Fashion and Flowers
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Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Chasing the Sweet Things in Life, the Sweet Paul Podcast. Yes. This is episode 14. 14. And it's called Fashion and Flowers. Oh. I know. Fabulous. Fabulous.

More to come. More to come on that. Yes. What have you been up to? I have started the spring issue of the magazine. Oh. Yeah. Already, wow. Well, you know, yes, January. Of course, but it's like I can't even... I know, I know. ...think that far ahead. I know. Because, you know, it's 70 degrees out right now, so... It's full spring.

Full spring in Palm Springs. The amazing thing about Southern California is that there is winter fruit. Like all of the citrus trees are filled with fruit. There's the whole winter blossom thing, right? Yes. It's sort of like the first spring. And then what we have here in the desert is that in, I would say March. Early spring. Late March.

Then you have the bloom in the desert. Yeah. Like the desert, which is now kind of like brownish grayish will turn like,

and yellow and orange. And it's a sight to see. Yeah. And the mountains, you know, that are very deserty and rocky right now in the middle of winter are actually the most green. Yeah. And then come summer, everything's much drier. Absolutely. Yeah. So, yeah, we have kind of an amazing time to look forward to right now. I'm excited. Yes. Okay. So, what are we talking about?

Well, we need to talk about the fact that we just booked a trip to Disneyland. Oh my God, yes. I'm taking Paul to Disneyland again. Yay! Because two of our besties got engaged. So we're going to their little engagement party in Phoenix on Sunday. And then they're going to Disneyland on Thursday. So we were like, hello, we're coming too. And James is very excited because, you know, he's a Star Wars geek.

Well, I don't know about that. Oh, please. I love Star Wars. It's my childhood. I know. So we... The new ride is open. Yes. The new, new one. So next week... Oh, actually not next week. In two weeks, we'll give you a little update about how that was. Yes. I'm super excited. What I love mostly is like the old-fashioned rides.

And the corndogs. And the corndogs. I love the Peter Pan, the Alice in Wonderland, the Snow White. Those are the ones I like. The kind of like new rough ones are a little too much for me. Yeah. I feel like my head is going to fall off and my back is going to break. Yeah.

You know, I'm getting old. I took him on Space Mountain last time. That was too much. He was traumatized. Yes. So this time he'll just sit. I'm going to sit with a claw dog and a balloon. In his little mouse ear hat. And he'll wait for us. We'll post pictures. Yeah, exactly. Okay. So let's move on back to your timeline. And after you closed your Parisian fashion boutique. Wow.

That might be a mouthful, but yes. So that lasted for about a year and then you decided to shut it down. Yeah. And after that, I was kind of like in a limbo. Like, what did I want to do? I had like, I was kind of over the whole acting thing, but then I... How old were you again at this time?

Now I'm like 19. Okay. And you know, I'm... Failed acting career. Failed acting career. Failed boutique at 19. So I was in a little bit of a limbo and I was like, hmm, what am I going to do? I was very into fashion and I was a big boy and I had problem getting like cool clothes in my size. Of course. So I thought, okay, I'm going to go to sewing school. What? Yeah.

I love how I don't even know most of this story. Yeah, so I did a year of sewing. Okay. Yeah, I took a year's class. Did you think you were going to do fashion? I was really, yeah, I was really into it. And I made all my own clothes. You know, I learned how to do that. Like trousers and everything? Trousers, shirts, coats, hats, everything. Wow. We would do silk screening. We would do batik.

I would, I remember I had this huge black coat and I would paint like the lining was like a painting. I would paint inside. Yeah. Did you use like muslin on the inside or canvas to paint on it or was it?

I think I just had like, no, it was the same fabric. But it was two-sided, so I could kind of like flip it around. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So cool. Very colorful, like artsy. Love it. And remember, this is like the late 80s. And, you know, it was kind of crazy times. Yeah. When it came to fashion. Yeah.

My big idols were all these big English brands like Body Map and... God, what were the other ones? Vivienne Westwood. Yeah, Catherine Hamnet. Claude Montana. Is he French? He was French. But yeah, I did that year and...

I remember right after, I was like, okay, I have to make a collection. Oh my gosh. So I made a collection called Jack the Ripper. Wait, are you kidding me? How do I not know this? Because I'm telling you now. It's very McQueen. I know, yes. Or Galeano or something. Absolutely. Yeah. Although the only thing was they had real talent. Yeah, I mean, they were like the toast of... Yes, exactly. Exactly.

