Yea or nay--I'm going with nay

Last night, I got to see small town bureaucracy at work, firsthand. First of all, let me just say that--sweet Mother of God--it takes an awfully long time to get one thing done!

Last night was our town's Representative Town Meeting (RTM), and I wanted to go because A) I was invited, and B) they were discussing the town budget, of which the school budget falls into--with 2 children in public schools, and one on her way, I kind of have a vested interest.

Well, the first item on the agenda was not the town budget. It was a $2+ million dollar something or other (hey, it was a long meeting, and there were an awful lot of numbers involved. Bear with me here) that involved funding to update bathrooms at an elementary school, update a cafeteria at another elementary school, and paving, among (many, many, many) other things. Oh yeah, funding for a girl's softball field was lumped in there as well.

So, first things first: they opened the floor up for member comments. The final RTM comment was by a rep who felt this issue should be delayed until their next meeting (so she could gather more information). Problem was, things like asphalt paving, and school issues are time sensitive, and really can't wait another month. So, let's have some member comment on waiting.

Comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment.

OK, now let's have some public comment on waiting.

Comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment.

Now, we vote. Oh wait, it sounds too close; let's do a roll call vote. What's that? The roll call vote is too close? Ya know what? We should have a caucus about this. Cue all 50+ RTM members leaving the room to talk about it. 10 minutes later, they're back, voting again.

Lucky for us--I think--they voted not to wait. So let's talk about issue #1 of issue #1 (remember, it's bathrooms, cafeteria, paving, a bunch of other stuff, and softball fields). Since there were many young softball players at the meeting, and we're already an hour into a meeting that started at 8pm, that was issue #1 (of issue #1--are you following?).

RTM comments: Comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment (these are our reps making an argument for or against the proposed $400,000 field).

Public comment: Comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment x about 30. No kidding--people are really either vehemently for, or opposed to this field.

RTM comments about the public comments: Comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment, comment. The last comment actually ended with a poem the rep wrote while the public was making comments. Are you kidding me??!

OK, let's vote. Oh wait, let's do a roll call vote again. Permission to allocate $400,000 for a girl's softball field denied, 30-19.

Next issue: asphalt (issue #2 of issue #1).

OK, by now it's 10:30. It took 2.5 hours to go over this one issue. Now I'm pretty sure that people are not as passionate about paving as they are about softball, but I wasn't leaving that up to chance. I got up and left. And glad that I did--because according to sources, the whole shabang ended at 2AM.

So that's it; that's my foray into small town politics. I have no idea what happened with the town budget, I just hope that my being there (along with many, many other parents and educators) had an impact. Lord knows this meeting had an impact on me.

OMG--how cute is this?

Via Swiss Miss, a new take on making a baby:



Adorable!

Happy Earth Day!

Here in Fairfield, we actually have an Earth Day Festival that takes place a few weeks after the actual, official Earth Day. I am on the festival's committee, and have been spending a lot of time recently putting together a guidebook of exhibitors, as well as "green" tips, recipes, and articles. Actually, I think it's rather appropriate that today is the day that the files are going to the printer.

In our little guidebook, there's a bunch of little factoids dispersed throughout. In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would share some with you. Many thanks to the talented Lauren Bove, who pulled all of this information together for me:

If the U.S. average miles per gallon of all automobiles was brought to 35 mpg, it would reduce global warming pollution and save more than 1.1 million barrels of oil each day or half of what the U.S. currently imports from the Persian Gulf.

Honda was rated the cleanest automaker by the biennial Automaker Rankings report from the Union of Concerned Scientists as of 8/27/08.

Chrysler was rated the dirtiest by the same agency.

Recycling saves energy: Creating a new aluminum can from scratch takes 95% more energy than making a can from recycled aluminum.

Energy Star notes that in the average home, 40% of all electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Across the US, this equals the annual output of 17 power plants.

Swapping 16 incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) saves emissions equivalent to taking a car off the road for a year.

Americans use about 385 million gallons of gasoline every day, which means more than a gallon of gasoline every day for every man, woman and child.

If every household in the United States replaced just one package of virgin fiber napkins with 100% recycled ones, we could save 1 million trees. (NRDC)

Since 1980, the earth has experienced 19 of its 20 hottest years on record, with 2005 and 1998 tied for the hottest and 2002 and 2003 coming in second and third. (NRDC)

The polar ice cap is now melting at the alarming rate of 9% per decade. NASA has reported Arctic ice thickness has almost halved since the 1960s.

Paper products are bleached to make them whiter and brighter. The chlorine used in many bleaching processes contributes to the formation of harmful chemicals that wind up in our air and water and are highly toxic to people and fish. (NRDC)

About one-sixth of the wood delivered to a construction site is never used. Instead, it's hauled to the landfill as wood waste scraps. (NRDC)

Half of the forests that originally covered 48% of the Earth's land surface are gone. Only 1/5th of the Earth's original forests remain pristine and undisturbed. (NRDC)

55% of our trash goes to landfills, 14% is burned, and 31% is recycled. (Energy Information Administration)

The U.S. uses nearly $1 million worth of energy every minute. (Energy Information Administration)

The removable roof rack on a car can reduce fuel economy by as much as 5%, states the EPA.

The National Recycling Coalition reports that recycling supports 1.1 million jobs in the U.S. (Energy Information Administration)

The average American generates 4.5 pounds of trash every day, which is almost twice the amount of trash the average American produced daily in 1960. (Energy Information Administration)

Some of these facts are just plain scary. I hope you join me in celebrating Earth Day today, by adopting some small changes to your everyday life that will hopefully, in the long run, make a difference. And if you're in or around Fairfield, CT on 5/9, stop by Fairfield Warde High School and join Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration!

Damn, those pants are square!

This commercial never ceases to make me smile, for many reasons. First of all, it's Baby Got Back. Whether you like the song or not, it should always, always put a smile on your face. Second? "Damn, those pants are square." Third, finally, is the end: Sir Mix a Lot sitting on the couch saying, "Booty is booty."

Brilliant. And a perfect Friday late afternoon pick me up.

Launched!

So... if you're one of my five regular readers, you may have noticed a gap in posts. Yeah... sorry about that. This little thing called work kept me pretty busy. The good news? I have something to show for it!

First up, Healing Barsanti, launched just last week:



The interior design firm Healing Barsanti also operates 2 retail stores (HB Home, one in Westport, and one in Greenwich), they wanted a site to combine the retail aspect, along with their incredibly gorgeous interiors. Mission accomplished!

Second--just launched today--Greenwich Dance Studio. Kate Truesdell needed a site that was going to work with her growing studio. The black background adds quite a dramatic flair, no?



