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!

Blog love

There are some days, when I check out Analytics, and I think, man, who are all these people reading my blog? Do they really care about shoes, and pretty plates, and Crate and Barrel furniture? Then I check out the particulars and realize that they are all visiting the Shamwow post from ages ago.

But I know that I have a small handful of regular readers; and I give the love right back to the faithful by reading and commenting on their blogs, as well. Yesterday, I was playing blog catch up, and over at Becky's I was given an award! For loving my blog! And then Marcy followed suit! Awwww... you guys... Thanks!!

So, as the rules go, I am passing it on. The envelopes, please:

Becky: I wish I could be so eloquent and British (OK, I'll never be British. But eloquent! I can strive for eloquent!). Her posts are fiercely funny and god, just so well written. And the shoes. I can't forget about the shoes...

Marcy: Another shoe lover (and shopping pal). And mom of Zoë, who is only a year older than Madeline, so I feel at times we lead parallel lives. Hysterical, parallel lives.

Elements: I heart my friends at Elements. They have a keen eye for design, and at times, their blog is my daily dose of inspiration (as the description says).

Sara: I'm a little new to Sara's blog, but she's been reading and commenting on mine, so I went and gave her blog a look see. And I'm so glad that I did, because her thoughts on parenting and working and trying to get it all done are very funny (and very true)!

Michelle: I don't live anywhere close to Louisville, KY; but after reading Michelle's blog, I often wish I did. She's always talking about some great restaurant, or bar, or really cool happening. Sometimes I wish she would move up to CT and write Consuming Fairfield (because then I might have a clue about where it's at here in town, and as an added bonus I would get to see her more often).

Justin and Mary: Justin and Mary were one of my first clients; and I am so impressed with how their business has grown over the years! Although, it's really not a surprise, take a look at their photography yourself--it's mind-blowing awesome.

Trent: I have a little secret: I love me some celebrity gossip. I love it even more the way Trent pieces it all together: it's not malicious at all, and he sprinkles tidbits about what's going on in his life, coupled with updates on his favorite TV shows. A lot of times I feel like he's a pal, just updating me on what's going on... in the fabulous life of celebrities.

OK, bloggers, now you do your part (with the exception of Marcy and Becky, without their love this post would not be possible):

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.

And thanks, too, to all the anonymous readers out there. I hope you're loving the blog, too!

So...?

I hung out at Elements today (well, not really hung out so much as work... but they're a fun bunch, so it's like hanging out while working), which meant that I had a tricky morning: shower, do hair, look somewhat presentable (read: no child slobber on sweater), load wee ones in car, vote, drop wee ones off at sitter's, and get thee up to New Haven. Fortunately, the time gods were way on my side, because I was able to get out of the house at 7:45 this morning--Mattio and I actually left together.

We vote at our kid's elementary school, which is right up the street, and just beat the crowd. We had to wait about 5 minutes, but on our way out, the line was beginning to snake around corners and down hallways. Also on the way out, I was able to pick up some delish chocolate covered pretzels and pumpkin bread, courtesy of the 5th grade bake sale. Yum, yum.

So... slobber-free sweater, check. Delicious snacks for 3pm munchies, check. Vote, check. And now...

We wait.

Your vote won't just get you a new president this year...

Got one of these?



When you vote on Tuesday, be sure to grab an "I voted!" sticker. Then head on down to Starbucks, and grab a free cup of coffee. After Starbucks, get yourself over to Krispy Kreme, where your sticker will get you a free star-shaped doughnut. And you don't need the sticker (but it's still a cool accessory) to get a free scoop over at Ben and Jerry's Tuesday night.

There are some regional specials, as well: a bar in Pensacola, FL is accepting "I voted" stickers as payment for a beer. Voters in Tulsa, OK who wear their sticker to a participating Chick-Fil-A in the area can use it as payment for their new Chick-n-Strips. I think the most bang for your vote can be found in Dallas, TX: your vote will get you the first session of tattoo removal free (and you don't even need the sticker as proof--they'll take your word).

I'm not sure of any CT area promotions like this, but I certainly don't need a free cup of coffee to motivate me to get to the voting booth this Tuesday. Actually, we vote at our kids' elementary school, where the 5th grade sponsors a bake sale each year to help fund their many activities. So my Tuesday sweets and treats will be purchased from there.

And please, don't forget to vote this Tuesday!

Yum, yum

Oh Pottery Barn... Why do you tempt me with such pretty things?

Last week I was window shopping with Marcy, and we came across this set of plates (which she confessed she already owns):



I love the graphic patterns--so pretty. AND the store we were in had them displayed with the prettiest jade plates. The black/white/jade combination was so striking. Yum, yum.

Then, I head on over to their website, and what is waiting for me on the homepage, but these beauties:




Cool baroque pattern, and they're orange? LOVE them.

