bamboo-zled.

Tonight on the way home, Travis and I drove through Owasso so we could stop at the Best Buy there.  I'd been wanting to try out a Bamboo drawing pad.  People are always surprised when they hear that I do all of my artwork for Notably Noted just using the touchpad (mouse feature) on my laptop.  I thought I could be more precise and have better luck with an electronic drawing pad.  I'm so excited to try it out!!

[update]  Unfortunately, this is very difficult to use!  I have much better luck my old way.  Now I want what the designers on West Coasts Customs have -- a screen on which I can directly draw.  That's the problem with the bamboo ... you can't immediately see what you're drawing on the pad which sits next to your laptop/desktop.  I'll just keep wishing.  =)

are you a fan of notably noted?

hello, family and friends.

are you currently following the notably noted blog? if not, be sure to add us to your rss. we love new readers! don't forget to leave comments and tell us what inspires you! suggest us to your other friends and family. the more the merrier!

thanks, trav.

today i had a pretty big order i was trying to fill. travis really wanted to go see date movie with steve carell and tina fey. i told him i couldn't make it unless he helped me fill this order for an upcoming wedding in hawaii. he was happy to oblige, and i'm so grateful he did.

check out his fabulous handiwork.
it's hard to tell from the picture, but the bride and groom's colors are a pinky coral color and a khaki, sand color. the pocket folder is actually a metallic sand and i think it looks oh so divine in person.

river's edge.

this evening was one of the more perfect evenings i've had in some time. i've been super busy with orders for notably noted and have been trying to figure out a way to clone myself, or give myself additional sets of hands and arms. i was in tulsa today to deliver invitations and had asked kate if she was available to meet up. i was wrapping up a meeting at 3:30 and she had a meeting at 5:00, so we decided to meet up for about an hour. her meeting was at tu, so we parked her car on campus and then headed to the buckaneer for a drink. the weather was absolutely gorgeous! the front and back door to the bar were open creating a refreshing breeze. we got caught up in girl talk and realized it was 5:00 before we knew it. we were going to head over to the school, but kate decided she could be about 10 minutes late. 15 minutes later she decided she was not going to go to the meeting. an hour later we realized she had just missed a meeting with nick and their mortgage broker. nick was great, took care of the meeting ... and kate and i headed to the river's edge on riverside. kate had never been and i had been dying to go. we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to sit by the river, enjoy a drink, and eat some yummy sandwiches. we never get to see each other often enough, so our time is filled with nonstop chat. we decided a girls' night sleep over was in order very. very. soon. happy spring!

business cards.

i received an order today for several pieces. one of the pieces i'm most excited about is my new business card!

{i've decided i've dropped my phone too many times because my pictures always come out blurry now, and they didn't when i first got the phone}. i'll go ahead and post the pictures that i took, but i'm also attaching the digital mock-ups.

i love them!

and how long have you been 17?

on march 22, my darling friend kate turned 26. {shh, she's not telling}. last year turning 25 was a big deal for kate ... and leaving 25 behind was almost more than she could bear. i told her that she was just too special to not celebrate, though, and she and nick put together a fun twilight-themed birthday party for the saturday before her birthday. i had been dying {no pun intended!} to have a twilight-party and was more than thrilled to hear she had decided to do it for hers.


i designed her invitation for the event along with coordinating signs with quotes from the books/movies.

the day of her birthday we got snow! not that oklahoma has never seen snow in march before, but we had the most beautiful spring weather in the days leading up to the party. one by one party-goers started sending their regrets. i was a little nervous to drive from muskogee to tulsa without travis, but the roads didn't seem too bad, so i loaded up my car and away i went. i couldn't miss her special day.
the party was held in the movie theater room in the clubhouse of the apartment in which she and nick live. kate's favorite food is hors d'oeuvres/appetizers, so we had platters stocked full of yummy goodness, several bottles of wine, and supplies for chocolate martinis. getting everything from their third story apartment to the clubhouse, in the snow, was a little challenging {and it wasn't without casualties ... i broke the lid to an apothecary jar and felt horrible! and nick broke a wine glass special to him and kate on the trek back}. once we were indoors however, we set to work placing the candle hurricanes and the platters of food. roxie and i had arrived early to help set up ... and aside from nick's sister we were the only guests able to make the event.


