My husband and I watch a lot of documentaries, I think it’s the equivalent of being hooked on reality TV but without the guilt associated with that endeavor. We don’t have cable now that we live in the country, it was one of the creature comforts we decided to do without; it’s really not as bad as you might think.  I have always been a big reader and when I met my husband I didn’t even watch TV so this compromise on his part to go with Netflix instant download only is a big deal (for him).  One of the things we lament is that we never know what to watch, it’s a roll of the dice. I thought I would put together a brief list of docs that we have watched and thoroughly enjoyed.  Not all of these may be the best quality, but all of them held our attention and made us glad we watched. I linked to the docs so you can read their descriptions, watch trailers and read more reviews (just click on the titles). This is by no means everything we have watched but some of our faves. Do you have any other recommendations we should be adding to the list? We are always looking for new instant download docs.  Have a happy weekend!

Man on Wire-This completely made my stomach feel like it was on a roller coaster. I was on edge and what Philippe Petit did is pretty outstanding (and something I would never do in a million years).

Bag it-You will completely understand why people are maniacal about this subject after viewing this.

Born Into Brothels-I loved this story, beautifully told.

Cocaine Cowboy-It’s a real Miami Vice-esque story. 

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill-So heartwarming! When we lived in L.A. there were tons of wild parrots in the palm trees. It was nice to get a little back story to a Northern Cal parrot colony.

The Human Family Tree-This National Geographic doc was delightfully surprising.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father-Heartbreaking, but so good.

Justin Beiber:Never Say Never-A truly hard-working and talented kid, you will become a ‘Beleiber.’ 

Candyman:The David Klein Story-A sad story of fame + fortune.

Ghost Bird-I still can’t get over what we have done in the name of science + industry. The Harvard visits are my favorite.

If a Tree Falls-When extremes are uhm, extreme.

Fresh-This should have you packing to join me in the country.

Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians-I think the title describes the doc well.

The Elephant in the Living Room– Repercussions of taking in wild animals.

Being Elmo-A feel good story of following your dream.

Modern Marvels:The Telephone-More of a short than a doc, but still interesting.

This American Life-This is no longer on streaming but the story about Chance is unbelievable.

 I thought it would be fun to show off the modern monogram in another color way in a very posh + modern orange. I used the ink pad to run it along the envelope edge to create the pretty border, you could do this on our cardstock as well since it’s so nice and thick. I was going to do a tutorial on how-to do it, but I need a manicure in a bad way, so the tute will have to wait.  I love how you can change the color and what you stamp on to create an entirely different look!

Here’s a peek at one of the new modern + industrial monograms created for Mrs. Jamie S., the winner of this design!  One of the things I always try to do is show the actual imprint made from the stamp rather than a digital rendering.  It’s very important to me to be able show off the quality of the Besotted Brand hand stamps. I know from experience (I have been making professional stamps since 2005) that not all manufacturer are created equal and not all designs translate well as a stamp. This one though, it turned out so pretty + classic, it prints like a dream and this was even on textured paper.  I like to showcase the stamps in a neutral + simple way, but if you printed this with neon colors on bright white stock you could create a whole new look.  That is what I love most about the stamps, you can change your mind repeatedly to get the outcome you want depending on the color or what you are printing on you can go boho, minimalist, maximalist, preppy, sophisticated, etc. It allows you to be creative and put your unique spin on things.  It also looks pretty professional don’t you think?  If you would like to try to win one of the new monograms that are launching either sign-up for the newsletter or re-pin this (I am choosing people from both), leave a comment at Pinterest with your initials! I have lots of new monogram designs coming down the pike so your chances to win are HUGE, plus I will be doing giveaways here and some truly lovely blogs the whole month of September, we are talking lot’s of opportunity to win! 

I thought I would pop in and show off a sneak peek from the new Monogram Collection!  I will be introducing about a dozen plus monograms in every variation from classic to modern, one initial to three. All monograms come with our signature black wood handle stamp with deeply etched crimson rubber for the best impression possible, housed in a mini oval hat box. As always you know I need real names to create the stamps, for this sample I pulled a name from the mailing list. This one is for Merissa R.! I hope she likes the simple stacked oval, which reminds me of a French candle line that I covet. The monograms are not in the shop yet and will be announced via our newsletter with a discount code of course so be sure to sign-up (don’t worry I only send out an email about once a month and you can unsubscribe at any time). To enter to win your own monogram re-pin this image and in the comments on Pinterest leave your monogram initials and I will be choosing winners from both the Pins and Newsletter! Good luck!

P.S. And since I have SO many to do you have plenty of chances to win!

As soon as I laid my eyes on this I got incredibly homesick.  I knew it was bound to happen at some point, I just didn’t know when or why it would.  I am really happy with our little Southern adventure, but California was my home for so many years. I was born there all of my most precious memories have taken place there and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I missed the Golden State. How incredibly made for me is this artwork? A bear hugging the state of California? My heart may implode with emotion.