WINNER UPDATE: Paper love and A Jenny C Designs Stationery Giveaway!

Thank you again to Jenny for the opportunity to share her lovely designs! 

The winner of the six cards and stamps is: Tasha (PaleoCouponLady)! Congratulations, Tasha! Please email me with the mailing address to send along your cards. 

Thank you to everyone who shared their favorite sites! Look out for more giveaways on the CL. 

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Nowadays it seems for every passion or hobby there are a slew of blogs and social media accounts to match. By now you know I have a whole-hearted obsession with mail and subsequently gorgeous stationery for sending it. Lately I keep discovering new stationers weekly, and from there I uncover their blogs or blogs they have been featured on – filled with styled photos full of lust-worthy paper, wedding invitation suites, and adorable props. Here are some of my current favorite places for getting my stationery fix:

• Mail Models: I actually was told about Erika Burho’s site by a customer where I work and quickly realized she is styling paper products for so many companies I already love such as Olive Box, Rifle Paper Co. and Parrot Design Studio. Check out her Instagram, too: @mailmodels.
• Wordshop.: When researching stationery/gift shops in places on my hope-to-travel-to list I stumbled upon Wordshop. in Denver. Since then I have been rejoicing in their hilarious Facebook posts that in a very literal sense have me LOLing every week. Check it out: Wordshop. Facebook
• Oh So Beautiful Paper: A full-on paper blog covering new collections from stationers, stunning invitation suites, graphics and more from a wide range of designers. And in January friend Jenny’s designs were featured on the site!

Which leads me to our giveaway. . . After my Olive Card Box giveaway Jenny offered to send me some of her playful letterpress cards for a giveaway here on The Culinary Librarian. A couple months ago my friend Linda, of Bake For You (who just opened a new location where All Good Bakers in Albany used to be), mailed me a note on one of Jenny’s “Sweet!” cards. It was a nice touch, coming from a sweets baker. Thankfully Jenny offered to send me a few of the very same design along with another design I love from her Jenny C Designs Facebook page:

The “Sending Caring Thoughts Your Way” is a great card. Sometimes we need to drop someone a note so they know we are thinking of them, but it can be hard to find the right card or paper to express this sentiment – it can be tricky to hit that balance of beauty and thoughtfulness. These cards work perfectly to catch up with someone, as get well cards, or even sympathy cards. And I love the little sealed-with-a-heart envelope design above the text. And these “Sweet!” cards can express any and every excitement with absolute ease. Thank you, Jenny, for allowing me to share your designs!

              

The Giveaway: Enter to win three of each design, wrapped in their own cellophane sleeve. I will also throw in six USPS forever stamps to encourage the winner of these cards to send them anytime! Post your answer to the following question by 11:59pm EST on April 6th and be entered to win. I will randomly choose and announce a winner the following day (April 7th) and send out the cards and stamps ASAP. The question:

Which blog or social media account do you count on for a little boost of inspiration? Share the link in the comments section!

By no means does it need to be a paper or food blog – share what you love! Leave your answer as a comment below or email me your reply: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com.

WINNER UPDATE!: Love Letters + OliveBox Card Box Giveaway & Discount

First, thank you to Olive Box for giving me the opportunity to offer all of you a discount and a giveaway! I was so happy to share the love of snail mail. 

Second, our winner, chosen using a random number generator, is Elizabeth Harrison! Please send me your email [to theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com ] so I can get you in contact with Olive Box about your prize! 

Thank you to everyone who entered... I will be doing more stationery giveaways in the coming months so keep an eye out right here! 

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Love letters. I love letters. I love love letters. I love writing love letters. I’d love to get a love letter that I would love to respond to with a love letter.

Valentine’s Day is around the corner and as I sit here and I think of it I cannot come up with a more paper-focused holiday. Do you remember being in grade school and, even before you wrote out your little Valentines, crafting the special envelope or shoe box that was used to collect all the cards from your classmates? I sure do.

