Aesa taste, (almost) Madewell budget.

I have loved this Aesa necklace since I first laid my greedy little eyes on it. Sadly for me, at almost 600 clams it won't ever be in my budget.

image via Totokaelo

So I was glad to see this Madewell necklace which, though it isn't a dead ringer for the Aesa jewel, gives a similar enough feel (at just over 1/10th of the price) to help style up my wardrobe. Even then, I think I need to wait for a sale or coupon. The continuing sad tale of a girl on a tight budget... *sigh.*

image via Madewell

In good company.

Updated 2/19:

I started my first experiments for my Chevron Necklaces back in August 2010, and finally came up with an design I liked in September. Jennifer from Ermie commented on one of my posts about the necklaces and mentioned that Isabel Marant was using similar beads in some jewelry designs for her S/S 2011 line. I'm flattered to be in such good company! My necklaces may not have the cachet of Ms. Marant's, but they sure as hell are a much more affordable way to get a similar vibe. Heck, you could afford to buy a few and wear them together, my favorite way of doing it!

Isabel Marant Spring/Summer 2011:




{gemmifer} handmade:

More necklaces.

2/20: The past week of work was pretty crazed, so I'm hoping to grab the clasps to finish these off tomorrow. The weather's supposed to be cruddy but, if I'm lucky, I'll have enough light to get product shots for the shop.


In the shop next weekend, after I can get detail photos of each one.

Not so Beady.

Well, my anxieties about successfully securing additional thread to my beading project have kept me from moving forward on it. (Yes, this is par for the course with me; phobias about the minutiae of life.) Not that anyone was concerned, but I will make myself get over this fear (with the help of some online video tutorials) and post the final resulting necklace ASAP.

Around the house.

I'm crafty.

Getting prepped to send an order to one of my Etsy customers.


Experimenting with some of my hand-carved stamps:
Potential notebook idea.


Potential greeting card idea.


Potential baby card idea.

Brooklyn Bowl.

Last night I experienced Brooklyn Bowl for the first time. My lovely friend and her husband had a joint 40th Birthday celebration there, filled with good music, good food and drinks, and, of course some fantastic bowling (by some; some okay bowling by me). I was so busy socializing and bowling that I forgot to take any photos, though I remembered to snap one of the lanes we were on.


And they had "Labyrinth" playing on screens at the ends of the alleys; how awesome is that?

The Ice Storm.

The ice storm made for loads of fun getting to work on Wednesday morning. The 1/4-inch thick crust of ice on my car was pretty impressive.