{hostess of the week} kerri mich

Hello, everyone! This week's hostess of the week is Kerri, my very oldest friend. Kerri and I met when we were three. Her family moved in across the street from mine, and we were fast friends from the moment she invited me over to play with one of her fabulous Barbie houses. So many of my childhood memories involve Kerri...puppet shows, lemonade stands, walking to school in our matching ponchos crocheted by Kerri's mom. And now we have sons similar ages and our husbands' personalities are so similar it is sometimes spooky!

Kerri's mom is also a killer cook and the original grow your own food lady. Seriously, long before it was chic to have your own backyard vegetable garden, Kerri's mom had one, and after consulting a cookbook from the most ginormous cookbook collection I have ever seen, she'd put something fantastic on the table. Although cooking comes naturally to Kerri, I think her "just do it" spirit is one we all can (and should) embrace!

From Kerri:

Albuquerque, New Mexico is famous for its Balloon Fiesta, the first week of October every year. We like to celebrate by having a balloon breakfast. When else can you have a party at 7 am on a Saturday???

Table: Assorted outdoor patio tables, which no one is sitting at, preferring to stand at the wall to look at the balloons.
Chairs: Assorted outdoor patio chairs.
Lighting: The sunrise!
Favorite table decor: Flowers, candles
Last time you entertained, you served: Breakfast hot dishes, fruit, ham, doughnuts and sweet rolls, lots of coffee and hot chocolate!
How many people were there? About 40 or so, adults and kids. Depends on the weather and which way the wind blows.
Last minute or planned in advance? Advance, via email
Go-to recipe when in a hurry: Pasta Caprese. Basically make Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil salad and throw it over pasta. Its DELICIOUS when you have home grown tomatoes. We eat it all summer.
Favorite cookbook: My mother is a complete cookbook fanatic (we're talking thousands), and I have received many from her. The last one I used was the Ovens of Brittany cookbook, yum.
Invitations: printed, hand-written or e-mailed? When I plan far enough in advance, printed invitations from hen and barley, of course, but usually I am pulling things together last minute, so phone/email!
Best entertaining tip: Don't stress about having people over, just do it. They'd rather see you and your family than sit home, so don't worry that everything is perfect. And let them bring food too! Usually people like to make a contribution to the event.
When you're not entertaining, what are you doing, professionally and/or personally?
I am a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Specialist for the Forest Service so basically I make maps and do analysis with spatial data. I have a 2 boys (2 and 3 years old) that keep me busy at home, and a wonderful husband who owns his own company (www.ramblinwood.net) making solid hardwood furniture. Mainly beds, but he can make anything!

{giveaway}

Happy Monday, everyone! We are so excited to announce our first-ever blog giveaway. If you're like me, you are still in "the holidays are coming" denial, and haven't given an ounce of thought to holiday cards, teacher's gifts, gifts for family...well, anyone, really. But there's no time like the present, and maybe this giveaway will inspire you.

A couple of years ago, we were exhibiting at the Atlanta Gift Market and in the booth behind us was this darling company called Always A Girl's Girl. As we chatted during the show, we realized that we lived just a few blocks from one another in Chicago and had many friends in common. Small world! Always A Girl's Girl designs this very clever conversation confetti, available in a bunch of different themes. Each piece of confetti has a different question that you can use to inspire laughter and conversation during a dinner or cocktail party, and the confetti can be used to decorate your table, too. And it all comes in this cute little tin! Talk about multi-tasking, AND a great reason to give, invite and gather! So, when the girls from Always A Girl's Girl contacted us about doing a joint giveaway, we jumped, and we think you will, too!



Here's the deal. Enter the giveaway one of four ways:

1) Purchase any hen and barley press product by December 5 from one of our online retailers like Paper Concierge, Traylor Papers or EStationeryandgifts

2) Purchase any hen and barley press product by December 5 from one of our brick and mortar retailers and have them notify us of your purchase and desire to be in the giveaway

3) Make a purchase on the Always A Girl's Girl website or on our website

4) Comment here!

