I'm loving this...

Check out this awesome Flickr album I found on an Etsy blog this evening... So cute! LOVE the colors...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elle72/sets/72157623866775496/

And the Etsy article with similar finds on Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/etsy-finds-decor-going-coastal-8290/

Beautiful! I love mixing orange and blues/turquoise colors. Our bedroom used to be orange and turquoise, until I changed it to reds, black and browns.

Some other great orange and turquoise finds on Etsy.... be sure to click on the links and check out these fabulous sellers!

The "Waverly" necklace by Rachelle D. from Texas. Beautiful!

And a fabulous set of handmade bowls in gorgeous colors from Lynn Cardwell Pottery...

A sweet and colorful eye mask for sweet dreams... from BibBon on Etsy.

A lovely handmade poppy pin from Wild Poppy Shoppe...

Adorable! A super-cute "BELLA" vintage-inspired apron... love the setup by Boojiboo in the background... hello KitchenAid mixer!

And, of course, gotta give out a little local love for this great Chandelier pillow in turquoise and orange from Pillow Palooza! So cute!

It's been another lovely, BBQ-filled weekend! On Friday we laid low with a couple of girlfriends and watched Secret Life of a London Call Girl from Netflix. Awesome. Saturday a bit of shopping, bike riding, and a BBQ at Saadia and Kip's place downtown, then an evening out with Preston and Melissa.

Saadia and I...

Erica and Chuck...

Mike and Kerry

Yummmmy watermelon kabobs...

Cuddling with Cody in P and M's hammock...

Today I went for a ride/brunch with Anita up in NoPo, then bowling and dinner with Dad in the afternoon, and Ade, Brian and their two daughters should be here any minute. Good times!

Love,

Katery

Spring On My Porch!

Yay... Spring has arrived, the weather's finally getting better in Portland, and I hit up my favorite garden spot, Portland Nursery on Southeast Stark Street over the weekend, and potted some beautiful flowers and plants! Yay!

The back porch now has white and red peonies, a fuchsia I got last year, (that I hope will bloom again... is it an annual?)... and some purple and black pansies.

And the front porch is now host to some a pair of basil plants, purple-blue morning glories, Dutch lavender, and an awesome periwinkle and white columbine plant! Yay!

I LOVE that Columbine! It reminds me of my childhood, growing up in Colorado, and of my tattoo on my foot that matches the one Shannon got with me in Portland a couple of summers ago. Here's the two of us last summer...

The photo we used for our tattoos...

And my tattoo as it appears now, (as I watch Glee tonight while I blog). :)

And as the Spring weather turns into Summer... that means it's BBQ time, too! Last weekend Mike and I house-and-dog-sat at Donald and Julie's house. We had a couple great barbecues, some yummy margaritas, and a great weekend in Milwaukie. :)

Toasting by the BBQ...

Me hangin' out with Chrissy... the "lap pit bull"...

P-town and Melissa... cute!

Anyway... that's it for now. Time to watch Glee... then GO TO BED!

Love,

Katery

May Day Purple...

Happy May Day! What a great time of year... the flowers and trees are blooming outside, everyone's looking forward to summer, and the weather is all over the place. I heart springtime! I've also decided of late that I heart purple. I've never really liked the color, my disdain growing for it since high school. But I've come to really appreciate, even, gasp, *like* purple! I think some of that has to do with the fact that it reminds me of my mom now. Purple was her favorite color...

My parents bedroom in Nevada was painted purple, as was Mom's bathroom, she loved lavender, and her birthstone is amethyst, which she always wore and loved. I remember being in third grade and buying her a stone with amethyst crystals growing on it from a field trip I went on. Now I love amethyst, and it reminds me of her. Last week I made this faceted rounds amethyst and sterling necklace...

Anyway, this post is not meant to be depressing, it's meant to showcase my new found love for purple. Check out the sweet dress I picked up today at a boutique in my neighborhood, Sweet Jayne. Just $18 bucks. What a steal!! (And check out the new hair from this morning, *not such a deal). ;)
I've also been rockin' purple toes this last week...


And this cracked me up... I just found this picture from a couple of years ago... before a Pink Martini CD release concert downtown. I guess I was feelin' purple then, too, although this one's really more fuschia!


Anyway, I'm now inspired to check out some pretty purple goodies on Etsy, and I found some good stuff! I also found something unexpected and random... a purple pipe. Who knew they were selling pipes on Etsy? Okay... check out Ghetto Billy Glass if you're down with the ganja. Great, now I've got a posting about purple, pot, and my Mom. Weird.


And a sweet agate slice statement ring... Mmmmm... (wheels turning). Love it! Great work by Hawaiian Etsy artist Sweet Crafters.

And a fabulous find... the Brenda Clutch from PaperFlora. SO cute! I love the handmade felted flowers... a super sweet touch.

I love when I find local artists' work that I love... like this beautiful watercolor from PrintMakerJenn. So beautiful! I've always loved watercolors, and this makes that so easy to tell why...
Finally, sweet! An upcycled Purple Rain EP -- turned from record into a coaster set and a vinyl bowl. What a creative idea and a great listing from Nansattic527 on Etsy.



And with that, I would love to leave you with a little Prince.... however, I just found out he hasn't licensed any of his music to be available on YouTube... so nevermind! Happy weekend!


Love,
Katery

Buddhas and Bhangra!

Two of my favorite things... I added a few awesome Buddha listings from Etsy to my favorites the other day, and later this weekend I'm going Bhangra dancing with some friends, so it's the perfect time to combine the two in a post.

First off, Buddhas... check out these fabulous finds from Etsy!

