Who's Driving
Who's Driving with Wesley Turner & Steven Merck is all about the entertaining stories we share and brainstorming topics we discuss as two best friends would on a long road trip. Come along for the ride as we check in with friends & offer a wide range of informative topics centered around running small businesses, social media, and all things Home and Garden.
Who's Driving
Who's Driving - Another New Ick S2E18
On this episode of "Who's Driving," we, Wesley and Steven, kick things off with a playful riddle about the future that sets the stage for our vibrant journey through mishaps and new icks.
Carla Bushey, known for her daily recipes, from @Carla.Bushey on Instagram joins us unexpectedly as Wesley's latest ick is inspired by a couple of her reels. Buckle up and enjoy this engaging and insightful ride!
Remember, if you have more questions or just want to chat, hit us up on Instagram and give our hotline a call at 864-982-5029. Happy listening! And remember to leave us a rating and review.
We mentioned The Nested Fig App in this episode. You can Tap Here to get our app and join our live sales on Sundays and Thursdays at 8pm est.
Follow Steven on Instagram at @Keepinupwithsteven and follow Wesley on Instagram at @Farmshenanigans. Shop our online store at TheNestedFig.Com Find The Nested Fig on Instagram at @TheNestedFig
Well, I can't believe you're on time. Get in. Oh, I am here. I'm on time, I am winning.
Speaker 2:I am shocked and it's time for another episode of who's Driving. Welcome to who's Driving. I'm Wesley Turner and I'm Stephen Merck. We're two best friends and entrepreneurs. Who's Driving is an entertaining look into the behind the scenes of our lives, friendship and business.
Speaker 1:These are the stories we share and topics we discuss, as two best friends would on a long road trip.
Speaker 2:Along the way, we'll check in with friends and offer a wide range of informative topics centered around running small businesses, social media and all things home and garden.
Speaker 1:Buckle up and enjoy the ride. You never know who's driving or where we're headed.
Speaker 2:All we know is it's always a fun ride. Here we go, buckle up and let's do it.
Speaker 1:Buckle up buttercup.
Speaker 2:I have a riddle. You want to start with the riddle? Oh my gosh, I've been trying now throughout the week to, like you know, think of ones and see or ones that I see no think of ones and see or ones that I see, obviously I do not come up with any of these because I can't even figure them out when I see them.
Speaker 2:So then I have to. Then you put me on the spot. Okay, I know, so it's good, all right. What's always in front of you but can't be seen. What's always in front of you but can't be seen the future yes, damn boy, did, did I get it, you got it. You are good. Okay, I'm going. I am going harder next time.
Speaker 1:What's always in front of you but can't be seen. Your future, yeah. Wow, didn't see that one coming.
Speaker 2:It's very true and accurate. Oh my goodness, I love when those pop up in my um feed and then I'm like, well, I never get any of them, like ever. And then you don't? No, not really.
Speaker 1:Well, my brain is, I'm more visual and artsy and not I well, sometimes I don't either, but you know, I'm obsessed with them at the bank and so I'll study it and try to get it and then, if I can't, I make them give me the answer. And some of them are just stupid. Some of theirs, I'm like that's not even a good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you always say the bank is the place I need to find a good calendar or something that has this a daily one. Put it in here. But I like finding a wide variety of different kinds Story time, though. This is just randomly popped in my head right now and I thought of a funny story that I don't know if I ever told you, because it may have been before I met you, but you may have been around.
Speaker 2:But I was talking to our friend, catherine, over at Design Central Project and she was talking about their starting and she's heading up getting started a garden club for their town, because you know, she does a lot with the town of central, that's why we call her central um, and she was saying how she has no idea, it's like she's never been to a garden club. And she was saying like I don't even know what we do, blah, blah. And I was like, oh well, you know, we've worked with a lot of garden clubs, with the garden store, and like they have, you know, like some back in day they would come to our store and we would do demos or they, you know all kinds of different things. We were going through it, but it reminded me were you around, you know, in the beginning, when we opened the store back in 2009, daniel, I would do a ton of garden club. I did the garden club circuit because that was a good way to get our name out there and we weren't yeah get.
Speaker 2:We weren't as busy at the time, you know, just getting started, so I had time to do it and we're in a very nice part of greenville, nice, so you know we had all these garden clubs. Well, this one time, this was the final straw, when I was like I will not be doing this anymore. Well, actually, I switched. You did talks and yeah, I, I remember that. Yeah, and demos, like I would go to people's houses and show how we pot arrangements and what you can do and that sort of thing. So this one time we have this. You know we have many very nice neighborhoods, but I was in one of the very nice neighborhoods and it was at someone's house they were hosting.
Speaker 1:Which one was it? Write it down, don't say it down. I just want to know. I have to know you can't say it. Um, I thought that you were gonna say that yeah, um so I was there multi-million dollar home um.
Speaker 2:You know garden club. This one was particularly an older southern group you would say Very highfalutin, as Pat Blackwell would say Highfalutin, highfalutin. But you know I'm all excited. It is our custom that we want to market to. So I am walking through because I'm going to do a potting demo and I'm walking through this lady's massive dining room and the bottom fell out of my bag of potting soil.
Speaker 1:You never told me it went everywhere, on this lady's rug. And you know, potting soil is light and fluffy.
Speaker 2:You turned bright red, lightly damp. You know, I was so embarrassed I had forgotten about it until we were talking about garden clubs. I think it was a trauma thing that I have like you've never told me this.
Speaker 1:What did she do?
Speaker 2:they were fine. You know what could she do? I mean, I didn't spill it intentionally but, like I'm talking, the whole bottom of the bag fell out like fell out was she a customer after that? I think so I can't remember exactly who it was, but then I had to continue if you're listening.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry he did that.
Speaker 2:Don't hold it against us and then I had to continue with the talk. I was so, and you know they were all standing around having their petty fours did you clean it up and everything? Yes, to the best as I could, but I mean potting soil light, I think, when it happened.