So, sorry for the lack of recent posts... I'm going to have lots more to share in the next few weeks--as a matter of fact, I think I might just be kissing sleep and my weekends goodbye... I'm certainly not complaining (not in this economy!), but ya know... sleep is good.

With a last name like Valentino...

...it's almost as though Eleanor feels has to live up to her lineage. What wasn't captured was just how enthusiastically she was stuffing her face.





Oh, yeah... these last two pics? Yeah, she's actually mopping up extra sauce with her bread. I'm not quite sure if she was sucking up to my inlaws, or what; but if that was her goal, she succeeded.

Twitter madness

Last week I was approached by my pal Dave of ConnCreatives, and asked if I wanted my Twitter feeds to appear on the site. Uhhh.... yes? Problem is, some of my tweets were kind of personal; ya know, stuff about the kids (what? I can't help it that they say and do totally adorable and funny things!), life, ski weekends... stuff like that. Since this site is a creative one, Dave suggested opening a different twitter account and keeping it more business related.

So I did. Problem is, my old Twitter handle was traciedesigns; which is the name of my business. Of course I want that name to be associated with my business. So here's what I did: I changed my old, "personal" account to tracietoo. My shiny new "business" account is traciedesigns.

So we'll see how it goes... I really like Twitter, a lot, so I don't foresee a problem with having 2 accounts... for now (See? This is what happens when I attend social media events... I become a social media monster!). The site is now up and running, check it out here. I think it'll be pretty cool. In the meantime, feel free to follow both accounts... I'm interesting like that.

Type Wednesday

This morning I went looking for another gorgeous font to post today (before all hell broke loose--you don't want to know) and naturally I came up empty (sometimes a good font just has to find you, I guess).

However, the Periodic Table of Typefaces just landed in my inbox, courtesy of The Type Studio... so on we go, with this week's theme of fonts and type.



Hint: click anywhere on the image to zoom in. Click again to zoom back out. If I was in any mood whatsoever to talk about technology, I'd say yipee! But I've had my fair share technical issues today (I'm good for a while, actually)--referenced above: all hell breaking loose.

Type Tuesday

I feel like I am being spoon-fed gorgeous type this week... and you know what? I don't mind one bit. Today's beauty comes via the MyFonts blog (thanks to Jeff Fisher, via Twitter); ladies and gents, meet Memoriam:



Just a little FYI: any type that's described as "big, sexy, high-contrast curves" I am pretty much guaranteed to love. Yum, yum.

Monday morning fonts

Last night I was reading the Times Magazine, and, as usual, I stopped at William Safire's On Language. Truth be told, I usually skim the column (it's like, about words, and stuff), but I'm always interested to see the opening typographical treatment. This week's--by Daren Newman--was no disappointment:



So there you have it. Some pretty type to start off your week. You're welcome.

Just one hour

Make a statement about global warming and turn out your lights tomorrow night at 8:30! From the Earth Hour website:

World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions.

Our lights will be out tomorrow night--I hope yours will be as well!

Hanging with my creative peeps

I made this mental note to start blogging more... and then I get bogged down with work. I'm sorry I've temporarily fallen out of the blogosphere--I'm certainly not complaining about the work at all (quite the contrary, I'm happy to have it!), but it does take away from time I can devote to the blog.

The good news is, hopefully soon I'll have a fresh new crop of work to show off!

In the meantime, I did have some downtime last night, and made my way up to New Haven to hang out with some of other AIGA | CT peeps (including my pals from Elements, and my new friend Dave from ConnCreatives, among others) in an AIGA sponsored event, XTown (there was a simultaneous event up in Hartford for the northern half of the state). It was nice to get out, let loose, and mingle with other creatives. There's photographic evidence over at Elements--and by photographic, I mean, "Hold very still, my iphone doesn't have a flash." Hee hee.

Snapple: Hey, what the--?

I have to confess, it's been quite some time since I last enjoyed a Snapple. Any time I'm at faced with a decision that involves Snapple and something else, I almost always go for the something else (usually water--and not the flavored stuff, either).

But today, while picking up lunch at the corner sandwich shop, Snapple caught my eye: their packaging is completely different! Their logo is completely different! And, a little internet research later, it turns out that the ingredients are different, and therefore, the taste is different!



According to the dieline:

Snapple, the original new-age beverage, is undergoing the most significant makeover in its 37-year history...

“We want to ensure Snapple continues to be the Best Stuff on Earth,” said Bryan Mazur, vice president of marketing for Snapple. “These changes to the formula and packaging come with one goal in mind: deliver the same great product, just make it even better.”

... Snapple will retain its clever and light-hearted brand personality, but with a more premium, mature execution. Gone will be the old logo and packaging, replaced with a sleeker bottle and label design that speaks to its new formula.

I haven't heard much chatter about this, but then again--while the change is drastic for Snapple--it's not like they're pulling a Tropicana... or are they?

Upon first glance, the new bottle and label definitely evoke a feeling of happiness--it's much brighter and cleaner than the older packaging:



I can't say I'm really crazy about the logo, but it does fit in nicely with the new packaging--although I do think one of the things that stood out on the old packaging was the logo. I can't say anything for the taste, but anything that gets rid of the high-fructose corn syrup, and adds real sugar in it's place has got to taste better--right?

For nostalgia, here's an image of the Snapple packaging from the early 90s (because you know you drank it back then):



AND, for your viewing pleasure, an old Wendy the Snapple Lady commercial (because you know you loved these spots):



(PS How cute is that little kid's laugh?)

More fabulous color inspiration...

...this time from Tori Burch. Behold, the blues:



Oh fashion, how I heart you.

(Oh, and by the way? Hellooooooo, shoes!)

Spring into color

The weather is starting to be a little less harsh (50 degrees? I'll take it!). The crocuses have popped up, and I'm even starting to see the very beginnings of tulips starting to break through the dirt. And yesterday? I went skiing--sans jacket.

All of these things mean that spring is very well on it's way (hurray!). And what better way to welcome the new season with a gorgeous color palette--not unlike the one sent by J. Crew this morning:



Mmmmmmmm... Just what the doctor ordered for spring.

Message for John Mayer

OK, John... Here's the thing: I know you're running around with that Aniston chick, and--quite frankly--good for you! She's very pretty, talented, has a killer body, and is quite successful at her craft. Not to mention I'm sure she is a very lovely person. However--and maybe I'm wrong--she doesn't come across as the type (Ha ha! No pun intended) of person who's head over heels about fonts. Seriously? I really can't see her getting all giddy about "the world's most beautiful and feminine script font." I mean, has she even heard of Burgues Script?

See, John, this is what I think might have gone down: you share with her that you're not quite satisfied with the font on your blog; she nods her head in agreement, clearly distracted by something like, oh, I don't know, pilates or something (She's got to do it like, 18 hours a day to maintain her shape, right?). "Uh-huh, honey, sure... whatever you think," she says.

