Moment of Zen with Coffee Cozi at Caribou

Enjoying a moment of morning zen over at Caribou coffee in the Upper Arlington suburbs in Columbus OH with my new designer coffee cozi from Katie James. David went on an hour long power walk with his twin sister Dayna, and I just can't move that quickly first thing in the morning, especially in 25degree weather.

Do you like this coffee cozi with the pocket? Get it here >

Dinah needs a Katie James Sleep Mask

Dinah needs a Katie James Sleep Mask, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

I think Dinah needs a sexy sleep mask, don't you?

SALE and Free Shipping at Katie James!

Happy Holidays everyone! Katie James is having free shipping today, Cyber Monday, and some other limited deals, so stick around and go shopping! Plus, the first 5 Mista readers get 15% their entire order! Enter MISTAHOLIDAY at checkout...

Go shopping!

Should I be Super Katie James for Halloween?

I mean, I have a cape and all (pictured...the big purple thing taped to the ceiling), that I made years ago for a market table display. And I could wear some kick butt boots, and my bridesmaid skirt outfit, to be in total Katie James Couture. Otherwise, I'm a little tapped out in the brain, and don't want to spend the $60 at a costume store. What's a Recessionista to do?

I'll be on the radio tomorrow! "On the Home Stretch"

The power of social media. The power of the Facebook status! There I was, minding my own business, making some silly status update in Facebook, like "Just ate a lobster roll and stawberry milkshake and told David that the milkshake needed salt and he couldn't believe I'd put salt in ice cream..." when I got an email from a Facebook friend telling me that she has liked my status updates, and asked if I wanted to come on the internet radio show On the Home Stretch with Debbie Alan. Of course! Love radio shows.

This was actually back in July, so now it's all scheduled, and yes, is in the middle of the wedding madness. The time that I get called by the producers is on the official wedding-countdown-calendar in the kitchen. The phone system at our house in Maine is very old-school - no cell reception, wireless internet that cuts out when the cordless is in use (so Mom made that phone disappear - don't mess with a Mother of the Bride), no call waiting, and no caller ID. Since the wedding is upon us, the phone rings off the hook with updates like these:

• Florist: "I was able to get your pink and white/pink cosmos but not sure how many."
  
• Dry cleaner: "Your suit is ready for pickup, but I had to send the shirt out to Rockland to get the button sewn on. I tacked the cuff link in a bag on the wall behind the register. Shirt ready on Thursday."
• David: "Finally, someone in Maine can balance tires. Now we can drive over 60mph. They suspected that the NYC garage figured I never drove over 60 in the City, so didn't test them that high."
• Rental place: "I'm placing the order at noon. No more changes."

So we've had to "clear the lines" for tomorrow at 11am Eastern Standard time. And time zones are always things that I mess up, so I'm already waiting for the call - 24 hrs prior. We're going to talk about blogging (both FashionMista and ThatITGirl), its impact on me, the wedding, the new company, and whatever else they throw at me. This is my first time on a radio show, aside from when my 8th grade best friend and I stalked Bob McCay on Q.104 in Cleveland to request the Wind Beneath My Wings every night and dedicate it to each other. So this will be an experience!

Schitzo Thursdays, and other afternoons

Hi Mistas!
Sometimes when I disappear from this blog, I am in Facebook writing posts over there for different groups. I started a group called Home Office Collectives (notice spiffy "ad" over to the right of this post, in the new column for Sponsors). It makes me miss FashionMista, though, to not share conversations that go over there. Someday soon I will make a blog for Home Office Workers, but until then, here is a post I just put up that some of you may relate to. If you are in Facebook, and work at home or in a shared space, come join our group and play with us over there!

Post:
Here's my day in and out of the Home Office, and then I want to hear about your day:

Wake up late (8am), slow walk Gerdy in Central Park (lovely).

Shower, makeup, curl hair, suddenly it's 10am for a quickie scrambled eggs and coffee, and an attempt to make a quick Mothers Day newsletter for Katie James burp cloths.

