ode to stationery

allow me to say something very hipster right now:

people don't send enough hand-written shit anymore.

emails are dandy, but letters are sweeter. thank you cards trump all. pretty paper makes everything look sunnier. these are basic tenets of my existence.

luckily, i'm not alone. there are a lot of people out there making really beautiful papers and things so you can feel hip and cool while writing a card, even if your handwriting does not look like calligraphy.

my very favorite stationery company in the world might be rifle paper co. my office is slowly being taken over by rpc notebooks and notepads. i am obsessed with this vibrant florals and simple prints. observe:

i'm also a big fan of yellow owl workshop, not only for their stamp sets but also for their french-themed cards:

and of course, no stationery post would be complete without some recognition of the beautiful paper source:

those are just a selection of the myriad stationery sets that i've seen and loved. so go forth and send letters! and if you need my address, just let me know :)

i'm still obsessed with target

i don't know about you guys, but i haven't moved on from target yet. i did make a vow not to buy any more clothes from target except for wear-it-once stuff, because i would buy too much and it would fall apart. BUT the other day i went strolling in for one thing and took the long road, looking at all the wonderful things i would be happy to have for christmas.

first of all, i love the new partnership with neiman marcus. who doesn't want this tory burch thermos?

target.com

or this stunning lela rose dress?

or this DVF jewelry box??

aside from the neiman stuff, i'm pretty in love with this sleepwear set:

and these heels are probably definitely happening for new years:

so there you have it - target is still awesome. 

side note, this is awesome too:

check out the article here. so cool!

rain, rain, go away

a few days ago, i left the mild weather in palo alto and returned in the middle of a blustery and near monsoonal storm here in portland. it actually doesn't bother me, because it's not cold - and i will take rain over cold ANY day. i've heard from some people (ahem, my parents), though, that constant rain can be a bit of a downer. so for any of you who need a little sunshine in your spirits, let me share with you some things that make me happy when skies are gray:

first off, these little pill/trinket boxes from urban outfitters are divine. it's no secret that i love macarons, so it shouldn't be a surprise that i love these. the colors, the style, the gold embellishments - so cute and parisian!

urbanoutfitters.com

i was trolling fab.com the other day looking for christmas presents when i stumbled upon these beauties from Retro Love. something about these simple photographs is stunning to me - maybe it's the pale but bright colors, maybe it's the text-image juxtaposition, maybe it's because i just plain like this style. a lot of these photos also come in iphone cases, so when i get my iphone, i will for sure be purchasing a case from this lady...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RetroLovePhotography?ref=top_trail

although i love my dependable and chic hunters, sometimes i want something a little flashier to put a spring in my step on a rainy day. i've gotten tons of compliments walking down the streets in portland wearing these wellies from sakroots. they're gorgeous AND i got them at costco!

sakroots.com

so i'm trying really hard not to become a crazy cat lady, but i'll tell you - cats are not making this easy. don't get me wrong, i love all animals, but cats are just SO CUTE. today, my friend matt had to force me to change the background of my phone away from a picture of a cat that's not even mine. but backing away from a life of feline-ridden spinsterhood is a gradual process, so give me some allowances along the way - like this little ring from madewell.

madewell.com

and there you have it! things that make me happy when the sky is crying. what about you? what brightens your rainy day?

galentine's day

hello, cherries!

suddenly, it's february, and my least favorite holiday in the world is rapidly approaching. i won't explain why i hate valentine's day, but it's not for the normal reasons, i promise. maybe it is a little, but not primarily.

imagine my excitement, then, when i found this: http://occupyvday.tumblr.com/. i love the variety of people on this site, sharing their messages.

usually on february 14th, i celebrate oregon's birthday instead. indeed, last year we did a whole entry on what we love about oregon. and while i am totally thrilled to celebrate oregon's 153rd birthday this year, i'd like to propose an alternative: galentine's day!

okay, so i wanted to call it "palentine's day" because it should be about all your pals, not just the gals...but apparently "palentine" is not really the right word to use in this situation...

the thing is, i don't really mind the aesthetic of valentine's day - i love pink and red. i love cute things, cards, hearts, crafts, and baked delights. it's just the message behind it all that i really dread.

so now, let's reclaim the things we love about february 14th without all that other stuff. ready? galentine's day, 2012...here we go:

make some beautiful cards, like skinny laminx:

from design sponge

or hand-painted, per the direction of designsponge:

from design sponge

or something like this, done on paint cards (as seen on casa sugar):

from casa sugar

bake some delicious sweets, like these red velvet woopie pies:

annieseats.com

try your hand at COOKIE MOLDS (if these aren't the coolest things i've ever seen, then i don't know what to tell you):

from the bakerella

or throw out the hearts, ditch the pink (blasphemy!) and the baked goods. grab the most wonderful people you know (romantically or platonically), and have a really great adventure.

what are you going to do this galentine's day?

nailed it

hello cherry amours!

so i, like many others in the interweb world, am slightly addicted to pinterest (this is not a cute way of saying i'm obsessed...i really am only slightly addicted). over the break, i decided i would attempt to make some of the cute and fun things i saw on that website. now that the holiday season is over, i would like to share with you all the pinterest adventures i went on. usually, my crafting adventures are more like this:

which is to say that they're awesome.

let's divide these adventures into baking and not baking. tutorials are linked to each project.

first...not baking!

fabric key chains:

anna and i tackled these during our crafy day. i started them with the intention of making one for every person on winter camp staff. i made this one and stopped. it was hard. 

