Happy Everything!

Dear readers:

This is my last post of 2010. For the first time since I've been in business, I'm taking the week in between Christmas and New Year's off. I'll be checking email, I'll definitely be on Twitter (OMG. Seriously? Do you not follow me on Twitter yet? What are you waiting for??), heck, I'll probably do a little catching up. But the lights will definitely be dimmed, the pace much, MUCH slower.

When I come back in 2011 (January 2nd, bitches!), things may look a bit different. After years of toying with a redesign, I'm finally biting the bullet and starting off the new year with a whole new look. I can't wait to see what you guys think...

In the meantime, thanks for coming along for the ride thus far. I hope it'll be that much more fun this coming year. If anything, It will look great (well, at least I think so!).

Happy holidays to you and yours; and happy happy, happiest new year! I'll catch you on the flipside!

--Tracie

Let's be blunt

Um... I'm not sure who came up with Blunt Card, but anyone who puts "Nothing for you, whore" on a Christmas card has an excellent sense of humor and is OK in my book.

Initial this

OMG you guys. Have you still not bought Christmas presents?? What on earth are you waiting for???

Christmas is days away--days, I tell you!--and time is running out. There are a million bazillion gift guides out there, but if you're truly looking for something personal, might I suggest the monogrammed gift.

As I stated yesterday, I am a prepster at heart. Couple that with the fact that I love me some type; and--according to me, anyway--monograms are the perfect gift.

Design*sponge--a favorite design inspiration--put together a fantastic monogram gift guide. From mirrored coasters, the a fabulous Jonathan Adler pillow, to wood-cut letters, to doormats; it's all there.

I'll take one of each.

Color of the year!

I love the idea behind a color of the year. The problem with me is, I have such a short attention span, I'd be sick of it by, say, April.

OK, March.

Pantone's color of the year for 2010 was turquoise. It's a great, happy color; evoking imagery of beaches and tropics. It's so happy, that I can't think of one depressing thing about turquoise (because to me, beaches and tropics = happy. AmIrite?)

For 2011's color of the year, Pantone stayed in the "happy" range...



Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Honeysuckle.

First: love the name. Honeysuckle. That's got me thinking of springtime and hummingbirds. And--you guessed it--springtime and hummingbirds = happy (oh for real. Find me a depressing hummingbird--I dare you).

Second: it's pink! I love pink!

Now, I have heard the Pepto chatter around the interwebs, and yes, I can see it. Actually, it took me a long time to come around to the color pink--when we first bought our house almost 10 years ago, 90% of the first floor was Pepto-pink. It was atrocious.

But I put all of that behind me and have come to embrace pink. And I am definitely embracing Honeysuckle. Let's look at the possibilities, shall we?


One of my all-time favorite color combos: pink and green (Hey, I grew up in Connecticut. In the EIGHTIES. It's in my blood).


Mmmmmm... love the thought of pink and navy (and if you're still questioning me, see above).


Love, love, love pink and orange (as client/friend Jill from Glow Gluten Free can attest).


I love the retro/vintage feel this combo evokes. That's it--I need to find some clothes in these colors, stat.


And finally, who doesn't love pink, together with more pink? I can recall pages from my childhood coloring books, where these 2 colors--which I think translate to Crayola Salmon and Red-Violet--were incredibly dominant.

Don't like pink? Better luck next year, sucka. Or, you know, you can hold on to turquoise. But that is SO last year.

Wait--Christmas is in HOW many days??

Answer me this, universe: how on EARTH is it Thursday already??! Wait, nevermind the fact that it's Thursday, let's discuss how it became Thursday, December 9! Just yesterday was October--am I right? Then--blink--there's a mere 16 days till Christmas; and I'm all, PANIC!

Let's see where I'm at:

Holiday cards: Check to the check. Unlike most people, I love, love, love sending (and receiving--but who doesn't love getting them?) cards. Mine are almost always ordered Thanksgiving weekend so I can get them out early on and say I actually accomplished something.

Presents: Oh, this is the season for GIVING? Like, as in presents?? Um, yeah. You can probably see where I am going with this. The children, for the most part, are done (and really, they're the ones who really count). Everyone else? Let's just say I'm VERY aware of all those ship-by-Christmas dates.

Baking: None. Zip. Zero. Zilch. I haven't baked a blessed thing yet this year. I enjoy baking, I find it very therapeutic. It's also something I love to do with the kids. However, now that both Mattio and I work from home, it's getting harder and harder to find people who want 17 different kinds of cookies. Maybe we'll just make a few of our favorite kinds--but at this point it's safe to say we're not going crazy.

Movie-watching: This is another big tradition in our house. We love the holiday movies--and usually snuggle up on the couch every Saturday night with a different holiday-themed movie to watch. This year is no exception--we've already seen Elf a number of times, a bizarre version of Rudolph via Netflix (which will be fixed this afternoon, as I just went and bought the REAL Rudolph on DVD), The Santa Claus, Frosty, Frosty Returns... And of course, Christmas Vacation (sans kids).

Decorating: Tree is up. Stockings hung. Advent calendar out and filled with candy. The end.

So I guess I'm not doing so bad after all... it certainly could be worse. Now if you'll excuse me, I have presents to order...

Friday LOLs

I know he's a dictator and all, but Kim Jong Il looking at things? Pretty effing funny.

It's my party... (well, not really MY party)

OK. First things first. How on earth do I get myself on the invite list to THIS party?



Ignore the fact that it already happened... This sounds fabulous! Even more fabulous is the design*sponge bag that came out of it:



Adorbs. As are many of the other bags...



Yup. I definitely need to get myself to a party like this one.

2010 gift guide

DECEMBER IS HERE! DECEMBER IS HERE!

The all caps are a combination of unbelievable excitement (!!!) and just a hint of OHMYGODCHRISTMASIS24DAYSAWAY. Just a hint.

Anywho, the holidays are coming up, whether we like it or not (Hanukkah starts TODAY), and there are pa-lenty of gifts to be given. And my gift to you, dear readers, is my annual gift guide. Just some things I've seen that I think are pretty cool, for designers and non-designers alike.

First off, a gift for designers and type lovers: a type memory game!

As you play, you increasingly recognize what are often very subtle differences between the letters and more about the details of the letter types. They become progressively easier to recognize and distinguish from one another.

For the fancy man in your life: Ampersand cufflinks (I say fancy, because fancy men wear cufflinks).



For all the Mad Men obsessed, there's Mad Men: The Illustrated World. I love the vintage look and feel (illustrated by Dyna Moe, the talent behind the Mad Men Yourself avatars). This book is definitely on my list.



Think Geek is always a great place for fun, nerdy holiday gifts... well, because that's what they do: fun and nerdy. These App Magnets are no exception.



OK, I know nobody really wants a trash bin for Christmas--but this one's really cool (it won the Red Dot designer award in 2006. It is an AWARD-WINNING trash bin).



Finally, the 8-bit oven mitt, again from Think Geek. I love this--I saw it and immediately thought of Mattio making pizza. Don't tell him, but I might have to get it for him :)



Just a few things that caught my eye this year... happy shopping, and happy, happy gifting!