snail mail | kimberly ah

Feb 05 2013

snail mail

Mail That Made Me Squeal

Get it?

I think I should just give in and accept that February is officially going to be Pun Month because of all the Valentine puns out there.

The internet has done amazing things for my mailbox. Before joining the Letter Writers Alliance and Twitter, my postal fun consisted of mailing a bunch of cards and letters out and receiving “Hey, I got your card” emails in return. Being able to connect with other letter writing and mail art lovers on the internet has been not only rewarding for my mailbox, but for my creativity, too. Once I started receiving awesome envelopes from all over the world, I wanted to step up my own game, try to push the envelope (another pun!) and play more and use up my supplies.

I got an envelope full of mail goodness from Mary, a self-described life, mail and street art enthusiast whom I “met” on Twitter. Inside the envelope was a tiny pink plastic pig (pictured above).

It. Made. My. Day!

Right now he is sitting on my desk reminding me to keep it clean and to “live brilliantly” as Mary suggested. Thank you, Mary–a proper postal thank you will be coming your way this week!

Tagged mail art, snail mail

Feb 04 2013

3 Comments

celebrations, snail mail

Pink & Red Cheer

I love Valentine’s Day…not in the Naoto-buy-me-flowers-and-jewelry sort of way (Oh how I dread the flower and jewelry commercials that will be playing over the next week around here!) No, I like it because it’s a tiny celebration in the middle of the gloomiest days of winter. I like it because it gives me another excuse to mail out some pink and red cheer to friends and family. I like it because all of the good Valentines have a pun. I like it because Dove dark chocolates taste a little bit better in heart shapes.

This year I bought some sweet Valentines, and a couple of supplies to make my own. I wanted to buy a box of classroom Valentines at the drugstore to tuck in with my letters this month, but I couldn’t find anything that didn’t have a licensed character on it. I wish they still made Valentines with generic cute people and quirky animals and silly puns (oh, the PUNS!), like my vintage selection above.

Other than cards and some lighthearted decorating (pun intended), we really don’t celebrate Valentines Day around here. The first year I knew Naoto, he tucked a tiny box of chocolates in my apartment screen door. I ended up tripping on it and smashing it a bit, but it is still one of my favorite Valentine gestures. We were just friends back then, so it was an unexpected treat.

Are you making or sending Valentines this year? Or do you consider Valentine’s Day to be a “Hallmark holiday” and completely ignore it? What’s the best Valentine pun you’ve seen?

Tagged celebrations, holidays, snail mail, Valentine's Day, vintage

Jan 29 2013

13 Comments

Letter Month, snail mail

Month of Letters

For the second year, I am participating in the Month of Letters, a challenge created by Mary Robinette Kowal to mail something every day (that the mail is in operation) in February. That’s twenty-three letters, because of Sundays and President’s Day. Last year, in spite of high hopes, I just made it to the goal, thanks to a few special Leap Day mailings. This year, I’m raising the bar: I want to mail at least one thing every day for the month of February. This year, I have far more letter writing friends than last year, so it should be attainable (as long as I’m not lazy). And, I’ve embraced the postcard as a quick, thoughtful means of communication…even a few sentences can brighten someone’s mailbox (and sometimes I don’t feel like decorating an envelope). Letter Month is a perfect way for me to spend out some of my stationery stash, too! I’ll be posting my daily mailings on Instagram (adamihasegawa) if you’re interested in following along.

So far 2013 has been a good mail year, and this week I’ll be finishing the responses to these sweet missives from my mailbox this month–a fresh start for February!

In other news, today it’s sixty degrees in Chicago…which makes my SNOW! post from Friday just seem ridiculous. I’m off to take advantage of the warm weather by running some errands and breathing in the spring-like air.

