As far as birthday parties go…this may have been the strangest one ever to honor an American Icon. But fun we had, and I can’t help but imagine that somewhere, Audrey Hepburn looked down and smiled. The fact that it was the Grand Opening for “HollyGoLightly”, A Most Unusual Resale Experience, seemed most appropriate.

The mood was most festive, the food plentiful, and the Champagne flowed. It was one of those surreal moments in time that I know I will look back on and remember in sound bites. Bit by bit, I will recall overheard conversation, faces from the past that I haven’t seen in years, and remember how my friends and family celebrated with me as I realized a dream and accomplished a goal that had been brewing in my heart for a long time.

My sister Sandy, who owns Ernie’s Speak Easy, created a special drink “The HollyGoLightly”. Sort of a Pina Colada with Lime. We served it in Champagne flutes and it certainly brought to mind the song…”dey put da lime in de coconut…make you feel better”. It was delicious! And if you ever are in Eureka, stop by Ernie’s at 7th & A streets and order one.

My daughter, Kristin was photographing every minute of the event and I have yet to sort through the 200 plus photos but the dvd she presented me with for Mother’s Day is one I will cherish forever. Having her there and supporting me is one of those moments in time that ranks right up there with the day she was born and the day she presented me with each of my three grandsons. Well, ok, it wasn’t quite as important as those days but to have her there with me and realize that this day was shared by those that are most important to me made the day more special than I can express.

Little did I know when I decided to open in Eureka that I would be blessed with my son joining me in the business. Kelly has worked in the hospitality business for years. When I first broached the subject of him joining me in Eureka, I remember saying “just think about it, and don’t say no until you hear me”. He said “I’m not saying no, but move to Eureka from San Francisco?” Well, he did and he is amazing at what he does. I don’t know how, but he has the uncanny ability of looking at you and pulling out the correct size and more importantly the perfect garment that looks absolutely amazing. I’ve seen him do it too many times to think it is a fluke…I think it must be one of those idiot savant kind of things.

So, now I lift my glass and toast you, Eureka, CA! Those of you that have discovered HollyGoLightly, and embraced us. Your excitement when you first walk in, and see the product that we so lovingly bring to you and then as when we get to know your faces as you come back again and again. Here’s to Prada shoes, and Roberto Cavalli sunglasses, and may all your tees come from Banana Republic.

On March 27, 2008, at exactly 5:00 p.m., HollyGoLightly flung open the doors and it was “SHOW TIME”…This had been our goal from the time that we realized “A Taste of Main Street” started at exactly that time on that date. How fitting that the event that kicks off the annual Jazz Festival, should also herald the birth of “HollyGoLightly”, A Most Unusual Resale Experience”.

Almost immediately a steady stream of ‘guests’ began to stream through the doors and we felt most welcomed. The response was very positive, and the concept of high end fashion with “experience” seemed to be one whose time had come. I left at 8:30 p.m., however, the party continued and customers were still shopping at 11:30 p.m. …

Since then, we have been amazed at how you have embraced us Eureka. I am not going to take more credit than I am due, but I too used to be one of those shoppers who felt compelled to leave Humboldt County to shop for the quality and style that the City had to offer. One comment we hear daily is “I can’t believe these brands”. Never will I say “I Told You So!” So stay tuned, I have a feeling that we are in for a ride…

Come by and say hello, if you haven’t already…meet Kelly, and fill out a questionnaire. The more you tell us about “You”, the more we will be able to bring the styles and sizes that you desire. This, our first month, our hours are in flux. We want to be open when you want to shop…so don’t be shy, tell us when that is. What we are hearing is, stay open later, so we can shop after work. Well, we are listening and most evenings we are open until 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. If you want early hours, let us know… we want to be “The Shoppe To Shop” so as we make adjustments to the days and hours, bear with us and we will work it out together.

As ever stay tuned, this is only the beginning!!!

