Vermont

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We're spending the holiday weekend in Vermont with my family, and we're having a blast. We're staying just outside of Stowe, in a little town called Johnson. We're nestled deep in the woods with picturesque views of the mountains, and if all goes according to plan, some snow as well. The home we're renting is built on the edge of a hill (cliff?) overlooking a babbling brook.

Today we're heading into Stowe to shop for cheese, chocolates and most likely Christmas presents.

Tonight I'll be shopping all of the wonderful etsy sales. I've bookmarked at least fifty things!

How are you spending the weekend?

Sales!

Did someone say holiday cyber deals? Here are two from my corner of the world.

Little Brown Pen on Etsy
Save 20% off our Perpetual Paris Calender now through Monday, December 1. Original price is $49, sale price is $39.

Perpetual Paris Calendar

Amala
Most of you know I am the Copy Director at Amala. Their deal for my blog readers is pretty great! Save 20% off your entire order. Simply enter "LittleBrownPen" at checkout.

The aromatherapy treatments and gift sets make great gifts!

Happy shopping everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for many things. But these three top my list.

Enjoy your day, everyone.

Let the Etsy Shopping Begin

I'm supposed to be finishing up some client work before Thanksgiving, but instead, I'm surfing etsy for holiday gifts.

Last year, I bought at least 80% of my gifts on etsy, and the recipients of those gifts were beyond pleased. Above are a few things I'm loving.

Table Runner, by KainKain
Advent Calendar, Nouveau Designs
Recycled Garland, Kristina Marie
Snowy Owl, Tiny Warbler
Matchbook Notebooks, Chyrls

A Short Love Story

This is gorgeous.

By Carlos Lascano. Music by Sigur Ros.

There's a Message in Here Somewhere

And I think it has something to do with wonder, simplicity or optimism.

Sarah Ate the Whoopie Pie

Friends don't let friends deny themselves puffy cakes bonded with fluffy icing.

Find out what happens when a self-professed sugar addict is brought back from the brink of needless self-control.

Read all about it here: Gimme Some Sugar

PS. Friends also don't deny friends good twitter follow recs. Follow Sarah. Just do it.

Pop Quiz

The above photos happened because:

a) Nichole had blogger's block and had no idea what the hell to write about this morning
b) Nichole bought those toys for herself under the guise of wanting her kids to have "quality, wooden toys"
c) Nichole actually has a very rare, and sick fetish that is so perverse, so twisted, so very, very wrong that she couldn't possibly go into detail here
d) all of the above

Moo

Okay, so now I want mini cards of my mini men. How cute are these?!?

I've seen Moo Mini Cards before, but until I saw this post on Eliott and Cerise, I hadn't thought about printing photos of the kids.

And $20 for 100? Not bad. Of course, now I need to invoke a divine power who will add some extra hours to my day so I can select the photos.

Moo Mini Cards

M-Dashing

I have a friend named Courtney. She is nice.
And smart, and funny and cool.
She's so nice that she introduced me to her friend Amy.
Who is also nice.
And smart, and funny and cool.

Amy and Courtney work for Real Simple Magazine.
Courtney is the Art Director. Amy is the Copy Director.
I work with them sometimes.
On fun projects that include chocolate and words.
And occasionally em-dashes.

I also play with them sometimes.
We like to eat.
And drink.
And write notes to rude waiters.
Really rude waiters.

Amy is good with words.
Which is why I am happy she started a blog.
Amy + words + blog = a good read.
Good reads about chocolate and knives and pickles.

Head over to M-Dashing.
It's Amy's new blog.
You'll like it.
I promise.

PS. Courtney: Blog? Sometime soon? Please?

I Cheated

I had a weekend affair with tea. I feel awful about it, and am walking around in a guilty haze this morning.

The air is thick with betrayal, and I can't face my espresso machine. He knows. And he's hurt.

It wasn't my fault. I've had a relentless cough, and tea with lemon and honey was the only thing keeping me from checking into the insane asylum.

My go-to tea is from Chamagudao--a well-edited little tea shop in Montclair. It's called Emerald Buddha and is a green tea with lemongrass, coconut and ginger. It's really flavorful (unlike many of the bland, bitter green teas I've tried) and smooth. When forced to part with my beloved beans, Emerald Buddha is a nice stand in.

It got me through the weekend, and later today, I plan to make up with coffee. He's still a little bitter from the abrupt abandonment, but I'll sweeten him up with an extra splash of cream or two.

Sundown

I've always loved the way the light reflects on the creamy stone buildings on the Ile St. Louis and Notre Dame.

Ethan Ollie

I love these Polaroid collages by Ethan Ollie. Bonus: They are already framed.

Haven in Paris

Last year at this time, we were planning our three month stay in Paris. We scrutinized listings, and spent at least a month finding the right place. It was not easy, and we had to weed through a bunch of listings that were most definitely wrong before we settled on an apartment on Rue St. Paul.

Flash forward a year, and we're planning our next winter trip. This time, thanks to Erica of Haven in Paris, we'll spend less time planning where to stay and more time planning what to do.

I first heard of Haven in Paris over at A Cup of Jo. I silently cursed my luck, because I could have saved myself a whole lot of trouble had I known about her gorgeous apartments a year ago! I clicked around the site a bit, and bookmarked my favorites.

I had the pleasure of meeting Erica when we were in Paris in September, and she conveyed a genuine understanding of travelers' needs. She pays attention to detail and it shows. The photos on her site look as if they were lifted from a design blog, not an apartment rental agency. They feel like a home you want to live in.

I've stayed in a few apartments that at first glance were gorgeous: Stunning architecture, great windows, old world charm. But a closer inspection revealed peeling, chipped paint, messy drawers with a smattering of things left from previous guests, old food in the refrigerator, smelly sheets, etc. Those little things added up, and it tainted the experience.

After speaking with Erica, I'm certain I won't run into any of the aforementioned undesirables, and am looking forward to staying in one of her apartments. Now I just have to choose one!

Visit Haven in Paris.
Read their blog.

Paris in America

I'm following along with Joanna as she traipses across the country in search off all things Parisian. It's a fun little project celebrating YSL's new fragrance launch.

She'll be visiting NYC, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. I can't wait to see what she discovers.

Head over to Experience Parisienne.