Tag: gold

Accessories for Aging Former Goth/Witchy Types
Hey, that’s me! I want these things! Perhaps you do too. And anyway, I’m just having some fun with the title. Let’s look at some pretty things for all of us.

First off, #1 on this list is clearly gray hair. Let those sparklies grow in! I realize I missed the whole silver sisters grow-out culture that has been taking place by not photographing myself constantly but here I am, fully dye-free. (That hasn’t happened since I was 13!) I’ve had just about every color, and this one’s my favorite.

Next up, embrace those piercings! The 90s are back, and thankfully I put plenty of holes in my ears back then that are still able to be put to use. I have three lobe piercings in each ear, and one helix in my upper left. My thirties were my STATEMENT EARRINGS decade, but lately I’ve returned to an ear full of delicate studs and tiny hoops. Do I find myself wanting little earrings that look like eyeballs and lightning bolts and snakes and feeling it might be a little too gimmicky? Yes. Except for these Snake Huggies. They are beautiful and I still wish I had a pair.

These are the ones I’m wearing in the photo above:
- Studio ’37 Hoop Earrings, Jenny Bird
- .50ct Faux-Diamond Studs, Nordstrom
- Tiny Crystal Studs, Maison Miru
- Forever Seamless Hoop in 14k Gold, Maison Miru (in my helix)
- Eternity Echo Ear Cuff, Maison Miru (faux conch/orbital)
Should I get another piercing? The faux conch is making me want a real one. I suppose I can just continue to wear it though.

Nail polish and rings? Oh yes. I’m hard on my hands, doing projects like scraping wallpaper or other things around the house, but my polish has been holding up. I have been enjoying all three colors that I recently bought from J. Hannah (Compost, which I told you about before, along with Fauna and Ghost Ranch). I also very badly want their onyx and mother of pearl Form Inlay Ring II in gold. It is perfect and I’ve not seen anything else quite like it. Also, I’ve been wearing this Double Groove Ring ring a lot lately, and I pair it with a few fun rings I have similar to this Gumball Pearl Ring and Atom Ring.

Pink lipstick. Suddenly I don’t have pale skin against dark hair! The complexion remains the same, but the gray has made my hair look so much lighter and the stark contrast (that I liked) is gone. I’ve been playing with makeup, and I look amazing in pink lipstick now. Cool pink though, brighter than the nudes and muddy roses that are so easily found. I’m wearing Blush Pink from Laura Mercier in the photo above, but I also love Givenchy’s Rose Boudoir.

Barrettes! I’m growing out bangs. This barrette looks like a baguette and that makes me smile. I’m very into all four colors of these Tortoiseshell Pearlized Barrettes and this swirly Jumbo Box Barrette. And then these Teardrop Barrettes look like cheap plastic blobs on their own, but like shiny precious stones in the hair. These all look like entirely too much when presented together like this, but I only ever wear one at a time, and I do wear one everyday.

There we go, some fashion frivolity on this first day of November.

I go through cycles in which I want very little and then I want everything new and all at once. I assume this is common? I would like some Mary Janes and a new pair of lace-up boots, cozy sweaters and midi dresses. And so many perfumes! (I will let myself have a little perfume. As a treat.)
November 1, 2021
A Louis-Philippe Mirror

Did you catch the new mirror above the fireplace when I shared photos of the living room with its new drapery? Let’s take a better look.

I’ve long wanted a Louis-Philippe mirror above the fireplace, but was more concerned about size and price than pedigree. Mine is a reproduction from South Loop Loft. They often have the real antique versions available, but they can order these for you, too (in a few different sizes).

Here I am, for scale, when I first got the mirror home. It’s 60″ tall!

It needed to be that tall though to be the right scale. The rooms in our Victorian are modestly sized, but the ceilings are 10′ high and the windows 7.5′ tall. Plus that fireplace is massive. A smaller mirror would have been wimpy.

The botanical print that used to hang over the fireplace has been moved into the dining room (where it looks great) and I’m storing the peacock mirror, so I’d like to figure out the art situation above the red console table next. There’s a framed print of The Quaker by Andrew Wyeth there now.

