Twice in a Month Already!

Pic from AP

I sort of glossed over this in the last post, but just to get it out into the world: I am currently unemployed. Before my posts began dwindling, I often complained about the location and just general awfulness of my workplace, so it could be worse. Everyone says it's an opportunity, which is possibly one of the most annoying things to hear in such a situation, but very true, so I can't hold somebody's kind words against them. Though I'd like to. Anyhow, I've been taking it easy, trying to figure out what to do next. That's the worst part: the untethered feeling. Though you may resent the cord, once it's been cut, well, then you're just floating.

But I've made a list of Things To Do and blogging more frequently is near the top. That means I'll be branching out from solely jewelry, to talk about some books and further possible fetishes I encounter (see: last post). I'll probably be writing about my cats too; lucky you!

Other time-wasting treasures: I've been on the Natalie Dee website for a while and can't stop laughing at this one:

"Don't Invite Morrissey to Your Birthday Party"

So true.

Anyhow, over the past month I read two incredibly extraordinary books that I haven't been able to talk to anyone about. Then I thought, "Hey! What about that writing thing you do on the internet?" And the cat meowed at me, even though I only said it in my head (duh--cats are psychic), which I took as both support and affirmation. Today I will write about one of these...

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, is an incredible story about a young white woman named Skeeter, coming of age (22) in 1962 Mississippi. She's not into the dilettante lifestyle or coming out parties or settle-down and get pregnant lifestyle that her best friends have embraced. She's gawky and smart. She tells part of the story. The rest of the book is written in alternating chapters from the POV of two black maids in the community. One, Minny, is bitter and angry and, even though it's fiction, my blood boiled reading about the awful things people did to her, cause you know these things and worse actually happened. The other maid, Aibileen, is wise and maternal, and takes care of the white babies like they were her own. Skeeter decides to write an anonymous book, telling the stories of the maids. This book is so well-written, and drags you into the moment and people's lives without a second thought. I missed several train stops whilst reading this.

As a matter of fact, that's the basis for my new book rating system:

0 stars: couldn't wait to get off the train

1 star: made myself read a couple of pages, then started playing on phone and staring at people

2 stars: ride went by slowly

3 stars: ride went by quickly

4 stars: maybe missed one stop, but then pulled myself together

5 stars: missing stops, purposely going out of my way to read more

The Help: *****

I'm Sending You Letter...

Hi there! Two very odd things happened to me this morning:

1. I saw a purple thong laying in the snow, immediately thinking, wow. That woman must be really cold.

2. On my way to the post office, my boot came untied. A man offered to tie it for me, the offer suggested in a very lascivious, if not altogether sleazy voice. Due to my deeply ingrained manners, I said, "No thank you!" Now this is definitely odd, but made odder by the fact that it happens to me often. You are surely thinking, damn! This girl needs to learn how to tie her shoes! True. I am regretfully impatient and often tie my shoes in a slapdash manner. But. I can retie them without aid and so it makes me wonder: is there a fetish group for this business? Am I on page 1--"This girl loves to tease!" I am frankly too afraid to research this on the interwebs; lord knows who'll show up at my innocent blog due that single mention. However, please enlighten me in the comments if you've got any ideas.

On to the jewelry, which I have sorely missed posting about. Today's theme is the post office, which I have been to frequently, now being jobless (or: stay at home kitty mama) and not having a receptionist to hand my mail to. I should hire a receptionist for our apartment. Without further ado!

The Love Inside No.1 Ring by Colleen Baran, $75: a silver tube ring where a little love note can be inserted. Save the money you'd spend on stamps when sending out your love letters. 

Special Delivery Mailbox Necklace by Birdland Creations, $180

Love Letter Earrings by Destiny's Creations, $30

Love Letter Bracelet by Only Lauren, $160: inscribed with a love letter from Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barret Browning.

Silver Envelope Ring by Samantha Jean Designs, $38

Stay warm!

Hidden in Plain Sight

Edit: I don't know why this reads like a humorless, tourist guide entry, people. Post-nap brain'll do that to you. But it's still a valid post!

