Pure Poetry

I'm writing in this heartfelt holy week to spread my passion for poetry. To begin, I think that sharing poetry or words from the heart are the most lovely, personal gifts you could ever give. If you are unable to express yourself, or are simply unsatisfied with your own sentiment, it can be just as meaningful (if not more so) to write out a favorite poem or haiku.

A number of recent personal and professional projects have revived my love for Rabindranath Tagore. My dear friend Andy from ages past gave me a book called Fireflies. it is chock full of beautiful little poem meditations and floral illustrations. At the beginning of January, I revisited the text and selected this to share with friends and family:

"The butterfly counts not months but moments and has time enough."-Rabindranath Tagore

I discovered today (after re-reading the dedication from Andy), that this was also his favorite poem at the time. In addition to Tagore, I'm quite fond of emily dickinson and e.e. cummings. In fact, I'm still in love with this one {for you JS} :

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

... (e.e. cummings)

I have always been inspired by e.e. cummings use of text, lowercase letters, and page structure. Finally, I must give a shout out to Marge Piercy, My Mother's Body, as i love to read her work. What inspires you?

Office Envy


I have to jot off a quick note because I feel I've been remiss in not sharing yet two of my favorite websites. First, let me confess my true passion for office supplies. Some of my finest childhood memories include going to the local office supply shop with my dad. I believe it was called "Nelson's". I sampled every pen and pencil, ogled the Crane's stationery, and created countless reasons for why I simply must have the "Thank You Very Much" order pad for my weekend restaurant. I was eight. Clearly, there are others like me.

Not only do I love Office PDX, I actually wish I had been so cool as to come up with the concept A retail store, event space and gallery--all in a 1950's office environment. Love their design, love the stationery and supplies they carry, and love that they are a gallery (online too). Bonus: You can buy original art from them. One of my other fave office sites is Russell+Hazel. They have lovely paper products and accessories. I lucked out and got the new Audrey Expanding Five-file Tote for Christmas. Patent Black. So chic...Later Alligator-S

On a Birthday Bender


Dear Lucy, I just wrapped up three days of birthday festivities—with my near and dears fêting me with some of my favorite things. I highly recommend stretching this out. It started off with a small bunch of pink ranunculus flowers for my office, and my latest addiction, Gingerberry Kombucha. On Friday the girls took me to lunch at Bloomies. Honestly, we ate the most delicious plain frozen yogurt topped ever so subtly with walnuts and honey. Note to self: simple yet glam dessert for company. On our way out we met up with an unavoidable cashmere clearance. SCORE! Then off to Sephora where we tried nearly every long last mascara and lip pumping gloss available. This season’s must haves: Too-Faced Lash Injection (Pitch Black AND Bright Blue), Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer, and Vincent Longo Lipstain Lipstick SPF 15 in Chica Mokita. I took the last one and barely escaped a small riot. We landed our sorry-ass tired feet (I wore some beautiful, painful boots on our outing) at Anastasia’s brow bar in Nordstrom’s. Aaaah… the joy of putting my feet up far outweighed the pain caused by hot wax and detailed tweezing. Gorgeous and rested, we ventured into the Cheesecake Factory like tourists in Tulsah. {Where are we? And why the hell is it so busy?} After a tall El Diablo we called it a night. Salut! Saturday followed with a fan-club-like stalking of Tiger Woods at the Buick Invitational, a pedicure with my gal pal (Lincoln Park After Dark, baby!) and the best pizza this side of NY, the Pizza Monterey at Pizza Port in Solana Beach. Artichoke hearts, onion, pepperoni and mushroom. Yes, we are at the pearly gates. Finally, a family brunch on Sunday with fresh squeezed OJ mimosas, spinach and goat cheese quiche, berries and oranges, bagels and lox. Did I mention? I’m a foodie. Bonus: I didn’t have to do the dishes! Savor the moment...Yours truly, S

Dear Diary,

Dear Lucy, That's your official name now, because Diary is simply a bit drab and really not personal at all. At times, I may even refer to you affectionately as Lulu. Greetings! I've officially made it 50 days into the launch of Truly Fine Design. To begin, why blog? It has come to my attention, in the crash course of marketing and managing a small business in the new millennium, that creating a BLOG is as important as creating a website. My greatest fear in starting this little monster is for it to seem cliché, ego-maniacal, or worse, boring. I'm going to treat this media as a window into my Truly Fine World of entrepreneurship, motherhood, art & design, stationery (of course!), fashion, culture, communication, and literature. That's just a start...in essence, whatever rings my bell. Hopefully it chimes for you as well. If not, at least I have a record of the journey, Subscriber:1.

Yours truly,

Sarah