chocolate rabbits

This tee shirt cracks me up.

I'm excited to share that our website went up today. I designed the layout and elements and the nice guys at Hatchling built it.

Mel-o-Yum!

[image from mel-o.com]
I discovered Mel-O-Creme the other day in the organic section of the grocery store. It is a fruit and honey spread that comes in peach or raspberry and it is also available as a regular honey spread. I bought the peach flavor and it's delicious! Their website also suggests trying it with cream cheese.

Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra

I'm putting in a plug for the March 30 concert for my orchestra since A) I designed the poster B) I'm in charge of publicity and C) it seems to be really easy to get hits through this blog for people searching for the PSO. We've had several months to prepare and it should be a great concert featuring Dvorak's New World Symphony!

Puerto Rico

We returned on Friday from a trip to sunny and colorful San Juan. You can view some of my best photos here.

Puzzling

[image from White Mountain Puzzles]
We spent Saturday night working on this fun and very detailed puzzle. They have many more states available here. There are several places included on the puzzle that I had never heard of, including the Polar Caves. It turns out that there are only caves and no polar bears, but it would be a fun day trip for the summer or fall. Take a virtual tour here. Oh, by the way, these are good puzzles with funky-shaped pieces—I can't stand it when they only have the basic shapes!

Out sick

Sorry I haven't been posting, but I have the flu! I should be back soon....

Retro Fruit

I found this cute fruit piece at a thrift store and painted the brown frame with Benjamin Moore's Pear Green. I got the idea to use these small paint sample pots for crafts from my dad who uses them to paint his model boats.

Hot Chocolate+Heart Marshmallows=Fun

More from August...

My friends adopted a baby girl this past summer, and I helped with the decorations for her welcome party. The theme of pink & brown & butterflies was incorporated into everything. One thing I made was this banner that we hung off the deck for the party, and then in her nursery. I had the idea in my head and I based it on this pattern I found from the DIY Network site. I was very happy with the results! Below are the favors with her very own logo.

Maine Caucus

So, Maine is one of the few states that hold a caucus instead of a primary. Today was my first chance to experience this, and let me tell you, I will take a voting booth any day. In addition to being totally non-private, it was unorganized, took forever, and involved standing in line, sitting in a crowded (hot!) gymnasium, and manual counting. It all seems really biased against those who have to work, take care of children, or people like me who just want to vote and be done with it. I'm all for political discussion, but that's what the months before the primaries are for. There were only 2 people who were willing to stand up and say they were undecided, so it seemed more about bashing the other side than convincing your friends and neighbors to join a certain camp. I think the numbers speak for themselves: my town has a population of 10,000 people and around 550 people came to today's Democratic caucus and 32 (!) came to the Republican one held last weekend.

Tiny Art

I had so much fun this evening at the Enormous Tiny Art Show III at Nahcotta. You can view all the pieces here. There was such a great variety and I'm hoping to go back and purchase something for my Small Wall of Art (partially pictured) I've been creating in the office.

Boots4Babes

It's been too snowy and cloudy for photos here, so how about something from August? My mom knit these cute booties for a church sale, I made the tags, and the packaging is from Martha!

New Banner

*For those of you using an RSS reader, I changed my banner. I wouldn't want you to miss out!*

Jewelry Trees

I'm fascinated by the concept of jewelry trees like these. I like the look of the organic ones (like the upper left) the best.

Shown Above
upper left: Little Birch Jewelry Stand
upper right: Bronze Empress Earring Tree
lower left: Pagoda Leaves Earring Tree
lower right: Manzanita Jewelry Tree

Shown Above
upper left: Petite Magnolia Jewelry Tree
upper right: Cherry Blossom Jewelry Tree
lower left: Metal Twig Jewelry Tree
lower right: Jewelry Tree

Anthropologie

{images from anthropologie.com}
One of the places I love to go when I'm in other cities (most recently Boston) is Anthropologie. Right now, I am having coffee out of my new mug. I've seen these on several blogs, including here on design*sponge. I was especially happy that I liked the design on the "R" because sometimes you're stuck wishing your name started with a "P".


As much as I wanted the whole store, I only bought the mug and this egg caddy to A) look cute and B) separate my hard-boiled eggs from the raw ones. I've been on a hard-boiled egg kick lately.

FYI: They have a new membership program where you get free shipping when you buy online. I think you might have to sign up in the store.

Follow Your Heart

This was my favorite Super Bowl Ad, but all the other females in the room were totally grossed out. Thoughts?

Remember This?

I'm a winner! Take a look.

free songs!

Sorry for the lack of new posts, but I'm in Boston and will have some fun things to share when I get home!

In the meantime, did you know that iTunes always has a Free Single of the Week? On the store homepage, just scroll down to FREE ON iTunes in the middle of the page. I usually forget to check it myself, but a several months ago they had Love Song by Sara Bereilles and it became one of my favorite songs before I even realized I had downloaded it for free!

Fabric Art

[image from marthastewart.com}

This looks like such a fun and easy project. Now I just need to find my staple gun.

The artist is Anna Maria Horner and she just happens to have beautiful fabric and more fabric art on her site.