Going without sleep is an odd thing. I can see how beneficial it could be as a form of torture. I’ll remember this for future reference in case I ever need to gently persuade someone to my will. The first few weeks, the body may resist the shock to the system, and if ignored strange occurrences begin to happen, like toothaches and hives. The latter is probably the worst, because it is harder to ignore. Once you work through these anomalies however, one may enter into a bit of a Zen experience in which the days slide by hour by hour. No longer aware of time in the traditional sense, we may indeed enter into a bit of a psychedelic euphoria in which the normal restraints we live in are gone, and time literally has no meaning. It is amazing how much work can be accomplished at this time, and before the hallucinations start.

It was at this stage that I was blissfully burning through list after list of minutiae that managed to take on importance of such magnitude that it was helpful to work in pairs since the other person can ’slap’ you and bring you back to the reality of the moment. I found that I could not sit down for more than 5 minutes because I would fall asleep. I saw hours of the day that I hadn’t seen in years…1 and 2 a.m. really do exist, and if you are working with people under the age of 40, do not seem unusual at all. However, for those of us on the other side of that milestone, the body also determines that you will awake at 4:30 a.m. You may as well get up, because no matter how much you chant “calm, quiet, sleep” it just doesn’t happen. This however is a good time to get up and make more lists, while drinking your first pot of coffee.

This is the only excuse that I have for not writing more on the blog, and for this I apologize. I am humbled by those of you that take time away from your busy schedules to ‘tune in’ to see what the crazy lady has posted and I do not take this lightly. However, after coming back to Calistoga, and three days of “normal sleep”, I awoke this morning at 7:26 a.m. It seems the world has righted itself and I am “feelin alright” (oops a song just slipped in there). Well, I do not really want to be “normal” in every sense of the word. But for someone who missed the sixty’s (I was raising children), my recent mind altering encounter was enough to last until the next store opens. Ok, I’m alone and slapping my own face…

Tonight, I am writing from a drug induced point of view, and wonder if surviving a root canal, while in the throws of fighting the state of California and all their bureaucratic nonsense entitles me to become a saint, or at the very least to be known as “Dame Kate”? Surely there should be a payback of some sort for the abuse that I have endured these last two weeks.

When opening a business, I know from experience that everyone, and I do mean everyone is standing there with their hand out. I wonder why there is not a ‘Start Your Own Business for Dummies’ book? I mean, I know all the steps that I need to get the doors open, but finding out the correct order and proceeding from step one to step 149 is challenging. I downloaded the business license from the City of Eureka, (how kind of them to have it available online). I notice that they want my resale number. Ok, I had put this one off because I really don’t need it right now. So, I head back to Calistoga from Eureka, and I’m trying to get to Santa Rosa to the State Board of Equalization before they close at 5:00 pm. I pull up and park and run into the building, it is only 4:15, and I am in good shape. On the second floor, I reach for the door and find it locked tight. I stand there stupidly and look around, I read the hours and decide the door must only be stuck, so I shake it back and forth vigorously but it does not budge. I see a guard coming toward me. Do I just imagine that he has his hand on his baton? What’s going on I ask??? I know my voice is getting high, but I can’t seem to stop. I’ve just driven 200 miles to get here and the hours clearly state they are open until 5pm. “Oh, they all left early” he informs me, “there is no power to the whole building and everyone went home.” Quickly I realize that it will not do a bit of good to complain to this man, or even give him the satisfaction of seeing my angst. Muttering under my breath unmentionable words, I head back downstairs and on to Calistoga. I think this may have been the start of the tooth ache, but I was doing my best impression of ignore it and it will go away.

