Christmas Shopping

So, this happens to me every year when I set out to begin my Christmas shopping ... I don’t have that many people to shop for, and I try to limit how many things I give my girls (still under the illusion of Santa Claus, right), so, it should be fairly easy, right? Right. With a lose plan I head to the mall ... or Etsy ... And I end up ...

“Oooh, I’ve wanted these for so long. I’m getting them. For me.”

“Oooh, I think I need these, so I’m getting them. For me.”

“Well, the girls need to think Santa remembered me, too, so I’m just going to get this. For me. Eh, I mean, for my new collection.”

Needless to say, I still have to go shop for my girls, and a few other people. And maybe I’ll just pick up that thing for myself. You know, that thing I really have to have.

Sigh.

P.S. You can find more lovely earrings by my dear, talented friend Ginger here. Check your local stores for memory blocks by Sid Dickens.

My favorite color: Pink

So, there is not a whole lot of creativity coming out of me lately. But there is a whole lot of pink appearing around the house ... but mostly just in the eyes of my children. We have been battling pink eye for a week now. Yeah, fun, not so much.


Here’s to a pink-free week to the rest of you.

Color Me Happy

This month, the lovely artisans of Etsy’s Best Kept Secrets is discussing color. Is it important to me? Does it influence my designs? The short answer is, yes. I’ll quote myself from my Etsy profile:

“I have always been fascinated with color and form. When I was little (just a few years ago, of course ... eh-hum!), I colored just about anything and everything. Since my mother was an artist, I was blessed to always have paper and coloring books, pens, markers and crayons handy.”

I love working with colors, and I’m blessed to have a full-time job that involves color and form. I have incorporated the same principles into my jewelry designs, pairing my favorite colors and stretching my imagination trying to color outside the lines. But not only that, I have gone from being a girl who wanted every room in her condo white to incorporating just about every color on a color wheel on the walls of my house.


Looking back at what I have created, I see that I tend to gravitate toward the same color combinations over and over again—the same colors I like to surround myself with on a daily basis: blue and green (both colors are in my bedroom), pink (my youngest daughter’s bedroom) and purple (the brand new color in my foyer), gray and black (this fall’s favorite colors to wear). But I also use more yellow in the pieces I make—and the layouts I design—than I would ever wear on my person (yellow is just not my color … and yet I just painted three walls in my dining room a golden yellow).


But, is color the only thing that inspires me? No. When I design pieces, I start with the focal stone and depending on the shape and the color, it may end up taking me in a completely different direction than I had first planned.


Take the gorgeous oblong kyanites below: Normally, I would have paired them with green garnet or Prehnite, but this time they were really calling out to be paired with yellow. Yellow? I must have been homesick at the time!


Is color important to me? Does color influence my designs? Yes, it certainly does. Even when it takes me in a surprising direction.

Something about cashmere

Yes, I could definitely go for one of these cashmere scarves from Restoration Hardware (I know, it’s a little funny). The two grays seem to be the colors of the season, and ones that I personally am drawn to more and more. But then, the black is classic, right? It would go with everything. And what about that garnet one? I have a winter white coat, need I say more. Decisions, decisions!

Bedroom Issues

So, I’m on a quest for a new bed. I was so set on one from IKEA, because it’s dark (almost black, which is my preference), it’s nice and, of course, very reasonably priced (read: downright cheap!). But then I started shopping around ... I guess I shouldn’t have, because now I don’t know which one I want. Yes, the one from IKEA is still the best option financially (meaning, I could actually go get it this weekend), but should I let money decide on something that I will more than likely have for a very, very long time?

OK, so my three choices are:


The Hemnes bed in black/brown from IKEA. Very simple, very inexpensive, solid wood.


The Brighton Coffee bed in dark brown from Crate & Barrel. Nice details, solid and engineered woods, reasonably priced.


The Plateau bed in dark brown from West Elm. Minimalistic (is that a word?) design, solid wood, very simple, no need for box springs. But do I really want to give up my box springs? And, it’s only available online ... but I really like it.

You see! So, what’s a girl to do? Maybe I'll just go buy myself that zebra-print chair instead. After I paint the foyer and hallway, of course.

Psst. What did you think I was referring to with that title?

On My Wish List

I need something in my kitchen. Something to sit on and something to possibly keep the clutter from collecting on the counter tops. Something like this from Pottery Barn.


I want my guest bedroom to serve as a ... guest bedroom! But I also want it to be my studio, once I finally get back into making jewelry. The full-size bed that now lives there makes it impossible to fit a desk or anything else in it. So, it’s a good thing I fell in love with this daybed from Crate & Barrel. My future guests may not appreciate the pull-out trundle, but it’s not like I have enough overnight guests to warrant a whole bedroom set aside just for them, right. *hint, hint*


I’m also trying to make a serene spot out of my living room, which is virtually child-free (there’s no TV in there). I don’t want to spend an arm and a leg (since I’ll need those moving all this furniture around), so I’m leaning toward a sofa from IKEA. How long do you think it’ll remain white?

Wish I could write this clearly

What color are your toes? Mine are …

To buy or not to buy, that is the question

I saw this chair quite a while ago and decided it would look great in my foyer. It just happens to be on sale right now, so the question is: Do I get it now, or do I wait and run the risk of it not being available later?

What is is with me and bags?

I get email updates from lots of companies … daily. Sometimes it’s annoying. Actually, most of the time it’s annoying, but I still don’t unsubscribe, because you never know … right. So, I have a few favorites even though I rarely, if ever, can afford to actually buy anything from them. One such company is Sundance. Yeah, this just popped in my inbox today:


So, what do I zero in on? The bag. The suede bag. *head desk*

Isn’t it just fabulous?

Can I have it? Please. I’d even take the yellow one.


I didn’t mention that I just recently bought a bag, did I? A suede bag. But, it’s black, so maybe I need a blue one?

I need help.

Belated Tales of Blessings

I know some of you already know, actually, most of you probably already know, my long tale of acquiring a house. I prayed and waited and waited and prayed and I was finally blessed with the house I had claimed as mine for over four months. I cleaned and spackled and sanded and spackled and cleaned and painted and cleaned some more. At long last, I was able to move in the day before Thanksgiving, but the work didn’t stop there. I bought a new water heater, a new toilet, had the garage door repaired, had a shower faucet repaired, had a gas line moved, a brand new stove installed, a brand new dishwasher installed, electrical wires uncrossed and a house fire averted. It’s been a busy three months—and pictures are long overdue—but I’m finally sharing two of my Christmas-decorated rooms with you here.

Here’s wishing you a truly blessed 2010! In my camp, the year is off to an equally busy start as the last one ended.

Dining Room

Living Room