Let the Feathers Fly!

Employees come...employees go. (Ughhhh...never with out drama!)
Customers come...customers go. (Why stop shopping at the best place you've ever been)
Bakery is slow...bakery is busy. (Who know's why, I want to blame O'Bama)
We are blessed...we are busy. (Thank God!)
Turkey Day is fast approaching and while we are fixing up the trimmings for everyone else we have very little time for ourselves...or for the bakery. We are now in at 2a & out at 6p. But we know this will be a good holiday season...economy is down, but we are in high spirits. We have to be. A great chef once said the secret to success is "Getting up early & going to work every day" Well that my friends is no secret to the Yancey's.
If there is a worm, these early birds are getting him.

"Change is a Coming"

So many people keep telling me, "change is a comin', customers come in the bakery with Change T-Shirts on....really? Really? This isn't new news people!!!!! The only thing I know to be true is CHANGE IS CONSTANT. Change is the only thing you can count on. Nothing remains the same, status quot, even keeled...EVER. Life, Love, Work, Worry...all of it is constant change.
I am tired of change today. Today, I don't want a change to come, for once...I want things to settle down! Over the past few months we have accepted more change than a bank and today I am tired.
We are down to one intern and 2 high school kids as closers. Kevin & I have worked 45 hours each this week and it is only Wednesday. We start each day with such optimism and then eventually get beaten down by the constant customer comments..."Are you guys okay?" "How are you doing financially?" "Are you going to close like everyone else?" "Do you have any savings?"...People are in such a "Doom & Gloom" frame of mind right now it is ridiculous. YES, We are okay, NO, We are not going to close & PLEASE stop thinking so negatively! It is terribly contagious and highly ineffective.
Please come into my store. Enter to receive a free hot slice of bread, a guenuine warm smile & a cup of cheer.

End of Summer

Hosted a free pancake breakfast on Saturday at the bakery. It was so nice to have another community event. I love the buzz, the busy-ness, the fact that most people who weren't regulars just walked up and couldn't believe that it was free. It is such a good feeling. Melissa, Sarah, Kelly, Bob, Riley, Tara, Steph & Dave all showed up to support us. I love our friends. It truly makes our live in Vegas so much more fufilled. Riley is growing up so fast.
We threw a surprise b-day party for Kelly's 30th and she had no clue. It was so much fun. Steph & Dan brought the Karoke machine and it was a blast. We even managed to sneak in a nap after the bakery so we were able to make it past 10pm...which is our usual quitting time.
Kevin fed Riley a whole jar of baby food yesterday and she was happy as a clam. It is so fun to watch her grow and see Kevin with her. He is great!
Heading to Napa to celebrate mine & Kelly's B-day this weekend. Bakery is slim with employees but it seems when we lose employees the bakery only gets stronger. I am so happy with our current crew. We are so strong. Kevin & I are both back to baking 6 days a week, but it's a huge savings on payroll and at the end of the day...we do it the best! Trying to schedule in time to continue marketing. I can't believe I am gearing up for the holidays already.
Kevin is working so hard, it is so nice to spend Sunday's together "trying" to do nothing!!! He is so funny. It's hard during the week to seperate the business partner/work Kevin from my husband...but boy do I love the weekends. I am one lucky girl!

Summer Blues

Work so hard for everything you ever wanted and it is out of reach...still in sight (I think) but for now definitely out of reach. Spent the weekend together went to Peter Frampton concert...am I really this old? We are nervously awaiting the summer to be over. While we are both enjoying the breathing room, the chance to escape the bakery for a few hours or days at a time...we are ready for the work to start up again and for the bakery once again to be buzzing with customers, baked goods & excitement. We keep telling ourselves 8 weeks of hell...and now only 3 weeks left. By mid-August things always kick back up. Trying to keep our sanity in the mean time.
On a personal note...ever worked so hard for everything you ever wanted and it is still out of reach? Well then maybe it wasn't meant to be. Others speak kind words of encouragement, but it all just falls on frustrated ears. Tara announced she is pregnant this week, great...this makes 3 close friends in 2 months. Two of the three aren't even excited...unbelievable.
Focus on the positive things in life. Perhaps all you wanted was never meant for you.

Trust your Gut

The past few days have continued to remind me to "Trust My Gut"...as my mother would say. When "They" (whoever "They" are) say you can't do something or shouldn't do something I was always curious if I had such an aversion to authority or if I was simply being a rebel...OR if I knew that I should Trust My Gut.
Baguettes have been conquered this weekend thanks to Kevin & I trusting our gut. Why can't we do what "they" tell us we can't or shouldn't or aren't ready for? Hello, I am more competent than all of the monkeys I have hired from Le Cordon Bleu Pastry School...put together, yet I have no formal training...neither does Kevin for that matter. We baked by training in the beginning of course...what our Oma's had taught us, our mothers, cookbooks...but now we bake by our guts. How the dough feels, how long has that proof gone, how fine the grind is on the wheat...it's not a defined, measured guideline of something that someone has spelled out for us...we bake by instinct, we bake because you can smell, see, feel and taste the satisfaction...the spoils for the victors I suppose. So today, we are officially Victors! We have conquered Baguettes...and guess what????? I don't think "They" even know yet...he he!

