rust belt love

Cozy, With A Touch of Rustic

2012-01-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, when I first heard Jeanne's wedding colors were red and turquoise my first reaction was not "WOW that sounds so pretty!!" However, I am a gal who can admit when she's wrong, and as soon as I googled some photos of red and turquoise weddings, well, color me embarrassed! They look AMAZING together, I only wish I could have seen the photos from the rest of her wedding. {hint, hint, Jeanne, if you're reading this, hint...}

Their style was going to be simple, with a rustic touch. November in Buffalo is definitely not toasty and warm, so they had an almost holiday-y feeling going, with jute twine, cranberries in the centerpieces, the tone she described was almost cozy feeling!

I think my favorite part of this suite is the red response envelopes, with the white writing. Definitely not the easiest thing in the world to pull off, but I think it works SO well with this design.

Thank you Jeanne and Billy for letting us design your totally rad invitations, and for teaching me to never doubt a bride's color choice again!! I'm sure your day was absolutely gorgeous.

Brides World Buffalo 2012 Recap!

2012-01-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

Another Brides World Buffalo is behind us, and yes, it has taken me several days to write this because we have been regrouping. It is only one day (okay, one weekend if you count set-up) but oooo-wee is it a busy one! We love the whirlwind of it though! So here are some pictures, if you missed it in person:

My Mom and Kacie came to help (sorry Mom, I had to post this picture, hahaha!)

This was our sample invitation suite, we will be having a closeup, more detailed post on this later!

I was inspired by The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern for this suite, if you have not read it I definitely recommend, the imagery in it is so lovely!

This was our table in the table gallery:

It was designed to go with the invitation suite we had in the booth.

The full design featured centerpiece, candles, napkin rings, chair covers, table number, and menu/table cards.

The menu/table cards were personalized for each person. (More on this later!!)

There are my [very amateur] photos from the show, we will be posting more soon on the actual design featured, plus our drawing for the raffle we had at our booth for 75 custom thank you cards!

Brides World Buffalo 2012

2012-01-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the big set-up day for Brides World 2012. Here's our [now annual] sneak peak, hope to see all you "nearly-weds" there!!

End of Year Wrap Up

2011-12-31T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well here we are at December 31, and what an AWESOME year it has been!! I still have 2 more weddings from 2011 to post, but they will have to wait for January. For now, let's do a little looking back at some of the smaller projects we did this year!!

This was Josh and Amanda's thank you card/Christmas card! They were married so close to Christmas they wanted to combine the two, which is such an adorable idea!

Some art deco stationery done for Mr. Rich Mattingly over at Nickel City Studios for his "Oma."

More personal stationery, this time a gift for a lovely lady who is actually getting married ON New Year's Eve! This one was fancy schmancy letterpress though, the metallic purple ink made us swooooon!

We love when people give stationery as a gift, I hate to think that hand-writing notes is a thing of the past. Even as much as I love my menagerie of technology, nothings warms the cockles of my heart as much as receiving a hand written card or letter!

We also had the opportunity to design some awesome biz id for a pie company! (This is the only sample photo I got #sadface)

Now that your mouth is watering, check out this menu card for the amazingly talented ladies at Thelma and Louise Catering (again, no samples, wah waaaah):

Some stuff we did in-house this year, the birth announcement for our little fire cracker:

And her baptism invitation (we may have gone slightly overboard, but we couldn't help ourselves!)

An library-inspired e-vite for a book club friend's baby shower:

A business card for my Uncle-In-Law, if you are in the Lockport area, you can find him playing his GUI-tar at Pour Boys most Wednesday nights!

Holy hell, I almost forgot one of Buffalo's greatest triumphs of the year. It's barely worth mentioning from a design point of view, seeing as the guidelines for the branding on these events are the strictest I've ever seen, however it represents one of the most AMAZING acts of determination I've ever witnessed. The fact TEDxBuffalo even happened is a testament to the solid people of this city, and I feel honored to have been a [small] part of it, and the incredible group of people that actually pulled it off. You can check out a full recap and more about it here.

Well, that's it for us this year, we are still in hurry mode for BridesWorld 2012, coming up January 8th - if you haven't gotten your tickets yet there is still time! We hope to see you in the Convention Center! Until then, have a happy and healthy new year, from all of us here at Rust Belt Love! xo

An Art Deco Affair

2011-12-12T08:29:00.000-08:00

This week we have another FULL wedding design post for you, and what's more, some GORGEOUS pro photos for your viewing pleasure.

Let's start with the invitation. When we first met with Katie and her mom, and her sister, and her mother in law, and her fiancé (yes, we LOVE when everyone wants to be involved, it is actually super fun for us, haha) Katie just wanted simple, clean, with shades of green and an art deco feel. Which was perfect since she was having her reception at Asbury Hall, a gorgeous gem of a hall in Downtown Buffalo, an old church repurposed by Annie DiFranco for a multitude of musical purposes. If you've never been, I hope you get the privilege sometime soon, it's a sight to be seen.

Since the interior is so beautiful, and green, we decided to incorporate an illustration of it right into the design of the invite.

Katie (and her mom) also opted for layering, and an RSVP card with matching envelope. I think the off-white linen paper complimented the design perfectly.

Now on to the real eye candy. Katie and John's photographers were Jenn and Ben from Ayres Photography , and as you can clearly see below, I should stick to the paper and let the pros do the photographing.

The programs were double sided, mounted on a green layered paper that matched the invitation style, replacing the drawing with the bride's and groom's names.

At Asbury Hall, we did all the centerpieces, as well as several extra bouquets for the guestbook table, the fireplace near the entrance, and the gift table.

Each vase was a mason jar, with ribbon, raffia tie, and tag that had Katie and John's name on it, with the date. Inside the vase were river rocks, and bouquets of white and green hydrangea (our favorite!!).

Also near the entrance were the escort cards that matched the invitation and programs.

Each table had a green cloth napkin that grounded each centerpiece grouping. Along with the bouquets, we did up table cards that, in addition to the traditional table number, each table also had a different street in Buffalo. And with the green color we were using for everything, we just had to make them look like actual street signs.

We had SO much fun designing this wedding for you guys, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Here's to you, and an eternity of happiness, thank you for allowing us to help bring to life your vision for your special day.

**Thank you also to Jenn at Ayres Photography for sending us these truly amazing photos. Check out their whole blog post on Katie and John's wedding day.

Raspberry and Navy Deliciousness!

2011-11-18T07:09:00.001-08:00

So since today one of our weddings is totally famous, I thought it'd be a great day to blog about Tricia and Jack's awesome navy and raspberry invitations and reception details.

Tricia is a very old and dear friend of ours, and anyone who has ever met Tricia knows what an amazing person she is. She is truly always smiling, and possibly the most positive person I know. Her joy is totally infectious, it's impossible not to be happy when around her. I wanted her invitations to convey that same joy, fun, and classy vibe.

Tricia wanted something with a vintage feel without screaming a VINTAGE cliché. So we hand drew the border and incorporated some fun fonts on a heavily textured off-white paper.

When Tricia and I were initially crafting the design together I threw out the idea of just leaving the names as "Tricia & Jack" and forgoing the traditional middle and last names... My thinking was, if you didn't know who Tricia and Jack were, you probably shouldn't be invited in the first place. (How many Tricia and Jacks do YOU know??) It was a risk, especially with Tricia's pretty traditional family, but we both loved the idea so much, we decided to go for it, and boy did it pay off! Everyone loved it!

We carried the theme throughout the menu/table number cards and place cards for the reception. In true rust belt love form, I have horrible iPhone and Instagram photos of these. {don't worry, I'm rolling my eyes too.}

For GOOD photos of these, and the rest of the amazing reception and wedding check out the pros at Nickel City Studios blog. Truly the best of the best. Tricia and Jack, you guys are so rad, we love you both so much and wish you an eternity of happiness together. Thank you for letting us be a part of this magical day.

TEDxBuffalo

2011-10-11T10:12:00.001-07:00

An amazing event!! Blogging live from TEDxBuffalo at Canisius College - or follow my personal account on twitter for updates, or watch, streaming live on ustream: http://t.co/RpFCLapb. Technology, entertainment and design; ideas worth sharing. It's amazing, I'm so impressed with my friends and friendly acquaintances that pulled off this event in a mere 5 months. Truly amazing.

Orange and Green Summer Wedding

2011-10-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today's post is about Ashley's green and orange wedding invitations. Ashley is our favorite kind of bride, the "I don't know what I want, but I'll know it when I see it" kind. The kind that is open to seeing what we come up with. Fun!!

Ashley and Bill long discussed the different styles we sent them, and they compromised on the design you see, incorporating Ashley's love of vines and floral, and Bill's desire for something uncomplicated and graphic.

I really love the paper they chose. It is such a unique texture, I think it really picked up their simple design well!