*Month of Letters picture courtesy of the Month of Letters website

Tagged snail mail

Jan 21 2013

5 Comments

crafty adventures, homemaking, Office Supplies

Mrs. Cox Would Be Proud

Last Monday I started the unplanned project of organizing my desk drawers. (This led to the opening of the paper storage trunk and several other cans of worms.) Between the two desks there are four (large, but shallow) drawers. Since we’ve built the desks, I’ve just been using the drawers as a safe-keeping-dumping-ground for when company came over and when I needed to use the desk top for actual work/craft stuff. Over time, each drawer kind of took on its own personality–there was the mail drawer (letters to be returned, bits of stationery, stamps, the good pens), the coupon drawer (sale ads, weekly inserts from the Sunday paper, store coupons, the random checkbook that I can never find because I use it once a year), the crafting drawer (recently used rubber stamps & inks, all of the other pens, recently purchased washi tapes, random bits of paper, photographs, fancy paperclips) and a relatively empty drawer (where I was keeping stuff for the Election party and Thanksgiving, but now that stuff is in our storage closet and miraculously the drawer hasn’t been overtaken by other stuff).

So on Friday (after procrastinating and getting the rest of the worms in order) I finally finished–the desktop is clear (except the fun stuff) and the drawers are organized. And, not only are the drawers organized, but they are beautiful–I lined them with large sheets of paper from my stash. Spending out=big win.

Meet the newly organized coupon drawer (which also holds some other things I use while I’m at the computer):

The mail drawer (I am so excited to get some of my favorite stationery out of the second bedroom and into the desk where it’s easy to see!):

The “extra” drawer after:

The craft drawer:

Next I want to hang up the art that is just sitting on the desk top (and in the closet). I’m hesitating because I’m not sure how the vintage time card holder is going to work up there. Any opinions?

Tagged crafts, decorating, homemaking, snail mail

Jan 18 2013

1 Comment

Honor Flight Chicago, snail mail

Gearing Up for Volunteer Work Again…

If you’ve been reading long enough, you know I spent a significant amount of time collecting and sorting mail for Honor Flight Chicago. (If you haven’t been following along, this post explains it all.) I’ve had a lovely (and much needed) break from mail call since our Honor Flight season goes only from the spring to the fall, although if you looked at my four foot pile of school mail that has come in over the winter, you would wonder if there really was a break!

Now we have our dates set for the 2013 season. I wasn’t surprised to see that there are only five flights for this season. For the past few years, we’ve done ten flights…but World War II veterans are getting older and slowing down, and filling flights is more of a challenge with the unpredictable medical situations facing the men and women of this age group.

So, if you live in Chicagoland and would like to thank a World War II veteran in person for his or her service to our country, please consider attending a Welcome Home Celebration at Midway Airport. It is magical, it is emotional, it is patriotic, it is unforgettable…

If you don’t live in Chicagoland and would like to thank a World War II veteran for his or her service to our country, please consider writing a letter. Last year when I started the mail collecting adventure the Letter Writers Alliance helped spread the word about Honor Flight to their members and I received a lot of great letters–some from as far as the Netherlands (thanks, Cath!)–to fill the mail packs of veterans with no families. If you would like to participate, you can find the address here under the Thank A Vet tab.

Our flights for the 2013 season are April 17, May 14, June 12, July 10 and August 7. If you would like to attend a Welcome Home, be at Midway Airport’s baggage claim area by 8pm on the flight day of your choice. If you would like to send a letter, feel free to send one at your leisure. Our mail call deadline is the Friday before each flight, so your last chance to send a letter is August 2nd.

And finally, if you know of a World War II veteran who hasn’t flown with Honor Flight but might like to, please have him or her fill out the application and send it in.

And now, back to taking pictures of my shiny clean desks (and to start tackling the new mess I created in the second bedroom).

Photo from here

Tagged Honor Flight Chicago, snail mail

Jan 14 2013

Monday, Monday

Happy Monday! Last week’s work schedule took over and I’ve become a third shift sleeper, hence the lack of blog posts (mostly because there is of a lack of sunlight for taking pictures when you sleep until the afternoon). But the weekend was a good one! Naoto didn’t work on Friday night (a huge rarity around here) so we drove out to Sankyu (for the fourth time in three weeks!) and had dinner together. For once it was me who was begging to eat there…my craving for a tekka roll (tuna & wasabi roll) could not be contained!

