Hello Lila!

I received my final "reveal" gift from my Knitty secret pal on Christmas Eve. Can you say perfect timing?? It is the fantastic Lila! She and I have had a lot of fun talking via emails. The best news is that she will be heading to my neck of the woods in March for a Junior League convention, so I will get to meet her face-to-face. Because she has been one of my secret confidants throughout the shop opening process, I look forward to giving her a sneak preview during her visit.

Boy does this wonderful lady have impeccable taste as well, as evidenced by the amazing package she sent me. She puts a lot of time into her wrapping. I almost feel guilty tearing the paper. I received all the materials to make the Suss Cousin's Girls Bag, beads to knit myself a wire cuff, Texas stitch markers, knitting gift tags, Miss Piggy lip balm (I collect Miss Piggy memorabilia), and Classic Elite Lush in my favorite robin's egg blue. I apologize for the poor picture quality. I'm speechless! Thank you again Lila. I look forward to continuing our cyber friendship.

Now, for the latest shop news. Sheryl and I can finally take a breather for a few days. We worked our little tails off to get in all of our Small Business Administration paperwork and business plan before the holidays. I hope all of our hard work will pay off. We have to hear back from the bank to see if our loan request will be approved. I spoke to the banker right before Christmas, and he seemed optimistic. He had no questions regarding our paperwork, which I take as a good sign. He said that we had done our research and presented a very polished application.

Sheryl's father passed away during this hectic time as well. It has been a very difficult time for her. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I've joined the bandwagon and added the Frapper map to my sidebar. I'd love it if y'all would click on the link and put your dot on my map.