Are you kidding me?

It was cold today. Not just breezy, but COLD. The wind comin' off of the water here near the harbor makes me want to kick someone in the shins. But...if you build it, they will come. We had some pretty colorful people come in the shop today. Everything from wealthy beach home ownin' "locals" (here every weekend, but live in the Houston area) to some Scottish guy that just wanted to check out the recovery effort here. You know what? The island has recovered! It's all just icing now. People do not walk around moaning about what assistance they're not getting. They DO (as in...make things happen) and they accomplish. I've never felt so much a part of a community and I don't even live here yet. I've said it before, the spirit here is soooo inspiring. There is so much talent here. People need to see this. That's why we're here. **jumps off soap box**

We had an artist in today and his work escapes my thesaurus expertise. He's a welder...





Darren couldn't resist actually wearing his art today. Don't try this at home.






Please...

Rainy and blah :(

But we have cookies in the shop!!!!!!!!!! Ashlie made some chocolate chip cookies that are taunting me. They go great with the coffee. It's a perfect snack for a day like today. I'm going to have make Ashlie sit in the naughty chair...

Since Spring Break is over, we will now be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday until we sell our house. Hopefully, this will only be for a short time. We have 2 families that have seen the house twice and may be ready to make an offer.**crossing fingers** We are so excited about being there full-time. We have met some artists that are excited about being featured in our shop and we have put more of Darren's work on the walls. We ordered some gift items to add some variety in our pricing. I'll post pics when we get it all in and displayed.

It's Been a Week!?!?!

It's flown by! I know some have been wanting updates...

Our Grand Opening was met with wind, rain and 40 degree temperatures. Nothing says, "Come to our balmy island" like frost bite. We were pleasantly and humbly surprised at the turnout, though. So many friends and family!

These are 3 of our 4 artists.

Some art...

Tim and Robert the Jew totally made the evening complete. If you ever have a grand opening, get music dudes. Together these guys had the Baptists actually dancing. Please don't call the convention. We need all the good press we can get.

Some mingled....

Some didn't...

Some kids worked...

Some didn't...

It was a great night. We are still a work in progress. But we're just so stinkin' glad to be here we can hardly stand it. As crazy as all this has been, there is a certain peace to doing what you love. I get to have my toes in the sand before I get to work. At any given time, I can walk outside my sunny shop and hear a seagull. And the cool thing is that all of our customers are happy!

photographs taken by my mom and butchered by me in photoshop...

Almost there...or not.

Yesterday was move-in day. Our good friend John from HPD painted our sign. We have decided we will change it every quarter, offering different artists a chance to show their stuff.

This is my lighting guy. He's cheap, but talented...that's how I like my men.

We had lunch...

And arranged art...

Some were less enthused than others...

But it is coming together nicely. Tomorrow we plan food...

This is what my poor children see...

When the phone rings now, the kids stop in their tracks and hold their breath. They wait as mom nicely says, "Sure! An 11:00 am showing of our house will totally work during our homeschooling day!" Then mom gets off the phone with crazy eyes and screams, "Pick up the house! They'll be here in 20!!!"

I take no pride in this...

Invite to our Grand Opening