Then, because I need new plates like I need a hole in the head (aside from the fact that I've just found 2 very different sets of plates that I love), I stumble across these:



It's like a gorgeous plate bonanza over at the PB! The only problem--for me, not them--is that each one of these sets requires me to buy all new place settings. I suppose the black and white would go with my eggplant/lavender scheme I've got going on now... but I bet they'd go even better with something new.

Sigh.

Excuses, excuses

Ugh. It's been that kind of day. The kind of day, that, no matter what your workload is, you just want to take off and do some serious shoe shopping (and no, that's not everyday for me, thankyouverymuch).

Unfortunately, when you own your own business, you can't just take off (well, you can, however, there's no one else to defer the work to. So sick days, personal days, vacation days, mental health days... they all add up to more time spent catching up. Which, I've found, is not worth the headache). Since I technically have no boss to report to, I don't have to drum up any "mental health day" excuses to use upon calling out. However, today I stumbled across a list of the most ridiculous excuses for missing work (originally from Careerbuilder, via SavvySugar). Now while I have a soft spot in my heart for those who donate blood, I would imagine that donating "too much blood" is probably going to have you missing a lot more than one day of work.

Some other excuses of note:

Employee didn’t want to lose the parking space in front of his house.

Employee hit a turkey while riding a bike (This may have been the above employee, biking tow work due to aforementioned parking issues).

Employee said he had a heart attack early that morning, but that he was “all better now."

Employee contracted mono after kissing a mailroom intern at the company holiday party and suggested the company post some sort of notice to warn others who may have kissed him.

Employee swallowed too much mouthwash.

Employee’s wife burned all his clothes and he had nothing to wear to work (ummm, you SO have bigger problems than calling out of work).

Employee’s toe was injured when a soda can fell out of the refrigerator (I think this is like the episode of the Office when Michael Scott burned his foot on the George Foreman grill. That he keeps--and uses--at the end of his bed. Because he likes to wake up to the smell of fresh cooked bacon. Yeah, this is so Michael Scott).

Employee’s psychic told her to stay home (um, probably because she was going to get fired anyway? Just guessing).

Some more statics for ya:

Nearly one-in-ten workers (9 percent) who played hooky admitted to calling in sick because they wanted to miss a meeting, buy some time to work on a project that was already due or avoid the wrath of a boss or colleague. Others missed work because they just needed to relax and recharge (30 percent), go to a doctor’s appointment (27 percent), catch up on sleep (22 percent), run personal errands (14 percent), catch up on housework (11 percent) or spend time with family and friends (11 percent). Another 34 percent just didn’t feel like going to work that day.

Sigh. So I guess one day if I ever did give up the glamourous life of a freelancer, I would certainly know what NOT to say when calling out. Although, something tells me that telling the boss that "I can't come in, because the shoe sale at Nordstrom cannot be missed!" might not be much better (unless I was working for Marcy or Becky).

Higher Learning (or what I was doing in Hartford last night)

The AIGA is the professional association for graphic designers; and just recently, a Connecticut chapter was started. As their inaugural event, the CT AIGA hosted Sean Adams, the National AIGA president, as well as partner in AdamsMorioka, in a presentation called "Lessons in Fear."

Over the last 10 years at AdamsMorioka, they've made mistakes. Big design mistakes. Some were a collision of events that hit like a train wreck. Some were self-produced. All of the mistakes were motivated by fear. When is fear appropriate in design? Are we on the Love Boat, or a voyage of the damned? How do we know the difference? Where are the lifeboats?

I attended the presentation last night, and it was great. Sean Adams is a wonderful speaker; engaging, witty... the kind of guy you'd so sit down for a cup of coffee--or, say, 10 cups of coffee--with, and not just for the cool factor. I also got to hang with my fine friends from Elements (Amy's the VP of the CT chapter--Holla!)--you can read Chelsea's description of the event and see pics on their blog here.

Here's a couple of things I walked away with:

--Designers wear a lot of black. A lot (I know, who knew?).

--Even though in the back of my mind, I knew this, but it was still nice to hear: other designers don't have all the ideas--or answers for that matter--either. It's especially nice to hear that someone of Sean Adams stature sometimes gets "stuck."

--Change is not always bad; and while some change is scary, other change is good. And sometimes, that scary change, is really good change in disguise.

--Hartford could really use some street signs. And building signs, while we're at it. Hello? A whole room full of graphic designers, and yet no environmental graphics? Oh, the irony.

All kidding aside, the lecture was really inspiring and refreshing. I'm glad I took the time to go (it was either that, or work. I figured both would help my career... but something like this doesn't happen all that often, and work is always there). I'm looking forward to the next event, on November 19th, when William Drentel (co-founder of DesignObserver!) talks about "My So-Called Public Life."

I'm "glowing" with excitement!

So, I've been waiting (and waiting, and waiting) to share this with the blogoshpere...

I finally got my hands on some Glow packaging!

