Check It Out

Do you remember the days when we had pockets in books? When a stamp was applied to a card in the pocket? When we had to sign out names on these cards? When we had to learn about the Dewey Decimal system?

I remember these things from elementary to high school. I was even a library assistant in fifth and sixth grade. My job was to stamp the cards and enter student IDs in the school library computer. I liked my job so very much because I loved reading. And in high school when we had to do reports I remember looking through the cards in boxes, making sure I was citing everything properly for my long bibliographies. I wonder if kids still do this.

I had forgotten about those days, those ways, until I got an email from Emma yesterday. Emma is a cool and innovative jewelry artist who is using these library remnants to make wonderful jewelry, bobby pins, drawer pulls and wine charms. Her shop is so cleverly named The Written Nerd and I so urge you to stop by. I cant wait to see her work in person and include it in an upcoming Jewelry Affaire.

I love how we can keep things from the past alive by turning them into jewelry. My boyfriend's mom works for a library. She is forever reading. We got into a discussion recently with a few other people where we pledged to always check books out from the library. I will never download a book. I will forever want to sign, stamp and look up. I will forever want books to be something we hold onto, with pockets to hold our signatures and smeared ink.

Thank you Emma for bringing these memories to the foreground. Now, go, check out her shop.

Getting Ready

Getting ready is an art form. Unfortunately, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I cannot dwell in front of the mirror or in my closet as long as I would like. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the days I have strength training classes after work, and therefore have to be out of the office earlier as opposed to later. Today is a Wednesday, and I thought I had my outfit all picked out the night before ... but then I tried it on this morning. Not so good.

Since I had to start over, I quickly ran through in my head what I had to wear, the weather for today (cold!) and what I had to do at work (not a lot of walking or lifting = high heels). Since I am very much into wearing my new Jeffrey Campbell's right now, I thought it would be fun to wear basic black all over and use my new shoes and a bunch of jewels to play.

As I said before, it's been quite cold, so I grabbed my favorite animal print hat from H&M and did something I have wanted to do for a while: make use of all my vintage brooches. Pictured above is just some of my collection. I added a few that matched the color scheme of the hat to its base and threw it on. Since my hat covers my ears and my sleeves are long, I cant wear earrings or bracelets. I figured the brooches would add enough sparkle for the day, plus a few vintage gold rings.

And since I saw the lovely, wonderful, creative Deb yesterday, I threw on the Audrey Hepburn tote she made me and was out the door by 8:10. Getting ready is so exhausting, but oh so worth it. Sometimes it's better when things don't turn out as planned.

Oh, and Deb now has a fab YouTube channel. You must check it out! She will be doing a giveaway for one of her bags (similar to the Audrey one above) when she reaches 100 subscribers. Good luck!

Rainbow Brite

One of the best things about having an iphone is having Instagram. I am totally addicted! You can also view photos on Webstagram.

As I have stated before, I love color. It makes me so happy that everyone is wearing tons of color for spring and summer. So these rainbow instagram pictures totally caught my eye and I had to share. I urge you to follow them along on the 'grams: laughs_4_girls and girls_zone. **You can find me on instagram under shmeth.**

Feeling boldly inspired by these bright beauties, I picked up a couple of colorful pieces over the weekend. I got these light blue stunning shoes and this great tribal print rainbow dress from the great Target. Although it's cold out right now, I wanted to pop my work outfit yesterday so I grabbed these purple and rainbow jeweled heels to wear with my velvet pants. These shoes are by a brand called Ragazza and I got them at Bloomingdales a couple of years ago. This just goes to show, you dont have to pair every color in the rainbow together to have fun with this trend. A basic black or black & white outfit will look so much more contemporary with a pop of color in one accessory.

Cheers to a colorful day!

Home is ...

One of the magazines I oversee, Somerset HOME, has always brought me great joy. I love seeing the pictures of artfully arranged homes and the work of so many great artisans going into this magazine.

