Nonpareil

I long to visit Buenos Aires *sigh*….South America is top on my wish list of travel spots…

Meanwhile, I’ll just admire these fun, funky bags made from the same vintage Naugahyde that can be found on the buses in Buenos Aires. Never has vinyl looked so good! They are from Viva Zapata…and styles sell really quickly…so if you see one you like, snag it before it’s gone!

I’ve been wanting a funky boho bag ever since I saw the Simone Camille bags on Who What Wear…but $650 isn’t exactly my handbag budget. SO, I found some super-cute bags that Dazzling Lanna has on her Etsy site. They are from Chiang Mai…and I just LOVE them! Most of them are made from vintage Hmong baby carrier fabric….fun style at a MUCH better price point.

Such beautiful, rustic-y jewelry from New Hampshire based Lisa’s Lovelies {or, New Hamster as my daughter used to call it}. There seems to always be something new at her shop…and, I know, because I’m there more often than I’d like to admit visiting the “bramble ring” above. Gorgeous pieces…and ooh, how I’d love to sport that ring on my finger!

My birthday was in June…and, as much as I totally hate to get older, I love celebrating…hanging out with friends, getting presents and eating cake!! This year, I especially scored in the presents department…my husband bought me an ipad {yipee!}. I hadn’t thought seriously about buying one, but now that I have one, I think it’s such a fun and useful gadget…I’m all geeked out about it!

Maybe even better than the ipad itself, is the coolie case I bought for it. It’s the one above, center…from Temple. It’s made from re-purposed military fabric, as are some of their other bags. I love the look of a high-tech gadget tucked into something that looks so old. I like their other bags too…so rugged and masculine.

Hi everyone! I took a little much-needed {and unintentional} blogging break…and it’s really nice to be back! June has been a little crazy: I’ve been to Oregon to visit my parents, to Thai Massage classes, had a visit from the in-laws, and have been driving my daughter to Chicago for two weeks to art camp at Lill Street Art Center {yikes}…which brings me to today’s post!

One of my daughter’s classes was a week long “metals” class from a fantastic teacher, Rebecca Zemans. Of course, I HAD to check out her site, and was totally impressed with her beautiful jewelry and metal sculpture…what a lucky girl to have such a talented teacher!