Resolutions I'll pretend to keep

Going into the new year, I always create a little list of resolutions in my head that I want to keep, and of course, I forgot about them four weeks in. Sure, I think about them every now and again and think to myself "Next year, Tara, next year".

1. Build a better blog and website (I've been trying to tackle this one for years...)

2. Finally make some of the cards that have been occupying my doodlebook for years (there are some good ones in there!)

3. Take more pictures.

4. Turn off the TV more, and just relax and listen to a good record. (We've already been implementing this)

5. Make a new friend. 

*Happy New Year everyone! We adore all of our CD fans, we couldn't do any of this without the people that love our stuff. So, thank you again for another amazing year. We hope 2012 will be full of awesome new stuff, and we can't wait to share it with you!*

Paper Typewriter

Dudes, check out this suuuuper cool paper typewriter. I randomly came across it on Etsy, and totally love it. Find it here, along with other sweet goodies from London Handmade!

Hello Wren!

Heather Cook Elliott, the amazing wedding & family photographer, approached me back in the fall to design some birth announcements for her new arrival, baby Wren. I was super excited when I heard some of Heather's ideas, so needless to say, I loved working on these. Heather & Brian have such a sweet and long love story, so Heather really wanted to play on that story that led to arrival of their first child.

Thank you Heather for allowing me to design these for you, little Wren is so precious, and I can't wait to see what's next in your journey.

PS: Here are Heather's amazing photos of baby Wren.

50/50

A few weeks ago, Adam and I saw the movie 50/50...and I'm going to get real with you for a second - I cried. I cried a lot. The fact that I cried at this movie (at a theater in public, no less!) is huge, because for those of you that know me personally, know that I am NOT in any way a person who shows that kind of emotion, especially in front of other human beings. In fact, I have never cried at a movie....ever. Unless you count the time when I was 4 and stood up and cried in the theater when Johnny 5 died in 'Short Circuit', but I'm not really counting that. Sure I went to see this movie because I am semi in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but the outcome of this film experience went beyond good looks.

It was such an incredibly moving film about the reality of dealing with cancer, but what made it really good was that it perfectly mixed being hilarious and extremely touching. It got things so right. Maybe it's because both Adam and I have been greatly affected by cancer in our lives, so much so, that the disease has taken away & changed forever, our fathers. That mere fact alone is probably why this movie has lingered with me and why I enjoyed it so much. Because at the end of the day, it's rare to come across a film that moves me to tears, really rare.

So, go see it. Now.

PS: Watch the trailer here.

San Fran Print

I am freakin' in love with this print from Hero Design Studio. It makes me want to hop on a plane to San Fran where I'll sip on Speakeasy beer and wander Market Street. sigh. Anyways, I love this print and the awesome illustration mixed with cool colors. Check out Hero Design Studio here. They have a TON of cool prints in their Etsy shop.

Wish List

Here are a few super cool things I would love to find under the Christmas tree this year!

1. Cardboard Deer head
2. Backpack by Herschel Supply Co.
3. Criss-Cross bag by Quotestudio on Etsy
4. Sweet Indian Chief Shirt by Hammerpress
5. Gig Posters Book
6. Kiehls Healing Hands Kit 
7. Chevron Throw
8. Wrapped Fox T-shirt in gray by dandyrions on Etsy
9. Bansky Book
10. Geometric Bar Necklace by theriveriseverywhere on Etsy

MINI Journey Journal is here!

The Journey Journal just got mini-fied! Check out our newest edition of the Journey Journal in our Etsy shop - The MINI. This puppy is perfect for tucking away in your back pocket, so it's always close to document your most important travel memories. Measuring 4.25 X 5.5, it's a perfect stocking stuffer for your traveling loved ones! Check it out here for all the specifics.

Gobble Gobble

 I spent the evening baking up a couple Pumpkin Cheesecakes and a pumpkin pie from scratch - my first time! The house now smells oh so yummy.  Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

Tis the season

The boxes are starting to pile up daily on my desk, and holiday cards are shipping out to our stores across the country (and the UK & Canada, of course) Don't have your holiday cards yet? Then head on over to our Etsy shop!

Excitement

I love owning my own business, and being able to create and design freely as I please in my little office. But now and again it's easy to feel isolated and cut off from the outside world (especially during the cold Wisconsin winters...) So, I am beyond excited to be attending Altitude Design Summit in Salt Lake City this upcoming January! I've always wanted to go, and decided to go for it this year! I'm taking a few days away from my boys and indulging in all things design. Oh, and the temptation of a snowboarding day in the mountains made my decision quite easy too. I'm really looking forward to networking and meeting other bloggers, designers and cool people.

