Staging Adventures

While I was left alone for the week I had one day that I had to work.  Is it really considered work when your boss is such a good friend?  Well, in the Oklahoma heat it is.  After all, a house we staged a year ago was finally selling.  Apparently it was perfect in every way except for the one car garage.  Until a single mom saw it.  For her it was just right. 

Since Shawn and the girls had taken the Expedition to camp I couldn't be of much help with a house full of furniture.  So Lisa swapped her 4Runner for her husband's truck and we crossed our fingers. 

The first load was filled to the brim.

We had the back seat full as well.  And we still had more to do.

As if we weren't hot enough from loading it, we had to unload everything at the storage unit.  The pretty full storage unit.  That we had to organize as quickly as possible.  Quick is good in productivity, but bad in heat. 

After a trip to Goodwill we went back to the house to hope we could get everything else in a second load.  I stayed downstairs while Lisa went up.  I loaded what was there and went up to find her like this.

Really?  Must I do all the work??

Breaking and Entering

My boss and I had a house to stage today that was going to be incredibly easy.  In and out in nothing flat.  We only had to go buy a couch, run by our storage unit to pick up a few things, and go to the house and put it all in.  It was a light staging so we figured it would take about an hour.

Usually when we think that, something is bound to go wrong.

Or in this case, several things.

Our business owns a couch but it's currently in a house that is almost sold.  Since the appraisal hasn't been done it was decided to leave it there.  No problem, we were just going to run to the store and get another one.  It was only $125 so it would be a good investment.  But of course, they didn't carry that couch anymore.  So we bought a $250 one.  Sigh.  It was loaded into the truck and we set out for the storage unit.

The storage unit we use is owned by an apartment complex.  The apartment manager manages both.  We pulled up to the gate and punched in the number to make the gate open....but nothing happened.  Lisa tried again. Nothing.  That's happened before.  No problem.  She whipped out her phone and called the maintenance guy who has helped us before.  And that's about the time that we learned the maintenance guy now lives in Alabama.  No problem again.  We pulled around and headed to the manager's office.  The door was proudly displaying the OPEN sign.  The locked door that is.  Lisa called the managers number and left a voicemail.  And then we waited.  And then she called again.  And again.  After about 20 minutes I had an epiphany.  If she backed the truck up I was pretty sure I could climb from the bed of the truck, over the fence, and onto the gate mechanism box.  And guess what?  I could. 

I made it over, she handed me the keys and the list of things we needed...and left me.  I kind of thought she'd be joining me.  Instead she went back to the office and waited outside.  It was then that I realized my cell phone was still in the truck.  So I just got busy pulling items.  After about 10 minutes she was over the fence and had joined me.  I knew she wanted to.  She was a bit frustrated though.  Can't say that I blame her.  We had a realtor waiting at the house for us and we just kept hitting problems.  When this happened we just had to laugh.

I mean, what else could happen at this point?

After we had everything out we decided to hand everything over the fence, load it into the truck, and head on our merry way.  As Lisa was perched on top of the fence who do you think would be walking up??  Yep, the manager.  Let's just say she was not amused.  I believe she said she hates it when people climb her fence.  Well you know what?  We hate when our rent is paid and we can't get in and you won't answer your phone.

I continued pushing stuff through the fence as Lisa talked to her.  Rent has to be paid within the first five days of the month, which it had, but she'd chosen not to post payments yet.  Um, hello.  You're asking for people to break in!  She said she'd go post the check so that I could get out.  I just waited for her to start walking back to the office and climbed back over. 

As we drove by the office on our way out I couldn't help but feel victorious.  Don't mess with us!  And then my eyes caught something...the black all over the front of my jeans from the fence.  Oh well, they're just part of the memory!

Scenes from Staging 2

We are back at it again!  Staging two new model homes for a local builder.  In the smaller home we are staging it from top to bottom.  In the larger home we are doing light staging; kitchen, master bedroom, and master bath. 

You know what that means!  Shopping!!

Here are some of the fun things I've found this week.

This is apparently a big trend now.  That thing is $400!  But don't worry, it's half price.

After seeing this two weeks in a row I have decided I'm still confused.  Is it a parody of a psychiatrist...or is it an insult to pear shaped women?  Either way, it's just wrong.

 It takes a lot of pillows for four total beds. 

People stare when you buy this many pillows.

 This?  This just cracks me up.

