Our First Trip To Gulf Shores

This year we wanted to go on a vacation that was not too far from home but a place we hadn't been before. So we decided on Gulf Shores. A friend of mine used to go every summer and always would come home talking about how much fun she always had. So we packed up the babe and headed to Alabama. My parents also came with us, nonie and papa, followed in their car. Let's just say there was absolutely no room in our car for them to ride with us. It is so funny how much stuff we had to take along. No more two suitcases and a duffle bag. More like, high chair, wagon, suit case for Wren's clothes, suit case for toys, pack n' play etc...;) It was funny but we were set!
It was so nice to be at the beach! I dream about sitting on the beach and smelling the salt air and just being. Wren was three months old when we went to the beach last year. So this year we were so excited to see what he was going to do when he was able to play in the sand. He loved it. He loved shoveling the sand and shells into his bucket. It was so, so, cute and I loved my morning walks on the beach.
The days we weren't at the beach we went exploring. We went to an amazing little town called Fairhope. It was the cutest artsiest place with quaint little boutiques, galleries, and yummy restaurants. You must go if you are in the area. We didn't get to walk around the whole town because of how hot the day was. By 3 p.m. it was 100 degrees and we began to melt.
That same day we stopped at the most amazing Historic Home called the Swift-Coles House in Bon Secour, Alabama. It was built in 1882 that began as a four room home only to grow to a 16 room home. Owned by Charles and Susan Swift and their family. In 1976 it was purchased by Nicholas Coles. You could feel the happy festive times that took place there. The Swifts had 11 children and the house was the center of a busy life for the family and neighbors in the community. Plus it was right on Mobile Bay. So Beautiful. I got to use my TTV to take some really neat pictures of the house. It makes the house look very mysterious.
Of course I had to find a couple antique stores and thrift stores. Thanks to the Holy Spirit Thrift Store I found vintage Ferragamo shoes for three bucks and a really beautiful floral blouse. That was a great little gem of a place. Love those!! The week went by slowly and it was a great vacation filled with all kinds of new and wonderful memories. Hope your summer travels are full of firsts and wonderful adventures!!! xo

view from our condo :)

my little guy handed me the rock of love :) he does have my heart!

I love this picture of our footprints first thing in the morning

amazing to behold

local artists point of view of a pelican!! Love them. They hung from each of the storefront entrances.

local fish art! live on re-purposed stuff!!!

our traveling trooper :)

This place was amazing!! So many wonderful chachkies:)

you can't go the beach and not a get an airbrushed t-shirt. So wren got his first one :)

re-inspiration store and me

last month I had the pleasure of meeting Brooke, co-owner of re-Inspiration store. She came into my booth at Dunwoody and asked me if I would be interested in coming to the store with some of my jewelry. I immediately said yes!  I was so pleased she loved my jewelry and thought it would be a great fit for her store.
Ironically minutes before I met her, these young girls were in my booth shopping and asked me if I was in any stores in Atlanta and I said no but I would love to be. Funny how that worked out :)

I gathered some pieces up and headed down town to meet with Brooke and her partner Julia. The store is amazing. It is in a old mechanics garage and you can tell they work really hard to keep their inventory what they call "Eco-Whimsy". The art there is certainly recycled, re-purposed, and re-used in really wonderful ways.There are giant metal sunflowers recycled from old soda cans, purses and other art made from licence plates. So much to see and I am so happy to be a part of it all. If you are in the Atlanta area you have to go and visit the store it is near Ikea and the address is 810 Huff Rd.

I left all my stamp necklaces. The picture isn't the greatest I had to hurry because I had the babe with me:)

Left some spoons and some other necklaces

i loved these little critters stealing the garden gnome :)

My Heart Is So Full

I have two Loves in my life, my hubby and my little boy. But today my first Love and I are celebrating our 9th Wedding Anniversary. Wow, time has flown by. I can't believe that it has been 9 years but in actuality we have been together for 16 years!!! We met each other when we were 18. It was the first day of college and we were the only Americans in an International English class. We were paired up with our class mates and asked to tell each other a little about ourselves. Kenon heard me talking about my hometown  and scooted over to tell me he was from the same area. Small world. We walked back to my dorm after class talking about all kinds of stuff but the next day I forgot to wait for him. I didn't think anything about it but I knew how cute and charming I thought he was and then he found me the next day and was like, "you can't wait for me". Wow, I said to him, "I don't even know you". But he wasn't having it. From the get go he was witty and I admit I saw him as soon as he walked into the room the first day. So, we became great friends and then he became my great Love and the rest is history!!

Love you keen for loving me while we live this wonderful journey together!!

My Cuties!

Spoons

I have been obsessed with making spoon necklaces lately. They made their debut at the Dunwoody festival I  attended about a month ago. I cut the handles off the spoon and utilize both parts. Though for some reason I only have pictures of the handles. I will snap some photos of the spoon top..... wow describing spoon parts is more difficult than I thought.. silly! Anyway! I think they turned  out beautifully. The hardness of the metal paired with dainty crystal beads really works well! To me they look a bit old world and romantic. I don't know if you are like me but when I get an idea in my head I can't just make one, I go nuts and  make as many as I can. If time and baby permit :)

A Wedding and The Beginning of Summer Fun

Wowza, sorry for my blogging absence! After the Dunwoody show I had to immediately put on my matron of honor hat for my lil sis's wedding. I also had to make all the jewelry for her, the bridesmaids, and myself. What a whirlwind of activity goin on over here. It was a beautiful wedding and my sis looked like a princess. And when it was all said and done. I dos and all. They went on their honeymoon and the rest of the family crashed for a week or so. I have taken this time to be totally immersed in the world of  Wren and revel in every little conversation we have together. He is so into music and dances all over the house and it just amazes me that he is already 14 months old. I will post some pictures soon on his favorite thing to do when he gets up from his nap. Riding in the golf cart aka the gogo:) He loves it! plus he is an avid collector of leaves and bark. Puts them in his hands and holds on for dear life. So cute! So many wonderful summer adventures to go on with him! Can't wait!

I made this necklace and earring set for all the bridesmaids

And this was the necklace I made for myself. I had to be different and of course all vintage!