My Obsessions

I was so excited when The Daily Obsession asked me to participate in their Insider's Obsessions series. I mean, their list of past "insiders" makes me look like a hot dog vendor. Or, from the look of those first three images, a huge hippie. I didn't think I would have enough things in my life I'd call obsessions - but boy was I wrong. There's a reason my six month-old birkenstocks are wearing thin. Check out what I had to say about the rest of my obsessions here.

Many thanks to the Daily Obsession team for including me!

Matta Scarf

I loooove this scarf by Matta, spotted by Katy Elliot. It would have been the perfect hue and accessory for this raining weekend. Great gift idea, too.

Me in Minnetonka?

Eeeek! What is it about these kinda ugly, kinda really cool boots that makes me want them so badly? Maybe it was the couple of girls I saw sporting them in LA. I don't know if I could pull them off - but man do I want these bad! (sans feathers, natch!)

Get yourself some fringe here or here.

I spy... L&H!

John's eagle eyes spotted this L&H cameo on NY1's wedding invitation etiquette piece yesterday. See the blooms in the background there? Yup! That's us. At Kate's Paperie (we believe the 57th St. store) - where they filmed the piece. Later, the reporter is flipping through our album. To see the full video, click here.

Flower Pin Love

I got the nicest email from Lindsay at Watermark Stationery in Wayzata, Minnesota yesterday. The girls at Watermark have been donning their Flower Pins lately and have started to become "known" for them! Which is fitting since paper is their passion:) Lindsay sent along this photo from the Minnesota Bride Magazine's Best of 2008 event, where Watermark won for Best Invitation 2008! Congrats, ladies!

DVF

I saw this ad on a huge billboard in LA last week and was immediately drawn to it. I love the layering of the black & white photo, the paint and the hand lettering. It's a collaboration put on by Diane von Furstenberg with artist Francois-Marie Banier and model Natalia Vodianova.


You can see all of the work - in stills and video - on the DVF projects page. The web presentation of it all is pretty much perfection. I love this additional layer of talent from a very seasoned and successful designer.

My Favorite Pages

When you're a nervous wreck of a flyer like me, you need all possible distractions. My go-to tricks are the ipod and earplugs - the noises really freak me out, especially during bumpy rides. My newest distraction involved two magazines I picked up in Long Beach before boarding the plane to come home - Marie Claire and Vogue - ones I can count on one hand the number of times I've purchased in my life - maybe it was the LA vibe, but I was feeling fashion-forward despite my tshirt and jeans. I took pictures of my favorite pages from the magazines - impressed with how many I loved and to be quite honest, felt inspired by - all at 30,000 feet. A definite first for me. Here's a little sampling of the result.

We Turn Two

Two years ago today, I married the nicest kindest soul in the world.

Style Lounge - a Recap

The gifting suite we were participating in was the Kari Feinstein Style Lounge - a gifting suite put on by the PR firm Feinstein McGuiness - which takes place five times per year in anticipation of major award shows and film festivals. They approached us at the end of last year about doing the invitations and we jumped at the chance to get our name out there, even though we didn't really know what to expect from it. Now we know it's all about giving, giving, giving - or taking, taking, taking - depending who you're talking to.

The whole thing is a little weird to begin with. How it works is that the sponsors pay to "gift" (aka give away) celebrities their goods. Just because they are celebrities. I totally see the value in it, but it was still a bit odd for me and our little company. I didn't know a lot of the celebs who came through - which was probably a good thing because I talked to them like they were normal people. And for the most part, they were - except for being above average on the looks and below average on the weight. I made the mistake though of assuming they actually were normal. Kristen Bell was at our booth writing her name down (we're doing some stationery for her - hooray!) and said she was sure her Spanx were showing. First of all - she wears Spanx? She's so itty bitty. Secondly, I tell her with a wave of the hand, "Oh no one's looking" and immediately Homer Simpson screams "Doh!" in my head. Really? No one's looking? Everyone looks at celebrities looking for some flaw like Spanx showing. She walked away, I looked down at my little table of paper and was happy I wasn't on the other side.

I really don't mean to be Debbie Downer here. It's just for the first time, I felt the loom of the paparazzi attention and considered what that's like as your life. So I didn't feel so ripped off that they were getting free stuff. The grabby ones, I could have done without. But for the most part, everyone was really very appreciative & complimentary of their paper gifts. And once I got over the whole celeb-craze of it all, it was fun to see the reactions to our things, really exciting to be able to do custom stationery for some big stars and certainly not a bad way to spend a couple days of work - poolside in perfect weather, chatting with pretty and pretty talented people.

