Pinning!

A board for the boho bride-to-be; you can check it out right here.

DVF love

Currently loving all of these Diane von Furstenberg spring accessories,
especially the fun patterned i-phone case!

These pop-y yet beachy items are especially appropriate for me today
since we're heading to the Miami area for a (very) short getaway
tomorrow, yippee.

Namaste

Yesterday, I attended the Yoga Journal NYC Conference - what a blast! I'm all
stretched out, a little sore, and feeling focused and present to start the week.
At least, as focused as possible when juggling multiple projects, tax deadlines, etc...

Being there reminded me that the key word is "practice": even 10 or 15 minutes
per day of yoga can give you great physical and mental health benefits. Take the
time to stop, focus on your breath, stretch, check in with you body and step away
from the daily narrative we're constantly creating in our head; it's so worth it.

Of course, I proudly wore the conference t-shirt, that I designed! Fun to see other
people wearing it too. You can see my collection of yoga-related goods in the shop.

Westward Bound

We're planning a big summer trip westward, flying into Arizona and winding
our way through Utah and Colorado. I can't wait. It will be a very refreshing
change of pace after the craziness leading up to the Stationery Show in May,
plus the big open skies and starry nights will be a nice contrast to our usual big-
city scenery. First stop on our trip, the Grand Canyon!

Okay, so this poster is actually for the Disneyland version of the Grand Canyon -
a bizarro idea from Disney & co., if you ask me - but I love the mid-century
mod style and lavendar + muted mint color palette.

I'm pinning! Slowly but surely starting to build some fun inspiration boards. Join me on Pinterest :)

SALE - this week only!

We're doing a little house-cleaning! Everything in the etsy shop is on sale through Friday.
It's a great time to stock up on letterpress birthday cards, thank you notes, art prints & more.
Get 20% off your order - Simply click "Apply shop coupon code" before checkout
and enter "SpringClean" in the coupon code field. Happy Shopping!

Trendy Awards Finalist

Guess what? Our "Bonjour Bébé" card is a Trendy Awards finalist, one of 10 finalists in the greeting card category! So excited to get this wonderful news.

The Trendys are sponsored by Stationery Trends magazine, and the finalists are determined by votes from retailers and designers alike. One of the best things about the Trendys is that all finalist products are displayed in a small exhibition as you enter the National Stationery Show at the Javitz Center - so for a little guy like me, it's huge exposure!

The second round of voting begins soon; you can learn more right here.

One Love.

Came across this pic in my iPhoto files and thought I'd share it for a little friday-love! Made this sweet & simple collage for my friends Christy and JD's wedding - they asked everyone to decorate the back of their RSVP cards, so this was our contribution. They had a blast seeing what each guest wrote and drew. Such a great idea!

Emily's Homemade

Hmmm, the posts seem to have a food theme this week - not sure why that is, but I just had to share this with you. Last week my husband came home from the store with a six-piece package of Emily's Homemade sea salt chocolate chip cookies (pictured above). They were literally the best chocolate chip cookies EVER. The giant chocolate chunks, chewy cookie and sprinkling of salty bits - amazing!

It took all of our willpower to stretch those six cookies out over three days. I like my choco cookies a little bit on the warm side, and I'm not sure if this is a faux-pas in the baking world, but I like to microwave mine for about 10 seconds so the chocolate gets just a little bit melty.... mmmm. FYI, we bought our cookies at Union Market; they are available at Dean & DeLuca and other Brooklyn locations too so if you see some, pick them up - you won't regret it (but possibly your waistband will).

Healthy lunch!

In heavy rotation on this week's lunch menu, this cauliflower soup recipe adapted from
the latest issue of Everyday Food, pictured above. Unfortunately, I could not find the
recipe online so here's a closeup below:

As usual, I made a few modifications - I didn't sauté the cauliflower for as long as
the recipe specified because I didn't want the onions to burn. The cauliflower cooks
plenty as it simmers in the broth so sautéing them just for a few minutes to get some
color and flavor seemed adequate to me.

Also, I only used about a third of the butter the recipe called for, along with a drizzle
of olive oil, for sautéing.

Lastly, when the cauliflower was about halfway done simmering, I added a can of
(drained, rinsed) cannellini beans to the broth mixture for protein. Gotta have some
protein for a filling lunch.

I have a stick blender that I just love for making blended soups and smoothies -
with my knack for spilling, pouring boiling hot soup into a full-size blender is just
not a good idea.

And the results: delicious! I highly recommend this easy healthy recipe;
let me know if you try it.

Spring shopping, in my mind

I've been sort of obsessed with Fendi's oversize Daisy clutch ever since
I saw it in a magazine - inspired by traditional African folk art, it features
some pretty stunning beadwork and a colorful, funky trim. Even though
it's definitely beyond my budget, I think it would be great paired with a
simple black or white dress for summer. Sure would glam up a fitted
white tee and jeans too.

Busy, busy!

This is the time of year when I'm furiously working, creating and honing in on new designs
to be debuted at the National Stationery Show in May. Well, I pretty much always have some
new ideas in the hopper - many start out as a quick sketch, done here and there, on the subway,
on a napkin, etc. Or I might just pull a few color swatches or write down a pattern idea I'd like
to try. Eventually I collect all of these bits and go back and develop them as NSS draws closer.

I'm getting close to my self-imposed design deadline, and it hasn't left me much time for
blogging! I can't WAIT to share the new products with you all in the months ahead -
stay tuned...

Above, a sneak peek of some watercolor roses I'm playing with.