Luscious Verde

We've Moved

2010-05-18T14:02:00.002-04:00

Hey there! Yes, we've grown up and moved out of the confines of Blogger. Be sure to check us out on our new blog at ShopLVC. Hope to see you there!

The Ballad of Corner Parker

2010-04-07T14:36:00.004-04:00

Yes, it's true: Luscious Verde cards are not made in a magical treehouse in Never-Never Land. They are actually made in a fairly nondescript office park in a suburb of Cleveland. In fact, if you've ever seen the film "Office Space" (and why you haven't seen that yet is anyone's guess), that's pretty much the look of the place where our offices are located.

Things have gone pretty smoothly for us here until the last few months, when a man known as Corner Parker entered our lives and sent us on a puzzling journey. We showed up one day at work and there he was: a man who simply refused to park like a normal person. At first, we thought it was funny.

If one of us got here a little early, we would park normally in the middle of the two or three spaces he normally takes up. One time, our head designer Jason actually saw Corner Parker in the wild! Because of that, we know that he's a diminutive fellow who abhors loose-fitting clothing.

So, please, if you're reading this, Corner Parker, know this: we are watching you.

-- Rob @ L.V.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-12T15:02:00.002-05:00

This picture comes to us from Vickie Kendra, our friend in the Solon City Schools, where we donate a goodly amount of our excess paper. Too cute!

Awesome Sauce

2010-01-25T08:51:00.002-05:00

Yes, this is a real save-the-date video.

Hail Kale

2010-01-08T13:59:00.002-05:00

Growing up, I used to be that kid who ate the decorations on the salad bar. Oddly, it was probably the best thing I could have eaten off of that icy buffet.

This leads me to an unusual bumper sticker which landed on my desk this morning, stating, “Eat More Kale.” The sticker came from Chris-Anna, who was also T-shirt clad with the same message. The site Eat More Kale is a pretty cool little shop which first catered its designs at local farmer’s markets. The premise is to basically spread the word that this green is here to stay!

Chris and Wendy, being kale lovers and basically lovers of all things green (verde), enthusiastically support the green movement both eating and doing. If you ever need a recipe or advice about changing up your diet from Hot Pockets to green soup, they are the two to ask. As for recipes, I secretly like this one, mainly because it tastes like potato chips. Enjoy!

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon seasoned salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove the leaves from the thick stems of the kale and tear into bite sized pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry the kale with a salad spinner (remember when you registered for one?) or else a bunch of paper towels or clean kitchen towel. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Bake until edges are brown, but not burnt, 10-15 minutes.

Stay green,

Megan @ L.V.

Eco-Awesome

2009-12-17T11:10:00.002-05:00

OK, take a deep breath. The holiday season is almost over. Take heart in the fact that wedding season is almost upon us! (I mean, a bunch of people are probably going to get engaged in the next two weeks, am I right?) And with that, we recently came across this awesome blog that features all kinds of sweet information on having the wedding of your dreams be in line with the planet's chi. It's called Eco-Beautiful Weddings, and it is highly recommended as a destination for you and yours.

Oh, and if we don't talk before the holiday, have a great one! Don't eat too much chocolate this New Year's Eve, Lindsay.

Ho Ho Ho-Hum

2009-12-01T13:19:00.003-05:00

Whoa, November just rolled on by, am I right? We apologize for the lack of updates recently, but we are in the thick of holiday madness. Well, maybe "madness" isn't the right word...how about "crazy busy-ness"? When the new year rolls around, we promise to give you a little more of a weekly look into the fairyland of wonderfulness that is Luscious Verde. Until then, please enjoy this video of one of our holiday favorites.

Thanks,

Rob @ L.V.

Spooky

2009-10-29T10:51:00.002-04:00

Thanks again to Vickie Kendra at Solon Public Schools for sending in this awesome work of art from her grade-schoolers, made with donated scrap paper from here at Luscious Verde. A smashing pumpkin, indeed.

-- Rob @ L.V.

Happy Birthday Wendy!

2009-10-07T11:39:00.002-04:00

Tuesday Morning Ridiculousness

2009-09-22T10:32:00.002-04:00

Check out our new site!

Won't Somebody Please Think of the Children?

2009-09-21T13:29:00.002-04:00

This photo is courtesy Vickie Kendra, a teacher at Solon City Schools, and her students, who have been using some of our leftover "scrap" paper to make all sorts of cool stuff. Remember, we have a tooooon of scrap paper here at the Verde, so just get in contact with us at info@lusciousverde.com if your organization needs any delicious leftovers.

-- Rob @ L.V.

Head Count

2009-09-02T09:55:00.003-04:00

(From bottom, in ascending head size order: pricing lady Megan, proofreader Kevin, operations manager Liz, head designer Jason, bon vivant Rob)

A few Fridays ago, we were all having lunch as usual. At daily lunches at Luscious Verde, many topics come and go in conversation. Sometimes we talk about deep subjects like new Doritos flavors, and sometimes we debate the issues of the day, like "Is Sonic really deserving of the hype?"

A branch of conversation by a few of us guys about the inability to find proper-fitting adult hats gave Lindsay a brainstorm. Who, she wondered, has the biggest head at the lunch table? After a few minutes of measuring, we found out: it's me. I have the biggest head at Luscious Verde. This explains why even the "One Size Fits All" faux-cowboy hats at Target don't fit my enormous melon. Bummer.

-- Rob @ L.V.

The Holiday

2009-08-24T14:07:00.002-04:00

Well, it's finally happened: we have received approval for this year's first holiday card. It seems like the perfect occasion to get in the holiday spirit, correct? Grab some egg nog, hang your stockings by the fire with care, and sing along with Bing and Dave.

-- Rob @ L.V.

Why Didn't Anyone Tell Us About This Sooner?

2009-08-18T13:37:00.002-04:00

Ben and Jerry's does wedding cakes! Holy moley! I want to get married just so I can get my hands on one of these cakes. Well, on second thought...

-- Rob @ L.V.

Leanimal Planet

2009-08-10T10:38:00.002-04:00

My love for Project Runway continues as I stumbled across Leanne Marshall’s new bridal collection. Her focus has always been to create a line of sustainable ready-to-wear bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses. If you remember Leanimal’s trademark of using nature-inspired waves and pleats, you can see she has carried her unique style with this new collection. I would wear any of these little babies just out for coffee (classy coffee that is). I wonder if she'll have a trade-in policy: eight super-ugly bridesmaid dresses for one super awesome Leanimal? Congratulations again, Leanne, on sticking to a style that you love and not simply throwing your name on powdered blush and fingernail polish like another Project Runway winner. (We won’t mention any names.)

-- Megan @ L.V.

Mmm...Papery and Cakery

2009-07-29T09:34:00.002-04:00

Our new obsession is reading the blog of one of our newest stores, Papery and Cakery. It’s full of so much great information on two of my true loves: cake and paper. If you scroll down you can see how we’ve combined our adorable cupcake announcement with Martha Stewart’s cupcakes. If only our announcement was edible.

