Time for a little truth

Do I stay or do I go?

How does this chapter end?

My mom’s Avon lady

When I was little, my mom would have a monthly (or maybe weekly, who knows) party around our kitchen table with all her neighborhood friends. Mom’s friend, Ione Bannister, would come over with her Avon loot and the ladies would shop and talk. There may have even been Tupperware parties here and there - but I always remember Ione and getting a bath with Skin-so-Soft that night.

Fast forward to when my mom passed away and I used my home sales business to keep my mind occupied and make a little money to help with those things she used to help us with, and then some. My little home business paid for cheer fees, swim fees, groceries and eventually our vacations. It was a wonderful little thing I had going! But all good things eventually come to an end and I found myself looking for another company to sell for 5 years later.

In came Sseko when I fell in love with the belt bag I saw on a friend of mine. I purchased one from her party, then hosted my own, then quickly jumped on board with this gorgeous company of inspirational women selling products in order to support our Sseko sisters in East Africa and India. But guess what, my regular customers were more of the bi-monthly, smaller purchase people. They loved the idea of new collections happening 4-5 times a year, with price points at less than $100 and lots of incentives.

Just recently a friend said “I’ve been watching your Sseko business, but it wasn’t until I actually received a piece, smelled it, felt it, that I realized just how high quality it is.” People still love their name brand bags no matter how often I ask them if they know where it was made or whether the leather was ethical or whether the purse helped women globally. I can’t share just how much it means to me that a women made the bag that I carry every day and that my bag is helping her live out her dream of attending university and building a better life for herself.

To be honest, I’m completely overwhelmed with work these days! I LOVE my new job!! I’m crazy about working with my new boss, and I have fun nearly everyday. I get home completely exhausted and between my job, spending time with family or over at Crescent Bar as much as possible, I just don’t have time for vendor shows or in-home Sseko events.

So here I sit, at a Starbucks (which I haven’t had time to do in awhile) wondering just how much longer I can keep this up. Do I hang up my hat on the whole home-business business?

I honestly miss all my old customers and our monthly communications. I wonder how they are all are … and I love watching their lives unfold on Facebook because we’re all still friends!

Oh what to do … what to do. I WILL be placing orders next week for some friends who will be ordering the “Like a Girl” is a Compliment tee shirts. Another friend has her eye on a few of the sale items. Maybe ya’ll just need me to reach out and nag you a bit more because you forget you liked something when I post about it.

If you read this and have an opinion, please let me know! I’d love to hear from you, whether it be to say hello, to tell me you want to order, to tell me to continue with Sseko because you believe in the mission, to go find another jewelry business to sell for because that’s your jam, or to throw in the towel because should try doing something different. Regardless of the reason, I thank God that I’ve had such a great run with home businesses because I feel confident about my ability to now live without my mom and it’s given me so many more wonderful people in my life.

Gotta run and pick up my kid who’s home from college this weekend.

Gabby out .. for now.

For the Spring 2020 "Hopefully Yours" Collection, we traveled the world in search of the most stunning materials and the most beautiful stories. We shot this catalog in Joshua Tree National Park as the Joshua Tree is a symbol of faith, hope and resilience in the midst of harsh conditions.

Need all the flip flops!!

Sseko Leather Flip Flops

What made me kick my Havianas to the curb!

During my visits to Huntington Beach and Las Vegas, I would plan a whole day around picking out new Havianas flip flops to add to my collection. I loved them and packing for trips became very easy when I’d just throw in a few pairs of flips and call it good. LOL But then, came Sseko and their leather version of my favorite shoe.

My husband was floored the first time I grabbed my Sseko over my plastic Havianas. I’d been eyeing them for some time, but when I took the leap, it was like I’d stumbled on the promised land of sandals. (Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but they really are glorious!)

But DID YOU KNOW, you can order them as part of our CUSTOM workshop? You can order varied colors for the base, sole and straps. Monogram these babies and the customization is complete! My goal is to grab them in the black, but then perhaps custom some in the navy blue. Or maybe white.

You can find the CUSTOM shop at the bottom of my Shop Gabby’s Sseko Design page. Need help? Just ask and I’d be happy to walk you through. It takes at least a month to ship CUSTOM products, so if you’re thinking of that beach wedding or cruise this summer, start thinking ahead.

Other than heading into the water, these are my go to summer shoes. Dressy enough for summer dresses on vacation but looks just as trendy with my cutoff jeans and tanks at our Crescent Bar home. Get your pedicure on point and pick up a pair of these for your summer plans.

