Resolution Time: Cleansing the boxes

I'm keeping my mailboxes clean this year, and that includes my email box as well as my physical mailbox.
I had 3291 unread emails in my gmail inbox on January 1st, 2007. I've since thoroughly cleansed its contents of all unread messages, unsubscribed myself from the hundreds of unnecessary lists that barrage me each day (and that I obviously never read), and archived all but about 100 emails. Everyday I archive what I don't need to immediately respond to and I can proudly say that there are NO unread messages in my inbox this morning! BooYAH!
As for my physical mailbox... that's a bit harder. However, I just happened to hear about catalogchoice.com this morning on NPR and figured it might be the answer to my catalog problems. [Can I even begin to tell you how I loathe getting the Wine Enthusiast catalog every 2 weeks, since not that much seems to change from season to season for grape lovers. And all because we ordered a mushroom log as a gift last Christmas...geesh!]
The site is operated by the Ecology Center and simply allows you to opt out of specific catalog mailings. My fingers are crossed that it will work and I won't have to shred as much paper in the future. Next on the list... opting out of those ridiculous credit card offers!

a new old look

I want this hat.
More importantly, I want a cute short haircut to go with this hat. As some will remember, I had the hair model cut of death a few years back where my locks were reduced to mere inches. Well, after the wedding was over, I was asked time and time again by friends and relatives about when I was cutting my hair short again. Despite it being a crowd favorite, I have also been yearning for a cute change for my boring hair.
Sadly, I know of no stylists in the area, and my hair salon of choice for the past 9 years is 350 miles away. Perhaps I'll risk new scissors in the next few weeks on the advice of some yelpers or maybe not.
In either case, I'm buying this hat.
p.s. use SHOPSPRING to get 20% off thru the 22nd

Wedding Dress Options

This summer, I have to plan what I'll wear to OTHER people's weddings... which will be an interesting assortment of locales and settings.

My pal Meagan is getting married in New Mexico in August in a church/backyard garden affair, and I'll be a member of her "house party." That means I'll need to keep cool in a fabric that breathes well but also looks great with the smoking tan I should have by then. In keeping with the colors of the affair, my dress options are limited to pink, cranberry or light green. Now pink just happens to the color of choice in my dress collection, but why not have an excuse to buy something new and pretty?

This dress happens to come in the BRIGHT BERRY color shown which got raving approval
from both Mr. Lemon and the future bride. Now I just have to wait for it to go on sale before I jump in and get it... oh bother!

Flat Footed

I love how J. Crew has truly embraced the flat as an accessory season after season. I'll ignore their annual attempt to bring back the espadrille but I must say that I appreciate that the store is one of the only ones out there to embrace my body size/shape.

Mr. Lemon's new alphabet

I've been trying to figure out a way to buy this poster for some time now. Yet, with babies far off in the future, I couldn't really buy it and stow it away without feeling bad. Yet I found the solution when I showed it to Mr. Lemon tonight and he asked me to order it for his office. I hadn't even thought of that! What a perfect poster for him!

So, with only $36 and $5 shipping from the UK, our alphabet poster is on its way!

Craft Logging

I've decided to keep a record of everything I create... it's a new year's resolution that I hope to carry on into the future for as long as I can. I got the idea from my letterpress class, when one participant had a simple notebook filled with one of every card she had ever pressed, and the notes and details on the colors and fonts of each project.
My version is a simple 3-ring binder and glossy inserts. I'll keep my planning sheets for each project along with anything else that was involved in the project (i.e. photocopies of the art I used for GOCCO) and perhaps one of the pieces of work that wasn't super perfect.
I'm actually quite excited to have a real craft diary!

Gifting on the mind

With Halloween here today, I've decided to start thinking about all of the holiday gifting that we'll need to do in the upcoming months. I must say that I've found that sticking to a theme and replicating it with personality for my friends has worked wonders in the past. It's so hard to find good gifts these days if you're not made of money, so I make mine instead. And this year... I'm following through with an idea I couldn't execute last year.
I'll be using my trusty Gocco and some etching creme and my fingers are crossed for a wonderous result! And since most of the gifts will be sent via USPS, I'm investigating the best ways to present and package the gifts. I'm thinking that my paper shredder, some velum and Martha Stewart twine or ric-rac will do the trick!
Don't you just love holiday planning?

20 x 200

You really can't get too much for $20 these days. Heck, we wanted to decorate the apartment with some picture frames and we could only buy 3 frames that we liked for $21...

I love scouring etsy for amazing prints and fun things, but here's art that's even easier to find. Every Tuesday and Wednesday at 2pm, new art is posted for sale on 20x200, and each edition has 200 8x11 prints available for $20! If you're really enamored with the work, you can buy the full size for $2000 or the 13x19 size for $200.

A wonderful idea, and great eye candy for the soul every week.

my first etsy items

So I went ahead and made some of those photo-notebooks this weekend, and I've added them to my Etsy shop. Listing is only the beginning, as I won't be a bonified "real" etsyian until an item actually sells.

My first experimental notebook used a couple of photos from Amsterdam, and the cover featured the oldest house in the city (built in the 1520's I seem to recall).
Then I printed up some photos at Costco (gotta love their online system... makes a weekend trip to the store that much better when you don't have to wait an hour for the photos!) and made some cute sets from some of my favorite non-commercial photos:

I'm really digging the giraffe right now... and these adorable little Boston Terrier ones that have yet to be created! My shop should be nice and full tomorrow... after I find someone else to cut the paper instead of my tired little hands!

I got a little crafty yesterday in my jobless lull, so I decided to make a long overdue "Thank You" present for a friend. Mrs. Bee @ Weddingbee.com granted me my wish last year and anointed me last year as Mrs. Lemon, the crafty and blue/gold obsessed 7/7/7 bride. WB made life a lot of fun while I was planning my wedding, and it still is something I'm very proud to be a part of. So, I made this little kitschy thing out of felt and I hope she'll like it!