March On!

Progress: in my apartment currently is a box of invitations, waiting to be sent out. Sure, yes, they must still be sealed and addressed, but lo: do not rain on my parade! Also, someone is making my dress and not only that BUT I have managed to put the other dresses that I purchased but were not right for me on ebay. Exhausting just reading about this, right? Let's look at pretty things.

In the So Tiny! So Adorable! Category:

Iwona Ludyga Tiny Keyhole Ring, $135

In the So Sparkly! So Dainty! Category:

Yasuko Azuma Moonlight Diamond Necklace, $738

In the So Pretty! So Old! Category:

Vintage 1930's Rhinestone Dress Clip at Jean Jean vintage, $78

And here's a little snap of some of my babies...

I've got some new ones too! I have to look longingly at this photo until May. No more "frivolous" (how insulting to diamonds!) purchases until after the nuptials. SIGH.

And my big baby:

Initial Here

No more complaining about work, I promise. This weekend we caught up on sleep and explored Long Island City, which is about 15 blocks south of us (we're in Astoria). What a weird place with it's crammed in luxury highrises full of nobody and empty streets teeming with hip restaurants. I assume they will be soon be marketing the town as the "new Manhattan" or some such ridiculousness, but until then, it'll feel like a really hip ghost town full of soulless shiny buildings and great boutiques.

Today we ventured to the mall, a rare treat when you move out of suburbia. This first necklace looked lovely on a mannequin in Urban Outfitters and it inspired a whole post. It's good to be back.




Urban Outiftters Monogram Necklace, $18









Scrabble Charm by HeistJewelry, $45

Sterling Initial Necklace by Jennifer Zeuner, $220

Art Nouveau Inspired Initial Necklace by IstanbulDesign, $65

Custom Initial Copper Charm by Amy Cornwell, $20









Copper Initial Necklace by Wiyomu, $15

Gold Block Initials (vintage deadstock), $20 at day-lab [only limited letters, but day-lab always has a ton of deadstock initial necklaces, so it's worth a look around the site]

Boleyn Necklace by Wendy Brandes, $300 for sterling silver (also available here in gold)

Sign Language Initial Charms, $5.50 each (pewter) by Talking Hands


And if you have hours to kill, please feel free to click here for the etsy search of "initial necklaces" which I left at page 40, though there were still about 100 pages left to peruse. I had to tear myself away so we could catch up on Project Runway.

In Which You can Win a Prize!

Hi folks! I'm finally back after a (thankfully) abbreviated family vacation plus one horrific day of work wherein I had to respond to 90 e-mails.

This'll be short and sweet today as I got word that I'll be heading into an office on Monday. They're picking up my computer today, along with all other my other work junk, and I've got knots the size of Texas in my stomach. New people! Having to work with the old people again! No more laying out in the park! No more talking to the kitties! (Well, technically I can still do the last, but it doesn't seem quite so crazy when it's just you and the kittens.)

Vacation was as fun as it could be. My mom and I usually make the best of things which means we hit a lot of gift shops and ogle things far too expensive. She had to forcibly talk me into at least one of my purchases this year as I didn't want to spend the sum--a sum so relatively small I'm ashamed to admit it as I'll seem stingy. But hey. I'm on a budget.

What else? I tried to stay away from my newly growth spurted 13-year-old cousin. Prior to arriving, word was he'd sprouted five inches and had a voice change. I told the BF and he said, "I know how 13 year old boys think! I don't care if he's your cousin, don't touch him!" Wise words.

Anyhow, here's what I picked up at my new favorite store, Mark August, in Chatham, MA...



Resin Bangle (made to look like sea glass)



Burmese Ruby ring on 14K gold Wire


Last but not least, the contest! Because, as I mentioned in the previous post, today is my Blog-birthday! One year ago today, I was just a bored little girl sitting in an office who loved jewelry. Not much has changed, except I've got a whole bunch of writing on the Internet that proves just how much I love jewelry. So here's the deal:
If you'd like to win the necklace, just leave me a comment saying so. My mom will pick one at random and I'll let you. Someone better want this necklace, people! I agonized over my bloggiversary giveaway!




