A Holiday - Good Intentions and A Refreshed Outlook

I am currently stitting in a totally idyllic spot about 10metres from lightly rolling waves crashing onto a thin crescent of golden sand. The sun has been up for about an hour and is already very bright, glinting off the waves and creating a wonderful picture. Of course, I didn’t think to bring my camera right now so you’re going to have to imagine it!

I’m in the midst of a family holiday in Woodgate, Queensland. It is a pretty little town perched between the sea and the national park and a popular destination for locals to come to fishing or to the beach for short breaks. It is outside school holidays in Queensland at the moment and the air is crisp in the morning with autumn, the occasional local is walking or biking along the picturesque Esplanade getting their morning paper, walking their dog or just enjoying the air, to the sound of rolling waves on the adjacent beach. The odd soul I’m sure is heading off for work too (although work doesn’t seem to feature prominently in this sunny corner of Queensland :) )

I had wonderful intentions this holiday of sorting the hundreds of photos from our trip to Italy, of spending my time productively pre-writing blog posts, of going for runs along the beach and taking photos of the abundant wildlife here, the scenery and the children.

Instead, I’ve melted into a totally relaxed state. I’ve not had the presence of mind to be productive at all – so I’ve read a novel a day, I’ve played board games with the children, I’ve gone for lots of long walks (usually with ice cream as the promised destination) and caught up with family that we rarely see.

I do get up before everyone else – but I just enjoy the solitude and the peace (like this morning when I’ve run away (albeit with my laptop in tow) to sit here on the beach and write!).

We managed a full day shopping in nearby Bundaberg yesterday ostensibly to top up on replacements for the house here which is rented out as a holiday rental the rest of the year and things inevitably break, stop working, need updating or just get worn.

Imagine my delight when in between the tasks of looking for a new picture for the twin room (the photo had fallen and broken) and trying to find new, bright and slightly beachy looking doona covers - for some reason incredibly difficult to do here, I found a clothes boutique. An attractive window display with clothes that I thought I may be able to pull off drew me in and then when I admitted I needed a bit of updating and could they help dress this slightly rubenesque figure I’ve developed in my 40’s, they took me under their care, showed me new possibilities, gave wonderful advice and the resulting outfits made me feel great and added a spring to my step that I didn’t realise had been faltering.

I rarely shop for more than necessities at home or things for the children and spending some time concentrating on me was extremely therapeutic. Walking away with those lovely carry bags after this encounter, made me understand more how my clients feel – the possibilities of something new or different can raise your outlook and increase your self esteem endlessly! And great customer service, which I always strive to give is so wonderful to receive!

Of course, I’m already planning on the jewellery to make to wear with these new clothes :). And may have to do a tiny bit of shoe shopping as well (oh the anguish that will cause…. lol).

With another week to go, perhaps I will finally get to my good intentions list, but for the moment, I’m just going to kick back, read another book, play another board game and cook for the family and spring my new wardrobe onto my slightly unsuspecting hubby!

Till next – promise a photo next time!

Italy part 1 - Rome

Ahh, Italy. It was a fabulous trip. I’d go back tomorrow if I could!

We arrived in Rome at around 7am to a cloudless sky and the promise of a hot day. As we had left a wintry Australia this was a welcome change… so far! An easy trip by train to Termini station and we even found our hotel with not too much fuss (though we were extraordinarily early!).

After a refreshing introduction to gelati, we decided to walk and see where we ended up. And that would be LOST. But all roads lead to Rome, and sure enough we eventually ended up at the Roman Forum, the centre of the civilised world 2000 years ago.



I must note here that in the first hour we were almost run over numerous times. We discovered later that you must OWN the road (or at least look like it) and then the cars will wait for you. But if you look rather startled and worried as we did, then I’m sure they aim for you instead!

The Roman Forum was fascinating, as was the Roman Soldier we met on the street outside (plus he was funny) and the day stayed clear and got hotter.



The choice by hubby and I to stay in jeans and sneakers for the day was proving very unwise, as I gazed longingly at other tourists in light summer dresses and sandals!

