Today

Today I am happily spending all of my time in my little studio space so I can have the shop stocked for the holiday orders to come. As I was busily making at least 10 different jewelry designs all at once...I can never make just one design at a time. Funny, isn't it? I will sit down with a specific design in mind for a piece of jewelry and before you know it I have 10 different pendants and stones etc...sitting in front of me waiting to be made into necklaces and earrings.

Anyway, about today...Well, Today is gorgeous!! I have my window wide open!! The sun is pouring into my studio as I work and this amazing breeze is kissing my skin. I can hear the leaves rustling over the grass and it's 60 degrees outside. Can I tell you how happy this makes me?
I grabbed my camera so I could capture the moment in a photo. You can't really tell but the breeze in blowing the curtains at least a foot away from the window. Love it!

Hope you all are having a fabulous day!!

Carte Blanche Invitations

I am so happy to introduce to you a good friend of mine who I completely adore. (Well, technically this is the second time I've posted about her.) Kelli Hall of Carte Blanche Invitations is one of the most talented and gifted designers I have ever met and I'm sure you will agree when you see her work.

Kelli offers fabulous custom invitation designs that will leave you speechless! I know this first hand because Kelli designed our wedding invitations and they were FABULOUS! Seriously, fabulous!!

Here's a peek at our wedding invitation Kelli designed for us...

Recently, Kelli has entered three birth announcements for a design challenge at Minted. This is an amazing opportunity for Carte Blanche Invitations to get exposure and grow. The announcement that receives the most votes will be sold on Minted. How awesome would that be??!! So...if you'd like (and I hope you do!!) you can click on the following links to Kelli's birth announcements that are being judged for the challenge and vote on all three. I voted them all a 5 because they are gorgeous!!
1. pop of pink
2. modern splash
3. delivery stats{this one is my absolute favorite.}

Thanks to all who vote!! It is much appreciated...you can be certain of that.
I will be sure to let you know if Carte Blanche Invitations is the winner.
I hope you all have a fabulous day! Cheers!

Basko & Molly

Well, I have surely neglected my poor little old blog. Sorry for the long absence. I wish I were more of a dedicated blogger like so many of you but sometimes I am just so busy it's hard to find time. Thanks to all of you who sent emails wondering where I was and just to say hi.
So so sweet!!


Well...here's a quick post just to get back into the swing of things. When I came home this morning I found my two little babes (yes, my babes are cats until I have real children to spoil and love!) lounging in the sun. They were just too too adorable not to take pictures of...
I swear...Basko is the smartest cat that has ever lived (is that unfair of me to say?). He can do lots of tricks including "roll over"... "sit"..."up-up"---that's when he stands on his hind legs...and many more. He could join the circus! So, I took this picture after I said "Basko, can you look up into the camera?" Well...Basko immediately looked right into the camera and crossed his legs as if to strike a pose. He is so hilarious!

...and then here is my little pudgy girl... sweet Molly...

Molly isn't a genius like Basko but she is most definitely the nicest kitty I have ever met. She loves to cuddle and is truly a lover. I have her on an organic diet and a daily exercise routine with the "laser pointer." :)

I'll be posting more this week. Cheers!

Ellie's Girls

It was a rainy day as my Sister and I prepared to run in The Race For the Cure 5K this past Saturday.

Ellie's Girls is what our shirts say and that's who we are. We are Ellie's Girls! My Grandma Ellie. She is one of the most special people in my life and the most caring, considerate and warm & gentle souls...I could go on and on about how much I adore and love my Grandma.

It was terrible news to find out that she was also diagnosed with having breast cancer this past April. Since then she has had surgery and over 30 radiation treatments. Monday was her last treatment and she is doing very well.
It was an emotional race on many levels. Seeing the cancer survivors cross the finish line with a look of determination and strength in them brought tears to my eyes. A man in front of me was running for his loved one as his shirt read "in celebration of my wife." That made me cry. There were lots of shirts that said "In memory of..." Those made my heart ache.
Grandma Ellie was happy to know her girls ran the race for her. She giggled (she has the BEST giggle) when I told her about it and showed her the pictures. I know it boosted her spirit and made her happy and that's just what my sister and I had intended to do.

Etsy Favorites

Autumn Kiss by Tina Tarnoff

Pretty in Pink Bench by Spruce Home

Blue and Pink Purse by Vicky Riley

I just adore all of these handmade items on Esty...don't you??? Cheers! :)

A bit of my weekend

My sister and I went for a morning run through our
gorgeous downtown in preparation for the race for the cure
and with the serious intentions of getting back into shape!
Maybe this can be my "before" picture. ha!

Then we hit the Farmer's Market...

It started pouring rain!! We absolutely love the warm rains in Charleston so it made the market even more fun.

{This picture was taken by moi while looking
out into the crowds underneath my little green umbrella.}

Hope you had a beautiful weekend as well! :)

Is it too late...

....To post pictures of our weekend? ;)

It was a beautiful weekend...Sunny & blue skies and temperatures in the high 70's. We started day with breakfast at the Boulevard Diner...

We read the local papers...

We went to a fabulous bead show and I stocked up on LOTS of new supplies for the shop. {New pieces coming soon!!!}

Jono fully enjoyed the bead show!! Haha...he was on his new iPod touch the ENTIRE time. It definitely kept him happily busy...He was such a sport for going with me to the bead show. They can be VERY boring if you're not a jewelry designer. ;)

Then we made a stop at the ice cream parlor for a much needed treat to enjoy on such a lovely afternoon....

