ups and downs

I've had a hor-ri-ble day. Not for any particular reason, really. Nothing catastrophic happened (thankfully). It was just -- bad. But, luckily, a couple of nice little moments happened, so all was not lost:

1. I had, quite possibly, the greatest-conversation-ever with, quite possibly, the most-adorable-six-year-old-boy ever. He had a hard time saying his s's and couldn't say his r's at all, which I think just piles on the cuteness. It was one of those conversations where every single sentence starts with "Hey! Guess what!". But at six, there are a lot of really, really exciting things going on, apparently. Like--guess what--he has a new little baby sister and she already has her first tooth, and he has alll of his. And--guess what--he's about to start first grade and he even got a card from his new teacher and he can spell his whole name, even though his first name has a silent 'e'. And--guess what--he only got to swim a little bit this summer because his dog chewed the bottom of his kiddie pool and now it won't hold water. You get the idea. Pretty adorable. And certainly a reminder to celebrate the little things in life.

2. I went to Blue 7 today, (the local boutique that is so generously giving Project 8256 some floor space and not taking a single dollar) for my fortnightly restocking of prints. I have to admit that I have been feeling a little bogged down lately, but knowing that there is this other aspect to Project 8256 that requires so little effort on my part is this ridiculously huge weight off of my shoulders. Really incredible. You should go shop there. And buy lots and lots of things of which they do make a profit.

Here are some other little things that make me happy:




1. I treated myself to some new shoes. Maybe a little ridiculous, maybe not so practical. But I like them. And don't worry, they will be worn exclusively with jeans. No skirts.

2. My friend Lauren lent me her copy of Flower Drum Song. We have a mutual, nostalgic, love for a movie musical. I haven't seen it in so long. And I know it is so full of cliches and stereotypes on many levels. But oh, man. My sister and I were raised on this stuff. I only vaguely new about New Kids On The Block, but ask me to recite allll the lyrics to "Gypsy" or "My Fair Lady" or, really anything by Rogers & Hammerstein and I could deliver. What weird kids.

3. Packaging for amelia mae. I printed it on graph paper. And graph paper makes me really, really happy.

I've also really been enjoying St. Vincent's "Marry Me" album. It has a lot of layers and textures, which I really like. But not in that over-produced "my seventeen-year-old brother just hooked me up with his casio keyboard and his new "killa beats" cd" kind of way. If that makes sense. I especially like the title track, Your Lips are Red and Landmines. So check it out. If you want.

Okay, so my day is seeming a little less gloomy now. Plenty to be thankful for. Hopefully for you as well.

xo,
amy