Rare Bird

A few weeks ago, I watched the documentary IRIS, about Iris Apfel. What an interesting person! Claiming that nothing she ever did in life she ever set out to do, or planned, she and her husband started out in the interior design business. Out of that, they found themselves starting up their own textile company, Old World Weavers. Over the course of their business, she decorated the White House for 9 different presidents! As she traveled the world, she picked up unique clothing and jewelry. Her signature style is like no other! She is easily recognizable with her big, round, black glasses. Her tiny frame supports not just one, but several statement necklaces! Same as her wrists, layered in bangles. Well into her 90's now, she is just as busy as ever.... curating art shows, designing window displays for posh department stores, and selling her own line of accessories (QVC) and home décor (One Kings Lane). It is said that she has one of the largest costume jewelry collections in the world. I just fell in love with her and her quirky New York apartment - what a treat it would be to have coffee with her! I really identified with her, as I love a good statement necklace, and also the fact that we both would rather have costume jewelry over real jewelry! So I thought it would be fun to round up my statement necklaces for an eye candy post! Get ready to see a whole lot of close ups of my neck wrinkles and moles - LOL!

Because of her travels, Iris's style can be very ethnic. I came close here, a few years ago, by layering 2 thrift shop necklaces.

Roberta Chiarella, sold at Anthropologie but I got on their site direct

Peacock Bib, made by me

Anthropologie - bought off the buy, sell, trade board

Target from a few years ago

Rhinestones! made by me - inspired by a Halcraft (Michael's) project

Rhinestone Bib painted by me with nail polish!

Made by me

One of my favorite Anthropologie sale finds!

Lenora Dame via Anthropologie

Lenora Dame look-a-like, made by me

Anthropologie look-a-like, made by me

Anthropologie via TJ Maxx

Anthropologie via TJ Maxx - the infamous $6 necklace!

Lenora Dame via TJ Maxx

Macy's flowers - post on this outfit coming soon...

Douglas Poon via Anthropologie - haven't posted about this one yet, but this designer likes to use lucite that looks like cut glass/crystal! Love it! Thankful I snagged this piece when it was percentage off of sale prices so it was affordable! $200 down to $40

Anthropologie

Kate Spade via TJ Maxx - an unbelievable $10!!!

J. Crew Bib via TJ Maxx - $12.99! Have you caught on yet that TJ Maxx is great for jewelry!

A few shots from my closet shelves..... Upcoming post on those fab sunglasses too! My really cool peacock lady is from Anthropologie, by artist Florence Balducci. Another bargain find - $158 down to $50.

Peacock painting by local artist with whom I am taking a class with soon. I'll post about it!

I love that I can mix in art, pictures, special trinkets, etc... in "my space", just like Iris. If you would like to know the official names to any of the Anthropologie necklaces, to search for them yourself, just contact me.



Anthropologie Jewelry - Buy, Make, or Save?

I have really been admiring Anthropologie's jewelry lately. So today, I have three options for you. The first 2 necklaces are by Lenora Dame. While I do appreciate that Anthro is bringing us these pieces at a lower price than Ms. Dame's website ($78 and $88 versus $105), I do fear that I will eventually see these at TJ Maxx. I have seen so much Lenora Dame at TJ Maxx over the past year, with one of my finds being posted here. But anyway, on to the options!

Buy

Here we have the Starlight Mesa Necklace. Friendship bracelets have emerged again recently, and pairing them with polished pearls is just genius in my book. I brainstormed for quite a bit on how I could recreate this necklace myself. Even though I still have all of my floss from making bracelets when I was 10, I would not recall how to actually make them. Then, I thought of buying premade bracelets and gluing them onto the wood disk beads. Lastly, I thought of a skill I did know how to do - peyote stitch. I could make beaded beads in the aztec patterns (see example of peyote here). But, when looking at my stash of delica beads, I didn't have these bright colors. Plus, that would take FOREVER!!!! In the end, I decided to buy the necklace. It's one that you will want to purchase in person if possible so you can pick the best colors to your liking.

