Recent Pics

just a wee bit of life lately via Instagram --

They were filming Anchorman 2 outside my office one day. Check out those old-timey taxis!

red + pink = my new favorite combo.

I'm loving his longer hair.

Wear some love!

...an old pic in honor of this cutie (Patrick's little sis) who turned 13 last month. 

Can't believe it!

Sunday morning coffee run.

pretty wrought iron in the neighborhood.

uber blonde & ready for summer.

A run on the water on a gorgeous day? Instant day-maker.

As much as this city drives me bonkers sometimes,
I feel fortunate that this view is walking distance from our home. Hard to beat!

Look how cute!

Meet my adorable friend (& amazing photographer). Our hello-hug was so big in my apartment doorway that an entire Grande coffee went flying everywhere. Nothing to do but laugh!

Hey, handsome.

When I was a litle girl, my oldest brother played a foot soldier (one of the bug-eyed bad guys) in the Ninja Turtle movie. Naturally, I thought he had super powers. I had Ninja Turtle posters in my room and even brought his mask to school for show & tell. I wanted to make sure his son knew his dad was magical as well so I designed this onesie for the little man. It looked SO teeny when I got it - hard to believe he's even tinier!

With the new Citi Bike right on our street, it might be a sign that I need to learn how to ride one of these things even though that's the scariest thought ever. It's a shame they don't come with training wheels...you think I'm joking, don't you?

Our new favorite fish seasoning? Truffle mustard!

Check out that grin. My mom says he's smiling because angels are whispering in his ear :) See you oh-so-soon, little one!

until next time,

g

Last Week

just a few pics from last week ~

^ we went to a bowling birthday party at Melody Lanes in Sunset Park! so, so fun.

...and I blame those distracting flashing lights for all my gutter balls.

• the birthday girl is just the cutest. (& sweetest.)
• so are the newly engaged couple!
• and so is my guy...who bowled with his non-dominant arm and still beat me. silly athlete.

^this was after seeing an apartment that was - let's just say -  no bueno.

we stumbled upon happy hour specials in a hidden Japanese restaurant where we had to remove

our shoes to enter. as crazy stressful as this apartment decision is (we have just 10 days to figure it out!), i'm thankful for happy hours & a roommate who always pushes me to laugh and look at the bright side.

nails!
"Delicate" + "Mademoiselle" // "Licorice" by essie - aka black

since I decided to practice what I preach ;)

i love when my stepdad mails me magazine articles he wants me to see.

do you have friends or family members who do that? isn't it the best?!

^one more thing that arrived in my mailbox that totally made my week. (image via)

Uppercase is my new favorite magazine!

i read it on the plane last night and took an entire page of notes because i was so inspired.

...

also?

 it provided me with my new favorite definition.

until next time,

g

New Fave App!

Do you ever wana add some pizzazz to your photos on your phone?

I bring you the newest photo-editing app from the talented & creative minds

of Elsie + Emma at A Beautiful Mess!

-- so many fun phrases & doodles & borders with which to play --

Pssst, see more on their website here & keep scrolling to see some of my examples!

some thank-you notes from my shop for a girlfriend I get to see tonight!

oh, how I wish I could take a nap right now :)

 new business cards!!!

After much thought, I decided to make them clean & crisp without any color

with hopes that the design would be sufficient on its own.

(And I'm so happy I did.)

 eeeeee!

 The new website isn't live yet so that links to my old one, but please stay tuned! ;) 

 Also, a friend (thanks, Liza!) gave me the awesome idea of just adding color as I see fit. I could color in the heart with whatever color I choose or even add glitter or washi tape. Magic! Plus! ...the card itself is so thick that nothing bleeds through. Pretty darn pumped about them!

Another thing I'm pumped about? This new fabulous app, of course. Isn't it fun?!

OMG is right.

 

Download it here :)

 

until next time,

 

g



Recent Moments

My Saturday improved by a million points when my friend invited me to see Matilda with her & her dad! It was so nice of them. And the show? Adorable. You can see the quote above (in the bottom right-hand corner) from Oona Laurence, one of four rotating Matildas and the one we got to see perform. "Even if you're little you can do a lot!" Aww! She was outstanding. (How do they learn so many lines, songs & dance moves at such a young age?!) I love that a man plays Miss Trunchbull (he's perfect) and the set design & special effects were unreal. I definitely recommend. I'm so delighted I finally got to see it - and so thankful they invited me to join!

