What Are They Thinking?

When I started selling Miche bags, I was so excited about the product.  And, I still think it's a great product.  However, their business model just doesn't make any sense.  Why would a company, with everything going for it, start selling on the Home Shopping Network, underselling their distributors and sales reps? Now don't get me wrong....I don't care where they sell...but why cut your distributors and sales reps out of the picture?  Is it greed?

I don't know, but I'm not sticking around to find out.  Instead, I've found a new vendor, Shelly Bag.  I love this bag and I know you will too!  Watch for  upcoming posts where I will share with you the benefits of the Shelly Bag.

Until then.....

A Girl Needs to Feel Pretty!

What's black and white and read all over?  The new Hope Miche Shell. 

I needed to get a new set of nails - boy were they looking bad.  Good thing my nail technician, Lisa knows how to make my hands look and feel pretty.  I think every girl/woman needs to feel pretty and a simple trip to the nail salon can change your outlook on life in just one hour.  Everyone notices your hands.  They almost define who you are.  They can say, "now there is someone who cares about her looks!"  Or they can say, "Wow! she doesn't have any time for herself!" 

Going to the nail salon is a great time to socialize and that's why I brought Hope with me today.  As you can see by her cover, she loves to socialize.  She definitely has a lot to say!   She 's all about breast cancer awareness and everytime someone purchases a Hope Shell, Miche Corporate gives $5.00 to Breast Cancer Research.   The best thing about Hope, is that she comes in the Classic Shell (above) and the Big Bag style that you see below.  Hope is $29.95 for the Classic and the Big Bag Shell is $44.00. 

Purple is My Color

My name is Ellie.  I come in many colors including this beautiful subtle purple.  The color purple is definitely a hot color right now, so I was the perfect choice to attend the garden club meeting today.  

It was really amazing how many ladies were wearing the color purple.  It reminded me of the coming of Spring with crocus and iris in bloom.

The speaker today was Shirley Remes who is a writer for several magazines and has her own website shirleyremes.com.  Wow! did it make me anxious for Spring to arrive.  She had slides of so many beautiful gardens here in the Midwest.  I got some great new ideas for the yard.  The only problem is the long wait for the ground to warm up and the digging, planting and fun to begin.

A Spa Day!

Deanna and I had a great day at the Spa.  Several ladies at the spa commented on her gorgeous coloring.  I can't agree more.  She has clearly become my favorite Shell of late.... How do I describe her coloring?  Well, it's kind of an olive green with black trim.  The material is very soft to the touch and has sort of a reptile look to it.   A picture just does not do her justice.

I find Deanna's "extra" pockets really handy.  The large one in front is really great for pens that you can never find in the bottom of your purse.  And, the side pockets worked really well for my keys on one side and my cell phone on the other side.  Yep, Deanna has it all....good looks and practicality!

One of the things I really love about Deanna is how lightweight she is.  Hopefully, Miche put all their big bag shells on a diet.  It sure has paid off for Deanna.  She is, like I said, "just gorgeous!" 

So it was a great day at the spa, we met some new people, had a pedicure and a massage and we both walked out feeling great!  If you want to add Deanna to your Miche collection, just visit my website. 

Deanna is $40.00

Retiring Miche Shells

There are many Miche Shells that will be retiring soon. Inventory will not be replaced on the following shells:

• Hannah
  
• Kate
• Sheila-Orange
• Pricilla
• Baleigh
• Eva
• Cori-Black
• Mia
• Miralee
• Susan
• Jackie
• Ellie-Red

All Shells retiring are on a "first come, first served" basis. If there is a Shell on this list you've been wanting, be sure to call soon! And, remember WhatEver Accessories will be closed from November 22 through Jan 2.

Mystery Spot

You know, I could ask my husband fifty times to take out the holiday decorations... in hopes that it will be done sometime after Thanksgiving. Well this year, right after Halloween, I mentioned getting the outdoor decorations out and then forgot about it. On Monday morning, November 9th, I stepped outside and much to my surprise the wreaths and garland were front and center. It struck me funny and I couldn't stop laughing at how insane this was. It's not even Thanksgiving and my outside decorations are up. But, in his defense, I guess I won't be laughing if it really does snow this week. So for now, maybe he is the wiser one!

So this mystery spot is my front yard...Whatever!