Available NOW.

Order your Customs Today!

"Like a Girl" is a compliment

Hopefully Yours …

Spring/Summer 2020 Collection

“Like a Girl” is a Compliment

I’ve posted quite a bit over the last year about this tee-shirt and this particular saying. The reaction I’ve received from men and women everywhere has been inspiring and long after it sold out in white, I’ve had to tell others to watch my Sseko site for a re-release. Well guess what my lovely people, its coming back even better than before, in black!

My white tee has been to other countries, over jeans and skirts, to work and to play, dressed up and dressed down because no matter where it goes, it’s giving life to an amazing truth. Girls are amazing and we can do anything.

We have all shopped online for tee-shirts and I’ve come up short with an ill-fitting and stiff tee more than I’ve been lucky. What I’m telling you now, being as picky as I am, is that this shirt is truly perfect. V-neck. Soft. Boxy and washes like a champ.

It’s going to sell out quickly, so you’d better get that reminder on your phone now … shop my Sseko site after January 28th.

Like a Girl Black Tee-shirt $39.99 (Size 1 or 2)

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A few of my favorite things …

For the Spring 2020 “Hopefully Yours” Collection, we traveled the world in search of the most stunning materials and the most beautiful stories. We shot this catalog in Joshua Tree National Park as the Joshua Tree is a symbol of faith, hope and resilience in the midst of harsh conditions. Our Oiled Agave leather is a celebration of the sweetness that can be found in the struggle. The rainbow stripes are a call to believe that storms bring unparalleled beauty. And our stunning mixed metallic leather is a reminder that sometimes the reward is not just on the other side of the struggle, but in who you become when you dare to hope.In this collection you’ll find more artistry and artisanal excellence than ever. From handcrafted legacy leather goods to handwoven and block printed textiles, each piece in this collection is truly something to be treasured and celebrated. Just like you. We promise these pieces will become treasured items in your collection, telling not just a story of your personal style but of hope, resilience and belief.

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Hopefully Yours

Watch my Blog as I share my favorites with you!!

Happy new year to all my friends and family!

Read the Fine Print

Read the fine print

You’d think I knew better …

We’d been warned about college kids being ABSOLUTELY CONTENT with the roommates they choose when deciding to live off campus. We’d been warned about having to rescue a kid from a rental agreement they needed to get out of. Yeah, we’d been warned.

I’ve been a paralegal for 28 years, I know how to read a contract. I even worked at an apartment building as a rental agent for awhile. When you have your kiddo saying “Quick mom! They need my answer now!” You throw all caution to the wind, figure the agreement can’t be much different than others you’ve read in the past, and you sign it. You’ve met the girls who she’ll be living with. How bad could they be? They’re actively involved in the local church youth group, they come from good families, they are excited my kid is sharing space with them.

We’d be warned … and then after only one quarter the kid is seriously unhappy. Without going into detail about what went wrong, we needed to get her into a new situation as soon as possible.

Our kiddo is blessed in her group of old friends. A series of mishaps in timing led to 2 of her really good friends living in alternate locations at the start of the year. Fate led them back together when each of them were looking for new digs within the next 6 months. So they started looking together, and found themselves a lovely little place with 4 bedrooms, leaving room for another new friend who was also looking for a place to move. Only our kid had trouble getting our of her lease.

In reading the parent Facebook groups for the university, I saw parents looking for lease-takeovers all the time. Seemed like a pretty normal undertaking. So I started reviewing our rental agreement, which to my great disappointment, included a “Roommate Approval” clause. All roommates had to approve both the roommate moving out and the roommate moving in. Sounds reasonable right? Only, now we were looking at a group of girls who could, essentially, block our kid from moving at all, or even worse, making us pay for the remainder of the lease. The only alternative would be to pay out the rest of the 9 months we had left on the lease and move her into her new place. Essentially paying double the rent.

My communication with the rental company confirmed my fears, so we started asking the roommates if they had anyone they were willing to move into our lease. Thankfully, a replacement was found, but not until after we agreed to pay her first months rent and had to offer to pay her damage deposit. In the meantime, we had to forfeit our damage deposit and first months rent. So in total, we were out approximately $1300 just to get out of the lease. Not to mention having to pay an additional damage deposit and first/last on the new place. And yep … we’d been warned.

