A new beginning

A lot has changed in my life within the last few weeks and I haven't been able to catch a breath! To start with, I received a job offer from an incredible company that I have long admired. I am completely thrilled about this opportunity and the exciting new direction my career is heading. It is a fusion of all aspects of marketing - including special events! I also am moving (this week!) and found a cozy apartment in Marin County, which is just north of San Francisco.

And of course, as Murphy's law would have it, all sorts of loose ends have popped up that need to be tightened. So for now, my entire life is packed away in boxes as I spend these days gathering my belongings from storage units scattered between Northern and Southern California. I know I have been neglecting this little virtual space as of late, but once I've moved and settled into my new routine, I will return with regular posts. For now, please enjoy the cover of a lovely journal by Papaya Art gifted to me by a dear friend.

Time to pick up a Valentine

Here are some clever Valentine's at an Etsy shop I recently discovered... They may just make the Valentine's Day scrooges reconsider. And Scrooges, your Valentine could be your mom or the sweet lady you get your coffee from every morning - so brighten someone's day!

A sweet elopement

This elopement on Once Wed is just crazy romantic. This couple is so obviously madly in love!

I love that the bride is wearing a wreath of flowers entwined in her hair. Such a sweet replacement for a veil!

Egg Press for Blue Sky Daily Calendar

I have a few old-school habits that I refuse to part with - no matter how far technology advances. One of them, is keeping a good old-fashioned hard-copy weekly & monthly planner. Since it will be a constant companion for the next 365 days it needs to be pretty special. I finally found "the one"! It's Egg Press Bursts Planner Diary by Blue Sky. Egg Press, a letterpress greeting card designer, temporarily teamed up with Blue Sky, a daily planner designer, to produce an exclusive designer line for Target. I was lucky enough to score one - on sale! Only select Targets carry it (and finding them on the Target website are hopeless), but I did find them on Blue Sky's website if you are in the market.

Here is a link to my own calendar - you can't tell by the photo, but it has a nice cloth cover and the "bursts" are so very cheery it makes every day feel like a celebration. I always save my calendars, because it's fun to look back a couple years to see what you were up to that day. I detail my appointments, my shopping lists, the new wine I've tried, what I ate for dinner, travel information and even who I saw that day. No matter how mundane, I always get a kick out of looking back and piecing together a simple day that ordinarily would have been forgotten. Now you can't do that if you keep it all in your phone!

Stylish Blogger Nominations and 7 random things about me

I have finally joined the land of the living again! I have had a really nasty case of the flu, that just would not go away. I finally caved and took antibiotics - which I hate to do - but it seems to have done the trick because I'm starting to feel better. Anyway, before my health collapsed I promised to pass the Stylish Blogger torch and list seven random things you don't know about me. So here goes!

Seven things you don't know about me...

1. I speak Italian. I am half Italian on my father's side. His family immigrated to California and settled in North Beach in San Francisco. Though they spoke English, my Nonna pretended to have a hearing problem unless you spoke to her in Italian. So I learned, and communication was much easier. She passed several years ago so I'm out of practice. Maybe I need another trip to Italia to brush up?

3. I am a wine enthusiast. Pinot Noir specifically. I would like to say I'm a connoisseur, but I simply just don't know enough about all the nuances of each varietal to claim to be an expert. I have dabbled in wine enough to know, that I prefer Pinot Noir for it's silky texture and it's smooth, elegant finish. I can easily walk into any grocery store's wine selection and pick out a superb Pinot because I'm quite dedicated to sampling them all! I would love to someday enroll in the Wine Studies program at UC Berkeley... and visit Burgandy, France where the magic began.

4. I am in school right now. In my other life, I'm a marketing professional and working in special events has really allowed my creativity to flourish in a new direction. I love every aspect of marketing and consider myself lucky to have found a career path that thrills and excites me. I am currently finishing the UC Irvine Certificate in Web 2.0 and Social Media.