After going to two of the biggest furniture stores in town back to back I found out that artichokes are all the rage.  

I don't think I'd put a big, heavy, pointy, fake artichoke on my couch though.

Oh, and we bought this love seat.  And the matching couch.

We did not buy the artichoke.

Try not to be disappointed.

And then there's this. 

I need this.

I want this.

I can't live without this.

But I have to.  It doesn't go with my 65 year old house and my traditional furniture.

I'm sure they won't mind if I come in from time to time in my jammies with a cup of coffee and a People magazine and curl up for a while.

They're cute jammies!

Scenes from Staging

When staging houses we come upon some of the most interesting things....I could be out of the loop here. Does my garage need a chandelier? It might be just the thing to make the final undecorated room of our house really pop.I guess this means I can't use it. But you know what happens? Even though I don't have to go at all, the fact that I can't makes me miserable.

There's also the ugly wallpaper or kitchen counter tops, but every once in a while there's something I just have to share with you all. It's because I love you all so much. I want to share the weird things with you:c) No thanks needed. It's the least I can do!

One More Reason I Love My Boss

Texts between us:

Her:Did I just snag the new hose? Yes, yes I did.

Me:Say it isn't so.

Her:In addition, I am struggling with the issue of transporting the child and the ficus at the same time.

Me: Strap one of the two to the roof of the car.

Her:It will have to be the boy. The ficus would never survive the trip up the turnpike.

Me:I agree with that choice.

Her:Why have you left me in my hour of need?

Me:So sorry. The free lunch and candy only got you so far.

Every moment I spend with her is hilarious!

Except when we're transporting fake ficus trees.

Why I Love My Job

The last big jobs we had were for a local builder that needed new homes staged. In their communities there's always a model home that has the sales office in the garage. The model stays decorated for up to a year before it's sold. The first home we had about a week and a half to completely furnish and decorate 1400 square foot house from the ground up. They gave us a budget of $15,000 and set us free. Well, to choose everything. Then Catie (the builder employee in charge of us) would go look at our choices, make changes if necessary, and purchase everything. That meant for the days leading up to her being with us, Lisa and I would go to store after store choosing things, filling carts, and asking the managers if they would hold the merchandise for us until the 'money girl' could come buy it. Most stores were very willing to hold stuff for us for 1 day. We'd then go back through our store list (sometimes up to three locations of the same store) and pick everything up. Lisa has said countless times that part of the reason she hired me was based on the fact that I own an Expedition. The first day of shopping with Catie we filled four SUV's!

By the time we'd gotten to our second model for them Catie was one of us and spent some of the shopping days with us. We still did some stock piling and next day purchasing, but she went for a lot of it. I'm just there to give my opinion from time to time and haul stuff, they make the big decisions. Because of that, this happens a lot.

Sitting right on the floor in the middle of the aisle in Hobby Lobby picking which plates and chargers look the best together. I've taken pictures of Lisa on the floor in Bed, Bath, and Beyond feeling bath mats, lost in a ficus forest at Garden Ridge looking for the perfect one, and the floor in Ross unpacking plates. Now Catie is joining her. I'll just stay up out of the way and take pictures and giggle.

For the second home we were able to pull things from an older model that was badly decorated. Because of that we took a couch from there for the media room of the new house. That meant we had to buy a couch, chair and ottoman, coffee table, and a sofa table for the old model. I was in San Francisco when they did the furniture shopping so I had no idea what was going where. Catie and Lisa did one last day of shopping and left me at the house to start working. I was also there to tell the two furniture stores where everything went when they got there. One store said they'd be there from 9:48-11:48 and the other store never said.

At exactly 11:46 both showed up at the door.

I didn't know who had what so I gave both a quick tour of the house and went back to work. I saw the leather couch come in and watched it being put in place. It was really nice! I turned around to see a chair and ottoman coming in. The men put those down and I realized they were brown micro fiber. The couch was leather and the chair and ottoman micro fiber. I began to worry and as I turned around to question it I noticed two men coming in with a micro fiber couch. And right behind them?? The leather loveseat. Before I could answer their questions or place a call to Lisa I realized I had 2 coffee tables as well. Holy cow!!

Maybe I shouldn't have been left alone!

When I got Lisa on the phone she explained that to save money the furniture for the model we were fixing had been delivered to this house. The builder had some men that were going to come pick it up and get it out of our way. Only problem at that point? It was in the mess of what looked like a furniture store in the living room! And guess what I realized about a minute and a half before Lisa and Catie got back? We didn't have a kitchen table.

