Paperless Post

It's better than Evite.  Paperless Post provides a format for designing and sending beautiful, classic invitations, announcements and holiday cards.  Recipients get an envelope in their email that opens when clicked on, unveiling the invitation.  Sample invitations include:

 

Image from here.  The quality is much better in the actual invitation. 

Granted, this isn't the same as getting an actual item in the mail, but it is cheaper, greener and a much needed improvement over the current online invitation platforms.  The service isn't free, but it is really, really cheap.  Invitations are managed by buying books of stamps, just like at the post office.  You can purchase 40 stamps (for 40 invitations) for only $5, or 150 stamps for $10.  You get 25 free stamps by signing up here, and they never expire.  

The possibilities are really endless.  This service could be used for anything from baby announcements to save-the-dates to dinner party invitations.  Also, they offer logo integration, which will allow businesses to announce openings, introduce new team members and even invite customers to special events. 

I recently used the service to send New Year's greeting cards, but I wouldn't hesitate a minute to use the service for a party.  It includes invitation tracking and an automatic RSVP function.  There are endless options to choose from when designing your invitation or announcement.  I definitely recommend browsing around the site and using the 25 free stamps to send out an announcement or invitation of some sort, even if it's just having friends over for wine.

Merry Christmas!

A great idea in theory

Trouble is, I don't remember what that was.  

Dreaming of warmer weather.

This photo makes me happy.

From here.  Taken for OUMA Clothing by Steph DeSage.

The small things

Excuse me for a moment

but, I am a tad under the weather.  From here.  Be back soon.  

Hmph.

Early Christmas Gift!

It's the coveted Henri Bendel umbrella!!  Thanks bf!!

Cookies and Cocktails

My sister....

...is coming to town on Monday and I am uber-excited.  Uber!  And in celebration, I'm throwing a little Christmas soiree for her on December 18th.  Complete with cookie decorating, cupcakes, savory appetizers, and cocktails galore.  It's set to be the Christmas event of the season....well, for my sister and me, anyway.  :-)

The bf and I are also building a gingerbread house as the centerpiece for the yet-to-be-assembled table.  It's my very first gingerbread house.  The instructions are several pages long and there has already been a hairdryer mishap.  And, just to be clear, these things take hours, HOURS, to complete.  I'll have pictures later. 

The party, on the other hand, is going to be super exciting.  Here's the evite picture to wet your whistle:

Star Drug Store

My favorite restaurant of the entire trip was Star Drug Store.  It's an old-fashioned diner with a bar surrounding the kitchen.  Not only did the restaurant offer bookoos of nostalgia points, the food was great!!

 

The food portions were so huge, the bf and I had to split our old-fashioned patty melt.

Do you see that pickle folks?  That's a fantastic pickle.  A pickle is how you know you're in the right place.  It should have a nice *snap* when you bite into it.  This one was absolutely perfect.

The reason we split the meal (I didn't share the pickle) was mostly to save room for their specialty:

Worth it!!

Star Drug Store gets a 5 out of 5 spoons rating from me.  The classic diner decor with the warm and welcoming waitress/cooks/owner-hostess, combined with exceptional food, make this place a can't miss restaurant on your next trip to Galveston, Texas.

More of Galveston

So, me and the bf took a short little trip to Galveston, Texas, this week for a little R&R.  We both love to travel and it is cost effective to road-trip within the a four hour radius.  Therefore, Galveston was this months mini-excursion.

My favorite part of the vacation had to be Moody Gardens.  The aquarium was quite enjoyable.  Not only did I see a bunch of this:

I purchased this:

Penguin art!!  The aquarium has several enrichment projects for the penguins there.  Original artwork is one of them.  I decided to contribute to the enrichment fund by purchasing this masterpiece by a King Penguin named Biggio.  Evidently my purchase helps purchase other enrichment projects, some of which include traffic cones.  Yay for traffic cones!!

We stayed at the Hotel Galvez, which is a beautiful historic hotel complete with an ocean view!!  It was beautiful.  Here's a small taste (hehehe) of the hotel:

There were several issues with the hotel, but they ended up giving us the room for free (and threw in breakfast), so I highly recommend it.  Breakfast included this:

 Your own personal baby jars of jam.  Love it!!!  Anywhooo....good experience with the hotel overall.

We spent a day wandering around the city, looking at all the beautiful sights:

There were a few reminders of Hurricane Ike, but it seems the town has been rebuilt quite nicely.

 

It was a great trip overall.  Favorite Galveston restaurant post to come!!

Antiquing in Gavelston

Off to Galveston for a little R&R

I wanna look like this: