Trickster Ring

Moving on down the line, the next ring on my finger everyday is the beautiful gold and white gold ring that my parents gave me for my 21st birthday.  It is so so special to me, as my mom has the same ring, and my grandma and aunts also have jewelry made by the same artist coast salish artist, Dean Larden. Not only do I love this ring because of the way it links me to my other female relatives, but also because I have mad love for Canada,  and I'm really proud to wear a piece by a local native artist that represents a bit of our country's history.

My ring is carved with the raven, the "trickster" in the mythology of many of Canada's first nations peoples.  According to the Haida creation story, raven is the one who unleashed humankind into the universe when he cracked open a clamshell.

This stunning Bill Reid piece is housed at UBC's Museum of Anthropology

While the raven enjoys stirring shit up, he has also done some good for humanity, stealing us the sun, moon and starts from the Sky Chief, and getting us salmon.  Good job, trickster.

You can't see the detail very well in this pic, but trust me- its a gorgeous ring.

Prague, yo.

Continuing my little mini-series, today's post is the first of a few on my everyday hand bling, my adored rings.

The ring on my pointer finger is from Prague.  I got it there when I was in Europe the Summer of 2009 with my mum, brother and bestie.  The red stone is real garnet, a gem that the Czech Republic is famous for.  It was really great to get a souvenir that I can keep with me everyday, reminding me of that lovely holiday and what an awesome city Prague is!

My Everyday Essentials

Jenn's been on my case for not posting often enough on here, so I've decided to do a little mini series on my "everyday" accesories.

To start things off- my daith piercing.

I'd be lost without it! I got this piercing done on my first day of 2nd year uni, somewhat on a whim, with my buddy Alex.  We went to Adrenaline downtown, which is also where I got two of my other "everyday's". (More on that in a moment).  My ears are funny little things.  For one, I have little dents on my lobes that look like I have my ears double-pierced (but I don't).  My second ear-oddity inspired my second piercing.  The exact place that I have my daith pierced, I was born with an enlarged pore. When I got it pierced, the artist at adrenaline didn't even need to make a mark- he just stuck the pin right through the hole that was pretty much already there!  

My piercing at Adrenaline is sandwiched between 2 tattoos I also had done there.  I consider my tattoos to be very "pretty things" and they are certainly an always-accessory of mine, and so I'm including them in this post as well.

My first tattoo, a set of 16th notes sitting on my right hip, is a mark of my life's passion for music.  It was a Danica/Alex adventure too, with an assist by sir jacob best.

My most recent all-the-time acquirement is a new tattoo (also from Adrenaline) across my ribcage.  It reads -------->

and is from John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale".  The full line reads:

'Tis not through envy of they happy lot,

But being too happy in thine happiness,

That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees,

In some melodious plot

Of beechen green and shadows numberless,

Singest of Summer in full-throated ease.

This tattoo incorporates 3 of my most favourite things in life:

Music

Literature

and SUMMERS! 

I got it at the tail-end of this summer with Jenna, my friend since grade 2 what what! She got an adorable and poignant tatty on the top of her foot- the single word 'yes'.  So cool.  We commented many times during the day what our grade 2 teacher Ms. Knowlton would have said, had she walked in on Jenna freshly inked, me with my shirt off getting my second, whilst screamo-metal-something blared in the background...

That's all for now folks.  Keep tuned in for a post on my daily ring-bling!

Bold as Brass

I had a fabulous night out tonight with my girls Kirstin and Taylor.  Tay has been up in Whistler working at the four seasons for the past year, and its been that long since we've all hung out (ridiculous!).

We went out for dinner and a movie, catching up, having laughs, and discussing to what lengths one would go to secure discounted Jimmy Choo's.

"Tay, can you just lie about it for Dan? You're hurting her feminism."

I was channelling my bad ass self tonight, donning my combat-esque boots and pairing them up with my gold studded black v-neck top and metallic jacket, and topping them off with a pair of brassy gold earrings.

