It's okay if you don't get The Office reference. (But it's really awesome if you do.)

Today I've been in "administrator" mode, and dealing with bears and beets.

• Cakes for open house? Check! This required a phone call yesterday and an in-person visit today because, evidently, just our logo would have been "...kinda...plain". Now they'll be less plain because SPRINKLES! 
• Got all my Facebook friends invited to our Open House? Check! 
• Linen service for massage therapy rooms? Check!
• Salon equipment list re-finalize? Check! 
• Scathing review of the latest car servicing? Check, even though that has nothing to do with Magnolia House. It's a thing that needed done, so it's a thing I did. 
• A visit from Code Enforcement to place the Knox Box and to discuss our upcoming Open House? Check!
• B got a bunch of the back and side parking lines repainted. 
• Got Kid 2 to the Spring band concert on time? Check! 
• Posted a Mother's Day Contest on FB? Check! 

Here's my brag photo of the day. Thanks, babe.
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We are now on the 4th plumber. We aren't proud of this by any means.
The first guy wanted to replumb the whole entire building. (Yes, we know she's old. Yes, we know it will have to be done. A little later- or a project at a time- suits our budget much better than sooner, I can't lie about this. I refuse to be ashamed to say something is outside our budget). Plumber #2 wanted double what Plumber #1 wanted for just the installation of the shampoo bowl plus $200. Well. Number 3 said during our initial phone call he would "pass on" our "little project". Well. Plumber #4 paid us a visit and we are, once again, cautiously optimistic. We're also fully aware that it's not an easy project to do; in order to have the salon part of the day spa, we have to have a shampoo bowl. So, fingers crossed. 

Speaking of the salon, our equipment supplier called yesterday and asked "did we talk to you about the stylist chairs being on backorder?" Uh, no. I'm actually okay with this because our plumber still has to talk to the state plumbing inspector about our situation. In the meantime, the esthetics salon is open and so are some of the massage rooms. We've added a recovery lounge to the massage clinic upstairs. We've include a tea and coffee station. I've included a photo of the windows on the landing because they are one of the sources of the incredible light we get. There's a filmy spa blue curtain on the French doors leading to the balcony we are not making use of until my handy-dandy husband builds a frame with a screen to take advantage of a breeze. Sorry, no. Code and insurance say you can't step out until the railing is high enough.  
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Oh, we are so proud of the work Ken's Construction Company did. 
We think she's beautiful.
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The roof is about ten literal (okay, hyperbolic) minutes from being done. The painters are doing the last touchups and caulk work. Here's the before and after we are so proud of. The painters were working on the front, the columns, and the other side today. They may have wrapped up this afternoon, or may finish in the morning. First thing tomorrow, I'll take a picture of the front and get that posted! 

​What else is new?

The sauna is installed and ready. It is infrared, not steam. There are  features for chromatherapy (colored light), a white bulb for reading (awww, yeah!), and music. It will accommodate one with plenty of room, or two people if you are reallly close. Up to you. ;)

We have massage therapists ready to come to work. Speaking of that.... Code Enforcement came today to clear us for guest traffic upstairs. I'll never get tired of seeing the people's faces who are seeing the inside for the first time. Or the second, or the third. (Thank you, gentlemen, for not laughing when I misunderstood "Knox Box" for "N2O Box".)

We have a dedicated massage room downstairs for our guests who cannot take the stairs; all other massage clinic services, sauna included, are upstairs in an effort to separate these services from the sounds of the salon. We are also designating a room upstairs for Reflexology and Seated/Chair Massage Services.
Energy work is fascinating. One of our massage therapists holds a Reiki II status. This weekend (4/22), I'm attending a Reiki I class with two other friends. So, yes, Magnolia House will also be offering Reiki.
Seated Massage, aka Chair Massage,  is a wonderful place to start for people who are pressed for time or new to massage. (A chair massage is a 10-20 minute session, the client is fully clothed, focusing on neck, shoulders, back, arms, hands, and hips). Think about it: a short amount of massage therapy once or twice a week, every other week, to undo all the bad postural alignment and repetitive stress actions  caused by our daily activities ( playing on our phones, doing our jobs, even some hobbies). Chair massage is incredible.
Magnolia House also offers chair massages off-site. Yes, we will come to you. There is no service call charge for Graves County. We do request a minimum commitment of four (4) individuals. Call or email us for more information. 

