MaeMae Paperie: Personal

Twenty + Eleven

"Do not cling to old ways as you step into a new year." -via Whit. Photo by Rewind Recolour.

I have never been more excited for a new year as I am to see 2011 finally here. What a year of growth, thrills, and inspiration. Thank you for your support + encouragement and get ready for everything I have to share with you this year!

Twenty things I am thankful for in 2010
1. provision
2. clients
3. my two interns
4. forgiveness
5. new life-long friends
6. faithful old friends
7. allergy shots
8. devotions
9. falling in love with Chicago
10. life with Jae
11. being published
12. new eats on our street
13. revisiting our honeymoon vaca
14. finding a mentor
15. becoming a mentor
16. discovering my love for styling
17. no bed time
18. Napster
19. more freckles
20. finding a dress for my launch party

Eleven things I am looking forward to in 2011:
1. energy
2. working with stores
3. a new intern
4. no excuses
5. becoming an aunt
6. manicures
7. doctors, healing + health
8. first NYC trip
9. beating Jae in a rap contest
10. launch party
11. perfecting a chocolate cake reciepe

Barbara

Leaving right now for a weekend with my bestie Whites in Santa B. Can't wait for road trip bingo. Every time I see this photo I marvel at how this literally could have been us 10 years ago. Identical.

Twenty Five

Today is my twenty-fifth birthday! I don't think I have been so excited for a birthday since I turned sixteen - you can drive, you're half way through high school, you're a legit teenager. While I might not be gaining any rights in the world for turning 25 I feel like I have arrived in the grownup world finally. I know I look young for my age (I was asked last summer what year I was in high school... hmmm... ) but I'm not going to let that bother me anymore because guess what world, I'm a quarter century old!

Above are photos from my sixteenth birthday party my parents threw for me in our backyard. I had about 20 of my favorite girlfriends over and we had dinner around the pool and danced in the gazebo. Most fun EVER.

Goppy Gow + Gumpa

When I was little I was always jealous of the other kids in class whose grandparents had normal names like, "grandma + grandpa." My brothers and I called our maternal grandparents by their Chinese titles: PoaPoa (grandma) and Gong Gong (grandpa). As a toddler my paternal grandma wanted me (the eldest grandchild) to call her "grandmother." That didn't really roll out easily of my two-year-old mouth and so I called my grandparents Goppy Gow (grandma) and Gumpa (grandpa). Made up words and phrases were kind of my thing. As I grew older I came to love the fact that they were uniquely mine through my renaming of them.

I lost Gumpa last Thanksgiving and yesterday my Goppy Gow passed away.

She was full of life, energy, and opinions. She always wore this stack of different sized and designed gold bangles on one arm and they would make so much noise whenever she would do anything. They are the perfect representation of her: unique, multifaceted, attention getting, and a little over the top. She was from Ireland and one of my favorite memories of her was when my dad got her to show me her Irish dancing (think Riverdance...) in her living room. Growing up she was some sort of celebrity in my world. She seemed so glamorous and knew all these little tidbits about how to do things right or politely that I never thought of.

Her personality and vivaciousness live on through my work today through my collection Muriel, named after her. I love you, Goppy Gow. Your memory, lessons, and style will always be such a part of me.

Mae + Jae do San Diego

Just had the most fun/relaxing/exciting/delightful vacas in SD with my Jae. Favorite two highlights:

1. interacting with the sweetest beluga whale
2. laying in front of our window one night looking out over downtown San Diego from the 26th floor

Thanks for the surprise weekend, Jae! I love you a million morsels!

New in the Shoppe! Megaphone Notes

Finally! A customized note set! Get your own set here at the shoppe. BONUS!!!! you can get your own FREE set on Grey Likes Weddings today. Go check it out here .

Orange Snacks

A little surprise for my little nugget's lunch... ok he's almost 24, but everyone needs a smile when they open their sack lunch.

Sneak Peek...

MaeMae is in the middle of so many things thought I would give you a little teaser until everything is complete.

While we wait on 3-panel accordion and RSVP envelope for the lovely Miss Jan... here is the lined and printed envelope!

I am making curtains and pillows for the dreamy new loft. Oh boy... And here is a little bit of the new kitchen (sans paint)...

And a very very sneaky peek of a beautiful new piece adorning my new loft by SeeSaw Designs back in my hometown, Scottsdale, AZ...

Completed projects to come...

BRB

Me in the pool last weekend in Palm Springs with Ruthi & Shannon. You can see the whole thing on Ru's blog.

I am going to be absent for the next week plus as I move to this amazing work/live space for visual artists. I will have so much to share after the move. So excited to be surrounded by other like-minded people and have double the space to create in. I will have a studio AND a showroom to invite clients too. PURE BLISS.

One Year Ago Today...

...I married my sweet Jae!

Things I love.

The nicknames Jae makes up for me every week.
My mom's recipe titles: they all start with "Bonnie's" something. IE: Bonnie's Lazy Day Lasagna.
The interest and impute my dad puts into my design work.
Watching Star Wars with my brothers with the sound off while we narrate.
Summer.
Big dogs.
Ice Cream.
Stranger than Fiction.
The sting of toothpaste in your mouth when you walk outside on a cold morning.
Collages.
Old friends.
New friends.
The sound when you're at the bottom of a pool.
Abbreviating words.
My engagement ring.
The desert.
Desserts.
Finally knowing how to spell both words.

Happy Love Day!

Image from Kate Spade.

Good Stock Press & Bindery!!!

Recently I have been working with the coolest company: Good Stock. Founded by Kim Screen, Good Stock takes your piles of photos and your box of stuff and - with your help - outlines it into a story. They design and layout each page. They print everything on high-quality paper. And then they bind your book the old fashioned way - with a skilled pair of hands. I contacted Kim back in September and we have been designing together since. She is one of the most personable and kind people. Call her today to start designing a book! 866-216-8832.

Here are the two projects I designed for her to test out how we would work together. The first book is a square board book of my wedding. The second is an accordion book of my honeymoon. It's the coolest thing! The inside pulls out to display a long sheet of photos and the back is a pattern. My pattern was a scan of a bandanna I bought in Mexico that I wore when we were there.