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!

The internet loves bacon

I am a sort-of vegetarian by choice: I don't like meat. Taste, texture, smell, it's all just gross to me. Aside from chicken, which I started eating when I got pregnant with my second child (which makes me a sort-of vegetarian, rather than full-fledged), I haven't had meat in over 15 years. I could go another 15 and believe me, I won't miss a thing.

There are specific meats and meat-based products that really gross me out; and bacon, my friends, is one of them. The problem is, I married a guy, who--you guessed it--loves bacon. You know who else loves bacon? Everybody else. Seriously, bacon is all over the internet.

There is a site--which I have ordered from (for guess who)--called Bac'n. Aside from the obvious, they also sell bacon-flavored popcorn, coffee and hot sauce, to name a few. There's bacon-scented candles, bacon wallets, bacon air fresheners, band-aids, toothpicks, and gum.

Elsewhere on the internets, there's bacon lunch boxes (thank, Amy!), bacon lip balm, bacon mints, bacon t-shirts, bacon everything. Last week, on a favorite blog, there was bacon jam. People, there is bacon CHOCOLATE.

Why? Why all this bacon? I mean, I get that people like bacon. But I like ice cream, and I know a lot of other people like ice cream, too. But there's no ice cream wallets, or t-shirts, or candles (that I know of. But all good ideas!). Seriously people, why bacon?

Thanks

This year I'm thankful for all of the usual things: my family and friends, our health, all the things we take for granted, like food, clothes, a roof over our heads... I'm also thankful for my business, and my super awesome, I-couldn't-do-it-without-you clients. I'm truly thankful that I love what I do for a living. I get paid to create--it's my passion in life; not many people can say that.

I'm really thankful for everyone that reads this blog. Thank you all for continuing to come back.

I hope your holiday is filled with loved ones, laughter, and good cheer. Happy Thanksgiving, blogosphere!

If I were a seatbelt commercial...

Because this season, there's a ton of people out on the roads. Because someone cares about you. Because it's the law.

There's a million reasons why you should buckle up when getting in a car. This commercial does a fabulous job of illustrating the why-should-I's, without coming across as preachy or scary.

The bonus is that it's simple message can be translated across the globe. Beautiful.

(You might want to grab a tissue for this one):

Blank walls no more!

If you're new to the blog, you should know that this past year we renovated our house. Now we have pretty new walls just dying to be adorned with some fun art. I have my eye on some great pieces I've found via my pal Cyndy over at art + interiors, as well as 20 x 200, Room & Board, and even etsy.

And then, yesterday, I stumbled across these adorable posters for the interns' room:



I might just bite the bullet and get all 4, because they are just so adorable. The illustrations are too cute, and I love the empowering messages.

(via jezebel)

Adorableness wrapped around your phone

Another week, another trip back to the altar of all things kate spade to spend a little time gushing...

This time, it's over iphone cases. When I first got my iphone, I opted for a plain black case. Fishing around for my phone in my bag a few times indicated that that was a mistake. Enter cute, hot pink kate spade iphone case. Now my iphone is easily spotted, and adorable.

Just yesterday though, some new ks iphone cases were unveiled (and a blackberry case, but--sorry BB users--really. I'm sure you'll agree that the iphone cases are much more adorable). Seriously, how much do I love these (especially the rotary phone one):



Cute, cute, cute. Add one of these to my Christmas list...

Friday LOLs

Another present from the internet: Should be on the Nanny.



Yup, this would be a site devoted to putting Fran Drescher's (as the Nanny) head on runway models' bodies. Since runway clothes are not your everyday clothes; and, let's be honest here, the Nanny was not into wearing everyday clothes (oh, and this show happened in the 90s), it's a match made in awesome.

Fashion + math =

I love fashion. I hate math. However, what a mashup these two create when blended together!

Ladies and gents, meet Fashematics. It's a little hard to describe (photo + photo = fashion photo, is the best I can come up with), so I'll let the following picture from their site do the talking:



I think this is math I can definitely get behind.

Oh. Yuck.

Blech. Blech. Blech.

Just yesterday, I was raving--raving!--about holiday windows in a Free People store. For those not in the know, Free People is an offspring of Urban Outfitters. Also under that corporate umbrella is anthropologie.

So let's just take a minute to go to the anthro website. Go ahead, I'll wait.

If you've ever been in an anthro store (ed. note: love!), you'll see that the site definitely fits the brand. Now let's visit Free People. Again, it's very fitting for the FP brand.

So, have you been to the Urban Outfitters site lately? I'm not encouraging it. Seriously, don't say I didn't warn you--you may need to wash your eyes out after.

Seriously, I get the ironic "bad on purpose" thing they've got going on, but my God, is it bad. Like, there's bad on purpose, and then there's just BAD. This might have been done on purpose, but it is BAD. And it doesn't even go with the brand. I get the UO is kind of quirky, a little mainstream-hipster-ish, if you will. But this is like MS Paint, circa 1991. And there was nothing--NOTHING--good about that.

Now if you'll excuse me, I totally have to go wash my eyes out. Maybe with a little kate spade...

Let it (paper cut out) snow

Speaking of holiday windows (as I did last week), I was down on Greenwich Avenue recently and I came across this fab window in the Free People store:



Ignore the fact that it's definitely not the best photo I've taken (hey, I was on my way to a meeting in a cafe I couldn't find, but I ran the risk of being late to snap this photo. As I tell my kids, you get what you get and you don't get upset). Let's instead focus on the awesome snowflakes with the pop of fluorescent orange: love. I'm a sucker for paper snowflakes anyway, and these just made my heart skip a little.

I've never been inside the store, but judging from the window, it looks small. But way to make use of the space you have (notice that no other store's window stopped me in my tracks).

Friday LOLs

If you have any type of Apple gadget with a key pad, you are probably very familiar with auto-correct. Especially auto-correcting words like "ooooohhh" for "poopy" (true auto-correct story).

Oh, Apple. You're so cute.

Most the times, if you're sending an auto-corrected message, the receiver knows what you meant, and has a good laugh. Well, now we can all laugh, thanks to damnyouautocorrect.com.

Yup, finally there is a website dedicated to auto-correct's bizarre version of ESP. The site is just a series of iphone/ipod screenshots, with the silly auto-correct blunder. Most all end with some version of, "stupid auto-correct."

Another post where I gush about kate spade

There are few things I love in this world so much, that it's borderline obsessive: shoes (obvs) and handbags are among those things--specifically, kate spade shoes and handbags.

The kate spade brand does a great job of being quirky, fun and classic at the same time. I have ks bags and shoes that are embarrassingly old, that I still use to this day (of course, it's always fun to add to that collection, too). So when I heard that the company was publishing a book (!!!) and it's based on the fun "things we love" section of their site (!!!!), how could I resist?



There's a great interview with ks president Deborah Lloyd and Ed Miller, who oversaw the printing, over at Felt & Wire. For print nerds (and, I suppose, sugar junkies) like me, it's like extra icing on the cake of awesome. Fun book, with some background on the different printing techniques?

I'll take 2. One in purse form, please.

Say what?

Folks, did you know that this is a sentence:

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

Right? It's not just me--you're totally perplexed by this too, right (please say you are. Please.)?

Yeah, I am no longer questioning my grammar. Ever.