my cup of tea, part 2

remember a while ago, i told you i wanted to do a little jewelry project inspired by martha (what project isn't, right?). i had my teacup collection (all of english provenance, all with gold detail) collecting dust - literally - in a drawer so this seemed meant to be.

see the dust? okay moving right along...so i decided to use my dresser for this since it has a very deep drawer at exactly the right height for jewelry exploration and choosing. i cut a pretty towel i bought at old navy for just a couple dollars so it fit the drawer well and laid it down. i haven't tacked it in place though i think i might do that to secure it and keep it flat.


i also think i might line the walls of the drawer with something...i'd love to do it in a dark velvety fabric - maybe contact paper? in fact, i could see doing the whole thing in that...like a jewel box, literally. now all i need is a little chandelier in there.


i told you i'm into bracelets right now.

monday monday

today seems to be a hard monday for everyone. it's that back-to-school feeling, even though for many of us it has been so many years since school was even a thought. but i'm happy the air is a little brisker these days, and i'm looking forward to the things autumn holds. i hope you are too.

image from drexel

apples and honey

today is rosh hashana, the start of the jewish new year. one of our traditions is to dip apples in honey to welcome in a sweet new year.

strangely, or maybe not so strangely, i also have two tabletop items floating around my head...an apple honey pot by michael aram and a set of apple appetizer plates from john derian's collection for target.

i'm excited for when it's my turn to host the jewish holidays and i have items like these - i'd pull them out only at this time every year, so they'd stay special and emblematic of a sweet new year.

do you have any special holiday items that you look forward to using each year?

top image from http://www.webexhibits.org/; all other images from linked sites

vintage HL: into the wild

on sunday evening, mitchell and i were guests at a lovely wedding with a hauntingly beautiful ceremony. partially, i think this was because it was in the sanctuary of a synagogue, and therefore adorned with all manner of biblical and cultural artifacts in addition to the customary flowers, chuppah and aisle markers. also, the huge floor to ceiling window at the front of the room looked onto green and swaying trees in the just-dry air and sprinkled shadowy glints of light on the ceremony at different moments. the bowing branches of leaves seemed to move easily with the cantor’s voice as he chanted the bridal march and what are known as the “seven blessings” in hebrew.

throughout the ceremony, i felt rooted in my own tradition and at the center of something very holy, very special…an age-old tradition having nothing to do with dresses and flowers, cocktail hours and limousines. thank god for modernizing…what’s a party without these accoutrements?

but for the moment, i focused only on the rabbi’s thoughts – about the couple about to seal their union, about the ancient ritual of marriage, about the significance of symbols like the ring and the veil and the shards of broken glass. and my mind buzzed at the simple commandment he shared: “clear a path in the wilderness for god.” and he said it again, “clear a path in the wilderness for god.” this didn’t resonate to me in a religious sense, but more on a human level. i equate his reference to “god” with kindness, goodness, compassion. and clearly, the wilderness is life itself, survival often a trying task.

you know when you finally find the words for an idea you feel has been bouncing around your head forever? that’s what this moment was for me. i always challenge myself to leave as positive an impact in my wake as possible. it’s that thought that keeps me doing what i think is the right thing to do, even when i don’t want to. it sometimes operates out of guilt, and other times out of pride and conviction. it translates to picking up a piece of garbage even if it isn’t mine, paying a deserved compliment rather than staying silent, doing good even when it's hard, and when no one's watching…clearing a path in the wilderness.

later on at the wedding reception, the celebration began with the whole room dancing the hora, a traditional dance of celebration and revelry, popularly known as the point in which the bride, groom and their families are lifted in chairs as their guests dance around them. this part of a wedding is always my most favorite moment, for its sheer lack of inhibition and its unrepressed happiness. it’s a moment where i feel restored and i can’t stop smiling, tears rolling down my cheeks. i would feel this way even if i didn’t know the bride and groom, and maybe even more so. it’s the universalness of the feelings that get me every time. looking around the room sunday night, my heart swelled as it always does, taking in all the laughing, beaming faces…so much love, so much joy… no thoughts about bills or groceries, about doctors’ appointments, about overtime at work. certainly no thoughts of road rage or gossip or hate. all together in that moment, and in others like it, we clear a path in the wilderness for each other, and for the kindness and compassion the world needs.

it’s easy to forget the lesson when there’s no rabbi to command, no band to provide a soundtrack, no dance of celebration underway…as we drove home that night, anxious to get home to our new kittens and get to bed before work the next day, we both bristled at a fellow driver overstaying his welcome at the light that had turned green. i caught myself about to complain, and mitchell about to honk…and reminded myself to instead, clear a path in the wilderness and be kind – the driver too wanted to get home, i’m sure, and maybe needed an extra second or two to react. it was late and dark, and we were all tired.

it is most definitely a wilderness out there…and we need each other’s kindness to survive.

originally posted 8/5/09

path photo from www.dailyencouragement.net

tiny treasures...air effects

you know how i'm all about scents, and really, i feel like so are most people. as we all know, the olfactory scent is a powerful one for memory and association, and for me, it's a major mood thing. if i don't like the way something smells, especially at home, it's a real downer. you might remember my run-in with so-called odor shield garbage bags and the scent discovery that followed.

