So I'm seriously considering starting my own Patina-esque gift shop/ jewelry boutique/general fun place. I've got a layout figured out and a beautiful location in downtown Stillwater on my wishlist.brick alley building, the first building you see when driving into downtown.
Just a sample of what Stillwater's main street looks like.
I'm full of ideas and I've been looking around at independent creative people to get product from. I have an accountant in the family that I can talk to before I do anything concrete. I guess I'm a little excited and a lot terrified to try and do something as huge as this. My biggest fear is, what happens if the business fails? And also, the idea of writing a 15 - 20 page business plan is a bit daunting. Does anyone have an insider tips on starting your own business? Any experiences on writing your own business plan/figuring out cash flow/marketing/etc.? Any help would be appreciated!
Since this winter weather seems to be dragging on, I've decided its time to stop dwelling on it and look to the future. While I am not a huge fan of summer and all that comes with it (heat, bees, big business at work, etc.), I do love swimming. I am quite the curvy girl, so even though I love swimming, I hate having to get into a swimsuit and show off all my flaws. I've always gone for the most covered up look, a tankini and some surf shorts. This year, though, I'm thinking of getting over myself and buying a cute one piece. I haven't worn a one piece suit for at least 10 years, and the idea scares me. I'm so tired of being ashamed of my size, and with all this plus size love going on in the world, I think its time I came out of my shell a little bit. There are so many cute styles this year, too! I'm excited!
Happy Valentines Day! I hope you have someone wonderful in your life, like I do. If you don't, don't worry! Someone special will come along. Today is the day to celebrate the people you love, even if it's not a spouse or boyfriend. It could just be your mom, or your dog. Just be thankful for the love in your life.
To my Derek: thank you for being my very best friend, and for treating me like I'm the most important person in the world. I love you!
It's my sisters first birthday on Monday, but her birthday party is next week. It's kind of exciting to have a baby sister at my age, because it's like training for when I have my own baby. I love watching her grow and change, and develop her own personality. She's starting to mimic what you do, so that's really interesting. I have a tendency to spoil her mercilessly. I love baby stuff, and since I don't have a baby of my own to spend money on, she gets all of the spoils of my shopping endeavors. Here are some of the items I was thinking about buying for her birthday present.
via pegalee on etsy I have a fondness of vintage toys, especially tin wind up toys. I'm still not sure why this was a consideration for Liv's birthday, other than the fact that if I had my own baby I would deck out the nursery with vintage stuff. I dunno, ha ha.
via lover dovers clothing on etsy Seriously, how cute is that?! It's fairytale meets medieval meets princesses and unicorns and lollipops and puppies and everything adorable.
via faith works 4 you on etsy Retro and trendy! I need to purchase this for her soon.
via pretty mod on etsy Not only do I love this because its a great contemporary print, but it's local too! The wonderful thing about Minnesota is we are loyal to our local artists.
via ivory and moss on etsy These are what I ended up buying for Liv. Ivory and Moss is local too, which was a very swaying factor. These are just so lovely too, and you can pick your own color. I picked number 22, mustard yellow. I can't wait to see her clomping around in them.
All this baby talk is making me want one, my maternal instincts are kicking in a lot lately. Oh well, someday soon I will have my own little person. I can't wait to spoil the holy hell out of my kids.
Hey! It's been a while, I know, but I've been a busy girl! My lovely husband has taken an interest in my jewelry making, and has decided to help me run my own website! We have been working on it quite a bit, and have finally come to a point where I can share it with you! Here is the link:
Nine Nineteen - Unique items to make life interesting.
We only have a few items on there currently (Necklaces and earrings for now), but I'm working on quite a few new projects! I've made two styles of wire wrapped rings (Pyrite and Drusy Quartz), and I have been making fabric headbands with a needle and thread. These things are completely foreign to me, so it's definitely made my life a little more exciting, though frustrating at times.
I'm also working on learning how to make bath products (I've got a great recipe for brown sugar scrub - dreamsicle scented, anyone?), vinyl record bowls, colorful chalkboards for your house, and maybe even some really cute yarn wreaths. I'm not sure if I can handle all of these creative projects on my own, and I'm not even sure if it's something thats going to be a profitable endeavor, but I'm having a ball trying.
A little question to throw out there - my main problem is figuring out marketing and advertising. Does anyone know of any great blogs or websites that can help me get my business out there for people to find? I would love to try and establish myself in what seems like a very supportive and tight-knit handmade community on the internet. I've been considering the site I heart Handmade, but I'm not sure where else to turn. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
And with that I will leave you with my favorite goofy picture of 2009. Hope the small amount of your weekend left is filled with laughter and good friends and family.
I've always been this shy girl that seems like a shut-in of sorts. Up until college I had only left the state twice, and both times were for band things in high school, so it didn't really count as traveling. The few times I had been to the city when I was younger I always had an adult with me, and it was only for business purposes. But my life changed when I went to my first real concert at the tender age of sixteen.
My first real concert was The Hives at First Avenue. Yes, First Avenue, the music venue that brought you Prince and Purple Rain, Minneapolis', no, Minnesota's crowning glory as far as concerts go. Its a dingy, dirty, two story venue that used to be a greyhound bus station. That may sound like a criticism, but I believe that if you really want to experience a concert, you can't sit idly by in some cheap cushioned seat and watch from afar. You need to be so close you could strum a tune on the band's guitar. So close that you are literally melting into your neighbors in the crowd. One big pulsing community of people all reveling in the same experience. You can't get that feeling anywhere else than on the floor, in the crowd, in front of the stage. Why would you even try?
Since that fateful night one week before my birthday, I have been on a whirlwind tour of Minnesota's music venues. I've been to terrible shows and I've been to mediocre shows, but the bulk of them have been amazing. Here is my top five concerts of all time.
Number 5 - Girl Talk on January 26th, 2007 at the Varsity Theater
This show was a lot more interesting than I expected it to be. The opening band was a local one called Dance Band. They managed to get the entire audience to do the Thriller dance, which was quite entertaining. The real draw for this show was the slight man in the hoodie that would come out later. If you were to see Gregg Gillis before hearing his music, you would expect something very obscure, extremely geeky, which in a way his music is just that. A big geek fest. A big GLORIOUS geek fest. Girl Talk takes the best of the best, cuts out the best parts, and makes an even better song. Its like a cupcake made entirely out of frosting. Anyways, you expect this concert to be a big dance party. Which it is, but I have never been to a show that completely welcomed audience participation. At one point in the show, Gregg invited everyone to get on stage and dance with him. Which is exactly what everyone did. It was wonderful. I've seen Girl Talk twice since this show, but this one was definitely the best one.
Number 4 - Franz Ferdinand on April 28th, 2009 at First Avenue
I love Franz Ferdinand. I have seen them many times. I think they just seem like a group of really nice guys that I would enjoy hanging out with. All of their albums are good, but the latest one is amazing. Most bands just become monotonous after a while, regurgitating the same things over and over. But Franz Ferdinand is always changing their sound, without completely alienating their original fans. The same can be said of their concerts. They keep evolving, getting better and better. The thing I've also noticed about FF is that they refuse to play arena shows, even though they have become quite popular. They played the Target Center once, but have since switched back to smaller venues. This First Avenue show was the best simply because of Lucid Dreams. It's such a gorgeous song to begin with, and then when the band all got together to play the drums at the end, it just made everything perfect! I would say another reason they are in my top 5 is because of my school girl crush on Bob. What a lovely faced man. If he came to my door with a bouquet of flowers, I might run away with him. Oh! Another reason the First Ave show was great? Born Ruffians opening. If you don't know who the Born Ruffians are, do yourself a big favor and go check them out. They were one of the main reasons I even went to this show! So adorable!