The next five days I worked at Sugardaddy’s and that included the Mustard, Mud, and Music Festival on Saturday the 8th. What fun that day always is but a lot of work as well. We had live music, and Summers Winery was pouring their wine. It is one of my favorite days of the year. I always look forward to it, although, this year, it seems that every thing I eat or drink produces a dull ache in my tooth. hmmmm…I’m sure it will go away. So Tuesday morning, I drive back to Santa Rosa and glare at the girl behind the glass window as I tell her what I need. “Just fill out this form”, she says pleasantly, as if it would be like filling out the form at my dry cleaners. “Let’s see, I’ll have one resale license and hold the starch”… I have something gently tugging at the back of my brain, something that says, it’s not going to be that smooth. Back up at the glass window, I smile at the girl and hand her the form. She looks it over and starts to frown…uh oh…maybe she really does need answers to the items that I left blank. “Well”, she says, “you need a form that says you have permission to do business in CA, because you filled your LLC in Nevada”. “Yes, I know”, I patiently explain, “but I haven’t gotten that form yet”. “Well, you will need it before we can give you a resale license”, she says, “and that takes six weeks,… unless you go to Sacramento”, she sadly shakes her head. Allrighty then, I take the form, and stumble down the stairs holding my jaw.

The next morning, I call the Secretary of State’s office, and get such a nice friendly person on the phone, who explains to me while giggling after every other word, what I need to do, and how to get there. So, I hang up, grab all my papers and head to Sacramento. I’m following my map quest, but somehow I end up on a detour and lost in West Sacramento. So, not being male, I stop and ask for directions. I arrive at the Capitol and suprisingly find a parking place. Woo hoo…things are turning around. On the third floor of the SOS, I que up with the other people who are here to get their dreams started. I hear the clerk say time after time. There will be an hour and a half wait. But, not for me, I walk up and hand in my form and sit down. Ten minutes later they call…HollyGoLightly…that was quick I think, ignoring the twinge of pain from my tooth. “We need a Certificate of Good Standing from the state of Nevada”. she says. “But, I just formed this Company one month ago, how could I not be in good standing” I ask? “It doesn’t matter, you need the document”. ” Where do I get it”? “From the State of Nevada,” she says in a clipped I’m bored and it’s still 45 min. until my lunch break tone. At this point, I turn quickly and leave so she won’t see the frustrated tears that spring to my eyes. It’s about two hours home, and by the time I realized it wasn’t rain that was making it hard to see out my window, I had quit crying and gotten good and mad. How dare they be so cavalier with my time and my life, and why couldn’t the giggling girl have mentioned the form on the phone, and, couldn’t they have told me that it could be down loaded for a mere $50. on line, as I learned upon calling the Nevada SOS when I got back home?

I think this was the first night I started taking the Vicodin so I could sleep. But, I’m sure it will stop hurting, since I don’t have time for this kind of grief. So, the next morning, after downloading a form that says that indeed one month after incorporating in their state, my company which has yet to open its doors is still in “Good Standing”, I jump in the car and avoiding the detour, arrive at the SOS at about 10:00 am. I’m feeling better despite my restless night, and I turn in my form, including the one that had red wine spilled all over it. “Will it be about an hour I ask”? “I don’t know, I don’t do these” the clerk says. “Ok,” I say and sit down. forty minutes later I hear “HollyGoLightly”. I jump up and approach the counter with a sinking feeling. ” There is already a ‘HollyGoLightly’ registered in CA” she says… “I know that”, I say, “that’s why I incorporated in Nevada”. “Well, it doesn’t matter, you cannot have that exact name”. This is the point where I feel everything start to spin and I’m sure I may pass out. I won’t even go into everything that already has HollyGoLightly on it, from tags and websites, to leases and even monogramed m&m’s (I know but they were so cute). “What can I do?” I whisper…”You have to change your name…long pause…or you could add another word to it, like a descriptor.” “How about HollyGoLightly ‘Shop’?” That will work. She takes back the papers and tells me it will be another hour. Why is it I wonder, that they only give you the answers you need if you ask the right question. Why does this have to be like a test that you can’t study for? Why the heck couldn’t she say…I’m so sorry, I know you have invested so much into this name, but it seems that someone else thought it was cool also and they got to it before you, so let’s see if we can switch something around and make it work for you, so you don’t have to start over at this point??? Boy, if I ruled the world…So, she hands me the white-out and I change the name on the document. I return to my seat and rub my jaw, who at this point says “remember me”, “I’m the devil and I won’t be ignored”. Another half hour, and I hear the dreaded words…HollyGoLightly”…up to the counter I go, and (I swear I am not making this up) the same lady says to me…”Your name doesn’t match the document that you got from Nevada that says you are a Company in “good standing”…pause…I believe it was at this point that I punched her in the nose and the guards rushed forward and carried me away in a restraining hold as I screamed and demanded to see the Governor! That didn’t really happen, but I did say, as calmly as I could through my clenched teeth. “The…reason…that…it…does…not…match,…is…because…YOU…just…told…me…to…change…it…”! “Oh”, she says. ‘Then you will need to write the original name on this line right here, and’ …”I know”, I say…’it will be another hour’. She smiles a tight smile and turns around and leaves me as I stumble back to the row of chairs where other poor souls are waiting for their torture to begin or continue. And for this, they are happy to charge me $85. I wish I had counted the thousands of dollars that I heard quoted to people as I sat there all day. Every person, and it was a continuous stream of people that approached the desk was paying between $30 to $100. for what ever form they were ignorant enough to ‘not know that they needed’. Finally, at approximately 2:39 pm. I received the form that I had been waiting for. This part of the story only took seven days start to finish, and I guess I should be happy, but I do realize that I do not have the resale number yet, because I must still go back to Santa Rosa and face the girl behind the glass window…I certainly hope that the electrical outage god doesn’t strike their building before I can get what I need.

