Thanksgiving!

This year, I'm thankful for being able to spend the weekend with my family in North Carolina - a long time tradition that I've missed out on since we moved to Chicago* 4 years ago. But we've decided to make the 13 hour trek & I know it will be worth it. I love my family dearly; the silliness, the chaos, the laughter - these are the things that make my heart flutter. My favorite piece of this tradition is the mandatory Black Friday shop-a-thon. { all.day.long } You won't find us returning home after doorbusters have ended, we'll be forging ahead, onto the next bargain (and there will be plenty!) Call us crazy, but this is a day full of fun & excitement, more about the fellowship than accomplishment. Some families do football...my family does fashion!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

What traditions do you love? (feel free to comment below, really. no login needed, no real name even!)

*I am also thankful for our wonderful friends in the city that we shared the past 2 Thanksgivings with - the food, fun & fellowship will be missed this year :(

Definitely on my wish list this year…

The L Letterpress by Quickutz

AAAAHHHH. That’s all can say to sum up how excited I am about this nifty new tool! For those of you that don’t share my love of paper & crafting tools (yet) let me fill you in…

Letterpress is a beautiful, old school (and I mean ooold) method of printing. (Can you imagine a time before we could just push a button & ‘voila’ a beautiful creation popped out?!) The technique involves printing words or designs with ink while simultaneously debossing the image into thick, soft paper. (Deboss means indent.) For anyone interested in creating letterpress in the modern century, it was an expensive & intricate process to fiddle with. But the L Letterpress is changing that!

Nothing compares to the look & feel of letterpress, it's luxurious & decadent!

See how pretty:

*Disclaimer: this invitation was not produced on the L Letterpress, it is only shown as an example.This invitation is available for order on www.graypapier.com

Look how easy it is!

Step 1: Place design or text

Step 2: Roll with ink

Step 3: Place paper


Step 4: Squeeeeeze!!

{images via lifestyle crafts}

Next on the wish list... more TIME - - to play with the L!!

The Kharismatic Kardashian girls held a baby shower for pregnant sis Kourtney this weekend in California. Here's the shower invite- what do you think?

Need invites or announcements for someone in your life? go here & here!

Image via People

Word of the Day:

{Paraskevidekatriaphobia}

I hope you don't suffer from it! I suffer from the quite the opposite, 13 is my lucky number! Happy Friday the 13th. Off to cuddle with my 2 black kitties...

Our Kissing Tree

Fewer things seem more romantic than taking a leisurely stroll through the fall leaves & carving your names in a tree for the world to see... This makes it possible without damaging mother nature's gifts! Be sure to check out the rest of the site, I fell in love with the theme, so sweet & lovely.

Ashleigh + Alex, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s, i-n-g :)

Jenna Fisher appreciates quality invitations!

The Office's Jenna Fischer is usually a pretty sensible person, but all that goes out the door when it comes to her upcoming wedding to screenwriter Lee Kirk. "I thought I was going to be one of those easy-going brides," Fischer, 35, tells Bonnie Hunt in an interview to air Thursday. "I never really thought about it. Whatever … a piece of paper, words – send it out." But that attitude disappeared at the store where she bought the invitations. "Three hours I sat there with the all the books," she says. "I turned into a crazy person. My fiancé was like, 'What about the slap it on the piece of paper with crayon and send it out?' But now I'm pouring over the paper quality!" Guests need to appreciate the invitations when they get them, she says. "Don't just throw it on the counter! Touch it, feel it, love it!" she commanded. But not many people will be seeing the results of her sudden wedding-prep obsession: The wedding will be "very small ... sort of immediate family and friends," she says. "Are you a brother, sister, mother or a father? That's it."


via People.com