Got to go, have a client meeting at 11am on the East side (I'm on the West) and hopstop.com says it's 30 min by taxi. Jump in a hybrid taxi, and learn about why the taxi drivers hate the credit card machines as we cross through Central Park into blocked traffic at 5th Avenue.

Make it to meeting on time, hair still in tact, ready to absorb and toss around ideas. Two hours later, meeting over, search for Whole Foods begins for sudden craving for their prepared foods. Return missed calls while in meeting and leave messages. Call the wrong number for finance and have a conversation that consists of insistent "Hello!"s with a random man who is not finance for 2 minutes.

Eat ham and swiss wrap on subway on way home (with other exotic prepared foods from Whole Foods). Get inside, greet all animals and feed them. Get reminder call from finance that company is staying with us tonight, then get off phone in order to design and send stupid Katie James email that will lead to no sales (sorry, had to insert self-doubt in the day).

Send newsletter and check gmail quickly. Gerdy lays at feet, waiting to go outside since that is the habit once I walk through the door. Gather up Gerdy and checks from clients, David's half of the bills, and partial reimbursement for vision appointment and contacts (YES!), and head the the dog friendly bank.

Stand in line forever, thank goodness for iPhone. Get email from someone at Newsday.com who got the newsletter and loved the burp cloths and dog treat bags and is doing a Mothers Day collection and requests high rez images for webpage. Hurrah!

Walk back home with minimal chicken-bone-eating by Gerdy. Put away food from earlier, look at dishes in sink with disgust, return client call but leave message, then notice the horrid moldy spots on bathroom walls. Horrid moldy spots on bathroom walls have been there for weeks. Company is sleeping over tonight. Oh dear.

Turn on Patty Griffith on iPod speakers. Scrub horrid bathroom walls walls and tub with lemon Lysol and Soft Scrub with Bleach. Pray that none got on designer Paige jeans.

Thought occurs to self that this is the day in the life of a Home Office Worker, because now I must go find high res images of products to quickly send to reporter who may or may not include in her Mothers Day Collection. Today was supposed to consist of meeting, invoicing for April, finishing Bridesmaid skirts, and making a Mothers Day email for someone else. It's 5:30pm. The day is still young.

What's your day like??

Free Shipping at Katie James - Limited Time for Newsletter Subscribers

Special for Mothers Day, newsletter subscribers get free Priority Mail shipping on anything in the store. Check out the pretty burp cloths for new moms, or the Chow Chow for moms of dogs, or just to have a pretty pocket purse...

You'll find the newsletter sign up on the left side of the website. It's safe and secure and powered by Vertical Response. Coupon will be sent out tonight - Wednesday, April 30th. If you don't make this round, sign up and there will be new deals another time...

Katie James Page at Facebook!

Hey all! I just created a Katie James Facebook Page, and need some fans! If you're in Facebook, won't you come over?

Awe, shucks...

I made a new friend in Facebook, Katja of Skimbaco, and on a whim asked if she wanted to help me promote my sleep masks on her blog, which she did by making it into a giant, comment-based giveaway. Then another blogger who is committed to showcasing American made products saw it, and she wanted to do a comment-based giveaway, so now, when I'm feeling blue, I can go to their comments, and read any of over 100 comments from the combined blogs! It's like a mini focus group!

Comments at Skimbaco's blog

Comments at Made in the USA

New Sexy Sleep Masks at Katie James!

Right in time for Valentine's day. These sleep masks were stitched by a fabulous woman in Alabama, and our thoughts go to her during the 2008 tornadoes, as her barn was flattened.

I use the red sleep mask myself, but my favorites are the green taffeta and the white polka dot. Quite limited edition, though, so I can't spare one for myself.

Go see the new styles...

Come Play in My New Group! Home Office Collectives

Home Office Workers of the World Unite!!

