hello, good-bye.

i have one day left at the job i don't like. and then. . . . who knows?
there was a time in my life when i would have cried at that thought. but today, all i can do is beam. i'm not even kidding! since giving my two weeks' notice, i thought there might be a moment of nostalgia, an "i can't believe i'm not going to be here anymore!", a twinge of regret over the impending lack of funds. but let me tell you something:
the company does not make any acknowledgment of peoples' exits. the official position is that if co-workers want to do something nice, they are allowed, but the gesture cannot originate from anyone in a management position. the exact words of the boss are, "people who quit are dead to me."
nice, huh? it makes it unbelievably easy to walk away from a job where they don't even say, "thanks for all your hard work, laura." (although i will say, i have gotten nothing but supportive, encouraging, and slightly envious words from co-workers--not to mention the cake! the lack of a formal company-approved farewell make thoughtful actions like that even more meaningful.)
not only have i not felt anything but happy confidence about my decision all week long, but i am realizing that there could not be a better time for me to get out of there.
i could go on and on about how excited i am to live my dreams, but honestly, i am tired of thinking about it and analyzing the preaching "why should i wait until the recession goes away before i do what i love?!" business (which i firmly believe). i am tired of anticipating, i am tired of planning. i'm ready to dive in.
i have no idea what will happen. and that thought is thrilling! everything will work out. i really do believe that. i am excited to make things happen and to go after what i want.

speaking of what i want, and the life i am going after, i had a really great time last night at the launch party for local food blog simple, good, and tasty. it was at the birchwood cafe, which was perfect, and i enjoyed some great local food and wine with my friend mc (i met mc and lee, the founder of simple, good, and tasty, at my letterpress class!). i wish i had photos, but yesterday was the one day i left my camera at home. it felt great to be outside, eat wonderful tiny pulled pork sandwiches, meet new people, and talk with a friend about life and art and community. i think we are going back on saturday for some tour de france brunch (brioche french toast, anyone?).
i am looking forward to the weekend, knowing i can freely make plans for socializing since i know i will have time to be in the studio during the week!
did i mention how great i feel about my decision? i am looking forward to the weekend, and even to monday!
i hope your weekend is wonderful!

weekend!

my friend meg loves maira kalman, and has totally gotten me hooked on her work in a conscious way (if that makes sense). i really like how playful and full of energy her images are. i also like checking in on her blog, where she writes and illustrates little commentaries on various things--lately they are related to history, democracy, and government. here are a couple of excerpts from a piece about her visit to monticello.
i hope you have a wonderful weekend! i will be back on monday (my last monday in a dreaded beige cube!)

happy friday! so, we can classify this under "things i can't stop thinking about/when i finally do get married, i am going to want to remember this!" so i might as well bookmark it and share it with you! there are so so many more beautiful photos of this wedding over at once wed and our labor of love (that site makes me really like weddings!), that i would encourage you to take a look at, but i picked a few (seen first on cup of jo):look at this awesome red truck that transported the bride and her (ten!) maidens to the ceremony! and those clutches! so cool. not to mention the BOOTS. and the pretty j. crew dresses.

beautiful REAL cakes made by a friend and the milk! (i guess i'm feeling pretty exclamatory today.) the MILK, people! i love it.

these might be my favorites: the bistro lights strung up in a field, and the sparkly send-off. so perfect. anyway, i just think these are gorgeous. i hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

wish i was here.

(from the haystack needle: woolly pocket gardens! they have an adorable blog also.)

and by here, i mean this amazing room! i can't get it out of my mind this week. one of my work survival tactics is to put something amazing and beautiful on my computer's desktop as a reminder that i am working on the life i want. which, really, involves working for myself from home/my studio. more on that later.
i'm escaping to wisconsin this weekend (my sister is there!) and it will feel so great to have a couple of days off, too.
i do want to share a couple of new blog friends i made this week (and by made, i mean found them and said "hi!" because hey, every friendship starts somewhere):
geraniums and potatoes: posts about LOVELY things (and lives in minneapolis!)
the design alphabet: this is a great concept! she posts beautiful art and design things based on letters of the alphabet, one for every day.
and that's me, signing off for the week. i hope you all have a lovely weekend!

new babies, new house.

the party on saturday was so lovely. it was wonderful to see old friends and the new babies. these are the women who have known me the longest, who inspire and encourage me the most. i never end up taking as many pictures as i intend at things like this, especially when i am hosting, but here are a few, which also give you a little better view of my new house. and, as you can tell, there is plenty of light coming in, which made for slightly weird photos (that might have been the photographer more than anything), but is one of my favorite things about the house.

