Family Fun Coming to Lake Wylie, SC

Happy Friday Chatter family. As we head into the weekend and Spring Break for some of us I wanted to share with you some exciting news coming to our neck of the woods here in Steele Creek and Lake Wylie, SC.

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Friday, April 15th 2011
Nestled in between Lake Wylie’s Buster Boyd Bridge and the River Hills community, lays many well known landmarks of Lake Wylie, SC.  “T-Bones on the Lake”, a favorite for local boaters, "Rey Azteca", a family friendly Mexican Restaurant and the retail chain “Fred’s Superstore”.  Yet also included in those landmarks, unfortunately has been an eye sore for many years.  The vacant parking lot, of what was Waterside Market, including the graveyard of run down shops that have sat untouched for years, and have left local residents wondering- what or even if any change would soon come.

Regonizable sign in Lake Wylie, SC is about to change

All of that is about to be transformed and as a Mom, a local resident and huge fan of our wonderful Lake Wylie community, I couldn’t be happier.  What was once known as the ghost town by the lake will soon be bustling with family fun entertainment with retails stores and restaurants soon to follow.
Darrin Skinner, local, corporate recruiter and entrepreneur has teamed up with York Development to officially announce the major face lift of what was “Waterside Market” to be, “Wylie Gateway on the Lake” and anchoring the soon to follow shops will be “Lake Wylie Bowl n Bounce”, a family entertainment and fun center, located in what was once the Food Lion location.

Darrin, his wife Heather and their three kids live in the Lake Wylie area and are thrilled to be a part of the beginning of a new chapter in Lake Wylie’s History.  “Lake Wylie Bowl n’ Bounce will offer family entertainment for toddlers to seniors and everything in between.  The facility will have bowling, video games, bounce houses/inflatable's, and a lounge/food court where food, drink, sports, and entertainment are available.  We will provide a clean, safe, and affordable place where families with children, adults, teens, singles and private parties can enjoy themselves without having to leave the Steele Creek/Lake Wylie area.”

This is exciting news for our community.  Especially since Lake Wylie with all of its charm and boater appeal, really doesn’t have an established and well-known location for family fun and entertainment. 

“We want to change that” Darrin tells me.   “One of the goals of the center is to fill a void in overall entertainment options in the Lake Wylie area.  We are planning the center as a place to meet friends, have a drink, watch a ball game, or listen to live music even if you never bowl a game or play a video game. There will be something for everyone. 

Other tenants to occupy "Wylie Gateway on the Lake" the will include some restaurants, a wine bar, cigar bar, coffee shop, and an ice cream shop to name a few.
This has been a work in progress since 2008.  And the location couldn’t be better.  Lake views are visible for many areas of the property and being so close to the boat landing by T-Bones, families can enjoy a day on the lake and then wander over to the shops for food, drink, family fun and more.

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View of Lake Wylie through the trees in the parking lot or future site of Wylie Gateway on the Lake

Construction will begin in just a few weeks with a target open dated slated for the fall 2011. 

What is the best part of all of this Darrin tells me quite specifically “At a minimum, our kids will think Heather and I are awesome for owning a place with bounce houses.”

I couldn’t agree with him more and know my boys, ages 5 and 6 will be one of the many hundreds of kids who will soon enjoy a new chapter of Lake Wylie’s well known history of a family oriented community.

Look for more information coming soon and please feel free to leave a comment and spread the great news for our area!!
Happy Friday and a great weekend to everyone.

Mary Ickert

Plumfield Shop

Last month I featured an article about Etsy. I you haven't heard of Etsy, it is an online store that focuses on handmade art, clothing and vintage items, along with jewelry, photography, accessories, craft supplies and more. I have become a huge fan of Etsy for several reasons’ but mainly because it is place where very talented and creative people can sell their items at very reasonable prices with an artistic and handmade touch. When I visit Etsy, I feel like I have been transported into an old fashion vintage shop full of intimate, cozy and beautiful items that all woman love. You know the kind I am talking about, candles, soft music playing, and the smell of jasmine or lemon pound cake. Little nuggets of the store full of romantic jewelry, soft colors and unique lotions and hand bags, sassy shoes, scarf’s... All the while light jazz playing and a sweet little lady who offers you a satchel for your items and a complimentary cup of tea. Yeah, I could spend all day on Etsy, but my husband and my kids might notice when dinner goes missing.

 So I am thrilled and super excited to introduce you to Lauren Perkins who is the owner, designer and creator of Plumfield Shop.
Plumfield Shop opened last year and offers a wide Varity of charming and sweet items for the home, children, gifts and of course for you, your Mom, or BFF. Her items are very creative and have an outdoors appeal that is perfect for spring and summer time.
  I have been honored to get to know Lauren a little a bit and how she got her Etsy business started and what it is like to be an entrepreneur in the Charlotte area. Read below to learn more about her, and make sure you check Plumfield Shop on Etsy as well as her blog which offers wonderful tips on sewing cooking and other bits of life.

Getting Started...
I have been sewing for five years.  I had always wanted to learn to sew and one day decided that it was time.  I picked out an inexpensive sewing machine for my mother-in-law to get me for Christmas.  I read the whole manual that came with the machine.  I asked my husband for help. 
Eventually, I found my groove.  After lots of practice and lots and LOTS of mistakes, I realized that I was in love.  The fabrics, the colors, the design and construction- everything about this hobby appealed to me.  The only problem was that I could never sew enough.  There was always something keeping me from sewing as much and as often as I wanted. 
Finally, my husband and I put our heads together.  We planned and we calculated and we schemed.  We came up with the crazy idea that I could quit my full time job and start a sewing business.  We read books, brainstormed shop names, and did market research.  And then we just did it. 

