Ollie is in the HOUSE!

Oliver, one of the namesakes of Ollie's Treehouse, is HERE!!! Oliver lives in Wisconsin and today he flew on a plane with his Mom and Dad (my brother, Sandi's son). We are so very happy they are here. Oliver is SO BIG! I haven't seen him since November and when they are so young they change so much. He is a sweetheart! He had lots of smiles for his Auntie Trish. Unfortunately my Madison screamed when she saw Uncle PJ. But she was tired. She will have lots of smiles for him tomorrow.

And tomorrow is Oliver's very FIRST Birthday!! What a treat that he is spending this very special day with us.

I must have seen 3 butterflies today. I heard once that if you see a butterfly that means you are on the right path. I couldn't feel more blessed.

There was a line!!

I just had to write about our Saturday. It was great! We had a line! It was our best day since our Grand Opening. My Mom had to get home to get ready for my brother PJ, his wife Kelly, and sweet little Oliver to visit. And when she left there were people waiting in line!! She couldn't believe it! I also had the pleasure of telling her we had another line at the end of the day.

People are starting to return to our store and it is such a pleasure. Mom and I have worked so hard over the past 3 months. We took a huge leap of faith. We love our store, but to have people come in and love it as much as we do...it's just reassuring that we are following a path we are meant to be on.

PJ arrives tomorrow. We can't wait for him to see the store! He and Kelly have been such HUGE supporters and we can't wait to share all of this with them.

So it's another great start to a great week at the Treehouse.

My First Blog!

Welcome to the Ollie's Treehouse "Adventures in Resale" blog. Ollie's Treehouse is a children's resale shoppe in Saint Petersburg, Florida. We opened our doors Saturday February 16th, 2008. We are coming up on our 1 month anniversary!! I can hardly believe it.

So here's the background. Ollie's Treehouse was started by my Mom Sandi and myself. My name is Tricia. Mom found herself in a situation where she needed to find a new job. She definitely has the entrepreneurial spirit! She had a business back in the 90s and she thought if she needed to change jobs she may as well change careers also. So she suggested we start a children's resale shoppe.

Being a Mom of 3 I loved the idea! Before having kids of my own I worked in Child Care. So my life has always revolved around children. The idea of the children's resale shoppe seemed like a dream. I also had been selling children's items on Ebay since my son was very little (he is now almost 10!) So a resale shoppe seemed to be a natural extension of what I love to do. The store is also great for my Mom because she is such a wonderful Grammy, and now she gets to spoil more than just her grandkids!

Mom and I had a similar vision. A store that felt more like a boutique then a consignment shop. We wanted to offer high quality, but we wanted affordable prices. We wanted a store where people come to us knowing that they are getting a like new item. A place where everyone feels welcome! I think we certainly have accomplished that so far!

We have been open almost a month! Hard to believe. It's like having a baby! You think you will never go into labor. Right before the baby comes everything is super intense. Then the baby is born and you blink and your baby is a month old! Every day gets better and better. More and more people come to the store and we are already seeing repeat customers. I love meeting the kids. It always amazes me that every single child you meet can be so cute! So different! So sweet! And so much fun!

So that's it! Ollie's Treehouse first post. I look forward to posting about our adventure! I hope you enjoy reading!