Where in the world is Evitt?
I bet you have been wondering where I’ve been…I also bet you’ve said to yourself “Where is that girl?! Gah! I bet she’s laying around being a Diva.” Well I can’t disagree with the latter - guilty as charged (I’m a Diva everyday — just ask my husband!) 
But in my defense I have been busy. I’ve been studying all the fall fashion trends and colors so I can plan my bag and jewelry collection. I don’t want you Divas buying out-of-date fashion trends! I’ve got some good information to share with you on that — look for it in upcoming posts. Then I created inspiration collages of all the colors and images I saw in the magazines. I sat on the floor, surrounded myself with pictures torn out of magazines, snipped, snipped, snipped them into shape, categorized them by color, and then glued them to the boards. Then I started taking little snippets of my fabric and added them to the collages so I can visualize the fabric on the various designs. I also picked up a bunch of fabric on Thursday that I had special ordered. It’s so pretty!!! I can’t wait to start making pretty little creations with it. I love the names of fabrics: Classico Scroll, Delizia Bark, Fancy Dot Java…doesn’t that sound delicious!?
The only yucky task I am still working on is the inventory database. Gosh do I ever hate doing that! Seriously, I am like a little kid sitting at the dinner table staring at a pile of peas — can’t get up until they are all gone! I’ll sit at the computer and get a little start and then I’ll get pouty and go look at a website. How rediculous am I?? (Don’t answer that!) I’ve got to get over that mental block! Grrrr!!!! (sigh) 
I have to admit that I have intentionally avoided the computer as much as possible because I find myself getting sucked into a time warp — before I know it I have lost hours to email and websites. I just can’t believe how quickly time flies by! I tell ya, if you ever work for yourself you will find that time ZIPS by at an intense speed! While that sounds really great compared to the long weeks spent in those offices, it’s very scarey for someone like me. Because every time a week flies by that I’m not selling anything means I’m not making money. Fortunately money isn’t an issue right now but I must say that it concerns me in the future. But I think I needed this reality check because it proves to me that I really need to be more efficient and intense with my time in order to be really productive. Life’s a lesson and I try not to learn things the hard way. So I’m really going to turn up the dial on my productivity and get things shakin!
I hope you are having a great week! I’m going to go work on the dreaded inventory database again. (sigh) Or maybe I’ll got look at a website…. Just kidding! I’ll try to be better about posting new info. I have some really great articles to share with you about fall fashion and how to pick the right bag and jewelry.
Kiss, kiss dahling!
P.S.
I did get a sample of what the labels will look like. I should have them in a couple of weeks. When I get those little babies then things are really going to get rockin’ around here! Below are the sample images they sent me. The difference between A and B is the type of thread used for the stitching of the company name. I chose B because I thought the stitching looked a little bolder and didn’t have as many little gaps. What do you think?
Yeeeeehaawww!!!
I had to tell you about my wonderful Saturday night. My very sweet friend Faye invited me, Sharonda and Jessica to join her for a Grand Ole Opry concert. While I’m not a huge country fan I was excited to go because I had never been to the Opry before. Trisha Yearwood and Clint Black were the big acts for the night so I was pretty excited. Well, little did I know that Faye’s friend (who works for Opryland and gave her the tickets) arranged to give us a BACK STAGE TOUR! Oh…my…gosh!! I couldn’t believe it! The concert was great and the seats were very good. When then the moment came to go back stage and I almost couldn’t contain my excitement. I couldn’t wait to see everything! Would we meet Trisha? Would we get some photos taken with her?? Well I’m sorry to report that we didn’t get to meet Trisha and speak to her, HOWEVER I did get within arm’s length from her and she did say hello as she walked by. We got to watch her prepare for an interview for an upcoming TV special. Then we continued the tour and saw many famous country singer’s dressing rooms. It was neat to see some of the performers standing around, mingling, and waiting for their turn on stage. We saw Porter Wagner and many of his fans waiting to get a photo with him. (Dolly Parton started her career singing with Porter Wagner) Unfortunately we had a little bit of a panicky moment because we got separated from Faye and our tour guide amongst that little crowd. Yikes! Fortunately after a few moments Faye realized we were M.I.A. and came back for us. We walk around the corner and all of a sudden we realize that we are standing on the side of the stage ! And yes, to answer your question, the concert was still going on! So we were watching the show and the audience at the same time! Can you believe it?! It was so amazing! You could almost imagine what it felt like to be a performer. It was so neat to see all those smiling faces and hear the applause from the stage. We watched the remainder of the show and then got to watch the curtains drop. Very cool to see that too! After the show we walked around a bit more and were able to meet John Conley (old country singer whom I wasn’t familiar with - but hey, it was still neat!). And then we got to see Clint Black up close as he walked by to go on stage. That was essentially the end of the tour, minus a couple of photo ops.
