Like the rest of the world, I'm smitten with the Blair Family. Gabby (whom I have already gushed about) is spending a year in France with her husband Ben and their six, yes, six children. And if following their adventures wasn't already so much fun, the family of eight just launched a new video series called Olive Us, created to inspire and educate other families. It so darned charming! Henry even likes it. We watched the trailer and the extended trailer when they were released. A few days later, he asked to watch "Mama's movie." It took me a while to realize Henry meant Olive Us.

So, yes, Family Blair, you have two fans right here, eagerly awaiting the next episode.

Photo by Gabrielle Blair

...The redesign of food and photography blog Shutterbean.com! You may remember Tracy Benjamin as one of my Friends & Neighbors featured last year (a feature I hope to revive soon). She's been a steadfast friend and supporter of mine for years, so when she asked if I would help redesign her blog I had to say yes. Not only do we both like a good dose of carbs, but we also share a love of typography. Finding inspiration was easy. My challenge was to create a type-centered design that also provided a clean canvas for her photography. Tracy has been blogging for several years, so I also helped her organize the overwhelming amount of content.

Two of my favorite features are above. The chalkboard menu inspired navigation box (left) and the bistro menu inspired recipe index (right), the latter of which will get your mouth watering in no time. I also created a recipe card that clicks to a printable version, which you will no doubt be using over and over again because her recipes are that good.

I'll be honest: April kicked my butt. But looking back, I can see some glimpses of happiness amidst the stress and chaos. So, here's a good, glad & lovely list in the photos. 

May is already proving to be a little gentler, thank goodness. I am hoping that means more time for more posts. There's just so much I want to share with you.

The Good, The Glad & The Lovely is an experiment in gratitude. I've been keeping lists of good things in one form or another since I was a girl. I hope you'll join me as I count the positive, accept the not-so-great, and try to do a bit of good, too. 

I've got my nose to the Macbook these days. I'm working on some super fun projects, many of which I hope to reveal very soon. In the meantime, check out the post I wrote for Rena Tom's blog the other day about fonts and typography. I shared some of my favorite spots on the web to find fonts and geek out. Sadly, that will be my last contributor post for Rena, as I've decided to focus on Darling. Thanks, Rena, for letting me share my two cents on branding, web design, and inspiration!

Alphabet by Diego Sanzsalas

Last week, I met my friend for Marisa for brunch. Now Marisa and I both know how to talk. In fact, the last time we got together for a meal just the two of us, we ended up with parking tickets because we completely lost track of time. Over brunch, we shared another perfect conversation filled with stories and secrets, nods and laughter. Throughout it all, I just kept thinking, "You get me. You really get me." 

I am lucky to have a handful of people in my life like that—people who just get me. I know that, and I cherish every single one of them. But I started thinking...this is the kind of gratitude that needs to be shared, don't you think? So I made some cards to send as friendly reminders, letting my family and friends know how I feel.

While I'm sharing, I figured why not share the cards with you, because you probably have someone you want to thank, too. Well, here you are! There are three Friendly Reminder cards, ready to download, print, and share. They'll fit snugly into an A2 envelope, but they're also perfect for dropping into lunches, slipping under doors, or leaving on windshields. 

DOWNLOAD + PRINT 

This week's Good, Glad & Lovely list:

- Late-night conversations with Rama after our kids have gone to bed.
- Hearing them babble and giggle in their bedroom the following morning.
- Glitter covered messes. 
- Baby girl play dates.
- Walks in the neighborhood, Henry leading the way.
- Hot cocoa, popcorn, and movies on a rainy day.
- Mad Men is back!
- People who aren't afraid to admit they like TV as much as I do. 
- Potato leek pizza with fresh thyme and gruyere cheese.
- Coffee with a spoonful of gelato.
- Reaching the bottom of the pile of papers.
- Knowing a bad day—even a bad week—cannot last, and letting me just feel it.

What are your good things today?

The Good, The Glad & The Lovely is an experiment in gratitude. I've been keeping lists of good things in one form or another since I was a girl. I hope you'll join me as I count the positive, accept the not-so-great, and try to do a bit of good, too. 

Over the weekend, we celebrated my godson Milo's 2nd birthday. He's 6 months younger than Henry, so I decided to make a gift that Henry received—and loved—last Christmas: Homemade play dough with all the fixins. 

First I started by making a freezer stencil tote bag, along with two accessory pouches—one for the dough tools, another for cookie cutters. Unlike the last time I made freezer stencil tees, I hand-drew letters directly onto the freezer paper and traced the actual tools for the silhouettes.

While those were drying, I made the play dough using a recipe from my nephew's teacher's mom. Making the dough was easy, but coloring it took a bit of trial and error. I used some gel food coloring, but it bled all over my hands. Oops. I later read on HelloBee that another brand might have been better. 

Everything went into the tote bag, and I finished it with a tag I designed and printed. I hope he liked it as much as I do!

