How to Help End the Government Shutdown

Activism by Carolyn Suzuki

Image by Carolyn Suzuki from her upcoming book “F is for Feminism

I live in DC, so the ongoing U.S. government shutdown is pretty much all people talk about these days. 800,000 federal government workers across the country have been scrambling to make ends meet since the shutdown began on December 21. Some are furloughed, meaning they are legally prohibited from working during the shutdown, while those deemed essential (like TSA employees) are working without pay. This Friday they will all miss their second paycheck. My husband is a federal employee at a fully funded agency, so we’re thankfully okay. But many of our friends and neighbors are affected, and I know the shutdown is impacting thousands more outside the DC area. So, I’m curious: are you affected by the U.S. government shutdown? Do you know anyone who is? Maybe you have a friend or family member that works for a U.S. government agency and has either been furloughed or is required to work without pay. Or you know a first time homeowner trying to get an FHA loan. Or there are small businesses in your area waiting for inspections or licenses from USG agencies.

Food inspections, airplane inspections, small business licensing, counterterrorism investigations, Coast Guard operations – these are critical government functions that have been impacted by the shutdown. I think we can all agree that we’d like the government to reopen so federal employees can either get back to work or get paid for the work they’re currently doing. If you’d like to help end the government shutdown, you can join the National Call Day taking place across the country TODAY to put pressure on the Senate to reopen the government.

To reopen the government, Congress (both the House of Representatives and the Senate) have to pass bills funding the government, and the President has to sign the bill – or Congress has to override the President with a 2/3 majority. Only Congress can authorize funding, so while the President can make demands, it’s up to Congress to decide what it wants to fund. When the new session of Congress opened on January 3, the House passed a bill that would fund the government without border wall funding, but Mitch McConnell has refused to allow a Senate vote – despite being a co-equal branch of government with enough votes to override Trump’s veto if needed.

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS TODAY!

On Thursday, the Senate will vote on two opposing funding bills that would reopen the government. One proposed by the White House, the other proposed by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The White House bill includes the $5.7 billion for construction of a permanent wall and would also impose serious restrictions on asylum petitions for Central American migrants, including limiting the number of people that can apply for asylum and an outright ban on asylum for Central American minors presenting themselves at the border. Those migrants would be automatically returned to their country of origin WITHOUT an asylum hearing. It would also expand immigrant jail beds by 20%, meaning the Trump administration would have extra capacity to detain families seeking asylum in the United States. The White House proposal claims to extend DACA, but instead it replaces DACA with an entirely new program that is far more restrictive, excluding Dreamers who would be eligible for or even in DACA now. The bill from Minority Leader Schumer is a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government through February 8 with NO wall funding. It’s a temporary fix, but it would allow government workers to get paid and/or go back to work while negotiations continue. 

We need to put pressure on the Senate to vote in favor of the clean CR. You can look up the address and phone number for your two senators here or on 5Calls.org. It’s particularly important to contact your senators if you live in a state with Republican senators, but it’s a good idea to contact Democratic senators, too. You can email your senator directly by clicking the contact link below each senator’s name on this page, and you can contact Senator McConnell directly here. It’s best to keep things short and to the point when contacting your senator. Include your name and exact address so they know you’re a constituent, then tell them exactly what you want them to do. For example:

My name is Sarah Smith and I’m a constituent at 109 Main Street, Townsville, California. I’m calling to urge Senator Harris to vote for the clean Continuing Resolution that would fund the government through February 8 and against President Trump’s hateful, anti-immigrant bill. Holding America hostage for border wall funding is counterproductive and immoral. Congress must pass a funding bill to reopen the government immediately, and override the President’s veto if necessary. Thank you for your time and attention.

And if you get phone anxiety and want to get a message to your representatives out quickly, Resistbot is a texting service that will deliver your message for you. You can also use Resistbot to send a message to the White House! Text the word RESIST to 50409 to get started.

Without public pressure, this government shutdown could go on indefinitely. Federal employees are prohibited from going on strike, so sadly the Trump administration can continue forcing them to work without pay as long as it wants – at least until those employees quit and find other jobs (assuming that’s an available option for those employees). I don’t think it’s right to treat federal employees this way, and the longer this shutdown continues the bigger the impact will be. We should demand that our elected officials do everything possible to pass a funding bill and reopen the government, with or without the President’s support. 

2019 Reader Survey

The Magic Is In You / Secret Holiday Co.

Banner by Secret Holiday Co.

It’s reader survey time again! I always value your feedback in our reader surveys, but this year I feel like I need it more than ever. Oh So Beautiful Paper is now more than 10 years old, the blog/internet/social media landscape is changing so quickly, so many blogs are disappearing, and I’m trying to figure out where OSBP fits into everything. That’s where you come in!

When I started blogging in 2008, my goal was to connect people: customers with designers/stationers, specifically, but also paper-loving people around the world. But what now? Beyond inspiration, what can I do for you? How can I help you – whether you’re a potential customer or someone in the stationery industry. So if you have a couple minutes to take the survey HERE, it would be such a huge help. 

