Snail Mail! The Cure for the Common Doldrums!

I love vintage ads, typography and photographs and recently came across a product labeled "Brain Salts." 

I was intrigued. What was this mystery product? Did one use it in the kitchen when cooking brains? Perhaps it was composed of dried, ground brains? Nothing like a dash of brain salt to season your dinner and keep it tasting smart! 

I discovered that this mystery product was a medicinal, not culinary, potion used in the treatment of headache, nervousness, mania, sea sickness, sleeplessness, over brainwork and indigestion. There was very little these brain salts couldn't cure!! 

I don't know where one can procure brain salts, but I do know of something better!! It cures boredom, loneliness, melancholy, apathy, incuriosity, lethargy, tedium, ennui, listlessness and monotony! Yes, that's right!!  It's snail mail!! I received a wonderful letter from a new pen pal today. It totally cured me of my doldrums!! Hooray for snailmail! It's magic!! (Much better than brain salts!) 

Go Postal, everybody!

XOXO Mrs. Murphy

Postal Plan - Days in August to Celebrate!

“The more you celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” 

I may have mentioned before that I'm really bad at sending "expected" snail mail...birthday, anniversary cards, etc. I find more inspiration in the quirky and unique.  I love to send surprise snail mail!  It is, hopefully, magic in my recipient's mailbox!!  I may not put everyone's birthday on my postal calendar, but I do add other fun dates that inspire me to send snail mail to family and friends. I thought I'd share a few dates that I've added to my postal plan for August!! 

Monthly Celebrations

• Peach Month: Send some peachy mail to a peach of a pen pal!! It's a month long celebration, so any day will work!! 
• Romance Awareness Month: According to the Huffington Post and Glamour Magazine,  August is National (US) Romance Awareness Month! Sounds like a perfect opportunity to send a love letter to your sweetie!!
• National (US) Picnic Month: Who doesn't love a picnic? Why not send a picnic invitation via post? I'm also thinking about sending some picnic themed books and fun mail to my young pen pals!

Days of Celebration

• (8/3/14) Friendship Day: (Celebrated on the first Sunday in August.) What better reason to send snail mail! They don't call them pen PALS for nothing. 
• (8/3/14) Sister's Day:  (Celebrated on the first Sunday in August.) Send some celebratory sister snail mail to your sister, or a sister-in-law or a best friend that is just like a sister, or ... you get the idea! 
• 8/9/14 Book Lovers' Day:  (Celebrated on August 9th every year.) Books are a wonderful package to send (and receive). Send one to your favorite bookworm.  I like to tuck a few notes in the pages of the book.
• 8/13/14 Left Hander's Day:  (Celebrated on August 13th every year.)  It is said that 10% of the population is left handed.  In the Murphy Family it's 50%!! Both of the Murphy Bros. are lefties while Mr. Murphy and I are righties.  (We must carefully arrange ourselves when we sit in a booth for dinner.)  Sending a fun left-handed package through the mail to your favorite lefty is an awesome idea! There are all kind of left-handed products out there you could include in your mailbox magic package. 
• 8/26/14 National (US) Dog Day: (Celebrated on August 26th every year.)  Lexi (the wonder dog) loves snail mail almost as much as I. She prefers to chew it, however, so I don't usually send her any. In honor of Dog Day, I will, instead, send some snail mail to my dog loving friends! 

Join me in taking a few minutes at the end of July and plan some August snail mail! Accept the challenge to send some smiles through the post in August!

Go postal, everybody!!

XOXO Mrs. Murphy

Snailmail ~ Where Seldom is heard a Discouraging Word!!

“Instruction does much, but encouragement everything."  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Nothing cheers me up like a hand written letter in my mailbox!! And it goes without saying that I absolutely LOVE making snail mail to send to someone who needs a little encouragement.  Today's outgoing post idea is my way of encouraging you to send some encouraging snailmail!!

I started with a pun, of course! 

"Orange you glad..." 

My discouraged recipient recently entered a new life stage and was feeling a tad overwhelmed. She was also surrounded, of course, by people who kept pointing out all of the negative things about her situation. (There never seems to be a lack of Negative Nellies in one's life, is there?) I wrote a note to my pen pal outlining the "Top 5 Reasons" her new situation was awesome! I hope this note brought a smile to her face and a little cheer to her heart. Magic!

Orange you glad you sent some snailmail?!

Go postal, everybody!!

~XOXO Mrs. Murphy