Friday, July 30, 2010

From the DeskTOP Fridays: Baby Shower at Terrain

For years, I've been wanting to see the nursery owned by Athropologie that's a short drive from where I grew up in PA. Tomorrow, I get to go! And it's for my baby shower:) So cool! Just look at this quick snapshot from their website (above). If that's a taste of what's to come, I love it already. Well, I loved it from owned by Anthropologie, really. I hope to have some pics to share on Monday. So stay tuned.

Have a great weekend! (We're nearly humidity free here. Hooray!)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

And now... Pickles!

John turned some of our cucumbers into pickles. And they. are. delish!!

And pretty simple:
sliced cucumbers
apple cider vinegar
onions
sugar
salt & pepper

Next up is the tzatziki recipe sk recommended. I love tzatziki, but have never thought to make my own until now. Mmmm.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Our Very Own Vegetables!

The vegetable garden out back is exploding. Above is our harvest from yesterday. We have been giving a bunch away, but yesterday, we had so many cucumbers that John decided to try pickling half of them. If they taste as good as they look, I'll be sure to post.

And a couple weeks ago, we had a zucchini - or a zucchini baby as we called it:)

Anyone have any good cucumber recipes?

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Joy & Merry

It's 80 thousand degrees outside & I'm thinking about the holidays. This freaks me out every year. How it can it really be time already?! But before you know it, you're going to walk into your drug store with flip flops, a tank top & spf 50 on your face, and find yourself surrounded by aisle upon aisle of red & green glittered cards & candy. Maybe even a dancing Santa if you're lucky. And overhead, you'll hear "thumpety, thump, thump, thumpety, thump, thump, look at Frosty gooooooo." Ahhh, Frosty, what I wouldn't give to feel like you right now.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Swedish Shoes for Babe

Because John is Swedish & is going to teach our little one how to speak the language, I've been drawn to Swedish design & culture more than ever. (I even chimed in to sing Happy Birthday in Swedish to our friend last week. Big step!) I came across these little booties on Swedishness over the weekend & my heart melted. I know its whole little body will be teeny tiny, but for some reason, the itty bitty feet & things to cover them really get me.
[photos courtesy of Swedishness]

Friday, July 23, 2010

From the Desk Fridays: Paper Quilting

I've always loved how patterns come together in quilts - the way they butt up against each other, stopping suddenly, yet create a flow to the entire piece. For years, we've been collecting our letterpress misprints in large bins to reuse for projects. Mostly, I use them for gift tags, quick cards and thank you notes for online orders. Lately, I've been pulling my favorite patterns & loosely scattering them about the work table to consider for paper quilts. I love the idea of framing several small paper quilts - maybe in antique frames - and then clustering them on a wall. I also love the idea of a huge one - like 3' x 3' - in a simple clean frame - to act as a real focal piece. Because these would take a good amount of time, I think I need to start before the baby comes! (Just add it to the list!) And maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to make some for a monthly project.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Table Linens by EmersonMade

I spotted these linens by EmersonMade in the current Bon Appetit. What a simple & sweet idea. Another great engagement, house warming or host gift.

And have you seen the clothes they're debuting in the fall? A-dorable.

[photos courtesy of EmersonMade]

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Cake and Milk Paperie


I got this sweet card from Connie the other day. How cute are those little felt birds?

Wouldn't these be a super sweet gift for a newly engaged couple?

See more cards from Cake and Milk Paperie here.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Handmade Nation

Got another great gift yesterday in my 30 for 30 gifting celebration.

(Thanks, Lizzy!!)

[Handmade Nation, by Faythe Levine & Cortney Heimerl]

Monday, July 19, 2010

Birthday

It doesn't seem that long ago that I was the one scrambling for the candy when it finally came raining down. And if it weren't for the six little people at my ankles hoovering it all up quicker than I could snap photos, I just might have joined in.

Friday, July 16, 2010

From the {Beach} Fridays: Maine: Belly Shadow


I catch my growing profile in window reflections (or knock into tables) and can hardly believe I'm this pregnant. And getting bigger by the day. Or big meal.

I caught myself yesterday on the beach & smiled. I know it's part of me, but seeing this new shape stare back at me makes me stop in my tracks every time. A belly shadow was a new one for me, so I thought I'd share.

We're headed south today to meet up with my family for our annual "Birthday Weekend" - which started with me & my dad (who's birthday is today) and now includes my nephew, who was born on my birthday three years ago, Saturday. It' one of my favorite weekends of the year, hands down, and I cannot wait.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Maine: For the Dog


For my birthday, I asked to go to Maine - for some heat relief, a little fresh air & before I get too uncomfortable to be in a car for six hours. We brought Kingsley with us & it's turning into a trip for her. And before my eyes, we're turning into those people. We're staying at an inn that loves dogs. Not only did she get her own confirmation email (Dear Kingsley, We're looking forward to having you stay with us. Please remind your parents to keep you on your leash, yada, yada, yada...) but in our room, she got her own towel, tennis ball, and moose cookie with her name on it. As I type this, she's snacking on one of the moose cookie legs. Needlesstosay, she's loving her mama's birthday trip:) and so am I.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Reinventing Letterpress

My copy of Reinventing Letterpress by Charlotte Rivers arrived last week & I was so excited to see the L&H page! I feel very honored to be included in this round up of great letterpress printers & designers from all over the world. If you have a thing for letterpress or know someone who is, I'd highly recommend picking this up.

