What's your dream?

I had a great day today! And even though it was 80 degrees outside I had to get some errands done. So, I did something, sadly, not normal. I took a shower. Well, I mean I took a shower before the kids got up and was completely ready when they popped their sweet little heads out of bead at 7:01am. I know, shocking. But it felt great because then when Alena, Titus and I dropped the boys off at school we just headed out on our errands. All of this is beside the point I am going to make in this blog, but I decided this was the perfect place to brag about my new way to start the day.

To get on with the point....We ran some books to a friend of mine for book club, we went to a thrift store, we took Titus to get a haircut (!!), we went to Walmart and then we went to Lollipop Lemondrop. Now, you might think this is a candy store or a toy store or maybe even a grocery mart, but it's not. It is a clothing consignment shop. Lollipop Lemondrop is out "North" but that's where I was and I have been wanting to visit this store for a long time. Why, you ask, have I been wanting to visit this store? Well, simply because an old friend of mine opened this store in March and I wanted to check it out in person.

The store was A-MAZ-ING.

Before I get into how awesome it was let me take you on a little walk through my experiences with second hand stores. I like to shop second hand BUT used-clothing stores usually have a distinctive smell and often times I find myself rummaging through tons of clothes to find 3-4 items which then I inspect very closely and by the end I am walking out of the store with 1-2 items because everything else was stained or marked impossibly high...Reality check, when I can get a new shirt for my kid at Wally World for $3, it better be super nice and super cute for me to buy it second hand for $8. You know what I mean? Also, often times the ladies that work in these stores are not the friendliest. I mean at least make me want to buy something from YOU, if not from the stinky, "piled up clothes" store atmosphere. And finally, if you are going to sell women's clothes as well, why do they all have to be maternity? And where are the dressing rooms? I don't really want to try on clothes in the semi-nasty restroom, especially if I AM buying maternity clothes. That's enough ranting...

Lollipop Lemondrop gave me HOPE for the future! It is SO cute inside. I mean chic-decor and the cutest rugs ever. The clothes are all on hangers! And they are hanging with space to move them around and actually look at it without everything on the rack ending up on the floor. Also, in Lollipop Lemondrop there are some vendors that bring in new things, really cute clothes for kids, jewelry, lotions, etc. And the Women's Section.....oh the WOMENS section!!! Finally a place to find some designer clothes and some not designer but CUTE clothes that are reasonably priced. Today I found a cute dress to wear over my swimsuit - $6. A win! Did I mention there is a fun kids play area? Yes! A place where my littles can watch a Disney movie and read a book or play with a ball for a few precious moments while I look without their help. Awesome. To cap it all off the dressing rooms were wonderful! Alena even said the hanger hooks were so cute, which they were; pink flowers, adorable. AND...did I mention that there are ...duh, du, da DA....LOLLIPOPS! Alena chose watermelon. It was a great experience for all and it got me to thinking....

My friend, she's probably 34 years old. She had a dream. She spent 10 years selling clothes out of her home and trading and upgrading and selling on Ebay and Facebook and all those places...And then she decided to open a store. Her boys are both in school and she's going for it. She admitted today that the change to working outside the home has not been easy, but she's doing it! And it was a dream and she pursued it and now she has the cutest little store. She has bigger dreams for it too! But I was just so impressed by her go-for-it attitude and that she thought of ALL the little details to make the store excellent and ...she's doing it! The theme of what I am trying to say is (I know Nike said it first) JUST DO IT!!

So, what's your dream??

This year Ben asked me to write down my goals for the year and my dreams for our life at the beginning of 2012. Even though things like that are sometimes cheesy to me, this year I was struck by how important it is to do. To look at it monthly and ask myself if I am doing the things I wanted to do. Am I taking purposeful steps towards my goals and dreams? Are you?

So inspired today and so proud to be the old-friend-of-the-owner of Lollipop Lemondrop! :)