So I made a little collection using sackcloth. You know, that fabric you... Yeah, it's very like I Love Lucy. Yeah, but it's very coarse and very like, you know, it itches. Yeah. You know, it's kind of terrible. Yes. But that's what I wanted to use. And all the edges were frayed. And I would make jewelry out of rocks that I painted like shiny black.

And then I would, I would, I asked my mom if I was like, because back then for their wedding, they got a lot of puter. Yeah. And I asked, can I have some of that like ugly puter you have in the basement? And she was like, yeah, let's take it. I would melt it and I would pour it into cold water. So it created all these like crazy shapes and I would make broaches. Are you serious? Yes.

Wow. And here's the crazy part. You know, you're 19 and you think like the world is your oyster. So I remember I had a friend, a girl, she had red short hair. And I've always been obsessed about redheads, like women. I think redheads are like the most beautiful. And I photographed some of the clothes on her. And we photographed in this building in Oslo that was just torn down. It was just like a bunch of bricks and, you know, very like punky.

So I photographed like, I think three outfits. And I mean, it was super amateur and stuff. Oh my God. I would die to see those pictures. Me too. And do you know what I did? So in London, there's like two, like the most like upscale fashion shop is called Browns. Okay. And then Joseph. So I sent those pictures to Browns and Joseph. You did. And said that I'm going to be in London in a month.

Let me know if you want to like have a closer look. Oh my. And they didn't respond. I wonder why. Oh my God. That's so sweet. Yeah. So I was like dead certain that, oh yeah. Not even like Harrods or like a street fashion store. You went all the way. I went to the best of the best.

Because I had been to London, I've seen in the windows, and I was like, yeah, this is where I should be. Yeah. The Drag to Ripper collection. Which was actually more like peasant collection. It was more like a trash can collection. Yeah, okay. Um...

Yeah. So, okay. So, I didn't become a big fashion designer. But what I really loved, like, we had a few classes that was millinery hats. Yeah. And I was like, oh, I really love this. And that was a time when, like, Philip Tracy and what's his name? Stephen. Yeah, Stephen. Jones. Yeah.

Yeah, something like that. When they just started in London with all the crazy hats, and I was like, ooh, I kind of want to do that. Oh, my God.

So wait, where were you being educated? Was it like a trade school or was it college? It was like a year-long college class that you could take. Oh, okay. Yeah. So I did some research. My thing is that I never knew how to draw. I never learned how to draw. Yeah. Because, you know, I wanted to go to like St. Martin's or, you know, some fabulous fashion school in London. But, you know, I couldn't draw. So, you know, that doesn't work.

So I did some research and I found this millinery school, like two years of making hats in London.

And I was super excited. And I went to my parents and said, I want to do this. And I had like all the costs and everything. Like, this is what it's going to cost and blah, blah. Yeah. And they kind of said, they didn't say yes or no, but they, well, they kind of said yes. And what happened was that when I really started looking at it, it was just like, oh my God, this is going to be too expensive. Yeah. Because I hadn't thought about, oh, I have to live there. I have to, you know. Yeah. I have to eat. Yeah. I have to pay rent. Yeah. Yeah.

So that didn't happen. Yeah. So that was my... Your fashion career? My fashion career. Okay. Yeah. Wow. I know. But it's still all a part of, all informed, you know, your whole life and what you were... Yeah. Yeah, totally. And, you know, I still have a love for fashion. I love looking at it. I love finding inspiration in it. The funny thing now is because of all your experience, you could probably make a hat now.

Yeah, probably. Just because you have the dexterity and the understanding of. Yeah. Yeah. And I think also if I really took my time, I would be able to make like,

a real pair of pants or, you know, shirt. Yeah, of course. I haven't done it in years and years, but yeah, if I have like all the equipment and the space and stuff, I would probably. Yeah. So look out for the Sweet Pole Fashion Collection 2000 something. Yes. Okay. We're going to take a little break and then we're going to talk about flowers. Flowers. Flowers.

Yes, flowers. So we talked about fashion and now... Talked about fashion and now flowers. Okay, so no hat school for me. I did not become the new John Galliano. So again, I was kind of like in limbo. Oh, what am I going to do? Yeah. A friend of my mother had a flower shop in Oslo.

Yeah. And he said, oh, you know, Paul is so creative. Why doesn't he come and work for me like a couple of times a week? Yeah. Maybe that's something he wants to do. And in the beginning, I didn't even get paid. And I started like a couple of times a week and...

