Night Owl Paper Goods is a stationary company based in Birmingham “Owlbama” (their pun, not mine… I love puns!) They use the phrase “modern yet folksy” to describe their company, and I’ll add “sustainable” to that list, too. They make two kinds of greeting cards: paper and wood. The paper letterpress designs are printed on “100% reclaimed & recycled cotton from the garment industry” which have a luxurious feeling to them that you normally associate with fancy but eco-UNfriendly paper.

Their unique wood cards are printed on thinly sliced, sustainability harvested yellow birch. The birch slices are also turned into business cards, journal covers and custom wedding invitations. They’re pretty cool!  My favorite product was the wood postcards which you can buy with one of their cute designs or blank so you can DIY.  They go right in the mail with a postcard stamp, and are just as easy to write on as paper.

I met Jennifer and Alan at the National Stationary Show this year, and they were kind enough to give a Night Owl Paper Goods discount code to The Amber Show readers good now until June 30, 2009. So go shopping! (The wood cars are especially rad for Father’s Day!) Use the discount code Amber* to receive 20% off.

*(dude. How cool am I? )

1. Keep steadfast in your hunt for the perfect purse. It will be worth it in the end.

2. If you don’t read the paper, cancel your subscription.

3. Irish car bombs are fun! But only once.

4. Meeting people in real life from flickr is fun and not creepy! (Happy anniversary, G!)

5. You have to let bread rise twice, or it won’t be as pretty. If you can’t wait, though, it’ll still taste good having risen only once. Also, if you need it to keep for several days, undercook it a little bit. When you’re ready for a slice, cut off your slightly doughy portion and finish it in the toaster over. Fresh bread for days! Make sure you keep it wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, though, or it will mold.

6. Tow truck drivers really do say “ten four!”

7. Seriously, don’t buy hard to register cars, like, say, vintage Volkswagons you can’t drive. Really. Really. Just don’t.

8. I build pretty snazzy shelves!

9. It’s fun to get up the day after Thanksgiving if you have fun guys to hang out with. And totally worth it if you want to score a Wii.

10. Speaking of Wii’s, you really do need to respect that they are “physical activity”.

11. I don’t need an expensive bed.

12. I don’t need two Thanksgiving dinners.

13. Photography is not too hard to learn. You should get a book, though, to help.

14. To clean vomited calamari out of your car: 1. Make your husband do it. 2. Be smug in the fact that you have something with which to mock certain friends with for a good long while.

15. There are a lot of REALLY amazing people in Puerto Rico who will help you should you find a dirty hurt dog and want to adopt them.

16. Dogs > diamonds.

17. 50mm lenses are AWESOME!

18. The iPhone is NOT over-hyped. It is awesome.

19. The only marriage anyone should ever have an opinion on is their own.

20. Rainbow Christmas > White Christmas.

21. Bringing your own shopping bags to the grocery store isn’t too hard once you get into the habit, and so much nicer than lugging gross, bad-for-the-earth plastic bags that cut into your hands.

22. When you are too sick to decorate your Christmas tree, it is wonderful to have friends come over and do it for you.

23. When you are part of a family, you can make up silly phrases, words, and songs and then use them on a regular basis. (In our family, some of them are, “Happy Dog Face”, “Happy Dog Foot”, “Uncertain Foot”, “Kind Words”, “Furminating”, “Snearaly”, “Sweetie Ears” and “Puppy Pile”. Also, the “Mountain Laurel Song” and the Song for Chubby Dogs.)

24. Rob and I have nearly the same political views. I honestly didn’t check before I married him, but I’m glad that worked out.

25. Bring your camera everywhere.

26. You can’t split a White Castle Crave Case three ways without risking a horrible stomach ache.

27. I learned a lot about the real estate and geography of western Brooklyn. In fact, I’m pretty much an expert on western Brooklyn neighborhoods.

28. Keep your eye on Tino. He’ll escape.

29. Ask tons of “stupid” questions if you’re confused about your health insurance. It will save you hundreds of dollars.

30. Dogs get colds! Who knew?!

31. Peeps are fun!

32. The dogs like goldfish, and so do I.

33. My husband makes breakfast in bed for me on my birthday. SCORE!

34. Good photography comes from the heart and soul and eyes. It does not come from the camera.

35. If you’re feeling blue, throw a dinner party with true friends who don’t care that you threw it together last minute. It will be good for your soul.

36. Margarine is the devil.

37. It’s ok to make $350,000 impulse purchases for sentimental reasons. Wait, hang on, this one I’m not sure about yet.

38. Ehhhhhh, you can cut your own hair. Well, I can.

39. If you have no dishwasher, you need to just buckle down and handwash on a regular basis, otherwise you will be stuck with Mount Dishmore.

40. Podcamp people are cool.

41. Living in Brooklyn suits me.

Post number 900!

Simpleshoes.com is one of my favorite companies because they make cute shoes and have a very strong commitment to making sustainable, super cute kicks. I have a pair of their toe foo flip flops; they aren’t the best for walking more than half a mile at a time, but they’re perfect for when you’re going out to a not super-fancy but still nice dinner.

They invited bloggers/myspacers/facebookers/etc. to post one of the two youtube videos they made talking about their company. All who do are entered into six separate drawings, to win a free pair of shoes!

Here’s my entry. I hope you enjoy (it’s a little long) and are inspired to check out a pair of earth-friendly, totally cute shoes of your own.

P.S. they’re having a killer sale on summer shoes right now: if you buy them today they should be good until there’s snow on the ground, and then you’ll have them for the spring.

Happy weekend!