sunny california

I am heading off tomorrow for a week long vacation to California so there won't be any new posts during this time. I am so excited to relax, spend some quality time with my family, and read a hell of a lot of books. (I plan to read this, this, this, and this.) And I am especially excited about a shopping trip planned for the jewelry district in LA. See you in a week! (image courtesy of flickr)

snowy days

Here's a photo I took of the snow storm in PA the day after Christmas. Although it prevented our plans that day, it sure was beautiful. Now, even days later, all I want to do is stay at home with a good book and snuggle up in this...(throw by BiscuitScout on etsy.) I have been dying for a chunky knit throw but sadly I know my cats would destroy it in about 3.5 seconds. Hope you all had a wonderful and happy holiday!

out of print

I was introduced to this website, Out of Print clothing, and I am not kidding you, I literally want EVERYTHING on their website. They take out of print cover art from classic books and print them on t-shirts and sweatshirts. They have such an amazing selection and the great thing is, for every item you buy on their site, one book is donated to Books for Africa. I see a mass amount of awesome t-shirts as gifts in my friends' and family's future! Above are my top three choices for myself (Brave New World, Pride and Prejudice, Catcher in the Rye... all tees are $28).

I'll be celebrating the holiday with my family for the next week and intentionally plan to stay away from computers and the internet. I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday!

*NOTE: Out of Print T-shirt sizes run a little small so I would recommend going up one size.

etsy gift guide

Here's some of my favorite gifts to give (and receive!). And if you don't have time to make anything yourself, etsy is the best place to find a gift made with love (even if it's not by you!):
top row, left to right
1.) I love love love cozy, oversized loop scarves and the rosette on this one is so cute. (avivaschwarz- $68)
2.) I am a girl who loves jewelry! I love the old-timey wax seal and the monogram makes this necklace feel so special. (stclairboutique- $78)
3.) Giving notebooks as gifts is a tradition in my office. Taking notes feels so much less boring when it's done in a cute notebook. I love the whimsical print on this one. (shoofly- $16)
bottom row, left to right
4.) Monogrammed notecards... so classy! (theoriginalpear- $20 for 18)
5.) My mother gave me a patchwork quilt one year and I cherish it. I love the colors on this one and how the patches are all organically sewn. (cedarpointdesigns- $210)
6.) I absolutely adore mittens. I love the cute strap and button detail on these. (homelab- $35)

antique capital

A coworker and I headed to Adamstown, PA on Friday to pick up a few antiques for some of our Anthropologie stores. Right off of the PA Turnpike on Rt. 272, about an hour from Philadelphia, there is a row of antique malls filled with multiple sellers offering an array of goods. Although I was a little disappointed with the jewelry options available, I know Adamstown will be my first destination when I am in the market for beautiful antique wooden furniture. The German Trading Post, above, was our favorite retailer of the day.
And besides a French 19th century sterling silver picture frame, which was sadly way out of my price range, the winning find of the day was this Victorian photo album still outfitted with all the original photos of the owner's friends! Loved it!

happy fall!

Happy Fall! By far my favorite season, I look forward to fall longingly when the summer days just seem too hot for way too long. The list of things I love about fall is endless... dropping temperatures and a cool fall breeze, scarves, riding boots with dresses and heavy knit stockings, changing leaves, pumpkin flavored treats, fall light weight coats, Halloween, Halloween candy, anticipation of approaching winter holidays, sweaters and sweatshirts, snuggling under a comforter with the windows open, apple cider and baked apples, hay rides, my wedding anniversary! What are you looking forward to this fall?

the big easy

I'm back from New Orleans and I had such an amazing time. I am so in love with this city. I took a bunch of pictures but sadly most of them didn't turn out as most of my free time was at night. But here are a few I wanted to share...
I love the filigree wrought iron every where and the porches with ceiling fans. I couldn't help sighing every time I saw an amazing building like this... in other words, I was sighing a lot!Of course the food is amazing in New Orleans. But I also loved how restaurants really utilized the unique qualities of their building's architecture.
I took the Haunted History tour and it was amazing. Not only did I get some history and some haunting stories but I also saw some residential areas of the French Quarter that I don't think I would have normally ventured to. And no Haunted History tour would be complete without a visit to the most haunted house in New Orleans, the Lalaurie Mansion. The story about this house literally turned my stomach. If you want to read more on the house check out this site or just google the name... there are endless amounts of sites dedicated to this grotesque story.

