The STUFF Sisters
S. Sloane Simmons and Casey Simmons
Sisters and business partners sharing life's stuff....
My son was raised with The Stones. When the Disney CDs in the car became too much for me to bear …
Several years ago, I sat next to my son in a huge stadium under a midnight blue sky. The Rolling Stones rolled over me. I tapped, I sang, I swayed, I stood, I sat. I might have cried. It was a form of church, and I was delighted with this amazing birthday gift from a friend. Me, my son, and my husband, together for one night in one place with pretty much my favorite band. It was near perfection.
Continue reading “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones…”
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STUFF made a commitment many years ago to support local artists and to be active members of our vibrant community. This is true of both of us in our personal lives as well.
We all want to know that we are making a difference when we shop. Heck, when we do just about anything. The “why” in all our actions is important, and the effects can be long-lasting.
STUFF made a commitment many years ago to support local artists and to be active members of our vibrant community. This is true of both of us in our personal lives as well. Each year since the first one, we have renewed that commitment by setting higher goals for our support of local not-for-profit organizations.
Please join us this year on any of the 20 different nights listed below. By shopping during one of these great charity parties, that charity will receive 15% of your purchase, and all the money raised stays local.
Yummy drinks, delicious snacks, and STUFF’s signature bowl of M&Ms makes each night complete. Magic serendipitously shows herself almost every evening when connections are made between the dedicated charity partners and our customers who want to know just a bit more about possibly doing just a bit more.
Let’s keep making a difference…together.
AIDS Walk Kansas City
November 10, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm
Great Plains SPCA
November 11, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
MOCSA
November 12, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm
Wayside Waifs
November 13, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
The HALO Foundation
November 17, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri
November 18, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
RevolveKC
November 19, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
SAVE, Inc.
November 20, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Green Works in Kansas City
November 24, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm
Hope House
November 30, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Women’s Employment Network
December 1, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Em’s Spotlight
December 2, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm
UMKC Women’s Center
December 3, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm
Jackson County CASA
December 8, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Kansas City Actor’s Theatre
December 9, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Kansas City CARE Clinic
December 10, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Reach Out & Read KC
December 14, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm
Good Samaritian Project
December 15, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
The Whole Person
December 16, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
Hope Care Center
December 17, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm
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My Dad really doesn’t like the sound of Garrison Keillor’s voice. I guess it’s pretty much like me being scared out of my wits by Christopher Walken’s voice. Heck, the whole Christopher Walken, really.
My Dad really doesn’t like the sound of Garrison Keillor’s voice. I guess it’s pretty much like me being scared out of my wits by Christopher Walken’s voice. Heck, the whole Christopher Walken, really. But I was headed somewhere….
This weekend I finished my National Geographic magazine. There is really only one way to read the magazine, and it goes like this:
1. Rip open the plastic bag it arrives in and think briefly about how much you miss the brown paper sleeve it used to come in.
2. Immediately find your son and give him the Geo Quiz on the mailing label. Watch his face as he nails answer after answer correctly.
3. Go through the magazine. Read the editor’s letter. Read the short articles in the front. Read all the captions on all the photos and maps.
4. Fold down the corners on the articles you plan to go back and read after perusing the entire magazine.
5. Go back and choose which articles to read in which order. It does not have to be in the order they appear in the magazine. Choose carefully the story you want to end with.
6. When finished, copy pages you want to keep for files and ideas.
7. Hand over the magazine to your son. Remind him of the really good articles that he should consider truly reading, knowing full well he only really participates or accomplishes steps two and three.
The last article I read today was a piece Garrison Keillor wrote about his personal geography of his beloved Minneapolis-St. Paul. I enjoy listening to him on A Prairie Home Companion – a treat I love sharing with my son and husband – and I’ve read many of his books. His style of memoir is very enjoyable. And, during every show and every book, I think of one thing I want to tell my Dad about.
Today was no different. The last five sentences of his article were absolute magic. I immediately wanted to call my Dad and read them to him.
I believe my Dad likes hearing these stories and things from me. Maybe because he hears a voice he loves, not Mr. Keillor’s.
p.s. I have been receiving National Geographic magazine since my grandmother gave me my first subscription when I had my first apartment. It was a Christmas present I received until the year she died. Purchasing it for myself has been a yearly reminder of how much I was loved. Still am, really.
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Parades are funny things. Not just because of clowns and puppets and dogs. Not because of men in tutus and babies in top hats. Parades are funny because they bring out the best in America.
Parades are funny things. Not just because of clowns and puppets and dogs. Not because of men in tutus and babies in top hats.
Parades are funny because they bring out the best in America. The slowing down of time, the sitting still and watching the world go by, the embracing of simplicity.
Last month’s Brookside St. Pat’s parade was the 11th time we have marched as a unit for STUFF. Every year we start thinking about it the minute the calendar clicks over to the new year. And every year we don’t start working on it until March starts. Lots of time in there between the thinking and the working, which is not like us.
We’ve learned to slow down and not rush into decisions. We’ve learned to let the magic of an idea sink in and then rise to the surface. This year we simplified and let the people who walk with us – the customers, the dogs, the children – tell our story.
We are about people, not product. We are about hand-crafting, not production. For one short parade route a year, we are about the color green and candy and laughter and shouting and smiling.
It’s that simple.
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I love driving. I like to be in control. I enjoy it. Last week I took a road trip with my husband and son during the younger one’s spring break. Our small family truly loves road trips.