Sweet Leslie

I wish I wasn't typing this. I wish I had answers for what I'm about to type, but I don't.

Our sweet Leslie Armstrong passed away last night. For those of you that worked, consigned, or shopped at Encores North, I'm sure you saw or interacted with Leslie. She was that sweet redhead who checked you in during dropping off, cut your tags at check out and always had a smile on her face.

Here's some of the pics I will cherish forever. The first is Alicia Pelham, Natalie Dohanos, me and Leslie on a cruise we took in October 2010:

This pic was taken at the Encores North sale when we were still at Goody's. This is Leslie and Katy Oakes. Man, she had a great smile:

Probably one of my favorite memories..the first time we all went to dinner and thought it would be a good idea to ride in the back of a pickup truck. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life:

This was the sale held next to Aldi's. Leslie was so excited because she found out the day of worker presale that she was having a boy, sweet Mason.

Same sale...Leslie needed some new maternity clothes so Pam Davis and I thought we could help her out :)

On the cruise: we were going for a glamour shot style portrait and obviously, having a great time.

Sweet Leslie, you have impacted me more than you will know. You were a true friend and I will miss you so much. Scrapbook retreats and sales won't be the same. My heart is broken.

Spring 2012 selling season is HERE!

Hard to believe 2012 is here! With a new year comes the stress of suddenly getting ready for the next sale. I know for me, it's hard to be thinking about pulling out spring/summer clothing when it's 30 degrees outside.

It's been a while since I posted so I thought I would update you on what I am planning on doing this consignment sale season. As you all know, I sold Encores and More North to the owners of the original Encores in January 2011. Many have asked how it feels to not have the sale and to be honest, I really don't miss the sale itself, I miss the people. I loved getting to spend so much time working with ladies I loved and respected. I also LOVED to see just how far the blessings from the sale could reach. I consider it a great honor that I got to run Encores North for as long as I did.

I am still buying out children's boutiques and Gymboree. I will continue to sell that inventory through Encores, but will be doing so at Encores Murfreesboro. Natalie, my sale manager at North when I still owned it, is now running that sale and although she just had her first sale in September, it was really awesome. I love how much she is focused on the community and I loved that I found the brands I loved for my kids there: Mini Boden, Gymboree, Matilda Jane. She was super picky on her adult stuff so it wasn't overwhelming to shop and I even found some Anthropologie there!

I do plan to put my leftovers in Encores North, but since the sale is later than normal, I will be putting all my item in the Boro sale first. So, what about you...where you are consigning this Spring?