Christmas Lights!

We went on a ride to see all the Christmas lights the other day. Lilly just LOVE seeing them. Every time she sees one she is screaming for more. Just can't get enough! This one here was by far the best. Never seen anything like this!

Nikolaus and first snow

Yesterday on the 6th was Nikolaus Day. That is a special day in Germany on which children clean their biggest boots as best as they can and then put them out in front (or in our case, the steps). Then during the night, Nikolaus would come and either put chocolate and little treats in them if the child was nice all year or, guess what, coal if the child did not behave.


So here is Lilly, taking her first peak at what's inside of her boots...


And then she realized that it was a Milka (special German chocolate) Santa...


Even better - truly made out of chocolate!!!


She couldn't stop smiling all day!


And then we saw all the beautiful snow out side. It just looked amazing with the blazing white sun, crystal clear water, and perfectly snow topped trees. If winter was always like that...

Sneak Peek at my new Studio

I know I should have been showing pictures sooner, but I really wanted to set up my new studio nicely before I would show it off. And there is still soooooo much to do, but the weather was prefect and I just had to click.


I love how the garage is transformed into this really cozy spot. It looks so cool with the garage door open. Reminds me of a little stage! This is such a neat place to hang out in.

Studio in the making

I finally finished painting, rolled out a thick carpet, and went wild at Ikea. not too much left and I will have transformed our garage in my very own HUGE (that is the good part about taking the garage) studio. I already built my desks. Yes, there are two of them giving me an enormous area to work on (and to fill up). Now all that is left to build is the shelving unit. I can't wait to neatly organize all of my supplies on these shelves. Finally a space were everything comes together instead of having a little hidden there and a little here and looking for hours to find anything.
Well, I'm almost there. Can't be too long now...

See the before pictures right in this post here:
http://gemsandjingles.blogspot.com/2009/10/studio-here-i-come

We're going to the Zoo, zoo, zoo...

Yes, we went to he Franklin Park Zoo here in Boston and had so much fun! We stayed all day even though it was a bit chilly.


And the trip started out great with this not-to-be-missed photo of Lilly as kitty cat and grandma as goat. Perfect mimic on both of them. Staying totally in character!

And then we did see all these other animals as well. I loved how close you get to them at this zoo. I mean those camels were right there!


And so was the Emu...


And then Lilly even got to sit on the large Gorilla with her baby! GOTCHA! No that one is a sculpture. But pretty cool.

And so is riding a cow...


And feeling like prey in the condor cage. These things are HUGE!

Halloween Parade!

Wow, this weekend has been crazy good with my Frosted Willow shop. Lots of great sales and traffic since I was featured in Etsy's weekend deal email. I'm so happy!!!
So no wonder I'm a bit late showing off our Halloween pictures.


Lilly's scarecrow costume was the best! Grandma did such a great job making it from scratch. Even using real corn! And Lilly was sooo excited and loved everything about it.


We went to the local Halloween parade and i think everyone came out to be there. The best costumes I ever saw and not just on kids! There were parents dressed up in full suit bunny costumes. And look at this big doggy!


At the end of the parade was a sort of Haunted House staged by the local fire station. Way to scary for me, but Lilly loved it. Children are so curious.






After that we went trick or treating in the neighborhood. There was a big crowd and it was so much fun walking with all the other kids and parents from house to house. And some houses really put on a great show!

Buy one get one FREE Weekend Deals

I am so excited to be featured in this weeks WEEKEND DEAL email! Did you see my vintage earrings up there? They were sold before the email even came out. How funny!
The buy one get one item totally free will last all weekend long on all of my items from my shops!

http://www.FrostedWillow.etsy.com
http://www.KaleidoscopeStyle.etsy.com
http://www.Kumitwist.etsy.com
http://www.Kailea.etsy.com

Studio - here I come!

I have been *secretly* working on my very own studio for the last few weeks. It seemed like I will never get there for a while and my Dining Room was filling over (who doesn't have that!) Now after this weekend I finally feel like I am getting close.

But let me back up. What I am converting is our garage. It seems funny, but it is the perfect place. It was filled with things to be stored as you can see. So definitely ready to be taken over. What I love about the garage is that it is big, I can open the garage door for real good ventilation when I am working with the torch, and I will be able to watch Lilly play outside while I get some work done right there.


I finally got it all cleaned out and started giving it some color! It's going to be marvelous with this aqua blue, a deep blue and a yellow green to come!
On Thursday I will go to Ikea to get tables and a real storage system. I can't wait to get all my supplies and different arts and crafts organized!

Salem's Haunted Happenings

Yesterday was the last Sunday before Halloween and the place to be was Salem, Mass. The weather was gorgeous and everyone was out there - all the witches, pumpkins, scarecrows, devils, and lot's of things I don't even know.


You had to look out for them everywhere. They even had special 'Witches flying by' crosswalks. Gotta watch the witches!


