Etsy Love! :: Dancing Pen Calligraphy

I just wanted to spread a little Etsy Love to a fellow Etsian, Elecia of DancingPen. Isn't her work beautiful? And to top it off, she's a sweet shop-owner, with super-customer service. I'm lucky enough to have her addressing my outer envelopes for my wedding invitations. She also does calligraphy for a range of other products--marriage certificates, vows, placecards, poems and I'm sure much more!

I admit, it is a little splurge to get calligraphy, but even on a budget I wanted at least one extra special touch to our invitations. After seeing so many beautiful calligraphy samples on wedding blogs, I knew that I wanted calligraphy. Elecia is going to use white ink on dark grey metallic envelopes and I cannot wait to see the results. I'll have to control myself until August, but I will be sure to share the results when I get them back! Until then, I need to get working on the overall design of our wedding invitations. It's definitely on my "to-do" list for this month.

Top image source: Dancing Pen Calligraphy

Go Ride a Bike!

The weather forecast for Chicago next week is looking a little better and my goal is to ride my bike to work at least two times next week (with my helmet, unlike the cute lady above. Yes, you look chic, but put on that darn helmet!). My trip to work is only about a 15-minute bike ride versus a 5-minute drive in my car. I know, I am such a lazy American. A 5-minute drive! However I defend myself on the basis of these three facts: 1) I am absolutely, positively, never-in-a-million-years a morning person. It's just not pretty in the morning until I have some coffee and the clock strikes 11am. Unfortunately, I need to be at work much earlier than this. 2) I am currently training for a triathlon, which is both the reason I should be riding my bike to work and also the reason that I should not. My body is just so doggone tired lately and biking even just a few more minutes is not the most appealing idea. Also, if I have my car, I can whip over to the gym at lunch and get a run or a swim in. So being lazy and driving actually allows me to workout more (i'm sure that you love this logic. ha!). 3) Lunchtime=errand time. I get so much of my weekly shopping and errands done at my lunch time. No car = no trunk, which poses a logistics problem for how I would actually get all of those groceries and Target purchases safely home.

Okay, enough of my faulty logic (or excuses :), I'm just going to try and ride my bike to work twice next week. It is fun and energizing and actually does wake me up a bit more than the coffee.

Are you able to ride your bike to work or get in a bike ride during your normal week? Maybe for just a quick errand or for a fun ride with the family?

And speaking of biking, Chicago is also having a fun event over Memorial Day weekend (Sunday, May 30th to be exact) called "Bike the Drive." They shut down the busy Lake Shore Drive to cars for a few hours and let everyone come out for a nice ride with their families along the lake. It's not a race, it's not competitive—just everyone out there, all ages and all athletic levels, pedaling around for fun. 30 miles of undisturbed biking along the lake and in the heart of Chicago. What could be better than that?

I'm signing off until Monday, I've got a "spa day" scheduled with my sister tomorrow, a lot of work for the shop, some workouts and most importantly some relaxation with my sweetheart planned. I hope everyone has a great weekend and is able to get outside for a nice walk, run or maybe even a bike ride! -Kami

Top Image Source:A Cup of Jo blog (more on this Australian blog later. It's great!)
Bottom Image Source:Strawberry Luna "Going to See My Baby" Art Print

Ahoy, Dresser!

How fun is this dresser? I'm definitely filing this away for future use. This was painted by the folks over at Chroma Lab. They have some great ideas on their site for creating whimsical and textural design with just a bit of paint. The great thing about decorating with paint is that it's affordable and easy to change. Now that's my kind of design!

Image Source: Chroma Lab via Design Sponge

Getting Some Work Done

Hello, lovelies! I've been hard at work on a BUNCH of new stuff for the shop. There's just never enough time in the day, is there? I hope that everyone is doing great and getting ready for summer (it's almost here!). I've got a lot of new prints coming to the shop, as well as some great new cards. I can't wait for show-and-tell time. Until then, though, I need to sit down and crank some work out! And doesn't the desk above look like a lovely place to be if you have a lot of work to do? Just add a cup of coffee or tea and I would be set for more than a few hours. Ta ta for now! xo -Kami

Say "Hello" to the Future of Laundry

Okay, so I digress from my normal design rants. I don't normally get excited about cleaning products, but this new laundry detergent from Method just rocks. And I feel that I just have to let people know. I purchased it on a whim at Target the other week, mostly because I had walked to the store and realized that I was going to have to carry back anything that I bought. Eyes scan shelves and land on a laundry detergent bottle that promised to wash 25 loads and was smaller than a grande Starbucks drink. Sold! (Ok, so there's some little nugget of innovative packaging design appreciation in this post...) I initially bought the smaller version just to give a try, but we've loved it and have since bought this larger 50 load pump bottle. This 50 load bottle is the size of a 20 oz. soda bottle. I haven't counted, so I'm not sure how many loads it actually does, but it seems quite close to what the bottle promises.

