Happy Super Bowl!!!

Really...all this hype to watch a bunch of men play football?? I admit I am watching it, but I like it for the commercials. Love the ones with all the animals this year!!! The dog with the anti-bark collar, the Clydesdale and the steer for Budweiser, the chickens. Too cute. Plus, you have to love the E-Trade commercial with the babies!

But back to MyleStone...We took January to sort of gather our thoughts and plan for the Spring and new year. We didn't have a wine tasting in January but our first for 2010 was a HUGE success. This past Friday, Feb 5th, we had our Sweetheart Wine Tasting and not even the rain kept folks from attending. As usual, we had folks from Farmville and Greenville and the feeling was one of fun and happiness. People were happy to be out of the house and when they left us, they went straight to Plank Road Steakhouse and had a delicious meal and more good wine!!

We had a fabulous time and are already planning for the next one which will be held on March 5th and it will be a celebration of my 40th birthday. Ahhh...that does not mean you are entitled to tell old people jokes or make a point to say that you are younger than I am.

So, know that I am blaming my delay on blogging (I know I have been slack, sorry) on the fact that we have been planning away for the new year. I will not blame it on my pending birthday and the itty-bitty bouts of pouting about getting older I have been doing. That surely isn't the reason....

As always, we are looking forward to seeing you soon. Take care.

Finally Fall!

It is that wonderful time of year when the mornings are fresh, the days cooler and when you need a light sweater for the nights. Just perfect. I love the changing of the season and Fall is my favorite time of year. It is a time of starting over for me. To me, my year starts in the Fall because that is when the new school year started. I love the smells of Fall and the freshness in the air.

At MyleStone, we are busy bringing in new items for the season and for the upcoming holidays. We are very excited about the goings-on at the store. I am posting a pic of the latest event we had at the store on September 12. Mary Mac Gems had a special showing for us and we tasted several Spanish wines with an assortment of chocolate. It was a wonderful day!

What made it even more special for me was the surprise visit by some very dear people in my life. First, my best friend and 2nd Mama surprised me all the way from Virginia and I could have cried! It was wonderful. Then, a very short while later, my Aunt Diane and Uncle Joel paid a surprise visit as well!! I was so excited. Diane is my mom's older sister and I wish my mom had been here that day to see her too. I felt so blessed to have people come all that way to see me, Britt and the gallery.

Here are some pics from that day for ya....

So how did the ribbon cutting and wine tasting go??

Fabulous! Simply wonderful! More than I expected!

I could go on and on. I was touched by the turnout and by the folks who seemed to have such a genuinely good time. I had a blast meeting new people and watching folks socialize with old friends. Ms. Mary Morrison Dixon played the piano for us and I thought the whole thing was was just very classy. (If I must say so myself.) I believe this might have been Farmville's very fist wine tasting event and what a pleasure to be the one hosting the evening.

I am very thankful for my dear friends who came to support me, some I haven't seen in years! I guess it didn't hurt that I had wine there either?? No really, they were there to see me and the gallery right? RIGHT? No way could it be just the wine.

I was simply undone by the outpouring of support from the community and MyleStone patrons. The mayor said some very kind words and the tears were right on the verge of spilling over. I couldn't look at Britt or Mom because they were both brimming too.

I will have more pics to post once Britt hands them over.

We will be hosting another wine tasting in early September. School starts in August and we want to let people get back into the swing of things. We are already looking forward to a wonderful event again!

I hope to see you there at the next one!

Where have I been???

Ok, I admit it. I've been a slacker. I haven't kept you updated on the goings-on at the gallery. I have made honest attempts to write, I truly have. I have logged in and started putting thoughts down. And then, I don't know, I just never finished the post. I will do better, I promise.

This is our sixth week open and I still have to pinch myself sometimes when I walk in and become assaulted with all the sights, smells and sounds of the store. I just love it.

Tomorrow is our ribbon cutting with the Chamber of Commerce and then afterward, our very first wine tasting!! Very excited and happy! No doubt there will be plenty of pics to post after tomorrow's events!!

I have posted some pics my sister, the lovely photographer, Brittany Wright-Thompson, snapped today. I will admit, from now on, she is taking all the pics. Mine come out looking pretty pitiful next to hers.

Look for the pics from the wine tasting....should be fun!

How to get what you want....

First you.... Then you breathe deep, take that first step and....
to
We have been open three weeks now and I couldn't be more pleased. It has been exciting and stressful yet all I hoped it would be. Thank you to all who have supported us. We hope to see you very soon again!

Thanks to Jean Skipper and her copper jewelry for helping me illustrate how to go for it!