The winner, to be announced December 6, will receive 4 boxes of hen and barley press blank folded notes ($50 retail value) and 2 tins of Always A Girl's Girl conversation confetti. You'll receive them in time for the holidays, to use or re-gift with wild abandon.

{hostess of the week} cindy elsman

Phew! It has been crazy busy around here as the holiday orders have started coming in, so our blog went on the back burner for a bit. But we're back with a new hostess of the week, our good friend Cindy Elsman. We've spent many a late night at the Elsman's house and the reason for this, I think, is that first and foremost the emphasis is always on everyone enjoying themselves. So, while the food is always delicious and the table nicely set, the atmosphere is always easy...not easy as in no effort went into it, but easy as in relaxed and encouraging guests to sit back and enjoy. Cindy reveals some of how she does this below, so enjoy and be inspired!

Table: A dark stained pine table that was Jim's family dining room table while he was growing up. We inherited it when we moved into our first apartment over 16 years ago. I've been wanting to replace it ever since, but it has served us well! It seats 6 comfortably. We can squeeze in 8 with extra chairs from around the house, and when we are having a big group my handy husband Jim puts a large piece of 1/4" plywood with rounded corners on top, and we can easily fit 12.

Chair: 6 ladder back chairs that came with the table.

Lighting: 5 arm wrought iron chandelier. I think it came from Home Depot?

Favorite Table decor: I usually have fresh cut or dried hydrangeas from the garden (super easy and free), then add small candle votives around the table.

Last time you entertained you served: Make your own pizzas.

How many people were there? 7 thirteen year old girls

Last minute or planned in advance? Planned. My daughter, Hannah, planned it all. She did evites, planned the menu and the girls came over and did the rest.

Go-to recipe when in a hurry: Roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato pasta.

Favorite cookbook: I love all the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. I also like the magazine Everyday Foods by Martha Stewart. Great recipes, with not a lot of ingredients.

Invitations: printed, hand-written or emailed? I would love to be a planner and use printed invitations but I usually do things last minute or a week in advance so I pick up the phone and call everyone.

Best entertaining tip: I like to serve simple, good food that doesn't take a ton of time to prepare, so I can enjoy the party too! Never make a new recipe for your guests. Try it on your family first.

When you're not entertaining, what are you doing? Running the daily obstacle course of life with my husband Jim, our three kids Hannah, Bennett and Stuart, and housebreaking our new black lab puppy Bear. When I can squeeze in time for myself, I try to get outside as much as possible, read, back and exercise.

Thanks, Cindy!

A note: we jokingly call Cindy's husband Jim "Captain Activity" because he loves to plan an activity in conjunction with a dinner or barbeque. This makes the evening so fun. He'll arrange a round of golf at the local par 3 course for kids and adults, or a few rounds of paddle tennis, and then everyone arrives at the Elsman house hungry and full of funny stories. A game of "celebrities" is a favorite after dinner activity and it is as much fun for the adults as it is for the kids. It reminds me of growing up in the 70s when everyone seemed to play charades at dinner parties. But give "Captain Activity's" ideas a try before your next gathering.

{hostess of the week}: haile mccollum

I am really excited to introduce you to Haile McCollum, owner of the brilliant company Fontaine Maury. If you've seen FM products, you will not be surprised by the style Haile brings to her table. Enjoy!

From Haile: The photo is from Parker's birthday party (he's 5) we were going to have the party outside, but it rained. My kitchen table was not big enough, so we did it in the formal dining room. To dress it down some I tossed on 3 vintage table cloths.

The table: A very formal dining room table that my grandmother bought in Aberdeen, Scotland. She told me that if I married the right person I could have her dining room table! So funny. She did not live to see me married, and my aunt got her table, but I did find this table all crated up in her storage shed (that I cleaned out, it was a big task!) My Aunts let me have to table, so I guess she knows I married the right person!

