Tuesday Tutorials: Make it your own!

I can't believe it is already June! Yikes! Where has time gone? For me it has been a whirlwind ride of teaching and going to cultural events lately! I've been so busy that when I get home I am too tired or too spent to even think about writing a post but here I am back again from the woodwork!
I've been working on making this room here my own (not an easy task since there are so many useless things lying around here that I am trying to figure out what to do with) and have commenced by decorating one side of the shelf for me to enjoy and look at!

If you read my post in April about collage making, then you will recognize the first piece on my shelf-side collage. I used that collage as a starting point for this particular decoration piece:

What else did I use, you ask? Well, I have an ever growing collection of postcards and trinkets people send me so I started to use them as the basis for my collage. Among the ones pictured are a postcard from Socks for Happy People, a postcard my parents brought me from Lima, Peru, and a few little cards from Paris my friend Martina sent me! I am a very visual person and having a bland room is not my idea of fun!

In order to not harm the shelf nor harm the pieces I am using I decided to use mounting tape to get them up there. It peels off fairly easily when I want to change something around and is less annoying than regular scotch tape.

Thank God for creativity and ingenuity! It's the little things in life that inspire me most! Have a bright and cheerful day! What decorating plans do you have for this summer? I'd love to know!

Cheers!

Saturday Special: Socks For Happy People Love

On Tuesday I received a package in the mail all the way from the UK. Inside the lovely reusable envelope were the socks pictured to the left. Those of you who have been reading my blog for quite some time know how much I love Socks For Happy People and their mission. So you can imagine that I am beside myself with these 5 pairs of socks and have had a rather large smile on my face all week since receiving this excellent package and the great note from Tom and Rich which brought tears to my eyes. I was not expecting to receive such a wonderful array of socks but I deeply appreciate what I was sent.

As I told my good friend Megzy, who is also a huge fan of SFHP, I am beside myself with joy at the ability I now have to wear these remarkable socks because, afterall, they are more than socks. They are even more than iconography, they hold meaning and that is something which not all brands can boast off. I love that the company doesn't have just a mission statement, they understand that they are on a mission. Their purpose:

"Socks for Happy People exists to inspire a deeper understanding of genuine happiness throughout the world, and be a shining example of how a business with the well-being of humanity and nature at its core can be inherently sustainable and abundantly profitable."

How could anyone oppose to that? Socks for Happy People truly is more than just another sock company. Their purpose and mission also breaks down to three different types of visions: Social, Environmental and Economic. Besides these wonderful visions there are the wonderful programs of Buy One, Give One Free as well as Penny On which gives you the option of adding pennies on to your purchase benefiting Penny On an organization dedicated to the eradication of world poverty. So, as you can see, Socks For Happy People is about more than just socks but the socks are pretty darn wonderful too!

In short, I hope you too will hop on the happiness band-wagon and get into a pair or two or even more of Socks for Happy People socks because, afterall, they're more than just socks! This is a happiness revolution and I'm all for that!

Love, socks, and happiness!

Nadia Marie

Fantastic Friday: Socks for Happy People and more...

Spring Poppies by Susan Hazard

Today is the official launch date of Socks for Happy People's 3 lines of fantastic socks and I can't wait to hear how their first day went! Having been communicating with Tom and Rich since last September (when I met them on Twitter) I've been excited about this moment and now it is here, upon us and the excitement just keeps growing! Check out this video of their fantastic What Lies Beneath Line:

What do you think? I love all of the socks in this first launch collection and can't wait to get a pair on my feet!

Still working on my packing, I have about 2-3 days left to do it all and I've not been very successful of late. I was however able to get a CD notebook and finally take that load of heavy plastic cases off and will be leaving the frightfully large CD carrier for my Dad to enjoy!

Other than packing and getting a few last minute things here and there I've been enjoying my sweet little nieces and trying to give them as much love and affection as I can before I leave. I am going to miss them both a lot!

Cheers!

Fantastic Fridays: Socks for Happy People announces product launch!

Hello friends! Sorry for the two day hiatus, been busy cleaning and packing for my next big move but wanted to bring you all this news which is something I've been waiting to hear for some time and am really excited about! Socks for Happy People has just yesterday announced the launch of their line of eco-friendly happy socks! The website and the ability to buy socks from this fun company will begin on Friday the 26th of March. Tom Minter and Rich Taylor are great friends of mine and I am so happy to announce this launch on my own blog in hopes that you too, if you haven't already, will join in the fun and celebration of this much anticipated product.

Besides going to the website to enter to win the entire collection, which I recommend you do as the contest is still open, you can join the party on facebook on the Socks for Happy People Fan page, follow them on Twitter: @Socks4HappyPPL, check out the Flickr group: The World's Largest Collection of Sock Pics, and of course, you HAVE to check out the blog which is where you will see for the next few days the products revealed starting with today's Affirmation Sock post!

