Ch-ch-changes

In less than one week I will be moving into my very own apartment, and not just for the school year like I have the past two years. It will definitely be an adjustment, but I am excited for what is to come. So in preparation for my move, I have been trying to figure out how I want it to be decorated. My main concern is really my living area/studio space. I have been really fortunate to have half of a basement as my studio for the past couple of years, so trying to fit everything I want to bring with me will be a bit of a challenge. I can't move out without my beads, yarns, and papers.

Thankfully, Pinterest was invented to help me figure out how I want my space to be! As an already avid pinner, I created a board specifically with apartment ideas.

In terms of color, I want a more beachy appearance, aka lots of teals, blues, tans/whites.
Much like this courtesy of design-seeds.com


I really like this set up, but in the colors shown above. I am bringing my inspiration boards with me, so this is a perfect set up for them, plus it gives me a lot of space for storage without taking up too much room. Image via Pinterest courtesy of http://www.brightboldbeautiful.com/

courtesy of http://www.completely-coastal.com/

Wicked cool displays of beach finds (perfect because my mom brought me back some awesome shells and coral from Florida!). More about those later! :)

And I definitely want to have at least one gallery wall (my apartment has really high ceilings so it will be awesome!)

courtesy of http://jenniferjohner.typepad.com/jennifer/2011/05/floor-to-ceiling-photo-wall-aka-how-to-hide-all-of-those-switches-and-things.html

I can't wait to be able to move in and start decorating (and creating) when I am not working!

Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter ...

I found this video on website called U lala, see below for their about information courtesy of their website. Katherine was actually one of my fellow classmates in high school.

Watching this video inspired me so much. Sarah believes in the empowerment for people to be brave and go after what they want and to be able to share it with others. That is what I am doing with my jewelry making and really these blog posts. I am sharing what I believe in and what I put my heart and soul into.

You should definitely check out more of Sarah Kay's poems, as well as the U lala website. Originally just based in Purdue University, has now expanded out to more colleges and universities. http://www.u-la-la.com/school/

Miss You Can Do It

This post really doesn't have anything to do with jewelry really, but it has everything to do with what I believe in.

Watching TV the other night I stumbled upon a documentary called Miss You Can Do It.
It  is a pageant that is for girls and women with special needs. It was started by Abbey Curran, Miss Iowa USA 2008, who has cerebral palsy, in 2004. She was the first contestant in Miss USA to compete with a challenge.

I found the documentary incredibly inspiring. It proves that you can try anything that you want to no matter any disability you may have. The pageant is special in the sense that no one goes home empty handed, everyone gets an award. Yes, I know that people have said that society now that people are handed things way to easily and that everyone thinks that they are entitled to get what they want. But these young women deserve these awards and more just for being who they are. They are bright shining stars that face challenges every day.

 The documentary highlighted many different families. One in particular was memorable for me. This incredible family that had two sons and a daughter. The daughter was diagnosed with Down's Syndrome, and they decided that they wanted to adopt a little girl the same age as their daughter so that she would have someone her own age that was like her. Their house was vandalized, as well as one of their cars, with the degrading use of the R word. I don't understand why people are so cruel to one another. The R word is definitely one that I don't like. I speak up when I hear someone saying it. In high school I had volunteered with the Special Olympics for a couple of years and always looked forward to helping out. Once I know what my schedule is for work, I am definitely going to look to see what is around me in terms of volunteering.

I highly suggest that you check out this documentary (it is showing on HBO). Just an FYI, you might want to have some tissues handy.
This years pageant is Saturday July 27th.
http://www.missyoucandoit.com/index.htm Here is the link to the website for more information.


I loved being able to help out a friend in the Miss RI competition a couple of months ago. I know that she is incredibly appreciative of what she got from the pageant, so I can only imagine how these young women feel when they are able to compete.

Provincetown

As I mentioned in my previous post, my mom and I also went to Provincetown after the Brewster Flea Market.

Provincetown, or P-town, is definitely a fun place to go. My mom and I go at least once every summer. It is such an artistic environment, from the beautiful gardens in everyone's yards or the different paintings in the numerous galleries.

Besides looking at the galleries, there are two shops that we always go to no matter what. One is the shell shop, and the other is the taffy place connected to the shell shop. Talk about two for one shopping! I got some shells and taffy. The taffy is long gone, but I have a project in mind for the shells that I will share here when it is done.

Warning picture heavy!

Part pink part purple hydrangeas, gorgeous (and there were so many of them!)

One of the beautiful gardens that we saw while we were there. 

I can't remember the exact type of rose this was. Does anyone have any idea?

Pink zinnia. Love.

Love the layering and the spiral. Will definitely be using this for inspiration. 

If I were to ever have shrubs in front of my house, I want them to be a wave like this!

more of those roses. 

I love that the chairs are rusted, it gives them such character. 

A super delicious cupcake that I clearly couldn't wait to take a picture first before taking a bite. 

Run down dock. 

Yummy roasted vegetable and pesto panini with onion rings. 

It was a great day to spend with my mom! 

Two Days of Flea Market Finds

A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I went to not only 1 flea market, but 2! Tuesday was the Brewster Flea Market, and Wednesday was the Sandwich Flea Market.

At the Brewster Flea Market I got:

A really pretty teal vase, a old tin tray, and what you can't really see that well an old tin small chest. I plan on using it to hold business cards at my shows. 

And at the Sandwich Flea Market I got:

An awesome old drawer, a teal ball jar, and an old anvil! 

This anvil is awesome. I had seen one the day before at the Brewter flea market that was above my budget, and then I actually saw another one at the Sandwich flea market but that one was even more above my budget. I had told my mom that I would just find the next one. She said, yes because there is one right there. It was right in my budget and I can't wait to share the designs that I make with it! 

Two full days of shopping (Tuesday my mom and I ended up going to P-Town, a post about that later) and browsing made me exhausted. I think I was able to catch up on all my sleep though thanks to a nice lazy Thursday.


And now you may be wondering why this post is so late, well I was busy studying for a very important test.

And since I have already taken the test and found out the results, I can finally share that I am officially a Registered Nurse! It's a very exciting time for me now, and I can't wait to share more about it.

Flea Market Finds

My mom just got out of school last week, so this was the first week that we were able to go to the flea market! I LOVE flea markets, you never know what you are going to find and I am always on the hunt for a good deal. The flea market in my town is held every Wednesday, so I actually like waking up very early in the morning to go.

Here are the goodies I found :)

Flower tins. I will be using the two reddish ones in my kitchen in my (hopefully) soon to be apartment. 

I got all of these knitting needles for such a good deal. I was super happy when I found them (I had been on the hunt for old ones, they are the best). This box has a mix of straight needles and circular needles. 

The above knitting needles came with this cool metal tin too! :) 

A super cool old key. I may make it into a piece of jewelry or I may just keep it in a dish as I collect more. 

A Johnnie Walker box (minus the alcohol), but in super great condition. 

And this was actually a trade from my mom, I gave her some of the double point knitting needles and she gave me this is exchange :) I will be using it to hold my earring cards! 

Wednesday is coming up quick again, I can't wait to go!