Firdays with John: From a Geico ad to this

I'm sitting here listening to my iTunes on random, and I came across a song by Erlend Øye. It's different, somewhat soothing, and electronica-esque. Over the years a lot of friends have tried to get me to listen to new music and it's often on these random listenings that they finally get heard. I thought, "hey, this guy's okay. Where have I heard his voice? Oh, that's right, in that GEICO caveman ad with the forlorn caveman on the airport people-mover." You've seen it, right?

I looked to see if I had the song from the ad on my computer and I didn't. It turns out the song is a cover of "Remind Me" by Röyksopp. They are a Norwegian electronica group. And, it turns out they are also a pretty big deal. In Europe, they've sold millions of albums. Elsewhere, their work ends up in commercials or as background music for TV shows. Apple licensed one of their songs, Eple (apple in Norwegian), as the welcome music to OS X (Panther). It played the first time a user booted a new Mac.

And to make a long story short. I think their video for "Remind Me" may be one of the best I've ever seen. Enjoy. And have a nice weekend.

Sea Urchin Wedding Invitation

A sea urchin on a wedding invitation? I know it might seem a bit strange - but if my rendition can look anything like this little guy, I'd be thrilled. I am in love with these colors! I have to at least give it a try.

Kate Spade Love

I love this feature of Kate Spade's website. It's genius. And it's perfect for productive procrastination. Yes, that's how I like to think of my websurfing time - creative time more than time suckage. Get your creative juices flowing here.

Vogue

I'm not going to get into my thoughts on or reactions to the whole controversy surrounding this cover. I will just say I think it's pretty great and am looking forward to seeing more of the Annie Leibovitz shots inside - like this one:

[photos courtesy of style.com]

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday, John! You go get em.

More Patterns

Speaking of patterns... Kerry Cassill does some amazing color combos - not to mention lovely prints. This is my new favorite. I have to bring these colors into our collection somewhere. I can't stop looking at it!

Envelope Liners

I'm in the process of putting our wedding album together (the L&H one that is) that we'll be debuting at this year's National Stationery Show - and I'm seeing envelope liners everywhere I look. This bathroom wallpaper is perfect. (from Drew Barrymore's production company Flower Films in this month's domino mag.)

Beignets - not your average fried dough

Our first breakfast in New Orleans was at Cafe Du Monde - a place where you wait in line for a half hour to get some fried dough (beignets) and powdered sugar. But man oh man was this more than just some waffle cake at the state fair. These things were amazing - fried, of course - and covered in mounds of powdered sugar. They are served in threes and come in a paper bag with at least 5 cups of powdered sugar. The bag without the beignets weighs more than the actual beignets. A must stop, wait, and taste if you're in the French Quarter. A great post on this over at Passionate Eater too.

Mother's, New Orleans

The food in New Orleans is off the charts - may not be my chart - but everyone seems to flock to this city for its food. And its open container policy too I suppose. Since I don't eat fish and am not a big fried food person, I packed granola bars - but luckily only had to "use" one. Everything you can think of from under the sea is on any given menu - and it's likely fried. Like alligator. Yup. The guys were excited to try this charmer. I was hesitant, but realized I'll likely never have a chance to try it again and gave it a go. And as all fried food tastes to me, it tasted like batter. Which actually wasn't all that bad. (You get used to everything coming buttered or fried, having whole milk instead of skim, and grabbing more napkins for your greasy fingers.)

One of my favorite stops was Mother's. You'll have to wait in a long line, but the food will be even better when you finally get to eat it. Mother's is the reason I'll be making biscuits tomorrow. Mmm.

More pics and places to visit coming soon.

From the Desk of:

Since John has decided not to post his usual Fridays with John in order to get some much needed cleaning in (and when does this ever happen?) I've decided to step in and post instead, albeit a bit late.

You may have noticed a few days lapsed this week without posting. We're fine. (Thanks for your concern, Kel.) We were actually on a little break in New Orleans with a couple friends of ours from Boston. And since we left you high and dry, I'll have some make up posts coming this weekend - since we'll be working anyway - in between walking Kinglsey and eating Easter chocolate and what not.