Afterwards we went for a drink and recounted all our exciting moments. It was a very cool evening with some great friends. And I have to say that I’m pretty happy that the first time I go to the Grand Ole Opry I get the deluxe package! Very cool! Click here to see the photos!
Thank you, Faye and Dan, for such a memorable evening! 
T.G.I.F.
Well it’s the end of another week. Wow! Time really is ==FLYING== by! I can’t believe how quickly weeks buzz by now that I’m working from home. I got my banking tasks done today for Evitt & Co. so that was a great accomplishment. Fortunately they didn’t have to close the old account and setup a new one. They just changed the business name and ordered a new check card. That was great because all I need to do is order some checks and then I’m good to go!
After going to the bank I went to Target to pick up the supplies needed to take better photos of the jewelry and such. Here is a great link for a photography tutorial written by new friend Lindsay. Thanks Lindsay! Great stuff!
I’m also going to start making earrings this weekend. Yahoo! I can’t wait! I’m going to a concert tomorrow night and want to make some pretties to wear.
Oh, and I bought these shoes at Target. They are super cute and make my feet look oddly small. Anything that makes a part of my body look small I will buy! In fact, I’ll take TWO! (I also bought them in brown !) ((GIGGLE)) 
I just couldn’t stop myself! Seriously, I debated with myself for probably 20 minutes as I walked up and down the aisles but I just couldn’t find a rational reason why I shouldn’t buy them! For the record, I did talk myself out of buying these and these. See! I have *some* self-control! But I still really want them…(sigh). By the way, when going to look for the weblink for those shoes to show you I found these and these and these and these and these these …and those were just the flats! Now for pumps: I like these and these and these and these…LOVE THEM! I MUST HAVE THEM! Did you know that I’m a shoe addict? Well…I think “addict” is a little harsh…I prefer to be called Shoe Diva.
What other fun things are in store for me this weekend? I’m going to investigate and hopefully setup my Etsy site. By the way, have you checked them out yet? If not, then you really must!! Just don’t look at my competition too long! (That is where I will start selling my items while I get my own website built.) And then I really need to work on the inventory database. Bleaah! That’s one of those tasks that I dread and wish I had someone to do it for me. Oh well, I’m not complaining because I love, love, LOVE working for myself!!
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!!
Evitt & Co. is official!
Evitt & Co. is FINALLY official today! I was ELATED when I got the business license in the mail. Yahoo! Now I can really get this train moving! Unfortunately I had some tummy problems last night and today from something I ate yesterday so the train didn’t move quite as fast as I would’ve liked. But I did get my labels ordered for the bags so that was a major accomplishment. Now I just have to work on getting the bank accounts setup and then we are closer to opening shop! I can’t for my first day of sales! So keep saving that moolah because I’m going to have all kinds of goodies for you to buy! Just keep in mind that Christmas is around the corner…lots of gifts for your mom, family and friends! Now I just have to remember that I’m making all this stuff to SELL…NOT to keep for myself!
I’ve got the vapors!
