I’ve always had a thing for greeting cards. Hell it’s why I started my first business. So it’s a no brainer that 2020 is the year of greeting cards for me. It’s been a great way to keep in touch with friends and family beyond a text or a Facebook message. Plus any excuse to be able to use my wax seal, right? If you’re looking to beef up your on-hand card selection, these are five categories you don’t want to forget. (Ironically I forgot one in the video!)

BIRTHDAY

Probably the most obvious of the card categories, but I suggest you go with more generic, basic card designs. That way they’ll work for best friends and somewhat strangers at the same time. It’s what’s inside the cards that count, right?

CELEBRATION

Now celebration can cover anything from marriage to paying off student loans, so to keep your collection from overflowing with every possible event, stick with the basics. A good ol’ congrats or hooray card will do the trick. And if you’re in a pinch you can even use the hooray one to celebrate the fact that you’re writing a letter.

THANK YOU

Does anyone else still send a thank you letter after a thoughtful gift or lovely evening together? Just me? I’m apparently 100 million years old and love sending a thank you card for any little reason.

SYMPATHY

The category that most definitely slipped my mind when I was filming this video earlier today. If 2020 has taught us anything it’s that loss can hit you fast and dirty. It’s downright heartbreaking how many sympathy cards I’ve sent out this year on top of the loss I myself have felt. Unfortunately you should keep some of these on hand for life’s unfortunate surprises.

JUST A NOTE

This is definitely the category I go a bit crazy in. Any cute, decorative card that’s blank inside falls into this category. If you’re going to have any greeting cards on hand, have this type. You can fill the insides in with whatever occasion that calls for a note and look completely thoughtful without having to have the perfect card.

So I somehow managed to completely forget about sympathy cards when I filmed this video, but you get the idea! All the cards featured in this post and the video are available on my website or in store.

Etsy is a wonderful, magic place full of seriously talented people. Over the years I’ve placed too many orders to count, but have developed a list of ten of my favorite places to shop. Some have been around longer than even my store has, while others are brand new. There’s a little bit of everything in here from stationery supplies, to jewelry, to some insane soaps. Your next favorite shop could be just a scroll away.

EtenIren

This shop is my newest discovery and has me lusting over literally every single product. Handmade plant and succulent jewelry? Shut up. They’re so detailed, well-crafted, and beautiful. I’m still trying to decide which products to include in my first order. 

Boy Girl Party

This shop has always been a huge source of inspiration for me and my own business. Susie Ghahremani is an incredibly talented artist and it’s been awesome to follow her artistic career over the past few years. She’s illustrated a number of different children’s books, carries some of my favorite enamel pins, and continues to expand her brand in exciting, inspiring ways.

Craftedvan

One of the first shops I discovered when I got into the planning world, Craftedvan is my favorite place for magnetic bookmarks. They have greeting cards, enamel pins, and magnets, but the bookmarks are where it’s at. They’re super high-quality, very magnetic, and there are tons of options to choose from. The bookmarks I ordered back in 2013 are still in perfect condition.

OfficiallyPosey

I have the great honor of knowing Posey Thompson in real life and her new shop screams Posey in all of the best ways. I have the inside scoop that she has a ton of new cards coming. Plus you can find them in my gift shop in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan.

LoveNeen

Another shop I discovered when I dove into the planning world, these charms and clips are beyond adorable. The type of thing I would put on every single zipper if I had the budget for it. The variety is insane and I have at least four of these on my wishlist at all times.

PernilleOrum

My husband Alex introduced me to Pernille’s artwork a number of years ago and it’s been a favorite of ours since. For our first wedding anniversary (the paper year), I gave Alex an autographed copy of her first book. Her images are so iconic and completely her. Her shop changes often depending on what she has available these days,. Fingers crossed she comes out with a line of stationery soon!

Soapopotamus

Soapopotamus could very well be the first shop I ever bought something from on Etsy. I have no idea how I found her, but it was love at first cute soap. I have a weird thing for items that look like something, but are actually something else. So donuts that are actually soap, sign me up? The sushi set on her homepage is definitely going to find it’s way into my cart. Such a fun idea for a gift for someone who has everything or you want to give them something that they’ll use up and not clutter their house.

MairaGall

When I used Blogger has my blogging platform, Maira’s templates completely MADE my website. She was incredibly helpful any time I had a problem with my template, even years after I purchased it. They’re downright beautiful and incredibly affordable if you’re getting into blogging. I made the switch over to WordPress recently, but I do miss my Blogger and these layouts.

