last call 2008!

on a whim I've decided to write a very quick reflection of the past year of my life. here 'goes.

In the past year ...
- I got engaged (which was the biggest surprise I've ever had in my life! and has brought me the most joy!)
- my paternal Grandmother passed away.
- my maternal Grandfather passed away.
- I worked side by side with Amanda on a pretty intense literary/art journal...about 80 pages if my memory is correct. for free. Certainly my biggest publication to date that I was so very involved in.
- my Mother remarried.
- I smoked a pipe.
- I planned a wedding 3 states away.
- my baby sister went to Iraq (is still there, but not for long).
- I witnessed one of my oldest & best friends grow a beautiful baby in her tummy...which is, indeed a crazy & miraculous thing to witness!
- I made 200 (or so) of my own wedding invitations almost entirely by hand.
- We purged ourselves of our possessions, probably by 60%, via yard sales, craig's list & goodwill.
- I packed J's house, and put him on a plane to NYC for 5 weeks of training (for Teach for America) the 5 weeks before the wedding!
- I spent July 4th alone in a sweltering apartment (the neighbor across the street even brought me a beer, I think she felt sorry for me!)
- packed all of our possessions into a giant locker, and put it on a truck bound for NYC!
- sold my Isuzu Rodeo.
- packed J's Volvo with the rest of my life and headed to Mississippi for the wedding. J got there at about 2 am the morning before the wedding day.
- married my best friend, in the rain, under beautiful pine trees in front of (most) of our dearest friends & family!
- watched all of our friends go through huge life changes of every kind.
- got on an airplane to New York City the next morning, spent the following week living with people I had never met (they are now good friends)...while J had one more week to finish his job training, living in a dorm.
- started a blog.
- I saw my designs completely cover a bus.
- moved into a 4th floor walk up...in August (which almost landed us in the hospital from exhaustion!).
- spent 2.5 months unemployed living in Brooklyn.
- was in the wedding of a dear friend.
- spent 2.5 months working at a bakery.
- I pretended that I had a mustache.
- I celebrated the election or our nation's first African American President.
- I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, twice.
- I saw a fashion show where everything was made of chocolate.
- spent Christmas in Boston.
- I ate sledgie. (which I do not know how to spell, but I do not recommend.)
- I started my own business!

This year has certainly had some rough spots for us & it's been a whirlwind for sure. But I can't think of a time that we've felt more supported & blessed in every area of our lives.

2008 will go down in the books for us but to 2009 we say, "bring it on!"

Happy Holidays, darlings.

Things have been busy/crazy 'round these parts. A bucket of snow is headed for NYC tonight and so are (part of) the family. I got my DBA (doing business as) today, so I officially am the sole-proprietor of Paper City Design. (Which, to all you Texas pals that told me it's really easy and cost like $15...psh! Not in NYC! try a wild goose chase and $130! but it's okay, I'm still excited!)

I also spent the last week working on a little labor of love that also happens to be top-secret at the moment. Maybe I'll show a few little peeks around the end of 2008, we'll see.

I may not be posting until after the Holidays so I'll leave you with this. Have a joyful holiday!

new work clothes? (for a new job!)

Love. love. love it.
Maybe I got a new job. Maybe it's pretty casual (but no longer coffee-shop casual which requires tying a bandana around my head) & maybe I want this rad shirt...perfect to dress up a bit with a nice cardigan or blazer.

I swore off buying t-shirts, especially ones with crazy graphics on them, about a year ago. Maybe santa will make an exception...?

Also, have you checked out the ampersand blog? You really should, I love it so.

I'm swamped...but it's snowing!

Well, it was snowing...& they were the biggest snowflakes I have ever seen!




*the birdies looked sooo cold!

I literally cried.

Worst decision ever made by a University of which I am an alumna, & former employee. (& like all institutions, they've made their fair share of bad decisions.)

I am heartbroken.

Go here for more info. & how to make your voice heard!

*poster/illustration by Dirk Fowler of f2-design.

Happy Hour // thank you notes

This is the second installment of Happy Hour: the pursuit of a perfect mix of work & play – for life.

Today we will talk about thank you notes. There are certainly grey lines here, but as always this is a forum for suggestion and discussion. First off, make sure you don't leave the interview with out getting their card. It should have all of their contact info. so that you don't have to guess.

Time Frame: In general it's good to hand write a thank you note after an interview and get it in the mail with in the next day or so. If you are like me, after you leave the interview you come up with all of the questions you should have asked while you were there. In this case, I like to email the interviewer as soon as I get home with a gracious, "It was great to meet you, I have a few questions...thank you for your time."