-- Megan @ L.V.

Things We Love: Annoying, Catchy Song of the Summer

2009-07-23T10:31:00.002-04:00

Around here, we're wondering exactly where summer is. Almost every summer day here in Cleveland has been either 68 degrees or rainy. Not that we're completely complaining; I suppose that we could be sweltering and dealing with the 98-degrees-in-the-shade type of weather we usually get.

To warm up, we suggest the above song, one that has somehow implanted itself in the brain of most of us. We apologize in advance.

-- Rob @ L.V.

Poppin'

2009-07-17T14:37:00.002-04:00

Our friends at LottaLuv (and especially Eileen) sent us this awesome box of goodies. Our lip gloss dreams are finally answered. Jason, our head designer, is so excited about his cherry Laffy Taffy gloss he’s already applied it more then the recommended dosage. I did notice his smile looking a little plumper today. Thanks again, Eileen! We love getting goodies in the mail.

-- Megan @ L.V.

GUITARMAGEDDON!

2009-07-02T12:32:00.003-04:00

Proofreader Jim (the one in the beret) had a dream after he found out that Rebecca and Meg, two of our print production artists, were taking guitar lessons: everyone who has a guitar would bring one to work, and much rocking-out would ensue. Due to the photographic evidence above, we could say that was quite accurate. We hung out in the parking lot like a bunch of teenage delinquents, "Wonderwall" was attempted a few times, and much fun was had. Plans are to make GUITARMAGEDDON a weekly event, unless Rob (inexplicably wearing a "Forever Plaid" T-shirt) forgets his guitar, which he is wont to do.

All I Font

2009-06-25T10:06:00.002-04:00

Holy bananas, the Dutch have done it again! This new font, "Ecofont," was created by Dutch communications company Spranq. This downloadable typeface contains multiple small circular holes, meaning that each letter requires less ink to be printed. It's actually a pretty unique typeface with sans serif because the little flourishes use up more ink when being printed. Spranq claims that this new "holey" font will reduce ink use about 20 percent. This font may not save the universe, but it’s going to help one letter at a time.

-- Megan @ L.V.

Hoop Dreams

2009-06-23T14:23:00.003-04:00

Despite the recent spectacular disintegration of our beloved Cavaliers, a surprising addiction has beset many members of the Luscious Verde family: b-ball fever. The legend has it that our head designer Jason had an old hoop he wasn't using anymore, so why not bring it to work and share the bounty (and bring back bad memories of those of us who pretended to be sick on gym days)?

Such trepidation has given over to such a full-court press that even I, possibly the most sedentary person here, have been known to take part in a game or two during lunch breaks. Calories are lost, smack is talked, and we waste our time in the best way possible (that is, until we get our oft-fantasied nap room).

-- Rob @ L.V.

Friends Don't Let Friends Craft Drunk

2009-06-15T14:38:00.003-04:00

After a night of heavy drinking and rocking out with his band Highland, I had Rob save me his beer-can pull-tabs for this next project. I am not the best at crocheting, but maybe Wendy can lend a crochet hand if I ask nicely and or bring in treats...

Materials:

- 6 tabs (good collection project to keep your friends occupied)
- Strong synthetic crochet thread (1 or 2 colors)
- No. 3 crochet needles
- Wire cutters
- Cigarette lighter (another Rob contribution)

Check out this link for detailed instructions!

-- Megan @ L.V.

Weighty Matters

2009-06-10T13:40:00.002-04:00

Summer is almost here: Liz has received her yearly shipment of bathing suits in the mail, and just as I am about to put a morsel of freshly baked chocolate croissant into my little mouth, Wendy walks in with a sack load of food. Generally, there's a small company-wide stampede to the kitchen once word gets out that free food is available.

The masses halted as Wendy unloaded her brown paper bags with NutriSystem astronaut food. We were all startled and thought she was trying to tell the company to lose a few pounds. She was merely given the food as a kind gesture and thought that we would enjoy it.

Assistant Operations Manager Lindsay stated, "I love to talk and love food, but don’t want to give the diet brand a bad name. Let’s just say that I had to follow up my dehydrated pizza and pasta with a fruit floe popsicle as a chaser."

Thankfully, Rob has taken the notion to eat the majority of the boxed food, like the good little processed-food boy that he is.

-- Megan @ L.V.

Color Codes

2009-06-02T09:40:00.002-04:00

Say you need a gift for a friend who likes color and you work in a crazy color-bound industry...like custom stationery? Check this out. They have super-cool Pantone place settings and whole bunch of other goodies! It’s much prettier and easier then eating off of a swatch book.

-- Megan @ L.V.

Cleveland Tourism Update

2009-05-26T10:44:00.001-04:00

Cleveland's a Plum!

2009-05-20T10:11:00.002-04:00

So, some may say that Cleveland isn’t the prettiest city in the country, but we’ve got personality coming out of our snow boots. Foreclosure what? We wanted to share some unique tidbits from our city. Yes, we do have a skyline, a professional basketball team, and street vendors (you probably don’t want to eat at). Maybe you would like to watch a tourism video to catch a glimpse of our fine city.

Arts and Crafts With Megan

2009-05-18T13:38:00.004-04:00

Holy bananas, I love paper!

I was recently cruising the Martha Stewart Web site (or maybe I was just reading my e-mail inbox, because Martha and I have that close of a relationship that she sends me daily updates) and I came across this super-cute idea for hanging pom poms.

I had actually done this craft before for a few gatherings of mine, so I thought I would share. It's also really fun to use up not-so-happenin’ white tissue paper then assault the finished project with a can of your favorite spray paint.

A unique twist that I came up with is using cardstock instead of tissue paper to make a slightly more structured hanging. First, the tools you will need:

Fishing wire -- whatever length would look the best in your room

Beads -- large wooden ones or large pearl beads work the best to separate the layers

Paper -- any paper color you would like (about 20-25 sheets work best. You will need to cut the paper sheets into one geometric pattern of your choice. I like working with circles, so I cut mine into several different sized circular patterns.)

Knot the fishing wire and slide a bead down, securing it with a little Super Glue. You can use a smaller bead for this portion. Next, add a circle, then bead, then circle, until you achieve a pattern that you love. Finally, invite your crafty challenged friends over for a cocktail to share in your glory of handcrafted art. Yay you!

-- Megan @ L.V.

This edition of Arts & Crafts with Megan has been sponsored by Chick-Fil-A (not really).

This Is Not, I Repeat Not, What We Do All Day

2009-05-13T16:50:00.000-04:00

May the 4th Be With You

2009-05-04T10:19:00.002-04:00

An update from Kelly Solack:

We are still enjoying your paper! Thanks again for sharing!

Green Day

2009-04-22T10:08:00.004-04:00

We wanted to put down our wheatgrass shots and take this opportunity to talk about how "green" we actually are. The earthy bandwagons have come and gone, but being green is a major part of Luscious Verde’s lifestyle. It’s even in our name for cryin' out loud!

