Movers and Shakers

Hey y'all, it's been a while I know! But, in my defense, I have good excuses. We finally sold our house and made it through the closing. We have moved into an apartment until our new house is ready...whenever that may be. Moving was chaotic, to say the least, and I never, ever want to move like that again! Because our byuers were very fickle and iffy all the way to the end, we never knew if the closing would get through, so I was totally disorganized in packing.

Are you moving? I found this blog, Steps to Organization, which has some helpful moving checklists. The blog's author, Wendy Cross, is a professional organizer, and aside from moving, she has some pretty cool organizing tips! Check out her moving checklist 1 and moving checklist 2 if you are preparing to take this journey. I must warn you though, realistically, you WON'T get totally organized, but at least you can smooth out a lot of the wrinkles!

So now we are back to apartment living, and I must confess, it's not that bad. Of course, it's smaller, and we have a LOT of stuff in storage, but I like it! I like having the option to just call maintenance to come fix something rather than figure out how to fix it myself so that we don't have to pay someone $200 for some little thing. Of course, when we move into our new house, I am going to brush up on some home maintenance skills.

A lot has happened in the past few months! Both Fazal and Zahra had their birthdays, so I am now a proud Mama of a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Stay tuned for a lot of updates in the next few weeks and some oh-so-adorable pics :) Here is one that I love!

My Etsy shop, Treasure Box Jewelry, is still up but with all the wackiness going on, I have taken a little break from things. I have a lot of items that need listing, so I will be doing that also in the coming days. Of course, being on a temporary hiatus still doesn't stop me from buying endless amounts of glorious beads and findings! Since we are in the midst of fall, I love the the La Terre Necklace from my shop reflects the burst of color that comes with the season!

La Terre Necklace by Treasure Box Jewelry

And now a parting treat for you! One of my best cyber-friends, Lisa of Jeweled Ambrosia, has branched out into fabulous hair accessories! They are all so amazing, but this one is my favorite!

Vintage Rhinestone, Rosette and Sequin Headband by Jeweled Ambrosia

So adieu for now and have a blessed day!

Just Bead It!

On Sunday afternoon, after I had put the kids down for a nap, I headed to Red Bank, to visit The Red Bank Bead Company. (Don't worry, my husband was with them!). Downtown Red Bank borders the Navesink River here in Central Jersey, and it is a very posh and upscale area, with specialty boutiques and designer stores. There are also a lot of antique shops and great activites during the summer season. I'm lucky to live only about 20 minutes away. So as I walk through the door, I felt like I had entered heaven. I think a lot of jewelry artisans share this sentiment, that something just happens when you are surrounded by beads and findings and wire and stones. You're surrounded by infinite possibilities. At first I was just walking around in a daze. It was like I couldn't take in everything fast enough. Then I calmed down and wandered around, with a constant tirade in my head of buying what I needed as opposed to buying what I wanted (two TOTALLY different things!) I bought a few things, among them metal bookmarks that I am going to embellish with an array of fabulous beads. My friend Deana gave me the idea. Like myself, she loves to read, and since she doesn't wear a lot of jewelry, she mentioned to me that I might make jeweled bookmarks. Thanks Deana! You can read her blog here, and read about her amazing life with her husband Steve and their warrior son, Maximilian. So stay tuned for those bookmarks to show up on Etsy!

Speaking of beads, I love beaded earrings. There is just something about them, especially if you have your hair up and you're wearing gorgeous clothes. You feel confident and awesome. Here are some of my new earrings, just listed in my Etsy shop.

Mango Sunrise Earrings

Pretty in Pink Earrings

Night at the Disco Earrings

All these earrings really reflect my personality. I have so many interests and passions, and so many things that I want to do. These earrings are all so different and varied. I think that really does describe the kind of person that I am. It seems that we are all pressured to find an identity, to make ourself fit into pre-conceived categories. I personally don't think that it works that way. Even now, sometimes I don't know where I fall in these categories. I turn 30 this year, God willing. I think it's okay to be the odd one out now.