SugarandIvy

Felt paperclips are my weakness. There’s just something about the cute little details and how it makes my planner look so festive that I just can’t escape them. This shop’s name changed recently (I think?), but I cannot get enough. The neutral beige rainbow has my attention these days. They also make reels for nurses and jobs that have badges. Plus they have over a thousand items to choose from so you can browse their page all day.

Xrestyk

Last but not least is the shop where I got Alex the gift for our 2nd anniversary (cotton). Ira-Yura is insanely talented in cross-stitch and is who I’ll go to for all of my cross-stitch needs, and I surprisingly have a lot of those. I cannot wait to make another one and am already drumming up reasons.

What I love most about Etsy is that you’re supporting an actual person and their passion. There’s something so beautiful about a product made by hand and incredibly worth it. What are some of your favorite shops?

If you could have the perfect date with yourself, what would you do?

Woah. Fell off the writing bandwagon there for a few days. Let’s just chalk it up to a perfect display of how real life doesn’t always go according to plan and move right along, shall we?

I’ve actually started implementing some self-dates but have yet to come up with a name that doesn’t sound weird. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Treat yo self days?

The perfect date with myself would first start off with a trip to Noodles & Company for some macaroni and cheese. Alex isn’t a huge fan of the place so I save trips there for adventures with my mom or solo meals. Then I’d head to some sort of nursery or shop that I know has great plants. Any date with myself must include buying at least one new plant to add to my growing forest.

If I’m making a whole day of it I’d usually go to a coffee shop (pre-COVID) to write for a while. If I’m feeling particularly spendy I’ll find a Goodwill and thrift shop for some new pieces. Then I’ll end the adventure with a trip to Sonic for either a grape slush or a chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

Basically just the perfect day of shopping and eating. Sums me up quite nicely. What does your perfect date with yourself look like?

This post is part of a 31 day writing prompts series I’m doing. Find all the prompts in this blog post.

What do you know about your family’s history and culture?

The short answer, not much. The long answer, we’ve been so very wrong about our culture in the past. Ever since I was little my family swore we are from German descent. With very little proof to go on, we all kind of just accepted that. A couple of years ago my sister took one of those DNA tests to get to the bottom of it. We’re British. Like, hardcore drinking tea and waving to the queen British. And you know what? That makes a whole lot of sense.

It’s always so interesting to me how you can just go through your life not really knowing your history. I only know the names of my grandparents’ parents and not much else beyond that. There have been attempts by distant cousins to trace our lineage, but without much success. But even more interestingly, I’m not that curious to know more. I’m not sure why but I’ve never felt that pull to know if we came over on the Mayflower of if we’re related to some famous person in history. I’ve always been a “live in the now” person and that information won’t really change what life is like these days. I’ve never been that curious.

I have, however, always been enviable of people who have heirlooms or documentation of their family history. I think I’m more interested in the artifacts rather than knowing who my great, great, great, aunt was. Yet I document my life like a crazy person. What a conundrum…

This post is part of a 31 day writing prompts series I’m doing. Find all the prompts in this blog post.

Take the title of the last song you listened to and make it your post title. Write for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Alex and I are celebrating 8 years together in just a couple of days. We’ll be celebrating our 4th marriage anniversary in a month. This post is going to be about him.

It’s not unknown to me that Alex and I have a weird relationship. We’ve been inseparable for those eight years together and still seem to be in the honeymoon phase of being obsessed with each other. Sure we have our disagreements, but even amidst one of our silly fights, we crave being next to each other. Like, “I’m going to be mad at you, but stay in the room, ok?” I think there’s a post coming about how we met, so I’ll save that story for then and focus more about our relationship now.

Most of you know that Alex and I work together, at home, full time. We joke ask each other if we’re talking to business version or spouse version of each other. Yet I never tire of him. I think he never tires of me either because he’s constantly asking if he can pull me behind his kayak just so we can spend more time together (we recently did this and it was the true definition of luxury).

During quarantine and the weird times that are now our lives, we’ve been working harder to develop hobbies and interests that aren’t so intertwined. Mostly to give us something new to talk about. I’ve restarted my daily yoga practice and Alex kayaks just as often. I still get excited when I hear the door open after one of his kayaking trips. It’s like he’s been gone for months and I can’t wait to hear all about his adventures. The same is true when I come back from a social distancing evening with my friends. Alex is all ears.

I know that this isn’t the norm. That if I had to define soul mates it would look something like this. Every day we wake up and choose each other all over again. Through our faults, my infuriating stubbornness to not try new things, and his never-ending desire for a powered parachute. We aren’t perfect, but I think we’re perfect together.

We recently were guests on a podcast and we touch on a lot of what I wrote about today. If you happen to be interested, here’s the podcast.

This post is part of a 31 day writing prompts series I’m doing. Find all the prompts in this blog post.