Now, had you had this conversation with me--I would have been all. over. that. "OMG!" I would have cried, "I am SO not digging that font either! I know a couple of GORGEOUS scripts that would work so. much. better! Let's go check out Veer--if we spend enough, we might be able to score the KERN sweatshirt as well!"

See the difference? I get a little excited about fonts; clearly you do as well. We should talk some more about this--perhaps someplace not as public as our blogs. Call me!

xo, Tracie

Isn't she lovely?

Last year, almost around this time, I began working on a very, very cool package design project for a client (yes, regular readers, it's the gluten free cookies--again). I was fortunate enough to work with Silver Creative in Norwalk, who actually did the hard work of speccing (is that even a word? It doesn't look like it when you type it out) the packaging--I got the cool job of designing it.

Long story short, I did a TON of research for this. I was buying cookies left and right (never mind eating them--and gaining about 5 pounds in the process); grocery shopping took forever because each new aisle brought a slew of new package potential. And forget about Whole Foods--the client's target demographic--I pretty much set up camp there. But the one place I didn't go, and I wish I had known about it then, was Lovely Package.





Mmmmmm... lovely is right. Gorgeous, gorgeous design--I'm definitely going to keep checking back on this site. Oh, and the pretty awesome sidebar? No weight gain involved!

(Thanks David Airey, via Twitter)

Unleash your inner Pollock (without the mess)

Ashlee discovered Jackson Pollock in elementary school; ever since then, she's been after me to recreate one of his paintings. My excuse was, once the weather gets warm, you can do it in the yard. Well, warm weather came and went, and she (and I) forgot all about it. But every once in a while, she'll be reminded of just how cool it would be to drip paint on a canvas; and on those occasions my answer is always the same: In the warmer weather, in the backyard.

Well now she doesn't have to wait. Discovered via a friend's status on Facebook, you can now unleash your inner abstract artist--very neatly, I might add:



Madeline and I made this one tonight--and, might I add, she (and I) just thought it was the. coolest. thing. ever. Go here to make your own--just drag your mouse across the screen, click to change colors.

And no having to wash the paint off your hands (or carpet!).

President Obama likes helping the economy, logos

When Obama was running for president, his campaign logo was one of the most different campaign logos in history. It was very graphic, and very well executed.

Now, as part of his stimulus package, the president has another logo:



According to the article, this logo will be stamped onto the projects funded by the stimulus package:

“We’re also making it easier for Americans to see what projects are being funded with their money as part of our recovery. So in the weeks to come, the signs denoting these projects are going to bear the new emblem of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” Obama said. “These emblems are symbols of our commitment to you, the American people -- a commitment to investing your tax dollars wisely, to put Americans to work doing the work that needs to be done. So when you see them on projects that your tax dollars made possible, let it be a reminder that our government -- your government -- is doing its part to put the economy back on the road of recovery.”

Designed by Chicago-based (duh) Mode Project, I have to say that I really like it--it's graphic, and yet, gets the message across. Well done. I'm not so crazy about the accompanying TIGER logo, but they can't all be winners, can they?

Saved by a meme

Sick kids are finally better (thank goodness!), so of course there was a snow day today. Thank goodness for Marcy and her meme...

What are your middle names?
Lynn and Richard. I'm not too sure where Lynn came from, but Mattio's named after his grandfather (first name) and father (middle name). Incidentally, one of his brothers is named after his father as well. His other brother was not named after anyone (that I know of--my mother in law is one of 11 after all), and his sister was named after his grandmother. I think it's safe to say that family names are a big tradition in his family.

How long have you been together?
We just passed the 12 year mark! The traditional 12 year gift is silk or linen. The modern gift is pearls. I didn't get either, but--quite frankly--that's just fine by me.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We met at a Super Bowl get together (I don't say party, because that would make it sound as though other people were there; it was Mattio, our hosts--his friend and the friend's girlfriend--my friend and me.

Who asked whom out?
He got my number through my friend, and asked me out. It was like, a million years after our Super Bowl meeting, though (Actually, I believe it was two weeks. But the running joke is that the time in between us meeting and his calling gets longer every time it comes up). Our first date, by the way, was a disaster. Yet here we are, 12 years later...

How old are you?
33/35. He was actually born a year before me, but his birthday is at the way beginning of the year, and mine is at the end. So for 10 months out of the year, he's 2 years older.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
We probably see our siblings about the same--maybe once a month, if that.

Which situation is hardest on you as a couple?
I think the fact that Mattio commutes is rough--I don't see him nearly as often as I would like to. But I think the most stressful aspect of our marriage is money; he's a saver and I'm a spender. We've both come around--A LOT, but it's still a sticking point.

Did you go to the same school?
No.

Are you from the same home town?
No. I was born and raised in Fairfield; he hails from Wallingford. Growing up in Fairfield, Wallingford meant one thing to me, and one thing only: the Oakdale theater. When I found out he was from Wallingford, that was the first thing I asked: "Isn't that where the Oakdale is?" I had no idea where Wallingford was, save for that theater.

Who is smarter?
I firmly believe that Mattio is way more book smart. I, however, am the street brains of this operation.

Nah, just kidding. I think that there are some things that Mattio is smart about, like computers, and boy stuff. And there are some things that I am smart about, like shoes and sales.

Who is the most sensitive?
By far and away, me.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Mattio and I are very much alike in that we like food, and we are unafraid to try new things and restaurants. Our standby is Quattro Pazzi in Fairfield. Good bar, great food.

Where is the furthest you have traveled together as a couple?
Unfortunately, we have not traveled much together, nevermind very far. I think our honeymoon in South Carolina is about the furthest we've gone together. One day we will make it to our intended honeymoon, in Tuscany.

Who has the craziest exes?
I know very, very little about Mattio's exes (which, quite frankly, is just fine by me). But even if I did, mine would still end up the craziest of the bunch.

Who has the worst temper?
I think that all depends on what we are mad about. I stomp my feet and slam doors and throw things if I am just. that. mad. So yeah, I guess that would be me, then. Nevermind!

Who does the most cooking?
Because I work at home, I am the reluctant chef in our family. But he is a way better cook--if we ate his food all the time I would have to spend the rest of the day working it off at the gym. It's so worth it, though.

Who is the most stubborn?
I think this title is best won by our children, who really have the two most stubborn parents around. Apparently, the stubborn gene just pushed the rest out of the way to become the most dominant gene. EVER.

Who hogs the bed most?
He would say me. And you know what? He'd be right. I am drawn to the middle of the bed like a moth to a flame.

Who does the laundry?
If it's football season, Mattio. The rest of the year I do it during the week, he helps out on the weekends.