On Saturday, I didn’t sleep until the afternoon. Naoto & I both got up pretty early and got juice and coffee from the Juice Joint, out latest neighborhood obsession. I made us breakfast sandwiches on Hippo rolls from the Mitsuwa marketplace. Then we headed into the city so I could attend the latest letter social held by the Letter Writers Alliance. I only wrote one postcard, one note and one letter but I had so much fun talking stamps and mail and typewriters with the other ladies in attendance. My outgoing mail is pictured at the top, including my new flying envelope stamp (an LWA members -only item) & a Month of Letters postcard.

After the social, we sped home so I could make homemade ricotta and tomato jam for my work party later Saturday night. (Isn’t Linda’s fireplace cozy?) And on Sunday, I slept so late that I almost missed a lunch date! In the evening we hosted our neighbor friends for a gin tasting and Golden Globe watching party. Whew! It was a busy weekend for us! Hopefully this week I can get back on a “normal” sleeping schedule–there is a lot to do around here!

Tagged adventures, coffee, food, mail art, rubber stamp, snail mail

Jan 03 2013

14 Comments

Christmas, crafty adventures, holidays, Merry & Bright, snail mail

My Holiday Cards Were Ridden With Guilt

I do believe all of our holiday cards for 2012 have been mailed…finally. A few stragglers are making their way through the mail right now, hopefully to arrive as New Year greetings!

I’ve been making my own Christmas cards for years now…they always start as an elaborate project, then, by the time I sit down to do them, they morph into something simple. It’s harder now because December is my busiest time (with work and holiday hullabaloo) so if I don’t get them done early, they don’t happen in a fantastic way. But it’s hard to get into the mood and find inspiration for your Christmas cards during the dog days of summer… In 2010, I met up with my friend Holly in November and we worked on our Christmas cards together….crafting in that hotel room in the Dells was one of my favorite memories that year! And my cards were simple, yet nice and I lined each and every envelope…sigh…those were the days…

Our cards this year were simple enough. I used a CHEERS stamp (from here) and washi tapes on some 4-bar cards (from here). I like making things, but I detest making the same ol’ thing over and over and over and over again… To alleviate boredom, I used a few different colors of cards and envelopes and mixed in different styles of washi tape (and some Martha Stewart tapes leftover from last year).

I really do think this might be my last year making the holiday cards…it’s just not fun anymore and I think my results show it. At this point in my life, I would rather focus on writing a nice note in each card than making each card. When I sat down to do my cards a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to write more, but the urgency of getting-things-done took over and I just went through the motions. I hate going through the motions…especially when it comes to my letter-writing friends and favorite family members. But I will hopefully alleviate my letter-writing guilt by staying on top of my mail in 2013 (a hint to my favorite 2013 resolution).

So I’m curious…do you write letters with each of your holiday cards? Do you expect letters?

Tagged Christmas, crafts, holidays, mail art, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Jan 02 2013

1 Comment

snail mail

New Stationery

Naoto has been working a lot lately. I mean, he always works a lot…between his translation job and Trader Joe’s, the man clocks a lot of hours. But lately, he’s been clocking seeeerious hours. He worked on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which would have been really annoying if I hadn’t been still recovering from the flu. He’s been staying late to work on translation stuff at his office when he doesn’t have to go to Trader Joe’s, and when he does have to go to Trader Joe’s, he comes home and works on translation stuff all through the night. On Saturday (his only day off each week) he went into the office and put in a full day of work. He felt really bad about leaving me home alone (well, with Presley) again…

So, when he got home on Saturday night, he came bearing gifts…I know, I know…no gift will ever make up for the time we missed together, but it’s still nice to be thought of!

He brought me some new teas and this gorgeous, elegant, grown-up stationery. It is made by le typographe in Brussels and the paper has a beautiful weight. I wrote my first letter on it early on New Year’s Eve morning and writing a letter has never felt like more of a luxury. Most of my stationery collection (which by the way takes up an entire dresser drawer…and then some) is whimsical and colorful…I’m happy he chose something more sophisticated to add to my collection. And a big thank you to Chandra at Greer for helping Naoto pick something perfect from all of Greer’s beautiful choices!