The chairs: 14 in the dining room given to me by my Aunts to go with the table- but I hate the covering! I keep saying I'm going to print my own on Spoonflower, I just can't seem to get it done.

Lighting: A very modern polished silver fixture from Circa lighting
http://circalighting.com/details.aspx?pid=569&cid=4

Favorite table decor: Candles! My husband and I light them almost every night.

Last time I entertained, I served: Pork tenderloin, french rolls a barefoot contessa salad with butternut squash in it. Have to confess, someone else brought the salad!

How many people? 10 grown ups who did not behave like grownups! Stayed until 12:30am!

Last minute or planned in advance? Planned, it was a 41st birthday party for my best friend.

Go-to recipe when in a hurry: White Bean Chicken Chili, so easy! It came off a Progresso can.

Favorite cookbook: I really like the Joy of Cooking for basics, I go to epicurious for more out of the box ideas.

Invitations: printed, hand-written or e-mailed? Usually printed, but sometimes called, and sometimes even texted or facebooked!

Best entertaining tip: If you are at ease, your guests will be too. And don't worry, it's only a party!

When I'm not entertaining, I am: Working on any number of projects for Fontaine Maury and cooking for 2 boys who are the perfect ages, 5 and 2 and my husband. I actually make 2 dinners every night! We have not merged dinner time, but I feel it coming.

{hostess of the week}: carol cochran

hen and barley press founding partner Carolyn Streett was supposed to be this week's featured hostess, but we're fairly swamped right now AND this fabulous entry from my dear friend Carol came in, so this week's hostess is Carol!

Carol is an amazing cook and hostess. My family and I visited Carol and her family this weekend, and in the time it would take me to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Carol had whipped up tortillas FROM SCRATCH, with yummy beans and rice to go on top. This is a lady who knows her way around the kitchen. But, what I love about Carol and you will gather from her responses, is that she is a great hostess because her greatest pleasure comes from bringing people together and serving them good food. If the house happens to be sparkling clean and the table decorated, all the better, but those things not being the case does not stop Carol from entertaining, and that is why everyone loves a party at Carol's house. Carol is also the most heartfelt do-gooder I know, so many times her entertaining also does double duty as a fundraiser of some kind. Carol lives give, invite, gather to the fullest!

From Carol:

1) Table:
Long old thing (maybe 10' by 4'?). Not round (which I would love), but at least it accommodates a whole team (e.g., basketball, swim) at once.

2) Chairs:
2 benches, 4 kitchen chairs, and as many of our old wooden folding patio chairs from our time in Vietnam as are still functional (maybe 6?) when needed.

3) Lighting:
Hanging black wrought iron chandelier with CFL bulbs, o' course (but warm white ones!). The window & kitchen are also framed with white twinkle lights (LCD -- we like festive but also know we're overconsuming -- oh, the waffling between guilt and celebration!). Yes, it brings to mind folks who never take their Christmas lights down for some. For me, it brings to mind celebration and good times.

4) Favorite table decor:
We love decorating with flowers or greens from the garden in the months when we can (we live in Wisconsin, after all). If we're having a more "formal" (in quotes because we're never TOO formal) dinner we like to add whatever fun or themed things are around to the table -- ribbon napkin holders, candles, water in some presentation and any knick-knacks that fit the theme.

5) Last time you entertained, you served:
Sausages & burgers (again, we're in Wisconsin!)

6) How many people were there?
About 70

7) Last minute or planned in advance?
Planned in advance

8) Go-to recipe when in a hurry:
Salmon linguini with lemon

9) Favorite cookbook:
Any of the "The Beautiful Cookbooks" (e.g., China: The Beautiful Cookbook)

10) Invitations: printed, hand-written or e-mailed?
Usually printed (even if just from my own computer -- though I would love to be organized enough to invite everyone on Hen & Barley Press gear).

