i can't believe i forgot!!

I'm claiming temporary insanity! In the craziness of packing four kids, myself, camera gear, carry-on bags, diaper bag and genius stroller for our European vacation ... I completely forgot to give an update when our new Snow & Graham goodies went live. So sorry! And happy shopping!

more swag

I got to work this morning and remembered, I completely forgot about our lovely Linda & Harriett swag!  This calendar is yummy!!  I have this hanging on my wall above my computer, so it's in my peripheral vision most of the day and that makes me happy.  :)

nyss swag

One of the things I love at the Stationery Show is the swag.  The last couple of years, one of our favs has been a calendar put together by most of our favorite designers.

We visit each participating designers booth, and are handed a delicious calendar page that has us set til next year's show.  I thought it would be fun to start showing each new month ... this month {and June's} is from one of the very first letterpress lines I brought into the store {maybe 5ish years ago!} ... Two Piglets.  I love catching up with Jesse at the show ... and he got bonus points this year for noticing my haircut!  :)

greeting cards with spark!

I love these new cards from Spark Stationery!  Their Bittersweet Ink line ... so cheeky! And who doesn't love a wiener dog!?

This is our puppy pebbles ... renamed puddles ... who I fondly call "no puppy!"

gavin rossdale. gwen's hubby.

It's celebrity central here at bwp and this time I didn't miss it!! So I'm in my office and Eric comes back and tells us {real slow like} "Gavin. Rossdale. is in the store ... ?" {with a question mark}. We tear out into the store, but slow down just in time to play it cool. When we're not spotting him anywhere, we get all anxious asking where he went. He had already left, but was headed down the street. So yeah, we go outside and spot him walking down the street of our quaint, little, historical block. We cross to the other side of the block and hope to meet up with him as he circles back. Check-mate! Our plan worked and sweet Jesus, he's pretty! Gwen, you are one lucky lady!

{photo courtesy of gavinrossdale.com}

Okay, so back at the store we grill the associates that checked him out ... tell. us. everything! We got his receipt {and signature on his cc statement} and located the greeting cards he picked out. Great taste! He was even talked into taking advantage of our Stationer's Dozen promotion {buy 12 cards, get one free ... hey, even celebs like a deal!}.

Are you dying to know what he got, or am I the only freak? Just in case I'm not the only freak, this is what he got {designs shown above}: Kate Funk {bwp's very own designer}; SusyJack*; Night Owl Paper Goods; Fiddlesticks; Cecily Ink and a black ball-point pen.

Once again my friends ... your E! News of the day ... happy weekend!

a young lady's room

I've mentioned that I'm in the process of adding a new room to our house for my three little girls ... and that's left Taylor asking, "What about me?" She was seven when we moved into the house and I admit, she has pretty much outgrown her hot pink, zebra striped, moroccan themed room. Yes Taylor, let's redecorate! I had her start by picking out new bedding {gotta love PBteen} and together we decided on colors of paint; where to put each color; etc.; etc. I had some suggestions for her on how to have some fun with the colors and I really enjoyed 'designing' it with her. Since we were going to be gone for 2 weeks, it was a great time to have it painted ...

When we got home yesterday, we both ran up to her room to see the results ... beautiful! It fits her perfectly. She's just turned 13, not a super girly-girl, not overly stylish {yet!}, and seems to prefer a clean look. I'm so excited with the way it turned out.

The best part was that she seemed to really value, want, and trust my opinions. Maybe I'm a cool mom after all? {Don't tell her I said that ...}

I was late in my planning of all this, so didn't get to the window treatment part of her room {which explains the sort of barren look ... well, that and the fact that she's in the process of organizing everything as she puts it back in her room. which she was supposed to do as she was taking things out of her room, but instead threw out into the living room in a heap! okay, maybe I just lost my cool mom status with that ranting ...}

These are the fabrics we chose for window treatments. I can't wait to see it all come together!

{and um, yeah ... that's camp rock playing on her tv. hail to the jo bros.}

add spark to your favors

We featured these party favors as a design tip last year, and Brides.com just posted our idea using them as a wedding favor. It got me thinking ... wouldn't it be fun to have sparklers at a winter wedding?

au revoir

In an hours time, we'll be on our way back home. We had an awesome time, but everyone's ready to see our dogs, taylor's horse and sleep in our own beds. Although ... the girls current bedroom has been demolished {for the new addition} so they have a brand new bunk bed awaitin' on them ... in the baby's room! Not sure how that's going to work out for me ... fingers crossed until November when the new {larger} room is ready.

On our walk to dinner the other night, I spotted this paper store. It didn't look too outstanding to me and we didn't have time to get back to it when it was open, but I did quite enjoy seeing the Moleskine's in the window! And who doesn't love the word 'papeterie' ....

i'm in love ...

all over again with Elum! How awesome are their new products?!?

orange you excited?!?

