I Heart Annieglass

In 1997 my hubby and I received this Annieglass heart dish as a wedding gift, and it has been one of my most treasured gifts.

I fell in love with the dish the second we opened it. Since then, whenever a wedding or milestone birthday comes up for friends the only gift I love to give is an Annieglass heart. I made a trip to the boutique to pick up another one for a special birthday, so I thought I would share the place with the rest of you. If you get a chance pop in and take a peek at all the beautiful glass. You may just fall in love like I did.


Annieglass Santa Cruz
110 Cooper Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 427-4260

More on Annieglass:
http://www.annieglass.com

Annie Morhauser a graduate from the California College of the Arts with training in a range of glass techniques. She developed her own style back in the 80’s and started Annieglass.

You can find Annieglass at luxury retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdales; her glass has been used at leading hotels and restaurants such as the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, the Four Seasons, the Ritz Carlton, and the Waldorf Astoria; and has been featured in the private collections of contemporary luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey, Robin Williams, Jennifer Aniston, Caroline Kennedy, Dustin Hoffman, and Barbra Streisand.

Packing For Your Summer Get –Away

I am getting ready for a quick get-away to Portland for the 4th of July weekend and was in the process of packing last night. This task is always a challenge as I always want to throw everything in except the kitchen sink. I try to follow a few simple rules to make the most of my wardrobe while vacationing.

Here are a few thoughts.

• Choose one skirt that can be worn day or night;
• A pair of short or jeans depending on what you are comfortable with;
• One or Two pretty day to evening dresses;
• Two tops that coordinate with the skirt and jeans/shorts and can be layered underneath a cardigan if necessary;
• One lightweight cardigan to layer over the tops and the dress if the weather is cool;
• One lightweight scarf to wear as a scarf or wrap;
• One pair of sassy flat sandals;
• One pair of heels or wedge sandals to dress up your skirt, dress, and jeans/shorts for evening;
• A lightweight, large shoulder bag to tote all your necessities during the day. Be sure to leave room for small purchases (I always do!);
• One clutch or handle bag to wear out at night;
• Simple earrings to wear during the day; a statement necklace to add drama at night.

Here are few pieces I have thrown in my bag.

• Straw Fedora
• Grey Nautical Stripes Tank
• Tie Dye Maxi Dress
• Gold Bangles
• Jeffrey Campbell Wedges
• Vintage Basket Handle Bag

The Cat's Meow

Hubby and I went over to the beach on Sunday for a day of fun in the sun and when I was packing my bag with my beach essentials I dug out my vintage Ray-Ban cat eye sunglasses. I was feeling a bit old Hollywood. Add some classic Hollywood glamour back into your wardrobe!
Fossil $50.00
Tory Burch $149.00


Just a little something extra:
Stumbled across the blog written by Rai and she creates teeny-tiny versions of people and makes them into ragdolls. I just had to have one, so I emailed her and asked if she could create one of me! Here it is: THANKS RAI, I love it!

Lazy Saturday Morning- The Want List: Shoes!

This morning I was feeling lazy and spent a few hours surfing my favorite sites for SHOES. It’s been a while since I have bought a pair so; I came up with a want list. Check out a few of the shoes I am now obsessed with. Looks like I am soon going to burn a hole in my wallet.



1. Jeffrey Campbell $139.95

2. Jeffrey Campbell $179.95

3. Sam Edelman $198.95

Latest eBay Purchase

Found this Isabel Lu sequin jacket regularly priced at Nordstrom for $245.00. This purchase was a total steal as I only forked over $39 bucks.

Can’t wait to wear this with some cropped jeans and cute booties.

The deals are out there, so keep looking!

Tell me what is your lastest eBay find?

Happy Friday!

Playing with Polyvore

I've been having fun playing on Polyvore’s site putting together outfits ("sets") and it has been a blast mixing and matching pieces. You can even shop with Polyvore; it has everything from vintage jewelry to jeans, everything a girl could ask for.

Be careful, it's addicting! Try it yourself today and bring out your inner fashion designer.

Here is a set I created:

Polyvore.com

Frugalista Find

Here's to another frugalista find! Every time I step into Target these days there always seems to be a little dress hanging out front to catch my eye. This dress was perfect to throw on and head to the office.

Happy Wednesday!
















Dress: Converse One Star
Jean Jacket: Earl Jeans
Necklace: Banana Republic
Shoes: Steve Madden

Martha Stewart Moment- Lavender Sparkling Water

I found an article in InStyle Magazine this month for lavender infused sparkling water. I have a large pot of lavender that grows in the back yard and was excited to try this out. It was super easy and really refreshing!

Mix 1 ounce lavender simple syrup with 8 ounces sparkling water.

Make up a batch and enjoy this summer!



Lavender Simple Syrup:

Ingredients:
1 cup water
3 TBSP lavender
2 cups sugar

Preparation:
1. Bring water and lavender to a boil;
2. Stir on sugar until fully dissolved;
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool;
4. Keep in refrigerator for 3 days, and then fine strain the lavender.