In the mean time, the day after I survived Sacramento, my tooth would not be ignored any longer, and I called my dentist. He managed to get me into his office that morning and after an x-ray and an exam, he very gently used the R.C. word…I have a bad infection and need a root canal. He knows that I am one of his “white knuckle” patients and is so good and gentle, and that is the only reason I am not becoming hysterical at this point. He prescribes an antibiotic not Penicillin, which I am allergic to, and which means that I must take it four times a day, instead of one or two. Then makes an appointment for one week. “The pain will stop in about 24 hours” he promises, as soon as the antibiotic can take hold. “Ok,” I smile appreciatively, because it’s off to Eureka for me tomorrow. The next week is hazy at best, but it is filled with working on the store front, making decisions, and having multiple meltdowns because the stress level I have been working under is not getting any better, and the tooth has not quit hurting, in fact I am now up to two Vicodin at night and once I took it during the day, which I don’t recommend since it only put me into la la land and I couldn’t function. Despite my handicaps, we managed to get a lot accomplished and this is only because of Kelly, Dad, Sandy my sister and her husband, my daughter, Kris, and her husband, and my niece Lori, oh and Diana my friend who gave me her guest room to sleep in. I am feeling very blessed since it is at crunch time that these angels appear and make it happen.

Monday morning, Dad and I head home to Calistoga. He is pulling a 6×12 ft. u-haul trailer and our plan is to fill it with the product that I have been buying since last summer. We arrive and begin to load, slowly we manage to make a dent in the warehouse that used to be my home. I discover things I haven’t seen in months. Wow, there is a sofa under all those boxes…well, it’s not quite that bad, but there is a lot of stuff. We collapse and get up early on Tuesday to finish. At 9:30 am, Dad pulls out of Calistoga. I figure 4 hours to get to Eureka, and an hour and a half to unload that means they can then use the u-haul to pick up the incredibly heavy display counter that is in storage. So I make phone calls to try and facilitate to this end. Now, shower and dress and it’s off to the dentist. Napa is about 40 minutes from Calistoga, and I pick up a rocking chair from Sugardaddy’s that needs to be delivered to a customer, before I go to the dentist. At this point, I am looking forward to my dental appointment as much as if it were a trip to the theatre. Anything to make the pain stop. Arriving in Napa, I discover that I have forgotten my phone, and need to call the girl with the rocker because I don’t have complete directions to her home. Have you ever noticed that all of the pay phones have disappeared??? I finally locate one, and she answers. Thank you Lord! I am on the home stretch. I deliver the rocker, and then stop one more time at Home “Despot” er I mean Depot. You know the store that is truly serve yourself, as in you better know exactly what you need because you will not find one person who can help, and then you can try and check yourself out with those ugly automated check-out systems that scream at you when you make a mistake. I pick up what I need, and then drive across town to my dentist, who looks like a movie star and fall into his arms sobbing…”make it stop hurting please”. His wife who also works there, slaps me across the face and says “get your grubby paws off my husband”….ok, so none of this happened, but it’s my story and I can take a few liberties as long as the gist is true right? I am so grateful at this point to have the pain stop, that the fact that my lips feel like rubber and my chin and ear are numb, seem almost pleasant. Two hours and I am out of there…now that wasn’t so bad, my brain says…I just need to get home and take a nap. Ring, Ring, Ring…the phone pierces the oblivion in which I am happily ensconced …”hewoo”, I say. Somehow, my wubber wip, doesn’t let the words come out wite…”What’s wrong with you” my sister asks?…”I can’t tawk vewy well, because my wip is numb”…”You sound like you’re looped, go back to sleep and I’ll talk to you tomorrow”…”awight,” I mutter…as I sink back into the soft cocoon that is my sofa and as Scarlett said “Oh Fiddle-dee-dee, I’ll think about that tomorrow”…didn’t she say that? snoozing now…goodnight….