Thanks so much for being awesome to work with guys, I know your day was amazing and gorgeous, and we wish you a lifetime of happiness together.

Vintage Tea Shower

2011-09-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

I MUST share with you all the beautiful shower I went to a week ago! For my beautiful friend Tricia, (whose invitations we will be featuring soon!) thrown by her sister Heidi. This is a gorgeous example of what you can do with a little time and a lot of love.

Each table setting had a box of tea wrapped in ribbon and personalized with Tricia and Jack's initials. The perfect favor - simple, personalized, and useful.

Place cards coordinated with the invitations and theme of the event.

AWESOME idea - instead of baskets as door prizes, Heidi did auctions for gift cards to area restaurants. And they were from all over, north towns, south towns, downtown; since the guests were all from different areas.

Each can was a different size, designed with a different font and teapot or tea cup illustration.

She even iced "T" cookies for the tables.

While this was an extraordinary party, she didn't do anything overly difficult or expensive. Heidi is not a designer, but with a little time, taste, and Googling, she threw a party that this designer was VERY impressed with! So ~~steal~~ borrow these ideas, or just use them as inspiration for your next event!

Also, the food was awesome. ;)

Simply Sweet Style

2011-09-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

This week's invite was for the darling Miss Karen (now a Mrs.). Karen did not want anything floral, or anything decorative, she wanted all of her styling to be through the text, and we were more than happy to oblige!

Karen wanted to feature her traditional but fun style in navy on cream colored paper. By featuring different fonts and sizes in the text, the words become the design, rather than any graphics or illustrations. It really shows how you can keep things simple but still make a dramatic impact.

She also did a response postcard, which I love! It was the perfect complement to this simple, sweet invitation. I really just love Karen's style.

So a short and sweet blog post today; if you live here in Buffalo, get out and enjoy this beautiful sunny weather before its back to the darker days of winter!

Fabulous Photog

2011-09-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

This blog post is dedicated to the most patient, understanding lady I've ever had the pleasure of working with. You know how in your every day job, you now and then come across that one thing that NOTHING goes right with? Everything that can go wrong, does? That was how it was with Stephanie's thank you cards and contract holders. But we muscled through and got them to Stephanie for her fab new biz Stephie Lei Photography.

Stephanie loves butterflies, and wanted to incorporate them with nature in her logo and business identity. Each piece was printed in a cobalt ink on super heavy duty pearlized white linen.

It may be my favoritest paper ever...

The contract folders were finished off with a little tab closure, and a corner stamp embellishment.

It may have been a long road, but I am thrilled with the way these turned out, and I must say I cannot thank her enough for how she handled everything with such grace and understanding. SO, if you are looking for a photographer for your wedding or event, please check out her Facebook page and give Steph a call. She is not only talented, but she is also the sweetest ever.

We're BACK!

2011-08-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe how long it's been since I've been on the blog! What a whirlwind of a summer!

Our new baby, Samantha, has definitely kept us busy, but not too busy to do some really fun weddings! So here we go, back in the saddle, and kicking it all off is one of our favorite formal invitations ever, Marghi's black, white, and cornflower invites!

They wanted their invitations to have an elegant, formal feel with some little fun touches.

Each card was printed in a charcoal grey ink, and mounted onto a patterned paper that was special-ordered to match the blue in the bridesmaids' dresses perfectly!

Marghi and Joe had quite a few out of town guests (some all the way from Italy!) so they wanted to make sure they had a map, and clear directions for people to find their way from the ceremony to the reception, and also an accommodations card to let them know what hotels they had reserved blocks of rooms.

Congratulations Marghi and Joe, I'm sure your wedding day was as beautiful and classy as the both of you are. You were truly a joy to work with, and we wish you all the happiness in the world.

Sage and Lavender Art Deco Wedding Invitation

2011-03-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

We're so excited to be unveiling this latest invitation! Meeting with Karla and Dave was a pleasure from the very beginning, even if the weather wasn't! But such is the way with Spring weddings in Buffalo - planning must begin when the weather is at it's worst!! Everyone braved the weather, including Karla's adorable parents, who are friends of my husband's family. Some designers find it distracting, but I LOVE when parents want to be involved in their kids' wedding plans - especially when they are as sweet at Karla's!

So you must be saying to yourself, if this is Karla and Dave's invitation, WHY does that photo say Craig and Cam? In lieu of inner envelopes, K and D decided to do personalized monograms on EACH of their invitations. We love what a personal touch this is! To have each invitation with each guest's own name on it is just brilliant.

I think if there is one art style that resounds loudest in WNY it must be Art Deco. The city is inundated with it, especially in it's architecture, so it's no surprise that it is a recurring theme with our brides. However, here the use was subtle; Karla is using calla lilies throughout her wedding, so we kept with a simple, art deco calla design for the inside of the invite. And we love how the linen texture of the ivory paper gives the whole piece a soft touch.

K and D wanted to include all the information their guests, from in town and out of town, could need to make celebrating their special day easy peasy.

This included information about reserving hotel blocks at several downtown hotels, offering a vegetarian option for dinner right on the response card...

... and specific directions, not just to the church, but from the church to the reception at Templeton Landing as well.

We also printed a map on the back of the direction card, to make navigating the streets around both the church and the reception as easy as possible. [And trust me, as someone who has gotten lost on the waterfront on her way to Templeton Landing – more than once – I think this will be much appreciated!]

We're so thrilled K and D were so happy with their invites. Each design is such a collaborative effort, I hope they feel that this expresses their personalities, and their big day, as well as we think it does.

A Vintage, Wine-Country Inspired Wedding Invitation

2011-03-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

This invitation debut has been a long time coming!! One of our favorites, I've been holding out on getting these professionally photographed before posting them, but finally I said, enough! It's time these lovelies had their day in the sun, and what better way to kick off OUR official start of "Wedding Season?!"

Let's start with the envelopes, which I totally heart. Tricia wanted a natural, almost vintage plantation feel for her invites. We used kraft button-tie envelopes, raffia wraps, and ivory textured paper for first impression.

Inside, Tricia picked a fun green and blue color scheme that went so nicely with the Niagara-On-The-Lake subtle rustic, wine country theme.

She also did one of my FAVORITE things, and put a funny twist on her RSVP options. They were "Wouldn't miss it for the world" and "Being detained against our will elsewhere."

Rather than having a lot imagery, we used a variety of fonts with different sizes and spacing to create the graphic feel of the design. Then we topped it with something sweet.

Well there you have it, a wedding invitation suite that is as sweet as Tricia and Michael and their perfect day. Our brides are as much a part of our design process as we are, which is how there are never two alike, each unique to the style and personality of the great brides we work with.

Color Me ImPRESSed!

2011-03-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

I am so lucky to have such talented, creative friends! One such friend (who I've mentioned before) I had the honor of designing save the dates for. But not just any save the dates, LETTERPRESS save the dates... ooooh how I LOVE letterpress! I wish I could say it was more than a hobby I'm learning about, but alas for now I'm still a novice. And part of the learning process is kicking it old school, ie pouring over thousands and thousands and thousands of letters and spacers and itty bitty pieces of lead for hours and hours to make something that takes about thirty minutes on a computer. But it is a labor of love, I assure you! So in the last class I took, I made some save the dates for Andrea and Michael.

And from here, Andrea made them spectacular. She added 3 layers, with different patterns and textures and made them super luxe... Check out how she did it here.

The finished product:

Simply gorgeous! Andrea's fabulous eye for design really shines through with these, her wedding is truly going to be a beautiful, elegant affair.

5 Things Every Bride Should Know About Her Invitations

2011-02-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

5.) Invitations Set the Tone for Your Wedding. By the time your invitations actually go out, you have been probably been planning your wedding for MONTHS, possibly over a year! However, even if you are intimately familiar with every single detail of your big day, chances are this will be your guests' introduction to what your wedding is all about. You want to make sure this "first impression" is the one you want! If you are having a casual, beach themed wedding, but your invitations have a formal, black tie look, your guests may show up completely overdressed. Or vice versa.

4.) Let Your Invitations Drop The Hint. Are you planning an adults-only reception, but you aren't quite sure how to let your family members with small children know they should probably get a babysitter? Or have you decided that perhaps you're not completely in love with the idea of all your single friends bringing strangers as dates to your sit down dinner? There are elements you can incorporate into your invitations that communicate these sentiments without having to make the awkward phone call to say, "No, little Sally and Johnny are not invited!" Wording like "Adult Reception" on your reception card, and addressing the envelopes to "Aunt Mary and Uncle John" or "Joe Smith" instead of "Smith Family" or "Joe and Guest" lets your guests know they should only be RSVPing for themselves.

Photo by Nickel City Studios
Bonus Tip: Don't forget, the number of invitations you need (or sometimes programs if you don't have enough, like this bride did here!) is probably about half of your entire guest list, when you take into account couples and families.