On Wisconsin!

I forgot to post about our newest notecard set a few weeks ago...so here it is now-the Madison notecard set! This set is pretty specific to Wisconsinites and is super cool. Set comes with 6 inside blank cards and matching red envelopes. Each card features different Madison specifics-like the the Capitol, badgers, the union, the lakes, and Bascom Hall. Check this set out now in our Etsy shop!

The Bestest Movies

'Science of Sleep'

'So, I married an axe murderer'

Now that it's getting chilly outside, I am more tempted to cozy up on the couch and watch some of my most favorite movies. I have kind of an eclectic collection of favorite movies (which I sometimes get made fun of for), but here are probably my top 10 favorite movies- in no particular order:

-Royal Tenenbaums
-So, I Married an Axe Murderer
-Super Troopers
-Rushmore
-Science of Sleep
-40 Year Old Virgin
-The Big Lebowski
-500 Days of Summer
-Ghostbusters
-Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Happy Halloween!

I was really excited about Beckett's Halloween costume this year (The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters), so I had this idea to design a little card to showcase the awesome-ness of Beckett in his costume. The end result turned out better than I expected, and I laugh every time I look at this card.

Happy Halloween to all!

Warm & Modern Invites

I had the pleasure of working with Christian and Kim on their wedding invitations. They got hitched in Chicago in the beginning of October. They wanted to keep it simple, clean, and modern with warm browns and oranges, and that sounded just about perfect to me! I really loved how the final invite turned out, complete with a chocolate brown tri-fold and textured ivory paper. Congrats you two!

Discovering Cool Kids Clothes

Before I had Beckett, I thought that all baby clothes were just the basic Carters outfits that were overly cutsie and made me wanna barf. But I have been so excited to find that a lot of my favorite stores have super rad kids clothing lines-my two favorites being H&M Kids Collection and American Apparel for Kids. H&M kids is especially cool because it's so affordable, and their little boy outfits are so freakishly cute, I can't stand it. It's a perfect combination of simple, a little old school, and hip.

Mama Bird Baby Shower

A few months ago I designed these fun baby shower invitations for the super talented Heather Cook Elliott. A mama bird and egg seemed perfect for the mama-to-be! I really dig how these turned out! I'll be sharing her baby girl, Wren's, birth announcement in the next few weeks too...they are suuuuuuper cool.

PS: Check out Heather's work here.

Close Encounter

Look out! There is a new card in town, and it is super cool. Find it in our Etsy shop now!

Specs: "Looking forward to our close encounter", the inside of this card is blank.

Maine-ly Maine

Paul B.

Lobster Roll

Salem, MA

Fenway Park, before the Red Sox unfortunately choked...

Desert of Maine, Freeport, ME (amazing tourist trap!)

Portland Head Lighthouse, Portland, ME

Dave at MAGPIE!!

Cooperstown Brewing Company, Cooperstown, NY

The Dead Frog Circus in Holyoke, MA


We just got back from 10 amazing days on the east coast. And we must say that we're impressed. New England is filled with lots of our favorite things: Good food, Paul Bunyan Statues, Tacky souvenir shops, and lots and LOTS of very good beer!

We tackled this trip naturally, by car. We drove through upstate New York, making stops in Cooperstown and then explored the beautiful city of Boston. We then traveled north, making stops in Salem, MA, and towns in Maine like, Ogunquit, Portland, Freeport and Bar Harbor. We unfortunately didn't see much of Acadia National Park, due to lots of fog and rain, but managed to hike up Gorham Mountain despite the rain. After leaving the coast of Maine, we traveled through Bangor, and made our way through New Hampshire and then Vermont, making stops in Waterbury and Burling, VT. We traveled back through upstate New York and headed home.

Some highlights of the trip:
*Fenway Park, Boston, MA: It's going to be hard to go to Miller Park and not fantasize about being at Fenway-that's how amazing this ballpark was! Anyone, no matter if you're a baseball fan or not, you should visit this historic ballpark.

*Cooperstown, NY: Cooperstown is home to the baseball hall of fame, which was definitely cool, but the town itself is tucked away in upstate New York and is kind of like a trip back in time. It's also home to two fabulous breweries.

*Desert of Maine, Freeport, ME: This place was a trip. It's a tourist trap in every sense of the term, which drew us there. It's basically an area of land covered in sand, and you get a guided tram tour by a 75 year old man, whom we could barely understand. It was hidden back in the woods and looked untouched by time.