My father is 80 years old, and he has more energy than I have ever had. He left his home in Arkansas last Monday evening, and drove to my house in Calistoga in about 36 hours. He said he would have been there earlier but got caught in a traffic jam somewhere in Southern California. Dad is here to build out the store this month. He can truly do almost anything, and I am blessed to have him here.

He does opperate on a different wave length than everyone else that I know. He is up at 5 am and working by 6. I am also up at 5, because I am not going to “sleep in” while he is getting a head start on his list…well that and he does like to sing at the top of his lungs as soon as his feet hit the floor. So far this week I have not been able to beat him to the coffee.

So it is that we left Calistoga for Eureka on Sat. morning. His truck is packed to the max, and I am driving my truck with a sales counter strapped in the back. Eureka is about four hours north, and I’m excited thinking what this month will bring as far as getting the store ready to open. About 3 hours into the trip I start to come down with what my daughter calls “Sleepy Car Syndrome”. That is when you are nodding your head, and trying to stay awake by rolling down your window, turning the radio up, and pinching your cheeks until it hurts. I can’t fall asleep, and certainly cannot pull over and shut my eyes for 5 minutes…not with a crazy southern man behind me, just waiting to tease me about “not keeping up with him”.

I am fortunate that my sister lives in Eureka, and we can stay with her. So, since dad does not work on Sunday, thank goodness because I am exhausted trying to keep up with him, we are watching Maverick on TV. Dad is very selective about what he watches, and doesn’t approve of most of what is currently on television these days. So, our evenings are filled with Matlock, Perry Mason, or if we are very lucky, Gunsmoke. It is a small price to pay for his company, and I’m grateful. However, I am curious who got voted off of American Idol last week. I am beginning to feel as though I am stuck in a time warp. Dad has no idea who any of the current celebrities are and refers to Brittany Speers as that girl who wears shoelaces and neckties for swimsuits. The more I am away from the pablum that the media spoon feeds me the more relevant my life becomes, and I wonder how I ever let someone else dictate my choices. I start to feel like I have more in common with the Waltons and the Ingalls from Walnut Grove, because that’s what we are watching.

I realize that this blog has taken on a life of its own, and much of what I write has little to do with opening a store in Eureka, but it seems to me, that I must write what comes out of my head otherwise I sit here with my fingers on the keyboard and stare at the screen. So, forgive me if I stray off course now and then, and as ever, thank you for reading…stay tuned.

In the City, there are so many wonderful restaurants. I know this because my son Kelly is a server at one. On the day that I had my meltdown (for those that read the previous blog entry), we had lunch at the new trendy restaurant called “spruce”

Kelly is great at start-ups. He helped to start-up the Nobu restaurant in Dallas, and also Bong Su, in San Francisco. Each restaurant has it’s own unique atmosphere, and in a City like San Francisco. You are only “hot” until the next “New Restaurant” opens. That is unless everything you do caters to every single one of the senses, not just taste and smell.