Speaker 1:It's dark. The pot of soil we use is almost black.
Speaker 2:Yes, on her pretty perfect rug.
Speaker 1:I would have killed you If I had been her.
Speaker 2:I would have beat your ass In that moment, when I was down on the ground sweeping up potting soil into a dustpan, I thought, wesley, you will never put yourself in this situation again. And that is when I stopped doing them in how Like I would not. From that day on, when someone said, hey, will you stop for our garden club, then I would say I will, but you have to come here to the store. And that was that. And then after a while I just cut it out because I just didn't have time to do that anymore sort of thing. But oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:I still get secondhand embarrassment thinking about it.
Speaker 3:That's like.
Speaker 2:But can you imagine walking through like someone's really really nice house? Really All the people that are in there are, you know, our customers. Yeah, and rubbing elbows and like you know.
Speaker 2:And you dump that soil and I know it wasn't intentional, but like a whole bag of soil just out on someone's rug. It wasn't even like and like when I was down there sweeping it up, because I would bring like a little dustpan and a little you know little hand broom when I'm down there trying to sweep it up but not rub it into the rug, literally one step further and I would have just hit hardwood no, it was right. Hit hardwood.
Speaker 1:No, it was right on the road and you know it was like a $15,000.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure, oh God, I'm embarrassed now.
Speaker 3:That was like.
Speaker 1:I mean, that was also back in the day that would be right up there with going number two at somebody's house and just stopping it up and letting it overflow or something Knock on wood. That has never happened to you?
Speaker 2:No, that's surprising. I mean, you've had some incidences.
Speaker 1:I don't go around doing number twos at people's homes, but sometimes it just hits you.
Speaker 2:Now you do it in your car.
Speaker 1:I would rather do it in their house actually, oh my God.
Speaker 2:Wouldn't that be horrible yeah.
Speaker 1:Or breaking something we haven't done. That have we.
Speaker 2:Did we break?
Speaker 1:We have broken containers, people's containers, we have accidentally broken people's containers and that's all. That's the worst feeling.
Speaker 2:It doesn't happen. I mean, it's happened just a handful of times.
Speaker 1:Well, when it's happened in all fairness. It was cracked and it just finished breaking because all you have to do is like if it's an old piece is just sit it down and it goes. Yeah, and I always warn people when I take them in there like this I'm like this is getting ready to go, Are you sure? Because even planting it could put just the right amount of pressure and it popped.
Speaker 2:See, I'm a big believer in. I've always been a big believer, and I think maybe my mom taught me this, although I don't know if she lives by that.
Speaker 2:But, anyway, I am a big believer in not putting yourself in certain situations Again. That one taught me that day and that was something I'd never feared before the soil falling out on some ones. But that taught me that day. Don't put yourself back in the situation. It's awkward. It could have on the wrong person. It could have been a lawsuit or a very expensive you're going to pay for this to get cleaned.
Speaker 3:And that's my $15,000.
Speaker 2:You know, you learn as you go and I truly do things like don't put yourself in that situation.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you're good about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I always tell Daniel that like I weirdly as introverted as I am although whatever the word is I do not mind getting up and talking in front of people. I can give you a whole presentation, I can do talks and that sort of thing. And then Daniel, who of the two of us is the most outgoing, hates it, hates being in front of people and doing big group talks and that sort of thing. And I'm always like, if you know that about yourself, do not put yourself in that situation.
Speaker 3:Don't do it.
Speaker 2:Just don't do it. That is something that you just tell yourself, because he gets asked all the time to do these talks. Just let yourself give yourself that grace that it's not going to be comfortable. You're not going to like it leading up to it. You're going to dread it for months. You're not going to like it leading up to it. You're going to dread it for months. You're not going to like it in the moment and you're going to be worried about.
Speaker 3:Don't do it just don't put yourself in those situations.
Speaker 2:Well, I used to and he'll do videos and stuff now, like he'll do, like instagram, live takeovers for, like, different gardeners and stuff. But he, that's something he can control and it's in his element and that sort of thing.
Speaker 1:I used to almost faint like getting up and talking.
Speaker 2:And that's how Daniel is or would be.
Speaker 1:Huge amount of anxiety and being in McDonald's leadership and I had to do it. Yeah, so that was honestly the best thing I did, because I had to do it to play the game, to get more restaurants and grow and all that. So I had to do it and you know what I found worked is like I would not let the marketing company or anybody do anything for you?
Speaker 2:No, right, because you have to. Well, and that's what I always tell Daniel or anybody if you're nervous about it or you're being asked to do something in your profession, and what I still only do because I don't want to have to dread it, I really don't want to have to prepare for it. I mean, I want my prep to be like okay, I need to get this together, I'm not going to research something, only do what you would be comfortable walking up to your friend and talking about and the knowledge you have.
Speaker 2:If it is out of the knowledge that you automatically have in your brain, then don't, unless you're assigned it which is different, then don't put yourself in that situation Like I'm not going to go be the one to talk about our flower farm because I don't work the flower farm.
Speaker 2:You don't know it like the back of your hand the schedule that, daniel, I would have to research and ask and write down specifics. Those are not in my head. If you ask me to come do a talk on warehouse information and setting up a warehouse or how we do that, I will do it in a heartbeat. Retail it is, I can tell you. We can do two hours worth of it right now.
Speaker 2:Small business be retail. It is, I can tell you. We can do two hours worth of it right now. Bit small business. So that goes back to only put myself in the situation of what I'm comfortable. The other thing I learned very early on to say no the other thing I can't do is powerpoint I don't I can't follow it.
Speaker 1:Follow it because it throws your yeah, it throws me off. So I never allowed like the marketing. They would be like we need your slot, we need to do your slides. I'm like, nope, you're not doing slides for me and I just want a generic powerpoint up because I have to talk. I, when I speak, I have to speak from my heart or I'll screw it up yeah, I mean I'll end up reading it and I hate that. I hate listening to anybody reading.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, when we went to the Achieve conference last October and you were the speaker there and they were like we need your PowerPoint, you're like they're hitting one. I'm going to get up there and talk and that's the way it is, and you don't like it, then I'm not doing that. But see, that is controlling the situation and not putting yourself in that situation.