I thought I'd tell you about my favorite place in Manhattan because, though it's in a heavily trafficked location, many people seem to miss this wonder. In Grand Central terminal, there is a wing (Grand Central Market) dedicated to a row of counters, all selling marvelous foodstuffs: cupcakes, starfruit, tuna burgers. Basically, whatever you didn't know you were craving. But when you walk in from Lexington avenue, just look up. There's an amazing sight:

Lest you think your eyes are deceiving you, yes, that is a giant, upside-down crystal tree. Here are some more views, courtesy of the MTA website:

This one is from MHJohnston's Flickr Stream:

It's by artist Donald Lipski and is called Sirshasana, after the inverted tree pose in yoga. There's more information about it here.

Doesn't it look like a great big piece of jewelry?

Manhattan has all these little miracles tucked into hidden corners: a gargoyle smiling from a skyscraper perch, an anonymous boutique where you find your favorite piece of clothing, a small square of central park where you can watch the swans... Winter was getting me down, but warm temperatures this weekend are reminding me of all the great explorations to be had in the city.

Fingers Crossed for Something Above 24 Degrees

Oy this winter. It's been so cold and dark that I may kill the next person who complains about the cold and dark. Today I bought some Vitamin D in the hopes that it will make my body trick my brain out of winter depression. I'll let you know how that goes. For now, we've been hanging up pictures around the house. BF has been applying to grad schools and I've been dreaming of ways to spend my tax return:

Plum and Sage Rustik Ring with Green Amethyst, $75

Poppy Bobby Pin set by Foundling, $12

 Aquamarine Nugget Necklace (Mini Makoa 2.0) by Kahili Creations, $45 

Modern Scarlett Ruby Earrings by MKaae, $31

Posey Stacking Rings bRubygirl, $24 each

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On Saturday, my mom, a friend and I went to the Knickerbocker Ice Festival up at Rockland Lake. I know there was something educational to be gleaned from the whole affair, but it was so fucking freezing that the best I could do was get a couple of pictures. Below are some of the incredible ice sculptures set up around the lake. Most of them were ships.... wish I could tell you why!

Squirrel Heavy

Happy holidays, people! Did you have a good one? I had a good one. Though I am technically Jewish, I love all of the trappings of Christmas--the lights, the colors, the multitude of presents on one day (don't even get me started on that pesky eight-day rule us Jews abide by)--and part of my family is Christ-oriented, so I jump on that bandwagon. Since BF and I have been together an eternity (five years plus a little), he knows of my jewelry fixation and thus asks me to narrow down what I would like to an easy list. This year I was more than happy to oblige because I had my heart set on a single thing:

It's an ornate (some might say gaudy, but those people are inevitably boring) garnet Victorian ring. As always, the present came attached with several trials and tribulations and I didn't get until the day after Christmas but my god, I love it. It's shiny and huge and perfect. 

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Now, a couple of weeks ago, I had dinner with the gorgeous (is it me or does she keep getting younger?) WendyB and we discussed many things, but also squirrels which I think are bound to come up in any interesting conversation, right? I told her that to avoid crying at movies, I think of squirrels. You know, frolicking and whatnot. It's fail proof. Wendy reminded me of her awesome squirrel necklace...: 

Wendy Brandes Squirrel Necklace, $125 (free shipping 'til Dec. 31st!)

...And then that very weekend, the BF and I were taking a morning walk through Astoria when I was bombarded with the city's version of nature. First, we came across a squirrel eating a slice of pizza:

I whispered to BF "Make sure it doesn't move!" and hauled ass back to the apartment for the camera. Then we came across one of the famed black squirrels native to Astoria Park (like a fat cat, right?):

Of course we then met this little diva, who was inches away from me (expecting pizza methinks), and he/ she pulled out all the cute poses in the squirrel handbook:

Lastly, moving away from ze squirrels--this house was in a row of similar houses, and the only one covered in birds. Looked very Hitchcock-esque:

There was also a falcon, but he'll be in another post.

Off now to squish a kitty and further admire my ring. Happy New Year!

