Inventory

I've had to order several envelopes from a few wholesalers/online shops before finding the right ones for each letter set. I probably have between 2000 and 3000 envelopes in my closet right now!

Here are the ones that I'm currently using.

And here are some letter sets, ready to be sold!

Julie xox

What makes a good letter?

I've been thinking about it this afternoon.

You see, when I was young (between the age of 7 and 14 maybe), I thought that the most interesting letters were from people who had beautiful handwriting, who put cute stickers on cute stationery and drew doodles on the envelopes.

Of course, I still like to receive letters that were written on nice letter sets and everybody knows that I still have a handwriting fetish. But the most important thing to me about the letters I receive now is the connection that I have with the other person. You know when it just clicks with someone? That's what I'm looking for in a penpal. So if that person doesn't have the greatest handwriting in the world and writes on plain white paper, that's perfectly fine with me.

I also like when the person who's writing me is interested enough in my life to ask questions about me and what I've been up to. Comments on my last letter are also wonderful to read. I like when letters feel like conversations between old friends.

I'm not especially crazy about letters that only describe daily events. I do like to know what my penpal does and what his/her daily life is like, but I'm also interested in feelings, opinions, dreams, goals, fears, things like that.

So everybody who's into penpalling, tell me... What do you think makes a good letter?

Julie xox

Etsy Treasury

It seems like I've been talking about sushi a lot lately... This is actually my 3rd post in a row about sushi! I hope some of you like it as much as I do...

My first sushi letter set was featured in this treasury on Etsy! It will expire in a few hours, so check it out while it's still there! There are many other great sushi items in there!


Julie xox

All I can think about right now is...

... Food!

I'm hungry! Sushi would be so good...


Instead, I'll probably eat something boring like toasts... Or maybe I'll get some less expensive take-out. I wish I could eat sushi 4-5 times a week!

Julie xox

Sushi Splash

I have a new letter set for sale in my Etsy shop.

Here's Sushi Splash!






This is my second sushi themed letter set... Watch out for the third one in the next few days!

Julie xox

Pink nose!

Yesterday, my friend Véronique and I had a picnic at the park with our kids. We spent the whole afternoon outside, so I have a little sunburn on my nose. It's pink, not red, so it doesn't hurt at all and it's nice to see some color on my face for a change!

Here are some photos that I took.

Like me, Véronique doesn't like having her photo taken!

A cute family portrait.

Véronique and her goofy son!

She'll say I'm crazy, but I think Véronique looks a bit like Madonna!

My little guy loves "his friend" Véronique!

He also loves his friend Trinyté!

She's a little monkey!

But she can be quiet too...

Neeho was always running around, but I caught him here!

Trinyté, striking a pose...

She had fun playing the little model for me!

Isn't she adorable?!

Back at home, quietly playing in her sandbox...

This one is a little blurry, but I still like it.

We had a great day! I never take a whole day off, but I'm proud to say that I didn't work at all yesterday. It was good for my sanity!

Now back to work though!

Julie xox

Self-portraits

Once in a while, I like to take self-portraits in my bathroom. I don't know why, it just makes me smile to see bathroom pictures.

This one was taken in April 2008

June 2008

Same photo - which one do you prefer?

May 2009

Julie xox

Juicy Kiwi, new and improved!

Some of you might remember my Juicy Kiwi letter set... Well, I wasn't too happy with the brown bag envelopes, so I selected some new envelopes, made a new kit and took better photos!

Find it in my Etsy shop!





What do you think about the new look?

Julie xox

Strange!

Something unusual happened yesterday. Louis-Justin and I were taking a walk to the mailbox to send a customer's order. (Her name is Cerrisa - isn't it pretty?!)

It was very sunny, so Louis-Justin was making weird faces!




We were walking back home when an old man on a motorized wheelchair just threw a stuffed animal at us! He said that it was " for the kid". I said thanks and asked him a question, but he didn't answer and just went away. How weird!

Louis-Justin was trying to protect his eyes from the sun, so he doesn't look too happy in the pictures - but he was!





We're going to the mailbox again right now to send another order and a letter to my penpal Marie-France from France!

Julie xox

Toothbrush holders

This week, I bought something fun for the bathroom. Let me show you!

Well, Louis-Justin will show you.

These are little animals that hold our toothbrushes!

Louis-Justin loves his cow!

I bought one for everyone. Mine is the Golden Retriever!

Nicolas has the dino...

Mario has one too (the tiger) since he sleeps here once in a while.

I got them at a bookstore near my house, but you can find them online too at MyFlipper.com!

Aren't they cute?!

Julie xox

Dads

Meet Nicolas, Louis-Justin's dad! He and I have been separated for over 2 and a half years, but we're still excellent friends. I'm so grateful that my little guy has such a great dad!







My own dad died almost 4 years ago of lung cancer. He would have turned 59 years old on May 26. He too was a great dad! Here's one of my favorite photos of him with Louis-Justin and my mom, a few months before my dad passed away.


To all the wonderful dads out there!

Julie xox