Number 3 - The Gossip on March 15th, 2007 at Emos
I gotta say, Beth Ditto is one of my all-time heroes because of this show. My best friend and I decided to grow up a little bit and take a trip to Texas for the annual South by Southwest music festival. What a treat that was! TEXAS, I LOVE YOU AND SOMEDAY I WILL BE BACK! I think it was a huge deal for me because I had never been on a plane before, nor had I been out of the state on my own. If you don't know about SXSW, it's basically a huge music festival where tons of bands go and play. Austin has a ton of small music venues along one main drag where the bulk of shows are played, but there are so many more places littered throughout the city, you basically just walk in and out of venues listening to all different types of music until the wee hours of the morning. The Gossip have always been a favorite of mine because Beth has an amazing voice. This show was so great not only because of the music, but because of her. At one point in the show she threw off her blue dress and spent the rest of the show in her skivvies. I thought it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. She lives and breathes power, confidence, and beauty and I only hope to get to that point in my life as well. If this show had happened in MN, I have a feeling it would be at the top of my list. It just would have been more powerful for me to see her at home.
Number 2 - Nine Inch Nails on November 25th, 2008 at the Target Center.
I know, I know, I keep saying "Arena shows suck! Go to the small venues!" But this show had to be at the Target Center, anywhere smaller would not have had such an impact. This show definitely ranks near the top because of the waiting. NIN was supposed to play earlier in that year, but he had to postpone because of an illness. So when they finally came back to play, it was double the amazingness because he felt he had to make it up to his fans. I was never really into Nine Inch Nails until college, when Year Zero was being released. If you don't know about Year Zero, the marketing campaign for this album was ridiculously complicated. It was a huge interactive, alternate reality game of sorts. Year Zero has a dystopia feel, almost a foreboding message. Derek and I greedily scanned the internet every day before that album came out, waiting for new pieces of the game's puzzle to come out. There were phone numbers to call, text messages, emails, all sorts of crazy things. The concert had the same feel. It was extremely over the top, and it helped that we were front row, so we really got the full force of Trent Reznor's creative power.
NUMBER 1!!! the Flaming Lips on August 24th, 2006 at the Minnesota State Fair
The reason this show made it to number 1 is not only because the Flaming Lips are amazing, but because of what we had to go through for this show to even happen. My very best friend, Raquel, and I were extremely excited for this show, but as we drove to the state fair, the drizzle began. We decided to trudge on, hoping the weather would hold. We went into the fair and enjoyed some crepe and italian fries, and as we did, the drizzle continued. We stood in line for what felt like forever, and once the gates opened and we all poured in, the drizzle became more pronounced. After a while, we knew something bad was going to happen because of the green clouds rolling in. Suddenly, the drizzle that had only been an annoyance became a full fledged thunderstorm, with rain whipping sideways at you, hail, and lightning that threatened to end the show. The security for the fair ushered us and probably about 100 or so other people into the stairwell because Tornado warnings were issued all around the area. So we huddled in that stairwell in thin t-shirts and jeans, shivering and hoping it would end soon. Some kids were dressed in costume, wearing very very little, and I immediately felt sorry for them. As the crazy storm continued on, we all sat there and waited. Finally as the sun was setting, they allowed us to go back to the stage to watch the Magic Numbers play borrowed instruments because their stuff had been trashed by the storm. After that the rain turned into a drizzle, and Sonic Youth played in front of the most beautiful sunset. Then the drizzle ended, the stars came out and the Flaming Lips began the most amazing set ever, complete with balloons, confetti, streamers, santa clauses, and alien girls. The concert was so amazing it made you forget about your streaming mascara and soaked clothing. I will never see a show as good as this one. Probably because I will never almost die in crazy weather to see it!
I wish I could write a longer list, because there are so many great shows I've been to. I think if I hadn't been introduced to music and concerts and art, and all that jazz, my life would not be as interesting and enriched as it has been. Thank god for people more talented than myself! Your talent makes my life better!
This soup is a very important family tradition for us in the winter. Every year my mother makes a huge pot, and then makes a small container for everyone in the family. This year I decided it was my turn to try and make it. It was a lot easier than I expected! I think this recipe came from a restaurant, but I'm not sure which one since we've been using it for as long as I can remember.
Chicken Wild Rice Soup (this makes a really really really large amount, so beware!) 1 Lb Wild Rice 4 to 6 boneless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces 1 stalk celery (1 bunch) 1 Lb Carrots 1 Onion 3/4 Jar chicken soup base 1 Lb Butter/Flour 1 Qt Heavy Whipping Cream 1 Can evaporated Milk
In a large stock pot, fill 3/4 with water, and add the wild rice, raw chicken pieces, celery, carrots and onion. Boil until most of the wild rice pops open. Add the chicken soup base. Warm the evaporated milk and whipping cream and add to the soup. In a separate saucepan melt the butter, and add flour, whisking until stiff (not hard!), then add to soup and stir until soup is thick and creamy.
