We had a GREAT weekend and Boston is a WONDERFUL place to visit!!!! We look forward to our next trip there, which will hopefully be in September for all Life is good store owners!!!! :)))
We had a good feeling about our trip when we got to the airport at 5:30am on Saturday and they had upgraded us to first class!!! :) That was a nice surprise and a fun way to travel...a girl could get used to that :) All of our traveling went really well...no problems and all went smoothly. We stayed in the Boston Park Plaza, which was a great, old, historic hotel. The hotel was beautiful and very convenient to everything we wanted to see/do over the weekend. The ONLY bummer about the hotel was when we got in after a very busy day and were ready to get some sleep, I dropped my Sonic Care toothbrush in the toilet.....haha BUT this was truly the only thing that went wrong all weekend, so it's okway...I just used a poor girls' toothbrush for the weekend and will replace my Sonic Care today :)haha!
Saturday was a GORGEOUS day in BAHSTUN. (the accent there just CRACKED US UP!!!) It was about 70* and sunny and just perfect. EVERYONE was out and we walked a TON...basically, we walked from the time that we got there until the time we left...it's a GREAT city and there is sooo much to do there...we needed a LOT more time and definitely plan to go back.
So on Saturday, we went to CHEERS for lunch. It was a fun place to have lunch, good food and good beer :) They say it's the place where "everybody knows your name" but no one knew our names! ha ha We enjoyed our lunch and did some damage in the gift shop and took some pictures w/ the "cast"...which were really cardboard cut outs, but it was still fun :) After lunch we walked and walked and walked...through the Public Garden, otherwise known as The Boston Commons...a great park in the middle of the city that reminded me of something from a movie...Boston in general made us feel like we were in another country...very clean, very historic, the architecture was amazing...it seemed "European" in some way...we definitely felt like we were on vacation. We walked through several OLD cemeteries that were right in the middle of town ... very eerie and they definitely had a "vibe"...Paul Revere and John Hancock were buried in those cemeteries, along w/ quite a few other historians. We continued on our way towards the ocean and found SOOO much to do along the oceanfront. We came upon Fanueil Hall, which is like a glorified Navy Pier w/ shopping, food, entertainment, etc. It was such a beautiful day so we decided to take a boat tour of BAHSTUN HAHBAH...(Boston Harbor) It felt so good to look at the beautiful scenery and feel the sun on our faces...Jim and I really enjoyed the tour. After the boat tour we walked around, did some shopping, stopped at some Irish pubs for some brew along the way and then we made our way to Little Italy, in the North End, for some dinner. All of the restaurants had such character and they were all open and took their windows out so you felt like you were dining outside. Our Italian dinner was great and it had been a long day so we decided to make our way back to our hotel...it was a beautiful night to walk through the city and we felt safe and enjoyed our stroll. We got back to the hotel, I dropped my Sonic Care in the toilet and that was that...or all I want to share anyway...HAHAHAHA :o)
Sunday's weather was not as good as Saturday's, but it was still pleasant...maybe 50* and sunny...so we walked on the side of the street that had sun and we were FAIRLY warm throughout the day. Again, we walked and walked. Newbury Street is a major street in town filled w/ shopping, cafes, entertainment, you name it. It was probably my favorite part of town. On the corner of Arlington and Newbury was my dream...a four story Burberry store!!!! I am usually tolerable of Jim's loathing of shopping, but I had to drag him in...I mean, this was the MOTHER SHIP of Burberry!!!!! Inside were so many pretty baubles and purses and clothes and shoes...a girls' dream :))))))) SO I picked up a little "somethin' somethin'" and we were on our way :))))))) We had a great day just strolling around the town and looking at the architecture and spring flowers that were ready to POP...later that evening, we met Nancy for dinner. Nancy has been my life raft in this whole crazy endeavor that I have been on for exactly one year...she is my "liaison" and has helped me every single step of the way. We met at 5pm at a great restaurant named "Joe's American Grill", took our seats and didn't get up again until 10pm...lots of information, laughs, stories, etc....we had a GREAT time...at 10pm, Jim and I decided to start our walk back to our hotel...another GREAT day and we needed to get our beauty sleep because Monday was our BIG DAY!!!!! :))))
