Happy Friday everyone. Truth is, I’m having a really hard time keeping a smile on my face these days. Despite what some on the television news might want you to think, this shutdown does affect real people. My husband and several of our close friends are among the 800,000 federal government employees furloughed until the government reopens. With the shutdown, half our income immediately disappeared. No expectation of backpay and no idea when he might be allowed to go back to work. The last shutdown lasted nearly three weeks. I’m trying to look on the bright side of things and be thankful that our situation isn’t worse. I’ve also never been more grateful for leaving federal employment three years ago, so that I can at least continue to earn while Congress gets its act together. With all of this uncertainty, this is a pretty scary time for our family. But it has also gotten us thinking about some larger changes we’d like to make in our life. Changes that will help us live our life on our own terms, rather than the whims of politicians. But in the meantime…
Photo Credit: Maple and Belmont
…a few links for your weekend!
- If you’re a stationer or creative company, I’m now accepting holiday advertisers! You can contact me for info and rates right here.
- Bella Figura’s annual sample sale is here! All samples are just $1 and a tree will be planted for every sample sold! The sample sale runs through October 8.
- Printable “Sweet New Year” 2014 calendars
- Loving these new kids party invitations from Hello! Lucky
- Congrats to Quill & Fox on their brand new shop!
- So many goodies for kids from How We Montessori
- Our friends at Antiquaria are closing their vintage registry shop to focus exclusively on their fantastic stationery designs. Yay! From now until October 21, you can save 75% on their vintage closeout sale with the code VINTAGE75.
This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:
- Totally awesome and interactive invitations for a destination 40th birthday party in France!
- Halloween is just around the corner! Here are some ideas for a black and white Halloween party and a round up of some favorite Halloween cards.
- Modern vineyard-inspired wedding invitations (with hot air balloon illustrations!)
- Wedding cake toppers – made from paper!
- Gold foil wedding invitations in an array of bright and bold colors
- Fun greeting cards and an awesome letterpress print from Iron Curtain Press
- Well Said Type: Naive Inline
- Beautiful watercolor illustration and calligraphy wedding invitations
- Baby blankets are such great gifts for new parents!
- Colorful geometric wedding invitation inspiration
- Awesome new notebooks from Wit & Whistle
- Southwestern desert cactus wedding invitations
Check back soon for this week’s cocktail! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here next week! xoxo
I hear you Nole, this government shut down has been a huge hardship on our family. I stay home with our daughter so my husband’s income is our sole income, which we now have no idea when we’ll be receiving again. As someone who believes in good government this whole situation is so demoralizing. It’s also frustrating because as District residents we have no elected officials to call and voice our concerns to regarding this furlough. Here’s hoping
For all of us it is resolved quickly.
Ugh, I’m so so sorry for you. This whole situation just sucks. And I agree that it’s incredibly demoralizing, and demeaning for the thousands of government workers that put in way more than 40 hours a week to serve their country. The deal used to be that you put up with all the terrible bureaucracy and non-competitive salary because government work was stable and dependable. But if they take that part away, what are we left with? The Sequester, hiring freezes, and everything before was bad enough, but this has really just pushed us over the edge.
I’m thinking of you and your family Nole and hoping that the furlough is resolved effectively and efficiently… for everyone’s sake
Thank you!