Better Than Chocolate Boutique, LLC has taken off and our little blogging bird has flapped her wings to another nest:

Please check out www.btc-boutique.com/wonderful_women

We have woken up to a new year and with it come new opportunities for making positive changes in our lives. Perhaps you’ve made a few resolutions?

My resolutions tend toward the non-specific, much like the fortunes dangling on the strings attached to my favorite tea bags. I think this can ensure that one or two transgressions do not invalidate an entire year’s goal.

So my resolution this year is to improve my overall health: eating better, sleeping more, and getting more exercise. Should be easy enough. My hope is that this general goal will filter over into a positive impact on my entire family.

Speaking of getting more sleep: We all have our recipes or rituals that help us sleep better and make us feel beautiful. For me, I love to wake up in beautiful pajamas. Surprised? I know it may sound silly, but the nights I tumble into bed in an old t-shirt versus gliding into bed in something soft and pretty actually impact my morning frame of mind.

I love soft fabrics and laces. I love being able to tiptoe downstairs in the morning and feel elegant, even pretty. It makes the night owl in me emerging from my dreamy state better able to join the company of the morning-people with whom I share a home.

I remember reading somewhere that Dolly Parton, the remarkably curvy country singer/song-writer, sleeps in her makeup! (I suspect she may sleep in her bra too, but that’s just my surmisal.) While sleeping in full makeup is a bit quirky, and it’s hard both on one’s skin and one’s pillowcase, I imagine she has her reason: like wanting to wake up feeling beautiful.

At a holiday show I did recently, one of the women I met said, “I can’t buy anything for myself right now, but after the holidays I’ll be getting in touch with you.” And guess what? This week she did, and treated herself to a sweet something from our store (one of our white cotton capris sets). This wonderful woman was previously a “trusty t-shirt” girl, but she’s decided to start the New Year waking up feeling beautiful. Good for her!

I don’t think these external choices have any earth-shaking effect on our lives. What does make a difference is learning to recognize the little things that make you shine from within, those things that help to make each of us open to greeting a bright new day.

What positive changes will 2009 bring for you? I wish you many beautiful mornings.

This time of year we tend to reflect on the things that we are thankful for. I am currently thankful for the fact that I survived cooking two turkeys, oyster stuffing, bourbon pecan pie and all the fixin’s for a house full of hungry friends and family and for getting my little guys through a recent bout of colds.

This week I also got a bit of news to be thankful for: the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) sent me a tiny little postcard saying “the mark identified…is entitled to be registered…barring any extraordinary circumstances.” I believe that this bureaucratic language translates into a notification that I can now have a registered trademark for my new business. It was 9 months in the works (just like a baby) and a welcome threshold to cross.

I have to laugh though at the wording: “barring any extraordinary circumstances.” As a mom and business owner, like most of the women I know, my life is quite simply a series of extraordinary circumstances. I can make a week’s plan, full of meetings or things to complete, and get significantly redirected by a wheezy little boy or a surprise school or family event or need.

No complaints, though, because it also means that there’s never a dull moment. In a past portion of my life I was a bit of a perfectionist, but parenthood teaches us all to bend a little more through those things in life we can’t control (which I’ve come to realize is most things…)

The BTC truffle is so much a symbol of things that put a smile on my face. It is sweet, it is beautiful, and it represents the over forty woman that I and so many of the women I respect are.

So I keep plugging away, rarely in a straight line…but not minding the windy path, because there are so many little things to be thankful for.

I don't watch a lot of television. Between chasing my kids, work, making dinner, doing the laundry and trying to get my business moving, I just don't have the time. But if I have one addiction to any show, it's Dancing with the Stars.

I love the dancing, without question. I also love to watch the non-dancers' abilities and confidence develop. I could do without the spray tan and competition banter. But those costumes!!! Produced in about a week from design to show time, they just blow me away!

I love the chiffons, the sequins, the flounce and the flash. Some of them I marvel at how they even stay on the dancers. They defy gravity and are engineering marvels (this can be said about both the costumes and the dancers themselves.)

In my dreams, if I could spend just one week handing straight pins and thread spools to those costume designers (the fashion equivalent of sous chef) I'd do it in a hearbeat! If I could add in a short dance with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, the Ukrainian professional dancer (with perfect line and swoonworthy choreographic sense), that would be the perfect week. A girl can dream can't she?

Election day turned out to be memorable in a multitude of ways.

