Weekend Update

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. The weather has been absolutely beautiful and pleasant here in Atlanta, so G and I spent our time outside. Kicked off the weekend with a few cocktails, and we woke up really early on Saturday and Sunday, that we actually had to wait for the brunch places and coffee shops to open. 

Well, tomorrow's my birthday, which means sale time! I'll post the details here, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and send out an email. See you tomorrow!

Calypso St Barth Opening

Calypso St. Barth just opened a new store on the Westside in Atlanta. So two girlfriends and I went over to their opening to see the pretty store and enjoy a glass of mimosa. They had a lot of colorful pieces and when I saw the top above, I had to try it on. I wore it with a matching pair of cropped AG jeans and it was such a cute outfit. The top is now the newest member in my wardrobe. Just in time for my girls trip up to Newport, RI. More on that later. 


Hope you had a great weekend!

Younger You

Day 9 of the April photo a day challenge was Younger You, so I just had to share this pic of me back in the summer before 10th grade. We all had perms, right? It was actually fun to go through some old photo albums. When's the last time you flipped through old pictures?

Sunday Stroll

This past Sunday was a beautiful day, so after making some jewelry in the studio, I took a walk around, camera in hand. I stumbled upon some handprints in the cement, and below were kids handprints in paint. Cute!

April Photo a Day: Your Reflection

Decided to partake in this challenge again for this month. For details on this challenge, click here: http://www.fatmumslim.com.au/2012/03/april-photo-day-challenge-list.html

Green Smoothies

I've been on a bit of a healthy foods kick of late. I'm not sure what really triggered it, but about a month ago I started making green smoothies for breakfast every morning. Vegetables have never really been my thing, but I would force myself to eat some for all those health reasons. So these smoothies are a great way to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into my diet. My husband bought me a fresh pineapple so I could come up with some kind of concoction. My first batch was not so great because I added way to much ginger. Subsequent ones were much better.

Ingredients:

2 mandarins

4 romaine leaves

chunks of pineapple

sliver of ginger

1 banana

almond butter

almond milk

chia seeds

dash of agave

By the way, pineapples are a pain to cut. If you have any smoothie recipes, I'd love to read them.

New Eye Makeup

A few months ago, I got rid of all my eye makeup and brushes due to a nasty stye that I got. So last night, I got this little shipment of goods, which made me giddy.

What are some of the little things that make you happy?

Weekend Getaway to Tennessee

This past weekend, Gene and I went up to spend the weekend at his dad's place with a few friends. His dad has a really nice house that sits on a few acres of land. His dad is also an amateur landscaper, so the grounds are immaculate. Below are a few shots of the land and the buds that are starting to bloom. There's also a fire pit, and we were able to get a really great, warm fire started.

And I just had to share a picture of how we started the day. Homemade shrimp and grits and some bubbly. Oh, and I spent the whole day in my PJs. So luxurious!

Hope you guys had a great weekend, and I'd love to hear what you did.

I am on Vacation

and I am hoping to see a little of this:
Well, even though I am on vacation, my online shop is not. However, since I will not be shipping orders until April 19th, the S&H costs are on me! I'm also having a secret sale, but you have to be an e-mail subscriber (you can join on the right) or Facebook Fan to know about it. {hint hint} So happy shopping and happy Spring!

Doing it Later

So for the past 3 years, I've bought myself weekly planners with the intention of, well, planning my life one week at a time. I usually do well for the first few weeks, then it tapers off. Then I pick it back up again for a short period. It's great when I do use it, but being consistent is my problem. So a few weeks ago, I as at the bookstore and saw the "Do it Later" planner for the "creative procrastinator." Perfect! It has little tips for procrastinating (not that I need help in this area) and a doodle section for where I should be writing my to do lists. And I must say that so far, this year, I have been very good at procrastinating. I've actually been very good at writing my to do lists in this planner, only to rewrite them a week later. By writing this blog post, I can now actually cross something off! So here's the first tip: Monday is the most popular day to visit Internet shopping sites - plan a light workday. Being that I sell my jewelry online, it would be the opposite for me, but I just thought I'd share.

reCONNECT with Monkeys!

A while back, Emily of mchenwears, contacted me about my Sway necklace in Silver. Well, I had been coveting her reCONNECT shirt dress, so we did a little trade. She is really cool, and if we lived in the same city, well I bet a lot of fun would be had. Anyway, I was so excited when I received the shirt in the mail, and I'm finally getting around to posting some pics of me wearing them around town. Seattle to be specific.
The top picture is me at the Japanese Tea Garden, and the bottom is on the Bainbridge Ferry with the Seattle skyline in the background. Cute, yea? I suggest checking out her shop to see all her original illustrations on tees and other goodies. Thanks Emily!

Some Seattle Pics

So I'm back from Seattle and loved it. The weather was perfect, people are really nice and great food. On my first day there, G and I were shown around town by our friend's parents. First stop was Ballard to check out the farmer's market and local boutiques.

Ballard Farmer's Market

We then had dinner over at the Pike Place Market and had an awesome view of the sunset.

Below are pictures of me being silly in front of some totem poles in Pioneer Square.

Of course I took a bunch more pictures, but the typical tourist stuff like the troll under the bridge and the rocket at the center of the Universe. Anyway, back in the South and real life. We definitely plan on going back to visit Seattle again.

In Seattle

I am in Seattle for a couple days, checking out the lovely Pacific Northwest. This is my first time in this city, so am very excited to eat the food, visit the Pike Place Market and go shopping!