3.) It's Never "Too Early" To Start Planning! Engagements seem to be getting longer and longer, not always out of desire but out of necessity. With so many brides booking reception venues, photographers and caterers up to 2 years in advance, many couples may find themselves with limited options if they wait too long to plan. This includes your invitations. Does this mean a long, several year engagement is for everyone? Definitely not! But we do recommend you start making phone calls as soon as you feel ready to plan – don't let friends or family pressure you into thinking you're starting "too soon." Some online printing companies have a quick turnaround of a week or two, while other private agencies (especially letterpress) require longer production times of 2 or 3 months. Plus, some companies will limit how many invitation orders they take at one time, so if your special day is in a peak wedding season waiting until the last minute could mean compromising on what you want or paying rush charges.

2.) All Postage Is Not Created Equal. Unfortunately. Everything about your invitation will affect exactly how much postage you will have to put on each beautiful, carefully crafted little package. The number of inserts, the thickness of the paper, even the shape of the envelope will dictate your stamping. A carefully weighed, post-office-approved shape and size can pretty much guarantee you a hassle-free trip to the post office, with each envelope adorned with a delightful "LOVE" or heart stamp, intended for such an occasion. But a poorly planned shipping method can result in your beautiful invitations having one beautiful heart or sunset stamp, and one sheep's head. OR – our worst nightmare – every single one of your invites returned to you with a big INSUFFICIENT POSTAGE stamp across the front. Measure twice, mail once...

1.) All Invitations Eventually End Up In The Garbage. Or the recycling bin, we hope. Megan hates when I say this, but it's true. Except for your mom, or your grandmother, or your sentimental best friend, almost every one of your guests is going to toss out that beautiful, hand-crafted, painstakingly planned invitation. And the food will be eaten. And the cake will be eaten. And the flowers will eventually wilt. Our point being - ENJOY THIS PROCESS! This is probably the biggest party you've ever thrown in your life, and will possibly be the one time in your life everyone you care about will all be together in the same room. Don't make yourself crazy over the spacing in the font on the reception card, or that the red in your flowers doesn't exactly match the shade of your bridesmaids' dresses. Yes, plan the details, it's the details that everyone notices, for sure. Enjoy the details, plan to your hearts content, but at the end of the day, BE content.

Think Pink!

2011-02-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

Ahh, we had a fun little break from wedding madness a few weeks ago when we got to design an invitation for a good friend of ours, Danielle. Her sister is having a baby girl, and her friends and family are throwing her a baby shower! The inspiration for this invite was the bedroom set Michelle is putting in the nursery. Happy, bright, cheerful colors!! Just what the doctor ordered in the middle of this dreary, OVERLY SNOWY winter!

Thanks again Danielle for thinking of us; as always, you were amazing to work with! And congratulations, Michelle, we're thrilled we could be a part of this special time!!

Brides World 2011!

2011-01-13T07:14:00.000-08:00

WHEW What a crazy whirlwind of a week this has been!! WELCOME if you are new to our blog, if we just met you at Brides World, or if we haven't met you yet! Take a look around, we have lots to show you, like all of our designs, our wedding products, or maybe just to learn a little more about us. Thanks for stopping by!

Now a few notes about Brides World - we had SO much fun! This is one of the reasons I LOVE Buffalo so much - the people are here are simply the best. Hands down. We met so many sweet brides, we really feel lucky to have talked to so many genuinely nice people! As per usual, I have little to show except for a few iPhone photos, but here are some shots until we get some more off of an actual camera!

The booth. The lovely ladies of Thelma and Louise (aka my mom and Sandy) hung out with us all day in the booth for support and, as one of them put it, as "eye candy." :)

This was the invitation suite that went along with the table design we put together in the table gallery. Designed for an autumn wedding, it features leaves and trees hand drawn by moi, with an eggplant purple and burnt orange color scheme.

This was our table setting, we were SO happy with it! Apparently other people were too, because every time we went back to check on the table, another little piece of it had been taken! (We'll take that as a compliment.)

Rather than a dull table number to differentiate each table, this fall theme featured types of trees. This table was "Oak," with the table's drawing in the frame, and matching placecards for the guests. Other tables would have been "Birch," "Elm," "Pine," etc. The favors were matching eggplant purple terra cotta pots tied with rafia, with a tulip bulb in each. Since this was for a November wedding, we thought tulip bulbs would make great favors, since they are meant to be planted in the fall. The favor tags said "Love Grows, plant these bulbs in the fall, and think of us when they bloom in the spring."

Setup Day

2011-01-08T20:14:00.001-08:00

Well I'd like to say that "was" a long day but as I write this I'm standing in KINKOS getting the last {forgotten} details printed and taken care of before tomorrow. We had so much family helping us today, we are so lucky, it definitely kept us from completely losing our minds haha! We are so excited about out table, I think it turned out just as we hoped. Tomorrow we will be keeping you updated on how it's going - if you don't already, get on the bus and follow us on twitter!! {@rustbeltlove}
We can't wait for tomorrow - and to hopefully see a couple of you, but for those who cant make it, next week we'll be posting all the dirty, gory details! Goodnight!

In The "Studio"

2011-01-06T20:33:00.001-08:00

Well, tonight was another mad dash of last minute errands, cutting, assembling and putting the finishing touches on our table settings. We love every second of it though, we are so excited for the show Sunday! The only unfortunate part is having to do it all in the still-not-quite-complete studio, as you will see in the above photo, haha.
If you still don't have your voucher - visit Brides World Buffalo to sign up and print your $2 off coupons. We hope to see as many friendly faces there as possible!

WELCOME 2011!

2011-01-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

Ok I will try to take what I can from my [somewhat failed] attempt at #reverb10, and move on to welcome this EXCITING NEW YEAR! And what better way to start it off than with a FABULOUS Brides World bridal show at the Buffalo Convention Center? Do you have your tickets yet?? You can get a discount voucher here! We are SO stoked for this weekend, we have been busy little birds getting all the little details together - INCLUDING a brand new TOTAL package! We will be featuring a full invitation suite, lined envelope, program, and thank you card at our booth, but then if you go to the table gallery section, we will also have a full table set up with favors, centerpiece, menus, place cards, THE WORKS! I'll be posting bits and pieces as the week goes on, but for now here's a peak at some of the finishing touches we're working on...

Check back for more soon!!

Two More Posts

2010-12-20T09:10:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to catch up by skipping weekends, and only doing two at a time, but I'm still going to keep on it! :)

December 14 – Appreciate. What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it? (Author: Victoria Klein)

People smiling while wearing masks = win!

My family. Hands down. Back when we first moved into the Money Pit, people would say to us, well it's good you have so much family. Which completely confounded me, because before embarking on this "adventure" the idea that we'd have "tons of help from our huge families" never crossed my mind. What's the big deal? It's nothing the two of us can't handle? Until the demo started... and the day my brother Kevin, and Nick's stepdad Dave came over, and the four of us accomplished more in 1 day than the two of us had accomplished in two weeks. Oh. This is what they meant. Even so, the fear of needing and the guilt of asking for help kept most of the demo to a two person job... until March... when we got the dumpster. Suddenly, with a deadline, and with WAY more work than we'd initially anticipated, we needed help. A LOT of it. And people came. Without question. Friends, neighbors, but most of all, my family. In the words of my Dad, on the day I begrudgingly called him to admit I needed help, he said, "Family first. If you need to, we'll rally the troops." And they did. We filled a dumpster with 10 tons of debris (mostly thrown, by hand, out of the second and third floor windows.) At which point I said, ok, we've got this now, thanks for the help guys, we'll take it from here. Wrong. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago, and we're up against another deadline... the one where the bank says, ok time's up, if your contractors want to get paid, you need to be done with this work. Now. Except it was work WE had to finish, not the contractors. In comes my dad, again; he measured, sawed, routed, and installed 20 window sills and frames. And brought contractor friends to help. And the rest of the family; my sisters came for my birthday to paint. Dave, Paul and Megan helped install the wood floor. Nick's brothers Tyler and Carl removed all the remaining debris. Like, all of it. In like, an hour. (Boys: "What should we do now?" Alyson: "Uh, you did that way faster than I thought you would..." Carl: "We're athletes." Tyler: "SPARTAN athletes.") Kevin and my friend Chaz cut and installed a carpet and pad... Matt and Katie tackled the woodwork. Drew and Nick's dad installed a railing that could hold the house up if it had to... I mean, everyone did MORE than this, but these were the things they OWNED. And how to I express my gratitude? The way Italian-Irish know how... with food and beer? Weak, I know. And some thank you cards. And hopefully, some day, being able to return the favor in some way. Nothing seems like enough to express the immense amounts of gratitude we both feel. We know we couldn't be doing this, AND BE ALMOST DONE WITH THIS, without our incredible families, and close friends that we consider like family. Our home will truly be the house that love built, and every time I walk through it's rooms I remember that.