There is just nothing like a love letter. There can be heart-wrenching texts, confessions of love in a Tweet, Instagram photos of romantic quotes, long emails detailing your irresistible ways…all of these things are fleeting. But a hand-written, carefully intended, sealed-with-a-kiss, sprayed with perfume love letter that comes by mail, that is meant to last, to be cherished and kept. To eventually be shown to ones children, grandchildren, published in books of great love letters. A missive read breathlessly – sometimes standing just inside the doorway, sometimes carefully taken in and savored while cozy in bed. . .

What could hold a candle to someone quietly taking the time to put pen to paper in your honor, licking an envelope, pressing on a carefully selected stamp and letting it go into a blue box. . . intended to reach your heart?

♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥  ♥

As a lover and promoter of the love note and all forms of snail mail I am happy to tell you that OliveBox has given me a discount code to share with you all, my readers, to use on their new OliveBox Card Box! Unlike the regular OliveBox, which includes cards as well as little gifts, the card box is a set of themed greeting cards. A perfect way to get an unexpected mix of cards to send out to your loved ones all year round! (And a great way to find out about fabulous new stationers, if you’re as wild about mail as I am.)

The Discount: Through January 20th enter the code culinarylibrarian10 when you sign up for the card box and you will get 10% off your purchase (one per customer)! You have the option to sign up for the current Love Card Box (1-month) or a 6-month membership.

The Giveaway: In addition to the discount OliveBox is also going to send one of you your very own card box! Post your answer to the following question by 11:59pm EST on January 22nd and be entered to win. I will randomly choose and announce a winner the following day (January 23rd) and notify OliveBox, who will send you a card box! The question:

Who would you most like to receive a love letter from?

Living, dead, fictional- no limits…feel free to get creative! Leave your answer as a comment below or email me your reply: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com.

Good luck and happiest of LOVE lettering!

DOUBLE WINNER: A Call To Write: September & October, Apples and Thanks

Hey y'all! I have chosen the two winners for the September and October Stationary & Stamps giveaways! I asked you guys to tell me what your FAVORITE food to eat this time of year. I'm a biiiiig pumpkin girl, but these two responses got me salivating for something a little different! 

The Apple cards will go to Ann! Ann says:

                "Pumpkin bread (thanks Grandma!) with a mug of hot apple cider :)

                      Oh and "apples" - being a teacher and all..."

And The Merci cards will go to Sabrina H.! Sabrina says: 

                "This time of year always makes me want Southern Style baked Mac n Cheese. 

                  I also love spaghetti squash and spicy turkey sausage ragout." 

Ladies,  please send me the address you would like your stationary and stamps to be mailed to theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com! 

A Call To Write: September & October, Apples & Thanks

For the past two months, maybe even the past three, I have taken to scheduling my life out by the minutes. Dinners with friends, phone calls with parents, trips to the grocery store, self-budget meetings and sometimes even sleep. I have been busy- again. I’m bored of saying it, but it continues to be the truth. Maybe I can finally get a hang on scheduling some Culinary Librarian time again though. Can’t speak for you guys, but I know I’d enjoy once more sharing with you on the regular.

So here we are with more stationary and stamps, two month’s worth in one post. I had come up with these little sparkly red apples for September just after my summer vacation on the Cape and was filled with those old back-to-school feelings. So here they are now, untimely but still autumnal and just as cute. These will be sent with vintage flower seed USPS Stamps – fruit and flowers!

WINNER: A Call to Write: Golden Paris

I'm so excited to send out these warm golden Eiffel Tower cards to this month's winner. Your responses opened my mind to what a fantasy life could look like - islands, farms, places close to home and near the ocean.  Maybe we will all find ourselves in our dream worlds for a time - and may they be as wonderful as we imagine! 

The comment I chose as winner comes from Linda Kindlon (I wrote about her baked goods two winters ago, read it here). I returned from my vacation on Cape Cod last month and one of my favorite things about being there is finding amazing little bakeries serving warm pies, stellar breakfast pastries or to-go chowers and bisques. I never imagined the lives of the people baking up these treats, so I was happy Linda got me thinking about them in a new way... 

             I would love to be baking somewhere in cape cod in a quaint bakery or cafe :)


Linda, please send me the address you would like your stationary and stamps to be mailed to theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com! 

A Call To Write: Golden Paris

This month’s giveaway is a bit tardy. I spent a week on Cape Cod this month and allowed myself to push back August’s giveaway until now. Hopefully you’ll think it has worked out well for both of us…

While on vacation I made sure to pack a few books for beach reading. The weather was a bit windy and I didn’t really have one good beach day of pure reading this year (I’m used to having at lease two). One day it rained. We’ve gone to Cape Cod most summers since I was very little, and whenever it rains- we shop. This year we changed it up and went shopping in Harwich and Orleans later in the day. As you may guess, I love to hit up all the bookstores I can find when on vacation. There are always fun local authors and regional cookbooks. This year I found myself picking up Paris, My Sweet at Main Street Books in Orleans. I’d had my eye on it and after flipping through it, I felt like it might be the vacation read I was meant to discover. I ended up whipping through it in just a few days. Amy Thomas is passionate about sweets, Paris, New York and thinking about her love life – I could instantly relate to her.

After being back in New York for a few days and having started seeking out some of her NYC recommendations (mainly Vosges chocolates which is right by where I work – I’m not obsessed with their Verde Caramels) I was feeling wistful for Paris. Hopped into Paper Source for my monthly stamp searching ritual and found an excellent Eiffel Tower stamp. Et, voila! This month’s giveaway was born:

The embossing powder I used on these is called "Queen's Gold" and I'm a little obsessed with it! I love the clean metallic gold it creates. As for stamps, this month's winner will get a smattering of Forever Stamps from my collection. 

Now the question. Amy loves Paris, studied there in college, dreams about visiting it, fantasizes about living there... I do the same. So I want to know:

Where is your fantasy home? 

If you could live anywhere new - even just for a year - where would you choose? 

As usual if I have more than 10 entries I will randomly choose a winner, otherwise with 10 or fewer I will choose my favorite response. After only one week (September 4th) I will choose and announce the winner on The Culinary Librarian. The winner will need to email me the address they would like me to send the stationary and stamps within 48 hours. If the winner doesn't respond I will choose a new recipient and announce the new winner on blog. If you are having trouble commenting in the comments section, email your response with the subject line “Golden Paris” to theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail.com by 11:59pm EST on September 3rd.

WINNER: A Call to Write: Sirens and Lighthouses

This month's giveaway may be my favorite stationary/stamp combo to date - I LOVE the glittery mermaids and the lighthouse stamps remind me of my mom and aunts who love lighthouses. As we didn't get ten comments, it is up to me to choose the winner. 

The comment that spoke to me did so due to personal vanity. One of my favorite physical qualities is my hair. Thanks to its natural thickness and wave and the fact I've never, ever dyed it - I have locks to brag about. Mermaids are known for their amazing hair and Willy D hit upon how they get it:

           Mermaids are the children of the sea, and would never eat their siblings. Mermaids 

          eat kelp and wakame which accounts for their lustrous hair and shiny scales!

Willy, please email me the address you would like me to send your stationary and stamps: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail.com.

WINNER: A Call To Write: All-American Summer & Lobsters

I hope you've been having a nice, relaxing holiday weekend. I celebrated the 4th with family and friends and LOTS of delicious summer food; hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, steak, cold beer, margaritas and salty brownies. Your responses for ultimate summer foods made my mouth water! I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead where I get to revel in the summer's bounty. 

Now for the winner of the June stationary & stamps giveaway. This response included one of my favorite dishes to make and something that epitomizes summer vegetables for me. It was Hannah's comment about ratatouille!:

            Ratatouille, from The Art of Simple Food. One of the first things I'd ever cooked, 

            from the first cookbook I'd ever bought. 

            I'd moved to Pittsburgh for grad school, out of college dorms, out of home, and 

            knew I 

had to start cooking for myself or else I wouldn't eat. It was the very end of   

            summer, a couple of weeks to adjust to the city and a new climate before classes 

            started. I knew the dish by name from the movie, knew all the ingredients could be 

            purchased locally, knew that it'd be delicious. And it was. Whenever I make it, I     

            think of summertime, and how I began to learn to take care of myself.

