What do you even begin to open back up to the interwebs when it’s literally been almost months since you’ve let them in? I guess the only fair thing to do is to lay it all on the line. Because I know you won’t judge…

I confess…

• Last week my reader had almost 1000 unread blog posts…I “marked all as read”.  This doesn’t mean that I don’t love and miss you.
• I’ve been reading the same book since December…everyone else seems to have loved it, and I just can’t get into it.  Regardless of this, I still have 4 other books sitting on my nightstand uncracked. This is so embarrassing.
• Some days I want to be Taylor Swift. For serious. She’s so adorable and well dressed and smart and happy.
• I follow Miley Cyrus on Twitter.
• Two years ago, I thought I knew what I wanted in life. It’s amazing how life can change in such a small amount of time.
• I am attracted to all the wrong men.
• The happiest hour of my day is when I’m dancing.
• I buy far too many dancing clothes.
• I own a too many unworn shoes, clothing with tags attached, books unread…but I don’t own a vacuum. The idea of purchasing one makes me a bit ill.
• I think I missed my calling as a ballroom dancer. I love the drama of it all.
• I’ve been keeping super busy so that I don’t remember that I’m super lonley.
• I will try my best to start to write more again, but I can’t make any promises!

Anything you want to tell me?

xo

And NO…it’s not me…

I can’t believe it’s been a year since my little bro tied the knot. He’s growing up so fast. In early May he graduated from college, and now him and his wifey are expecting a little girl,  in September!

I’m so excited to be an aunt. But I feel so young to be called Aunt Sara! Craziness.

You better believe I am ready to do some serious shopping for this baby. Have you seen what I do to my dog? Here are a few things that Savannah will have to have from her Auntie SJ…

Heelarious Heels

Flower and Bow Headbands

This is just the beginning, so if you know of any cute baby stuff that I just have to get for my brother and sister in law, let me know!

Do you remember when you were little and it seemed like the days creeped by? When they said there were 100 days of school left it seemed like and eternity and 3 months of summer seemed like forever?

I want that back. 

Seriously. I never understood when adults said that time just flies by, but now I do. Does this make me old?

I can’t believe how the days seem like minutes and that I need 12 more hours a day to get things together. My life is changing, my day job is expanding and so is my passion for Zumba.  I wish I just had a week to breath and catch up on life, but then I would have so much catching up to do that I don’t know that it would be worth it!

I have so many things to share with you, but not enough time to write them in a way to do them justice.  I’m sorry that I haven’t had the chance to keep you up to date. Promise to try to be much better!

xxxo.

SJ

I seriously can’t believe that May has come and almost gone. My month has been a whirlwind  so far and I still have so many exciting things coming up! Sadly, this is leaving me very little time to catch up with my blog life (and my home life for that matter).

I promise to come back very soon and share loads of cool things with you…please don’t break up with me! I still love you!

xxxo,

SJ

Dear It’s Just Lunch,

YOU’RE FIRED! If I were this bad at my job, I would have been fired almost immediately after I was hired.  I’m not the type of girl that leaves you guessing what I’m thinking, so how you continually match me with people that are completely wrong, is beyond me.  So far you have hooked me up with:

• A self-centered, non-committal guy
• A socially awkward guy
• A total introvert
• A guy looking for one night stands
• A cowboy who lives 2 hours away

and now…

• A married man!

Enough is enough!!! I can deal with with creating a conversation out of nothing, turning down booty calls, and listening to someone beg for compliments; however, I draw the line at dating married men!!!

If I seem pissed, it’s because I AM!  How dare you continue to waste my time, after the absorbent amount of money I have paid you “experts” to find me a match.

You have a lot of work to do to redeem yourself.  I’m not interested in dating for sport so please, please, please, do not set me up again unless he possesses ALL the traits I am looking for.  Not just some of them.  I am willing to wait.

Yours truly,

Jules

PS- I wouldn’t recommend asking me to be a reference.

When Christyn sent me an email with a link to her Esty shop, I was blown away by her creativity and talent. She truly has a gift for jewelry making and I was so excited when she agreed to donate a piece to my readers.