Happy Father's Day

Hello all, I hope today was a wonderful day for everyone! It was a great first week at the store and I am very pleased with the traffic and response thus far! I am confident each day will bring new ideas from our heads and new people through the door. We want to keep people interested and therefore we will be changing things up a bit so people will always find a small surprise when they come in the door. We are hoping to add some fabric and glass artists soon!

We are featuring some wonderful wines as well, Twin Vines Venho Verde and Snap Dragon Red...I love it when people want to sample...because I get to join in! Shame. It's tough work.

We are going to be in the paper this week for an article on our opening so I will post that for you to see.

I am also hoping you shared this day with your loved ones and that you soaked up every minute of togetherness. I planted five flowers today in honor of my dad. He would have loved knowing I was playing in the dirt. Three of the shrubs I planted were actually from the farm he grew up on in Cumberland Co. He would be proud. Gardening is a thing in our family and it is my form of art. I've told you before I can't draw or paint, but I do love being creative in my yard.

I think he would also think it is cool having a store named after him.

Be good and stay in touch.

Well, it's about time!!!

MyleStone Gallery and Wines is now officially OPEN!!! We opened the doors yesterday morning! Yippee!! It is beautiful and everything I imagined it would be and more. It wouldn't have come together without the help of my mom and sister. Ben helped too and was very patient while I spent many hours at the store. His people-watching skills have definitely improved!! I couldn't ask for more support and generosity. Thanks guys for helping me realize this dream.

And to everyone else who has watched the store evolve over the past 9 months, thanks to you too. I have enjoyed your comments and your support. I hope you continue to watch us grow and evolve even more. Stay tuned for more as I keep you updated on the gallery artists, events, wines and more.

MyleStone has been a dream of mine for a very long time and I am very proud of this moment. I know my mom and sister are proud and I know my dad would be too. I think this has proven to be the best 'milestone' in my life so far.

Thanks for sharing the journey with me so far. Hang on for more as it's gonna be a good ride!

And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed. Dr Seuss

I think that is a great quote for this posting. Tonight was a big night...my signage went up on the door. It made it so real. Brittany and Ben were there and that made it complete. I'm excited and scared and happy and scared (I said that already haven't I?) and oh my gosh!! It's finally here. Fingers crossed all!

Yes indeed, yes indeed.

How many little things can there possibly be left to do????

I kept thinking the little things left won't take long to finish. But I would be wrong. They take FOR-E-V-E-R. I only want things to be right as I only have one time to make a great first impression. So I vacuum and I mop and I move things around and I put Orange-Glo on my newly varnished floors. I mean, really, any idea why I do that??? They were just varnished two months ago. This problem can simply be called obsession.

I obsess because I want everyone to enjoy shopping at MyleStone and to tell all their friends who will tell all their friends and so on.

My dear mother came down this past weekend to help us set things up. She keeps me on track. I had found this great tobacco basket and varnished it and she had to decorate it for me. We had some left over butterflies from the window display and we thought it would be nice to somehow add them into the basket display. She ended up adding these branches from a tree we had cut and then she added the butterflies. She was like a little kid and we all loved her creation. She manages to get a PhD in Accounting, run the entire finances for a small university and she still makes great displays???? Wow, what a talented star!

This has been such a family effort and my sister has been a gem with helping me. She also keeps me on track. She has organized the jewelry and the wine and the pottery, set-up the card display, designed my business cards...whew. I know you are asking yourself, "well, what has Meredith done?" I just supervise. And take pics of Ben in the store. And sample wine. (See why I need to be kept on track?)

What a dream store!!

I'm Floored

Time for a floor update...I know you are excited. I have shown some before pictures of the floor in a previous post but I have kindly included some before shots again for you. I want everyone to see just how much fun we have had throughout this process...

We were delighted to find concrete and what looked like brick pavers under all the layers (this ranged from vinyl and cardboard tiles) of old flooring!

We, (well, not really we, but my contractor) scraped and sanded each tile in the front of the building to reveal my wonderful floor. The pic here shows the floor before I put my sealer on this week.

Now, the creme de la creme, is the platform yours truly designed :) I passed on my grand plan to my contractor who worked his magic and made it all happen. (I love being the thinker-upper of all things wonderful.) The concrete at the back of the storefront area was not in good condition and something had to be done. With so much brick and concrete I wanted a different texture and this is what we came up with...

I love it. My friend wants me to add a pole in the center....

Sneak Preview

I am a slacker for not writing over the past few weeks, but it's been just a little bit crazy! We had a sneak preview the weekend of our local Dogwood Festival here in Farmville, NC! My main goal for the weekend was to gain exposure for the store. I had items from several of the artists that will be featured in the store on display. I really enjoyed seeing the items out of their boxes and on display. Helped to give me an idea of how things are going to look for the real thing!! I have old wooden shutters and ladders for the jewelry and I must say the jewelry hanging on the chipped paint shutters looks awesome! Thanks to mom and Britt who helped a lot! I have no idea what I would do without you girls! Girls ROCK!!