it was perfect though. the three of us were able to snuggle up under blankets, sip our wine, and snack on our treats while kate explained different aspects of each of the twilight movies to us while we sat back and enjoyed the shows. even though it was much smaller than we had planned, it couldn't have been a better party. kate with her best girls and her man, and an evening filled with her favorites.

at the end of the night i decided that i would much rather sleep in my own bed with connor, and i wasn't all that tired, so i loaded the car back up and made the trek back home.

travis was still awake when i got back in town because it was also zach's birthday. he, amanda, and zach had all gone out to brewskies and were quite tipsy when i met them at amanda and zach's apartment. we sat around visiting for a bit, but i was getting pretty tired and was just ready to be in my own bed. travis and i finally called it a night at about 3:00 in the morning and headed home to drop into our beds.

all in all it was a pretty great weekend for everyone.

busy bee at notably noted.

andrea has been getting on to me for not blogging more often. as a blog-stalking addict myself, i can completely understand. however, i've been so busy, i haven't gotten to read any other blogs, much less write on ours. the orders have been rolling in for notably noted {yay!}. it's definitely hard juggling that with my other job. i had an order for graduation party invitations that took 31 hours. just. to. assemble! that didn't include any of the design, printing, cutting, scoring, etc. time. that was 100% assembly time. i offered to pay every single person in my family to help me, but no one was available. sierra was out of town at my uncle randy's until thursday. when she got home she set into helping me. we worked non-stop all through the night. finally at 6:08 we put the finishing touches on everything and boxed the invitations and envelopes up. then i proceeded to fall into bed ... for a super long nap of 45 minutes. hahaha.

here's a brief glimpse of my past week:
tuesday night: worked on invitations and finally went to bed at 4:00
wednesday night: worked on invitations and went to bed at 2:00 because i had to drive the next morning and i will fall asleep at the wheel if i'm too exhausted.
thursday night: i didn't go to bed at all. well, i got a quick 45 minute nap before waking up to go to work at sixbyte in tulsa.
friday: i was so exhausted when i got to sixbyte, i grabbed my blanket i always keep in the car and a pillow, closed the door to one of the offices, shut off the lights, and took a 2 hour nap. i couldn't take it. there was no way i was getting any work done. i woke up to do about 30 minutes of work, and then i headed to lunch with kate, roxie, and several other addison girls. i was using lunch as a meeting with kerry to deliver the invitations that had kept me awake all week.

saturday: oklahoma saw snow!! after having several days of warm weather. it was ms. kate's 26th birthday party. she & nick had organized a twilight party in her honor and there was no way i was missing her special day. i was a little nervous the roads would be bad and travis wasn't driving with me, but it turned out they weren't bad at all. i'll do a post just about the party later. a good time was had by all. while i was in tulsa, travis was helping zach {amanda's boyfriend} celebrate his 26th birthday as well. they were up until the wee hours of the morning celebrating!

sunday: finally the week ended {or started} with a little house shopping and then an afternoon spent at the movie theater watching bounty hunter {yay!}and then green zone with amanda and zach. it was so nice to sit and do absolutely nothing for hours on end. both movies were really good, too. i just love jen aniston, gerard butler, and travis's look-alike, matt. we wrapped up the weekend with a quick visit to braum's with zach and amanda. travis and i were full of popcorn, so we didn't partake in any braum's deliciousness, but we had fun visiting a little bit with amanda and zach.

mcbirthday!

happy birthday lindsay!

on march 7th, lindsay leach turned 24 years old. in the weeks leading up to her birthday and asking her what she would like to do to celebrate her special occasion, she said, "i wish birthdays could be like when we were kids ... you know, birthday parties at mcdonalds ... lol." it was, of course, said as a joke, but when justin began asking for ideas for lindsay's birthday that could be fun but low-key, my conversation with lindsay came up and a theme was decided.