A snapshot above to start things off. I'm in full wedding swing. I don't normally do graphic-y type of invitations, but I recently saw a zig zag design that I really love. And I'm kind of embarrassed to say that that design was on... a rug. A really beautiful dhurrie actually. One I'd love to own, but is sadly is out of the price range. So when I was on the subway the other day (a place I do some of my best brainstorming - is this just me?) I quickly sketched this zig zag design down and then fleshed it out on paper. Needs some more attention - but I like the idea.

New Orleans pics, tips, reactions and interesting food finds (ever ate alligator?) coming this weekend...

Inspiration

Inspiration is all around me. I find it in the blog world, in fashion, in art, in friends, in family - sometimes from the Nike Women's catalog. I mean, have you seen those women? They are ripped! While flipping through the catalog the other day, I came across these Game Day bands. I know they are probably a total marketing ploy and kind of cheesy - but they got me. Especially when I thought of my best friend who is training for the South Africa Ironman, which takes place next month. You know what that means right? Swim for like 2.2 miles, bike for 112 and run a full marathon. This is no dinky jog in Prospect Park. She has been intensely training for six, going on seven months and is an inspiration to me beyond words.

So while I truly believe inspiration is all around us - we probably only see it when we open our eyes to it. In the case of my best friend, I barely need to blink to feel it. And as cheesy as it may be to someone else to have a "pride" band dangling from my wrist, I don't think it could hurt to have a little reminder of that feeling everywhere I go.

You're almost there, Jen! I'm so proud of you.

Fridays with John: Back it up

Those of you who've been reading for a while may remember that we had a miserable hard drive crash last year. Full-on disaster was averted, but at no small cost. We sent our hard drive to Drive Savers in California and after a week of electronic surgery we got almost all of our data back. Since this happened to us we've learned that the possibility of a hard drive crash is really not an "if," but rather a "when" reality. And when your work--and to some small extent, your life--relies upon this stuff, it quickly becomes an unnecessary risk.

So after the hard drive fallout, Liz and I both got external hard drives for our computers. We started backing up some of our most important files one-by-one. This was a good start, but the easy solution I was hoping for. My computer is organized a bit like my desk. The most important things are well-filed and accounted for, but between clean-ups little piles appear (or miscellaneous folders in my computer's case). What's in these piles (or folders) may or may not be immediately needed, but that doesn't mean they can be forgotten.

What I needed was a simple solution to create mirror images of our computers on these external hard drives, and (for Mac users) I've found it. I know the same options are available for PCs, but for Macs, SuperDuper! is a perfect solution. All you need is a second hard drive or hard drive partition that's at least the size of the occupied space on your computer's local hard drive. The software was very easy to use and best of all it's FREE. I bought the $30 version which allows for scheduled backups and "smart updates" which only copy over your new or updated files since your last backup. This saves a lot of time, as duplicating the full hard drive will take at least an hour. Either way, I highly recommend it. PC users may want to try something like this. As far as external hard drives, I suggest you look at Lacie.

I, and anyone who's experienced the same headaches, can promise it's an investment you won't ever regret.

Have a great weekend!

Color Chart Exhibition

Moma has launched its first online exhibition called Color Chart, Reinventing Color with works from 1950 to today. As someone who is always looking for color inspiration, I loved having all these pieces at my fingertips. But there's something awkward about clicking through the work with speedy fingers - like somehow the usual molasses pace in a museum gives the work more credit. Such is the online experience I suppose.

I'd love to see this Jim Dine piece in person. The scribbled handwriting is such a nice relief below each tightly painted square.

Read the exhibition's introduction here. And check out the work here.

[photo courtesy of Moma]

Welcome Kraft

We're introducing a new envelope color that has quickly become my new favorite: Kraft. It's got that lunch bag color to it and makes a great pairing for our letterpress cards. Not too white, not too dark, and still gives you subtle color in your mailbox. We hope this will be a better alternative to the Navy and Chocolate envelopes, that on the whole were never fully embraced. Hooray for Kraft!