As we walk in the door of spruce, I am immediately drawn in by the rich colors and textures. The walls are covered in chocolate mohair, as well as the banquets. The chairs are upholstered in faux ostrich, and the whole room has a handsome feel about it, not feminine at all. You might expect it to be full of business men drinking port and hatching deals over lunch. Not so, as I look around, I see that the room is filled with women. Kelly refers to them as the “Women Who Lunch”. Spruce is located in Laurel Hights which is more of a residential neighborhood that typically houses what looks to me to be mini-mansions. The women here today are dressed to the nines, and I’m in heaven, just looking at the styles they are wearing and the handbags they are carrying. Kelly discretely points out the woman in the corner who is tapping her foot and glancing around for someone to assist her. “She is not happy with her table”, he informs me. ” Wow, you got all that from her raised eyebrow?” “They come here to see and be seen, and the the table they are at is of utmost importance” he says. I straighten my shoulders as I realize that we are sitting at obviously the best table in the room. “Well now, don’t I feel special”. I immediately begin to pity the poor lady in the corner.

I won’t go into detail about the food and service except to say that for this brief period, it is easy to forget all the items on my “punch list”, and imagine I am just another San Francisco socialite out for a bit of sustenance between my appointments with my personal trainer and my interior designer. Fantasy is alive and well on this particular afternoon. Reality however, soon comes calling, and I remembered that I am not Audrey Hepburn sitting across from George Peppard, but rather Kate Buck, harried shopkeeper, and soon to be multi-store mini-mogul…..well, I suppose that reality is relative eh?

You know, I had forgotten how many details go into opening a shop. Six years ago, I did all this for Sugardaddy’s, and my brain said, check that off the list and forget it. You will never do it again so don’t clutter up your head with remembering that process. So, everyday I struggle through another item that must be accomplished before the doors can open. I won’t bore you with my list which doesn’t appear to get shorter even as I cross off each task. There always seems to be two more to add to the bottom.

When I decided to open in Eureka, CA. I gave myself a year to get everything in place. That would mean an August, 2008 opening. I started working toward that end, and did indeed manage to work through a fair amount of the red tape that always accompanies a project such as this. However, there is one small detail that you can not control, and as everyone knows, the single most important part of a successful business is “Location”. I narrowed down my search to “Old Town”, but would the perfect location be available when I was? I received a note from a friend, telling me about a storefront that had become available last December. It was everything I thought I wanted, but the wrong time of year, and more importantly, I wasn’t ready. I told myself that if it was still there then it was meant to be. But obviously someone else thought it was perfect as well, and it rented right away.

I decided to make a trip to Eureka in January, with a truck load of fixtures and furniture. My plan was to put it in storage, and get it out of my house, which was looking more and more like a warehouse. I also planned to meet with my Commercial Realtor friend and see what spaces were available. After unloading the truck, Kelly (son) and I decided to look around on our own, checking out the little boutiques that make up the “Old Town” area. We went into “Annie Magnolia’s” a cute little shop that sells furnishings with a “beachy” attitude. We were admiring their wares when I recognized the lady behind the counter as someone I knew many years ago when our children were young. We began talking, and I told her about my quest for the perfect location. She said, “you know, I heard a rumor that a certain shop is closing”. When, I mentioned this to Dave, he made a phone call, and Voila! We now have a home.

Well, there was a bit more to it than that, you know, all the negotiating etc. But the ink is dry on the lease, and as of March 1st, when I get the keys, “HollyGoLightly” will reside at 514 Second Street in Eureka.

We will be located right across the street from “Hurricane Kate’s” how appropriate is that? From the front on the store I can see the Gazebo, and I can’t think of a better spot to start our life in Humboldt County. March will have us “building out the store” so, hopefully we will be open by the Jazz Festival.

I can’t wait to get up there, and put coming soon signs all over the windows. So, stay tuned Eureka, and I’ll keep you posted.