Who’s better with the computer?
Remember the first question? About Mattio's middle name? I lied above--it's really computer nerd. But I say that with love.

Who drives when you are together?
He does the majority of driving (nothing puts me to sleep faster than being a passenger in a moving car), but every once in a while--especially if he's unsure of where we're going--I'll drive. His inner compass--how shall I say this politely?--is broken.

Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy

I saw this earlier this week on Swiss Miss... but my lag in posting is due to yet another child who was sick all week. Anyway, enjoy the (true!) rants of Louis CK--one of my favorite comedians.

Mark this

Chances are, you've seen a logo designed by Pentagram. Their impressive portfolio includes marks such as Citi, Saks, New York Magazine, Design Within Reach, Godiva... I could go on and on (and on. And on).

Their newest book, appropriately titled Marks, is out in the UK, and available for preorder here in the US. From Pentagram:

Marks, Pentagram’s latest book, collects 400 symbols designed by our partners between 1962 and the present day. The limited edition of 1000 copies has been published by Laurence King Publishing and is identical to the book produced by Pentagram for its friends and clients, sans tote bag but with the addition of a fetching white belly band. The book is printed on French-folded bible paper, bound in a red, cloth-covered softback cover and includes five ribbons for bookmarking.

I've already gone and placed my order, and will be anxiously awaiting it's arrival. A book of 400 symbols and logos? Designed by Pentagram? Ummmm... yes, please.

(Thanks David Airey, via Twitter)

Layer Tennis

Did y'all remember to check out Layer Tennis this week? If not, check it out--interesting competition, I wasn't sure how I liked the WAY different feel of each volley, until I got to Layers 6, 7 and 8; and it became all about typography.

I also dug the last volley, excellent ending. All in all, it was nice Friday procrastina--I mean, inspiration (I keed, I keed... it was actually both).

Sweet Home Alubama

Guitar Hero is a pretty big game in my house; while I continue to fail miserably and get booed off the stage (I'm more of a MarioKart player, anyway), my husband and oldest daughter love it. Their skills are pretty impressive.

There's a new version of GH coming out, the Metallica version. And while I don't think we're going to be buying it soon (we're still trying out the recently-purchased Rock Band), I'm sure many will. But will they notice the spelling error on the box? Rolling Stone did.

The new packaging lists all of the bands included in the game in the background. One of those bands? Lynyrd Skynyrd. Or, as it's spelled: Lynyrd Skynrd.

Obviously spell check isn't going to get this. But I've worked on enough projects like this to know how many back and forths there are, and how many sets of eyes look at the designs before printing. And the one thing that gets me, is that the list of bands is the cover art--as RS points out:

Even the (properly) misspelled Mercyful Fate get their name handled correctly, and the oft-mangled Mastodon pass the fact-checking test.

I don't know... if there's the most remote question on the spelling of something, I'd triple check it. Lynyrd Skynyrd is spelled different enough for me to quadruple check it (as I've done here. Way more than 4 times). But who knows? Maybe the package designer is more of a rap fan?

Not Player Tennis... LAYER Tennis!

Well this is something new: Layer Tennis! From the site:

Two competitors swap a file back and forth in real-time, adding to and embellishing the work. Each artist gets fifteen minutes to complete a "volley" and then we post that to the site live.

The players may be designers, animators, illustrators or pretty much anything else, and they can use any tool or application they like. The match progresses volley by volley.

A third participant, a writer, provides play-by-play commentary on the action as it happens.

The match lasts for ten volleys and when it's complete, opinioned Season Ticket Holders sound off and we declare a winner. Check Tennis HQ for more information and links to past matches.

Ummmm... Yes? How awesome is this?

No? You don't believe me? Check out last year's week 10 and dare to prove me wrong. Remember, each player only has 15 minutes to complete a "volley." Pretty impressive, right?

I am setting ical alarms as I write so I can remember to watch this awesomeness progress. Talk about great Friday afternoon inspiration!

Staying in character

I love Will Ferrell. I like his humor, but what always gets me--every single time--is his ability to stay in character.

Over the weekend, Mattio and I celebrated his birthday a little late (and stimulated the economy) with a trip to the city to check out Will Ferrell's new show, "You're Welcome, America: A Final Night with George W. Bush." It was probably one of the funniest things I've seen lately--not only was it well written, but Will Ferrell is brilliant. He never breaks character--not even when interacting with the audience.

A few things:

--Yes, there is full frontal male nudity (which I applaud, only because the ratio of female nudity to male is like, a bazillion to one. Not that I want to see it or anything. Just trying to even things out a little). Actually, it works, in this instance.

--The Condi Rice lapdance? Yeah, it's funny. Alright, it's pretty hysterical. But there's a million hysterical things about this show so it didn't stand out all that much to me.

--Will Ferrell's brother plays the secret service agent. He also played one of the security guards in Elf. I would have never made the connection had I not read this fact in Playbill.

If you are a fan of Will Ferrell, but not of GWB, I highly recommend checking it out (if you can--pretty ironic that Will Ferrell as GWB is stimulating the Broadway economy these days). If not, check out a live showing on HBO March 14th, the night before closing. I think I might just have to get HBO again, if only just for that one night.

Oh type... will you be my Valentine?

Seriously? I love the charms, but the type had me at hello. Or, more appropriately, yours.

I'm actually working on a logo now, and this was the creative burst of inspiration I needed. Thank you, Tiffany. And--ahem, Mattio--hint, hint: I need some pretty charms to go with my new fonts.

Old School

I went to college, ahem, in the 90s--computers were slowly taking over (I remember just. how. big. Windows 95 was), but the school I went to either A) didn't really think that computers were the way graphic design was going, or B) the school and it's administration were really antiquated. Probably a little of both.

My first graphic design class involved xacto knives, rubber cement, rubylith, T squares, and proportion scales (and, if you know me at all, you will be VERY impressed that I could work one of these). There was no computer, there was no mouse, no command Z, no Photoshop... there was me and my paste ups.

Thank God that only lasted a semester. My knowledge of the inner workings of a stat machine have... well, they've never come in handy. Ever. So it was with a great big smile that I read Michael Beirut's account of his path to becoming the designer he is today.

Because I, too, have a T square... somewhere.

Now THIS is a clever use of typography

I'm not as big on the awards shows as I used to be--and even now, I prefer the red carpet for the clothes, over the show itself. So it's not surprising that I had no idea that the Grammys are this Sunday. I was surprised--pleasantly--when I saw the advertising:





I love this--portraiture using only type! Brilliant!

See more by going here, and clicking on the Music Makes Us link.

This makes me sad (not snooty, just sad)

Forbes has an a very interesting article, The Creativity of Crowds, online. The subtitle:

CrowdSpring aims to slash the cost of graphic design work--and democratize a snooty business.

