The Customer Service Shortage

Everywhere you look today there are shortages.  It doesn't matter what it is or if a shortage makes zero sense, there it is, but there is more than shortage of goods these days, there is a real shortage on services as well.  I'm currently sitting here on hold.  I've put the phone down to let my arm rest and switched it over to speaker so if by some miracle someone at customer service happens to pick up, I'll hear it.  But I know they won't pick up.  You see, this particular place has a mandatory minimum 30 minute wait time on their customer service. If I told you the name of the place you'd know exactly what I mean. Every 10 minutes the muzak switches to a ringing for a few minutes that no one answers.  I know this because I watch the timer on my phone and it never fails to go down in that order.

 

Have you noticed the sharp decline in customer service out there for most of the major companies?  I have.  There seems to be a severe shortage of politeness, helpfulness, and just general availability.  So many business' customer service is just abysmal.  DHL's customer service is the worst, if you can get in touch with them at all, and Etsy's customer service is non-existent.  They have your money, so what do they care if you ever get what you ordered.  Try and reach out to them and you'll just be told to take it up with the seller.  More and more, I'm going back to small business owners like Ivory Sheep and Boho-Chic because they provide excellent customer service, in many cases they're even better than the service of the brands they carry.  In a world where everyone turns on each other over the stupidest things, it's nice to find places where someone has your back.

I'm still waiting, by the way, still listening to that same awful muzak on repeat, that's why I thought I'd use some photos from my vacation last year in this post, to remind me of a happier place and time, and maybe to mentally travel there while I wait....and wait.....and wait...................for 35 minutes now with three teaser rings and no answer still.

Update:  After an hour and fifteen minutes my phone died.  Guess I'll have to try again another day.

Another Year of Stay-cationing

As much as I wish I could say that life is finally settling down, it's been another long day at the end of another long week.  At moments like this my mind wanders off to better times, vacation times.

These photos are from our trip last year, which is the first vacation we've ever taken without our kids.  There were some scheduling conflicts and also some interest conflicts, mainly the kids had zero interest in going to the beach, and so it was either go without them or don't go at all.  Well, you can see from the photos which I chose.

After all the years I spent begging my parents to take us to the beach and hearing that we couldn't afford it, I was more than a little disappointed that my children take the privilege of going on a beachy vacation for granted.

Growing up, we never took a single family vacation, so when it wasn't something upon which I placed much importance when I had a family of my own, but over time, most especially as my girls have gotten older and I see how short our time living together is, I really value each and every time we took a trip and had an adventure as a family.

As much as I wished for a family vacation during my childhood, we did spend a lot of time driving all over the country, and even though we never once got out to look around, we did see a lot of great sites out the windows and more importantly, we made a lot of great memories just being together as a family, and that's way better than any beach vacation.

Unfortunately we won't be going to the ocean this year.  With gas prices so high, I think we'll just have to take this year off from vacationing and try again next year, but who knows, maybe the extra time will give me the opportunity to save up for some place really amazing and perhaps, just perhaps, the absence of a vacation two years in a row will make the idea of going back to the beach all the more enticing for the more difficult to persuade members of my family. 

Beach Memories

In honor of our snowfall this week, I thought I'd take a look back at warmer days.  Memories of this wonderful trip last year that was just Mr. Bleu and myself.  The children had other things going on and couldn't come with us, but we had the perfect time just the two of us.  When I say the "perfect" time I mean that we did exactly what I always wanted to do on a beach vacation--nothing. 

It seems like there is always a daunting pressure to Do Things while on vacation.  Sight-seeing, amusement parks, tours, dinner, dancing, and the likes are all very nice but not very relaxing for an introvert such as myself so I don't consider them to be much of a vacation.  I've always just wanted to spend my entire vacation laying on the beach, reading, eating, swimming, napping, but mostly just napping, and on this particular trip that's all we did.

We got to the beach early each morning before anyone else was there, set up our little tent and then took a nice long walk with the whole oceanside to ourselves each day.  Then we crawled in our tent and relaxed while the days slipped by with no schedule and no pressure and I hope we get to do it again this year.

