Old Sweet Song » lil’ ol’ me

Dear Pretty People

amyferg — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:37:18 +0000

I Love the Shit Out of You Print by Emily McDowell. For sale HERE.

Now, I’m not one to curse. Just kidding, I totally have the unapologetic mouth of a sailor. But the truth is I do. I do love the shit out of you people. And I’m going to try and figure out what direction I want to take this lil’ blog. You know, see what tricks I have up my sleeve. I do so hope you’ll come along with me while I figure things out. Because this blog is my baby and y’all are so kind to listen to my crazy ramblings and ridiculous attempts at humor and I appreciate it so darn much. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now that I’ve showered you with the appropriate amount of love and sweetness, will you do something for me? Will you make sure we are appropriately connected through all the various social media channels? I wouldn’t want you to be without a dose of Amy when you need it. And all you have to do is click the cute lil’ banners I made. So with that, let’s go have a fabulous weekend shall we?

Organizational Therapy

amyferg — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:12:24 +0000

So, Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project was one of the keynote speakers at Alt Summit. I haven’t read the book, but the basic premise is that Gretchen spent a year of her life trying to be happy. Gretchen has plenty to say on the topic of happiness and her blog is worth a read through. She says one of her “greatest realizations about happiness is that outer order contributes to inner calm.” I find that when I walk in to a clean(ish) apartment I do feel a sense of calm and warmth. And when my place is messy and disheveled it makes me feel lazy and irritated. So, in an effort to find some inner calm this weekend, I cleared off and decluttered my dresser (which was admittedly getting pretty scary). I still own way too many earrings and bracelets. But it looks good and it feels even better.

p.s. I give it one week. Maybe two.
p.p.s. Need some encouragement to de-clutter your own life? Check out Gretchen’s Eleven Myths of De-Cluttering

Living near History

amyferg — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:10:40 +0000

I’ve mentioned that my aunt is a brilliant and dedicated archivist of any and all family memories. This includes paperwork, keepsakes, photos, even recipes. She scans everything and sends it to us on discs. For someone who has a love affair with all things vintagey and papery this is like hitting the lottery. One thing that has always stood out to me is this telegram. Dorothy was my grandmother (though we called her Dottie) and “baby girl” is the aunt I mentioned. I geek out over the old type designs and the creases and the aging that comes with the territory. There’s something nice about having an actual piece of paper to mark these big life occasions. Now it would just be a text or worse, a facebook update. (I just threw up).

One thing of note: the telegram was sent to 128 West 13th Street. Well, that’s right in my neighborhood. A five minute stroll over and I was right in front. Kind of perfect.

It’s In The Cards

amyferg — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:19:42 +0000

Business cards are a huge part of Alt Summit. You pretty much trade them with every person you meet, even if you only talk for like 11 seconds. By the end of the week you end up with a huge stack of cards from all the various folks you crossed paths with. It’s ridiculously fun to go back through and pick the cards that really struck your fancy. And here are mine from this year:

1. handmade charlotte (totally handmade and with no contact information) 2. SALT + PINE (printed on wood!) 3. Chris Gardner/Curbly + ManMadeDIY (charming and fun type design) 4. You Are My Fave (the info is stamped onto an envelope full of confetti, just awesome) 5. Alyssa/We Like We Love (you can’t tell but the lettering is metallic gold and the sides are neon pink)

And that brings us to my lil’ business card. Last year I hand stamped them in a frenzied and panicked rush and they actually turned out pretty good. But this year I wanted something a little more professional but still simple and fun. I designed the logo and worked with Julie at Bumblebee Press in Atlanta (who also did my sister’s save the dates that I designed). She does amazing letterpress work and I couldn’t be happier with how these turned out. Thing is, I’m actually not that great at giving out my card. I need to get better at the whole self promotion thing which is something that Alt always reminds me. And since I have a ton left maybe I’ll practice by handing them out to random strangers on the subway. Or perhaps hire a plane to drop them over Manhattan. Just spitballin’ here.

