Sunday, July 26, 2009

Let's get it on...

I have a crap load of stuff on my plate right now and worked this weekend on getting mentally prepared. So...game on. I did take a little break though, knowing chaos would be the norm for awhile. Mom and I went to see a movie, The Ugly Truth. I love Gerald Butler. It was good...but not a movie I would've gone to see with my mom. I was a bit embarrassed because the 'F' word was used quite frequently. And ALOT of sexual references. It was a little too sexual for me and not one I'll be waiting for to come out on DVD.

I've been a good girl this weekend and made a game plan for this week. The only thing I didn't get done was a beta read for a crit partner. I hate not being able to concentrate and put my full attention on my crits, so I kept having to stop every other page. Finishing the beta read is first on my list.

Okay. I DO NOT want to put my writing on the backburner just because the family restaurant and website is back on my plate, front and center. School will be starting soon and I'll have to take the oldest to and from until he gets his license, and I homeschool our 6 yo. Let's see how far I can get before I have a mental breakdown. ;) We keep going back and forth on what type of restaurant we should do. We LOVE burgers and barbeque, but there are quite a few in town. We thought maybe a specialty burger joint could compete if we looked around us and tried to shake things up a bit. But...there are only two specialty sweet shops. And I KNOW we can more than compete with them.

So with hubster gone all week, mom and I were able to hook up the stove. We still have to pull the sheetrock off and replace the wall in the kitchen...but I'm so sick of living without a way to cook. There's only so many things you can bake in a roaster oven. This next week we'll work on remodeling and recipes. I'll also work more on developing the website. As soon as I can get more pages built, I'll upload it and see what you guys think so far.

I also have to finalize a name for the sweet shop. The website name is The Velvet Cowgirl. We'll use that name if we ever decide to open a brick and mortar store in the building. At least now I can slowly build a product line. So what about...

Cowgirl Cupcakes (I thought of this because we could also sell my candles and bath products, The Velvet Cowgirl, in the store.) or.... The Main Cupcake. Our building is on Main Street and I thought The Main Cupcake was a simple play on words. I've got to finalize a menu and name so I can incorporate the business, apply for federal id number and an Oklahoma resale certificate. We'll offer a HUGE variety of homemade cupcakes, sweets and breads. We'll have sandwiches, a hot potato bar and a salad bar.

My writing?! I can't give up my passion. Not even among all this organized chaos. I'm trying to get away from the research heaven hole I've been sucked into and get into writing mode. So today I'll take an hour to begin my prep plotting work. I've got a notebook started and will work on the central conflict. My heroine has a GMC and I've gotten an idea about my hero. They both want the same thing, but for different reasons. Someone will have to lose. Maybe they'll both learn something along the way as they work toward a resolution. I've even had a thought about the black moment which will put my heroine in danger.

I've moved my printer upstairs and will have to wait until hubster gets home to get my desk up here. It's massive and impossible to move!! Poor hubster. He gets to come home from work to finish out the sheetrock, put in two windows and help me move furniture so we can tape and texture. I should've taken a before picture. People are really amazed at what we've accomplished so far. We've carved an apartment out of a space that was 6736 sq. ft down to about 2500 sq. feet. So we have a TON of storage. *sigh* Which is another task for another day. We'll have to sort through all of our crap on the 3rd floor and repack the stuff we'll keep. Hopefully by Christmas we can have the 3rd floor cleared out and start remodeling it. Our long term goal is to have mom up on the 4th floor in her own little apartment of 3368 sq. ft. Then the staircase down to our apartment on the 3rd floor will have 3368 sq. ft for a family living room, game room and kitchen. Then the other side of the 3rd floor will be 3368 sq. ft of bedrooms and bathrooms. What I love the most about the 3rd floor...old wood floors, high ceilings and brick walls. When my oldest is ready to move out...the 2nd floor will be ready for him and he'll have his own apartment. The good thing....the restaurant and shop will be down on the 1rst floor and in the building next door that is connected. We won't even have to drive to work. And my oldest is at the right age to start working. He's not excited about working in a "cupcake" shop. But he'll be good about the baking and prep work.

