Merry Christmas!

I hope you guys have an excellent, relaxing Christmas!  See you soon!

Insta-specs

So maybe I'm a bit obsessed with Instagram.  And by obsessed, I mean that sometimes I post pictures there and subconsciously think that I blogged them instead.  Whoops!  Here's my feed.

Here's one of my latest snaps.  It's my customized stamp from Paperwink.  And I. Love. It.

Siri-ously Good Camera

Yum. My new iPhone camera or this sweet treat?  Umm...both.  This lil' jewel is from a local place called Nothing Bundt Cakes.  Unfortunate name.  Delightful product.

A pesto/chicken panini from Bruegger's Bagels. 

Gift Guide 2011: Paper Edition

This was probably the hardest gift guide to put together because there seems to be a never-ending stream of great paper items in the market.  (You should see my list of bookmarked sites.  Whew.)  Since I already did an Etsy guide, I did not dip back into my favorites here, although there are many!

The Linda & Harriett calendar is one of my perennial must-haves.  Each page is letterpressed, and the bottom half can be detached and used as a snazzy postcard.  Stylish and green.  $30

I have these nifty custom notepads from Paper Source, thanks to my pal Missy!  This style is Bebas, but they have tons more.  You get five notepads of various sizes, all with your own name.  $35

How about some monogrammed little notes from In Haus Press via Felt & Wire Shop?  These fun-size cards come five to a set with the letter of your choosing.  $8

Can you even stand this spec-ed out ant print from Rifle Paper?  It's 8 X 10 and impossibly cute.  $24

For the paper lover who has (almost) everything, let me recommend custom calling cards from Paperwink.  This style is woodcut, and you can pick from about 30 different colors.  There are also various styles.  Starts at $31 for a set of 25

To follow up with all of your great gifts this year, you could send these retro-cool thank you cards by Blanca Gomez via Red Cap Cards.  I am digging the sort of vintage storybook vibe to the colors and font.  $3.95 each or $14.95 for a set of eight

App-y as a Clam

So I gave myself a bit of an early Christmas present.  It's an iPhone.  And I'm instantly/officially/hopelessly obsessed.  It took me a while to come around, as I had what I somewhat lovingly refer to as my Jitterbug phone for three years.  I felt practically geriatric.

No longer.

What are some of your favorite apps?  So far I have Evernote, CardStar, Coupon Sherpa, Instagram, Flipboard, and Redbox.  Which ones am I missing, peeps?  And whare are some cool (legal) ways that you use your iPhone?

I plan on posting my final gift guide of the season either over the weekend or on Monday.  Thanks!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Postage...

But I love it!  Sending Christmas cards is one of my favorite things of the whole year.

This time around I'm going with Linda and Harriett's Happy Holidays snowshoes and a moose that says "Get Jolly!"  (I heat-embossed the snowflake.)  These styles are not currently available, but they have a few other good ones as well (at a great price!), if you still need some.

I embossed this pinecone on the moose cards.  I'm also going all DIY on some gift tags, as I did last year.  Fun times!  For those who will be getting one of these in the mail, I'm sorry I couldn't wait.  This is just a sneak peek. 

How is everyone getting ready for the holidays?

Gift Guide 2011: House and Home Edition

This edition of the gift guide features items to make life a little more cozy and/or comforting, and everything is under $20 (individually).  

These Restoration Hardware down-filled foot duvets for guys or girls are quite nice.  I have a pair (in the color to the left), and when I'm awake and not working, there's a great chance these are my footwear of choice.  $19

Wouldn't this glass carafe from CB2 look great in a guest room or office?  One selling point is that the style can blend in with whatever decor is happening--modern, classic, eclectic.  It's like a glass chameleon.  $9.95

 This funky felt owl from At West End could sit next to that fancy carafe and provide a bit of whimsy.  It could also work in a child's room, of course.  $12

Here's a glass food storage bowl from Fishs Eddy.  I could imagine filling it with sweet treats or spiced nuts and giving the whole shebang as a gift.  $5

Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve is a no-brainer.  I use this in the winter to keep my mitts moisturized, and a dab'll do ya.  $13-$20, depending on size

A set of Moonstruck chocolate bars?  Why, yes.  Yes, please.  The included four flavors are: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate espresso bean, and milk chocolate Mayan.  $16.95 

West Elm + Etsy = Less Than Three*

By now it's pretty clear that I heart West Elm.  And Etsy.  Imagine my sheer delight to hear of the two teaming up for a Handmade Holiday Workshop.  I just got home after attending with Ashley and was so excited that I had to blog right away.

All of the Etsy sellers are local Nashvillians.  First up was Hummingbird Factory.  Seller Ashley has really neat screenprinted items, like tea towels, zippered cases, pillows, and much more.

I bought five of these tags!  Two have navy blue anchors, and three have dark brown pinecones.  They will be used on my gifts this year.

Next up was The Shabby Creek Cottage.  Gina showed an edited collection of her range of country/beachy wares.  She uses a lot of burlap, aqua, and stripes.  Ummm....yes!! 

See that little packet to the right?  I bought that!  It's a set of chalkboard tags with jute string.  SO neat!

