Where we were...

At the end of December, just before Christmas, Jake and I headed to Aruba for a vacation. It was awesome! I don't think that we've ever gone on vacation without extensively planning it, but I am so glad we did. We got a great last minute deal (booked three weeks beforehand) through JetBlue that we just couldn't pass up. And the timing was perfect - just after the end of the semester and before trade show season and Christmas. So we spent six days on the beach, horseback riding and kayaking on the ocean. In short, we did nothing. I didn't research things to do, we didn't pack our days full of exploring, we only ate out once thanks to a kitchen suite. It was, thankfully, the most refreshing trip I have ever taken.

Let's start at the beginning...

The beginning of August. Every month that passes seems to be busier than the last. August was no exception, as I'm sure you can tell. So, what have we been up to here at Pistachio Press? We visited my sister (Lindsay) and brother-in-law in Florida, took a road trip to Asheville, NC for the Ladies of Letterpress conference, and went to a trade show in NYC. We've been gone for most of the past month and now, thanks to a great gift show, we have a ton of printing to finish up. Oh, and the semester started last week.

The top two pictures were taken at a beach near Niceville, FL where my sister lives. I haven't been in water so clear and blue and warm in a very long time. It was pretty amazing. Seriously, the water was incredible. The third pic is from our road trip to Asheville. Lindsay and Jake drove while I napped and enjoyed the scenery. And the fourth image was taken when we hit the Blue Ridge Mountains. As much as I loved the beach, the mountains were a welcome sight. We hit right at sunset and it couldn't have been better timing.

I've really missed being in this space and I'm planning to spend the week catching up. I hope you'll forgive the lapse in posting and I hope you all had a great summer!

Keuka Lake

Do you like your in-laws? I completely adore mine. Jake's family feels like my family and his cousin and aunt just sent us these great pictures of our trip. I look forward to this every year and I think this was the best trip we've had. The weather was 90-100 degrees every day with beautiful blue skies, a nice breeze and an almost entirely private pebble beach. If we had been in Rochester I would have been suffocating from the heat, but luckily we were 20-feet from the beach! We played euchre most nights after making smores by the fire. Every night a different group cooked dinner. We lounged the day away reading, swimming, canoeing, biking and hiking. It was heaven.

A week at the lake

The last few weeks (maybe even months) have been rough. We've been working non-stop and printing around the clock. I thought that after the stationery show things would slow down and the wedding jobs would thin out. I was wrong! We've been reprinting cards to fill orders from NSS and prep for the gift show in August and the wedding jobs have been flowing steadily for the fall wedding season. I am so grateful that we have such great clients and that business is booming, but 12-18 hour days take their toll no matter how much you love what you do.

So, last week Jake and I made the final push to print everything on our plate, package it up and take it to FedEx before leaving for a week-long family vacation at the lake. We ended up leaving a day late, but I can tell you that it was so worth it. Knowing that we were caught up when I stepped out of the car at the lake was like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. This is the most relaxed I've been in at least three years.

The boxes above are from about four days worth of work before we left. I've never dropped off packages for FedEx on a Sunday, but this felt great :)

Camping 2011

We just returned from our yearly camping trip with friends on my family's land. Had a great time, but it was sadly overcast and rainy the entire time. Today, of course, is beautifully sunny and we're spending it in the studio printing. At least our windows are big!

You may notice the sweet couch set up at the pond in the middle picture. Our camping trips are more plush every year.

Dream Cabin

The end of the semester is always crazy, but paired with prep for the stationery show and some very sick puppies I have been fantasizing about a vacation. A real vacation. With no phone, no internet, few people and several books. I also have a longtime dream of owning a small cottage or cabin. So, when my boss showed me his friend Michael's cabin I fell in love. LOVE. Such a quiet, perfect space to get away. I really think Jake and I might book as stay here - once in the summer to enjoy the creek and hiking and once in the winter because I've never gotten to vacation in snow. You can check out the rental listing here.

Wishing I was still at the beach!

Here are some of the beach photos I promised. Don't we look like we had a good time :) The day that Lindsay and Jake went swimming was also the rainy day, and they claim the water was much warmer than the air! I think Jake might still have sand in his ears, though.

To contrast the beautiful house we stayed at last week, here is a picture of the "campground" Jake and I stayed at a few years ago. We thought that camping on the beach would be fun and most state parks I've been to have been great. This is not the case in Delaware {picture a tiny tent blowing away while you sleep during a thunderstorm amidst the swarm of RVs}!

Back from the beach

Well, our trip to the beach was short and sweet. We really only had two days without driving {one was sunny and beautiful, the other was overcast but still fun}. I was able to have all of my favorite beach things...boardwalk fries with vinegar, hot caramel corn, salt water taffy, people watching and sand under my feet! This is the house where we stayed, which belongs to my grandmother's cousin. Five bedrooms located on a salt water inlet.

And here are the "cookies" we brought back for our pups {from a store called Yuppy Puppy!}. We sure missed our girls, but they were well taken care of by Nola.

More camping

As promised, some more pictures of our very fun camping trip. We like to call it "Camping at the Hilton" since my aunt and uncle spoil us with amenities {like margaritas, the Gator, paddle boats, a pavilion, and blueberry shortcake for breakfast}.

Knitting in the sand

Although I won't be able to go on this awesome cruise {maybe when I learn a bit more}, I will be able to knit on the beach in a few weeks. The family is going to stay in a beautiful house {owned by my grandma's cousin} in Bethany Beach, Delaware. I'm looking forward to some relaxation and a tan before starting the new semester. And vinegar fries on the boardwalk. And maybe reading a new book. August must be our month for travel!

Great Weekend

We had an awesome time on the camping trip this weekend. We're all a little sun burned and sleepy {in a good way} and my hair still smells like the camp fire even though I washed it twice! This photo is from our last night right before our big bonfire. I'll post more soon, but until then check out Luke's blog.