With this Ring.

This weekend I'm heading to New York to help one of my newly engaged friends shop for wedding bands. I'm partial to rings that are either vintage or handmade of course!  We'll be stopping at a couple of my favorite shops Doyle and Doyle in the Lower East Side and the The Clay Pot in Brooklyn. Here are a few rings I spotted online at Etsy. I wonder what we will find on our adventures.

Hammered Gold. Studio Metalsmith

Modern Masculine. Minter & Richter Designs

Renaissance Romance. Tinah Dee

To Have and to Hold.

Clutch love from Etsy.

Winter white for the bride. Tiana Che.

Great gifts for the maids. Oatmeal Lace Design.

Bohemian Rhapsody.

If you haven't picked up a copy "Boho" magazine do it now! They are eight issues in and each one proves to be better than the next. The features are strong and empowering. Plus the content is beautifully green not to mention stylish and fashionable. Be inspired by Boho.  Be a Boho girl. I am!

From BohoMag.com

Intermural.

Here in Philadelphia we have a wonderful community improvement and arts education program called Mural Arts.  It began in 1984 as an anti-graffiti program to clean up the city.  Led by a local artist the project encouraged young graffiti artists to create murals instead. Today more than 2,700 murals adorn buildings, bridges, and parks, making Philadelphia the “City of Murals.” I live by several of these murals and I'm amazed and inspired by them every day.

 

This month Elle Decor featured their own take on Mural Art. I'm swooning over the way they've brought the outdoors in!

Photo credits in order of appearance: Flicker/maplemama;  Jack Ramsdale/Mural Arts.org; Flicker/maplemama; Roger Davies; Simon Upton; William Waldron

Feeling Beachy.

I always loved the thought of finding a message in a bottle filled with something special and secrets from a far away land. Maybe this is how my love of hunting vintage treasure all began!

 
Photo: Hanson Ellis

Today's Forecast. Rain.

As the rain comes down on yet another summer day I've decided to not fight it and simply embrace every beautiful drop. I guess these couples did the same.

Photo Credits: Susan Stipling, Life Images, Piero Ribelli, One Love Photo

Luxe or Less?

Can you tell which accessory is Marc Jacobs and which is from Goody? One collection costs $150.00 each the other only $4.99.

Let’s just say if you purchase the bling on the bottom you'll have 145 extra bills in your handbag. In fact you can buy all the hair clips shown at bottom and still have an extra hundy in your pocket. Proof luxe can be found for less.

Top (Marc Jacobs Gemstone Clips) Bottom (Goody); Photos: Jeff Harris via Marie Claire

Buyer-at-large.

My new reality TV crush is "Man Shops Globe" on the Sundance Channel.  Have you seen it? The series, now in Season 2, follows in the footsteps of Keith Johnson, Anthropologie's buyer-at-large.  Ahhh to be paid to travel the world and buy things.

I started to think about the concept of buyer-at-large a bit more. We all travel the world (wide web) and buy things. Perhaps we are not so different.  In one episode Keith is in Bangkok hunting for the perfect indigo fabric for a line of best selling quilts. As he treks through the myriad of shops even he is overwhelmed by the vast sea of choices around him. "Where do you start" he asks, "Where do you begin to edit?"

Isn't that what we all say? Especially when shopping for our wedding. We look for one dress, one veil, one bridesmaid gift,  and the list goes on. We have this one time to make it special. One time to make it perfect. One time make it ours. Like Anthropologie's buyer-at-large we must edit thoughtfully and carefully. Does an item speak to our style, personality, and budget? If the answer is yes somehow it all falls into place.

I feel the same way when creating a one-of-a-kind accessory. I have one chance to decide how I'm going to use a vintage brooch or how I plan to re-purpose a lot of "one-off" vintage earrings. I travel the same road of being overwhelmed by a literal and figurative web of choice. Where do I start? Where do I begin to edit? So I look to the items to speak to me. I trust in the creative and intuitive process. You can do the same. Trust your gut and your choices will reflect a style that is special, perfect and all yours.

For a little escape tune in to Man Shops Globe each Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST

Crafting with Cats.

My husband TJ and I have two cats. Tiggy and Pinard. They are brothers and we've had them since they were wee little puffs of fur. Our loft style apartment makes it pretty hard to keep them out of the studio. Hence, I've come to enjoy their creative collaboration. They aren't too interested in rhinestones and pearls but bring out the feathers or ribbon and look out!