L&H for Galison: Labels & Note Cards

For the first time in six years, I did not exhibit at the National Stationery Show. As any exhibitor knows, the lead up to the show is nutty. There's so much prep work. So last fall when the deposit was due & my belly was out to Alaska, I decided to pass. Instead, I've been silently working on some new things that I'll debut this summer. (More on that later!) 

Towards the end of last year, I had the pleasure to work with Galison, a division of Chronicle Books, on some new designs for holiday labels and note cards - which I got to see in person at NSS yesterday. It was super exciting to hold them in my hands, and I can't wait to get some for myself! Sticker labels are SO useful. Especially when you give gifts to 19 nieces and nephews! When I was designing the labels, I purposely left a few blank instead of writing anything so that they could be used for labeling more than just gifts - addressing envelopes,  writing merry messages on wine bottles, lunch bags & gift boxes, or sprucing up plain gift tags. So obviously the labels are useful, but my favorite non-useful but fun feature of the label pack are the patterns on the inside flap - the candy canes, below - and then what I call the sweater pattern, which is used on the back. The whole thing is just so cute. Can you tell I'm so pleased with how it all turned out?! :)

They should be available for purchase soon - I'll be sure to let you know.

Mr. Golden (not great for skin) Sun

After multiple trips to the dermatologist recently and a back that looks like a science experiment, I will never let myself burn again or have my skin exposed to sun for any extended period of time. (ps, this model above looks like she might have had a few painful trips to the derm lately too!) Luckily for fair-skinned folks like me, companies are well aware of the damage caused by sun exposure and are making (cute) clothing to help keep the sun off our skin. J. Crew has some great rash guards with a UPF of 50 (the highest rating for clothing) as does the sun protective clothing company, Parasol. 

See you at the beach! Under an umbrella, sunscreen applied, sporting a cute top like these here & my trusty wide-brimmed hat.

[top two images courtesy of J. Crew and bottom two courtesy of Parasol]

Little Prince

My dear aunt passed away suddenly last week, just two days before she was supposed to visit us here in Brooklyn and meet Louise. She was a wonderful warm & selfless woman, and I am heartbroken for her husband (my mom's twin brother), her three boys and seven grandchildren. Another tradgic reminder of this short life, of our fleeting and precious time here. One of my favorite things I heard yesterday at her funeral was something she often said: "The best gift you can give people is your time." She truly lived this personal motto as a physical therapist for handicap children and as a devoted wife & mother, giving of her time always - time cut too short. She will be missed immensely.

Sometimes it's the words of others that ring the loudest in me. That is true for my aunt's sentiment regarding the gift of time, as well as this lovely quote from the Little Prince that I handlettered for Minted - a quote that helps me during an inexplicable time like this.

I'm a Little Teapot

Griffin is on a singing kick. And recently, he's been singing songs in different voices, like a "Louise-y voice" (a high pitched sweet little voice) and a "theatrical voice" (a deep voice), which he uses here for I'm a Little Teapot. Cracks me up.

Peek-a-Boo

Oh, hi.

xo,
Griff & Lou

Fear

I am the worst flyer in the world thanks to the flight from hell at 15 when the oxygen masks dropped & people cried all around me. I thought I was going to die that day, and now I do every day I step onto a plane. So grim. My palms are sweating right now just thinking about it. And as you can imagine, I'm the worst passenger ever. Ask my husband & his poor hand. You'd basically rather sit next to a crying baby than me. Or the lady who barfed into a ziplock bag ten times on my flight once. You'd rather that rankness. Trust me. It's bad.

This past weekend, we left our kids for the first time since Louise was born to go to my cousin's wedding Atlanta, and flying without kids only makes this anxiety worse. My wacko brain immediately goes into worst case scenario mode & I picture my kids without parents -- something I'm unfortunately too familiar with. Again, grim. I know.

But this weekend, our flights to & from Atlanta were smooth. Smooth, I tell you. I never say that. And for the first time in my whole life, when were approaching New York City on the flight home, I was actually kind of, well thrilled, to be flying 10,000 ft in the air. It was a cloudless day, and as we approached the city, we flew over Brooklyn and could see our building! where I knew both kids were likely sleeping at the time. We then flew over the Hudson river, where I quickly snapped the above photo of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. I felt like we were on our very own tour of the city as we kept going north, watching the yellow cabs going up & down Broadway, spotting MSG, then Central Park and Yankees Stadium.  It was... cool.

I can only hope this is a sign of a dwindling fear. Or at least a new perspective on flying. Makes me wonder what other fears I have that could turn into magical moments...

So Big

Last week, Griffin officially turned two and a half, and today, Louise is three months. When I was little, I used to smile & laugh awkwardly when people who hadn't seen me in a while would say, "You've grown so much!" or "You're so big!" "When did you get so big?!" But now I get it. They couldn't help themselves. These little people grow so fast!

This is my last week of "maternity leave" and the temperatures are soaring into the seventies!!! so I'm excited to get outside with Louise. Griffin has brought home all sorts of germs this winter, so I'm really looking forward to the much warmer weather and hopefully way less colds.

[Above, Griffin playing with the snaps on Louise's shirt. Louise looking at me like: "Umm, yo, you gonna tell him my shirt's not a toy?!"]