Gifts

Craving: Tibor Kalman Umbrella

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Found on Apt 34 from MoMA

Although it apparently doesn't really rain much in Colorado, (unlike Georgia where it rains all. the. time. including right now*) but that doesn't stop me from wanting this super cute umbrella from the MoMA store. I saw it over on Erin's blog and it's been on my mind ever since. How nice would it be to look up and see a beautiful sunny sky when everything around you is actually dreary and wet? It'd be like the opposite of having a rain cloud follow you around.

*This post was written previously so it may actually be raining as you read this. Or it may be beautiful.

From the Studio: Lemon Curd Thank You gift

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via courtney khail

I went a little overboard with the lemon buying a few weeks back and knew I had to make something versatile enough to use in a lot of different things, but also that used up a decent amount of lemons because they were taking over the kitchen. And even though the hubs isn't the biggest fan of it, I decided to try my hand at lemon curd. Full disclosure, I only wanted to make it because of it's beautiful color. Well that and I'd also made a ton of shortbread cookies a few days before that were screaming for something sweet to dunk them in.

It really wasn't hard to make at all, but seeing as I ended up with a good 4 cups of it and I only needed about 1/2 a cup, I figured I'd turn the rest into a thank you gift for a friend. Sure you can give someone a card (might I suggest one of mine perhaps?) and call it a day, but why not give them a card AND an awesome tasty treat?

Side note, always test the food before giving it to someone. Last thing you want to do is brag on your chocolate chip cookies and then accidentally give someone a batch where you left out the sugar or something horrible like that. Though that would be hilarious...

via courtney khail

For this, I simply made the lemon curd (recipe here) and poured it into a glass mason jar. While the curd cooled, I cut a piece of white fabric just a little larger than the lid and then painted a bright yellow lemon onto a piece of watercolor paper for a tag. Once the paint dried, I wrote "thanks!" in black calligraphy ink, punched a hole at the top, and threaded through piece of yellow ribbon. After the curd was cool enough for me to handle, I used the yellow ribbon to the fabric around the top of the jar and made sure the tag faced outward.

Simple, tasty, and thoughtful- all rolled into one.

Although not necessary, after you've packaged the lemon curd, feel free to then convince yourself you need to go buy a vintage yellow gingham apron to photograph said lemon curd on top of. Share photos with friends and family who of course will remark how cool/thoughtful/creative you are. Upload to Pinterest to show the world how creative you are. Maybe even wear apron when you hand deliver the lemon curd to a friend. Then when they remark that you match, remark that you "just threw this old thing on" to keep from getting dirty and act like you hadn't even thought of it.

P.S I did buy a vintage gingham apron, but the rest is sarcastic. Unless you actually follow those steps and then you are awesome and I'd love for you to tell me how it went.

Happy (almost valentine's day) weekend

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so magical. found here photography by Friedrich Seidenstücker

Can you believe Valentine's Day is Tuesday? Neither J. nor I could really wait until Tuesday (we get super excited about giving gifts to each other) so we already had a mini celebration and swapped gifts. (Tickets to see the Civil Wars 3 days after we move to Denver? Heck yea! My husband rocks. Hah. Literally.) That said though, I go all out for Valentine's day so Tuesday is still going to be full of love and glitter. And maybe balloons in the shower.

Still trying to get in the spirit? Maybe these will help.

Amazing cookies for everyone in your life. (Meat cookies anyone?!)

Or make cookies and just add a little love (Anytime I make something for J. he tells me he can "taste the love." This way I could tell him there was exactly 1/4 a cup of love.)
My Dad and I always played Scrabble when I was growing up, (he's a walking dictionary though so I only won if I happened to hit a triple word score or something awesome like that) so of course these made me think of him.

Oh yum.

For my husband, the whittler, a box of wooden chocolates.

My friend Kristin posted about these shirts and J is now officially obsessed.

Happy weekend, everyone!

From the Blog: Not All Who Wander Are Lost (plus the final recap)

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(please excuse the glare, I didn't want to take it out of the frame)

created by me

This has always been J's favorite quote (one of our many similarities is having a strong case of wanderlust) so I thought I'd surprise him by making something special this Christmas. It was a lot of fun to make (not to mention it was super simple*) and has quickly become one of our favorite pieces.