Image courtesy of http://kualistudentux.wordpress.com

I will definitely post pictures when I get back.

A Festival, Drinks, Movie and a Wedding

I had a jam packed weekend and just wanted to recap and share. I had a booth at the Kirkwood Spring Fling, which was looking a little iffy because of the weather, but it actually turned out alright. It rained for a good hour, and some of us were beginning to wonder if we should pack up and leave. But after the rain stopped, people rallied and came out to drink, shop and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Afterwards, the hubby and I ate a carnivorous dinner at Enoteca Carbonari and then met up with friends to check out the newly renovated Livingston restaurant at the Georgian Terrace. For you Atlantans who haven't been there yet, do go for a drink or two. It is beautifully designed and the servers are so attentive.

Sunday, I got up to watch the 10am showing of Angels & Demons over at Phipps. I was very tired after a long festival day and then a night of drinking, but thoroughly enjoyed the movie. After having a burger from Johnny Rockets for lunch, I came home to take a power nap so that I could be rested for a wedding up in Duluth. Whew, I'm tired thinking about everything I did. It's great to have a busy weekend full of fun things, but I am looking forward to a nice quiet one next weekend.

June Lee Designs?

Nah, it'll still be June Shin, but it's official, I am now a married woman. After spending a week in New York, eating, walking, getting married, I'm back home in Atlanta with my husband. I'm slowly getting back into my groove and will share more pictures in the upcoming days. In the meantime, I direct you to my husband's blog on all the food related things we did on our trip: www.eatdrinkman.com.

Getting Organized - Shoes

If you read my previous post about getting a designated jewelry workspace, then you know I took a trip to the Container Store. As an Asian household, we don't wear our shoes in the house. Honestly, if I weren't Asian, I think I'd still take my shoes off, because it just makes sense. Why would you want to trek in all the dirt and crap from outside all in your house? Anyway, since we don't wear our shoes in the house, we needed a place to store our shoes by the front door. We didn't want to leave the shoes on open shelves because it just does not look pretty, so we bought some cabinets. They work great, but there weren't enough shelves for all of our shoes. All the shoes would kind of just pile on top of each other and some would get smushed. So I bought some of those clear shoe storage boxes to store the ones that I don't wear as frequently. This way, I can see the shoes in the box and place the more frequently worn shoes on top of them.
I have to say, it works out pretty well and I need to buy a few more, as you can see from the second shelf from the bottom. Unfortunately, I can't fit my tall boots in there. If you're wondering where his shoes are, we have his and her cabinets.

Getting Organized - Jewelry Desk

At the start of this year, I was going through a creative rut and channeled my energy into organizing some things around the house and in my life. I was determined to get a desk for my jewelry tools and supplies, so that I could move off the dining table and free it up for G's cooking endeavors. While browsing the internet for desks, I decided the best thing for me would be a secretary desk. That way, I would be able to hide the messy contents of my "jewelry bench." Ikea had the perfect one, the Alve Secretary Desk. For this desk, they have a storage bench where you can put hanging files and such, and fits perfectly under the desk. I was so excited to find all this, because I didn't have a dedicated space for my jewelry. I was constantly taking out my supplies, then putting them away. It was fine when I first started, but my supplies and materials have grown so much, that I really needed to do something about it. And the best part of this is that I found the desk on Craigslist for $80! Score!
I also bought a slim storage tower to put beside my desk and multi-drawer cabinets, seen on top of it, all from the Container Store. I do think that stuff from the Container Store can be a bit pricey, but I couldn't find anything else that would fit so perfectly in my space.

There is also an add on cabinet from Ikea which fits above the desk, that I plan on purchasing in the near future. Those multi-drawer cabinets are great, but not very pretty. So the cabinet will hide it all very nicely.

Meet Chloe

Chloe is one of my 4 nieces. So far, all little girls in our family's next generation, and they're all adorable. Well, I knit a little bolero with some Habu yarn that I dyed myself. I wasn't sure how big it was going to turn out, since the yarn was a bit thinner than the one used in the pattern. So after I finished it, I thought it would at least fit Chloe, since she was about 3 months old when I sent it. Well, it turns out, she's a very healthy baby, so the bolero is a bit snug. But here she is modeling the sweater. Look at those cheeks!
I have plenty more of that yarn, so I'll just have to knit a larger one. :)

I am out of the loop

When I used to work 9-5 in front of a computer, I was always up on the latest gossip, and fill in my friends on the goings on of Hollywood stars. Now, I don't even know who half the "celebrities" are anymore. Who are Heidi and Spencer and why do we care about them? I just read that Ben & Jen had their second daughter a week ago. I didn't even know she was pregnant! I guess I spend my time browsing through shopping and indie artist blogs now, or just a product of getting older. Well, congrats to Jen & Ben, and welcome baby Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck.

Image from babble.com

Sybile Bookmark

A few months ago, (actually, it's probably almost a year now), I got myself a library card. Namely to save money and space. Last month, I finally used it to borrow The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I'm about 200 pages into it, and looking at the due date, I'm going to have to read faster. In any case, the point of this post is that I bought myself a bookmark from the artist, Sybile, who's work I've been admiring for a while. While browsing through her shop, I noticed that she had bookmarks and thought it's the perfect item for me and have a piece of her work. It arrived today! I had such a hard time deciding which one to get, but here it is!
I may have to buy a few more in the near future. :)