Now that we’re all moved into the new place and paid every last penny (including the last much higher energy bill because one roommate resided there the entire month of December with a Christmas tree when the energy bill should have been less with all students returning home for the 4 week winter break) our kid is GLORIOUSLY happy and settled with the people she should have been living with all along. But, this was a learning opportunity for her and for us! I think it needed to happen. We learned our lesson.

So now, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.

If you’ve got a kid in college now or in the future, please heed our advice:

• Off-campus housing is MUCH cheaper, but comes with its own troubles;

• READ every word of the rental agreement and review it with your kid so they know what’s at stake;

• If you know or have the opportunity to meet the parents, DO;

• Know that too many rules is just that - TOO many rules;

• Don’t rush into anything; and

• Understand that this may happen to you and your kid, and that’s okay.

Our daughter is smiling and happy. In fact, I may have never seen her so happy which makes all the stress of the last 2 months so worth it. They’ve got enough to worry about right? Grades, friends, tests, student loans, living on their own, laundry … I mean really. If the worst thing that can be said about me is that I rescued my daughter from a difficult living situation, then fine. Guilty as charged. But trust me, this new lease is right on the money and I felt comfortable signing this one. (Even found some mistakes they needed to correct.)

So as my mom would say … happy days are here again.

You're Just Like Your Mother

You’re just like your mother …

what a glorious compliment

A wonderful friend texted me the other day and asked if I was okay. Now this particularly wonderful friend lives in another state and although we try to stay in touch as much as possible, I don’t think we had touched base for a week or two. My first answer was “yes, absolutely”, then I started to think about how my month has actually been going, and I gave her the truth “I’ve been better” or something to that effect.

Most of you know that in my entire life, I have never known a closer relationship than the one I had with my mom. She was everything … and this Saturday, December 21st, will mark the 6th year since her passing. Unfortunately, it also marks my 38th birthday. In all honesty, she actually passed on December 22nd, but when her heart attack hit on the evening of the 21st, it was the last time she and I spoke, the last time we looked into each others eyes, and the last time I could tell her that I wasn’t done with her yet. 24 hours later, she was gone.

So, when my friend asked how I was doing, I told her the truth.

Immediately following mom’s passing, I used all my energy staying busy. Life doesn’t stop when someone you love goes away, and since my mom was the “3rd adult” in our little family unit, we had big shoes to fill. We dove straight into Christmas and I had to complete mom’s Christmas shopping for her big family. Somewhere in there I planned her funeral and reception. Once that was over, I slept. I slept through my weekends and when I got home every night. About 6 months later, I started selling jewelry for Chloe + Isabel because when I brain was busy I wasn’t constantly thinking of my loss.

We have a great life. I’m working full time and my side businesses have now dropped off. I enjoy spending time with my husband and beautiful daughters. We go on adventures and spend time with friends who have become family. We’re happy. But it’s in these moments of quiet contemplation when I dread my birthday once again. Not because I fear getting older, but it’s one more year without mom. I literally can’t believe everything that has happened since her passing. Mainly, we grew up!

My mom was like a shooting star - she was always moving and carrying a smile everywhere she went. That is the memory people were left with, “Your mom was always smiling".” She taught me how to be happy, how to be proud of my “rose colored glasses”, that giving is much better than receiving, to love my children absolutely unconditionally, and always have grace.

In my line of work, there are brilliant minds everywhere. People who question the world around them, uncover big ideas and have that yearning to answer all of llfe’s big questions. I admire them for these gifts and can, at times, be a little intimidated. Then I remember mom, and her smile. She didn’t care about these BIG questions, she cared about people. Most especially HER people, but everyone would do too. She loved a happy ending to a story or movie, old musicals, and Mamma Mia on the radio. It didn’t matter if you were brilliant or a high school drop out, whether you were rich or just making it by, or whether you were important or feeling insignificant. She loved us all.

“I’ve been better” is my feeling this week, so forgive me if I’m a bit quieter and prefer spending time alone for awhile. You know I’ll always bounce back again - because I wouldn’t be living my best life unless I live it like my mom always did - cheerful, smiling and full-speed ahead.

(I love you Darlene! Thank you for feeling my need for a hug, even from so far away.)

Copy of You're Just Like Your Mother

You’re just like your mother …

what a glorious compliment

A wonderful friend texted me the other day and asked if I was okay. Now this particularly wonderful friend lives in another state and although we try to stay in touch as much as possible, I don’t think we had touched base for a week or two. My first answer was “yes, absolutely”, then I started to think about how my month has actually been going, and I gave her the truth “I’ve been better” or something to that effect.

