My feet hurt, my hands hurt, but my head is very, very happy. Before this productive little weekend even started, one major change happened in our little lives that - while terrifying - is wildly exciting. For a while now, my time has been pushed to the edges, as far as my books and printing are concerned. I get up early, I stay up late, and nearly all of my waking hours are spent working on books, designs, printing, and making this little business grow…I love it, but whew! Did I forget to mention that all of this happens around a pretty large day-job schedule? Well, I made a large decision on Friday that it was time to move on and throw even more into the business of books and ink. As of August 1, I’m a full-time bookbinder & printer…no more office, no more hefty commute to midtown Manhattan, no more splitting and refocusing my energy several times a day…at least not that way. It was a nervewracking decision, but one that I hope I made in the right place at the right time (fingers crossed!) and that leads toward the growth and happiness I’m envisioning. There’s no question that it’s whole new adventure!

With an amazing attitude on my side, I spent 6 hours at a C&P Pilot Tabletop press on Saturday afternoon, printing wedding invitations for 2 of our very best friends. It’s the first set of a few that I’m doing, and I managed to make a good dent in the project; all of the invites and envelopes are printed, and on Tuesday I’ll go back in to do the RSVP cards and matching envelopes, as well as try my hardest to get to a few other invitation projects (and hope that the heat has died down a a bit, since it actually started to give me some problems with ink coverage on Saturday!).

Here’s a sneak peek of the finished product (more photos once they’re off to the invitees, so I’m not ruining all the surprises!)…

As my dad reminded me earlier, I should probably share a little about the non-working portions of my weekends, too, since we usually have some pretty great food and a pretty good time around here! However, last night I completely forgot to take the camera along to document the fantastic meal we had at the apartment of good friends…2 types of seviche, a lovely green salad with apples & walnuts, and a tomato, mozzarella, bread salad (our contribution!). It was all uncooked food by design. When it’s 98 and sunny in NYC, even the thought of using the stove is a little much. It was a totally relaxing evening, capped off relaxing on the roof in S. Park Slope, with the BQE, the F & G trains, and lower Manhattan in our sights.

Today, I was once again in the midst of books and sewed up a custom guestbook/album that I’m very pleased with. The covers are a stunning black & white vine/leaf pattern that is quite striking, and this one’s a monster: 90 pages and room for photos!

With all of this big picture thinking, a brief passage to leave you with until next time…

“If the world seems unfair or beyond our understanding, sublime places suggest that it is not surprising that things should be thus. We are the playthings of the forces that laid out the oceans and chiselled the mountains. Sublime places gently move us to acknowledge limitations that we might otherwise encounter with anxiety or anger in the ordinary flow of events. It is not just nature that defies us. Human life is as overwhelming But it is the vast spaces of nature that perhaps provide us with the finest, the most respectful reminder of all that exceeds us. If we spend time in them, they may help us to accept more graciously the great, unfathomable events that molest our lives and will inevitably return us to dust.”
- Alain de Botton, The Art of Travel