One of the best things about being in your late 40's is that you get to start acting crazier and crazier, and no one seems to care.

It's as if the clock of accountability starts reversing at age 40. I've wound myself back to age 33. I have the reading skills of someone in their 60's, but the math skills of a 7th grader. I'm cool with that.

I feel the stress of the past few weeks. I discovered that I am dealing with it in both good and bad ways.

I'm trying to curtail the bad way...trying to stop eating Xanax like candy...I haven't popped any in days. I'm hoping my body will flush out the need for it.

In the good ways...I'm trying to take moments away from the immediate whirlwind of business commitments (current and future), and pay more attention these days to Marc, the dogs, my friends, the gardens, and myself. I'm trying to rally what is most important to me...weed and feed...and gain some strength from them.



Rex loves our T shirts. What he actually loves is dragging them around the house and yard and hiding them in the bushes. We dressed him up in one of mine and rolled up the sleeves James Dean style. He balked at the idea at first, but got into it after a while.



The Butterfly Garden is thick and unruly on August 31. I obsessed last season about filling it up...but it is; however, the most blooming patch of the yard right now. I'm thankful for such a show after the hard hitting temperatures and dry conditions down here lately. A lot of the other perennials just gave up and said "uncle" from the stress.

****OutKast "A Bad Note"

Look at that fruit from those muscadines right now. When the grapes get fat and bronze with age like that, you know it's time to reap the harvest that you have planted, cared for, obssessed over, fed, and watered.

Time now to pluck the fruits of our labours, distill the sweetness, and give and receive the bounty.

****Arrested Development "Tennessee"

...when some real old soul like GC tells you it's fine?

Act out yall.

LOVE YOURSELF.
LIVE YOURSELF.
LIBERATE YOURSELF.

Love,

T

****George Clinton "Atomic Dog"

Today at 2:30 I told my boss that I was leaving the company and starting my own business. My "boss" is one of of my oldest and dearest friends. This was not easy to do, and I am feeling some guilt. I am still passionate about the company, but I have been more passionate about my own dreams and my own visions for a few months now.

Coming to a break in this eight year alliance is hard, but has been a couple of years in the making.

This company has allowed me to realize my visions for lifestyle retail to a certain extent. The autonomy and creative energy I have been allowed to manifest within this company have been invaluable. I will always be indebted for this opportunity. On the other hand, I also know that I need to soar and make my own mark and mistakes, or I will never feel that I have succeded.

Johnny and Virginia...your boys are doing OK.

Sometimes the late bloomers are the real show offs.



****Pink Floyd "Learning To Fly"

Ok, so...I booked the flight to NYC and the hotel three days before I went up there for the New York Gift Fair trade show at the Javitts and the Piers. I was thinking "How screwed am I gonna get with these last minute flight and hotel fees?"

We saw this package on Expedia.com for a good price...way below the others. I booked 1) a shitty flight leaving at 6 am and 2) a potentially shitty hotel.

Getting to the airport at 4am to prepare for intense liquid security was shitty indeed, but the little "Eastern-European" style 5-floor-walk-up hotel right in the heart of Chelsea was CUTE! Screw the "W" and the Marriot Marquis. This little place was charming and cheap and fun. It was the type of old-world feeling hotel where you share a bathroom with another room, but it was so fucking cool and bohemian and cute...

...and literally right in the heart of Chelsea, so I was "in my element" and had a blast. John and some of my old friends from the trade were there and we pretty much partied our collective asses off every night. The coolest restaurants and clubs are right there.

So....aaanyway. I worked hard too. This trade show is extremely important for fourth quarter gift and accessory retail.

I'll hip you to some stories of the crazy shit we did later.

I have relationships in the business with designers on the high end, and shady importers on the low end...and all sorts of humans in the middle. A lot of them have become good friends. After all these years, I have an emotional attachment to some.

The thing is.......I met a young woman today at the show in NY named Claire Chew, who has launched an incredible line of pet accessories called "luxepets".

Please check her gorgeous designs out at www.luxepets.com.

Some of the most beautifully and thoughtfully designed pet accessories I have ever seen.

We were having a casual conversation about our dogs in her booth this morning at the trade show and I described Gracie to her...you know... half pit and half lab...big brown eyes...big smile. It turns out that she had a dog named Sophie that has passed away that was the same mix as my Gracie. She showed me a picture of her in the booth and I was stunned. Sophie looked just like Gracie. I have never seen another dog that looked just like her before.

I missed Gracie so much from then on. I left The Javitts Center early so I could get home to see her. Crazy, huh?

So here I am sending some love to Claire and Sophie and sharing some pics of Gracie.









Ohhh yeah...you know we are all about Rex too...but I'm having a Gracie moment.



HML,
T

****Nina Simone "You Can Sing A Rainbow"