The Rotovision version is available now on Amazon. (Next month, it will be released by Chronicle Books under the name Little Book of Letterpress.)

Many thanks to Charlotte for including us!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Announcing: L&H for Paperless Post!

I'm so excited to announce that Paperless Post has asked me to be part of their Design Series, coming this fall! From September 15 to January 15, Linda & Harriett will have a line of online Save the Dates, Invitations and Holiday Cards on Paperless Post. Expect to see designs from our archived collection, as well as brand new ones. Having taken a step back from custom work, I'm thrilled to have my work take on a new life, not to mention accessible to so many more people.

You know I love the paper stuff, but we all have parties or announcements that are easier, faster and cheaper to send online. And before PP, our options for online invitations were pretty lame. Maybe I'm pickier than most, but they honestly made me cringe. I remember the first time I received an invitation via Paperless Post & I literally thought to myself, Why didn't I think of this?! They have changed the way I look at and think about online invitations. They're not tacky, anymore! Paperless Post is hands down the way to send online invitations. Clearly, I'm a PP fan (and a user), so I'm particularly excited & honored to have teamed up with them!

So - do you know Paperless Post? Do you use it? I'd love to get your opinion - what kinds of online save the dates, invitations or holiday cards would you send this fall? Or be interested in sending from L&H? Cocktail parties? Holiday Parties? Halloween? Thanksgiving? New Years? Holiday Cards? I'd love to hear what you think!

Friday, July 9, 2010

From the Desk/Couch Fridays: Hot Mama

This is how I ended every day this week - horizontal, legs up, next to a fan or a/c unit, pounding the ice water. I thought I was literally going to melt into the sidewalk on Wednesday when it reached a ridiculous 102! I've never been so hot in my life. Not okay for people who don't have a radiator strapped to their stomach. And too much for people who do. Thankfully, John installed some more a/c units last week to ease my discomfort. And, knock on wood, we haven't had any brown outages like some neighborhoods. (I saw on the news that people were sleeping in cars!)

But I'm headed to the beach this weekend - not only for a little relief - but also to welcome home my older sister from London, who's flying in with her four kids. I'm excited to see them -- especially while standing knee-deep in the ocean.

And stay tuned for a big announcement on Monday! Something's been brewing (besides me) over here at L&H and I can't wait to share it with you!

Have a great weekend. And stay cool.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

30 for 30


Aren't these some of the prettiest matches you've ever seen? (I love those olive green match heads!) The story behind them is even better.

You might remember me mentioning last year the genius idea my friend had to send her sister 30 packages for her 30th birthday - a package a day for 30 days during her birthday month. Who doesn't love mail - the non-bill/flyer/junk kind, of course. Am I right?? And now lucky me is the recipient of these packages, as this is my birthday month (and yipes! I'm turning the big 3-0!) and my friend remembered me loving this idea. (Okay, I might have even asked her if I could be so lucky to receive this gift:) But she remembered!) I had forgotten all about it until this little package arrived the other day with these cute matches & a note announcing the gift parade. (They were shortly followed by homemade chocolate chip cookies - my favorite!)

This has got to be the best birthday gift idea ever. I'm sure it takes a ton of planning & trips to the post office, but man, I feel like it's a surprise party every day.

Big hug, kiss, & thanks, miss Lizzy!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

New Monthly Project: Sailboat Flats

I'm excited to announce our July project: Sailboat Flats! I love summery images, and even though I'm no sailor, this sailboat print just makes me happy thinking of the open water - admiring it from a distance, reading next to it, and jumping in it.

These flats are letterpress printed on 2-ply 100% cotton stock, have gray rope 'stripes' on the front left corner & sailboats (in either blue/gray or red/gray) on the back, are paired with gray envelopes, and come six to a set.

There are only about 30 sets in each color & like all our monthly projects, once they're gone, they're gone.

I hope you like them as much as I do!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Happy Fourth of July!

Cooking Dinner Vol. I from William Hereford on Vimeo.


This video has nothing to do with the Fourth of July holiday, but it does have to do with cooking, which is what I end up doing a lot of on the Fourth, so I thought it was sort of relevant.

It's shot by William Hereford, a fellow (& much younger) Bates grad, and NYC-based photographer. He created the piece "as a kind of experiment combining typeface typical of magazines with video which has been shot and edited to feel like a still photograph." Read more about the video on his blog here. And while you're there, scroll through. It's pretty darn impressive.

Friday, July 2, 2010

From the DeskTOP Fridays: Mini Red White & Blue

Ugh. Sometimes I wish we knew what we were having so I could snatch up all these cutie pie clothes I'm seeing on sale - like these red, white & blue girl options from Olive Juice. Instead, I'm buying nada. Which is probably a good thing. ...Probably, or definitely:)

Happy red, white & blue, everyone!

Stay tuned for our next monthly project, to be announced on Tuesday!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Curtain Fabric

I've decided to make the curtains for the baby's room - which might just be one big excuse to buy Liberty of London fabric, and I'm fine with that. We aren't finding out the baby's sex, but I'm sticking with blue hues - mostly because the room is already painted a nice shade of grayish-blue, which I love, and also because I don't want green or yellow. I love the turtle pattern on the right, but perhaps the softer pattern on the left is better. Maybe I'll just get a yard of the turtle pattern instead - enough to make a little baby pillow. See? Excuses. Whatever, I'm getting the turtles!