Mandatory R&R

Just a few photos from my beachy vacation.  It seems like ages ago now.  It was so difficult to choose the perfect dress for this photo shoot, mostly because I had no idea what it would be like on the day of the shoot and whether or not my dresses would be ruined by seaweed and salt water exposure that would just have to stay there for a few days until I could return home to properly wash them.

Since this pretty pink dress is just an inexpensive dupe, I thought it would be the perfect pick for a sunrise photo op on this lovely beach, and I think I made the right choice.

Normally Destin, FL is our holiday pick, but this year we decided to try out Santa Rosa. We primarily changed our destination because all the affordable accommodations in Destin  were fully booked for months.  

Santa Rosa is not too far from Destin and we loved the air bnb and exploring new beaches, but everything, beaches, roads, restaurants, was so crowded.  Even though we went during the week and before Memorial Day, the unofficial start of beach season, there were hour long waits for a restaurant table, and more traffic that I care to muddle through.  

On the plus side, all the crowding helped us to hold firmly to our plans to stay on the beach all day.  We knew if we left we'd lose our spot and have to fight a million cars on the highway only to stand in line at a restaurant.  No thanks.

Instead we stopped by the local grocery store early each morning, picked up sandwiches, drinks, and ice, and then staked out our place on the sand for long walks, even longer naps, and a little splashing in the sea.

Sometimes stress can be the perfect nudge into pure relaxation.  It certainly worked for us this year, but I do think that next year, I'll just plan our vacation a little further in advance so we can get back to our favorite secluded spot in Destin.

Tropical Vacation Dreams with Honiara Vintage

Finally!  It is finally time for a beachside vacation and I was so thrilled to collaborate with Honiara Vintage on their Retro Summer Collection!  Look at this beautiful sunrise.  I love this time of day on the beach most because it's the only time we are totally alone here to just enjoy the sound of the waves.  We packed up and drove down the ocean to spend a few days relaxing on the beach and enjoying the surf and sunshine.  And how very relaxing it was.  

After such a long, long winter, I needed all the sunshine and vitamin D I could get!  So, we pitched a small beach tent next to the water, brought a picnic in a cooler, a couple of good books, and some sunscreen and it was just swim, read, nap, swim, read, nap for two whole days.  This is how every vacation should be.

When evening rolled around, we packed everything up and returned to our air-bnb.   we rented a room and bath in the home of a lovely woman who made us coffee and fresh muffins every morning.  

The house was surrounded by a narrow brackish river and situated on its own little island giving the feel of serenity and seclusion and the tree frogs sang up a lullaby each night. 

Inside and out the house was richly furnished with such attention to all the details that one evening we just wandered around the grounds exploring.  After all day at the beach, we decided to skip fighting the crowds and long waits for a table at a restaurant.  We called in our orders early for carry out and took our dinner back to the screened-in veranda attached to our second storey room.  

It was all so lovely and so comfortable.  That's all I'm looking for from my vacations--beauty and comfort.

That's also what I look for from my footwear, beauty and comfort, but all too often it's one or the other.  Not so with Honiara Vintage shoes.  I took along my vintage style tropical wear for our trip and these Gizo Heels from Honiara Vintage were so amazingly comfortable without compromising style! 

I love the authentic vintage look of Honiara's heels, but the fact that they came in biodegradable packaging and when I put them on it was like walking on air is what has made me a loyal fan of Honiara Vintage and I can't wait to spend the summer strolling the markets and lanes in these gorgeous heels.  

If you're unfamiliar with Honiara Vintage, take a moment to get to know them.  I pulled this excerpt from their website:  From the mind behind Charlie Stone comes a passion project dedicated to living an eternal summer dream through tropical designs inspired by our family's heritage.  Supporting a family business and living in an a vintage style eternal summer, this brand is checking all my boxes!

I hope I've brought a little summer relaxation home with me, because I don't want this feeling to end.  I'm hoping for a nice quiet break from the stress and busy schedule of the rest of the year.  If June, July, and August look are half as good as the end of May, I foresee this being an excellent summer, the kind where life long memories are made.  Happy start of summer, everyone.  Let's make it a great one!

Shopping Info:  Gizo Heels in Red from HoniaraVintage.com, Halter top by Belle Poque, Tiki Tropical Skirt from Collectif