300 vintage trailers gathered in Pismo this weekend for a rally. What fun it is to take a peek back in time at these beautifully restored trailers. We took HapPy gO gO and set up a little pop up shop! Betsey was the greeter! I love my customers. It's fun to see our products in their trailers and them sporting our HapPy gO Glamping T's and sweatshirts! I spy our cute little trailer pillow! Love the way they displayed our fun bunting! The HapPy gO camper cups were a big hit too! My sweet cherry sister Kathy! Another sister Arlene racing Kathy! What an inspiration these strong women are. Arlene fell off her bike, got 7 stitches and was back on her bike the next day! You go sisters! I finally got to met Amy, sister #6000! We all belong to Sisters On The Fly! Jamie arrived in style to our BBQ on Friday night! And of course we had to carry on our pie for dessert tradition! Apparently, word around the trailer park is next year there is going to be a pie baking contest! Saturday the trailers were open to the public. Here are a few.... These lovely ladies were enjoying an afternoon tea. Not only are the trailers decked out, but the people love to dress up too! Oh don't forget about all of the cool bikes! Mama Tink, Kelly debuted her very own trailer! Papa Tink, Hal made delicious pizza for us Saturday night and Jamie provided the entertainment! Such a fun weekend! Loving people, delicious food, and vintage trailers! Adventure on.....Barb & Betsey
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These beautiful tissue paper flowers are hanging all over the shop! At least once a week someone walks in and asks me how to make them! I keep tissue paper under the counter to give them a quick demo, but sometimes it's hard to remember. So, here's how to make one.... Invite some girlfriends over, because it's more fun with friends! Teach them how to make them and in about an hour you have lots of beautiful flowers! The flowers can be used in so many different ways! They can be placed on tables or hung to make a lovely display! Ok! Grab some tissue paper and follow along.... Select 3 pieces of tissue for the outside of the flower and then select another 2 pieces of tissue in another color for the rest of the outside of the flower. I use 3 pieces of yellow tissue for the center of the flower. But, you can have fun with it and use any color you would like! Fold the yellow tissue (or whatever you have selected for your center) in half and then cut it! Next, lay down the 3 pieces of tissue you have selected for the outside layer (red with white dot), then the 2 pieces to complete the outside of the flower (aqua). I moved the outside layer to show you how to layer it. When you layer the tissue it will all be in a nice stack. Then, lay your flower center (yellow) in the middle. It is half the size of your outside tissue layers. Fold 1 inch folds like you are making a fan. When you are finished it should look like this! Then round off the ends with the scissors to make it look like a petal! Now tie the center with a piece of string or wire. Cut only the yellow tissue about 3/4th of the way in. Hold the flower from behind and separate the layers of tissue paper. and voila!!! your flower is complete! Please stop by HapPy go SmiLe on Mother's Day and make your Mom a flower! Keep on creating, Barb & Betsey
Today and everyday day I'm incredibly grateful for those that serve and have served our great country. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. As you arrive at the 9/11 Memorial Museum you are greeted by the massive waterfall surrounded by the names of those that lost their lives. Please join me on a tour of the museum. We were there 4 hours and there is so much to experience. My hope is that if I share a little it will inspire you to visit. Once you enter the museum you see these beams that are still standing strong. Trying To Remember The Color Of The Sky On That September Morning, is an art installation with 2977 different colors of the sky to represent each life lost. This crazy life. There are miracles everywhere. What are the odds that I see my friends Christine & Jim in New York first of all, but even more amazing at the 9/11 Memorial. Here's the reason why. On 9/11 I was on Catalina Island with Natellie and their son Liam for a field trip with their school. The only cell phone service was at the end of the pier. Each morning the chaperones would walk out and check our messages. As we walked out on this morning our phones went crazy with messages we couldn't grasp. I called Christine and she tried to explain to me what had happened. For some reason we were meant to be here today and