Happy Monday!

I love summertime and all of the food that comes with it. Peaches, apricots, and berries, berries, berries! All of this makes me want to have my oven on 24/7 with a constant stream of pies, jams, and other goodies coming out of it. Of course, just as all of these culinary goods are reaching the supermarket, the temperature outside is usually reaching the typical 200°.

Not this weekend! We here in Phoenix are enjoying a very lovely “Spring” (The official start of summer not being ‘til the 21^st of June). This being said, it was a beautiful weekend! My husband and I were able to do a number of our never-ending house projects without sweltering in the heat. We invited some friends over and enjoyed a balmy evening on the patio dining on barbecued salmon, coleslaw and cornbread! It was a feast! And nothing beats a nice glass of white wine in the summer.

I am posting photos of some of my favorite things from this weekend. First, I absolutely had to share this recipe for a great twist on the classic caprese salad. (I found it in one of my Bon Appetit magazines from last summer). Simply layer sliced peaches, fresh mozzarella slices, and basil leaves; season with sea salt and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil! Delicious! And summer perfect!

Secondly, I had to share a photo of the doughnuts my nieces made on Sunday. Clearly they too felt it was cool enough outside to still do some cooking that requires a lot of heat! I thought they turned out perfect. Especially when delivered by the sweetest girls ever!

Happy Monday!

-M.

Travel Plans

I love to travel, even if it’s only in my mind. Sometimes I just daydream about being somewhere else. Sandy beaches, warm breeze, the smell of the ocean… or somewhere romantic like Paris (where I’ve never been). I love to picture the Eiffel tower at night with the twinkling lights of the city all around us as we dine on something fabulous like crepes suzette!

This is the reason for the latest project my husband and I just completed in our office at home. I purchased a map of the United States and a world map with the idea of hanging them on the wall for us to track our travels and our planned travels. I won’t bore you with the details on how long it took me to actually figure out how to do it and get it done! Instead, I will just tell you how we did it!

• I found the maps at OfficeMax ($9.99 each!). They are beautiful!
• Knowing what size the maps were, we painted a beige border on the wall to ‘frame’ the maps (my husband used a level to mark the lines).
• I discovered that you can buy large foam board from Michael’s in their framing department. I first purchased the foam board ($16.99 each), mounted the map with double stick tape, (we carry a large 3M tape gun at the store with ¼” to ½” tape), and then carted the whole thing back to Michael’s to be cut. We decided to leave a 1” border of foam board around the map to make it stand out from the beige background.
• To insure the maps laid flat against the wall, we used 3M picture hanging strips on the back of the foam board.

I absolutely love the results! Now we can put push pins into the foam board to denote our travels, exactly as we had wanted! And best of all, I can stare at my maps and dream of all of the wonderful places I have yet to explore!

A couple of things to note:

• One of my friends since informed me that there is a great spray adhesive on the market that would have also worked to tack the map to the board. (Super 77 by 3M. What would we do without this company?)

• No matter what they tell you at the craft store, DO NOT USE DECOUPAGE! Trust me!

• The craft store suggested mounting the maps first before cutting the border as it is hard to mount them exactly where you want them to go. I wholeheartedly agree!

If you have any great ideas on how to improve on this project, please share! I would love to hear it!

I haven’t finished decorating the room yet, and I plan to paint a travel quote above the maps. Here are a few of my favorite quotes in case you get inspired:

"The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway." ~Henry Boye

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” - Lao Tzu

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by.” - Robert Frost

-M.

Weddings at M & Co. Papery

I love to show the invitations being ordered from our store, and our brides are always happy to share them with you. However, since we are at the front end of the weddings, we don’t usually get to see photos from the ceremony. As many of you know, Stacie (one of our great employees) got married last September and she provided me with several photos from her beautiful wedding which was held at the Hassayampa Inn in Prescott, Arizona. I hope you enjoy them, and if you have any questions, Stacie is always willing to talk about her wedding!

I decided to ask Stacie a few questions that I thought you might like to know:

1. Besides your invitations (from M & Co. Papery), what was your favorite thing about your wedding?
I loved my dress! Although I loved everything about my wedding!

2. What did you have the most difficult time with?
Believe it or not, picking out my invitations! I thought working here would make it easy, but when it came down to it, I couldn't decide!

3. What was your most memorable moment?
Seeing all of my friends and family at the reception and being able to visit with people that love us!

4. What advice do you have for future brides?
Be true to yourself! Remember that it's your wedding, not everyone else's!

*Thanks to http://andersoncreativeaz.com/ for the photos! - M.

Papaya, Papaya, Papaya!

I absolutely adore Papaya paper products! I could order everything they make! Check out these envelope sets (6 envelopes w/6 matching scalloped edged flat-note cards) and wrapping paper that will be in the store in June. I can't wait! I am already gripping my pen in anticipation of writing lovely letters on this beautiful stationery!
And wait 'til you see the home office products they came out with. Unfortunately, they will not be released until August, but you can be sure I will have them in the store! Enjoy these beauties and be sure to stop by and get your fill!
-M.

Happy Tuesday!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend! I spent the holiday in California. The crazy thing is that I left Arizona to enjoy some cooler temps and I sure got what I asked for! It was freezing and raining the majority of the weekend. In fact, it was so cold on Thursday when we drove over there that it snowed on the freeway! Snow! In Southern California! At the end of May! Thankfully that did not put a damper on our fun with family. On the other hand, the weather in Arizona was beautiful this past weekend. Oh well, you just can't win sometimes. And what was up with the traffic on the way home? It was smooth sailing the entire time! Didn't anyone else go out of town?
Anyhow, I thought I would share with you a picture of the cupcakes that I made in the 'Cupcake Class' at Blissful Living last week! How stinkin' cute are these!? I thought these would be perfect to make with black and orange fabrics for Halloween. Then of course, more for Christmas.
Have a great short work week!
-M.

Blissful Living

We all need a little creative inspiration at some point in our lives. Luckily for me, when I need some, I don’t have far to go. My friend Kristin, owner of Domestic Bliss, is possibly the most talented and creative person I have ever met! Whenever I am in a rut, either at the store, or at home, all I need to do is tap her creative energy. She can come up with a million ideas for anything at any time. And, she always aims for the stars. This is why she is so successful in her beautiful store and her recently opened “Blissful Living” studio.

Kristin opened the studio to offer a place where you can find inspiration to help you make the most of each day and live each moment with purpose and creativity. There is a great selection of fun classes like jewelry making, organizing your life, sewing, candle making, great gift making, (just to name a few) and the most amazing list of teachers! It will definitely boost your creativity just being around them! You can check out the schedule on the blissfullivingstudio.com website. I just took the yoga class (my first), and I cannot believe what a great workout it was! I am still sore – 3 days later! I have also signed up for a couple of sewing classes. (something I have always been wanting to learn) So next time you are visiting our store, or are just in downtown Mesa, make sure you plan time to check out the Blissful Living Studio. You won’t be disappointed!

-M.

*Photo from Sadie Olive

Weddings at M & Co. Papery!

Customer Shauna Hansen picks out her daughter's wedding invitations with the expert help from Stacie! The invitations turned out beautifully! Shauna and her daughter Brooke specially chose this William Arthur invitation to fit their 'Italian' theme. The two color font combination really sets off the monogram and names.

* We have a sample in store ** Note: We deleted personal information from the wedding invitations, we would never leave out dates or other pertinent information!!