Speaker 1:Why are you up there doing it? If you're going to put a PowerPoint up there that says everything, you're going to say that people are going to be reading and you're going to be reading then what's the damn point?
Speaker 2:Yeah, just submit it and not be there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you can't get up there and really convey it and speak, then what? Let's just skip it, yeah, but I was like that, going way back, and that's why I said I think my mom may have taught me that, or maybe it was just intuition, I don't know. But even going back to being in high school or college and not putting myself in the situation, I was not a big drinker. I've never been a big drinker in my life. But I like to go out, like in college I would go out with everyone to the bar or whatever. But I was always the driver because I was going to be in control and I was not going to put myself in a situation.
Speaker 1:You were going to have a car.
Speaker 2:I was going to have a car. I have always like I am not going to go on a trip with someone and not have my own car. It doesn't matter who it is, I am going to have my own car. I'm not going to put myself in a situation even with my parents, I would not put myself in a situation where I did not have my own car and have control. That's just the way that I roll. But yeah, don't do those garden clubs. I don't know that was a good story time that I roll. But yeah, don't do those garden clubs. I don't know that was a good story time that.
Speaker 2:I forgot.
Speaker 1:So a huge. I'm not going to name the business or anything like that.
Speaker 2:No, let's do, no, let's not Okay.
Speaker 1:You know it's a place that I love here in Greenville and you go and I love to shop with them. They're amazing, they do a great job. I mean next to us, but you go there and I love all of their stuff. I mean they just do a wonderful job in everything they touch. But every time I pick up something I'm like, oh my gosh. I love this. It's not for sale.
Speaker 2:That drives me crazy. We've talked about this, you and I, before in our business.
Speaker 1:Everything is for sale. It's for sale, including our employees. No, I'm joking, but seriously no.
Speaker 2:But everything is for sale. So if you have a small business out there because people will do this, especially if they have, like I feel, like a booth at an antique store oh, I'm going to use this as a prop, but it's not for sale. Nsf.
Speaker 1:It is or NFS. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:It is for sale. We go to an amazing showroom at market Certain showrooms will do this at market and they'll bring in a prop and it's not for sale. Use your own shit, Like the one that really comes to mind. They have all the same stuff. If they took these items out, it would not affect it. It would make it better, not for sale, not for sale, Not for sale.
Speaker 1:And then there's a vintage store here in Greenville that does the same thing, and so it's like a junk store. And you know like a junk store and you know I'm drawn, I love antiquing and old stuff and I've been there.
Speaker 2:That is an ick of mine. This is an ick that just sends me up the wall.
Speaker 1:Yes, I've been three times to this one store. I have not been in probably three years. Don't plan on going back, because the first, second and third time literally everything I picked up. I got to the register and I was like there's not a price, but I really want this. Sorry, that's not for sale. I just I can't part with that. Why?
Speaker 2:the hell is it here? Take it home. Take it home and shut up. So if you have a small business, it's for sale. Everything, every little prop, is for sale. Now, the value of that to you is whatever. So if you have an item that you know, maybe the normal person would say, oh, that's worth $100, but you don't want to sell it. What is the right price? It be five thousand dollars to you. Twelve hundred, twelve hundred five hundred. Put that price on there.
Speaker 1:At least it is obtainable to someone, even if it's a, if we have a display, a display cabinet yeah we will order it for you. We'll either sell you that one right or we'll order it.
Speaker 2:You get you a new one right, yeah, period retail stores lighting, yeah everything even in our garden store we have all of our lights. They're from our home store. That we can order tags on them. You can order this light like you want it. You can order this light, but it.
Speaker 2:That is one thing, it just I ride, take it home if you, if it's that important to you I mean we've had people come in and offer us, like we had at the garden store, an old metal truck. I mean it wasn't old, it was a metal truck replica that I'd ordered as a quote prop for our christmas tree and wreaths or whatever, and people wanted to buy it and I was like, well, it's really part of. In my mind. I'm like, well, it's really part of our display. But if someone is willing to pay and I would say, yes, it's for sale for X amount of dollars and it was about four times what I would have regularly marketed at. But if someone was willing to pay that I will take apart my whole Christmas display and we will load it up for you.
Speaker 1:Well, we had to send it on its. We had a vintage birdcage. Oh yeah, and we, we really bought it for display only. Yeah, but we put a price on it, yeah, and guess what? Someone paid it. I mean, it had chicken shit in it. It's literally. They liked it. Yeah, they bought it and it's gone and that's fine. And you know what? We never missed it.
Speaker 2:I was tired of hitting my head on it anyway. This kind of I don't know why this just popped into my head. Going back to things not being for sale in market. But have we ever told the story about the time you made? Well, I guess we jointly made the sales rep cry at market, oh, and we still won't shop with this vendor it was kind of the same, but it turned me off the whole thing, so story time we went to a vendor that we shopped with they sell seasonal faux decor and what and they just popped up in my like info.
Speaker 2:Um, I was shopping some things and they popped up and I was like, oh, this is cute. I was like I saw who it was. I was like, no, not doing it. So, steven and I went to market and y'all know if you followed our instagram, we love to have fun and cut up at market and that sort of thing. Well, this particular vendor pain in the ass. It was holiday and a lot of things holiday like it was christmas, merchandise, stems, ornaments and that sort of thing. Well, a lot of things had sold out, but instead of taking them out of their showroom because I assume they would have had like nothing left after our experience they just left it there. But other showrooms will do that too, where they, because they have it all styled, a whole tree decorated, but a lot of things have sold out. Good for them.
Speaker 1:They'll put a dot.