We woke up bright and early to 3 alarms...we set every single one because we couldn't take a chance w/ our most important meeting!!!! We got ourselves all ready in our Life is good attire and accessories and started our walk to Newbury Street once again...this time we had our luggage, so it wasn't as fun...but the adrenaline was FLOWING. As we approached the Life is good store, we spotted, who we could only assume was Brian, the head of the GNS program...casually dressed in a LIG tee and khakis...he laughed at me when I inquired if this was a formal meeting and said to me "you CAN dress up...but I will mock you if you do"...he also told me "if you buy a dog while in Boston, please bring it w/ you to our meeting" ...I knew we would like this guy!!!! We also spotted Nancy, so glad she was there before us to break the ice. So we walked up and immediately felt comfortable and I had a feeling this was going to go well. We went inside the store and walked around to look at the merchandise and fixtures...Jim and I had gone in the day before (and shopped ;) so we were familiar w/ the store...after looking around we sat down for our meeting...very informal and very comfortable...conversation was great and we felt like Brian was our old friend that we had known forever. After we talked business for an hour or so, they once again let me loose in the store to do my thang...SHOP!!!!!! This time I got a discount, so I went HOG WILD!!!! :))))) (wish I would have known I was getting the discount on Saturday when I did some major damage as well) After our fun at the store, we headed to Hudson, Mass. which is where the LIG home offices/warehouses are. This was VERY exciting for me.......I was going to the brain center...a behind the scene look at the company that I LOVE........when we turned the corner and I saw the big WELCOME TO LIFE IS GOOD sign, I am not gonna lie, I got choked up......as I am now writing this.....this is such a dream of mine and to know that I have endured this LONG process only solidifies how strongly I believe in this and how much I want to do this.
Back tracking for a second...when we had sat down at the store, the very first thing that Brian did was pull out my first email inquiring about opening a GNS...(Genuine Neighborhood Shoppe)...do you know that I sent that email EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO YESTERDAY???????? So the day of our BIG meeting was ONE YEAR to the day from the day I had sent my first inquiry!!!!! AMAZING...it's been a LONG year, filled w/ so much emotion...I can't even imagine that first day that I get to drive to MY store, unlock the door, turn on the light and turn over the OPEN sign........I get so emotional thinking about it.
So we proceeded w/ our "behind the scenes" tour of the world of LIG. We got to see the very first drawing of JAKE that the brothers had made in crayon.......we got a tour of the warehouse and met all of the people that make life good at Life is good...every single person there was so enthusiastic and greeted us w/ hugs and best wishes and they seemed like the happiest group of working people. All of the employees were decked out in LIG attire, very casual, w/ their dogs in tow and the smell of baking chocolate chip cookies filled the air...I can't even describe how excited I was...and how surreal it was...I've come a long way baby!!!!!!
After our tour, we headed to lunch w/ Brian and Nancy before Brian was to drop off us off at Logan Airport. We had a great time driving to lunch as we all talked about ICE CREAM for about 35 minutes...our favorite flavors, what we like for toppings, etc....we had a great time...needless to say, Nancy and I shared a lunch so that we could get...YOU GUESSED IT...ICE CREAM FOR DESSERT :))))
At the end of another GREAT day in Boston...the BEST...we headed to the airport and said our goodbyes...it isn't goodbye for long because Brian is coming to see US next week and help us scout locations for our store...and we promised him the best margarita in the world at La Hacienda and we can't wait for his visit!!!!
After we got in the airport, went through security, yada yada yada...I rec'd a call from Nancy telling me that we "passed" w/ FLYING colors and are FULLY APPROVED TO OPEN OUR STORE :))))))))) We are so excited to become members of what is TRULY the Life is good family........All we have left to do is to find the PERFECT location...and when we do, I hope that you'll stop in and see me and share in my joy because LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!
I know this was long, so if you read the whole thing, KUDOS TO YOU...if you skipped to the bottom just to see the result of the meeting, that's OK, too....I more wrote this as my diary of the trip...and I didn't mind opening my diary up to all of my supporters who mean so much to me!!!!!!
