Art in Asheville

We went and had a lovely weekend in Asheville, one of our favorite places to visit.

Days of great food, gorgeous weather and finding new wonderful local artists.

I was drawn to this adorable owl locket by Marisol Spoon...

But was drawn to their amazing art in hand carved frames.  I had to take this lovely one home.

I love that the Fall art and antique shows are gearing up. There are always some great discoveries out there!

Designer Focus - Michelle Chang Jewelry

 I was very excited to see one of my favorite Etsy shops featured on Fab.com the other day.

I've been a fan of Michelle Chang's jewelry for a while now and had been planning on making a purchase but this gave me added incentive.  There were a few pieces on Fab that I had not seen in her store so I made sure to add them to my cart right away.

What I love about her pieces are the delicate details combined with the soft finishes.  Each piece has a warmth and humor that is so engaging.  

The piece that first got me interested in her work was this whimsical (you know I can't resist that!) snake ring.  As a fan of snakes (they're much maligned and misunderstood), I was instantly smitten with his playful expression.

This ring also has a lovely brass version holding an amethyst.

I actually purchased the silver snake ring directly from Michelle's Etsy store but I did nab two pieces via Fab. First was the fox necklace in sterling with diamond eyes.  She has this without stones, as a ring and earrings as well.

Two snakes are better than one, right?  I also nabbed the brass "holding is tail" (very ouroboros, no?) snake with ruby eyes.

Working with Michelle through Etsy has been a pleasure so far.  I love that she'll adjust sizes and stones to suit your preferences.  I've had nothing but great experiences with the artists on Etsy and I can't wait to wear my new pieces.

Wrapped up in Neon

I didn't get a giant pink neon purse but I think the pops of neon work better than a huge swath of these bright colors.. at least on me

So I was really drawn to the La Mer neon pink simple wrap watches.    Since watches are no longer necessary, they need to be fun.

These watches are so fun.  I love the triple-wrap band. And with a classic face and on trend colors - neon pink, yellow and green and even more - under $100 - these watches are easy to love.

A Deeper Meaning

When I was growing up in Miami and in my freshman year in high school, there was a brief trend with wearing enameled pendents of nautical flags.

If you aren't familiar with boating, the colorful flags sported on many boats and ships each represent a letter, number and, additionally a word and a larger meaning.

I remember at the time being less than thrilled with my initial's flag - "C".  I thought it was too boring.

I'm not sure what happened to my necklace but for some reason, I totally want one again.  I've been researching all kinds of initial pendents and this popped into my mind again.  I found these at Style Newport and they come in gold and silver and in two sizes.

I'd love to get one to represent each member of my family but I think wearing 14 charms (one for me, my husband and each of the pets) would be a bit weighty.  Maybe I should go with a bracelet instead of a necklace.

What I think would be kind of funny, and a great inside joke, would be to wear a pendent that is communicating the deeper meaning associated with the flag.    Personally I think wearing the J flag would be hilarious.  J equals "Juliet" which also equals "I am on fire and have dangerous cargo".  Or maybe I should wear K for "I want to communicate with you".

How great of a pick-up opportunity would these be to wear in a bar, especially were the boating-types go.  Secret signals and all that.

What message would you wear?

Patience is a Virtue... Sort of

More than a month ago, I expressed my love and desire for the Hold Court Quinn bag and the Delavan Terrace Linden basket bag.  But I decided to be good and not get them.... or at least hold out until the next sale.

Well, thank you Kate Spade because the Friends and Family event this weekend enabled me to get both for 25% off!  Sweet!

And ever since I saw this picture, I've been pining for the JCrew frog clasp bracelet in blue and
 green.   But every time it come up, it gets sold out immediately.

Well this time I jumped on it!

It's on back order for months, but I hope it will still show up!

For immediate gratification, I got their cute apple print skirt.  It's such a fun print and breezy.  Perfect for the upcoming summer months!

Ensemble du Jour - 2-7-12

Yes, I wore this soft kitten-grey polka-dotted cardigan from Target.

And it went great with the red pencil skirt from Express

And with the grey Tibi Daisy flats...

China Glaze's Recycle warm grey polish looked great too...

But really... it was all just a backdrop for the ring.

Isn't this adorably stunning?

It's the "Winter in Paris" snow globe ring from DIVINEsweetness on Etsy.  And I knew I had to have it the moment I saw it.  Worth every penny and the wait to get it.

It stands out and draws eyes while being subtle and delicate.  I'm just in love but I'm going to savor the wearing of this.  It's too precious for every day....

Investing in Gold

Pinterest is getting to be deadly.  I keep seeing images like these and deciding that I must go out and grab these items myself.  I need gold for Fall.

I've been off gold for a while but this season, it just seems right.  As real gold shoots up, I find myself wanting to add it back in.  But not real gold... I want burnished vintage warm old gold.

I want to wear gold with red, with black, with navy and brown and especially leopard print and tortoiseshell.

So my first and best bargain was this leopard print clutch from ASOS.  With a coupon code, I nabbed it for about $25 (it's only $35 now) and have received tons of compliments on it.  I've been searching for a clutch that grabbed my attention, was the right size and price and this is it.  I've been wearing it to work the past few days and it's funny how a clutch makes you feel instantly more put together.

This even has great metal accents and, on the upside, I don't have to worry about it getting ruined!

I have to admit, I've been wanting this watch for over 4 years.  I finally found a good price on Amazon ($50 off!) and caved.  I love a chunky watch and Michael Kors created the perfect one.  It's acrylic tortoiseshell and just dreamy.

But then Pinterest and my sucker-ness for sequins got me again...

Zara got me with this sequin "wallet" clutch. (They also got me to get this polka-dot jacket but sadly it didn't fit right and had to go back.  Sad face.)

So yes, me and chunk watch-clutch-magic-time is going to be happening all winter long.

To add to my clutch-bracelet soiree, I found some great pieces at my favorite antiques fair.

Not the hex nut bracelet, of course.  I made that during my big craft weekend.  It's amazing how photogenic these are.

Nope, my two vintage pieces were these great mesh bracelets.  They are so comfy to wear.

The teal accent is going to go perfectly with my new mary janes.

Little mesh bracelet... just as sweet.

And my favorite finds were these Volupte cigarette case and compact with a gorgeous Persian enameled motif.

The case is tiny but I'm going to use it as a clutch. Just pop my cards and id and that's it for a night out.  No keys carrying that night. Or I can pop it into one my my new clutches instead of my overstuffed wallet.

I usually default to silver, but this season, it's all about gold.