Speaker 2:They will put a dot and say anything with X color dot is sold out. So when you walk through and you're scanning with the sales rep, you say, oh, I like this. And then you go, oh, it's got a dot on it, it's sold out. Okay, that would be the normal way for someone who has their shit together to do it. So we went to this showroom. Nothing had dots, nothing said sold out. We weren't even told like, hey, you know, a lot of things are sold out, but so-and-so would be glad to help, nothing like that. So we got this sales rep. Well, it ended up Ended up being her first few days with the company at the market, and so we're going around.
Speaker 1:She had the personality of a doorknob.
Speaker 2:Yes, we do have to set that up. She had no personality, goes back to customer service and she was definitely. I hope not. I hope she was supposed to be like maybe their I don't know inventory data person.
Speaker 1:Hopefully, she doesn't need to be anything in customer service.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so we're trying to like laugh with her and cut up and have fun. Have fun. So we're going through the showroom and we're like, oh my gosh, like we would be like I love this, and she would scan it. And she'd say, oh, it's sold out. And we'd be like, of course it is. And then she'd go to the next oh, we love this, we want 96 of this. Oh, it's sold out. And we'd be like, what the hell Is everything sold?
Speaker 1:out Like this is literally the conversation. But we were joking with her, we were laughing, we were and laughing with her.
Speaker 2:Even one of the other sales reps came by and like checked on her just to make sure because she was new.
Speaker 1:And we were laughing and joking.
Speaker 2:With that sales rep or whatever. Well then we're scanning and this has gone on like you know, we're probably on our hundredth item of trying to get an order together. And then Stephen's like if you tell me one more thing is sold out, I am going to tear this place down.
Speaker 1:Like laughing. And then you said I mean we're going to tear it apart.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I mean, it was so obviously sarcastic.
Speaker 2:Right. So we finished our order after getting maybe 10 things together, and we leave, and this showroom is in the center of the market floor, so we left out one side of the showroom and we make our way around the hallway and then we, you know, make a lap. So then we had to pass the showroom again on the way back on our route and when we did, the owner of the showroom came out and he was like hey, I need to talk to y'all. My employee. When y'all left, she started crying and saying that y'all were threatening her and was saying things like you're going to tear the place down and we were like it pissed me off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, stephen was pissed Because first of all, he should have taken that up with her and been like are you?
Speaker 1:Because they knew us too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they knew us. We had ordered from there years or whatever.
Speaker 1:And it was so jovial, it was so obviously joking.
Speaker 3:I mean.
Speaker 1:We've never been mean to anybody like that the next day, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:the next day we saw him in the hallway Because we told him he questioned us about it and we told him the situation. He questioned us about it and we told him the situation and we left by saying, um, she's going to be a problem and you need to fire her, basically after the whole conversation.
Speaker 2:And so we saw him, like I think, in the hallway the next day and we're like did someone, did that girl come back, or whatever, I can't remember. And he tried to apologize and be like oh, she was just having a hard time with something and blah, blah, blah, and we and we were like we were so over it, but to this day we haven't ordered. It was such a turnoff, it was the way. I think the only rep that she made cry at market.
Speaker 1:That I did, we did, we made her cry.
Speaker 2:But that was so unexpected though.
Speaker 1:Well, it was silly because it was like it was so obviously that we were joking.
Speaker 2:But that goes back to everything should be for sale or take it off, or market not. And that goes back to you and what you were saying Market not for sale, but that's still irritating. It is just Especially when you're at the retail level. It ticks me off.
Speaker 1:And that is a huge ick. But speaking of icks, I was watching Instagram and you know I have a huge problem with people that post all these things.
Speaker 2:I have an Instagram hick too. Oh, do you yeah?
Speaker 1:you've got a hick, all right.
Speaker 2:Instagram, ick, but go with yours.
Speaker 1:So I'm watching this. I've been doing a lot more gardening following a lot more gardening people, for whatever reason, just entertainment. You know they pop up and you know that's part of our business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you're like let me check it out.
Speaker 1:And then you see, I like to watch and see how they do arrangements and like, oh, I should try that. And so I'm watching and this lady is giving a demo and I'm like, well, she looks like she knows what she's doing and she's doing an orchid demo.
Speaker 2:So I tune in. Don't date yourself, you're tuning in, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm tuning in, I'm going to watch this and see if I learned something new, because I'm like what could I not know about an orchid? But anyway, and she's taking it out of its pot.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:I'm like, what is she doing? And she's like I'm going to show you how to grow orchids and you know like you'll never have problems with them again. And I'm like oh yeah, I'm like what's she doing, like, oh, is there some kind of new moss that she's using or, you know, is there some kind of something we need to order?
Speaker 2:yeah, planting method that I don't know.
Speaker 1:I'm like well, I'm gonna learn something new. And she took this orchid out and got all of the wood chips from around it. It was in wood so it's bare root bare root, gray, gray and green roots yeah and then she takes it over to a glass bottle filled with water and crams it like she's stuffing cotton balls into water, the bottle and in straight into water now was the bottle it was a bottle like like that but was it full of water? Full of water and she crammed it down hello orchids.
Speaker 2:That's why they're in the bark.
Speaker 1:They don't like to be wet like that and I was like and then she pulled one over, she's had in there and she, it just grows and grows, and grows. I think it was. If that were true, that was just a fluke.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I am just livid, mainly because you've got people spending their hard-earned money on orchids that are intimidating in a way for whatever reason, then they're going to fail and then they're going to give orchids a bad name. Yeah, they're going to never buy an orchid again and I'm like but you know I never leave negative comments. That's a rule for me on Instagram. So I've said but let me look at the comments, yeah.
Speaker 3:To the comment section.
Speaker 1:We go and people are like and I'm getting madder. They're like thank you, I've never tried this. I can't get my orchids to live.
Speaker 2:I'm like Lord, false hope. Yeah, this ain't going to do it.
Speaker 1:And I. Finally it made me so happy. An orchid grower got on there and said I've been in the business. It was over 20 years. I'm an orchid grower. Yeah, and what you are saying is wrong Is so wrong. Yeah, there's nothing about it, right.