Make

This is the Moonlight Mesa Necklace, the one I did decide to make myself as I already had all of the materials on hand. Here's a good example of another bohemian design I've made with these same supplies. I was glad that I could personalize this (the peacock fabric). For my focal piece, I glued 3 wood rings I had together so it would be thick enough to adhere the feather ribbon to. The large wood round beads I got at Joann's and I love that they have an iridescent coating on them. It gives them some character. The smaller, teal wood beads that complete the necklace are from Hobby Lobby.



Save

These multi-strand bracelets are by Hipanema. Anthropologie has three options online - one for $108, one for $148, and one for $168. Leave it to TJ Maxx again..... I saw a Hipanema bracelet there for $39.99. But we can do better than that! Head on over to Target and decorate yourself for $9.99! Just like Anthro, Target has several color schemes and combos. I know that I am not much of a bracelet wearer (as much as I love bracelets) so even for $10 I did not buy for myself. But a fun find for sure!

I really think this post represents me so well. I am someone who loves to support designers/artists when I can afford it. I am also someone who loves the challenge of DIYing. And most importantly, I am someone who loves a great deal!

 

Buy, make, or save?

 

No need to choose - do all three!

I look forward to styling my 2 new necklaces in outfits to share soon!

Get the look for less........ necklaces edition!

Howdy! How was every one's Christmas? Ours was great! We have been enjoying quiet time at home with our little guy, and it is so great to just play each day by ear..... let him play with his new toys, try out the sled that Santa brought, go to our zoo's holiday nights event, watch Rudolf (I've lost count how many times now). The outfit posts are pretty slim right now, as I must confess I haven't gotten out of my pajamas much the last few days...... and when I do, it's to bundle up for the seemingly never ending ice and snow we have been having in Michigan.

 

I hope to be back soon with some fun outfits...... I am really excited as my hubby and son did a great job picking out some fun things for me! In the meantime though, I just couldn't wait to share a few necklace deals with you.

 

 First up.... I have been a long time fan of Heidi Daus. And speaking of Christmas, several years ago Jon surprised me with some Heidi Daus pieces. Heidi often churns out gorgeous peacock pieces. I don't own any of them because as you can see, they can run $300 - $400!!! I got this similar necklace at Macy's. I can't find it on their website, and I threw the receipt away, but if I recall correctly I think it retailed for $36, had 20% off, and then I had an additional 25% off coupon the weekend they did the friends and family sale. UPDATE: I did find it on their website. Here is the link.

Another designer I am a fan of is Lenora Dame. One of the stores that Miss Dame sells at is Anthropologie. When they carry various colors of her Budding Necklace, they retail for $58. Sometimes, you can find her at TJ Maxx, as was the case here. I had always admired the Budding necklaces but couldn't settle on a color. When I saw this multi-colored one in the case, it really intrigued me. I took the afternoon to think about it (a.k.a. look it up online) and when I went back later that day it was gone! That's often the case with stores like TJ Maxx. My suggestion? Buy it when you see it - you can always return it. Anyway, thanks to my Mom who found the necklace at the store in her town. The Nostalgic Floral Strand retails for $105! TJ Maxx price? $29.99

I hope to be styling these necklaces in some outfits soon!

Fresh Cut Flowers

When putting this outfit together, I was starting toward my usual colored tank with jean jacket........ I mean, there are so many colors to choose from in this skirt! But, it's been damn hot here lately and the thought of wearing a jacket was too much. So I went with a "neutral"...... chambray. I really liked how easy and comfortable this was today! I couldn't resist the print of this skirt...... little vases filled with flowers....... snagged at Anthro's Summer Tag Sale!

"Jardiniere Pleated Skirt" by Pankaj Nidhi : Anthropologie

Sonoma Chambray Tank : Kohl's

Lenora Dame Nostalgic Floral Strand Necklace : TJ Maxx

Bussola Style "Ibiza" Sandals : Kohl's

 

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy

Love Affair

I discovered last summer that I developed a love affair with this color green. See proof here, here, here, here, here and here.

