it's winnie the pooh and the blustery day in new haven! yay! i love it!

ha ha! i'm at koffee, playing with my new baby. a pretty, pretty new thang it is too. see, i have a tendency to name the objects in my life...jeepie, freddie, baby...baby was my old computer who is now failing to work...so today i splurged on a new baby. i think it needs a new name, but i'm just so excited right now that i can hardly think of anything. anyhow, it's been a good day, and i can sum it up like this...circuit city = good, comp usa = bad. koffee also = good, as this is the millionth time in a row that i have ended up in a bizarre conversation involving duct tape (ok, so that's not so surprising) and vermont and kids. long story. but it's always nice to meet people. alright, back to work for me! i'm working on getting out the last wholesale order for the season (i'm working my way into ohio!) and getting out a new edition of the duct tales newsletter to remind all the nice vanessa jean customers about the duct tape wares in time for holiday shopping. so if you need to do some holiday shopping...do it here.

zeugma \ZOOG-muh\ noun

: the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one (as in "opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy")


Example sentence:
"She left in a huff and a Chevy," said Jack, employing vivid zeugma to report of Marissa's departure.

oh how the orders are rolling in. here they come...here it comes...the mad holiday rush...bring it on. i am so ready, and i have an established team of elves (really, they are elves, i brought them in from the north pole) ready to help out. the number of orders hitting the website is already noticeable higher. holy cow, what's a little duct-taper to do! just be aware, the absolute last day to place a christmas order with promised on-time deliver is december 18th!

yes, yes, i am making the biggest mistake of my life. i am going to attempt to go out and fight the crowds and try to buy a new computer today. i'm sure best buy or comp usa or one of those places is the absolute best place to be on the day after thanksgiving. right...i think i must have a death wish for myself. however...that shouldn't stop you all from starting your christmas shopping at vanessa jean dot com right now!

oh dear! most people who know me know that thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday. i hate turkey, i like to nap right after i eat, and that's always hard when you are entertaining, and there's usually cooking and planning involved and either awful flying across the country or being family-less on the east coast. well, thanksgiving has been redeemed!. this was the best turkey day ever. i didn't have to cook, and hardy clean, but i got to eat a fantastic meal that had at least 4 sticks of butter, 4 cups of brown sugar, and 5 different vegetables (carrots, corn, potatoes, yams, and the best green bean casserole i have ever had), not to mention some liquid refreshment and some of the funniest people i know. i got to eat and nap immediately, and then play board games and have a dance party. when your turkey night ends with dancing on a table to ignition remix, that's a pretty good sign. it was also the most beautiful day and night ever. it was sunny and warm and i took a nap outside on the porch while the turkey was in the oven, and it was warm enough for us to hang out in the back all night long (much to the chagrin of the neighbors)!

however, i did miss my family and friends in california a lot. i got especially sentimental when i called them during their dinner and got to talk to almost everyone, but it made me wish i was there. so family...I MISS YOU! and can't wait to be with everyone over christmas. hugs & kisses. i love you guys and you give me so much to be thankful for.

happy pepto bismal day!

mucho thanks to sara from whom i just received the most incredible birthday card and gift....the coolest cd in the world by jennifer berezan. check out her website at edgeofwonder.com. thanks sar!

i'm pretty sure i know where i get my 'waste-lots-of-time-on-the-computer' genes from.

who knew cats and dogs could type?
nonetheless order cookies from mrs. fields and have them shipped across the country!

yesterday i was so SO excited when the fed ex man brought a present around 6pm. we weren't expecting anyone or any deliveries, so when i found a large, flat box from mrs. fields' i couldn't have been happier, or more surprised! but the best part was the note.
" dear vanessa,
happy thanksgiving. we miss you.
love,
peaches, em, phil (the stud cat of the world) and SPORT"
i was so touched, but even more surprised to know that the family pets were so articulate and know how to ship stuff from the internet. wow. thanks!

such a good book! blueberries for sal! i loved it as a kid, but i love it even more because it reminds me so much of this fantastic trip i took to machias, maine with some good friends. not only was it a weekend long fun-filled adventure to the machias blueberry festival, but also an adventure that continues to bring me happiness. and last weekend (thank goodness for the throngs of people who pour into new haven for the harvard yale football game) we got to have a small machias reunion, and that made me exceptionally happy! thank goodness for blueberries and machias and the good stories they bring!

test your bad ol' self with this fun left brain.right brain challenge.

if i told you i got 100%, would you call me a genuis?