Speaker 2:Did they say that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean they gave her a dressing down Like this does not work. Anybody watching this?
Speaker 3:should not do this.
Speaker 1:And then dumbasses were commenting on him. Well, obviously it does. She's got one right there doing well, and he was like no, no just oh my gosh, that was just, that was not even that really wasn't it. That isn't my major, that is a major it, but that's just wrong yeah, the it.
Speaker 1:Well, we talked about the misinformation because it's just not right people to think and they can do something, and if, if, if you're saying like if she got on there and said this is goes against every orchid growing thing you will ever read, it just happened to work for me, right? I would be like okay, that's weird, but yeah, whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know it would if she had told some kind of or said like I know this is not normal, this, like you said, goes against everything, but I tried this and it worked, so I'm going to try it again and let you know if it works the second time. That would have been okay. Yeah, I was shocked that this worked.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and because I would have been, you know. And then one person had commented I tried this and mine just got a soggy fungus all over it and I'm like well, that's what would happen.
Speaker 2:So that is correct. That's true, yeah.
Speaker 1:So what do you have? Any Wait, you said you have a new ick, I have a new ick what.
Speaker 2:And this one actually involved? Well, she's not the only one that does it, but it hits close to home with one of our friends and this, I have to say, is probably a personal ick. So we're.
Speaker 1:What is the ick? I'll tell you.
Speaker 2:Before we get there, I'm going to say this is probably a personal ick, because I think you'll find it as an ick, because you and I are weird about food and that sort of thing and I have no explanation as to why it is an ick.
Speaker 1:But that's an ick. That's how icks are.
Speaker 2:It just I see it and I want. It's like remember the snot boards.
Speaker 1:Oh God, I saw a booger board yesterday. They're booger boards.
Speaker 2:The smear boards with the icing and people dragging stuff through it, shit around it. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I saw one yesterday and I was like that just makes me mad.
Speaker 2:So this is right up there with it. So our friend Carla, over at Carla Bush.
Speaker 1:Oh, my God, you're calling out truly one of our friends.
Speaker 2:I love her. It is nothing against her. That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:Carla, I love you. I had nothing. You know she is a fiery lady she's going to cancel us?
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe we should call her and see.
Speaker 1:I feel like we have to go through our ick with her, what your ick is.
Speaker 2:So my ick is you know she does fun recipes.
Speaker 1:Well, she's a chef, she's a trained chef.
Speaker 2:All of this. Well, she will call she's done two. The first time it icked me, the second time it icked me and it just icks me, so she calls it like walking whatever. Like the last one she did, she called it walking banana pudding. So she sets up a board with like and it's an easy one. So she has packs of the um, you know, the cookie vanilla wafers like small pack, like a, like a self, not self-serve, like a one single single serve.
Speaker 2:There we go, woo, single serve. I'm so icked out. No single serve pack of the cookies. And then she has like a cup of pudding, you know, like store-bought vanilla pudding and then she has bananas there and she combines it all in the pack, the cookie package. So then you're eating it out of the cookie package.
Speaker 1:I don't even like it.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying yes, I don't even like it. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:Yes, I don't even like it when they mix it in the same bowl they're going to serve or bake it in.
Speaker 2:Well, that's a whole different level.
Speaker 1:That's a new it.
Speaker 2:But this is no. So you're eating it. So then it's like walking. So you're eating it with the spoon out of the cookie.
Speaker 1:But what's the difference in putting it in a, in a plastic bowl that you can throw away right?
Speaker 2:but why is that an it but it? It almost makes me gag when I see it.
Speaker 2:I'm like that is so gross it is the other one that she did was walking I think she called them walking tacos or I don't know something along that line where the board had like ground beef and taco toppings and then instead of shells she had, um, like chips, maybe like dorito, I can't remember. I can't remember, but like dorito chips or something, and you cut open the pack of potato chips and then you dumped in your meat and your toppings right in the potato chip bag and it grosses me out.
Speaker 1:Okay, we got to get her on the phone. Do you think she'll answer us? She'll answer me. Let's Wait, I'll try her.
Speaker 2:Are you going to try her? But we got to get her hooked up so we can hear her. We will All right, pause, we'll see if she answers. I'm calling her up and let's get her on.
Speaker 3:Hello, hello, surprise, it's my favorite people calling me what.
Speaker 2:I know Right. So we are in the middle of a podcast and we were talking about you and we wanted to get your opinion and give you the opportunity to defend yourself.
Speaker 3:Okay, I hear the nervousness in her voice. I know who defends yourself. Okay, were you talking good?
Speaker 1:things. I hear the nervousness in her voice. I know.
Speaker 3:Were you talking good things or bad things? Neither it's not bad.
Speaker 2:Okay, this is a personal-like thing. So we were talking about ics, things that gross us out, and I said our friend Carla has done a couple of things that gross us out. And I said our friend Carla has done a couple of things that gross me out and I wanted to call you and see if other people message you that it grosses them out.
Speaker 2:or is this just a me thing and it's not anything? You do amazing things. We've already set that up. It's a personal thing, but you know your recipes that you call like the walking recipes. But you know your recipes that you call like the walking recipes like the banana pudding and the tacos. It grosses me out that you are eating out of the packaging the cookie packaging or the potato chip packaging. Have you gotten that feedback?
Speaker 3:It did for me. It did for me last year. And I said who will do something like that? Who will like eat out of a bag and why? And I actually was. You know, I contemplated the fact like should I even like share this? Like is this okay to share, like eating out of a Frito bag? And I told Rich and he said you know what? It was a big deal Like here in New Jersey Rutgers, like they had a food truck and that's what they used to serve. So all the kids after being drunk in the bars they will go. And it was such a hit. And I think that's where it started and people love it, like because people love fun, different, easy things. And Rich goes. And you know America is not that we're very healthy, so people will love it. And I said really, and I'm like I actually debated sharing there or not and I did and it went great. That's funny. So I said let me do a second round now.
Speaker 1:Yes, Did you get anybody saying oh, that's so gross or that grosses me out?
Speaker 3:Nobody, nobody on those posts, on those reels ever said that they grossed them out. People will say over a salad that I place with my hands that how gross. How don't you put gloves. But people are fine eating out of a Fritos bag.
Speaker 2:That blows my mind, because why would you put on gloves when you can wash your hands and toss the salad? Right there like that's bizarre oh, so you I'm like girl, I'm eating.
Speaker 3:I'm cooking for my family, I'm not putting gloves, okay that that does bring, I've got another question.
Speaker 2:Well, hold on, before you get to yours. I just want to recap that I think the recipes are great, like the, the one with the you know, the taco or the banana pudding I would make that for sure. Even the you know, like it's just combining these you know whatever, but I would do it in a bowl, like, for some reason, and it doesn't really make sense psychologically. But why does that gross me out? That it's in the package? I don't know why.
Speaker 1:I think I don't like it because it's my OCD. It's a messy thing. I'm like. What if it leaks?
Speaker 2:Yes, I guess that goes back to Stephen and I have talked about if our spoon gets dirty, like if you're eating ice cream and the spoon falls down in the ice cream and gets sticky.
Speaker 3:we're getting a brand new spoon. Like we're not going to wipe off the spoon, oh you are just like Rich, isn't he like that?
Speaker 2:You're either like that or you're not like that, Like I'm not going to lick the spoon clean and keep going. I'm not even going to take a paper towel and wipe it off.
Speaker 1:Because it's going to be a sticky mess.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm getting a brand new spoon, so I think that's where it stems from, but, but anyway.
Speaker 3:Yeah, maybe. Maybe I mean the Thanksgiving table. And then Rich has all these sides and all this turkey and everything that you can think of and his plate has little baby portions of everything and nothing touches the next.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I mean what is wrong with you? A lot of people don't like their food. That doesn't bother me. That used to bother me more like as a kid, but not now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when I was a kid, that would have bothered me that used to bother me more like as a kid, but not now. Yeah, when I was a kid, that would have bothered me, but not now. Now, first of all, I think you're amazing in some things.
Speaker 2:I'm obsessed. We've already talked about that.
Speaker 1:I know, but I do that salad you made.
Speaker 3:Let him continue, please Let him continue that salad. You made the other day.
Speaker 1:Let him continue, please Let him continue that salad you made the other day, that pasta salad, oh my gosh. That looks so good. Oh, it looks amazing. I sent it to several friends and you've got a couple of new followers because I sent it to them and said you need to follow my friend Carla, and they're cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's so good.
Speaker 2:Okay, no good, okay. And speaking of recipes, well, more Instagram and comments. Since I have you here, do you put any kind of filter on your comment section? Like, do you have to filter out things Because I read yours and they're all positive.
Speaker 1:They're all good.
Speaker 2:I make something and I'll get you know, a million views on something will go viral. And then everyone wants to talk about how much sugar it's got in it or something. And I'm like, and I see carla putting little debbie's on a tray and people are like, oh, it's fantastic way to go, carla. I'm like if I put little debbie's on a damn tray, they're gonna be like those preservatives death. Oh, how could you.
Speaker 3:To be completely honest with you, I don't even know how I will filter comments. I don't even know how to do that. I don't either, but I need to yes, yes, but I feel like I have gotten like nasty comments. Yes, have I gotten it? Absolutely. But I feel like when your recipe is just normal and you get, you know, a few hundreds of views and stuff like that, that's, that's fine, yeah, and that's your people Right.
Speaker 3:When your recipe goes viral which has happened many times that's when you get every single person, and everybody has their own mind and they feel the right to comment right, good, bad, ugly, whatever it is, you know.
Speaker 2:So yeah which I've just learned as part of instagram do you respond to those?
Speaker 3:um, so okay for the most part, I just hit the heart and I let it go. But if it's something that really bothers me, then I would, for example, talking about that, I just remember I did like a pita board, which is like a Mediterranean board, the other day and it went viral like last week and the meat was fine.
Speaker 3:Like I know how to like cook my steak and my chicken and everything. But you're not gonna put like a medium rare steak on something that is like a pita bread. Usually, if people know, the steak that goes on a pita is a little Not dry but it's like more cooked.
Speaker 3:Anyway when I prepare, yes, when I prepare the steak and the chicken and the chicken was juicy and delicious, but when I prepare it, one girl comment and that was from everybody. One girl commented something like that meat looks dry ass. So I look at her and then I blow up her picture and I said let me tell you something. The only thing that looks dry ass here is not, don't know, my meat is never dry ass. But looking at your picture, I can tell you many things that are dry ass, but I'm not going to comment on that. That's funny, that is hilarious. She was completely dry ass. Yes, okay, completely dry ass.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you what I do. This is my mean backside. Are we recording this?
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:I shouldn't say it out loud, but when some people you know I have 96% of my followers are women Like that's a statistic. Maybe it's like 98. So we're going to refer to the women when they will leave a rude comment like that I always comment about how bad their hair looks Like I'll send it in a message to them or whatever, because I know if you talk about a woman's hair looking dry talking about things looking dry made me think of that I'll be like, well, look at your dry hair, or something like that Fried hair, fried hair.
Speaker 2:Oh, that sets them on fire. They have to write a whole paragraph and then they, you know they leave unfollowed after that but that's my, that's my one thing that I'll do. I mean, and I you know, that's my comeback is always talking about dry ass something, whatever that is it. But it's funny like I have okay talking about comments on recipes and stuff. So back, you know, before easter I did one um about I made peanut butter eggs, like showing like you can make your own, basically they were so good peanut butter.
Speaker 1:I was here, I came that day.
Speaker 2:You made well okay, first of all, that is no different than than Reese's taking their buttercup and putting it in an egg form. It's the same damn thing. It's a peanut buttercup in the shape of an egg. Yeah, so okay, I didn't hear this.