A Million Corks

I don't know if there were really a million corks. (I promise not to keep posting about Napa, but this was too good to pass up.) One of our favorite vineyard visits was Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford. During the tasting, they brought us into this room where the ceiling was completely covered in corks! I am always mesmerized by tedious and meticulous organization, and this was no exception. I think the corks really helped to warm up the room too. Or was that the cabernet?

Les Cochons

I was in Napa Valley this weekend with my girlfriends - which was such a treat! Among the many amazing places we visited, the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena was pretty spectacular. Located in a 100 and some year old monastery, this three story building is simply impressive. While we didn't see any cooking demonstrations, we did check out its extensive cookware shop. Like shopping for new new school supplies, I also enjoy perusing aisles of new cookware.

I was tempted to lug a few cookbooks back, but decided on this cool (and lightweight) Jill Butler-designed Les Cochons towel instead. Here we go with the pigs again...


They also had this cute pint glass - but we have so many, I'm afraid our shelves might come crashing down with any more. He is pretty cute though, huh? He is sold right here on Amazon too!

Luckily Friday

Friday! I am so happy it is Friday AND I am going down to Baltimore for a shower/bachelorette party for my roommate from college. I am SO excited because it is getting us all together, which is long overdo. I am the only one currently living in NYC of my college roommates and it saddens me. So I am just going to say I think this is going to be a fantastic weekend with the ladies!

Recently my bf's sister & girlfriend moved to the west coast: to sunny L.A. It is really sad not having them around in NYC to come over for dinner or meet up for a cocktail... and now C & I won't be the babysitters for Lucky. Lucky is their french bulldog, cutest little thing. And as we all enjoy some of the cold weather I thought I would share with you Lucky and her new life style and how she is living large even for her size.

Here are some of my favorite restaurants in NYC that they will be leaving behind for their new adventures!

I am trying to list restaurants that may not be on everyone's list.

Nice Dinners:

Mas(farmhouse): 39 Downing St @Bedford

http://www.masfarmhouse.com/

Known for their great wine list and even better service. They have a tasting menu, but not everyone in your party has to do it. You can also select things off the tasting menu and have those as your meal. They are very attentive and I just love it.

House(The): 121 E. 17th Street (b/w Park and Irving, closer to Irving)

http://www.thehousenyc.com/

I LOVE this place and you can usually get a reservation. It is a wine bar too so you could always try as a walk in. Not great for parties of more than 6, best for 2, 3 or 4. Great food. I don't even eat mushrooms and every time I go I get a mushroom app. that they have on the menu.

More Casual:

Mexicana Mama: 47 E. 12th St (b/w Broadway and University Place)

You may be familiar with the original on Hudson St, but this one is just below Union Sq. and a much better layout. The margaritas are great, on the rocks w/ salt and Herradura Silver, YUM! They have this cheese starter, blanking on the name, but just ask for it.. oh and the special salsa, they rotate it every night, but never fails. CASH ONLY.

Piadina: 57 W 10th St (just E. of 6th Ave)

This is great understated Italian food. You can get the house wine to keep costs down and it is decent stuff. Great Caprese to start off with. CASH ONLY.

Gradisca: 126 W. 13th St (b/w 6th & 7th Ave)

This has a bit more of an upbeat vibe then Piadina (they used to have the same owner) and a little more to the menu. It is also fabulous Italian food, and GREAT pastas.

Pipa: 38 E. 19th St (b/w Broadway and Park Aves)

http://www.abchome.com/Restaurant1.aspx?DeptRowId=27

Tapas that are to die for and drinks to go with them. If you are a sangria fan or like mojitos then this is your joint. Great for groups, very cool atmosphere and tends to have a bit of a bar scene as well. It is connected with abchome, the furnishing store, so it has these great chandeliers hanging from the ceiling throughout the entire restaurant.

I have so many more, but these are what I am feeling right now.... I hope you have a chance to experience them if you have not already. Maybe more to come if I guest blog again.