The Healing Field

Today I went on my own little field trip to Rotary Hill which is a place in town that we go sledding in the winter and listen to concerts in the summer. This week they've done something new. They have put up 2,009 flags to honor those that have fought for our country. I just had to go and take a look. What a beautiful sight! They call it the Healing Field and as I walked around I saw tags that honored family names and the war(s) they fought in. Some even put on tags for the soldiers that lost their lives last week at Fort Hood. I decided I wanted to buy a flag and honor a few of our family members, both fought in WWII. This was a very moving experience and one that I hope Naperville will continue.

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Avoiding High Heel Mishaps

Great tips and walking with heels and shopping for heels. A great pair of shoes will always make you walk tall!

Are You Accessible to Your Customers?

I learned something new the last few weeks while surfing for a vendor to provide a party room on line. Out of all the vendors I looked at, only one had a phone number. Do they have any idea how many potential customers they are losing on a daily basis? I filled out many contact forms and in some cases never received a reply. In other cases, we played message tag through emails. I, myself, have a toll free number on my website. Since January, I have had over 50 phone calls. At least three quarters of those calls have turned into sales. The other quarter has been people calling to sell me something.

I really needed to talk to a "live" person to ask questions that I felt were important since I had little experience in the online party world. The questions to the vendor may seem trivial, but to you the customer they are important. That reassurance that there really is someone "real" behind the website is worth it. So why don't more websites provide a toll free number? I don't know the answer to that, but I really think they should check into it. It just may be the trick to boosting their online sales.

Early Fall Color

Don't you just love the colors of Fall? I have to be honest with you...this is the first time in a very, very long time that I have even bothered to dig up the Summer pots and plant Fall pots. Usually, by the end of August I am so over Summer. The garden looks rag tag and I just want to pull everything up and wait for Spring bulbs to make an appearance.

But, this year has been so unusual. First, we have had a really cool summer and the perennial garden still looks fairly decent. Second, the pots actually didn't look bad except for the petunias which looked leggy even after trimming them. And, the Fall mums were out so early...I thought...why not? Maybe I'll get 2 more months of color in the yard. And, I've never seen so much ornamental cabbage available at all the nurseries. I do have to tell you it was very hard finding mums that weren't already in full bloom. In this picture, they have only been in a week and look at them. Another hard find was the pansies, as this is really early for them. But I got lucky and found a few.

So, I'm hoping that I have Fall bloom for all of September and October and don't have to worry about early frost and covering them up. That's usually the reason I don't bother to plant for Fall. It's just too much work worrying about frost....whatever!

Where Are You?

Watch this video - where do you fit in? Are you sitting down waiting for things to happen? Are you on top of the world but stressing out? Are you just part of the crowd? Are you the follower or the leader?


I can tell you what I've learned... It's okay to sometimes to sit down and relax and wait to see what happens, it's also okay to be on top but enjoy it while you are there - not stress out. You can be part of the crowd, but while you are there you should be making new connections. It's also okay to sometimes be the follower as you learn new things, but being a leader is an awesome feeling and one you should strive for whatever your goals are in life.

Sidney-(dark-red)

Sidney-(dark-red)
Originally uploaded by WhatEver4Me

Lucious red Sidney is the first of the new releases coming up.

My Birthday Surprise!

I was looking at my pics from our trip to Montreal and decided to share my birthday surprise. My hubby planned this great trip to Canada way back in the Spring when I was stressing out with long distance family matters. He kept the whole trip a "secret" revealing to me in July that we were going somewhere and that it was a surprise trip for my birthday. He didn't reveal the plans to me until 2 days before we were to leave. I told him I was losing sleep about what to pack and he better give me some kind of clue....soon! I always stress about what clothes and shoes to pack. The only thing I'm sure about anymore is my Miche Bag and Shells. On my actual birthday, we had a wonderfully romantic dinner cruise on the St. Laurence River. It rained, but it was still beautiful! We had our very own fireworks show with lightning and thunder and I was even surprised with a sparkler on my cake. We both sat stunned looking at the sparkler and just as it was going out I realized we didn't get a picture.

The food was really great. Apparently, the chef is also with a 4 star restaurant - impressive! It was surprising how few people were on the boat - I guess a sign of the economy even here in Canada.

The weather got really nasty with lots of thunder, lightning and very heavy rain. And the boat...well it seemed like we weren't even on the water. I was really amazed that this boat was so stable.