I kind of fell in love with it right away. Yeah. Like being surrounded by all these like beautiful flowers and colors. Yeah. You know, I really got into it. So when your mom first told you, was your first notion like,

Oh, okay. Yeah. I don't think so. Or you were more like, well, I'm not doing anything else. Let's do that. Yeah. I think first I was like, oh, God, I feel like old ladies. I don't want to do that. Yeah. But then the more I thought about it, I was like, oh, maybe I can, you know, maybe that's a fun medium to work in. Yes. So I started there and then he sent me to take a bunch of classes.

To make bouquet and wreaths. After you had started working there. After I started working there. So maybe he saw that it was worth investing in you. I think he saw that I had talent. Yeah. Because what happened was that I did it more or less full time. Yeah. And here's the thing. For me, in terms of whether it's a plate or a pair of jeans or a chair or a piece of art, it's all the same to me. And again, it's all the same to you. Like, you...

Have the same criteria for everything. Yeah. So that's why you were good at it. Yeah. My thing is that I have never been afraid of the material itself. Yeah. There's nothing to me that's like too precious. That's why I love doing ceramics because I'm not afraid of... Oh, and that's the huge difference between me and you. Because...

I am precious about that stuff. Like to see people handle flowers, I'm like, oh my God, what are you doing? I would be too careful. We bought some South African proteas, which are these like waxy flowers from South Africa. Very durable. Super durable. And I put them like in the back of the car and I was kind of like pushing them down a little. And I freaked out. You freaked out. Yeah.

Yeah, I... And that's the flower you can, like, beat someone with and they still... It'll still be fine. Yeah, I'm... That's... You know what? And honestly, I think that that's why I'm not a doer. I'm more of a... No, you're a doer. You're more... No, I'm an editor and curator because I'm too precious about the materials. That's the difference. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Because it's also with clay. I'm not, you know, clay is a material that moves and it's kind of alive and it has its own mindset. But I'm not afraid to, like, go in and tell the clay that you're my bitch. Yeah, to just do it. You're my bitch. Yeah. It's not the other way around. Yeah. Yeah. And I would be too obsessed with perfection, which would literally just destroy me. Mm-hmm.

Yeah. So interesting. Yeah. So I started taking classes and I just loved it more and more. And I actually became really good at it. Yeah. So I worked for him maybe like a year and a half. Yeah. And what happened was that, you know, my parents had a couple of restaurants slash bistros.

And this new big mall was being built a little bit outside of Oslo. Yeah. And they got a space there for a small salad bar. And the people behind the mall asked my mom, she was like, we need a real good flower shop.

Do you know anyone? And my mom was like, oh, yeah, my son would like to open a flower shop. Oh, my God. I love it. And I was like, she told me after and I was like, oh, I would. I love it. And so what happened was that, yeah, so I quit that job. So it was decided. Yeah. And my mom fixed all the finances and got the loans and all that stuff. And yes, I opened, I think I must be 20.

A flower shop in the mall. A flower shop in the mall. And that was a proper indoor mall? Like an American mall? Indoor mall. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, we had... It was actually really beautiful.

I hope it was brand new. I mean... Yeah, but the shop was beautiful because we had this Danish company made all these custom shelvings and desks and all this stuff. It was really pretty. The shop was dark, like, ink blue. Are you serious? It was tiny. But what we did was that we got a bunch of space

So, you know, all malls have like common spaces. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we got a lot of space. In the back. No, in the common space. Oh, to like open up and put displays. Yeah, so what we did was that we had this Danish company kind of make us like a... What's that called? Like fixtures or like a cart? No, no. It was like a little house, like a...

A greenhouse? What do they call, you know, those little houses? A gazebo. Yeah, it was a gazebo. Oh, okay. Yes. Yeah. It was really charming.

And it was just out in the open in front of the store. Wow. Yeah. I can still remember the opening day. Were you thrilled? I was sick to my stomach. Oh, my gosh. Because it was so busy, and I had bought a bunch of jasmine. So the mall was already open. No. So we got into a new mall.

Oh, so your parents' shop wasn't even open. No. So everything, you know, when everything opened, everything was new. So this salad bar, this was a different salad bar than the one they had already. Oh, the original one that you worked at. This is like a second location. Yes, this is a second location. Oh, okay, okay, okay. So it opened up. You know, the shop was filled to the rim with flowers. It was so beautiful. And I had bought a bunch of jasmine plants.

And what happened on the opening day is that I got so sick. I went and threw up in the bathroom every like half hour.

From nerves or from like a cold? I thought it was nerves in the beginning. And then, you know, I said, I told one, like one of the girls that worked with me, she was like, what is going on? Like, is it nerves? And I was just, I don't know. I just have this like, I feel like a headache and I'm nauseous and I have to throw up.

