Memorable Meetings

I realized this morning that people have been put in my path at Absolutely Her to guide me and open up doors I had seen in my "hallway" of life but just walked past. Last Friday I went to my first breakfast meeting with a group of diverse and fabulous women with the MOWBC (Metro Omaha Women's Center) with one of my Tara Plaza partners ic crime, Linda from Unico Insurance. While I was there, I watched her talk about our Time2Drive Teen Safety Expo happening on August 11th. The energy and passion she portrayed was not only fun to watch, but it was contagious. She has put so much of herself into this event not to sell insurance but to truly educate and keep our community safe. The other fun part of the meeting was being a part of their 4-year anniversary celebration. This group of women helps other women find their dreams and celebrate their success. They gave a startup grant to Beka Doolittle Owner of thepinkstore.com which sells Pink items of all kind. How great is that...women helping women succeed! This is definitely an organization to belong to and be proud of. Then, I met a gentleman who unfortunately lost his wife not too long ago. Helping him I realized how daunting of a task it must be to go through her things and decide what to do. And I also realized there is certainly something I can do to help by going to his house and helping him figure out what to consign now, what to hold on to for the next seasons and what to give to charity. By doing that, not only do we save time and energy, but I also receive a lesson about love and family. AND THEN...we have a "gold rush"! I went to a party hosted by some fantastic friends and took some pieces of "ex" jewelry and walked out with $170. There was a lot of screaming taking place when some of the others learned their $ amounts so we are having an event at the store on Thursday, August 8th...just in time for back to school! How fun is that...bring some friends, have a cocktail and food and make some money!

Is Your Closet Too Small?

That was the big question at one of classes during the NARTS Conference. And I admit that I would say yes! That is until I had a major clean out. Trying to decide what stays and what goes is tough. Especially when I had been changing my wardrobe style from a uniform for work to whatever I felt like. All around the conference a new phrase seemed to be popping up (at least it was new to me)..."If it's so-so, it's no-no". It seriously became my thought process. How many things did I have in the closet that we're just so-so? A LOT! Following the guidelines to clean out a closet sounds pretty intimidating and you would think it would take hours and hours, but really, how long did it take? With that question in my head, and being truly honest about how things looked, it wasn't that bad. And now I can see the floor instead of a big pile of shoes I never wore because they were too uncomfortable and I can see that I tend to gravitate toward black clothes (I feel skinnier in them - always thinking black is slimming), so I should add some more color here and there. It's organized and clean and no longer too small. And one more project off my list. And, for those who have asked, yes, I even have the jeans in my closet hanging like the ones in the store.

SURPRISES ARE A GOOD THING!

Don't you just love a great surprise whether it's showing up unexpected or getting something out of the blue?  Every time someone walks in the door to consign, its a fun kind of surprise for me.  Its Christmas every single day!  Today was like that when I was tagging a new Vera Bradley Versailles large hobo bag AND a brown Coach wristlet with coral and orange summer accents.  I've become a purse fanatic lately and I enjoy seeing the different styles women wear and purchase. 

A customer made a statement yesterday about the store having a lot of purses (we do) in so many styles.  Purses and jewelry are some of our top sellers.  And the reason why?  BECAUSE THEY FIT!  If you gain weight or lose weight, they still fit.  They make you feel good when you have just the right accessory for your favorite out on the town outfit or if its just an old pair of comfortable jeans you threw on because you didn't want to iron.  Dress it up or dress it down, it still fits!

Another Reason to love Tara Plaza!

I am so blessed to be surrounded by small business owners who care not only about their own business, but the community.  And I am so proud of Linda Simpleman of UNICO Insurance for putting together a great event which is going to take place on Saturday, August 11th from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. 

She's organized a large group of people who care enough to make everyone safer.  We have:

Mr. Rob Reynolds:  Mr. Reynolds will be the guest speaker of the day at 12:30 pm.  He will be addressing the issues of texting and driving and how it impacted his life when his daughter, Cady Ann, was killed by a distracted driver in 2007.

Allied Insurance:  Using your own cell phone, you're put behind the wheel of a vehicle which simulates the dangers of texting and driving.  AND they have the Fatal Vision Goggles - try to walk the line with these on - they show impairment at three distinct blood alcohol levels.

National Safety Council of Nebraska:  They'll make sure your car seat is in correctly and answer any questions.

MADD:  (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) will talk to you about how to prevent underage drinking, how to talk to teens and risks of driving impaired.

Alegent EMS:  Will be showing the Fatal Distraction video which was filmed at Papillion-LaVista South High School this spring.

Sarpy County 911:  Young children can practice on the 911 Simulator and watch a cartoon featuring Cell Phone Sally, the new face of 911.

Nebraska State Patrol:  See what it is like to experience a low impact crash and feel how a seat belt works with their Seat Belt Convincer.

Papillion Fire Department:  Climb around a fire engine and see the equipment they use when battling a blaze.

Papillion Police Department:  The 1957 Chevy DARE vehicle will be on display to see what police cruisers used to look like.

Sarpy County Sheriff's Department:  See up close what a vehicle looks like after it rolled during a drunk driver accident that killed 4 people from Omaha.

LifeNet:  Dedicated to air medical transport, LifeNet will be landing a helicopter in the parking lot so you can look through and see their equipment and learn how it works with different agencies in the area.

Sponsored by UNICO, Allied Insurance and the Tara Plaza Association.  Bring your kids, friends, their friends - everyone - to check this out!  You won't be disappointed!

NARTS

So, I woke up early this  morning and did some facebook time, twitter posts and wrote a little something for the blog.  Must not have been completely awake as my blog post didn't take.  Here's take two...

Did you know there is actually a conference for fabulous business owners who have consignment and thrift stores?  It's called NARTS (National Association of Resale and Thrift Stores) and a couple of weeks ago, I went to St. Louis with my sister to attend my second conference (it was the 25th anniversary for NARTS).  In my past life I went to a lot of conferences and seminars where most everyone sits by themselves in classes and doesn't seem to want to share information.  Thankfully that is not the case for this incredible group of men and women (yes, I did say men - much to my husband's surprise).  In every class and every event there were people willing to share ideas, "secrets", and even failures. 

The good thing I learned is we are doing so many things right (thanks to going last year before I opened and with the help of Kim from Boutique Refaire in Peoria, AZ).  But alas, there are things we could be doing better and I have started tackling that list by getting the blog back up and trying out this "twitter" thing. 

I know I couldn't do this without the help of my team - those who help me in the store, the consignors who bring me incredible items and the customers who tell their friends where they found that outfit that is "Absolutely Her"!

Have a fantastic Friday!