Physical Inbox #2

This edition of Physical Inbox is showcasing TWO goodie boxes that I've received recently.

First off... the March Cara Box from Melissa from After We Tied the Knott ...

(What's a Cara Box? See here!)
This month's theme was "Hello my name is..." which translated to, the box would be full of things starting with the first letter of the recipient's first name! My match up, Katie, from Unwritten  is getting a box full of K things, and I, being Laura, got a box full of L! I'll link up Katie when she gets her box, and posts it.

Melissa was SO on top of this, and got my box sent out to me almost instantly! I'm not so good at that--I tend to try to think things out for awhile, and since there isn't much of a turnaround (two weeks between finding out your match and the shipping out deadline--not that long when you've got to figure out a person you've never met and then shop/make for them on a limited budget!) I always find myself at the post office on the last day.

Anyway, what I received went a little something like this:
The box came filled with bright pink tinsel-packing. So sparkly. And so much like quick-sand. I tried to put the items on top of the tinsel to photograph them, but they kept drowning in it, haha!
First off above, was a Lion toy for Remi. She loves her plushies, and this one had a squeaker too! I gave it to her right away, and you might notice that the tail is already missing by the time I snapped the photo. Good puppy!

LED Flashlight, in green! I let on that I'm a big fan of mint & seafoam greens, so Melissa sure took that green to heart as you'll see from the rest of the box. March is a great month for green, right?

Loofas! Also in "laurcolor" as I refer to mint/seafoam in casual conversation.

Lucky Clover grow kit! I could always use a little bit of Luck.

Lifesaver Jelly Beans... yep, these are Long-gone by now. Super tasty, Melissa noticed my sweet tooth and included this sweet treat!

Last but not least, Lingerie! Melissa found me a bra once again in the favorite color! Just the explosion of mint and seafoam when I opened this box put a huge smile on my face.

Definitely a great birthday-month box, Melissa did such an amazing job at figuring out things that were so me and fit in nicely with the theme too! <3 Make sure you check out her blog, After We Tied the Knott, and on instagram and twitter too!

Make sure to check out ALL of the March Cara Box exchanges, posted/hosted through Wifessionals.

Next up, the Sugar & Spice VoxBox from Influenster...

Awhile back I'd signed up for Influenster, as it seemed interesting, kinda like Klout but with more product/brand reviews. Apparently I've contributed enough to qualify for this VoxBox, and a box showed up at my house full of many things, including Colgate Optic White toothpaste & goodies, Vaseline Spray & Go moisturizer, Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel towelettes, belVita Breakfast Biscuits, and Nectresse no calorie sweetener.

I'm still making my way through giving all of these products a good try, so I'll be sure to update my thoughts on them soon! Make sure you're following me on twitter and instagram to keep up to date!

Coach Bag giveaway!

I've teamed up with a wonderful group of ladies to be able to offer quite the giveaway, I think Samantha said it best herself, so I'll let her go over the details:

Spring is in the air and so are the cutest Coach bags EVER! I wanted to thank you all for being such great friends by teaming up with some of my favorite bloggers and giving y'all the chance to win one!

Here are some of my faves:

A new Coach handbag up to $275... all YOURS!

Samantha//Kelly//Kalyn//Kaitlyn//Neely Becca//Holly//Gayle//Libby//Ashley Beth//Jen//Kenzie//Mallory//Sophia Charity//Jovana//Kristine//Mandi//Tif Chrissy/Laura//Kristyn//Melissa//Ricci None of the entries are mandatory, but please take a minute to get to know these ladies. They have been such a big part of my bloggy life and I know you'll love them too! All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter below and cross your fingers! Giveaway will run from today, March 25th until Friday, March 29th.  Winner will get to choose their choice of bag up to $275 dollars.  Open to US residents only.  Winning entry will be verified so please, play nice :)  Good luck! Xoxo!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Currently.

Rocking:

My 5k training. Starting to really feel better about running, and seeing progress in my distances/pace. There's a nice social aspect too, if I go on a run with a friend, we can chat/catch up, and yet still get our run in...seems easier to fit in than catching up over a drink. 

