June 2, 2023 — Not sure what it is about these two, but they crack me up. And after a four-day work week into which we crammed what felt like four weeks of work, we can all use a grin!
Last weekend, those furry little forever friends showed me how magnets are really perfect little “I see and appreciate you!” gifts, so I thought I’d pass the idea along to you. You’ll find we now have 82 magnet designs from which to choose!
To our Memorial Day BBQ, I’d invited a woman that I’d enjoyed meeting briefly a month or so ago. Margaux said she and her family would love to join our family of friends for dinner, and thoughtfully asked what she could bring to complement the barbecued chicken. By text she offered, “How about I make cornbread?” I chuckled and responded, “Wild. Of all the food in the world, I had planned to make cornbread!” I jokingly attached a quick pic of the guinea pigs magnet — it’s my favorite so I always have a few here. Margaux responded with the “HaHa” emoji on the magnet and, when she arrived, it was fun to welcome her with the real deal. What a great way to jump-start a new friendship!
To the cookout, our desserts-to-die-for friend Ana brought her amazing vanilla sheet cake, with the perfectly placed blueberries and raspberries making it an edible American flag. Tuesday I ordered the Baking magnet to slip into a thank you note to her.
In this Cardie Newsletter a few weeks ago, I’d written about how much Ana and her husband Lars are admired for their great parenting, so I should not have been surprised when their 13-year-old Sebastian arrived at the party and greeted me with, “Thank you so much for having us.” I said to Ana for the umpteenth time, “What a pleasure your well-mannered kids are!” which prompted her to share with Margaux and me the family’s practice of going around the dinner table and citing three things for which they’re particularly grateful that day.
Margaux and I were duly in awe. “But,” Ana added, “Lars and I sensed that we all had maybe gone a bit on auto-pilot, and were just rattling off mostly mindless things. Like the kids would say they were grateful for having a day off swim practice, or I’d report that I was thankful the line at Costco moved quickly. So Lars proposed we all slow down and do a little more reflecting on the things for which we’re so grateful.”
Seeing that the look on my face possibly resembled that of the guinea pig on the left, Ana went on to explain to an equally intrigued Margaux and me, “Let’s say Sebastian were to say, ‘I’m grateful we get to go grill at Jodee’s this weekend.’ Lars would help Seb see and more greatly appreciate the blessing he’d just named so, in this case, it would become, ‘I’m grateful that Jodee enjoys us and loves our company so much that she’s invited us to be part of the gathering.’ Like that.” Wow.
I shared this wisdom with our CEO Ana who said, “Funny, I’ve been doing the same thing. For example, now, when I return from walking Betty, I don’t just say to myself, ‘I’m grateful to be able to walk Betty,’ I say, ‘I’m grateful that I have the energy and motivation to have taken this long walk because I’ve just done some good for my health as well as Betty’s.”
Well done, Lars! And Ana, Ana, and Betty!
We have always described our magnets as “Messages That Stick.” Let this be one of them ‘cause, Cardies, “Sometimes ya just know. We’re gonna be friends forever.”
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
June 2, 2023 — Not sure what it is about these two, but they crack me up. And after a four-day work week into which we crammed what felt like four weeks of work, we can all use a grin!
Last weekend, those furry little forever friends showed me how magnets are really perfect little “I see and appreciate you!” gifts, so I thought I’d pass the idea along to you. You’ll find we now have 82 magnet designs from which to choose!
To our Memorial Day BBQ, I’d invited a woman that I’d enjoyed meeting briefly a month or so ago. Margaux said she and her family would love to join our family of friends for dinner, and thoughtfully asked what she could bring to complement the barbecued chicken. By text she offered, “How about I make cornbread?” I chuckled and responded, “Wild. Of all the food in the world, I had planned to make cornbread!” I jokingly attached a quick pic of the guinea pigs magnet — it’s my favorite so I always have a few here. Margaux responded with the “HaHa” emoji on the magnet and, when she arrived, it was fun to welcome her with the real deal. What a great way to jump-start a new friendship!
To the cookout, our desserts-to-die-for friend Ana brought her amazing vanilla sheet cake, with the perfectly placed blueberries and raspberries making it an edible American flag. Tuesday I ordered the Baking magnet to slip into a thank you note to her.
In this Cardie Newsletter a few weeks ago, I’d written about how much Ana and her husband Lars are admired for their great parenting, so I should not have been surprised when their 13-year-old Sebastian arrived at the party and greeted me with, “Thank you so much for having us.” I said to Ana for the umpteenth time, “What a pleasure your well-mannered kids are!” which prompted her to share with Margaux and me the family’s practice of going around the dinner table and citing three things for which they’re particularly grateful that day.
Margaux and I were duly in awe. “But,” Ana added, “Lars and I sensed that we all had maybe gone a bit on auto-pilot, and were just rattling off mostly mindless things. Like the kids would say they were grateful for having a day off swim practice, or I’d report that I was thankful the line at Costco moved quickly. So Lars proposed we all slow down and do a little more reflecting on the things for which we’re so grateful.”
Seeing that the look on my face possibly resembled that of the guinea pig on the left, Ana went on to explain to an equally intrigued Margaux and me, “Let’s say Sebastian were to say, ‘I’m grateful we get to go grill at Jodee’s this weekend.’ Lars would help Seb see and more greatly appreciate the blessing he’d just named so, in this case, it would become, ‘I’m grateful that Jodee enjoys us and loves our company so much that she’s invited us to be part of the gathering.’ Like that.” Wow.
I shared this wisdom with our CEO Ana who said, “Funny, I’ve been doing the same thing. For example, now, when I return from walking Betty, I don’t just say to myself, ‘I’m grateful to be able to walk Betty,’ I say, ‘I’m grateful that I have the energy and motivation to have taken this long walk because I’ve just done some good for my health as well as Betty’s.”
Well done, Lars! And Ana, Ana, and Betty!
We have always described our magnets as “Messages That Stick.” Let this be one of them ‘cause, Cardies, “Sometimes ya just know. We’re gonna be friends forever.”
Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative
Love the practice of sharing things for which we are grateful, and wish I lived close enough to join the gathering! It reminded me of the practice I recently learned from The Midnight Children, a lovely story by Dan Gemeinhart. The family plates enough food for all but one person and then asks, “Who will be the hungry?” After a moment, the youngest volunteers, and she is given an empty plate. Then comes the question, “Who will share with the hungry?” and, of course, they all shift a portion of their meal to her empty plate. There are so many ways share grace!
I love the extra little cards that are found when we open our orders. I’m sitting here at work looking at “To have a friend, be one” . It’s been right above my laptop since I received it a couple years ago! :)
Messages that stick for friends that stick!!
My fridge is covered in Cardthartic magnets, gifted to me mostly by Candy ( big surprise) & they give me a daily lift. Jodee, you have a gift for attracting friends like magnets. I really admire that.