I'm so over Gas - Golf Cart Wanted

How is it that the gas station in my plaza, which by the way always seemed to be the least painful to patronize, has gone up in price from $3.79 to $4.19 in a matter of 2 weeks. Have I truly been living in a cave? Commuting a one way distance of 2.6 miles, have I been so oblivious to the outrageous, seemingly raping price of a gallon of fuel? Working 80 hrs/week...we don't get out much. Driving consists of the daily round trip commute of 5.2 miles and the occasional bakery delivery. The tank of gas in my "Gas A-Holic" SUV would typically last me 2 weeks or more. Well now that it is $90 to fill, I find myself sounding like a self righteous liberal...ranting about the price of gas.
So as of this moment, I am officially over gas. We are actively seeking a golf cart as our major form of transportation. Kelly has already laughed out loud about our quest and desire to be done with gas. I think it can be done though...

Block Party

Block Party was a huge success. Over 850 people showed up. Most were very excited about the raffle prizes. The band was great, the BBQ was good & so was the Italian Ice. We hired this balloon artist who was truly amazing. I think everyone really enjoyed themselves. A lot of work, but definitely something we will do again.

Favorite Things

Kevin~Friends~Sleep~Food~Wine
Friday enjoyed a bottle of Opus One with Stacy & Barry. A few minutes after arriving at their home we spotted a bobcat in the back yard. We watched it for a few minutes before it scampered down the golf course. What a beautiful sight. Wow, that's good wine...Also enjoyed some port that was fantastic with fresh fruit...YUMMY!

Slept in and spent the day with Kevin yesterday. It was so nice to be together outside of the bakery, even though we were running bakery errands. Went to girls night at Sedona last night and it was so good to see everyone...and not at a bakery event. They are so supportive, I wish I could be a better friend, but that requires time I guess. Melissa, Steph, Sarah, Cathy and even Kelly made it out. I can't believe how luck I am to have such great friends.

Lobby Revived

So much for the relaxing weekend. Inspration came in the form of a film and as a result my lobby has received a revival. We opened the front counter by taking out the drink cooler and it was as if someone had cut celophane away from my tightly wrapped body. I spent most of yesterday running up front and greeting customers and walking right through to the lobby. Amazing!!! I also tore down all the seemingly self-absorbant information about us and our bread off the community board and plastered it with pictures of the crew and regulars. Ahhh...refreshing!

Another great add to the lobby is some pictures from a lovely regular. www.tollipop.com We are proudly displaying some of her work on the wall in our kids area. I think Roby has snuck into a few of the pics...he he! To be hung this week!

Anniversary Party

Hosted a great Anniversary party at the bakery. Can't believe it has been one year, my how time flies. Nice to have mom in town to help host the party. Alli & Karen were in town and stopped by for the party. Can't believe we have been friends for 14 years...was college really that long ago?

Whirlwind finally winding down

Mom was here for almost 3 weeks. It is amazing the relationship that we have being 41 years apart. As though we were sisters in a former life. Julie & Paul came for 5 days and it was so nice to also see that not only am I sisters with my oldest sister, but we are great friends. We shared good conversation and good food nightly until they left. As nice as family is we are happy to be sharing time home alone again. The long weekend is here and I can hardly believe that we have 3 days off.
Spent Friday with the Heller's & Sarah R. Love those guys. Can't wait to post some of the pics. Buddy the Elf was out in rare mullet form.

Yesterday we watched a movie “Stranger than Fiction” and started to cry when I saw the bakery pictured in the film. It looked so homey, so inviting so “REAL”. I know Kevin & I go back and forth on this but I really feel like our lobby is so sterile and organized my creative side is literally choked out of it. It doesn’t encompass who we are or what I want the bakery to be. While we are both very anal on keeping production spotless and meticulously organized, I feel our public space really needs to be more inviting.

Step one, I know needs to be the drink cooler…and opening up the front counter.
I have also been considering having a regular paint a mural in the kids area (www.tollipop.com ) and ditching the furniture for some mixed & matched comfy pieces of furniture from a hotel liquidation place.
I am torn though because we invoke a certain feeling by having the glossy stained concrete floors and beautiful marble countertop…do I totally screw up the “look” by making it more homey feeling?
Our community board for example is anything but a community board. It is a select group of clippings about us and the bakery and how we bake bread and what we put into it….it has virtually noting about our customers or our community other than the occasional perfectly placed ad for the local art walk or jazz festival.

Today I feel like going in there and just tearing down the walls and throwing flour all over the walls and plastering the community board with pictures of our regulars. Am I crazy?????

Surgery

I (Tina) had hand surgery on Friday. Glad to be getting my hand fixed, sad to not be with Kevin and my beloved bakery all day. Mom flew in Sunday to help take care of her baby bird with the broken wing. Just having someone around who totally supports us and cares for us is so nice. Some times it gets kind of emotionally slim just clinging to eachother.
Kevin has been working like a dog since I'm not at the bakery. Yesterday was a mear 14 1/2 hour work day. I have been driving him to the bakery each morning, as we are still sharing a car. So I am getting rest, but not much. It's so weird to think back at the fun times & money we had, fancy cars we drove...but ahhh... we have a bakery now! I wouldn't trade it or the experience of owning our own business together for the world.

Where to Begin

My sister Aimee has inspired me to start this blog. I am not a super techy person (she is) and I have been keeping a journal of our bakery adventure and thought this would be a cool way to streamline our daily happenings...and who knows maybe we will write a book one day.
Quick Catch up:
June '06 Decided we would open our own business together
Aug '06 Signed franchise papers with Great Harvest
Dec '06 Signed a lease & began building
Jan '07 - May '07 Pure contractor, equipment, permitting, designing & budgeting HELL
May 3rd 2007 Grand Opening of the Store!
May '07 - Now Working 6 days a week 12-17 hrs/day
Woke up and today is April 23rd 2008 & we are still a snorkel length from the top...