Bob and I went shopping down Del Mar Street today in San Clemente. While there, I always have to visit one of my favorite shops, Erba. You know my obsession with soaps and paper so if you could see this store you would know why I am inexorably drawn to it. Today though, I was on a mission. You see, K, is coming to visit next week and it just so happens that she will be here on her birthday! Well of course we must make sure this will be a grand occasion for her. That being said, I wanted to find the perfect gift (which I did!).

So trying to keep that in mind and think "K" not "me" I began to shop and Lord help me, I almost bought two new absolutely beautiful boxes of stationery! For me! As I was lovingly caressing them, Bob, the ever logical one says, "You're kidding right?".

"What!!?? Honey, look at these! I need them for my birthday thank yous!" I answered. Yes, I did just admit out loud that I have yet to write them. And yes, my birthday WAS in June! Please keep in mind that immediately after my birthday I had a MAJOR life change and July was a very stressful month.

"Do you know how many boxes of stationery we have in our garage??!!!" He implored.

"Uggghhhh..... okay FINE!" I just had to give in. He was right after all! So I begrudgingly put them back and I swear I feel like I left a piece of me behind in that store! A girl can NEVER have too much stationery. You never know what situation might come up that you need the perfect card for! And it had glitter on it too! :( Oh well, my little beauties, I might be back for you someday....

-M.

Photos compliments of someone who DOES have a cord for her camera! I really must rectify this situation.

Oh what the heck. I have been hesitant to post since I don't have a cable to transfer photos from my camera and therefore am at the mercy of the camera on my phone. So I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos I will be posting in the next couple of weeks. Unless by some miracle I find a place around here that has the crazy connector that this camera requires. No simple USB cables for me!

It is now day 3 of my 3 weeks of pure happiness in Dana Point. Truly my sister has made a home here that is serenity embodied! You cannot be in her house and not find peace. You never want to leave!

I have been spending my days cooking and baking. The very things I planned on doing. Monday I endeavoured to make a caramelized leek-and-celery tart. It turned out pretty good if you don't count the fact that I made my own version of the dough recipe since I didn't want to use vegetable shortening and therefore my crust was a little too dry. That and the fact that I forgot to put in an essential spice for flavor! Honestly! My husband just rolled his eyes when I told him. He knows all too well that this is unfortunately something I do on a regular basis. Like the time when I made lemon bars and forgot to add the lemon juice. Or the time I baked banana bread and realized I forgot to add the eggs to the dough 5 minutes after I put it in the oven!

Well every day brings another culinary adventure! Bob says not to give up on the tarts since he knows I love them so much and have had several successes in the past. It's just sort of a large bummer when you spend the entire day making the darn thing and it doesn't turn out exactly as you hoped.

All I can say is wow how my life has changed when the only bummer in my day is how my baking turns out!

-M.

p.s. yah, the beautiful photo above is from tipnut. Not my camera!

Well, I'm off. To California that is. Remember my grand sister that has a beach house in the Dana Point area? Well she is just so wonderful as to let Bob and I go there whenever we like, so we are leaving tomorrow for 3 weeks! Yes people, 3 weeks! I really don't know what I am going to do with all of this 'downtime' on my hands. But it's a good thing. I planned this as soon as I knew I was going to close M & Co. I knew I would need some time to get my head together.

The only thing I know for sure about my life right now is that I am going to cook and bake like a crazy woman and that I am going to continue the blog. Since I am computer challenged I won't get the new blog up and running until I get home in September. I am hoping to recruit my neighbor Courtney to help me. :) Hi Court! In the meantime, I will be posting from California on the current M & Co. blog.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-M.

Picture from Craig Wolf Photography. His photos are amazing!

Life Post M & Co.

Hmmmm..... life post M & Co..... MAJOR ADJUSTMENT!!! I would like to say that the last week (my first week of freedom) was filled with bon bons and lunches with friends. The sad truth is that I was so depressed last week I didn't do anything! This is going to take some time to get used to. I mean, M & Co. was my constant companion for 10 years! I don't know what it means to not have to go to work or check in constantly (even while on vacation), or have a solid nights' sleep, and just chill.

But I am working really hard on relaxing! That's my new job right now. Well, that and housework but I'll get to that later. When mid week rolled around and I was starting to feel better mentally, I realized that physically I needed to let go as well. I have carried so much tension in my body all of these years that I literally don't know how to let it go. So, I got a massage last Thursday. The gal tried to beat me into submission and did a pretty good job of softening my muscles, but we both agreed it is going to take several times to get me loosened up. She even told me I had tension in my face! She said maybe from clenching my jaws? Who me, be tense while sleeping? I look back now on the previous massages I've had and remember concentrating so hard on trying to relax and feeling my body rigid even while they were massaging. I couldn't wait to get off the table because an hour of "down time" gave me a lot of time to think of all the things I had to get done at the store. What kind of life is that?! Don't answer that. I already know.

