Tomorrow will be my last day at my current job and I will begin a new one on Monday (no rest for the weary!) I will give details about the switch in the weeks to come because there’s a great big benefit that comes with my new job. I’m excited to share, but not yet!

In any case, I am saying goodbye to my coworkers by giving each of them a mini bottle of top shelf alcohol. I see these adorable things in the liquor store and wonder what people use them for. Gifts! They are $2.99 (and under), and I’m pretty sure they will be appreciated.

A little bag of these makes a nice hostess gift or 21st-birthday gift.

Do you have tissues nearby? You might need them. . .

Following my interview on WPR , I received an e-mail from Brian in Michigan introducing me to Paperworks Studio. Paperworks is a card company with not one but two incredible missions.

Mission 1. The gorgeous cards are made from recycled materials including coffee (yes coffee), denim, flowers, and wool. The cards are also acid free.

Mission 2. The cards are created by a team of artists with special needs and disadvantages. Paperwork Studio is their positive entrance into the working world. This experience helps build confidence and gives the artists a sense of independence and pride in their work. Take a look:

Brian was generous to send me a few of the cards, and they are all they promise to be–unique, charming, and very usable.

The one on the left is my favorite. It’s called Mocha and made with recycled (you guessed it) coffee grounds. I’m not certain of the material used to make the one on the right, but the package says “recycled” and the color is lovely. (The photo isn’t doing it justice).

The card on the left is made of wool (yes, it’s fuzzy) and the card on the right is made of denim. Excellent use of these materials I say. From the site, I also adore these Marbled and Groovy cards. They remind me of summer. Paperwork Studio – keep up the wonderful work!

. . .I’ll be teaching a love-letter writing workshop at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA. It’s free, open to the public, and starts at 6:45 pm on February 9th. I’ve taught letter-writing workshops before but this is my first one dedicated entirely to love letters. I’m excited! Stop by if you’re in the tri-state area. Philly.com did a nice write up on it: Harcum invites community to love, write.

I received the sweetest thank you note from Hope Wallace Karney a week or so ago. Hope, the doyenne behind PaperRelics.com, sent me a belated thank you package, which included several of her gorgeous cards. She was thanking me for participating in her Paper & Pen & Proust series earlier this year. No thank you was needed, I was more than happy to play along. I read the Proust Questionnaire in almost every issue of Vanity Fair. It was fun to participate. In any case, I was glad to receive the spontaneous gift. It’s a nice reminder that it’s never too late to say Thank You! Here are some of the cards:

These cards are elegant on the outside and blank on the inside. The card on the far left says “Congratulations on Finding Your Darcy.” I’m going to send it to friends of mine who just got engaged. They are gay guys and the card is perfect!

This day in digital age, we often keep up with our friends by checking out their websites/blogs to see what they’re doing. Last night, I stopped by my friend Jennifer Paganelli’s page. She owns a colorful company called SisBoom, and she’s got some really fun stuff going on! First, she has a book coming out called Girl’s World: Twenty-One Pretty Sewing Projects to Make for Little Girls. I’m not much of a sewer, but I could certainly give the book as a gift. More importantly, she has a custom SisBoom journal coming out. Look at this:

Jennifer spent her adolescent years in the Virgin Islands, and everything she makes has that lively Caribbean way about it. She’s also created a vibrant notecard book:

These will both be in my paper collection soon. As one final, shameless promotion for my buddy Jen, here is a dress she made. It’s colorful and very comfy:

I was in Target two days after Christmas and saw that they had the Valentine’s Day cards on full-frontal display already. That was fast! I thought. It wasn’t until about ten minutes later that I realized, for the first time in years, I did not feel assaulted by the Valentine’s Day display case. I was tempted to jump up and down but managed to control the urge. I did an instant replay in my mind: I walked by the cards without a passing thought other than They got them out quickly. In other words, the cards weren’t whispering to me You’re useless and unwanted as they have done so many times before.

It was an extraordinary personal achievement, and it’s a place I’ve been trying to arrive at for a while. I’ve had a boyfriend—or a date—on Valentine’s Day maybe five times in my life, and not in the past few years. I have had romantic situations come to their end just before Valentine’s Day, which makes it that much more painful.

Years ago I learned to appreciate the love—any type of love—that is shared on V-Day, and I’ve had some amazing Valentine’s Days spent with friends. I’ve just never been able to fully overcome the uncomfortable moment between me and the Hallmark display case. It sits there in all its red and pink glory reminding me that I don’t have anyone to buy a romantic card for.

Until this year! Booyah! Take THAT display case! I realized once and for all that whatever the display case was saying to me was in my head, and the voice has left the head.

One of my most memorable V-Day’s was 2007. My mom and I took a train to D.C. for my first radio show. At the end of the day, I received the most wonderful voice message I have ever received—it was my agent telling me what a great job I did.

Yesterday was a relatively tame V-Day, but I did receive some amusing gifts. From my sister, SpongeBob stickers and chocolate-covered pretzels:

From Masa in Louisiana, a unique and thoughtful rose petal and pistachio chocolate bar.

I mentioned that I was due to receive a thank you note from the president. It has arrived!

You are very welcome Mr. President!