The Mister and I have recently celebrated our 6 month anniversary. Can you believe it? It’s been such a fun time together. You know how everyone says that the first year is the hardest? If this is the hardest year, then I’m in for a treat. It’s been pretty blissful so far; we’ve been so blessed.
Umba Box has been keeping me plenty busy the last few months. It’s such a wonderful feeling to own your own company; it’s so rewarding. I definitely work so much harder these days, but you know what? It doesn’t feel like work.
We celebrated Thanksgiving with his parents who came to DC for a few days. I cooked my first official holiday meal, and dangit, I should have taken pictures of it. We went fairly traditional, but tried to make things a little healthier (except for the brussels sprouts seared in bacon fat), yet still tasty.
While they were here, we took a half hour drive from DC to Annapolis, MD. We also took our new pup, Latte, with us. We rescued her from the Humane Society a few weeks ago, and she’s just about the cutest thing ever (she snores during naps!). Annapolis is a gorgeous town, nestled between two rivers (maybe one river and one creek?), near the Chesapeake Bay.
Spring time screams that it’s time for stripes. The cheery pattern brings memories of beach blankets, cute skirts, and
Because I’m a nerd (have you figured this out?), I did a little googling about the history of stripes. That’s right, I googled “history of stripes,” though I didn’t really expect to find much. But apparently I’m not the only one who has had their interested piqued by this pattern’s past.
The Luxist reports on an entire book dedicated to the history of stripes: The Devil’s Cloth by Michel Pastoureau.
So it might shock you, as it did me, to learn that striped cloth was once a controversial religious garment not unlike the burqa today. According to the book, a few striped-clad monks called the Carmelites moved from Palestine to Paris where they were ridiculed and jeered. They were accused of greed, hypocrisy and treachery and even seen as the henchmen for the devil and the Antichrist. All because of their stripes.
Everywhere, stripes became synonymous with bad. Prostitutes, hoodlums and deviants were all forced to wear stripes. You know, the jailbird look.
Over time, disgust with stripes became fascination. Fascination became exotic. And exotic became sought after.
I was browsing through ASOS for some cute jewelry for my bridesmaids (here’s some of what I’ve found so far, primarily on Forever 21), and I found the most. precious. ring ever. It makes me squeal it’s so cute! A TEACUP & SAUCER ring! Oh my goodness. Perfect for the wearing while watching Royal Wedding, dontcha think? Are you going to watch?
After years of wandering around blogs without an efficient way to properly catalog fun finds and fab fashion, I found Pinterest. And quickly fell in love. If you haven’t heard of Pinterest yet, it’s a self-described “social catalog service”. As you comb through your daily bloggie goodness, you can “pin” any image that you find to a “pin board” which is a collection of images that you can create. Want to remember DIY projects that you just can’t wait to try? Have you moved into a new house and are collecting ideas for interior design? Want to create a virtual library of books that you have or want to read? Pinterest is for you. It’s invite only right now, but if you sign up for email subscriptions to Stamp 48 (there’s a box on the top right), I’ll get a Pinterest invite sent to you pronto! The first 5 to subscribe nab ‘em! Update: All invites have been spoken for!
After combing through my boards, I pulled a few random images that I’m diggin’ tonight:
This weekend I have cleaned, written a post for a new blog I’m writing for (details coming soon!), made cookies for a girlfriend’s Christmas cookie exchange, made muffins for my Muffins & Mimosas party this morning, crafted with a few good friends, made some Christmas presents (no hints! can’t share pics yet), and cleaned again. Feels good!
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a cozy day with your loved ones. The Boyfriend and I are in St. Louis this week hanging out with my family and enjoying some much needed R&R. I’m thankful for a warm fireplace, relaxation, and my lovely readers!
Are you organized for Christmas yet? Did you know there are 39 days left until Christmas? I didn’t until I looked it up. This sounds trite, I cannot believe how quickly this year has passed since the last go-around. 2010 has been full of new blessings and adventures, but that’s not what this post is about.
The Christmas season inevitably brings a unique stress to many people, but with a bit of planning, thought, organization, and more planning, you can feel more in control and stay on top of the various tasks that need to be accomplished in what is now a seemingly-short number of days. Yes, planning takes work. But I always find that spacing out the planning and starting early do wonders for my stress level. Yes, I do tend to procrastinate in many things (much to my mother’s chagrin), but I’m trying my best this year to stay on top of all of the tasks I have on my list (having a list is a start, right?).
Here are my main areas that I need to focus on and how I [attempt to] manage each:
Travel: The Boyfriend and I have a good amount of time off for the holidays, so instead of flying and spending hours in lines we are going go to do a road trip from DC to Michigan to St. Louis and back to DC. We plan to stop at places along the way, if time permits. I use Trip It to keep everything organized. You simply forward travel confirmation emails (planes, trains, and automobiles) to the service, and it automatically adds your travel plans and creates a “trip” in your profile. If you have enough contacts who use this service, you can also see who will be in the same area during each trip. I’ve been using this for about a year and have really loved it. This will keep our busy driving/visiting itinerary uber-organized.
Gifts: Good ol’ Google Docs to the rescue. Several months ago, I started a spreadsheet that keeps the recipient, idea, price, occasion, and source all organized. I like using Google Docs because I can easily add things on the go, and check ideas if I’m in a store. This has been one of the most helpful things I’ve done this year, and I don’t feel overwhelmed by all the gift buying (which is definitely my favorite part!).
Christmas Cards: Tiny Prints to the rescue! Seriously, I love this site.
Decor: Luckily this doesn’t take much, as this is the first year of having a place to call my own. The pretty little things I do have are stored in a single plastic tub ready to be pulled out right after Thanksgiving.
Parties: Again, Google! Google Cal allows you to add different calendars. Adding one specifically parties and travel is way easy. And it can be shared with loved ones so they can know what you’re up to (but only if you want them to, of course.)
Hi! I'm Lauren. Thanks for stopping by Stamp 48. I love empowering Creative business owners, grape soda, google maps, peonies, mustard yellow + gray, and ruffles. Stamp 48 represents the next phase of my journey. Subscribe + follow + fan S48 to join me in the journey.
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