I wish I was visiting my Grandma

This weekend, my mom and brother are going over to the island.  They will get to sleep in, they will have poached eggs and bacon and tea made for them the second they get up in the morning.  They will have homemade soup served in front of a waterfront view at lunch.  They will probably get roast chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner.  Every meal is followed by dessert.  Toast with jam for snacks at night.

They are going to my grandma's.  AND I'M JEALOUS!

This saturday, I'm singing with the Surrey Children's Choir and Youth Chorus at Surrey Central's "Santa's Arrival" Celebration.  No pampering for me.  It will be quite fun to ring in the season tomorrow morning though, singing fun favourite like Winter Wonderland, White Christmas, and Silver Bells.

In remembrance of my lovely Gma and the lovely town of Sidney though, here are a cutesy pair of earrings I bought the last time I was there, from one of my fave Sidney stores, Cameron Rose.

They can be dressed up or dressed down- something I always appreciate in an earring.  Cute cute cute.

SHE my heart's friend

Jennifer Kelly- this blog title is for you.

Its also practically relevant, as tonight's post centres on a cutesy key/heart inspired necklace that I got from S.H.E by design in Ft. Langley this past weekend.

For many Novembers, my mother and I (often joined by crew members Kirst and G.dawg) have made a tradition of spending a day in Ft. Langley.  To be fair, I must attribute this annual affair to Taylor Luckock, who introduced me to the beautiful thing that is The Little White House.  Not only does L.W.H start playing Christmas Carols in November, but they have fabulous Christmas decorations (I especially appreciate their vintage miniature Christmas trees) and adorable (if pricey) party dresses.

The back of the store is a cottage-y tea house of sorts, that boasts a pretty admirable tea list, a delectable house salad, and fluffy, yummy quiches.  

Back to the jewelry though.  This year, my mom and I extensively enlarged our Ft. Langley day, which isn't really saying much as the town is like, a block long.  But we were quite delighted in S.H.E, where along with tonight's feature I also got an utterly chic navy dress perfect for winter parties.

Without any further ado, feast your eyes on the newest member of the Danica Kell necklace club, and drool over how girly, sharp, and simple it is.

The Summer Days are Gone too Soon

This is the song that goes along with this post:





From head to toe, I've been sharing with your my everyday pretties- my daith piercing and my tattoos, my 3 favourite rings, and finally- my friendship anklets.

I can't tell you how much trouble these get me in with some people.  My mother especially can't stand that I insist on wearing them even with formal gowns and fancy high-heeled shoes.  Once, my choir director made me take them off for a folk song competition in which we were dancing and not wearing shoes (If you want a laugh, look no further than here), claiming they would "stick out" too much.  He promised to keep them in his suit pocket and give them back- it was the only way I'd take them off.  If you know him, you won't be surprised to hear I didn't get them back.

Since that summer in 2004 (yes choir nerds, the vid is from 2008 though), I have never taken off an anklet.  I wear them til they break off, and to sentimental ol' me, they are more then knotted embroidery thread- they are keepers of memory.  Typically friendship bracelets are GIVEN in a show of friendship, and yes, I mess with this tradition in that I make them for myself.  That said, every anklet I wear has a buddy, or buddies, somewhere else, and that speaks friendship to me.

Those of you who follow my lit blog know of my love affair with Kosh Lake, and my cottage summers. These friendship anklets are a huge staple of my summers there, and it comforts me to know that I hold a little piece of my cottage buddies, and other best friends across the country (I'm looking at you, Karley and Lisa), with me throughout the year.

Claddagh Ring (also, I suck).

For whatever reason, I'm hugely sucking at both my blogs right now.  Consider this a vow to start doing better.

I still have yet to finish my "always accessories" feature of sorts, and this post brings me one step closer.

I have worn a claddagh ring longer than any other piece of jewelry.  I got my first ring, which looked a little something like this ------>
when I was in grade 6.  I just recently joined Irish Dance classes (check me out here or here, I was half decent!) and was attending (not dancing) a feis in Richmond to see what the competition scene was all about.  I have irish heritage on both sides of my family, so when I saw the table of claddagh rings, in particular a silver one with a blue stone, I felt like I needed it, and my mother hooked a daughter up.

At the time, not a lot of people knew the whole "claddagh ring" story, although it seems to be a lot more common these days.  For any of my readers who don't know the "rules" of sorts that go with the rings...here they are.

The claddagh ring represents love, friendship, and especially loyalty.  As you can see, it is two hands clasping a heart, topped with a crown.  If worn on the right hand, with the heart pointing out (the way I wear mine), it means your heart is open.  If you wear it on your right hand with the heart pointing towards you, it means your heart is taken.  If its worn on your left hand pointing in, you've found true love (yay!).  When I started dating a boy in highschool I turned mine around and he noticed and it was really cute.

Sadly though, my sparkly blue ring was kind of for a child (11 year old Danica had smaller fingers), and it literally snapped off my finger in grade 12.  I should have stopped wearing it earlier, and saved it for my chilluns or something.  ANYWAYS! I got my current claddagh ring for Christmas from my lovely brother, from a celtic store in Steveston.  Due to my sucking at taking pictures- it looks a little something like this:





But to prove I actually have this 'pretty thing', here is my ring on my finger.  My heart is OPEN yo! So bring it on boys.