Seeing Red

My invites to New York Fashion Week shows and parties must have been lost in the mail, but that hasn't stopped me from following along from the comfort of home.  I am thrilled that the Fall 2014 styles promise to include some vibrant shades that are universally flattering like Aurora Red and Cobalt Blue.  Nanette Lepore featured several pieces in red that I would love to get my hands on!

If shoes are your thing, make sure you stock up on D'Orsay flats and pumps.  Try them in trendy color blocked designs or classic black.  Love these!

 

love.

We are hosting a fundraiser at Mini & Me for the hospital bound kids and their parents in the oncology unit at Rady Children's Hospital for Valentine's Day.  We've nicknamed this fundraiser "Love Letters" because we're not only asking for gifts and money, we are also asking for letters of encouragement and children's art work.  We want the families to feel our love and support through the notes and the art.

On Saturday Feb. 8th from 11:00 am-1:00 pm, we are hosting a "Heart Art" party.  We are inviting families, scouting troops, sports teams, people off the street...to come to the store to create handmade Valentine's.  We will provide the art supplies, the snacks, and the raffle prizes (available to those who donate material goods or cash to the fundraiser)--You and your minis provide the creativity!

We will have adorable fuzzy sock cupcakes available for sale from Linda Wagner, a Rady's oncology mom who lost her son to neuroblastoma.  She has a thriving craft business and has agreed to sell these to our customers for only $5.00.  You can buy them for yourself or to donate to our fundraiser.

 

 

In March, my son, Nick, will celebrate his 3 year anniversary since being diagnosed with medulloblastoma (brain cancer).  He had his quarterly scans last week, and he remains cancer free.  Nick is, of course, the inspiration for our support of childhood cancer awareness and childhood cancer research as a family and as a business.  Most importantly, our journey as a family is the reason we focus on supporting childhood cancer's victims and their families in direct ways...delivering comfort items and financial relief when they need it most. 

 

Whenever we host a fundraiser for our local oncology patients and families, it stirs a lot of emotions that I normally work hard to ignore, push away as I try to live in the moment and focus on what is in my life, not what was or what could be.  As customers and fans, some I am not even familiar with, come forward to support our fundraiser and support the oncology patients at Rady's and their families, some of them share their hearts, their stories, their losses.  I am humbled.  I feel embraced by a grace.  I am grateful.  I am also thrust into a messy flurry of memories.   

 

A lot of my customers have heard the words, maybe over and over again...My son had cancer.  Fortunately, few of them have firsthand knowledge of what that means.  I wonder, do they wonder?  Do you wonder?  What does it really feel like to hear "Your child has cancer?"  What is it like to sign the papers granting permission for gallons of toxic poisons and jolts and bolts of radiation to be put into your child's body?  What happens to your work?  Your other children?  Your finances?  Your own body...as your days are spent sitting and sleeping in a hospital chair next to your child's bed.  What happens to your heart as you watch your child's hair fall out and they vomit every single day? 

 

What does it feel like to wake up every morning and worry that someone you love SO MUCH might die?  We all worry about our children, but what does it feel like to have your child tied to the train track with the train barreling down on him, and there's nothing at all that you can do to control whether that train is going to run right over your baby or stop in time to spare him?

 

I can answer all those questions.  Every day, all day, for over 2 years, I literally had a pain in my heart, a physical pain, that I can only compare to an elephant resting it's foot right there, pressing it's weight into my chest until it hurt, and the pressure left me out of breath.  I battled guilt for not being with my other children more.  We suffered financial hardships we will probably never recover from.  I spent days and days in the same clothes in freezing hospital rooms, afraid to leave because I wanted to be the one Nick could turn to if he felt bad or needed help with something.  I gained weight because my meals were often chips from the mini mart down the hall, and I never worked out because I had the idea in my head that if I turned my energy and attention away from Nick and onto myself, I was doing something wrong...that something would go wrong with Nick. 

 

I will forever love and appreciate all the people who brought hot meals to my family when I couldn't be with them or even think about cooking a meal.  I know how much a Valentine letter of encouragement would have meant to me.  I know how much I would have loved a pair of fuzzy socks or some hand cream or even a healthy snack.  I know how hard it gets financially when your child is in treatment, you can't work, and you have extra daycare expenses for your other children.  There were times I would literally pray that I could dig up enough money to pay to get out of the hospital parking structure.  I know how much the gift of a gas card or a grocery store gift card can mean when your bank account is in the red. 

 

The kindness of strangers does matter.  I know that.      

 

There is one thing I don't know though, and that is the searing, slashing, unrelenting agony of losing a child.  Every morning, I wake and acknowledge that glorious truth, and that is what drives me to help other cancer families.  I want to help bring comfort in their journey and fight, and I want to support research so no parent has to suffer the loss of a child because of cancer ever again.

 

I'm sorry if this was too long or too raw...or for some, maybe not long enough or raw enough...I just want to tell the story of why.  Why should you make a Valentine for a family you don't know?  Why should you give gifts or money to families you don't know?  Because it matters.  It matters to real people battling real disease and crisis and fear. 

 

If you ever have any questions for me, please e-mail me at skswafford@miniandmeboutique.com 

 

Thank you if you are supporting our family, our store, Rady Children's Hospital, and childhood cancer agencies!

 

   

 

 

2013

525,600 minutes.  How have you spent all those minutes of 2013?  Was it a good year?  A bad year?  How do you measure? 

For us, the year was full of changes, challenges, and triumphs.  When 2013 began, Mini & Me didn't exist.  Baby Vie was limping along, and we were uncertain about our vision, our goals, the direction our little shop was heading in.

