DID SOMEONE SAY RECYCLE?

I was kindly asked to design the logo and labels for a product line of hand-made recycled items. I finished the labels about 2 weeks ago and am very pleased with the outcome.



The products are:

re•wax- Votive candles made from scrap/recycled wax



re•mail- Envelopes made from recycled paper or pages from used coffee table books (set of 6)



re•note- Envelope and card sets made from recycled paper or pages from used coffee table books (set of 6 envelopes and 6 cards)



re•wrap- Wrapping paper ink stamped (by hand!) with incredible retro/mod stamps, made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper (6 sheets)



You can purchase these products directly through Mike or contact him if you have coffee table books, wax, or clean paper bags to donate.

OWL LOVE

Look at my new gift from Brian. I was admiring it the other day at essentials in northampton, and yesterday it was sitting on my desk when I got home from work. I absolutely love it.

MORE WANTS

I made a list Saturday night of things to get done Sunday. I haven't done that in awhile and it kind of worked. I atleast got started on some of those things, even if they weren't finished. Some just take too long and I'm easily distractable. I realized I do need a filing cabinet....I thought I could do without one but no such luck.

This one from IKEA is pretty nice and pretty affordable.


Maybe if I ever get my tax refund, I'll use it for that. Speaking of which, the tax-refund thing is quite an annoyance. I had an appointment last Tuesday, that was the Tuesday that my flu started so to save myself from throwing up throughout the appointment I cancelled. Well now, I have to wait until April and that is to file an extension. This annoys me immensely! Every year I plan on doing it early and just about every year something like this happens.

Anyway, I'm in the process of adding some new portfolio pieces to my website. This always takes longer than I want it to, especially because I designed the site and then programmed it through Dreamweaver about 5 years ago atleast, so it's pretty frustrating to update. I know I need a whole new look and to reorganize the portfolio but it's just one of those projects that I never feel like committing to and I know 5 years is a friggin long time!

My weekend list consisted of taking pics of some portfolio pieces, well now most of them need major color-correction. Maybe I'll add a new camera to my list of wants. Oh here are those buttons I designed for SNTB, and Busy Beaver did the making. They did a great job but it would be nice to have a button maker. Does anyone know a good resource for this?

SICK & PISSY

I started feeling nauseous Tuesday at work. I thought maybe I was hungry or tired. I did not know that it was going to turn into a full on Stomach FLU! It came out of nowhere and there was no way to stop it. It was awful; feeling that sick is the worst thing ever. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't get comfortable, I had goosebumps over my entire body even though I had atleast 4 layers on. I puked every hour, for I'd say 12 hours straight. The thought of eating or drinking even water would make me want to puke more. The smell and look of food was disgusting, I couldn't even open the refrigerator without feeling sick. I had nothing left in my belly. Just getting out of bed made me dizzy and nauseous. I couldn't walk or move or sleep, so basically it was pure hell.

Finally, last night I started to regain my appetite, which consisted of saltines and ginger ale and tea. I'm feeling a bit better today, and was actually able to drive myself to work.

I really am hoping this isn't passed onto anyone else because it was soooo soooo awful!

PRINT COLLECTOR

I've started adding more and more prints to our walls and am so pleased with my purchases. I still have a huge list of ones I still want though. But I have to say that prints make putting art on your walls so much more affordable and you're still supporting an independent artist. It makes me really happy.

The newest addition is this one by etsy seller, rosiemusic. I love it because it kind of reminds me of me and Brian, with our two kitties. It makes me feel nostalgic for home.



It hangs next to this letterpress print by etsy seller, dutchdoor.



I've had this one by the blackapple for awhile now and it's equally loved. I really want to buy another from her shop...it's hard to decide though!



Here is my 2008 calendar by creativethursday. I have this hanging up at work but I realized that because of the way it's bound, I can frame the prints when the year is over. Yay!

PRODUCTIVE PRODUCTION

Last night was not only filled with a delicious meal, we also had a pretty productive evening working on prepping Brian's one sheets for the mail. Lots of stamping was completed. Next steps are getting them in the envelopes—maybe with another stamp or 2— along with the CDs and some buttons (hopefully I'll have pics to show you of these too) and then mailing them off.



I think I mentioned before how I love custom made stamps and these were done through Impress....I just sent them my art, and voilà! I love the inconsistencies when you stamp too, it almost gives a silkscreen effect.

SOME THINGS

I cooked such a yummy meal last night. I got the recipe from the Get Sconed blog, and it's called New Farm Mac and Cheez. I followed it exactly except for the paprika and I added broccoli instead of the suggested green beans or spinach. I honestly didn't know what to expect from a Vegan mac&cheese recipe but it was so delicious. I'm thinking a lot of you carnivores will even think so.

I served it with just some baby spinach and cherry tomatoes, tossed with some olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper, and of course some red wine.



Some pretty daisies from Brian. Are the purple and yellow ones called daisies too...does anyone know?



Brian's parents got me this beautiful Hippeastrum plant for Christmas and it just bloomed over the weekend. I can't believe how spectacular the flowers are. Apparently they are commonly called an Amaryllis, but according to Wikipedia, they are actually Hippeastrums.





Juniper decided to pose in the pic...the perfect still life.



xo

SOME RANDOMNESS

I know these blog posts have become less frequent. I haven't been inspired to write on here, so I have just been putting it off. But I thought something is better than nothing, so here are some pics.

I went to Chicago this past weekend to visit family. My grandpa is in a nursing home there so I have been making an annual trip.

Here we are:



Here we are in 1981 (i went through old pics at my aunt and uncle's house)



Me again back in 1981, I've been trying to figure out what my expression actually means.



Some birdies at the nursing home that I could watch for hours. I dragged him down to watch them twice.





To go back to the title of this blog post, here are two pics from my Uncle's wedding this past summer.



Somehow Brian ended up with the bouquet after I caught it and am nowhere to be found.

WHAT IS TOMORROW?

It is Primary Election day. That's right, Tuesday February 5th is the day, well that is for all of you Massachusetts residents, as well as about 20 other states. So get out there and vote.