And we're back!

It happens a few times a year... the internet goes down, and all panic ensues. But we're back! And boy do I have some fun things to share from our trip to LA.



This was my second time in LA, and the things that always stand out about the city in comparison to New York are probably pretty obvious, but get me nonetheless. The first: the sunshine and the greenery that basks in it. You'd think I lived in London winters all year round the way I was oggling over it. I loved the bright blue sky against the dark land - reminds me of summer nights here that are dwindling.

The other two things that stood out to me were the celeb-crazed scene and the LA sense of style - very different than New York, and certainly Brooklyn. More on this later - along with our Style Lounge pics, of course!

Style Lounge, Day One

Shoot. Our camera isn't uploading photos to our laptop. Double shoot - I am kicking myself for not recognizing Michael Gladis when he came up to our table. I am obsessed with his show Madmen - like watch the episodes back to back. When I worked in advertising, I heard these crazy stories about the good old days of advertising - and this show just gives those stories a life. He was probably my favorite celeb encounter yesterday - so nice. Oh, and Rex Lee - aka Lloyd from Entourage. Also really nice.

More updates and photos to come when we get back to Brooklyn. For now, gotta go primp:)

So LA

So we're in LA, the land where celebrities are around every corner - or at least that's my Hills/Entourage/Rachel Zoe Project-skewed impression. After landing & promptly heading to Ikea for some heavy stuff we couldn't bring on the plane, we stopped into an Italian restaurant around the corner from our hotel and sat next to Pauly Shore. LA truth #1... check.

We head up to the hills this morning to set up for the Style Lounge - where we were told absolutely no dogs are allowed - which "includes lap dogs or any pet carried in a purse." Thank you Paris Hilton. LA truth #2... check.

We are so in LA.

[disclaimer: Pauly was not dressed like this last night. He looked, well, normal.]

Off to LA

No joke, this is where we'll be for the next few days. Okay - so we're not staying here, we're just working our goods here. But still - I was beyond excited to see that this is the house where we'll be gifting our L&H goodies for a pre-Emmys Style Lounge. It's like Cribs come true. Not a bad spot to spend a couple days trying to get celebs to take our stuff, huh?

I'll try my best to sneak a couple shots while we're there. I think it may be frowned upon, so we'll see how that goes. In any event, I'll keep you posted.

Cute Kiddies

These kids in the J. Crew catalog make me miss my nieces & nephews and their constant motion & commotion. They also make me long for those back to school shopping days - pulling on new tights and slipping into new & mostly uncomfortable shoes. If only wellies had been part of the uniform.

ps - I want that outfit far right in a grown-up size - stat.

IM in Training: Tri #1

We headed north this weekend to do the Lake George Triathlon - the first of two before the big daddy. The distances were small in comparison to what we're in for in November - .9mi swim, 24mi bike, 6mi run - but it was still enough for now - and was so fun. I actually thought on the bike of all things, "I'm so glad I got into this sport." (Don't think I'll be thinking that in November - but you gotta hold onto that silver lining!)

The swim was a little nerve-wracking since I've been swimming in a crystal-clear pool with defined lanes this whole time - but after a few minutes of realizing there's no turning back, you just go. Same with the bike - nervous at first about knee pain, but when that wasn't too bad, I just went for it. The run was tough for the first 10 minutes or so - all uphill - but then your legs recover a bit - and there, too, I was feeling strong - and was able to pick it up. Overall - I finished 42nd out of all women and 7th in my age group. Of course I don't know how many women were competing or how many of them were in my age group - but I kinda don't care. 7th sounds cool - and I'm holding on to it all the way to Arizona!



Photos above: Transition area where everyone is starting to gear up for the swim start; wet bike sitting in the racks; my legs - my age on my right (a requirement for individual racers) and on the left, a little homage to my mom, a strong lady who I needed with me. I like to think she gave me some wings yesterday.

Ready or Not

We're taking off a bit early today to head up north to Lake George, NY. We are doing our first triathlon since our Ironman training started, oh, five months ago. Geez louise, it's been a long time! I'm not even sure I'll be doing the whole thing because of this nagging knee pain. At the very least, I'll put on the wetsuit (so hot) and get used to swimming on top of people in murky water. I'm glad to finally be putting some of this training to good use. Cross your fingers for us. I'll have an IM-in-Training update on Monday. Have a great weekend.

Happy Friday!

How great is this photo? And how adorable is this little guy? I bet he & Kings would be besties.

Photographed by the very talented Kari Herer.