During both of my pregnancies, my creative well went dry. I felt as if all my creative energy was being used to make these tiny humans and there was none left over for the work I wanted to do. They were the longest nine months. Once I gave birth, of course, the inspiration and energy came surging back. The problem? I had so many! great! ideas!, but with new babies in tow I didn't have the time to act on them.

It was a frustrating and, honestly, a depressing, period for me. I was so used to getting things done right when I wanted to, but now I had to wait for this moment I wasn't even sure would come. In the meantime, I felt like life was passing me by.

But then I read this quote by Gabrielle Blair.

Gabby, who is an inspiring mom of six, wrote about balancing work and life balance on her blog, Design Mom: "Your baby may not always be so snuggly. Your curious preschooler may not always assume you know the answers to every question. Embrace your current life. And when it’s hard to embrace, know the next season is coming faster than you think."

When I read those words, something settled in me. Gabby was totally right. This time in my life was so precious, and it would never come again. My ideas, on the other hand, weren't going anywhere. If anything, they would become richer because of my experiences as a mom.

So here I am, with a 2 1/2 year old and a 7 month old, and it is nuts. But it gets easier. And then it gets harder, and then it gets easier, again. In midst of it all I am slowly finding my way back to myself, I am finding energy, and I am finding time. But on the days and weeks when I can't, I just throw my hands in the air and embrace life.

This week's Good, Glad & Lovely list:

- Saying "yes" to adventure.
- Watching the Oscars. It's my Super Bowl.
- Ideas that are so good you can't stop thinking about them.
- Nervously sharing one of those ideas with a few friends and discovering that they feel exactly the same way.
- My husband who brings me home a pint of my favorite gelato just because (and adding a spoonful to my cup of coffee in the morning just because).
- A perfect soft-boiled egg.
- Introducing my children to the not-quite-related aunties, uncles, and cousins with whom I grew up.
- Weather for cuddling.
- "Lovely Day" by Elizabeth Mitchell, a sweet little song.
- The simple but beautiful work of my new friend, Joke.

What are your good things today?

The Good, The Glad & The Lovely is an experiment in gratitude. I've been keeping lists of good things in one form or another since I was a girl. I hope you'll join me as I count the positive, accept the not-so-great, and try to do a bit of good, too.

I first met artist Mati Rose McDonough several years ago at sushi. "Hi," she said, "I'm Mati." She must get asked about her name a lot because she quickly added, "Like Ahoy, Matey!" I have gotten to enjoy several more meals with Mati over the years, and yes, and she is just as delightful as her artwork suggests. Colorful, warm, bold, and friendly.

The icing on the cake? Last year, she asked me to redesign her website. The new site houses her bursting portfolio, info about the classes she teaches and her new book coming out this summer, and an inspiring blog. It just launched this week, so check it out. 

Friday is the day I spend solo with the kids, and because I am not really a homebody I like to take them out of the house and on some kind of adventure, even if it just means going to Trader Joe's or our favorite kid-friendly coffee shop. We like to go on play dates, too, but I've recently discovered that impromptu gatherings are the best for me and my friends and our unpredictable munchkins. In the past month alone saying "yes" to last-minute adventure has taken us to gelato dates, brunch at our friends' house, and walks to the park. So when we were invited out last Friday, I knew what I had to say. 

With kids in tow, Henry, Maira, and I ventured off to the downtown LA arts district to visit the Geronimo Balloons studio. Henry wasn't so sure about the neighborhood as walked from the car to the nondescript brick building, but once we entered Jihan's gorgeous and colorful space, he was in heaven. So was I.

We met old friends and new friends, and Henry had an encounter with a very big and cheerful pink balloon. The day was complete with a lunch at Urth Cafe and a surprise visit to our friends at Poketo, too. Thanks to Jihan, Ted, and Angie for opening their doors to our rambunctious crew.

When Rama and I first met, he lived in Portland, I lived in Los Angeles, and writing letters was a big part of our friendship-turned-courtship. Once we were officially dating, I started writing what I called "love letters." They were one- or two-sentence notes scrawled on scraps of paper and post-its that said things like: "L is for laughter. We laugh so hard my cheeks hurt."

I wrote a lot of those notes in our first year or two of dating. I'd slip them under Rama's door and sneak them on the dashboard of his car. I always meant to get through the whole alphabet, and last year I finally did. I thought it would be sweet to present them to Rama for our 5th anniversary in some kind of wooden box (in line with the traditional wedding anniversary guidelines that we so nerdily follow).

I wanted the box to look like it had been sitting in the attic, so I bought a vintage recipe box from Etsy and a vintage label holder at an antique hardware store. I cut alphabet dividers, using index card dividers as a template, and hand stamped the letters onto each. I typed the "love letters" label on my trusty typewriter.

I made stationery by scanning my favorite security envelope liners that I've collected over the years. The notes were laid out in Illustrator and printed on the reverse side of these patterned pages. Each note fit into a kraft coin envelope that I labeled with my amateur calligraphy. 

I was so happy with the way it turned out, and thankfully Rama was too.