I hope you'll follow me along on this journey as I update and share my journey...it's been quite a ride so far, w/ the best yet to come!!!!!! Also, if you have store name suggestions, BRING THEM ON...I need optimistic, cheerful, fun loving, happy ideas.....we have a few ideas already in the kettle, but more ideas are welcome :))))
We had a good feeling about our trip when we got to the airport at 5:30am on Saturday and they had upgraded us to first class!!! :) That was a nice surprise and a fun way to travel...a girl could get used to that :) All of our traveling went really well...no problems and all went smoothly. We stayed in the Boston Park Plaza, which was a great, old, historic hotel. The hotel was beautiful and very convenient to everything we wanted to see/do over the weekend. The ONLY bummer about the hotel was when we got in after a very busy day and were ready to get some sleep, I dropped my Sonic Care toothbrush in the toilet.....haha BUT this was truly the only thing that went wrong all weekend, so it's okway...I just used a poor girls' toothbrush for the weekend and will replace my Sonic Care today :)haha!
Saturday was a GORGEOUS day in BAHSTUN. (the accent there just CRACKED US UP!!!) It was about 70* and sunny and just perfect. EVERYONE was out and we walked a TON...basically, we walked from the time that we got there until the time we left...it's a GREAT city and there is sooo much to do there...we needed a LOT more time and definitely plan to go back.
So on Saturday, we went to CHEERS for lunch. It was a fun place to have lunch, good food and good beer :) They say it's the place where "everybody knows your name" but no one knew our names! ha ha We enjoyed our lunch and did some damage in the gift shop and took some pictures w/ the "cast"...which were really cardboard cut outs, but it was still fun :) After lunch we walked and walked and walked...through the Public Garden, otherwise known as The Boston Commons...a great park in the middle of the city that reminded me of something from a movie...Boston in general made us feel like we were in another country...very clean, very historic, the architecture was amazing...it seemed "European" in some way...we definitely felt like we were on vacation. We walked through several OLD cemeteries that were right in the middle of town ... very eerie and they definitely had a "vibe"...Paul Revere and John Hancock were buried in those cemeteries, along w/ quite a few other historians. We continued on our way towards the ocean and found SOOO much to do along the oceanfront. We came upon Fanueil Hall, which is like a glorified Navy Pier w/ shopping, food, entertainment, etc. It was such a beautiful day so we decided to take a boat tour of BAHSTUN HAHBAH...(Boston Harbor) It felt so good to look at the beautiful scenery and feel the sun on our faces...Jim and I really enjoyed the tour. After the boat tour we walked around, did some shopping, stopped at some Irish pubs for some brew along the way and then we made our way to Little Italy, in the North End, for some dinner. All of the restaurants had such character and they were all open and took their windows out so you felt like you were dining outside. Our Italian dinner was great and it had been a long day so we decided to make our way back to our hotel...it was a beautiful night to walk through the city and we felt safe and enjoyed our stroll. We got back to the hotel, I dropped my Sonic Care in the toilet and that was that...or all I want to share anyway...HAHAHAHA :o)
Sunday's weather was not as good as Saturday's, but it was still pleasant...maybe 50* and sunny...so we walked on the side of the street that had sun and we were FAIRLY warm throughout the day. Again, we walked and walked. Newbury Street is a major street in town filled w/ shopping, cafes, entertainment, you name it. It was probably my favorite part of town. On the corner of Arlington and Newbury was my dream...a four story Burberry store!!!! I am usually tolerable of Jim's loathing of shopping, but I had to drag him in...I mean, this was the MOTHER SHIP of Burberry!!!!! Inside were so many pretty baubles and purses and clothes and shoes...a girls' dream :))))))) SO I picked up a little "somethin' somethin'" and we were on our way :))))))) We had a great day just strolling around the town and looking at the architecture and spring flowers that were ready to POP...later that evening, we met Nancy for dinner. Nancy has been my life raft in this whole crazy endeavor that I have been on for exactly one year...she is my "liaison" and has helped me every single step of the way. We met at 5pm at a great restaurant named "Joe's American Grill", took our seats and didn't get up again until 10pm...lots of information, laughs, stories, etc....we had a GREAT time...at 10pm, Jim and I decided to start our walk back to our hotel...another GREAT day and we needed to get our beauty sleep because Monday was our BIG DAY!!!!! :))))