In the survey you’ll find a bunch of multiple choice and open ended questions about what resonates with you, the type of content you’d like to see on Oh So Beautiful Paper, what we can do to improve, and a few other topics. The survey is 100% anonymous, so please feel free to be completely honest. I want your thoughtful opinions and constructive criticism!

And as a special thank you to being the world’s most amazing readers, I have a special gift (that may or may not involve some stationery from my personal collection) for a few readers. So once you’ve filled out the survey, just leave a comment (any comment!) below and I’ll pick a couple of you to receive a little package from me!

Thank you so much!

A Few Target Faves

Have you guys been into Target recently? I usually go on Fridays, and the new Opal House and Project 62 collections are SO CUTE. We’re talking beautiful caning and rattan, tons of realistic faux plants (including a VERY tall cactus), a mostly neutral color palette, baskets, and so much more. I shared some favorites on Instagram Stories, but I thought I’d do a quick round up for those of you that might have missed it! All the products are linked below, but if you’re reading in a feed reader or via email subscriptions you might need to click through for the links. My favorites are the Windsor bench, this fringed basket, this cane plant stand, and this earthenware vase. Do you have a particular favorite? Let me know in the comments!

Target Faves January 2019

And while I’m on the subject of Target, have you seen the new Made by Design collection? It’s mostly storage and some cleaning tools right now, but the design is so beautifully minimalist and I’m loving so many of the pieces in the collection, especially this laundry hamper and these white metal baskets.

The Blueprint Model 2019

Hey friends! Last week, I shared a little bit about The Blueprint Model business coaching program and how it’s helped me gain clarity in my own business. Registration for this year’s program is now open – in fact, today is the LAST day to sign up if you want to participate this year!

Henry David Thoreau

The Blueprint Model is a 12-week business coaching program designed specifically for creative entrepreneurs, with 10+ hours of coaching and advice from other creative entrepreneurs, more than 25 ready-to-use templates, a 60-page workbook, and tons of other extras. Over those twelve weeks, Shanna covers everything you need to start, grow, and eventually scale a thriving creative business – from figuring out how YOU personally define success (which was totally eye opening) to pricing and spending plans, including how to pay yourself a salary and set up a cash flow that will help cover slow months. I really can’t say enough good things about this program. Fellow alums include fine artist Britt Bass, flower farmer Erin Benzakein Floret Flower, creative director Megan Gonzalez of Mae Mae Co., and lots more.

The Blueprint Model

One of the things that I love most about The Blueprint Model is Shanna’s beautiful way of giving creative entrepreneurs permission to build a business around the lifestyle we want. What motivates you? Why are you in your business as a stationer, calligrapher, artist, etc.? Defining what success looks like for YOU individually and figuring out the balance that you need to be happy is powerful stuff. I thought I knew before the program, but I ended up surprising myself – and gave myself the ability to make adjustments as needed as a result. The program has been life changing for me in so many ways!

For the first few years of my business I was pretty much just winging it. I never took the time to define what “success” looked like to me or come up with a sustainable business plan. I mean, I set some early financial goals (like replacing my former salary or earning a certain amount each year), but that didn’t reflect what I truly wanted from my future. When I enrolled in The Blueprint Model, I took Shanna’s Core Motivators assessment and everything started to come together. I was able to better define my big picture and the things that motivate me, then factor those motivators into my pricing so that I didn’t feel like I was constantly spinning my wheels and working 24/7.

Henry David Thoreau

Registration for the Blueprint Model is only open ONCE per year, and that’s right now! So if you’re feeling stressed and overworked – or if you’re just starting out and want to get your business off the ground in a sustainable way – this is such a valuable program for you. Plus, you get lifetime access to the course materials, so you can continue to revisit the program as your business grows and develops. Registration closes at 11:59 pm today, January 17, so don’t wait!

 

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery + Plans for a Shared Big Girl Bedroom

We’re getting ready to make some big changes in my daughters’ shared bedroom (no more toddler beds!), and I realized that I hadn’t shared photos of their existing room yet (oof). So today I’m finally giving you a peek into their colorful shared girls nursery, starting with photos from a couple years ago when Alice was still in a crib. Our home was built in the 1920s and fairly small at 1,200 square feet. We have only two bedrooms, so the girls share the larger bedroom towards the front of the house. It has two large windows and one very small closet, and it’s a tight squeeze – but we make it work!

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

The dresser between the two windows is what you see when you first walk into the room. It’s actually my husband’s dresser from when he was a kid – just painted a light teal. We lived in the house for just over a year before Alice was born, but this room didn’t really start to come together until Alice moved in, so we started with a crib on the left side of the room and a toddler bed on the right. Here’s the original mood board for Sophie’s nursery back in 2013!

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

I wanted to keep the walls fairly neutral and bring in color through art and accessories. The walls are Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore, and the ceiling is Pink Cadillac by Benjamin Moore with gold star decals on the ceiling. I also kind of love these decals!