We have many FSC-certified, green-seal-certified, post-consumer fibers and mill-certified recycled papers. Our Web site has all of the knowledge that you will need to turn your event green (without using food coloring).

Reuse is a term we use daily by shipping boxes of scrap paper to schools and programs both locally and nationally. We also use our excess paper and create amazing thank you notes and smaller gifts to liven up our UPS boxes. So, if you want to get a little greener with your stationery needs, look us up. (And with every single order we ship, we plant one tree through a great partnership with Trees for the Future!)

-- Megan @ L.V.

Big Love

2009-04-21T10:30:00.002-04:00

Every day, we answer phone calls from across the country from our unique retailers. Thankfully, not all of them have the word "paper" listed in their name, but some of them are pretty darn interesting. Now, before we drive ourselves batty, we would love to have the answers to these burning questions. Don’t be timid. You can ask us anything (even about our ex-boyfriends) and we still won’t break up with you.

1. Who actually is Anne Grace from Anne Grace Designs?
2. What does Papery and Cakery prefer: paper or cake?
3. Are there parfaits at the Paper Parfait, and when can I get one?
4. Who won: Rock, Paper, or Scissors?
5. Who is Ethan Niles?
6. The Paperia on the Hill: is your favorite show One Tree Hill?
7. What does AGI in AGI Events stand for?
8. Why is Cambridge Street Papers located on Main Street?
9. What Have You Heard?

-- Megan @ L.V.

Hoop Dreams

2009-04-17T10:24:00.004-04:00

An eagle-eyed friend of Luscious Verde snapped this photo from TV during the (relatively) recent N.C.A.A. men's basketball championship. The fellow is Korie Lucious, a freshman guard for the Michigan Spartans, who lost the final game to the University of North Carolina. After the loss, we offered Mr. Lucious a job here at Luscious Verde, but he unfortunately did not pass the required proofreading test.

If Luscious Verde Were a Magazine...

2009-04-16T14:29:00.002-04:00

we wish we could be this magazine.

The Color of Love

2009-04-06T15:30:00.003-04:00

For those of you still looking for that special someone, don't ever say the world of design can't do anything for you. Check it out. Personally, I'm a Blue with a mix of Orange. I don't see a listing for Burnt Umber, though...

-- Rob @ L.V.

Our New Jam

2009-04-01T11:47:00.001-04:00

Check it out!

Super Special Secret Hot Card of the Whatever

2009-03-27T14:27:00.005-04:00

In anticipation of baseball's opening day (April 5, Braves at Phillies) and in order to not have our new-old blog nekkid, we're posting a few cool baseball-themed cards we did recently. The second picture shows custom cards we made for an order that feature nifty tags on the back for tables. Boss.

Back and Wack

2009-03-26T16:11:00.004-04:00

OK, we broke up with our other blog. It wasn't our fault, it wasn't their fault, we were just growing apart and needed to try new things. And with all new beginnings comes great joy and trepidation. Remember when the Pixies got back together and you thought that maybe it would be lame but it was actually kind of awesome? Yeah, it's like that. It's good to be back.

Hot Card of the Day (Baby Day Edition?)

2008-08-12T08:32:00.000-04:00

Bottoms Up

2008-08-11T10:23:00.002-04:00

Congrats to our hometown of Cleveland for being ranked (in a three-way tie) on the top-ten list of America's Hardest-Drinking Cities. We like to think that we here at Luscious Verde contributed just a bit to this great honor, and hope to continue all of our hard work as we look toward the future.

(Above picture stolen from the Great Lakes Brewing Company site.)

Mazel Tov

2008-08-08T14:22:00.002-04:00

If you're one of those Luscious Verde stalkers that we like to think that we have, definitely check out this week's edition of the Cleveland Jewish News, which profiles Chris-Anna and Wendy, the two owners of Luscious Verde. Congrats, guys!

Our Addiction

2008-08-08T10:59:00.003-04:00

Something that I have been obsessing about is the new season of Project Runway. I always get so excited to see such great talent amongst a variety of people. My little heart goes out to the two Ohio natives, Kelli and Suede.

Kelli grew up in Columbus and has since created a cutting-edge boutique called Black Market in her home town which I am going to try and visit in two weeks. Yay!

Suede, the guy who’s trying to make catchwords happen, grew up in Seven Hills, right outside of Cleveland, and studied at the Kent State School of Fashion. He just so happened to be a panel judge at our proofer Beth’s senior critique right before her last runway show. I guess you could say he was the Tim Gunn of Kent at that time minus the wack-a-doo. P.S. They both already each won a challenge. Go Ohio!

-- Megan @ L.V.

Hot Card of the Day (Eight is Enough Edition)

2008-08-08T09:32:00.000-04:00

Liz vs. Jason: Requiem

2008-08-06T16:58:00.002-04:00

Hot Card of the Day (Liz's Half-Birthday Edition)

2008-08-06T16:22:00.001-04:00

Things We Love: She & Him

2008-08-05T11:44:00.002-04:00

Today brings us the first installment of a never-ending series called “Things We Love,” chronicling, yes, the things that we, the stylish and hip employees of Luscious Verde, love. Expect reports from the worlds of fashion, entertainment, and any other worlds we feel like exploring.

We here at “the Verde” work extremely hard to make sure each order is the model of perfection. But that’s not to say we don’t kick out the jams when we’re designing, printing and assembling those orders – if we learned anything from “Cinderella” (other than staying out after midnight can lead to some bad things), it’s “whistle while you work.”

Lately we’ve been smitten with “Volume One,” the first album by actress Zooey Deschanel and singer-songwriter M. Ward under the name She & Him. It’s a simple, short album that sounds a bit like Motown filtered through the voice of a 1940s torch singer. Yeah, it’s pretty great, and the video for the first single, “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here,” is pretty cute too. Check it.

Hot Card of the Day (Five Months Until Christmas Edition)

2008-07-25T11:12:00.002-04:00

Now More Than Ever

2008-07-24T08:56:00.002-04:00

What with the election season heating up, one question we’ve of course been constantly asked is, “Who is Luscious Verde going to endorse this year?” In past years, such endorsements have led to literally an extra 10 or 15 votes for our candidate – and that’s no spare change! It’s been a pretty hard choice this year, what with the dramatic contrasts between That One Guy and The Other Guy. We needed to find a candidate that represented who we are, what we believe, and, most importantly, our love for the spontaneous dance-off.

So it is with great joy that we endorse, for President of the United States, Christopher Walken. Some other visionary people have set up a Web site for his candidacy, and to them we say: Godspeed!

Hot Card of the Day (Pink Edition)

2008-07-23T10:02:00.002-04:00

Hot Card of the Day (G.O.P. Version)

2008-07-18T14:34:00.001-04:00

Hot Card of the Day (Still Slackin' Edition)

2008-07-17T09:41:00.002-04:00

Whoa, it's been a while since our hot card. I guess we've been taking too many siestas during this summer season. Enjoy, and don't drink too many mojitos.