so of course, i'm always on the lookout for products that help to keep things smelling good and fresh and whenever possible, awesome, and that's why so many of the tiny treasures i do are fragrance-related.

the whole point of tiny treasures is to indulge ourselves in small ways that make our lives better on the whole. fleeting moments in a day add up to a lot, and it's often very easy to treat ourselves to something extra special in those moments with a decadent coffee improvement, a corner store bouquet of flowers or a pretty accessory. or of course something that smells wonderful.

we just have to remember to do it, and then do it. so i like to provide easy ideas to help remind you and myself. and of course, they have to be $5 or less so it never becomes a source of guilt or stress to pamper yourself.

so i'm so excited to obsess over febreze air effects with you. this is an air freshener that actually works - immediately, and long-lastingly. of course i'm partial to the lavender vanilla, as i always am, but i have to say the powder and pamper fragrance is a close second in this case.

i'm looking forward to trying the impressive array of scents they offer, most of all meadows and rain, pumpkin harvest, the special pet odor formula and the inventive sounding moroccan bazaar.

everything is just better when things smell good. i really believe that.

in suspense

i love ideas that create spaces without a footprint. by far, the best example is this martha creation. it's a totally functional, suspended shelf that even creates a wall vignette, but takes up no precious walking room in a space of any size.

another idea i think is pretty smart in theory is this interesting foldout desk from world market, although it's sort of astonishingly ugly when closed. i would have to do something to the outside, otherwise i would end up just leaving it unfolded all the time, which would sort of defeat the purpose. but maybe painting it with a high-gloss paint so it looks laquered would help, and then maybe adding a lightweight framed picture or piece of art would help even more.

although it does take up some floor space, i love the incognito compact office from crate and barrel.

it comes in white, ebony or mocha and looks great as a simple console when closed and extremely efficient and neat when open and functioning as an office. this would look just perfect under the window in my little office area.

incognito image from bumble ink; all other images from linked sites

fall's changing colors

i am sooo excited to switch to fall nail colors. really, i've been pondering it since mid-summer when my long stem roses high started to get old. of course, there are the classics - wicked, suzi says da, sole mate. but there are some new ones i'm pretty excited for too.
over at SHEfinds, i wrote about the much-anticipated chanel khaki collection, and i'm dying over the khaki brun (center) and khaki rose (right). still can't get behind green polish, but that's just me.

the khaki rose reminds me of one of my favorite essie colors, angora cardi, which i'll definitely be whipping out again this fall.

essie has also brought it this season with their fall collection, unlike last winter when i was bored to tears. as you can see, chanel and essie seem to have coordinated first-day-of-school outfits here.

for essie, i'm most excited about merino cool and little brown dress, since i'm always looking for a deep, dark brown with no hint of red or purple, and this could be it. and the merino cool looks like a purply version of last year's mink muffs, which i still haven't tried but definitely will.

i'm also excited to try some deborah lippmann colors -- specifically two neutral shades - the putty gray waking up in vegas, and fashion, which appears to be a perfect taupe.


and then two fabulous gunmetal shades. i think one of these or something very similar has to be my next mani. there's marquee moon, and hit me with your best shot, which is so dark it's hard to even tell what it looks like, but it's described as glistening gun metal so i'm in.



i'm not sure about the purple thing but i'm tempted, i'll say that, thanks to chanel paradoxal, deborah lippmann's pump up the jam and essie's velvet voyeur.



velvet voyeur is described as "intense chocolate amethyst." sounds like it could be the holy grail of fall manicures.

what will be your first fall color?

all images from linked sites

back to basics

lately, i've been drawn to the basics in terms of wardrobe - black and neutrals. this is no big change for me, as my wardrobe is about 70% black, so "back to basics" is really just a catchy post title. "still sticking with basics" doesn't sound as cute. but i did notice that on the red carpet the other night, all but one of my favorite dresss were black (as were a few of my oscar faves too).

and then so many of the images i've collected over the last few months of celeb dresses i adore are in the nude family, which is just such a stunning look when done right.

my absolute favorite emmy dress was nancy juvonen's gorgeous, pleated tomatoey orange dress. stunning. what was yours?


images from us weekly, popsugar, american superstar mag, beauty fashion injection

fully lined

so i have this kind of weird, kind of awesome idea. i want to line the back of my medicine cabinet with scrapbook paper. why scrapbook paper, of all things? because it's cheap, and because it comes in so many great prints and colors. i love the idea of creating a beautiful little place you open up to each day. nice bathrooms are so important to the psyche, and this is just a honing in on that concept.

so, the bathroom in question has a mild tropical thing going on art-wise, so i thought about doing it in a pool blue or a bright coral. as you can see above, i've slid in a piece of the only scrapbook paper i have at the moment and i'm liking it, in theory, though not in color given said artwork and pool blue towels.

should i go for this kind of weird, kind of awesome project? thoughts?

head of the class

how adorable are these photos? i discovered them on green wedding shoes and they're from an engagement session with illinois photographer tim tabailloux. they're of an enfianced couple who met in high school. i love how authentic and perfectly retro all the props are - so fitting for high school sweethearts.



i think the shoot sums up so well their innocent beginnings and gives them a wonderful foundation to build on now that they're all grown up.

images from green wedding shoes