11) Best entertaining tip:
Don't you EVER feel like you can't have people over until your house is cleaned, in full repair, remodeled, etc. People want and even need to gather these days, and we do it less and less -- we're busy, and, oddly, we're hung up on having the perfectly appointed home. I think Martha Stewart has a lot to answer for -- somehow we've reached a state where we're all competing for the perfect home and perfect party. ??? Isn't the whole idea of gathering and celebrating supposed to be stress relief and an escape from the competition -- gathering with friends you know accept you (or should)? And yet now we're going to stress ourselves out -- and then stress our guests out by making them feel they can't measure up to THIS gathering. Craziness. I have received a whole series of backhanded compliments which I treasure from people enjoying themselves at our house. For a small sampling: "I've always told [Husband] that we couldn't have a dinner party because our house wasn't big enough, but I realized after you had us over that if you can do it, anyone can." And, "I always feel like we can't have people over until everything is spotless. But I was sitting in your bathroom realizing that nothing has to be spotless, people just have to be there." (How's that for -- er -- flattery?) And one friend famously stated, upon entering our home for the first time: "I love your house. It is the antithesis of sterile!"

If you have folks over when you've spent your time with your family and preparing food for your friends, they will enjoy themselves, relax, and have a good time. (The ones who are concerned about the spider webs in the bathroom or checking to see if your laundry is folded are ones you don't mind not providing with a great time!) In today's society, setting people at ease and making them feel like you have taken care to prepare something just for them is an almost magical gift. It allows them to relax -- really relax -- and enjoy. A little tip: inviting them on H&BP stationery might actually impress upon them the care and preparation you are taking -- and they might even rsvp to let you know whether or not they can make it! (Non-rsvp-ers are a pet peeve of mine.)

12) When you're not entertaining, what are you doing, professionally and/or personally?
Being the belay person for my family -- Tim (awesome husband), Tatum (16), and Catriona (15). Staying on the ground to try to enable them to soar. Volunteering various places in an effort to thank the universe for our good health and good luck. And just starting to figure out what course I might want to chart for the next stage of my life.

Below is a shot of Carol's table as it usually looks, full of happy, smiling people eating great food:

meet hannah!

Good afternoon to you all! It is rainy here in Chicago today, the perfect time for an introduction to our Semi-Custom line's Hannah: Hannah is a natural beauty, your go-to girl. Everything she wears looks instantly new, now and effortlessly chic.

Everyone knows a girl like Hannah. The classic beveled text box on this layout makes it your "go-to" layout, the one you can't go wrong with no matter what swatch you use, and every swatch makes that beveled box look new, now and effortlessly chic. That's Hannah.

Now here's Hannah in other swatches on folded notes, invitations, labels, calling cards and photo cards. Irresistible, right?



Drop us a line to order this fabulous program--either as a new retailer for both Completely Custom and Semi-Custom, or as an add-on to your already fabulous Completely Custom easel.

meet suzy!

Today we're pleased to introduce Suzy from our Semi-Custom line. Suzy is classic with a dash of the exotic. Her house is filled with things that hint of time spent in far-off places. She is the one to have at dinner parties.

Note how the Suzy layout gives everything a clean, contemporary look, but without being too modern. And how cute is Suzy in a different pattern? Can't you just picture matching gift labels for a little boy?

give, invite gather: the girls

We are thrilled to give you a peek at our soon to launch Semi-Custom line. Semi-Custom lets you apply any of 35 of our most popular imprintables swatches to 4 different layouts, called collections. Each collection represents a distinctive layout style that changes the look of any swatch to suit your mood, taste or event. Collections offer the same 6 products: invitations, folded notes, photo cards, calling cards & 2 label styles, all personalized and made to order.

To help translate each collection's signature style, we gave them a name and a personality. They're our "girls", and they'll help you and your customers give, invite and gather with style. So, let's make some introductions!