Most of you know that in my entire life, I have never known a closer relationship than the one I had with my mom. She was everything … and this Saturday, December 21st, will mark the 6th year since her passing. Unfortunately, it also marks my 38th birthday. In all honesty, she actually passed on December 22nd, but when her heart attack hit on the evening of the 21st, it was the last time she and I spoke, the last time we looked into each others eyes, and the last time I could tell her that I wasn’t done with her yet. 24 hours later, she was gone.

So, when my friend asked how I was doing, I told her the truth.

Immediately following mom’s passing, I used all my energy staying busy. Life doesn’t stop when someone you love goes away, and since my mom was the “3rd adult” in our little family unit, we had big shoes to fill. We dove straight into Christmas and I had to complete mom’s Christmas shopping for her big family. Somewhere in there I planned her funeral and reception. Once that was over, I slept. I slept through my weekends and when I got home every night. About 6 months later, I started selling jewelry for Chloe + Isabel because when I brain was busy I wasn’t constantly thinking of my loss.

We have a great life. I’m working full time and my side businesses have now dropped off. I enjoy spending time with my husband and beautiful daughters. We go on adventures and spend time with friends who have become family. We’re happy. But it’s in these moments of quiet contemplation when I dread my birthday once again. Not because I fear getting older, but it’s one more year without mom. I literally can’t believe everything that has happened since her passing. Mainly, we grew up!

My mom was like a shooting star - she was always moving and carrying a smile everywhere she went. That is the memory people were left with, “Your mom was always smiling".” She taught me how to be happy, how to be proud of my “rose colored glasses”, that giving is much better than receiving, to love my children absolutely unconditionally, and always have grace.

In my line of work, there are brilliant minds everywhere. People who question the world around them, uncover big ideas and have that yearning to answer all of llfe’s big questions. I admire them for these gifts and can, at times, be a little intimidated. Then I remember mom, and her smile. She didn’t care about these BIG questions, she cared about people. Most especially HER people, but everyone would do too. She loved a happy ending to a story or movie, old musicals, and Mamma Mia on the radio. It didn’t matter if you were brilliant or a high school drop out, whether you were rich or just making it by, or whether you were important or feeling insignificant. She loved us all.

“I’ve been better” is my feeling this week, so forgive me if I’m a bit quieter and prefer spending time alone for awhile. You know I’ll always bounce back again - because I wouldn’t be living my best life unless I live it like my mom always did - cheerful, smiling and full-speed ahead.

(I love you Darlene! Thank you for feeling my need for a hug, even from so far away.)

Holiday decorating ... my story

Getting the kids excited!

I recently shared a post on Facebook, you know the ones with the statistics that are totally made up by someone in Facebook-land, that says decorating early could make you happier. Well, who couldn’t be happier than to put up a tree with lots of twinkling lights reminding you that the holiday season is upon us! Besides, I’m already more than 1/2 done with my Christmas shopping (of course) and I just recently returned from my niece’s farm in Southern Oregon where she had me helping her decorate her new home for the holidays … so I was seriously in the mood!

Dave and I lovingly call our oldest daughter and my father-in-law “The Kids”, since both of them are permanently living with us. (When my youngest kiddo, currently away at college, is home we say “The Family” … and the dogs are “The Boys”.) We’ve been struggling a bit with “happy” at our house due to the lack of daylight hours and just general winter blahs. The minute I put up the tree, my father-in-law’s attitude changed and he told the very next person who called “Merry Christmas!” You may or may not know that he has Alzheimer’s dementia - so in fact this may be the last Christmas he really remembers. If this is the case, why not really make it something worth remembering? Make this season longer and full of Hallmark movies, outings to look at decorated lanes, Christmas concerts, snow in the mountains - but for now we’ll start with a little holiday cheer at home.

There are lots of reasons not to look forward to the holidays - difficulty with family, expectations, loneliness, shopping, cat knocking all the stuff off your tree - whatever your anguish might be. For me, my dad passed right before Thanksgiving and my mom died on my birthday, 4 days before Christmas. My family doesn’t gather, for one reason or another, and so for the most part, with the exception of fabulous friends who sent lovely invites to our little family and a few family members, we are on our own. But, we really did Christmas last year and we intend to do the same this year!! So I say BRING ON THE DECORATIONS! I’m tired of feeling sad and I owe it to my kiddos to make Christmas as magical as possible. Someday we’ll have grandchildren and I don’t wanna blow that by being a Scrooge.

So … to quote my father-in-law … Merry Christmas! (Deal with it!)

