I met my younger self for coffee...

There’s a new trend on social media right now. Have you seen it?

It starts like this, “I met my younger self for coffee...”

People are posting what they think would happen if their present self spent a bit of time with a past version of themselves, what that conversation would be like, and (fun!) what that younger self would order to drink.

A few weeks ago, I shared that I have been rereading Simple Abundance this year, and it has brought back memories of the first year I read it and how much has changed, yet honestly how much has stayed the same.

I still love to cook; I still love to read and keep journals (although I’m having to be more deliberate about it now that smart phones have gotten in the way!)

I still love to decorate, to create, and to paint furniture. I still love music, candles, and bringing fresh flowers into the house. To read magazines and cut out pictures to paste into inspiration scrapbooks.

What has changed is that the kids have grown up (and I enjoy them as much as I did then, just not on a daily basis anymore), we have moved houses and cities several times, and I’ve morphed from being a teacher to starting and running my own business.

Both of which are authentically me, and both of which have been wonderfully challenging in their own ways!

I wish I could run to my younger self, greet her at the coffee shop door, sit her down (I’m still trying to figure out what she’d order because coffee shops weren’t a “thing” in the 90s!), and tell her about her future shop in a beautiful, historic building in a beautiful, historic town.

How bells chime every time a customer walks in the door, and how she either gets to greet a brand-new face or catch up with a regular, beloved customer.

How, instead of designing bulletin boards, she gets to create window displays in the wonderfully big shop windows.

How she designed several toile patterns and gets to have her fabric made into beautiful products.

How she has made so many lovely friendships within the four walls of the shop.

How she gets to walk to work (a la Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail) because she lives just around the corner from her shop.

How each day is a new adventure, whether it’s in the shop ~ or working at home, dreaming up new designs, and planning our next trip.

How much she has to look forward to!

I’ve also been reading Ina Garten’s memoir “Be Ready When the Luck Happens” and it’s been a lovely journey not just down her memory lane, but mine also. When she describes writing her cookbooks, I can remember when each of those came out. Many of our family’s go-to favorites are Barefoot Contessa recipes.

Ina has also been an inspiration to me as an “accidental” entrepreneur (I’ve since realized that really, there’s nothing accidental about it!) who does things her own way because it’s authentic to her.

I saw Ina speak in person in 2015, and I think she’s since then (unbeknownst to her) been encouraging me in the back of my mind through my journey: from designing fabric, to doing pop-ups and markets, to starting a website, to opening my own first little shop in Tallahassee, and finally (almost 7 years ago!) opening here on Broad Street in Thomasville.

I need to run because it’s a lovely, crisp Friday in February, and I need to put the finishing touches on some new displays (see some new and restocked products below!), sweep the front stoop of the shop, put some fresh flowers on the counter, and swing open the door to the jingle of bells.

I hope to see you soon! Hannah and I always look forward to greeting you in the shop.

xo,