Fostering:

A dog through a local pitbull rescue, about 1.5 years old. He's super sweet, happy, bouncy, and at the same time laid back. Like, if we're outside, his ears will perk up if he hears something interesting, but he won't suddenly run to the fence and start barking. Same thing with seeing passerby's  he takes a look, then goes back to whatever he was doing, be it sniffing around, or playing. We've got a very structured transition process for him being at the house, and with coexisting with my own pup. Which honestly hasn't been the easiest, as the dogs appear eager to play and want to check out each other up close, but definitely for the best as I'd rather have a slow-n-steady introduction and they both get to practice patience rather than a too-fast one and one or both of them is uncomfortable, leaving us with some counter-work to get everybody happy together. again. Bringing me to...

Looking forward to:

Being able to fully integrate foster pup into the daily routines. So excited for Remi to likely have a playmate at home, and I know Socks is dying to be done with his transitioning.

Regretting:

The lunch I had. Might have been a little big and I feel like I've got a huge food coma/tummy unhappy right now.

Listening to:

This playlist that I made on my birthday-eve last week. Full of somewhat odd pairings of Lesley Gore, Smoking Popes, Jimmy Eat World, Damien Rice, and Brand New. Give it a listen!

Thinking:

about, well being inspired by the people and work around me. I attended the Rochester ADDY Awards last week and was witness to many great advertising spots and campaigns, as well as being surrounded by the Rochester advertising community. Hundreds of people at the convention center. I didn't have anything in the show this year, so there was no pressure or worrying about whether I'd take home an award or not this time around.
Then, last night I made the trek to Utica with my friend Sarah for an AIGA event "Will Work for Work" with Mikey Burton. I had worked with Mikey while in Philly, and it was great to see him again!  He gave his talk to a packed room of designers, design students and the like, and was gracious enough to stick around for some Q&A time too. Afterward, we found the smallest ottoman (below).

Currently format ever-so-thankfully borrowed from Dani at SometimesSweet! <3

Another Google Death

So with the news that googlereader is on the out, and taking GFC along with it, I've joined Bloglovin. Follow along! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Mentoring Notes II

Industry, creativity, inspiration, and interesting stuff...from your favorite AIGA UPSTNY SPARK Co-Coordinator & Mentor

There seems to be somewhat a pair of themes this time around for the mentoring notes— Love & Money. Take this as you will. 

Audio

• WMC Fest Kick-off Podcast — Weapons of Mass Creation Fest is going in to its 4th year, I went last year and had a great experience there and in Cleveland. Loved all the speakers, the bands, the neighborhood, and probably spent too much in the gallery on screen prints! If you love design, music, and awesomeness all for a very fair ticket price, this festival is for you. If you watch the video on the site's landing page closely, you can catch a glimpse of me crossing the street in slow-mo around 0:23-0:27
• Two Hand Fools — Been really digging this band, especially the split with Ridgemont, which, coincidentally is available for streaming or free download here

Visual

• Chrome & Poppies Etsy Treasury — getting inspired for my dining room's transition. 
• Type & Lettering, Oh My! pinboard — this stuff honestly makes me drool.
• Pantone Queen.

Video

• The first rule of business is LOVE (James Victore Q&A tuesday)
• YES to LOVE

Reads

• Frank Chimero's Advice to Design Students — to be honest, I think this can apply further than just students, too, although they're the focus of it. 
• Why Would You Ever Give Money Through Kickstarter? I did. And now there's going to be a Veronica Mars movie!
• Amanda Palmer on Crowdfunding.
• Rate Increases
• Graphic Design Resume Tips
• Secrets to Success: Running a Business is not for the faint of heart
• Never read an email Twice —the OHIO method of inbox zen

Interactive

• Don't use Dumb Quotes — Quotes and Accents, a very useful resource by the always lovely Jessica Hische
• The Future of Responsive Typography
• Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks — City map overlays separated by income or rent levels. Really interesting as well as telling. 

Other

• Digital Detox — we all could probably use this.

What notable stuff have you found lately?

Physical Inbox

I'd like to share some of the lovely things I get in the mail... sometimes it's for content, and sometimes it's for delivery...