First, meet Olivia, shown below in swatch #500. Olivia is a big city girl who throws great cocktail parties and loves fresh flowers all over her apartment. She is, above all else, fun. Can't you just imagine her?



And here is the Olivia collection invitation shown in swatch #520. A different swatch changes the look while retaining Olivia's innate sense of style.



After the holiday weekend, we'll introduce you to the rest of "the girls". More info on the Semi-Custom/Completely Custom easel program here.

gather: your thoughts

Here it is, July 1, and already the "need to get organized for the school year" feeling is settling in. As forms for preschool, middle school, sports, etc. arrive in the mail daily, I am overcome with a need to figure out how to keep track of it all, how to remember to get everything done while still enjoying summer. I must not be alone, as here in the office we're seeing an uptick in orders for our personalized desk calendars, shown above.

From our Completely Custom line, these calendars are not your average calendar. As with all Completely Custom items, you can customize your calendar with the design of your choice, in the colors of your choice and the font and font color of your choice! And, the calendar can start in any month. How great is that?!? Many we've sold lately start in August or September. The result is a calendar that reflects your style and your schedule and at 11" x 17", is large enough to double as a desk blotter.

One of our customers--also a good personal friend--bought one for her darling pre-teen daughter. She said her daughter immediately went to work with her pack of markers, marking important dates in a variety of colors that coordinated with her calendar's design (she went with a different design in pink & brown--so cute!). The calendar sits on her daughter's desk, matching her bedroom decor perfectly!

So, if the impending beginning of the school year is weighing heavily on your mind, we invite you to pick up a personalized calendar (and maybe some matching notesheets, too) and you will at least LOOK more organized than ever!

Hello! Allergies + Asthma + Bronchitis = long time no see

Hello, everyone! I apologize for the LONG delay since our last post, especially since we have some more fabulous NSS round up items to share. My usual spring allergies morphed into an asthma attack, which then turned into bronchitis, all during my kids' last week of school. If you have kids, you know what "last week of school" means: picnics, teacher's gifts, end of year concerts, final sporting events, and the list goes on. Frankly, it exhausts me every year, and I think it does the kids in, too! At any rate, it has taken me much longer than I expected to recover from all this and I am just now feeling somewhat back to normal.

But enough about boring illnesses! There are more exciting things to discuss, namely, the continuation of our gathering of our NSS favorites. All of today's items fit into our favorite category of things that are chic, nice to look at, and useful to boot, and they are especially timely for summer.

First up are custom melamine plates from our friends at Fontaine Maury. Yes, yes, there are plenty of custom plate lines out there, but believe me, Fontaine Maury is the last word in chic custom plates. With more than 250 designs to choose from, there is something for everyone in your family, or to match your decor, or whatever other criteria might float your boat. Visit the Fontaine Maury website to find out where you can get your custom plates before your next summer gathering (and wouldn't a custom plate be a FABULOUS summer hostess gift or birthday gift? I'm just sayin'...).


Next are disposable coasters from Whitney English. When you think of Whitney English, you may think of invitations, or note cards, or note sheet sets, since those are the things that established the company in the stationery industry. But now, the Whitney English team is using their considerable powers of design on useful household items like these coasters. And the designs are chic but timeless, so if you don't run through all that you buy this year, they won't look been there, done that when you pull them out again at a later date. Personally, I want these stacked all over my house, not because I am worried about water rings everywhere (I have three boys, so I got over that one a while ago), but because they look so great, especially with that bold intial in the center. Love 'em!



Finally, from the department of shameless self-promotion we want to share some fantastic Completely Custom items we've done recently. These showcase all that there is to love about our Completely Custom line: for a 4th of July party invitation, our Sparkler icon in navy & red, plus our lattice perimeter border in navy & white, plus a fun font in red makes a smashing July 4th party invitation. Take that same perimeter border in lime & peony, and pair it with grad caps in the same colors, and you have a festive, feminine Grad Party invitation (with darling matching address labels). It is so easy to get exactly the look you want with Completely Custom!

