Scenes from the Weekend: Christmas Tree Shopping

Passed on black Friday and Cyber Monday. Found ourselves at a small farm in Bucks. The folks were just setting up the armature for the trees.

Jewel Box Tour

Kassie Lefakinis, Marketing Director of Valef Yachts in Athens Greece is stateside for a few days and met up with me for a coffee catch up at our favorite local haunt. She is the epitome of European bohemian chic! As soon as she arrived I noticed two stunning pieces of jewelry I had to share with you.  14K Gold fill and crystal serpent amulet, a Monistiraki Square flea market find and an 18K matte gold cast band by Andonis Nikolaidis purchased at the Blue Dolphin on Hydra Island, Greece.

Apartment Visit: Mel McDaniel Interior Designer

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West Philadelphia is having a moment. Nestled among the tree lined streets between Baltimore Avenue and Spruce Street are artfully renovated period twins, row homes and victorians. Some house hidden gem book stores, organic grocers, and amazing restaurants (Marigold Kitchen! Richard Halpern's tour de force BYO).  It is also the place Mel Mc Daniel, Interior Designer, calls home.  Her particular brand of eclectic, bohemian, modernism transforms her apartment into an oasis from the bustle of the city and a veritable petri dish for design strategies she employs in residences all over the greater Philadelphia region. Deft at sourcing impossible to find fixtures and accessories and armed with cadre of skilled craftsmen, she is known for her unique one of a kind designs that transforms both the tiny corner and the whole home. On her wish list: Kantha Handstitched Quilt, a mohair velvet couch, silk long underwear, a Manduka Pro yoga mat, Patagonia cashmere sock.

Ilsa Love Rick Loves Trove Decor!

Trove Decor is the coolest collection of repurposed-remixed-remade antiques and accessories designed and made by some pretty cool designer neighbor-friends right here in Bucks.  For six years, they have been turning up the heat in the regional interior design world. Just today, I logged on to check email, opened the OneKingsLane.com daily candy and there they were!  In a special tastemakers section with a three day sale that starts tonight!  Check them out and get yourself some while the getting is good!

https://www.onekingslane.com/sales/12266

Scenes from: Last bits of autumn in the North East.

Just on the outskirts of the historic borough I call home is Tyler State Park. Each Sunday, late on the afternoon most of us spend a couple of hours walking the trails and taking in what feels like impossibly remote nature so close to towns and cities.

Ilsa Loves Rick AND We Love Gold (Filled)

At Ilsa Loves Rick we love, love, love 14k Gold-filled!

Gold Filled is extraordinary because the high quality gold-filled looks and behaves like 14k solid gold and is a fraction of the cost. Gaby and I use the finest Gold filled and it’s weight and lushness make you feel as though you are wearing something special because frankly, you are!

Never confuse Gold Filled jewelry with gold-plated. The gold layer on gold- plated jewelry varies greatly depending on manufacturer, so there is no single, simple comparison. The Gold-filled jewelry that we hand build for you is simply not comparable because the layer of gold is literally thousands of times thicker than gold-plated jewelry.

We are always thrilled to prepare a custom piece in 14k or 18k solid gold upon request, but we can send you any of our designs tomorrow in Gold-filled and you can be enjoying them on your body in just a few days! 

Whatever you decide on, be it a custom 14k or 18k treasure, a sterling silver piece or our lush Gold filled jewelry, we want you to enjoy wearing the pieces much as we do and we hope that they become the personal talisman to you that they are to us!

We LOVE Simple Lovely Blog!!

If you aren't familiar with Simple Lovely Blog, you should run to your nearest device and log on.  For a long while now, I have been following Josyln's pitch perfect edit of all things beautiful and simple.  So you can imagine that Sara and I were over the moon, giddy really, like silly school girls, to see that Simple Lovely featured our Interlock ring in 14k GF as an item for Joslyn's birthday wish list in a post from October 25. www.simplelovelyblog.com