Every day I am feeling better and am trying to figure out some kind of organization for my life.

I can't wait to see what each new day brings!

-M.

So long M & Co. So sad to see you go!

Well, it's officially over. This is what is left of M & Co. Our beautiful cash wrap! (Does anyone want to buy it?) The last few days of the sale were a complete frenzy. Thank you to all of you who came out and helped me unload some inventory.

Since the above picture is so entirely sad, I have decided to add some photos of the store in the Glory days. Boy, did we have fun and have great product to sell! I hope you enjoy these and the memories!

-M.

The final countdown!

This is the final week of M & Co. Papery and we are CLEARING everything out! The entire store is 60% right now, with some items marked down more than 75% off. Be sure to come in on Thursday and Friday when I will be marking things down to beyond low!

I am so sad to see the end of M & Co. It has been so much fun! And I certainly loved shopping for all of those specialty items. And even though I am looking forward to a lot of time off, this is one of the hardest things I have ever done!

Domestic Bliss and I are having a Final Farewell party for M & Co. this Thursday night at M & Co. from 6 until 10 p.m. I really hope you all can make it. It will be a bittersweet ending to what has been an incredible time in my life!

-M.

(click to enlarge)

P.S. A special thank you to the girls at Zuzu's Petals (the incredible flower shop around the corner from M & Co.). They have been so kind as to send me not one but two of the most beautiful floral arrangements! One for each of the last two weeks. I have tried to photograph them to show you but my pics are not doing them justice. Thank you so much girls! Your flowers give me something to smile about.

Renovations!

These are just a few pictures of the renovations that were made to the current M & Co. location. As mentioned, this was all done in July with no air conditioning! So thanks again to my family and friends who helped me out with all of the free labor even though it was so terribly hot.


I will never forget borrowing my friend Paul's turbo fan to use while painting the walls only to discover that it was completely pink from over spray when we were done! Or getting decked out with gas masks (OK maybe they were only those flimsy white kind) to spray the moldy wall with bleach! Or the hours upon hours of muscle aching, painstaking, scraping of the front windows with my niece Jessica.


I wouldn't trade these memories for the world! The store was the realization of a dream!


-M.

Two weeks left!

The sale has been going incredibly well and things are moving fast! Time seems to be moving just as quickly. I can't believe there are only two weeks left for M & Co. Papery. :( Again with the mixed bag of emotions! Thankfully each day has been so busy I haven't had much time to think about it. The other bonus is having Dan and Kristin working the sale with me.

These are some pieces of furniture and fixtures that we have left to sell. Please call me ASAP if you are interested in any of these fabulous pieces. I am not kidding when I say that people have been a little nutso over wanting to get a particular piece of furniture only to find out that it sold just before they let me know.

Also, this week everything in the store is 50% off! There are still incredible invitations, Christmas and Halloween necessities, napkins and plates, aprons, beautiful glass jars and ribbon left to sell.

#1 Our crystal chandelier which is much more glorious in person! $800 O.B.O. #2 Custom built bookcase would be perfect for a large space. Sorry I forgot to get dimensions on all pieces. $2200 O.B.O.

#3 Black and tan coffee table $225 O.B.O. #4 Farmhouse table with four chairs $300 O.B.O.

#5 Large round table $500 O.B.O. #6 Small round table $300 (I adore these tables! They are seriously well built!)

#7 Antique hand carved table with black glass top $2100 O.B.O.

#8 and #9 Buffet tables. Two green (shown back to back) and one tan left to sell. $400 each

Domestic Bliss keeps bringing in great new stuff for their sale. They just re-stocked on Saturday so come in on Monday and get some great deals!

-M.

Memories (part I)

These photos are of the current M & Co. Papery location. This is what the space looked like before we moved in and renovated! Lots of work to be done!

Don't forget 40% off of our entire store right now!

-M.

(what is this thing? I think it used to be heater! Scary!)

Whew! It has been a LONG, LONG week! As you know our sale started last Monday and I cannot believe how much has sold over the last week. The furniture has been selling like hot cakes and I am happy to see how many of you have been stocking up on your stationery and invitation supplies. You never know what you might need!

Over the last week the most frequent question I have been getting is what I am going to do next. The unfortunate thing is that I have no idea. I’ll tell you one thing it’s going to be a whole lot of nothing for a long time! I don’t know what life will bring me next but I am sure looking forward to it.

Our sale continues this Monday with 40% off the entire store! There are still a lot of goodies left so come on in and scoop them up. And Domestic Bliss of course has some incredible sale items they keep bringing in. I already have a stock pile of treats I am buying from them.