just so no one worries, i'm not actually working today. i'm lounging and enjoy a festive turkey day, following a very festive pre-turkey day night on the town...and preparing for the immense meal that's coming in a few hours. i'm just treating myself with a little computer time!

oh how i wish my little computer was working so i could download some pics and post them here. in the place or real visuals, close your eyes and imagine this...(ok, read first, then close your eyes and imagine)... i just finished getting out a huge order for a store, people people. it's a huge order, the largest wholesale order by far (barring the uncommon goods order, that is all of the same piece, so that doesn't count!) and the studio is full of about 60 different colorful pieces. meri bags with adorable little flowers, a rainbow of mini maron bags, hannas galore, id wallets (pic online to come soon!), some fantasticly striped suzy q's and (my new fave!) some adorable striped alison bags. and they are just all lined up, brilliant in color, just waiting to get shipped out. but what a huge order, and what a pretty picture they all make. this is definately my favorite part of the wholesale process, looking at just tons and tons and tons of pieces all in one place!

oh dear! this will be the second holiday season in this duct tape business. anyhow who knew me through the holiday season last year can vouch that it is the craziest, busiest time of the year. and that was when the business was new and hardly know. well, it's only thanksgiving now, and the orders are pouring in, and i'm not quite sure what i am going to do with myself. i think i am going to have to enlist a few more elves at the studio. it's so fun to look back one year and think that this was all just starting and that i had no idea where it was going to go. and to think that now i am receiving orders from south boston; bartlett, tennessee; la canada, ca; new haven, ct; la; and lubbock, tx and those are just some orders that came in this week. and it's all for one reason: you! (it's ok for me to get a little mushy, it is thanksgiving after all!) this little business has grown so much because of the wonderful support of friends, family and customers who are so kind as to pass along the website and tell friends about vanessa jean. it's amazing what word of mouth can do, and i just can't say thank you enough to everyone who has showed their support. their is nothing more amazing that getting an e-mail saying thanks for the goods and 'oh, i heard about you from so-and-so in texas, and i am telling all my friends here in boulder, and my mom in vermont wants one too'. it's you're enthusiasm that makes these little wheels keep grinding and i just want you all to know that it makes me really, really happy! (yes, i am the luckiest little duct-taper in the land!)

ahhh, some e-mails are just too good to pass up. this is from my mom, writing about my dad. sorry to maybe embarass some parties in the process, but this little anecdote is too good to be true. however, i know it's true, and that makes it even funnier...(despite the fact that it's written in that anonymous forwarded e-mail tone)
i received this e-mail from my mom...

"One day my housework-challenged husband decided to wash his
sweatshirt.

Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to me, "What
setting do I use on the washing machine?"

"It depends," I replied. "What does it say on your shirt?"

He yelled back, "Yale".

And they say blondes are dumb..."

enough said!

have you all missed me? probably not since hardly anyone reads this duct tape related blog anymore (unless they happen to stumble across it when it comes up as a google resuly for "pantyhose+feet+photo" search [don't ask]).
anyhow, i'm back. i've come to the realization that is it quite challenging to run an online business without a functioning computer. which is what i am doing. and right now i am giving thanksgiving for my roommate who left her laptop here while she went home to celebrate the day of the turkey. it's also hard to research new computers when you don't have a computer to surf mr. internet with. oh well. anyhow, apologies galore for the lack of posting, but i was up a creek without a computer...and it was impossible to navigate. but i'm back in action and trying to post more more more for these pre-holiday days, and to update from the past 2 weeks when my (loyal two) readers had nothing new to read. so, today will be a day for feasting on turkey AND worthless vanessa jean blog info! stay posted.

sale! sale! sale!

i know, i know, those are words you hear very often around here at vanessajean.com. but in the spirit of celebration of the one year anniversary of the duct tape business, we are offering our first ever sale...and on some of our most popular goods. be sure to check out the new sale belts on the website. just click here for a variety of new and limited color combinations offered at a fun, discounted price. yay! what could be better? and it's just in time for the holiday season, and we all know that these reversible, animal-free, one-size-fits-almost-all belts make a fantastic gift. so give them a check out, fer shure it's the best vanessa jean deal to date!

sale! sale! sale!

i know, i know, that's not a word you hear very often here at vanessa jean dot com, but indeed this time it is true. in this month long tradition of celebrating the the one year anniversary of vanessa jean, we are offering some 0 comments

well, well, well...things have been busier here than i could even predict...i need more elves! the part that makes me the most nervous is that i think it is the calm before the storm. people are still telling me 'thanks for my item, i love it, and i'm going to order more for christmas!'...but i have only received one christmas order yet...i think i might have to come up with some fun incentive for pre-thanksgiving ordering. keep posted. in other year-long anniversary news, the the website has been updated a lot lately...and maybe it's new to you...so check it out my clicking here. it's also easier than ever to order a custom item online with secure ordering! just type in your specifications in the 'business' field of the order form (and some items even have a selection for choose your own!). and we'll be sure to let you know we got it in your confirmation. alright...that's the duct tape news for today!