Plumfield Shop Launches.

I opened my shop in August of 2010.  I get to sew every day, sometimes all day, and I have never had more fun.  My favorite part is getting to work directly with a customer to create an item that is uniquely theirs.  There is a certain joy that comes from taking your skills and knowledge and using them to give form to someone else’s dream. 

On being an entrepreneur in Charlotte
I think that one of the advantages to starting my own business in Charlotte is that it is a large city with tons of resources.  I have access to all sorts of great supplies and inspiration here.  Most of the small business connections I have made so far are online, but I am looking forward to meeting other local entrepreneurs. 
The hard part about Charlotte being so large though is that I always feel like I am missing something!  I am sure there are lots of great shops and groups that I will never cross paths with and I hate to think that I’m not using my community to its fullest!

A big thank you to Lauren for allowing me to feature her here on the Chatter.  I think you will love her and Plumfield Shop as much as I do.  Don't forget to check out her shop visit her blog and on Facebook as well. 
Plumfield Shop
Plumfield Shop Blog
Plumfield Shop Facebook

Mark your Calendars.

Happy Tuesday Chatter Peeps!!
I wanted to send out a few updates of things coming up form my sponsors who I love love love and want to pass on the love by doing weekly updates.  Please help support my sponsors and get ready to mark your calendars for some great stuff and products.

Sugar Creek Garden Center:

"Container Days" is Friday, Sat, and Sun. (please see their info on their FaceBook events page here  )
They also have recently "unveiled" the pavilion - so the place is re-organized and looks awesome!!
Also (VERY EXCITING) Soline, a Bpeace ‘Fast Runner’ will be visiting Sugar Creek Garden Center this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (13th, 14th, 15th). She is a garden center owner from Rwanda who has been in business for 12 years. Her trip is being sponsored by the non-profit organization BPeace. BPeace was founded in 2002 and is a non-profit network of business professionals who volunteer their time and share their skills with entrepreneurs in conflict-affected countries including Afghanistan, Rwanda, and El Salvador, believing creating jobs, creates peace. Bpeace made a commitment as part of joining the Clinton Global Initiative to create One Million Jobs for Peace.

Madison Lane Photography: Erin and her FABULOUS photography will be at the Spring Festival held at River Hills Church on Saturday, April 30th from 7:00-12:00 she will be there taking pictures for free for Mother's Day and will be offering 5x7 prints for $5 and 8x10 prints for $10. A great gift for Mothers Day!!

Sew What Mommy: More appliques on deck. These are just cuter than cute and perfect for spring and summer months coming. Check out their blog and facebook page for pictures and how to order.

Thoughtful Creations: Even more Mother's Day greatness, basket giveaway for May will come form the super talented Christine Barbera and be filled with so much great stuff including:

(2) small candles from Bath & Body works in Mojo and margarita
lime rose hand petals soap
lemon soap in the shape of a Margarita glass.
photo album
hot pink spa socks
hot pink bling nail file
cute tissues with little ladies chatting and laughing on them
bubble bath in the shape of a lime flower
And Much MORE!!!! Whoever wins this is going to be super lucky and I encourage you all to tell all your friends to enter the giveaway. More info on how to enter and when the contest will start will be posted soon!!!
Steele Creek Outreach:
Looking to volunteer, please make sure to check out SCO website and learn more about how you can help homelessness in our city.  They have several upcoming events scheduled through May including "Operation Mayday" which helps prepare Easter meals for families who are homeless.  For More information visit thier Facebook Page here.
Thanks again to all my wonderful sponsors, friends, neighbors, family and EVERYONE who is making Lakeside Chatter a true joy in my life and hopefully in yours.

Now go mark your calendars!!! And if there is anything coming up you think would be a great fit to post on Lakeside Chatter please feel free to send me an e-mail at lakesidechatter@gmail.com or leave me a comment. Have a Great Tuesday!!

With Love,

Mary

Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

So guess what I am NOT good at....
Taking pictures of myself. So, so, sooooo not good at this. I mean sure I have a self timer and sure I could go that way, but where is the artistic value in that? A self shot in the mirror is way cooler and way more sophisticated (asuming you know what you are doing).
You see I got this idea form another awesome Mommy Blogger who really has her act together. And since I (soon) will be featuring all kinds of giveaways I thought it would be cool to practice with some photo taking with me,myself and I.

The Mission: Practice using Mirror, awful lighting in bathroom and horrific styled hair (it was practice people).
The Focus: Earrings... Not just any earrings but an exquisite set of shiny dangly earrings.

The kind I haven't worn in years, the kind I just drooled over when I opened, the kind that was a gift form a very thoughtful fellow Mom friend and Chatter Sponsor who just so proves to me how much I love this gig!!
And no, the earrings are not a giveaway item (again practice people, no way I would part with these beauties). 
Anyways, here is how it went....

Bummer....Got the Door..

And Now the Camera Strap...

Great shot of the camera huh? 

Oh for Pete's Sake....

Really!?!?!

Dag...That plant back there needs watering!

Getting there...

Close enough!

Lessons Learned:

1) I clearly had too much time on my hands

2) Next time an outfit with color!

3) Scratch that, next time have HUSBAND or friend take photos!!

So with 25 minutes of my life I will never get back I would like to officially announce Lakeside Chatter will be offering free giveaways starting as early as NOW!! Okay not this very second but THIS month!!! And to get you excited next month's giveaway will be focused on Mother’s Day. A big huge thank you to Christine with Thoughtful Creations who is offering a wonderful basket  giveaway full of items any Mom (or Mom to be) will love.  Pictures coming soon!!!

Don't worry, I won't be in them.  :-) 

With Love,

Mary