Whenever I wear said teeshirt I almost ALWAYS wear these earrings with it. Now, I gave fair warning of the Violette trend, and yes, this pair is another owing thanks to my cousin's boutique.  And in fact this pair is owed specifically to my cousin and aunt's impeccable taste in jewelry, as these brass wonders were one of the first of the always-highly-anticipated "Violette-presents" as they've come to be known in our Spencer family circle.

Erin, if you're reading this, help me out....Frug again?  Jeez, I'll have to start paying more attention to what jewels I'm flaunting in the next few days, lest I appear a complete and exclusive designer whore!

My brassy staples have the simple but effective detailing of a raised second oval with little ridges in it.  And I'll say it again, they make me feel totally bad ass.  Whilst BBMing today (whilst both at work), Kirstin and I discussed the matter of kissing boys with lip rings, and I totally credit my earrings for inspiring such a topic.

when i put on my combat boots and jacket made of leather/no one does it better- i look totally bad ass/ now i wanna kiss a boy with a lip ring/before he finds out that i'm totally faking/that i never break the rules/that i got straight A's in school/that my best friend is my mom/and that i've never smoked pot.

After our catch-up dinner at WhiteSpot, the girls and I headed to the good old White Rock Caprice to catch the late show of Julianne Hough's remake of Footloose.  I ADORED it!!! The dancing was incredible, the guy who played Willard was hilarious, and the 21st century set story had some really clever nods to the original.  

Go and see it, and look out for this great dialogue:

Chuck: "I thought only fags did gymnastics."
Ren: "I thought only assholes still used the word 'fag'."

Many thanks to Kirst and Tay for a wonderful night- I'd missed us.

little leaves and little hearts

Today, I attended my first Arts Council of Surrey meeting in the official capacity as the Surrey Children's Choir Program Manager.  I wanted to look super awesome, and the most awesome of outfits are always completed with fabulous jewelry.

I wore one of my vegas finds today- a lbd from Forever 21, and finished it off with some gold bling.

Loving the way the chain hangs

Such a versatile piece!

I love this necklace from H&M that my mother gave me for Christmas two years ago (thanks Mooooom!).  Its great, because you can wear it with one long loop and one short one (like I'm wearing it here), 2 medium loops, 3 short chokerish loops even, or my personal favourite, as one long and skinny chain.

The detailing of this piece is great.  Its a delicate gold chain with alternating little pearls, clear gems, and intricate little gold leaves.  Because of the leaves, I feel it works great for autumn, but also for spring!

I was wearing my hair long today, so I wanted to wear dangly earrings that would show from time to time, but also blend in with my blonde and not take too much away from the rest of my outfit.

Check out those freckles!
Holding on to that laaaaast little bit of my cottage holiday <3

These adorable earrings are another Violette find, and actually another piece from Frug as well!  I've had these earrings for about 4 or 5 years I think, and they've always served me well.

My glasses match my blog background!

I thought the little hearts in the earrings complemented the little leaves in my necklace nicely- hence tonight's post title!

Happy Tuesday!

La Pistole by Früg

Without an edge of competition, my most fabulous pieces of jewelry come from my cousin's store on Government Street in Victoria, Violette.  As I continue to share my jewels via this blog, you'll see that many of them come from this lovely boutique.

This is also true for the first piece I'm posting.  I got this pair of earrings from Frug's newest line "La Pistole" while visiting the island for Thanksgiving.  

They are adorable little things, with a unique dark clasp that hangs perfectly.  The decal at the end of the earring is a vintagey looking Parisian stamp, complete with Eiffel tower and cursive writing.  Tres Chic!

i have pretty things

Many, many pretty things, in fact.  In my teen years, I developed an infatuation with jewelry that has continued to grow in my young adulthood.    I keep my many jewels, my necklaces, earrings and bracelets, on little stands and hanging from pegs all around my bathroom.  Not much of a place of honour, and I often find some of my pieces getting lost in the mix, not kept in the rotation very well.

This blog is my way of encouraging myself to wear my many pieces, and also a chance to show them off.

"a girl should be two things: classy and fabulous"
   - Coco Chanel