And she was like, oh my God, it's a jasmine. Because it can have that effect on people. Because the smell is so overpowering. Yes. So we took all the jasmine plants out. And you were fine. And I was fine. Oh my gosh. Yeah. There are certain cologne...

Fragrances that make me ill. And I remember being a little kid and going into this popcorn shop where they had like a million different flavors of popcorn and the smell being so strong that I went right out and I threw up. Yeah, exactly. It's that kind of thing. It's like when you walk through one of those, I wish I could not name the names. Yankee Candle. Yeah.

awful it's it's just too much yeah it's just like oh god this is so fascinating okay so it was the first day the mall was open and who did you have working with you i had two girls that actually one of them worked with me in the other flower shop the original so you stole her i stole her and then i had a girl that i met into uh in one of the classes

so they were like friends like young or they yeah no they were young yeah so you were 20 years old yeah so they were in the 20s too so we were like three 20 year olds oh my god that's so so it was a blockbuster from day one yeah really cool but of course it was just so stressful so much work you know what you have to do you have to get up really early in the morning yeah you have to go to the flower market yeah and

And when I say early, you have to be at the flower market to get good stuff. Yeah. You have to be there at six. Yeah. So, you know, you have to get up at five. Yeah. So, do that several times a week. At 20 years old, that's very early. Yeah, it's early. Yeah, you know. It's early at any time. No, I know, but we get up at five every day naturally now. But, like, as a kid, that's very difficult. Yeah. Plus, I didn't drive. So, one of the girls had to come pick me up. Oh, my God. Of course. Yeah.

Nothing has changed. So, okay. Okay. So, was there any drama with you leaving the original florist you trained from? No. That's good. No. He was supportive. Yeah. Wow. What was the flower shop called? It was called- Paul's Petals. Paul's Petals.

No, it was called Einlings. Oh. And what was the trend at that time? What kind of flowers were popular? Was it like roses or tulips? I mean, kind of the same as now. There was a trend where it was called like transparent bouquets.

where things started to get like a little looser and not so like tied up. Yeah. Our big seller was these little round baskets with a handle. Yeah. And had like a little very like tight arrangement in it, like a very round. Yeah. Yeah. That was our best seller.

Yeah. So I did that for, I think I did that for three years. Wow. And then I was just like, this is, I went to my parents and said that, and they also saw it on me, but this is too much. I just, this is crazy. The routine, the day in, day out. Yeah. And you know what other thing made me absolutely insane? What? My hands. That's crazy.

That's a big drawback of working with flowers. Your hands get black. Oh, really? Yeah, because of the stems. And you work with metal wires. So your hands were just... And it's impossible to clean. Yeah. I always felt like I had...

We put my hands in my pockets. You were working in the coal mine. Yeah, because I had like filthy hands always. Yeah. And it didn't matter like lemon and salt. It just didn't. Nothing worked. Yeah. So I went to my parents and we decided to sell the store.

And what happened was that the two girls that worked for me, they bought the store. So they were with you the entire time? Yeah, and they continued the store. That is so fabulous. That's like perfect. Yeah, so that was really good. Did they change the name or they kept it? No, they changed the name.

I can't remember what I changed. So now you're like 23-ish. 23, 24. And I took a little break. And then I was like, oh, I kind of love flowers. So what happened was that I had met a woman, a Danish woman who designed furniture, who would come and buy flowers from me. And she said to me, so I have an idea. I want to start like a little design center.

with myself doing furniture, a friend of mine doing antiques. I have two guys who's doing interior design and I would like you to come and do flowers. And it wasn't a big place. It was right behind the Royal Palace in Oslo. Yeah. In a very old building, beautiful high ceilings. It was very chic.

And we all went and looked at it. And we were like, yeah, we can... You know, the rent wasn't that much. And we were like, yeah, we can make this work. Yeah. So, we all had a little pot. Oh, my gosh. So, this is like sort of the next level. This is like more chic, more sophisticated. Yes, this was very different. Yeah. And I have become... I don't want to be like...

The florist who sells like five carnations with baby breath. Yeah. I want to work more like sculptural and I want to do like. Yeah, like a real floral designer. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Like events. When you were in the mall, did you start doing events or anything then? No. I've actually never done a lot of events. Or private. Yeah, we did some private parties. We did, of course, wedding bouquets and stuff like that. So the two guys, Benton Bill, which now lives in New York. Oh, really? Yeah, they have a big thriving...