*Portland, ME & Shipyard Brewery: Portland was one cool city, not too big, but definitely not too small, all with cobblestone streets downtown and picturesque views. Despite it's Maine-y vibe, it was pretty urban and reminded us of Milwaukee. Portland is also home to Shipyard Brewery, which was super cool and surprisingly big. It also brews one of my favorite new beers: Pumpkinhead. We stocked up on this before we left.

*Lobster!: I've actually never had lobster before this trip, so I was pretty excited to feast on it, and feast we did! Not only did we try a tasty lobster roll at Spragues in Wiscasset, but I also tried steamed lobster, and I must say that I was a pro at crackin' those claws. It was tasty!

*Secret Caverns, NY: Ok, this place is tucked away in nowheresville New York, and while driving there, I thought we may get murdered multiple times, but boy was it worth it. This was by far the coolest cave I've ever been to. We had a very small tour group, so the guide (who was a perfect amount of corny) turned off all the lights and gave us all flashlights to navigate our way through the pitch black cave. SUPER COOL.

*Salem, MA: Witches galore! I love me some crazy witch souvenirs, and this is the place to get 'em.

Overall verdict....we love Maine, and can't wait to visit again!

New England

You may be thinking, wait, didn't these guys just go on vacation? And you'd be right. September is apparently the month of vacations for us. We are taking one of our of favorite types of trip: a roadtrip!! Our roadtrips tend to always be packed full of destinations around every turn, and this one is no different. We are headed out tomorrow and will make stops in Cooperstown, NY, spend a couple days in Boston, MA, Salem, MA, Portland, ME, Bar Harbor, ME, Burlington, VT and then make our way back home. I've never been out to this part of the country before, so I'm really excited to visit, and eat some yummy lobster. Even more exciting, is that this part of the country seems to be packed with tacky roadside attractions. Holla!

We closed down the Etsy shop during this time, but will be back to open up shop on Monday the 26th. Happy Travels!

Wedding Invitations: Dave & Deb

I had the pleasure of working with Dave & Deb on their wedding invitations earlier this year, and I am really into how their final invitation design turned out. Dave & Deb had a vision for what they wanted their invitation to look like, and it was exciting to design a pattern that closely matched a turn table design that was specifically important to them - without me even knowing it!

Not only was I really diggin' their color scheme of orange and grey, but I loved their overall feel of their Pier Wisconsin wedding celebration, right on the lakefront - simple, hip & elegant. Dave & Deb are a smart & loving couple with a great eye for design, and I couldn't have loved working with them more!

(The final invitation I designed for them was letterpressed at Bayview Printing Co., and was then put into a grey tri-fold pocket and wax sealed by the couple.)

San Fran Love

So don't get us wrong, we love Milwaukee, a lot. But there is something pretty special about San Francisco, it keeps drawing us back, and with every time we love it more. Why oh why is it so freakishly expensive to live there? Sigh.

Anyways, we had a great time, and it was our first official family vacation: Tara, Adam and Mr. Beckett! Beck was a pro on the plane (for the most part), and we had a super fun time exploring the city- from old favorites to new places. Some highlights were:

*AT&T Park - a really beautiful baseball park right on the bay, but we think Miller Park has it beat!
*Speakeasy Brewery - an amazing brewery we discovered in a not so great area, but who cares when the beer is that good!
*Sausalito - a quaint little town just a short trip from San Francisco. We had a very yummy breakfast at Cibo Cafe.
*Lagunitas Brewery - Ah yes, this was our second trip to Lagunitas, and dare we say, our favorite brewery ever?! Since we were last there it has expanded into an even cooler brewery, complete with a restaurant & beer garden (all kid friendly too!)
*Musee Mecanique - This place was super cool and right on the pier, kind of hidden away from the other tourist-y places. It is a museum of old arcade games & antique coin operated machines. The best part is that you can play with all of them! It was so cool, we could have spent hours there.

Well San Francisco, we love you and we can't wait to go back.

San Francisco Bound!

We are going on vacation for the next 5 days out to sunny...er, foggy, San Francisco! San Francisco is one of our most favorite cities. We definitely left our hearts there when we visited 4 years ago, so, needless to say, we are super excited to go back. Even more exciting, Beckett is going on his first plane ride! Let's hope it goes well...

We closed down the Etsy shop for the next 5 days, but don't fret, it will be back open next Tuesday the 6th. Happy Travels!