Nov 5, 2013
Over the past few months, I’ve noticed that all of my best ideas seem to happen when I’m in the shower. I’ve tried a variety of ways to document them -from jumping out of the shower to jot them on a notepad, to writing on the shower door with “bath crayons” to hanging a dry erase board in the shower. All of those failed.
I had resigned to the fact that I would spend my entire shower repeating ideas in my head… until I got to a chapter titled “CHANGING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: GET NEAR WATER TO WRITE” from the book, Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser. I thought this chapter was especially interesting because I read it while I was fly fishing with my grandparents in Missouri for the weekend.
When I got to this part, I did a victorious fist punch in the air – ” A workshop participant who is a diver once told me that the got so many good ideas in the shower that he hung an underwater clipboard in there to record them. You can get one yourself at a dive shop for under ten dollars.” Hallelujah, I am not alone! Such a simple and yet genius idea! The day after I returned from my trip, I went to a local dive shop and purchased this little beauty (kind of surprised that there even IS a dive shop in West Texas, to be honest).
Attached with a suction cup hook, it’s perfectly handy. Yes, I know how nerdy it sounds, but I’m SO excited to have this useful tool in my shower now. You know, to record those genius ideas I’m sure to have… (write it down, make it happen, right?!)
What about you guys? Anyone else have their best ideas in the shower?
Nov 1, 2013
I have a confession to make. Although I own a paper and gift store, and I’ve ordered beautiful, expensive stationery for many many customers… I’ve never ordered some for myself. I know it’s ridiculous, but it seems (and is) such a luxury- and I’ve never been good at treating myself! (I’m much too practical for that.)
After I returned from Stationery Academy in August, I decided to bite the bullet. (I wanted to test out a new vendor I’d heard about for letterpress anyway.) This design is pretty simple, but I love the way it turned out – simple, red, and full of texture! Now that I have them, I’m not sure I could go back – I’m in love!
Working on getting a letterpress stationery program set up for the shop. New designs hopefully coming soon!
Oct 30, 2013
Over the past few years, I’ve become a collector of vintage milk jars (as if I need more quirky items to collect). I started my collection when I went to Steamboat Springs, Colorado for MusicFest several years ago. I just wanted a little souvenir from the local antique store. Since then, I’ve picked up a few here and there at antique stores. I love using them placed around the house with fresh flowers! They’ve just got so much more character than a regular glass vase…
This weekend, I purged my kitchen and reorganized some of the cabinets, so I decided to put all of my milk jars in the same place (instead of six). My grandmother had given me this wooden crate, and I decided that it would fit perfectly in a lower cabinet and serve as a “drawer” for my collection. 
This DIY project was a real doozy – I attached felt pads to the bottom corners of the crate. The End.
Now I have easy access to all of my milk jar options!
Oct 29, 2013
Well, if you’ve been following along, you may have already seen some of the details from my #booksandbirds Spellbinding Halloween Party a few weeks ago. Here’s a quick recap in case you missed all of the little details! Basically, it was literary-themed Halloween book exchange – and lots of fun!
For the invitation, I originally saw something like this on Pinterest, but I decided to change up the colors to make it a little more Halloween-ish.
Since I went with a #booksandbirds theme, of course I decorated the table with them! You can see the step-by-step here.
For the place cards/menu cards, books + a little craftiness seemed to fit the bill. More details on that and the menu here.
A little peek of the drink cart, including the signature drink of the evening, Tequila Mockingbird. You can also get a free download of the drink definition straw flags here.
To round off the party, I’ve posted a Halloween Playlist here as well.
At the end of the evening, we did a book exchange (which provided WAY more laughter than I anticipated). And even though it was a very small group of girls, we had a fabulous time!
Oct 27, 2013
For Halloween, I made a special playlist for the store… so I thought it might be fun to share it with you guys. To start, I compiled a few “halloween-music-must-have” lists with several of my own seasonal faves. I think it’s fun and not too spooky (my kind of Halloween). Looking forward to making the most of this lineup for the next few days!
Halloween Playlist
Nightmare – Artie Shaw
I Put a Spell on You – Nina Simone
Old Devil Moon – Mel Tormé & Al Pelligini Trio ‘live’
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (1961 Version) – Ella Fitzgerald
Headless Horseman – Bing Crosby
That Old Black Magic – Dave Brubeck
Superstition – Stevie Wonder
Miles Runs the Voodoo Down – Miles Davis
Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead – Ella Fitzgerald
Mack the Knife – Louis Armstrong
Witchy Woman – Eagles
Witchcraft – Frank Sinatra
Thriller – Michael Jackson
Smooth Criminal – Michael Jackson
Haunt Me No More – Mike McClure
I Put a Spell On You – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
The Joker – The Steve Miller Band
Love Potion #9 – The Clovers/ The Searchers
Werewolf – Frantics
Mysterious Ways – U2
Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
Supermassive Black Hole – Muse
Ghostbusters – Ray Parker, Jr.
Time Warp – Rocky Horror Picture Show
Tremble for My Beloved – Collective Soul
Rock Lobster – The B52’s
Full Moon – The Black Ghosts
Bella’s Lullaby – Carter Burwell
Black Magic Woman – Santana
Monster Mash – Pickett, Bobby “Boris”
The Pink Panther Theme (From the “Pink Panther”) – Henry Mancini
Main Title Theme (Ghostbusters) – Elmer Bernstein
Dana’s Theme – Elmer Bernstein
Purple People Eater – Halloween & The London Fox Singers
The Addams Family – Halloween & The London Fox Singers
I’m Your Boogie Man – Halloween & The London Fox Singers
What do you think? Am I missing any that you think I really need? If so, tell me please!
Attached with a suction cup hook, it’s perfectly handy. Yes, I know how nerdy it sounds, but I’m SO excited to have this useful tool in my shower now. You know, to record those genius ideas I’m sure to have… (write it down, make it happen, right?!)