experience this together. I left a little piece of my heart here. My wish is that whoever found this piece of art that I abandoned it brought a smile to their face. St. Paul's Chapel sits right behind where the World Trade Center used to stand. In the midst's of destruction after the planes hit the towers this little church stood untouched. It served as a relief mission for about a year after the attack for recovery workers at Ground Zero. With all of the gifts left by visitors St Paul's Church has lined the walls inside the church with beautiful displays. As I left I lit a candle and said a prayer and promised I will never forget. I will not forget those that lost their lives on 9/11. I will not forget those that serve our country and have served our country. THANK YOU, Barb
So inspired and motivated by all of the makers, Martha, and the incredible panels she put together for The American Made Summit, in New York. HapPy gO SmiLe was invited to this small (about 300 entrepreneurs) intimate business summit. To be surrounded by so many like minded, passionate people created an amazing energy in the room! The day started with Martha sharing her story, interviewed by Dave Isay, president & founder of StoryCorps. What a hard working dedicated women. "No dream is to small or to big", she said. It takes lots of hard work, trust, passion, and perseverance to make it happen! Learn from your mistakes and move on. She learned a lot from her grandparents. "Someone wants to hear your story." To finance your dreams you must share your story.The first panel of guests shared their words of wisdom with us about Angel Investing, Kickstarter, and how to finance your idea. The next panel shared with us the power of social media for small businesses. Facebook is for sharing, InstaGram is for inspiring (use the correct hashtags and tag people), YouTube is to entertain, and Pintrest to inspire. First and foremost, know your audience! Be genuine. Be true. Be yourself. As a small business I'm grateful for all the free avenues to communicate with my customers. I'm also grateful that my customers engage in social media with me. These two, Freya Estreller & Natasha Case, entertained us by telling us how they combined their architect degree and food to create an empire. They are the founders and makers of Cool Haus. "THINK BIG" Followed by Sonia Kashuk, Dylan Lauren, and Alli Webb. The common thread throughout the day was listen to your heart and hard work can make your dream come true. It hasn't been easy, but by listening to my heart I made it here! There's still a long way to go. I'm grateful to have had this opportunity to listen to everyone's story who spoke today. I took a little from each of you. I am now excited to put it in action and see what happens! Thank you for your support and encouragement to continue on this crazy path! I hope that all of you will join us to Meet The Makers of HapPy gO SmiLe on November 29, from 1:00-4:00. We appreciate you shopping local brick and mortar stores! It's what keeps our doors open!
Smiles, Barb & Betsey Fun weekend at the third annual vintage trailer show in Morro Bay! Awesome trailers, great entertainment, good food, and then things got scary!
Come on in! HapPy gO gO is ready to hit the road! Our maiden voyage was a success! As my friend Tamara said, we went with "trailer royalty" for a couple of days to Morro Strand State Beach in Morro Bay. In October of 2013 we bought a 1959 Oasis vintage trailer. My husband, Jeri, and his friend worked for over a year to restore her and boy is she pretty now! This is HapPy gO gO 2 years ago... I painted the drawers red and the kitchen tiffany blue. Then I lined the drawers with cherry paper! Let the adventures begin, glamping we will go! If you would like to see our trailer we will be at the 3rd annual Stranded In Morro Bay Vintage Trailer Show. The trailers are open to the public on Saturday, October 31, from 10:00-12.
Hope to see you there! Barb & Betsey This was our 26th year in the Cayucos 4th Of July Parade and boy did we whip up some fun! HapPy gO cupcakes! I think these are some of the best looking cupcakes I've ever seen.... and even a cherry on top! It's always great fun to see my customers along the parade route! Love the HapPy go 4th Of July shirts! Milo was in charge of the shop and even Betsey got in on the action! We took home the Fantasy award this year! I want to thank Cayucos and all of the AWESOME people and organizations who host the best 4th Of July celebration in the county! So many people work all year to raise the money for the fireworks and put on the parade. THANK YOU! In loving memory of Wendy Ryan~Cheers!