Baby Borrowers: Luscious Verde Edition

2008-07-01T11:55:00.002-04:00

Rob's out sick today, so we decided to call in a temp. He seems a lot younger than our usual temps, but he oddly knows more about computers (and the current hip-hop scene) than most of us. Go figure.

Luscious Foodie: Chop Squad

2008-06-26T09:46:00.003-04:00

Happy hour is one of our favorite after-work activities, bringing coworkers together with tasty food and cheap beer. I was recently coerced into going downtown (during an Indians game) to one of my favorite eateries. Fans with bags of peanuts rushed in front of my little Civic, causing me to cringe as I thought there was going to be a massacre of peanut-strewn, foam-finger-laden bodies on East 9th.

The light at the end of my traffic-jammed tunnel was the Chop House, one of our favorite breweries. Operations Manager Liz and I hopped up on a tall bar table and proceeded to order two light lagers. There was a generous amount of eye candy strewn about the floor of the Chop House to keep us busy.

Liz and I ordered “The Tower,” as we call it, which consists of chicken strips, calamari, shrimp cocktail, portabella mushroom caps, and the crowning glory of hand-dipped onion rings. We dug in and saw a table of crazy-looking girls next to us eyeballing our tower. I was prepared to fight over my chicken strips, but I hardly doubt that the grape and grasshopper martini drinkers could put up a fight.

A nifty recipe for your next shindig:

Beer and Brown Sugar Steak Marinade

This marinade is really quick and tasty, bringing out the natural taste of any steak. Created for any two steaks. This marinade may attract good-looking men into your home.

¼ c dark beer (go ahead and drink the rest…you deserve it)
2 tbl teriyaki sauce
2 tbl brown sugar
2 tbl instant coffee (coffee and steak are really great combinations. You can add more or less to your taste)
½ tsp seasoned salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder or fresh (mmm)

Directions:
Take out your aggressions and poke holes all over the surface of your meat, mix together all ingredients and pour daintily over the steaks. Marinate between 30 min and 2 hours. Next, throw the steaks on the grill, pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan, bring to a boil and let it simmer. Baste the man-attracting meat to enhance the flavors. Cook to the desired temp as you like and enjoy! Please use a knife and fork; it is tempting to eat with your fingers.

What I am currently eating: peanut butter and Nutella on toast. I wonder if I could actually shampoo myself with Nutella….

-- Megan @ L.V.

Hot Card of the Day (Zombie Edition)

2008-06-24T14:09:00.002-04:00

Today's hot card backdrop is a tribute to this kid, who has become something of a hero on the Luscious Verde campus.

Friday Shenanigans

2008-06-20T10:34:00.002-04:00

Liz, our operations manager, is no stranger to this blog. This week, she brought in a collection of childhood photos for a few of us to paw through. Unbeknownst to her, we scanned one that we thought was simply amazing and decided to share it with the world. Sorry, Liz. (And sorry Drew, her little brother.)

Hot Card of the Day (L.V. Family Edition)

2008-06-17T15:43:00.003-04:00

Today's hot card comes to us from, well, us. It's an in-house design by Megan, who graced us with yesterday's "Luscious Foodie" blog (right below this blog entry). It's an invitation to her brother's upcoming wedding, complete with unique paper color choices and a beautiful printed motif on the back layer.

Luscious Foodie: Melt Mania

2008-06-16T11:17:00.003-04:00

[Today is the first installment of Luscious Foodie, a new regular feature by L.V. estimator/all-around stylish gal Megan. She'll be giving us the lowdown on area hotspots where all the hip kids are going nowadays. And when I say "local," I mean Cleveland. If you don't live here, well, would it hurt you to visit us for your summer vacation? We totally have couches you can sleep on.]

Hey all you fashion forward foodies! I recently visited a favorite restaurant of mine, Melt Bar and Grilled, and happily ate a wonderful grilled cheese sandwich. Now, this place is not your Wonder-bread-and-American-cheese kind of eatery. They offer amazing choices of sandwiches served by the hippest of indie guys and gals around.

Being a "Big Cheese" member allows me into the secret Melt society. Yes, that means free refills of their amazing blue cheese and delicious draft beer choices. I chose a tasty Oberon draft by Bell's Brewery to compliment my half-combo dinner, which consisted of half of a smoked gouda grilled cheese, red pepper, cucumber and mixed green salad, and a mug of steamy white bean tomato soup, and, of course, a small side of fresh cut seasoned French fries with a spicy chipotle dipping sauce. (My stomach is extremely happy merely writing about my dinner last night.)

My eating partner moseyed on up to the sandwich of the month which is a tuna steak melt. Rare tuna, with a spicy aioli sauce, and your cheese of choice went into this treat. If you’re still hungry after visiting the Melt Bar and Grilled, then you can easily enjoy a sampling of fried Twinkies in a berry compote or their locally homemade cheesecake. So, if you happen to be in the Cleveland area check out Melt – you’ll be extremely excited and full.

RANDOM FOOD NOTES

Interesting food fact: Lindsay, our assistant operations manager, gave up chocolate for New Year’s, but I just caught her in the back licking our chocolate envelopes with chocolate return “icing” address.

What I am currently eating right now: a large Tupperware container filled with watermelon and blueberries. If I could fit my tiny body in a whole watermelon my life would be happier and moister…

For Art's Sake

2008-06-09T13:21:00.003-04:00

We recently got a pretty cool package in the mail from local school Mosdos Ohr Hatorah, located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. It was from L.V. friend Dodi Schwab, who teaches sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade art. "You cannot imagine what an exciting windfall this paper is for our art program with its tiny budget," she says. We think the paper we gave is a small investment with a huge return, that is, these cool thank-you notes we got. We have a feeling these kids would make good Luscious Verde employees, but we aren't in the mood to violate any child-labor laws.

Hot Card of the Day (Keys Edition)

2008-06-02T11:04:00.002-04:00

Today's hot card comes to us from Susan Gildea Personalized Printing in lovely Berkeley, California. It's a lovely card as well -- the only problem with the picture is that I (Rob) took it. The keyboard is there to remind me that I have to write a jingle for the winner of our jingle contest.

Watching the Clock

2008-05-29T11:33:00.002-04:00

Odds are, you're at work right now. Well, so are we. And unless you're a super-duper, 110-percent-all-the-time sort, you probably take a little time out during the day to check what's going on in the outside world. In that vein, we invite you to check out (and possibly join) our new Facebook group. Hey, it beats writing that report or calling back what's-her-face.

Hot Card of the Day (Long Long Weekend Edition)

2008-05-22T11:28:00.003-04:00

This hot card comes to us from D.Y. Ink in the lovely town of Briarcliff Manor, New York. It's a refreshing twist on a design available in our second Bar/Bat album. And, hey, if we don't talk before then, have a great Memorial Day weekend. We'll be closed on Monday, probably off having a great deal of fun.