But I am human. And sometimes I need to take a step back to gain perspective and inspiration, especially when it comes to the direction of a magazine. My friend Paulette says, "Perspective is everything." And now that I look back on our day Friday, she is of course, right.


On Friday, Paulette and I went out to Rogers Gardens in Newport Beach to see what was going on in the world of home decor and gardening. I got many a good idea. Currently, people seem to be reinventing the lamp (playing with form instead of decor). Other cool projects included kraft paper decoupaged chairs, and lots of white and clear crystal with bright colored flowers for spring.

After a fantastic lunch at Tommy Bahamas and a Sprinkles cupcake, we headed back home to Tuvalu in Laguna Beach. Tuvalu showed great pieces playing with driftwood, a wine bottle chandelier, and this book banner I love. Then it was off to a new store, Jack Thomas that everyone must check out. The birdcage chandelier stopped me in my tracks.
Just being in Laguna, my backyard, was the perfect end to an inspiring day. I was reminded again how lucky we are to live where we do and how kind people can be.

So I got to thinking. Home is more than a place, a space, or even a magazine. Home is more than the city in which you live, the spaces you frequent, where your neighbors are. Home is not only where the heart is. Home is where you become inspired.

Thanks Paulette for helping the creative process flow.
Hope this week helps you feel inspired!

I Love Lucille

My friend Jeanne gifted me with this super cute Lucille clutch from her online store. Her things are all so lovely, you need to check it out. The flower pin is detachable too and can be worn in the hair : )

Jeanne also included some adorable business cards and verse from Oscar Wilde. Since I'm wild about Oscar I began today with some reading. It brought back my knowledge of Greek mythology, being in the Importance of Being Earnest (our high school play), and seeing Oscar Wilde's grave up close in Paris - one of the most moving experiences in my life. I say that because Oscar's tombstone actually has been written on by loving fans. It's blocked off now, so you can get close but not close enough to touch it.

Thank you Jeanne for letting me touch your gorgeous work and reminding me to touch base with some wonderful memories of a wonderful man who produced such passionate work. When we allow passion to play out through our hands, great things can occur.

"Lie still, lie still, O passionate heart,
lie still!"
- Wilde, The Burden of Itys

Love & Luck

I had a fantastic St. Patty's weekend. With no real plans, it turned into an unexpected fun couple of days. When unplanned hours turn into unforgettable ones it reminds me how lucky (blessed is the better word, but I am working with the theme) I am to have the people in my life that I am closest to. I sported green nails (British Racing Green by Butter London) and drank a green beer with my best mate. Then yesterday I found proverbial gold at the end of the rainbow (and boy did it rain Saturday), except this gold was in bottles instead of a pot. Moreno sparkling wine always catches my eye because the bottles are made with Swarovski crystal (and because I love a sparkly wine). These bottles usually retail for $40 or $50 but they were over half off at the store this weekend! I was able to purchase the rose and brut varieties for an amazing deal. Definitely my lucky day.

Hope this week brings you good luck!

Hello, Lover!

Welcome my new Jeffrey Campbell shoes!!! I fell in love with these when I saw them at Nordstrom, and they were delivered to my house yesterday. They remind me of when the Spice Girls were popular... I remember they wore huge, stacked wedges and it seemed like all the stores sold uber tall shoes. I had a couple of pairs of really tall platform tennis shoes/sneakers from Skechers I think (embarrassing shoe memory!).

But right now, the wedge is back and I am oh so happy! While I will always love a heel (it's a classic), I love wedges too. They offer great support and when you are short like me it's fun to see what the air up there is like. Not only are these wedges nice and tall, but I love the strap detailing on them. They are like an insane Mary Jane-bootie hybrid. They reminded me of these shoes I had seen and fallen in love with from J Crew (the orange buckle shoes above) and Zara (the green & black strappy buckles). But I love how daring this shoe is! Nordstrom also has them in mustard (which I would love to have, but they are sold out) and snakeskin. And don't you just love the box? As a cat lover and owner, this really sealed the deal!

TGIF