Here’s to writing more letters in 2013!

Tagged letterpress, snail mail, stationery

Dec 27 2012

2 Comments

celebrations, Christmas, holidays

Post Christmas Quiet

How was your Christmas? Ours was -sigh- calm and quiet. I was still recovering, so we slept in and opened gifts and played with Presley and drank coffee and talked on the phone to my parents… and then we drove to Mitsuwa and Naoto shopped for groceries ’til his heart was content while I restrained myself in the book store (I only bought three little things for my 2013 calendar!) and the snack food aisle. Then we had a quick somen supper (I need to share our somen recipe here…simple, quick and delicious!) and our neighbor friends came down for a bit to share some Christmas cheer.

Naoto & Presley are awesome Christmas shoppers…Naoto knows I have a “the internet makes me want-y” Pinterest Board and he uses it. But he also throws in a few surprises–especially in my stocking! This year’s stocking was packed with lots of treats: my favorite tea, a gift card, a phone cover & car charger (much needed!) and (as pictured above) a bottle of my favorite new ink in silver, a new zine from Marissa and a place card rubber stamp from Yellow Owl Workshop. (Friends, you’ve been warned–no matter how small the dinner party, there will be place cards!) Naoto completely surprised me with this stamp–not only was it not on my wishlist, but I’d never even seen it before!

And the “big gifts” (pictured at the top) – which were hilariously wrapped in wads of kraft paper (and labeled by Presley apparently) – were the best gifts ever! The mailbox has been on my wishlist ever since Kathy & Donovan started bringing their shiny red one to letter writing socials. I’m very excited to make room for it on my desk and using it to store stationery and stamps. And the pillow flew onto my wishlist as soon as I saw it in the Winter Cabin Collection. It was hand-lettered, hand-screenprinted, and hand-made…worth every penny. And, it perfectly describes me in the winter–hibernation is what I do best! It was packaged so sweetly and I can’t wait to put it on our bed!

I gave a stack of SPAM gifts (a calendar, socks and a new t-shirt) to Naoto and he’s picking out a fancy new rice cooker for Christmas, too. And Presley was spoiled this year–tasty new treats, some catnip goldfish and a potent new catnip stick (which she pulled out of the stocking herself!) The Adami-Hasegawa home is a grateful one.

I have a nice stretch of days off before the new year, so I’m hoping to take advantage of the time to get ready for a fresh start. I’m also kind of itching to take the tree down, but I think part of that is just an avoidance tactic so I can pretend I don’t have other (more pressing) things to do…typical me.

So…anyone out there get anything crazy-good for Christmas? Do you have any end-of-year rituals to share? I’m sure I won’t be the only one setting up my 2013 calendar, clearing out my files and cleaning out a closet or two, right?

Tagged celebrations, Christmas, holidays, snail mail

Dec 10 2012

2 Comments

crafty adventures, handmade=happiness, homemaking

new business card stamp!

I’ve been wanting new business cards since I changed blogs last spring. I didn’t need them…it’s not like I have a business or anything…but I wanted a little something to stick in letters (and Christmas cards) to spread the word about the ol’ blog and my new-ish cell phone number (I’ve hidden the last few digits). I thought a stamp would be fun because I can change up the inks and the paper with my mood (which changes often, though grey always seems to be in season around here).

In my months (I don’t take decisions lightly) of scouring the internet for options, I was happy to find Ampersandity again. I love Cathie Hong’s work and we have an address stamp done in her calligraphy. (I actually won it, and she uses it on her site as an example stamp.) I love the blend of her calligraphy and the sans serif typeface and I love the dots…the dots pretty much sealed the deal for me. I’ve already purchased some peacock, paper bag and gravel business cards to get me started.

Fun times will be happening tonight while I stamp up some business cards and Christmas cards (because that stamp just arrived, too!) Never mind the fact that the house is a mess and the Christmas decorations are still strewn about…paper projects are priorities!

Tagged crafts, diy, homemaking, rubber stamp, snail mail