Rocking the River

Just as deftly as production artist Rachel crafts intricate cards on a daily basis here at Luscious Verde, she skillfully led a group of us through the Chagrin River in the Cleveland Metroparks' South Chagrin Reservation this past Sunday evening. I told her she missed her calling as a wilderness guide.

We donned shorts, bug spray, and water shoes and packed coolers full of chicken, burgers, zucchini, pineapple, hot dogs, and several vegan options to grill. With the food safely packed away in our cars, we waded into the river to embark on our journey to Squaw Rock.

Squaw Rock is an outdoor sculpture – the result of artist and blacksmith Henry Church’s depiction of the oppression of Native Americans. In 1885 in the looming sandstone he carved a quiver of arrows (with the four phases of the moon), a serpent, a woman with a shell behind her, a dog, a skeleton, and a baby in a papoose.

After trekking past the rock and over several small waterfalls, we made our way back to cook dinner together and explode things (we had a lot of extra 2-liter bottles of pop).

Jesse, our assistant to the plant manager, provided the liquid refreshments, and he got pretty creative. Don’t ask us about the milk-and-fruit-punch shooters or shotgunning blue raspberry Little Hugs. We’re still recovering.

-- Alicia @ L.V.

On the Job: Burden of Proof(reading)

We all knew that proofreader Alicia was the right choice for Luscious Verde when we received, after she was hired, two boxes of hand-delivered cookies thanking us for the opportunity. Anyone who wants to impress a future employer should definitely take note.

Born in Youngstown, Ohio, and raised in rural New Springfield, Alicia graduated from Youngstown State University. She traveled extensively, as a result of her father teaching archaeology and anthropology. She tagged along with her father on a few digs, and she says the experience taught her to “appreciate other cultures. It makes you realize how small your personal world is and how big the world is.”

The path to Luscious Verde, for Alicia, is a familiar one: Craig’s List. In her first interview, she realized that Luscious Verde has a world-renowned low-key office culture, complete with flip-flops, off-key office karaoke, and impromptu dance-offs.

In her job as proofreader, she ensures that every proof (and thereby order) received by the customer is set up exactly to the specifications asked for. As head proofreader Ted says, “She has a passion for the English language, and is meticulous and organized.” We’re glad to have her aboard the good ship L.V.

FAVORITE BREAKFAST BEVERAGE: “Iced mocha from Phoenix Coffee, although the proofreading department is taking a self-imposed one-week break from coffee.”

FAVORITE COLOR: Ocean

FAVORITE “STAR WARS” FILM: “I’ve never seen one.” [Editor’s Note: For shame, Alicia.]

FAVORITE ANIMAL: Cougar

-- Rob @ L.V.

Hot Card of the Day (Second Weekend Edition)

This lovely save-the-date card is from Christie's in Manhattan Beach, California. It's modified from a design in our wedding update, using different paper colors and a different custom die-cut "H."

Hot Card of the Day (Nice Moves Edition)

Today's hot card comes to us from our good buddies at Kate's Paperie. They have a number of stores in the New York metropolitan area, but these are from their Third Avenue store. We'd write more, but someone's shooting off fireworks in our parking lot. Have a happy Fourth of July, and see you on Thursday.

Hot Card of the Day (Return of the Jedi Edition)

Today's hot card comes to us all the way from Open Dialog in Ambler, Pennsylvania. It's a rare twin B'nai Mitzvah card, and, although we say this about all of our cards, it's incredibly beautiful. The thermography, choice of paper colors, and impeccable typesetting give this card a wonderfully understated yet elegant look.

On another note, I'd like to thank Lindsay for the blog update during my vacation. It was indeed spent mostly watching forgettable cable television, housesitting a family member's cat, and eating a lot of junk food. It's good to be back.

-- Rob @ L.V.