Sleeping in

Well, it's not always a 'homemade cappuccino' in the morning, especially if you sleep in past 9am. I don't personally make the cappuccinos; they come courtesy Mama LeMontree's beautiful expertise. After crawling out of bed at 10am today, I've had to make do with the easiest alternative: a light vanilla-flavored frappuccino coffee drink, though I often wonder how much coffee is really in one of these things...

"Light" mostly means you can taste the sucralose.

You can see by this photo, too, that the kitchen table is awash in paperwork. We try to keep it clear as much as possible, but there's so much to sort through and take care of-- print-outs of photos from past jobs, newspapers delivered each morning, magazines and coupons, mail, samples of fabrics, price books from different companies. Running a business out of your home, which is what we've been doing for 20+ years, takes a lot of patience and a lot of organization. 

Here's a scrap of silk--so incredibly soft!--in a lovely neutral taupe.

I mentioned yesterday that we were headed to Ashoka the Great. The weather has been in the high nineties all week--perfect blue skies and fierce bright sun, as you can see. The food was delicious--spicy, flavorful--but Mama LeMontree and I both agreed that we prefer the chicken tikka masala at Gill's Indian Restaurant, located in the Stillwell Hotel, downtown L.A. (richer, creamier sauce). However, Ashoka offers a wider selection of dishes (I recommend trying the lentils). Definitely stop by if you're in Cerritos.

On the business side of lunch, we talked about how important it is to find and develop a niche--whether you're working with a commercial or residential clientele. We discussed some new upcoming things--like utilizing smart fabrics in industrial buildings where they need materials to keep large computer units from overheating. But we also talked about promoting 'green fabrics,' or all natural organic materials. One thing is for sure, we need to work on developing a website. My goal today is to try scanning in some of the photos from our past jobs--if I'm successful, I'll post a few of here later. Sunday mornings are always a quiet affair in the LeMontree household, though. So, for now, I'm going to finish my frappuccino and read a little bit.