Bellboy NY in Men's Journal

My good friend Mat of Bellboy New York made a beautiful chair that is prominently featured in this month's Men's Journal Perfect Things article. His chair is the most comfortable wooden chair I've ever sat in. It practically begs you to stay a while -- grab a drink, come sit, relax, everything is just fine.

We are super lucky to have had Mat help us out with the hanging mechanism for our soon-to-launch Quilt Calendar. Stay tuned for that in just a couple weeks!

See more of Bellboy's work here.

Quarterly: Swiss Miss

I got my latest Quartlerly shipment from Tina Roth Eisenberg of Swiss Miss yesterday & I'm obsessed. I waited til Griffin was asleep just so I could give its unveiling my fullest attention. This shipment included a white house tissue box cover (tissue box included to provide the chimney's smoke), cloud sticky notes, and simple classic scissors. The best part of the whole thing for me is the note that's included from Tina on why she chose to share these objects and how she uses them in her life. It's such a fun way to receive mail and to see & experience something in the way someone else does.

(For those who don't know, Quartlery is a subscription service where you sign up to receive a quarterly mailing of objects chosen by someone you select from their list of Contributors. I selected Tina Roth Eisenberg from Swiss Miss.)

HATCH

I recently discovered HATCH - a line of super chic maternity wear - which is both amazing (now that I'm 5 months pregnant) and dangerous (now that I'm 5 months pregnant). I've worn their Longsleeve Tee for the past two days & truthfully, it's been too hot for it. But that's how it goes for me once September rolls around and there are new cozy clothes to wear. Even if I am 5 months pregnant! Their fall collection just launched & I'm trying to hold back, but I might need this coat to keep me (and the baby! the baby!) warm :) 

Check out more here.

[Photos courtesy of HATCH]

Farewell, Summer

Back from one final beach weekend with friends & family. Goodbye, Summer :( See you next year with Griffin's brother or sister!

Side Note: knowing these fireworks were happening 100 yards from our house made me finally give in to the ads (and a few personal recs) & purchase The Thundershirt for our scaredy cat dog. She didn't dig a hole in our bathroom floor, like she usually does, so it wasn't a total failure.

Watercolor & Ink

I'm finishing up a new project involving watercolor (something for holiday 2013 if you can believe it!) and it's been a great reminder to keep working in watercolor & ink. The variation in ink saturation and form make me so happy.

Friends Featured

 

Since I'm playing a bit of catch up, I thought I'd share two good friends' work that have been featured in prominent magazines this summer. First up - my friend Lizzy, who wrote the Brooklyn Breakfast story in Kinfolk, along with the beautiful shot by Karen Mordechai - styled by both of them.

Well done, Lizzy & Karen!

We're baaaaack!

 

Sorry for the super long hiatus. I didn't mean to leave you so abrubtly or for so long. But sometimes life tells you to just take a break. A big ol break.

And that's what we did. 

We had Popsicle Night every night.

 

 

 We learned a whole new set of vocabulary - all related to things of the beach. Correctly identifying a mahi mahi not excluded.

 

 We got our first haircut at a barber shop. (Thanks to a lolipop.)

 

 We became obsessed with surfing. On the sand or in the kitchen. Didn't matter. It was surfing.

 

 We shared our dessert.

 

 And sometimes ate that dessert with sand. No matter. It was sugar!

 We explored.

We took a big time out without even really realizing that we needed it. A lot has happened in the past couple months since I left you hanging, so I'll fill you in a bit.

We moved. Not far - about a mile away - but a move nonetheless. A pack up everything, get rid of everything, unpack everything, get rid of more of everything kind of move. The next day, John's mom passed away, rather unexpectedly. And our lives changed. As it goes when you lose people you love. My brother & sisters and I agree that it's the finality of death, of being gone, of not being here, that is so hard to accept. One day they are there, the next they are not. One day you can call them, and the next day you can't. Time passes, and it kills you because it's further away from that person actually being there - you count the days, the weeks, the months, the birthdays. Last month, I celebrated my first birthday without my dad. His birthday is the day before mine & we had celebrated together every year of my life. My birthday also happens to be John's mom's birthday, so it was even harder and more surreal.

But one little (or sorta big) piece of good news & happiness has come into our lives recently. I am expecting our second child! News we were fortunate to share with John's mom before she passed - her 14th grandchild. We are so excited (and also a little nervous to have two!), and I am especially happy that the first few months of nausea are behind me. As I'm sure are the people around me:) I'm due in January, which means Griffin has about five months to figure out what big brother means. And we have five months to get some sleep.

In the meantime, we're happy to be back at work (there's something so benignly right about getting back into a routine after life changing events) & gearing up for the release of the new products we debuted at the National Stationery Show this May. So stay tuned. And if you haven't done so, sign up for our newsletter (by entering your email on the right) so you can be the first to get the news of the launch, as well as upcoming launch discounts.

Many thanks for reading & supporting. I don't intend to weigh down this blog too much with my personal life, but it's comforting for me to be able to share all of this - from the not so good to the great. So thank you.

xo
Liz