camera strap cover

somehow theirs just looks so much more crisp! how? tell me your secrets, design sponge.

and now...baking things!

hot cocoa cookies

i made these with dear friends jeff and emily. i'm convinced ours would have looked just as good if i had split one in half and let you see all the gooey delicious-ness inside. you'll just have to trust me, though. they were amazing.

candy cane cookies

(i don't have a link for this...let me know if you want the recipe!)

these were delicious, but a little more crumbly than i would have liked. another recipe i found calls for brownie mix instead of cocoa powder, and that sounds way better. if anyone tries that before i get to it, let me know how it goes.

and lastly...

orange (and lemon) slice jello shots!

we tried these beauties for new years. as you can see, colleen, illustrious author of running and then blogging about it, approves. there was a little bit of adventure involved - using champagne instead of vodka, putting ice cubes in the jello to set it faster, setting the jello outside because it was colder than a refrigerator. but in the end, with a keen eye and a sharp knife (really important, it worked out very well! we did orange champagne jello in the orange slices and raspberry champagne jello in the lemon slices. let's take a closer look...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. and no disposable cups, so they're eco-friendly too!

kristen was instrumental to the slice-cutting process. without her steady hand, the project might not have been so successful. we had more jello than oranges, so we put the rest in cupcake tins for fun little jello mounds.

if you ask me, these projects were highly fantastic. i pronounce myself (and all of my friends who helped with these projects)...pinterest master! now that school has started i doubt i'll have time for many crafty adventures like this...but if i do, i'll send them along.

bisoux!

quick pretty things

i love shopping for christmas presents, i really do. but while i was out shopping for other people, i happened to find a lot of things that i really liked. don't worry - with the exception of the owl wallet, i was able to restrain myself. but i still thought i'd quickly post some of my favorite things i saw while out and about...

and now, a few quick pretty things that caught my eye today:

chrysanthemum vase. i love the color combination of aqua and orange, and the pop-art feel of the flower.

anthropologie.com

penguin books postcards. i would love these for decorating, and for sending!

anthropologie.com

this is kind of a must-have for me, since puffins are my favorite bird. love it. covet.

anthropologie.com

 these plates seem like the perfect intermediary between adult plates and fun plates.

anthropologie.com

 a pop-up book of the little prince!!! can you believe it?? almost as good as my illustrated copy of the life of pi.

all over the internet

 coeur de pirate's second cd (blonde) came out november and i completely missed it. check it out and listen to some tracks..

while we're talking about french things, i also found out today that they made a movie of one of my favorite books. i am a little worried that the movie poster says "freely inspired by the elegance of the hedgehog," however, i still want to see it. watch the trailer!

reusable produce bags! these i really need and want for my farmers market trips. and let's face it, i probably won't make them on my own. 

papersource.com

paper source's annual calendar is always beautiful.

papersource.com

 and finally, the one non-gift thing i did let myself purchase: a new wallet with a lyric from one of my favorite songs! heaven.

papersource.com

the end. merry merry!

tote notes

friends, i bring sad tidings. my beloved and incredibly fabulous orange tote bag which i got at my step-brother's wedding has gone the way of all the earth. and since my only remaining powell's bag is stuffed full of rock climbing gear, it's time for a new tote. here are three etsy shops with promising options, all of which are $20 or less:

1. idiopix

i was sold on this shop when i saw the categories by which it was organized: anatomy, asian/orient, floral/birds, sealife/animal. etc. and yes, they make more than just octopi totes. i'm a sucker for the cephalopods. ba-doom ching.

2. squarepaisley design

fact 1: i will be referencing not one, but two different etsy shops with "paisley" in the title. fact 2: these totes are delightful. i particularly like the hedgehog. fact 3. this shop also makes insanely charming (and quite inexpensive) onesies, so friends-with-babies and friends-with-friends-with-babies, take note.

3. paisley magic

mustaches are awesomely silly. peacocks and giraffes are just plain awesome.

4. topshop bonus!

friends, i regret to say that this final tote is no longer in stock. however, i present it to you anyway because it is just that wonderful (and who knows... maybe it'll come back).

cheers, loves. happy toting.

ephemeral bad-assery

hullo loves! i've had this post in my back pocket for a while now, and I'm really excited to share. some of you have probably seen this already, since it's been making the internet rounds, but if you haven't, then you need to. the end.

so i do not have a tattoo. i expect that i will never get a tattoo. while i've seen some i really loved (for example, see maggie gyllenhal in stranger than fiction), i'm just not that interested in something that permanent.

my marriage excluded. obviously.

anyway, even though i'm not interested in a permanent tat (are we still calling them tats? were we ever calling them tats?), i have a deep, nostalgic affection for temporary tattoos; as a kid, nothing in my sweet little wholesome life felt more vaguely illicit. so i was thrilled when i followed a link to tattly, a shop that excusively offers what it has termed "designy temporary tattoos." the best part? they're super cheap, with $5 buying you a set of two delightfully quirky, often colorful, pieces of ephemeral bad-assery. in the words of my dear friend, kathayoon, "let's browse:"

i would put the camera on my shoulder blade.

octopus tramp stamp!

rocket man would go on my shoulder.

kitchen utensils obviously need to go on ankles and feet and other sharpish places.

delightful, yes? and no, by the way: i have not actually bought one of these yet. but when i do, it will probably be this guy, because i like the way it seems both vaguely sleazy and comfortingly bookish.

which one would you wear where?

cheers, loves.