Back in December I saw some crystal peacock feather earrings on ideeli that were beautiful but kind of expensive for an impulse purchase.  I decided to sit on the thought, and by the time I’d decided I had to have them, the sale was over and — oh, guess what?  You can’t get them anywhere online!

For over a month I single-mindedly stalked every sample sale site I knew of that has ever carried KJL, sites of department stores that carry KJL, Amazon…I even set up a special search on my Zappos profile so I could check at a glance (they had a matching bracelet, but not the earrings!).  The pendant resurfaced once on ideeli, but not the earrings.  I was recently shopping on Harwin and found lots of cheap peacock earrings, but nothing came close and I knew nothing ever would.

And then one day…they came back!  I even purchased the membership upgrade so I could snap those suckers up the second they were available.  Sweet, sweet victory.

They are super heavy, but I love them!

I tend to overstuff my work handbags, so most of them have been to the shoe & purse hospital several times to have their straps re-sewn.  I was recently considering that I should just get myself a preppy, New England-style canvas tote and call it a day.  I was considering a Wm. J. Mills & Co. tote because they are classic, come in a zillion colors and last forever, but was waiting until my current bags had suffered further destruction.  And then I spotted the following — on sale!  With free shipping!

It feels pretty sturdy and is probably big enough to hold a weekend’s worth of clothing — I foresee this bag going a lot more places with me than just work.  Don’t you love it when the universe delivers??

Speaking of work, I’ve finished my first week!  We work extended hours and get every other Friday off.  Tomorrow is mine.  Anyway, my first week was good, but have you ever heard of a Power Point presentation with more than 100 slides?  One hundred is probably on the low end for my new work group.  I told my boss about some ideas I have to help the group end this ridiculous practice, and he told me to run with it.  I’m going to summon my resources and all of my Toastmasters learnings, and see if I can get things turned around.  The preservation of my sanity at an upcoming week-long training seminar may depend on it.

This is a project that was many years in the making (thousands, if you want to be literal).  When I lived in New Jersey I bought a multi-compartment shadowbox that I intended to fill with various treasures.  For some reason, I never did it.  While I had my rock collection out the other day, I finally pulled together enough elements from my childhood fossil and nature collections to finish this project.

(As an aside, I got my shadowbox from Michael’s, but I don’t see it on their website, so you’ll have to check your store.  I did find one that looks identical on Target’s website.)

I set out all of my items onto the background, set the dividers over top, and began gluing.  I intended to use putty in case I wanted to do something else with the specimens in the future, but quickly realized that hot glue was going to be far more practical, particularly for the most fragile items like the sand dollar:

If you make a critical mistake or just want a different background color, you can buy a piece of posterboard to replace the background and cut it to size.  In my shadowbox there is a different backing piece that goes behind the background and attaches the board to the frame.  If yours doesn’t have this, I suggest buying the posterboard.

Once you’re done, set the glass and frame on top, gently tilt the whole assembly, secure the fasteners, et voila:

For as many years as I put this off (probably about 5), it took maybe 20 minutes at most to put together and turned out even better than I expected.  I’m trying to figure out what else I can give the shadowbox treatment. :)

What would you put in your shadowbox?

As a child, I had a lot of collections.  As an adult…I still have a bunch of them.  Most of them have been sitting in boxes since we got to Texas three years ago.  They bring me absolutely no enjoyment that way, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to part with them!

I was recently inspired by a friend’s home to pull some of those treasures back into the light of day and keep them there.  Read on to see how you can pass off your childhood collections as decor!

I started with my rock and mineral collection:

Also needed: an apothecary jar (I got mine from Michael’s, but these are so popular right now that you should be able to find them at any large craft store) and tongs.  I thought I would need the styrofoam, but I didn’t.  You might.  It depends on how big of a nerd you are.

Start filling!  My strategy was to fill by color.  I had an enormous chunk of pyrite, so I used the tongs to carefully place that in the middle of the very bottom and put smaller pieces of pyrite, hematite and anything sparkly around it.  I also placed the larger, less-interesting stones (pumice, unpolished marble) into the middle of the column as I went, which prevented me from needing to cut a piece of the styrofoam as filler.  If you do need it, you might want to spray it first with that craft paint that looks like stone finish.

When you’re done, you’ll have something like this:

Follow the jump to see the second project!

Does everybody have an outsized collection of seashells, or is that just my family?  In any case, that’s what the next jar is for!  Start with a box of shells and a larger apothecary jar (this one is also from Michael’s):

Now put your shells in it!  Upon unwrapping mine, I discovered that I have several really large shells and not so many small ones.  This was tricky — you know the old saying about how too many conchs spoil the blog — but I got around it by turning one on its end and wedging it between two others.  This worked well since the jar has quite a bit of overhead space in the lid.  There is still ample empty space above, as you can see:

I also hid a little surprise in there for anyone who gets close enough:

Ideally I would like both jars to be at eye level, but for now they are occupying part of the display space at the top of our bookshelves.  I think it’s a big improvement over everything being packed away in tissue paper and boxes!

Now don’t I look smart for keeping everything?  Smart-ish?  Whatever, I’m totally high-fiving my childhood self. :)

(I have one more similar project to share — come back Sunday to see it!)

All spring and summer, my casual go-everywhere bag was a pink- and white-striped tote with a butterfly on it.  It didn’t seem right for fall and winter, so I asked the internet to show me what I could use to supplement it.  I quickly found a bag that I loved at Zappos, but the price was more than I had planned on spending.  I thought about it all day, then came home and tried to buy it.  But by then some jerk had bought the last one in the color I wanted!  Seriously?  Of the trillions of bags on Zappos, someone had to have exactly the one I wanted?!

I was sad and mad, and suddenly ridiculously determined to find that bag, but more internet scouring than I care to admit to turned up only one other vendor, and the price was significantly higher.  Resigned, I found a substitute bag that I liked a lot and which cost far less, and I ordered it.

Nearly three weeks passed, and I thought, “Huh.  Wonder when that bag will arrive?”  I checked the vendor’s website, which states that most orders go out within 48 hours, and it showed my order as ‘processing.’  I talked to a representative via their live chat and found out that the bag was discontinued in the color I’d wanted.  I don’t know when or if they had been planning to tell me that, but I cancelled the order.  I went back to Zappos…and lo and behold, there was the bag I had originally wanted!  There was only one in stock and I snapped that sucker up.

Is there anything quite as satisfying as the triumph of a successful hunt, coupled with the knowledge that Zappos will have the item in your hands the very next day?  Doubtful.  Maybe I sound like a shill for Zappos, but I really do love that company.  Brilliant customer service.

Anyway, here is the object of my affection:

It’s made of goat hide and it’s so soft.  I love the subtle leopard pattern here and there that makes it fun but doesn’t take over the whole bag:

What’s your must-have item this fall?