Sometimes, before the alarm clock goes off in the morning, I wake up on my own. It’s a good feeling, knowing that I’ve gotten the right amount of sleep that I needed that night. But by far the best part is looking at the clock and seeing that it’s a full hour before I am supposed to be awake and getting ready for the day. An hour I can use however I want, with no strings attached.
English: The face of a black windup alarm clock (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Because I wasn’t meant to be awake, I feel like a kid in a candy store choosing how to spend what I call “stolen time.” I force myself to cross folding laundry or paying bills off the list, and do something delicious – like reading some of that novel I can’t ever seem to get to, or painting my toenails. Or both!
Everyone needs “me time.” OK, the phrase is corny and overused, but the concept is WAY underused. Make sure you make time for yourself, even if you have to steal it!
My Little Flower Shop LOVES tourists. We rejoice when we see families consulting maps, large groups of people wearing matching visors, or most importantly, a “tourist” bride coming to have her destination wedding in Palm Springs. We are also big advocates of being unashamed of tourist-y behavior while travelling. See the sights! Take pictures! Consult your maps!
So this summer, why not be a tourist at home? I’ll bet you dollars to donuts there are attractions or historic sites nearby that you either have never seen, or not visited in 10+ years. Goodness knows here in Southern California it would take a lifetime to do all the possible day trips.
One of our beautiful brides, Stephanie Orson, at her wedding venue /local sight to see: the lavender fields. (Highland Springs Resort, photo by Alan Gough)
Even if you can’t leave your city, town or neighborhood, investigate a little. Find the tourist office for your city, and see what the “highlights” are. You’ll be surprised what you’ve been missing all these years. Architectural gems, birthplaces of interesting people…there’s a lot out there.
What are you waiting for? Dust off your matching visors and head out on a homegrown adventure.
Marketing these days has gotten very, as my grandmother would say, fancy-fancy. Companies, wedding related and otherwise, have started using a new vocabulary to distinguish themselves. I’ve seen these four cropping up all over the place, and finally decided to haul out the dictionary. OK, so I looked on Wikipedia. In any case, here are explanations of the words being used to describe products and businesses that are made by artists, unique, custom and rare.
ARTISANAL:
An artisan or artizan (from Italian: artigiano) is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewelry, household items, and tools or even machines. An artisan is therefore a person engaged in or occupied by the practice of a craft, who may through experience and talent reach the expressive levels of an art in their work and what they create.
By this definition, all of our wedding flowers are ‘bespoke’ as our brides are fully involved, and each design is custom and unique. Our designers’ bouquets are truly masterpieces.
BESPOKE:
Bespoke is an English word meaning an item made to a buyer’s specification (personalized or tailored). While it is applied to many items, the term historically was applied only to men’s tailored clothing, implying measurement and fitting. The distinguishing points of bespoke tailoring are the buyer’s total control over the fabric used, the features and fit, and the way the garment should be made. More generally, “bespoke” describes a high degree of “customization”, and involvement of the end-user, in the production of the goods.
BOUTIQUE:
A boutique is a small shopping outlet, especially one that specializes in elite and fashionable items such as clothing and jewelry. The word is French for “shop”, via Latin from Greek (apothēkē), “storehouse.” The term entered into everyday English use in the late 1960s. It can also refer to a specialized firm such as a boutique investment bank or boutique law firm. The word is often used to describe an independent hotel in order to distinguish themselves from larger chains. In such cases the establishments aim to convey the idea that the operation is elite and highly specialized.
COUTURE:
Haute couture (French for “high sewing” or “high dressmaking” or “high fashion”; refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. “Couture” means dressmaking, sewing, or needlework[1] and is also used as a common abbreviation of haute couture and refers to the same thing in spirit.[2] “Haute” means elegant or high. A haute couture garment is made specifically for the wearer’s measurements and body stance.[1]
In the end, it’s not about the keywords– it’s about the work, the product, and the service. No matter what you call yourself, if you get those right, you can apply the best word of all to your business: successful.
