I haven’t done a round up post in ages, but I really enjoy reading them when I come across one and I also have a lot of random things that I would love to share with you.

I am honored + thrilled that I am featured on Susan of Fleurishing’s blog today, her Proust Q&A was a real enlightenment for me. You should take it yourself or give it to a friend, you might be surprised what you learn about yourself or a loved one, it would be fun to do at a dinner party. Won’t you please come visit me there today?

Read anything good lately?  I always love adding new books to my future reading list. My MIL has me hooked on the Lincoln Rhyme series by Jeffrey Deaver, it’s fiction which I don’t usually read but it’s addicting if you like detective novels. Deaver recently released a Kindle Single (it’s a ‘mini’ book) that I felt was well worth my .99. Speaking of .99 books, if you have a Kindle you should check out the monthly deals, there’s some great books on there right now most under $3! I just finished  reading The Bucolic Plague (the name alone makes it worth reading).

I have gone through all my usual podcasts and stumbled upon Story Worthy, it’s hit and miss, but still worth a try. You? Any new suggestions for me?  I am going to need to download a bunch for our four days of driving!

When I visited Nola my hostess made homemade ice cream. I have never tried this myself and was mesmerized how effortless she made it seem. The flavor? Toasted fig leaf, seriously the most original of all flavors, it has a little marshmallow tinge to it, it’s hard to describe, but utterly delectable. You can get the recipe here.

Found a homing/racing pigeon lately?  We have! A racing pigeon lost its way from Georgia (over 300 miles away) to our little nook in the woods. If you ever do find one this is how you can locate the owner.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, I will be enjoying mine by getting more boxes packed, I know it sounds thrilling, please don’t be too envious of me.

vintage st. marks photo by loosloft

I had a client send me artwork this week for a custom stamp and the lettering was fabulous, a little girly, but not too much and it definitely looked hand done, so being the lettering-phile that I am I inquired if she created the lettering herself in which she said no it’s a font.  After a second look I realized it was the Anna Clara font that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I have to say it looked so good. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a sweet, hand-lettered font that looks very authentic.

The incredible Molly Jacques (you may have seen her work coursing through the interwebs) has introduced Icing, a simple upright printed hand with some nice motifs. I love Molly’s work and can’t believe that you can currently get a  font from her that is wonderfully budget friendly.  I also spied a very elegant modern calligraphic font that I am seriously crushing on it’s called Shameless . This font was created by Georgia based Neil Summerour the founder of Positype. I love how feminine it is without resorting to excessive curlicues, it’s definitely on the top of my list of fonts I need to have.  It has an effortless flow and feels very relevant for what today’s modern calligraphy aficionados are currently coveting. I say bravo Mr. Summerour, nicely done.

Well, this little bit of information just couldn’t wait until Thursday, I was anxious that I couldn’t even wait until Tuesday so I am sending out this smoke signal early, because I don’t know if this class will sell out!  Jon Contino is legendary amongst hand lettering aficionados and to be able to take a $20 class from him?  Well, that is just crazy (good) talk. I just found out from my pal Michelle P. that Mr. Contino will be teaching the on-line class above via Skillshare. I have already enthused about how brilliant I believe Skillshare to be, but the addition of a lettering superstar has taken them over the top in my book. I am a bit bummed that the day class launches I will be hitting the road, but you can take the class and enjoy it immensely for me right?  I am so excited about this development I think I may implode.  I hope some of you do take the course, I can’t wait to see what you create in class!

It took me a bit to decide, I did get a little swayed by my New Orleans trip and put a bid in with my husband to add Nola into the mix, but he was having none of it. I had narrowed it down to the Bay area & Seattle then my former boss thew in a curve ball and offered me my old job back for the salary he originally gave me before he cut it in half because of the decline in the economy. For a split second Los Angeles was back on the table making my decision making even more complicated, but then I counter offered and my former boss told me to basically kick rocks barefoot, which obviously stunted any further negotiations. Obviously, it was a little relapse in better judgement on my part but my husband did allow me to indulge myself.

So back to the Bay area & Seattle. I really, really wanted the Bay area, I miss California desperately but with our new budget/savings not being what it was prior to our move out East I knew that we wouldn’t be able to get everything we wanted/needed in a place (mainly a washer + dryer, total deal breaker for me) in the Bay area.  Being so secluded in the country it was also very important to me to be able to be in a area that I could walk to places and that I could get around my new city without a car. In Los Angeles and outside of the areas we could afford in the Bay area that wouldn’t have been an option. I had a nice little list running of things I could not live without and things that would make me miserable if I couldn’t have them (wood floors, a non-fiberglass bathtub). When we started to add all the pro’s versus the con’s Seattle really was the winner. It’s affordable, beautiful, walk-able, on the West Coast and the food is outstanding.  There’s great architecture, it’s cosmopolitan, people are nice, it’s super dog friendly and I couldn’t be happier!  I have spent a lot of time in Seattle but my husband has never been (gasp!) I know who does that moves nearly 3,000 miles to a place they have never been?  I am not as brave as he is, but he LOVED Portland so I think Seattle is going to be perfect for him. We only have a couple more weeks left here in the South and we are so excited for our new adventure!

vintage seattle map print

And the winner of last weeks bestowal of the custom logo stamp set is Brianna Morrison! I also need the vintage globe winners to please email me because I’m moving and they need to go to new homes (announced the winners here), I will choose alternate winners if I don’t hear from the current winners this evening.