Chocolate...a girl's dream

I have a secret to tell you....I am a chocoholic. I love everything about chocolate from the way it tastes to the way it makes me feel once I have indulged. I smile and then I am nice to everyone around me. Needless to say, they also like it when I eat chocolate.

Therefore, I am thrilled to have found a wonderful pastry chef/chocolatier from a small town near Asheboro NC who is sending me some chocolates I can keep all for me, er, umm, I mean to share and sell, in the store. I will have Luca brand chocolates available beginning next weekend for the sneak preview/teaser we are having during the Dogwood Festival. I cannot wait for the Lavender honey buttercreams and the bacon caramel. Got ya thinking now don't I....

If you are nice, I will share. A little bit.

Typical Ben

So, by now you may have realized I am crazy about my animals. I adore them and have no doubt that they adore me. I wonder if those of you with animals often talk out loud, and not in a baby-voice to your four-legged kids too? Come on, admit it. Well, I do this often. I half-way expect Ben and Max to answer "I had a wonderful day too, Mom, thanks for asking" when I walk in and ask how their day has been. I even know what their voices would sound like in my head. Max would have a monotone sounding voice while Ben's would be slightly higher pitched, sometimes excitable and sometimes non-chalant.

In the past, I have said goodbye to them in the morning, told them I loved them and to not have any friends over for a wild party. I had thought this positive tone of voice and conversation might prompt them to get up and do something constructive. See, many times I have asked Ben why he doesn't do something productive to bring money into the household like model, sing, act...anything!!! Lately, I have begun trying a different, more direct, approach. I now ask if they could mow the grass, mop the floors, dust, clean the bathrooms...basically anything to help mom since she is busy chasing her dream with the gallery. I get no response as you can imagine.

Today, while getting ready to go clean the floors at the store I asked Ben if he would mind mowing the grass. The picture here shows his response. Don't laugh. He did it on cue and then turned away from me as noted in the 2nd pic.

I asked Max the same question and got his typical cat-like response. In other words, a flat-out stare.

I told Ben if he couldn't be productive and contribute at the house then he was going to come with me. That did it. He hopped off the bed, did his little wiggle-butt dance and whined. Off we went to the store and I cleaned and cleaned. He looked at the children coming out of the building next door and chased them from the window when they ran from him. He thought it was great fun and that they wanted to play with him. He was on the inside of the building and they were on the outside and the door was locked so Ben couldn't eat them. I laughed, told them not to run and not to scream so much. They didn't listen and I finally told Ben to come help me. He did so happily and followed me with every step I took while cleaning.

He finally gave up and sat at the window doing what he does best...being pretty and looking out at everyone and occasionally looking at me.

I sometimes wish he were a famous dog model but that would only go to his big head even more. Maybe I will put him to work at the store when it opens. He could be the greeter. Heck, I would just love it if he picked up a broom every now and then. But that's ok. He can't clean a thing, but he can make you smile while you do. Wiggle-butt Ben...

Ben again...

As you know, things are moving right along. I spend a lot of time at the store getting things ready and it seems all I do is move something to another part of the store just to move it back out of the way again to the same spot. It's crazy and it's fun and I can't wait. The other day I had Ben up at the store with me. He now thinks this is his very own play space. He runs around and jumps on the platform and then chews on some tape and then gets in my way and then...I captured him in these beautiful poses. He was watching all the people walking and driving by. I seriously believe he thought they were coming by to look at him. And truthfully, I do too.

Comments from Ben, aka, Chocolate Dog

Well, my mom has finally agreed to let me have some face time on her blog. I am not sure what took her so long to let me write a little bit to you guys. I kept telling her it would be a huge hit but she wouldn't listen....hard-headed woman.

Anyway, I am happy to tell you that she has also met someone who will be making dog collars, bandanas, toys and totes for the store. The lady is from Gone Doggie and we are very excited to be offering collars and cool bandanas for the far superior beings on the planet.

As you can see from my pic, I truly have a dog's life...lounging around on my, er, I mean, mom's bed, not really paying attention to anything other than when I hear t-r-e-a-t and when my Aunt Britt and Grandma come to visit. I'm ok with Aunt Britt as long as she doesn't bring her muttley crew over, especially Scarlet. Please visit them at The Animal House blog link on the right side of the page. (See how smart I am...I know my right from my left...) They are a nice family and you will like them too. My Aunt Britt is a fabulous photographer and no doubt her favorite subject to photograph is animals. (She hates to admit it to her clan, but her all time favorite to snap photos of is actually moi!)

Anyway, I am bored now and have other things I need to catch up on, for instance...sleep, as you can see from my pic. I will be chatting with you again soon especially since I now have command over the computer.