As with many of the ruins, they are low down – as in below the streets around so the air is even more stifling. Plus we discovered that ruins all over Italy rarely have trees dotting them for shade as I gather the roots would disturb the ruins more. So, after the lack of sleep, dehydration from the long flight and the change from 10 to 38 degrees, I basically went into a form of heat stress and said “enough”, which the children were immensely grateful for.



We escaped the crowds and sought out a café discovering granita – the Italian version of a slushie or snow cone – and in particular the menthe flavour which was so refreshing I felt able to keep walking back to the hotel.

However, our map was a free one and didn’t have most of the streets on it. Hubby’s normally excellent sense of direction was all upside down being in the northern hemisphere, so we got lost. Again.

But, on the positive side, we got to see parts of Rome that many tourists probably don’t. Like the entrance to the Juvenile Prison.

We eventually trudged back to Termini, found our hotel, had cold showers (the only kind in our hotel) and lay on our beds in a daze for the remainder of the afternoon.

A 5am start the next morning and feeling energised after a good night’s sleep, I opened the windows and shutters of our room and let the magnificent scent of fresh pastries waft into the room. Our room was on the third floor, over a narrow street of shops and restaurants that had apartments above them.



This day we went in a different direction, enjoying the cool, narrow streets and their shade as we sought out the Trevi Fountain. Unfortunately the fountain was being cleaned and wasn’t on, but the children threw a coin in anyway … perhaps they’ll return to Rome one day, as I did (having thrown a coin in when I was 12).



The Pantheon was our next stop and my first visit. It is an immense building that was originally a temple to all the gods and supposedly built to plans drawn up by Emperor Hadrian.



It is as high as it is wide, with an oculus that provides the only light inside. The fact that the old building is in such good condition (unlike most of the ruins which are, well, ruins and stripped of their grandeur by earlier generations for building materials) is due to the building being thought of as inhabited by devils by early Christians and converted into a church, which it still is today.



Piazza Navona was just a laneway or two away. This used to be a 1st century stadium of Emperor Domitian and it still retains the shape of the track once used for chariot races. Full of wonderful baroque fountains and features.



We kept walking, although the heat was rapidly turning the walking into trudging again, and eventually arrived at the Colosseum. Thank goodness we had purchased a combined ticket at the Roman Forum as the line waiting to buy tickets was huge. In the intervening 30+ years since my last visit, quite a bit of work has been done on the Colosseum. A museum has been installed on one side, part of the floor has been reconstructed showing how it would have looked above the labyrinth of passages that lay below it used by the actors, gladiators, animals and so on.



On our descent from the top of the Colosseum, I managed to fall down a couple of the steep stone stairs which proved rather embarrassing and resulted in a slightly strained ankle and bruised tailbone. OUCH!

Having learned from our errors the day before, we headed off in the correct direction this time and made it back to the hotel for a late siesta. A couple of us nipped out for a spot of shoe shopping (!!) and we all managed to be awake for dinner at a little restaurant downstairs where hubby seemed to already have a relationship with the waiters who spoke a little English, due in no doubt for his extraordinary need for coffee.

I noted hubby's Italian vocabulary had also expanded from cappuccino, gelati, ferrari and ducati to include caffe Americano (long black coffee), birra grande(large beer), si (yes) and grazie (thankyou). (Mind you it didn’t expand expotentially on the time we were there. I think by the end of 3 weeks he had only also mastered scusi (excuse me), uno (one), due (two – as that’s how he ordered coffee , two at a time as they were small), cinque (five … since that how many there were of us), il conto (the bill), buona sera (good afternoon) and aqua naturale (non fizzy water)! His pronounciation however remained appalling.)

Before leaving Rome I attempted some shopping inspired by the fantastically presented Italian women that were everywhere. Unfortunately my bust size as well as my overall size 14 (Australian size) body was too grande (big) for the Italian fashions. Disappointing but true – they are quite petite as a ule and their bust size is substantially smaller in general. However, my feet fell well within their average sizes …

Have you been to Rome? What was your favourite thing about it? If you haven't been yet, what would be top of your "to do/see" list?


Next stop …. Pompeii (once we made it out of Rome in a car of course!)

A note from Italy ...

