Happy 2 year anniversary Bijou!

First I would like to say...Holey Moley, my oh my, how has 2 years passed in the blink of an eye! (what is with this rhyming...i'm not even trying..omg, I did it again!)

On Monday I had a wonderful evening, a special treat for me, from the Bijou girls (and boy)...Most of us went to Rosalie's for dinner...had some wine..some laughs and really good food...we celebrated 2 years! Most of the girls have just been with me for about a year. Here is how Bijou's story went...(I'll tell it again..because last time it went a little bit like this;)

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take over Angels by the lake (the angels that were housed in this gift shop, held the space just for the future Bijou, it was Kismet, as I attended a small business course with the owner of that gift shop, 4 years prior to her opening the angel store:) I almost did not take the place, stating that I was "just fine where I was"...Me who really does not like change, although change calls me all the time...Normally I know it's inevitable, but resist for longer than I should...sometimes my intuition speaks to me, but I just occasionally need a kick in the butt! Luckily my close friends and confidants did just that...I took the leap, taking over the shop on August 15Th, and with many helping hands, Thomas and the kids by my side, we were ready to open on September 4Th of 2007!

Here is how the next year flew by...So first it was Kimberlee and me...I had one by my side, she's my girl. I was number 1, she was number 2. Then Jackie came, at the moment I cannot recall if she started with us in that year or after the new year in 2008, she was number 3. (this is where it goes really fast!) Michele, number 4 in April. Courtney, number 5 in June. Lori, number 6 in July. (I was saying for our 1 year anniversary, wow, look how much we've grown..thinking this was it, no one else could possible fit)...Then... Linda number 7 in December. Samantha, number 8 in January! Wait! Did I mention I had 4 chairs?? And only 650 square feet? Crazy huh!?

Then something came out of the blue...well actually it came out of Bella Blue (that was the name of the clothing store we shared space with)...funny;) Edie had told me that she was looking for someone to take over the business, but if she could not find anyone to buy the business, would I like it? Now this was more of a gamble than last time...Yet, I didn't need nearly as much convincing, I said YES! Yet...letting fate take its course! I learned early on that it's best not to push things...I always say..."Gently push the door open, just give it a nudge....if it's meant to be..the door will swing open with a gust...if it's not meant to be, the door will remain closed for perhaps another day". I was fine with either scenario. The Bijou girls were itching though...They really wanted to grow...we were on the "wait and see" bus for a long time. I think I drove them crazy with how calm I was...(I really wasn't that calm, I never really let them see what I'm feeling;)

February we got news and we were set to have Edie move out on the end of the month. It was bittersweet, because we became very fond of our neighbors and knew we would miss her dearly! However, now we had renovation on the mind and Edie had grandchildren and her horsey waiting for her!!

We started March 1st and changed a lot! It's funny, had I been on the outside looking in, I would have been so impressed at myself. But doing it, I was like..this looks harder than it was..I mean really once again I was incredible lucky and fortunate that the owner of the building, for whom I have loads and loads of trust and respect in, owned a business...a building business...I didn't even need to shop for a contractor, I knew he would be fair. So that part was easy. And I guess my requests for what I wanted to do were easy enough. (I know Thomas will remind me after he reads this...easy? don't you remember all the sheets of paper we made, playing jenga with all the items you wanted in this other small space..I do remember, but now it's like labor..you have a lovely baby, so you forget the real pain;) The guys were great, they were so respectful of our space and working time, we couldn't have asked for a better crew! James was our favorite and we all...sniff sniff, miss him! (Hi James and Amy:)

By April 1st...okay maybe it was like the 4Th or the 5Th...it was close enough! We were open and ready for business...Looking back, I wish I had recorded it, because I find it all a blur, we just did what we had to do and there were alot of sleepless nights, but everyone, all the girls and all our most loyal friends helped us. To say we are blessed somehow is an understatement!

So now to continue, we now have 8 girls, we added 2 massage therapists..Michelle and Maria, And we have full time front desk help all the time. We now have 1300 square feet, 6 chairs, 1 relaxation room. We added a full Aveda skincare and haircare line and the famous Baremineral make up!!! And now in July, we added our 9Th girl, Stacy! Things continue to be as busy as ever, and every time I hear someone compliment me, the salon or any of my team...I pinch myself, just to make sure I'm not dreaming and graciously accept the compliment (something that has been hard to get used to...I'm a better giver of compliments and such than receiving..I tend to want to say...aah it was nothing, but I have learned to be proud:)

So tomorrow on my two year anniversary, I look ahead to our next year and the years after that and then I look over my shoulder and remember...that without making many mistakes and learning from them, without a lot of hard work and collecting my ideas and experiences...none of this would be possible today! I am so thankful for every opportunity that I have been given and most of all I am grateful for the people in my life!

Happy Birthday Bijou, Thank you for all the joy you have brought to us!