Our family woke at the crack of dawn to vote, where we waited in line with hundreds of our neighbors for over an hour. In our polling place, six out of seven of the voting machines were broken during the first hour or so of voting, and yet people were calm, respectful, and patient.

As the sun rose on the day, our spirits brightened. My husband's job propitiously brought us to Washington, DC that very same morning. We strolled across the National Mall, got our "I voted" free Starbuck's coffee, and headed to the National Archives.

Gazing at the glass encased Magna Carta, where the story of basic liberties were first written and then seeing our nation's Declaration of Independence and our faded but still glorious Constitution made each of us in the dark basement of the National Archive building quiet and awestruck.

I marveled at the 19th Amendment, and how many of the women who led the charge and who worked so hard for the right to vote never lived to see the results of their efforts. I also had not remembered how interconnected were the suffragist and abolitionist movements.

Later that night I thought of Barack Obama's grandmother, who missed seeing her grandson's moment in history. What incredible changes our country has seen in its 232 year history.

We spent election night in our DC hotel restaurant's bar with strangers who became friends. The excitement and joy in the room was something I will never forget. And when my two little boys grow up and have kids of their own, they will be able to say, I remember that day! And what an amazing day it was.

Could there be anything crazier than starting a business amidst international financial chaos?

Economic catastrophe was not a part of my business plan, nor do I imagine too many start-up businesses anticipate these sorts of events. Start-ups are so focused on their own internal to-do lists that the outside world is placed a bit on hold. But it’s impossible to shut out these events of late.

It’s not what I had planned, but getting discouraged is not a part of this plan. In fact, I have the little “dream” file that I kept back in 1992 when I imagined starting this business, put the idea on hold as I worked in my very humdrum environmental jobs (think Erin Brockovich without the cleavage and slinky wardrobe), and had two children. As I travelled I also did a lot of reading over that period of time, and the ads for lingerie and sleepwear never seemed to match the women who were shopping for them.

My hope was (and still is) to offer a fun alternative for real women.

The journey getting to this point has been so enjoyable. The business classes, product evaluations, photography sessions, and people I have been meeting along the way are making this one of the most growing periods of my life, such that the final outcome is just one small part of a great story. To me it’s simple proof of a silver lining.

Perhaps it’s being over forty and the experience that comes with those years that helps push away apprehension and fear.
I guess it’s a matter of perspective now. Besides, I figure if you’re going to start out doing something new, then why not start from the bottom? If you can survive the worst case scenario, then everything else will seem like smooth sailing by comparison.

One more step in the journey: I was excited to receive the custom boxes and bags with our beautiful Better Than Chocolate Boutique logo on them. They’re manufactured of recycled material and made in the USA. Pretty sweet.

We’re getting closer and closer to launch. Now I’ve got to get back to work…

Last week we took a big leap forward in making this dream a reality: lingerie for wonderful women over forty. Amidst little fanfare, we launched at a vendor fair, myself and two supportive girlfriends, the dynamic Dana and effervescent Joanna.

We met some very interesting and engaging women and got a lot of positive feedback that night. They liked the soft breathable fabrics, “non-itchy” lace, and “swoon-worthy” silks. They also liked our logo and “chocolate gift boxes”, our emphasis on real women portrayed in a respectful way, and the fact that so many of the products were designed and manufactured in the USA.

We shared the message that this company is all about helping women feel beautiful and uplifted. ..and needless to say everyone enjoyed tasting the delicious chocolate truffles.

Two days later we embarked on producing the photographs of real women. The models are women that I believe personify the spirit of “over forty and fabulous.” Only one of the group has ever done modeling before. When the photos are unveiled, I think it will be challenging to guess which one, since all of these ladies seemed very comfortable in front of the camera. We owe a lot of that comfort level to the sweet personality of our professional photographer, Lori (see Lori Hand Photography).

Speaking of sweet things, last night we had the photo shoot for our “Sweet Athlete” section of the site as well as the “gift giving” shots. Next week we wrap up the elegant shots for our “Champagne Collection.” Our photos will be very different from lingerie photography that’s been done before, refreshingly different.

As these pieces of the puzzle come together, I am getting more excited. The coming weeks will mean extensive work on completing the web site. Please keep checking in, and in the meantime, I’d love to hear from you…you can contact me at sweetmail@btc-boutique.com . Who knows, perhaps you can be a part of a future Better Than Chocolate Boutique photo shoot!

My neighbor’s daughter Jessica was at my house the other day. She and her brother had ventured over to ride bicycles with my sons, and Jessie evidently preferred on that particular afternoon to be inside with Miss Molly (the dog) and me.

