And, of course, one “web person.”

That term makes me cringe and laugh and want to turn into the Incredible Hulk all at once. It ranks up there with people asking me to fix their computers and saying, “My best friend’s sister made a MySpace once, so I know all about web design.” (What are you supposed to say to that, anyway?)

This web gig? It’s a little-understood — or, in some cases, misunderstood — profession.

Unfortunately, for many people, technology is an amoebic blob that encompasses anything loosely connected to post-Industrial Revolution advancements. From the remote for the DVR to online banking, it’s all in there. And someone who can fix one thing can fix all the others. Right?

You also have the tech-savvy populace — the people who recognize the delineation between computer technicians and system administrators and “web people.” And God bless these people, because they won’t ever show up to a consultation and ask me to figure out why they’re getting virtual memory errors. But chances are that they still don’t have a firm grasp on the specializations that comprise each of those top-level groups.

Case in point: In said networking meeting, there were not one, not two, but four insurance agents. One does life insurance. Another does auto and home. A third does corporate insurance. At the end of the day, they’re all in the insurance field. But their specialties make their businesses distinct. They work in an industry where specialization is understood, accepted and appreciated.

Growing pains.

Insurance has been around for quite some time. Specialization became important as the needs of businesses and individuals expanded, gradually, over time. I’d guess that there was a time when customers expected every insurance agent to be a jack-of-all-trades — and when that agent tried to explain the difference between auto liability and homeowners insurance, their customer glazed over in a matter of seconds. Much like the glazing that happens when I talk about visual design, front-end markup, user experience, interaction design, application development… you get the idea.

In other words, growing pains are often resolved with time.

And with necessity. In the case of insurance, having some understanding of the types and terminology became essential to everyday life. Without car insurance, you could have your license and registration revoked. Without homeowners insurance, you could end up homeless because of a fire or flood.

I would argue that technology professions are becoming more important to daily life, and they will only become more so. But not knowing the difference between design and development isn’t likely to leave you destitute. At least not yet.

Responsibility.

As “web people,” we can’t sit back and wait for time and necessity to do the work for us. It might work out, but it’s likely to be painful (for our clients) and slow (for everyone).

Be brave.

Back to the networking meeting. Naturally, I sat down to chat with said sole web person, to find out what he actually does.

Like most “web people” out there, he started with a long list of things that he and his employees do. But after we talked for a few minutes, I found out that they really specialize in content management system development and hosting. In fact, they do those two things almost exclusively, despite feeling this obligation to offer a laundry list of services. Very narrow and specific, but extremely effective for the Right People.

We are fundamentally scared of saying “I don’t do that.” If it’s because we can’t do it, we’re afraid of looking incompetent. If it’s because we won’t do it, we’re scared of losing the client. In either case, it feels like admitting defeat.

But “web person” can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I may not want to be generalized, but when I force myself to do it all, I perpetuate the misconception.

I thought back to client consultations from months and years past and thought of the number of concessions I made because of fear — things I said I’d do because I can, not because I want to or because it’s my thing. This phenomenon goes way beyond web people. I’d be hard-pressed to find a solopreneur out there who never felt pressure to offer services beyond their target specialty.

We need to stop being scared and start being true to (or, for starters, finding) our thing. Specialization is scary, because specialization is a sign of growth and it requires us to say no. But when we’re true to our thing, we get to work with Right People and stop forcing the square peg into the round hole.

Now, that isn’t to say that jack-of-all-trades-ness is inherently bad. If you have a lot of different skills and services to offer, and all of them are true to you, you should absolutely pursue those. Your thing might even be a combination of seemingly dissimilar skills, and when you bring them together, ta-da! Brilliance! But in the same vein, just because two things are similar doesn’t mean you’re required to do both things. You just do your thing. Whatever that looks like. Period.

Each one of us teaches people how to treat us, our business and our industry. So “be brave” could also be translated as “teach by example.” Treat your business with respect and the others will follow.

It started with a Night at the Academy, and then I had a spring swap, where eight of my stylish friends brought stuff they didn’t use anymore (you know, all those beautiful things that you once loved and can’t bear to give to Goodwill but are also taking up valuable space in your garage/attic/closet/purse) and we traded them for stuff we could use. There were many coin tosses, rounds of ro-sham-bo, and much posturing over some West Elm sage-colored curtains, a set of cake stands, and a cruet. But the little metal monkey photo holder? That was ALL MINE.

Party number three was held in honor of Saint Patrick, who may or may not have been Irish and whom I may or may not have incorrectly referred to as St. Patty (it’s Paddy! and apparently everyone knew this but me!). Eight of us crowded around two folding tables for corned beef, Irish (or, as I’ve learned, bastardized and Americanized) soda bread, cabbage, red potatoes, carrots, and these amazing cupcakes:

Guinness cupcake + chocolate ganache + Bailey’s frosting + shamrock sprinkles? Why, yes, thank you.

But, oh, party number four. This is where the real magic happened. I’ve been planning, I mean, looking forward to this shindig for months. It started with an invitation that was mailed in a box (as all good things are).

Now, I’m not a very “themey” person by nature. And that’s an understatement. My favorite fashion and decorating mantra is from Clinton and Stacy: “It doesn’t have to match; it has to go.” Instead of trying to pick a theme or buying out the baby girl isle at Party Depot, I trusted my instincts and brought together vintage, outdoorsy-chic (the mom-to-be’s nursery theme) and feminine.