Writing a blog is a lonely thing. Does anyone read it I wonder? The only way I know for sure, is if a comment is left. But writing is cathartic for me because it is the only time I can get my brain to slow down long enough to focus on one thing. Lately, I am running in a dozen directions. I need to review the lease, I need to send the incorporation papers to the Secretary of State, I need to order fixtures, and bags. What I really need is a “wife”.

I promised to keep you informed every step of the way, and so I shall. Some of it isn’t pretty, but hindsight often finds humor, although usually not right away. So hang on because we are off to the City.

Phone calls in the middle of the night, can’t be good news right? About two weeks before Christmas, my dreams are shattered by the insistent ringing of that blasted thing, and as I jump up, grabbing for the phone, I hear my heart beating in my ears. “Hi mom, sorry to call so late”. It’s Kelly my son. It’s not late for him, he is a server in a trendy restaurant in San Francisco. “What’s wrong, I whisper into the phone”. My night time imaginations heading toward muggings and car accidents. “Nothing is wrong” he says in his best “I’m being so patient with you voice”. “I just wanted to check with you because I found some mannequins on Craigslist, and before I bought them for you for Christmas, I wanted to make sure they were what you wanted”.

Instantly I am awake. Just say mannequin to anyone with a clothing store and you have our attention. To have just one would be wonderful, and he is promising eight. But, now I am starting to have qualms. What do they look like? Well, they don’t have heads, and they are on a stand. They are advertised as unisex (that can’t be good). They do have arms that are movable. “Do they look like men or women”? I ask. “It is just a torso, but it is unisex.” he repeats. “What about the hands”, I ask, not wanting to seem ungrateful. “Well, he says, they don’t have hairy knuckles”. Now, I feel my Christmas present starting to slip away. “Ok, email him and lets go see them”.

So it is that I find myself heading toward Union Square to a very upscale (Men’s Store). Located right next to Gumps in a little street called “Maiden Lane”. Kelly is driving my truck, and I am ‘helping’ him by pointing out obstacles like that taxi that I am sure he doesn’t see, and helping him not to turn down one way streets by telling him at every corner “don’t turn”. Driving in the City frankly gives me hives. Finally we locate where we are supposed to be, and enter a beautifully appointed store. And there they are… Yep, eight of them. Male torsos….I am looking doubtful, but figure that sometimes a compromise is in order. I guess I could put a bra on it, and under a dress or skirt, you wouldn’t necessarily notice his “package” if you know what I mean.

Soon I find myself happily headed north on highway 101 with eight bodies in the back of my truck. We couldn’t fit all of the items we bought in, so I arranged another trip into the City to pick up the rest, and that’s when the fun really began.

After confirming with both Kelly, and the seller of the items the day before, I leave Calistoga at 7:30 am. I am supposed to be there by 10:00 am. but you never know with rush hour how long it will take. So, I follow the plan that I have with Kelly to go up through the Presidio, I pull over and call. It goes directly to his voice mail. Uh Oh…my worst fears are starting to be realized. I sit there and watch as stylish women come out of their houses with their children, and get into their suv’s and drive away. At least it is a very affluent neighborhood that I am waiting in. After what seems like forever, and numerous calls, it dawns on me that if I am to keep the appointment I must find my way there on my own. Thoughts of what I was going to do to Kelly ran from strangulation to grounding (if you can you ground someone in their 30’s?). So, since I only know one way to get to Union Square, (I did it once many years ago) I head back down through the Presidio, to Lumbard Street. Take Lumbard to Van Ness I tell myself, and then turn left on one of those streets that you recognize. Ok, nope, that one is going the wrong way, how about Geary, opps…missed it. Ok, Bush, turn quickly. Now, if I can call the man I am supposed to meet, honk!!! sorry…I mouth. Can’t they tell I don’t know where I am going? Now, punching in the number, hit the green button, watch where I am going and…”sorry, I’m not available right now…” Oh “word I don’t say”. I can do this I tell myself, as I circle Union Square. There’s Maiden Lane…yea! So, I turn right and every single street I need to turn on is No Right Turn… now I am really lost. Ok, there, I can turn right. Then right again on Market, now if I can just turn left …there it is, I see Maiden Lane. Ok, I did it.

