THE wedding

OK, I admit it. I'm a royalty-watching romantic. I dragged myself out of bed at 5am this morning, staggered into the family room and turned on BBC America. I figured those Brits know all about their royals - why listen to American newscasters tell us about people they really don't know? (I had also dragged myself out of bed to watch the wedding of Charles and Diana years ago, before the advent of the DVR. I taped 2 different channels this morning, just in case I couldn't make it out of bed).

I thought the day was wonderful....well, beyond wonderful. Catherine, previously known as Kate and before that as Katie (we have a daughter who has also morphed from Katie to Kate), looked gorgeous, happy and serene. She carried herself with a quiet elegance, knew she was being watched by the whole world but was there for the right reason - to marry her love. You could see it in her eyes when she looked at William. And William looked dazzled when he saw his bride for the first time. Yes, beyond wonderful.

I pulled myself away from the TV and drove to Rochester where I attended a "Wedding Brunch" at a women's club where I am a member. The organizers of the event encouraged the guests to wear hats (I pulled out a beach hat and twirled a scarf around the crown, eliciting many kudos) and white gloves (tossed the last of those many years ago). We had a delicious meal while a tape of the wedding played on the big screen. Queen Elizabeth dropped in for a visit:

(Full disclosure: the "Queen" was actually my aunt, who played the part well, wearing a sparkly paper tiara along with a sash across her chest which read "Her Majesty the Queen."). The fabulous antique car and the Beefeater standing nearby added just the right touch.


Doesn't she look regal? Great job, Tay!

today's photoshoot

Lights...camera...action.

While there was no filming action at the store today, there were lights and a camera. I really, really, really need to get my act together and take shots of a lot of our inventory. It's (over)time to get the online store back up.

You may remember that my web guy's server company skipped in the middle of the night about 2 years ago and he had to recreate both my website and my web store. That took a LOT of time and effort, for both of us. Uploading the images into the store software again, rewriting all the descriptions, etc. etc. etc. was not high on my priority list, especially as we were preparing to move the store to California. OK, not really - but that 10th of a mile up Main Street did feel like a move to California.

But now I am making it a priority to take the pics and to get the web store up sometime this summer. Here are a few shots I took today - call the store (585.396.3520) if you're interested in owning any of them:

Hook bracelet, lampwork glass beads, sterling silver wire, by Kerry Bogert

Gold vermeil wire-wrapped earrings by Sara Silvio


Flexible collar, mint resin nuggets and silver wire, by Abra Gorby

JOOLZ april newsletter just published

Take a look at our April newsletter, full of news and pics of lots of joolz.

legoland!

After all the walking we did on Saturday and a good night's sleep, we were ready to check out of the hotel and head north to Carlsbad, home of Legoland. Like most young boys, Q is absolutely enamoured of legos. He asked Nana, Poppy and Santa for legos for Christmas, and all came through.

He's been to Legoland several times but that didn't damper the excitement. He was rarin' to go!

We were quite surprised that on a Sunday, during school vacation week in San Diego, the crowds were very reasonable and there were minimal wait times for the rides.

Our first ride was a boat cruise through the park. Some of the lego structures are visible only from the water and the ride gave us an overall look at the park:

The Sydney Opera House overlooked the water:

Disregarding time zones, we soon passed the Eiffel Tower:

And then it was on to Times Square. Hometown favorite Kodak was right there:

You can get a sense of scale with the woman standing behind the Capitol Building. Remember, every single structure is made only of legos:

Before going off to ride on some roller coasters and other water-enhanced rides, we had to see the brand new Star Wars exhibit. Opened only a few days before, with Carrie Fisher cutting the ribbon, the Star Wars section of Legoland had both little boys and their fathers in Star Wars heaven. Q was greeted by R2D2, Chewbacca and Darth Vader, all made of legos:

This Clone Turbo Tank was just like the one Q got for Christmas, except on steroids. Notice how the tank has made tracks in the sand and has sand on its wheels. The constructors think of every detail:

It was hard to say goodbye to Legoland but it was time to return to LA. We took Route 1 north so that we could drive through all the beach towns, had a nice dinner at a Greek restaurant in Long Beach and got back home safely, tired but happy. Nana had a great time!

I flew to Denver the next day to visit with our other daughter and her husband and had my first view of Katie looking pregnant. What a trip!

quality nana time

Quality "Nana Time" is hard to come by when your grandchild lives on the other side of the country in LA. And when you own a business and really need to be there, it's a major decision to leave for a week to "play". But I did. And it was great!