Sign calligraphy by Jenna Hein (of course). Outfits from various sources, including Baby Gap and Janie & Jack. Candle from Anthropologie.

Okay, this is not the greatest photo, but I need to tell you something. These paper pom-poms by orangekisses are a-ma-zing. In December, I followed the Martha Stewart tutorial for making these myself, and the end result was less (way less) than stellar. Suffice it to say that they were not part of my Christmas decor. I’ve also tried the MS kit (available at Michael’s), which yields better results but still not anything I would show off. But orangekisses! Pure bliss! I’m not sure if it’s the quality of the tissue or the way they’re assembled (or both), but transforming them from flats to puffy balls took less than an hour for all five, and they’re perfect. Round and fluffy and delightful (as opposed to loppy, wilted and irritating, as my previous attempts were). You can’t even tell that I carelessly tore the tissue in a few places. As far as tissue paper crafts go, this is as close to foolproof as you can get.

I also made this tart (which happened to be my first tart) and it was a huge success. Dorie Greenspan knows how to wield a mean spatula and her baking cookbook is the quintessential guide for anyone who has ever made, or wanted to make, a show-stopping baked good.

Of course, we all know that the best part of any shower is the gifts! And let me tell you, these girls know how to wrap. All-time cutest assortment of gift bags and wrap.

That giant jar on the right? Filled with diapers and everyone had to guess how many were in there. For reference, there were 44. And the mom-to-be tied for closest guess at 45. (I think she’s ready for this whole mom thing.)

I’m not sure if I had more fun picking out the baby clothes for the clothesline or the items for the memory game:

Showing off all the items also gave me the opportunity to talk about Etsy and how amazing it is. Where else can you get baby earflap hats made from felted cashmere sweaters?

Oh, and in case anyone is interested, I made a PDF of my game sheets for the shower. Page one is the memory game; you bring a tray out for a short period of time (say, two or three minutes) and then after you take it away, your guests have to list everything they saw. (Bonus: Everything on the tray is a gift to the mom and baby.) Page two is a game where the mom-to-be chooses which traits she hopes the baby will inherit from mom and which from dad, and your party guests guess her preferences. Enjoy!

Everyone got a few trinkets to take home with them…

I should’ve taken photos of all the different ones, but the muslin bags were stamped with various images. I topped the lip gloss tins with the world’s smallest nests and mushroom birds. Inside the muslin bags were a tiny lined notebook and a bit of chocolatey goodness. Because the sherbet punch and pear tart didn’t put us into enough of a sugar coma already.

Thanks to all the wonderful girls who came and made this such a lovely day for Sarah!

Yes, there are about 6,328 different ballots floating around out there, including the the official Oscar.com printable ballot, the Evite ballot, and a quite lovely ballot from Twig & Thistle.

But my husband, the brilliant movie aficionado, wanted a weighted ballot, and I had to agree that that would be most awesome. Sure, I could’ve printed one of the other ballots and told people to give themselves extra points for some things, or scribbled notes on each one, but that is so not my style. It has to be pretty or it isn’t worth doing. Period.

So without further ado, a PDF of our ballot. Two sided, prints on 8.5″x11″.

Happy weekend, everyone!

All of that to say, it’s way past time to do a round-up of all the super awesome and wonderful stuff that’s been going on in the midst of stuff gone awry. Hopefully this round-up will become a regular habit.

The books! Oh, the books.

I am now on books four and five of twelve. I usually have this rule about reading multiple books at the same time (and it’s called I can’t stand the thought of my books resenting me for sitting there, bookmarked and lonely) but I quickly realized that I’d be in Gone with the Wind for quite some time and needed a second book that doesn’t require its own boarding pass when I get on an airplane. I’ve also concluded that any book about books is a quick sell with me. You could tell me that The Principles of Microeconomics was a book about books and I’d probably read it. Case in point:

“It was a paradise of learning, and I prayed for eventual admission… My fingers itched to take a few off the shelves, but I didn’t dare touch even a binding.” (The Historian)

Four-day work week? Yep. Check.

I can’t say it’s any easier, but I’m sticking with it. I’m fairly certain I imagined that hours would magically appear in the days I would be working and that would somehow compensate for the day off. With no one volunteering to switch from 24- to 32-hour days, I’m brainstorming other solutions.

The Oregon Coast makes me glad to be alive.

So do a lot of other things, like baking and my husband. But I got to spend not one but two weekends at the coast this month and it was pure bliss.

Ever wondered what to do with those 30 bone china teacups and saucers in your china cabinet?

Me neither. But apparently, my mom and Granny actually do ask themselves these kinds of questions. My mom and I planned and served (with the help of my generous husband) a seated four-course high tea dinner for my Granny and 25 of her closest friends. One of my colleagues pointed out how amazing it is to not only have an 80th birthday but to have that many dear people to share it with. I have to agree.

Bear in mind that all of those teacups, saucers and hand-painted china plates have to be washed. By hand. Along with the 25 wine glasses and everything you served from, cooked in, and baked on. Consider yourself warned.

I pitched my tent!

I had a Wilderness Concierge session this week, and oh. my. gosh. Kelly is brilliant and supportive and encouraging and makes you feel like everything you say and think is not only sane (whew!) but also meaningful, valuable and useful. I’m so stinkin’ excited I want to run around yelling LOOK AT ALL MY AWESOME NEW STUFF! Except that wouldn’t be a good idea, because all that new stuff is still in my head. And if people tried to look in there, well, a) things could get pretty messy, and b) it might look something like this. A whole world of weird in there? Yes, indeed.