It has been fun.

E,K&Lucky, we all miss you dearly. Run Lucky Run.... bet she never got that much room in the doggy park.

Tis Better to Give than to Receive (by John)

I'm shipping out some of our new greeting cards today--along with a nice addition, the signature Linda & Harriett label. We got these new smaller ones in yesterday and they seem like a great complement to the single cards. While most of you will be passing these cards on to friends and family, we hope you feel like you're getting a small gift along the way.
(Lizzy, these are all yours.)

A Few of my Favorite Things:

I was asked to guest blog for my sister while she is traveling with some of her girlfriends, what an honor.

My background: I am the younger sister of Liz, but only by 20 months. I am an event planner for an Investment Bank and I live in New York City… oh and I love my sister. She is such an important person in my life, I am sure most people reading this are saying, well she is your sister of course you love her. It isn’t just like that; she is one of those people you have in your life that you couldn’t live without…one of those people that you could not see for two days and it feels like a lifetime…that even though you know they won’t always give you the answer you want to hear you ask them anyway. And when you come to them they even know when to say nothing at all. She is one of those people that when she is sad I can’t even begin to describe the hurt I feel inside myself, almost trying to will away the sadness so she doesn’t have to feel it. I could write pages not just about how amazingly talented she is with her work, as you all know, but what wonderful person she is overall. BUT she would KILL ME!

In so many ways I see Liz and I having countless similarities…facial expressions, mannerisms, eyes & smile (both we got from our mother) and are love of just about anything sweet and of SALT (which comes from our Dad) to name a few. But when it comes to the way we live you may consider us complete opposites. Not that we don’t overlap in ways, but let’s just say I hadn’t been to Brooklyn before she moved there. So when thinking of what to write about, I decided since you hear from her each day and John on Fridays, that I should talk about something they normally may not. I was going to go into great restaurants in NYC or about my career (which I could also talk about forever because I love it that much too), but then I realized this wouldn’t be fair to the demographic outside of New York, but for those of you in the NYC area stayed tune for a portion of tomorrow’s post.

So I decided to write on something else I think I know well, along with many other women (& some men) in the world, fashion. And not just any type of fashion (I am not going to sit here and rattle off new and hot designers), but I am going to list a few of my favorite things that I think may change some of your lives… well at least your wardrobe! Okay and I know I am tailoring this to the ladies, but if you are a guy and have a girlfriend/sister etc. you could have some great little/big gift ideas on your hands.

Number 1:
You HAVE to have a great bra. Since I was in high school I just went to Victoria Secret to get my bra and to be “fitted”. BAD IDEA. Until one day, I was like; I think I need a nicer bra. So I went to this great store in NY, http://www.thelittleflirt.com/, and was truly fitted. I will not go into the details of the sizes, but let me tell you this…. I was WAY off. I bought 3 bras right then and there and went home and threw all the others away. Since then I have gone back and picked up a few fun ones too…. But let me tell say you NEED to get a proper fitting, life altering and much better for your posture. Even if you aren’t “top heavy” I serious suggest this. So the basic bra I love to death is http://www.barenecessities.com/Chantelle-Sensua-Underwire-T-Shirt-Bra_product_Chantelle3061_,search,.htm, of course you need to get a proper fitting first because I think you will be surprised of your size! I think you get the point. You may spend a lot on the front end, but it will pay off it the end.

Number 2.
Matchsticks. I am not sure if all of you know of these or you may know, but don’t know just how great they are. They are so wonderful that I carry them with me every day. They are made by Commando, the underwear line. I use them all the time. Working at an Investment Bank I wear a lot of button down shirts. I find when I went to purchase a shirt I need to go up in size because of the fitting that causes a gap at the button, but then the shirt is too big everywhere else so I ended up purchase-free. Now... MATCHSTICKS. You place one of these suckers in between the buttons, press down and you are good to go. They are also great on wrap dresses to help keep them from showing too much J I am such a fan. They are about $10/pack, but you get 50 of them, $.20/stick, I will take it! They hold so well. You can use them on so many things… good-bye safety pins!
http://www.shopintuition.com/product.asp?pid=17868&catid=106&parentid=3&onCategoriesPage=1