Design business. Their company is called Heiberg Cummings. Yeah, they do big in New York and the Hamptons. Did you ever reconnect with them in New York? I'm friends with one on Facebook. We talk like once in a while. Yeah. So they had like their own room. Yeah. And then my friend, her name is Pia, Pia Dunn. She had her room. And then the woman with the antiques, who was the most fun.

fabulous woman you would ever meet really yes she was tall very thin jet black hair which was always put up in a chignon she went three times a week across the street to the hairdresser and got her hair was her hair dyed yeah must have been yeah because she was norwegian yeah and and she always wore sunglasses oh so fabulous and she was the kind of person who she loved her white wine the

There was always a bottle of white wine in her shop and she would drink all day. She was so funny. And she wore these big sunglasses because she didn't want anyone to see the puffs under her eyes. And she was the kind of person when you walked into her shop, she would like turn her back.

It was kind of like she didn't really want to sell anything. Yeah. She loved me. I loved her. I think she was the most fabulous person ever. She lived in a super eccentric old wooden house in the middle of Oslo. She was absolutely fabulous. She died a few years ago of cancer. Very, very sad. I did the flowers for a funeral. But yeah, so she had her part. And then I had actually the biggest room. Yeah.

And what I did was that my dad helped me. We put down a wooden floor. Yeah. And I said, I don't want it perfect. I want it to have cracks. And he was like, oh, thank God. Yeah, exactly. That's going to happen anyway. Yes. And I painted gray and white checks, checkerboard. On the wood. Yeah, on the wood. So it was kind of like, you know what you find in old castles? Yeah, so cool. And then it had this old stucco ceiling.

And you know what we did? We were like, because it was me and Pia, this woman who was like, oh, let's do this room together. We were like, oh, we want silver foil. But of course, we looked at the price and we were like, yeah, we can't do silver foil. We used an aluminum foil like for the kitchen. Oh, really? We covered the ceilings with aluminum foil. Like crinkled up or like sheets of it? No, sheets of it. Yeah.

It actually looked really chic. Yeah. And how did you attach it? We just used glue. I can't remember. Oh, interesting. I think like wallpaper glue or something. And the walls were kind of this very dark purplish color. And then I had like, you know, so she designed iron furniture, furniture made of iron. Yeah. So we put in some of her furniture and I got like some antiques from home to put in. And it was really, really chic. Yeah.

And it kind of became like a thing. Yeah, of course. This little center, this little store. So we got a lot of PR. Yeah. You know, I had a six-page story about me and my shop in like the kind of like the Sunday Times here. Like, you know, the magazine you get in New York Times. What's it called? Like the style section. Yeah. Yeah, I had a six-page story in the magazine. Yeah.

And like the Norwegian edition of that. Yeah. Yeah, it became this. It was really amazing. It became this big thing. We didn't sell like a huge amount of stuff. Yeah. I remember it was like whenever I had a sale, it was like, oh my God, guys, lunch. I was like, taxi home. Yeah. But it was just a really fun, creative time. Yeah.

Yeah. And which led me on to a lot of other things. And it attracted the queen, the queen of Norway. Yeah. She came and she became a client and I would go to the palace and I would go to their private residence outside of Oslo.

So did she just walk in one day? No. Were they summoned for you? One afternoon I got a phone call and they said, hello, this is blah, blah, blah from the Royal Palace. And she was still a crown princess back then. And they said that the crown princess will be at your shop. Like they asked me when I closed and I said I closed at five. Okay, the crown princess will be there five minutes after five.

Oh, my gosh. And five minutes. And I was like. Which you clearly were like, yes, I understand. No one will be here. Yes. I was like, okay, that's great. I hung up the phone and I screamed. And I was like, oh, my God, we have to clean. Oh, my gosh. So we clean the entire place.

And yeah, I remember I was like lighting candles when I was like, she's here, everyone. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Guard your loins, she's here. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And she came in and she was very sweet. She bought a few things that we had sent to the palace, delivered to the palace the next day. And yeah, she would either, they would either call or she would like come in and they would always call first and say that, you know, she's coming. Yeah.

And she would come after closing. Yeah. And then so you started doing flowers for her. Yeah. So then I started doing flowers for her. Oh, my gosh. For her. That was really cool. She once asked for a discount, which I kind of didn't really answer because, you know, I was like kind of modified. Yeah.

