Happy holidays!! With all the pre-Christmas craziness here
at Fine Day Press, along with a bunch of (very fun) design
projects I hope to share with you soon, I've taken a short break
from blogging, as well as unplugging from email and twitter
for a couple of days. It's giving me a chance to clean up the
studio, rejuvenate my mind and body, and prepare for a great
creative year to come.

After a few wonderful days in California with family, my hubbie
has the week off, and we're enjoying some much-needed downtime
that includes watching lots of movies, cooking, and relaxing
around the house. I hope you and yours get the chance to savor
some pre-2012 moments too!

for my kitty peeps

Just a little something for all the cat-lovers out there - I love these
adorable handmade kitty Snuggle beds, and I am 100% certain
Harold and Luke would love them too.

Joss & Main

We're thrilled to be participating in an exclusive event with Joss & Main today and tomorrow only; if you're not a member of this site already (featuring well-selected furniture, home goods, stationery and artwork from great designers), you can sign up right here.

holiday to-do...

• Decorate with this colorful vintage sari garland




























• Hang these graphic screen-printed stockings




























• Crank up the heat and hang out in this "ugly christmas sweater" tee

Holiday Heads-Up

For all the NYC folks, come and join us at Littlefield on December 17th
for the Brooklyn Craft Central Holiday Market. I'm excited to be a part
of this market for the first time. There are going to be a bunch of really
great vendors, and you can pick up lots of nice gifties. We'll be selling
calendars, art prints, and, of course, cards.

breathing space

The upcoming holidays have me feeling a bit crazed; it's a busy - but good -
time of year for a stationery designer. Taking a moment to enjoy these stunning
varnish-on-canvas paintings by Dale Frank is just what I needed today. Enjoy!

It's on

Tomorrow we're having a SALE in the etsy shop in honor of
Small Business Saturday! To get the discount code, sign
up for the email list on the website, or like our facebook page.

Happy shopping!

Wishing you and your families a happy and homey Thanksgiving!

A Cozy Dinner

Last night, we made Tyler Florence's french onion soup recipe.
It was amazing! Sometimes, the best thing about french onion
soup is the cheese; surprisingly that wasn't the case here as the
crusty bubbly cheese was (almost) overshadowed by the rich,
creamy (but no cream!), incredibly warm and delicious soup.
Maybe it had to do with caramelizing the onions, low and slow,
for 30+ minutes, or the cup of tasty Pinot Noir added to the broth.

While we followed the recipe, a good thing about french onion
soup is that it can be easily transformed into a vegetarian of vegan
meal by switching up a few ingredients - veggie broth instead of
beef, soy cheese instead of Gruyere. Plus it's one of those recipes
that does not have a ton of hands-on time - you can leave it alone,
hanging out on the stove while you relax or tend to other things.
It was the perfect winter Sunday night dinner! Yum!

Photo via Gourmet.com

Coolest Couple Ever

What are you doing this weekend? If you live in NYC, you should
head to IFC Center to check out the new Eames documentary,
opening tomorrow. For a sneak peek, watch the trailer.

A full list of theaters and cities right here.

Tuesday Inspiration

Colorful, mod prints by the talented Linda Ketelhut.

Her work reminds me a bit of some of my fave artists/designers, Rex Ray and Orla Keily.

P.S. You can check out a design*sponge sneak peek of Linda's Austin, TX home right here.

Vintage Travel Posters

Wishing you could escape the office this Friday
for some exotic locale? Here's some colorful
vintage travel posters to fuel your fire...

Hand-Painted Perfection

OBSESSED with this hand-painted sign. I spotted it right here.

Recent Collage Fun

We had a wonderful weekend away visiting the amazing Storm King
Art Center, Woodstock and the Catskills. I'll be sharing some photos
soon! In the meantime, here's a look at some recent collage work.

Sometimes I make collages for no particular purpose; it serves to warm
up the creative muscles for actual projects (and often sparks a new idea,
or two, or three!) and it's just fun to cut up paper and get out the old
glue stick. While I'm always on the lookout for random bits of paper
ephemera for my collage cache, I usually have a stack of magazines
ready to go in the recycling bin at any given moment, and they serve
the purpose quite well.

Double-Birthday & DeKooning

My mom and I are going to see the DeKooning exhibit at MoMA on Friday
as part of our double-birthday outing (her birthday was on Tuesday, mine
is tomorrow!), and I couldn't resist a little sneak-peek on the exhibition site.

The colors and compositions are stunning; I can't wait to see all the work
in person. And I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday than art +
lunch with my mom. My hubbie and I will be driving upstate on Saturday
morning for a short birthday-slash-anniversary getaway - it's a very
celebratory time of year over here!

Super Awesome

As you may have already figured out, I have a penchant for stripes,
rainbows, patterns and colorful, happy modernism -- so it's no wonder
that I am totally gaga for these super simple abstract polaroids
(the one immediately below, at right, is aptly named "Super Awesome)
by Grant Hamilton. LOVE.

Happy Halloween

Instead of doing any laborious and messy pumpkin carving this year, I got three small pumpkins and painted them in a white wash, for a cool minimal centerpiece.

Jan over at Poppytalk has a fun feature on painted pumpkins too.

Of course, all this pumpkin covering gave me an idea for next year: glitter pumpkins! Would look great on a white tabletop with lots of tea candles.

Hope you all have a happy and festive Halloween!

It's a rainy day

On this dreary rainy NYC fall day, I'm thinking of ... macaroons. The pastel palette is a nice counterpoint to autumn's grays and browns, no? Below, top right fashion shot is Philip Lim, via New York magazine; bottom left, j.crew.

P.S. Have you been to the Ladurée website? It's so freaking cute.

A Shot to the Heart

Loving these bold new arrow and bow necklaces by Brooklyn-based studio
Digby and Iona. They manage to be romantic without venturing anywhere
near sappy or sweet.

Celebrating the Love

It's Friday, and I'm in a celebratory mood! I'm happy to share with you some fabulous, festive photos from last weekend's wedding ceremony, taken by the lovely Joy.

These pics really capture the magical ambiance of the occasion. Thanks, Joy, for sharing them!

Hand-painted signs by designer & friend Amy Gorrek.

Simplicity 101

I love these elegant and understated stationery sets by stripe and field. Restraint is a good thing.

Magical Weekend

Last weekend, we celebrated the marriage of my very dear friends
Christy Briggs and James Carter! The ceremony was held outdoors
in beautiful Sherman, Connecticut, right by the water surrounded
by fall foliage. Christy and J.D. are such a special couple, and it was
evident how loved they are by all the wonderful friends and family
who paid tribute to them this weekend.

Whether it was designing the pavilion decor (my friend Amy),
performing the ceremony, giving a reading or a song (the uber-talented
Maya Azucena), or participating in the hilarious and awesome flash-mob
style tribute to the bride (coordinated and choreographed by the groom
himself) - everyone brought so much love and energy to this event.

I'm holding my breath in anticipation of the sure-to-be-stunning pictures
taken by photographer Pat Furey.

We spent the day after the ceremony at a laid-back barbeque at the
bride's parent's home; I can't think of a better way to end the weekend!

Photo above of Candlewood Lake, Sherman, CT by the lovely Miss Cheryl Zibisky.

A breath of fresh color

Loving these pastels by Jennifer Gardner. I came across her large-scale pieces at an art show in Connecticut, and was blow away by the rich bright pigments that seem to glow on the canvas.

A Very Special Occasion

I'm so excited to share a really special recent project with you. We recently had the opportunity to design wedding invitations for our dear friends, Rob and Katherine. The invitation design is inspired by the couple's love of hiking - in fact, Rob proposed to Katherine while they were hiking in the romantic English countryside.

The invitation suite is simple and elegant, and evokes the wedding palette of charcoal gray with a fresh outdoorsy green. The envelope is jazzed up with a custom-made stamp and pretty striped washi tape.

The couple had a stunningly beautiful ceremony in the hill country outside Austin, Texas (below). It was my first visit to the area and I'm totally smitten! We were so honored to be a part of our friends' special day.
































Note: Wedding photos by Jeana Costa.