We woke up bright and early to 3 alarms...we set every single one because we couldn't take a chance w/ our most important meeting!!!! We got ourselves all ready in our Life is good attire and accessories and started our walk to Newbury Street once again...this time we had our luggage, so it wasn't as fun...but the adrenaline was FLOWING. As we approached the Life is good store, we spotted, who we could only assume was Brian, the head of the GNS program...casually dressed in a LIG tee and khakis...he laughed at me when I inquired if this was a formal meeting and said to me "you CAN dress up...but I will mock you if you do"...he also told me "if you buy a dog while in Boston, please bring it w/ you to our meeting" ...I knew we would like this guy!!!! We also spotted Nancy, so glad she was there before us to break the ice. So we walked up and immediately felt comfortable and I had a feeling this was going to go well. We went inside the store and walked around to look at the merchandise and fixtures...Jim and I had gone in the day before (and shopped ;) so we were familiar w/ the store...after looking around we sat down for our meeting...very informal and very comfortable...conversation was great and we felt like Brian was our old friend that we had known forever. After we talked business for an hour or so, they once again let me loose in the store to do my thang...SHOP!!!!!! This time I got a discount, so I went HOG WILD!!!! :))))) (wish I would have known I was getting the discount on Saturday when I did some major damage as well) After our fun at the store, we headed to Hudson, Mass. which is where the LIG home offices/warehouses are. This was VERY exciting for me.......I was going to the brain center...a behind the scene look at the company that I LOVE........when we turned the corner and I saw the big WELCOME TO LIFE IS GOOD sign, I am not gonna lie, I got choked up......as I am now writing this.....this is such a dream of mine and to know that I have endured this LONG process only solidifies how strongly I believe in this and how much I want to do this.
Back tracking for a second...when we had sat down at the store, the very first thing that Brian did was pull out my first email inquiring about opening a GNS...(Genuine Neighborhood Shoppe)...do you know that I sent that email EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO YESTERDAY???????? So the day of our BIG meeting was ONE YEAR to the day from the day I had sent my first inquiry!!!!! AMAZING...it's been a LONG year, filled w/ so much emotion...I can't even imagine that first day that I get to drive to MY store, unlock the door, turn on the light and turn over the OPEN sign........I get so emotional thinking about it.
So we proceeded w/ our "behind the scenes" tour of the world of LIG. We got to see the very first drawing of JAKE that the brothers had made in crayon.......we got a tour of the warehouse and met all of the people that make life good at Life is good...every single person there was so enthusiastic and greeted us w/ hugs and best wishes and they seemed like the happiest group of working people. All of the employees were decked out in LIG attire, very casual, w/ their dogs in tow and the smell of baking chocolate chip cookies filled the air...I can't even describe how excited I was...and how surreal it was...I've come a long way baby!!!!!!
After our tour, we headed to lunch w/ Brian and Nancy before Brian was to drop off us off at Logan Airport. We had a great time driving to lunch as we all talked about ICE CREAM for about 35 minutes...our favorite flavors, what we like for toppings, etc....we had a great time...needless to say, Nancy and I shared a lunch so that we could get...YOU GUESSED IT...ICE CREAM FOR DESSERT :))))
At the end of another GREAT day in Boston...the BEST...we headed to the airport and said our goodbyes...it isn't goodbye for long because Brian is coming to see US next week and help us scout locations for our store...and we promised him the best margarita in the world at La Hacienda and we can't wait for his visit!!!!
After we got in the airport, went through security, yada yada yada...I rec'd a call from Nancy telling me that we "passed" w/ FLYING colors and are FULLY APPROVED TO OPEN OUR STORE :))))))))) We are so excited to become members of what is TRULY the Life is good family........All we have left to do is to find the PERFECT location...and when we do, I hope that you'll stop in and see me and share in my joy because LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!
I know this was long, so if you read the whole thing, KUDOS TO YOU...if you skipped to the bottom just to see the result of the meeting, that's OK, too....I more wrote this as my diary of the trip...and I didn't mind opening my diary up to all of my supporters who mean so much to me!!!!!!
I hope you'll follow me along on this journey as I update and share my journey...it's been quite a ride so far, w/ the best yet to come!!!!!! Also, if you have store name suggestions, BRING THEM ON...I need optimistic, cheerful, fun loving, happy ideas.....we have a few ideas already in the kettle, but more ideas are welcome :))))
