7 things

I'm setting another intention this year and that is to blog more. I used to love blogging before I started jewel making, just as I did cooking. I really want to start getting back in to these things I enjoy more this year especially being new to a city and having the time and space to share the experience here with you. To start I'm going to bring back my weekly 7 simple things post. When I began my blog (..in 2007. wow. time .is. scary) I started a tradition of capturing 7 little moments in my week that make me happy here.

As I'm new to Denver and really haven't seen much here yet because its been so cold and snowy, I will say when I do leave my house it's always a good time. This little city seems to have many hidden gems to explore. Although I do wonder why the universe moved me here in the winter.. I remember now why I hate winters. But when the sun does come out it's actually beautiful weather. Looking forward to sharing more weekly posts with you and hoping the sun stays out a little longer on these days from here on out.  Here's my top 7 things from life so far in Denver. The first two are from the same place because I loved this museum so much. Put it on your list if you're visiting Denver.

Crystal Caves transported from Mexico - Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Couldn't get enough of this place. - Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Happy hours with city views - Avanti

Taking a desert pup into 6 degree winter. Not a fan of winters or his winter wardrobe. - Denver, CO

Finding GF bakeries in walking distance - Beet box

Living in Five Points - the Denver Central Market

All the roads.. 2016

A post that has been in drafting for quite some time. These are a just a few of the most beautiful roads I took to and from Colorado six times in the last two months of 2016. For those who know me well, and have followed the journey know that 2016 left me feeling very lost. It was my 5th year living in Las Vegas. When i first moved there, I thought i'd only be there for a year.. Vegas grew on me quickly and I ended up loving the city for a lot longer than I had planned. My lease had been month to month for last year at my house, and i knew i wanted to get out. I knew if i didn't sell everything I wouldn't ever leave. The problem was I didn't know where to go. I just knew Vegas wasn't for me. I didn't feel like the city was home.  I get this question constantly now, as I did when i first moved to Vegas. Why Colorado, you hate the cold?! That is very true.. but I think I needed this drastic change. I felt like I wasn't growing where I was - in business and personal aspects in my life. I couldn't be more excited for this transition and all its changes for 2017! Looking forward to sharing more of this journey with you.

Last pop-up shops LAS VEGAS

My last month in Vegas was one wild pop-up shop ride. I hadn't done as many pop-up shops all year, that I did in the month of November. From West Elm pop-up shops on east side to west side of town, another holiday celebration at Retail Therapy, and art festival in town square plaza. Much thanks to Emma, from Desert Daisy Jewelry for coordinating most of these. Couldn't do it without you girl! It was a wonderful way to end my last weeks in Vegas. Oh yes, in the next post I'll explain all about our big move! :) Here's a lil recap from some of last months pop-ups.

West Elm Henderson

Surprise visit by my mom

Art Fest Town Square Plaza

West Elm Summerlin

Holiday 16' preview party

A few weeks ago, Emma from Desert Daisy Jewelry and I planned a little pre-holiday party to share our latest collections that launch in November. Emma knew of this little hidden gem boutique in town that I had never been to before called Retail Therapy which ended up being the perfect venue for our pop-up shop. We were joined by a couple local bloggers including @thefashclass who took these amazing photos in @dizzyspangle blog post here.  In addition we had photographer Payton Altman stop by and snap some photos of our event, a couple of them below. All and all the holiday preview party ended up being a great success.  Thank you to those who came out and shared your support with us. Loved getting to meet a few new faces in town and we even had a magician randomly pop in to our event for a little bit of entertainment. It was a magical night. Be sure to check out Emma's blog as well for more pics! Also read Graciella's blog for more details about the latest collections.

Image by Payton Altman

Image by Payton Altman

Day in the life.. on Mars.

A.K.A. Valley of Fire. Remember a couple years ago when we traveled here for the first time? It was about time we came back.. this time we brought Roman the pup.

I honestly feel like I'm on another planet when I enter this valley. This place instantly fills me up me up with so much inspiration. I haven't thought about a collection much this year as I set the intention earlier this year that was I going to focus on one of a kind pieces. Although with so much change happening around me and an inspiration flow, I think it's time to for that collection. I'm excited to take the upcoming weeks to myself and work on some new holiday fun and just maybe I'll end the year with my first collection of the year. The golden age is calling. Freedom and the Valley of fire adventures continued...inspired always.