Hmmmm. The article makes designers seem "snooty" because they--gasp!--actually want to get paid for their work. It's like hiring a team of lawyers, and only paying the one who wins you the case. Actually, one of the commenters said it best:

A designer who is worth his salt provides a service to a paying client in exactly the same manner as an attorney or an accountant. There is no difference. If the client simply needs window dressing, then my all means, he may prefer the work of my 12-year-old son to mine, but let's not confuse the issue here. A CAD program does not make me an architect and a copy of QuickBooks does not make me an accountant. Everyone deserves an opportunity to express their creativity, but there are serious liability issues to consider. I'm all for open competition, and in fact, I embrace it. But we should also recall that some of our greatest recent tragedies have come from poorly designed products, illegible signage, and confusing ballots...

...And the Forbes writer? You know, the one who penned this article's ludicrously silly subhead, was likely this year's lucky winner of Mrs. Winters' sixth grade journalism competition. Because why would we pay an experienced writer when anyone with Microsoft Word and e-mail can submit a story?

The article makes me sad; I went to college to do what I do. I LOVE what I do. Few things excite me more than a client coming to me with a dream, and I get to help them make that dream a reality. I hold my client's hands and find printers that are within budget, I show them why that color just isn't going to work, I stay up late at night making sure, in fact, my files are printer ready... because this isn't my hobby, it's my career. Good luck finding that at CrowdSpring.

If you're going to read the article, then I highly recommend reading all of the comments as well. Then head straight to No!Spec to see their (not surprising at all) take on it.

(Thanks, David Airey, SwissMiss)

Oh, how I heart you, Trader Joe's

I love me some Trader Joe's. It's a little strange--I know--to feel this way about a grocery store, but I just can't help it. I started shopping there when it was dirt cheap (like, 69¢ for a pound of pasta cheap). It still is less expensive than the big chain groceries, but the prices have noticeably gone up. But I keep going back, because, well--they rock. Their customer service is awesome (They laughed and joked about me breaking the door a few weeks back--when they could have been really pissed), the food is delish, and best of all, I'm in and out with 2 weeks worth of groceries in under a half hour (take that, Stop and Shop!).

I must have tweeted about TJ's a few weeks back, because now they're following me on Twitter. So, because I like Trader Joes, I started following them. I can't decide if this is a mistake or not, because they're always tweeting about food. Like I need to hear how great the Wasabi Wow snack mix is at 11:30, while my stomach is rumbling.

But today? Today came the gem of all gems: somebody out there made a TJ's commercial. On their Treo. So yes, the production quality is... well, it sucks. But the commercial is brilliant.

I highly recommend viewing the longer commercial. But be warned: I've been whistling that song all afternoon now.

Nothing super about this bowl

I am soooooo not a football fan. There are far too many rules, too many players, too many positions, the whole offense/defense thing, ways to score, points system... the whole thing confuses me beyond belief. And every time (usually towards the end of the season) I think I'm getting it, I'm introduced to some new inane rule that exists purely to confuse the life out of me.

And, what's up with that whole time system? How is it, that in the world of football, 2 minutes is actually 15?

I will, however, watch the Super Bowl this Sunday--if only for the commercials. Well, that, and The Office is on directly after. Well, that, and the food. Super Bowl food usually rocks. Other than that, my interest in the Super Bowl lays more with the logo designed for this year's game, than the game itself.

The Times has an interesting piece on the history of Super Bowl logo design, as well as a slideshow of alternative logos (my fave is Pentagram's simplicity. Nice. Actually, it totally threw Mattio for a loop when he saw it: "THAT'S the Super Bowl logo?? It's so different!"). And go here to check out the evolution of the Super Bowl logo.

So enjoy the game on Sunday... I will be, if only for the fact that I know football won't be on for another 6 months after that.

This is how old I am

...courtesy of Zoesmom and Becky.

I had the Star Wars soundtrack on vinyl. There were 4 records in all, and the record sleeve opened like a book. I also had the Annie soundtrack, The Grease soundtrack, and the Mary Poppins soundtrack, all on vinyl. Each was played on a pink record player--I believe it was Holly Hobbie.

Every year at Christmas, we decorated our tree listening to the Carpenters' Christmas Portrait (with it's Norman Rockwell-esque cover), and Christmas with the Beach Boys, again, on vinyl. It wasn't Christmas in our house until we heard Karen Carpenter sing "There's No Place like Home for the Holidays," and my mom shook her head and said, "What a waste. Such a beautiful voice." It still isn't Christmas to me until I hear a holiday tune sung by both the Beach Boys and the Carpenters. My husband is deeply bothered by this.

I wanted to be Princess Leia (except when she was chained to Jabba the Hut. Ew). My first crush was Harrison Ford. I used to make my boy neighbors play Star Wars with me, they got to use my baton as a light saber.

My first bedroom was orange. The carpets in the condo we lived in had pea soup green carpets. All of our kitchen appliances were avocado.

The best. thing. ever. growing up was a Monday night "special" airing of the Muppet Show. That meant we got to stay up until 8:30. It also meant the cool spinning "special" graphics CBS used to air right before it.

Anyone who comes from Fairfield will appreciate this: Before Blockbuster ever existed, we used to rent our VHS movies from the grocery store: Fairway Beef on Black Rock Turnpike. That was the only game in town, until it burned down (there's a CVS there now, but it's still called Fairway Plaza).

I went to my first Yankee game when I was 8 years old. Don Mattingly was playing first base, a very young Willie Randolph played second, and Craig Nettles played third (in his last year as a Yankee--I was devastated when he got traded to San Diego. Even more so when my grandfather loyally followed him there). Dave Winfield, my second favorite Yankee (Don Mattingly was my first) played in the outfield.

I, like Zoesmom, remember vividly when Luke and Laura got married. I loved the Christopher Cross song, "Laura" (Thank God my taste in music got much, much better), and thought the whole thing was just so romantic.

I wore black rubber bracelets a la Madonna up both my arms. I could not have enough black rubber bracelets.

I thought Who's the Boss was the. coolest. show. ever. because it took place in Fairfield, and Samantha Micelli and I were the same age. I felt we were living parallel lives (with the exception that my father was not a housekeeper for a rich divorcée).

I grew up on MTV, when they played videos, and only videos. There was no other programming, save for Remote Control, which I tolerated. I looked up to Martha Quinn. I wanted to cut Adam Curry's hair while he was sleeping.

I was in college when Kurt Cobain committed suicide.

In college, I was a "commercial art" major. I had to learn how to operate a stat machine, and had many mishaps with rubylith, xacto knives, and rubber cement (these are all pre-computer layout relics). I owned, and used, a T-square.