December 13 – Action. When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step? (Author: Scott Belsky)

Office Space

This is a question some (namely my in-the-moment husband) say I ask too much. WHAT'S NEXT?! Perhaps the action I should focus on most in 2011 is taking a moment to appreciate the action I've already accomplished, instead of so hurriedly moving on to the next... but that seems like a sentiment for another post. The ACTION I'm going to take to make my ideas happen in 2011 is definitely with rust belt love. Growing a business into something self sufficient has seemed like an insurmountable task until very, very recently. Insert cheesy motivational speaker quotes here, like "the only thing standing in your way is you," and "your only limitations are the ones you put on yourself," but I'm realizing it's true! To do what you love, and be your own boss doing it, has seemed like an unreachable pipe dream until this year, when I asked myself, "Why not?" Why couldn't I do it? We're successful on a small scale, which means we must have something going here, we just have to take that and scale up. An easy feat by no means, but an impossible one? Nah. So that is my action for 2011. This is the idea I am going to make happen. Grow my mini-sized successful business into a super-sized one large enough to sustain myself and my business partner full time. I mean, the only thing standing in my way is me... right?

Keep On Keepin On...

2010-12-17T13:47:00.000-08:00

December 12 – Body Integration This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? (Author: Patrick Reynolds)

WARNING: This one may not be for everyone. Like, I wouldn't have wanted to read it pre-pregnant-state. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.

My biggest fear.
(YES, THIS is my biggest pregnancy fear, not the baby having a cleft palette, or being born with it's organs on the outside, this creepy Alien-like scariness happening tops the list... It IS all about me, you know.)

At the risk of sounding like a cliché, I would have to say that getting pregnant was probably the most in-touch with my body I've ever felt. And not exactly in the best way. After getting back from our trip to Lebanon I contracted campylobacter, which is basically a mutant strain of e.coli. From sushi. In NYC. Not okay. I ended up in the emergency room for the first time in my entire life, hooked up to fluids, and getting my first dose of morphine, the abdominal pain was so bad. The recovery involved eating nothing but clear broths and laying on the couch, for an entire week, due to a complete lack of energy. The first day I was better I had some drinks with my sister, didn't feel right, did some calendar counting and the next day went out for a peestick test. The rest is history. So, after basically giving my body a complete blue-screen-of-death-restart I felt EXTREMELY in tune with what was going on. And it was strange. I specifically remember one morning driving to work, and feeling things I'd never felt before, like my insides were stretching. Kind of in auto-pilot, I spent most of the drive drawing my attention to different parts of my body, like an exercise I'd done in yoga. I "felt" each part of myself, and knew it wasn't just mine anymore, that most of what WAS mine was now existing to sustain and protect something else... What that something else was I hadn't quite wrapped my brain around (and still perhaps haven't) but I just knew my body was suddenly solely responsible for more than trying to look good in the right clothes and getting me from home to work to out with my friends. It's daunting. It's not beautiful and wonderful, and a magical moment (I mean crap, Britney Spears did it... twice... how beautiful and magical can it be?) but at that moment I was definitely an alive, cohesive, present version of myself.

December 11 – 11 Things What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? (Author: Sam Davidson)

Oh boy.... ELEVEN things?? Ok in the interest of time and catching up, I think I'll copy Shoe and do five... let's try this...

Breakfast yesterday. (The orange makes it okay... right?)

1.) Junk in the Trunk. The past few years I've been pretty good about trying to BE healthy. I don't obsess about my weight, but I don't eat fast food, I don't "junk out" a lot, and my husband and I do not have a "sweet tooth," so there's never sugar in the house. At least... there wasn't. Until 3 months ago, when I suddenly COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT IT. Hooray for pregnancy cravings and changing body chemistry. I ate an entire bag of Halloween candy in the 2 weeks leading up to Halloween. Which for some may be no big deal, but for me, who just hasn't WANTED any in YEARS, it seemed obscene. With NO APPETITE in my first trimester I told myself to just get the sustenance anywhere I could, with whatever I could keep down, but now all that's over, it's time to right the ship. In 2011, for the last 6 months of the pregnancy, and obviously BEYOND, I need to focus on going back to my vegetables and lean meats, and away from the ice cream and Whopper Jrs...

2.) Bad Attitude. If I had a nickel for every time my sister and I told each other "You have a bad attitude," I could build an institute for people with bad attitudes. Its funny at the time, but it's true, in reality. And not a good thing. I need to focus on being more positive and proactive, and less pouty and complainy.

3.) DUST. Weird. I know. Everything I own is covered in a fine (or not so fine in some places) layer of dust. Plaster dust, drywall dust, or saw dust, take your pick. And ACTUAL dust in some cases! And I never want to see it again. Work is done, at least the hard stuff, I'm done living in a demolition zone, I'd like to go back to the time when I could walk around my house without brushing my pants legs off.

4.) Clutter. The only thing scarier than gut renovating 2/3 of your house, is the realization that when you're done, you're going to have to FILL IT. So my solution was to become a massive hoarder. In the 1/3 of my house that we're ACTUALLY living in, we currently have 5 dressers, 4 easy chairs, 3 bikes, 2 "box rooms" (aka - rooms full of all the shit still not unpacked from moving in over a year ago) and a partridge in a pear tree. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.) And it's a disaster. Now that I've officially been given the doctor's order NOT to lift ANYTHING heavier than a dinner plate, it should make clearing the clutter interesting, but I'm still determined to do it.

5.) Compulsive Worry. I'm a planner. I'm a list maker. I'm a doer. And somewhere along the way, this turned me into a worryer. I don't really like it, I kind of have enough going on without the added drama of worrying about everything all the time. Plus, it's not me. Some people are wired like that, and I truly believe the world needs those people to make it, you know, go forward. But in my little corner of life, I don't need it. So I'm gonna let it go. At least, as best as I can. (This may not be the most realistic ambition for someone about to have a kid...)

Time to Catch Up!!

2010-12-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

Okay... fallen completely behind... but in the spirit of the initiative I'm going to try to catch up... here are days 9 and 10...

December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. (Author: Shauna Reid)

#virtualcheers [and the sushi that tried to kill me]

Sad, but I've realized I didn't get out much this year. I took some trips, and met a lot of new people, so I think I'd rather talk about that, more of a recurring group of people, food, drinks, and shenanigans... rather than one night. It all began when I did something I don't think I'd ever done before in my life... agreed to meet a total "stranger" for a drink. [Wow, I am sounding more and more dull as I go along...] But seriously, I forget which of us proposed the "tweetup", but one beautiful Friday afternoon I found myself rushing to the Wine Thief (LATE, as per usual) to meet a lady whose only communication between us had been this new-fangled Twitter. [To my husband's great dismay, when, running late, I called him in a panic from my ancient flip phone, to talk him through sending a "I'm running late!" DM on ~~his~~ our iphone...]

With the ridiculous feeling of showing up for a blind date, I got to the Wine Thief and easily found my "date," since I was told to look for "the only girl with the shaved head." I instantly felt foolish for being nervous, what followed was some of the easiest, most enjoyable one on one conversation I had had in a long, long time. After much talk of pups, work, and relationships, she said she was meeting some other folks that I recognized from "the local twitterverse." Emboldened by my new independence and two glasses of wine on an empty stomach, I basically invited myself to this fairly large group already waiting at Toro. Where, over the course of the evening, I managed to make a complete fool of myself by smacking the arm of a lovely gentlemen I had just met and launching a glass of wine into another lovely gentleman's lap. And either no one seemed to care, or this group was classy enough to pretend not to care. Either way, I was smitten, and while I made very few of the following newly established "happy hours" [like I said, I didn't get out much this year] I definitely enjoyed joining via the interweb as often as I could with a #virtualcheers. These meetups with this group of new friends has definitely been the social gathering highlight of my year, and I look forward to many, many more in 2011. [Even if I am only having soda.]

December 10 – Wisdom Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)

This year, I decided to finally take my freelance business to the next level. For years I've been doing work outside of my FT design job on and off, for people here and there, doing all sorts of odd jobs that came to me. But my favorites, and the area I've been wanting to focus on for years now, is invitation and event design. Not "event coordination," more of designing the look and feel of - namely - weddings. I realized I couldn't do it by myself, not while I was working full time, so when my sister [and best friend] said she wanted to do it with me, it was like all the stars aligned. She could be the left side of the brain, while I was the right. And it worked beautifully! We've spent much of the year growing professionally and personally, and I feel amazing about what 2011 has in store for us. But mostly I feel so lucky to have such a dedicated, organized, awesome person to work with. :)

Day 8 - Beautifully Different

2010-12-10T05:56:00.000-08:00

Let's try this again...