Fall in the desert

A few weeks back I collaborated with this beautiful team of ladies in Red Rock Canyon for a shoot to get us all inspired and excited for fall fashion in the desert. It's still 90 degrees here in October but we are making the best of it. This fall I've been working with a lot of labradorite, black onyx, petrified wood, obsidian gemstones and raw crystals. I'm going to be launching some new one of a kind crystal pendants in the shop later this week that I'm very excited about. I still haven't done any collections this year as I remember setting that intention in January here. I've still been focusing only one day at a time, that's pretty much my theme of the year for life and jewels. I've enjoyed just working with a few gemstones that are calling to me in that season. I think one of my favorite thing about being a jeweler is working with the raw natural gemstones and designing the one of a kind pieces made just for you.  Many of my new pieces are used throughout this shoot along with some of my turquoise vintage jewels from my personal collection.

I want to special thank Brie Seavey (@soul_synergy) for putting this shoot together. I've worked with her many times before (our roots shoot here and here), she is one of my favorites in Vegas. I also want to special thank my sister (@peachybe) for styling this shoot, especially on such last minute notice. A lot of the looks were pulled from Free People. See below for more. 

PHOTOGRAPHY - Brie Seavey/@soul_synergy

MODEL - Mel /@staytunedformel

STYLING - Brittany Rosano/@peachybe

MAKEUP - Etienne Lovelle/@etiennelovelle

 

Summers best - top 10

This was hard to narrow down to just 10.. I have so many summers best moments. From the beginning of the summer starting with my pop up shop in NYC, to visits to Albany, Connecticut, and just outside Boston for a reunion with my college besties to see Florence and the Machine. To staycations and road trips, from Bellingham, WA to Yuma, Arizona. This summer has been quite the adventure. I did take a lot of time off the bench this summer, but all in good adventure. I'm back home, excited to begin the new season on the bench and full of inspiration. I'll also be making a big move in the upcoming month.. I'll be sharing more with you soon about that.

Instead of ten, I left it at eleven at best. Summer 16', you were one of a kind.

1.  Pop-up shop in Brooklyn, NY.

2. Visits in my home town. Albany, NY.

3. A night with a goddess. Mansfield, MA.

4. Mountain escapes with my college bestie. Mt. Charleston, NV.

5. Staycation. A week in lego land. Aria - Las Vegas, NV.

6. casinos. sunsets. and tacos Togo most days.  

7. the roads less traveled with these two. Salvation Mountain. Slab City, CA. 

8. the smell of salton sea. probably should not be listed as the best of but definitely one to remember. Salton City, CA.

9. walking in a sand storm.. to get tacos of course. Yuma, AZ.

10. when Roman found summer love.. Lake Mede, NV.

11. full moons of summer. 

PNW adventures - California

A summer post a little late as per usual... As today begins the first day of fall, I felt it was time to officially end summer with a few last posts of summers best. I'm really going to miss this summer, if you couldn't already tell. From PNW oceans to redwoods, this is a continue from the Oregon adventure post here. Brookings was the last stop in Oregon we made before California. We left Brookings just before sunset, and made it to Crescent City a little after sunset. Google maps led us to a campground right outside Redwood national park. Unfortunately, the campground was at capacity that night. So we were redirected to a spot 10 miles down the road.. which ended up being the perfect spot right in the middle of the park. It was so dark, I couldn't even see where we were going. Literally set up the tent in the middle of the forest. I couldn't even describe my excitement to what I woke to! As much as I love beaches and the ocean, I'm definitely more a woodsy mountain girl. Photos don't even do justice of these trees in redwoods. I wanted to stay another night but our journey down the coast continued.

Next stop on the adventure of course a favorite of mine...wine county. We ended up venturing off the coast on this day to Mendocino Valley. This is the valley of the pinot grapes, my favorite wine grape. The first stop we made was Handley cellars. The great thing about all the wineries we randomly chose to stop at in this valley happen to be complimentary (not all of the wineries are) and everyone was so friendly. And all were pup friendly which was even better. My favorite winery was the lazy creek vineyards. This is known as the second oldest vineyard in the valley. Their pinot noir was the best of the bunch that I tried that day, so I ended up splurging on a bottle in this winery. I wanted to stay longer in this valley.. but the wine tasting was kicking in and we needed to find some food fast. We ended up stopping in the town of Healdsburg for something to eat and a resting stop to fully charge. I have to say when you're on the road with two iphones, two cameras, a go pro, and ipad and only one outlet to charge in a car.. the charge struggle is real.  And my phone was the first to always die. Pretty sure we used every outlet in this stop to charge. Stayed long enough for a 70% charge.. and then back on the road.

