My favorite trade show of the year, the National Stationery Show, opens next weekend and I am so excited. To whet your appetite for all things stationery (hint: letterpress and gold foil are both big this year), I’ve created a “2013 National Stationery Show Sneak Peeks” Pinterest board. Follow me there, and also on Twitter where I’ll be posting more show previews, plus live-tweeting the show next Sunday.
Shown above: Teal foil letterpress invitation by Shed Letterpress.
Wishing you all a day of rest and relaxation (what are those???) and handmade macaroni cards.
Happy Mother’s Day!
My mom, my daughter, and me in April 2004, photographed by Kate Burton.
Editor’s Note: This post was published in April 2011, shortly before William & Kate’s royal wedding. Next week, Prince Harry will be visiting New York City, and if I’m lucky, I’ll catch a glimpse of him. He is now 28 years old; below you’ll see his mother Princess Diana on her 30th birthday, when I met her in person.
A while ago I promised to share more snapshots I took over the years of my childhood idol, Princess Diana. I took this photo of her on July 1, 1991, which was her 30th birthday (she died in 1997 at age 36). I happened to be in London for a summer program before my sophomore year of college, and I read that she would be attending a luncheon at the Savoy Hotel on her birthday (Phil Collins attended and sang “Groovy Kind of Love”…that’s how long ago this was). I waited in the crowds for hours to see her, and was rewarded with a brief conversation with her (I asked her what she got for her birthday and she diplomatically answered, “Many lovely things!”). I took this picture, which I will always cherish. She was taller and prettier in person than she was in photos, with a very soft, high voice. She always took extra time to make sure she had greeted the very young–or very old–people who had waited to see her. It is a cliche that she was the “People’s Princess,” but I saw this first-hand several times.
I was only 18 years old when I took this picture…and now I am 38, older than Diana was when she died. With the next big Royal Wedding just days away, I’ve been thinking a lot about weddings, fairy tales, “happily ever afters” (or not), and fate. Not only Diana’s (and William’s and Kate’s), but mine too. And how for the past 30 years my childhood idolization of Diana has woven in and out of my life…from that first fateful day I woke up early at age 8 to watch her wedding, to the excitement when she had her children, to those once-in-a-lifetime moments when I met her in person, to the horrifying late summer morning in 1997 when over 30 friends (past and present) left condolence messages on my answering machine–they knew just how much she had meant to me for years. Back at my parents’ house in NJ, there are the hundreds of books and magazines I collected and scrapbooks I made of my idol. Other teens in the 1980s worshipped Duran Duran; for me, there was nothing better than a famous princess who not only did good for so many people, but looked so beautiful doing so.
I know that many naysayers (“Royal Wedding scrooges”, I call them) vow they won’t watch one moment of Friday’s wedding coverage. And why should they, I guess. Their lives were not–and are not–touched in the same way by Diana and her legacy. For me, though, it represents something coming full circle….Diana’s son taking his own wedding vows, and embarking on a future that will hopefully be much happier and luckier than his mother’s.
In this photo, Diana is 30. It is hard to believe, but were she still alive today, this mother-of-the-groom would be nearly 50 years old.
Just in time for Mother’s Day, a friend of mine gave me these retro-styled Stuck in Mommy Hell Deluxe Sticker Set. As long as you can take a joke, these are very, very funny–my favorite is “I changed my mind…Can I trade the baby in for a kitten?” Buy these for $4.99 at The Retro Baby.
If you’re looking for a birthday gift for a 2-year-old or 3-year-old, I have a suggestion for you: Bunny Peek-a-Boo. This new toy by SmartGames won a Parents Magazine 2013 Top Pick from this past February’s Toy Fair. Basically, it’s a 3D puzzle game for young children. There are very few pieces (you don’t have to worry about small pieces getting lost!)–just four sturdy wooden blocks which kids arrange to match different card patterns (there are 60 different combinations–some are tougher than others). Or, it doesn’t even need to be played as a “game”–toddlers and preschoolers will just enjoy playing with them as blocks too. Buy it for $24.99 at Amazon.com.
Disclosure: I received a sample product for purposes of this review. All opinions are entirely my own.
Learn more about Park Avenue’s latest public art installation–featuring re-interpretations of NYC’s iconic buildings–here.
I spotted this photograph on Pinterest several months ago (my apologies, I did not save the original pin so I can’t give proper credit to the source). I loved the idea of taking just a handful of favorite photographs and blowing them up to nearly poster size for a wall gallery, rather than choosing dozens of smaller photos and frames.
