Creating What you Really Want!





I keep seeing that line over and over again, "if you can see it in your mind, you can create it in your life," and I’ve decided to put it to the test and see if maybe I can really take a bit more control and truly manifest what it is I REALLY want!!! 

For the last 12 years I have had retail stores…..the main focus used to be the cosmetics line I created because I needed a place to manufacture and ship products as well as catering to local clients…  But as the years went on the stores sort of morphed into something that resembled a little country store right in the middle of a bustling suburb.  Two years ago, when the rent started to get a little out of control we finally decided that enough was enough and closed up shop for good, or so I thought so at the time….but I suppose when you love doing something as much as I loved having my shop, the Universe finds a way to help you keep it alive.

Wouldn’t you know that as we were closing the store,  the little dream house hubby and I wound up finding is one the last homes in our suburb that is zoned for commercial and residential use??? It sits right next to a 75 year old farm that has the most delicious produce market and no end to the amount of traffic from people who have been shopping there for years.  The house even came complete with a garage that looks like it belongs somewhere else due to its insane size…almost like it was made for a little store.  So, this past Summer after dragging our feet on what seemed like a completely insane idea, we finally took the leap and turned our garage into a new version of my little country store, The Ruby Slippers Store www.therubyslipperscompany.com .  But this time there was no rent, no landlord and no pressure to pay bills other than the ones for our home.  I could finally do exactly what I wanted and turn that garage into the little country store haven that I always dreamed I would have.  It quickly became a sweet little place where you could find myriad of antiques, vintage items, and a fantastic range of products created by local artists and me.  It was fantastic!!

In the beginning....this is one quarter of the garage before the makeover....the word OVERWHELMING came to several times during the transformation process.

You should have seen those cabinets with the doors on them....terrifying!

Those same cabinets today!!  Happy happy!

As the seasons started to change we went into a bit of a panic mode because the original idea was to alter the entire front of the garage into a more permanent store front, but the more we talked about it the crazier it sounded and so we just kind of stopping opening the store as soon as it got too cold….

Of course when you love something so much there is that nag….the one that pulls me into the garage every day wishing it was filled with people again….  There was something magical about that little store and somehow the most amazing people always seemed to wander in, stay for a while to share their stories and then pop back from time to time just to say hello and see what was new….I missed that camaraderie…more than I knew.

Summer Shopping at Ruby Slippers

So many fun items to see and enjoy!

I suppose when you want something badly enough you find a way to make it work, right??  Hubby and I have decided that while removing the garage door and creating an actual store front is not something we want to do there is no reason not to invite people to stop in using the side door…..  We’ll create bright signs that show them where to enter, decorate the front of the garage so it’s a little bit less like a GARAGE door and more like a fun seasonal façade and once again be able to open my little shop.  There were a lot of reasons not to bother, not to waste our time…..and of course there is the idea that a lot of people will think we’re just plain nuts.  But it was such a fun little place, and it was SO exciting to meet new people every day, and invite local artists to sell their products here.  Even the neighbors were very supportive and loved the idea of being able to walk down their driveway, head over a few blocks and do a little shopping.

One of my favortie ceraminc artists, the amazing Susan Borghesi, in one of the artists I am lucky enough to represent at the store!  Just wonderful!

I’ve made myself a little nuts the last few weeks just trying to figure out how to keep Ruby Slippers going during the cold season and I am so excited to finally have it figured out….even more excited that I have the sort of wonderful husband with vision as crazy as mine is.  The garage is heated, the clients are local (and can soon even shop online if they want) and when something feels so right there is ALWAYS a way to make it happen!

I suppose we can create a laundry list of excuses for ourselves.  We can talk ourselves out of what we know will truly make us happy, or we can get a little creative, think outside the box and find a way to manifest that which we want so very much. This little garage store of mine might just be the craziest thing I will ever do, but then again, maybe that’s the best part!!!  I intentionally named the store the Ruby Slippers because for as long as I can remember Glenda has stayed in my head as she told Dorothy that she had had the power within her all along….and that’s exactly what this little shop represents to me. 

I hope that if you have what feels like a big bold idea, even if it feels absolutely insane, I hope that you will give yourself permission to step back and see how you can make it work.  I’m a firm believer that we truly are the artists and architects of our lives, but we will never get anywhere if we don’t at least try.  It’s a bit nuts to think that the Universe/God is really paying that much attention, but somehow I have a feeling that if we want something badly enough the energy will find its way to us and with a whole lot of work and an endless well of faith, we CAN make it happen.  We just need to find ourselves a comfy pair of Ruby Slippers and keep trying!

When you get a moment  I hope you’ll click over to visit the Ruby Slippers website and be a part of all that magic that somehow shows up at this little store!!



Wishing you a magical, manifesting sort of day!!

Heather