Hot Card of the Day (Manic Monday Edition)

2008-05-19T11:24:00.002-04:00

Today's hot card comes to us from Fine Lines of Katonah in (you guessed it) Katonah, New York. We've done a great deal of our custom cuts, but this was one of the first we've done in Hebrew -- and on our custom plied paper to boot!

Giving Back

2008-05-14T09:13:00.003-04:00

At Luscious Verde, we frequently send off what we like to call “care packages” to friends and family at area churches, temples, schools, and children’s charities. They’re basically filled with artistic materials that we can’t find a use for. Rather than throw out what we don’t use, about a year ago we decided to share the wealth, and we’re always consistently surprised with the results. These pictures are from Kelly Solack, an art teacher at Yearling High School in Whitehall, Ohio. She writes:

I wanted to share a few photos from the art festival. My sculpture class built miniature “monumental” sculptures. We couldn’t have done it without the generous paper donation. Also, I will be taking some of the paper over to the Manor at Whitehall, a nursing home in our community. We are crafting some cards to families. In the classroom and in the community, your company has blessed us. Thanks!

The pleasure’s all ours, Kelly. Thanks.

-- Rob @ L.V.

Hot Card of the Day (I Waited in Line for Three Hours for 23-Cent Pizza Edition)

2008-05-08T14:37:00.002-04:00

Today's selection comes to us from Creative Parties in Bethesda, Maryland. It's a slight twist on a design that shows up in our latest Bar/Bat Mitzvah book, one that utilizes our custom-cut technology. In unrelated news, this is pretty crazy.

Not-So-Silent Spring

2008-05-05T14:56:00.002-04:00

Today’s fantastically nice weather in Cleveland (it’s supposed to be 72 degrees) has been a welcome respite from what seemed to be an unending winter. Just a week or so ago, temperatures overnight still dipped into the 30s. Jeez!

And along with this nice weather comes many things: lunchtime frolicking throughout our fair industrial park, drinks outside (after work, of course), and impromptu games of Twister in the pouring rain. But there has to be more to life than drinking and/or acting ridiculous, right? Apparently so, according to the following list of what a select group of Luscious Verde hirelings like to do (and what they enjoy) when you can, you know, actually go outside again.

Megan: “Baseball is good, but outdoor happy hour is better.”

Beth: “Have a margarita night and make a fire.”

Laura: “Get smoothies at Cold Stone Creamery.”

Wendy: “Lay in a hammock.”

Rachel: “The Westside Market. You get fed ice cream by foreign dudes.”

Kevin: “Play Frisbee at Public Square at midnight. I also like hanging out at various porches in the Cleveland area, especially if I’m invited.”

Melissa: “Road trips and taking long walks on the beach at sunset.”

Angela: “Go to Edgewater Park.”

Liz: “Sit by the river, read and watch the boats go by."

Joe: “Trampoline with the kids.”

Me, I love some Lakewood Park, Music Saves, and Melt (air conditioning plus grilled cheese equals goodness).

-- Rob @ L.V.

Weird Shipment of the Day

2008-05-01T17:09:00.004-04:00

We get some pretty weird shipments from our suppliers, but this was the weirdest yet. When we finally got up the gumption to open it, we were relieved that the contents didn't live up to their packaging. Mmm, calamari...

Hot Card of the Day (Leaves of Grass Edition)

2008-04-24T16:10:00.002-04:00

This custom invitation combines a few of our designs, including custom-cutting technology featuring a custom liner.

Yes, We Check Out Your Web Site

2008-04-23T14:29:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been spring for a while, but Cleveland is just recently entering into the warm-weather season with sunshine, pleasant winds, and temperatures in the sixties and seventies. It means we've been taking lunches outside, going for afternoon walks around the building on breaks, and of course, that we've been receiving a greater number of wedding invitations.

As a proofreader, I get to look closely at orders in the proofing stage, checking everything from the accuracy of what we've done with the information provided to us on the order form to the availability of papers (R.I.P. those shades that have been discontinued) and the feasibility of some of the most customized instructions we've been happy to provide for you. I love my job. And, maybe one of the most fun and validating parts of proofreading orders is verifying the URLs on information cards.

It's fun for us to look at wedding websites, partly because our wedding customers seem to be some of the cutest, most in-love folks ever to order custom stationery, and partly because it's very neat to see the faces behind the names of the wonderful people who take the time to get creative with our product and make it their own. When the primary part of your job is studying text and design close-up, every day, it's a breath of fresh air to widen our view and remember that it's more than just paper and ink. It's a really cool, important milestone in people's lives. Happy spring, everyone!

-- Alicia @ L.V.

Hot Card of the Day (Earth Day Edition)

2008-04-22T11:19:00.004-04:00

Today's hot card comes to us from Embrey Papers, one of our outposts in Pacific Time. The design is from the second volume of our Bar/Bat Mitzvah catalog, and the custom-color flowers were chosen by the client. (Please forgive the jankity picture; Rob is inexplicably on photo duty.)

Birth Day

2008-04-15T16:39:00.004-04:00

Congratulations to our awesome co-worker Jaclyn, who gave birth to a bouncing baby boy on Friday. The parents are doing fine, and we all congratulate them on the new addition to their family.

An Important Message

2008-04-14T10:09:00.002-04:00

OK, so this may not have anything to do with custom stationery, but we thought it'd be a nice way to humorously ease into the week.

(P.S. Our giant squid problem has been highly exaggerated.)

Closing (For Real This Time)

2008-04-09T10:51:00.004-04:00

Just to let you know, we will be closed next Friday, April 18th. There will be no shipment of orders on that day. We will still accept orders, and they will be processed in the order which we received them on Monday the 21st. Thanks very much for your consideration!

Retailer Spotlight: Petite Paperie

2008-04-04T10:21:00.003-04:00

At work, when you talk on the phone every day to a person you’ve never met, you tend to get curious about what that person is like in real life. Well, maybe you don’t, but we here at Luscious Verde are a specific breed of character. Perhaps it’s the drinking water from the pristine Cuyahoga River. Perhaps it’s the fact that we’re obsessed with Project Runway. Or, probably, it’s because we’re all a little bit weird. Not in a bad way, mind you, but it takes a specific kind of person to deal with the highs and lows of custom stationery.

And we realized, hey, we talk to people every day who we’ve never met, and who are fans of our work. But just talking to them isn’t enough. We’re curious about their trials and tribulations, their outlook on life, and their favorite alcoholic beverage. So we’ve decided to feature, every few weeks or so, a retailer of our products that we want to get to know a little better. Behold the first entry into our illustrious Retailer Spotlight: Allison from the Petite Paperie in Mill Valley, in beautiful Marin County, California.

Name: Allison Lodish

Where were you born and raised? The city by the bay – San Francisco, CA!

When did you start in custom stationery? At the young age of 17.

For God’s sake, why? It’s a sickness – I love a party. Oh, and paper, of course!