it's a birthday celebration!

this week someone asked me how long vanessa jean * duct tape design has been around...i thought for a minute and realized it's been a year, an official year of this happy duct tape biz. it's hard to gauge a year since this all slowly rolled into being, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate. and we all know i like to celebrate, so check the website often for special birthday offers, promos, new items, and fun holiday gifts...cause this celebration will last for a full month, through december 7, which was the official launch date of the vanessa jean website. it's gonna be like one big party around here, so throw that funny, pointy paper party hat on and let's get celebrating! coming soon, a birthday sale on fun belts and some new bags.

and, as always, a HUGE thank you to the loyal duct tape supporters who have helped us grow so much in the past year!

cheers!!!

what do you do with a drunken sailor?

ahhh, just make him sell beanie babies on e-bay. a true gem if i ever saw one.

my hero.

welcome to my love/hate relationship with sleep.
am i tired? yes. exhausted after a long week of work, an amazing 48 hours in nyc, and 2 solid days of this week under my belt (ok, and snuggling under the covers while re-reading one of my favorite books and some leftover italian from friday's gala...i love leftovers, they feed me for weeks). ok, back to the point. i am tired, i am so tired. i am so tired that people who don't even know me well ask me if i am tired. maybe tired isn't the right word for it, just beat! and yes, dear old guy, i know a few good, hearty nights of sleep would cure it all. and i love sleep, those juicy good dreams and the cozy bed and a warm, happy quilt, i love it!

but sleep?! sleeping is like missing out on all the good hours of the day (especially the dark ones when i can craft around and feel so creative!) sleeping is like taking away that extra time for whatever crazy plan i'm dreaming off or trimming the new tree for christmas or working on a crazy new duct tape design (in the works... 'ally' and something black and pink... i thing black and pink will be the colors for the winter...get excited). anyhow, how am i supposed to sleep when there are so many incredible things to do? i just can't.

and there it is my friends, my problem with sleep. i can't really call it a problem...i guess it just means that i'm content asleep or awake.

and on that note...i think i'll try to sleep now...or read...oh dear! why do i have so much energy.

ahh, the velvet ribbon is finally in, and i can't remember to send it out to a few folks. must remember, must remember, must remember!

care of mr. squirrel who is re-doing his cozy nest and loves to send along sweet quotes...

"A house becomes a home when you can write 'I love you' on the furniture."

i'm off to write 'i love you' on the furniture.

this has been a great weekend in the 'boosting vanessa jean's ego' department. i swung by the post office to drop off the second shipment of the clutches for the uncommon goods catalog order, and what did i find in my p.o. box? nothing other than the actual catalog itself. it was so exciting to see my stuff on the glossy pages of a real catalog, wowzer. i believe i showed it to everyone i know this weekend, please forgive me, it's just so exciting. and on the same note, i was actually recognized on the streets as 'the woman who makes the duct tape purses'. how cool is that? i was walking to the subway in grand central, and this woman and her accompanying fellow stopped me to ask if i was that vanessa. it was so cool, and i knew who she was because i just filled and sent off her order online. how cool is that?! she recognized me from the online photo and the huge orange duct tape liz bag i was carrying. whew, rant over, enough inflated headed-ness from me, but i just has to share the excitement with the ever dwindling number of people who read this.
post note the online clutch is now available online at uncommongoods.com...just click on this link. the coolest thing is that there is even an artist bio you can click to on that page. i'm feeling cooler than i've ever felt in my whole life!

imagine one of those hallmark commercials that makes you cry because it is so sappy, but so good. now imagine colin firth, keira knightley, liam neeson, emma thompson, hugh grant, laura linney, and many more all-stars featured in this hallmark commercial. now imagine that it's a full-length, feel-good movie, now go see love actually and you'll know exactly what i'm talking about. such a good movie, good because it knows it's off-the-wall unbelievable, but plays upon that to hit upon the wishing romantic inside each of us. it also has colin firth (did i mention that?) and portuguese, and even lisbon. i couldn't be happier to have seen it. it was so good that it even redeemed hugh grant in my eyes, and that says a lot. three cheers for 'love actually', go see it for yourself.