As we were coming back to the dock, we both realized we didn't have an umbrella or for that matter, anything to protect us. But, we got lucky! As soon as we were docked the rain suddenly stopped and we were able to hail a cab in record time.
This is definitely a birthday to remember... surprising, romantic, fun, scary and a very BIG one. Oh, whatever! You're only as old as you feel!





Happy Birthday to me........

A Bit of Nostalgia

While in Montreal, we came across many phone booths. In this new world of super technology you just don't see phone booths anymore in the U.S. Whatever happened to them? Remember when college students would try to see how many can fit in a phone booth? Remember when Clark Kent would become Superman in the phone booth? Remember the movie "The Birds", when Tippy Hedren found safety in the phone booth?

Boy, we found so many creative uses for this big box that is becoming extinct due to technology. It was a bit of nostalgia and I enjoyed seeing them. I know, it sounds crazy, but I was having one of those senior nostalgic moments. Kids today would not know how or why to use a phone booth if they came across one here in the U.S.

The Girl Next Door

Today was a big day for our humble subdivision. Front page news called it an "event". Candace Parker grew up right here and played on this court from the time she was 5 years old until she graduated from high school. And, today the Naperville Park District dedicated this newly renovated basketball court in her name. It was a fun "event". I don't think anyone came outside the subdivision even though it was heavily advertised. Our park is kind of obscure and unless you know exactly where Spring-Field park is - you won't find it.



What a gracious young woman! She truly is a role model for young girls everywhere. It was fun to see neighbors I haven't seen in years since my son is grown and gone. Him and Candace were actually classmates on and off through the years. It's amazing how time passes so quickly and our kids grow up to be basketball stars and world travelers. It just proves, whatever your dreams, they can come true!

New Miche Bag and Slouchy Shells

You're going to love these new slouchy shells. They completely change the look of your Miche Bag.

Wishing For My Own Adventure

It's just one of those days where you wish you were the one traveling. I've been thinking of my son all day wondering how his adventure in Bolivia is going. I'm missing his phone calls to "just talk" and his calling me to test his ideas or thoughts. And, then I received an email from some friends that are taking a 15 day cruise in Europe. They are putting together a "diary" in pdf format with great pictures of the sights they are seeing. What a great idea! I just might consider this when we go to Europe this Winter.

So, it's just another week and a half before I take off for a vacation - to where I don't know - it's a surprise! What to pack? Don't know. But, I do know I will be taking my Miche Bag with at least 3 shells!

What adventure to you have planned?

Getting Curious

Just like the cat, I'm getting more and more curious as to where I'm going for my "surprise" birthday vacation. My clues are: Need a passport, don't need a bathing suit (I think that rules out Mexico), and my son thinks I've been there but dad has not (so that leaves out Europe). The only thing left is Canada and we've both been to the West (Vancouver) and to the East (Quebec) so I'm thinking it's either Toronto or Montreal. I've been through both, but didn't spend any time there. I'm not even really sure what there is to do there, but I'm sure he has it all figured out. So I'll just keep on being curious and look forward to the day I pack and he has to give me a clue as to what to pack.

Speaking of being curious....are you curious to see what's new with the Miche Bag? A new Shell design that creates "pockets" on both sides of the purse is all the talk around town. Check these designs out....





Ashley







Lydia







Stacy/Black






Stacy/Brown




This new style bag is $28.00. Call my toll free number to order 866-508-5496

Rainy Days & Sales

Yes, it's that kind of a day! I had plans to really enjoy my day downtown rummaging through the annual sidewalk sale hoping for some great bargains. I don't really mind the rain, but when the thunder starts, I tend to get a little "spooked". So the sidewalk sale was a wash out.

Speaking of sales....I'm having a Miche Bag Party on Thursday, July 16th. If you call me anytime between now and then you can purchase the Miche Bag for a great discount. Also, the Shells will be one special price. For every Shell ordered you have a chance to win a Miche Shell Organizer. Don't miss out on this great opportunity. Here's how it works:

1. Go to my website
2. Choose a bag (black or brown) If you already have the bag, start choosing your Shells
3. Pick your favorite Shell(s) and then call me today at 866-508-5496 (toll free)
4. Get special pricing and instructions on how to order.

Check out all the Shells available at my Miche Bag page.

Here's a "sneak" look at a few of the newest Shells that will be available.