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For Christmas, my sister-in-law, Vanessa, gave Peter and me the Q & A a Day by Potter Style. The five year journal prompts a question a day with ample space for five answers. Each year, you are meant to answer the questions and then start over at the beginning of the book on January 1st. Vanessa gave us this thoughtful gift so that Peter and I could go through it and answer the questions together. I presume that we’ll be shocked by how we change over the first five years of our marriage!

Because each slot begins with “20__” you can start the book at any time during the year, making it a great gift for Valentine’s day! Peter and I enjoy answering our question together each night. Sometimes our answers speak to our individual situations and sometimes they reflect on where we are as a couple. Regardless, it usually sparks a fun coversation before we go to sleep.

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Thanks Vanessa!

It’s a cold and rainy day here in Texas, so I’m spending the evening flipping through Gifted.  So far I’ve found a bunch of really adorable ideas for wrapping gifts this year, like these paper pom poms. I can’t say that I’m usually a fancy gift wrapper, but maybe this year is the time to start!

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What did yall think of Gifted?

]]> http://www.startingoutsavvy.com/2010/11/gifted/feed/ 0 http://www.startingoutsavvy.com/2010/08/im-famous/ http://www.startingoutsavvy.com/2010/08/im-famous/#comments Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:15:39 +0000 Jamie Lee http://www.startingoutsavvy.com/?p=1322 Well, sort of–okay not really. A couple weeks ago I did something that I’ve been wanting to do for a really long time. I attended a class at the Little Flower School. Coincidently, a reporter and photographer from the New York Times happened to be covering the class. So, last Thursday I was quoted and pictured in the home and garden section of the paper. It looked a little something like this.

See this awkward looking girl right here?

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That would be me. Surprisingly enough a couple of people actually found the article on their own and contacted me about it. I think the weirdest connection was a guy who I studied abroad with read the article while he was on a train in Tokyo and then facebook messaged me about it. Crazy! Anyway, you can read the article here. Below are my feelings about the class.

I’ve been longing to take one of these classes since they started popping up everywhere in the blogosphere, so you can imagine how excited I was when there was an opening in a class during the time that I was in Brooklyn. I was a bit terrified when I arrived because I really don’t have much experience when it comes to arranging flowers. In fact, usually when Peter buys me flowers I let him put them in the vase for me—wait, does that make me a terrible woman?

Anyway, I was immediately entranced by all of the beautiful flowers.

And despite my fear of doing horribly in the class, things turned out really well. I got a lot of hands on instruction and the teachers weren’t afraid to jump in and make suggestions. Everyone’s arrangements turned out beautifully and they were all very different. We each got lost in our own little worlds for a few hours and when we looked up the room was covered in discarded stems and wild looking little bits of art. It was amazing and worth every penny.

I can’t imagine having that many flowers at my disposal any time ever again. Two fabulous things came out of the class. First, I remembered how wonderfully satisfying it is to spend time away from the computer and create something tangible. Second, I realized that as fun as it is to make flower arrangements, doing one and getting it right takes quite a bit of time. Peter and I had originally thought about doing our own flowers for the wedding, but after having a little bit of hands on experience, I’m happy to outsource this task. Plus, Sarah recommended a  florist who is just starting a business in Austin! How amazing is that?! Maybe I will recommend some of the really great flowers that we got to use like this scabiosa pod:

and this one:

and this black basil:

Okay, here’s one last picture of my arrangement from the Little Flower School website. I will venture to say that its a bit more advanced than my last stint with flower arranging.

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Gush! I’m envious of this beautiful world that Nicolette and Sarah get to work in.

Had I been able to take a better photo, you probably would have loved them too. If you look closely you can sort of make out Peter’s and my reflections. The museum price was a little too high (plus we already own salt and pepper shakers), but I think they would make a really sweet housewarming gift for someone. I also just found these on the Art Institute of Chicago’s museum shop website.

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With so many elegant options for your salt and pepper, there’s no reason to settle for a grocery store set.