what was once nothing is now something.

elementary art print by john tibbott

plenty of happy things are abounding. i feel lucky. today, since we awoke rather early, we ran to target for no good reason (but found a few toddler lumberjack plaids for $3 each! hip hip!) and shared a sausage mcmuffin. two major favorite splurges. since dan was on a mini business trip, we hung out with my parents (another favorite thing) and talked the night away until i fell asleep mid-sentence. another awesome event was running into the grand america last night to meet up with a friend for dinner (meeting for the very first time; ala julia child and her longtime penpal). i had serious jitters about the whole thing. the big conference ALT is happening, so i definitely felt like i was crashing or spying. a wee bit exhilarating. i was just in the lobby, so it wasn't anything shady. but i ran into a few blog favorites! hurrah! artist kal barteski was browsing the toy shop and i basically mauled her; she's such an inspiration to me. i loved chatting with her in real life; how genuine and kind she is. and then i saw brooke white (of american idol) and jordan ferney rushing by. i decided to admire from afar and not overdo it. and then i saw mr. justin hackworth and his wife, amy and chatted them up. i felt super happy to bump into them. they are nicer than nice and mighty talented.

then my dear internet friend, suzanne of SHE paperie strolled by. she is a petite darling thing; holding a bundle of pretty packages practically toppling over. which, now i realize, was perfectly suitable for our first meeting. she is the queen of swoony packages draped with ribbons and colorful trimmings galore. it was unreal to meet someone in real life that i feel like i really know via the internet / email exchanges. we i started talking and didn't stop for three hours. we went to a favorite cafe of mine and discussed blogging, how long posts take to write, divorcing google reader (go suz!!), all things graphic design, all the good stuff i am missing at ALT, photoshop magic, our families, oprah, babies, logos, etc. i had been so nervous to meet her and have a pile of clothes still strewn on my bed of undecideds. meeting her was so refreshing and fun. to think, we would've never become penpals had she not emailed me a year ago and said she read my blog! the connection, the collaboration, the creativity exchange is my favorite part of all this. i love when almost impossible friendships are suddenly sitting right in front of your face, sharing a giant slab of bread pudding. possibilities are closer than we know. 

sometimes i forget that friendships are not just for fourth graders. it's good to branch out, especially as adults, and meet someone new. learn new things and listen to new stories. and share a bit about ourselves. even when it's a little scary and you don't have a thing to wear.

p.s. suz, this post took me a half hour. fyi. xo.