I’ve been a lover of wine since a trip to Italy in 2005 where I was first introduced to how wonderful and nuanced it can be, especially when paired with excellent food. My husband fell in love during a short jaunt to Napa shortly after we married. We’ve developed our likes and dislikes over the past few years and like to play around with different pairings – he always prefers red and I always drink white. Oh. And we like it cheap. Expensive wine is of course nice, sometimes, but I’ve had wines that were expensive that I disliked (like really disliked) while a $3 bottle can be perfect. Or not. But if it’s not, you’re only out $3!! On a recent trip to California we took a half day to drive around Napa Valley. We didn’t stop at any wineries or really get out of the car at all for the most part, but it was one of the best half-days I’ve spent in awhile. And while driving through the cool Napa Valley, I finally caught my breath after a hot summer, my brain started to work again, inspiration came back as it always does with the first cool breeze after summer, and I decided to throw a series of parties this fall. And first up? A wine-tasting party, of course.

I thank my God for giving me a sister who loves parties as much as I do. It’s delightful trading off planning fun celebrations and since our birthdays are 6 months apart (and some years) we get to have celebrations throughout the year. This years theme for her was Film Noir and for me it was Gilmore Girls. Last year for her was Mamma Mia! and mine was Disney Princesses. In any case, in any year, despite the number of the sparkler candle on my cake that didn’t seem like it would ever blow out (28!) I am so thankful for the opportunity to celebrate our lives. And I’m thankful to each and everyone of the ladies who came and made my birthday so special.

I’m at that time of life where every month seems to bring news of new engagements and pregnancies. This summer I was blessed to be invited to a wedding ceremony in each month: May, June, July, and August. The July wedding was for a friend who is the daughter of a friend. How fun is it to be friends with people from different generations of the same family? I was happy to relieve them of the stress of addressing their wedding invitations and I was lucky to receive one too. Everyone laughs that I bother to use calligraphy on mail to myself, but wouldn’t it be more odd if the calligrapher herself didn’t want to get beautiful mail just like everyone else?!?

Avery Grace is the precious new baby girl, born this week to one of my dearest friends.  She is beautiful and precious and adorable. Everything a baby should be. And I’m so excited to see my friend  build a relationship with her daughter.  I can’t wait to fly out west so I can hold her and get to know her in person.

Red and white always reminds me of winter. Remnants of Christmas. Peppermints. Snow on berries, which we might actually see several times this winter, since Dallas has already seen an unheard of 3 snowfalls with more predicted. Winter for me is a time to try new things, play around, plan, dream, practice. And the fruit of all those winter activities is this lovely new style which I’m going to call Victoria because I was inspired by all the beautiful calligraphy in the new movie “The Young Victoria” which I finally went to see one afternoon this week. (I went all by myself which felt decadent and indulgent and which, for some reason, also made me super productive). There’s something so fresh about the victorian style of addressing envelopes – so large and even messy, at least compared to the neater, scientific scripts of today.  No surprise that I love it. I guess since I can’t live in the nineteenth century, I’ll just have to bring a bit of it into the twenty-first.

My first calligraphy teacher always reminded us that, “everyone loves to see their name written in calligraphy”. I think she was mostly correct.  And if that’s true, then how much more would every new Mommy love to see her baby’s name beautifully calligraphed.  Well, a whole lot. I assume.  So this new baby’s Mama got a handwritten nameplate to put up in the new nursery for a shower gift.  It’s a great way to personalize your gift and let someone know you care.  This name was written with custom mixed watercolor in lightly flourished style and I found the perfect frame to encase it at Target.  Perfect for new Mommy’s because really who are we kidding? Nurseries are for Mommies, not babies.

This is a fanciful, flourished style.  It is elegant, luxurious, whimsical and over-the-top in the best sort of way. Sometimes the magnitude of a celebration necessitates taking every measure to communicate its importance and beauty.  While often those moments are weddings and baby dedications, sometimes the greatest moments are found in simple kindnesses bestowed unexpectedly.  A kind word spoken in the midst of a crisis; homemade dinners brought during a busy season of life; a  thought-filled and unexpected gift from a world away.   Don’t be afraid to use the most beautiful things to commemorate the most simplistic.  Turn ceremony on its head by celebrating the importance of the small things in life with beautifully calligraphed notes of gratitude. You can match your words with my pen and brighten someone’s day by giving them a beautiful note that they will find amongst the usual bills and catalogs in their mailbox.

Blessed are you Adonai, our God, Ruler of the Universe.

Neesi is my sister and I’m one of the charter members of her fan club.  Fan club members have a duty to remind the object of their fandom that they are a fan, preferably with random acts of fan-ning (yes, that’s a new word), and preferably when the fan knows that the object of their fandom might be having a bad week.  One of the best ways to express fandom is with mail.  The kind that comes in an envelope, with a stamp, that you can hold, and can stick up on your mirror.  This particularly act of fan-ning was sent during the first week of school. (Side Note: All teachers would like their fans to know that the first week of school is the perfect time to send fandom reminders.)   I highly suggest commissioning similar forms of fandom for those you are a fan of.

Thanks to Betsy Dunlap for the envelope design idea.