Outstanding in the Field

Last night, John and I went allllll the way out to Queens Farm (yes, a farm - a 47 acre one - in Queens) for an Outstanding in the Field dinner. I had never heard of such a thing until it was given to us as a present this summer. It's a "culinary adventure" that brings together local farmers, chefs, and diners - "a restaurant without walls". There were about 150 of us - all at one very long table, sharing delicious & fresh food - literally in a field. It was pretty magical to say the least - and crazy yummy. To see & read a bit more about it, go here. And not to be missed is the amazing & enormous artwork by chef & founder Jim Denevan here.

Seven Years Ago,

I was woken up to a fearful phone call from a friend who knew I had a father and brother working in the city. That feeling of complete disbelief and utter sadness loomed all day, all week, all year and it still gives me a pit in my stomach just thinking about it. We have much to be grateful & thankful for. And today, I feel that more than ever.

[photo by Noam Galal]

Stationery Turned Invitations

I got a call a little while ago from a fellow Brooklyn couple looking for wedding invitations. They are having a very small intimate celebration and did not want to spend a ton on invitations but loved our aesthetic. That's the thing about letterpress that gets me sometimes - costs are so high, it's not always an option for people. They were not particular on colors, but wanted something bold - and needed them pretty quickly. I threw out the idea of flat printing their invitation on our letterpressed Bloom Flats and using our citron zigzag note cards as rsvps, and they loved it. Even more, it totally fit their budget. I'm currently doing place cards for them using the backs of the citron zigzag note cards used for the rsvp cards. I was thrilled to be able to accommodate and really loved the way they turned out! A big thank you & congrats to M&C!

ps - If you're looking for an affordable invitation - our Flats are 110# cover stock and go through most laser printers. We have several retailers who use them this way. Not a bad option if you're up for it.

Lucky October Times Two

We are thrilled to be offering 25% off our entire website this October via Lucky Magazine's Lucky Breaks. Just enter the code "luckybreaks10" at checkout to receive your discount. Easy peasy, huh?! We are also very excited that Lucky has featured us in its special New York edition under "local letterpress companies" and shows our Pig Love card, available for purchase at one of my favorite paper stores, Brooklyn's own, Lion in the Sun.

And the winners are...

Congrats to:

purdyinblue
cyndi&lee
and KDeLap

for being our very first contest winners! Please send me your mailing addresses so I can send you your goodies.

(liz [at] lindaandharriett [dot] com)

A big thank you thank you thank you to everyone for your feedback! I have read & reread everyone's comments. And the wheels are already turning upstairs on how to make some of the suggestions happen.

Flower Pins Go Gold

I bought a whole new bunch of buttons for our flower pins the other day. The gold looks especially beautiful next to the matte finish of the letterpress. I'd love to see these as boutonnieres or as little hair barrettes for flower girls.

Vintage Postcards

How great are these vintage postcards I picked up at last weekend's Brooklyn Flea? The texture, colors and metallic accents are seriously making me rethink my holiday designs. I love the sweet lettering of 'valentine greetings' - and the little greeting on the bottom tugged at my heart. I'm such a card sap. I guess that is, well, fitting.

The First Ever Contest at L&H!

So it's not so much as a contest as a giveaway - a freebee, a come & get it. As you may know, we are participating in a pre-Emmys gifting suite in LA in three weeks. The PR company for the event is sending out some editor teaser baskets and asked us to contribute. We needed to send them out there asap, so I came up with this little gathering of goodies: a notepad, a pack of note cards and our die-cut gift tags. While I am happy to get our name out there - I couldn't help but think that our gifts might go unused or unappreciated. Gasp! So I decided to offer up three of these little sets (one each) to the people who read & know & perhaps like our work - via a blog-like "contest". And since we're a relatively new kid on the block and because I'm a big fan of feedback, I'd like to use this as an opportunity to hear what you think of our work or my blog or both. So - here's the deal: leave a comment with some feedback (specific or general - doesn't matter) by Sunday at 8pm, and I'll pick three random names and announce the winners on Monday. Don't forget to at least leave your name in the comments section so I can get in touch with you for shipping. Good luck! And thank you in advance for your comments!

Well done, J. Crew

I don't know who the talented people are over there at J. Crew these days - but man, are they good. While trying to find some online sales this weekend, I checked out J. Crew and was immediately captivated by this video on their homepage. It reminds me of the ones Kate & Andy Spade do. I think this additional layer to their catalog/online still shots is brilliant. And the Sunny Sunday song by Leona Naess is now a new favorite.
The top two photos are stills from the video. The third is a set of photos I pulled from their look book. I love the compostion of that square shot. And the colors could not be better.