brooke's nooks.

when i returned to my desk yesterday afternoon, i found this weathered book sitting atop a stack of legal pads.

with the handwritten tag, “Brooke” attached, i cracked open the thick cover & discovered a post card inside.

as i read the words, “if you ever decide to have a dinner party, this one’s got you covered, re: keeping everyone as classy as you,” i couldn’t help but smile. 

our mutual love for Junot Diaz sparked a friendship several months back & now, he’s left the office to chase his dreams in Hawaii, but not before scheduling a book delivery, of course.

& so, i’ll take this gently used beauty & perch it up on my wooden shelf (right next to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) as a reminder not only of his caring spirit, but as a reminder that a gift consisting of genuine kindness & thoughtfulness > a designer dud, every time.

the last four days have been an amazing whirlwind. 

(thursday: indy/louisville. friday: louisville. saturday & sunday: omaha.)

thursday morning started with an early morning workout followed by a career fair followed by a two hour drive south to Louisville where i attended a Literature conference with Mama J by my side.

as part of my contract with my current university, i’m required to participate in a professional development program.  there are all different options to fulfill the requirement, but for me, it was no question- i needed to attend a conference- to fill the academic void i’ve been feeling as of late. there’s something about living a grad school lifestyle filled with reading multiple novels in a week & submitting pages & pages of research to well,quite the opposite.  i’m often ashamed to admit how little i actually read these days, so entertaining the opportunity to visit a college campus for a day was the easiest decision i could’ve made.

while down in Louisville, Mama & i ordered take out from a delicious bistro, drove south of the city 15 miles to shop at the Zappos.com outlet & also, may have hit up the outlets in Edinburgh, Indiana so i could check out some Michael Kors totes.

it was a great little getaway, not only because i love nothing more than traipsing through a college campus & gettin’ nerdy from time to time, but because it was the little roadtrip Mama & i have taken in quite some time. 

(picture taken on our walk from campus to the Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium…Einstein Bros. vanilla hazelnut coffee in hand)

an inspiring Q&A session that leaves me wondering, “if I don’t have NFL players lined up at my door, perhaps I should become a valued employee of the organization?”

The Best Defense in Football 

More than a decade ago, Anastasia Danias was just another lawyer at a big firm — until she jumped ship to join the legal department of the NFL. Today, the 39-year-old is the NFL’s vice president of legal affairs, representing the league in some of the thorniest, most-talked-about cases in sports.

(via)

i had been on the hunt for a new portfolio (hello, nerd alert) for awhile.

every time i’d go into a meeting/interview/etc, 

i would feel like a tool grabbing my documents out of my 97 cent plastic CVS-couture when the other guy/girl would suavely walk in with a beautiful briefcase &/or file folder by their side.

i knew i wanted something classic,

i knew i wanted something leather (sorry PETA),

& i knew i wanted something that said, “i care enough about this meeting/interview/etc that i searched & search until i found, what i believe to be, the perfect document holder!”

a few weeks ago, it was just like any other work day when i received an email from Bro #2, “hey, Alton Brown just tweeted about his new briefcase, i checked out the source, & the company also sells portfolios, looks pretty awesome”

obviously, in the name of a decent folder, i dropped whatever i was working on & checked out “Heirloom Leather” on Etsy-

it’s a shop, started from a hobby, that sells some of the most beautiful leather goods my brown eyes have ever seen.

within minutes, not only had i found a potential pocket folder,

i had sent the owner/creator, Paul, a personal note of admiration for creating such beautiful items.

a couple weeks later, 

i received my branded “Brooke Melissa” portfolio (pictured above), along with a note back from Paul explaining that when he made Alton Brown’s briefcase, he had no idea it was for THE Alton Brown of Food Network fame. 

he kindly thanked me for my business & i kindly thanked him for a classic, leather, “i care about my documents” portfolio.

(related: the portfolio is naturally flawed, buttery soft, & absolutely perfect in terms of its craftsmanship)

check out Paul’s designs here-

they’re all so lovely & my guess is Paul is a pretty great guy, too!

truth: i’ve been researching moving announcements since the day i decided to build a house.

(hi. my name is Brooke & i’m addicted to snail mail.)

i found whimsical ones,

classic ones,

simple ones,

traditional ones,

& many adorable designs made exclusively for couples & families.

but in the end,

i settled on the one that felt most like me & my fashion-loving tendencies.

how perfect.

November has always been my favorite month of the year.  

Besides it being my birth month (hello, 7th!), i love so much more about it than just that one day.  

This year, November is even more exciting because my weekends are booked with autumn goodness.

All of the following (plus the unexpected) will make this month fabulous:

• Starbucks red cups (trivial yet appreciated)
• crunching the leaves on the ground
• crisp (read: cold) mornings
• the necessity for a stylish jacket
• noses turning red when chilled
• two weekends spent nannying the little munchkins
• Thanksgiving (!!!)- all the turkey & stuffing that Mama can prepare
• Pumpkin pie (non of that store-bought stuff!)
• the morning of Thanksgiving when a pot of coffee has been brewed, jammers are still being worn, & make-up is definitely not applied
• candles that smell like home
• expressing genuine Thankfulness for recently transpired events
• hot chocolate & chai tea
• catching up with friends who happen to be in-town to visit their own families
• decorating for fall (& decorating, in general)
• prepping for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving
• helping Mama decorate their house with old school heirlooms (aka Popsicle stick art pieces that i concocted in kindergarten)
• utilizing a fireplace
• listening to Christmas music (make me swoon, Michael Buble!)
• lounging around in comfies whenever there’s time
• chunky emerald-tone scarves
• scruff on a guy- that 5 o’clock shadow gets me every time. (thanks to my girl, Joanna, for reminding me! how could i forget this?)
• fleece-lined leggings. all day. every day.
• putting the double oven to good use on the weekends
• finally crossing off titles from my “books to read” list
• long walks & occasional jogs
• turning down the heat & piling on blankets & blankets

What are you looking forward to this fall?

with every holiday, my addiction grows.

this year, i’ve opted to send out Halloween cards instead of Thanksgiving cards 

(that is until i come across adorable turkey-themed cards)

& just when i thought it wouldn’t be possible to send out 36 ghoul & ghost cards,

i actually could have used another dozen (or two or three).

needless to say, if i’m sending out three dozen cards,

you should probably pick up a card of your own & send it to a loved one-

because in all the years that i’ve been sending out cards single-handedly attempting to keep the post office in business,

i’ve never heard one complaint upon receipt!