I love Alice Water's Art of Simple Food, too, and I'm looking forward to picking up the new edition when it comes out in the fall! Hannah, please email me the address you would like me to send your stationary and stamps: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail.com. 

In a couple weeks I will be posting July's giveaway and I am very, very excited for it! One word: glitter! Keep an eye right here for it! 

A Call To Write: All-American Summer & Lobsters

Lobsters are good any time of the year, but something about them screams summer to me. As today is the summer solstice it is time I finally share my June stationary & stamps giveaway with you. I debated going with something a bit more directly patriotic, but when I saw the lobster stamp at Paper Source earlier this month I was immediately drawn to it. Growing up I was fortunate enough to have a mother who believed in things like lobster and filet mignon and champagne. Lobster has been a favorite food of mine for decades now. Maybe it is because my family goes to Cape Cod in the summer where lobster is always on the menu in a variety of forms, but to me I always think of bright red lobsters in summertime.

So this month I present you with eight lobster note cards, embossed by yours truly, with ocean blue envelopes to bring home that red, white, and blue just in time for an all-American summer. The stamps are also All-American – the Pioneers of American Industrial Design Forever stamps.

WINNER: A Call To Write: The Original Instagram and Stamps of Poets

Thank you to all who entered the May stationary and stamps giveaway! Your replies were appropriately poetic.

Since we had fewer than 10 entries, I've chosen my favorite response.

I am a sucker for love and stars and late nights, so Jessica you won me over!:

A Call To Write: The Original Instagram and Stamps of Poets

‘fore Insty filters

‘twere captured moments- instants

film and Polaroids

That was a little haiku I wrote for you to tell you about my May giveaway! This month we’re getting extra nostalgic – not only will we celebrate the love of the handwritten postal letter but also remember how we used to visually capture our moments. I found some Polaroid note cards with matching envelopes. Harkening back to the days before Instagram and filters and smart phone photography when film reigned supreme and when immediate photography resulted in sometimes messy, funky, filter-esque images to cherish.

I figured pairing them with these sweet Poet Forever stamps from the one-and-only USPS made for a nice little package:

Unfortunately there was a pretty poor showing for last month’s giveaway. Hopefully this one will pique a bit more interest. Here comes the question…

Question Number Three:

Images are becoming our primary form of communication more and more. When we don’t have the words we text or email a photo. When we want to say something sassy or funny we send memes with limited text and funny picture to match. And I don’t understand SnapChat but I think it is all about temporary images that cannot be captured for long… So my question is:

Do you have a single picture or image (printed or digital) that you truly cherish?

OR

Is there a moment of something in your mind you see as clearly as a photo, though none exists?

A Call To Write: “Bon Appetit!” Stationary & Earthscapes Stamps

Last month I gave away some of my absolute favorite postcards from Good Food Jobs and adorable Apple postcard stamps which I have since become a little obsessed with sending out to my friends. This month I have crafted flat note cards using my embossing “skills”. These are sky blue note cards paired with an ocean blue envelope – the perfect set to pair with the gorgeous Earthscapes Forever stamps I will be sending along with them!

When I went shopping at my favorite Paper Source for Easter supplies/presents I came across this Bon Appetit banner stamp. Having recently watched Julie & Julia on my train ride back to the city a few days before I thought it would be just right for my April stationary giveaway!

I loved your responses to last month’s question. I’m glad to see enthusiasm over the handwritten letter – but it does go to show how rare they are nowadays! Do your part to romance someone’s day by taking a moment to write out a little note or greeting, slap a stamp on it and pop it in the mail! Throughout this year please feel free to send me a message about what you’re sending and receiving through the mail – together we will make a difference and can keep the Post Office alive and kicking!

UPDATED: A Call to Write: March 2013 Winner!!!

Thank you for your entries! It was a good first month... let's get more and more entries every month! I want to hear if you guys are sending more mail and loving on the USPS since the giveaways began! Almost everyone who entered showed a little love for the handwritten letter.... so next time you say to yourself "I should really write to them.." ... do it! They will love it! 

To choose this month's winner I used random.org; the results: 

The winner is: Hello from the Little Tree!!

She said: 

            I think that the most romantic gift I ever received was a carefully crafted 

            care package, but there's nothing like a good love letter!