New Orleans, here I come!

I leave for New Orleans for work in a few days and I am totally psyched. Anthropologie is opening up a store on Canal Street and I am so excited to be a part of that opening. New Orleans has been on my must-see-cities-in-the-US list for awhile now so I am so happy I finally have the opportunity to go. I can't wait to see the sights and have some amazing food. I'll be sure to post photos when I get back in a week.

i "heart" inspiration board

(from left to right, top to bottom)
FILIGREE- I love the delicate intricacy and lace-like quality of filigree. I usually can't resist a filigree piece of jewelry in an antique store!
SKELETON KEYS- I love the old craftsmanship. I like to daydream about the history behind each particular key.
JANE AUSTEN-ERA HAIRSTYLES- Pretty much any Jane Austen movie is my go-to source for inspiration on updos! And I love researching historical hairstyles. If only the importance of eloquent hairstyles weren't just reserved for special occasions now a days.
WOODEN VASES- My grandfather loved to woodwork and I have a collection of his wooden vases. They are probably one of my most treasured possessions.
MEHNDI- Like with filigree, I love the intricate designs of henna.
SALON STYLE WALL DECOR- This is probably one of my favorite ways to display wall decor. And I love expanding the grouping as time goes on.
TOURMALINE- I love the rich color variations of this stone! Such a beautiful color palette.
TORTOISE SHELL HAIR COMBS- Just like filigree jewelry, I pretty much cannot resist these beauties in antique stores. They go wonderfully with my Jane Austen-era hairstyles, too!

DIAMOND AND SAPPHIRES- Such a classic combination! There is just something about this pairing that makes any piece of jewelry feel so old-world and sophisticated.

introspective insights

I found this blog through one of my regular reads, A Cup of Jo. I absolutely love Leah's beautiful and insightful little notes!

I "heart" inspiration board

My last post inspired me to create an inspiration board. These are some timeless favorites of mine that consistently inspire me:(from right to left, top to bottom) PERSUASION by JANE AUSTEN- my favorite book, a story of second chance and timeless love/ ORANGE POMPOM DAHLIAS- my newly discovered favorite flower/ ANTIQUE CAMEOS- I love the classic ones with a profile of a beautiful woman/ BUTTERFLIES- the colors and patterns are magnificently beautiful, nature at it's perfection/ GRACE KELLY in REAR WINDOW- this movie is steadily creeping up to be one of my all time favorites, Lisa shows she is more than just a pretty face and fashionable attire/ VINTAGE PHOTOS- especially ones with women that really reflect fashion of the time, I absolutely love sepia tone/ TOURMALINATED QUARTZ and LONDON BLUE TOPAZ- 2 of my favorite stones to use, I love that the inclusions make every piece of quartz unique and I love the color saturation of the topaz/ ALFRED CHENEY JOHNSTON- I love the sexy poses and the fashion in his photography/ A HUMUMENT- both beautiful and poetic, I adore Tom Phillips' work/ VIOLETS- my grandmother's namesake and her favorite flower, she continuously inspires me long after she has gone/ THE NUMBER 3- there is something about the balance of 3 that comforts me and is often present in my work/ STEEL BLUE- my favorite color, I gravitate towards it.

a surprise gift

I am a lover of vintage books... if I had the room, I would have a rather large collection. (In fact, my dream house has a room entirely composed of wall to wall bookshelves.) I love the hard covers, the fragile discolored pages, the illustrations, the smell! So imagine my surprise when I came in to work on Monday and a vintage book on jewelry design was waiting for me at my desk... a gift from one of my coworkers. She saw it and knew it was for me. Very little has changed in the techniques but the material is far more thorough, rather than broken down step by step into charts or bullet points like most newer jewelry design books are now. Don't get me wrong, these are great when you are in the studio and you need a quick answer, but there is something about reading chapter upon chapter of discussions on jewelry that the nerd in me loves.