In search of Lisa Frank

This story, about a woman my age and her love of and quest to find Suzy Spafford reminded me of how much I loved Lisa Frank as a 10-year-old and how awesome my sticker collection was (deemed the largest in the State of Maine the year I entered the contest at the local hobby shop in Auburn).

"My friend and former tennis teammate in college, Suzie Hayes, (whom I got Suzie hooked on "Suzy's Zoo" about 10 years ago) traveled with me to San Diego from the Bay Area last month. I was so excited the night before, I was giggly until finally falling asleep.When we walked into the company offices, my eyes welled up in tears. I quickly pulled myself together as we went in to meet Spafford, a tiny, warm, modest woman -- a mother of two grown daughters with a big heart.She spent an hour and a half with us, looking through my packed photo album containing all the stickers and cards I won't use. I have doubles of most, so those are the ones I put on cards and envelopes. She signed several things for both of us, then began pulling stickers off the long rolls on each wall, making sure we got the ones that we didn't already have. (Or just in case we needed some extras.)"

This gave me chills. Rolls and rolls of stickers! Road trips with your best friend to a land of your most special images and memories. What would my meeting with Lisa be like? Is there, in fact, a Lisa? Or was it just something else owned by Blackstone or some other private equity firm?

A quick check online and I was excited to find that there is -- or at least was -- back in 1979 -- a Lisa Frank -- and that she (or her entity) is still filling girls' bedrooms and binders with images of unicorns and rainbows ...

Suzy Spafford's work, by the way -- not so much my taste.

Sees

I love Sees Candies. Amazing suckers. Great flavor -- especially the coffee, especially for someone who can't drink coffee anymore and misses it sometimes. From the first time I went to Calif. and found them in a Berkeley shop while we were waiting for our reservation slot at Chez Panisse, I was hooked.

They now offer personalized greeting cards with their orders. $2.95 is a good price point, and you can even add a custom photo.

When I was headed back from Manila in April, the stand in my terminal at SFO closed before I could get to it. So sad. I probably won't go back for a few more months, so if anyone is stopping in SF on their way back to D.C. -- please grab me an assortment.

New Home

I received a few sweet cards when I moved a few weeks back -- but recently checking out that card set when I was looking for one to send to my friend Megan, who recently relocated from the Burgh to Atlanta, I was disappointed. Girls buying their own homes should have a whole set of options for congratulatory exhaultations for the big event. I did see some new product from the girls at YouSendMe though -- very sparkly, ladies.

In many ways, doing it solo is one of the biggest events of your life. It's truly just you and the mortgage person. And your agent. In my case, it took 30 minutes to sign all the papers and shake some hands. Then I headed to the Italian Store for some much deserved eats ... and (eye) candy.

As soon as there is color on the walls, I expect a flood of guests...