Fair Prep and New Routines

Hey friends! How are you? I am doing really well. Life has been crazy busy these past two weeks or so. I had a huge yard sale that took up a lot of my time (if you are a newsletter subscriber you already know about that). It took a lot of time to sort through, move it all into the garage, price everything, advertise it, and then, of course, host it. I had the sale last Friday and Saturday and sold a lot of things. I am going to do it again next weekend and see how it goes.

It was emotional for me to see how much stuff my parents had accumulated through the years but it felt good to see it in that I’m learning a lot about myself (more on that in a minute). I left about 90% of my stuff behind when I left NY and it’s also been fun to go through and find trinkets and treasures that I didn’t know about or had forgot about. My biggest challenge is all the pictures I just found a couple of days ago. I am saving every picture frame I can reuse so I can mount as many photos as possible. I also found a tote full of letters between my parents when my Dad was stationed in Germany. And then between my Dad and his Dad. I’ll have fun going through those. I didn’t know they existed. But. How does one preserve them? That will be another challenge as I move forward.

Speaking of yard sales. The most handsome man showed up to my sale. Randomly. Well. It’s probably not that random since my cousin and SIL both shared the Facebook post all over the internet. But, it was random in that he was very handsome and at my yard sale. I talked to him for a few minutes, which is my way of flirting, but according to my sister-in-law, it wasn’t very flirty. I even folded up the chairs he bought and handed them to him! He’s a recent transplant from New Jersey and he made me smile. He lives on my side of town and he’s Italian, although I wasn’t getting Italian from him. He likes to cook Italian food. I know nothing else about him. It gives me hope that there might be random encounters with men that could potentially lead to dates rather than the endless dating app routine, which I refuse to do anymore. I’m excited to start putting myself out there again. Or at least start practicing flirting. So many possibilities!

I have some exciting updates as well. First, I will be at the TN Valley Fair on Sunday at the “Thank a Farmer” exhibit. I will be set up and ready to talk to people about how to switch out some processed food items with homemade items. And how to shop locally at farm markets and use what you find at the markets. I recently got in contact with the Knox County Farm Bureau Women’s Group and am excited about all that they are doing for agriculture right here in East TN. I will be joining them in the future, but for this week I will be at the Thank a Farmer exhibit. I will also be submitting some cookies, pies, and muffins to the fair’s culinary competition. Stay tuned for more details on that. I have to drop off my cookies today and the rest on Sunday. If you’re in the area, stop by on Sunday between 1-3pm and say hey.

I’ve been overhauling my routines lately. It’s been a long time coming. I don’t know why I haven’t done it before now, but I guess I am still trying to figure out this part of life. It’s working though. I am shedding that last part of me that wants to please other people and put them before me. I actually get more done now that I am focused on what I want with disregard to what society says we should be doing. It’s very freeing. I think you’ll see a lot more things happening with me personally and with the brand.

Speaking of the brand, I am starting a few new ventures. I will be diving more into the farm-to-table advocacy and starting some fun events (Sunday Supper Club and Long Table Farm to Table dinners). I am starting the Mobile Antique business I’ve been dreaming of for a year now. I got stuck in that it had to be perfect before I launched and then I remembered I can do whatever I want so I will build out as I go. For now, my soft launch date is September 20th at the Powell Small Business Association’s Powell Pet Palooza. We’ll be inside the gym so the van won’t be front and center, but the antiques and my aesthetic will be. I have a lot to get done before then, mostly inventorying and pricing my merchandise. I didn’t keep up with it as I brought things in. But I’ve got time in the evenings once the fair is over. If you’re in the area, put the Palooza on your calendar!

Oh! I’ve been taking a lot of photos lately! YAY! I took some at the kennels where I was helping out and I asked the owner if we could submit some to the Garden & Gun Good Dog Photo contest. She said yes and entered 3. You can vote every hour between now and October 3rd. I sure would appreciate you heading over to their website and voting for Pixie, Sulley, and Moose!

I’ve given a lot of thought to my blog and to my social media. I want it to be authentic and it hasn’t necessarily felt like it. But I’ve long had this idea of it just being a journal of my day. I don’t always journal daily and I feel like I am missing out on keeping track of what happens daily. And since I have this newfound sense of self and doing what I want, I’ve decided to blog daily. Just a little snippet of my day. I like it. It feels good. I know I’ve hit on the right thing when it feels good and natural and I don’t get anxious about it. It’s like the antique business. I am taking it slow and not investing a ton of money and just seeing what happens. It’s all apart of this new journey I’m on. I hope you’ll continue on this journey with me. I think we’re finally on the right path.

‘til next time
-k
xoxo