Zen Shop

“ Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
-John Lennon10955336_1015172431830380_8360137390661652424_n

To ensure that we balance informative inspirational posts with seasonal slow cooking recipes, Jane and I sketch out our editorial calendar a year in advance. My post for February, focused on our new Zen Cooking Light series, was almost ready for Jane’s edits when “life happened.”
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Our “life” is a new retail spot at the Andersonville Galleria in Chicago. The Galleria is a fun and funky artisan co-op, filled with 70 “mini” shops, set in a lively neighborhood filled with restaurants, yoga studios, bookstores and cafes. We couldn’t be more excited about our newest addition.
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When I received confirmation of our lease, I jumped into my car with a tape measure to layout out our 4’ x 4’ x 4’ retail nook. Neither of us have merchandising experience so we poured over Pinterest pages, Crate & Barrel and Food Purveyors for inspiration. Being a visual learner I built a diorama of our space before making a life-size mock up in my basement to show Jane.

Meg's Diorama
Meg’s Diorama
Like the pleasant feeling you have when totally focusing on something new like a yoga pose, I was completely absorbed in this new task. It brought a little zen to me in a way that was unanticipated.
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I’m sharing this journey because the experience really challenged me to try something new.  It helped me realize that even in the mid-point of my life I could discover a whole new side of myself – one that I didn’t know existed.
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So in closing, we would love to have you visit us in Andersonville. Our shop officially opens for business on February 7th in time for the Andersonville Loves Local event where we will be sampling our choc chip pumpkin bread alongside our full product line.
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Zen Shop…Work In Progress
This month we’re celebrating our debut retail spot in Chicago by creating recipes using products from our new food artisan friends at the Galleria.
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Zen Moment

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

– Walt Disney