...goodbye, Loft...

... goodbye funky neighborhood, goodbye 15 minute walking commute, goodbye badly ventilated kitchen, goodbye freeway grime on my windowsills, goodbye train...

... my husband and I currently live in a loft in South of Market (SOMA). For those of you who know me, you know that I have a love/hate relationship with the loft. I love it because of the large kitchen (albeit badly ventilated!) it has and wonderful counter space. I love it because it is a cool space with lots of light. I love it because we have a spacious bedroom. I love it because we have a parking space. I love it because SOMA tends to be sunnier and warmer more often than other areas of San Francisco. I love it because we are 4 blocks from Giant's Stadium. I love it because of my fabulous 15 minute walking commute. Most of all I love it because this is where Jeff lived while we were dating, where I moved to while we were engaged. It is where I spent hours planning our wedding, and where we spent our first Christmas together. It is where we've hosted New Year's Eve parties with all of our friends, toasted other friend's engagements, celebrated special birthdays and hosted baby showers for others. From dinner parties to lazy Sundays eating eggs and toast at our kitchen counter, we've made a lot of memories here, and for these reasons, I will miss it.

... on the other hand, there are reasons why the loft is no longer a good fit for us. There are the everyday characteristics I "hate" (such a strong word!): the train that likes to blow it's whistle at 5:00am every morning waking me up, the same train that at 11:00 at night sits outside our window with the generators on while they do maintenance in the train yard. I severely dislike the grime that comes from the nearby freeway and covers my windowsills with a gritty gray dust that is IMPOSSIBLE to clean! It even gets on my beautiful white laptop, which now has a dingy aura to it. Not having a door to close to a private room while talking on the phone can get tiresome. I don't like having to huddle in the bathroom with the fan on to have a private conversation with my sister-in-law about her boyfriend (my husband would rather not know! Typical older brother!). It never gets TOTALLY dark at night while trying to sleep. Then, there are the 4 flights of stairs I have to walk up everyday at the end of a long day just to get to our place (although this has helped to keep me in shape, so I will now become a massive blob of flesh...). But aside from these everyday annoyances (which I've actually grown accustomed to and will probably miss in some weird way), the loft just isn't practical anymore. We are in need of another bedroom, and a place with doors to create a quite place for a little one to sleep. I can't continue to walk up those four flights of stairs over the next 4 months as I get bigger. It's just not the best place in which to welcome Baby T. So, we are off to begin a new chapter in our lives...

...therefore, today we are moving out of the loft. We are moving on to bigger and better things! Well, actually not that much bigger, but better and we have a whole extra bedroom to get furnished and ready to go. We are moving to a magical place in San Francisco called Cow Hollow, where there are trees on the street, and I have a backyard called the Presidio, and a front yard called Marina Green. There are shops and restaurants and people walking and general pleasantness! Although it is foggier over there and my commute is now 3 times as long, it is a great place in a beautiful part of the city, with no train and few stairs! We are putting the loft on the market, keep your fingers crossed for some generous offers! We will be in this place for a couple of years before we look at buying again... let the fun begin!

... so, Loft, I bid you farewell! Thank you for all the memories you have staged here for us, and for the great kitchen. Although I gripe about you, I WILL miss you...

... and to our new place: I'm so excited to arrive, and I can't wait to get to know you!

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Sarah

...teaser...

... A sneak peek of the latest wedding programs I have completed... a shot of the production...

... more to follow!

...Is there something in the water???

... I know about a zillion people who are pregnant! Maybe it's just my group of friends and my age, but I think maybe the recession is coming to an end and everyone is getting on with their lives, including making new ones?

... Anyway, I find this so wonderful, I love seeing friends happy and ready to start a family. In fact, one of my best friends has officially started her maternity leave! She is due at the end of May, and starting tomorrow, she is home until September.

