Wishes for the Forties: Bliss, Blue Jeans, and Bubbly

As a friend was looking towards her fortieth birthday, she asked me to create a bracelet for her...and to surprise her with a story. So, here goes.

My wishes for her forties...at the center of the bracelet is a sterling silver wishbone.

I selected smooth iolite rondelles and faceted rondelles of pale smoky quartz because they reminded me of denim and champagne! Once you hit your forties, you care less about pretense and are more than comfortable popping open an expensive bottle of bubbly in your blue jeans and your favorite t-shirt.

I included a hummingbird because they represent the enjoyment of life and lightness of being; a lotus blossom symbolizes the purity and the love of god; and the owl is sacred to the Greek goddess of knowledge. Life, faith, and knowledge. That is bliss.

Happy 40th, S. Hope you like it.

Awesome Arils {earrings of the month}

This month's earrings were inspired by our recent move - we are homeowners once again! - and January's birthstone.

So, we finally were able to get out of our rented postage stamp-sized townhouse and into a real house. Relief. Excitement. All of those things washed over us. We moved to a street called 'Granada.' I was looking at my face cream, a pomegranate cream "for aging skin" (no joke); the bottle included other languages, including French and Spanish. 'Granada' drew my attention. And it dawned on me: we live on a street named for the pomegranate. How cool is that?!

We love pomegranates!

Originally from Persia, pomegranates are one of the oldest cultivated fruits. Ancient Romans used the skins in the process of tanning leather. Perhaps due to the fruit's princely blossom crown, it has gained distinction as a royal fruit. Chaucer, Shakespeare and Homer have all extolled the virtues of the pomegranate in literature. The Moors brought the seedy fruit to Spain where Granada was named for it. The first pomegranate was planted in Britain by King Henry VIII. It reached our shores by way of the Spanish conquistadors.

The deep red color of the pomegranate arils gave rise to the naming of the garnet gemstone, January’s birthstone. So, the pieces this month are gobs and gobs of garnets handwired with sterling silver. They are going in the mail this weekend! Hope the gals enjoy.

All that Twinkles {Earrings-of-the-Month}

For the past three Christmases I have been a Grinch.

What I mean is that we lived in a postage stamp-sized townhouse and I refused to have a Christmas tree (except for the rosemary one that sat on our dining room table). We put a wreath on the door, but I didn’t have Christmas lights strung from the roof or anywhere else for that matter. And I didn't bake any gingerbread.

Here's the last time I was festive: 2010. Yikes.

And, I’ll be honest, I love twinkle lights. They remind me of glitter for the house…except I don’t have to vacuum it up when I’m finished! 

So, this month, in celebration of the fact that we are finally in a real house – where I can hang twinkle lights – my earring selection twinkles, too.

The pieces this month are comprised of sterling silver, diamond-cut sterling chains, sterling stardust beads, and faceted moonstone and champagne topaz…all handwired…and all one-of-a-kind.

May they bring my subscribers joy during this holiday season and beyond. These are in the mail to the gals this weekend. I'll post photos soon!

Swing from the Chandeliers - for Gramma Diane {earrings-of-the-month}

This lavender shot [below] was one of my photographs that was displayed during the Flower Power exhibition at the 1650 Gallery in Los Angeles in December 2010. Gramma loved lavender!

Sorry for the delay, but I pulled a switch-a-roo and decided to change up the earrings I had originally made for this month. The reason: last week a dear friend's mom joined the ranks of angels - after a year-long battle against liver cancer - and I've been helping to plan her celebration of life.

I wanted to create pieces that honored her memory. She loved the color purple and she loved life.

So, my new November earrings are called 'Swing from the Chandeliers' and feature sterling silver chandelier findings and amethyst. She would want us all to embrace life and swing from the chandeliers! Enjoy...

Quince-ssential Fall Earrings

Are you familiar with quince? If not, you’re not alone. It is classified as a rare fruit; but if you have the chance, track one down. It’s magical. 