Sorry. Didn't mean to barrage you with my chaos. LOL. ;) Off to work I go...

12 comments:

Cindy R. Wilson said...

Wow, you have so much going on. I am amazed you can keep it all straight. Good luck with the restaurant and the sweet shop and everything! Glad to hear you are still writing :)

Kate Karyus Quinn said...

WOW! You have a lot on your plate! Opening a restaurant or a sweets shop sounds like so much fun, and I love The Cowgirl Cupcake name too.

Jennifer Shirk said...

You win. I thought I had a lot going on now, but you take the prize.
The cupcake names are really cute. A good bakery is always needed in my opinion. I love buying fresh bread and yummy cupcakes.

Chelle Sandell said...

LOL. It's not a prize I was yearning for;) But neither of the bakeries here offer fresh baked breads and their cookies have a salty taste. They're trying to fluff them up and use too much baking soda. We got my birthday cake from one of them last year...it was beautiful. But tasteless.

Chicki Brown said...

Gee whiz! That's a lot. No wonder we haven't heard from you.

I love The Main Cupcake as a name for the sweet shop.

Here are some things to consider:

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2007/sb20070416_296932.htm

http://www.restaurantowner.com/public/department42.cfm

http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/restaurantcenter/article168252.html

Wish you the best.

Stephanie said...

I think I need to see some sort of a pic to envision this massive space you're talking about. Our whole house is 2300 square feet!!!

Oh, and BTW, have you ever looked on www.screenit.com? They tell you the content of a movie (7 F-words, 12 d words, 6 used with God, etc.) It's a great site if you're conscious of those things, which we tend to be, too. I'm glad to hear I don't need to waste my time on that movie!

R.M.Gilbert said...

What a great post Chelle. It sounds like you will be quite busy, but a major key to success is a solid plan and it sounds as if you're getting there.

I also love the name The Main Cupcake. I would maybe under title it too, with something like: The Sweets and More Store. Since there will be other foods and your personal homemade products available. Then inside the restaurant/store you can have each section named separately. For instance: The Velvet Cowgirl for your candles, bath items. Then the Sweet Retreat for your sale of baked items. And The Main Lounge. I don't know. Kinda running with the thoughts without you asking for my opinion.

Okay, I'm over it.

Lots of great ideas and I wish you luck. Btw, I can't wait to see your website.

Chelle Sandell said...

Chicki ~ Thanks so much! You're always on top of the game when it comes to info like that!! I found an old cake recipe of my grandmothers and made cupcakes...I can't wait to see how they turn out. I've done alot of research on our local bakeries and I think we'll be able to offer a unique shop compared to them.

Chelle Sandell said...

Steph ~ I'll take pictures as soon as we can get the walls textured and painted. I've got a mess right now...furniture and toys are everywhere. We can't organize the front of our storage area for a closet until it cools down in there. It's shut off from A.C. right now. We've got clothes stacked on a shelf right now. It's pretty chaotic. Thanks for the movie info! I've got the site bookmarked now.

Chelle Sandell said...

Rachel ~ Thanks for the ideas sweetie! We've got an idea as to how we'll do our storefront. I'll finalize it when we decide on a name and I can design a logo. But I plan to have lettering made to decorate the front glass on the shop with what we'll offer on the menu.

Ami W. said...

Chelle! I found you! :) Wow, you are one busy girl. I love The Cowgirl Cupcake. Actually, I've played with a similar idea for years (not cowgirls, but cupcakes) except I can't decorate my way out of a paper bag. LOL. Bake, yes. Frost, sure. Decorate? Not so much. Anyway, it all sounds so exciting. Can't wait til you get it up and running. :) I'm going to order from you! Hugs!

Chelle Sandell said...

AMI!!!! There you are!!! I'm glad you found me, too!!! Did you get your blog set up?