2011 in review – cause it’s interesting. To me anyway. :)

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,200 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 37 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

One more day

As I sit here this morning with a view of all my stock in front of my desk, I think back on all the decisions I made that lead me to this point.  Oh how I wish I’d known…

No seriously, this has been an amazing adventure.  Of course I’m sad to see it end, but I know that it’s not for a lack of success that brings integraTees to its knees.  And for what lies ahead I can bring all that I learned here, with you, with me.

I look forward to what the future brings and can’t wait to share it with all of you again.

But for know, get out your credit cards and go to the webstore and order some shirts!!  For you, my super faithful blog readers is a additional 25% off.  Use the code BLOGGER at checkout.

xoxo

Ally

Final Days

Hello my lovelies!  This is it.  The UMall store is closed and all the merchandise is back in my house.  I’ve updated the webstore to all the inventory and close-out prices.  I plan on closing the webstore on Dec 31st and then donating the rest of the inventory.  Buy now or forever hold your peace.  :)

Thanks for all your love and support.

xoxo

Ally

BIG OOPS

Well my lovelies, I’m mortified to have to post this blog, but here we are.  I have made a blunder among blunders.  I am breaking the law.  Well, not really.  Kinda, but not really.  What I’m doing, is infringing on another person/company’s Trademark.  It doesn’t matter who, it matters that I missed the Trademark when I did my searches on the name integraTees and went ahead without going through the proper channels and crossing my t’s and dotting my i’s.  So I must stop using the name that we have come to know and love.

It is my sincere hope that I will be able to launch a new company with a new fabulous name and logo, but it won’t be in the very near future.  Those of you that know me well, you know that my life has changed dramatically since I began this venture and with all that surrounds me now, I don’t see the new company coming forth immediately.  Remember that I have all you email addresses and I promise to let you know if/when I launch a new company.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being a part of this wonderful adventure.

All my stock is in the Holiday Craft Store in the University Mall in South Burlington.  I just cut prices to $25/tshirts, $35/ light weight hoodies and $42/ heavier hoodies.

The store is open through December 26th.  After than, I’ll put whatever is left online at additional discounts.

Love love and more love,

Ally

Market Schmarket

As part of my awesome business class at the Womens Small Business Program, and I’m not being facetious, I have to do market research and so I created this survey.  If you have the time, please take it!!

xoxo

Holiday Craft Store

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…  in the University Mall anyway.  The Holiday Craft Store is all set up and ready to rock and roll!!  We scored a corner booth, all the way to the back on the right hand side of the store, but don’t worry, you have to walk all the way around so you can’t miss it!!

I worked my first shift today and had a ball.  And got some yummy It’s Arthur’s Fault Cranberry Maple Vinagrette Salad Dressing and the most decadent Espresso Hot Fudge Sauce which I ate with my Luna & Larry’s Chocolate Coconut Bliss Ice Cream.

I might just eat up the profits from this venture too!!

xoxo

Dream Diet

ok, really it’s not the dream diet.  It’s the diet we adopted after 5 days on the Disney Dream and 4 days with our friends Mike & Liz in Delray Beach, FL.  We ate.  9 days and 9 lbs for Chris and 7 lbs for me.

Luckily Liz is a rep for Standard Process and knows a thing or 2 about diet, exercise and nutrition.  She kept saying, “Diet starts Tuesday!”  We were leaving on Monday afternoon.  So finally I asked what’s the diet??  So she explained the SP Purification and both Chris and I signed on for it.  In case you don’t like clicking links, here’s the gist of it…

Fruits and Veggies, brown or wild rice, lentils and the SP Cleanse shakes and pills for 10 days.  On Day 11 you can add in Free Range Organic Chicken and Deep Sea Wild Caught Fish.  Let me stress to you, no sugar, no caffeine, no red meat, no meat at all for 10 days.  Yeah, it was INTENSE!  But it worked.  I felt amazing after about Day 8, and Day 11 was so wonderful to have meat again.  Then when the 21 days is up, you add in the other foods slowly to see if you have any reactions that you maybe didn’t notice before.

I did something like this about 7 years ago and that was when I found my intolerance to dairy.  It’s amazing.  I lost the 7 lbs I put on during vacation plus another 3 and Chris lost his 9 lbs plus another 6.

Not only did we make it through, we learned new recipes and a new appreciation for veggies as a meal and not just as a side dish.  However, if I never eat brown rice again, it might be too soon.

xoxo

Mickey and the be dress

In case you missed it, here it is!  I swear I didn’t plan meeting up with Mickey in my be dress.  It was pure luck.

We took a cruise on the Disney Dream for our 10 year Wedding Anniversary and it was awesomely amazing.

I have to say, Disney does it right.  We had an amazing trip and never ran out of things to do, food to eat or people to meet.  The staff was brilliant, the food was amazing, the entertainment was beyond extraordinary and the weather was perfect.  I cannot come up with the right words to do this experience justice.  We would completely recommend the Disney Cruises to any one, young or old, with or without kids, really.  We’re hoping to do it again with our extended families as well!

xoxox

 

inspirational ramblings

It’s funny where some of the inspirations for our integraTees come from.  Some have come from admiration, awe, hope, some from learning experiences, some from pain, some from random conversations, some suggestions from you all, some from a loving place, some from hatred and anger and some are from the primal fuel to make a difference.  It’s amazing that we are able to transfer any and all of these feelings into these beautiful and meaningful designs.

It’s a truly wonderful gift that we’re able to process through these emotions and life experiences in such a way that proves healthy for the mind, body and soul.  As I sit here writing this blog, I have numerous emotions running through me and I feel like a walking contradiction!  I’m both happy and sad at the same time.  I’m happy in my life as it is, and I’m ok with things as they are.  I’m accepting things as they are and letting go of things that I know I need to and those that are gone for good.  I know some things change on a day to day basis (like my taste in clothing, music and food) and other things in my life here to stay.  Best of all, I know that it’s ok to feel all of these emotions.  It’s about how we process them and actually letting ourselves experience them.

Life is a journey, not a destination.  We’re here for as long as we’re here and we only have the NOW.   Right now, I’m still standing – working on acceptance with spirit and energy while learning to breathe.  Waiting on serenity with hope, faith and love.  Telling myself it’s all enough for now.  You be you, and I’ll be me.  Live your life with no secrets and no regrets.

Yeah, I know that was a little cheesy, but sometimes I can’t help myself.

xoxo

 

The NOOSK

Amazing food, cool crafts, fun people and us.  Sounds like a good time right?  Oh yeah, and a totally convenient location on the Winooski Rotary.  We’re having a ball down here every Sunday through the Summer.  We’ve eaten almost all our profits, but we can’t help ourselves!!  The choices are fantastic!  You have to come see for yourself!!  Check out our new banner!

And here’s my shameless plugs for food:  Block Gallery – they use coffee ice cubes for iced coffee, um brilliant?!?!  Cupp’s for Cupcakes and bread, um YUM!  Misery Loves Co. for BBQ anything, they put coleslaw in the sandwich, yah.  Skinny Pancake & Chubby Muffin, ice cream.  Believe it.  Can’t wait till next SUNDAY!!

xoxo