I asked my husband the other night if it’s possible to be completely depressed AND completely happy at the SAME TIME! That’s how I am feeling right now so if you come in and I seem a little half-brained it’s because I can’t even keep a straight thought in my head for more than 10 seconds. It’s crazy!

I will be posting pics of M & Co. through the years for you see. I am really bummed that I don’t have any pictures of our original tiny spot that we opened in. These are pictures of our last location. Enjoy the memories!

-M.

Dear Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I am letting you know that I am closing M & Co. Papery. I am having difficulty even trying to convey what that means to me. I have absolutely LOVED having M & Co. There is not one moment that I regret the hard work and struggles of owning my own business.

It is with great fondness that I look back at all of the memories from the beginning to the end. I have enjoyed getting to know each and everyone of you through the years. I have been so fortunate to follow customers through their weddings invitations, birth announcements, and then birthday parties. Some of the kids are eight years old now!

Stacie, Alex, Lisa, and all of my wonderful employees, thank you for your hard work, loyalty and friendship. God really blessed me with each of you. You guys have taught me so much about myself and life. Mostly patience! Just kidding! I could not have maintained my sanity without having you guys to fall back on.

Kristin, I cannot find the words to thank you for all that you have done for me and M & Co. I remember walking into your just opened store, Domestic Bliss, and thinking how great it would be to realize my childhood dream of having a store of my own. It is through your encouragement that I went out on a limb and opened M & Co. in the back of your shop. Those were the days! We had no idea what we were doing but we sure had fun! Your friendship and support during very hard retail times has been invaluable.

And of course my family and friends who have given me lots of free labor, thank you! Dorie, with her amazing decorating skills who came in countless times to whip the store into shape, Michele, who gave me business advice and made up all of my postcards and advertising for free! Paul and LeAnna who worked so hard with me in July with no air conditioning to get the current space ready to move into. You guys are the greatest!

So, in order to wrap things up at M & Co, we are having a HUGE sale starting Monday, July 6th and continuing throughout the entire month! And, the best part is that Domestic Bliss is going to bring in a ton of their sale stuff to add to the sale frenzy! I am so excited about the sale and even though it is the end of M & Co, I can’t wait to see what life will bring next!

I would love to see all of you and get the chance to say goodbye and thank you so please drop in! We will be open Monday through Saturday and closing for good on Friday, July 31st.

-M.

Just look at this fab new bag we just got in! This Anna Griffin Laptop Office Tote features 100% laminated cotton exterior, adjustable handles, a padded laptop compartment and pockets for a cell phone, PDA and writing instruments. I love the contrasting fabric interior! And, if you're like me and not cool enough to have a Laptop that needs toting, you can use it for your traveling necessities like magazines, books, etc. Of course I'm probably just going to use it as my purse since I just love the orange and red print for summer!

Let me know if you would like to pick up one of these totes at the store or we can order one in for you. There are several patterns to choose from!

-M.

p.s. How is the letter writing coming along? Hopefully you are all getting writer's cramp by now!

It's Monday again and I have a great goal for the week! How about writing someone you know and love a thank you note or just a thinking of you letter? I think there is no better time than now to brighten some one's day by sending them a note the good old fashioned way... through the mail!

Don't think too hard about it or you will never do it. Just grab whatever stationery you have handy and put some words down on paper. Or stop by the store where we are happy to help you pick out some stationery or order your own personalized!

Make someone happy this week. And who knows, it just may be you receiving a letter in the mail!

-M.

In celebration of tomatoes, and in anticipation of my own from my garden, I am posting some pictures of recent tomato loving endeavours Bob and I have cooked. My neighbor recently loaned me a stack of books on preserving vegetables. Let me tell you, they are scary! I am a more than a little overwhelmed at the amount of charts and ratios in them. However, our tomatoes continue to grow at an exorbitant rate and I need to be ready to use or store every single one of these beauties!

The top photo is of some bruschetta we made one Friday for Happy Hour. The bottom photo is a pizza we made last Monday when we got home from California. We like to keep pizza dough from Trader Joe's in the freezer. That makes for an easy meal when you can roll it out and top it with anything in the fridge.

Have a great weekend and send me some photos of any yummy tomato creations or recipes you may have!

-M.

High Stylin' Soiree

These are pictures from Kristin's amazing Bohemian Bliss Soiree. This was such an incredible event. I am really sorry if you missed it. Atleast you can view the photos and make a mental note to definitely attend her next flea market. She had the most amazing vendors. And the best part was how many people dressed up in their vintage best!

(Me and my family going 'green' to the soiree)

(beautiful Kristin)