Speaker 2:Specifically Ohio up in my comments. If you are from Ohio in my comments, every person in the state of Ohio has had to let me know. Well, that's just Buckeyes made into an egg. Well, no shit, it's like you call them Buckeyes, some people call them peanut butter balls. It's the same thing, it's just a different shape.
Speaker 1:You haven't invented anything new.
Speaker 2:They act like Ohio is the only place that has Buckeyes and the only place that's made anything peanut butter and chocolate, I am like calm down. Calm down, sister. It's no different than Reese's taking a peanut butter cup and turn it into an egg, and guess what? It's going to be a pumpkin, and then it's going to be a tree, and they're all the same recipe.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Yes, people are very touchy about their recipes too, that they are like I like or something that happened to me on Easter too, because I make something called. I called it right there, big Fonz. Let me show you how I make Easter pie. I never called it pasta rustica the Italian way. I know how to make pasta rustica, but I said it's Easter pie, I made it and everybody. You are missing the prosciutto, you are missing this and I'm like did I say I made pasta rustica? I know how to make that too. You know like. It's just very like a possessive thing, and you cannot mess with Italians and the way they cook, because you know, god forbid.
Speaker 3:Or evidently Ohio and their buccas Ohio and their buccas and I want to be like honey.
Speaker 2:The whole country knows what the hell a bucca is.
Speaker 1:And everybody eats Reese's.
Speaker 2:And I don't like Buckeyes with that one little nipple of peanut butter showing. I want a peanut butter ball, like I want it to be fully coated in chocolate. I don't like your Ohio Buckeyes, but you know what? I took that same recipe and turned it into an egg, evidently, and it's amazing.
Speaker 1:Oh it was. Which was just.
Speaker 2:I had that recipe you know from. Actually, when I was in college, I had a friend who was in culinary school and she would make peanut butter balls, but she would use that recipe and put Rice Krispies in there, which is also very good.
Speaker 1:I didn't want the Rice Krispies because sometimes it makes it a little drier and this was perfect for eggs, but evidently it was way better. What did you put in there instead of Rice?
Speaker 2:Krispies, I didn't put anything, and that's the other thing. You're missing the graham crackers and I'm like, no, I didn't want it dry, that was my recipe If you want graham crackers in yours, honey put them in there.
Speaker 1:Go for it. It made yours creamier.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like a creamy peanut butter. Yeah, anyway, so that's my bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're missing. No, this is a different recipe.
Speaker 2:Well, so how are you doing? We just bombarded your afternoon.
Speaker 3:I know I wasn't expecting this and I wasn't expecting like, right to the point, right and me talking about dry houses.
Speaker 2:Well, you know how the comment section gets you going, sometimes on Instagram, absolutely.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I have to delete them and I'm just like I don't even want to bother and I don't want other people commenting. The other one is like I made the microwave caramel you know?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I think you've made it before too, or something. It's a good one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh my God, nothing but sugar. And I'm like like, what the hell did you think caramel was like? I feel like people are just discovering when they see it in a recipe what they've actually been eating. It's all sugar, baby and take a non-sugar caramel recipe and turn it into that's what caramel is caramelized sugar and they act like, oh, the sugar. That was the comment after that, which I'm like. Thanks for the comment and the engagement. That's what makes it go viral. Thank you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:So funny thing is, a few days ago you made that pasta salad and I was like I left a comment because I really was like yum. And the comment was oh my gosh, please ship me some, ship you some, ship me some. Yeah, not ship me some, ship me some. And do you know that Instagram censored that and removed my comment?
Speaker 2:Did they message you and said that? Really, what did they say? Censored that and removed my comment. Did they message you and said that Really?
Speaker 1:Uh-huh. What did they say? They said that I was. It was like soliciting for business.
Speaker 2:Because of ship maybe, I guess shipping did something.
Speaker 1:I, just because I you know, I just said, oh, will you ship me some? Huh, I was like that's so weird Well.
Speaker 3:Oh, so you ruined my engagement then.
Speaker 1:I. I was like that's so weird. Oh, so you ruined my engagement. Then I went back and left another comment. So thank you very much.
Speaker 3:I saw your comment. I'm like he must have really liked it to leave a comment, that's true because Stephen never comments.
Speaker 2:He doesn't even comment on mine.
Speaker 1:I'm like, can you at least comment I got to do better with that, it's true.
Speaker 3:Yeah, stephen get with the problem.
Speaker 1:Hey, at least I always heart it, that's true, at least you do that that's good.
Speaker 3:That's good that pasta salad looked good.
Speaker 2:Well, we're gonna have to make this pasta salad. Yeah it looks really good. I think I must have missed that one.
Speaker 1:Listen, you know she's a lot of things and I won't go through all the negatives on him, but she is a trained chef.
Speaker 2:So that's what people need to realize, and a fantastic friend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's great.
Speaker 3:So that's why I made walking tacos.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, throw it in this bag and spoon it out of the container itself.
Speaker 1:So Dylan and I saw something that grossed us out. And it was, they were making drinks. I don't know if you've seen this. They make drinks in plastic bags and stick a big straw in it and you carry a, and they put rubber bands around it and you carry Like a grocery bag.
Speaker 2:Or like a Ziploc, like a Ziploc bag.
Speaker 1:Like a big Ziploc bag and you put a big straw in it and you go around drinking that. We were like oh, I don't know what it was.
Speaker 3:Because they do have those like cute little Capri Sun type of bags that they make the pouches specifically for alcoholic Capri Sun. So you make your punch or whatever and you put it on that and it comes with funny saint, but they make it for it, so it's different I know I thought about ordering some of those pouches that carla's talking about I was like those would be cute for summertime they're really cute.
Speaker 2:They have little they're really cute.
Speaker 1:But now, this wasn't that. This was like a like that we put moss in at the garden store.
