Crawfish Fest 2010

Could this be a new tradition for the Heep family? I think so! Every year, over Memorial Day Weekend, the local Jaycees host a crawfish-themed festival with Zydeco music, Cajun food, (and of course a little German,) and a small but super carnival for the kids. After Willa and Camden did my hair, we hit the road with the Parson clan. The 8 of us strolled the 3 blocks from our house which is always something that makes us locals appreciate being local. The best part though, was the huge, inflatable slide which looked to be way too big and dangerous for little, lanky Willa. But to my surprise, she didn't even hesitate to climb the unstable, aired-up staircase and careen down alongside her friends, Brooklyn and Camden.

It's The Simple Things

I woke up this morning, sleep-deprived and surrounded by sickies. (Willa with a vicious cold and Sean with what looks to be the start of a sinus infection.) Glad that neither has gotten ahold of me, I popped out of bed and decided to make the best of this weekend workday. I cleaned up the house, messed around with some sketches for our future dream house (my latest obsession,) ate breakfast and rolled Play-Doh balls with Willa. Then I headed out the door at noon to open the shop on this unexpectedly beautiful, sunny Sunday. On my agenda: shuffle the racks, freshen up the displays, and finish the mess of a rearranging project I started yesterday. And sell, sell, sell, of course. But as I opened the front door, I could hardly believe my ears! The prettiest acoustic music was coming from the restaurant next door. And the warm sunshine and the cool breeze. And the tempting smell of german cuisine and the Christmas decorations lining the street. Oh, I envy the lazy tourists strolling Main today! And then it struck me. How lucky a girl am I? To be my own boss, in the business of fashion, in this perfectly perfect little town. (Not to mention the imperfectly perfect husband and precious tot at home.) Note to self: Next time you are feeling sorry for yourself about all of the hours you work, pressure you're under, and your measly pay - revisit this post, count your blessings, and quit your obnoxious complaining! For today, I've done just that. I've turned off the Christmas tunes on the XM, and am enjoying the sounds of the live music, passing cars, and friendly, slow-paced shoppers. Maybe I'll just sell something while I'm at it.

The Chicken Dance

With Oktoberfest fast approaching, I thought it best that we dust off the dirndl, make sure it still fits, and practice a few traditional dance steps that every German girl needs to know. Aside from her refusal to flap her wings, Willa has the Chicken Dance down pat. It's just in her blood! I CAN NOT WAIT until October 3rd!

***Dad: before you hit play, make sure you have a tissue handy. :-)

The List

ShopAcrossTexas.com posted its TOP 45, and guess who made the list...Root! The site scoured the state, from big cities to small towns, and covered all types of retail, including gift, home, and apparel stores. Ballots were emailed to 45,000 homes and the list was officially revealed on ShopAcrossTexas.com in August. Wait! There's more...5 of the 45 are located in Fredericksburg (Red, Homestead, Beulah's, Something Different II, and your's truly) and our perfect little town won the prestigious award for Best Shopping in a Small Town! With the help and encouragement of ShopAcrossTexas, we entered a float in the Gillespie County Fair Parade. We gathered merchandise from all five shops and piled it high on Sean's vintage pickup for a Sanford & Son Goes Cruisin' Main theme. Nothing fell off, the goods all made it back to their respective storefronts, and we, hard-working, hardly-rewarded retailers pulled off a little shameless self-promotion.

Other highlights from the parade included mini ponies, a bright turquoise tractor, the cheerleaders (especially Alli), this precious pooch, the Sit-And Be Fit Ladies, a 3-day old DiCuffa snuggled in a sling and his visibly sleep deprived big brothers, and Willa doing the Roll-It-Up to the blaring music.