Yeah, you're like, I need the money more than you do. Of course, what I should have said was, yes, of course, every queen get a discount at my shop. Oh, of course. Yeah. And then not gave her a discount. No, I never gave her a discount. Because I was like, you can't ask me about discounts. Yeah, of course. Yeah. But she was very sweet. And she became, you know, the old king died and she became the queen.

right after that. Yeah. So, yeah. So how long did you have... Were you there in that shop? So I...

I was there by the while, actually, maybe like four, maybe four years. Four years. Amazing. And then when in that timeline of four years is the story of you meeting Queen Elizabeth, which is the episode, the queen and I, which you should listen to if you haven't a couple of years in. Okay. Yeah. And that was all related to working for the Norwegian royal family. Yeah.

So amazing. Yeah. So, you know, that was fun. It was a very creative time and we had so much fun. We didn't make much money, but it didn't really matter because we were just like, this is what we love to do. Yeah. It's so amazing that Flowers is where you landed and where it was like your first successful, fully realized, you know, like a proper business. Yeah. Yeah. And...

I could be creative. I could do whatever I wanted. But you also had an understanding of proportion and color. Oh, yes, absolutely. It's sort of like if you know how to do a flower arrangement well –

you should be able to literally do anything creative wow because it's it's all the same laws of design and concepts and theories and so cool yeah with a living medium it's so wild yeah you just have to have respect for what you're doing and not be afraid of it and just like jump in and you know learn from your mistakes and just take it from there

So what happened was, yeah, so the shop got a lot of attention. And we were in a bunch of magazines and on TV and stuff. And it became like a thing. Yeah. And I had a bunch of photographers coming and stylists. And they would borrow arrangements for photo shoots. Yeah, of course. And then one day this woman, her name was Nina Dreyer.

She said, do you want to come into a photo shoot and do the flower stair? Because I kind of think that you would be good at it. Interesting. And I did that. And I was like, oh, this is really cool. Yeah. The world of editorial. Yeah, because you create something really beautiful. And then... It's documented. It's documented. Forever. And then it's done. Then you take it off. But I was like, oh, you always have those images. Because I was working with something that...

Well, I worked with a little dried stuff that would live more or less forever. But of course, all I did were fresh flowers that would die in a few days. Yeah, of course. So to work with another medium was really fun. And I was like, oh, you can make whole rooms, and you can do settings, and you can do very intimate stuff. Yeah.

Yeah, so I did that a few times with her. And then I said to her, I have an idea of maybe a couple of stories that we could do together. Oh, my gosh. So we did two. We did one about apples. And it was kind of like a story that was like mixed of food and like a little crafty. Yeah. And I remember we drove into a forest and we found this like...

abandoned little cabin and we shot it there. Yeah. And then we did one on like tropical kind of food desserts. Yeah. And we went to the biggest magazine in Norway back then called Messor just to get... Because she had kind of just started out to...

And so had I. And just to get some critique. Yeah, feedback. Yeah. And the other thing, she was like, oh, my God, I love this. I'll buy it. Please make more. Stop. Yes. So what happened was that I was thinking, oh. And there was more money in that than my flowers. Yeah, of course. Because I can say, oh, my God, we had all the magazines came and the royal family and blah, blah, blah. But I didn't really make any money.

Yeah, that doesn't mean that people are showing up to buy arrangements. Yeah, it's like Sackposen with all his amazing gowns and the lifestyle. And then he has to sleep on a friend's couch. Yeah, exactly. That is so amazing. I think that we should stop there. No, I'm going to say one more thing, and then we can stop. So what I did, and I remember this very vividly, I went home after that, and we got to check right away because we had the images with us.

We got a check and I was like, oh my God, this is amazing. Yeah. And I think we got like 7,000 Norwegian crowns or something. Yeah. Split that and I was like, oh my God, this is incredible. So I went home and I took two sheets of paper and then I wrote pros and cons of keeping the flower shop. Yeah. Like what's the pros and what's the cons? Yeah. And I was thinking if the cons are more than the pros. Yes.

I'll stop. And it was. It was more than a pro. It's such an amazing pragmatic way to look at something. That's the best way to do it. Because it's right there on paper and you see it. Yeah. And I saw it black and white and I stopped the shop and I decided to be a stylist. A stylist. Oh my gosh. And there we can stop. Oh my God. I have a million questions, but...

We should save that. Episode 15 will be to be continued. Yes, to be continued. Part two. Yes. So we're going to take a little break and then we're going to come back with what's up.

