Signs of Summer (Soon to Disappear)

The lifeguard stand.  A classic symbol of summer (for Northerners, at least).  As it sat, empty, my mind raced ahead to what will be coming.

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To be honest, I’ve had some subversive thoughts lately: dreaming of (longing for) snow.  This makes me unfaithful to summer and to all of the people who aren’t ready for summer to end.  (And there are a lot of them.)

Don’t get me wrong: I dislike bitterly cold weather.   But there are other things about winter that are (in my opinion) worth the low temperatures.  Things like the pure beauty of a snow-dusted lawn.

But with highs forecasted to be in the upper 80s this week, lovers of dog days fear not!

 

À mercredi,

k.

A Little Gem: Being Good at Something

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À la Martha Stewart’s “Good Things” and Neil Pasricha’s “1000 Awesome Things“, I’m starting my own little expression to reflect on splendid things, called little gems.  (Yes, the jewelry reference is intentional!)

I’ve been especially cognizant of little gems lately, as I seem to be lacking too many.  As my friend Boops would say, “that’s not a complaint, just a statement of fact.”

The latest little gem that I’ve “discovered” is Being Good at Something.  I mean REALLY, HONESTLY GOOD at something.  I realized a few months ago when I started on my current path of completely re-thinking my life and moving toward living my dreams (lofty indeed!), that there might be some bumps along the road.  Well, last week I hit some huge potholes.

Launching a new life:

* First of all, I moved to a new city.  Although it’s my hometown, so I do have family and good friends here, it’s still not a place I’ve lived since I was a teenager – 17 years ago.  So there have been some major adjustments to make.

* Then, I decided that I would launch not one but TWO NEW CAREERS.   Yep, so I’m freelance writing and designing jewelry.  I’ve dabbled in both before, but let’s face it, I’m not a pro at either.

* On the urging of a friend, I joined CrossFit, which I LOVE because it has whipped my body into amazing shape in three months, but for which I’m now having to painstakingly learn how to correctly (or optimally) perform dead lifts, clean and presses, squats, and more.

All of this to say that it has been a tough couple of weeks, as I’ve tried to dramatically improve my skills at all of these endeavors plus handle of life’s regular, everyday trials.  I realized that I was setting myself up for a lot of potential challenges/failures, and I take responsibility for that.  But I will never again take for granted – personally or professionally – BEING REALLY GOOD AT SOMETHING.

À bientôt,

k.

ANNOUNCING: The Occasional Saler!

I’ve been bad about updating my blog this week, but I’ve got a decent excuse, I think: I’ve launched a website called The Occasional Saler!!  The site is about occasional shops in the Twin Cities (Mpls/Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA) – they’re an amazing phenomenon that I’ve discovered since I’ve moved back to my hometown.

Check out it out here!

À lundi,

k.

Wednesday wishes

Wednesday, kind of a blah day.  As usual, I’m crushing on a few things that I found at a shop near me that sells a lot of vintage furniture, home décor and jewelry.  I’d love to buy them.  But am not going to.  Unless they go WAY down in price….

#3 – Bright Blue Bench

It's the color of this one that gets me. Very refreshing + yummy!

#2 – Elegant Table (which I’ll use as a desk)

I've decided that I want a tripod pedestal table for my desk, like this one.

#1 – Chinoiserie Gilt Mirror (if I can I use ‘Chinoiserie’ to describe a mirror!)

Yes, bad pic..but my favorite part are the bells hanging from the top. They make this piece for me.

I’m going over to the shop where I found these pieces last week to a) see if these pieces re still there and b) if I can talk down the price on any of them.  Especially the mirror.  LOVE that mirror.

I also thought I’d mention a great book I’m using to study up on the history of furniture, which I’m getting really into.  It’s called Furniture, World Styles from Classical to Contemporary, by Judith Miller.  It’s basically an encyclopedia of furniture from around the world, starting at 4000 B.C.E.  It’s very comprehensive, and the pictures make me drool!

Ok, I’m off to ‘visit’ today’s three wish list items….

…..tomorrow is a big annual occasional sale here in Minneapolis – yay!!

À bientôt,

k.

the littlest thing

I was paging through a magazine recently (Vogue Gioiello, the September 2011 issue to be exact) and came across this really sweet ring from Ravior.  The color is gorgeous (citrine), and I LOVE the dangles (garnet).  How fun is that?!

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If you’ve got some euros to drop (2, 132 to be exact), why not??

À bientôt,

k.