a surprise mcbirthday party was planned with her family and close friends. we set everything up on sunday morning {on her birthday} while she and justin were away at church. the original plan had been to have stacks of happy meal boxes as part of the display. we had even reserved our boxed happy meals in advance. however, before the day of the party, the manager handling our event left that location and the new manager wasn't informed of our upcoming party. a promotion was done the week leading up to the party and all of the happy meal boxes were used for that. we were left with happy meal bags. =/

this party was a lot of fun to put together though. lindsay's sister even created a happy meal shaped cake with a cake hamburger and "french fries!" it was her first stacked, fondant cake ever. very impressive.

looking for the different mcdonald characters was so much fun for me. i ran across old commercials, old promotional toys, and even maps and storys about mcdonald land. i remembered how great commercials in the 80s and 90s were {does anyone else remember the red dot on sprite -- that is now a cherry, i believe -- and the way it used to come to life? it has those cool aviator sunglasses ... haha}.

andrea was still in town for the shower the day before, and she snapped a few photos of the party. {thanks, andy!}

silly, but fun, and i think the birthday girl enjoyed just spending time with her family and friends on her special day.

blogcation?

apparently i took a mini blogcation this past week. and i actually had lots of stuff to blog about, but the week was super busy and i never found the time to post.

01. saturday: andrea and amelia came to town and we made our way to tahlequah for julie walker's baby shower. we ended the day with drinks at chili's, a stop at the store for a bottle of wine, and then a late night run for wings. the girls were tired pretty early and i had to stay up late to finish the pieces for lindsay's birthday party the next day.

02. sunday: lindsay's surprise birthday party (and birthday). she was almost surprised. haha. and i couldn't have been more impressed with the fondant cake sarah made.

03. monday: stigler, oklahoma. blah. but as i told amelia, i didn't jump out the window.

04. tuesday: nick contacted me about a twilight themed invitation for kate's upcoming birthday. i've been super excited to have a twilight party, and i can't wait for this one!

05. wednesday: travis and i both overslept (until almost 9!) which was weird because i've been waking up everyday before my alarm because it's been getting lighter outside earlier. travis went to work at sixbyte; i was supposed to go, but didn't want to make him later, so i stayed home and worked on orders.

06. thursday: back to stigler. i got a job offer from a local retailer for a management position. it pays $8.50/hr and i would have to throw freight (not good for my miserable back). mcalister's deli pays more starting pay for their beginning/non-management employees. i would also have to leave sixbyte which pays me a considerable amount more. i think i'll call today to officially turn down the job. andrea also left me a comment that inspired me to run and get my laptop right then. i had just sat down to blog when the doorbell rang. my first order of paper from the chicago paper line i will now be carrying had just arrived! out the door went my thoughts of blogging as i began dancing around the house singing "glorious! glorious!" hahaha. i'm so weird. it was so beautiful to open that box of perfect paper, though.

07. friday: drug test for the job offer. worked at sixbyte. met at notably noted client at 1:00 ... only to find out there had been confusion in the meeting time. headed back to sixbyte for about forty five mintues (after getting through the construction traffic) just to leave and meet the client again. i was there from 2:00 until after 5:00! excused myself to meet up with travis and then head to chili's for dinner with shannon. she's had a rough week, so we met up to keep her mind preoccupied (and hopefully cheer her up some). after that travis had a bachelor party to attend (david's from the sixbyte office). shannon and i were both tired so we headed to our respective homes. i was a little depressed to be driving back to muskogee, even though i was exhausted, so i stopped in broken arrow at the red dot boutique and looked around for a bit. kate texted me while i was on the way home saying they were out, but i was too tired to turn around and drive back into tulsa. i got home, changed into my jammies, and watched shows online until travis texted me to say they were headed in for the night. i closed the computer and drifted to sleep.

all things random.

goodness. this week has been so. busy! it's been fun, but a little crazy, too. i've thought of the blog every single day, but have been too tired or out of time to blog. nothing spectacular has really happened since my last post, so i went to the phone for a little inspiration and decided to share with you what i found.


i was trying to get a picture of connor in his baseball tee that grandma dee got him for valentine's day. she got him the cutest goody bag of mini t-bone treats and a sweet little tee.

i know i've captured connor sleeping a lot lately, but i just couldn't resist when i saw him with this cute little expression on his face.