Okay, I know I make jewelry, and not only should I just get the items I need to make these myself, I should wear stuff I make, so when people compliment my jewelry, I can hand over a business card. But this Etsy artist just did such a wonderful job with these, I'm beyond tempted to just buy them. So awesome! Great work from Boots Raven Designs!

I also looked through quite a few Buddha photos, and trust me, there are a lot on Etsy, and found this black and white photograph to be one of my favorites. It's the "Sukothai Buddha" from Bomobob. From the listing: "In the ancient Thai capital of Sukohthai, one of the many magnificent statues of Buddha stands watch over the deserted ruins of the city." I want to visit Thailand so badly, and this is just one of the reasons why -- to see beautiful Buddhas like this one.

I've found some of the coolest soaps on Etsy, and this one from Windy's Creations is no exception. It's so beautiful... how could anyone dare use it?

I love jewelry that's created with help from nature -- unpolished gems and wood, especially, so, naturally, I love this bangle from Valle Girl Designs. On the outside it reads "namaste" and on the inside "I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me". How lovely!

I looked through Etsy at some of the malas that were listed, and I was really drawn to this one. It's made with 108 opalite rounds, tied together in a beautiful green thread, with a guru stone to match on the end. It's listed in Rebecca Moon's shop, and she gives a great description about the stone and the chakra it's linked to: the heart chakra: "This love center of our human energy system is often the focus in bringing about a healing. Thus, the words "Love Heals All" have great truth... Learning to love yourself is a powerful first step in securing a healthy fourth chakra." Well said and beautiful work!

Finally, a little love for a local artist. This painting, "Blooming Meditation" is by EyeCon Artist of Portland. Such beautiful, vibrant colors in an awesome piece!

And from Buddhas, to Bhangra! I'm so excited to go out with friends Saturday night for the final Andaz night at the FEZ ballroom in downtown Portland. Although I'm sad to see the last Saturday of the month event move out, I'm sure it'll be quite the party, and I hope some of my friends who aren't familiar with Bhangra will be able to come. It's music I've LOVED for years and have soooo much fun dancing to!

This photo's from Bhangra at the FEZ more than a year ago.

Anjali is the fabulous DJ who'll be spinning Saturday night. Check her out HERE!

And perhaps the most well-known Bhangra-infused music around... M.I.A.! Awesome video...

Okay, that's it for tonight. I'm exhausted! Tomorrow Sarah and I are headed to the coast to hike up one of my favorite hikes... Saddle Mountain... then hit the beach with Kai

Love,
Katery

She's crafty!

...and she's been busy being crafty! Check out the goods I busted out over the last few days...

I went to a wholesale fair on Sunday and loaded up... I found this beautiful dyed appatite and made this sweet necklace for KATU anchor Deb Knapp.

I also finished this baby... a complex necklace for Elena. It's got rock crystal, sterling, freshwater pearl and crystal components... all tied together by sterling chain.
I'm happy with how it turned out! :)

I also made a few lariat necklaces... haven't done that before, and thought it'd be cool.
This one's sterling and opal glass...

This one's gold filled chain, raw brass, and swarovski crystal...

And a sweet little pair of turquoise and raw brass earrings...

I busted out this four-stranded freshwater pearl necklace this morning. Love it!

And another find at the wholesale fair... I think this graduated azurite round necklace is for moi!

And speak of crafty... check out the apron my girl Anita busted out for me. I told her I like damask paired with bright colors and voilà! I scored this awesome apron!! I LOVE it!
...and so does Mike, apparently. :)

That's it for now.

Love,

Katery

I heart dahlias!

They're my favorite flowers, I've decided... Ever since I discovered them at Mike's cousin's wedding a couple of summers ago. Her mom, Mike's aunt, did the flowers at her wedding, and I absolutely loved them.

See what I mean? I liked them so much that we asked her to do the flowers at our wedding... and she did a beautiful job again... If Mike and I had been married late summer, dahlias would've been in our wedding flowers for sure! I now love going to farmers' markets over the summer and buying beautiful bunches in every color. I'd love to go to the Dahlia Festival on Swan Island, too. Amazing!

In the meantime, I've been looking up some of my favorite dahlia-inspired craftiness on Etsy. Check out what I found this evening!

An adorable dahlia laptop sleeve from Dahlia Handbags... love the fabric!

And talk about stuff I need... this beautiful little clutch from FIAZCO.

I LOVE it, and I really like how the fabric print continues from one side to the other. So pretty!

This lovely dahlia-print serving bowl goes so well with my kitchen... I love the colors! A great piece of art from an Oregon artist! Check out Yoga Goat on Etsy for more fabulous finds. :)

And a great wool piece to add flare to any jacket, cardigan, hairstyle... so many possibilities. This was handmade with love by Felt Sew Good. Eco-friendly and recycled, too!

And I heart the silver work on these sweet little earrings. They remind me of Thai silver, but are handmade right here in the Northwest, in Bellingham, Washington, by Shizen Designs. I guess us Northwesterners really love our dahlias!

Finally, perfect for my little pooch, I'm thinkin' Kai definitely needs a new collar. It will be her summer-wear for the season. She's laying next to me spazzing out and dreaming right now. She's clearly upset she doesn't have this great-looking collar from Pinky's Pet Gear.

And since I'm blogging about dahlias, it inspired me to put in a little order on Etsy for some pretty dahlia cabochons. I ordered large ones for necklaces, and some smaller ones for earrings. These are going to be beautiful!

So, that's it for tonight. Not only do I have a little dog sleeping next to me, but a little sister, and a Sherlock Holmes movie that's about to end. Time for bed! I'll blog again soon... as soon as I upload a ton of great pictures I've been wanting to share.

Love,

Katery