Newly inspired

Looks like I put this dream on hold for a bit to pursue another one.  I'm in an accelerated Bachelor of Liberal Arts program at University of Richmond, and between that, trying to maintain some semblance of a social life, and rounding out my day with the appropriate amount of lazy, there isn't much time for daydreaming about River City Sweets.

But last weekend I was feeling especially procrastinatorial <-if that's even a word, and trolled the internets for a site that would print mailing label-sized stickers with my logo on it.  I told Dave what I wanted the logo to look like last year, and he designed it for me.  It's perfect!

I ordered from Vistaprint because they had the most user-friendly upload-your-own-design process.  I ordered one sheet1 sheet that contains 4 stickers - I didn't want to go overboard and order more than that since I had a specific need in mind when I ordered the sticker.

When I was in Staples ogling the Martha Stewart office supply line, I picked up a pink spiral notebook with a very subtle design on the front.  I thought it would be perfect for jotting down business ideas, recipes, decor, and other RCS-related dreamy things, and instantly knew I wanted to personalize it with my logo!

You can barely see the design, which is good so it wouldn't compete with the logo's polka dots too much :)

Here's my new dream book!

I can't wait to fill it up with ideas that have been swirling around in my head and on random post-its all over the house!  Contain that paper mess all in one place!  To help me organize my ideas, I also picked up some tabs from the same Martha line:

Once I sit down and think about all the categories I want, I'll add the tabs, but here's what I'm thinking so far:

• Location type - crafty house, strip mall <-ick, home business?
• Recipes, favorite cake/frosting combinations, and other sweets
• Pricing
• Decor - menu display, flooring, furniture, etc.
• Business ideas - what do I want RCS to be to the customer?  
• County/city small business requirements

Oh, somehow 2 ink pens, also sporting the logo, found their way into my cart at !  How'd that happen?

River City Sweets: A Dream

As you can see in this picture, baking has always been a joy of mine.  I remember helping my mom in the kitchen, making cookies, breads, cakes, etc.  She always let me help and didn't care if what I did was messy or not just the way she wanted it - she let me experiment and learn things from successes and mistakes.  It was fellowship for us, and it is something I'll always remember. 

I have this dream to open a bakery.  I would be my own boss, and could hang out in the kitchen all day making treats and just creating things from a pile of flour and sugar.  How cool would that be as a job?  Nobody asking you for metrics, no emergency meetings, no 150 emails a day...wow.  Sure, I know running any business is work, but getting to do something you love all day long seems so rewarding.

My bakery's name is River City Sweets.  Its logo is the banner at the top of the blog, and every baked good leaves the shop in a chocolate brown box, sealed with a logo-stamped sticker.  The menu varies at the whim of the owner.  One day we might have pumpkin pie cupcakes, the next we have PB&J, sometimes truffles, other times whoopie pies, cookies, whatevs.  I might even throw customers for a loop and make a spaghetti cupcake cake one day. 

The atmosphere is casual and and the air filled with tunes from the likes of Jack Johnson, Dewey Cox, and Nickel Creek.  Maybe a little Sons of Bill, Tonic, and Jim Croce thrown in for fun.  There are comfy chairs and cushioned ottomans, so when you put your feet up they're comfy too.  The floor is painted concrete, adorned with various-sized pink polka dots stenciled in a random pattern.

I'm hoping for at least one exposed brick wall, but that might be wishful thinking ;)

More to come - until then, I have some more dreaming to do...