As a matter of fact, our landlord almost roosted us because he wanted a yogurt or ice cream shop in our spot.  I think he still wants a food store in our spot, but thankfully, he granted us a little more time in our little corner.

All spring, we struggled with our vision.  We painted.  We re-arranged.  We hired.  We fired.  We dreamed.  We cried.  We juggled our time, our money, and our emotions...

Until it just came together.  In one sunny summer month, we were suddenly blessed with clarity...a new name, new team members, a new look, a new direction...July of 2013 marked the birth of Mini & Me. 

Fashion shows, fundraisers, sporting events...We were in constant motion meeting new friends, shopping for new products, making a difference in our community...

During Childhood Cancer Awareness month in September, we sponsored the Gold 'n Hope fundraiser bringing in gift cards for Rady Children's Hospital oncology families and funds for the Children's Oncology Group. 

We sponsored a local girls' SRSC team, and we hosted fundraisers for RPPW (Penasquitos Pop Warner) cheerleaders and 3-Day Breast Cancer walkers.  And all year, we collected donations for Gently Hugged (providing newborn clothing to families in need) and the Hidden Valley House (a shelter for victims of domestic violence).  Operation Winter Warmth was our December sweater drive, and we collected hundreds of pounds of clothing for these organizations.  We have been thrilled and humbled by the generosity of our customers and neighbors with each of our fundraisers.

Our favorite fundraiser was our SHINE fashion show.  Watch SHINE! Click HERE  We love supporting AJ's CRANE toy drive, a local radio show's toy drive for Rady Children's Hospital, and we wanted to do something really special to encourage donations this year.  Local teens volunteered to model for us, and several oncology families from Rady's also agreed to be in our show.  Every single model was gorgeous and poised and showed off our holiday fashions with style!  We were so excited to connect our audience with some of the patients their donations were helping, and we were able to take 4 huge boxes of toys to the toy drive after the show!!

As the year draws to a close, grateful is the best way to describe the way we feel.  We've been given some magical opportunities, and we have met some of the most outstanding, generous people in the country.  Thank you for supporting us, our store, and our causes all year.  We reflect on 2013 gratefully and anticipate optimistically an even better year in 2014!

SHINE

As we mentioned in our last post, Mini & Me had a fashion show.  That's pretty standard fare for a clothing boutique, but ours was special this year.  Because we were collecting toys for a local radio station's toy drive for Rady Children's Hospital instead of collecting admission, we thought it would be most fitting to invite Rady's patients to model for us.  We were fortunate to have many oncology patients and their families step forward to participate, and several teens from the community joined them to create SHINE 2013!  The models were positive and inspiring and truly started our holiday season in style and grace.  Please watch this special show and share it with your friends.  Your donations at the holidays and all year go to real kids...Kids fighting battles that threaten their lives and rob their innocence.  Their families are scared and often face tremendous financial burdens related to treatment.  Your donations bring light and joy and relief to these precious lives.  Thank you if you came to our show, if you donate to a children's hospital charity, and for supporting our store and our causes!

                      Watch SHINE 2013:  click here to watch SHINE  

SHINE, the fashion show

Please enjoy this beautiful slideshow from our benefit fashion show, SHINE.  The show was held on 11/9/13 and benefitted Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego.  Click HERE to watch SHINE

Thankful

This week, all of us are gathering with family and friends to reflect on the things we are grateful for.  In retail, the focus at this time of year tends to be...has to be...on selling holiday gifts.  In fact, many retailers are working straight through Thanksgiving as if the holiday doesn't exist or was created to be an extra day off for people to get some shopping done!

We are family run business, staffed by local family and friends.  Our family has survived some critical challenges in the past few years, including the life threatening cancer diagnosis of our son, Nick.  We LOVE fashion and style and selling our wares.  More importantly, we love and appreciate each other, our families, and our amazing clients.

We will be closed all day and all night on Thanksgiving.  We will open for Black Friday at 8:00 am on 11/28/13 and will be running awesome discount specials both Friday and Saturday!!

If the shopping bug does hit you while we're closed, we are running an online sale all week.  From now-Thursday night at 11:59 pm, use promo code "Thankful" to save 25% on our website.  (Promo code is case sensitive)  www.miniandmeboutique.com

Please enjoy and appreciate the gift of time with your loved ones on Thursday.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

relax.

Not to alarm you, but there aren't very many shopping days left before Christmas.  (Sorry, I have to say Christmas vs. Holidays.  I know Holidays would be more politically correct, but how do you countdown the shopping days until "The Holidays?"  What?!?!) 

Don't be fooled because it's not even Thanksgiving yet.  Thanksgiving is coming late this year folks, and if you're like me and haven't really started your shopping yet, you're in trouble. 

If you really want to stress yourself out, here's a Christmas countdown.

Mini & Me has some great gifts for you, your mom, your sister, your kids' teachers, and oh yeah...your kids! 

                                                            This cozy scarf is super soft!

                                                We only have one of these great cuffs left!

                                             Lots of Kelly Rae Roberts in stock right now!

                               Santa prefers champagne!  Great ornaments for your wall or tree!

                               We have lots of fancy fashions for your minis' holiday photos!

Don't have time to come in to shop?  No problem, call us at (858) 695-3535.  We can deliver within San Diego...gifts, gift baskets, corporate gifts, personal shopping.  We can ship anywhere in the U.S.

AND we're open 24/7 online!  Shop at our online store! Click here to visit our website.

All season long, watch our Facebook page for sales and specials.  We are planning lots of fun savings events on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday! 

So relax.  Mini & Me is here for you.  We'll help you shop.  Help you save money.  We'll wrap for you.  Even deliver.  It's OK.  We've got this!