this picture is (believe it or not) a picture of sierra driving. or what she likes to call driving. i'm just kidding. i like to give her a hard time, but she's actually a pretty good driver from what i hear.

um, not sure about this one. i think i sent it to travis one day when we were both working in different towns and had to work late.

i've been pretty proud of myself for getting a handle on my calorie intake again and cutting back on sweets and snacks. one morning i was really craving pancakes, though, and we had fresh blueberries, so i whipped a few of these bad boys.
i shared the tea party that i did for my mom so i thought i would share the note cards designed to match. being the good little woman she is, she sent these out the week after her party thanking everyone for the delicious new recipes.


these cards are also some of my favorites. i may create some for myself. i think i shared the digital print of them already, but i just love how they turned out after they were printed. the pink monogram on the back flap of the envelope was a last minute touch, but i love it.

so that's what's been going on in our world. hope you enjoyed this completely random update.

ten year reunion{s}

i kind of feel like i'm in the twilight zone right now ... and i'm not talking vampires. a week or two ago tracie contacted me about helping her with the class of 2000's 10-year reunion. {i'm class of '01} a lot of my close friends graduated in 2000 so it's a little hard to swallow. i know time passes quickly, but i still can't belive it has been a decade!

yesterday i emailed tracie proofs of the reunion tickets. while we were talking, we also thought a blog would be a great idea to keep in touch with the class, especially those who aren't on facebook. the picture above is the header i quickly threw together just so they could get the site up. today i got everything roughly set up. it's a least there if anyone drops by.

and believe it or not, just as i was replying to an email from tracie yesterday, i got an email from sara, kalan, and kay lynn regarding our 10-year reunion. where's my paper bag? i think i need to breathe!

yes, our reunion is a little more than a year away, and {clearly} i still can't believe it's even that close, but i'm really excited, too. and i'm so thankful that they're getting started on it now. tracie and julie only just started. both are in their third trimester of their pregnancies ... and neither one of them even served as a class officer in high school. they have their careers, their babies, and their families to take care of, on top of organizing a huge event like this. i'm thrilled that i've been able to help and am trying to do as much as i can for them ... while at the same time gearing up for my own.

so. weird. so weird.

catching up in february.

after our cruise, january was pretty low key. amelia made a visit to town & we enjoyed dinner with her and a rare night out on the town. the insurance company settled on my rodeo, and travis began making purchases of the parts we needed to repair the damages. aside from that, the rest of january was pretty calm.



february has proved to be a busy month already, however. the month started out with the denim and diamonds event benefiting the junior league of tulsa. i've talked about it a couple of times on the notably noted blog because nn donated a wedding and/or party package. i showcased the black and white damask wedding package i've featured on the blog and facebook. the really fun part, though, was the night out with two of my favorite girls. kate and i talked about attending the event in january and i had really been looking forward to some quality time with her. the day before the event amelia made a change to her work schedule and surprised me with the news that she would be coming too!! i just love both of these girls and was thrilled they could make it.

that saturday i drove to tulsa and kate and i set out to find tops suitable for the occasion. we hit up j spencer jewelry followed by lazy dayz and a trip to forever21. after that we were pushing it pretty close to get back to kate's in time to get ready. a few hours later, amelia met us at the gate and jumped in the car with us. at the summit club we had so. much. fun. looking back on it we isn't really do anything spectacular but have girl talk. it was perfect. {except none of us got any pictures, yet again!!!} the event ended at midnight, and we headed out to meet grant and kalan at a fun little bar tucked away downtown. we were all pretty tired by the end of the night and grateful to nick and kate for a place to sleep.

fourteen days of love. 14.