(In my best Scarlet accent) I do dee-clare, I buh-leeve I’ve got the vapors. ((faint)) Fiddle-dee-dee, won’t someone fetch me a mint julep? I’m pah-sitively *parched*!
Okay seriously, I’m *over* it! This heat is driving me nuts! Nuts I tell ya! I’m so sick of going outside and walking into an oven! I want to go out and enjoy my deck but sometime in the last month my house was moved to the FACE OF THE SUN!! I think the deck is sad too. Every time I go out to turn on the sprinkler (a daily ritual now) I hear the deck creak and moan under my feet. It didn’t used to do that. I think it’s hot, tired and lonely. It longs for the good old days — days like this. While there have been some pink sunrises lately, I’m not delighted or excited because I know that pinkish-reddish horizon means it’s going to be another hot day. I was watching one of my fave movies the other day - Pride & Prejudice - and there was a scene where it’s pouring down rain. I found myself jealous that they had rain! Do you see now? I’m nuts! (sigh) I guess I better watch what a I wish for - I might be wishing so hard that I get us a monsoon and massive flooding.
Evitt & Co. is moving along. I have been working on jewelry and really enjoying it. I’m still waiting on my business license (sigh again). I hope it comes soon. As soon as I get it I can setup my websites and start sewing purses. I have so much pretty fabric for fall and can’t wait to show it to you! In the mean time I’ll enjoy my happy little bead world. That’s all the updates I have for now. I just needed to vent a little to relieve these vapors. Now if you will excuse me, I’ve got a mint julep waiting on me. Wishing you a good day!
Weekend update
It’s Sunday evening and I’m happy to report that it was a good weekend - full of fun, friends, and relaxation. Can’t get better than that! (Okay, I have to admit it would’ve been better if it weren’t so HOT outside! And a little rain would be nice…but hey, if that’s the least of my problems then I’m good!)
Saturday I went to a friend’s retirement party and had a wonderful time catching up with people I haven’t seen or talk to in awhile. I caught myself at time drinking in all the laughter, smiles and happy camaraderie. I love the friendships that were formed at my previous job and I know that I speak for many when I say that it’s the best thing that came from our work. And I was touched by all the support people gave me for my business and blog! Thank you, friends, for the constant support and enthusiasm. I really do appreciate it! I hope Evitt & Co. becomes all you and I dream it to be!
Today we took it easy — ate pancakes, talked about life in general over coffee, watched TV and just let our minds relax. I love Sundays! Josh spent a lot of time writing an article for his guitar blog. So I spent some time watching my guilty pleasures: reality TV. Yes. I am “one of those people”. I’m sorry! I just can’t help myself! (Hey, there are FAR worse bad habits I could have!) Any way, I found a NEW reality show that I was unaware of: The Two Coreys. It’s the Corey fellas from the 80’s movies!! You know…The Goonies and The Lost Boys! OMG! (I can hear Josh grumbling now as he reads this) Let me tell ya, time has not been kind to Corey Haim, which is unfortunate because he was the cutest of the two. Anyhoo, I’m totally hooked and I have set our DVR to record all future shows. (I can hear Josh grumbling again…)
I have to admit that there were a few times I felt little pangs of guilt thinking of all the things I *should* be doing…but then I reminded myself that Sundays are meant for taking a break and counting your blessings (and watching reality TV!). I know I am certainly blessed — most of all I am so blessed with my life with Josh.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and wishing you a great week!
P.S.
We went to Best Buy this evening and I found some GREAT deals on a couple of my favorite movies — I got Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and City of Angels for $4.99 each! They had many other movies between $4.99 and $6.99 too. Okay, so some of the titles I’ve never heard of, and some should be lost forever…but sometimes you have to dig through a lot of rubble to find a gem. Here’s a link. Happy digging!
More jewelry!
Hello!
The Evitt & Co. creations are moving right along. Here are some pictures of my recent creations. I promise the photos will get better in the future. I need to buy some special lighting in order to make the images more clear and bright. But I couldn’t wait that long to share these with you!
