It's Alive!

I am sensing a trend. Weeks go by without a blog post. I decide it's time to nail myself down & go for the gold. Then I stare at a blank screen because I have no stinky cheese clue where in the nuts to begin. Well...take that blank screen! You're not looking so blank anymore! Yeah. Ok...ah hem.

During the month of January, Mission Cheese seems to have become a full on living & breathing spitfire of a truckle charging to the finish line. I, on the other hand, can generally be found stumbling behind & taking orders. My arms may flail from time to time, but all in all we are having a blast & getting shiza done.

Construction at 736 Valencia is fully underway & there has been serious progress, thanks to Sacha & the Stingray Builders team (amazing partners for anyone out there looking to...you know, build stuff). Rough plumbing is done & approved by inspectors (check) and the design for the cabinetry (essentially the walls) is nearly finished and moving into production. The one actual full wall being built (ha...yes, only one) is up & the bar/counter has been roughed in as well. I was able to see the 3D version of MC in Sketch Up (a crazy architecture-type program that I have zero idea how to maneuver) and it made me misty eyed. She's going to be perfect!

Sacha & team also secured this amazing slab of salvaged walnut for the bar from a kind man named Jim in Peteluma. Awesome. (aaaannd fist pump. I tried to hold it back...I really tried.) I will also be picking up my tile from Heath in Sausalito & table tops from Heritage Salvage in Peteluma (hot place for salvaged walnut it turns out) this week, and bar stools are underway (more to come). Chairs are the last major item on the furniture list. So many lovely chairs & so few within my micro budget. Any ideas?

Now, this next bit is a titch embarrassing, but fully embracing this process, I will share. There was a cheese photo shoot. Yes, that's right, me & Bayley Hazen Blue, Capricious, Cirrus, Appalachian, & Red Hawk. (Yum.) Since the space itself is not ready for the camera, my dear friend Peter Prato unleashed his artistic ways to capture the soul of little Mission Cheese for press releases & the like. Oliver, Jenny, & some brewski graciously accompanied and successfully eased my nerves for what turned out to be a hilarious afternoon of outfit & cheese changes. While my hair could have used a bit of brushing (whoops), I think Peter nailed it. These curds are for you and your magical ways! Here's a sneak peak at the madness. Momma clear a space on the mantel. Ha.

Other happenings may sound a bit snory, like choosing merchant services, a POS system, insurance, & payroll...but I have managed to find some amazing people that have been kind enough to talk me through the details & not try to rip me off (so far...fingers crossed). For any other business budders out there, I would be happy to share who & what I found in my search.

All that & the Packers are in the Super Bowl! Get right out of town! Three cheers for a cheesehead VICTORY! Go Pack Go!