Number 3.
Jeans: To be honest if I counted I have at least 50 pairs of designer jeans. Not bragging just backing up my next suggestions on brands I love now. Always J.Brand, they have great dark denim. Genetic denim is great too. I have a great pair that is more casual that I wear with my “rustic” boots I like to say. And Paige: They have been on scene for awhile, but I think they make a great butt, nice pocket placement. I would stay away from the True Religion if you have a butt because these pockets on the back can sometimes make you look wider or flatter and no one needs that. You all know where to find jeans, any major department store or http://www.intermixonline.com/.

Number 4.
A suit: If you ever are in the market for a suit head to Theory (Bloomie’s has a great spread of there things too). I know they are pricey, but let me tell you they last and look so feminine chic. If you don’t need a whole suit then you could always opt for just the pants, which are also amazing, especially if you have some height to you, but you can always shorten them if you don’t:) http://www.theory.com/

Number 5:
Some little tips(you may already know):
Bold BRIGHT colors. Yellow is huge. Headbands: Headbands will be big this spring and summer so look out for some cute ones, but don’t over do it. The only other thing I would say when buying tops, I know that this trapeze look is in, but make sure you are not looking like you are hiding something when you may not be! This top by Dakota Martin, http://www.dakotamartin.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=dakotamartin&Product_Code=natalie_top&Category_Code=tops I recently purchased is very chic. It is loose fitting just enough to give you the flow feel, but doesn’t create the look of extra lovin’ around the mid section, if you will. I got it in the Navy and it looks fabulous with white jeans.

Alright then, until tomorrow… or maybe later today depending on how my day goes!

Guest Blogger, My Sister Katie!

I'm off to San Francisco for a few days and have left you in the hands of my fantastic younger sister Katie. I apologize for the brief intro! I thought I left at 11am, but no I arrive in San Fran at 11! Take it away, Kate.

Greetings from Linda & Harriett: 15% off

Lunchtime discount! We're serving up something sweet today - our greeting card line Greetings from Linda & Harriett is now available online. And as a special bonus, we're offering a site-wide discount of 15% now through Sunday to the first 25 customers - and are announcing it here first! Check out the first designs in the collection here. And enter GREETING upon checkout for 15% off. Enjoy!

Thank You with Love

As you know by now, I'm loving the blind letterpress look - and I'm running with it. I'm also feeling orange these days as more brides and grooms are asking to include orange in their invitations. It's such a vibrant & cheery color - especially on such a dreary day as we're having in Brooklyn today. Above is our latest Thank You card - covered in what I hope you'll agree look like hand-stitched hearts - almost quilt-like.

Stay tuned for our greeting card launch later today! Woo hoo!

Happy Birthday Fireworks

I've enjoyed Fourth of July fireworks at the Jersey Shore my entire life - and because July 4th is around my birthday, I liked to pretend those fireworks were part of my birthday celebration. So in thinking of a birthday card design - fireworks were a must. Who wouldn't want fireworks for her birthday? These softer hued, not so loud fireworks make me happy.

Coffee Love Hate

In third grade, our music teacher who wrote a lot of our songs had us sing a song called Coffee. The only lines I can remember are:

c-o-f-f-e-e
coffee is not for me
it's a drink that makes that makes you stay up late...

It's pretty fitting. I hate coffee. Love the smell, hate the taste. I've taken sips of John's coffee cup thinking it was my tea before and emphatically spit it out. I never even liked coffee ice cream until the other day when I had vanilla ice cream with espresso poured on top. Oh man, that was goooood.

After that yummy dessert, I thought I was a changed woman. So today I decided to have my first real cup. Real meaning a skim latte. Someone said it tastes like candy in comparison to a straight up cup of black. A little compassion for the novice, please! It's slow going down. I feel like I've got some serious halitosis going on. And I can't stop singing that darn song!

[above image that I wish I could call my own is from Simply Breakfast]