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)

Okay, I think I just need to jump into this with both feet... #creepyjonlithgowdexterreference. What makes me different... there's a lot of nice things I like to think about myself that "make me different," but I know some would disagree. BUT I guess I can't worry about the haters. Something I like to think about myself is I will do just about anything for you if you need me. Whether that goes back to being the oldest of 6 kids, and growing up always taking care of others, or a narcissistic need to be needed, I will give to others until I have nothing left. Time, sanity, money (when I have it), if I'm physically able, I will do it. In fact, I'm more likely to flake out on a social gathering than I am to a family or charity event ("they NEED me there.") I also have a total fear/inferiority/guilt complex about NEEDING or asking for help. Not great when you go from big wedding to massive fixer upper to prego, all within 20 months. Because you need people... a lot... during those times. So I don't think any of that makes me beautiful, but, maybe it's different? #promptfail

Day 7 and 8!

2010-12-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

December 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)

the folks that finally actually convinced me to go camping

I've been extremely fortunate this year to connect deeply with a community online and in person. I know everyone's saying it, but this year I got really involved in Twitter, especially the local community, and I've found friends - online and "in real life" {especially happy hour :)} - who are awesome people, that I truly enjoy spending time with. I was also lucky enough to strengthen my immediate community, and spent much of the spring and summer months (as is tradition in Buffalo) with my neighbors. We have amazing people on both sides of us, and most evenings and weekends were spent standing in the driveway drinking wine and grilling Korean food with Sun, Grey, Erin, and watching her dog Brindley play with Brick for hours. Or entire weekend days spent on Matt and Katie's porch drinking "porch beers" with Drew and Christian, watching their dog Jake play with Brick for hours. Or playing bean bags or can jam with Dan and Ashley across our front yards, and Brick just hung out because they have cats. We are literally surrounded by the best kind of people you want to spend time with, and it has truly made me appreciate living in the heart of "the city of good neighbors."

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)

This one is really hard!!! How do you answer that?? I'll have to come back to this, haha...

Day 6 - MAKE

2010-12-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

(Author: Gretchen Rubin)

Sidenote about the author: I love Gretchen... my parallel and I followed her very closely for quite a while trying to master "The Happiness Project" before realizing we just weren't that good at it. :)

The last thing I made is actually KIND of easy for me because I make things all the time... but the last thing I made FOR ME... that didn't involve a trip to a hardware store... is probably my ginormous painting in my dining room.

Additional sidenote: going through old pictures really drives home how many projects I idiotically start at once... probably explains all the NOT FINISHED projects hanging around...

I had a ginormous canvas that I bought for a commission for a restaurant that fell through. I've been told the photos are deceiving, so to be clear the canvas is about 6ft tall and 8ft wide... the largest painting I'd ever made was 18"x24"... and that was in college... so this was just, insane. But the thing cost me $80 and I had no where to put it, so I dove in sort of just to clear up some of the clutter... I figured if I painted something I could hang it and it'd be one less thing without a home.
Looking back if I'd put more thought into it I probably would have panicked and been paralyzed by the fear of screwing up such a huge and expensive canvas, and never started. But a snapshot into where we were at at this time: our mortgage application had just fallen through, 3 months after our scheduled closing date, for the house we'd already moved into after being told it was a "done deal." It was October, starting to get cold, and we had no working furnace...

I just realized... just this moment... this painting was an escape, a release... everything was going wrong... terribly, horribly wrong (someone actually brought up the point, "What if you just packed up and left? You could just leave, like in the middle of the night without telling anyone, companies and restaurants do that sometimes...") so I chose to do the one thing that I knew I could do right.

Hm. Wow. Yup. This is my painting. It's not perfect, but I like it. And I'm really proud of it. And now I'll think of it way differently every time I see it.

I'll make something new in 2011. It's going to be a big year, but if I start to feel like I'm losing my grasp on it, I think I'll start a huge, insane painting for the big blank wall on my second floor. :)

I'm A Bad Weekend Blogger...

2010-12-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

So since my weekends are usually spoken for, I will catch up with Saturday and Sunday's #reverb10 posts here, quickly...

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)

I hang out with kids. Namely my nephews. Okay, only my nephews. {Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a huge fan of kids... although they swear you like your own} My nephews are pretty cool... even the one that doesn't talk yet. The oldest, Paul Jr., the one that does talk, LOVES animals. Like, L.O.V.E.S. them. Can tell you the difference between a howler monkey and a mandrill (or as I call it, "the monkey with the blue cheeks from the Lion King.") Oh, and he's four. You want to see TRUE wonder, take a four year old to the science museum. Or make his birthday party an "Animal Party." Or do what I do; every Monday night, put out a handful of markers, open up an 18"x24" pad of paper and say, "What are we going to draw today?" We do one drawing a week. We're on page 13, and we haven't replicated a scene yet. We have an animal school, a farm, a jungle, a dessert, a rain forest, an ocean, a "dangerous reef" (yes, they're different), a swamp (with "bullrushes," his request, not mine), dinosaurs, and a circus, just to name a few. And lately, I don't do the drawings anymore. He does them... I might prod here and there, ("Who is the tiger having dinner with?") or help with an especially tricky animal here or there ("You draw the clown fish, Aunt Aly.") but he's the one drawing the majority of the time. And you can really see a difference from the front of the book to the back. It's pretty cool.

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)

I sort of let go of this "idea" of who I thought I was. At one point this past summer, a few months after my 1 year wedding anniversary, I had a brief out of body experience where I looked in at my life from the outside. I was loading lumber into a pickup truck, wearing paint splattered jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt, a baseball cap, with work gloves in my back pocket. As I climbed in next to my bulldog sitting on the passenger seat, I laughed out loud at the "sight." Merely a year before I wouldn't have dreamt of leaving the house in anything less than a 2 inch heel and a full face of makeup... when I was picking nail polish colors instead of paint swatches... And I realized I could be both. Now I drink beer (or at least I WOULD) and install hardwood floors, but I still go out to Aroma and have a glass of syrah (siiiigh I miss wine) all done up like a lady... I don't have to be embarrassed that I want to have a kid just because some people think they know me as "someone who hates kids... " And one of the great things I've learned about that this year is the people who get it stick by you...

"The people who matter don't mind, and the people that mind don't matter."

Day 3: Moment

2010-12-03T22:09:00.001-08:00

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail.

One moment. Out of a whole year. Gah. Well my mind immediately goes to our trip to Lebanon, which truly was life changing for me. Most notably the day we went to Baalbek.

From the moment I got there, I was struck by the sheer enormity of it. The sun was SO warm, but it didn't feel oppressive... It was just nice... We walked through this huge, old temple, and I was just SO HAPPY to be sharing this with my husband Nick. Nick's a homebody, that is happiest camping in the snow (no joke) so talking him into a 10 hour flight to the Middle East was not the easiest feat... But the look on his face as we walked through 3000 year old ruins, seeing stones so large and so heavy it seems absolutely impossible to imagine humans without machines ever moved them, architecture so exact that it could not be replicated today with all the world's computers and lasers... My whole chest filled with such love and warmth, I grabbed his hand and said something like, "isn't this cool?" He leaned over and kissed the side of my head and said in my ear, "I'm so happy to be doing this with you."
Baalbek changed from Greek to Roman to Christian to stripped of most statuary during the world wars. It has symbolism from the star of David before it was the symbol for Judaism, to the swastika, symbol for eternity, before it was stolen by the Nazis. To see something so important, and so much bigger than yourself with the person so important and big in your life has a strangely calming effect - and immediately snaps things into perspective.
I have been hugely lucky to have experienced this this year, just thinking about it makes me feel alive all over again.

Writing, Day 2

2010-12-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?

[I'm going to substitute "creating" for "writing" since I'm more of a visual artist than a writer.] My days mostly consist of work/creating, working on the house, and maybe an hour to unwind/decompress in front of the TV. If I'm home after work. Most nights I am either at meetings, with family, or running errands. So I guess I don't do a ton of "unnecessary stuff" ... that being said, I do have a huge amount of guilt if I HAVEN'T done at least one über productive thing with my day. I micromanage, make lists, and over-plan. So, boring post, there's really not much in my day that doesn't contribute to my life in a way I could eliminate. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Reflect and Manifest... Day 1

2010-12-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

So as this year is drawing to a close (I'm still quite shocked that it's actually DECEMBER) I've decided to take the month to participate in #reverb10. And for day one, I am supposed to sum up 2010 in one word. Crap.

My family, who I am thankful for everyday.

