The Ever-changing Business of...uh, well, Business!!!

It always amazes me how the hills of valleys of business are so much like the hills and valleys of life!  Not trying to get all philosophical or nothing, but there are so many similarities.

You ever noticed how life seems to run in cycles?  Things are going well, flowing nicely from day to day and then, BAMMMM, it hits!!!   Both tires on the back of your car go flat and make you late for an important meeting---the vending machine at work eats not one, but two of your dollars and seems to almost dare you to try again!!  Your hair starts falling out for some unknown reason, your dog poops in your most expensive pair of shoes and you discovery the strange smell in your refrigerator is coming from the tomato that fell behind the vegetable drawer and now looks like a science project!!  No, none of these things happened to me...well, maybe the tomato thing, but that's all.

Our good times are high, our bad times are low and everything in between is what keeps us going.  And so it is with business as well.

Things have been pretty 'low' for us business-wise for quite a while now.  Online sales have been almost 

non-existent and, as you know, my shop has been equally slow in sales.  It has been an unpleasant valley!

Well I'm here to say that we are starting the upward climb on that hill and have started enjoying the high that comes with success!  Sales at the shop have picked up greatly and that by itself is a blessing.  However, I seem to be on a roll with my online sales as well!!  I've been posting vintage clothing on ebay (my seller id is 'aremadelife' in case you would like to check it out!)  and, good news, THEY ARE SELLING!!  Not only that but I've been doing well in both my etsy shops --lovethatvintagestyle and aremadelife---check those out too if you have time!!

So, we are currently on a really nice HIGH----a blessing indeed!  But, I keep remembering that those low valleys are just on the other side of that hill and that I need to keep my 'feet' planted in reality.  Some days are good, some days are bad, but thanks to our Heavenly Father, we get through them all-----and if we remember to trust in Him we will enjoy those wonderful highs and learn from those unpleasant lows!

So we are enjoying this time of success and wanted to share it with you!  Here are a few picture's of my items on ebay and new pic's of the shop!

Vintage 1920's dress--sold within 45 mins.!!

Child's vintage real fur hand muff

Vintage 1940's Fashion Dress

Fantastic vintage Fashion Wrap

Very unusual vintage full slip!

Vintage 1960's Mod-style knit coat

Thanks for listening to me, hope all is well with you!  Leave me a comment!!

God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life

Mischief Is In the Air!!

     I don't know about you, but when the mornings start getting a little cooler (and I do mean A LITTLE--it's still about 76 degrees in the mornings and topping out around 94-100 by the end of the day!!) and the trees start thinking of shedding their leafs.....well,I find myself feeling all frisky and, dare I say it, mischievous!! NOT in a bad way, but kinda like wanting to run up behind people you know and yell "Boo", then giggle and run off! What?...you don't think of doing that kinda thing?! Well, you should!!

     As I get older (I just had a b-day last month) I find myself thinking more and more of my childhood and all the things the kids in the neighborhood use to do. Things like staying outside until our parents practically dragged us back inside; or playing tennis in the middle of the street until we just got too tired to chase the ball anymore; or just sitting on the street curb and talking...not about anything in particular, just talking.

     Those were good days, but these days can be good too! So I invite you to 'get a little mischievous' (in a good way!) Grab your best bud and go running through the sprinklers before it gets too cold, or invite friends over for pizza and have a food fight (in the backyard of course--NO ONE likes to clean the kitchen!), or just sit on the street curb and talk about nothing in particular---I think you will find it will help to 'cleanse' away all your tensions and stress...and hopefully give you a refreshed outlook on life!

      Before I leave you, here are a few pictures of my curent ongoing project, one I am very excited about. I may try to have a 'grand opening/reveal' before the holidays...at least that's my goal. There is still lots to work out and I can't reveal too much at this time but will try very soon!!

Well, that's it for now----anyone in the mood for pizza!?!?!
God Bless All and Any who read this,
Pat, A Remade Life

Best Customers in the World!!

This past weekend was the Winnie Trade Days show and what a good show it was!  Although we didn't make as much money as we did last month we did ok-- but the real joy came in meeting some of the greatest customers in the world!!

I had the great pleasure of meeting many new customers as well as seeing some long-time returning ones. What fun it was to visiting with people, make new friends and 'share' the love of God with so many!!  I felt truly blessed to meet each and every one that came into my shop.

There was the lovely mom-in-law and daughter-in-law who came in with the cutest of babies (don't worry Brayden, grandma still loves you the best!).   The young ladies husband was in the military and had been deployed.  She was part of a military group that was raising money for the troops by creating a calendar of military wives dressed in vintage clothing---which just happens to be one of my specialties.  We talked and shared thoughts about vintage clothing, she checked out all the different vintage styles I had and even purchased some.  I gave her my contact info and hope we will stay in touch with each other.

Then there was the young girl (17 yrs old) who came in with her mom to look for and buy vintage clothing, not for any party or event but just because she LOVES vintage clothing!!  It just thrills my heart to see young people enjoying great things from the past.  And her mom was the best--she bought her daughter a complete outfit, dress and matching hat.  This young lady is a definite individual, one who knows who she is and not likely to fall into the 'status quo'!

And remember my little buddy Zack, the one who won the American Pickers youth contest, a $10,000 scholarship and a trip to the Smithsonian?  Well, my little buddy ain't so little anymore!!  I saw him walking down the hall and almost didn't recognize him!!  He's grown a foot and it now taller than me and has 'leaned-down' and lost his baby fat.  And even though he's a young teenager, he stopped to visit and we had a good hugging session!!  That kid definitely has a place in my heart!!

Well, that's pretty much how our weekend went.  We only had one minor issue that was our 'fly in the ointment'.  I was cleaning off one of our glass shelf units when one of the shelves collapsed and all the glassware on that shelf broke.  But I count my blessings cause I could have been hurt/cut my the flying glass however, I came away without a scratch!  Thank you Lord for your protecting hand!

So, here are a few pictures for you to enjoy, unfortunately none of our customers--it was just too busy to stop to take pictures.

My 'little' buddy Zack in a 'before' picture---he's NOT this little now!!

The top shelf is the one that collasped--pretty much everything on it broke

And of course, the most beautiful baby in the world, my Brayden!

I had to include this pic of Brayden in NOT one of his finer moments--that's not chocolate he's covered in--ughhh!

Here is he all cleaned up and happy again

He's full of McNuggets, french fries and a smoothie--not his usual diet but ok once in a while

And that's it for now, thanks for stopping by and taking a peepie-poo (sorry, didn't mean to mention 'poo' again!).  God Bless all and any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life

Winnie Trade Days this weekend!!

This weekend brings another Winnie Trade Days and I have high hopes for this show!  Last months show was the best one we've ever had and I'm hoping this one will be equally good or even better!!  We have added lots of good stuff I found at an estate sale as well as the used clothing I mentioned in a previous post.  We enlarged my son's area since his sales have more than doubled (he just grins from ear to ear when I tell anyone this!) and we even redesigned the linen section.

We are frantically trying to get everything we can priced and ready to go for this show--please pray that we have the strength and endurance to make it work!!!

I of course included a picture of my wonderful grandson, Brayden, who is now 18 months old!!  He is such a blessing to me.

I have been posting lots of good, vintage items in my etsy shop so please be sure to go to my link and check it out.  I am also still working on my 'secret' project that I really hope to get up and running before Christmas---we'll see, but it's very slow going right now!

Well, that's it for now, I'll update you on how the show goes---again, please pray we do well, but mainly that we are able to be a blessing to someone this weekend!!

God Bless All and Any who read this,

Pat, A Remade Life