

Saturday 22nd of February 2014

Sounds like lots of real life going on there...just as it should be! Love the look of the chair, Melanie!

Melanie

Monday 24th of February 2014

Yes Linda, lots of real life :) You're right though, I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks for stopping by!

Stacey

Friday 21st of February 2014

Just found you today and can't remember how I landed here. So glad to find you - I live in Rockwall just a few hours away. Love shopping in McKinney!

The colors on your chair are beautiful!

Good luck in the race!

Melanie

Saturday 22nd of February 2014

Thank you Stacy! The weather is supposed to be perfect tomorrow for the race. I'm so glad you made your way to Lost & Found, please do come visit downtown McKinney again soon. I make my way to Rockwall every now and then, seems like a good place in the DFW area to find good vintage furniture for sale.

Delia @revivedbydelia

Friday 21st of February 2014

Hi Melanie! Great work and such inspiration to see your growth! And the chair looks so nice in Aubusson! Beautiful fabric. Have a nice weekend!

Melanie

Friday 21st of February 2014

Thank you Delia. I'm still warming up to the Aubusson, so I appreciate your comment. I usually try to always go with my gut on color choices, but sometimes I get nervous, you know? So any encouragement from another is great!

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