A quick post, all the way from Italia! (At least I currently have a good reason not to blog regularly!)

I’ve been here about 10 days now and having a fabulous time – the first week was hectic with lots of sightseeing, walking, getting lost and coping with the heat after leaving a chilly Australia!

We've spent some time in Roma, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast (pic above), Paestum, across the country to Matera and Alberobello and up the Adriatic coast.



We’re currently settled into our accommodation at the Residenza Paradiso at Santa Maria in Valle near Trevi in Umbria, a working olive farm, and being looked after by the genial Emiliana and Alfredo.

Our house, the Casa del Contadino, is a restored 17th century farmhouse that just oozes history and charm. The views are magnificient over the surrounding Umbrian countryside and the picturesque town of Trevi. The stone houses, narrow streets and melodic Italian language just washes over you in delightful waves!

I’m constantly inspired by the stylish Italian women. I know we hear of French women being the epitome of style but the Italians must give them a good run for their money. I love their fashion sense and colours. I met a lovely Australian woman who is living in nearby Spello – she was looking very Italian (completely chic), but with the wonderful Australian accent – and it is a great mix!

All the hisory, varying landscapes, the cool lanes and the hot sun have got the creativity flying and have some great ideas brewing for new designs when I get back home and start playing with my gems and pearls!

But, the trip isn’t over yet – another week here in Umbria and then a few days around the northern parts of the country including Venice and Milan.



Till next :)
Ciao
Annette

Back from holidays

I'm home from a wonderful, relaxing holiday in Queensland *sigh*. I was full of energy first day back, yesterday I hit the post-holiday low and then today I'm feeling a bit more 'normal' LOL!

We drove north west (instead of north east) and went to visit family in Bollon (west of St. George) in Qld. They live on a magnificent property "Woolerina" where they run sheep, cattle and horses. Last time we visited it was dry and dusty no matter where you looked, this time it was green! We're farmers and graziers but their operation is at a whole new level. Typical outback living and we all enjoyed our short stay immensely. The children can't wait to return.


We then turned east and eventually north-east and made our way to Woodgate and the beach.

There was lots of time for all of us to read, time to play games with the kids and daily walks along the beach. I saw dolphins which was a real thrill, hubby and son saw sea turtles and the twins are cross they didn't manage to see either!


I even managed some exercise - a bit of a shock to the body I'm sure! I was up every day around 5am and off for a jog. The warmer weather (but not hot) made it easy to commit to doing this daily!

The kangaroos were often entertaining too - if you haven't heard me talk of Woodgate before it's a rare town, situated between the beach and national park and there are kangaroos everywhere - on the streets, in the yards nibbling the lawns, on the beach in the mornings. Usually they just look cute (or in the case of the big males, rather intimidating) but these pair were having a fight in between our house and the neighbours...


The weather was consistently warm - even on the one day it rained it was still warm (very bizarre having come essentially from winter here on the farm) and the clothing layers reduced to one light one.


I even got to go shopping in a big town - with lots of shops yippee! - weekly. Such a rarity for me.

The weather a couple of hours drive south of us was atrocious with falls of 200mm in 24 hours. This was our destination on the return journey as my brother in law was getting married. The day of the wedding was gale force winds and rain, so the wedding moved indoors and the pool party became a normal party watching the rain sheet down!

So, I'm back in the saddle now, as they say, and have to wait patiently for another year till we can get away again.

I have a show (eek), this weekend, at the "Mayfield" open garden at Birriwa - a fundraiser for CanTeen. Lots of people say they're coming so it may be a very busy day - the gardens are supposed to be gorgeous and cover 3 acres, so it will be lovely to see!

Till next :)
Annette

Shows, an Airshow and now its almost holiday time!

I’ve been a very bad blogger. I’ll admit it. I’ve been going along at a 110% (which we all know is totally unsustainable) so things started to drop off. I miss being online. I feel like I’m falling behind by not keeping up to date in my fellow blogger’s worlds!

And just to compound my discomfort offline, I am off on our annual holiday in a couple of days time. YAY for the holiday – lots of reading, lazing around, beach walks, bike rides and family time. But BOO to no internet coverage!

