When You Know

Alright, who knows how much longer this puppy is gonna be around, so check back for a great big post by the weekend. It may be my last, for now at least.

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.

Zzzzzz

I'm not gone! Sometime this weekend, I'll be doing a new post! And commenting! And sleeping!

Oh, god sleep. I miss you, my sweet beautiful sleep.

Hump-day, as they Call it

Alright, kiddos! Time to anounce the winner of the ever-so-loverly bloggiversary contest... (drumroll please)
The Clothes Horse!

This contest was all official and vetted by my bf ("Honey, pick a number between 1 and 6 please?"), so if you have a problem, talk to him. Congrats, Clothes Horse!

Now, to all the rest of you kind folks who expressed interest, I would be happy to send a little treat in the mail if you are feeling particularly sorrowful about not winning. (I love sending packages and I've got some lovely jewelry goodies just waiting for the right owner.) Just drop me an email at urbanvintagenyc@gmail.com.
In other jewelry news, I am digging this today:

White Flower Bracelet by Metamorph, $40

also this one:




The Square Prince Ring by Senayakin, $250 (oxidized silver and aquamarine)


And in non-jewelry news: oh, people. Work is rough, but at least I get to wear dresses, right? I'll be setting up a proper update around these parts on Friday, and I'll finally get to read my beloved blogs. (Can you tell that etsy is one of the few sites I have access to?)

'Til then...

Winner...

...to be announced Wednesday nigh. Don't ask about work--it was rough. One comment: almost all of the internet I enjoy is blocked. Including my blog.

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?):

Gone Fishing

You may have noticed that this week I've been blogging up a storm? (If you are going by my usual schedule, anyhow.) Perhaps it's a touch of guilt as next week I will be on vacation. No blogging until next Friday, at which point we will celebrate my one year bloggiversary (July 25th) with a giveaway!!!
My very first post came only days after my return last year from the Cape, a place I go every year with my ever dwindling group of family members who deign to come. We get a cottage, I have to sleep in the same room as my mom, some of the time it is torture. That's all you need to know, I think. You probably should read it--I doubt anyone has except the BF and our very own Wendy Brandes, who was my very first commenter!

This is actually called Cape Cod style jewelry. It's everywhere up there. Sterling bracelet, $65


I never understood these basket necklaces, but they are seemingly mandatory in every gift shop and as of two years ago, I think they are pretty cute.
Nantucket Basket Necklace with miniature penny inside, $30


Obviously the nautical theme is pretty popular. Scallop and starfish bracelet, $225:


Rope bracelets included in the nautical-ness... Friendship Rope Bracelet, $4.95 :


Also, the BF and I got up at 7:30 AM (on a SATURDAY) to make the 9:45 AM Batman. We were definitely not the only ones and I highly recommend it. Very good movie.