I’m going to try making earrings this weekend — haven’t got the nerve to start twisting and bending wire yet but I will tackel it soon! Let me know what you think!
A little more progress
I received my new business cards today! Yahoooo!! It’s a small step toward the new company but I’ll take any progress at this point! I swear I feel like I’ve been spinning my wheels lately. Now I can at least have some sort of tangible item proving I’m making progress!!
Protect furry friends
Hello friends,
Today I’m writing to tell you about an effort that is very important to me and my husband. As many of you know Michael Vick has been all over the news about his dog fighting ring. Unfortunately he is just one of very many that support this horrific activity. The Humane Society has a very large campaign that is trying to stop these terrible activities and change laws to make the punishment more severe for those who are connected with animal fighting rings.
If you are interested in helping the Humane Society to protect our furry friends please check out this link. Your support doesn’t necessarily mean money - you can support them by simply registering on their site and filling out form letters to important figures telling them that you do or don’t support certain issues.
For example, one issue that has irritated us for quite some time is the fact that Amazon.com sells materials about animal fighting. The Humane Society has been trying to convince them, along with the voices of us and many people, to stop selling those materials. But Amazon.com has refused, stating they have the right to sell those materials based on the First Amendment – freedom of speech and press. I emailed Amazon.com directly expressing my concern and told them I would no longer do business with them until they publicly announce they will stop selling animal fighting materials. I received the same lame excuse — they don’t believe in censoring materials because they support the First Amendment. Yeah…right…that’s their true agenda…sure. The truth of the matter is it’s all about money. So we have not shopped on Amazon.com for quite some time now. To read more about this please go to this link.
So, to take simple steps to support the Humane Society’s efforts you can fill out a form letter to Jeffrey Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, asking him to stop selling animal fighting materials. Here is a link. It’s very quick and simple — I completed my letter in just a few moments.
Also please do not shop on Amazon.com. Instead try shopping with Barnes & Noble and/or Powells.
Thanks for taking the time to read this message.
Beads…Beads…BEADS EVERYWHERE!!
I bet you’ve been wondering where I’ve been…Well I haven’t been sitting around eating bon bons, that’s for sure! I’ve been in bead heaven (and hell) lately! First I got some fantastic retail therapy by going shopping for beads to make jewelry. That was so much fun! I was like a kid in a candy store!! But then my shopping buzz was quickly killed. Before I could dive into jewelry heaven I was struck on the head with a blunt object called “reality”. As I looked at all the hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of beads I realized I had to do INVENTORY…NOOOOOOO!!! Don’t I have “people” to do this? I just want to be a designer…I don’t want to dirty my hands with this kind of work! Oh well. So I began the very long process of making labels for each collection of beads, writing down all the description details, volume price, calculate unit price, and then start counting the beads that weren’t pre-counted. Let me tell you how much fun that is…122, 124, (distraction by a good song)… 126? or 128??…what number was I last on?? Damn! ((sigh)) 2, 4, 6, 8……372, 374. Whew! (and that was only one little tube of beads!) Yeah. Fantastically fun time. I’m still not done but I am very close. My next deliriously joyful task is entering all that into a database. Note to self: hire people to do bead inventory asap!!!
I have to admit that I couldn’t resist and just had to make a couple of fun, summery bracelets. Below are some pictures — proof that I have been doing SOMETHING! I’ll post more pictures as I make more items.
What else have I been doing? Well I filed a ton of important paperwork today, called the County Clerk three times and the Tennessee Department of Revenue twice to figure out if I had done all the necessary paperwork to change the company name…of course I didn’t because it’s so flippin’ confusing (because I got a different instructions every time I called)..let’s see…what else…made the bed and did some laundry…oh yeah…you’re totally jealous of me now, aren’t you??!! Well, welcome to the life of an entrepreneur! I still LOVE it though!! I hope everyone is doing well and I promise I’ll try to update the blog more frequently!