Tired, Verrrry Tired

This is what I feel like this morning and what I feel like doing today. Tired, and sprawling out on the couch.

We did it! We crossed the finish line of our Ironman race yesterday! It was about 100 times more challenging than I thought it would be - but hands down the most physically & mentally challenged I have ever been in my life - and therefore, the most rewarding. And I was the happiest girl in the whole world to cross that line.

I'll be taking a couple days of rest now... from work, from blogging, from my black berry (maybe) - and resting my very tired bones.

See when I get off the couch.

IM in Training: Gear

This sport called triathlon is not for the gear-less. There is so much stuff you have to have (and remember to have) for this sport - and especially so for Ironman because the distance is so great. These are just a couple things we've had to pick up: water bottles and CO2 cartridges. We'll each have four water bottles on our bike (and drinking 10-15 by the end of the bike) and 3 CO2 cartridges on the bike in case of flat tires. And these are the most benign of it. Don't even get me started on salt tablets and body glide!

IM in Training: Arizona

A couple shots of sunny (and very hot!) Arizona. I'm so happy to finally be here that I think the butterflies have actually settled since touching down. We swam in the murky Tempe Town Lake this morning, officially registered, got our race bracelets and synced our race chips. Just a few steps closer to the finish line!

Harper's Bazaar

While we're in sunny AZ and prepping for our first dip in the lake out here, I thought I'd share this equally sunny page from the latest Harper's Bazaar. See the L&H stationery in there? It's our custom-designed conch shell pattern.

More from IM central soon...

Up Up & Away

I apologize in advance for all you paper-loving people out there... the rest of this week's blog and into next will be playing a very different tune as we prepare for the Ironman this Sunday. Eight months of training - and here we are, five days out. We leave for Arizona this morning and will be working from out there as much as possible while Jen holds down the fort back here in Brooklyn. I've had some serious butterflies fluttering around in my stomach for the past week as I started to set aside my clothes for the trip. I cannot believe it's finally here! Woa, deeeeeeep breath.

How great are these drawings above? They're from a poster that John's sister & her family sent us. So nice! Thanks, you guys!!!

More from sunny Arizona to come.

Garland AND Balloons

While I love garland, balloons are happiness. I'd almost prefer balloons to flowers for birthday wishes. They just make me smile. It's not very environmentally friendly of me - but once a year, I'd like to throw a party with a room full of balloons. This one would do:)

[Untitled (Arika) by Dorthe Alstrup]

Recent Work: Una Fiesta

I thought I'd start the week off with some recent work: our fiesta party flag-inspired birthday invitations. I love paper garland! It's a sign of good times in my book. I see the garland, and I just know I'm going to have a good time. Garland=Fun. So, given my apparently strong feeling on garland, I jumped at the chance to create something like it for this fun Mexican-themed birthday party. The letterpress bumps it up to another level I think. Still fun though, of course!

Artist Julie Goldstein

We went to a show for artist Julie Goldstein in DUMBO last night. Julie lives & works on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, which is a definite source of inspiration for her work - with her earlier Brooklyn days added to the mix. She has recently started a line of Perfect clothing (the t-shirts are hands down my favorite and most comfortable ones I own) and is now using a lot of textiles in her work. I love the layering of materials - from the lace & upholstry to her woodblock prints to the metal nail heads. The combination is just perfectly tactile - something I'd love to have hanging in my beach-side bungalow - or even here in Brooklyn to remind me of warmer sunny days on the beach. See more of Julie's work here and her Pine Surf Shop here.

Placecards & Photographer Jennifer Kloss

You might remember the invitations we did for a couple getting married in Sonoma, CA a few months back that used our existing letterpress Bloom flats and Zig Zag note cards. Well, I was so happy when I got an email from them with photos of the placecards I did for them, using the Zig Zag note cards again and hand-lettering them! These gorgeous photos above were taken by talented photographer Jennifer Kloss. I love how rich the colors are in her photos. I'm drawn to high contrast in photographs - so when I saw her portfolio, I was hooked immediately.

See more of Jennifer's work here.

