Pandemic, and Anniversary, and Sale? OH MY!

***PLEASE NOTE this was written before the tragic events that took place on May 25th to George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests which I whole-heartedly support through ideals and action, have learned from and will forever be changed for the better.  This post now seems super trivial and I recognize that my small struggles are so insignificant compared to what people of color suffer through every single day.  But I wanted to still discuss what’s been happening with our business, that you all are such an important part of, while being closed for almost 3 months.***

Lucky Number 7!

This June marks 7 years of me owning The Little Apple, yay!!! …and the exact amount of time it’s taken to finally convince me to write my first blog post! I’m so excited to use this platform to give something back to my customers; some ideas and tips I’ve come across over the years as a business owner and mother, a deeper dive into some of our fun products, some secrets I’ve learned in my old age (like where to get the best cheese fries and strongest cocktails - because I know you’re my people), the best local gift guides, and maybe even some Bravo gossip that I’ve heard and can pass on to others? So starting now, I will be sharing a new post on the blog monthly where I hope to provide a small moment of fun, inspiration, and happiness in your day!

However…none of those awesome topics will be covered in this post. This post (and only this post, I promise) will mostly just be me complaining and feeling sorry for myself. So…enjoy!   

Usually this time every year I would be in the store planning our biggest annual party; coming up with a theme (because a party is always significantly more fun when a theme is involved), testing the signature cocktail we would be serving, ordering little favors to give out to customers and, of course, searching for the perfect themed outfit for me to wear to match the decor. If you’ve been to one of our anniversary parties in the past you know how fun I try to make them, and THANK YOU for your support! But this year instead, I’m sitting on my couch in a Lucky’s Last Chance t-shirt and sweatpants, with a toddler calling my name every 30 seconds and a teething infant, spending my days stressed and trying to strategize how to keep everything I’ve built over these past 7 beautiful years from just disappearing.

Fuck it. Be grateful and keep going. 

The strategy I’ve come up with after many sleepless nights is this: ‘Fuck it. Be grateful and keep going’. Despite the crippling panic and anxiety that has come and gone in waves over these past few months, I have also experienced a renewed level of determination to figure out a way through this chaos and have forced myself to take steps forward instead of giving in to the feeling of hopelessness. For one, I have finally taken my really shitty website and made it less shitty. And, I am excited to be able to dedicate even more time to make it even jazzier (and not shitty at all) over these next couple of months. Something I have been meaning to get around to doing for YEARS but it took a pandemic to light the fire under me to get started. I have also been working with a marketing genius who really “gets” me and what we’re about at The Little Apple, and who is going to help me launch some really fantastic things we have planned for the shop! (Definitely, check out SocialSolstice.com if you need branding or marketing help - Emily and Gemma are the best!)

But what’s really been my biggest driving force are my kind and thoughtful customers, who I’ve gotten a chance to communicate with, in much more meaningful ways during all of this. From encouraging messages they have left me in the “notes” section when checking out on the website, to exchanges I’ve had with people on social media just checking in to make sure my family and I are alright, to those just placing online orders for things I’m sure they didn’t actually need just to support me. I’ve really felt lifted up and motivated by them all! So, even though this is not how I expected to celebrate my 7th year in business, I cannot be anything but grateful that I still have a business that will survive this crisis, and that is only thanks to YOU!

We're still celebrating, with everything on sale! (**sale has ended**)

Some good news is, we are still celebrating the occasion, just a little differently this year. This weekend only, June 13th and 14th EVERYTHING on the website and in-store will be 20% off! That's right, we're opening up the shop again! We are still offering curbside pickup for our local online customers, which can be selected at checkout. Thank you for your continued support. And I promise that we will have the biggest, baddest, BOOZIEST party next year!

X Brandy