Okay, it's question time. What's up, sweet Paul? Episode 14. Okay, Lisa from Minnesota says, I want to thank you both for the coming out episode. Oh my gosh. It's only been out for like a day. Well, two. I listened to it with my 18-year-old son who came out a few months ago. We listened, laughed, and I shared a tear when James talked about his parents. All

All parents should support their kids no matter what. Who don't want sweet Paul as a family member? You are both loved and admired. Sending you both lots of love. Keep up the podcast. Oh my gosh, that's not a question. That was sweet. But that means so much to me, Lisa. Thank you so much for that. Okay. Victoria from Auckland, New Zealand says, Love, we're so international. I know. Where are the French questions? I don't know.

Love the podcast. You two are just a gem and I can feel the love through my computer when I listen. I

I need to know how you guys met and also if you got the dogs together or did they come with one of you? You both rock. Oh, so sweet. Well, first I have to say, I have actually been to Auckland, New Zealand. You have? Yes. So far away. It was... Yeah. I mean... It's 16... The flight from Auckland to LA was 16 hours. It's like another planet. Yeah. It's so far. It's really far. It's an extremely beautiful place. The people are...

So nice. Yeah. People say that about the... Yeah, they're super nice. The Kiwis? Are they Kiwis? Kiwis. Yeah. And do you remember that movie, Piano? The Piano, yeah. Do you remember the opening scene? It's that black beach. I think so, yeah. Yeah.

I stayed... Wait, they have the black sand beaches there? Yes. That were... Yeah. Were like Herberts photographed every... Yes. Yes. I stayed in a house overlooking that... No. That beach. Oh, so amazing. It was... So we came late at night. We had friends living there. A Norwegian girl and her husband. And...

Went straight to bed. And I remember the next morning, I woke up and I opened the blinds and I was like, oh my God. Yeah. Like, where am I? Paradise. Yes. Like that black sand and the rocks. And it was stunning. Yeah. Stunning. Yeah. What was the question? Okay. Okay.

Oh, we met. We sort of ran in the same... We had probably mutual friends. So we were connected on Facebook. Of course, I knew who he was because he's Sweet Paul. And I was aware of the magazine and...

Thought he was the cutest, most darling thing ever. So we had sort of messaged a little bit, maybe even flirted a little bit on Facebook or somewhere online. And then years later, I saw that he posted that he was single because he had been in a long relationship and I had just gotten out of one. So I was single and I saw that he was single. And so I let it breathe a little bit. Mm hmm.

And then. So that I could run around the block? Yes. Go around the block a few times. I know those little cubs were lining up. And then he. You messaged me. I messaged him saying. You messaged me. We should go on a date. Yes. And you were like, how about this weekend? I said, done. Yes. And then you came Saturday. Stayed till Monday morning. Yes. And.

And we were kind of boyfriends from day one. Yeah, it was just like, oh, this is... Yeah. Okay. Yeah, and it was great. We've said this before, but I was managing a hotel in Phoenician New York in the Catskills. So I would come down for like 48 hours every week. So...

Like that sort of paced our relationship. Because if I was living in Brooklyn, we would have just lived together. Yeah. But I think it was good that it sort of paced us a little bit. And then you started coming upstate. And so it was really amazing start to our relationship. But yeah, it was... It was like easy from... Yeah, it was like easy breezy from... Yeah. And the thing is, it's like, that's the way it should be. Yeah. Like...

If you don't desire to be with someone or if you don't think you could spend the rest of your life with someone at any moment, then you have no business being together. That's how I've always dealt with love. Well, yeah, I feel like when you know, you know. And there's no like...

We're too old for that game. Yeah, we were both in a similar spot. Yeah, we were just like... And it was timing. It was literally timing. If we had met five years before, maybe it wouldn't have worked out. But it's timing...

We wanted the same things. We enjoyed the same things. And it was just so easy from day one. Yeah. And still is. Yeah, it's perfect. And then the dogs came with Paul. Yes, I had Hugo and I had Lestat. Yeah, Lestat came with his ex.

And then they had just gotten Hugo before they broke up. So when we met, Hugo was one years old and totally untrained. Absolutely. So I came in. I said, your stepmom's here. You're not getting away with this anymore. So I trained him at one years old. That is so true. Yeah. I was like, oh, no, ma'am. I'm the boss. I could not get that dog. I know.

House. Paul was. Yeah. No. Yeah. Too easy on him. Okay. Okay. Last question is from Steph Anderson. Hi, I have been marathon listening to your podcast and enjoying every minute. What is your favorite part of the show?

