Oh So Beautiful Paper

Happy Friday everyone! We had a wonderful week in New York, but I’m definitely happy to be back home in DC. Sophie had such a great time on our little trip – she rode Amtrak for the first time, visited the Museum of Modern Art (she loved Mondrian and Pollock), and explored the city with her papa during the day. She even got to visit NYIGF and absolutely loved it; I think she enjoyed all the bright lights and colors around the show. As for me, I really just need to nap for about 36 hours to recover from so many long days at the Javits Center. I’ll be wrapping up my NYIGF coverage with a couple of final posts next week! But in the meantime…

  

Photos by me via Instagram

…a few links for your weekend!

• Birthday gifts you can send in an envelope
• Jenny’s post is such perfect timing. I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot lately…
• Starting today

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

• Classic Southern wedding invitations
• Quick pick: IOU Letterpress
• More awesome Valentine’s Day cards!
• Beautiful calligraphy by la Happy
• NYIGF Winter 2013: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5

That’s it for me this week! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

I’m beginning to suspect that I’m coming down with a case of the winter blues, which definitely isn’t helped by the lack of progress in our house hunt. So I’m actually really excited to break up our routine this weekend – we’re heading to New York City for a few days! My husband and Sophie are coming along, so I’ll be attending the New York International Gift Fair and serving as a judge for the Louie Awards during the day and then meeting back up with them later in the afternoon. We’re taking the train (my favorite way to travel from DC to NYC), so right now I’m trying to figure out how on earth I’m going to fit all of our clothes and baby gear into a reasonable amount of luggage. Next week I’ll report back with some of my favorites from NYIGF! But in the meantime…

You’re My Favorite card by Tabletop Made

…a few links for your weekend!

• A handmade Valentine’s Day card swap!
• This paper scroll wall is ah-mazing
• I’m loving these earrings
• Pretty graphic tote bags
• Are any of you going to the Martha Stewart Wedding Party this Sunday in NYC?

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

• More awesome Valentine’s Day cards
• Cute pink + gold foil wedding invitations (with a sweet heart-shaped rsvp card!)
• A fun polka dot + watercolor DIY tutorial
• Art Deco-inspired invitations for a 40th wedding anniversary party
• Well Said Type: Trend Sans
• Incorporate animal motifs into your wedding stationery
• Quick pick: Ink Meets Paper
• Don’t forget! Today is the last day to enter the calligraphy address stamp giveaway from Kathryn Murray Calligraphy!
• Thank you to everyone who filled out the reader survey! It’s still open here if you have a moment!

That’s it for me this week! I hope you all have a lovely weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

After all the ups and downs this week, I know I’m ready for a bit of R&R this weekend! But before you go running off, would you mind filling out a quick reader survey? It’s been a while since the last one, and I’d love your thoughts about Oh So Beautiful Paper as I prepare to make it bigger and better over the coming year! You can find the short survey right here! And in the meantime…

Original Image Credit: Aaron Huey

…a few links for your weekend!

• Hello, Saint Agnes
• Have you heard about Paper Camp?!?!
• Oh, how I miss Positano!
• A different kind of valentine
• Cute origami bookmarks
• I’m SUPER excited about these iphone cases coming soon from Rifle Paper Co.!
• Mothers in the trenches
• Loved reading these posts from Nicole about the evolution of her blog

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

• Coral + aqua tropical beach-inspired wedding invitations
• Modern chevron stripe + fabric pocket wedding invitations
• Stunning map-inspired invitations for a destination wedding in Maine
• More awesome Valentine’s Day cards!
• Lovely art from Girl + Parrot
• Beautiful save the dates that mix engraving and watercolor
• Sweet + feminine letterpress baby announcements
• Pretty storage boxes to help keep you organized
• Sophie at four months!

That’s it for me this week! Next week I have an AWESOME giveaway that you won’t want to miss – so be sure to check back in early next week. Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo

Happy Friday everyone! Thank you so much for your kind comments and tweets about Sophie’s baby announcements – it was so fun to share them with you and I loved seeing all of your reactions! Right now I’m looking forward to a couple of really nice and warm days this weekend. I just want to soak up as much sun and fresh air as possible! But in the meantime…

Sophie’s Baby Announcements

…a few links for your weekend!

• A gorgeous new display font from Jessica Hische
• I love ampersands
• Amazing images from National Geographic
• Hooray for paper dolls!
• Love these new notepads from Linda + Harriett
• We’re in this together

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

• Sophie’s constellation planisphere baby announcements
• Valentine’s Day cards! p.s. Check out the full round up here
• Gorgeous travel-inspired wedding invitations
• In love with Pantone’s Color of the Year: Emerald!
• A round up of cards to congratulate someone on a new home
• Classic wedding invitations for a couple that loves music
• Pink + gold inspiration
• Modern engagement party invitations
• Illustrated invitations for a wedding in Australia

That’s it for me this week! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

January is a time of natural reflection, and it seems like most of us are in the process of looking back on the past year and getting ready for the changes to come. 2012 was obviously a big year for me and my family; we found out we were expecting a baby in early 2012 and welcomed our little Sophie to the world in September. This past year was a complete whirlwind from start to finish, and while I’m not the type to set resolutions, I thought it would be good for me to talk a bit about of my goals and thoughts for the next twelve months…

Photo Credit: The Mandate Press

This is our big challenge for 2013, and I’m both excited and absolutely terrified at the same time. In early December, my husband and I found out that our current landlords are planning a complete renovation of our rented rowhouse – so we have to find a new place to live by the end of March. And while we were hoping to buy a home of our own in the near future, we also hoped to have a bit more time to save and prepare. Well, I guess there’s no time like the present! The DC real estate market is both super expensive and extremely competitive, which is the part that makes me nervous, but I’m trying to remain optimistic that we’ll find the right place in our timeframe.

This isn’t exactly about finding work/life balance, although that can be even more difficult when your work is done inside your home, but more about keeping everything in perspective. I absolutely LOVE what I do and cherish the opportunity to share beautiful paper goods with all of you every day, but I know that I can sometimes lose the big picture when I’m focusing too hard on my daily to-do list or when I fall victim to feeling like I have to constantly keep up with what everyone else is doing. This year, I’d like to do a better job of letting go of things that aren’t really that important in the long run and instead focus on what is best for me and my family, whether that’s spending more time with friends or just dedicating an entire afternoon to my daughter (away from email) without feeling guilty.

I’ve been a night owl my entire adult life, and I got into the terrible habit of doing blog work at night when I was still working in a regular office during the day for those first couple of years. So while my nighttime habits may have worked just fine when I was 25 (and pre-Sophie) it’s definitely starting to catch up with me now that I’m in my 30s. It may seem like a relatively small goal, but for me it’s going to be a major (and much-needed) overhaul – one that I think will make me much more productive and happy in the long run.

So! Those are my goals for 2013 – and now, as always, a few links for your weekend:

• Pretty dish towels that are (almost) too nice to use! (p.s. Congrats on the new design Kelly!)
• Keep up with your New Year’s Resolutions with this handy printable chart
• Help raise funds for Wish Upon a Wedding!
• This has me inspired to finally reupholster the antique sofa that I inherited from my great-grandmother

This (short) week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

• Love, love, love these adorable announcements from Brooke at Curious & Co. for her baby boy
• A final round up of 2013 calendars (see the full round up here!)
• Beautiful calligraphy and stationery from Papermade Design
• Any newly engaged readers? Here are a few cards to ask a special someone to be in your bridal party
• Whimsical hand lettered invitations for a wedding in Colorado

Top photo via The Mandate Press, all other photos by me via Instagram