I hung out with the beautiful bride-to-be on Sunday in Brooklyn. We grabbed brunch at one of my favorites, Harefield Road, and celebrated over a Bloody Mary & mimosa in the sunshine. She asked me to be one of her bridesmaids and I squealed a very elated, "YES!" (eee!) in reply. After brunch, we bought a wedding magazine from a corner bodega and parked ourselves on a bench, thumbing through it while we enjoyed our mint ice cream :) I am just so excited for all their festivities.

The other two pics? My mom's email saying Fyi....charm necklaces are "in"! with a picture of her necklace hanging on a lamp shade. These are the kinds of emails I receive from her multiple times a day. I love them.

Oh, and that redneck? ;) That's coach Patrick needing some serious sunscreen in his life. His poor tanline is uneven because his one shoulder is lower from last year's surgeries... :/

• Tribeca sunsets 
• "just because" mail from friends that included Big Apple sticky-notes
• a dog that was the size of a horse
• a fun night with this birthday girl!

yellow //skull sleeves//stripes & persimmon //yup, those neon pink pants again...

Thanks to all the fabulous people who weighed in on my Instagram poll! I'm designing new business cards and was staring at the options desperately needing to hear someone else's opinion. 300 of them will be going into goodie bags for an upcoming designer conference in San Francisco - needless to say, I found myself overthinking everything. I'll be sure & share the "winner" design once they're printed!

And yes, I'm that obnoxious friend who makes you a glitter-fied wedding binder. What can I say, I love love and I love glitter :)

P.S. x 3

1. We saw an apartment last night. Despite costing a good chunk more than what we pay now, it made our shoebox feel like a mansion. It was so claustrophobic and the entire building smelled like wet dog. We did the whole polite, "Ohhh this is niiiice" bit while we were there and then the second we got to the stairwell, we looked at each other with wide eyes as if to simultaneously communicate what we both were thinking. HELLtotheNO. I should've known it was going to be a disaster based on this stellar picture of the apartment featured on the landlord's website:

 exhibit A:

This is seriously what we have to work with, people.

2. While I've designed wedding invitation sets before, I designed my first official "wedding logo" this week for a friend to use on things like her program & menu. I can't wait to see how they turn out when they're printed!

3. My mom told me she received her Mother's Day card the other day and it got me thinking about why I love cards & letters so much...and why I'm feeling so drawn by the world of social stationery and the itch to have my own little place within it. While I credit any artistic genes I have to my dad, it is my mother who instilled in me the importance of note-writing. She was the one who sat me down at the kitchen table with a box of crayons and said:

"Why don't you write your aunt and tell her how much you enjoyed your visit?"..."I bet your grandma would love to hear how you are. Be sure and ask how she is, too." ... "Look at what your uncle sent you! How can you thank him? Do you want to draw a picture of it?" ... "It's your sister's birthday next week! Let's make a card!"

In a world full of text conversations and Facebook likes, we've inevitably become lazy with how we reach out to people. And believe me...I know I'm certainly at fault, too. Thank you, Mom, for pushing me to strive for better and for igniting this passion of mine. As silly as it may sound to some, I can't imagine a world without Mother's Day cards and Father's Day cards and Christmas cards and happy birthday cards and thank you cards and just-because-I-love-you cards. At least I don't want to. 

until next time,

g

Recent Smiles

a few recent smiles ~

packaging up Mother's Day cards (buy yours here!) // darling flowers keeping me company

The people at RAYGUN made. my. day. (Check out their store here.)

Needless to say, my I'm Not A Player I Just Blog A Lot shirt is my new favorite article of clothing.

errands with this one. 

(...what happens when I spend too long picking out shampoo.)

Big Guy wine.

"Using My Maiden Name" by Essie.

& a Crumbs cupcake sampler for my weekend hosts!

(These days? I drool over full-size furniture. That couch is just as comfy as it looks, by the way.) A weekend with this chickie at last! We went to an impromptu wine tasting in the morning (because you don't pass up free wine tasting no matter what time it is!) - they asked for my ID and a fellow customer laughed and told me I looked 12. Heh. I keep waiting for the whole looking-really-young thing to be a good thing.

My friend & her husband live outside of DC. We toured the local farmers market & shops at Historic Occoquan which is such a cute little area. How giant are those carrots? I had some of the gluten free banana bread, too. Yum.

And thennn we hit up the outlets at Potomac Mills where a surprise visitor came to say hello!

Unexpected Mom hugs? Sigh...the very best! It makes me sad, really, that run-ins at the mall can't happen more often...very much looking forward to our trip to Virginia in a little over a month!

First of all, please meet their rockstar dog, Bourbon.

We played a card game called Set Back. It was my first time playing and guess who won? Ahem! I'm not competitive or anything... By the way, grilling out on a deck? Sitting in warm sunshine? Telling stories and belly-laughing? Heavenly!

...