What to say: You should always tailor the note to match the specific job or company. No one likes a canned thank you card, it's a shame when something that should be personal suddenly feels computer generated. So rather than saying:

Ms. Pollard,

Thank you for meeting with me yesterday. I really enjoyed talking to you and hope that you keep me in mind for the job.

Have a good day!
Lindsey

it would be more appropriate to say:

Ms. Pollard,

Thank you for inviting me to your office and introducing me to the Creative Services team. I enjoyed discussing design with you & I appreciate your suggestions for my portfolio.

After meeting with you I am even more interested in the position that you have available because I love print design and working in a small environment. I know that you said that you will be interviewing for a few more weeks but I hope that you keep me in mind.

Have a great week!
Lindsey

This may also be a good place for you to include something about yourself that you haven't had a chance to mention yet. ie: "I 5 years experience in x". Or something as simple as, "I have a passion for helping families in need which is why I have taken an interest in Non-profit XYZ."

Stationery: Think about what kind of company you interviewed with, but also the person you are sending it to. If it's super cooperate, big business, you may want to go with a simple stationery or one with your name or monogram printed on it. If it's a boutique design studio with a fresh aesthetic and funky vibe, you may want to find a card with a lot of personality so they won't want to throw it away. If it's at an animal shelter, maybe find something with a kitty on it – this may sound silly, but that's what they love, & you want to show them that you love kitties too!

Card by a personal favorite, Greenwich Letterpress via their etsy shop.
By Mr. Boddington's Studio.
By Sesame Letterpress.

More articles on the post-interview thank you card here, here, and here.

Happy hunting!

I love.

ooo. This just makes me happy. There isn't much that I love more than simple & beautiful debossed paper. Preferably just white. so simple. so subtle. so perfect.


*Dear Santa, please send me a press for Christmas this year so I can make pretties like this.

from Yellow Owl Workshop...also, so lovely!

Buy in Bklyn!

If you're in the greater Brooklyn area tonight you should swing by all the local shops in Park Slope. They will be open late with fun specials. Get the specifics here.

*it's happening again next Thursday, December 11th, too.

disgusting display of human behavior

There are too many things very wrong with this (Lawsuit: Marketing Blamed in Wal-Mart Trampling Death). Too many things wrong with the mass produced, self-entitled world we are living in. (except you, j.young, living in Belize...yes, we were made for the 3rd World & we'll be there as soon as we can because I don't know if I can take this much longer!)

*this is probably old news for many of you but I have no TV, so I miss some stuff.

Made with hands.

I have approximately one million projects that I want to do before Christmas. Things ranging from making stockings to handmade Christmas cards...ornaments, gifts...the list goes on. It's December 3rd and we will have family or friends in town (or we will be out of town) basically until January. No time for all of that. So for the things that I can't make as gifts etc, I will do my best to buy handmade. Did you take the pledge?

Just to get your brain thinking handmade this morning I'm going to share some of the work by the fine folks at Wonder Thunder.

I love Wonder Thunder's new pillows & the octopus accident baby t-shirt has always been one of my favorites!

I've also had my eye on a set of these practical little veggie bags for a long time...I would be the raddest girl at the co-op if with these bags for sure! (they "out-lawed" grocery bags awhile back but we buy almost everything in bulk so the small bags are still a real problem!)

You can find all of Wonder Thunder's wares here, on etsy.

Check out Lindsey's handmade suggestions here.

Missed friends & a poem.

A dearest friend may have written a poem – not about, but with some references to us. (click here to be lead to the poem)

I've been reading her poems for years & find them quite lovely...sometimes all-to-real pieces of memory.

enjoy.

*photo taken in Hattiesburg, MS, on the eve of our wedding. The author of the poem & her betrothed are pictured on the far right (literally a few minutes after their first meeting in a year!) Other dearly missed friends, Mark & Kirk, much love to you all!

Songs of the Season

You may remember this post about Rosie Thomas (& how we're going to see her on Wednesday here in Brooklyn!)

Now that it's officially past Thanksgiving I thought I would share a nice little spot to listen to some non-traditional holiday tunes. Last year Asthmatic Kitty did The Great Sufjan Song Xmas Xchange if you go to the site you can listen to the winner and the other favorite submissions. It's worth a try if your office mate has threatened to throw the stapler if you play one more round of Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers!

*photo of ice skaters in Rockefeller Center & "the tree" taken the day after Thanksgiving.