Family? Pets? Family you wish were pets? Husband Max, daughters Avery (7) and Sylvie (5), and dogs Bella and Mabel.

What are your guilty pleasures? No comment.

What’s your favorite beverage? Daytime: grande, non-fat, one Splenda latte. Evening: Mandarin cosmo.

What’s your favorite font? I got a thing for Phank, what can I say?

Not to toot our own horn, but what’s your favorite Luscious Verde design? Really? How can I choose?

Other than being awesome at stationery, what else are you really good at? Any hidden talents? Well, if you must know, in my former life I used to be an actress/singer (hard to believe, I know). I can still carry a decent tune.

Luscious Verde: We Make Dreams Come True

2008-04-03T10:29:00.032-04:00

For as long as she can remember, Liz (our operations manager) has had a dream. Now this was no ordinary dream. Liz did not wish for wealth, fame, or a date with Colin Farrell (unless he’s available, then please, give him her number). Little Elizabeth Adrienne’s big dream was to brew a steaming pot of coffee not with water, but with . . . milk. I kid you not. There’s no need to worry with creamer if you’re already drinking a creamy pot of milk coffee . . . or so says Liz! So today, at Luscious Verde, everyone pulled together to make this a dream come true. However, we aren’t the type of folks to just jump right into something without devising a highly detailed plan. We wanted to go about this in a scientific way. Thinking back to the Scientific Method learned in high school, we realized we needed to control the variables, figure out a hypothesis, come up with a detailed plan of action, and lastly, wear protective gear:

1. We discovered the boiling point of milk is, according to the great Internets, higher than that of water (Melissa and Jason, I think this means it won’t scald, but nice watching out!)
2. Jaclyn suggested that skim milk might be the best way to go on our first attempt.
3. Luckily, milk does flow through a standard coffee filter (avoiding coagulation? CHECK!)
4. In the event of fire, keep extinguisher close. (PASS: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep . . . that’s what we learned from the fire department in extinguisher training)
5. In the event of major foaming or spillage, keep paper towels close.
6. Be sure to notify all company vegan’s that our coffee pot may no longer be considered a vegan option. (sorry Tony)

Included here is our photo diary of the occurrence:

Look how happy she is?! Now you understand why we had to carry out this plan despite all the naysayers.

So after Liz hit the magic "start" button on the coffee pot, we all waited with bated breath to see if the coffee pot would explode right before our eyes. It didn't. But slowly, the gurgling steeping sound began. Liz was giddy with excitement. And then the first drips started to fall. Victorious cheers were heard throughout the building! "It's working! And it looks like chocolate milk!" The coffee pot began to fill:

Watching the coffee pot fill with "chocolate milk" colored milk coffee was, as you can imagine, about as exciting as watching C-SPAN. As a result, the crowd slowly dispersed. Even Liz strayed away from the kitchen (she has a short attention span). Periodically Rob, Liz or I would check the progress of the pot. After a few moments, we realized that perhaps we should check the filter. If you notice from the above photo diary, Liz poured a half a pot of milk into the reservoir. Our pot was filling very slowly and we began to worry. We peeked under the lid to see what the hold up was:

Uhh ohhh . . . serious back up problems. We turned the pot off hoping the milk would filter through. At this point we had about two inches of milk coffee. We gave it another five minutes and decided that two and a half inches of beverage would just have to suffice. Everyone could have a sip out of the communal mug. Liz emptied the filter basket into the trash and poured a steaming cup of milk coffee. Then she tasted it . . . the moment we'd all been waiting for. "This is not nearly as delicious as I had hoped," she said with disappointment. "It's like pretty bad European coffee." So of course the rest of us had to taste it (except for Tony because he's vegan!), and we all agreed. Kind of gross.

That was the anticlimactic ending to our highly anticipated experiment. Or so we thought . . . Around 8:30 this morning, everyone started giving sideways glances across the office in an effort to reveal the origin of the pretty funky smell that was wafting through the air. It wasn't Rob. He appeared freshly showered. What could it be? And then Kelly discovered that it was the coffee pot. Although it had been cleaned the evening before and a new pot of regular coffee brewed, there was a pretty offensive odor. And Rob was already on his second cup. So this afternoon Luscious Verde will be retiring the old coffee maker for a brand new one. Services will be held out back around 5:00pm. Donations may be made to the "coffee fund" for future experiments in custom coffee brewing.

Liz would like to thank everyone involved for their efforts in making her dreams come true. And again, if anyone knows Colin Farrell, please give him her number.

Love,
Lindsay

Closing

2008-04-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

It truly pains me to write these words, but as of 12:01 a.m. today, Luscious Verde is closing our doors forever. All current orders will be fulfilled, but we will not be accepting any new orders. In a dramatic change of heart, Chris and Wendy, the owners of Luscious Verde, have decided to stop making custom, one-of-a-kind stationery, and have decided to focus on making custom, one-of-a-kind handmade burritos. It will be a great learning experience: rice, beans and tortillas are probably a lot different than beautiful paper and accoutrements. Anyhow, please come see us at our new location in Napoleon, Ohio – we should have everything together just in time for the Henry County Fair, held August 8-14. See you on the Tilt-O-Whirl!

-- Rob (kitchen manager) @ Luscious Verde Burritos

Hot Card of the Day (Winter, Please Die Edition)

2008-03-28T10:30:00.003-04:00

Today's hot card is a feast for the eyes and one of the cutest cards that's left the building this week. It comes from Folio in Larkspur, California, and was a custom daisy design suggested by the customer and designed by Jason, the head designer here at Luscious Verde. (He's out of town today, so the rest of us who sit around him are rummaging through his office looking for Oatmeal Cream Pies and sitting on his sofa.)

Stamp Act

2008-03-25T16:12:00.002-04:00

Take your invitation sets one step further with customizable stamps. We recently saw this cute stamp adorned with the face of a certain custom-stationer-owner's newborn. He definitely looks like a future president. You can get customizable stamps at Stamps.com, Zazzle.com, or wherever your heart desires.

Bee Season

2008-03-24T13:51:00.002-04:00

Thanks to graphic designer Channa for letting us take a picture of her in her Purim costume on Friday. Apparently her husband and two children were also dressed as such, making the perfect bee family, but, alas, we don't have any photographic evidence of that.

Pandamonium

2008-03-20T10:10:00.002-04:00

Sometimes (on her lunch break, of course), Megan, our stellar pricing person, draws some interesting doodles. These pandas have been multiplying over the past week or so, and I really wanted to show them to you, our loyal blog audience, to give an example of our crazy-craftiness. (A new liner pattern? Perhaps!)

-- Rob @ L.V.

Fontly Yours

2008-03-13T15:55:00.002-04:00

We just came across this interesting list on Typographica, a pretty cool blog about, yes, fonts. Sometimes it feels like we're in a little design oasis, but it's nice to know that other people obsess about the same things that we do. We don't offer some of these fonts, but 1) we have a lot of similar ones, and 2) we can always obtain specific fonts for customers if they'd like them. Congratulations to all of the chosen ones.