I'm surprised I still have my job.
Luckily both of them love me and saw the humor in it. The sales person that forgot to put the kitchen table on the order form?? They're still not very happy with him.

Follow Up!

I got an anonymous comment on my Twitter/Boss post today.

I'm sure that your boss, who obviously sounds intelligent, will gain control of her issues and use this social media tool to take her business to the next level, just like the expert told her it would.

Hmmm, I wonder who could have written that??

Just another reason I love her!

Crazy Beautiful

I did it.

I bought my business name.

I've started the paperwork to get my tax ID number.

I found a printing company.

I've been practicing.

I've had some great people to shoot.

Yep, I've finally decided what I want to be when I grow up.

A sharp shooter/sniper.

Kidding!!

I'm going to be a photographer!

I've been interested for quite a while. You can see that here.

So I found some willing victims friends that wanted their pictures taken.

And here's what I got:o)

The beautiful Ashleigh. I grew up with her mom Angie. In 5th grade we had to write a report on all the presidents. Angie and I teamed up and used my encyclopedias until we got to where mine were outdated. We then started going to Angie's house and walking over to the neighbors house that had the most current set of encyclopedias. Life before the internet! Does anyone else remember it? That is also the moment when I fell in love with all things presidential.

Ashleigh was up to anything. She did kid with me a few times, like when I told her to climb up into the window or change clothes in the elevator, but she was willing. And her pictures show her inner and outer beauty.I then had the pleasure of a 12 hour round trip car ride to and from Lubbock to take Ashley's pictures. She's our beautiful bonus daughter. Taking pictures in an unfamiliar town was challenging, but we found some wonderful places.And since we were staying with my uncle and aunt, I got to take some pictures of their daughter Amelia. McKinley usually helps me pose but she was too busy using Carrie's camera to take pictures of Amelia:o)And of course, I got a picture or two of McKinley. That girl. Never a normal smile.I promise I'm not going to make this a photography blog. Where would I whine, or tell stories about my children, or share funny pictures? I plan on starting a different website in the future.

But now that I feel like I've found my passion, my calling...expect it to creep in from time to time:o)

Why I Love My Boss

My boss sent me this message on Facebook tonight. It seems she's having problems with our company Twitter account.

Let me lament my problems:

1.) My picture is still an egg. It won't let me change. Seriously.

2.)Everytime I login, I have to change my password. Every. Time.

3.) While Facebook knows me and loves me, Twitter, is a cold, dark place.

4.)I stumbled upon the OKCMAR site and managed to follow about 18 people, but unlike Facebook where I've met them in real life, I only have a virtual relationship. Am I stalking?! And if so, is that OK?

5.)I am reminded of the scene out of "My Best Friend's Wedding" where Julia Roberts is chasing after her best friend, who is chasing after his bride and Julia's friend says, "Who is chasing her?" She replies, "He is." "And who is chasing him?" She replies, "I am." "And who is chasing you?!" She replies, "No one."

That is me! I'm the girl as the end of the line in Twitter.

Do you see why I love her??? She cracks me up all the time. My cheeks hurt after spending time with her.

The upper ones:c)

8 years

Well, actually 8 1/2 years.

Since what?

Since I had a job.

I drove a school bus for a local school system for 7 years (3 different times) before I 'retired'. When Reagan came along Shawn and I decided it was time for me to quit. McKinley was in half day Kindergarten and a friend took her to school in the morning and I picked her up at 10:30. When she started first grade I wouldn't have been able to take her or pick her up. I was basically a stay-at-home mom that worked about 2 hours a day...it was just the 2 wrong hours.

So now my babies are entering 9th, 6th, and 3rd.

It's time I re-enter the work force.

Speaking of Kindergarten...the girls all had the same teacher. I heart her. As she would say, I get her humor. Basically she's hilarious and I laugh at everything she says. Because of a little favor she asked of me, I am now her assistant at her new job. Somehow I knew my hatred of rolling and love of cutting in while painting would help me out in life.

So what do you think I do?

*We move stuff a lot
*We give suggestions
*We make a lot of presentations
*We're on stage a lot
*We beautify
*We de-clutter
*We teach
*We shop

Sounds like a great job, doesn't it?

We worked together yesterday and my car looked like this. Any guesses??