L&H in NY Metro

Thank you Tina from NY Metro for including us in a five calendar round-up in today's paper!

So Very Grateful

Seeing our Calendar on design*sponge this morning makes my heart swell. Afterall, Grace is the queen of cool in the blogworld, design world, and to me. And is pretty much the reason I started this blog in the first place. A big big thank you from L&H to d*s!

Ribbons

Maybe it's the prep in me - the girl who (surprisingly) never rolled her eyes at wearing ribbons in her hair for lacrosse games - or maybe it's the gift wrap lover in me - the girl who splurges on wrap and twine - but I love ribbons. I'm a firm believer that a simple ribbon goes a long way - and that it's a detail that never goes unnoticed. Not to mention it's ease of reusability (I think I just made up a word) compared to folded and taped wrapping paper.


When deciding what ribbon to use for our calendar and gift tags, I knew Midori would be the place and that their double-faced satin ribbon had to be included. These ribbons feel amazing to the touch and have the richest colors. We use them for our die cut butterfly & pig tags and I make a point to tell retailers, press and clients about them when describing the items because I think it's such a necessary point.

So apparently, my paper snobbiness has carried over into ribbons. And to your benefit, I say! :)

L&H 2009 Calendar!

We are thrilled to announce the Linda & Harriett letterpress 2009 calendar! This is definitely one of my most favorite projects of the year. I have been making notes on each month's design and am so excited with the result of color, image & pattern! July is my favorite, I have to say. I want to take this mermaid-inspired pattern and use it for everything. Watch out - it might be the new pig. Or the new zig zag:) Since I cannot get enough of hand-lettering, I decided to do the whole thing by hand - which just tops it all off for me.

So - do you have a favorite month?

2009

I can't help myself - here's a little taste of what's to come on Monday. Oooh, I can't wait!

My Style, According to Ikea

We're signing the lease on our new commercial space today - woo hoo! Our new space is much larger than our current one and is basically one big rectangle, so the potential is huge. I've been scouring the web for office layouts and furniture (must get rid of the flourescent lights!) when I came across this Ikea Business Stylefinder. Ikea tells me I'm "Country Original" and even breaks down my style as: 0% Modern, 20% Scandinavian and 80% Country. I guess that's about right. If anyone comes across any great office/working studio layouts - please pass them along! I'm struggling, here.

Have a great weekend!

'Tis the Season

Our three new holiday greeting cards are now online and will be in stores very soon! All three are letterpressed on 100% recycled paper - which I chose for its wintery quality. At least to me.

The three designs are based on my (quite literal) view of the holidays and the holiday season. The Tree Greeting is very much early winter to me - when the light fades on the land and the sky is still quite bright, but has faded in color to a pale pale blue. This is also very Maine Winter to me - it makes me want to grab my blanket & curl up! The other two are inspired by holiday-dressed windows. Specifically, the view from the inside - the ornaments and tree trimmings dangling from window frames - looking out onto snowy-scapes. I specifically chose the 100% recycled paper for the flecked look, which is so snowy to me.

Also - I just added an option to buy the three of these greetings online as a multi-pack at a 10% discount off the retail price of three. Happy Holiday card shopping!

Sad:(

My one year old computer crashed yesterday and is now in the hands of Tekserve. This happened to me last year on my laptop - but a pretty much brand new computer?? Oh, the pain of a lesson learned. Back up your computer asap, people.

L&H on design*sponge Today!

Thanks so much to Grace at design*sponge for posting our Vintage Wallpaper Stationery today! You might remember me talking about using this wallpaper for an invitation not too long ago. Now I'm using it for personalized stationery and am so excited about to be offering it online now.

Teen Vogue Shout Out

Thanks to Teen Vogue for mentioning our Flower Pins on their blog!

IM in Training: Inspiration

I was so touched when a friend sent me this book last week as a little piece of encouragement for the quickly approaching race. I got through a 4 hour bike ride this weekend with no knee pain and had these little words in my head the whole time: I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. I'll be chanting this over & over on November 23 until I get over that finish line! Thank you, L.