Where have you been?!!

I don't call. I don't write.
The nerve.

I guess I have some explainin' to do.
Well, I've been just a little busy with my personal life lately. It's as simple as that. I have been feverishly planning the most wonderful event: my wedding to the loveliest, sweetest man, which is going to happen in 30 short days! (Eeeekkkk!!!) I cannot begin to tell you how excited we are. Everything is finally falling into place and the "to-do" list is getting a lot shorter. I'm just hoping that the Chicago weather holds out for us and we have a sunny, crisp fall day!

A few weeks ago, I also completed my first ever sprint distance triathlon here in Chicago. That was a HUGE personal goal for me that I have been working on since February (and hey, it didn't hurt that it helped me lose a few pounds for the wedding!). I am so proud of myself for accomplishing it. Sports have always played a role in my life, but I have to say, swimming for a half-mile in open-water never has. Beyond casual swimming, I had no idea what I was doing. So I signed up for some lessons this past winter and then practiced, practiced, practiced. Obviously, swimming in a race setting, with a bunch of other people was the panic-inducing portion of the race for me. But thankfully, the swim went better than I could have ever hoped. The rest of the race was HARD, but very fun. I literally caught myself smiling so many times because I was so excited and proud. There's nothing that will make you more proud of yourself than doing something that seems a little risky, a little out of reach, and makes your nervous heart beat a little faster just thinking about it. It's worth it! Prepare, train, set yourself up for success and go do it! You'll be so proud of yourself afterwards. Promise.

Ok, enough pep talk. I'm just feeling so energized lately and am ready, with all of my personal plans falling into place, to step back into my Etsy shop and the blog world and send some positive energy and lovely cards your way! I hope you'll come along for the ride! xo-Kami


This is literally what I yelled out as I exited the water, "Yay! I didn't drown!"

Dream Locale: The Viceroy Palm Springs

Well, I've already got my wedding venue, but the Viceroy Palm Springs looks pretty darn swanky. I love, love, love the yellow + black and white color palette that they have for this whole hotel! Yellow is my favorite color and playing a big role in my own wedding, but the Viceroy takes the yellow to a whole new level of hip, California cool. It's 90 degrees here in Chicago, but Palm Springs is still looking pretty nice :) Especially that pool.


Check out the full post over on The Wedding Chicks blog.

And after your done ogling the images of the Viceroy, head on over to Lane Dittoe's website. He took all of the above photographs and there so much great wedding and couple photography on his site.

All photography by Lane Dittoe Photography
Source: The Wedding Chicks

FREE Father's Day Cards!

Hello Lovelies,
Well, I have been a very bad shop owner lately. I'll admit it. Between traveling and planning my own wedding, I have been been a bit neglectful and have left you in the lurch without any Father's Day cards! Shame on me! I sincerely apologize for the oversight. I DO love my papa, and I'm sure you do, too!

So, to make amends, I've posted some free, yes FREE, Father's Day cards that you can download as a PDF file and print on your own personal computer (or take to your local copy shop). NOTE that these are only for your personal use (not for selling them or for stealing my ideas). Just print 'em out, cut and fold along the lines. Then give the card to your Dad this Sunday with a big hug and a kiss!

Here are the 2 card designs (2 color options for the first design)
Simply click on the LINK below the card image to go to the pdf file download.

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dads out there! -Kami

Happy Daddy Day! Card - BLUE

My Pops is the Tops Card

Happy Daddy Day! Card - RED

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