 

Last summer, Anthropologie offered up the Cimiez Maxi Skirt from Leifsdottir. I tried it on and added it to my wishlist. But when it got it's markdowns, I never got it. I don't know why. Now, a year later, I found it on eBay at a good price. My habits on eBay are usually like this: I sell things in order to buy something else I want. So only when I have money in my Paypal account (from either eBay or selling jewelry on Etsy) do I spend. It's a constant cycle that works for me pretty well. Being that this maxi has an elastic waistband, I knew it would be maternity friendly too.

 

Leifsdottir Cimiez Maxi Skirt : Anthropologie

Reversible Tank in Oatmeal : Motherhood Maternity

Gap Jean Jacket : local consignment shop

Mossimo "Lakitia" Sandals : Target

Lenora Dame Nostalgic Strand Necklace : TJ Maxx



Live, Work, Create. Local.

Our lifestyle is changing. We went from a City to a Village. There are a lot of differences I will talk about as I continue to unfold our move here, but today I want to talk about supporting local businesses. This is something I always strive to do no matter where I am. But it seems like I have even more opportunity to do so in our new area.

We have one small grocery store in town, and it closes at 9:00 p.m. It houses a lot of our favorites, and we did find out that if you ask for something specific they will order it if they can. Nice!

We've only tried one (immediate) local restaurant so far - the diner downtown - and it is excellent! Mostly breakfast items, but very delicious!

We are close to one of my favorite little towns - Chelsea - so I was already a bit familiar with it before moving. We explored a little more last weekend and here is what makes me happy over there:

The Common Grill restaurant - award winning. Need I say more? We didn't eat here that day, but have eaten here many times previously. It's one of my favorite places to go!

Where did we end up eating? Zou Zou's Cafe. First time there. Loved it!

We went to an Amish furniture store to look for a dining room table set. Currently, we have a pub style table that only has 2 chairs. This worked while Richard was in a high chair, but he has long been out of that and we will soon be a family of 4. We opted not to have a formal dining room like we had at the old house (and never used). So we want to invest in something that is built well and will last. We have a set picked out to order once we close on our old house, and I am glad to spend my dollars at this business.

Another eventual plan is to replace the kitchen appliances. We walked by a local appliance store and saw in the window they had the brand/finish we plan to get (which was seen at a big box store). So when the time comes for that as well, I'd love to give them our business.

Santa got some early Christmas shopping done at 2 toy stores (while Richard wasn't looking). The local toy store we always supported in Battle Creek recently closed due to the owners retiring. I am glad that we have these new options close to us!

Being a creative person, I was thrilled to find USArt Quest! Here is another site for them, as they hand make about a million varieties of paper! I felt very welcomed when we stopped there. They offer lots of classes and fun events - perfect for organizing a bunch of my friends to come over for something fun to do!

Lastly, let's get to my new bag which inspired this post..... I got a mailer from Dayspring Gifts and fell in love with the recycled canvas totes they showed. So I decided to check their store out too while we were over there.

And, for the rest of my outfit, yet another jeans, tank, wrap "uniform". I swear, I can come up with tons of these combos!

Jeans & Tank - Motherhood Maternity

Striped Wrap - Meijer

Lenora Dame Starlight Mesa Necklace - Anthropologie

Minnetonka Mocs - TJ Maxx

See Biscuit peeking out the window? New neighbors were moving in across the street and the dogs were losing their minds all day! I must say, I do miss our fenced in yard!

And Mocha is faintly in the window here. They are getting used to their new lifestyle too, just like we are.

Skipping Spring

With a Winter that overstayed its welcome, and temps in the 90's this past weekend, I feel like we did not have Spring this year! Good thing I got to wear this dress at least once because with its sweater top I don't think I'll be wearing it again anytime soon. I am a sucker for "twofer" dresses, which are dresses that look like separates but are really not. It makes for super effortless mornings. I really love pattern mixing, especially black & white with a floral. I waited for this to go on sale with an extra 40% off. I believe Anthro has an extra 25% off sale right now but it is always changing.

Osceola Sweater Dress by Maeve : Anthropologie
Lenora Dame Necklace : Anthropologie via TJ Maxx
Ankle Strap Wedges : Rockport