 My favorites from Bead Up are the Dewdrop Rose Quartz and Amethyst Earrings pictured above and the Green with Envy Bracelet, that I can’t seem to find in the shop anymore!

Thank you so much to all of you that picked your favorite Bead Up item and entered, and a huge hug and kiss to all of you who went to her shop and made a purchase. Your support for her means so much to me!

After a Random selection, the winner of My Favorite Things: Bead Up is Tiffany! Thanks again my lovely readers for your support for Christyn. Now go…SHOP!

I grew up in a small Ohio city. To be frank, I never cared for the rural, farm-like, grey town. Though I always knew I wanted to get away from the Midwest, never in my life did I imagine that I would be living in California. Not only that, but I never really realized the vastness of natural beauty until I moved to California. It’s easy to find inspiration here. When I lived in San Francisco my dorm overlooked the Golden Gate bridge and the San Francisco sky-line. Now, living in Los Angeles, I drive through mountains and cities on a daily basis and am confronted with cultural and geographical differences everywhere I look. When I to other countries my camera never stops taking pictures of what I see as exotic and majestic, fascinated that the natives find it all commonplace.

After seeing such inspiring places, I wasn’t looking forward to going back to Ohio or Kentucky, my alma matter, for the first time after leaving. But instead of seeing the grey, boring landscape of my childhood, my eyes suddenly had a new appreciate for an equivalent, albeit different, beauty of what I always saw as normal.

Here are some examples of photos I have taken of the beauty I have found in both the “grey” and also the glamorous, and how I have transformed their inspirations into jewelry:

Berkeley, CA

Purple Haze Necklace

SaN Francisco, CA

Asymetrical Purple Beaded Gemstone Necklace

Chengde, China

Zhong Necklace

Chinese Countryside

Mosaic Teardrop Earrings

Berkeley, CA

Black Eye Glasses Lanyard

It doesn’t matter where we are or what resources we do or do not have around us. What matters, and what makes a difference, is the lenses of the eyes of which we look at the world around us.

Where do you find your inspiration? Look around! It’s everywhere!

Thanks for letting me be part of your day

~Christyn of Bead Up

I have a blog now, too Check it out at beadup.blogspot.com

I interrupt your regularly scheduled Match Maker Monday for a very special announcement…Today is a very special day…you see, today one of my favorite ladies is celebrating the anniversary of her 25th Birthday!

My blog crush on Brookem started about a year ago when Brandy introduced me to her, and she commented on me going to see Sara Barielles. I spent hours reading all of her old entries and just knew that we were kindred spirits. We shared a hatred of stupid boys and a love of martinis, shoes and men with good hair.

Over the last year, we’ve grown to be great friends. She’s always there for me when I need her via email or phone. Some days it’s nice to just talk to someone outside of your day to day world to give you insight and let you know that you’re not alone in your crazy thoughts!

My lovely Brookem…Happy Birthday! Cheers to having your best year ever! Your friendship means more to me than you will ever know. I can’t wait to see you…hope that it’s sooner than later!

xxxo,

SJ

Now what are you waiting for?? Go tell her how great she is! NOW!!

found here

I LOVE jewelry and crafts and all things handmade and beautiful. I LOVE that Esty opens up  doors for fabulous artists who want to make their dream a reality.

One of my amazingly talented sorority sisters, Christyn  recently opened her shop Bead Up and has generously donated one of her best selling items.

Bead Up

Choose from Live, Love, Laugh, Hope, Dream, Believe.

So now the rules…

1.  Leave a comment telling me your favorite item from Christyn’s shop.
2. If you post about this contest on your blog or twitter  you will get an additional entry. You must leave a second comment with the link to your blog saying that you did!
3. You do not need to have a blog to enter, just a valid email address and a willingness to give me your info to ship you the book.
4. All entries must be in by Thursday, May 7th at midnight. I will announce the winner Friday, May 8th! Get excited!!

So what are you waiting for??? GO to Bead Up…NOW!!