Barb & Betsey Looking for a fun way to celebrate Father's Day? Head over to Centrally Grown in Cambria. It's got something for everyone....delicious food, beautiful gardens, and my favorite thing is throughout the property there are little sitting areas where you can play games or just enjoy the view. Their mission statement at Centrally Grown is "To create transformative experiences for individuals and communities, inspired by nature, rooted in history, cultivated by curiosity and advanced by simplicity." When you arrive grab one of the many delicious salads, soups, or sandwiches from the deli. At Centrally Grown they are "inspired by nature and strive to cultivate curiosity in all that they do. Every part of Centrally Grown is influenced by our community, from local farmers to local artisans." There are lots of beverages to choose from.... a bucket of beer, wine, tea, or a cup of coffee to name a few! After you have your food and drinks head outside to find the perfect place to eat. There aren't many places you can go and just hang out! I love how everyone is so relaxed just enjoying the company they are with. From their website, "Centrally Grown is currently just a seedling. Our amazing team is watering, feeding and giving love to the seedling each day. We invite you to come be a part of the growth as we sprout and turn into a mature community tree, creating better standards of being." Eldra Avery~ INSPIRATION~The excitement of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity. The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. This is how you feel in Eldra's presence. Her zest for life is contagious! She is an inspiration to so many people in so many different ways. To her students she teaches them "to write from your heart, it will give you wings." To me she inspires me to create and keep learning. When I met Eldra she did not know how to quilt. So.....she took a class, watched you tube videos and away she went. During the next year she made and quilted more quilts then most quilters make in a lifetime! Recently, I stopped by to show her the finished results of what happened when she and I created a quilt together! I always ask her, what have you created lately? She said, "Oh here are a few pairs of socks I've knitted!" (She also knitted the blanket they are laying on! Again, Eldra didn't know how to knit when I met her. She decided she wanted to learn...SO SHE DID!) "Here are the last two quilts I've made.... She then shared the story about this quilt with me. What a great lesson! I asked her if she would like to share it with all of you. She said, "yes" and jotted down her story. I hope you are inspired by Eldra's story.... I always tell my students, “You must take risks, loosen up, and be willing to fail. If not, you will never really know what you’re capable of writing.” I say this with perfect confidence because I’ve been writing essays for a long time and I’m perfectly willing to push myself and often I’m perplexed when they let their fear of failure inhibit them. But recently, I had a failure in a different arena that re-taught me my own lesson and I’m so happy for my failure because not only did it allow me to empathize more with my students’ fears, it allowed me to pick myself up and start again. The very message I send out daily in class. I’ve discovered a Swedish designer, Gudren Sjӧden. Her work is colorful, bohemian, ethnic, and so beautiful. I decided that I wanted to try to make a dress that would reflect her style. Off I went to my fabrics. I chose from what I had and soon I had created a Big Fat Flop of a dress! At first, I didn’t want to admit that I didn’t like my results. Instead, I hung the dress in my sewing room telling myself that in a couple of days I’d reconsider. Well, when I found myself stealthily hanging the dress in my sewing room closet, I knew that I was messed up because who was I hiding that dress from? I made it! Two days later, I opened the closet and with a seam ripper in hand, ripped out the seams and prepared to take a failure and use it as a step toward success. I decided to make a quilt. I mean I loved the colors and the fabric; I just didn’t want to wear it as a dress. Immediately, I heard myself pleading with my students to loosen up, take risks, and possibly fail and felt a little embarrassed when I realized that hanging that dress out of sight was for me the same denial that my students feel about taking risks in their own writing. Best of all is the fact that as a teacher I must constantly practice what I teach and that necessitates relearning my lessons in areas beyond writing. I’m using the dress/quilt as a lesson and hoping that my failure will help my students face their own flops. Thank you for sharing with us Eldra! You are amazing. I'm so blessed to have you in my life! Blessed to have these two other beautiful ladies, Tamara (Eldra's daughter) and Dianne in my life also. I love passionate people! Who inspires you? What are you passionate about? Is there something new you would like to learn how to do?
Wishing you many new inspiration, Barb & Betsey Can you say cuteness overload? What a treat to see so many adorable vintage trailers. The work and love that goes into restoring these gems is amazing. Hop in this adorable autoette and I'll show you just a few of my favorite trailers! The trailers usually have a theme. This one was decorated with leopard and aqua. Annie Oakley was the theme of this trailer. Her signature stars were everywhere! Even the owner was dressed to match his trailer! Surprise! Surprise! What fun to see one of my customers at the show with her sweet, little trailer! I spy one of our a HapPy gO glamping towels! One of my favorite people, Jamie, from Tinker Tin Trailer Co. Isn't she just the cutest? Often the trailers are towed by vehicles that are just as classic as the trailers. What a fun. friendly group of people! Even the dogs get all decked out for the rally! One of my fellow Sisters On The Fly's trailers, "Still Cherry!" HapPy gO go.....my little 1959 Oasis will be ready to hit the road in a couple of weeks! My husband and friend have been working very hard on restoring her this past year. Adventure on......Barb & Betsey
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Barbara SaiaMay the adventures of Barb & Betsey inspire you to love and live your life! We will share with you the places we enjoy, the people we meet, and the fun things we do! Here's to more adventures! Archives
May 2018
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