Since I last wrote I’ve had two, two-day shows. Quirindi was the first. The show was great fun and many husbands said “oh no, not you!” but their wives smiled widely :D . The second show was at Merriwa with gorgeous weather, lots of familiar faces and ladies keen to look at and partake of the new collection. It’s so lovely to be welcomed by the ladies so warmly!

Country shows are great fun and as I’m situated in the ladies pavilion, I get to see all the local talent – the green fingered ladies with their flowers, the cooks with their cakes and preserves, the patient ladies with their needlework, embroidery, sewing and knitting, the artists with their paintings and sculpture, the budding younger artists with their drawings and the avid photographers with their creative photos. It’s always great to see the men having a go too – Merriwa always has a brave gent or two competing in the cooking arena and lots of them in the fresh produce department.

Naturally there are the horse events, cattle judging, pet parades and more. Merriwa had a ute muster and with all their big lights and myriad of aerials, I assume these young fellows are very lonely and scared of the dark! They also had a roving magician as part of the entertainment and I had my own private little show at one stage with some incredibly good card ‘tricks’ – a polished performance, I still have no idea how he did it.

We finished the weekend off with a visit to the RAAF Williamtown Airshow. The last one we attended there was in 1985 and when I told this to one young airman he made me feel incredibly old when he told me he hadn’t even been born then!

The show was quite spectacular, starting off with Matt Hall, of Red Bull Air Race fame; two incredible formation flights of aeroplanes from different eras (the poor old Neptune at the front must have been going flat out compared to the F111 in the same flight!); the last public performance from a F111 that was awe inspiring and made everyone jump when he sneaked up on us all; and a fantastic solo by an F-18 that showed so much skill and control in such a powerful machine. Of course there were many more air displays that we all enjoyed but the ones above were amazing! All in all a fantastic day, although it was soooo long with a three hour drive each way added on to a full day at the show. Truly memorable though and worth it.

So, please forgive my absence, including one for the next couple of weeks. But I promise I will think of you while I’m walking along the beach, playing games with the kids, reading a huge pile of novels and snoozing regularly … well, maybe a passing thought now and again ;)

Till next
Annette

PS. Today’s pic – this one found a new home last weekend - from my Beach Party Collection, it’s fun and bright mother of pearl shell, sterling silver and freshwater cultured pearls.

More beach photos

Morning sky at Woodgate Beach


I can't believe another couple of weeks have passed - in a blur! The first week was just my fuzzy 'holiday head' where I was quite content just to kick back.... Then last week we went to Temora for the NSW Aerobatic Championships where I was contest secretary. This involved very long days, extremely hot weather, very little sleep and lots of brain power.... but I survived LOL. We got home yesterday and I'm still exhausted. I'll get back on track soon, promise!

In the meantime here are some more holiday pics (click on them to see them larger!) :)

Shells on the beach


Morning sun filtering through the trees along The Esplanade


Kangaroo on the beach


Till next :)
Annette

The beach holiday plus kangaroos

Hello all! Have you had a busy couple of weeks? I’m sure you have! I’ve been having a wonderful time kicking back at our beach house in Woodgate, Queensland and relaxing – reading books, running along the beach and exploring what the tide has brought in each morning and generally enjoying family life without the stresses of the every day. Above is a photo of the beach from the entry nearest to our house taken just after dawn. Don't you wish you were there too!?

I mentioned in my last post that I wondered if I would have an unexpected animal popping up in any of my photos – and I didn’t. But I did catch a pic of kangaroos on the beach. This was taken during my early morning beach walk – they don’t go down when the sun is high, preferring to sit around under the shade of trees on people’s front lawns! Apparently they go down to wash in the salt water to remove parasites from their fur. Clever animals.



Here is another one a bit closer this time...this one had just been down to the water and had hopped up to the dune between the beach and the street.



On the return journey I attended the Connect09 Seminar on the Gold Coast where I met so many wonderful women – I knew most online but it was so great to actually meet these people in person, such as the warm and funny Cheeky Monkey herself, Monique, the inspirational Cath from the Squiggle Mum blog (check out her winning the Top AusMumpreneur 2009 award!) and even some people I only know from the C2Ms Goodie Bag group. I saw that Melissa from Business Mums Blog was talking about how great goodie bags are and I have to agree!