No, that's not my one word, I just hate summing up something huge with something so small... This year was... insane. Closing on the house in April after 9 months of chaos (including half a winter in Buffalo with no furnace) went right into 8 months of tearing it apart and putting it back together. Sprinkle in the highlights of new friends and volunteer opportunities, with people and organizations that love and want to support the city as much as I do; a new puppy that we adore more than people should love an animal; an amazing trip overseas with friends I so wish I could see more than once a year; and the most recent surprise of finding out we're expecting (oh yeah, we're expecting... like, a baby), and I think the best word for this year is probably overwhelming. Everything I've done and taken on, everywhere I've gone, and seen, has all seemed so much bigger than me and more than I could handle. Khalas.

The word I want for myself for 2011 is content. I want less "I wish I could/would/had/did..." thoughts, and more "I'm happy with/for/because..." thoughts. I want control, peace, and contentment.

Ohm.

Rock and Roll!

2010-11-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to get to do invitations for a special little guy who wanted something rock and roll, and not girly!

Happy Birthday Owen! I heard it was a rockin' good time!!

All's Quiet on the Blog-Front

2010-10-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

Because things are loud as hell on the homefront! As in hammering, sawing, sanding, etc... We have been all tied up lately managing the reno of our STUDIO as it gets up and running, here's a little peak at what's been going on...

But that doesn't mean we haven't been busy on the creative side as well... I've got a wedding invite that I have been DYING to show off, another adorable kid's birthday party invite, and a delicious letterpress save the date, all waiting in the wings to be photographed and blogged about... Very soon, I promise!

Saving the Day!

2010-10-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Bad blogger! I had this little diddy sitting in my drafts from before the trip and I never published it! Well, here you go... show some Buffalove!

We are leaving for vacation on Friday, and a minor panic set in when I realized, *GASP* how can I travel across the world with a naked BRAND SPANKIN' NEW iPhone!? [Which comes with a free case, but I soon learned that case would take 2 weeks to come to me... that's 14 unprotected days in the hands of the most accident-prone clutz I know... ME!]

After I voiced this deep dark concern on Facebook, a childhood friend rushed to my rescue! Andrea said she could make me one! Now on the West Coast, Andrea has started Andrea Lynn Handmade, making GORG bags, clutches, and cases.

I mosied on over to her Etsy shop... and oh-my-goodness – I was smitten!!

I mean, seriously, don't you L.O.V.E.?

Buy this here.

Amy Butler fabric? Eco-friendly? SWOON!

Some other favs of mine:

iPad case? Yes please!

So not 2 days later, my own little lovely showed up in the mail, and can I just say – life.saver.

Gorgeous, no?

So check out Andrea Lynn Handmade on her blog and on Etsy! And just to be clear, I will be taking some Flat-Stanley-esque photos of my new fav accessory on my travels, as I leave you all to jetset to faraway lands. Many photos and souvenirs for you darlings when I return. MUAH!

If Only All Of Our Clients Were This Easy To Please!

2010-08-30T08:25:00.001-07:00

Show a kid who loves dinosaurs a birthday invitation shaped like a dinosaur and he is as happy as a pig in mud!

Please forgive (as always) my horrendous photos... a DSLR may be in my future...

These were drawn with ink and painted in watercolor, then printed on real watercolor paper.

These Lovelies Are Off...

2010-08-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Full reveal after they reach their destinations :)

(LOVE those envelopes!!)

FT Job Distraction... err... I mean, Social Media...

2010-08-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Love me some social media. And now that I'm trying to get better at it it was awesome to go to #smdayBuf - Buffalo's social media networking event at Templeton Landing's rooftop patio last Tuesday.

Ironic that it took me almost a week to blog about it, and that this it the only picture I have of the event, but Meg and I had a great time, met some great Buffalonians, and we're excited for the next one!

Surround Yourself With Talent

2010-07-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

I think I've said it before but I'm a lucky lady. Today, I'm telling you how lucky I am to have amazingly talented friends. One of whom has decided to collaborate with RBL on some greeting card and invitation illustrations. I'd like to introduce Monique D'Urso, incredibly talented artist, with illustrations that will just melt your little heart. This is her latest independent project, an engagement party postcard for her sister...

(who is almost a full foot shorter than her fiance!)

Little lovebird, big lovebird!

If you'd like something with a little "mo love" - just drop us a line. And look for more Mo in our Etsy shop with a whole line of birthday, baby, and greeting cards for every occasion, coming this Fall.

Sneak Peak

2010-07-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

Autumnal wedding invite...

So excited for this one! I can't wait for the unveiling... but we must wait, as always, until they have reached their pretty little destinations...

Daring Month Three

2010-07-14T09:04:00.001-07:00

Okay, maybe I'm a Negative Nancy, but to be entirely honest, I haven't really LOVED any the recipes I've been making with Daring Kitchen. (You can find how this ~~mess~~ adventure started here...) Until now, that is – I really really liked this one! Even though it's more what I consider to be Pammy-Food, I definitely liked – AND as an added bonus – the husband actually liked!!

The mandatories:

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

Ok, so maybe I'm the dumb kid, but I never really thought of making your own peanut butter being this easy! I started up a small tin of salted, roasted peanuts, threw in the food processor for 2-3 minutes, after which it was still a little dry.

SO I added a tad of Canola oil.

Mmmm much better...

Taste-tester approved.

Really, really approved... (he kinda LOVES peanut butter...)

After washing my hands we get to making the sauce...

...tons and tons of garlic...

... my fav: vinegar...

... soy sauce, ginger, chili oil (instead of sesame oil, oh well), sugar, some water and in good Buffalo style, a healthy dose of Franks...

And because I'm a glutton for punishment and/or just overambitious...

we have chicken aaaaand...

ugh... I hate, hate, hate peeling and depooping uncooked shrimp... but I have a flashback, at the grocery store, when I'm about to buy them, of being in my mom's kitchen a few years ago...

me: why are the shrimp grey?

mom: because they aren't cooked, Al...

me: oh... so why didn't you just buy the pink ones?

She pulls one out of the chicken broth she's boiling them in and gives it to me.

The taste is amazing.

me: ..... oooh

So half an hour later... here we are...

Some more slicing and dicing and we have:

bean thread noodles (oh yeah, already cooked those, forgot...), english cucumber, red pepper, flat leaf parsley (instead of basil, because I didn't have any, but it was from the CSA and the most fragrant, delicious parsley I've ever had)...

[a beer], cabbage and green onion (both also from the CSA, mmmmm)..

Add the peanut sauce, mix it all together, top with shrimp and/or chicken aaaaaaand:

Voila! With some lime... and it's amazing. I so heart. And definitely recommend. You can find the real recipe here.

Picky Eater Variation Note: For kids (or a husband with very picky tastes!) you can make linguine instead of bean thread noodles and keep all the accoutrements separate for them to decide which to add. Then toss in a bowl with the sauce and top with chicken and/or shrimp just the same.

Hooray Daring Kitchen, you've got me hooked for another month!

Monday Happiness

2010-07-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Possibly the most adorable wedding favor I've seen in a long time. Although donations as favors are my favorite, my feeling on favors is usually – if I can't eat it or drink it, I don't really want it... but this may be the exception...

From Unveiled Bridal via one of, if not the best, wedding blogs on the interweb, Style Me Pretty.

Smitten!

Seriously, Thank You

2010-07-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know me that well, the house my husband and I bought last year is a bit of a fixer-upper. To say the least. We spent most of the winter tearing the place apart, and we have had immense amounts of help from friends, family, and neighbors. So to express my immense gratitude, I sent out little thank you notes designed by moi.

And, as per usual, they were extremely late... but better late than never, right?

We are lucky little ducks.

Show Some Love

2010-06-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new feature called Buffalove. (I'm not sure if this word is trademarked... so I'm gonna use it until someone tells me not to :).) This is where I'll be showing love for local talents and things that I love around the Rust Belt... and today's belongs to local artist Derek Pershyn...

Derek is a friend of ours, and besides working for New Era has incredible talent designing Munnys... which are self described by their maker, Kid Robot, as "Art Toys." Artists buy blank forms, and use them as a sort of 3D blank canvas! Derek made us a Mini Munny for our wedding, and we so totally heart it...

(Photo by Nickel City Studios)

SO - June is Munny Munth, and right now Kid Robot is having a customizing contest - and Derek has entered with his "Munny in the Moon." Show some Buffalove and head over to vote for some local talent!

(And it's not like some of those other contests that make you sign up and create an account before voting, it's hooked up to Facebook, so it's as simple as clicking "LIKE!" This guy is about halfway down the first page.)

Daring Chef month two

2010-06-14T22:02:00.001-07:00

Okay this may be a brief post as I am writing this on my husband's iphone on our way to New York City... WITH my one and only West Coast Parallel! It must have been fate that our yearly get-together-ridiculousathon fell on Daring Chef post weekend, because it meant we got to cook together!!

(yeah, so, i can't figure out how to post pictures in this app, so i'll have to add them later...)

So as daring as we were trying to be, when we couldn't track down any liver on a (last minute) Sunday, we were pretty okay with it.

