Renee Claire, Author at PopBetty

“Live in the Sunshine…”

June 7, 2013 by Renee Claire

From “Merlin’s Song“; design by Katy Daisy, and for sale at her Etsy store.

Aside from Sherlock, I never quite connected with PBS’ current Sunday night line-up of British mini-series. While they’re all relatively good, for me Downton Abbey has too much soap opera plotting, Call the Midwife has too many women screaming in agony, and Mr. Selfridge has too much Jeremy Piven.

From left: Julie Graham as Jean, Anna Maxwell Martin as Susan, Sophie Rundle as Lucy and Rachael Stirling as Millie.

But with The Bletchley Circle, a trilogy about 4 former WWII codebreakers hunting down a mass murderer & rapist, I’ve finally found another show to love. It’s beautiful to look at (the costume & set designers deliberately muted the color palette to create a somber, sepia-toned landscape), and well-acted. What’s most interesting for me, though, is the tension of watching women who saved lives during the war trying to fit back into the narrow roles available to them after the war ended. Available on Netflix Streaming.

Recipe: Kale, Pear, & Spiced Pecan Salad

November 8, 2012 by Renee Claire

Here’s the recipe for my new favorite salad and salad dressing. It’s quick, savory, and stars raw kale, one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Be sure to cut the kale finely, and remove any large stem pieces–the leaves are chewy enough.

Kale, Pear, & Spiced Pecan Salad

Serves 1 to 2 people

Several handfuls raw Tuscan kale, roughly chopped, then cut into slivers
1 d’Anjou pear, cored and diced
Trader Joe’s Sweet & Spicy Pecans, broken into small pieces*
Shallot Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe below).

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Wear-to-Work: 09/25/12

September 25, 2012 by Renee Claire

Budget Finds: Merona Polka Dot Top, Turquoise Sweater, Talbots Black Ponte

Three quirky pieces I bought & love:

Petite Signature Fit Gigi Double-Weave Ankle Pant, $99, Talbots.
Merona Cardigan in Jazzy Turquoise, $20, & Merona Gathered Neck Polka Dot Top, $10.

Review: Minted.com Business Cards

August 21, 2012 by Renee Claire

I put off buying business cards for years, thinking I’d wait until I could hire a graphic designer to do both a card & a logo. Fed up with writing my info on napkins, however, this year I decided to buy 100 temporary cards (of course, three months later I hired a fantastic graphic design team to create my logo, but that’s how it goes).

I’d saved up numerous potential card vendors and design ideas (see some on my Pinterest Business Ideas board), and narrowed my vendor list down to four candidates:

MooCards (nice blend of quality printing and affordable prices)
UPrinting (interesting die-cut options)
Mandate Press (250 letterpress cards for $95; simple but classic designs)
Minted.com (trendy designs & good reviews)
More options: I’d also considered getting a self-inking stamp business card, but realized people could find that off-putting rather than clever. How About Orange also has a short list of places to get things printed cheaply.

I finally went with Minted.com, because they had the most suitable template (the Classical Composition design, but they’ve added many designs since).

Order Timeline

Ordered the cards on January 1st (it was one of my New Year’s Resolutions).
On January 3rd at 2 pm, received the proof, with two possible options for the spacing of my name. I approved the proof immediately.
On January 4th at 10:08 pm, received a notice that my order was on its way (package was shipped FedEx).
Received my cards on January 10th at 3:06 pm.

Price & Paper

I purchased 100 cards in the Signature paper (matte, 17 pt thickness). Total cost was $57.00 + $10.95 shipping, or $67.95. Below, a gallery of the results.

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