Remembrances of spring

I was looking through my iPhoto yesterday, and realized that I had a whole collection of gorgeous photos from a mini-shoot that I did with my friend, Dina Kantor, when I was in New York City this spring.  The shoot, which we did at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, was meant to showcase my jewelry collection, but we got some shots that are more portraits, too.

Although it was the beginning of May, the weather was freezing cold…ahhh….remember those days?  I loved being back in the park, too, because I lived nearby on Prospect Park Southwest several years ago, and as I’ve left New York and moved so far away, I’m very sentimental about it all; so the flood of memories provided some warmth on that unseasonably chilly day.  So, without further ado:

Credits:

Photography.

All photography by Dina Kantor.  You can find Dina’s spectacular work, which has been exhibited around the world, on her website here and on her portrait/engagement/wedding illustration and photography website and blog here.

Jewelry.

All jewelry is from my own personal collection.  Most of it comes from the importing that I did for my previous business, gitane NYC.  photos 1-3: amethyst, turquoise and pearl set in gold-plated brass ring from istanbul.  photo 4: glass, coral and turquoise set in 14k gold vermeil earrings from istanbul.  photos 5-8: amethyst and pearl 14k gold vermeil necklace from istanbul.  ring, see photos 1-3.  photo 9: Chanel-inspired by H&M pin which I made into a necklace on sterling silver with faux pearls.  photo 10: from left, Natura pearl and gold bracelet from Corsica.  sterling silver and glass bead necklace from Morocco.  sterling silver pendant from Morocco.  sterling silver pendant from Morocco on s.s. chain.  photo 11: silver and gold pendant on multi-strand garnet necklace by Cesarée Paris.  photo 12: dyed bone necklace made in Nagaland, India and bought in New Zealand.  photo 13: s.s., lapis and crystal necklace from Essaouira, Morocco.  photo 14: pearl and glass set in 14k gold vermeil earrings from Istanbul.  photo 15: see previous photo.

Clothing.

Although this was clearly not a fashion shoot, I’ll tell you what I was wearing.  Ann Taylor Loft sleeveless top, J.Crew sweater, Pepe Jeans London jeans (bought in Paris), Target socks, Coco Rose fold-up flats (bought in London), AK Anne Klein jacket.

 

Hope you enjoyed a little trek through springtime…in the meantime, stay cool!

À bientôt,

k.

squatters paradise

After my boyfriend and I finished our graduate school courses, we decided to stay in Paris for a couple of years, he working a corporate job here, and me, blogging, writing and developing my jewelry collection.  Phew.  One decision made!

the lovely little floorplan (we have the smaller part on one floor, outlined in red)

After having committed to staying for awhile, at the end of March (2011), we signed a 3-year lease* and moved out of the small studio apartment that we shared during business school and into a one-bedroom apartment in a beautiful neighborhood not too far from where we were living before.  What really sold us on this place was its balcon (balcony) that stretches the entire front of the apartment.   The apartment looks out on a park below and gorgeous, well-kept Haussmannian buildings on the other side of the park.  Our new building is, itself, an old beautiful Haussmannian marvel, and our apartment has, in addition to the balcon, a (theoretically) working fireplace and gorgeous molding.  Yay!  Great!  Two decisions made!

This lovely little apartment is also UNFURNISHED, which in France means that the kitchen is also unfurnished.  In other words, we have only a sink in the kitchen – no cupboards, refrigerator, stove, countertops…  Thus, many home projects ahead of us.  I’m taking the next couple of months to transform this space from a “squatters paradise” to a beautiful, comfortable home for us.  Below are the “before” photos.  We’ve done some work and added some furniture, which I’ll post soon.  Once the blog is “up-to-speed”, I’ll post updates in real time.

Here’s our little diamond in the rough:

the front door of our apartment. very early 20s Parisian

living room: fireplace and one of the two balcony doors

living room: far wall with balcony doors

bedroom: with its own door to the balcony

kitchen: ah yes...old, drab and bare. we've got some work ahead of us...

view from balcony: that's Les Invalides in the distance (final resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte); this picture is from March, before we had leaves on the trees and the sun appeared for spring/summer

So there it is.  Follow the progression from empty walls to cozy retreat.

*Petit conseil (tip): For unfurnished apartments in France, a 3-year lease is standard.  Such a lease can be broken with 90 days notice or with 30 days notice with proof of a change in employment status (unemployment, a transfer to another city, etc).  For furnished apartments in France, a 1-year lease is standard, and only 30 days notice is required to break a lease.

Cheers,

k.