“I planned out our whole day. First we’ll make snow angels for a two hours, then we’ll go ice skating, then we’ll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookiedough as fast as we can, and then we’ll snuggle.”

— Buddy the Elf

A little Sunday drive ...

It’s always a good time to wander

North Cascades Highway

In early September, my husband saw a post on Facebook about the beautiful fall colors along the North Cascades Highway (better known as Hwy 20 for you out of towners). We’re not a family of “long drives” focusing rather on projects and the many sources of local activities. If we were gonna take the time to drive somewhere, we’d go and stay overnight and hang out, much like what we do at Crescent Bar. But on Saturday, with no plans for Sunday, I suggested we take the drive on a whim. So we packed up the “kids” (kids = papa and our oldest kid) and take off to see some nature.

All of who have taken the route before will already know the end of our story … the leaves had already dropped. But, it was a beautiful sunny day. We spent 8 hours in the car laughing and joking around. We stopped at no less than a dozen points of interest along the way, took photographs and just spent time.

We have it on our calendar next October to take the trip a little sooner and make it a priority. Maybe make it a weekend trip with a stop in Leavenworth, Wenatchee and an overnight in our little Crescent Bar home. But regardless, we had a fun day ending with a little shopping at the Seattle Outlet Mall for new clothes for the husband and a few Christmas gifts taken care of before a nail-biting Seahawks win.

“Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.”

— Dalai Lama

Uncle Jerry

Love

Still feeling dad’s love and protection through his brothers

Last week my Uncle Jerry had a birthday. He is one of my dad’s younger brothers and a shorter, rounder version of my dad. In fact, all of my uncles are the spitting image of him, right down to the beautiful black hair. The only differences are their sizes - some short, some tall, some thin, some muscular, some pleasantly plump, but all lovely men. After Uncle Jerry retired, he started making use of his local senior center wood shop. He and my Aunt Ruthie would collect wood from family farms, historical trees, and unusual species for him to use on his bowls. Each and every one of them is unique and beautiful. I have been blessed to be gifted a few of them, some of which have earned spots of honor in the courtrooms where I have worked. They serve as a daily reminder of Jerry, my dad and the paternal side of my family.

My dad grew up in Minnesota and moved to the Pacific Northwest when his job with the railroad moved he, my mom and 4 of my siblings to Seattle in the mid-60’s. Since that time, I have always enjoyed our family visits to visit my big, lovely, Catholic, mid-west, funny Polish relations.

Later in life, I have made efforts to return to MN to visit. They are all now in their mid-late 80’s and each time I leave them, I’m reminded that this may be the last hug and last goodbye.

I thank God everyday that I have wonderful memories of each and every one of them. Uncle Clarence calling early in the morning PST and yelling over the phone “Gabrielle, it’s your Uncle Clarence! Where’s your mudder?” Running between Uncle Jerry and Aunt Clara Ann’s house because they only lived a few blocks apart and there was a corner shop selling Otter Pops on the way. Hanging out downtown at the lake on the paddle boats. Following around my Uncle Spatz and laughing with Aunt Maxine. Getting chased by Uncle Howie after he discovered slugs in Seattle. My Aunt Clara Ann’s crazy talent for sewing and quilting. Going into the train depot in Seattle with my dad on Saturday mornings to make calls to whatever uncles happened to show up to the train depot in MN and how 2 groups of them made the trek out to our house the summer of 1989, when the doctors decided they’d done all they could for my dad, to say their last goodbyes. Five of the eight are together again in heaven, and I will continue to enjoy the 3 who remain. My last connection to my dad.

Happy birthday Uncle Jerry! Your wood bowl sits in my courtroom with me - thank you for the constant daily reminder of you and how much my dad loved his family every day of his life.

Getting back In the game

Avoiding raindrops

There are these tunnels that run from my County parking garage all the way to the courthouse. They go under 5th Avenue, Cherry Street and 4th Avenue. This allows me to go directly from my home garage to my chambers desk without ever getting my feet wet! It’s really quite incredible.

My first two weeks have been one big exciting ride. A couple of juries, motions, criminal matters, and lots of organization. I am very confident in my decision to return to the court.

I’m very fortunate to have reconnected with so many great friends and I know it’s only been 2 weeks, but I look forward to each day with renewed energy.

Somehow, this excitement is launching itself onto other areas of my life, like decorating for the holidays and Sunday cooking. While I have been exhausted each evening from the amount of work crossing my desk, I’m feeling settled and grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given to return to the law.

Very fortunate indeed …