sara made a wonderful vegetable tart, and i made molly's berry pound cake. everything was so tasty, i would repeat this meal anytime.


okay, it really is funny to make those little people do things they don't know they are doing (or are interested in doing, necessarily)! i think they were close to holding hands anyway. . . .

weekend!

what are you up to this weekend? i have the meet the babies party, and i am excited to bake a cake! it will be wonderful to see old friends and have an excuse to get the final boxes out of the house and the art on the walls--and then take some real pictures to share with you next week (i think next will be picture week). i am also hoping, as always, to get some art made.
i hope your weekend is sunny and wonderful, summer really is here and i want to soak up every second! have a wonderful weekend!

easter weekend.

this weekend was a lot of good food, adorable children, and many rounds of rumikub with the grandma. i feel really sick tonight (is today tuesday? i am so confused). i never get sick, but i have been more sick in the last four months than i have been since my kindergarten strep marathon (nine times in nine months, folks). and although i don't want to blame my new boss directly, or blame anything really, i would not be surprised if my raging headaches, fevers, and nausea were work-stress-related. i hate being sick. i hate not being able to do things, and being forced to lie on the couch, sweating it out. i have goals to work on, people! and here i sit with time on my hands, and no energy to do any of them. grrrr.
also, we have an ant problem that i do not know how to solve. also, our apartment is being shown this week and i have to keep it clean. i feel overwhelmed by life tonight.
hey, but aren't these kids so adorable? let's look at how cute they are:zoey heads up the composition portion of the afternoon while greta and graham assist. i love the little pink dresses and the feet!

grady is totally fascinated with the camera--seriously, this is the most easy-going baby i have ever met.

annika reads to the older baby-cousins while ava scoots around, reaching for her own book. she is the other most easy-going baby i have ever met. so sweet.

and of course, i love me some good midwestern architecture.

my mom is pretty intent on the game, and grandma makes her power play. she's pretty good at rumikub, especially for a woman who says, "now, how do we play this game?" every time the tiles get dumped onto the table. she still wins.

i am inheriting hands that look like this. i think they are beautiful.

i still don't take pictures of people.

i made a batch of amy butler's red velvet cupcakes for the party on saturday. mini ones.and then, at the party, ended up taking about a million pictures of the lights through the window. i can't decide yet if they look like they are actually great or really not great at all. i got a big kick out of taking them, and my impulse says i like looking at them, so that's going to be enough for me.

a monday rant.

it's monday, and rainy, which is actually nice. however, i have nothing to share or show you. it was a party-party weekend, and i finally got the press working. so later, i will have some photos to share, and my first brilliant letterpress experiment, but for now i just have quiet.

unless, of course, i say what i'm really thinking, and that is: even though we are all bloggers and on the internet, why does no one seem to edit their content? i agree that if you sell stationery, you should not talk about your stationary line, and would it really kill you to proofread your content before publishing it? does no one care about these things anymore? i could have a career as a blog proofreader if they did.
humph. i am feeling like a spinster lately. perhaps this is just more evidence.

it's official.

well, friends, i really wanted some photos to accompany this news, but i have forgotten my camera the last two times i went to the studio, so i had to turn to the wide world of flickr to provide a symbolic photo. thank you, cake & pie, for the photo you didn't know i borrowed. this is actually very similar to what my new girl looks like (yes, she is a girl, it's true).
she is smaller and more complicated than her older brother, the etching press. and she is a great addition to the studio. she arrived on saturday; i didn't have to go anywhere to pick her up or pay for shipping. really, the whole experience was pretty providential. i am excited to start printing all kinds of great things on her, so keep your eyes peeled (although, to be honest, i am currently working out a little problem with her so i need to get her fixed up and working). she also came accompanied by a bunch of great wooden type that will be great for experimenting with.
last night i shared the news with some friends, who so helpfully started to suggest some names for my press/business. as you can imagine, the ideas got sillier as the night went on, and most of them are not at all appropriate for sharing here. however, some highlights include:
pressy press, the most-advocated name by far (by the end of the night the slogan went something like, "pressy press is not an effing joke!"), which evolved into smooshy press and smooshy-pressy-press, obama! (no press necessary in that name, obviously), and press up against me, not to mention the various other puns having to do with being depressed, impressed, oppressed, etc.
and yet, somehow, i am still unsure.
i had other thoughts i wanted to share about the weekend. . . .
friday night i saw some great music at the cedar, perhaps music in one of its best forms: friends playing and having fun together.
i got a haircut and a massage, and managed to snag a sweater for $16 at anthropologie.
the themes of "out with the old and in with the new" are layered all through my life these days. it's kind of amazing to watch.