Yum!!! Malted milkshakes are a necessity if you want to fully enjoy a Saturday afternoon...

Then we hit the driving range to hit some balls with our new clubs. We are both seriously considering going pro. ;)


So that's it! Our weekend. Sorry it is a bit late... but better late than never. Cheers!

{Thanks for all of your sweet comments in last weeks post. I loved reading all of them!}

Last wedding post...I promise. ;)

It looks like he's about to drop me!! Ohhh!!!

I had to post these pictures because I LOVE them!! They were taken at some good friends of ours' wedding back in Spring. The wedding was BEAUTIFUL! They had a "photo shoot" spot set up for all the guests to take pictures of themselves. The best idea!! We kind of went to town taking photos---this is just a couple of them. haah!

Here is a picture of some of our favorite and dear friends....

I usually don't post pictures of our friends on here because I'm don't think they want to be all over the Internet-ha-...but I had to make an exception with these particular friends of ours. Don't they look like they just stepped out of a J.Crew catalog?? Well, actually...Kelli's entire outfit (shoes, necklace & all) were from J.Crew...Matt's probably was too..ha! ;)

Gorgeous...gorgeous!

I promise you...these are the last wedding pictures I'll be posting for a while.
The next wedding we know about is not until Spring.

Hope you're having a fabulous week!

Bits of our weekend

It was another "wedding kind of weekend" and I was so happy to see our friends tie the knot! Since the wedding was about 2 hours away, Jono and I took advantage of the opportunity to make a little "getaway vacation" for ourselves and stay in a Bed & Breakfast.

Here we are outside of the beautiful B&B we stayed at... "The 1425 Inn." This was our second time staying at a Bed & Breakfast and we have found that we really enjoy it. The first time we stayed in one was our visit to Savannah, Georgia...That was fabulous! (I'll have to post pictures of that trip!) It's perfect for weekend getaways!

Here are some beautiful flowers outside the Inn. The gardens were gorgeous!

Lastly...Here is a blurry picture of me twirling the little flower girl.
She was sooooo adorable!!! She danced all night long. Such fun indeed!

I hope you enjoyed your weekend as well!

25 new designs!!!

Here's is a little glimpse of what will be added to the shop in the next couple of days. I can't believe it but I actually made 25 new designs yesterday! TWENTY-FIVE!!! That's a record for me for sure. I managed to photograph all of them too so now I'm off to list on Etsy.

I hope you have a fabulous day! ;)

A *pretty* treasury

I must say that I adore this treasury and my Sedona Flight earrings just happen to be included! Of course, that's not why I love it so much. I just think the color scheme and the items show so well together...don't you agree? It's so *pretty*!

Bits of our weekend

This weekend was filled with a trip downtown to the farmers market,
shopping on King Street, and a crab feast with good friends! Seriously, perfect!

Shop for Lula in Philadelphia!

VIX Emporium is a "nifty new" store in the historic section of West Philadelphia. The fabulous owners, Emily & Sean say it's basically like an "Etsy" but in person because everything is unique and best of all it's filled with handmade goodness. So far, they represent the work of over 150 artisans in various mediums....and now I'm one of them!!! Yay!

Here's a peak of what's inside...

Oh, and how about the name VIX??? Well, "VIX" (with a bar over the V) is the number 5009 in Roman numerals - which is their street address on Baltimore Avenue. How clever is that!!! So if you're ever in the area, please stop by to visit and shop for Lula Boutique in person. :)

New shop tags...I adore!!!

Here they are!!! My new shop tags for Lula Boutique. I owe it all to Terbearco on Etsy. She makes beautiful (well made) stamps of all kinds at a very affordable price too. She customized this stamp for me and it arrived within a couple of weeks. Very impressive! Aren't they just so girlie and chic!?! They match my store perfect and I must say, they remind me of pink cupcakes too....Just fabulous! ;)

Hope you have a fabulous day!

Front page of Etsy at last!!!

When I logged into Etsy on Saturday, I glanced at the "front page" items as I always do but this time it was different. I saw my Pomegranate Earrings and immediately thought... "what the heck are my earrings doing here???"

Haha...It took me a second to realize that I was in a treasury on the front page!!! Very happy indeed and happy I was able to snag a picture of it as proof. I even called my Mom so she could log in and see for herself that I had finally made it (joking-actually, I'm serious!) By the time she logged in it was gone.

My pomegranate earrings are the ones in the middle of the top row! :)

Our weekend.

It turns out that we live less than 15 minutes from this beautiful park that offers kayak rentals. So much fun! Thank God we didn't see any alligators...Only fish, birds, and turtles. Oh and huge spiders...Eek! When we were going through some of the narrow trails, we were literally dodging these crazy spiders in there webs. They were spun across from each side of the banks. Crazy!

I hope you had a beautiful weekend too! :)

I Got You Babe.

"I got flowers in the spring
I got you to wear my ring
And when I'm sad, you're a clown
And if I get scared, you're always around

Don't let them say your hair's too long
'Cause I don't care, with you I can't go wrong
Then put your little hand in mine
There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb
Babe
I got you babe "

{SONNY & CHER}

The Downtown Boutique!

The Downtown Boutique is hosting a giveaway for Lula Boutique and it ends tonight!!!I know it's kind of short notice to start promoting for this fabulous
giveaway but better late than never, right?!

I hope you all take a second to visit The Downtown Boutique and enter to win your choice of one of these necklaces above! I would love it if one of you were to win!! :)