Since I am working with inferior technology, please visit the parrallel's blog; omgdinnerwasyum.blogspot.

Since I am working with inferior technology, please visit the parrallel's blog; omgdinnerwasyum.blogspot.com

Recipes and photos to follow.

The mandatory part:our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook's challenge! They've provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

Sneak Peak

2010-06-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

Just a sneak peak at our latest project...

Complete unveiling after they've reached their destinations...

Perhaps It May Be Confusing...

2010-05-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

So it has been brought to my attention that perhaps the name rust belt love is confusing for people who don't know what the Rust Belt is! (My brother has told me it scares him because he literally thinks of a rusty belt... and adding "love" to that makes him uncomfortable... and several people have referred to it as "Rust Bucket"... so perhaps an explanation is called for!)

As wikipedia explains here, the "Rust Belt" is the Great Lakes region that was known at one time for the booming steel industry, and all the factories in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, as far as Detroit and Flint. Once these great manufacturing hubs began to close – and rust – in the 70's, they were dubbed "the rust belt," and had a pretty negative connotation. Entire cities closed down, abandoned, and left to rust...

Probably the most famous of the failed steel mills was Bethlehem Steel, pictured above is the Lackawanna Plant circa 1950 (image grabbed from here.)

But now the WNY area is experiencing a new urban revitalization. People (especially young people) are moving into – or back to – the more urban section of the area they grew up in, or maybe just fell in love with when they came here for college (as this is still very much a "college town.") This movement is a whole new generation of people shrugging off the inferiority complex of being New York City's cold, destitute, once-mighty-now-fallen little brother, and yelling from the rooftops (to anyone who will listen) all the POSITIVE things Buffalo has to offer. There's a pride swelling up from the gentrified neighborhoods of the West Side, Elmwood, and Allentown, and moving outward.

Eclectic Allentown, The Drakosha Darkroom, grabbed from here.

This is where the name rust belt love comes from. A love for a city that can laugh at itself, and it's reputation. A city that doesn't take itself too seriously, or pretend to be something it's not. Yes, it snows here. A lot. Yes, if you drive for 40 minutes in any direction you will run into farmland. Yes, there are people who will do anything for a t-shirt, including diving into a kiddie pool of bluecheese to "bob" for a chicken wing... But there are also people who will do anything for their neighbors. I, on more than one occasion, have had complete strangers push my car out of a snow drift. Last year my sister's car broke down on the 90, and one of my friends I haven't seen since high school recognized her and pulled over to help. Strangers say hi to you when you pass them on the street. We have our problems (okay, a lot of problems), but we're a stubborn, resilient people.

And that's what rust belt love is based on. An idea everyone can get behind, even if you're not from or in the Great Lakes Region. That a good idea, and a good attitude, can only do good. Happiness begets happiness, and one good deed leads to another. Whether that's pushing someone's car out of a snowbank, or providing a service in a chill, honest way. Upscale, funny, sophisticated, and/or sometimes snarky design for everyone. No BS, no attitude... just doing the right thing. And hoping the next person passes that on.

Daring, You Say?

2010-05-14T06:58:00.001-07:00

So my West Coast Parallel convinced me to join an online group/community/cult called Daring Kitchen. It's pretty awesome, you register as either a Daring Cook or a Daring Baker – actually, you need to be ACCEPTED – and once you are you have one month to make a recipe that someone in the group decides on. Then, EVERYONE blogs about it on the same day – which happens to be TODAY! So guess when I made mine? You got it, last night! The idea was for the parallel and I to make it on the same day but... a three hour time difference, two birthdays and a wedding anniversary kind of got in the way... SO, right down to the wire, luckily last night my youngest brother, Kevin, was there to help...

And so was George...

On the menu: Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada

Now, I understand the theme behind this one was "Cinco de Mayo"... but not a whole lot of Mex cooking goes on in our house... needless to say, I've never bought a tomatillo, didn't really know what the sauce was even supposed to look or taste like... I even had to ask the parallel if by "peel the peppers" they meant peel the skin off (she thought I was joking...). SO being an almost completely new experience for me, this took roughly three hours from start to finish. Meaning we ate around... 10pm. Awesome.

So first I roasted, seeded and peeled the peppers...

And Kevin helped with that... making fun of my gloves... and apparently making the same face as me! (Can you tell we're related?)

Next we roasted the tomatillos... which are kind of gross, and I like tomatoes! They just look like green tomatoes, but they are sticky for some reason, probably something to do with the weird papery leaves around them... After roasting we pureed them in a food processor.

Add some onion and garlic (I used more than the recipe called for, because man do I love onion and garlic!)

Add it all in a saucepan with chicken broth, oregano, salt and pepper. My first thought was "Oh my God, this is WAY too much chicken broth" - but trust it, it DOES thicken up in the end.

While that was simmering, and thickening, and such, I cooked the chicken in the skillet, and then wiped it down to warm the tortillas. (which I've never done before, and must say - win!)

(you can see what a mess I'm making of the stove!!)

Once you have prepared all the layers, it's time to layer and put in the oven (I apparently only made enough chicken for 3, so you will see three come out of the oven!)

About half an hour later...

Okay, I have to admit, the ooey gooey cheesy goodness is my fav! These were very wonderful! Especially with some low fat plain greek yogurt, or sour cream, on the side! They were not my most favorite thing I've ever made, and I'm not sure they're three-hours-good... but I'm SO glad I made it, and even though the hubs (who is not a huge fan of the Mex) didn't LOVE it, he did like it (which is a win in the "picky eaters book" as far as I'm concerned) and my brother really enjoyed it, so I am happy.

Not officially being a food blogger (more just a fan of cooking, and other people's food blogs!) I'm not positive how this is supposed to go, but I will post the recipe I used, plus some of the variations I made [in red]. I don't THINK they make it unauthentic, but it started to remind me a bit of a mexican lasagna toward the end soooo... you can see where my cooking expertise lies :)

You can find the full recipe, with notes, tips, and suggestions, here.

AND - can't forget this bit of info: Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

Ingredients

1½ pounds Fresh Anaheim chiles (about eight 6 to 8 inch chiles) 24 ounces 678 grams - roast, peel, remove seeds, chop coarsely.Other green chiles (NOT bell peppers) could probably be substituted but be conscious of heat and size!)

7-8 ounces Tomatillos (about 4-5 medium)212 grams - peel, remove stems

4 cups Chicken broth (32 ounces/920 grams)

1 clove Garlic, minced

2 teaspoons yellow onion, minced  [I used way more, like, half an onion, but I love onion]

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

½ tsp Kosher salt (add more to taste)

¼ tsp Black Pepper (add more to taste)

2 tablespoons Cornstarch (dissolve in 2 tablespoons water, for thickening)

Hot sauce, your favorite, optional [I used Franks, more for a "local flavor" than for more heat]

2 Boneless chicken breasts (you can also use bone-in chicken breasts or thighs)

3 tablespoons Olive oil or other neutral vegetable oil (use more as needed)

12 Small Corn tortillas (5-6 inch/13-15 cm). (you can also use wheat tortillas or other wraps)

6 ounces grated Monterey Jack, 170 grams (other cheeses (cheddar, pepper jack, Mexican cheeses) can be used. Just be sure they melt well and complement the filling)

Cilantro for garnish, chopped and sprinkled optional [hey Pammy, guess whether or not I OPTED to use it :)]

Directions:

Roasting Fresh Chiles

1. Coat each chile with a little vegetable oil. If you are doing only a couple chiles, using the gas stove works. For larger batches (as in this recipe), grilling or broiling is faster. [it was thunderstorming outside so I used the broiler for chiles and tomatillos, and pan seared the chicken. If you can grill, I definitely recommend, I think it would have added better flavor!]
2. Lay the oiled chiles on the grill or baking sheet (line pan with foil for simpler clean-up). Place the grill or broil close to the element, turning the chiles so they char evenly. They should be black and blistered.
3. As they are completely charred (they will probably not all be done at once), remove them to a bowl and cover with plastic, or close up in a paper bag. Let them rest until they are cool.
4. Pull on the stem and the seed core MAY pop out (it rarely does for me). Open the chile and remove the seeds. Turn the chile skin side up and with a paring knife, scrape away the skin. Sometimes it just pulls right off, sometimes you really have to scrape it.
5. DO NOT RINSE!

Green Chile Sauce

1. Put a medium saucepan of water on to boil and remove the papery outer skin from the tomatillos. Boil the tomatillos until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. You can also grill the tomatillos until soft.
2. Drain and puree in a blender or food processor.
3. Return the tomatillos to the saucepan along with the chicken broth, chopped green chiles, minced onion, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.
4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir well. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and reduced to 4-5 cups, another 10-15 minutes.
6. Adjust seasonings and add hot sauce if you want a little more heat.

Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

1. Heat a gas grill to medium high or build a medium-hot charcoal Coat the chicken with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Grill the chicken until just cooked through, 4-5 minutes a side for boneless chicken breasts.
3. Cool and then slice into thin strips or shred.
4. In a small skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Dip the edge of a tortilla into the oil to check – it should sizzle immediately.
5. Using tongs, put a tortilla into the pan and cook until soft and lightly brown on each side, about 15-20 seconds per side (at the most).
6. Drain on paper towels.
7. Add oil as needed and continue until all 12 tortillas are done.
8. In a baking dish large enough to hold four separate stacks of tortillas, ladle a thin layer of sauce.
9. Lay four tortillas in the dish and ladle another ½ cup (4 ounces/112 grams) of sauce over the tortillas.
10. Divide half the chicken among the first layer of tortillas, top with another ½ cup of sauce and 1/3 of the grated cheese.
11. Stack another four tortillas, top with the rest of the chicken, more sauce and another third of the cheese.
12. Finish with the third tortilla, topped with the remaining sauce and cheese.
13. Bake until the sauce has thickened and the cheese melted, about 20 minutes. Let rest for 5-10 minutes.
14. To serve, transfer each stack to a plate. Spoon any leftover sauce over the stacks and sprinkle with cilantro, if you wish. The stacks may also be cooked in individual gratin dishes.

NOTE: It may cause you to use every bowl, cutting board, pan, skillet, and utensil in your kitchen...

However, if you're lucky like me, not only will your husband clean all of it up for you when you're done, but he'll be late for work the next morning because of unloading the dishwasher and loading what wouldn't fit the night before, so you get to come home to a nice clean kitchen. I'm a lucky lady.

Smitten

2010-05-13T13:49:00.001-07:00

Sold.
Letterpress, I love you as much as I thought I would! Tomorrow I join the WNYBAC (pronounced "winny-back" by the in crowd) so that we can be together always.

Because That's How the Italians Roll

2010-05-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

Mangia, mangia! If there is a fault to be found in Thelma and Louise's (AKA Karen and Sandy) cooking, it is that they always make too much. AL.WAYS. Whether it's for six people, or sixteen (a normal family get-together when everyone is in town) or, apparently, sixty... which is approximately how many we had at Cole's Christening Party. Although it's hard to call it a fault when it means everyone takes home leftovers... So without further ado - to the DELICIOUS photos taken by the very talented, Miss Seren Davis...

The ladies themselves, getting everything together.

Paul Jr. helping with [or getting tangled in] the balloons.

Libations...

Now for the appetizers:

Pinwheels of deliciousness...

Buffalo Chicken Wraps...

(If your mouth isn't watering by now, check your pulse...)

Whatever your dip fancy, we've got a cold, hot, veggie, seafood, sweet, or tangy dip for you!

Now for the main dishes...

All the gloriousness of a chicken caesar salad... on a ciabata roll... does it get much better than that?

And don't forget the rolls, brisket, rosemary potatoes, baked mac and cheese, and jambasta (a delightful substitution of pasta for rice in a traditional jambalaya.)

So, as you see, a feast fit for... several kings... Unless you are a Gluten-free-er (Sorry Pammy) in which case, don't worry, we DO offer wheat-free options, despite what you see here!

Where's the party?

2010-05-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

We like any excuse to go a little overboard for a party, even a baptism where the guest of honor doesn't understand what the heck is going on!

You saw the invitations, now here are some pictures from setting up the night before!

We got flowers and made small centerpieces, with ribbon and "God Bless" tags on glass vases. By using the same graphic, font, and colors from the invitations on the vases (and the menu tags) we kept a unified theme for the whole event.

Paul is a volunteer firefighter, so this shindig was held in the Brighton Fire Hall. Even the simplest events and venues can be given that little something extra by something as small as using linen table clothes and napkins. You can usually rent the linens through a company, or ask if your caterer offers them, often for a little more than plastic table clothes and utensils, and paper napkins would cost. It's also "greener!"

Setup is usually easier with a few extra people to each take on a small job, rather than leaving lots up to few. Kevin was in charge of remembering which centerpiece went on which table. You can see what an excellent job he's doing!

Here you can see a bit of the menu tags, one went in front of each dish to let people know what exactly they were in for. And by that, I of course mean the deliciousness that was about to take over their senses! Tomorrow I will have just what deliciousness was offered, with some equally delicious food photography (NOT taken by yours truly!)

Pressing Letters

2010-05-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

So after months and months of talking about it, I finally did it. I signed up for a letterpress class, and yesterday was the first of two sessions. I think I'm in love...

(Tsk, tsk, tsk, irresponsible blogger am I. My apologies for the crappy cellphone pics, next time I will have to remember my real camera!)

So first, can I just say, I have a serious new-found appreciation for my computer, my Adobe software, and my keyboard... I don't know how ANYONE managed to print a newspaper... much less a bible! Setting type is TRULY a lost art.

Second, in regard to my addiction to all things old, worn, carved, useful, historic... let's just say this is like the Bellagio to a person with a gambling problem... a bar to an alcoholic...

Row after row, with drawer after drawer after shelf after box of type, spacers, slugs, chases, and the other printing paraphernalia I've been reading about and not truly understanding until now.

So what do I have to show for it? 3 lines of type. Not printed. Not finished. Yes the class was three hours long, yes, I MAY have spent the first hour and a half just pouring over the different fonts, characters, and doodads...

I am, admittedly, not the greatest student, and I was nervous that I would be staring at the clock, waiting for the class to be over... but when I saw we had gone 11 minutes over, and I didn't even realize it, I knew we were meant to be. And like new true love, now I cannot WAIT to get back to that little studio to see them again...

Weddings, weddings, weddings!

2010-05-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to post these two weddings, since they are some of my favorite designs, and favorite people!

First up is my friend (and one of my bridesmaids!) Marrakech. Her's was one of the first invitations I ever did (hence it looking a little beat up), and definitely one of the most fun! And exotic - the wedding took place in Lebanon!

The menu that goes with it is actually from her bridal shower, not her wedding. Possibly one of the most gorgeous bridal showers I've ever attended! It was pretty special to see my menus in front of each person's seat.

The second wedding we're invited to today is a friend of the family. We all kind of grew up together, and our mothers are best friends now. I loved her laid back attitude the whole time she planned her wedding. Nothing better than a chill bride!

I love the differences in texture you can see between the two. Even though they are both almost the same color, the pinstripe texture on Marr's and the linen texture on Amanda's give each an individual look when they're printed. Color + texture = happiness!

Golden Anniversaries

2010-05-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

50 years ago (well, I guess 52 now) a pair of couples who were all friends from college got married the same year. So naturally they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary together, because when you're friends for that long, your children are friends, and your children's children are friends, and your friends are friends!

It was a great party, with great people, and I felt so lucky to be a part of it!

Memories

2010-04-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

Well, as I'm coming up on my one year wedding anniversary, I have to say it was really fun looking back on all the stuff I made for it. Don't worry, I've actually done more design than just for my own wedding (which will also be coming soon) but what can I say, this one's my fav. So without further ado... I give you save the dates, invitation, and valet tag...

Save the date magnet and postcard:

Invitation with inserts:

Valet Tags; the valet guys hung these on the mirrors of the guests' cars.

Cole's Christening

2010-04-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

Aw, that has a nice ring to it! Well, as I am digging out my past samples of invitations to post (things around the soon-to-be studio are in a bit of an upheaval, as you can see here) I can post what I am working on at the moment. The great thing about an invitation is it sets the mood for the whole event, and starting off with a good color palette is key to tying everything together. So when Megan told me she was loving dark brown with shades of blue, I was thrilled! Here's what we came up with...

Hmm... my photography leaves a lot to be desired...

Well, practice makes perfect, I guess I'll have to practice on my other samples!

I love the way the opening and cross "decal" are off-centered. I'm excited for the tone this sets, I can't wait to do the centerpieces!

Let's Be Friends

2010-02-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Here we go. Let's do this thing. Who are we? Well, I'll save you the formal sales pitch and just say - we like parties. For years people have said to my family, you guys put on the best parties. My mom cooks the best food, my sister has a great eye for decor, and I design a mean invitation, if I don't say so myself. So, we're going to try this out - put our hearts on our sleeves, and see if anyone's interested. For now, I'll post some photos from my wedding, as examples of "how we do," and post other invitations I've done as well. Since you can't taste food online, or shake hands the friendly valet guys on a web page, or sample any other elements of what we have to offer, we'll start here. So for now all I'll say is - if you want it, we got it. When it comes to planning weddings, parties, corporate events, celebrations of any kind, we do it all... well almost, and the things we don't do, we know the best people that do. Please enjoy the following eye candy - photographed by Nickel City Studios, Buffalo's best photographers, without question.