So, stop hesitating and go already! Check it all out and feast your eyes on the coolest socks around!

Have a happy weekend!

50th Post!!!

Hurray! This is a great milestone for me! It is the first time that I have been able to be consistent with a blog so I count my 50th post as a huge success! I love bringing interesting things and topics to you guys and am happy to continue to do so in the coming months! This blog has brought me so much joy and has led me to form some really great friendships so today's post is dedicated to those who have encouraged me in my writing and have been there for me since I began the blog! You guys rock! This is for ALL my readers but I'd love to give some special shout outs!

To Tom Minter and Rich Taylor:

YOU SOCK-TERRIFIC GUYS ARE SO DEAR TO MY ♥! I am so happy to have met you guys and come across you through Twitter! I love you guys and feel that you are part of my larger than life extended family! Thanks so much for your constant encouragement and your all-around happy attitude! I ♥ U!

To Laura Hillman:

I am so glad we became friends! You are an inspiring woman and a great encouragement to me as well! I cannot wait until we get to meet, whenever that might be! We'll have to go dancing! ;-) I ♥ U!

To Marianne Baird, Debra Cincioni, and Blanca Raygoza:

My sisters for life! You ladies are so awesome and there is not a day that goes by that I do not think of you! You have brought zest to my life and joy to my heart! We are sisters forever! Love you!!

To Stacy Gandy, Megzy, Chelsea Fuss and Mary Green:

Words cannot describe the joy I get from the creativity that hails from these wonderful ladies! It is so much fun to see their creative genius! I enjoy the blogs, the photos, the creations, everything you ladies have to offer and for that I am truly grateful! You inspire me daily! Thank you!

To Margaret McDermott:

Thanks for being so supportive of my blog and allowing me to be supportive of yours! Though I may not always comment I have to say that I love your blog and am so happy to call you friend and to have met you in college! I love you, mama!

To Lalia Helmer:

You are such a joy to receive comments and tweets from! I am so glad to have met you through Socks for Happy People and hope that our friendship will continue to grow! I hope you are enjoying Spain and England and cannot wait to hear all about your trip! Hugs and kisses!

To Jennifer and Laura:

You ladies are such a joy and inspiration to me! Your friendship means a lot and your continued loyalty even more! I love you girls! Hugs and kisses as well!

To everyone else:

There are so many of you who have made this blog possible and I am so grateful for you! I enjoy your comments, your encouragement and I hope that you enjoy the content of this blog. Thanks for making the first 50 posts worth writing! I hope the next 50 will be even better! From my heart to yours!

Love and blessings,

Nadia Marie

Motto? What Motto? Motto Agency is bringing smiles to many a face!

The front door,
originally uploaded by mottoagency.

If you have not already heard of Motto Agency then keep reading this post! My first encounter with this agency was on facebook when they hosted an event called Behind the Brand and were featuring my good friends Socks for Happy People! The photo above depicts their logo and can be found, along with many other brilliant photos, on their Flickr page which I suggest you check out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mottoagency/. Thanks to Sunny Bonnell for posting pics of this awesome agency! I'd like to tell you a little about why I think they are so cool and what sets them apart from other agencies. They are, in their own words: "a consumer-centric brand strategy and design firm that combines design, strategy and technology to help companies launch, grow, and reinvent their brands."- Motto Agency.

I think the most important thing to note about Motto Agency is that they are not just promoting any random brands out there, each brand they promote is doing something to promote the common good and general welfare of human beings world wide. Each brand has a specific mission, a specific cause that sets them apart from other global brands and this is what makes Motto Agency so unique, they promote these same causes through the use of brilliant design and technology. If that isn't awesome I don't know what is!

The agency is the brainchild of friends and colleagues Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger, who founded it in 2005. A look at the cleverly named section, The Lowdown, on their webpage in the About Motto tab tells you the ins and outs of how this ecclectic agency was formed! What's great about their site is that it keeps in tune with their mission and design style. My other favorite thing about Motto? The Tuesday facebook events entitled Behind the Brand. This past Tuesday they showcased a company called Overlooked! The event was fun, full of great prizes and best of all it formed connection between the company and its would be consumers--the people! That is the most important part of what Motto does, it helps brands connect to humanity by promoting the good the companies are doing in this world and allowing consumers to be a part of it.

To see some of Motto's Behind the Brand interviews become a fan on their facebook page. Once you're there click on the Notes section and get your heart's delight out of interview's such as "Behind the Brand: Overlooked" or "Behind the Brand: Socks for Happy People." I'm telling you, you'll be glad you read them and will probably want to be screaming how great Motto and these companies are from every rooftop in your town! So, seriously, what are you waiting for? Go check them out! Go to the webpage, read the blog, add them to your favorite pages on facebook and don't forget to follow them on twitter! Join the brand revolution! I did and it feels good!

Cheers!