14. entertaining

this past sunday was my mom's 46th birthday & we surprised her with an afternoon tea at lindsay and justin's house. i absolutely love to entertain and i miss having a house of my own. {it's been almost three years now! agh!}

since my mom is always planning something special for other people, we decided this year we would do something more elaborate than the traditional lunch-after-church-with-immediate-family-only. she collects tea pots and tea cups so i thought an afternoon tea would be great for her.

the tea was held sunday morning after church. sierra did a great job detaining my mom while the rest of the guests arrived at the leaches'. everyone arrived between 12 and 12:30 with the birthday girl and sierra arriving last. travis helped out all afternoon by doing dishes as people finished up.

because it has been almost three years since i was in my own house, a lot of my serving pieces are locked away in storage. luckily lindsay and gail came to the rescue with some fabulous pieces.

i was only able to snap pictures with my iphone, so they are less than great, but it was so much fun preparing all of the food with lindsay & justin saturday night and sunday morning, making the invitations and the coordinating pieces, finding the right linens and recipes, and most of all surprising the birthday girl.

fourteen days of love. day 02.

02. blogging
okay. okay. so my first post for fourteen days of love was posted earlier today ... but i'm a day late, so i'm catching up.


you may find my next item funny ... because i have tended to neglect ours lately, but my number 02 favorite thing right now is the blog world. i have a couple of people that i stalk oh, a million times a day, at least.




thecollierfam: a private blog that tells the story of my sweet friend jen and her growing family. jen is the one who really introduced me and got me involved in the blogging community about a year and eight months ago.


talesofthetrees: i've decided that megan {the blog's author} needs to quit her job and do nothing but write new blogs. all. day. long. i'm not sure how i became so obsessed with her blog, but she always has the funniest stories and the greatest followers and blogs that she follows.


prlindsay: another private blog, my "twin" andy's website ... though like me she has begun to neglect her blog a bit, so i have to wait ages to read anything new.


justjennyproffitt: another one of the few friends from high school that i keep in touch with. i never get to see jenny. this way i still feel involved in her life and in the know.


hostess with the mostess: this site never gets old. i can sit and look at it for hours, though i never get to.


100 layer cake: oh. my. gosh. gorgeous. everyday. i am never disappointed by this site.


and last but not least ...


notablynoted: i finally got the notably noted blog up and running and while it still has a long way to go, i have big plans for this puppy! i hope that people start following and enjoy the posts that i publish.

notably noted blog.

goodness! i've neglected our personal blog, haven't i? i will have to post a better update soon ... but not today. i wanted to note, though, that the notably noted blog has gone live. technically it's been "live" for a while, but i've been trying to work out some kinks with formatting, etc. a few of the kinks are still there, but nothing so major as to interfere with the general use of the site. i hope to have a custom background designed in the future, but for now will stick with the fun girls from the cutest blog on the block.

when i return, i promise an update on:
new year's eve 2009
kicking off the new year in the caribbean
and the latest and greatest happenings with these two american kids.

oh my goodness!

what a horribly depressing post my last post was! and to think that's what you have had to look at each time you visit our blog. i'm so sorry!

life is still hard ... but i'm not saying that it's "bad." it's just incredibly hard.

this is my favorite time of year and i feel like it is passing so quickly. i can hardly believe that it's the ninth of december. i know we should keep christmas in our hearts all year 'round, but i really do wish that the holiday season lasted longer, with all of the wonderful decorations, the delicious smells, and the fun parties and get-togethers. of course, i suppose if it lasted all year i wouldn't really appreciate all that this time of year brings ... though i find that hard to believe. i don't think i could ever get tired of christmas. i should have been an elf ...

tonight i am feeling much better after several days {weeks} on the verge of a nervous break-down. i want to make sure that i am enjoying life, however, and am remembering to count my many blessings each day. that i make the most of what i have.

how are things in your world? be on the lookout for a fun giveaway for notably noted on a favorite blog of mine. if you are interested in hosting your own fun giveaway, let me know!

why. is. this. happening???

i am posting a blog at 12:30 am when i have millions of other things to do because, well, because i have millions of other things to do so naturally my computer would crash. again. i have several other stories to post, and have the drafts for those posts ... but tonight {this morning} this post wins. earlier in the week my laptop crashed. travis set me up on a old desktop and transferred all of my files for me. tonight, the desktop crashed. i have so many orders to fill for notably noted {yay!} ... and now no way to fill them {aggghhh!!!} i can't remember the last time my laptop crashed. or any computer for that matter. actually, my laptop has never crashed until now. and i don't think i've had any serious desktop issues since college. why. is. this. happening? i am trying to remain calm. no tears have been shed. but this is getting ridiculous. i mean it. never have computer trouble and now, in a time when i desperately need them, they are all shutting down??? what kind of horrible things have i done to reap this kind of karma? i'm sorry for all the negativity, i just really don't know what to do. i have orders that are supposed to be delivered tomorrow. no way that's going to happen now. seriously? seriously?? i am starting a new business. i want to put my best foot forward. not my late, rushed, not all pulled together foot! please pray for me. i may lose it.