I haven’t had much time to do blog surfing this week, but I did see a post by Karen at Winding Threads that talks of addictions – hers is fabric and we all know mine is gems! But we’re quite happy to have these certain addictions in our lives LOL.

No gemmie news this week - I'm sure there has been some but I haven't caught up yet! So, till next week,
Cheers!
Annette

Finding Treasure and off on Vacation

We survived the dust storms last week with nothing worse than a very thick layer of dust on everything, even inside. It cleared here about 4pm in the afternoon and you could finally see further than a few feet in front of you. The dust apparently continued east visiting Lord Howe Is and some also went visiting up to northern parts of Queensland. Just as we felt like we could breathe again, we got a second one - but this happened overnight so by the morning it was a creamy yellow and cleared mid- morning. I was still hesitant to hang out washing though in case it came back! It has been very windy but no more dust to date. Thank goodness!

Don’t you love the idea of finding a treasure trove? A few weeks ago I heard of a rare gem carving being found in an archaelogical dig in Israel. It is a highly skilled minature gemstone carving of Alexander the Great found in Tel Dor on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, which was an important international port in ancient times. A tiny 1 centimetre long and half a centimetre wide, it is believed to be carnelian, Greek in origin and was found in a building dating from 323 to 146BC.

Now for the great part – it was found by an archaeology student from Philadelphia who was working on her very first dig! She was working on the techniques she had been taught of leveling the floor with her trowel and found the gem, realizing at once that it was different in size and shape than the rocks in the ground, and when it was cleaned up - bingo, a once in a lifetime find! Apparently there are only 20-30 such carvings (probably once set into a ring) in museums around the world and is the most significant find to have come from the area in years!

So do you think you could find some treasure? I saw a great post on Cherry Mag about gem fossicking in the outback and the writer found a nice little handful of garnets!

We’re off on holidays at the end of the week – our annual getaway north to warm weather, the beach and .... eeek! ... no internet connection. I love this pic

that was posted on the blog Casual Cottage – apparently this little squirrel just popped up in time to have his picture snapped by the camera (set on the timer and sitting on a rock) instead of the happy couple behind. Wonder if anything like that will happen on my holiday!?

Pic for today is suitable for some holiday glamour against lightly bronzed skin – fluorite gems cut into a marquise shape in a glorious array of colour.

Working up to spring and summer brights

I'm feeling all summery. I think the weekend of glorious weather - bright, sunny and mild - after some very cold, grey days. Plus the fact that I managed to spend a good proportion of that spring-like weather outside in the rose garden (weeding - yuk! and pruning - ouch!) may have had an effect. Now that I've recovered from the sore back from bending over and the stiff hands from gripping weeds, of course! A good dose of Vitamin D perhaps?

I'm currently finding myself being drawn to all things bright and cheery - like this gorgeous clutch by TiLT Creations and these pretty earrings by Kandi-o Designs and even this swimsuit that Brittany featured on her blog.

To match my mood, I've pictured some earrings made with natural apple green turquoise with fat white freshwater pearls. A fresh, bright mix, perfect for spring/summer!

I'm ordering new stones for summer designs at the moment and of course I'm being drawn to lime green (variscite, green turquoise, peridot), Aegean blue (Peruvian amazonite, Peruvian blue opal, turquoise, larimar, aquamarine) and some coral pinks too .... I love how colour can affect your mood and outlook.

I'm not the only one loving brights - in the latest jewellery news, I've heard that a very rare 5 carat vivid pink diamond is due to go on sale with Christies Hong Kong office in December and they expect it to reach a "stratospheric" price! Ahh to have that sort of cash lying about. Vivid pink is pretty hard to get in natural gems and the colour of this particular beauty is stunning.

Down on the farm, the heifers are almost finished calving and weeks of checking them three times a day is thankfully going to stop! The calves are terribly cute though :).

Of course, after calving we start thinking of our annual holiday. Yes, I know we've only just had term break, but hey, we can dream! I found a great post on the Tilda Virtual Services blog about surviving the school holidays - darn it, should have read it a month ago ;)

I guess I should get busy and before I know it spring will be here :) Have a great week everyone!