Speaker 2:Just like a bag With rubber bands In the straw it was gross.
Speaker 1:It looked like part of somebody's catheter, or something Like an IV bag. Yeah, it was gross, gosh, that's so.
Speaker 2:Well, thanks, Carla, for joining us.
Speaker 1:How's everything going up there Good?
Speaker 2:Good, everything's great. Make sure you're following Carla on Instagram at Carla Bushy, right, that's right B-U-S-H-E-Y, and I'll put her Instagram in the notes below. If you're not familiar with Carla, she has like a recipe every damn day, so every day every day.
Speaker 1:And 99.9% of them look amazing.
Speaker 2:Yes, and even the ones that are the walking ones. I would just have to put them in my own little bowl, not in the right.
Speaker 3:Just scroll down because you'll see plenty of like tacos and banana puddings, but just not in a little bag. Yes, exactly, Thanks, girl for hanging out with us and letting us interrupt your afternoon. Thank you so much, guys. Bye, she's so fun.
Speaker 2:Oh, I love her and she handled it well, and it's funny though that she had the same thought Initially. Will people like this or not? I'm still just surprised, now that she's off talking more about her, that people don't leave worse comments because she goes viral a lot with her recipes, and especially being a pretty woman.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm just surprised.
Speaker 2:And she probably does get more negative comments than I realize.
Speaker 1:She knows them, but we wouldn't necessarily notice them as much.
Speaker 2:We wouldn't necessarily notice them as much, but people you know when it does go viral and it's outside of your people, your group you get all the comments.
Speaker 1:But I would think, with a lot of women watching that, with her being a pretty lady, that that would even cause more. You know, because women are jealous of other women. Yeah, pretty women and not all, so you don't have to send that in.
Speaker 2:I'm not like that, I'm just saying in general, in general yeah, because I need to read through some of my comments because I, like I said, it goes back to. It usually happens with recipes and like they'll be blown away at the amount of something in it sugar is usually a trigger and I'm like what did you think? And then they have to leave the comment like about you know, like go to the gym instead. And I'm like I didn't say eat the whole bowl of whatever you didn't say don't go to the gym.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm like it drives me crazy.
Speaker 2:It's a weird world.
Speaker 1:That's just that negative, the negative thing. That's why I even if somebody's doing something 100% incorrectly on there, you're not the one to comment. I'm not going to leave a negative comment. You know we don't need any more negativity in the world. It's true, I'm not going to do it. I'll leave it up to somebody else to do that. I'm just not doing it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and if it's someone, for me personally, what I do, if it's someone and you know, do this to me. If I irritate you, if I make you feel irritated every time you see me, then just unfollow. Mute or unfollow there's been a couple of very popular influencers that people absolutely love, but every time their content would pop up and it would go back to what you were saying. It would be wrong, but people still love them for whatever reason, and it made me, on my side, have the urge to correct them.
Speaker 1:Or slap them.
Speaker 2:Slap them A negative them. Slap them A negative urge. So I didn't write that. I, just after having that a bunch of times, I unfollowed them.
Speaker 1:You and I both did. We said it makes us angry, so we just don't see Back in the day Cotton Stem was.
Speaker 2:When I got on Instagram, Aaron at Cotton St at cotton stem was she was hadn't blown up yet, like we started out and we were at the same amount of you know like 15 000 followers. She had 15 000 and I would talk to her like chit, chat off and on whatever. And this is you don't even know her, but she was. She started. She was like in the home decor, probably the first one to really blow up big. Well, then it got to be.
Speaker 2:Every time she was in stories it was whining about her audience. Basically, it was whining about it's so hard to keep up, it's so hard that people expect things of me, it's I'm going to stop this or whatever. And it irritated me. Every time I watched her it irritated me. She would say I'm taking a break. She'd be gone for so many months. Then she'd come back and then two weeks later she was whining about it and I would just be like no, and so I just unfollowed Good example. She finally gave up and quit and she was fantastic and I was like, why are you letting? She was very talented and very sweet, but she was letting Instagram and the comments and the people.
Speaker 1:Drive her crazy.
Speaker 2:Run her life and run it for her, instead of just saying I've made it, so now I'm going to control it.
Speaker 1:This is how I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, watch or don't watch or don't and not pay attention to the noise.
Speaker 1:But it's funny how some people can handle it and block it out and some people can she started letting it run her instead of her run it same with business, right, you can, you, you can let it run you or you can run it right.
Speaker 2:so there's that. Anyway, it works all different ways. Well, I'm glad we were able to get Carla I love hearing that side of it and I'm glad that she answered, because she's always so funny.
Speaker 1:And the funny thing is like you guys don't know this, but I'm telling you like we decided to call her that split second, so that was as raw as it gets.
Speaker 2:I know that's her that split second, so that was as raw as it gets. I know that's what I was about to just say. We need to call more people off the cuff and just see what they say. If they answer, we need to start. Hey, you know, bat, we need to call some of our people on our hotline.
Speaker 1:We need to do some. The next podcast.
Speaker 2:we're making some calls, we're just gonna call like hey, you've texted us before how you doing, what are you doing?
Speaker 1:today how you doing Little listener checking.
Speaker 2:What you doing, we'll do that. Where do you live? Well, speaking of checking in, I'm checking out.
Speaker 1:Pull this baby over. I'm checking out too.
Speaker 2:We got work to do, we got work to do, we're going to head on over to the warehouse get some things lined up for you, so remember to watch our live sales inside the Nested Big app. If you don't have our app yet, I don't know what the hell you're waiting on.
Speaker 2:All you got to do is go to your app store, search the Nested Big, or you can see the comments below and I'll have the link there. Go to your app store, search the Nested Big and you can watch us live. If you like our podcast, you will like our live sales. You don't have to buy anything. Just come hang out with us for the visual entertainment, because we're usually a train wreck, just like we are right here. So remember also to leave us a review wherever you're listening to your podcast. It really helps us out and we'll see you next week. Bye, bye-bye.