A little background: Last winter, a woman called me up looking for a logo/packaging designer, she made these (delicious!) gluten-free cookies, and was planning on marketing them to upscale grocers. A few days later, Jill and I met, and we've been having fun ever since. From her logo, to the website I'm currently working on, I feel like every project we collaborate on, it's more fun than the last.

I have to give some love to my pals Donna and Bill, down at Silver Creative in Norwalk, they actually sourced the awesome chinese takeout-type container, and were a big help in giving me good package design advice and feedback. Bill also wrote the glow-libs.

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Glow Gluten Free Cookies!

I love autumn, too!

Over at Elements, they are lovin' autumn. I can't say that I blame them, I love it too--it truly is my favorite time of year (and my birthday being in October has nothing--OK, a little--to do with it!).

Yesterday Madeline and I took advantage of the gorgeous day and went up to the Cascades for a great day of hiking. Apparently half of Southern Connecticut had the same idea, because it was as crowded as I've ever seen it. We had a great time, and Madeline was quite the trooper considering she's 5.




This is how I felt after we came home, too:



The foliage was absolutely gorgeous, the air clean and fresh... I am not a nature girl--by any stretch--but I certainly felt at one with it yesterday!

Twitter is good, too

Twitter, the status-updating website, is most awesome.

It's nice to see what my pals (and my husband!) are up to, or thinking during the day (or cooking, as in the case of one of my friends. From her tweets I have decided that I so want to eat at her house all. the. time. She makes fun things for dinner like pumpkin risotto. I make boring things for dinner like grilled chicken. Again. She also bakes a lot. I learned a lot of this just via her Twitter updates--see how fun?).

I also follow Barack Obama, who is always busy with Change We Need rallies. He's also unveiling tax plans and urging folks to watch the debates. I don't follow John McCain, but judging from his Twitter home page, he does an awful lot of whining.

The most recent person--well, person might exactly not be the right word here... maybe whale. Whale would be a good word in this instance. Anyway, the most recent whale I just started following via Twitter is the Natural History Museum Whale.

Wait, what?

Yes, the whale that hangs from the ceiling of the Natural History Museum twitters. And it's full of fun, insightful wisdom that one can only imagine that a whale hanging from a ceiling could spew:

I hope none of you find out what it's like to hover over a 5 year old while he spins in circles for 5 minutes then pukes up cotton candy.

Things I have in common with the US economy-- stock traders look scared when they see me too.

Some mornings, I just don't feel like entertaining groups of children-- the yelling, the carrying on, the thrown balls of paper. Ugh

Call me cynical, but I won't be surprised when they completely ignore whales' rights in tonight's VP debate.

I'm a meme! I can totally hang with that. After all, hanging is basically all I do. That and tweeting.

This is awesome. I am so looking forward to getting whale tweets.

GOOD is good

A couple of weeks ago, I was at the local Starbucks, when I noticed a little pamphlet called GOOD. It caught my eye not only because it was printed on newsprint, but because the headline was regarding carbon emissions. I picked it up, and have been doing so (and looking forward to it) each Thursday as a new issue comes out.

GOOD is produced by the people who run the website and magazine of the same name. Click on the What is Good link at the top, and you'll see the following description:

GOOD is a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward. Since 2006 we've been making a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn. This website is an ongoing exploration of what GOOD is and what it can be.

Cool.

The pamphlet is neat because each week it takes a theme and expands on it, USA Today chart style (except these charts have much more substance to them). There's no hidden message, no secret agenda (This week: It's the Economy, Stupid! A layout of how the economy works, and how it stands today. Hint: it's not so good).

The website has loads of interesting articles; everthing from reader-designed bumper stickers on voting, to the trials and tribulations of getting boys (and men) to read.

Check it out; I hope you'll agree that GOOD is good.

Our evolving relationship with technology

My friend Michelle, a Louisville, KY-based blogger, was recently on a panel on an NPR show discussing, well... our evolving relationship with technology:

With every new gadget, website, social networking interface, and smart phone, the older things they're replacing fall further from favor. Who keeps up with these tech changes, and who is sticking with the programs they used when they first started computing? Does the difference between Luddites and early adopters fall along age lines, or is it personality? Tune in this Tuesday for a conversation about our evolving relationship with all things digital - and call to tell us how you use technology.

I found it interesting, because one of the other panelists said that his grandmother, of all people, had embraced Twitter as a way to stay in touch with her family. Meanwhile my mother can barely transfer music to her ipod without 12 phone calls to me.

One of the best parts was the 70+ year old caller at the end talking about how he just doesn't understand text messaging. "Why can't people just pick up the phone and call?" Hee hee. He should talk to Ashlee and her friends about that.

Listen to the show here.

OK, I'm off to watch the debates, now... actually, I'll be watching from bed, with my laptop on my lap, and watching twitter at the same time. Right next to my husband with his laptop, doing the same (except he usually tweets along with the debate, I just like to see what others are saying). Talk about embracing technology... I once knew a couple who banned laptops from their bed. We haven't gotten to that point yet, thank goodness!