Starting yesterday, in response to a offering for free chair massages to women who work in offices to the Ladies Who Launch NYC Incubator group from Laurie at www.nychairmassage.com, I realized that Home Office workers indeed miss out on perks that make working in corporate offices easier and less Dilbert-like.

I emailed Laurie, lamenting this fact, and she responded right back with how Home Office Workers should not be denied such offers, and that if I could get 4 girls to come to my Home Office, we could have free 30 minute table massages. Are you kidding?? Sooo, I quickly emailed lady versions of Home Office Workers who might be up for such a stress relieving excerise, and am happy to say that Sabina and Rebecca from Red Branch PR are coming (Sabina all but insisted on champagne), joined by Lindsay of AdFemm.com, and me!

THEN, not to stop the excitement, I decided that Home Office Workers need a place to collect - if not in person (because we may not want to leave our houses b/c we may be too busy or whatever), then online for starters!

Home Office Collectives

I will create a group blog for it, where official Home Office Workers can write about their experiences in their Home Offices, such as favorite chairs, desks, printers, lights, sounds, aromatherapy, you name it, it will be discussed.

In the meantime, Home Office Collectives lives as a Group in Facebook, and you can join and post pictures or videos of your own home office - with pets if you have them! Click here to visit the group. Yes, you will need an account in Facebook to join. But honestly, if you don't have an account there by now, you are really missing out. I spend all of my free time (7 minutes a day) playing the Oregon Trail on it, which is the most least challenging version ever. So come join!!

Cutest Rolodex Ever

I should really get a glam, professional rolodex like this silver rolodex at See Jane Work, but I saw this little munchkin in Stylehive, and new it was the rolodex for me. I wanted the rolodex to close, but didn't want it to close with the cheap plastic, clear door of the generic one from Staples. Sure, this color is pretty lame, but that's what stickers are for, right? I might get the nice silver one from See Jane Work for recipes. Problem with that rolodex is the only way for a business card to stay in there is if you staple it to a card. And that just makes everything too thick. So, mini filing cabinet it is. You can get this file cabinet rolodex at Clever Gear. But hey. This one was only $13 ($18 with shipping), so if you know of other, cuter ones, please chime in!

Copy of Sleep Mask Re-Spun

The Katie James Sleep Mask is so great, and works so well, that even a Sleep Mask Skeptic has woken up on the right side of the bed, now that the Katie James Sleep Mask blocked all of the light from the previous night of sleeping.

This craftster has started her Christmas crafting and picked the Katie James Sleep Mask to copy and give to her niece-in-law, with Tiger printed fabric. Here's what she says about it:


"I personally have never liked sleep masks because a) they let light sneak up along the sides of the nose and so are pretty pointless and b) if I tighten them up so no light leaks in, I feel like I can't breath. So this one is cut of over the nose, and it works!"

More sleep masks in different styles coming soon, by the way. They are in production in Alabama as we speak.

Starbucks Snow :: New Katie James Desktop Art

Inspired by my last latte in a red Starbucks holiday cup, here is a new desktop art for your computing pleasure.


Download now (free) >

NEW Katie James Desktop Wallpaper :: Secret Dreams

At last! A new Katie James desktop wallpaper - and it has a new inspiration - my bathroom rug.


Download this free desktop wallpaper >

My 2'x2' bathroom rug that I found in Bath, Maine has a bit of geometric pattern on it, that is so pleasing. I bought three of them (different colors and patterns), and I guess they weren't officially for sale, but were square samples. They go perfectly well in the NYC bathroom when all you need to do is step on one to get out of the shower, rest on another near the toilet, and stand on a third while brushing your teeth and washing your face.

So, it came to me in a shower thought to base the next desktop wallpaper out of it, while having a daily to-do list type reminder to dream your secret dream (I don't know about you, but I often forget about my secret dreams, only to fondly remember them later). I'm not big on phrases and things sticking out at you from all over the place, and you may not be either. But I'm trying in out. I do like it on my screen. Hope you like.