Holiday mode

Gee, where did last week go? I think I'm in full holiday mode and the days are just flying by. I know I've been reading alot over the last week or so - that will have to be my excuse! Plus the weather has been very hot here - too hot to do anything productive it seems!

My daughter also received a new kitten last week that we have spent a lot of time with. Very friendly and cuddly, he has been keeping us very entertained - named 'Slider' as that's what he does - he runs and then slides along the floor :)

The last day or so I have been working on typing up information on gemstones - facts, lore and legends, for my website. It's surprising how much your brain can recall when it has to (and slightly depressing how much it forgets at times)! Some people are amazed when I start sprouting facts about gemstones or at my ability to identify gems. I quite like the quote I found on Donna-Marie Coggins site : “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Albert Einstein (1879-1955, Physicist). It is a pretty accurate statement for me - a lot of learning and re-reading and practicing giving a good knowledge base.

The picture above isn't of a new piece, but it's a perfect example to me of the wonder of stones - in this piece of jasper you can see its origins - a piece of the past for us to treasure now.

Back from vacation

Well, I am relaxed, recharged and raring to go!!! What a wonderful holiday we had ... the weather was gorgeous, lovely warm sunshine and a couple of days light rain (but not cold) in the middle of our holiday to relieve that monotonous sunshine ;) The children had a wonderful time and spent their time darting between the house, the beach, the house, the playground, the house, the beach.... you get the idea, I'm sure!

I was also very productive and managed to make lots of beautiful jewellery inspired by the beach, the rather tropical feel and the warm, lazy days. Even though I spent some days 'working', being able to do so in comfort and still hearing the waves crash on the beach was very special.



It was marvellous to see our house again (once a year really isn't enough) and even though we have been there a few years running now, the number of kangaroos that hop around your yard, the street and even the beach is a bit amazing. We had a rather large male almost come into our garage and you can routinely get within a foot or so of them before they shy away. Of course, getting that close isn't really recommended as they are wild creatures, so its better to sit back and just watch! Although I had heard of them being on the beach, this was the first time I had seen it as this picture shows a couple of them that had been nibbling the grass on the dune in front of the beach! I can't understand why they don't promote Woodgate Beach a little more to our overseas guests who would love to see the 'roos hopping around the little town.

I am just about to start my spring show season - nothing like jumping right back into the thick of it! This weekend (13-14 September) I am off to Quirindi Show on both Saturday and Sunday and will be located in Pavillion 2, so if you are planning on attending the show, please drop by and say hello! The following weekend (20-21 Sept) is Merriwa Show and I get to catch up with all my lovely clients from that district. Luckily there are school holidays in between those two and my next 2 day event at the Coolah Spring Garden Festival on 18-19 October.

I was working on my website just before going on holidays and fingers crossed I may even get to work on it a little next week as well. I can't wait to unveil it all to you and am still so thrilled to have found the wonderful Emma of Morris Bear who created it for me. As I mentioned before I have looked and looked and looked for web designers and really had trouble finding anyone that could do what I was after at an affordable price! Well, I was pretty chuffed to see that there is another Aussie woman doing web design templates (not specifically e-commerce) at very reasonable prices - Jenni Markham Designs. She also creates the cutest stationery! Well worth a look if you are in the market for something like this.



The piece I've picked for today's pic is beautiful teal coloured, highly faceted jade (treated of course) which is incredibly sparkly. Would you believe the lovely sterling balls in between actually calm the sparkle down to a managable level? It's summery, shiny and sparkly - everything you need to wear against your skin or summer fashions.

It's great to be back although I'm still a bit behind on responding to comments... but I'll get there!!!

Cheers!

Spring and Fall

Well winter must be coming to an end - we have had some beautiful days recently, very reminiscent of spring. So, in an effort to keep up that feeling I thought I would do a quick rundown of spring fashions. Oh, and since half my readership is on the other side of the world where thoughts are turning to autumn (fall), I've done a quick onceover on fall colours too!