Good things do come in small packages. This new super-concentrated, small packaged detergent is probably the most eco-friendly option on the laundry detergent shelves. Less plastic waste (the Method website says 36% less plastic is used to create these bottles vs. other concentrated detergents. 50% less plastic compared to normal detergents. whoa). You're buying a super concentrated detergent (so less water) and less weight to lug from the store and around your laundry room. Bonus: it saves space in your laundry area (my laundry area is a tiny closet, so that's a big deal to me!).

If you're still not convinced, the Method Laundry website outlines everything much more scientifically than I ever could. Take a look and next time you're out of detergent think about giving this brand a try for a few loads. The earth will thank you. (ok, i'm literally stepping off the soapbox) xo-Kami

Image Source: Method website

Modern Dollhouses

Like a lot of girls, I had a dollhouse when I was a kid. My younger sister and I would set up our dollhouses in a circle (our "town") and play for hours. Each of our dollhouses was a different style. I had a rustic, wood cabin while my younger sister had a pink and blue victorian as well as a larger painted traditional house. We exchanged furniture, "redecorated" and played for hours in our imaginary, little world.

Fast forward to almost 20 years later: I come across these "Modern Dollhouses" and the stories of their collectors on The New York Times website. I seriously gasped when I came across the first image. Who ever thought that you could have a modern dollhouse? As a grownup? Genius! The thought hadn't even occurred to me, but what better way to live out your modern furnishing obsession without going bankrupt? Personally, I love modern furnishings, but they're really not in the budget at the moment and also not really in-line with my hubbie-to-be's style.

The current collectors seem to be about portraying "real-life" in miniature (if not better-designed) versions of their real lives. In some of the pictures of these modern dollhouses, like the one below, it's hard to tell if it's a life-size room or the dollhouse. The amount of detail put into these houses is amazing!

I'm not sure if I could get into full-on collecting (especially because there's just no extra room in my apartment now!), but it might be fun to have just a few mini-modern furnishings spread around as little surprises.

Ok, you've got to check all the pictures out. They're just fascinating! Here's a link to the full slideshow. Enjoy!

All Photos: David Azia (for The New YorkTimes)
Source: The New York Times

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the lovely mothers (and motherly figures) out there! I'm thinking of all the Moms in my life today and thanking my lucky stars that I have all of these wonderful women surrounding me. Hug your Mom! (or I hope that you at least sent her a card! :) xo -Kami
Me and My Mom circa 1985 (wasn't she sweet to let me play in the warm, clean towels?)

If you need to find me...

...I'll be here. At my (pretend) home in Napa Valley, California. Doesn't it look heavenly? Have a great weekend everyone! -Kami

Photo: Erhard Pfeiffer
Source: Remodelista

Wedding Notes :: Father-Daughter Dance Song Ideas

As my wedding day approaches (just 5 months away!), I'm trying to get more and more things checked off the to-do list. One fun thing that I wanted to figure out was the Father-Daughter dance song. Now, I know not every bride wants to do this tradition, but my Dad is my buddy, and I definitely wanted this to be our special time during the crazy wedding day.

After a lot of research (hours!), my Dad and I finally agreed on Adele's version of "Make You Feel My Love," which is is originally a Bob Dylan song. This song has special meaning to my family, too, because my Dad danced to this same song with my older sister at her wedding, but in the Garth Brooks version (which is also very, very pretty..even for non-country fans!).

It was surprisingly hard to find some good (read: non-sappy, non-corny) songs to choose from, so I wanted to share this list of sweet and modern father-daughter dance songs that I found. I didn't want all of my labor to be for naught! This can be a great starting off point for your search, or maybe you love one of these! Enjoy! -Kami

--Michael Buble "How Sweet It Is" (There are also many other artists who do a version of this song, i.e. James Taylor)
--The Beach Boys "God Only Knows"
--Adele "Make You Feel My Love" (also a lot of other versions of this song by various artists)
--Billy Joel "Just the Way You Are"
--Billy Joel "Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel)"
--Paul Simon "Father & Daughter"
--Ray Charles "Ain't that Love"
--Johnny Cash "You Are My Sunshine" (lots of other versions of this song)
--Ozzy Osborne "Here For You" (a little long, but maybe you or the DJ could shorten it)
--also Neil Young's version of "Here For You"
--James Taylor's "You've Got A Friend"
and one of my all-time favorites:
--Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (I still want to work this song into my wedding somehow!)

That's all I've got! Hope this helps!