A few weeks ago my instagram feed was flooded with photos from a fabulous party announcing the grand opening of Oh, Hello Friend‘s brick & mortar store in Fullerton. On more than one occasion I was one of the gaggle gathered around their booth at craft fairs cooing over the well-curated vintage-style wares that were always displayed with originality and effortless flair. I knew their store would have the same flair and well-curated product with the only difference being I won’t have to wait until the next craft fair to pay them a visit!

Flash forward to the monthly Potluck Dinner/Craft Night that I do with a few friends who I met when I worked at Paper Source. When it was suggested to swap the craft portion of our March meet-up for a field trip to Oh, Hello Friend’s store — to say I was excited is an understatement!! Here are some photos from our field trip:

Gorgeous, big channel letters are lit up and welcome you into the store. Something about the style of this sign says “Bob Fosse” to me… anyone with me?

The store is set up in such a way that you feel this sense of discovery as you peek at every nook and cranny full of vintage finds. Needless to say, this feast for the eyes took quite awhile for our field trip crew to devour!

Not only is the merchandise impeccably curated, but the displays are effortless and sweet. I love how simple everyday things — clipboards, loafpans, berry baskets, muffin tins, etc. — are repurposed to display product.

The mini cupcake stands (left image, 2nd row, 2nd from left) kept taunting me! I picked them up and put it down about 20 times. I may have to go back and get them! These adorable handmade dolls by Imaginary Friend (right image) were displayed on a daybed surrounded by pillows and handmade tassel garland.

1. Heart-shaped sparklers — I’m thinking this might be part of a fun photo op at some point this (wedding!) year!

2. Mesh wire baskets popped up in several places around the store. With a few sizes to choose from, it was difficult to decide! I ended up with this one measuring approximately 9″ x 5-1/2″ x 3″.

3. A dala horse is a traditional carved, painted wooden horse that originates from Sweden. It reminds me of Solvang, a small town near where I’m getting married later this year. This dala horse is a magnet, perhaps we will get a real one when we are up there for our wedding weekend.

Here is our field trip crew posing with the incredibly sweet shop owner, Danni! From left to right: Ji of Blooms in the Air, Robert of Mahar Craft, Danni of Oh, Hello Friend, Me, and Rebecca of RebeccaBraverman.com.

Whether you hail from the O.C. or you make a field trip out of it like we did, here are the stats:
Oh, Hello Friend
122 North Harbor Boulevard in Fullerton, California

As the saying goes: “A picture is worth 1,000 words”. I will explain my picture in less!

1. I purchased this Murano vase on sale. It was a great find. Each week I make a different flower arrangement to complement the colors in the vase.

2. Brunello wine — smells as good as it tastes!!

3. This wine glass is one in a set of 6 each a different colors — a gift from me to me for my birthday.

4. Parmigiano reggiano cheese is such a strong taste, the grapes & the figs are a fantastic offset to it…of course the vino also helps!!

Mangia!

photo: MamamiaRita via iPad

Translated from Italian, “Mia Cose Favorite” means “My Favorite Things”. Here’s a few of my favorite things that I just can’t live without:

1. Asiatic lilies from Trader Joe’s. Their fragrance encompasses the whole room!

2. Ceramic vase by Jonathan Adler. I love his gorgeous colors & mod patterns. Next on my wishlist? Something from the Utopia collection.

3. White Birds & Branches picture frame from Paper Source. Pretty soon this photo of me with my fiancé will be replaced with a wedding photo! (We’re getting hitched in June!)

4. Vintage magazine clutch. MamamiaRita has always been ahead of her time when it comes to fashion. She gave me this purse when I was a little girl. Back then I carried markers, small notepads and little treasures that I found. Now I carry a cell phone, business cards, lip gloss and keys.

5. Tape Runner XL from Paper Source. Whether I’m assembling a DIY project or wrapping a gift, this double-sided trusty tape is quite handy to have around.

6. Heart & Arrow plate from BHLDN. This sweet ceramic plate resides next to my sink and holds my ring when I wash my hands.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to a regular contributor: my mom, who will be known around here as “MaMaMiaRita”. This is her very first blog post (ever!). She could not be more enthusiastic to get blogging and let me tell you — she has a lot up her sleeve! She has been sending me multiple emails each day with ideas, drafts and photos for future posts. So, without further ado….

I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Atlantic City, New Jersey, called “Ducktown”. It was a place where everyone had one foot in Italy while trying to place the other in America. My family’s ideas and rules were very old world Italian. And then there was me — a product of the Sixties who was excited to explore the world and show my independence. While I became a total American woman, I managed to keep a few “toes” planted in my Italian culture.

I eventually married and moved to Philly but would visit my family in Ducktown often. When my daughter was born I chose an American name, “Rachel” yet I wanted to acknowledge my Italian roots. So, I decided for Rachel’s middle name I would Americanize my great Aunt’s name “Antonietta” (who is the Lupa of Lupa & Pepi) to “Annette”. Lupa refused to accept this version of her name as an honor. Instead she called her “Piccolina Pizzelle” (“Little Pizzelle”) because I bathed Rachel in her pizzelle tub. This tub — large enough to bathe a baby — could hold enough pizzelle dough to feed the entire Italian army. That was pretty much how my family cooked every day — enough to feed the entire neighborhood. The kitchen table sat a dozen people — most nights it was full but we always had leftovers galore and we never threw anything out!

So, that’s a little bit about me and where I’m from. I would love to talk with you about food, vino, entertaining and all the good things in life. Let’s share thoughts, recipes, old times and talk about how important it is to link the past with the future.

We all have great life stories to tell. I look forward to sharing mine and hearing yours.

Ciao,
MaMaMiaRita

{Photos from left to right: my high school yearbook photo, seated for dinner at our kitchen table in Ducktown — I’m in the center wearing orange and Lupa on the bottom right forgot to smile, Rachel and I on the Atlantic City beach}

I could not be more thrilled to be typing my very first blog post on my brand new website! A grande grazie to the Roundhouse Designs guys who totally rocked building the pages that comprise this site. Not only are they programming rockstars, they even taught me a new word: skeuomorphism — they're so smart! My site is going live just in time for the annual design blogger conference, ALT Summit. Before I jet to Salt Lake City to hob nob with fellow bloggers, let me whet your appetite with a few things you can expect on my corner of the world wide web:

~ A sneak peek behind the scenes at the design process and the inspiration for Lupa & Pepi's custom and ready-made papergoods. You'll also have a front row seat as I face the ultimate design challenge: designing paper goods for my own wedding!

~ While design has my heart, food occupies my mind! The evidence? My Instagram feed. On the blog, I will share favorite recipes, culinary adventures and my attempts at cracking the code of my great-great-aunt's (she's the "Lupa" of "Lupa & Pepi") recipe book. She never wrote down a recipe without omitting an ingredient or altering measurements for fear one of her friends would claim the recipe as her own!

~ The women in my family have had tremendous influence on me and serve as the inspiration for the name of my company. My mom — known around here as MamamiaRita — will be a regular guest contributor, sharing everything from classic pasta recipes to sage advice. She is one amazing lady! You will rarely see her in the kitchen, yet there's always a home-cooked multi-course meal on the table at dinner time. Maybe if you ask nicely, she'll tell you how she does it!

Ok, time to dash off to the airport!
Arrivederci!

Photos by Lupa & Pepi. Left to right: Custom papergoods order, our Thanksgiving table setting, homebaked Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook, MamamiaRita and Me at Eataly in New York City