I was working on the computer in my office doing some work on my website when I noticed that she was looking through some of the product samples I had hanging on a rack on the other side of the room. Most of the garments on the rack were sleepwear and everything I carry is in good taste, so it is really no problem for little ones to come across my products. It’s all laces and colors and softness to a seven year old.

Speaking with her slight lisp and sweet southern accent she said, “Miss C. this is so nice, it looks like a pwincess.” I smiled and looked up from my computer. She stood there in her shorts and Dora the Explorer t-shirt with a shimmering black chemise held up to her chin. Still attached to the hanger, the garment fell all the way to the floor covering her sneakers.

She was beaming. Where was that dress transporting her imagination to, I wondered? A place of castles and dancing? Or did it simply make her feel like it made me feel when I look at it, pretty and feminine.

I explained to her that the item was for a grown woman and that she would have plenty of opportunities when she was grown up to wear pretty dresses. She smiled an enthusiastic smile with several front teeth missing.

I thought of Jessie tonight when I met with the photographer who will be taking some of the photos of real women models for our site. We discussed how the images we were going to create would hopefully capture the strength, beauty, and energy of women over forty. I’m hoping it will also capture some of that joyful feminine spirit that I saw in little Jessica’s eyes.

Jessie may have to wait a decade or so to wear Better Than Chocolate Boutique pajamas, but you won’t have to wait so long. We launch this month at a local vendor fair and regional trade show, and then next month (hopefully) our site will go live. It’s getting lively around here…stay tuned!

More than ever before, women over forty are beginning to realize their power. Someone smart made an interesting observation at a recent Network of Enterprising Women meeting here in Richmond…whether you identify with the “Sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits” as Hillary Clinton does or “Soccer/hockey moms with lipstick” as Sarah Palin does, it’s really the same incredible force: we’re all women who are realizing our strength and having the time of our lives.

As I get closer to launching this wonderful new business whose goal is to bring beautiful lingerie to women over forty in a way that makes us feel uplifted and celebrated, I realize that I’m not the only person noticing the over-forty mystique.

For example, today my computer’s home page conveniently popped up a compilation of newly forty beauties with the heading “Forty and Foxy”

Now granted that these women all probably have personal trainers, stylists, and makeup artists…they’re not exactly what I would call “real” in the sense that they have typical lives, but it is nevertheless an encouraging sight coming out of Hollywood.

There was a time when over forty meant a slide into a less visible place in society. The everyday equivalent of the supporting role instead of leading lady. But those days are over. It takes time to develop expertise in whatever your passion happens to be. So the women who are really “doing their thing” are hitting their stride in their forties and beyond.

Similarly, I was at my son’s middle school meet-the-teacher-night last night and the experienced teachers were captivating with their command of the material they would be teaching our kids and their joy for what they do. It made me want to go back to school to learn from these remarkable ladies. It’s interesting that when I asked my son which teachers he was enjoying the most so far, it was the more experienced teachers that he pointed to.

The "beauty of personal authenticity" is what Marianne Williamson calls it in her book The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife. And women are connecting over this surge in creativity, awareness, strength and beauty in all sorts of social networking venues, from local coffee houses and salons, to universities and blog sites (see Blogher.com and one of my favorites: midlifesatrip.com)

It’s no wonder that we’re seeing more images of strong, smart, beautiful women over forty. It’s a great time to be us.

Every business needs a mascot…well, maybe not. But it sure can be fun.

I was at my printers’ offices the other day (Zooom Printing) and their office greeter is Phil the Whippet.

I am not one of those people who goes bonkers over her pets; but I can’t imagine our home without ours…nor do I dress my dog, typically. But I was evaluating the work of an embroiderer over the summer and wanted to see how the Better Than Chocolate Boutique logo translated on cotton knit. The company had inexpensive dog shirts in a similar weight of cotton , so suddenly my dog was modeling her first and only item of clothing.

Allow me to introduce you to Miss Molly. She’s such a fuzzy poodle that she hardly has a need for another layer, not to mention the fact that we live in the south. But fashion becomes her.

Rest assured, I will not be running out to buy her a wardrobe. Nor will she be sporting this attractive top in public…she’s much too active . But from time to time she’ll make an appearance here.

She’s my personal trainer, official foot warmer, and “UPS-guy’s here” alarm system all rolled up into one “smiling” ball of fluff. On the “Better than Chocolate” short list of wonderful things? Absolutely.