“Sorry, I’m not available right now”. As I sit here in front of the store, I can see the items I am supposed to pick up, just waiting for me behind the locked door, and the seller is not answering his phone. Now I do what any self respecting female does when stressed to the max. I start crying. So, I am sitting there in San Francisco, three days before Christmas and so mad that I am blubbering. My cell phone rings and Kelly says “I am so sorry, I worked a double and overslept, and my phone was on silent”. I can jump into a cab and be there in 20 minutes. “Never mind” I say in my chilliest voice. “I’m just going home”.

Just as I begin to pull into traffic, I get a text message from my son that melts my heart. “Don’t go”, he says. “It’s a beautiful day, let me take you to lunch”. So, it is that we end up eating lunch at “Spruce” the most beautiful restaurant, and spending a wonderful afternoon…we’ll worry about fixtures later…I’ll have a margarita, blended, with salt…

The Greening of America has certainly become an important issue in todays world. While we all want to do our part, sometimes we start feeling as though, it is just one more change that we will make “someday”, when we have time, when it gets easier, when it becomes necessary.

I remember a time, when recycling was new, and we had to separate our newspapers, stack and bind them in a certain way, and then haul them to the recycle center. The clear glass was separated from the colored, the aluminum foil had to practically be ironed and the aluminum cans flattened. We certainly have come a long way, now everything recyclable is simply thrown into one big bin, and my garbage, takes up a much smaller can. It really doesn’t get much easier than that. This has come about, because the majority of us are seeing the wisdom of recycling.

I recently read an article about a Berkeley Man that saved all of his garbage for an entire year. This meant he became extremely careful about what he bought. If he bought a soda, and it came with a straw, he dutifully carried that straw home and put it in a container. While it makes for interesting reading, most of us have no desire or dare I say time, to go to that extreme.

We have been hearing a lot lately about making a smaller footprint on the earth. I like that phrase, and indeed as I get older, it is more apparent to me that I need to do my part to that end. For my children, and for my grandchildren, I want to make sure that their lives do not diminish, because of my extravagance. Ok, I am climbing down off of the soapbox. I guess it is just human nature that in order to do what we know in our hearts that we should, we need to either feel passionately about it, or have it become easier and more enjoyable than not doing it. Sooooo….

This brings me to shopping “ReSale”. Whew! bet you thought I would never get here. Happily it is becoming easier and more fun than ever before. There are many reasons to shop resale, from developing your own personal style with clothes that are not available in the mall, to being able to afford high end labels at a very affordable price, or dare I say, feeling as though you are shopping in a more eco-friendly style. Whatever your take on it, we hope you will make HollyGoLightly your first stop.

Choosing a name for the Eureka shop certainly took on a life of its own. While the working title for the shop was “City Style”, ultimately it didn’t suit the quirkiness that I envisioned. So then the quest for the perfect name began.

I went to bed thinking of names and woke the next day still thinking of names. This says a lot about my personal life I realize, however, at the time the importance of the right name became much like choosing a name for my child. How easy is it to say? Does it sound pleasing when rolling off the tongue? How does it translate when answering the phone? I even offered a contest on a sharing board which generated lots of suggestions from all over the United States and Canada. There were many good ones, but soon I became so confused, that I backed away from the “name game”.

As the weeks rolled by, I kept thinking it would come to me, and indeed it did. While driving one day it hit me. And HollyGoLightly was born, well, conceived at least.

For those of you that don’t “get it”, In 1961 there was a little film that debuted called “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”. Holly Golightly was the character played by Audrey Hepburn. She was the quintessential “champagne Taste vs. beer budget” girl. She dressed in haute couture, and stood in front of Tiffany’s eating a danish and drinking her coffee out of a paper cup. Then she went home to her 3rd floor walk-up where her sofa was a clawfoot bathtub with the side cut out. This film became iconic for sure, and if you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to take it out for a drive.