First Ladies Night Event

Brailey is such a fun kid. When I asked her if she wanted to go to Ladies Night up in Newberg at Gypsy Crossing and Ace Hardware, she jumped at the chance. So on Thursday, I picked her up after school where she changed her clothes and hopped in the car and away we went! We were tickled to find this fun cactus on the wall to snap a quick picture of her in front of before the event. We are cactus crazy!
This event is so popular, the ladies were lined up outside the store starting at 3:00 in the afternoon. The event started at 6:00 - they closed the store to everyday shoppers and opened the door to the ladies for their special evening of fun. As soon as Brailey and I arrived, we ran into Mark, one of the owners and one of the kindest men you will ever meet. His wife and co-owner Betty is as sweet as he is, but we only got to see her for a quick second as she was busy with last second preparations. It takes a lot of work to put an even like this on. They had food, wine and life music. It was seriously fun! All their hard work and details paid off. What a successful event!
Brailey and I were busy all night long. We did manage to get a few pictures, but we were so swamped with shoppers, we really didn't have time. And thank goodness I had Brailey there to help me - talk about a great assistant! She took all the items to the register with the buyer's name on them, helped people pick things out and ran back and forth to the office to replenish the case with with product. She also managed to get us some water near the end when we were parched. All the women were charmed by her sweet demeanor, and I couldn't have managed the Montana Silversmiths case on my own, I know that for sure. The ladies below are total rock stars. They saw to every little detail and were at everyone's beck and call. The dark haired lady runs the boutique and does an amazing job. Everyone who works at this store is absolutely amazing!
Brailey is so adorable - we took this picture in front of the boot wall for her dad - all these boots, but only one pair of Tony Lamas! Well, two, actually - Brailey's and mine. We love our Tony Lama boots!
Below are the owners Mark and Betty with their security man. He was so huge! He looked like a WWE wrestler or a football player. He kept an eye on everyone. Doesn't Betty look so darling?! These two are such a fun couple. I am so grateful to know them. I met them three or four years ago at Denver Market. Thanks to their good hearts, their store is in the Top 500 of all the Ace Hardware stores in the nation! That isn't an easy feat to accomplish. I am so proud of them and happy for their success.
These pictures show a few of the shoppers, but doesn't do justice to the number of ladies in attendance. There were hundreds more! The lines at the registers were long, but they got the ladies through quickly. We met some wonderful and fun people.
My special girl. She looked so beautiful (just got her braces off on Monday)! And I have to tell you a fun secret about myself - the dress I am wearing is from 1994! I kept it all these years. It is a crushed velvet dress, and I have always loved it so much I could never part with it. I actually forgot I had it. I have seen a few of these on Instagram and was even wishing I still had mine. I was so happy when I searched my closet for a black something to wear and discovered I indeed did still have the black crushed velvet dress. I guess it is true what they say about things coming back in style. Twenty plus years and it is back "in!" It did have shoulder pads, but I just clipped those puppies out and I was good to go.
Thanks to Brailey, I survived my first Ladies Night and had a blast in the process. When I say I couldn't have done it without her, I'm not kidding - she is the best help anyone could ever ask for! I am so proud of her and grateful for the experience we shared. We are already looking forward to next year!