We finally have the much anticipated, talked about, and blogged about 'Type' line {and awesome new note sets} from Orange Beautiful. And they're every bit as awesome as you've read & heard about ... enjoy!

stroller envy

I know you mom's understand what I mean when I say 'stroller envy' ... we've all experienced it. You can't deny giving a passing stroller the once {or twice} over. Maybe whispering to a friend what a cool stroller, trying to get the name of it, then going home to google it ...

Or is that just me and my obsession?

I will be the first to admit that I collect strollers. I have a fleet of them ... seriously. In fact, maybe that's why I kept having babies ... so I could keep collecting strollers.

Example: We took a trip to Denmark when Hunter was a baby and I fell in love with the strollers. I bought one. It was my cadillac of strollers. Sadly, it wasn't so handy to use in the states and a little difficult to maneuver around Target.

Anyhoo, I have a problem with the older girls {mostly Wynter, 4 1/2} getting "very tired feet," and wanting to be carried or sit in the stroller. With our Europe trip pending, I started thinking about dragging them around and thought I would look for this cool stroller I've envied, where an older child can either sit or stand in the back. I did some online research and came up with the Joovy caboose. Can I just say this is one of the best purchases I've ever made? {Sadly, I just found it in pink ... for anyone that purchases one in pink, and I see you out and about ... rest assured, I will look at that beauty with a fresh case of stroller envy!}

This stroller is pure genius! The babes has her rule up front and the older girls take turns sitting in back. That was until they figured out a way to both sit back there. Piper has a pretty tiny bottom, so it works perfectly ... all three girls contained in once place. Also a great way to keep track of them amongst the crowds of Europe. And when I can get Taylor to push the three of them, I've got my girls all in one place and I'm free to take photos! How much better can it get?

Wait, did I just see a mom eyeing up my stroller & adorable girls? :)

{look closely and you'll note a leg of the Eiffel Tower in the background of above photo}

happy fourth!

{photo courtesy of linda & harriett}

Since we won't be celebrating the Fourth in the States this year {or celebrating at all actually ... if I were supermom, I guess I could've still gotten festive outfits that proudly announced we were Americans celebrating our independence in a foreign land ... and planned some kind of fun celebration, but at the time of planning/packing, that all seemed like a little too much trouble}.

Instead, we'll be safely tucked away on an overnight train to Paris, while I quietly let the Fourth slip by.

This post from Linda & Harriett today made me homesick for bbq, fireworks, parades, mosquito bites and family! Thank you Liz for putting together such a festively beautiful image!

Happy Fourth everyone!

I *heart* hello!lucky

I'm SO happy they're back ... at bwp anyway! I didn't have a rep or whatnot, so somehow Hello!Lucky fell off my radar ... but we reconnected at the stationery show and I couldn't be happier! How yummy is the chair patterned wrapping paper??

We're putting a new addition on our house that will include a new office for me and one bedroom to house three girls {am I nuts?!} ... and I would LOVE to paper one of my office walls with that wrapping paper ... thoughts on how to go about that?

il papiro!!

I made it!! Il Papiro must be a stationery store chain in Italy ... I was in Venice a couple of summers ago and went into a store exactly like this one. Down to the same monogrammed correspondence cards! Same marbled paper, same pencils in marbled paper cases ... well, you get the idea. It was exciting none-the-less ...

This is an adorable paper music box and then of course, a wall of wrapping paper. Every great paper store needs a great wall of wrap. :)

These are the two window displays ... I love how put together and understated they are.

The best part? This {Il Vittoriano} is right down the street ... imagine your lunch break here! Ciao!

stationery? stationary?

Total pet peeve of mine!! Does anyone else feel my pain {visibly cringe when you see paper referred to as stationARY}? Finally LaFamilia Green gives my peeve validation!

And for today's lesson, check it out ... direct from Webster's:
stationary |ˈstā sh əˌnerē|
adjective
not moving or not intended to be moved : a car collided with a stationary vehicle.
• Astronomy (of a planet) having no apparent motion in longitude.
• not changing in quantity or condition : a stationary population.
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin stationarius (originally in the sense [belonging to a military station] ), from station- ‘standing’ (see station ).
USAGE Be careful to distinguish stationary ('not moving, fixed') from stationery ('writing paper and other supplies').

stationery |ˈstā sh əˌnerē|
noun
writing paper, esp. with matching envelopes.
• writing and other office materials.
USAGE See usage at stationary.

Even worse? Come NSS time, I'm invited by stationARY companies to come see their wares. They spend thousands on postcards, booths, catalogs and spell stationery wrong. That makes me sad ...

{And on the European stationery front? I finally spotted "Il Papiro" as we were whizzing by in a taxi! I did my best with my direction dyslexic self to take note of my location ... if all goes according to plan, I may try to get there within the next day or so!}