This lovely little basket necklace from Yankee Ingenuity in Chatham, MA. My old college chum Mr. Bungle revealed to me that the baskets are actually jewelry versions of the Nantucket Lighthouse Baskets, an old timey craft that began in the early 19th century on Nantucket Island, and was adapted from baskets local Indian tribes used.

This one doesn't have a penny like the traditional ones: it's sweet and delicate and sits just right. As with the other giveaway, I'm so sorry international bloggers, but I wouldn't be able to ship it to you! Canadians I'll take, though.

I know I was only gone a couple of days, but man, I missed this (do you see the kitty ears?):

Acrylic-ville

It's already been a week since my last post? How time flies once the weather starts shaping up.
I'm working on a long one, requested by Penelope of I <3 Clothes, about Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker's recent penchant for pearl necklaces. That should be up by Wednesday.

Today, however, I'll post another thing item that eludes me... an acrylic collar-style necklace. Why, oh why can I not find the perfect one? I came close when reading a post by LC of the wonderful Fops and Dandies, but once I meandered over the site of the jeweler she posted, I found that the necklace was a little too ornate. Not enough bold collar-ness happening. Another close call came at a local boutique... just not close enough. Here are some of those near misses, with a few other interesting pieces that came up on my acrylic quest on etsy.
(And thanks for previous recommendations folks; I do know about alchemy. I just prefer the hunt.)


Migration Out to Sea Necklace by Paraphenelia, $25
[This reminds me of Miss Sarah Brown of Que Sera Sera fame, who always seems to be wearing a great boat necklace]




Black Acrylic Laser Cut Necklace by Marmod8, $25
[as seen on Fops and Dandies]




Reversible Chesire Chain by Beyondwonderland, $39.90
[as seen in Candy Plum--local Astoria boutique]




Black Nouveau Necklace by soigne, $60


This is the one I may end up ordering... you might recognize a similar design from a past Friday Favorites. Love that honeycomb-style shape:


Hexagonal Necklace by Brevity, $30


Ooh and look at another in the Brevity shop:

Cellular 1 Necklace [sold out, but it looks like they will make a custom necklace if you like the design] [Oh, she has a separate non-etsy online shop!]


Off topic, a little, but I think this ring is very interesting:

Black and White Acrylic Ring by Aubeebop, $30

View from This Angle

This rainy weekend gave me a lot of time to think about my next post. I should mention that I take the weekend off from computers; something I do for several reasons:

1. The computer at home is so slow it makes me want to get in the car and run over people. Considering the time it takes for two pages to load, that is definitely an activity I would be able to fit in.
2. I'm on the computer all week. My eyes start to cross on Thursday. I need that break!
3. My boyfriend plays fantasy baseball. (If this isn't self-explanatory, let's just say that he makes a lot of rash decisions on his team and often urgently needs the computer to... I'm not sure. Do something about players or baseball.)

But all that's good because I can read and pet the cats and think about what jewelry I'd like to write about on Monday.

I've been thinking a lot about shape and how a design can either be beautiful or horrendus depending on what shape is used to frame it. Today, I'm going to post some square and rectangle pendant necklaces. I've always loved the angles on these pieces, especially how they pop on the curve of skin. The corners often play really well off rounded square collars; they echo the clothing's design and draw attention to both the jewelry and what I think it the loveliest part of the body: the collarbone.















Top to bottom:

*Asymmetrical Necklace from Smallthings Designs $73, Bird style of Asymmetrical Necklace (which I happen to have)--these are really glorious in person and so worth the two week wait--all of the lines from smallthings are worth looking at and ultimately buying! I get so many compiments on this necklace.
* Layered Leaf necklace from Nancy Yeaw $50.
* Pussy Willow Necklace from Alisha Louise $100 each.
* Long Cherry Necklace from Amy Bengston, price subject to change based on choice of materials---metal and wood. The one pictured is $89.
* Deco Shells Necklace by Alisha Louise $120. This is available in 16 colors! I hate to post on designer twice, but I really liked all of her pieces.
* A little bling at the end! Moulinet Necklace from Gigi Caron Jewelry $450.

The links for all of the above can be found to the right. The second through fifth are from stars and infinite darkness.