When we finally graduated to computer use, I learned Photoshop version 3; this version introduced layers to the world of computer graphics. I could save all of my Photoshop work on one 3.5" floppy (remember the stink Apple cause when it discontinued floppy drives on the iMac?).

There was no internet in college. It was a great event when my school got Zip drives for the computers--after I graduated, of course.

My second "real" job had email. I hated the job itself, but was afraid to leave because email was so new at that time, I was afraid other companies hadn't caught on yet. I lasted a year; and yes, the company I went to after that had email.

Coach has pretty things, fonts

I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of graffiti-inspired fashion. I wasn't a big fan in the early 2000s, when Stephan Sprouse did it for Louis Vuitton (which they have just relaunched); and I can honestly say my reaction was the same when I got this email from Coach yesterday:



Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there's some Carrie-Bradshaw type out there that could totally pull this off. It's just not for me. However, my attention lingered on the bag for only a second, because, hello? What's the gorgeous font there?

Let me just go to Coach's website... Oh my! There is beauty is everywhere! And for once, I'm not talking about the handbags (although, I won't say no to a leather Zoe in silver Or the Carla Sandal in green. Oooooh, yum, yum.). I love, love, love the Bodoni Poster-inspired font. And the colors! Absolutely gorgeous.

Bravo Coach, for not only making pretty things that I covet; but making me see the beauty beyond said pretty things.

PS. I used a version of a very similar font for a client who's opening up her own salon. Her new place should be open in a few short weeks, at which point I will be bursting at the seams to show you her gorgeous letterpress business cards. Stay tuned!

Design we can believe in

In honor of Barack Obama's inauguration tomorrow, I thought it appropriate to present the many ideas that could have been the official Barack Obama campaign logo; the other contenders, besides the iconic "O".

Personally, I think the logos (even the ones that weren't even presented)--much like the campaign itself--were a refreshing change from the norm. Sol Sender, the designer, apparently never worked on a campaign logo before--which I think worked to his advantage. So nice to see a portfolio of ideas that isn't "Candidate's Name/Running Mate's Name" on either a red or blue background, with some stars thrown in for good measure.

Much thanks goes out to David Airey, who compiled this post; and who's logodesignlove website I could not live without.

Tilt a whirl

I love the effects of a tilt-shift photo: you know, those pictures that look as though they're made of teeny-tiny models, but are in fact, real photographs of real settings.

You can check out a gallery of tilt-shift photos here (which are way cooler than mine), or better yet, make your own via tiltshiftmaker.com!

Here's 2 I made from photos of the final game at Yankee Stadium--look at that tiny model Derek Jeter!

Objectified

Gary Hustwit is at it again: this time, instead of the story behind a font, he's telling the story behind some of the products we use every day in Objectified.

Sounds like it's going to be a way more cool How it's Made--which is one of our favorites (except when their making bacon. Or little baby chicks. But it is pretty cool to see how things like soap, bubble gum, and fluorescent lights are made). Premiering Spring 09--can't wait!

Life is a highway

To compliment yesterday's post, I thought this was pretty cool: a map of all the streets in the lower 48 states. That's it, just the streets. No outlines, no borders, nothing but roads.

I thought this was so beautiful, yet so interesting; the map is divided almost equally in half. The roads are much more sparse on the western half of the US. And they abruptly end--there's no gradual fade or anything.

The major cities almost remind me of the constellations--look south of Chicago and you'll see what I mean. I also love the swirls defining the Appalachian Mountains. Very, very cool.

Environmental graphics

My friend Cyndy, of art + interiors fame, represents an artist who takes these gorgeous ariel photos of environmental waste. To see them, you would have no idea; they are so abstract, so beautiful. I can only imagine what they look like blown up to humongous sizes.

I was immediately reminded of J. Henry Fair's images when I came across these: satellite images of Earth taken from 400 miles away. These photos are stunning; some look like satellite imagery, most look like works of art (and let's face it, when else would Bolivian deforestation be considered a work of art?).

From the toxic landscapes of J. Henry Fair's photography, to the beauty of NASA's satellite pictures, either way it makes me appreciate our planet and it's beauty that much more.

Dear Adobe...

In case you haven't been paying attention all this time, I am a graphic designer (shocking, I know; what with all the shoe and shopping and shoe shopping references). So my livelyhood depends on a few things: Apple Computers (Feel better, Steve Jobs!) and Adobe software. I have unconditional love for the former--in my eyes, Apple can do no wrong (OK, so the hockey puck mouse wasn't such a good idea. But it's a mere hiccup in the Apple timeline, as far as I'm concerned). The latter? Let's just call it a love/hate relationship.

99.9% of what I do depends on Adobe software. And sometimes Adobe software just. doesn't. do. what. I. want. it. to. dammit. Don't get me wrong--Adobe products have gotten their share of love from me... but they're also heard the truck driver/pirate side of me; the one that spews expletives thinking that a couple of swears strung together will get Dreamweaver to do what I want it to (hint: it never, ever works).



So when I found Dear Adobe (thanks, Fathom!), I felt like finally! And whew! (it's not just me!) Some actual gripes:

Dear Adobe, why doesn't Illustrator have a history palette?

Dear Adobe, please ditch this application [Premiere], you are confusing potential Final Cut Pro users from being productive and having spare time to see their children.

Dear Adobe (this one's a favorite), Do you ever get useful comments from people when you ask them to submit a crash report? And, do you ever actually read them??

Dear Adobe, now I can go on loving you... for now.

2008 in pictures

Came across the NY Times Year in Pictures... some are so beautiful, I had to share.

Enjoy. And Happy New Year.

Best/Worst logos of 2008

As 2008 comes to a close, there's a ton of "Best of/Worst of" lists: movies, music, television... everybody has a list. Over on Brand New, they've compiled a list of the best and worst logo redesigns of 2008.

For the most part, I agree with everything they said. I think out of the best category, the 826 Valencia and Mousey logos, and Camel repackaging stand out as the best of the best.

The worst... well, it doesn't get much worse (does it?). 'Nuff said.

In case I don't get a chance to post tomorrow... Happy, happy new year! I'll see you on the flip side.

All I want for Christmas...

Earlier this month, I was asked what I wanted for Christmas (wasn't everybody?). Technically, I never sat on Santa's lap, instead my list was delivered to my pal Amy Graver (of Elements/AIGA CT fame), who was compiling wish lists for an article on conncreatives. And no, I didn't have to sit on her lap.

What We Really Wanted for Christmas! is online now; check out what 7 other Connecticut creatives--along with me--asked for this year. Thanks again to Amy for including me!

And thanks to Chelsea (also of Elements/AIGA CT fame) for pointing out that the article had been published.

Saving this for next year...

I love this idea... but hate that it's A) so late in the game--far too late for me to pull this off; and B) would take much, much longer than writing someone's name on a gift tag.