One of the things on my bucket list was eating at Mervin's Ingleside restaurant in Palm Springs. Is it Mervin's? No, it's Melvin's. Is it Melvin's or Mervin's? I think it's Melvin's. I think it's Melvin's, actually. Yeah, it's Melvin's. I flew down a couple years ago and had a wonderful dining experience there. Have you tried the wilted spinach salad and steak Diane cooked tableside at Melvin's yet?

Oh, yeah. It's Melvin's. And do you have any restaurants that you can recommend to add to my bucket list? Okay. Yes. We have been. We have been to Melvin's. We went when we... The first time we were here last winter. Oh.

And it's this legendary, super old-fashioned sort of like piano bar and restaurant. With a maitre d' where it's like a tuxedo. A tuxedo. And yeah, it's very old-fashioned. The food was okay, but it was definitely fun to go. And I think we should go back. Yeah, you know, it's a place where they flambé at a table. You know, they have dishes like...

You know, crepes to set. And it's very, like, oysters. And it's very... Yeah, some of the food was more successful than others. Yes. But it's definitely the kind of place to go and have a martini. And it's, like, very old school. Yeah. Yeah, the service was impeccable. Yeah. And I'm actually going to go back and have this dish. The wilted spinach salad with steak. Diane, I want that, like, right now. Yeah, I remember we ordered something and we thought...

Like the main course. And we thought they were going to come and flambe that at the table. Yeah, yeah. And they didn't. That's why we ordered the crepes a set. Because I was like, I want flambe at the table. Yeah, we want tables side served. Yeah, so oftentimes with new restaurants, you order incorrectly. Yeah. We have to figure out how to order correctly there. Do you know what I wish? I wish when you go to a restaurant.

That there was an automatic thing that had all the dishes paraded in front of you. Yeah. So you could see what everything was. Like you're Marie Antoinette and you can just... Exactly. The table is full of all that. Yeah. So that you could like point and see that and that. Yeah. Because like my worst...

Like Oprah had this thing too where she was like, her worst nightmare is ordering the wrong entree. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Totally. Because it can be described one way and then you're like, oh, this isn't what I thought. Yes. Yeah. Sometimes they describe it and it sounds so delicious. Yeah. They put it in front of you and you're like, oh, okay. Or it's like a fraction of the size you thought it was going to be. Exactly. Exactly. Okay. What's our favorite restaurants?

I think we've mentioned this before, but we love Las Consuelas. Yes. Which is our favorite Mexican restaurant. And there's also El Marisol is our other favorite Mexican restaurant. If you go there, you have to do the queso with chorizo. Yes.

But I think number one is Mr. Lyons. Yes, which is a steakhouse with a speakeasy bar. Yes, the speakeasy bar is off to the right behind the velvet curtain. I forgot what it's called, but...

Yeah, but it opens at 6. And if you get there at 6, you'll get a seat. And it's fabulous. It's so beautiful. And then they have the bar menu, which we've had. And then they have the main dining room, which we actually haven't been to the main dining room, but we're going to go.

Because the bill is probably going to be like $300 or $400. Yeah. Or maybe $300, $200 or $300. And then the other most fabulous is the restaurant indoors at Parker Hotel. Yes. Which I don't know. Mr. Parker, I think it's called. Yeah, I think so. The cafe is good if you sit inside. The outdoors is a little rough around the edges. Yeah.

But that interior bar and interior restaurant is so amazing. So chic. Yeah. You haven't been, but there's also a place called, I think it's called Pig and the Rooster, which is Thai food. Amazing. Oh, you went? I went. We need to go. Amazing. They have this braised tofu dish, and I usually don't eat tofu, but that was incredible.

Wow. Yeah, we need to go. Who'd you go with? Adam. Oh, and I was somewhere in San Francisco or something. Yeah, you can't leave Palm Springs. I know. Missing out. Well, we'll go. Okay.

Oh, so much yummy food. We're actually going back to LA this weekend. So we're going to probably go somewhere fun on a date. I still want Peking duck. Friday night. Oh yeah. Maybe we should look into that or we'll go back to Bottega Louie, which is downtown and so fabulous. Anyway. Okay. I think that's good. Flowers and fashion part one. So, you know the spiel. If you have a question for us and please send us,

You can direct message us on Instagram, sweetpalmagazine, or send an email to podcast at sweetpalmag.com. And then, of course, if you like this show...

Please like us on, you know, whatever. Listening station. Yeah, iTunes. Spotify. You know, whatever. Leave a comment. Yeah, just, you know. Spread the love. Spread the love. All right. That's where we're going to end. Thanks for listening. Spread the love. Spread the love. Bye. Bye. Bye.