Please email me within 48 hours where you would like me to mail your sweet Good Food Jobs postcards and apple postcard stamps! theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail.com

No word from Little Tree so second winner was #3... Marnely Rodriguez-Murray! Please email me where you would like your postcards and stamps to be mailed! 

I will have next month's giveaway up in the second week of April, so keep an eye out! Next month will be homemade stationary, super snazzy stamps and to give you a hint the stationary was inspired in part by the one and only Julia Child! Get ready!  

A Call To Write: Revitalizing the USPS through Giveaways!

Did you know I love postal mail? I come home everyday and open my mail box, allowing my breath to catch as I turn my key with anticipation that I’ll discover something sent with love and care carrying the unique penmanship of its sender. More days than not I am fortunate to fill my hands with a cache of magazines, letters and when I’m really lucky checks. Odds are I send more cards than your grandmother does. If you ever looked through my wallet the chances are high you would find some stamps. Some may call me old-fashioned, others would just say I have an old soul but I have always been nostalgic for the ways of the past. And mail, day-by-day, becomes increasingly archaic.

For a while I’d been trying to come up with a way to amplify the usage of the Unites States Postal Service beyond my own weekly mailings. My best audience is still right here on the Culinary Librarian, so I figured it would be smart to work out a giveaway that somehow include the post office. If you’ll remember from my last giveaway I took up embossing recently and have been making my own stationary ever since. Going one step beyond just giving away homemade cards which might be slipped under doors or place in a loved ones suitcase I have decided to give away stationary AND stamps for the next year in hopes it will start an organic chain reaction of everyone sending each other notes, letters, baked goods, sonnets, and so on and so fourth! I’m really hoping enough of you share my intense fondness for the act of sending mail and get on board. If things go really well in the first few months I will happily give away more than one set of stationary and stamps a month… Let’s start the Postal Revitalization!!!

March 2013 marks the first month of the Postal Revitalization. To begin I will be giving away a set of sassy postcards from Good Food Jobs along with thirty-three cent postcard stamps! I’m talking postcards that declare in big bold lettering “BRING HOME THE BACON” – who wouldn’t want to find bacon in their mail box?!

Since their inception I have been a huge fan and supporter of Good Food Jobs. One day it lead me to a part-time job with them as a scout. Taylor and Dorothy are truly fabulous, passionate people who luckily enough are in charge of the one-and-only Good Food Jobs. Beyond being a place to search for or post excellent opportunities in food, the site is a stupendous resource for the food-loving community. Not only is it possible to see what jobs are currently available in the food world it is also a place to learn about what is even possible when imagining making a living off a love of food. The Gastrognomes Blog profiles the movers and shakers, the leaders and bakers in the food community. Their newsletter provides a mid-week boost for its recipients to keep seeking out their dream food jobs, encouraging ways to network and grow within the food community and also announcing anything exciting coming up for GFJ on the whole. It is so much more than a job searching/posting website.

Currently they are in the midst of a slew of their own giveaways and unveiling of new tools to make finding your dream job easier in addition to being their everyday awesome. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter and watch Facebook and Twitter for the upcoming giveaways.

Now let’s get down to business:

The Prize:

A Very Macaron Giveaway!

I've been promising this giveaway since summertime. Plenty has been keeping me busy, and unfortunately from writing here, but holiday time is always a great time for a giveaway!

So here it is, a copy of I Heart Macarons AND a stationary set handmade by me! In late November I stopped into Paper Source on my way home from work to browse Christmas cards but instead of choosing any I learned about embossing and suddenly picked up a new hobby! It started with a Christmas wreath stamp and some red embossing powder and a green ink pad and has already progressed into a growing collection of crafting supplies.

One day I stopped in to the store again to consider a new stamp and found one with a single macaron- how perfect I thought! I chose a pink ink pad to pair it with and tested it out when i got home. So to add something special to the book giveaway and to continue my cruasade to get people to send more personalized mail I've made a set of eight macaron embossed note cards to go with this prize!

To win the book and stationary leave a comment (or email me,  if the comment form doesn't work for you: theculinarylibrarian[at]gmail[dot]com) telling me who you would send one of the macaron cards to if you won! 