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

I’m always curious about how folks organize the closets in kid’s rooms – so here’s a peek at our closet! The large baskets on the bottom row used to hold diapers and wipes (and something else that totally escapes my mind), but now hold some extra blankets and a donation bin for clothing they grow out of. The middle row of baskets holds our sheets and waterproof mattress pads, along with some smaller crib blankets and quilts. Then we have clothing that requires hanging, mostly dresses and a few nicer shirts or sweaters. The top baskets used to hold out of season shoes, Alice’s old crib bumper, and some extra nighttime diapers, but now that we’re out of diapers that basket is used for more out of season shoes (essentially one basket for each girl). The crib bumper is now in storage until I decide what to do with it, so that basket now holds knee pads, goggles, and other assorted equipment. We store out of season clothing in bins under Sophie’s bed (previously under the crib), we have a few costumes hanging on the back of their door, and everything else (t-shirts, pants, PJs, skirts, tights, socks, undies) is folded and stored in the dressers Marie Kondo style. At some point we’ll probably have to redo our system once the girls’ dresses get too long to fit in the current space, but for now it works!

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

My husband and I love to travel and have been all over the world, so we wanted to pass that love along to our girls from the very beginning. The shelves contain a mix of globes, some travel trinkets, family photos, and art prints.

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

The girls have a separate play area downstairs, so we don’t keep many toys in the room – mostly just books, stuffed animals, and dolls. We moved the markers and drawing supplies downstairs once Sophie started preschool, so there’s now another little book cart in this corner.

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

I wanted something above the crib that would provide color and visual interest – but would be lightweight enough that I didn’t have to worry about it falling down on the crib. Tissue paper fans to the rescue! I put them up using removable 3M velcro strips, and they’ve stayed up for 4+ years!

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Our beloved pom pom basket is from Eliza Gran and helped inspire the color palette for the nursery! It sadly doesn’t look like her shop is open at the moment, but I’m going to put a couple alternatives into a slideshow at the bottom of the post with shopping links.

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

My favorite Roxy Marj blanket! She no longer sells handmade blankets, but you can find her lion blanket and bear blanket at Crate & Kids on super sale. The rest of our crib and toddler bed bedding was all from Land of Nod (RIP), but you can now find a good selection at Crate & Kids. And did you see that Anthropologie now offers kid bedding? Lots of great options there, too!

A Colorful Shared Girls Nursery / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Eventually, especially once we were ready to potty train Alice, we moved Alice out of the crib and into Sophie’s toddler bed, then put a twin bed in the corner where the crib had been. Sadly I don’t seem to have a great photo of Sophie’s current twin bed, but it’s the very simple wood Tarva bed from IKEA painted a pale pink.

A Colorful Shared Girls Bedroom / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Bedroom / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A Colorful Shared Girls Bedroom / Oh So Beautiful Paper

We’ve made even more changes since these photos were taken: the monitors, diaper pail, and changing pad are long gone, some of the furniture has been relocated to other parts of our house, and as of last weekend Alice is no longer in a toddler bed! So now we’re ready for an even bigger change – bunk beds! The girls have been begging us for bunk beds FOREVER, and over the holiday break we decided to just go for it. We passed Alice’s toddler bed on to another family in the neighborhood, ordered a new mattress and bunk bed, and the plan is to put the new bed together this weekend. It’s been a tight squeeze with a bed on each side of the room, so I’m looking forward to freeing up some floor space when we move to bunk beds. I’ll have to take down the tissue paper fans and gallery wall to fit the new bunk bed, so it’s also an opportunity to update the room in a way that makes sense for them at this stage in their lives. I’m still working out the details, but here’s what I’ve got for inspiration so far:

Colorful and Modern Shared Girls Room Moodboard

Bed with canopy | Pink bunk bed | Magic Flag | Cane Chair

Bright and Colorful Room | Mint Green Bunk Beds | Tassel Wall Hanging | Velvet Pillows | Curtain Bunk Beds

We’re planning to get a bed canopy from Target (I can’t decide between this pink one or this tassel one) to suspend from the ceiling over the top bunk and drape down along the side of the bottom bunk. I love the idea of creating a cozy little space for the bottom bunk, so we may also add curtains to the bottom bunk? TBD. We currently have two dressers in the room, but I’m debating trying to replace them with one wider dresser? Also TBD. I’ll need to add a shelf next to the top bunk for books and water bottles. I’d like to fit a desk or work table in here for homework after school, but I think I’ll need to play around with the layout before I make that decision. I’m also looking forward to a fresh start when it comes to wall art and the opportunity to simplify the room décor a bit, so keep an eye out for a sale over on my Instagram sale page!

Okay, phew! That was a loooong post about our shared nursery and plans for a shared big girl bedroom. I think I covered everything, but let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them. Also – let me know if you guys would be interested in posts about our experience with a shared bedroom. I know I looked for resources on sleep training and potty training in a shared bedroom but didn’t find a lot out there, so if it’s helpful I’m happy to share our experiences.