5. I am an outdoors-woman who hates to camp. I know that doesn't sound like I'm a true outdoors-woman, but hear me out. I love to be outside - the seasons, the sun, the ocean, the mountains and most especially trees. I can identify almost every species of vegetation (in California at least). My best friend's family owns a flower shop in SF so she has taught me everything about flowers too. I love to hike, bike, kayak, swim, picnic and just be outside. Once the sun goes down, I'll readily finish the day with a bonfire. But then I want to return to a warm, comfortable bed with a high thread count, electricity and a hot shower - no exceptions!

6. I am a law-of-attraction junkie. I devour any and every book I can find on deliberate intention and fulfilling your dreams by creating your own reality. My collection includes books by Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra, JohnAssaraf, Laura Day, Ernest Holmes and of course, The Secret by Rhonda Byrnes.

7. I am an ordained minister. Flutter Events has a few very ZEN go-to non-denominational ministers for the elopement ceremonies, but I am also qualified to marry folks in the state of California. I have studied and can conduct many unorthodox ceremonies including Buddhist, Native American and Wiccan - all of which are incredibly romantic!

Now for the list of bloggers I would like to pass the Stylish Blogger torch onto:

1. Erin at Dandelion and Grey. Erin was my very first blogging friend. She is a big shot in the blogosphere, but still always found the time to encourage and cheer me on. Her lovely blog is an incredibly beautiful and inspiring place to escape and forget your cares. Not only is she a talented blogger, but she is also an incredibly creative events stylist and a genuinely sweet and caring person.

2. Lili at Tigers to Lilies. Lili has a dreamy, ethereal blog infused with a witty sense of humor that shines through in her posts. Lili loves flowers and so do I, so I often drop by to see what is new in the floral arena. She makes her own arrangements that look as though they were all freshly picked from a field of wildflowers.

3. Victoria from A Subtle Reverie, the blog formerly known as City Cradle, is an event stylist and master do-it-yourselfer. There are so many inspiring projects on her blog it would take weeks to go through them all, let alone give one a go. But, if you head over there and take a look around you will see tons of lovely projects you'll be itching to try yourself. Warning: Victoria will make you really, really want to throw a party!

4. Lovely Little Things is a recent discovery for me but once I found this inspiring blog I devoured bunches of posts in one sitting. LLT is a self-proclaimed Cat Lover For Life, a bride-to-be and book worm - three of my favorite things!

Those who are deemed to be stylish bloggers and receive the award must do four things:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 random things about yourself
3. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
4. Pass it on and award other bloggers with this award
5. Let them know they won!

Crow and Canary 2011 Valentine Swap

Hi Kiddos. I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know I'm participating in Crow and Canary's 2011 Valentine Swap. It sounds like a blast and the deadline for participating is midnight 1/22/2011 so if you're interested head over there ASAP. Sorry for the short notice, but I just found out about it today!

Stylish Blogger Award

I am sending this humble bouquet of flowers as a big electronic token of appreciation to the lovely and talented KT at KT's Refinishing School. A thousand THANK YOUs to KT for honoring me with the Stylish Blogger Award. I am so thrilled, touched and grateful to KT who has a fun, witty and well-written blog full of amazing book recommendations, decorating ideas, recipes and inspiring posts. We share a love for European monarchy and I can't wait to pick her brain for more recommendations from this genre. I am even trying to talk KT into renewing her wedding vows with her husband out here in California! The ceremony, cake and flowers are on me KT!

As instructed by KT: Those who are deemed to be stylish bloggers and receive the award must do four things:

• Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
• Share 7 random things about yourself
• Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
• Pass it on and award other bloggers with this award
• Let them know they won!

I am working on my "7 random things about yourself" as well as the bloggers I'm nominating for the award. Please check out my post on Monday - unfortunately I won't have time to finish it this weekend since it is the Birthday Season kick-off. Most of my friends were born between January and April and this weekend is a doozy. I have a birthday party tonight, Saturday and Sunday. Lot's of celebrating in store!