<p>Valentine&#8217;s Day 2014 is but a memory now — but it&#8217;s not quite time to bid it farewell yet. First I&#8217;ve got an anecdote I can&#8217;t not share. It has everything: Celebrities! Romance! Tacos! Embarrassment! And of course, Valentine&#8217;s Day cards.</p>
<p>It all starts with Lauren and Joel Gryniewski, who TPC readers may recall from Friday Funnies as the creators behind the brilliant card line <a href="http://www.oldtomfoolery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Old Tom Foolery</a> as well as more recently, <a href="http://www.modern-lore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Modern Lore</a>. (Note: As of 2022, these brands are part of the raucous Mincing Mockingbird family.)</p>
<p>Late last year they also opened a store in Minneapolis, Greater Goods. Located in the popular Eat Street neighborhood, the cozy shop features cards and gifts from around the world. They also donate a portion of proceeds back to the community.</p>
<p>Our tale begins a week ago Sunday, when Lauren was working up front and Joel in the back. &#8220;My wife had called me up for a completely separate thing,&#8221; Joel remembered. &#8220;She was distracted by some other things going on in the store.&#8221;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a woman was at the register, ready to be checked out, Joel recalled. “I looked at her and was like, ‘I definitely know who that is.’ (So I asked), ‘Are you Jessica Alba?’ As soon as it came out of my mouth I was like, ‘Oh, no.’&#8221;</p>
<p>The woman replied, rather graciously, &#8220;No, I get that a lot, but I’m Jessica Biel.&#8221;</p>
<p>“I just wanted to crawl under a rock,&#8221; Joel said. &#8220;We talked for a little bit, and then I went in the back and just slapped myself in the face. I totally blew it. Such an idiot!”</p>
<p>I actually prefer this ending — frankly, there is enough fawning over celebrities! This is true tom foolery at its best, and it looks like she pretty much laughed it off anyway.</p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-70288" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-70288 block-wrap-classic columns__m--1 elements-design-3 block-ani block-skin-0 tipi-box block-wrap-thumbnail ppl-m-1 clearfix" data-id="70288" data-base="0"><div class="tipi-row-inner-style clearfix"><div class="tipi-row-inner-box contents sticky--wrap"><div class="block block-23 clearfix"><article class="tipi-xs-12 clearfix with-fi ani-base tipi-xs-typo split-1 split-design-1 loop-0 preview-thumbnail preview-23 elements-design-3 post-15691 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-favorites tag-art-prints tag-euphorium-brooklyn tag-greeting-cards tag-journals tag-perfume tag-petales tag-photography tag-pillows tag-sarah-schwartz tag-stationery tag-stephen-dirkes tag-tal-shpantzer tag-thank-you-stationery tag-the-paper-chronicles" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/petales-where-paper-meets-fragrance/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=200%2C200&;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=293%2C293&;ssl=1 293w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=75%2C75&;ssl=1 75w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=390%2C390&;ssl=1 390w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=585%2C585&;ssl=1 585w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/OrchidsPods_-BoxSets.jpg?resize=96%2C96&;ssl=1 96w" sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" /></a></div><div class="meta"><div class="byline byline-2 byline-cats-design-4"><div class="byline-part cats"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/category/favorites/" style="color:#b79b0d" class="cat">Favorites</a></div></div><div class="title-wrap"><h3 class="title"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/petales-where-paper-meets-fragrance/">PÉTALES: Where Paper Meets Fragrance</a></h3></div><div class="byline byline-3"><span class="byline-part date"><i class="tipi-i-calendar" aria-hidden="true"></i> <time class="entry-date published dateCreated flipboard-date" datetime="2016-07-25T13:53:55+00:00">July 25, 2016</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="15691"><span class="likes-heart"><i class="tipi-i-heart-o" aria-hidden="true"></i><i class="tipi-i-heart" aria-hidden="true"></i></span><span class="tipi-value">0</span></a></span></div></div></div></article></div></div></div></div></div></tipimidc>
<p>Meanwhile, this unexpected brush with fame has garnered Lauren &; Joel some welcome local press. Best of all, added Joel, “You can imagine how excited Lauren is to know she’s only two degrees of separation from the man who brought sexy back.”</p>
<p>Speaking of JT, the big question is, what cards did he receive on Valentine&#8217;s Day? I am happy to report that Mrs. Timberlake has an excellent sense of humor, purchasing Old Tom Foolery&#8217;s &#8220;unsappy, uncrappy&#8221; Footnotes collection. They are blank and letterpressed — and make an amorous yet witty impression any day of the year. $4.50. The bottom one really speaks to Mr. Smooth&#8217;s culinary tastes — apparently he is <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/justin-timberlake-celebrates-peoples-choice-awards-wins-at-taco-bell-pictures-201491" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a big Taco Bell fan</a>.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3264" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-15-at-5.06.50-PM.png" alt="Screen Shot 2014-02-15 at 5.06.50 PM" width="729" height="721" /> <img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3265" src="http://thepaperchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-15-at-5.07.24-PM.png" alt="Screen Shot 2014-02-15 at 5.07.24 PM" width="728" height="717" /></p>