Buried Treasure No. 22 Palm Springs and LA

Last Spring, Tony and I were searching for a wedding venue. We spent a weekend in Palm Springs at the Ace. It was a hot, dry heat and the pool and cold drinks were very welcome.

We really enjoyed the grounds/landscaping/views but ultimately- it didn't feel like "us." Still a really fun weekend though! We do love Palm Springs :)

What's a visit to Palm Springs without a stop at the dinosaurs?

We also enjoyed a banana/date shake on the way back home to LA.

I wanted to finish my roll so we went to the LA Farmer's Market and I shot some of my favorite places. That place is just full of great signage and treats.

How I miss Los Angeles!

all photos by Margaret Haas, taken with a vintage slr camera and 35mm film.

Wedding Talk No. 14 - My Bachelorette Party

My sister/matron of Honor threw me my ideal Bachelorette Party. We started the evening off with hors d'oeuvres and drinks at Jessica's house. After drinks, we walked down to the Lexington Social House. They had a special menu printed up just for us.

Everything was delicious! I had asked Katie to find a place where we could dance and not be bothered by jerks/sleezeballs. There's an outdoor patio at the Lexington Social House that was perfect. We had a group of couches, and there was a dj playing great music. I got to hang with my ladies, drink and dance. And not one person bothered us!

I had a white tulle skirt made for the occasion from Sweet Pea and Buttercup on etsy. She made it to my measurements, with a zipper- and got it to me in three days. I love it!

I also wore it the night before my wedding. It's a really fun festive piece.

all photos from various friends.

Etsy Find - Personalized Cat Earrings

As I mentioned before, I've been searching Etsy for cat items day and night. I got these personalized earrings with my kittens names stamped on them. They are darling! You can also get them without personalization. Earrings from Hestia.

My Main Man

When my friend Lindsay visited, she had her camera with her everywhere we went. One day, we came home and she still had her camera out so she decided to snap some photos of the kittens. Turns out, Milchy was being camera shy (so unlike her diva personality!) but Lindsay did get some great shots of Otto. I often refer to Otto as "my main man" since I spend all day with him.

The sun is really bright in the afternoons, it just fills the whole room up with this beautiful light. 

He knows he's not supposed to be on my computer, but he gets away with everything.

Was that a bird? I'm going to stare it down.

:)

Those eyes!

 Such soft big paws- never any claws!

There he is again, on the computer!

Here's one of Milchy behind the curtain. Thank you Lindsay for the gorgeous pictures!
All photos taken by Lindsay Winslow.

Sent with Love No. 28 - Incoming Mail

I've received some great postcards recently, from friends all over. Emma in the UK, Caity's visit to Paris, and Adriana's visit to NY. So much color in my mail box :)

A letter and some beautiful photographs from Monika, in Hungary.

And a letter from Ana in Kansas City. My outgoing responses got put into the mailbox (by a helpful husband) before I photographed them. But, no matter! There's always more where that came from.

all photos by Margaret Haas

Ebay Find - Vintage Leather Writing Case

On one of recent ebay searches, I came across a vintage leather writing case. What is this wonderful thing and why have I never heard of it? There are tons of different sizes and colors. I found this one (above) for $5. I'm still impressed by the deals one can find on ebay.
You can move the calendar to coordinate the current month and there's even a pen clip :)

It zips up, and is the perfect size and condition.

Shop Update - New Business Card Designs

A few weeks ago, I got sick of my shop photos and wanted to reshoot them. I no longer had any of my custom business card stamps so I put a call out- who needed one? Turns out, people were only interested in two of the styles. So, I kept those two styles and added three new ones. Here they are.

Big thanks to Shanti, Kat, Zie, Pam, and Megan! 

Thanks to Katie and Nat for naming these styles.

I am happy with the new styles and photos. Now, what else needs updating?

Gifted No. 17 Mother's Day Edition

I found some great cards this year- I sent two to my mom, one to my grandma (not pictured), one to my mother in law, and one to my friend Sasha on her first mother's day. 

I got my mom and grandma each a necklace from etsy.

My mom likes those miniature clay animals so I commissioned clay replicas of Milchy and Otto from this etsy shop.

 They are so cute and tiny! They look just like them.

I also got her a notebook of Milchy and Otto, and I got my sister a notebook with SinJun on the cover.

I got these printed from costco photo center- I think they came out great. I'm not in love with spiral bound notebooks but the quality is great. You could even put a picture on the inside cover. I got lined paper for Katie's notebook and blank pages for my mom's.

I added a notepad and stickers to Katie's bundle. This way, SJ can be everywhere on her desk.

 I also got some sticker pictures printed from my favorite photo of Milchy and Otto, plus some of my favorite picture from our trip to Big Sur.

Happy Mother's Day! 

Buried Treasure No. 21 Portland

We ended our visit to Oregon with Portland. We did a ton of stuff. We went on a walking tour, which showed us a bit of the city's history.

Our guide was great and answered any and all questions. There were tons of places and parts of Portland that I had never seen before, like this Japanese American Internement camp memorial.

This city is filled with so many great signs.

Since my brother in law had never been, we thought we'd take him to voodoo donuts. 

The first time we went, we tried the location on 3rd avenue. This time we went to the one on Davis. 

 The menu is a bit overwhelming if you have trouble deciding what to order.

There are so many different options. 

We considered getting a voo doo dozen- where the staff picks what goes in the pink box. 

It smells pretty good in there. 

Do you see that monster of a donut in there?

There are even vegan options.

They have a fun, real black and white photo booth.

Since only Nat and I wanted a donut, we got one Elvis and one maple bar. I think this place is worth visiting once, try one of their inventive flavors if your sweet tooth can handle it. The line is a major deterrent for me- but I'm glad Nat got to try it out.

We went to this great old oyster bar.  

 I photo-bombed Katie and Nat's photo booth picture.

Then my dad made us go to the Dam. We had a great time! Every time I leave portland I'm already planning my next trip. In fact, it's this weekend!

If you are in Portland come see us at Crafty Wonderland. We will be there this Saturday, in the wedding section. To keep up with our current Portland updates, my instagram name is @paperpastries

Super Colossal Spring Sale  Saturday, May 11th, 2013
11am-6pm The Oregon Convention Center - Exhibit Hall D 777 NE MLK jr. Blvd. in Portland