We made it to San Francisco just before sunset.. as my phone died again (hence the lack of photos on instagram and snapchat of these places). Really there was not much to see or capture in SF because the fog was so heavy. As much as I love SF, we decided not to stay the night in the city. We were still in that beach camping state of mind. SF came up so quickly! Wasn't ready for city life. The drive continued through SF, down the coast, and through a few more towns until we found one to set up tent. I couldn't even tell you the name of the small town we stayed in that night. It was really late and kind of a blur, but I do remember stopping for tacos in this town. Tacos saved this adventure many times. So here's to tacos.. and some my favorites from California.

Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear

So I had this long post wrote up with a photo diary for the PNW adventures in California... and just as soon as I clicked save+publish earlier today my computer froze and needed a reboot.. I thought I had it saved but when I logged back in the blog was gone. As I was just about then ready to take my computer and crash it on the floor, I remembered that month we're in. Oh, mercury retrograde. You'd think I'd learn my lesson by now. Pretty sure this exact same thing happened during the last retrograde in the middle of one of my collection launches.. and i remember then repeating to myself BACK UP and SAVE all work in progress. Repeat often. September 23rd, please come soon.

Anyway.. instead of rewriting the California post tonight I felt this resonated more with how I am feeling in this very moment. I just came across this video on youtube yesterday that I wanted to share. It's about taking a moment to look at life in the rearview mirror. I don't think the message could have appeared at a more perfect time. While I'm feeling quite blah that this fun filled summer adventure just came to an end and I'm back in Vegas and i'm surrounded with so many questions daily, and no answers for any of them. It's so important to take some time alone, refocus, and reflect on where we've come. How many roads that have been traveled. How many detours taken. This is what keeps us moving forward. Like Adamus says in his video, there's no going back..  and we don't have to know what's up ahead. Keep doing you, and I truly believe every road will lead you to where you're going. Here's to looking forward to new season.. and a look back at all those beautiful summer roads traveled thru the rearview mirror.

California coast post, you will be next. Xx

PNW adventures - Oregon

Ever so often life surprises you and brings you on those spontaneous unplanned adventures to roads you have only dreamed of taking. This summer was one of those life surprises. It all came and went so quickly.. as most adventures do. The pacific northwest has always been a calling for me. After this roadtrip I can say, it still is. I will definitely be back for another adventure or who knows maybe a long stay very soon.  You guys have always told me I would love the PNW and you know me well. I adored this side of the country, especially this state.

This adventure began early this month in Bellingham, WA where I met up with my two traveling amigos (yes, i cheated on roman this summer for a frenchie). The first night was spent at a little pup-friendly casino off the coast outside Bellingham. From there the drive went quickly through Seattle, into Oregon, spent an afternoon in Portland, and then onto the 101 highway down the Oregon coast. Portland has always been on my list of cities to visit, even though we only stopped for an afternoon we did get to enjoy a few spots and a quick visit with my friends that just moved to Portland from Vegas. The magic really began when we entered the coast. I have traveled to many parts of the US, but this was my first time on this coast and I will say there is no drive as beautiful as this any where in the country. Every view was like "picked for me" straight from my pinterest feed. The trees, beaches, fog, sunsets, colors of Oregon.... are so dreamy. The morning fog was my favorite, usually lasted a few hours after sunrise and came back late afternoon just before sunset. One of the most memorable nights in Oregon was tent camping right off the beach outside Newport. That night was funny because the car wheel got stuck in beach sand when we first arrived, but luckily got the help we needed with a tow from our tent neighbor and then enjoyed an evening of cooking dinner over his campfire on the beach with his family. Funny how things just work like that, synchronicity. That was also the night of the meteor shower and I couldn't have asked for a better viewing. At first it was quite cloudy but cleared up just before midnight when the meteors were in full effect. They looked like shooting stars everywhere in the sky that night. With that and the half moon lighting up the sky over the ocean that evening was more than a gift. And the weather was just perfect. Summer at its best. Oregon you are beautiful, can't wait to explore more of you.

California coast.. up next.

The rose gardens - Portland, OR

jewels that travel - Portland, OR

beers. pups. vegas friends in new cities Bar Bar Mississippi - Portland, OR

Falafel bowls for the road - Portland, OR

Camping out off the coast with a frenchie - Cannon Beach, OR

waking up to the smell trees and fog

wifi, coffee, and GF berry pancakes - Bunkhouse Cafe - Nehalem, OR

coastal viewstops

Neahkahnie Beach, OR

half moons, beach camping, and meteor showers of the decade

South beach state park - Newport, OR

Newport, OR

tacos for the road - oceanbleuseafoods - Newport, OR

Nesika Beach, OR

View fullsize

that afternoon fog

Brookings, OR

Small town brew stop - Chetco Brewery - Brookings, OR

pup friendly pubs :)

sunsets that make you forget about time.