Click to see all of the Katie James desktop wallpapers >

I Got Indie Loove

Just when I was feeling down in the dumps! ILoveIndie.blogspot.com wrote the sweetest indie love that I just needed. Sigh. She loves all things silk dupioni, and well, that's about all I have, plus some pleather dog treat bags. I even made Gerdy a velour and silk dupioni leash over the weekend, and then got intimidated by all of the 'real' leashes out there that have the typical cute ribbon pattern sewn onto a long strip of nylon ending in a silver hook. I can get a silver hook. But there are enough nylon leashes out there, right? Does every dog need to drag their leash through puddles? Gerdy doesn't, that's for sure. I just take it off or toss it on her back. That's why she gets chocolate brown velour and with a bright pink silk dupioni handle with the soft velour lining on the wrist. So soft. Pictures to come. :)

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Vote Katie James at StyleBakery!

Hey! Vote Katie James for best Accessories (or Gifts) in the 3rd annual Designers on the Rise at StyleBakery! Katie James may not crank out the most products in town, but we create each one with high quality fabrics in yummy color combinations. Where else can you get a tan on brown floppy french terrycloth burp cloth? And who else gives you free hand-drawn desktop wallpaper art? Who loves you, baby?

Katie James accessories are currently made in the USA, specifically in the Garment District of New York City, and in Alabama by women who are taught the craft of sewing so that they can work. Katie James is funded by direct purchases from wonderful clients and tax returns at the end of the year for bigger production runs, thanks to a wonderful accountant.

Vote Katie James in Accessories!

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More Things I'm Noticing About Working For Myself

It's kind of busy here at Katie James Central, and I've been noticing a few more things about working for myself:

• I'm recycling! Never before have I printed on the back of scrap printing paper, but now that I'm paying the Staples bill, I'm flipping those pages and feeding them through the machine. Feels really good anyway, and I wish I had done this long ago. The recycling bug spread to my kitchen, where I will now be a willing New York recycler by putting two trash bags in my trash can. Normally I swear off recycling b/c of the extra effort involved in putting aside glass and cans, claiming that I had no extra room in my kitchen. But I really do. And that feels good, like I'm throwing away clean trash or something.
• I'm in an Admin Whirlwind. It's not quite a cyclone, but luckily, I have invoices to create, and I just WISH that QuickBooks would embed itself into my head and computer, so that I could just wake up and know it. I've started reading the manual so as to know what to expect, but have not made the time to install it. You see, I do keep record of my times on jobs and expenses, so all of this is in excel sheets from January at least. I'd love to have a complete 2007 in QuickBooks, so may hire my trusty dog walker to do admin over a nice cup of tea or something.
• Working with the cats and Gerdy and my iPod is fun, and emailing all day is fun. Phonecalls are fun. But it really does take me about 1 hour of direct communication with another person to get back into the swing of communicating to my fullest potential.
  
• Maybe it's not such a good idea to totally work in gmail! It's been down for 3 hours! Plus, I need to get in the habit of sending from my katie-james.com account anyway. It does make a person look more legit, even if I've had it for 2 years and it all just forwards into gmail. This was confirmed by someone who I know on the phone today when I told her to email me at katie-james.com. She was excited that I had my own katie-james.com email...but I've always had it! So, lesson learned: don't rely on gmail. Have addresses/phonenumbers in a backup program, and use the email from my actual work web address. For the most part I have contact info in my Address program for Mac, but there are new ones that have not made it in yet.
  
• Thank goodness I'm at home for when stoves get delivered. Sheesh. Didn't get a call about that delivery.
• Thank goodness I bought my HP Laserjet 1300. That's all I have to say.
• Also thank goodness I set up my merchant account long ago and ordered checks, so that check writing to people who need checks is simple from my business-only account. Also thank goodness I connected everything in my online banking.

Still on my list of things to do:

• Start the new Katie-James.com website that includes website design and SEO tips.
• Health insurance.
• Confirm with TIAACref that I filled out my IRA papers correctly, then mail them. Just took them over to my former employment to have the accountant fill out the Former Employer page.
• Get a fax machine.
  