First, it changes color when it cooks; raw, it’s a pale yellow similar to a non-descript apple. But once it’s poached, it transforms to a vibrant blush. When I interviewed Barbara Ghazarian* (local author, quincephile, and keynote speaker at what she called the ‘Fruit Nerd’ convention this year), she gave me the chemical reason for the color change; she’s a molecular biologist. But I’m just going to stick to – “it’s magic.” Here's a link to the article I wrote about the Queen of Quince for Edible Monterey Bay: here.

Second, it tastes amazing! Here are a few recipes I've made with quince: Quince Butter Thumbprint Cookies, Poached Quince, and Quince Marmalade.

  

It’s an exotic mixture of roses and fruit. Sort of. It’s unique and delicious. Try it, if you can! So, it’s the color-changing magic inspired this month’s EcoChic Designs pieces.

Remember, each set of earrings is one-of-a-kind but the elements are the same. For these ‘Quince-ssential Fall Earrings’ I handwired a variety of gems and recycled glass beads in shades from yellow to pink with sterling silver. Enjoy!

Urchins = Adventure and Fearlessness {Earrings-of-the-Month}

September 2014: I am woefully tardy in posting this. Sorry! I've had a crazier than usual couple of weeks.

This month’s pieces are inspired by sea urchins which have come represent the embodiment of all I want for my children’s palates: adventure and fearlessness. 

If you’ve seen the movie The Hundred Foot Journey you may relate. I took D with me to see the movie on opening night. As we walked out he wanted two things: (1) to buy the DVD and (2) to cook with sea urchin. I was floored. Needless to say, I went in search of urchin. I bought most already prepped, but wanted him to clean one. He did and created an incredible spiced soup with coconut milk and fresh herbs. 

Here's the post from my kitchen blog: How to Clean an Urchin...

Here's his soup: D's Spiced Coconut & Urchin Soup...

So, that was it. Urchin = parenting success in making sure that my kids will eat with purpose and an open mind. Here’s to new things…on your plates and in your ears!

September EcoChic Designs’ Earrings are black and green lampwork glass beads and gemstones handwired with sterling silver findings to create one-of-a-kind pieces just for you! Enjoy!

I Scream, We Scream, We All Scream for...Earrings!

Every family has road trip traditions, right? Ours - finding fun ice cream shoppes along the way. No matter what the season. Here we are, in Sausalito, a couple of years ago. It was Spring Break. It was cold. But that didn't stop us from getting some scoops and enjoying the view of The City!

Ice cream has come a long way since I was a kid. I remember going to Thrifty's when scoops were fifteen cents. Yes, I'm that old! And the flavors from which you could choose were basic: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint chip, and bubblegum. There may have been a few more flavors - butter pecan comes to mind - but not too many. Combinations were had by getting more than one scoop with whatever flavors you wanted to combine. And the ice cream tower teetered precariously on your cone while you ran your tongue from one flavor to the next.  Gone are those days.

Ice cream flavors now are dictated by what's in season and bound only by the creativity of the ice cream maker. Think stawberry-pink peppercorn, wild fennel, roasted barley, and olive oil chocolate sea salt. As far as my boys are concerned, the funkier the flavor, the better. Once I picked up ice cream scoops while the boys were napping in the car. D looked at what I had chosen for him and, with disappointment oozing from his eyes, lamented, "Mommy, I like the creative flavors better." I had gotten him burnt caramel.

Perennial favorites...and definitely our top two picks in the Central California area...

If you're in the East Bay, don't miss Ici in the Elmwood District. That's a strawberry-pink peppercorn and candied blood orange in the photo.

Or, if you're in Santa Cruz, checking out Penny Ice Creamery is a must. They now have two locations. That was the pluot sorbet I had the last time we were there.

So, on our 10-day camping trip, we hit a handful of ice cream spots from Eureka to Santa Rosa. And the colors inspired this month's earrings of the month for my subscribers. Think icy stones and copper cones. I'll post photos soon, but I needed to get this write-up done and out the door. Enjoy.