{ Kid in a candy store }

This arrived in my little hands free of charge yesterday. It is a box tray full of inks for my letterpress. One of the printers I work with let me have them for some hobby pressing. It was just like Christmas when my rep showed up at my work with them.

"What is this?! An entire box full of free ink for me?! And they are all labeled with their Pantone colors!?! Oh my goodness." Literally.

In honor of this excellent acquirement, I'll be making me some business cards in the next couple weeks using the shiny ink below.


Why yes...yes this is Pantone metallic gold 873, thank you for asking.

{ Coolest way to introduce a new clothing line. }

I received a link to this video from my friend, Nate, today with the accompanying text "coolest way to introduce a new clothing line?" Ummmm...most possibly yes.

{ Good scarf to Better scarf }

It all started when I wanted a loop scarf from Jcrew the other day. Price tag: $16. Not too bad for a cute scarf, but also not too great when I already had a light colored scarf that I got in NY a few years ago that was treating me just fine (above left). Then...brilliance struck. The result is pictured above, on the right.

The Process

I started with this:


Took off the tassels, like this:



Which left me with the perfectly matching yarn to crochet the two edges together like this (I just used a medium weight hook and did a single stitch to attach the two edges to each other):


Leaving me with a lovely loop scarf that looks like this:

I wrap the loop around three times to get the look I like
(the loop is about 6 feet total in circumfrence).

{ Best purchases of the week }

Slowly but surely I'm making my home cute...one little detail at a time. Here are this week's arrivals:

1. Urban Outfitters Display Lamp

I bought this lamp from Urban Outfitters to replace the paper star lanterns that used to hang in this space. When I saw it in the store, it had no price tag, was dusty, and had a small piece of glass missing from it. I took it from it's hanging place and up to the register, and it turned out to be a piece that was part of their display, not a lamp in their inventory. But, after checking with her manager, the sweet sales girl told me I could buy the lamp for the steal of a deal of $15. "Would you like this awesome store display lamp for this amazing price?" Ummm...yes please.

2. Hand-blown glass Christmas Baubles

Obviously the best time to shop for Christmas is just AFTER the Holiday -- talk about sales. I picked up these hand-blown glass tree ornaments at Restoration Hardware for a steal of a deal. They look a bit like mercury glass and beautiful all mixed into one.


2. Green glass Soap Dispenser

The newest addition to my bathroom -- a green glass soap dispenser with a brassy-nickle finish. Lovely. For the sweet deal of $12.99 at Target.

{ Inspiration: PartTwo }

One more bit for the inspiration board. Could you imagine getting paid to create something like this? "Wait wait...before you implode those buildings, we have an idea..." So so cool...

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Also...Here's a preview from UPPERCASE's Winter 2010 book issue. Talk about some great layout.




images by UPPERCASE

You can subscribe to the issue here.

{ Matching is still awesome... }

Even on the 100th time my boss and I unknowingly match. Have no fear, I will post them every time. Today's match:

Sweaters: Navy Blue
Jacket: Thinner black cotton
Jeans: Dark denim
Shoes: In the tan family

Archive of various Nicki-Mike matches.

{ Creativity is Just Great }

I come across things like this and think to myself, "It's really about high time I were more creative in my spare time." I love inspiring things; especially ones that inspire me to do creative things simply for the sake of creativity. And beauty. Beauty is a good reason too.

(ps - sorry for the cut offing-ness. I don't know how to fix it. Go to youtube straightway to watch the full-width version)

{ Snowshoeing in the New Year }

Anna, Katy, Matt and I brought in the first day of 2010 with a much-needed snowshoeing trip. I love living in Utah for many reasons, and having this kind of fun only 20 minutes from my home is one of them.
(IMPORTANT NOTE: Nicki and Anna have matching ear warmers)



The scenery.




Anna, Katy, Nicki. In that order.


How your hair looks after taking off your ear muff and taking down your bun.

A couple days ago, I decided my character goal of 2010 goal will be becoming more disciplined. I am really good at letting myself do whatever the heck I want with relatively little consequence all the time, and I'm thinking that should probably change. When I brought this up with my friend Nate, he tried to convince me that allowing myself to do whatever I want actually displays great self discipline...as in, great discipline to self. But I don't think I buy that.