no time to say hello. goodbye!

in case you missed it, i published a post below about our friends tom & lina getting married.

so, i really should not be sitting here writing this post at 1:19 a.m. ... yet here i am. i needed a quick little break from all of the work i'm doing to remind myself just how busy i am! haha!

i hope that i will look back on this week in a couple of years and think "whew, i'm glad that part of it is over," while looking out the picture glass windows of my quaint little shop in a fabulous shopping center ...

don't get me wrong. i am having a fantastic time. despite the hustle and bustle and never feeling like i will have enough completed by the time my first trunk shows roll around this week, i am having so much fun. i can work into the wee hours of the night as i've mentioned before, but for the most part i don't mind.

yesterday i had a hard time concentrating. i had not gotten out of the house the previous two days and i think i was getting a little bit of cabin fever. even though i had a list as tall as i am to complete, i couldn't focus the way i needed to. i got out yesterday evening and headed to the pool hall with my sister. her godmother was in town, and they were swinging by the pool hall to say hello to our family. we weren't there long, but i appreciated the change of scenery.

sierra, lindsay, and i left the pool hall and headed to sonic while the guys stayed to play for a few more hours. we got the house and i attempted to work, while lindsay attempted to study. i showed off my latest designs and samples that i'm pulling together for the trunk shows and it was reassuring to hear lindsay's feedback. i love what i'm doing, but i get nervous that other people won't think the same.

tonight, tomorrow, and part of the day tuesday will be spent finishing up my list that i just finished writing out {with 30 items on it} + 15 products i have to photograph for the website and the catalog {i wish i had the incredible talent of jennycollierphotography.com!} + finalize and have the catalogs printed. i also have a shipment of packaging ordered, and i'm so nervous that it won't arrive in time. i have a backup plan in the case that it doesn't get here ... but that will create a whole lot more work. cross your fingers that it arrives on monday!!

if it sounds like i'm complaining i'm not. really this blog is for me to look back on. to remember the mountain of tasks that i had and also the fun that i'm having ... despite getting only 3-5 hours of sleep. i can only imagine what tomorrow night will be like as it will be my last night before the show.

i also got some unfortunate news today. edmond, the town in which i've been pining to open a shop, got a speciality stationery store. boo! they've not had one up to this point. i think the town is so quaint. it's a place i can see travis and me living. and i even have the shopping center picked out. i just have to have the backing to move forward with a store front. i'm so sad that someone beat me to the punch. i've been hoping and planning to have a shop there for several years now. this of course doesn't mean that i can't still open a shop in edmond ... but it would have been nice to do so without any competition.

okay lovies. i must bid you adieu for now. have a terrific week!

i found another moment.

okay, so maybe i am procrastinating. i've been going non-stop, as i mentioned in my last post, and this morning, i am feeling a little sluggish. not a good thing since i have to work in tulsa for sixbyte tomorrow and friday. i figured a short break for a blog post wouldn't be the end of the world, however. so here i am. writing to the blogging world.

i'm super excited because megan at tales of the trees posted my logo her blog yesterday. there is supposed to be a post about notably noted in the future, too. i'll keep you updated. i'll be doing their christmas cards, and i think they'll be a lot of fun to work with.

anyway, there is work to be done and my fiance is calling me, so i'll say goodbye for now.

notably noted.

i really need to get a notably noted blog put together. i just don't know if i want to use blogger for it, or if there is another platform that would be better. any suggestions? i would use it much like my facebook page. i would post new designs that haven't hit the website yet, etc. what else do you think people would find interesting? receipes are always good {and we will offer recipe cards} but i want other fun content besides my latest designs. what do you think?

below are some of the 6x6 note pads that we will offer. there will be more to come, but they're fun, so i thought i would share.