Good Eatin'

I'm sharing a couple tasty things I've made recently. These are not exactly good-looking photos, but they are the best I've got. Above is a salad with mixed greens, gorgonzola, raspberries, pears, pecans, and raspberry vinaigrette (huh, didn't know that spelling). Below is Orange Chicken with Potatoes from the January issue of Real Simple. I've been trying to use my slow cooker more often because it's easy, smells good all day, and yields lots of leftovers. I know I'll be ready for less-cooked food by spring, but we've got a few months of cold to go. Do you have any good recipes?

If you have an egg, apple or avocado slicer...

I spotted this banana slicer at the grocery store this evening.


This one actually looks better and more like a banana:



While I can appreciate the clever design concept, it would take more effort to clean this than it takes to use a knife and wash that. It would be great for kids who want to make themselves breakfast at 6 am!

new & improved

I started tweaking Nate's logo last night and I got sucked in until 4 am. I had never really refined the original one and it was bothering me for several reasons. The new version has smoother lines, but most importantly, it works at a much smaller size. I often find myself using just the type, but I think the whole thing will be more versatile now.

fd's Flickr Toys

Thanks to suffix.abuse, I went over to fd's Flickr Toys and made some cool stuff:

Soup for Me

[image from uncommongoods.com]

Before Christmas, I was eyeing this clever Soup and Sandwich Tray from Uncommon Goods. Yesterday, I was in the thrift store and they had just put out a a similar set of 2 yellow ones, but these were $3, not $30! And they are fun and yellow! I wasn't feeling well tonight, so I tested them out with chicken noodle soup and saltines and it almost made being sick sort of fun. The bowl has a little handle, so I am envisioning their future to include tea+scones or milk+cookies.

Things My Mom Made Me For Christmas, Part 2

These socks are keeping me toasty and I can't believe how perfectly they fit me!

Sometimes I can't resist grocery store flowers

It really makes it pop.

This is our super fun PSA Essentials embosser. It's not so fun after stamping 135 letters, but the effect is beautiful. PSA only sells through retailers, but many stationery stores I've been in carry them (and similar ink stamps). I also found some at Expressionary and you can even send in your own design at Wilshire Graphic Press. Now I wish I'd done that! You can get a simple return address type at The Printers Ink.

Sunny Winter Saturday

Things My Mom Made Me For Christmas, Part I

She knit me this fingerless mittens that match my coat. They may seem weird, but they are really great (when it's above 20˚) because you can still drive, dig around in your purse, shop, and talk on the phone without taking them off. Love them!

How about some paper to go with that pen?

[image from staples.com]

[image from russellandhazel.com]

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgy2R57IFoWKfnYU7ZIr3zxGtmWaBkGMxTP62b-LfFzzo9iRoadADvuZvYNwnLuAWl4gu5_SFB1mdGG4Cm-hkZfxNdEe4nKpW-45ms7qTco7L00cbKEskSmsVYKZAMWudMh5ptmO3b5GU/s1600-h/levenger.JPG"> [image from levenger.com]

A fresh notebook is such a great feeling. I'm always on the lookout for something unique and these are three of my favorites. At the top, Ampad Gold Fibre® Retro Memo Book from Staples. Also available in a larger size. I love the ivory paper. {Edit: Panic! I just happened to be at Staples after posting this and they have redesigned the label on the front of these notebooks. It's really quite a shame. The fun typewriter font has been replaced by three random ones and in place of the crown logo there is something nasty with a star. If you want one of the old ones, I suggest you run right out and dig to the bottom of the pile like I did. : ) }

In the middle, Composition Book from Russell+Hazel that comes in 5 fun colors.

And lastly, the Notabilia Notebook Set from Levenger that is available in a ruled or grid style. I use the grid style for sketching out comps. If you are really swanky and have the means or the desire to spend $100 on a notebook, the version with the leather cover may be for you!

If you have a cool favorite, please share!

Oh! I keep forgetting to mention that you'll want to get in on the new year of joint photo blog 3191. Last year, these 2 women did a Year of Mornings (and now it's going to be a book) and this year they are doing A Year of Evenings. Their work is beautiful and soo well-coordinated, even though I'm pretty sure it's not planned at all.

Happiness!

Oh, I am so excited! This pen and I have a long history. I started using them in high school and we drifted along together in smooth writing bliss for several years. Then, without consulting me, Pilot decided to change the VBall into some fat, awkward unrecognizable incarnation of it's former beauty. Basically, it was horrible. BUT THEN. I move out East where it takes a few years to catch up (if ever) and I would randomly find them on clearance! I am down to one green, one purple, and one red, so today I ran a search online and there they were! Just sitting there. In a Staples warehouse. Waiting for my order. Why did I just think of this? The best part is that they have a new BeGreen pen that looks really similar that is 80% recycled. Thank you Pilot!

Wave Hello

My sister introduced me to The 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic blog. I especially enjoyed the Favorite Items of 2007 Post where I learned about the Neutrogena Wave. I love this product! It's very affordable and it only took a day to see positive results! My skin is smoother, softer and clearer.

Happy Birthday, Nate!

I bought this gift bag about 6 or 7 years ago at Papyrus. Because I thought it was so fabulous (and expensive) I decided that Nate and I must give each other birthday gifts in it every year. We've kept up so far, but I did have to add some new tissue paper this year.



Nate received a card from his uncle and inside was his actual birth announcement! I thought that was the coolest thing ever! People are more into scrapbooks now, but it kind of makes me want to hoard birth announcements and mail them back out in 30 years.