Despite my lack of updates on the shop, I am working really hard making stuff, and I've got a big project under wraps that I'm not ready to unveil yet!
This is just some of the stuff I've been working on. There is more, but these are some of my favorites.
I'm really loving these bottle cap beads from MN artist Cathy Collison of Glass Garden Beads.
I would love to figure out how to make them myself because I think they just give a great punch of color and vintage charm, yet they are still classy because they don't look like bottle caps.
Anyways, if you see anything you want to purchase right now, feel free to contact me at chelseajeannejewelry@gmail.com, otherwise you will have to wait until my big project is completed!
Tomorrow I will have an awesome soup recipe for you. It's a recipe that we have been using in my family since I was a kid, and it's a great way to combat the winter chill!
It's still a little rough because I just threw everything together quickly before a recent family party, but I once its completely done to the satisfaction of my O.C.D, it will be wonderful! I bought all the crystals from Etsy fairly inexpensively (altogether less than 50 dollars), and cut all the findings/attachments off, just leaving the crystals in individual pieces. Then I put them back together using silver jewelry wire. I then attached them to some pewter chain that I wasn't planning on using for actual jewelry, and attached the chain to more silver jewelry wire that I wrapped around the rod of the light fixture. Please excuse my ugly ivory walls from intruding on the picture! Someday soon I will get around to painting the living room the pumpkin color I intensely crave. I love the terra cotta color in my kitchen (Benjamin Moore's Sienna Clay #104) but now the rest of my house looks extremely drab.
So I have a Glimt lighting fixture from Ikea, and I love it, but unfortunately I had an accident with it. My dog decided that the stuffing on the underside of my favorite mint green mid century chair was something tasty to munch on and pull out, which is a huge no no! So in the middle of my temper tantrum at him I decided the best course of action was to put the chair on top of the dining room table. I realize now that was silly of me, but oh well. Anyways, while putting it on the table I knocked the Glimt and shattered one of the white glass light covers. So after calling Ikea multiple times and getting the impression that we were basically S.O.L., I tried to figure out a more creative solution.
I've always loved crystal chandeliers, but I could never figure out a way to put a chandelier into our townhouse, and not have it look weird with all of our modern furniture. And I love the Glimt and its sleek look. So I was wandering around on Design Within Reach and found the Cellula Chandelier. Its absolutely gorgeous, and melds modern and vintage together perfectly!
So I went on Etsy and got some antique chandelier crystals and created my own! I got quite a few crystals for less than 50 dollars! I will post my hack for you the next time I post, which I promise will be soon!
Thinking about cake/desserts. Yummm. I should be thinking about warm things because it's so ridiculously cold right now! -4 outside! BRRR. But instead I'm thinking about sugary things.
I think sugar and butter and flour are all my chosen items for winter hibernation. I spend a lot of time in my kitchen concocting things that are usually rather complicated to make. I had two baking disasters over my holiday break! I made the delicious Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares from smitten kitchen, and the cheesecake part was divine, but I am unfortunately illiterate or blind because I accidentally used the unsweetened chocolate I was forbidden to use as a topping, and it ended up tasting like delicious cheesecake topped in cheez-it flavored chocolate. Needless to say we ended up eating the cheesecake after slowly peeling the chocolate off of each individual square first.
My second disaster involved attempting to make the cream soda cupcakes a second time with a blender after realizing my hand mixer had died after the devil that is the cheese ball (Note: do not try to blend your cheese ball together with a hand mixer! It will get angry at you and smoke and then die!). Unfortunately my brown butter frosting didnt taste so perfect, and my batter was rather lumpy. Oh well! Baking and disasters go hand in hand! You can't enjoy one without enduring the other!
brick alley building, the first building you see when driving into downtown.
Just a sample of what Stillwater's main street looks like.
brick alley building, the first building you see when driving into downtown.
Just a sample of what Stillwater's main street looks like.
