A mothers touch

After an afternoon of painting, I called Mommy Cupcake to talk to her. I had done some work on the outside of the bakery and I wanted her opinion. She quickly asked where I was with "the tone" saying "maybe you should go back to the bakery and sit there for 7 mins and see what happens". I obliged, and soon enough she turns the corner with mama Sandy (My moms best friends, and like my second mom) and a car full of plants and flowers!! Now let me do a little rewind her for you. Weeks ago I sent her a text with this picture just saying HELP! She told me I had nice weeds. This may all seem a little hokey to you, but if this tree and planter area is going to be by my bakery, it can NOT look like this. The funny part, is just around the corner there is a buetiful big planter full of flowers done by the Village. I would have thought that seeing as this was on Village turf that they would also do something with it, but no. Which brings us to last week, when I was at the bakery and noticed that the area was clean of weeds looking vary nice but bare. I can remember thinking "huh! the Village MUST be doing something, look how nice and cleaned out that is"....

Bringing it back to last night now. I was shocked that she came down to plant! Mommy Cupcake has been working like crazy at work and long hours to boot, so I did not want to ask her to do any planting, as she already had so much to do. But alas, here were the moms ready to plant. As she was bringing the plants out I said to her " Mom! how nice of the Village to clean out the planter area fo you right?!" Her immediate reply with a smile "UMM NO, that was me. When you went to the ball game the other night, I came down without you or your dad knowing and cleaned out all the weeds with either of you knowing. Im pretty sneaky arent I?" Ha!! Well YES YES you are mom. Not only was her secret mission a a sneaky success, the end result is beautiful and GREATLY appreciated. So when you are in the area, take a look at Mommy Cupcake's secret garden. It makes the neighborhood that much prettier. Enjoy! I certianly will.

Thanks moms! Love you xoxoxo

So hot yet so cold

HVAC men are in the bakery!!! Very unexpected but welcomed visit.

It's ELECTRIFYING!

Woot Woot! After what seemed like too long of planning and prepping and talking, and re-discussing,  Today the electricians started. I NEVER thought that I would be so excited to talk to and see electricians working, But I am!! Being the daughter of a builder, seeing these men at work was normally nothing but eye candy (well that is if they were young and hot :-) SNAP!) But this time around, it is my bakery they are working on... its a little more business. I must add that when the electrician (Adam) had a question he yelled outside by contractor daddy and I  " Hey boss! I got a question for you" I Admit I immediately smiled and replied " huh, boss, That's got a nice ring to it". I could hear the ever so familiar giggle of my father right behind me.  With the electrical starting to go in we are that much closer to a final product. Like I said above, when you are not the contractor, it is difficult to understand why build outs take so much time. After I voiced that concern with contractor daddy, he said " well honey, the planning and prepping is the time consuming hard stuff. Without a plan and prep, when it comes time to build out it would be a Shit storm" I concur. Planning and prep is good, but it just seems to take too long. But then again I'm sure that when I tell him that he needs to wait until the cake is cooled before I get to ice it and then slice him a piece, he thinks THAT  takes too long. So I guess, to each their own.

Big day! Not only did the electrician start, contractor daddy and I took down the awnings from the front on the building. Oh I am OVER joyed. the building looks so grand and inviting now. Those awnings covered up such a beautiful part of the building. See for yourself!! Oh and enjoy the clip of the electricians and Contractor daddy taking down the first awning. I was hoping for an America's Funniest Home Videos moment, but alas that will wait for another day.

I will be sure to post all of the before and after shots for you to really get the feel of how much will/ and has changed. Makeover!!

 Oh and on a side note: When dealing with tradesmen is electricians, plumbers, HVAC guys... keep them happy! And especially on hot days  like today's 98 degrees; keep them hydrated. Poor Adam was sweatin' like a whore in Church! So i went out and bought a fan, water, powerade, granola bars and one of my faves honey roasted peanuts. I did this not only to be nice, but he is working on my job. If he gets too overheated, or dehydrated, or hungry... well that means he will leave. ANNNND if he leaves, that mean no work is getting done. Catch my drift... I scratch your back, you scratch mine. I also think that it helped my cause when i asked him if he can put in another outlet for me in the rest room because there was none. He questioned and when i told him it was "Just in case" for my curling iron he laughed, but he did it! But seriously, contractor daddy no outlet in the restroom... come on! You know me by now, a girl has got to impress!

All in a days work!

Finally. Finally I feel that things are really changing and the bakery is in full swing build-out. I was there this week working on the outside scraping and sanding the iron work in the doorway. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it! Here is some VERY VERY unattractive proof that I don't just sling frosting all day. I want to be part of every step in this build out. When I look back, I want to be able to say that I knew exactly what was going on every inch of the way. You can't fulfill a dream without sweating a little.

One Word... GROSS!!! Look at the lines not only from the gloves but my safety glasses!! Ick poo!

Please, when you come into the bakery after it opens, feel free to tell me how nice the iron work looks by the door.

Lookin' good

Look Shorewood! No awnings!

Its Friday Im in love

I love with the fact that i am starting to see what all this fuss was about. The walls are studded. ( I think that's the term?) I have made sure to leave my "mark" on the walls just so from 100 years from now people know what this space held. The one thing that i do find rather odd, is that even though there are plans for the construction and everything has been drawn out, things are still changing. All the options of this and that, and in true Ashley form I ALWAYS seem to pick the more expensive option. Story of my life. Oh and both the cupcake contractor and I have learned to keep the door closed while working so we actually get work done! I am impressed with the number of individuals that have stopped in the talk and inquire about the business as well as fill in the background of the space, but really we need to get this work done! I am more than happy to have the neighbors in after we open :-)

 

If you build it, they will come.

After too long of a pass since that last blog update and almost, a screaming rampage these past weeks, I can tell you that we indeed HAVE OUR BUILDING PERMITS!!!!!!!! Yay!! I'm my opinion, this has taken waaaaaaay too long to get the permits, but alas we have them and building will start immediately. Well if i have anything to say about it, it will. However I am guessing that the bakery shall sit until Monday. I will give the cupcake contractor time with sister cupcake and mommy cupcake and then... HE WILL WORK. There are not many times in a girls life when the role reverse and the dad is working for the daughter. So I will make sure to use that power wisely. For now I will enjoy the calm before the storm. because baby.... get ready to rumble.