*If you don't enjoy free form lettering it may not be super simple, but then again you could always just print out your favorite quote and trace.

Speaking of wandering, I realized I never wrote my final recap. I'll attempt to keep it short!

Welcome to Vegas via courtney khail

After Sequoia we drove to Las Vegas. I'd never been to Vegas before (J had) so he drove so I could stare out the window and navigate when necessary. Of course, it is exactly what I expected- bright, loud, busy, and over the top. We spent the majority of our days wandering around casinos, drinking out of absurdly large glasses, and people watching. Playing up our tourist cards, we wandered around the old Vegas strip, took photos in front of the "Welcome to Vegas" sign and may have even wandered into Gold and Silver Pawn (you know, as in Pawn Stars. Case you're curious it is really small inside.) Oh! And we went to a Cirque show. (J had never been and we both agreed that was unacceptable.) Probably the best part though was spending time with J's best friend who actually lives in Vegas. (It was like reuniting brothers p.s.) Plus, it was kind of cool to see what people do off the strip.

Grand Canyon via courtney khail

From Vegas we drove to Santa Fe- taking a detour to stop at the Grand Canyon. Thanks to a rain storm that had just passed through, we could see for miles. I feel like I'm lessening the experience trying to put it into words, so you'll just have to believe me when I say it was phenomenal. So pretty and so amazing to witness- we've already planned a future helicopter tour over it. From there we drove late into the night to get to Santa Fe (thanks Map Quest for the wrong estimated time) and dear God. Let me just say it gets REALLY dark in the desert. Like scary dark, but if you can take a second and look up, the stars are amazing.

After some much needed sleep, we wandered around Santa Fe for a day, drove along the Turquoise Trail, talked to some local artists and ended the say eating some amazing pizza (who would have guessed we'd find that in Santa Fe?) Now, given the "desert southwestern vibe" isn't really our thing and we were kind of ready to go home, I can't give an accurate review of the city. I will say it's for an older crowd though, which makes sense because a ton of people retire there.

After Santa Fe, we were going to stop in Oklahoma City to see Kelly, but unfortunately she caught a cold and was bedridden, so in a reckless youthful moment, we decided to just drive home.

Yep, drive home from Santa Fe to Atlanta in one day.

Well, MapQuest said it would take one full day, but we made it in 20 hours and 34 minutes.* And boy did it feel amazing to sleep in our own bed.

So there it is! The last recap of our trip. I still can't believe we were able to do it, but I can easily say it was one of the best times of our lives. If you're ever given the opportunity, promise me you'll take it.

After driving from Santa Fe we woke up the next morning and drove to Florida to pick up Bella and get in some beach time before coming back to the real world

*As for the 20 hr cross country drive- aside from some jerk in a U Haul who tried to crash us into a concrete guard rail at 3 am in Chattanooga, it was a decently easy ride. Plus, we now know every Chickfila there is from Santa Fe to Atlanta-you know, in case you guys ever need that info.

Studio Sneak Peek: guest gifts

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via courtney khail stationery and design

Amy and Craig wanted to give their guests a gift that was really personal and meaningful- something that would remind them of the wedding, but wouldn't just be tossed away like a cheap plastic frame with their wedding date imprinted on it. Because they were having a smaller wedding, I suggested a painting for each couple/guest. Using the same garden rose design I painted on their invitations, I created a 12 piece collection of paintings- each titled, dated, and signed with the edition number- for Amy and Craig to frame and give to their guests. Apparently, it was hit!

(Side note here, if you're looking to give small favors that you can buy in larger quantities, I always advise something edible or useful. No one turns down chocolate or matches, but most everyone will leave behind the one wine glass etched with your new monogram. That is, unless it's their monogram too, in which you'll see those people collecting a set of 6 from the ones everyone else left behind.)

craving: joulies

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Joulies found on lady and the blog

Pronounced "jollies." these little stainless steel "beans" are designed to cool your coffee/tea/hot chocolate to the perfect temperature and then keep it there for up to 5 hours. I've started drinking chamomile and peppermint tea (separately. not sure those would work well together) and I have to admit that there is really nothing more annoying than spending 15 minutes waiting for it to cool off enough so you don't burn yourself and then being left with cold gross tea 5 minutes after that first "perfect sip." So, when I saw these little shining babies I immediately knew they would make a very nice addition to our tea/coffee routines.