hope house happy

aren't these books just gorgeous? the red one (not to be mistaken with the scarlet one still in its box) is my original*, gifted to me by my friend 'h'

I have finally come face-to-face with my recently-ordered notebooks from Hope House Press in England. These hand-made leather books smell like new shoes, but they’re better because you can write in them and draw in them and caress them and smell them. Thanks, Hope House, for crafting such wonderful books to hold my everyday thoughts and drawings.

*When I received my original leather notebook, my friend H couldn’t remember the name of the shop she bought it from, so I did some intensive image googling and found Hope House. I honestly thought that my original journal was a Hope House, but it isn’t. I just realized that when I got my new notebooks (which are just as gorgeous *if not a little more so sorry little red original notebook*) and H realized that Hope House Press was written inside. Just wanted to clarify!

the notebook on the right, a gift to my brother 't', would have stayed wrapped but the customs employees had not only gotten into the box, but ate two of the green & black's chocolates which came with the books! so i went ahead and peeked in, then tried to wrap it as intricately as it had been before it left the Hope House studio

if i weren't in such a big, fat hurry to get these books in my hands, i would have kept them all in their boxes, preserved forever as wrapped gifts-in-waiting to myself. you might recognize my book of traffic lights & other observations here