Take This Blog and Love It

2008-03-11T15:14:00.003-04:00

In my personal life, I’m used to getting vitriolic letters from people. I’ve seen them all, from debt collector screeds via FedEx to Cat Fancy missives about my unpaid subscription. But never before have I gotten negative feedback from one of my coworker’s moms. So it was quite a surprise last week when Lindsay, who is our assistant operations manager and sits about three feet away from me, forwarded an e-mail for me from her mom, regarding the fact that we never actually picked a winner for the Luscious Verde haiku contest. An excerpt:

You are a disappointment, a fake and a fraud. You demean yourself and the company you represent. Shame on you!

Wow. Pretty rough stuff. It would have stung more had what she been saying was false. Which it isn’t. We held a contest and never chose a winner. My bad. My bad! Can you hear that, Lindsay’s mom?!

So we’re proud to announce the winner of the contest: Ashley, from “Store Withheld.” So Ashley, if you’re reading this, please contact us for your Luscious Verde Fun Happy-Time Gift Basket. And Lindsay’s mom, watch your mail for a special surprise. (No, not anthrax.) We’re sorry for any mental trauma and hardship this whole sordid affair has caused. We throw ourselves on the mercy of the world of custom stationery.

-- Rob @ L.V.

Hot Sinkhole of the Day

2008-03-07T13:54:00.002-05:00

As the world of Cleveland, Ohio, enters into the hell-mouth currently located in front of Tower City, we here at Luscious Verde are holding our heads high in the hope that snow will fill the hole and become the world’s finest ice-skating rink. Maybe the hole developed because the city couldn’t stand the recent mad skills of LeBron James (sorry, New York), or maybe the hole is the underground kingdom cradling our fountain of youth. Who knows?

Anyway, keep your eyes out for big holes if you’re visiting Cleveland in the near future, and watch out for super-cute promotional items landing in your UPS boxes. Don’t worry – the promotional items aren’t there to help raise money to save our crumbling city, they’re simply a small gift to show our love.

-- Megan (cupcake baker extraordinaire) @ L.V.

Hot Card of the Day (Everybody's Pregnant Edition)

2008-03-06T16:16:00.002-05:00

Our new Kiwi paper color now has a matching Kiwi ink color, shown here on this lovely thank-you note for Jaclyn, our very own mother-to-be. As with most lighter ink colors, we don't recommend printing text in this color, but it works great for motifs, liners, and accents to your invitations and announcements.

Hot Card of the Day (Primary Edition)

2008-03-04T14:24:00.003-05:00

At Luscious Verde, we strongly encourage you to utilize our liner patterns and motifs in any creative way that you can imagine. This card, from Scribbles Too in Short Hills, New Jersey, uses our Bouquet liner pattern to create a cascading motif across the invitation. The colors have been changed from monochromatic soft pinks to bright, bold hot pink and black. A silver metallic base layer adds a little extra sparkle to the invitation. Combined, this creates a stunning Hot Card of the Day. Great job, Marni!

Hot Card of the Day (Leap Year Edition)

2008-02-29T15:10:00.004-05:00

Today's hot card just goes to show that a simple color change can alter the entire feel of one of our designs. Shown in black and white in our Bar and Bat Mitzvah Catalog (Vol. II), this card is equally beautiful in Chocolate and our new Breeze paper colors. We're always happy to give coordinating ink color suggestions -- just ask, and we'll work our magic.

Stir-Crazy

2008-02-26T14:26:00.005-05:00

Over the last 24 hours, we here in the Cleveland area have been blanketed with about a foot of snow. And as such, we have a pretty advanced case of cabin fever.

We're definitely busy at the job we love, but there comes that time of the afternoon when gazes turn away from computer monitors and outwards, to the barreling snowstorm that will have to be driven through in an hour or so.

It is with that background that we give to you another one of our Luscious Verde Grandee Giveaways. A few weeks ago, beloved production artist and proofer Channa brought in a box of videos to give away to her coworkers. Alas, weeks have gone by, and none of the videos have found a home.

So, if you've paid close attention to the blog over the past year or so, now is your chance to put those hours and hours (or at least minutes) of wasted Internet time to good use.

Simply answer the following Luscious Verde trivia question correctly as a reply to this blog entry, and we will randomly pick one in the coming week to win the whole shebang, "The Tuxedo" and all. (Current and past employees are not eligible for this contest. Yes, that means you, Erin.)

So here we go: What is production artist Laura's favorite canned food? (She just got engaged, don't you know.)

Thanks,

Rob @ L.V.

Hot Card of the Day (Prenatal Edition)

2008-02-21T16:20:00.003-05:00

That's right, it's a seven-layer card...and it's gorgeous. This design combines two of our popular baby announcements into a classically beautiful card for twins.

Hot Card of the Day (Odelay Edition)

2008-02-20T15:23:00.004-05:00

Happy Wednesday to you from all of us at Luscious Verde, where the wind chill is below zero, the proofers are wearing coats indoors, and most employees are bummed because the finale of Project Runway isn't on until next week.

Today's hot card takes one of our tried-and-true designs and shakes it up a bit with some funky new colors. The base layer features our new Avocado paper color, which coordinates beautifully with our often-overlooked copper patina hand-dyed silk ribbon.

Love Note

2008-02-18T14:15:00.003-05:00

Valentine’s Day was successful for one little lady here at Luscious Verde. Laura, our very own quality controller, was asked for her hand in marriage by her longtime cutie boyfriend, Jordan. How did it happen, you ask? The usual dinner, then back to his house where massive decorations adorned the living room, including a red sheer fabric covering the ceiling, lights outlining the floor, fire hazard candles, and the beautiful ring nestled gently on a stool centered in the middle. Jordan sure had one heck of an afternoon getting those crafts ready! Of course, there was a lot of jumping and giggling by our Laura and a final “yes” to take her off of the market. Nice job kids! We sure do adore you both!

-- Megan @ L.V.

Creative Cards of the Day - Valentine's Day Extra Special Edition

2008-02-14T16:05:00.004-05:00

Yes, that's right. Not one but two Valentine's Day posts. While our first post was of real live Hot Cards from Luscious Verde, these tasty treats are real live cards made from Luscious Verde recycling. They also happen to be Valentine's Day cards handcrafted by our proofing department for a couple of very special guys we know who have a deep love for Hot Sauce and/or Burritos . . . but maybe that was obvious. Unfortunately these are in limited runs of only one, but we wanted to show them off and, who knows, maybe even inspire you to . . . eat burritos with hot sauce, I guess. Happy Valentine's Day!!

Love,

Lindsay

Hot Card of the Day (Happy Valentine's Day Edition)

2008-02-14T14:31:00.002-05:00

This cute selection of cards commemorates one of our favorite holidays: the day of Valentine. Have a great one -- the only other holiday we're looking forward to is St. Patrick's Day, which we hear is on a Monday this year. It's not going to be pretty.

