Instead, she opened two flower shops in downtown Chicago: one in the Congress Hotel, the other in Institute Place, focusing her artistic eye on creating beautiful floral designs. The economy changed. She closed the shops. And for the past fourteen years, she worked in the restaurant industry – first as part of the opening team for Chicago’s House of Blues, and then as an executive with Rosebud Restaurants. But she always kept her hands in floral design, doing private parties, dinners and seasonal decorating for clients on the Chicago’s Gold Coast and North (personal information protected by Zola) years ago, she realized she needed to open another flower shop.