you've got mail!

Dear Friend,

When was the last time you sat down and wrote a letter? A real handwritten, stamped and mailed letter? When was the last time you received one?

Is the art of letter writing lost?

Call me simple, but one of my favorite things in life is to receive a handwritten letter through the post. I never wait till I get in the house. I always open it up and read it standing by the mail box while I juggle all the other mail.

I have letters that my grandmother wrote me when I was first married. I love to pull them out and examine her scrawling penmanship. They are simple letters, about her daily life which chronicle my heritage and gently remind me where I came from and where I should be headed. They mean more to me than any of the other keepsakes she left behind. They are her words.

I hope today's feature will inspire you to sit down with pen and paper (lovely paper is always best) and write a note to someone you have been thinking of lately.

It will mean more to them than any email you could send. I promise.

The Feature Friday giveaway is a 2009 Turtle Papers calendar. Leave a comment to be in the drawing.

Turtle Papers is owned and run by Jennifer, a designer and full time mom in Seattle. When Jennifer isn't creating fanciful stationary, you can find her baking away in her kitchen, trying out new recipes. You can check out her adventures in both culinary and graphic arts on her blog.

For Christmas last year, I bought one of my good friends a set of Turtle Papers personalized stationary. It came beautifully packaged and ready to be presented. Get a jump start on your holiday shopping by visiting the Turtle Papers shop online.

The drawing will take place on Monday morning.

free friday

I know that as soon as you got on my blog, read the word free and saw this adorable tee, you nearly jumped out of your skin. Don't worry. It's a normal reaction. Quite frankly, I can't believe that I actually have to give this shirt away. And I don't even have a daughter (yet). Is it unethical to pose as a woman named Oola and leave a comment on my own blog? Hummm. I sometimes wish my name was Oola. Does that count?

Mountain Aven Baby is owned by a stay-at-home mom (my favorite kind of mom) from Wyoming, who started making clothes for her own children and then was wise enough to start selling them to others. Lucky, lucky us! When Mei Mei arrives I will be ordering a Koto Japanese lounge set. Because that's what we like to do around here. Lounge. Here's a few of my favs.

1. Hoot Owl Lounge Set 2. Mod Trees and Dots Jumper 3. Koto Japanese Lounge Set 4. Mirabella and Dots Jumper 5. Fungi Funkadelic Mushroom Tee 6. Orange Bird Lounge Set 7. Winterbird Tee 8. Pretty as a Peacock Tee

Okay people, if you want some of this goodness you better hurry. Blair is going on maternity leave mid-November so you need to place orders soon.

This would be where I tell you to leave a comment to win the tee. However, if only one name were to show up under comments, say someone named Oola, that would be fine with me.

As usual, the winner will be randomly picked on Monday. Keep reading, there is more free stuff below.