... A few weeks back, a group of friends and I threw this friend, Roxanne, and her husband a co-ed baby shower. It was a lot of fun. It was in the evening, and we had such delicious food and cocktails (and "mock-tails" for the mom to be!) and of course, great company. It was a great evening and a fun event. Even the guys were into it! I think they were just relieved that there were no poop-y diaper games or measure-the-belly with toilet paper activities.

... As my contribution to the party, I agreed to make the invitations. I really, really, really had a lot of fun making them. Roxanne really liked the idea of a "Sweet Pea" theme. I had been dying to use some of my round cards, so I took the opportunity and ran with it! Two different shades of green, along with a whimsical yellow polka dotted paper lining the enveloped sure enough created the desired effect. It was lucky that I got a die-cutter for Christmas, as it allowed me to create the small peas for the pod, as well as the round white piece for the party information. This as another work created by layering pieces together to get the final result. Take a look!

Congratulations to Roxanne and Douglas, I can't wait to meet Baby Franco!

...Programs and Favors and Cards, OH MY! Part 2!

... some photos of the First Communion work that I did. I layered a pretty Japanese flower blossom paper over a card, then layered another pink card on top. The cross is hand cut using the Japanese paper and shimmer white cardstock.

... The favor tags incorporate the Japanese flower blossom paper and are attached to a white toile bag of candies.

Congratulations, Emily!

Programs and Favors and Cards, OH MY!

Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year that is the early spring! It is one of my favorite times of the year, I love to get outside and enjoy it!

Just checking in to say hello and let you all know that I have not fallen off the face of the Earth!

I have been keeping my self busy these days with a number of projects. As I mentioned in my last email, aside from the wedding stationary that I featured, I have been working on some programs for the San Francisco Chi Omega Eleusinia luncheon. I just finished those up at the end of last week and sent them off to the event. I was unable to attend the event, so I hope it was a success, and I hope everyone followed along easily with the aid of their handmade programs! I hope to have pictures soon.

I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to my sister-in-law and friend Courtney, who not only provided beautiful assistance on this project, but unfortunately suffered a badly sprained ankle in the process. I mean, what says dedication more than twisting your ankle while running to the car to get to your sister-in-law's house to help punch holes in paper? Nothing, in my book. I just hope the Chinese food we got for dinner was an acceptable token of gratitude! :)

I am also currently working on some favors for a college friend. Her daughter is about to make her First Communion on May 7th! I designed the invitations to the First Communion and was then asked to help out with the favors that will be given out at the party following the ceremony. Again, I will have pictures soon, and I want to say, "Congratulations Emily!"

Wedding season is in full swing, and I can't be more excited! I loved planning my wedding, and threaten my husband with huge anniversary bashes just so I have another great event to plan! I think for now, that will have to wait for a significant anniversary, but until then, I am happily helping others make their days special. I am very excited about a project I am working on right now. I am creating programs for a wedding that will take place in Fresno in May. The bride had some GREAT ideas, and we came up with something so simple but so beautiful, that I cannot WAIT to produce all of them! Amanda, your wedding is going to be fabulous!

Whew! It's projects galore around the Tarantino household, and life continues to swirl all around that! We have been traveling, working, and apartment hunting in the past few weeks and life has been hectic! But, we are very excited to move to a beautiful new apartment, one that has lots of storage to keep all my papers and bags and fun stuff!

I will post pictures of my latest projects in the next few days, and as always, if you need any help with a special event, just let me know! I do stationary (cards, invitations, programs, etc) and custom gifts (bridal shower favors, baby shower favors, out of town wedding guest gifts, etc.)

Happy Spring, everyone!

a-LO-haaaaaa!

...well, you might be wondering where I've been for so long! Well, before you get the wrong idea, I haven't been on vacation for this whole time, but I HAVE been busy, and I DID just get back from a fabulous little trip to Hawaii for a friend's wedding.

