Cuffed

I just came across these hand-painted and/or hand-wrapped bangles from Aramar this morning, and am already smitten. An armful of bracelets is an easy way to create a focal point for an otherwise plain outfit. And who wouldn't love to have some of these brightly colored, hand-crafted pretties dangling around their wrists?

It's difficult to choose, but I think my favorite is the yellow with the bicycle - it's just so bright and fun!

More designs in Aramar's ETSY Shop

The Last Week (or so) In Instagram

♡ a very blustery day ♡ crème brûlée ♡ butternut squash soup w/extra vegetables ♡ a trip to market ♡ mosaic glass mural ♡ shopping ♡ green beans w/garlic, salt, and pepper ♡ arm candy ♡ arm candy ♡ thai food ♡ Nico, bird watching ♡ a pretty package from Sally Jane Vintage ♡


P.S. - Is it bad that most of last week seems to be food?

The Finer Things

I don't have a lot of what you would call "nicer jewelry." I almost always go for piling on costume pieces - especially when it comes to earrings, as I lose those like mad. Every now and then I have the inclination to grow the nicer part of my jewelry box, but, you know, it's expensive. So I thought that I'd introduce the handful of fancy pieces that I do have.

This first two are my favorite and also most special. This is my engagement ring:



The boy did really well with this one (of course, he knew ahead of time that I just loved this ring - but he remembered! sooo important.) It's a Deco Style platinum diamond ring from Tiffany & Co. It's not traditional, but I love the design and the way that it sparkles.

The next is my maternal grandmother's engagement ring:



It's so delicate and pretty. Sometimes I pair it with my own engagement ring.

Then there are my "still nice, but not diamonds" jewels. This necklace is a one-of-a-kind necklace from Ayala Bar. I bought this at a teeny jewelry store when I was in Stratford, Ontario ages ago:




The beading on this is just exquisite - it looks marvelous with a simple t-shirt and a dark blazer. The next piece also comes from the same jewelry shop in Ontario, though it was purchased a year earlier:




It's a floral cuff from Israeli designer Michal Negrin. It was even custom made to fit my wrist! The brand's service is also impeccable - if one of the Swarovski crystals were ever to fall out, I'd need only to send in the bracelet, and they'd repair it for me!

The two rings also quite special. The first is an amethyst geode and sterling silver ring that I got out west:




The second is a ring that I got in Insadong, Seoul, South Korea. Except for a few other trinkets, this was really the only thing that I bought while we were there:




P.S. - This post was meant to be up earlier, but when I Googled my grandmother + grandfather's wedding date for the post (1946), I ended up finding loads of genealogy information on my mother's side of the family -- I got all of the way back to 1735!! It was super interesting to read about - I may do a post on it down the road, when some of it's a little more organized.

This or That

DIY

or


Metalware

What's your poison??

Room to Outfit (literally)

Today I wore my new Charlotte Taylor moss green snail print blouse with my chunky stone necklace, both from Anthropologie. I stopped while we were in Cleveland, and it's just so difficult to leave that store without a little something. I mean, everything is wonderful in that place. I was particularly excited about this blouse, as it's the exact same print that I'd seen on wallpaper from their online site. Though I really wanted it, I couldn't think of place in our house for snail wallpaper, but a blouse? That's a whole different story!



The blouse is no longer available online, but you can still find the wallpaper here.

Arcana . Minor

Wearing my new Leather + Silver Studded Cuff from Arcana Minor. The little studs have embossed flowers and it has ginormous silver grommets as well. Today I'm wearing it with a long silver cuff from Forever21 and a vintage rhinestone bracelet.

The leather cuff is pretty versatile though, so I'm also imagining it with my gold watch or with a slew of vintage colorful plastic bangles.

Fully . Repurposed

I've been working on ways to display my jewelry for ages now, trying to find a method that's both practical and pretty. This past week I got the final piece I'd been looking for - a great ring display. And the best part about all of it? Absolutely everything has been re-purposed! It's kind of magical what you can do with some old items and a bit of paint. Plus maybe a staple gun.


The jewelry "area"


Vintage test tube holder spray painted black + glass test tubes to hold the rings


Antlers draped with rhinestone bracelets


A vintage postcard fence holder for earrings -- it even works for clip-ons!


My earlier made necklace frame, created from an antique frame + metal mesh sheeting


A tiny pony, for good measure

Fenton . Fallon

So these crazy//beautiful//ginormous earrings and necklace from Fenton Fallon's spring 2012 line are statement pieces from heaven and I want, want, want them.

Fall . Fashion . Inspiration

Technically I'm not thinking about fall yet - summer temperatures in Michigan typically last through the beginning of October, so there's very little use in planning out full-on jeans and boots combos. Also, summer could last all year as far as I'm concerned.

But since climate change won't totally kill off all of our seasons for at least another 10 years or so, there's no harm in having a pinch of fall on the brain.

Jewelry: Kelly Wearstler
Street Style: Pinterest ( *If anyone knows which street style blog this came from, please let me know! The Pinterest links just kept looping. )

The . Loot

I did my share of shopping in Montreal, but really only a teeny pinch of buying. There were things that I saw, but with another big trip on the horizon, travel is certainly more important than things.

That said, I could hardly come home entirely empty handed!

My purchases were limited to jewelry from a couple of different stores in Old Montreal ( a little trinkety store tucked into a cobblestone alley ) and in Downtown Montreal ( the chain, Aldo Accessories ). My favorite is easily the gold armor ring. It runs the whole length of a finger, and I've been wearing it pretty much non-stop!