Jake & Isabelle

We have two boxers - Jake and Isabelle. Isabelle is almost 6 years old and Jake is about 8 months old. Jake is almost as big as Isabelle.  I read that boxers are not full grown until they are two, so at this rate he is going to be huge!  Isabelle has calmed down immensely since we got Jake and he loves to annoy her as you can see to the left. Jake climbs all over Isabelle - this is her get this stupid little dog off me face.

 

Here are two pictures of them together one when Jake was just 8 weeks and one of them now.  

Anyway that's Jake & Isabelle - very cute, but very naughty!

Randomness

Wow! I did not realize it had been so long since I had written anything in my blog.  We are still wading through heaps of boxes to get through the halls - I cant wait until we can get everything unpacked.  I am never moving again - I have decided that when I am too old to climb the stairs we will just put in an elevator :-)  The last few days Ben has been working on getting Jim's place decorated and building an entertainment center that he designed for the space.  I had a First Friday Steering Committee Meeting yesterday morning.  Septembers First Friday is themed a Day for ASU and October's is BARKtoberfest which should be fun.  I wish Isabelle was a bit more calm around crowds so I could let her participate in fun doggie activities but she barks at everyone.  She is very protective.  Jake on the other hand gets along with everyone.  They are such a funny pair.  They recently started sparring which is really funny looking because boxers really do box.  They go from play fighting and looking like they are going to kill each other, to laying down on the couch kissing each other.  They love to lick each others face, they have been doing that since we got Jake - its so cute!  Anyway I am currently at the shop.  It has been a very slow Saturday so far, so we will probably close at 4 today.  The weather is pretty nice today so I may take the puppies on a long walk and grab some yummy coffee from New Moon while I'm out.  I can do that because I live downtown :-)

Downtown Living at Last!

We sold our house a few weeks ago and started the move downtown - finally! (its been a long 2 years)  We discovered while moving that we have way too much stuff (junk) for 2 people who have only been married 6 years.  I feel a downtown yardsale coming soon.  We have just about every possible nook n' crannie packed with stuff.  The halls are still full of boxes but hopefully we will have everything unpacked by - Christmas maybe :-)  We love love love living downtown.  I wake up every morning and take the dogs out back - in my pjs - then i get ready for work and walk downstairs and open the store.  We are saving so much on gas!  We can take a stroll and get coffee, go shopping, get dinner etc.  We actually walked to the post office to forward our mail.  Living downtown is all i thought it would be and more.  I highly recommend it.

Vintage 965 - New, Old & Unique

Vintage 965 opened its doors for a preview opening February of 2007.  We officially opened in March 2007 on First Friday.  Vintage 965 has evolved a lot over the last year and a half as we continue to discover what we want to the store to be.  It will continue to change and tweak to keep the shop current and fresh.  

We carry Handbags, Luggage, Vintage & Vintage Inspired Clothes, Gourmet Tea, Baby Gifts, Vintage Goods & Furnishings etc.  We continue to add new products and product lines all the time. Vintage means high in quality, enduring appeal, classic. & 965 is the address. We like to mix old with new - so the store has a little old, mostly new - everything unique!

The Century House (965/967 Broad)

Well it all began late summer 2006.  We had been looking at buildings downtown for a few years and kind of curbed the idea for a while and bought a house in Evans as an "investment".  Of course thats when we found it.  Ben was looking at properties online, as he did every now and then for fun, and saw it.  We set up an appointment with the realtor to come and see the property and we were blown away.  The other buildings we had gone to see needed so much work but this one was pretty much move in ready.  The first floor was retail space, the 2nd floor was just a big open space , the 3rd floor had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, & a small kitchenette, the 4th floor had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  

Then the realtor took us to the backyard - we would own a 3rd of Lafayette Center (what! a waterfall in our backyard) we had to put in an offer!  So a few days later we met with the realtor again to put in an official offer. There were a few more people interested but we won the bid.  So exciting! We closed in September a month after the house in Evans.  Since we had to live in the new house for 2 years before we would sell it and move downtown - we rented the space out to 4 of our friends (Jim, Burr, Josh, & Ben) We had the retail space for rent for a few months before we decided to open a business of our own - and Vintage 965 was born.  We call it the Century House because we bought it when it was exactly 100 years old.