... I also have been extremely busy with a plethora of projects lately. I just finished some invitations for a friend's daughter's First Communion, some favors for a bridal shower, and programs for the San Francisco Eleusinia. But, the thing that has been keeping me really busy for the past few months is working on the stationary for this fabulous wedding we just went to in Hawaii! I've had so much fun working on this project, and I was very pleased with the way everything turned out.

... Kina and Zach live on Oahu. Kina grew up in Oregon, but is half Hawaiian and moved back to Hawaii after business school. Zach was born and raised on Maui. Since they live on Oahu and most of their families are still on Oahu or Maui, Kina and Zach decided to have a very Hawaiian style wedding on the island of Oahu, in an area called Waimanaolo. The wedding overlooked the ocean, and the breezes were just right. The tables were adorned with plumeria and lauae leaves. It was beautiful.

... The Lauae leaf was the theme that ran through the stationary for the wedding. I used it in the invitations, along with lines of a Hawaiian song about Waimanolo. We then brought it into the programs, table names, seating cards, and tags for the favors. Below are some pictures of the event.

... the invitations...

... response cards...

... programs...

... seating cards...

... table names...

 

... the room all set up...

... Kina and Zach saying their vows...

... in BEAUTIFUL Waimanolo...

Mahalo to Kina and Zach for introducing me to the beauty of a Hawaiian wedding, and until next time...

... ALOHA!!

Fun in the Sun... Run...

...What makes every product launch awesome? Custom-made Whoopie Pies! 

... Back in December, I was approached by SunRun to help them with some goodies for their upcoming product launch. Because I LOVE making goodies, especially Whoopie Pies, I naturally agreed to help them out.

... So, I know that you are wondering what exactly SunRun is and why exactly they would want Whoopie Pies featured at their product launch? Well I will inform you!

... In a new world where we all have to think about the not-so-lovely things we have done and are doing to our enviornment, SunRun is taking big strides make a difference when it comes to energy and how we use it. For, SunRun believes, "electricity costs too much and it's dirty to create". So, that said, they set out to "offer homeowners the opportunity to switch to clean electricity at no cost and lock in their rate for the future." Ah ha! Got it! They are a residential solar company! Cool! 

... But what about this gathering? What were they celebrating? Well, back in December, SunRun introduced a new tool to assist their customers in their pursuit of solar power. SunRun launched their new solar calculator and map. The map, according to SunRun, "allows you to learn about sustainability efforts going on in different states, energy use, and find 'Solar Stars'". It seems pretty cool, and if you want more information about it, you can learn more at www.sunrunhome.com.

... So, then, WHY whoopie pies?? Well, it all has to do with SunRun's current demographics. You see, SunRun operates and has thousands of customers in four states: California, Arizona, Colorado, and Massachusetts. They decided to theme this launch as a nod to their locations and incorporate the solar theme at the same time. Since whoopie pies are a good old fashioned New England sweet treat (and I'm from Massachusetts and have a recipe for these little goodies), it was decided that they would be the dessert of choice to honor the customers from Massachusetts. I was happy to supply some New England pride to the party!

... Therefore, for this celebration, I made about 4 dozen Whoopie Pies, and then colored the filling in a range of yellows and oranges to evoke a feeling of the sun's colors and rays. I packaged the pies in batches mixed with all the colors. I had a ton of fun making them, and they went over really well, according to my friends over at SunRun. SunRun then set them up at their shin-dig and provided their own little tags to put by the treats to tell everyone what they were.

... Thanks to Allana Helland and SunRun for letting me share my goodies with your fabulous people!

... If you want to know more about SunRun, check out their website, www.sunrunhome.com and see them "in the news" at these links:

http://www.sunrunhome.com/downloads/pdf/sunrun_offers_a_new_deal_for_solar.pdf

http://www.sunrunhome.com/downloads/pdf/weak_economy_makes_solar_panels_more_affordable_to_homeowners.pdf

http://www.sunrunhome.com/downloads/pdf/accel_partners_offers_solar_start_up_more_than_just_cash.pdf