I also perused really clever stationery at Adelyn Stone.

It's rather dreadful that my stationery collection is so jam-packed.  I had to just walk away, or I would've gone a bit crazy.  She's definitely added to my favorites, though!

And I wanted to give a little pic-love to the host of the event.

(Missy, aren't these cool?!  Wink!)

Best of all, the event benefitted Oasis Center, a local charity that offers youth counseling, shelter, college assistance, and tons of activities.  It was a wonderful night!

*Less than three is <3.  I got that little phrase from a card from Kristan Lynn, the seller at Adelyn Stone.

It's no secret that I'm a fan of a good homemade pizza.  Well, sort of homemade.  Here was tonight's dinner-in-a-hurry.

I used store-bought crust, pre-grilled chicken, mozzarella, and (squeezable!) pizza sauce.  It took about 15 minutes total, including oven time.

I finished it off with some freshly cracked black pepper.  Nums.

Gift Guide 2011: Etsy Edition

I love a gift guide.  And this year I thought I'd break mine up into small editions to keep things easier.  First up is Etsy. 

Where to start?  These picks came from countless hours of perusing blogs, magazines, and Etsy itself.  Most of my favorites are of the paper variety, but I tried to branch out a bit.  I am a fan of supporting independent businesses and craftspeople whenever possible.  You end up with unique, creative gifts while helping someone else live their dreams.  Hokey but accurate.

A milk & honey candle from Sweet Petula.  It's vegetable wax in a clean scent, and it will burn for 60+ hours in that snazzy frosted (reusable) glass.  $24

A linen-covered journal in awesome chevron stripes from Holli Zollinger.  And a kraft paper binding, naturally.  Let your recipient sketch, list, and doodle to their heart's content.   $12

A jar of chocolate spoon fudge from Nicole's Treats.  Handmade in a really nifty 4 oz. jar, with two mini spoons!  Nummy.  $9

A monogrammed porcelain tray from Jeanette Risco.  Customizable, 6.75" x 5.25", and just the right size for an array of finger sandwiches or your favorite cosmetics containers.  $31

A chevron jotter from Wit & Whistle.  I love a chevron.  Guilty.  At 3.5" by 5" and in sturdy kraft paper, it's perfect for marking down websites, coupon codes, blog ideas, etc. in an old-school way.  $5.75

A set of me & you pencils from Knot & Bow.  Now, aren't these sweet?  A veritable who's who of the great food pairings, along with a lil' sentiment for a best friend or a significant otre, to round out the set of six.  $12

(Note: I received permission from all sellers to use their images and to link to their Etsy stores.)

Jingle Jangle

I saw this picture in my inbox today from Crate and Barrel.  If it doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will.  I'd like that outfit in my size, please.  (He can keep the cap.)

Magnets!

I love a good magnet.  Here are some recent acquisitions.

Remember this artist?  Here's a picture of that doe.

The cool wooden magnet came from Peru, courtesy of my pals Lexie and James.

The three at the bottom all came from Parts & Labour in Austin.  I love them and think that they are hilarious.  They started as buttons, but Lexie manhandled them into submission and removed the pin part.  I stuck on magnets.

Sitting Pretty

I got a new chair!

  



I'm sort of enjoying how it has that British library thing going on.  But then it's a cool blue/white stripe (like seersucker without the puckers) that gives it a little laid-back vibe.

Two of My Favorite Initials: W. E.

Can you even stand it?  My love for West Elm has been rather well documented at this point, but this picture that landed in my inbox almost put me in the (way-too-early) holiday spirit.  I love the mix of materials and colors but with the unified font.

Oh, and I went ahead and tagged this as an ad, mostly because it makes me want to buy, buy, buy.  Who doesn't need a monogrammed ice bucket?

Austin!

Let me just say that I had a great weekend in Austin.  My pals Melanie and Joe were wonderful hosts, and we had a brief but enormously fun tour around the Texan capital.  Our first stop was South Congress (locally called SoCo) at the store Uncommon Objects.



I don't know what it is about taxidermy that alternately fascinates and terrifies me, but this baboon definitely fit the bill. 

Along those lines: doll parts.

Now we come to what was arguably my favorite part of the trip.  Hey Cupcake! is a company of Airstream trailers that have been turned into mobile cupcakeries.  Yum.  I ate four.

Here we have a red velvet and "the standard," which is a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  I also got another standard and a Michael Jackson.  That would be a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting.

Parts & Labour was a recommendation from my pal Dawn.  It's a really neat shop where you can find things like Burt Reynolds pillows, complete with felt mustache, and hilarious postcards (see below).

One of our last hoorahs was a trip to The Oasis at Lake Travis.  It's a nice restaurant overlooking the lake, where we were able to snag a balcony table and eat some delicious TexMex as the sun set over the Lonestar State.

One night we also went to Esther's Follies, which is a wholly unique experience.  It's a show that combines music, magic, and political satire--almost like a scaled-down (funny) version of Saturday Night Live.  If you're ever in Austin, I recommend all of the above.  I think it makes a great destination for a long weekend, and we didn't even go to a concert, which is the heart of the city.  The mind reels at such prospects.

I am already planning a return trip next year.