But still cute.

Actually, I love the idea of using brown craft paper as wrapping paper, with Christmas-themed letters. Hmmm... the more I think about it, the more I think that this might be the way to go next year (provided I start cutting out letters in September).

Christmas countdown

My stockings are not yet hung. My mother in law knit (crocheted? I don't know the difference--but either way they are hand made and I love them) stockings for all of us; and Eleanor's is still up at her house. So one part all of our stockings are not here, one part sheer laziness, I have not hung the stockings yet.

Cookies? Done. Baked, plated, and all but delivered. I even packaged some up for Ashlee's friends at school tomorrow.

Presents are bought and wrapped. The big snowstorm on Friday made me a bit nervous about when we would wrap the kid's gifts--we had plans to do it Friday AM, before the kids got the day off--but we got it done Friday night and this morning. One of my girlfriends even stopped by today with gifts for my kids, which meant that I got to give her the gifts for her kids, so technically you could say that I'm even handing gifts out.

In my errands today, I got tights for the girls, shoes for the girls, and took care of any other Christmas Day outfit finagling that needed to get done.

Cards: personal cards got mailed out weeks ago. Business cards are sitting in a box at my feet. Hmmmm, I should probably do those...

The only other things I have left to do are bake some pies, and make a salad and antipasta for Christmas Day. Oh, and work. Usually around the holidays things tend to slow down for me. Not so much, this year (although, with the current economy, that's just fine by me!).

God, I love Alejandro Paul. For those not in the know, he is the designer of the fabulous Burgues Script font that I love so much (c'mon, who doesn't love a great flourish?). Well, he's gone and done it again, this time, with a little typeface called Compendium.



I know it's a little weird to have reactions like I do over fonts, but man, this typeface really makes me swoon. Such beauty! Such grace! Plus, like it's sister (cousin? friend?) Burges Script, it comes with a ton of swirlies--and God, I love my swirlies.

Says Paul:

Compendium is a sequel to my Burgues font from 2007. Actually it is more like a prequel to Burgues...

...Though Compendium has a naturally more normalized, Spencerian flow, its elegance, expressiveness, movement and precision are no less adventurous than Burgues. Nearing 700 glyphs (ed. note: OMG!!!), its character set contains plenty of variation in each letter, and many ornaments for letter beginnings, endings, and some that can even serve to envelope entire words with swashy calligraphic wonder. Those who love to explore typefaces in detail will be rewarded, thanks to OpenType. I am so in love with the technology now that it’s becoming harder for me to let go of a typeface and call it finished.

OMG, how can you not totally love this guy? To see more of his fonts, visit his site, Sudtipos. To see the rest of Veer's Top 10 of 2008, go here. Actually, there's actually a bunch of fonts I like out of the list... but Compendium was the only one that made me swoon.

Inspire me now!

Being the art-eeest that I am, I'm always looking for inspiration. Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes I have to go searching for it, and sometimes--OK, a lot of times--it's from the internets.

Ladies and gentlemen, inspire me now!

A simple site, with almost no text (save for a link at the bottom of each photo), chock full of interesting things, products, ads and photography.

Very, very cool.

Schweddy balls

Since I was baking Christmas cookies all day today, nothing seemed more appropriate than this Saturday Night Live sketch (Ed. note: boo on Hulu for not letting me embed the video). I'm pretty positive I posted this last December, but sorry folks--it's just that good.

I seriously don't know how they keep such straight faces.

SANTA!!!!

I have a couple of things I *could* post... but, it being December and all, I felt this was a little more appropriate:



Elf is, hands down, one of my favorite holiday movies. Will Farrell gets completely lost in the role of Buddy the Elf. He's fantastic, the concept is incredibly clever, and the movie just all around rocks.

Shameless client/self promotion

One of my more fabulous clients, Jill, came to me way back last winter with an idea that was going to rock people's socks off: gluten free cookies. Yeah, yeah, yeah... There's nothing new about gluten free cookies. But have you tasted a gluten free cookie before? They're pretty awful. Try chewing on a sponge--that's about what they taste like.

That is, until Jill came along. Her cookies are delish! And gluten free! Seriously, my kids--who have no sensitivities to gluten at all--love them. Ashlee actually requests them. We love Jill's cookies in our house! (And no, it's not because of the most awesome packaging. Or the sweet-looking logo. Or the gorgeous website that, ahem, was just launched. Don't get me wrong, I mean, sure... we think EVERYTHING associated with Glow Gluten Free is beautiful. But that in NO WAY affects how we feel about the taste.)

Anyway, Jill is going to be at ShopRite down in Stamford tomorrow (Thursday) promoting her cookies. Stop by, say hi, tell her how much you love the packaging, buy a box (or two) of her cookies, and then immediately go run to the store manager to let him/her know how great these cookies are.

ShopRite of Commerce Street
1990 West Main Street
Stamford, CT 06902
(203) 978-0464

ABC3D

Popup by Marion Bataille

When I was a kid, nothing would thrill me more than coming across a pop up book; it was just. so. cool. I'd amuse myself for hours turning wheels, pulling tabs, and examining the book, wondering how on earth did they do that.

To this day pop-up books still fascinate me; so it shouldn't come as a surprise that one designed by a French graphic designer consisting of nothing but the alphabet would keep me occupied for quite some time; especially, ahem, when I was supposed to be Christmas shopping.

Alrighty, then

Well, that was a little more blogging vacation than I had anticipated... I had taken off all last weekend, with the best intentions to return on Monday.

Then, the baby got sick.

Yep, our little Eleanor has a double ear infection; diagnosed on Wednesday. However, she was home with me most of the week. Which meant that I was taking care of sickie most of the day, catching up on work at night.

I'm not quite caught up, but I am getting there. In the meantime, Thanksgiving was lovely here; we did our annual tour of CT, ending up home (and quite full) by 9 that night. Thanksgiving eve was spend watching Helvetica (finally!) via our new Netflix subscription. I was very wary of giving up HBO for Netflix, but, tired of watching the same 3 movies over and over (and over), Mattio had had enough and put the final nail in the HBO coffin.

I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised by Netflix. First of all, you can stream a decent amount of stuff (very nice on the 24" monster screen)--which is how we watched Helvetica--and second, you can stream movies while you have a disc out on loan.

So now Eleanor is on the mend (I can't say the same for other members of this household), and life is slowly coming back to normal--well, as normal as it gets for us. Which means that I'm back up and blogging. So apologies for the little hiatus, but I'm back.

For now.

I am thankful for...

... my family and my friends;

... the fact that Mattio found a new job, and that my friends at his old company were able to keep theirs;

... my business, which is (knock wood) doing pretty well, considering the sucky economy;

... the courage to start something new;

... pie!