I’d been meaning to make a wall gallery of family photos in our apartment for a long time, so that pin was finally my incentive. I ordered 16 x 20″ prints of some of my favorite photos of the kids at Shutterfly, and put them in Pottery Barn wood gallery frames (I ordered the 14 x 17″ frames, removed the matting inside, and cropped a few inches off of each 16 x 20″ photo to fit the frame). It’s not quite done, but what do you think so far?
I spotted these adorable Kids Wooden Plates by Petits et Maman in the latest issue of Stationery Trends. Each plate is handcrafted–choose from elephant, duck, and car. I think they’ve been distributed in the U.S. just recently so they’re a little hard to pin down; but apparently they are carried at the L.A. store La Merch so you could try contacting them. I expect you’ll be seeing them in more stores soon, though.
Photo courtesy of Lily Alt.
Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® #cbias #SocialFabric. All opinions are, as always, entirely my own.
Mother’s Day is six days away….have you shopped yet? I’ve purchased a few small gifts for “Grandma” (my mom) already and hope they will arrive on time. Just in case they don’t–and in case you, too, may need to buy last-minute gifts for your mom, sister, grandma, aunt or whoever deserves to be pampered–here are some great Mother’s Day gift options from your local Duane Reade store:
1) A Magazine Subscription. I love giving magazine subscriptions as gifts. Don’t fret that the first issue won’t arrive for “4-6 weeks.” Just wrap one of these brand new issues alone with a card that tells Mom to look forward to new issues all year. Duane Reade carries all of your favorites, including Vogue, Glamour, Lucky, O–The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, House Beautiful, and Martha Stewart Living; many of these offers special deals with gift subscriptions as low as $10 for 1 year.
2) Perfume. These are not your old-school drug store scents. Duane Reade carries top designer perfumes ($50 and up)–two of my personal favorites at Lolita Lempicka and Angel by Thierry Mugler. No need to hike to Bloomingdale’s to buy these.
3) Cosmetic Gift Sets. Once again, Duane Reade surprises with top cosmetic brands that you used to have to go to department stores to buy. How about this Fekkai Glossing Starter Kit (on sale for $30) or a gift-ready Burt’s Bees Essentials pack ($12.99)?
4) Canvas Gallery Wraps. Just like you’d order from a photo sharing site, but with same-day pick-up! Available in three sizes, starting at $39.99, this is always a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift (especially for Grandmas).
5) Gift Cards. Give Mom the gift of shopping for herself. Once again, these aren’t your typical drugstore gift cards. They’re available in many denominations for your favorite stores, including Amazon.com, Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, Banana Republic, H&M, and Home Goods.
6) Zagat NYC Guides. I don’t know about you, but I still rely on my softcover Zagat’s guides to choose restaurants. It is easier to thumb through than a zillion reviews on Yelp or Citysearch. Buy a restaurant or shopping guide for $15.99.
7) Gel Manicure Starter Kit ($71.99). A brand new product, Sally Hansen’s Gel Polish system gives Mom a professional-looking gel manicure entirely at home.
8) Ped Egg- “As Seen on TV.” Don’t laugh. You know you’ve seen the commercials on TV and want to try it for yourself (my sister swears it works). I like the Duane Reade has a section of this and other “As Seen on TV” products ready for you to grab. Try the Ped Egg ($14.99) or the spa-inspired “Turbie Twist” ($8.99).
9) Flowers. Yep, you can even buy a dozen fresh roses at Duane Reade now. No need to buy the shoddy ones outside the subway stations. As of this past weekend, they were priced at $12.99, though I make no price guarantees for Mother’s Day morning.
10) Chocolates. Sweets for the sweet….almost every mom I know would appreciate chocolates as an add-on Mother’s Day gifts. May I suggest the new “Delish” Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels? Sea salt caramels are all the rage right now and these are delectable (and affordable–a box costs $3.99). Of course, if your mom is more of a purist, there’s the regular candy aisle, too.
And…don’t forget to buy a card. All of the beautiful newly refurbished Duane Reade locations have beautiful, high-end card selections by Papyrus….you will definitely find one you’ll want to give.
Learn more at DuaneReade.com and follow them on Twitter at @duanereade. And for more details about my shopping for Mother’s Day gifts at Duane Reade please visit my Google+ story.
You may remember that I wasn’t a big fan of Diane von Furstenberg’s first collection for Baby Gap last year. But I think her designs work better the second time around. Gap Kids has just released its second line of Diane von Furstenberg for Baby Gap clothing, this time with African safari-inspired prints, and it’s selling out fast. I like the teal and yellow palette this time; my favorite item is the classic wrap dress ($45, sizes 2T-5years) which includes knit shorts to keep things modest at the playground. Visit the collection at Baby Gap.