First one comes from Kristin! She was sweet enough to think to send me a thank you card for teaming up with Michele (from Short Girl, Long Island) for a giveaway a little bit back (which, she won!). Wax seals are awesome, I think I need to look in to getting one of my own. I *LOVE* getting mail (non-bills, non-spam), and even more so when it's stamped with my creation on its return, I just seriously love seeing these things in the wild... so if you've gotten a stamp from me, you've got my address—send a message back, it'll probably make my day!

Next up, this lovely print by Lea Rizzo. It was a perk for the IndieGoGo campaign from The Yards last Fall, where I opted for the Lea print with my donation. The Yards does amazing art shows and events and are truly a great addition to our community in Rochester. They're located at the Rochester Public Market, in a great, versatile space.

What have you gotten in the mail recently that's put a smile on your face?

No Spend March!

It's that time again... the time where I look at my checking account(s) and go "...oh."

In keeping with some of my #100resolutions from earlier this year, I've decided to join up on this No Spend March... presented by Mallory (From California to Kansas) and Jess (Tooth N Nails) .

My rules are as follows:

• Credit Card is for Gas, Groceries, and other essentials
• No online shopping (time to ignore all of the 'daily deal' emails I get)
• Groceries are strictly by list (with planned meals), with one <$5 "treat" item
• Regulated cash allowance weekly for incidentals (convenience items, beers, door cover for dances or shows, etc.)
• Use the giftcards! But don't go more than 25% over their value
• Two meals out per week tops (this will probably be a weekend brunch & a dinner)
• NO clothing or makeup (unless something is broken/ran out and needs replacement)
• <$20 of chews/treats for puppy on pet store visits, and hold off on new toys until April (she chews a lot, and I'd rather her be chomping on an elk antler or bully stick rather than the coffee table, so there needs to be some allowance here)
• Sleep on it for at least one night for any larger purchases that might need to happen
• Redirect my impulses (OMG let's order pizza >>> at home pasta night. and so on.) 

This is my birthday month, so it might be a bit tough in some regards to not #treatyoself , but hopefully any of that treating I can take care of with giftcards and groupons that I already have. Obviously there might be an exception or two in there

Want to join in? Or just offer some support for this? Head on over to Mallory & Jess's blogs and chime in in the comments!

I'm thinking of posting updates of #Nospend/#badspend incidents throughout the month. Large list update? Spend-shaming photos? Love to hear your thoughts and have you join in on this #NoSpendMarch!

February Cara Box reveal!

I took part in my first Cara Box exchange last month, and it was buckets of fun as well as inspiring. More about that here. This month, our theme was #ClubSexy(ClubSexy = vaguely date night supplies for creating your own awesome night, whatever that might be!), and we were also paired off within our state to potential exchange boxes in person. Granted the state of New York is a big one, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do so depending on locations of those I was paired off with. It didn't work out to meet up yet, but after 'meeting' these two women, we've got hopes to try for this summer!

My match that I assembled a Cara Box for was Samantha of Hooah and Hiccups. You can see her post about what I sent her here. It was a blast to make a personalized set of #clubsexy cards and supporting materials. Check it out on her blog!

Now, for my Cara Box's reveal -- I was paired with Traci from Dear Miss Traci. She's in the middle of fine tuning details for her upcoming wedding, and still did a stellar job of sending me a little cardboard box of joy.

First things first, the second I got through the tape, this box just smelled sooo fantastic! I dug in to find a tasty scented candle, and some body lotion (mango! yess!) to be the culprits. Love it. Also, really cute attention to detail in the packaging -- pink and red packing materials, card, and the black packing paper made it feel so luxurious.

Also among the candle and lotion, she had picked out a few eyeshadows from her favorite etsy shops and nailpolish to really summer-up our grey winters here in upstate NY.  Perfect colors too!

And, after reading her note, I realized that I TOTALLY MISSED one item! She'd sent a little cookbook for tapas--perfect for the ATE dinners I've been running, and also fun cooking inspiration for the everyday.

 

Thanks SO much, Traci! Great Cara Box, and so happy to have made a blog friend that's not too far away. <3

Make sure to check out ALL of the February Cara Box exchanges, posted through Wifessionals.