P.S. Another recent smile slash happy-sob-fest?

A big congratulatory / best wishes shout-out to this incredible couple who got engaged on Saturday night!

...and a little story about how they met, pulled from my FB status:

A few years ago, I was single on NYE and my girlfriend encouraged me to go out on the town. She insisted on being my "wing woman." Determined to conquer my shyness, I figured "Ok *fine* - I'll talk to a boy." We were at a bar in Brooklyn and I looked far across the room and said, "Him! He's cute! And tall!" I went up to him, asked him a few questions and about 40 seconds in, cut him off. I remember laughing to myself and thinking, "Oh my gosh he's perfect for her!" I told him he HAD to meet my girlfriend and I let the two of them talk for the rest of the night while I happily took over the wing woman role :) Last night that guy from the bar, my dear friend Steve, asked one of my best friends in the world, Adrienne, to be his wife :D Here's to an AMAZING couple!!!!!

They seriously are the cutest, and I've never seen her so truly happy. Also, I've never seen Steve not smiling in her presence. I'm over-the-moon giddy about witnessing this exciting time for them. Thanks for the cupid wings, you two!

P.P.S. With traffic delays, I spent nearly 13 hours on a bus this weekend. So yes, I watched the entire third season of Downton Abbey. I'm going to keep my big mouth shut for those of you who haven't watched it (go right now and do so), but....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In related news, my mother thinks we should dress up as the cast for Thanksgiving. Yes. Patrick, this is your warning if you want to make other plans.

P.P.P.S. Is tomorrow really May? No really, is it? But how?!

until next time,

g

Bits & Pieces

I wanted to share some bits & pieces of my little life lately.

with miss Adrienne!

...taken after we chatted for hours & hours tucked away in the back of this restaurant. 

I love our dates so very much. I inevitably laugh so hard I cry!

P.S. We might have shared a waffle topped with ice cream ;)

 P & I trying to stay warm at Yankee stadium when it was cold 

& my first iced coffee of the season when it was warm.

Oh, and those same obnoxiously neon pants again. I just can't stop wearing them. It's a problem.

...more pics from the game! It went into 12 innings and we didn't get home until after 1 in the morning, but we did get to go underneath the stadium afterwards to see P's old teammate which obviously made everything worth it. They're a troublesome duo, those two :)

Oh, and Patrick also made me take a pic with Zack Hample and the two home run balls he caught that night. I had no idea who he was, but Patrick told me about an ESPN special they did of him. Any sports fans out there? Let me know if you've heard of him. He's all over the internet!

things that make me smile ::

1. My friend texted me this photo of the drawing I did of his mom's dog.

It's now hanging in her beach house. (makes me so happy!)

2. Miss Meaghan joined Instagram! This was a throwback to welcome her on board.

3. Patrick's mom is seriously the cutest.

^^^ this makes me smile, too. 

things that inspire me :: 

1. the color of taxi cabs. "Taxi Cab Yellow" should really replace "Goldenrod"

in the Crayola box if anyone at the crayon factory wants my opinion.

2. Some guy on the street told me my glitter shoes were blinding (well, I'm sorry!), but I love them.

3.  My old roommate's dresser is a doodad dream come true. I could spend hours playing with it all.

Love --> dinner dates with this tall man especially when the menu has a "from the heart" section (!) We went to Philip Marie and I ordered the Prince Edward Island mussels. My family & I went there 11 years ago. Have you seen Anne of Green Gables? (perhaps my all-time favorite!) PEI is its magical setting.

Hate --> While most people are experiencing the pleasant chirps & songs of bitty birds in springtime, New Yorkers wake up to big pigeons cooing & pecking their AC window units. (-.-)

In other news?

I saw Jodie Foster this weekend. She smiled the knowing smile of you know who I am. (Not to be confused with Witherspoon's supercilious behavior during her recent rendezvous with the police.) I also saw Simon Huck. Does he count as a celeb? Or is that only if you watch the Kardashians? (I'm guilty as charged.) I wanted to ask him if he & Jonathan are going to ever make up, but he looked a little busy.

Finding an apartment in NYC sans broker is like entering yourself into a rigged scavenger hunt with a million people. Blindfolded. Wish us luck?

I've been ordering Arnold Palmers everywhere I go. That's neither here nor there, but I wanted to share that tidbit.

My oldest brother is going to have a son in the matter of weeks. (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!)

Patrick & I have both been working most nights these days. ...which is a funny sight since we both work out of our teeny tiny space. But! We're taking tonight "off" and having a little date. We've been saving a bottle of wine our friends sent us all the way from Napa for a special occasion and we've decided, it's time.

I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday!

until next time,

g