Change of Address......

We received some wonderful going away gifts from friends before our journey..... a guest book for visitors, a framed vintage map of Switzerland, a sheet of monogrammed decals to use in our new home, a jar of seashells from the States, wine tags featuring local landmarks from our hometown, a travel journal, books..... I was amazed at the creativity and thoughtfulness of each one.

One of my favorite housewarming gifts to give is a self-inking home address stamp.  I love the personalization it affords and its immediate usefulness.  Above are a few of my recent favorites available on Etsy....... would make a charming wedding shower gift too!

1/2/3/4

Paper or Plastic?

......... both when it looks as good as this!  It's been a while since I've indulged my paper goods habit but now that I'm faced with a limited selection in Switzerland, I'm stocking up........ and I was very happy to see one of my favorite paperies, Mara Mi, teamed up with Target to offer an incredibly stylish collection of notecards, wrapping paper, paper napkins, plates and plastic silverware in my favorite colors:  bright yellow; pink and orange, and kelly green.....  Here's a sampling.

Hope your day is just as cheerful!

It's a date.....

..... in 2012, that is.  I can't believe the year has gone so quickly and I'm already racking up things that need to go on the calendar in the New Year!  By now you know that I'm pretty old fashioned, so it shouldn't surprise you that I still use a paper calendar.  There's just something I like about taking a pencil to paper that helps me remember my "to do" list better than typing it into the calendar on my phone or computer.  More importantly, however, I like to save my calendars from year to year so I can look back on them as a form of "mini-journal" of what was happening in my life.  Here's the one I've been using for the last 8 years:

Kate Spade spiral bound desk calendar

but, alas, I'm saying "good-bye" to Kate this year in favor of these equally stylish and more affordable options from Sarah Pinto.

My favorite is this one:

..... it says "this is my lucky year"; appropriate I think for my big "coming of age year!" :)

Plus, Sarah, the designer, is a mom whose little boy has a heart defect and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the calendar go to support Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.  Love that!