What else has happened? 
The lovely Judy Myatt of the Kentucky Board of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists came to see us, and issued the Magnolia House's esthetics salon's license. This is my room, the room of waxing, facials, enzyme work, chemical peels and other modalities related to skincare therapy. Like every other inspection so far, I asked 6 million questions and absolutely enjoyed myself. 

We have ordered the salon equipment and that should be here in a week.

We are expecting a plumber tomorrow at 1:00 for a second bid/estimate to take care of the salon equipment plumbing. (In an aside, it's very interesting what we've learned about the variations in laws from state to state. I'm very proud that Kentucky actually has such high standards and expectations of businesses in regards to public safety.)

We are now selling gift certificates as well. 

We will be releasing the scheduling app for our guests' convenience very, very soon. 

Finally, I'm taking the MBLEX on 4/26. Thoughts, prayers, light, good vibes, juju would be appreciated! 

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​Last week was an outstanding week for us! 

Nathan Lamb, Mayfield's Building Official, paid us a visit and it was wonderful! 
We got our Certificate of Occupancy, and our maximum capacity number. We got good news about the upstairs and basement (these are discussions for later; we can't give everything away up front). 

On Friday morning, I spent some time at the Mayfield-Graves County Health Department with Shea Rodgers (Environmental II) and Mark Hayden (State Plumbing Inspection) asking questions about the next steps to a) get my esthetics room approved, and b) what's next to get the Day Spa going. 

So, one thousand thank yous Nathan, Shea, and Mark for your patience and your help last week bringing us that much closer to getting the doors open! Brian and I are grateful. 

I have been flooding the Facebook page with pictures of what Ken's Construction Company is working on right now. We can't say enough good things about these guys. My favorite part of looking out the windows is watching the people come down Walnut toward 7th and do double-takes. She's going to be glorious when they get done. 

We also have a plumber coming in a couple days to give us a bid/estimate to install the sinks for the salon area. All I can say is this: we are trying make as little changes as possible, to be as gentle with the building as we can. And we are definitely not painting the upstairs tub or getting rid of the knotty pine planks in the basement. Just the ugly remnants of the drop ceiling. :) 

Squee! We had our follow up walkthrough with Code Enforcement and, once again, W. Higginson is supportive, helpful, a wealth of knowledge. We are so lucky. In the next day or two, one more officer will come in and we'll be official for guests on the first floor, and I'll get one signature on the application for my esthetics salon. So exciting! 

Frontier Corporation, one of our lovely vendors, sent us a (surprise) welcome box full of samples, and some catalogs. I can't wait to get some of their products on the shelves. We've been adding things slowly, because what good are retail goods if you can't let people in the door, right? 

Magnolia House has completed the application to purchase a sunscreen dispenser for client use (at no charge to them) from the Melanoma Foundation of New England. The dispensers are part of their Practice Safe Skin program and I'm so in awe of this non-profit organization. Last year, I completed the Skinny on Skin program, a "free cancer education program for hair and beauty professionals". Estheticians see a lot of skin; massage therapists see even more. Nail techs and hair stylists are also in a advantageous place to keep an eye out for irregularities under/around the nails or on the scalp, ears, and neck. Even though I am definitely not qualified to diagnose, if you are on my table and I see something suspicious, I will refer you to a physician and then keep on asking you about it every time we see each other. 

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I have some really great stories about this bathroom already. One involves the time BK took a few little pieces apart in order to do something about the hot water, which was turned off to this tub. 

​Who wouldn't want to soak in this magnificent piece of jade? 
Somebody. Somebody who realized they couldn't turn the hot water off at the spout.

So, we had an adventure.