-Here’s my hand stamped business cards from last year.
-And my sister’s letterpress save the date that I designed.

Eight (More) Steps to Get Over Post-Alt Summit Depression

amyferg — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:17:09 +0000

I’m back from my second year at Alt Summit. And (no surprises here) it was an awesome time. It’s hard to explain what those four days are like. It’s exciting, overwhelming, exhausting, informative, terrifying, entertaining and tons of fun. It always flies by and before you know it you’re back in the real world missing all the fun and festivity and most importantly the amazing pals both old and new. So here’s Eight (More) Steps to Get Over Post-Alt Depression. Thanks for another great year, lovely people of Alt Summit. Y’all totally complete me.

p.s. And in case you missed it, here’s my original post from last year: Eight Steps to Get Over Post-Alt Depression

p.s. all photos are from getty images with the exception of the lady in the red shirt which is from here.

ALT SUMMIT 2012

amyferg — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:38:01 +0000

Morning friends! I’m headed to Salt Lake City for Alt Summit which is also known as blogger’s summer camp. I’m going to step away from the blog for the rest of the week so I can focus on being inspired, drinking wine and giggling. But I’ll be tweeting like a crazy person so follow me if you don’t already. And of course I’ll see you back here next week. And we’ll catch up.

Design in Close Proximity

amyferg — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:03:48 +0000

I happen to believe that good design is all around us, you just have to pay attention. So I challenge you to keep your peepers open for nice pieces of design as you go about your everyday life. I did and here’s what I found:

San Pellegrino

My face wash – purity from philosophy

A penny

Tabasco (the green kind)

MTA maps and signage

The New York Times masthead

A Good Ol’ Fashioned Dress Harvest

amyferg — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:16:02 +0000

My closet was making me sad the other day. My dress collection is faltering a bit and I really do enjoy having a multitude of dress options. So I hit ModCloth today for a good ol’ fashioned dress harvest. A dress harvest is when you order a bunch of dresses (and charge waaaaay too much on your credit card) so you can try them all on at home and send back the ones that don’t work. So I ordered like 8 dresses today. My excuse is I’m dating and need an arsenal of cute dresses at the ready. That’s fair, right? Below you’ll find a few of the lovely numbers that are on their way to me as we speak. Here’s to hoping their cuteness translates to real life.

Sherry Flight Dress, Dot You Worry Dress, Gardening a Lot of Attention Dress

Getting Closer

amyferg — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:54:32 +0000

Alright, the first week of 2012 is all done. I hope yours was just fantastic. I’m heading to a new freelance gig today. I’m due up, I haven’t worked in like a month. Time to see if this old brain of mine still works. I’m hoping it does. What do you have on tap for the weekend? I’ve got lots of fun lined up, per us. And it all starts tonight with some much needed Mexican food and margaritas. The perfect thing to enjoy on a January night.

One of my favorite blog pals Capree who I met at Alt last year shared this print by Matthew Kavan Brooks (on Society 6) on her blog, MAIYA. I am completely obsessed with it. I don’t think it would be possible for me to love it any more. And guess what? Alt Summit is right around the corner. I can’t wait to be fabulous and tear it up with Capree and all my blog pals in Salt Lake City. Holla. And happy Friday!

{image found here}

happy new year

amyferg — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:46:30 +0000

Hooray! It’s 2012, my friends. I hope each of you found a nice way to ring in the new year on Saturday. I went out in my ‘hood had some dinner and (way too) many drinks. So the first day of the new year was spent hungover on the couch with snacks and my own little Felicity marathon. Not too shabby. So, the holidays are now officially over and it’s times for the slow and sad winter months. Yay? But there’s something refreshing about a new year and a new start. 2011 was kind of a toughie for this girl so I am excited and hopeful to see what 2012 has in store. I have a feeling it will be a good one. XO