How we gathered together...an insurance story

How often do you hear insurance stories? Probably not often. Or, I hope not too often. And you are probably wondering what insurance has to do with giving, inviting, gathering, or for that matter, stationery. Well, the beginnings of hen and barley press were in insurance--it's how Carolyn and I first got together, or gathered, if you will.

Back in 1995 both Carolyn and I worked as commercial underwriters for the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. Chubb is one of those big companies you've never heard of, unless you have a lot of antiques or a major jewelry schedule, and then you've definitely heard of them because they are the last word in insuring all those kinds of goodies. Anyway, both of us were new to the Chicago office and we met there over production meetings, budgets and client calls. Fast forward a few years to motherhood, and we'd sort of lost touch. We'd both left the company to stay home with our kids, but in an odd twist of fate, wound up living around the block from each other in our North Shore suburb.

While we loved being moms to our young raucous boys, we both craved a little mental stimulation beyond debating the merits of preschool or various toilet training methods, and neither of us wanted to go back to insurance. Insurance is, in fact, generally boring, and beyond that, neither of us wanted to work in a big company atmosphere again. One thing insurance had given us, however, was insight into one another's work habits and personalities, so we knew we could work together.

I'd long had an obsession with stationery, and had foregone art school for studying Japanese, so starting a stationery company would allow me to indulge my obsession and my natural creativity. Soon it became too much for me to manage on my own, and that's where Carolyn came in. Her knack for numbers, marketing meant she could take over those tasks and direct our team in those areas, allowing me to focus on design and product development. She also has a great eye and classically good taste, so she can chime in on design decisions, too. It's a great match, and, I think, proof that you don't have to have only one profession in life.

More importantly, our company philosophy of give, invite, gather is more than a convenient branding tool. We really do believe in giving, inviting and gathering more. We really do love a good party, a great dinner, or a simple gift. We really do believe in giving back. And we love how stationery helps us to do all those things that are near and dear to our hearts.

On the eve of our departure for NYC and the National Stationery Show, here's what we're doing to give, invite and gather: Carolyn will be gathering with friends on the baseball fields for an evening of 4th grade baseball. I will be gathering with some friends over beer and pizza to celebrate the end of a long work week. What will you be doing?

Check back next week for our National Stationery Show posts. We'll be featuring our top 5 lists: top 5 trends, top 5 retailers, top 5 favorite products (and not just our own). Have a great weekend!

Jenny

Fun Friday

Friday, May 8

It's Mother's Day weekend, so we're sure there'll be lots of gathering going on (and hopefully some great giving, too). Whether it's a fancy restaurant brunch or breakfast in bed that's made by your kids, we hope all you moms out there enjoy a day where you feel special, pampered and loved.

We'll be back next week with a look behind the scenes at our preparation for the National Stationery Show starting May 20.

A Great Way to Gather

Wednesday, May 6

Yesterday's mail brought a few more high-school graduation announcements, but one in particular struck me as a great way to celebrate graduation with a twist:

This particular graduate is a very talented painter, and she's headed off to art school in August. For her graduation, her parents are hosting an open house to "let us thank you, family, friends and neighbors, who have been a part of [her] life along the way". This isn't just an ordinary open house, though--it's also an art show featuring the new graduate's paintings and other artwork.

What a great idea--to celebrate not just the occasion, but this young woman's accomplishments as well. It shows the parents' pride for their daughter's graduation, but also their pride and respect for who their daughter is becoming.

Gathering in this way--celebrating who the person is, not just the occasion--gives even more meaning to any occasion, be it birthdays, graduations, even Mother's Day on Sunday.

