I am just not an outdoorsy girl. I can't help it. Sometimes, my husband forgets this, and gets excited to do something that is a bit out of character for me. Like kayaking... As always, reality isn't as glamourous as the idea and in between 98 degree heat and my wimpy tendencies, things don't end up going quite as planned.... BUT, at the end of the day, those moments are the funny parts, and just being outside and enjoying unique parts of our city together makes for a great evening. Carter gave me a solid 'B minus' for moderate whining, but a good effort overall. I've never been one to be upset with a grade like that, but I might shoot for an 'A' next time... if he'll have me!
Posts filed under Personal
Maine
Over the labor day weekend (yes, it's taken me over a week to catch up), we took a little getaway to Maine with our best friends. It was to celebrate our 30th birthdays (or their 30th birthdays - mine is not till November and may or may not be getting it's own trip) and it was so perfect. (See above photo - this was taken with my iPhone!!? can you believe it?) We chose Maine in an effort to get away from the Texas heat and boy, did we. We spent one evening outside watching the sunset covered in blankets. It was heavenly! I was actually quite chilly most of the time. Success? or did I just not pack properly? Maybe a little of both.
I think my instagram feed from the trip captured the beauty of the weekend. I want to go back!
The highlights: - Spruce Point Inn! I found this beautiful place online and I am so smitten. Picturesque seems to be the most fitting word, but it might not due it justice. It was so gorgeous. It took a little while to get there from the airport, but was worth the drive. They had a spa, pools, cozy rooms and delicious food. Oh, and AMAZING views!
- Being by (and on) the water. It's no secret among my friends and family that I am more into looking at the water than doing anything in or on it, but I surprised Carter (and myself) by being up for a little kayaking and sailing.
- Lobster, crab cakes, mussels, oh my! (we ate really good seafood)
- Toasting to our 30s with waters, tea, and one glass of wine (the wine was mine). If that's not a sign that our thirties will be different than our twenties, I am not sure what is. But who says different can't be better?
Sweet Carillon
Last week, I spent the week with my family in my favorite vacation spot, Carillon Beach, Florida. Carillon is a sweet little community off of 30-A, between Destin and Panama City, and for those of you who don't know, I got married there a little over 3 years ago. We've been back many times, but this year was a little different... my niece and nephew were with us and I have to say, it has never been as much fun. There was sun, sand castles, waves, swimming, fireworks, reading, a very small amount of rain and lots and lots of relaxing.
I barely thought about work and it was wonderful. I am back trying to get out of my mountain of emails, but feel refreshed. That's what real vacations are all about.
Charleston
Last weekend we took a little anniversary trip with our best friends to Charleston, South Carolina. If I had to sum up our trip it would likely involve food, food and more food. We had reservations for pretty much every meal, every day. It was awesome. A few of my favorites: Coast, Cru Café, SNOB (Slightly North of Broad) and Husk. Yes, you should go there, just to eat at these restaurants. We had four days there so we got to see the history and do a tour, walk around a plantation and spend a day at the beach. It was relaxing and fun this way, but you could definitely do it in weekend or long weekend.
It was quite a whirlwind week between New York and this... sigh - officially back to reality!
The National Stationery Show
Last week, I was lucky enough to spend 4 days in New York City attending the National Stationery Show. For those of you that don't know, the National Stationery Show is a tradeshow for the wholesale stationery industry with exhibitors ranging from independent design studios and big stationery companies to printers and paper suppliers. To put it simply, it was paper heaven and if the idea of attending this show bores you to tears, below are some instagram photos that will give you a nice quick overview. Keep reading if you want the play-by-play...
The show was Sunday through Wednesday, but if you are interested in attending, you just need to figure out what events you want to attend and plan accordingly. Everyone seemed to be coming and going at different times throughout those days and you don't need to be there for the entire time (unless you are exhibiting of course!) You can probably walk the actual show in a day if you needed to, but we leisurely walked it in about a day and a half and I thought it was perfect. Between walking the show, seminars and meetings, I was still able to catch a broadway play and shop a bit. I've been to New York many times, but whether you have or haven't - you might as well take advantage of being in the city. But I digress.... back to the show.
A little by planning and a little by chance, Kimberly FitzSimons, Lesa Abney, Laura Hankins and I all stayed at the Hilton Times Square and decided to head to the show together. The first day, we spent a lot of time on the supply side of the show. There's a large portion of printers, paper suppliers, etc. that design studios like myself, could use to fulfill orders. I got a ton of information (and even more samples) from these type of vendors, many that I would never have learned about otherwise. Minted actually had booth this year and we made a beeline for it the moment we got there. It was so fun chatting face to face with the Minted team!
L to R: Me, Jen (Minted), Lesa, Laura, Kimberly, Alison (Minted) and Natasha (Minted)
The other section was all the design studios exhibiting their wholesale lines. They were AMAZING. From the greeting cards, to the invitations, to the booths, you could tell how much thought and creativity was put into every aspect. I was so glad to experience it, because after being there, I know that wholesale is not for me right now (I didn't think it was, but it helped confirm my initial thoughts about it). If you think you might be interested in wholesale, I definitely recommend attending before you jump in. There's something about being there that you just can't get from photos.
When we weren't walking the show, we filled our evenings getting to know the other Minted designers that made the trip. We knew there would be small group on Sunday, so Kimberly organized a casual happy hour at our hotel bar. We probably had about 20 people there, but we didn't whip out the camera until the end, but thanks to those who came. I loved meeting you!
L to R: Front - Laura, Lesa, Jackie from Believe Notes, Alston from B.Wise Papers.
Back - Meg from Moglea, Kristie Kern, Kimberly, and me
Minted hosted a party for us on Monday evening and if you can believe it, this photo below isn't everyone! It was a big turnout. Between emails, forums, blogs and Facebook, I feel like I know these ladies and it was so fun to meet them in person, hear their voices and learn their personalities. It's hard to know much from a tiny, 2 inch photo! (Turns out, people thought I would be much taller! To say that I am 5'2" might be a bit of a stretch, so Rachel must be one talented photographer to make me look otherwise!)
Meeting everyone was definitely the highlight of my trip! I would not be doing what I am today without this company and design community, so getting to spend time building friendships with the people behind the tiny photos and emails was priceless and I am so grateful for the chance to attend. I hope that I can make it again next year.
Note: All the non-Instagram photos are from the wonderful photo-taker in our group, Kimberly. She also has a fun recap of the show on her blog. Thanks Kimberly!
