7 Quick Takes (vol. 3)

--1--
Katharine Hepburn: I love you

About a month ago, Emelie and I had a date. We went to the George Bush Presidential Library for a free showing of Little Women. Not the Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder version... but the 1933 version starring Katharine Hepburn. What an amazing film. Katherine Hepburn makes a fantastic Jo March. And, for the time, her spunk and vivaciousness on the screen is just amazing. If you are a Little Women fan, like me, you must  see this movie...



--2--
Speaking of Katharine... my Katherine started preschool this week. She had a great week, except that they played Duck, Duck, Goose and she didn't like it. She wasn't sure where she was supposed to run and when she was supposed to stop. This, evidently, stressed her out. Miss Kelly hugged her while she cried.
--3--
At Katherine's school, they tell jokes during lunchtime. It sounds like the teacher tells a few and then the kids take over. Her favorites are... "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!!! Don't forget to look both ways. Chickens don't know to do THAT!" (giggles) and jokes along the lines of, "Knock, knock. Who's there? Pickle!" Crazy laughter.
I love how they obviously don't get the concept of a joke, but spend 15 minutes laughing with each other anyway!
--4--
At Hobby Lobby, I saw a letterpress kit ~ paper, ink and a desktop letterpress. I had to quickly walk away. I LOVE letterpress cards. Because... I love paper, I love fonts, and I love design. And there is rarely a letterpress item that does not include all three.

Here are a few letterpress shops I peruse on etsy.com:
Sycamore Street Press





Paper Dragonfly

PaperWheel Press

 --5--
Been reading children's books lately. There is something amazingly peaceful and solid about reading children's literature. The good stuff, of course. Over the past few weeks, I've read (or re-read)  

• Jacob Have I Loved (one of my all-time favorite books) by Katherine Patterson
• Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski and 
• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George.

There's something you can trust about good children's literature. It's probably not going to give you bad dreams. You probably won't ever throw a Newberry Award Winner down in disgust when they kill off your favorite character. The characters usually end up better off by the end of the book. And, you get a little glimpse inside the lives of children ~ always good to have when there are 4 of them running around. 
--6--
I found these great free downloads at MomAgenda.com. No, I'm not a reseller or anything. I don't even have a MomAgenda (although I really want one... hard to justify $50 on a planner). But, their downloads are attractive and useful.

There's everything from a Back To School checklist to Holiday Planning and Babysitter Info. Free stuff is always cool.
--7--
Finally, I think that the media, the president, and everyone else should just ignore the nutty Pastor Terry Jones in Gainsville ~ the guy that wants to burn the Koran on Saturday. He's an attention seeker. If the satellite trucks drove away and the news stopped talking about how the president just might give him a call, then he'd probably wrap up his little show and go home. Just my thoughts...

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FREEBIES for lovers of pretty things...

I love designing. I love designing websites, logos, art, images in photoshop, you name it. This past year I've really come to see that this is a very important part of who I am.

I like pretty things. I've tried to hide it, thinking that this passion is too materialistic, too worldly, a waste of my time and money. And, yes, sometimes it is. I realize that this little part of me could take me to a place I'd rather not go... spending too much time on decor websites, spending too much money at Target or etsy, spending too much time contemplating the next rearrangement of my living room. Oh, yes.

But, now that I'm being honest with myself: "You love pretty things, Lauren!" It seems easier to handle.

So, I'm trying to find free ways to meet my "prettiness" factor.

Photography and Graphic Design. Two things I can do that only cost me time. That's it.

So, I've had fun lately creating things for me. Not for a client. Not for a website. Not for someone else. me.

When I create something for ME, no one tells me that the colors are off. No one asks me to make 5 million "little quick changes". No one takes a glance at my lovely creation and then says, "You just don't get the look I'm going for, do you?"

Not that I'm an easy customer for myself. I'm not. Just ask me why I don't scrapbook and you'll find out.

But, when I DO like something I make, that's that. Finito. Done. I'm happy. And that's all that matters.

So... I am going to share some of these creations with you all, so you can have some pretty things for free, too. You just can't criticize, okay? Okay.

For today, I'm uploading my new favorite image. I have it framed and resting on top of my piano in our living room. It's a quote from the great Bach regarding the tremendous talent and precision it takes to play piano. If you, or someone you know is a piano lover, then download this, print and frame.


This is the 5x7 version of the print.

It reads:
"There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself." Johann Sebastian Bach

Encouraging, right?

My kids think it's funny!










This is the 8x10 version of the same quote:

So, I hope you enjoy these. If you do print one out, I'd love to hear back on where you put it or who you gave it to!

p.s. It doesn't print out as yellow as it looks on the screen.

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