Do I still want to do a frame grid? Maybe? I’m not sure if I’m going to rethink the banjo/ukulele/guitar situation on the wall in the library, and then that could change everything. (I thought I’d be more motivated to play them all if they were easily within reach, but I’m still really only playing the uke.)

I’m hoping I might find something vintage/antique, or something new will catch my eye and I’ll know it’s right, but nothing yet. The mirror though! That was the right call for sure.

March 27, 2018
Making it Yours 13B: Möckelby Dining Table
Sometimes I have a good idea of where I’m going with these Making it Yours looks, and sometimes the design shifts and changes along the way.

This is the second of three rooms put together around IKEA’s Möckelby table. We saw it paired with some amazing wallpaper last time, so I didn’t want to fall back to another wallpaper design this time. I knew I wanted to bring in that light (isn’t it fantastic?), but beyond that, I wasn’t sure where things would end up. Chairs were the next piece of the puzzle, and once I remembered the limited edition pink Arne Jacobsen chairs, everything fell into place.

Pink and gold! Modern, but with a nod to the past! Neon lights! Yes.
August 24, 2015
Push the Little Daisies
I was doing a television appearance once, and there was a stylist on set for wardrobe. She had some great options for everyone, but then she zeroed in on a giant beaded daisy necklace for me. “This looks like you!” she chirped, and I politely declined, all the while thinking of Drew Barrymore in the 90s. I may have tried to emulate her skinny brows at the time, but I’ve never been much for daisies.

I’ve written before about my sentimental jewelry pieces. I always wear my wedding ring, but when I travel, I also wear a little elephant necklace that reminds me of Eleanor, and a heart ring for August. I had been looking for something that would remind me of Calvin too, but nothing I’d come across had been quite right.

I associate him with flowers. I was working on a post about my entryway a few days before my due date, and I’d almost finished my setup. I went out to the florist and came back to arrange everything, but I couldn’t take photos because the sun had set. I joked with Brandon that the baby was going to arrive before I could get my shots in the morning, and sure enough, I went into labor in the middle of the night. I had Calvin, and the first thing I saw when we came back home the next day were those flowers.

I just got back from Salt Lake City because I was there to speak at Alt Summit again. I’m lucky to have so many opportunities to travel because of the blog, but it’s the times when I’m away from my family that I love having those sentimental pieces with me the most. I’m not a superstitious person, so it’s not about them being my ‘good luck charms’ or anything of that sort, but I have for years worn my wedding ring, my elephant necklace, and my heart ring when I fly. I like the tangible reminders of home.

I don’t like to wear too many types of jewelry at once. My wedding ring, a necklace, another ring, and something else is a lot, so I’d been looking for another gold ring that I could stack. I wanted something delicate with flowers or leaves for Calvin because of the association and I’d come across a few nice ones (along with plenty of not so nice ones), but I would know it when I found it, and I finally found it.

I wasn’t familiar with Alex Monroe before, but his floral designs are exactly what I’d been looking for: delicate, modern, and pretty, and not giving me flashbacks to nineties Drew. Some of my favorites are below and his other designs are fantastic too (mouse and tea cup ring, anyone?), but I chose that second ring. So glad I finally found my little Calvin reminder.
June 11, 2015
An Attitude…

Channel your inner Linda Evangelista with this pillow, and then hope luck is on your side with a gold wishbone keychain. Or if not, go incognito with some oversized sunnies.

February 7, 2012
Pink and Gold Business Cards

I have my new business cards, just in the nick of time for Alt Summit! My old cards were cute, but it was time for something new.

Shiny gold foil printing on thick pink card stock. I designed them, then redesigned them, then overdesigned them, and in the end I redid the whole thing and ended up with this simple layout. I had them printed by Eagle Printing, here in Chicago.

And that’s my new logo on the cards. I think it’s a nice update, and not a radical departure from the logo I’ve had for the first five years. The cards will match the blog once I launch the redesign next month.

p.s. I rounded up 10 of my favorite business card designs right over here.

January 18, 2012