Presents for People You Love (Part 1: Under $75)

I know I can't keep up on comments, but here's a quickie as I've been on the Christmas Present hunt: The following are all things I have bookmarked for special someones (or maybe a special post-Christmas here's-some-money-I-have-left-me (does that make sense?))

Stone & Honey Silver Pinwheel "Lana" necklace, $60

Anne Kiel Little Horshoe Ring, $65

Aster Bracelet by Bario-Neal, $75

Charmed Earrings by Mud and Mint, $21

Silver Lotus Ring by An Original Jewelry shop, $52

Oh! Also, we went to Cooperstown, NY for a weekend/ Thanksgiving trip and the BF kept calling it (accurately) Stars Hollow. Yes, that's a Gilmore Girls reference. This is the second year we've been--he's a baseball fiend and this time around I really wanted to check out the non-baseball stuff in town. Anyhow, if you are looking for a weekend trip (and live in NY), I highly recommend Cooperstown! They have an awesome Farmer's Museum (home of the Cardiff Giant: "one of the most famous hoaxes in American history!" and the incredible Empire State Carousel--they had an NYC rat to ride on!). The excellent James Fenimore Cooper Art Museum is across the street and had two surpisingly insightful exhibits: one about past presidential elections (ie homemade support items like a milk jug with the word "Hoover" painted on) and one about the stereotypical depiction of African Americans through history. Obvs, they also have the Baseball Hall of Fame which I was happy to drop BF off at ("I'll meet you in an hour!") and go wandering around the town.

And my favorite part (besides, of course, the romantic dinners and such)? All the museums had Black friday sales that continue until Christmas! People, I love my museum gift shops.

I forgot the camera and tried to take some nice shots with the phone... ah, the novelty of farmland to a city dweller!

If you end up going, or liked going, or just need a book to read, I'd recommend the book Monsters of Templeton. The author was/ is from Cooperstown and modeled "Templeton" on her hometown.

Don't Know How Long I've Been Missing You

I've started and stopped about a million posts these last two months and it just became easier to say, oh, it's been so long anyhow. To say, well why bother? But today I'm sick and sitting here thinking that I really should do something about this.

What's new with you? Since my last post I've:

-gone to San Fran; (more pics here)

Grace Cathedral was my favorite place...

-got food poisoning in SF;

-left SF early;

-seen Twilight, A Christmas Tale and at least one or two other movies, but still have not gotten around to Man on Wire;

Even Mathieu Amalric swoons over Mathieu Amalric in A Christmas Tale (pic from Film Detail)

-finished season 1 of Mad Men;

pic from Give Me My remote

-read a million books and liked about half;

-been sick twice;

-been recommended a no junk food diet by doctor once;

-bought boots that I love--this has been a years-long quest (omfg SO comfortable);

-made plans for a Cooperstown-style Thanksgiving.

There's been more but being sick makes me blue (or green, I guess) and I can't remember all of the surely wonderful things I've been doing. Mostly I just sit around all day resenting San Francisco's hills.

But there's been some down time and I've found some new obsessions (jewelry-wise; we don't need to go into the whole Robert Pattinson thing here).

Victorian Garnet and Seed Pearl Ring, $150

Clasped Hands Ring, $245

Edwardian Garnet and Opal Ring, $340 (That unusual style of garnet is called "mine cut" and I've grown to really love it after looking at pages and pages of Edwardian and Victorian rings. It's a much sharper cut, and called such as the stones were literally taken from old mines. The style was popular predominately through the 19th c. Really striking reminder of how history repeats itself if you look at the stud jewelry that cropped up last year, I'm thinking most about Alex and Chloe's inverted diamond ring.)

Hannah Clark Ouroborus Ring, $500 (This is modeled after the engagement ring Victoria received from Prince Albert. The snake represents infinity--eating it's own tail creates a never ending circle.)

Sapphire Dome Ring, $88 (Also reminiscent of the Victorian "starburst" style like this one, which was also mixed with something called a gypsy setting that showed the gems recessed--or set under the surface level-- in the metal. Example here.)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!