6 Months... and Counting!

Exactly 6 months ago this weekend, my husband Chris and I were finally able to see almost a YEAR of our hard work come to life when we opened Climbing Vines Cafe & Play and hosted our first children's birthday party!  Since then, we have hosted over 70 parties, held dozens of special events and classes, and greeted countless smiles that walked through our door.

 It has undoubtedly been the most difficult, yet most rewarding journey for my family and I thus far in our lives.  We have had to adjust from my steady office job and paycheck to accepting a world FULL of uncertainty, crazy hours, and cleaning up frosting pretty much daily! I definitely have a LOT more grey hair and get a LOT less sleep, but my heart is also SO full and when I do (finally) go to sleep each night, I am so thankful that I, along with our staff, were able to make that day a little more filled with fun and laughter for a special group of children and parents. 

To celebrate our 6 month anniversary (or as we like to say, our 1/2 birthday!), I thought I would give you a little behind-the-scenes look of the creation of our little "nook" of the world that we love and run so passionately each day.

Maybe it is the pregnancy hormones (or maybe I can just blame them!) but I am definitely writing this post through tears in my eyes, since these photos bring back so many memories (happy AND stress-filled- but mostly happy!)

First, a photo of what our space looked like when we signed our lease. I remember feeling so overwhelmed at the amount of work ahead! I am so thankful for our focus group that spanned over a year, FULL of Rochester-area parents (a.k.a. our secret weapon!), that helped me make so many important decisions and helped to ease the burden. If you are reading this and are one of our "Vines Visionaries"- THANK YOU!

Now, a fun photo of our menu taste testing team! Before we even began construction, we enlisted the help of our focus group (and their little ones!) to choose a menu that was fresh, healthy, and of course... tasty and toddler approved! This photo was taken in my kitchen!

Next, a photo of our counter where we greet our customers each day, just a few weeks before we opened our doors compared to today!  We designed ALL the colors ourselves based on how they made us feel- happy, refreshed, and energized!

Next, our lounge area, which is a nice quiet area for customers who want to take a nice rest from the play area! I love the inspirational quotes covering the walls, especially the one that says "be AWESOME today!" It reminds me each morning to do my best and STAY POSITIVE despite the circumstances.

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Finally, a before-and-after of our play-area! We have to thank our architect, Eric Ferri, for helping us decide on the layout of our area and really maximize the space! We just love it, and it looks just like it did in my dreams! We custom-designed our playhouses and planned the rest of the activities with teachers and parents, and with incredible care. It's so wonderful to see children enjoying playing here every day!

And now, some fun bonus photos! We spent SO much time traveling, learning, and talking to other parents while we prepared to open. All of it has paid off, but man, it was exhausting! 

Thank you for taking a moment to revisit our opening with me! I hope you will join us at our 1/2 Birthday event Saturday, July 30, so we can thank all of our customers in person! Learn more about the event and all of the great activities and food happening here: https://occ.sn/pdaogtq-

Our Personal Passion behind our Entrepreneurial Workshop

Hello! Hope you are all having a fantastic week.  With the major heatwave that hit Rochester over the past few days, it was so wonderful to see so many of you playing at the cafe, enjoying the air conditioning!

Although Chris and I get excited for each of our special events, there is one coming up soon that we can hardly contain our enthusiasm for!  We are hosting a Budding Entrepreneurs Workshop for 4 weeks in August, with the hope of getting some young members of the community motivated and eager as we head into the next school year. 

What makes this event SO special to us, you ask?  Well, I for one, was always business-minded growing up.  I was always the child handing out flyers advertising odd-jobs in my neighborhood, or setting up lemonade stands every time the temperature reached above 70 degrees.  What I didn't have, though, were experienced members of my community willing to help harness and foster that energy into an actual plan. Instead, I ended up with a new "plan" each day, never truly committing to one idea and therefore not really getting anywhere at all.

While it might not be the "right" time for your child to truly delve into the execution phase of their ideas, wouldn't you love to give them the tools and support they need so that they have specific, realistic goals to work towards? That is EXACTLY what this workshop is for!  Not only will your child learn the basics of writing a business plan (and actually create one as their "final" task!), they will hear real-life stories from local business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, and government representatives AND have the opportunity to ask them any questions they like about how they achieved their goals. If your child doesn't have an idea- it's OK! That's what this workshop is for- to set their imaginations in motion!

I will be the main leader of this group, as I have plenty of experience taking an idea and following steps to make it happen.  I also have an M.S. in both Finance and Economics and experience teaching at the college-level, so I am confident in my abilities to, along with other community business owners and professionals, help guide these budding entrepreneurs onto the start of their journey! I am so excited to share what I have learned over the last several years and answer any questions your children may have.

I feel so lucky that I have been blessed with wonderful mentors along my journey- though they were not easy to seek out! My goal is to connect the experienced leaders with young minds so that others might be as lucky as myself!

Curious about learning more or seeing the registration information?  Visit the link below!

https://occ.sn/ssprp03o

An Update on our Journey!

Hello everyone!  It's been a while since I've written, but the cafe has been keeping me plenty busy :) It has been such an incredible gift meeting all of you as you come into Climbing Vines each day.  Chris and I have learned and grown SO much as both business partners and as individuals over the last six months, and feel grateful every day to be on this journey.

We have received a great deal of feedback (both positive and negative) over the last six months of being open, and we are so proud of the changes we have made to adapt to the unique needs of the families we serve.  We now offer non-electronic activities for older siblings, enrichment classes for young children, drop-off hours, and daily specials, and we have each of you to thank for our success thus far! THANK YOU for speaking up, we couldn't do it without you!

We have one more exciting announcement to make- after spending the past six wonderful months growing our business, 

we are SO excited to continue 

growing our family and are expecting 

another son in just a few short months!  

All of the support and kind words from customers have really touched me and inspired me to keep our blog updated as Chris and I take a (small) step back to focus on preparing for our new bundle.

We will still be at the cafe daily through November, up until we're due!  Please feel free to say hello, and offer any tips as we adjust to becoming a two-child family.  We will continue to update our website, event calendar, and blog as well, so please stay in touch!

Again, THANK YOU for all of the love and support over the last six months.  We are so thrilled that our addition to the Rochester community has been welcomed so warmly, and are excited to continue learning and growing with your help. We have some fun family-friendly events in the works, so stay tuned!