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My dear friend Sarah had a baby boy yesterday. I am so very excited…yet so very sad not to be near her right now! I do wish I was in LA.

So here’s a post in honor of little Isaac Hayden. A beautiful photo taken by the talented Teddi Yaeger, whom I am thrilled to be working with.

Congratulations Sarah + Joel! And welcome, little Isaac.

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 Yesterday my uncle found this crumpled up real estate section of the newspaper from 1953. It was stashed under a corner of the Little House - the little family cottage where my husband and I currently live.

Was it for insulation? Who knows. But check out these prices…

A view house for $12,650! A week’s stay at a hotel for $7! A down payment for $495! Oh, why weren’t we born 60 years earlier.

But as my 90-year old grandmother kindly reminded us, that was a lot of money back then.

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Hello, and welcome to the shiny new home of Good Stock! I hope you love what you see here. More than that, I hope you are inspired by what you see here.

We’re still working out the last little bugs on the site, so please email me with any feedback, suggestions or questions!

I am such a lucky gal to have enlisted the assistance of some mighty talented people to pull this site together. So now, it’s time for thank you’s.

To photographer extraordinaire Kevin Delahunty, rockstar programmer and all around cool chick Happy Kush, and the most talented calligrapher I know - Betsy Dunlap. Thank you, thank you.

Please browse, enjoy, tell your friends, and do visit often.

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I have to share this great, post-Christmas book idea.

Anna and Maggie (of Always, James fame) are working on their next book - a compilation of family Christmas card photos from 1958 to 2005.

Isn’t that great? So much better than just tossing them each year…and so fun to look through Christmases past!

I think it’s such a great idea, I plan to steal it for our family. Feel free to join me - start saving your Christmas cards now, or get in touch if you’re ready to start your book!

After a great holiday season, a healthy dose of reflection, and an inspiring first few weeks of the year, I feel totally ready for 2008! Thanks to all those who helped make the past year the BEST of my life. I’m still pinching myself!

And now, I’m excited to share what’s on the little clipboard you see here…

GOOD STOCK TO-DO’s!
1. New + improved website - coming soon!
2. New book styles, including a clever little wedding book for brides, bridesmaids, or parents of bride/groom. (Yes, I’ve heard you, brides!)
3. More blogging! I’m loving this little blog and will be expanding the content to include some tips and tricks for pulling together family photos and history, suggestions for telling your family’s story, some DIY keepsake projects, ideas for organizing all those darn boxes of stuff, etc. Topics and suggestions are welcome!
4. My personal mantra is keep it simple, simple, simple. I have been on a “get rid of stuff” kick for the past 1.5 years (moving 4 times will do that!) so less is more, and simplifying is key! My hope is for all I design and write here to inspire simplicity.

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Greetings All.

Yes, there is still time to get the sweetest, easiest little personalized Christmas gift for a child or family you love.

Monday, December 17th is your deadline for ordering our custom-printed family trees. They come in a great little paper frame with your very own dedication. For only $36!

Order now! Our multitude of family tree elves are standing by!

Cheers,
Elf Kim

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Liz and I are finishing up a book of her mom’s memoirs (her christmas gift!) and I just had to share these two family photos. They didn’t make the book but we absolutely love them.

One of the hardest parts of putting a book together is the task of curating photos that best support the story. Alas, these did not make the cut…but they’re too good not to share!

What is it about them? They convey such nostalgia, emotion, eras…

Pretty great, yes?
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I’m very excited to be heading to nyc for a few weeks to soak up a bit of city inspiration.

I’ll be staying in Brooklyn, but exploring everywhere. So if you’re in the area and would like to talk about a book project, please let me know! I’ll have some sample books and would love to meet up.

I’ll also be working on some book projects I can’t wait to show you in November! Stay tuned.

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Several times I’ve been told I’m surprisingly young to care about family history. I’m 35 years old. Generally, these comments come from contemporaries of my mother or my grandmother, and for a while I believed that yes, maybe I was a little bit unusual for choosing this line of work at my age.

But lo and behold, to my absolute wonder and excitement, this past week I’ve heard from four like-minded women of my age to start on custom books! And let me tell you, these ladies are tackling their family book projects with downright gusto…traveling to family farms, sitting down with last remaining relatives, visiting historical organizations, collaborating with mothers and grandmothers, poring through old letters and memorabilia, researching family trees. And lucky me, I get to turn all their findings into beautiful books.

For me, it is mind-blowingly wonderful and inspiring. And yes, such a relief not being so surprisingly young after all.

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