We had a great Tuesday! After a quick run (with my buddy on his bike) through the park and Arbor Theatre, we spent the afternoon with three other moms and their kids at the beach. Independence Grove was simply gorgeous: lots to do and see, and we only covered eating at the cafe, the beach and the brand new play area. The kicker for me was the $5 chair-and-umbrella rental. All shade, all the time. Beautiful! Next time, we’re going back to rent a paddle boat, and perhaps finish with early dinner and a hike, or maybe we’ll take in a Tuesday night concert ….Now for the odds-n-ends: Design*Sponge featured a link to a very cool artist’s site. Check out Francis A. Viva. Love the quirky lettering …. if you like what you see, I suggest you take the next step and check out his blog (underdesign.blogspot.com). My favorite? the “Packets of Pleasure” post.
Then it’s over to See Jane Work (great name, huh?) which is having a sale. I can personally recommend the pen and pencil set from Acme, and the Sesame Letterpress File Folders. I may be picking up another set of those folders ….Enjoy your Wednesday!
We are in the midst of spectacular summer weather. This is how the sky looks this morning from underneath our maple tree – clear, blue, full of promise …. I think we’re off to the Forest Preserve around lunchtime. A little swimming, a little sand, a little lunch …..But first, I have another great procrastinated post to share with you. One of my favorite things is mail, and cute mail trumps junk mail every day. For some of the cutest mail ideas ever, check out Pod Post’s site. (Is that not the best picture?) Marvel over the adorable stamps, pins, mail accessories in the photo for a bit. Then click on through to the site’s shop. Pod Post sells Merit Badges for Bookbinding, Zine Making, and Letterpress (swoon). Hmmmm, I think I would have been the best girl scout ever if there were badges for magazines, and letter writing. But my current shop favorite is the vintage stamped envelopes with cards. I have yet to find a source for vintage stamps where I can go and see them, and study them, but I have a cousin who always seems to find the perfect arrangement of vintage stamps for her correspondence. She could be an honorary Pod Post-er. I will continue to cheat and buy pre-stamped envelopes …. Learn more about Pod Post at their website – I think they’re awesome!
If you have a great vintage stamp source, I’d love to hear about it …..
Here we go: the first Monday of summer vacation. No activities scheduled this week, and fine weather forecast (80s and sun), so hopefully we’ll get outside and enjoy. We had a busy weekend: the last soccer game of the year (followed by ice cream), a run, a bike ride to visit a friend for her birthday, making dinner and eating it outdoors (yea!), an after-dinner walk …. pretty sublime, I’d say.
As I write this, I’m noticing that my desk is a total mess, and I can’t find most of my scribblings reminding me of great blog inspirations. Guess it’ll be another Monday of cleaning up/clearing out the paper stacks ….I did find a cool paper clip, while flipping through the new Time Out Chicago that I picked up for its Milwaukee Road Trip recs. You should see Talk Bubble’s nifty clips (available at Quincy Shop) – they look like dialogue balloons ….. so cool, and a fun way to liven up that old paper clip. I’m always in search of new office supply goodies.
When you’re done admiring cute clips, click on over to Kate Spade’s studio site for the downloadable & oh-so-adorable book covers. (Under summer reading/downloads.) It’s an easy project, complete with instructions, that will make your summer reading tres chic! I think my favorite cover is #1, but there are three versions to choose from.I’m off to clean and organize, and try to figure out which smoke detector is beeping …. oh, and get outside ….See you tomorrow!
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Here we go …. the first full day of summer vacation …. I’m looking forward to some fun field trips; exploring Chicago with my “buddy” (with some down-time for Solitaire, of course).
Here are the Five:
- 100-mile diet
- it was a good day
- cupcakes
- untitled
- Pizza night!
We finish up soccer this weekend (for the season), so for the balance of June we’re a one-sport family, and that sport is baseball. Hope your weekend is full of fun. See you Monday!
Raise your hand if you rely more on the computer these days than the television. Okay, hands down. I am definitely one of the “hands up” people. Here’s why: I love that I am immediately connected with people I ordinarily wouldn’t get the chance to meet …. and I am much richer for “knowing” them. (who knew there were so many other magazine and letterpress and cupcake junkies out there?) Just reading a few of my favorite blogs each day (and scanning Flickr) gives me the chance to take a “virtual” coffee break.Then there are the discoveries that make you go “wow”. For example, Martha Moments. Currently, it’s a blog, started in March 2006 by Andrew Ritchie, that keeps you up to date on the latest Martha news. But this summer, watch out. Martha Moments the website launches. Why am I so excited? One of the first guides to be featured is a 37-page guide (compiled by Kenn Sheats, another contributor) covering the history of Martha By Mail, including each and every catalog cover. I have recently been longing for a lot of the old MBM merchandise. I needed a boot tray this winter, and the black one we purchased, although perfectly serviceable, paled in comparison to the Martha Green enamel one I pictured in my head. Plus, do you remember the ribbons, the cookie decorating kits, the holiday accessories? ….. I wish MBM hadn’t closed. This guide will save me from spending $$$$ on a MBM catalog from eBay. (Yes, I’ve considered paying around $20 for an old catalog.) Visit the blog, and see if you don’t also end up bookmarking the Martha Moments site. Enjoy! (How did I find this site? By obsessively searching for Martha By Mail information, of course.)
pictured above is the water bar at my Pilates studio …. the flavor in front is lemon & mint ….