One of 5-year-old Q's favorite places is San Diego, with all its wonderful theme parks, animal kingdoms and zoos. Off we went on Friday afternoon, avoiding most of the rush hour traffic. Saturday morning was bright, sunny and chilly. I was ready for high 70's, but the temps were in the 40's. Despite that, Q went swimming in the hotel's outdoor pool after breakfast. His lips turned blue but he smiled the whole time.

After warming him up (and us, too), we took off for beautiiful Balboa Park. Q was ready for action and immediately climbed the nearest tree:

Then we were off to explore the park and its many museums:

This guy was making balloon creatures and Q really wanted a Hulk balloon:

Nana caved:

The orchids in the botanic gardens were magnificent:

We left culture and sophistication behind when we took off for Sea World. The dolphin show highlighted both the dolphins and their trainers:

and was followed by the Shamu show in another arena, currently undergoing massive renovation:

After hours and hours of walking, it was time to go back to the hotel to put our (my) feet up. Next stop...Legoland!

prime real estate

In today's real estate world, it's definitely a buyer's market. How about a buyer getting the building lot for free? Even better.

We left our Christmas wreath up while we were away and came home to find the beginnings of a nest within the wreath. With a fake cardinal standing guard, a real sparrow has finished building his dream house on this free lot. Now he perches on the porch railing and tweets for a honey to come join him in real estate heaven:

wear your veggies!

Most of us receive a gazillion catalogs in the mail, especially before the holidays. Many of them I toss without even looking at the first page, but others draw me in. Several months ago I opened a small catalog featuring handcrafted items...and discovered something so unique I needed to learn more. There were pictures of cuff bracelets - made of vegetables! And they were stunning. Completely unique. Environmentally friendly. Gorgeous. Good conversation pieces. JOOLZ material. I contacted the artist, Margaret Dorfman of Oakland, CA, and placed an initial order. The box marked "fragile", but not "perishable", arrived yesterday. Inside were veggies like you have never seen them before:

This is a 22" necklace made of slices of Thai green papaya. Margaret cuts the fresh fruits and veggies (over 40 different varieties) with an old fashioned slicer and super-sharp knives. Next the slices are cured, dried, pressed and aged in a 10-14 day process.

The slices are then fused to copper disks and finished with a non-toxic, water-resistant clear coat before being fashioned into necklaces and earrings.

The 18" necklace below features small disks of many different fruits and vegetables:

The colors and veins apparent in the pieces are not dyed or in any way color-enhanced. This cuff bracelet, one of 3 we currently have in stock, is made from slices of Mexican papaya:

Another show-stopper is this articulated necklace made of crimson-colored fruits and veggies:

Earrings can coordinate with the necklaces. These are made from blue cabbage and beets:

This Thursday, April 7, I am off to visit my daughter and grandson in LA. Marnie is a naturopathic doctor and her clinic is hosting a medispa from 5-9pm that evening. She asked if JOOLZ would like to have a trunk show as part of their evening event. I immediately thought of Margaret Dorfman's "healthy" jewelry. She's on board, and will be sending a shipment of delicious vegetable parchment joolz to LA for the event. If you're in the area, please stop in:

Balance Westside Wellness

11340 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 301

Los Angeles, CA 90064

See you in LA!

christmas in april

It's Christmas in April at JOOLZ! My many hours spent looking for new work to bring in for our spring/summer season came to fruition today with the arrival of several packages of delicious new goodies. We are adding a number of new artists to the fold, two of whom are shown here:

Jill O'Reilly, from Lexington, MA, has been making updated-classic sterling silver jewelry for a number of years. I first met Jill in Las Vegas 2 years ago and have been waiting for the opportunity to bring in her work. Her cuff bracelets can be carefully adjusted to fit just about any wrist size and her workmanship is superb. We have these and several other bracelets, along with some great-looking post earrings:

sterling 5-band bracelet

sterling cuff with gold-filled wrap

sterling cuff with sterling wrap

Also placed on display today were these fun pendant necklaces by Zillah, WA artist Cheryl Myers. Cheryl takes commonly-seen road and construction signs and makes them into resin and metal pendants on silver chains. Fun to buy, fun to wear, fun to start folks talking. (Cousin Leslee, this bike route pendant has your name on it).

And watch out that you don't get shocked by the high voltage!

The UPS guy dropped off two other packages this afternoon. The Christmas in April fashion show will contnue as soon as I shoot some more pix.