Happy Fall! I hope wherever you are the season’s changes are welcome and rejuvenating. I am delighting in the fact that I am wearing an Owl and Ember sweatshirt as I write this. Did you know we have swag? We do! It’s cute, and cozy! 

You may be wondering, “What the heck is Owl and Ember?” Let me enlighten you! Owl and Ember is a joint venture with my dear friend, Holly Kennedy. Holly, @messymamaholly, is a graphic designer and creative thinker. We worked together for years when I lived in California, and about 9 months ago, we decided to make good on our long-held promise to “do something together someday.” Right now, Owl and Ember is a small sticker and stationery shop on Etsy, but we have big, big plans! We recently bought a Risograph printer -- a Japanese technology which is perhaps best described as a printing press that silkscreens paper. That’s completely inaccurate, but the end result is yummy, artsy printing on toothy paper and a handcrafted product. 

Our first joint venture: the publication of my Christmas planner and journal: The Nice List. We have outsourced the printing of The Nice List for years, but the pandemic made that cost-prohibitive and unpredictable. For 2020, we only produced The Nice List as a digital edition, and we were filled with trepidation as we readied the files for 2021.  In fact we were all ready to send them off last summer when it became clear that we needed an alternative. 

So in that moment of frustration, we opted for a huge change both in design and in production. We redesigned The Nice List which is now two separate volumes: 

• The Nice List All Year: a gift-giving tracker to last for years to come

• The Nice List Christmas Workbook: a planner for the entire Christmas season to keep you organized and help bring a little sanity to your holiday season

Both are available individually or together as a bundle. 

We are so excited about this change, and we hope you are, too! The Nice List will now be available in three different formats: print, digital, and as a printable PDF. 

The Nice List is, at its heart, still the same tool for reducing stress and increasing the joy of the holiday season. But if you have used The Nice List before, you’ll notice some key improvements:

• Two Notebooks: we divided the functions of The Nice List into two separate volumes. 

  • The Nice List All Year is exclusively gift tracking and is designed to be used for many years. AND you don’t have to celebrate Christmas to use The Nice List All Year -- it is designed for anyone who ever gives gifts! 

  • The Nice List Christmas Workbook is an even better planner for the holiday season. It includes shopping lists and meal planners, gift tracking for one season, gift giving suggestions, a Christmas card list, thank you note tracker, and so much more! You’ll need a new Workbook each year, but they are undated, so they are simple to restock.

• More Blank Space: while we loved working with artists to illustrate The Nice List, we learned that many people wanted more blank space. So for those of you who love to add stickers and washi tape, drawings and notes, there’s plenty of room for that. And for those who like a cleaner, clearer page: this is for you, too!

• A Traveler’s Notebook Insert: some of you are probably devotees of the traveler’s notebook format already, but if you aren’t, this is one of my favorite new features of The Nice List. The new notebooks can fit into a traveler’s notebook-style cover. So, you can, for example, keep your copy of The Nice List All Year in a cover and then switch out The Nice List Christmas Workbook each year -- or even keep several workbooks together for reference if you want! There’s so much more flexibility now!

• Eco-friendly: with our new printing capabilities, The Nice List is now printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks. They are also not being shipped from overseas, so we have dramatically reduced the carbon footprint of our product. Additionally, we are choosing shipping materials with the environment in mind, too. And with the longevity of The Nice List All Year, you’ll be consuming fewer resources as that piece can be used for many years to come. Plus, The Nice List Christmas Workbook is fully recyclable if you desire. 

• Less Expensive: one of the other advantages to taking our production in-house, is that we can reduce the price of The Nice List. Both The Christmas Workbook and The Nice List All Year will be $10 each with a $20 bundle for a set of two. Additionally, we will be able to offer discounts if you order 3, 5, or more sets of the bundles. That’s good for everyone!

In all, I am thrilled with the newest iteration of The Nice List, and I hope you will love it, too! It is a tool intended to help you find more peace and joy each holiday season while preserving memories and organizing your time as well.

The Nice List will be available to purchase on November 3, 2021 with pre-orders for people on my mailing list starting on October 30! 

Plus, we have a free gift for early orders while supplies last. More details on that to come! 

So, get ready for the best holiday season yet! And watch for the pre-order information for The Nice List. You don’t want to miss it!