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Working From Home vs an Office: Early Differences

People have asked: "So what is it like?"

David has stated: "You are wearing makeup...but you're not at the office!"

Here are some answers:

1. Looking good is feeling good. That is the motto at Katie James. So a girl's got to look her best, if not for the appliance man than for herself. I wear makeup to "the office" aka little room off the kitchen. Sometimes it includes eyeliner, sometimes just shadow.

2. Think I am actually getting sun. By not being under the florescents anymore, these windows, that can at times be enemies by letting in cold air, are letting in bright light and at the end of the day, I have slight freckles.

3. When it's cold outside, and you're on the 9th floor with windows all around, you are a bit jealous of distant co-workers who are snuggled in a sealed office with heat. In theory. Sometimes it can get cold in an office.

4. Don't see the FedEx man so much as I see the Appliance Man for the stove. It's been 2 weeks now with no stove, and I've seen him 3 times, and his buddy in training. Also I see the exterminator, who is affraid of dogs and insists Gerdy gets put into the back bedroom. Dumb on my part, as that is a perfect way to get rid of my protection, so next time, he's just not going to come in and spray I guess. Also I see and my crazy neighbor more often.

5. If you shower a bit late, say at 9:15am, after a run in the park, and are sweaty, your super can call and say that the hot water will be turned off, so take the last bit of water. This is included in this list because at 9:15am last month, I was on my subway commute. This way puts me with water cut off mid-shower, only to use remaining water trickling out of the faucet to rinse conditioner.

6. Blog and blowdry. You can blog and blowdry your hair. You can do this at anytime, but it feels worky to do.

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Working for the Woman!

And the woman is me! Me me me!

Katie James, LLC is very busy, so I've not had a minute to post, and am becoming quite a night owl. Before my first day hit on March 1st, I was up until about 3am for a week designing a website. Whew! Now that I'm a free bird, who can go to bed when I like, it's very easy to stay up all hours! I haven't done pay-per-view yet, because I'm on the computer trying to get things done. You'd think I'd have all of this free time to wash Gerdy, do laundry, post to FashionMista, but no! I have a long list! And here it is, a list of things to do for girls who quite their day jobs and break out on their dream jobs:

What to Do When You Quit Your Day Job

1. Get centered. Get a facial. You need to cleanse of your old life to prepare for your new. (check)

2. Get a pedicure. You might as well (check. i did this while i was overbooked and had to sketch a microscope, so i did it while getting a peppermint leg rub).

3. Get health insurance. I'm going to do it through the Freelancers Union. I had it through them 3 years ago, but for only one month because then I got a day job with health insurance. Now I can join as a company. I'll post as I learn more. (to-do still)

4. Roll over the 401K at TIAA Cref I was graciously able to save while at day job, and turn it into an IRA to be used as desperate backup liquid cash, that will be taxed. This may have a time limit, so I better hop to it. This is good to do because if your money stays in the 401K, you can't contribute much to it, and it's basically no fun. I'm no accountant, but the word is to move it out of the 401K, unless you are switching jobs. But that's not what this list is for. (to-do still, but need to hurry)

5. Get laser printer!! Can't live without the speed of a hot little laser printer. My favorite is the hp laserjet 1300 that I had at the office. So reliable and so fast. (done! got from craigslist from a grad student! i recommend a used one from Amazon - if you get from this link I get a tiny commission...).



6. Get QuickBooks!! So excited for this one. I actually got it already from Amazon. It was the cheapest price I found for Macs. Next step is to take it out of the box. QuickBooks will let me put all of my income into specific categories, so that I can see what is generating the most money (thanks, daisyhead!). Think it also has an inventory function, so that I can track things via inventory, which also is supposed to make my expensing easier at tax time, so that I do not expense something like fabric that was turned into a product and sold. (to-do still)


Ok, on with the to-do list!!

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