Future home of home ec. studio

We are getting closer to moving into our new space! This was the old Burlingame garage here in South Park, an old neighborhood in San Diego. The trolley used to run through this neighborhood for commuters to downtown... it was the fastest way to get to downtown at the time (back in the early 20th century). Commuters would park their cars in here and ride the trolley. The buliding owners did a great job in restoring. I used to drive by and think "gosh, those buildings would be so great if they were restored..." Believe me, they were in baaaaad shape. So Bad Real Bad Michael Jackson Bad Bad Bad. I picked out a spot near the rear of the building right under a sky light so that we do get some natural light. It would have been so great to have one of those front windows but we soon realized that those spots are out of our budget.

Summer Break is not for parents

It's been a hectic first week - swimming lessons, meltdowns at Target, the boys deciding to play "library" and removing every... single... thing... from their Expedit bookcase... with all this going on in the background, we are still on schedule for the first week of home ec. studio summer camp! Although we won't be in our new space till August 1, I think if it is held in the comforts of home, we can really evaluate what works and what doesn't work for future classes. It has really been a great learning experience for me. Not having an MBA like everybody and their brother, having a great partner with prior small business experience is priceless. Yvonne is amazing. She keeps me grounded and makes me rethink ideas so that we are on budget. I can't believe we went from "go! go! go! get a space asap, let's pay $XXX/month for a window spot"... to "slow down, let's think about our space needs and what we can afford." Yes, location is still important but I'm happy to say that we are satisfied with the space we are getting (even though it doesn't have a window to the street). We will still be in this great historic building (the old Burlingame Garage in South Park) and we will be in a centralized location, close to other stores and restaurants. I cannot wait!

Here is our new website, www.homeecstudio.com. We have been trying to secure a space in our neighborhood and we are really close to getting something. More paperwork required *crosses fingers*. In the meantime, I am testing out some projects that we can deliver to a class for beginners and intermediate sewing. Something classic, clean and modern. Not your average Joann's or Michael's project. We want to be the Citizen Jeans among the average craft stores. Hopefully I'll have more to write about soon!

We're official

Yes, it's official. Yvonne Casper and I are officially home ec. studio. I've got all the paperwork in and we are going to launch all classes starting the week of July 13! Right now we are planning on having the classes at my house but we are looking at leasing a place in South Park. We're meeting with the property manager of the old South Park firehouse within the next few weeks to see what kind of space he has. If you are interested in taking a class, please email us at info@homeecstudio.com!

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms and moms to be! This is truly a job that only a mother can do... DNA aside, you are molding a human form and trying to perfect it into something that is better than you. Something you've gathered from experience and learning from your mistakes... how do you make this person be more compassionate, more understanding, more aware? I guess that is what the cycle of life is all about.

April is a crazy month

It has been hard to keep my life in order this month. Elijah joined the boy scouts last year and it has literally taken over my life! This whole month, we've had a boy scout event every... freaking... weekend... not to mention the weekly meetings. So, I decided that next month I will not devote any time to the Boy Scouts of America and will only pick and chose the events that I want to go to.

On a fun note, I've been working on a fun project with a good friend of mine who is a designer. My friend Abdul is launching his FIRST fashion line and he's having a fashion show this Sunday, May 3.

Needless to say, I've been concentrating on his show and getting fashionistas to come whilst putting my own stuff on hold. I can't wait to see his dream come into fruition. His clothes are gorgeous - q Qadir Hamidi is the line.

In the meantime, I've been waiting for my subscription of this. I recently rented this from Citizen Video and now want to see this.

Good Friends Friday

My BFF, Mars was visiting this week from Ohio. Although we only spent two nights and a day together after 3 months of separation, it felt like she never left. I am so glad that she is in my life. That's me with Mars and our good friend Saya at Karl Strauss in La Jolla. Life-long friendships are a great obsession.