Short and a Little Sassy

Liz with Short Hair

It is funny how you remember certain events in your life like they were yesterday. For example, I distinctly remember when I chose to cut my then long hair into a shorter pixie cut about 11 years ago. It was on a trip to New York City with my brother and son. We had gone to one of the many trendy boutiques either in Soho or some other just as cool area of the city and I saw a sales girl that had the cutest short cut. It was then and there that I decied to go shorter. Well, this time, it was kind of forced upon me…I won’t go into all of the excrutiating details now…maybe in a future post…but I love the end result.

BTW: I did not see the Oscars last night, but I did view the red carpet photos online. Below are some of my favorite actresses’ looks of the evening  and all sporting short hairstyles.

Michelle Williams Oscars 212

 

Viola Davis Oscars 2012

Gwyneth Paltrow Oscars 2012

Amethyst

Amethyst is the birthstone for February. It is a gemstone associated with royalty since purple was the color most difficult and costly to produce anciently. It is named for the Greek mythological maiden, Amethyst.  Amethyst was said to been worn by Cleopatra and St. Valentine and is the gemstone of Catholic bishops.  Hues of amethyst range from deep, rich purple to lavender.  The world sources for amethyst are Brazil, Namibia, Uruguay, Zambia, Argentina, and Australia.

Pictured are some of my jewelry designs using a little touch of amethyst.

Ruby, amethyst, citrine, sterling earrings

Vintage monogramed pocketwatch case, leather, asst. stones

Vintage safety pin with assorted stone, pearls, sterling silver

Be Mine

“A healthy self-love means we have no compulsion to justify to ourselves or others why we take vacations, why we sleep late, why we buy new shoes, why we spoil ourselves from time to time. We feel comfortable doing things which add quality and beauty to life.”   Andrew Matthews

 

Yes, Valentine’s Day is coming up in less that one week. It is supposed to be the day of “love”. Why not practice some self-love or self-care instead on a daily basis. Some of the principles of self-love include:

1. Value your time and energy. This might mean saying “no” more often, whether that is not committing to doing something you would prefer not to do or not overextending yourself.

2. Quit waiting for the world and poeple around you to change and start changing your views.

3. Learn how to forgive…not only others but  yourself.

4. Be more open to new experiences and people. Be willing to listen and learn.

5. Be able to receive as easily as you give. By recieving, you are allowing another person to give…and they are both wonderful feelings.

6. Learn to appreciate your attributes…whether it is your sense of humor, your ability to comfort others, your creativity, or your ability to balance your checkbook every month!

And if you want to treat yourself with some specific ideas to practice more of the art of self-love, see the suggstions below.

a manicure or pedicure

a long bath… preferrably with bubbles

a massage

reading a book, magazine or anything else that may interest you

listening to music…maybe even dancing if you like

walking at whatever pace makes you happy

doing whatever hobby you enjoy

buying something you know you will like…anything from jewelry to shoes or as small as  lip gloss, lotion, or  a candle, etc, etc.

Fill Up Your Bottle (and Your Life) with a Little Self-Love

Polished Part 2

So, I liked my pedicure so much, I decided to get a manicure with the same polish, OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Matte, with clear gloss tips. Also, I made a new ring. It is a very simple but fun design using sterling silver chain and faceted crystal beads.

Lincoln Park After Dark Matte/Gloss Tips Mani

Another Look

Polished and Pinterest

For me, designing and making jewelry is addictive but Pinterest may have it beat. If you are one of the few that has not discovered this website, be prepared to spend lots of time collecting “pins”.  According to the site, “Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.” Their mission is to connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.  The “pins” are collected on “pinboards” that are organized according to subject matter  that can be very diverse.

Humans are very visual creatures, so no wonder the appeal of this site. Our imagination is a powerful tool and when we see a picture, our mind has the ability to create images of what we WANT in our lives.

Which leads me to scrolling through lots of pictures to make a “dream book” or scrapbook of things that appeal to me collected on my boards.

So this led me to finding a cool mani/pedi design which I brought to my nearby nail place to recreate. So here are pics of my pedi and the orignal mani from the blog http://chloesnails.blogspot.com/2011/02/back-to-basics.html