... and the gym (as a result of all that pie).

This is just a small portion of the many things I'm thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there in the blogoshpere! I'll see you all in December!

Apple + shopping = happy

OK, regular readers can agree that I love to shop. And you'll also agree that I worship at the altar of Steve Jobs. So what, dare I ask, could be better than Black Friday shopping at the Apple Store?



I received an official email today: there's a 1 day sale at the Apple Store (and online, for those who won't be venturing out this Friday). Also, perusing some Black Friday ads the other day, I came across these deals at MacMall. I'm not sure if they're 100% true, but if you're in the market for a laptop, it might be worth it to check it out: the craziest deal is a 15.4" MacBook Pro for only $1399.99 (according to the site, it's a savings of over $1000).

Happy Mac shopping!

Thoughts, musings, oddities, and the like

For lack of a better post...

--Found this funny little site: Let me google that for you. Made me giggle.

--Found another traciedesigns. Except she's Tracie space Designs.

--Also found an Ann Tracie Designs, who designs cakes. Yum. (And, yes, I let me google that for you-ed traciedesigns)

--Why on earth do my children still have Halloween candy? It is a month after the fact, people! That Halloween candy should be long gone! Because next week, let's face it, it's all about how much pie can I eat. And coming off a week of how much candy can I eat; well, that's not too good.

--Looking forward to a much needed, much deserved (I think, anyway) break next week. Even more bizarre? I'm actually--gasp!--looking forward to Black Friday shopping this year! I haven't been shopping on Black Friday in probably a good 8 to 10 years. I don't know why--maybe it's the economy--but I'm kind of really looking forward to it this year.

--The more I think about it, the more I hope Mattio (hint, hint) gets me a Butternut season pass this year. The thought of just taking off and skiing for the day gets more and more appealing as time goes on.

Forget about the red cup...

The other day I noticed that Starbucks has begun using the seasonal "red cup." Everybody knows what the red cup means: it's the holiday cup; Christmas must be coming.

However, across the pond, there's something much more creative going on. At a small coffee chain called Puccino's, instead of a red cup once a year, they rotate cups on an annual basis. Designed by illustrator Jim Smith, every year the chain comes out with a new set of cups like this one:



The clever thing about it is there's a bunch of cups like this in rotation; so you never know what you're going to get. And it's not just coffee cups, it's also their bags, sugar packets, advertising, signage, etc. There's actually a Flickr set of some of the ongoing work. And if that's not enough for you, check out Jim Smith's website, or the short interview on Brand New.

Much better than the red cup.

Gift for geeks...

...or for anyone who loves their iphone (or who wants one really, really bad; but is not willing to commit to AT&T):



iphone coasters!

When Anne Taintor is a bit too girly... perhaps a set of these will do. What would be really cool, is if you could by add ons, the same way you would buy from the app store.

Oh Anne Taintor...

How I heart you.



Anne Taintor's sassy designs are nothing new--we've had her coasters for years now (Madeline's favorite? "Make your own damn dinner!" Recited with all the enthusiasm and gusto a 5 year old can have, minus the profanity). But since I was on a holiday card kick the other day, and there are some cute/funny cards here, I thought it was a nice segue...

Anywho, I think any of Anne's products would be the cat's meow as far as hostess gifts go. Nevermind monogrammed towels, give "medicated and motivated" potholders! And who wouldn't love a little nip from the "She was one cocktail away from proving her mother right" flask?

The "I don't know the title of this meme" meme

For all my pals participating in NaBloPoMo (Sorry kids, I'm not fooling anybody by participating in THAT challenge!), a meme:

favorite artist/designer: Chuck Close

I love to create using: my mind, my mouse, and Adobe Illustrator

what inspires me: my kids, music, my life, the internet

most inspirational city: NYC, hands down

ideal weekend off: one year for my birthday, Mattio surprised me and took me to the city; we started our afternoon at MoMA, did a little shopping, ate dinner at a cozy little Italian place, and ended the night with a play (It was one of the best birthdays!). My ideal weekend would be this, with a hotel to retire to, and room service the next morning, followed by a stroll through the Cloisters, and a little more shopping. And a town car to bring me home--none of this Metro North baloney.

favorite color: PMS166U*

favorite musician: (of all time): Tori Amos

favorite movie: Oh my gosh, so many... I really heart Say Anything, Anchorman, Elf, St. Elmo's Fire... I'm sure I'm leaving a ton out.

favorite song: Again, so many... and it's constantly changing. Right now my favorite, favorite song is You are the Best Thing, by Ray Lamontagne

favorite song lyric: "So please, please, please, let me, let me, let me... let me, get what I want, this time." The Smiths

If I could have any other job it would be: artist (Not graphic designer artist, silly... I'm talking about fine arts. Paint, pastels, and a blank canvas)

I wish: I had more free time. Not more work time, not more hours in the day, but more time to do the things I don't have the time to do now: draw, make cards, learn how to letterpress, learn how to knit, start another blog...

*orange, in layman's terms

Carded

OK, kids, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm just going to come out and say it:

I love the holidays.

I love everything, everything! about the holidays. The decorations, the tree, the cookies, the wrapping paper, the shopping (oh, don't act all surprised), the gift-giving, the gift-receiving, the parties... the whole shabang.

But one of the things I love most about the holidays, is the cards.

I love to send holiday cards; I am very anal about the whole thing and insist on hand writing all 8 billion of them out. What can I say? For someone who makes a living sitting in front of a computer most of the day, there's something very soothing about sitting down with pen and paper.

But even more, I love receiving holiday cards. It seriously impacts me in a negative way if a day goes by in December with no holiday card in sight. I don't know, maybe in this age of email and IM and facebook and blogs, there's something quaint about receiving some good ol' fashioned snail mail--that isn't bill-related (because no matter what time of year, I don't love bills).

So when I came across this post of pretty holiday cards over on poppytalk, I just had to share. Getting holiday cards rocks; but oh, dear blog readers, getting adorable cards like these would just make my season (hint, hint).

Whoops

In my haste to get my super-duper-blog-love post up yesterday, I completely (and foolishly) forgot to mention another blog that I absolutely love, love, love:

Logo Design Love

Logo designer David Airey's blog is right to the point, it's for those who love logo design (or just logos in general). From reader favorites, to logo redesigns, his is the site I consult first when I have a logo design project.

It's updated about once a week (the selfish graphic designer in me wishes it was updated daily, the graphic-designer-turned-blogger in me knows exactly how much time that would consume). One of the best things about the site, aside from the interesting logo designs, is the commenters. Some design blogs I read, the commenters can be downright mean; for whatever reason, the commenters on LDL are much more civilized. And, as an added bonus, David responds to just about every one.

So, Logo Design Love, I love your blog!