I will choose someone at random next Friday, the 14th, and announce the winner. If you win you may choose to have your prize mailed as a gift, since it is holiday time! 

The contest will close Thursday December 13th at 11:59pm EST. The winner must provide an address within the US where the book will be mailed. 

Bonne chance! 

Impromptu Haiku Contest

Yesterday I decided I to get someone this copy of Michael Ruhlman's Ratio I have lying around that went unclaimed by its winner from the initial giveaway. So I went to Twitter and asked you all to send me food haiku and I would choose a winner after I had compiled fifteen. 

Here they are: 

"An Everlasting Meal" and "Ratio" WINNERS!

Thank you to everyone who entered and shared the giveaway of these great books from Tamar Adler and Michael Ruhlman. They are fantastic tomes that I recommend you make part of your own collection. It was wonderful to read over all your thoughtful comments about how you integrate economy and grace into your own kitchen routine as well as which of Ruhlman's ratios piqued your interest. 

I divided all the entries into those for An Everlasting Meal and those for Ratio then used random.org's random number generator to choose the two winners...

Giveaway!: Tamar E. Adler's "An Everlasting Meal" and Michael Ruhlman's "Ratio"

My initial plan had been to hit 1,000 followers on Twitter and finally giveaway one of my favorite books of the past year: Tamar E. Adler's An Everlasting Meal. Unexpectedly, Michael Ruhlman stepped in like a knight in Twitter armor to tip my follower count beyond 1,000 (more than 20 people) in less than 30 minutes. So rather than just give away one favorite book, I thought why not also give away one of my favorite Ruhlman books as well? In addition to Tamar's book I will be giving away a copy of Ratio.

So here we are! I had been hearing a lot about Tamar Adler's book before I actually bought myself a copy. Similar to how it took me a few months to decide to pick up Lauren Shockey's Four Kitchens.  What gave me the go-ahead to check out Tamar's book was after she started following me on Twitter (before I even knew she was on Twitter!). I took that as a bit of a sign to find out for myself what all the buzz was about An Everlasting Meal. Gladly, I was very quickly enchanted by her writing style, the easy way she instructs her audience to fearlessly get in the kitchen, cook what you have, and make the most of every bit of food you buy. Economy and grace, indeed. 

"Les Petits Macarons" signed copy WINNER!

Bonjour my macaron lovers! I am happy to announce I have selected the winner of the signed copy of the Les Petits Macarons book. Thank you to everyone who entered and who shared the giveaway with friends and followers. There were a handful of entries by email in addition to those left as comments on the giveaway post. I used a random number generator to pick a number between 1 and 25, 25 being the total number of entries. Here are the results: 

Entry #25 is.... 

GIVEAWAY! Les Petits Macaron: Trials In the Kitchen

Last month I spent a bit of time thinking about what my next giveaway would be. Naturally, another book was a given, but which one to choose? Recently I have been churning through books at lightning speed and allowing myself a weekly stock up at Kitchen Arts & Letters. Finally I thought since you know how much I love macarons and because I would be going to the Les Petits Macarons book party this month-- a signed copy of the beautifully designed and comprehensive book would be parfait! So here we are. 

My initial plan was to quickly turn out some amazing, homemade macarons and show them off to all of you in the same week that I bought the book. As plans of macaron-makers worldwide tends to go, that's not what worked out. Making macarons is a bit of a challenge because there are so many factors at play each time you make them, especially if you don't follow the directions of your recipe (like not bothering to age your egg whites or let them sit out at room temperature for 2 hours before whipping). The most successful macaron baking sessions come when you really know your cooking tools, especially your oven. This past week I have learned that my oven heats unevenly as well as inconsistently. Not impossible to work with for macarons, but definitely more difficult. I have also found some joys this week, like how decadent and sexy (yes, sexy!) French-style buttercream is. The keys to baking macarons at home are knowing your oven, following the recipe, exercising patience and remembering no matter how ugly your macs turn out, they are still probably going to be delicious! Now I shall tell you The Story of Les Trois Macarons with the giveaway details at the end: