Welcome to the new blog!  I had a facelift of sorts…No, not that kind (although I hear doctors are doing remarkable things without surgery these days- but that’s a post for another day)…a blog facelift.

After much deliberating, I changed the name of my business to Amy Vermillion Interiors.  Why?

Firstly it’s easier for my office manager to answer the phone!  And as much as I love my maiden name, (Amy Martineau) and was known as such for a long time, I needed to simplify things.  And for those interior designers reading this…try putting “Martineau Vermillion Interior Design” on every furniture and fabric side mark….KILLER.

As much as I’ll miss the hilarity of various interpretations of “Martineau,” it was time for a change.

So I hope you like our new “look.”  I sure appreciate you and your comments and encouraging emails!

Onto the fantastic excitement of my Labor Day Weekend….

There’s something bittersweet about the end of summer.  The shadows get a little longer and the moon seems to rise quicker.  Admittedly, I am looking forward to donning my big comfy sweaters and my Frye boots but I always feel like I’m saying goodbye to a visiting friend when summer ends.  Labor Day (even though it was 700 degrees) is always the official beginning of the end for me.

Since we stayed in town this Labor Day weekend, Mr. V and I were looking for something to do with the Beans.  We ended up going to an old fashioned carnival in neighboring Matthews, North Carolina.  It was a blast and brought me back to my childhood when the Greek Church in my hometown had “Chuckwagon Days.”  Although it was missing the essential component to be a “perfect” carnival, THE TILT A WHIRL, it had some great rides, a cheesy midway and lots of super delicious and very unhealthy fair food.  Mr. V dies for a Funnel Cake so there was that too.

Man, I could stick my face in a funnel cake.  Oh yeah.  I did.

Beans was an excellent companion on the “Paratrooper.”

Mr. V was a “single riderrrrrrr”

Merry Go Round is still a favorite.  I get a lump in my throat each time she rides one.  It seems like yesterday I had to hold onto her the whole time.

Getting ready to go….Someone is tired and hot.   (Check out the rings…she chose those as her fair attire.)

But Mommy has an idea…”How about we try and win a gold fish with our last tickets?”  The heck?

It must have been the heat.  Or the heat.  Or the heat.

It was my last ping pong ball.

In super slow mo, the ball bounced around a couple of jars, pinged off the aquarium and landed in the bowl.  No one was more surprised than me.  Really.

The weight of what I just took on sunk in.

As I turned in disbelief to the ever patient Mr. V, I caught the shine in Beans’ face.  She was jumping up and down and screaming…”I KNEW you could do it Mommy….YAY, Mommy!”

Happiest.Four.Year.Old.Ever.

Meet…”AUDREY VERMILLION!”  I think she is kinda cute.

Then off to Pet Smart…and a ridiculous amount of money later…Beans picked out the castle (pink-yes please), the foliage (fuchsia and purple-yes please) and the groovy gravel.  Yes, we got a filter and a light and the whole deal.

I exhaled this morning when I saw that our finned friend was still swimming…Beans has already become a bit attached.  Last night I heard her say, “Goodnight Audrey, I hope you like your new home.”

It broke my heart at the possibility of Audrey’s untimely demise. But it cheered me too.  You see, she still misses her Digby Dog.  I do too.  So, good luck to us and our first step into pet love again.  Maybe Audrey will help ease me into the idea of a furry baby.  Until then…

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend that you created some wonderful summer memories!

@