January favorites

Lily of the Valley solid brass pendant

Milk Glass 1920s sautoir || Lemon Lime Bakelite earrings

1930s Janus cast brass necklace

Art Deco pavé set rhinestone bracelet || 1930s gold fill heart locket with pearl

Art Deco carnelian and glass drop necklace 

Just a few of my favorite pieces added to the shop this month! 

Kings of the Victorian Jungle

Hey, hey - the Art Nouveau lion locket that I stocked in the shop today has a fraternal twin! The Twin, who is 14K yellow gold (hence the $$$$ tag) is for sale over at Lang Antiques. The Jean Jean version is gold filled and likely American made. Aside from provenance and metal type, they are quite similar. They date to the same era (1900s-1910s) with a nearly identical lion and shield motif. Even the textured background and curly border are shared. I just love finding jewelry mates like these.

Bon weekend!

Georgian ring and box

This Georgian ring just sold over at Bell & Bird but that doesn't stop me from thinking about it and its gorgeous shark skin box. I've never seen a ring box that opens with the ring face pointing down, have you? I love how it completely changes the shape of the box and gives it a pinched/tapered top.

Photos courtesy of Bell & Bird

The best toys

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I'm either cooking a meal or cleaning up after a meal, it seems. I'm also a grazer so I'm constantly looping through the kitchen to grab a handful of nuts or another splash of coffee. And Severen eats three meals a day and about as many snacks. So it is a parade of activity from 6 AM to 11 PM!

Thankfully there is lots for Severen to do in the kitchen while I work. I've set it up so that almost every cabinet and drawer is accessible to him. As long as he is safe, I let him explore and experiment. He takes all the cans out of the pantry, plays with the cutting boards, unrolls the kitchen twine, pulls on the salad spinner, pulls the dishtowels off the oven handle, etc. As I've watched him roam and play I've come to see that many of his favorite "toys" are actually kitchen tools. And it makes sense! They have moving parts, they have handles,  hell they do things! Real life grown up things! From now on, I'm going to do my baby shower shopping in the kitchen tool aisle.

Severen's kitchen faves:
Flour sifter
French Press Top
Measuring spoons
Salad Spinner
Old juice bottle with lid
Paper towel rolls
Spatulas
Popsicle molds
Rolling pin
Anything that looks cool and moves (tea strainers, for example)

Things he reaaaalllly wants to play with but I stop him:
The cheese grater (oh MAN does he ever want to get his hands on that!)
Forks
The immersion blender
The freezer
Large pantry items (but cans of tuna are OK)
The garbage can, AKA the Holy Grail of kitchen items

What I do when I want to score some big points:
Take the lower rack out of the dishwasher, load it up with fun stuff and let him push it around the house. Good times.
Turn on the oven light. WHOAH BOY!
Help him cut up a banana on a tiny cutting board with a wooden knife
Get out a giant bowl, fill it with water and make a big ritual out of washing some vegetables
Get out the broom and chase him around with it
Give him a couple of crackers and some raisins

Black Hills Gold locket

I recently acquired a lovely Landstrom's locket. The South Dakota company is known for their work with Black Hills Gold. This piece is not vintage so I can't offer it in the shop but I would like to find it a new home. It is 14K gold fill with 10K gold trim. There are no photo accessories but otherwise it is "like new" condition. It retails for around $150 in the company store and I'm offering this one for $70. Please contact me if you are interested!

Twin Peaks things that you need

 

     

  

Mr. Jean Jean and I just finished watching Twin Peaks. Now I get it! I get all the pop culture references. I know what people mean when they talk about Donna's "amazing style." I also understand why every girl my age has a major obsession with Agent Dale Cooper. Here are a few fun things I found on Etsy to celebrate the series (images linked). Isn't the Nadine brooch hilarious? The same shop offers The Log Lady, Lucy, Dr. Jacobi and Laura Palmer. I won't judge you if you feel an urge to collect all the characters.

French tights

These are a few examples of the snazzy tights from the French company Les Queues de Sardines (by m+o). The butterfly wing tights from the A/W 2012 collection are so excellent, non? Oh, and this pair made me laugh out loud last night. You can find a nice selection - including the pair in the top photo (LOVE!) -- over at Lille Boutique.

via Les Queues de Sardines by m+o {images linked}

Sextuplets

As you might recall, I have a little *thing* for the combination of brass + colored glass + enamel in antique jewelry. I also get a huge kick out of finding long-lost jewelry mates. These six pins are my pride and joy. I first told you about them two years ago and I've managed to add to the collection since then. Have you seen any other colors? I'm betting there is a red, orange and yellow out there in the world. Here's to hoping I can find them!

P.S. If you like these pins there is one available on Etsy right now.

Piled up

I piled up a bunch of rings yesterday and they looked so pretty all together that I decided to stock them in the shop all at once. There is a bit of everything coming your way . . . a late 1920s sterling band, a 1930s signet ring, some gorgeous 1940s costume rings, a pretty Mexican sterling and goldstone ring, etc. I aim to have them stocked by 6 PM tonight (that's when Severen's babysitter leaves!)

How I would like to ring in the New Year

Hello! We got in late last night from nearly two weeks of traveling. I've got loads of catching up to do in the shop (and beeeautiful things to photograph!) but until I can get my act together there please feast your eyes upon this Fabergé bell-push, ca. 1890. Can you imagine putting your finger on this beauty? I think that would be a pretty excellent way to start the New Year, with a push of this bell. Maybe next year . . .

P.S. Here is another gorgeous bell-push from Fabergé.

via Wartski