The New In

Tuesday, May 5

It arrived in the mail on Saturday: the first graduation announcement of the season. It's that time again, and Hen and Barley Press is ready with a host of gifts for grads that will usher 8th graders into high school (think initial note cards and locker magnets), high-schoolers into college (a set of monogrammed stationery, perhaps?) and college grads into the world with elegance and style. There's plenty of time to order the perfect gift, so visit your favorite retailer or shop HBP.

Know what else arrived in Saturday's mail? The new Bloomingdale's home accessories catalogue, which proclaimed on its cover that "The New 'In'" has arrived. Let me quote: "What's hot for summer? Think BBQ's, sunny mornings in spa-fresh beds, iced coffee dates and frothy cold cocktail hours. This season it's all about looking at it in a new light."

We're all about the New In, if it means giving, inviting and gathering in a more relaxed style. Take last night, when my husband and I passed by a friend's house while we were out for a walk. Their fire pit blazed away as they and their neighbors, whom they had just invited over because it was such a lovely evening, made s'mores. Love the impromptu nature of that simple invitation--and love the idea of the New In.

Grad Cap icon above from hen and barley press Completely Custom line. Colors of cap can be customized to match your grad's colors and can be used on labels, notecards, invitations and more.

Giving back: the philosophy behind Hen and Barley Press

Wednesday, April 29

Jenny writes: "As owners of a stationery company, Carolyn and I believe that written communication is an important, necessary part of life. As mothers, we believe that all children are alike in spirit, and that literacy is crucial to fostering that natural spirit.

"These beliefs, and our guiding principles of Give, Invite, Gather, inspire us to donate products and a percentage of sales to not-for-profit organizations dedicated to improving the literacy and welfare of underprivileged children."

To date, Hen and Barley Press has donated more than $4,000 in products to a wide range of organizations, one of which is Mary Lou's Place, the domestic violence shelter for women and children at the YWCA Evanston-North Shore in Evanston, Ill.

"Mary Lou's Place was created in 1980 as a five-bed volunteer-run shelter," says Julie McBratney, communications manager for the YWCA Evanston-North Shore. "It has since grown to a 32-bed residential facility with six transitional housing apartments. Here, women and children, including boys up to the age of 12, can access emergency shelter for up to 90 days."

When a woman arrives at the shelter, her immediate needs, as well as those of her children, are addressed. Residents are assigned a private room, as well as clothing, bed linens and personal supplies. Women's advocates and children's counselors provide daily individual and group counseling sessions, parent/child workshops, and specialized workshops such as health education, job readiness and financial literacy. All services are free of charge to residents.

"This important combination of emotional and practical support enables residents to find within themselves the ability to achieve self-sufficiency," Julie says. "We plan to use the materials from Hen and Barley Press in our daily counseling sessions, as well as in our art therapy program, as part of our residents' healing process. "

To learn more about Mary Lou's Place, and to support their programs, visit www.ywca.org/evanston.

Fun & Festive Fridays

Good morning and Happy Friday!

Here in Chicago we are enjoying some real Spring weather, if only for a day. What a great way to start the weekend!

Fun and Festive Fridays will be a regular feature and will be all about what people do on the weekends to give, invite and gather. We're going to start with me, Carolyn and Jenny, but we'd like to hear from you, too! Drop us a line with what you're doing to give, invite and gather on the weekends, and we may feature you on one of the next Fun and Festive Fridays.

Carolyn: Gathering with neighborhood friends for a barbeque to celebrate the arrival of spring; Little League baseball games; inviting a friend to go to the Art Institute for a special exhibit; buying a graduation gift for a niece.
Jenny: First soccer game of the season at Community Playfields, which is a great gathering spot for the entire community on weekends; soccer tournament; inviting college friends and their kids over for dinner on Saturday--homemade chicken nuggets for the kids, and spring rolls and Thai curry for the adults; visiting friends to see their new twin boys and drop off baby gifts.

Ellen: Softball games; Little League Baseball games; gathering with friends at a gourmet cooking class.

Enjoy your weekends and we look forward to hearing what you're doing to give, invite and gather.