Let's do the hustle

                                                                                                   www.youtube.com

 ...but without the disco ball and big fluffy hair.
An 88 year old cutie rocks out on her way to the car. If you haven't already seen this video...do yourself a HUGE favor and watch it-all the way to the very end. It is SO worth it. My MIL and I watched this over the weekend and we were in tears from laughing so hard.

This weekend I'll be doing my own little happy dance once I get by hands on a Cadbury Egg.
My all time favorite Easter Candy.

I give them up for Lent every year and I am not religious. It's a nice way to not gain 10 pounds by Easter or until grocery stores can get those suckers off of the shelf!

Have a great weekend you guys. 
-S

Oh yes I did.

Yep. I have posted the gratuitous photo of my own nails. But it's not what it looks like...

What you should know is, I have a love/hate relationship with my hands. They are often referred to as "snausages" or "steel worker hands". BUT I love working with my hands. Since I work with my meaty mitts, I used to never get a manicure because it would be toast in about a day.

Enter Shellac Manicure. Hole. Lee. Poop. It's magical.
I have been getting the shellac put on my paws for the past 6 months or so and it lasts me about 3 weeks before I go back.

I love that shellac doesn't chip off like polish or damage your nails like acrylic. You can get the polish removed and you still have healthy nails underneath. Did I mention that it doesn't chip like normal polish? 

Yep. So this spring, don that metallic polish we've seen all over the runways and go do some gardening afterwards without batting an eyelash. I chose pink with rainbow sparkles as both Easter and my birthday are both around the corner. This color is also pretty daring for me. I like my nudes.

Clean the bathrooms before you go. One tip that I have noticed is to try to not go into a hot tub, soak your hands or work with kitchen cleaner in the first 24 hours. This helps them stay on a little longer.

If you are in Portland and you are looking for a great place to get a shellac mani, I recommend Spoil Me Nails in North Portland. They have about 50+ colors to choose from. It's also one of the cleanest nail salons that I have ever been to.

Have a terrific day!
-S

Tasty Tuesday...Thursday Edition

                                                                   Sauteed Spinach

1 tsp evoo
3 cups spinach
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Dash or two of garlic salt

Warm up the olive oil in a large skillet or a pan with higher sides to hold all of the spinach.
Add the spinach and stir until it is all wilted. You don't have to stir continuously or cook until it is 100% wilted.  I usually remove from the heat and stop stirring until the spinach is 90% wilted.

Optional: 2-3 garlic stuffed green olives-coarsely chopped, or sliced if you'd like. 
I get all OCD and quarter my olives. Sometimes I only add some Parmesan or nutritional yeast. Depends.That is just how crazy I can be. Who in the heck knows what I might put on my sauteed spinach next!

When it's not hot outside, I like my salad warm. Sauteed spinach is a great way to get a bunch of good fuel and be satisfied afterwards.  Do you have a food that you only eat when it is cold/rainy?

Speaking of, it's sunny outside. See ya!

And so it begins...wedding season!

                                            Here's a little snapshot of what is on the workbench this week. 

This week's theme at Kenton Beadworks has been: Custom Orders! I've been happily working on a handful of custom orders for weddings. The pretty ballet pink Chalcedony briolettes will become substantial chandelier earrings (photos later) for my Cousin who is getting married this summer. The other stones are bridesmaid necklaces for another two weddings.

Some color themes for wedding party jewels this year have been: ombre, pastels and rich jewel tones. I love them all, really. I promise to be better at taking photos of them an posting them here prior to sending them out. Sometimes I just get so excited about getting them to the bride!

Have a terrific day!

Get them whilst you can

Hey there!
We have our highly coveted gold and silver dipped pendants back in stock. We first listed them in late February and they almost sold out in less than two weeks.

I do love a good raw stone. There is so much for character and each one is unique!

Which dipped stone is your favorite?

Mellow Yellow

Hello there!
Sorry that I missed my usual post on Tuesday. I was finishing up a painting job from the weekend.
We decided to paint our master bedroom in a vintage inspired yellow.

Something that I didn't know before this last weekend was how temperamental pale yellow is to work with. I'm glad we did it though! The color turned out to me just what we wanted. Just 4 coats to do the trick. What do you think?

I really enjoy how cheery it is now with the afternoon sun. Just what we need as we head into spring!