I am also getting ready for our annual holiday! We are heading north to warm sunshine and the beach - so I've been a bit disorganised on the home AND work front. But I'm always up for a bit of surfing and on my travels around my favourite sites found some personalised prints on My New Shiny Shoes - a particularly suitable idea for children with unusual names (ahem, like mine!) And then I was reading Daydream Art Studios blog and saw the wonderful collection of freebies Corinne had from other artists to give away at her local art & craft show. Now that is certainly sharing the love :)

Now onto the fashion colours/update:

Spring 2008 for those of us 'downunder'-
*What you will see lots of - shirt dresses, thin belts, head scarves, pencil skirts, high (but naturally high) waists, feminine dresses.
*Fabrics/Colours - silk, jersey, chiffon, a touch of metallics, black and white, white, prints
*Dresses - Feminine, floral and abstract prints (and pair them with delicate shoes), white white white sundresses, ballerina-chic.
*Overall impression - elegant and classy, think quality not quantity.

Fall 2008 colours for those 'up top'-
*Colours: rich, vibrant. Cool hues with bright undertones. Blue and purple tones are a firm favourite, followed by warm reds, oranges and yellows.

The jewellery item I've selected for today is a brand new one of a kind necklace from my new spring collection - in fact, you're the first to see it! Lemon citrine and 12ct gold fill - the lemon citrine has been cut into the most beautiful abstract shapes and are lightly faceted and incredibly clear. I think it would look very elegant with either the spring or fall fashions! Scrumptious. :)

Due to my above mentioned holidays I will be away in the sun, sand and surf so won't be posting till mid-September. BUT I am taking a LOT of jewellery projects with me (yes, woe is my long-suffering family) so I promise to come back laden with new pretties to look at!

Till next....

I'm back!

Ooooh, I think I'm addicted to the internet. I missed getting my emails and checking out my favourite sites soooo much! But I DID cope okay ;)

We all had a great time - the beach was gorgeous, the weather sublime and I took some jewellery to work on (and even managed to do some of it), the kids were out of control, but it was a holiday so I didn't get too stressed about it! This pic was taken one afternoon when the tide had gone out and left a channel in its wake with some groovy patterns in it.

I landed back in reality a few hours ago. The car is unpacked, the bags are halfway there. I have jewellery all over the floor and all over my bench! New supplies arrived in my absence - I LOVE getting parcels! - and all is go, go, go. I even had a client come over this afternoon among the disarray and managed to find her something perfect to go with her new dress. I have to get back into gear and get organised for Lovedale, so 3 days to go.....arrrgghhhh........

A simple necklace to show today - musky pink rhodonite and big sterling silver balls.

I'll report back after Lovedale :)

Holidays here we come!

Woohoo! Its THAT time of the year for us - our annual holiday. We have had such a busy year, I am really looking forward to it! The stresses of last week have faded and even though I still have a mountain of things to do before we leave, the end is in sight!!

Last year we bought a house in the small village of Woodgate, just above Hervey Bay in Queensland. We went there for our holiday this time last year - we had friends in Maryborough and Bundaberg and wanted to stay in a place mid-way between them, so I pulled out hubby's maps and looked for beachside towns. Woodgate was one I found, along with a few others. Some quick research on the 'net showed that it was a small village that still showed signs of its beach shack past, had reasonable rentals for the holiday season and was perfectly placed.



We rented a house across the road from the beach and it only took a day or two to fall in love with the place.
We spent a good proportion of our holiday looking at houses for sale!



By the end of the week we had bought a house!!!!! Some things are meant to be. It is an older house, one street back from the beach, two storey to catch the sea breeze and quite lovely inside. We flew up for the settlement and spent a week painting, getting it spick and span and ready for holiday tenants.


When we bought it:














After our week sprucing it up:










So, it has been 10 months since I have seen it and one of the reasons I am really looking forward to the holidays. Of course it may mean more painting and work, but its so nice to work on something that is all ours (well, ours and the bank's!!!!)

No posts for me while I'm gone, but as I come back and get caught up in a swirl of going to the Lovedale Craftfest, I am seriously thinking about taking some bits and pieces with me to work on :)

Catch you on the flip side!