Hot Card of the Day (D.J. Edition)

2008-02-05T15:26:00.000-05:00

This decidedly unplain invitation order came to us from Proper Papers in Plainview, New York. It's featured in one of our largest card sizes, has a back pocket for miscellaneous cards, and also doubles as a sponge if you soak it in water. OK, we're lying about that last thing.

Hot Card of the Day (Play Ball Edition)

2008-01-30T09:08:00.000-05:00

Today's cool card comes to us from sunny Weston, Florida, and retailer It's a Gift. And while many of us still have painful memories of last year's M.L.B. playoffs, we're optimistic about the Tribe's chances this year. If you're lost in the winter blues, just remember: Players report to spring training just two weeks from today.

-- Rob @ L.V.

Cool Kid of the Day

2008-01-29T13:00:00.002-05:00

We'd like to congratulate Luscious Verde co-owner Wendy on the birth of her third child. He was born early Sunday morning at around 1:45 a.m. He's eight pounds, 22 inches, and Wendy, her husband, and family are doing fine.

She even called in yesterday to see how things were going here, only 12 hours after having a kid. Some call it a strong work ethic, some call it crazy, and the rest of us just call it "Wendy."

-- Rob @ L.V.

Hot Card of the Day (Thazanks Edition)

2008-01-11T14:28:00.000-05:00

Today's hot card is from Embrey Papers in sunny Los Angeles, California, where it's probably nicer than here in Cleveland, where it looks like it's seven o'clock in the evening outside, when it's only mid-afternoon.

Hot Card of the Day (New Year Edition)

2008-01-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

After a lengthy hiatus, today's hot card comes to us from Anne Grace Designs, in Dallas, Texas. It's a save-the-date card utilizing our magic custom-cutting technology. I should be used to this by now, but I'm still honestly and consistently amazed by what we come up with when we and our retailers work together.

-- Rob @ L.V.

Happy New Year

2008-01-08T09:52:00.000-05:00

Hello, and happy 2008 to all of our fantastic retailers and assorted Luscious Verde fans. We’re excited to be back in action and wanted to extend one more big “thanks” for all of your hard work this holiday season. As the start of the new year approaches we would love to know more about what’s going on in your lives and in your stores. Do you have a birthday approaching, a new baby on the way, an anniversary? Anything that screams celebration we want to be a part of it. Who knows, there may be goodies in your future. So, drop us a note and bundle up! (Well, most of you anyway… maybe our Cali and Florida stores will send us some sunshine if we’re good.)

-- Megan @ L.V.

Closing

2007-12-20T16:29:00.000-05:00

Hey there. We've sent out notices to our retailers already, but we thought that we'd let our blog audience (all seven of you) also know that we will be closed from this Saturday, December 22nd, until Tuesday, January 1st. We'll reopen on Wednesday, January 2nd. We won't be reachable by phone during that time, so your best bet is faxing us. Yes, faxing us -- just like VH1, we love the 80's.

Also, we'd like to congratulate Blue Iris for being chosen Pantone's color of the year. Not our choice, maybe, but a good choice nonetheless.

Have a great holiday season!

-- Your tireless worker elves at Luscious Verde

Name That Baby

2007-12-14T14:56:00.000-05:00

As some of you may already know, Wendy, one of our co-owners, is pregnant with her third child. The facts that we have right now are 1) it’s a boy, and 2) it’s due on February 6^th, both Bob Marley’s birthday and the birthday of Liz, our operations manager.

Of course, this means that baby-naming fever has gripped our company. And even in the midst of our final holiday push, we’re all still throwing out our own ideas of what she should name her child. Adam? Elijah? Cobra Commander?

It’s up in the air at this point, as she hasn’t settled on a name, at least publicly. So we’re throwing it out to you. What do you think Wendy should name her child? Leave your best guess as a comment to this blog post, and the closest (or most creative) will win a lovely Luscious Verde gift bag full of goodies that are indescribable, mainly because we haven’t picked them out yet. Oh, and we promise we won’t leave you hanging like we did with our haiku contest. Sorry boutcha, Lindsay’s mom!

-- Rob @ L.V.

(P.S. The image at the top of the post is from Wry Baby.)

Super Sonic

2007-12-12T14:25:00.000-05:00

We recently got a guest blog from Toni, our much-beloved ex-retailer-representative. While we're still in the midst of holiday order madness, here's her guest blog. The picture above is from the Oregonian. Thanks Toni! -- Rob

At this time last year I was covered in red ink smears and drowning in piles of holiday orders ready for proofreading. The non-stop ringing of the phone and Liz's epic sighs punctuated my day. Exercise came in the form of racing through the building on the hunt for papers, people, and cookies. Dinner? Oh yes, that was the 10 minutes of pizza before going back to the art production to hand-line another few hundred envelopes. After heading home from a 12-hour shift, I'd have a well-deserved pint of beer (it's beautiful being married to a brewer) and fall fast asleep only to dream of duplex papers. And you know what? I loved it.

This year I'm far from the Luscious crew and the holiday card madness. How far? Try 2,479 miles away in the rain-soaked state of Washington. These are old stomping grounds for the hubby and I, so it feels great to be back on the Best Coast even though we're living in a full-fledged state of emergency.

If you've been following the news, then you might know about the severe rainstorms and flooding in southwest Washington. Parts of I-5 (the main north-south artery on the west coast) are under 10 feet of water and countless rivers have crested causing road closures. Members of our National Guard are blocking freeway entrances and running rescue operations. Helicopter evacuations are still ongoing. Ryan (the hubby) heard on the radio that this is the biggest federal evacuation since Hurricane Katrina. Just a block away from our new home are barricades blocking access to two streets, due to flooding.

Fortunately, we're safe and dry. Unfortunately, we've both been able to reach work safely so we haven't had any downtime to watch the drama unfold. Did I mention that I work for the government now? Yep. It's pretty awesome so far. I get to use my publishing experience and play with InDesign. There are rumors that I might get to use some of my grant writing experience, too. Yea! Ryan's digging his new job as the new brewer at Dick's Brewing.

Hopefully this guest blog has bought Rob some extra time between postings. For all you industry insiders suffering the stress of holiday orders: Just keep breathing, it can't last much longer at this pace. And be nice to my darling LVCers! Cheerio!

-- Toni, customer service emeritus @ L.V.

Eight Crazy Nights

2007-11-26T08:37:00.002-05:00

Those Luscious Verde-heads among you (you know, the ones that follow us from town to town, live in V.W. campers, and loudly request "JACOB BENJAMIN!" while we're on stage) might have noticed that this here blog has been mighty quiet as of late. Simply put, that's because we're in the thick of the holiday season, when the only jingle bells we here are the nonstop phone calls (not that we're complaining) and the seasonal fruitcake has been replaced with the gargantuan amounts of cookies, cake, cupcakes, and assorted snack treats that people bring to work to share. We plan on being back to semi-entertain you again in a few weeks. Until then, here's this: