simplepretty

Emily from Orange Beautiful tagged me this morning. The rules? Name 8 facts or habits about myself. I’ve got my eight:

1. I am deathly afraid of flying. The week before we leave, I freak. Crazy sub-fact: when we fly from Boston to Nantucket on a tiny little 7 seater, I am not afraid. Go figure.
2. I write little snippets about each day into my planner/calendar, which becomes my diary …
3. I must finish the Sudoku in the newspaper each morning. Bonus points for finishing the NYTimes crossword.
4. I can play piano by ear (freakish, I know) but hate to “perform”.
5. I am a recycling nut who will bring home stuff from vacation to recycle.
6. I must buy my favorite magazines the day they hit the stands – and I know when that day is …. (thanks, R, for being my willing accomplice!)
7. I run 3-4-5 miles on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and have since college, which trust me, was a long time ago.
8. I got engaged to my husband 17 years ago today, sitting in the park along Boston Harbor. We had been dating for four months and two days …

Thanks, Emily! I tag Louise, Liz, Megan, Jessica, Chelsea, Shari, Marta, and Karen …..

Seems that the planets are aligning. Lots of my favorite artists are updating their shops today or tomorrow. Since it’s going to be in the 90s for the foreseeable future here in Chicago, I’ll have plenty of time to check them out. (90s + me = inside)

Here’s your shopping list:

1. 1. simply photo :updated now: new “naturals” postcard sets + other lovely photography
   2. bara:update 7/31: new “oceanside” clothing + children’s clothing
   3. uniform studio: update today?*: summer into fall clothing collection
   4. YES press :updated 8/1: letterpress postcards – single or subscription
   5. Shanna Murray :updated 8/1: trust me – check it out …
   6. unnamed new letterpress site that is coming 8/1 and that’s all I know at this point – stay tuned ……

Have fun shopping! See you tomorrow!

*site says update to come at end of July …..

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Happy Monday. I spent the weekend doing “stuff”. Like making blueberry muffins on Saturday. We had so many blueberries that I had to do something with them, and this seemed like the tastiest solution. (Also, it justified buying the Williams-Sonoma Kid’s Cookbook a few years back.) Not bad, huh? Saturday night, we said our farewells to a family in the neighborhood that is moving to the Minneapolis suburbs. I rediscovered my love for black and tans, and confirmed my love of frosting. Therefore, on Sunday morning I went for a five mile run with my husband, whose pace is slightly faster than mine …..I also got to spend time on the phone with my internet provider. My problem? I would get kicked off every 3-5 minutes or so – when I could get on at all – and I know at least two other families had the same problem. But according to my provider, all was fine in the world except for me. They diagnosed it as a troubled modem, and scheduled a service call for Wednesday. (totally convenient to wait four days) Hmmmm, my modem has now “repaired” itself and seems to be doing just fine ….. but I’m keeping my fingers crossed all the same. This is why I hate to call in – I may as well talk to the wall.When I was able to browse, I found a couple of things to pass along. One is Broadway Paper’s new nautical-themed wedding ideas, worth a check if you’re needing any invitations, or just like pretty paper goods. I especially loved the save-the-dates, and the seating chart. I’m telling you, it’s a good thing that I live an hour away from Milwaukee, or I would be either a) broke or more likely, b) buried under a stack of paper – letterpressed paper.

Then, this morning, I was clicking through my Daily Candy’s when I saw the Baggu Bags entry for Los Angeles. (Yes, I read all of them except Miami.) These bags are genius, and cute, too! Don’t get me wrong, I love my basket, but since these pack down to a small square (5 by 5 inches)

they’re perfect to have in your purse, or pocket. Or to store in the car. I am so behind reducing the number of bags we accumulate without realizing – Baggu says that using one for a year replaces 300-700 disposable bags! I’m in. Order yours at baggubag.com. Happy Monday!

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Today is the second straight morning that we’ve woken up to rain, which I love. It’s such a nice way to ease into the day. (plus, no need to get out the hose later in the day to revive the hydrangeas!) If it lets up, we’ll head to the farmer’s market – we need more fruit salad components! If not, we’ll hunker down here.Here are the Five:

1. Sweetness
2. untitled
3. lemonade with mint
4. untitled
5. Oyster on Nantucket Sound 4:55pm

Have a wonderful weekend! Thanks to those who posted comments this week – it’s nice to hear from you …..

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Here I “am”. Sitting in my car at soccer practice – in July. It was such a fall scene to me, looking out over my dashboard, that it felt bittersweet. Even the sunlight seemed fall-like. Not yet! I’m not ready! But time marches on. At least I’m catching up on my This American Life podcasts. I’ve knocked off two this week so far, and my son has practice today and tomorrow. (I meant to bring my camera to take some Wednesday pictures, but forgot – so the above picture was taken with my iPhone.)Making good on my longing for better handwriting, I even worked in a little Spencerian script practice yesterday. Back-to-school always feels like a fresh start ….. don’t you agree? So perhaps it’s good to revisit the resolutions at this time of year. It’s certainly easier to eat healthy foods in August! There’s a terrific recipe in the latest Real Simple for fettucine with mozzarella, tomatoes, onions and olive oil. I could eat the marinated tomato mixture with a spoon. Wait, I did. You can find the recipe here. We’re entering tomato bounty season, and this is a great, not to mention extremely tasty, use for them.And speaking of recipes, one of my favorite cookbook authors is Susan Branch. I fell in love with her handwritten recipes, her lovely illustrations, and her view on life in general. How about the quote on her homepage by Leonard Cohen?

Ring the bells that still can ring/Forget your “perfect” offering/There is a crack, a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in … Susan’s website was updated this week with a story about a couple who visited her at her Martha’s Vineyard home. It’s called Pancakes. Read it – I hope you like it as much as I did.Have a great Thursday!

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