A Fatal Attraction to Cuteness

Perused a Nordstrom mailer that ended up on my doorstep and there were many cute things that caught my eye. All of these goodies are under 90 bucks (such a sweet deal). I am getting ready for a trip to Portland for the 4th of July holiday and these will be making it in my bag.


All of these items can be found here.

Fresh Squeezed

Found these juicy little sandals the other day and I love the fresh color and girly ruffle! I am thinking about wearing these tomorrow for the big Father's day excursion to Lodi for Zinfandel wine tasting.

Have a great Saturday!

Pick up a pair for yourself, they came in a variety of colors and are now on sale online for next to nothing. They can be found at Arden B.

Girl Geek Dinner Sponsored by Polyvore.com

Last night I attended the Bay Area Girl Geek Dinner sponsored by Polyvore. The topic discussed was reinventing fashion online. This is a fast growing market in which people can shop and create their own styles online.

I love this site and you will too!

Register today and let loose your creativity! You can sign up here.

What I wore to the event:
.













Dress: Anthropologie
Shoes: Nicole Miller
Belt: Anthropologie
Ring: Urban Outfitters

Here is some information on Polyvore.com:

Polyvore is redefining how people around the world experience, create and shop for fashion on the Internet.
There easy-to-use virtual styling tool lets people mix and match products from any online store to create their own fashion collections called "sets". The Polyvore community consists of trendsetters, shoppers and aspiring stylists, who create more than 30,000 sets daily and spend an average of 10 minutes on the site per visit. With over 6 million unique visitors and 140 million pageviews per month, Polyvore is the largest fashion community site in the world.

Interested in attending a Girl Geek Dinner, see here.

Dizzy for Dots

I am dizzy for dots, polka dots that is.

Wikipedia says the Polka dot is a pattern consisting of a series of dots that are not necessarily equally spaced and sized, often differently colored. Polka dots are most commonly seen on children's clothing, toys, and furniture, but they appear in a wide array of contexts. The pattern rarely appears in formal contexts, however, and is generally confined to more playful attire such as bathing suits and lingerie. Occasionally white on black regularly spaced polka dots appear on more formal clothing. Polka dots first became common on clothing in the late nineteenth century in Britain.

I say polka dots are just plain fun! Won’t you be dizzy with me?
Jacket: Halogen
Dress: Matty M
Shoes: Jessica Simpson
Necklace: Flea Market Find
Mesh Bag: Nordstrom

The Joys of Summer- Sweet Cherries!

Nothing says summer like a big bowl of cherries! I remember as a kid my mom bringing home those first few baskets of the season and I could hardly wait to dive in, I had to eat them sparingly as they were super expensive and of course I had to share with the rest of the family. Like watermelon I always manage to eat this delightful fruit until I burst! First order of business for the hubby when we moved into our house 13 years ago, PLANT A CHERRY TREE! It has been fun watching the tree grow and produce. I must say we have the best cherries in town (ok, I am a little biased). Thought I would share my favorite cherry cobbler recipe. Enjoy!

Adding a few photos of the cherry tree from this spring and hubby netting to keep the birds away from the fruit.

Crate and Barrel Cherry Berry Colander $12.95

Boutique of the Month- Bella James

I had to go to a graduation this last weekend and needed a dress that would be comfortable but stylish and since the graduation was for UC Santa Cruz I could go a little more casual. So, that being said I stopped at a favorite boutique of mine, Bella James of Willow Glen.

Here is what I wore:


Dress: Ryu
Purse: Vintage Enid Collins
Sandals: Banana Republic
Bracelets: Tiffany
Sunglasses: Vintage

If you get a chance, stop by and give them a try, you may just find that perfect outfit.

A little information on Bella James:

Sister in-laws Vicky Morris Malvini and Lisa Morris, with longtime roots in Willow Glen, opened Bella James in March 2006.

The store offers casual clothing, with a few dressy items, as well as belts, handbags and jewelry. Some of the vendors that Bella James carries are Free People, Michael Stars, Hudson, Joe’s Jeans, True Religion, William Rast, Seven for all Mankind, Citizens of Humanity and a few shoes by Steve Madden and Charles David.

Bella James
1151 Lincoln Ave
San Jose, CA 95125
(408) 292-0000

www.bellajames.com

Inspiration

I saw a posting that Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere made with regard to her bathroom re-do and her idea of adding knobs on the wall to hang her necklaces was simply bubblelicious! This inspired me to do a little DIY project of my own. I have a large jewelry armoire that holds all my treasures, but do find things getting lost in the shuffle or I have a stack of necklaces lying on the counter that end up a jumbled mess. I must say I absolutely love this; I can now rotate some pieces that I have not worn in while and decorate the space at the same time.

Hope you all get inspired as I did!

Here is what I came up with:


You can see Emily’s version here.

Anthropologie Knobs