Those who know me are aware of my slight obsession with all things paper. Stationary, notebooks, note cards, planners, journals, oh my! Armed for a keen eye for paper goods, you can imagine the delight I experienced when I stumbled into Paperhaus last night in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle.

While the store had a well curated collection of icon paper brands, like Pantone, Moleskine and Rhodia, I gravitated towards the brightly colored collection of the Italian brand, Nava. I loved the rich warmth of the Tangerine colored notebook and could have easily walked out with the entire rainbow of colors to give myself options depending on my mood and message. As good looking as they are functional, Nava Notes also impressed me with their multi-use design—these little delights are notebooks and planners hybrids.

There is nothing like waking up on a Sunday morning, walking over to your complimentary hotel breakfast, pouring yourself a bowl of granola and a mug of Stumptown coffee to find that some kind soul has left behind their barely read Sunday  New York Times. Of course, my little piece of heaven was slightly perturbed by a mother clad in sweats allowing her supremely loud cell phone to ring endlessly playing a pop-tart version of “Do ya think I’m Sexy?” But whatever.

Anyways, here is a breakdown of some of the gems I found in the Times, this fine Seattle morning.

• Indie Rock Embraces an African Invasion. Though this is not exactly a new trend, this article provides interesting historical background on this movement and some bands/sites I had never heard of. 
• Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above. Did you know that one in seven new marriages are interracial? Neither did I, but I find it pretty encouraging.
• Messages from the Wilderness, via Satellite.  This article covers all the new technology that is making it so people like me never find ourselves in 127 Hours sort of situation. Using satellites it’s now increasingly possible to communicate SOS messages from the middle of nowhere. Thank goodness.

• The Man Behind the Ace Empire. Maybe it’s because I’m staying at the Ace in Seattle currently, but I thought this article was interesting as it followed the guttural instincts that created an “Empire” of cool. One of the things I found most fascinating was the discussed differences between the New York Ace and the West Coast Ace hotels—because honestly the experience is night and day.

Okay, that’s it for now. Time to wander the streets of Seattle!