The OTHER Little Blue Box

When I was in NYC last week for work, I had the amazing fortune to finally fulfill a little dream of mine.  Attending a work meeting in the Empire State Building?  No (although that was still very cool).  Sniffing various new fragrances that aren't yet in the marketplace?  No (also very fun and fancy).  Having lunch with a legendary fashion icon in his atelier a few days before Fashion Week?  Okay, this was indeed amazing, but since I never even conceived of something like that happening, technically it wasn't fulfilling a dream but more of a "Holy Schmoly, I can't believe this is happening!" moment.  

No dear friends, the little dream to which I'm referring is that I finally visited my absolute favorite stationer just by mere chance.  We were on our way from our last business meeting to a dinner meeting and by pure coincidence, we walked by Smythson of Bond Street, the famous London stationer that only has ONE store in the entire United States.  As an avid paper and pen girl (I scoff at standard ballpoints and 3M spiral notebooks), I've coveted their luxurious leather goods for years, and finally splurged on a small one a year ago.  At $80 for a "little black book" sized journal, it's certainly an investment.  And worth every penny.  The paper is absolutely beautiful and made with a very specialized process that features a signature watermark emblem and absolutely does not bleed through.  But most importantly, it just feels good!

I was extremely lucky to walk in the store just five minutes before they closed, and it's probably a good thing since I could've spent hours in there!  I told the sales girl of my great love, and she seemed very appreciative, despite her young age (who says the youth don't appreciate good craftsmanship?).  I ended up selecting a small purple journal with the words "Guilty Pleasures" embossed in tiny gold print on the cover (rather fitting, I thought), as well as a spiral of their signature paper.  The best part was the care she took in wrapping my purchases in their signature blue box with navy ribbon - I tell you, it was better than Tiffany's.  She carefully placed my goodies in their sturdy blue shopping bag, and even my receipt was printed on their blue paper.  As I gazed around the store, admiring all the lovely treasures (90% of which I could never afford), I felt just a little more...fancy and sophisticated (even with approximately twelve different fragrances sprayed on me).  

So if you appreciate good paper as much as I do and you still actually put pen to paper for any reason, why not make it an enjoyable experience and invest in the best.  In the words of Ferris, "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Smythson Leather Goods

Magic K8 Ball Says: 8, Gotta Have It!

P.S. Note to husband - I'll take THIS blue box over the "other" one any day!