To my brother, Lance: Who not only bought us a clothes rack, but found us a great deal on our other racks. . . and who got us some free racks from behind an old pizza place. How he finds these deals and steals, I'll never know.
To our great friend, Sherry Thibeault: Who gave us the coolest vintage dress form, which is now in our window. She was also one of the first people to give us a big bag of clothes and purses. We won't tell her husband, Tom, how many still had tags on them. I think their money tree took a hit during the big ice storm.
To Dr. Jean Lindquist-Grady: Who went on a crazy treasure hunt with me to dig through piles and piles of JUNK in order to find a few treasures. Who is great at bargaining and wheeling and dealing. (I should have just kept quiet and let her do all the talking.) Who also gave us clothes racks, clothes, and procured us some mannequins by beating down some guy on ebay. OH! And she referred us to two of her friends who will be selling their New Zealand creams in our boutique. Jean is a great person to have in your corner.
To my mom: Who has done too many things to list them all . . . she is one of the most generous and supportive people I know. I'll never be able to repay all she has done for me, and us. If you come into our boutique and notice we have toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, macadamia nut cookies (which we might share), bottled water, and napkins, you can thank her because she probably realized those types of things can be forgotten when trying to buy racks, shelves, hooks, and office supplies. She also takes such great care of Mary and Morgan, who I sometimes forget to feed when I am in the "boutique owner zone."
To Jim Catlin: Who, even though he told Mary she was doing a "half-assed" job when she was hanging something with a push pin, came out and measured our whole space and gave us great advice on the layout and design. He also gave us some great stuff that he was going to use in his pool house, but donated to us instead. So, if you go to his house, use his pool, and have nowhere to put your wet towel, you'll know why. His wet towel hanger thingies are now in our boutique.
To Mary's nephew, Robert: Ladies, this young man is a great catch. He has hauled more "stuff" to our shop than anyone else. AND he does it all without bitching and complaining (a very rare trait in the male species, I have found.)
To our husbands: Supportive, helpful, and involved, but not too involved. They let us do our thing and help out when we ask. As much as it pains me as an independent woman to admit this, sometimes one does need a man to get certain things done. I mean, how many women does it take to hang a stupid rod? Answer: A hell of a lot more than three because three of us tried--and failed, miserably.
To Mary and Moe: Who, live in a house overrun by clothes, who never get to use the computer, who have eaten too many pb and j's as of late, who, unbeknownst to them, are the victims of several violations of child labor laws, who are supportive and helpful and hard working and patient (most days.)
