Sunday Project

Look at what arrived in the mail:

Our wedding invitations from Minted are here! And honestly, they are beautiful.  Tomorrow, I'm going to start addressing the envelopes and hopefully, we'll be able to mail them this week.  The countdown is on--there are less than two months until our wedding day.  Once the invitations go out, that pretty much makes it all official. xo

Newly Minted

I never thought that I would need business cards, but the last few times that I gave my contact information to someone on a small, crumpled scrap of paper, I wondered if that was really the best way to exchange email addresses and urls.  I'm not a professional writer, but maybe I will be, someday.  Perhaps I should start trying to network more effectively and efficiently.

Enter these really great calling cards from Minted.  I had a credit that I needed to use and when browsing the site, I came across grown-up versions of casual business cards.  I went ahead and ordered a bunch and I hope I get to give one out someday soon.  At least it's more professional than jotting my phone number on the back of a receipt from Bertucci's.  Also, I'm kind of in love with both stripes and the color peach so I couldn't have found a more perfect design.

Do you have business cards? And check out the Minted site; the invitations are gorgeous. xo

Chubby Hearts

I was so excited when I saw the felt project that Liz from Say Yes to Hoboken posted last week that I went to the craft store and bought a myriad of colors to make my own rainbow heart garland.  Of course, I ran out of time before Valentine's Day but was able to make a bunch of small red and pink hearts to glue onto magnets and add to cards for my family.  I can't wait to make the garland with all eight colors so that I can hang it in the apartment year-round.

There's really nothing that makes me happier than crafts and chubby hearts.

Thanks to Liz for sharing this adorable project. xo

Holiday Cards for Sweet Messages

I'm trying to finish writing out my Christmas cards this weekend, but can't help falling in love with these cards I found on Etsy.  I'd love to get one of these in the mail.

Also, I feel like I'm thisclose to finishing my holiday shopping but I've kind of hit a wall.  Sometimes, I just run out of ideas.  We don't have a tree up but tonight, we'll hang stockings and add some cheer to this apartment.  I can't remember a year when I've had so many festivities happening weeks before Christmas.  It's hard to believe December 25th is only 2 weeks from today!



Top image from Erindollar via Etsy; bottom image from finestimagery via Etsy.

Lazy Days

This was the weekend that Anthony and I were supposed to be in Chicago.  As much as we were looking forward to an actual vacation and to exploring a new city, real life got in the way and we had to cancel our trip (we now have a cool JetBlue credit to use--the possibilities are practically endless, at least until it expires).  Instead, we spent an extended weekend together doing very little but have a great time.
 
We finally went apple-picking:

 
I tried to make Halloween cards but my 'scary' monsters all wound up looking like Elmo:

I went through the IKEA catalog and tagged a bunch of things that would definitely help organize our apartment:

And finally, a homemade apple pie, lattice-style:

Could I use a few more days off? Of course.  But I'm happy we had this time together and that we were able to enjoy some autumn activities.

And I know I've been slacking with my posts.  The past few weeks have been insanely busy, at work and at home.  This week, I promise to be a better blogger (and to write more, and to read more, etc.). 

I hope you all had wonderful weekends.  Happy Monday!

My Perfect Party

When I browse through stationary sites, sometimes I wish that I had frequent, lavish parties so that I could send out awesome invitations all the time.  I get so excited when I receive an invitation or card in the mail, especially one that looks like someone took at least a few minutes to make sure it looked special before throwing it in a mailbox, and I'm sure other people do, too.  For Christmas every year, I typically send out about 50 holiday cards and I always make sure there's a cute sticker on the back and some kind of festive stamp (It really seems to bug the postal workers when I ask to see their holiday stamps but whatevs). What a difference a little bit of glitter makes.

In my perfect world, the next batch of cards I send will have a cool customized stamp on the back, perhaps something like one of these:

 (With our own personal information, obviously)

Maybe I will hang these crepe paper chains around the apartment the next time we expect company:

 (I think a combination of peach and navy blue would compliment one another well)

And maybe, just maybe, I will have a reason someday to throw a party with a fantastic "Cow/Milk" theme like this:

(This is probably the cutest party recap I've ever read, and I had a problem 

picking only one or two photos because they are all so creative and fun.)

Doesn't everyone love a party?  Who wants to come when I put together my shindig?


Photos courtesy of PaperSource, HipHip Hooray and Hostess With the Mostess

Happy Birthday, Nan!

Earlier today, we celebrated my grandmother's 79th birthday with homemade manicotti and thick pieces of yellow cake with pink frosting.  She's dear to me, and one of the strongest and bravest people I know.  I'm lucky to have such wonderful grandparents.  Happy birthday, Nan--I'm so thankful to have you in my life.

My grandparents, Thanksgiving 2010

Birthday card I made for my grandmother

Start of the Holiday Season

With the end of Thanksgiving brings the beginning of the holiday season, my favorite time of year.  And I spent a large part of my weekend making lists of holiday things I need to do, gifts I need to buy and decorations I would like to put up to make our apartment seem homey and festive and less like a small, bare-walled closet.  It was so nice to have time off this weekend to spend with family and friends though, and I feel like I accomplished a lot.

Some things that crossed my mind this weekend:

• I need to read more actual books.
• Why do I want so many cookbooks?
• How hard would it be to open my own bookstore/stationary store? 
• I send so many Christmas cards every year and get very few in return.  That should bother me but it doesn't really.
• Do I have time to make 40 holiday cards before mid-December?
• The holidays are supposed to be fun but almost always wind up stressing me out and bring out the worst in people.  There must be ways to avoid this.
• When I think about my wedding day (in the far-away future), I imagine being in a tent on a chilly night with tons of sparkle lights and lanterns.  I hope that I can find a place to put this tent when the time comes.
• It's amazing how much fun I can have with old friends, even when we aren't doing anything.
• When I straighten my hair, I look like I'm fifteen years old.
• I should wear more make-up.
• For some reason, everyone likes Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" song. 
• My 10-year high school reunion was this weekend and I didn't attend.  I don't feel like I missed anything at all.
• Can I really write a book before I turn 30?
• It was so unbelievable that my family loved the homemade apple pie I made for Thanksgiving. Compliments coming from a bunch of professional bakers are so surprising, in a good way.

I hope you all had very happy Thanksgivings with lots of turkey and pie!

The turkey cards that I made for Thanksgiving--now I just need an idea for Christmas cards.

On this rainy day...

I really like Yellow Owl Workshop's stamp sets.  One of my favorites is the Rainy Day set with a stamp for rain and one with an umbrella.  It totally reminds me of Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain, simultaneously commonplace and romantic.  On a rainy day like today, it's nice to think about making art out of inclement weather.

(Image from Yellow Owl Workshop website)

81 Years Old...

Today is my grandfather's birthday.  He's 81 but he looks much younger, and acts much younger too.  He loves gardening, the casino, sudoku, his new iTouch, fresh bread for breakfast and his family.  We had cake for him tonight and even though he made us promise not to get him presents, Anthony and I bought him a Topsy-Turvy, one of those hanging garden contraptions that are shown in 5-minute commercials on cable television after 10pm.  He loves to garden but has a hard time getting down on the ground to dig, weed and pick the vegetables.  This tomato plant-grower will sit on the back deck and hopefully produce something, although I doubt that 300 pounds of tomatoes will sprout, like the commercial claims. 

Since my grandpa's new favorite thing to do at the casino is to play keno, I made a special card for him:

He seemed to love it.  Here's my Poppy being a good sport and posing with the card:

Happy birthday to the best grandfather--I wish for him many more years of happiness and a thriving garden this summer.