First was the taking apart of things and the next was visiting a big box hardware store. I'm not naming any names, because we love all the places for home improvement around here. But standing on Aisle 697, looking at forty-eleven parts that weren't the same as part 9s/1H (or something like that) and when the associate approached, she just looked at the piece in BK's hand and said "OLD". 

Lady, we know. Because we don't even know what year the MH was built. Then, the super nice associate did what BK had already done, which was look around and shake her head. She named another place we should try, but warned us that it was going to be expensive, and then suggested we could try True Value. 

We went to True Value.
Everyone should go to True Value.
And give Mr. Michael West lots of love. 

He took the stem from B, started moving these magical upright shelves around and pulling out little parts, fussing with them, making things fit, and said "Okay. Try this first, but it's going to take two of you. One to turn the water on- you do that (he looked at me) and you do the yelling when the water sprays everywhere (he pointed at BK)."  

He went on to suggest that the seal had corroded and was probably in the pipe somewhere and the little parts he fit together on the original could create a water stop but he wasn't going to swear that it would work, and if it didn't he could order more things to get us there. And guess what? It worked.

.30 seal
.50 washer
.50 washer (in case the first .50 washer wasn't exactly the right size)
1.30 total spent, .80 fix. 
Magical. 

(eBay had the vintage replacement handles, Amazon had the shower curtain, Valspar had the right color paint, and someone out there has the hand towels, so this green goddess is getting a makeover!) 

But not really, because we have been BUSY. 

We've been working on renovations and repairs, and that's going really well. A few pictures have been posted to the Renovations page. Some of them aren't finished, but a little peek/tease never hurt anyone, right? Can I just say, for the record, my husband is The Very Best? 

Our favorite roofer expects to start that project next week (Tuesday?). All.the.yays.

We have hit a bit of a snare with the external, metal staircase that is my heart's desire. Every company rep we've spoken with wants to sell us a spiral set (CE is checking on this, but it's looking like a big "no", so my hopes aren't up) and no one wants to build a straight one with a landing or two. (Don't make me go to welding school so I can do it my own self.) Boo! 

I submitted my online application to take the MBLEX and received my ATT (authorization to test) the very next day. I thank BK for paving the way; they must have been like, "Oh, another Cathcart. Fine."

The Trail Guide to the Body hasn't quite killed me yet. We are in the Pelvis and Thigh, wrapping up the muscle section and then it's just the Leg and Foot left. Chair massage lessons start next week and I'm stoked about that! 

Two lovely friends came to see me so I could test out a brand new to me product and their protocol. Let me tell you: it is magnificent. The first one is highly sensitive to everything, and sailed through the facial (and enzyme!) without any redness or heat at all. The second one has some complaints about hyperpigmentation and redness and by the end, they were erased. We were gobsmacked. Delicious. I can not wait to offer this service to my clients who are looking at mature skin issues. They'll be in love. 
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Thank you to the very kind, patient, knowledgeable ladies at the City Clerks office, for answering my 500 questions and for all the help. This is a steep learning curve! 

You are wonderful and we appreciate you all so much! 

We were so busy all weekend long.  We've got a list of repairs and renovations, along with a list of ideas to tackle. There's something very satisfying about crossing something off of one of those lists. 

If you're following the Instagram account @magnoliahouse42066, then you might have seen some sneak peeks  there. I'm trying to get some pics posted to the Renovations page as well. It's a rough week of waiting until Brian has some free time. After 20 years of marriage,  the gender lines and divisions of labor are firmly established: I don't touch his tools and he stays out of my arts and crafts supplies. ;)

In terms of vendors, we got our spa candles ordered and placed the first order for one of the retail skincare lines. I'm very excited about both of those! We have a few odds and ends on the shelves- no spoilers because I'm going to do another contest soon. The next steps are the business license (tomorrow!), registering for my MBLEX (registering tomorrow,  testing soon!), speaking with a local business owner about the uniforms (tomorrow), and trying to make some progress on the fire escape issue. 

​Happy Monday!