One of the most stunning costumes was this one of a witch monument. I love the long skirt and very pointy hat.


See the similarities to the real one?!

But the best part about Halloween sight seeing are all the decorations and haunted houses to see.


Love this spider invested house (we tried to stay clear).


And of course the Mummy trap.


But best in town was the more is better and a little bit of everything approach. Lilly LOVED it!

Vacation is calling me!

My very own pair of these sexy Garnet Gold Leaf Earrings is coming with me to Florida! Oh, I can't wait to lay in the sun, feeling the ocean breeze, and listening to the waves...yes, we are going to Florida for a week! Mainly to visit family and friends, but also to enjoy the heat. I know Lilly won't believe how great it is there. To be able to go to the beach all day long every day. She might not want to come back home!
So you may see some pictures from us in Florida - or you might not. Let's see how connected I will be or just a woman out on the sea.

July 4 Celebrations

There is nothing better than sitting on the greens under a clear blue sky with lots of other people. Forth of July is the best time to do this and this year it was just magical.
Lilly loved sitting in the camping chair and having lots of Kettle Korn. So did all of us and I think I will turn into a big popcorn myself!

We also had to check out the Carnival section and Lilly couldn’t believe all the fun rides to see and foods to eat. She especially was taken by the trumpet she saw a little girl play with. We looked and looked and finally saw a little 'catch the fish' stand offer them to win. So Lilly played, caught the right fish, and was the happiest little girl when she knew she won her little pink trumpet. She played it till it got dark. Then right before the fireworks, she and my husband left. With 2 we feel that she is still too young to hear and see all those fireworks.

I stayed with my parents because I love it way too much. And oh was it worth it! Just so unbelievable. Can't wait for next year!

I (heart) Dawanda

You all know how much I LOVE bags and purses. One just can't have enough of them (or is it just me!) So I love browsing the Category: Bags » Bags » Shoulder Bags » at DaWanda just to see what is out there. This also helps me to see the newest emerging trends right from the source to use as creative resource for my jewelry designs. But when I saw this Giant Bag Dreamland (yes, that's what it's called, I should know, I'm German) I knew it was meant for me. A zebra, a birdie and pink and blue trees - come on, that is just too perfect to be true. Gimmygimmygimmy!!!!! And the best part is the size. I need lots of space for all the extra sweaters, animal cookies, drinks, and toys I always seem to haul around for little Lilly and me. So yes, this one is for me.

Walpole German Sommerfest

We had the best time today at the German Sommerfest in Walpole here in Massachusetts. So much good food! I had Leberkaese, Sauerkraut, Bratwust, and the best bread. I wish I did have room for a lot more or at least double. Oh, and I almost forgot about the yummy apple crisp. Now I could eat more of that. And of course all the great dark beer!


They always have a very German band there with all the traditional songs. Lilly loved it! She was bobbing and dancing and clapping all along.


And as a special treat, Lilly got to go on a pony ride! She had no reservations going on that pony and actually couldn’t belief her luck. All along she sang "Hoppe, hoppe Reiter". And towards the end she begged the horse to go "Schneller, schneller" (faster, faster). She is a natural on the horse! BTW, did you see that guy in the 'Lederhosen'?!
Well, it was lots of fun and all will be back next year. I sure will be there first thing!

Strawberry Picking on Memorial Day Weekend

We went to see my husband’s brother and family this weekend down in Princeton New Jersey. And we are having a great time. Especially Lilly who just love playing with her cousins and getting all the attention. She is singing all day long and keeps hugging me and telling me how much she loves me (for doing all these great things with her)

So today we went strawberry picking! This was the first time for Lilly and she totally got it and had so much fun! There is a big sing outside that you are not supposed to eat any strawberries until you paid for them. Well Lilly was eating a LOT of them already in the fields and all the red stains around her cheeks and on her cloth totally gave her away! Luckily no one noticed. But these were so sweet, she just couldn't stop!



Even I never had so many strawberries in my live before! Just so sweet! But almost better than the strawberry picking was the tractor Lilly saw on our way out! It was big and red and she waited her turn to "drive" it. Almost couldn’t reach the steering wheel but stretched as far as she could! As you can see, she is in heaven.

Brimfield Antique Market 2009

This was the first time for Lilly at this huge antique and flea market. Actually, she did come along 2 years ago, but she still was in my belly then! But now she had the time of her life. Right when we got there, she kept pointing at everything and saying: "WOW, look at that, Daddy?!" She has a great eye and sees all the little details and spotted a giant baseball from one row down. Here you see how much fun Daddy and Lilly had looking for some Patio furniture. Unfortunately, all the patio furniture we liked where some sort of designer icon pieces and way too expensive. So we didn't get anything like that even though it was what we came for.


But there was so much else to be found. This time it was quite large with lots of very interesting pieces and really something for every budget. Care for a large cow for example?



Or maybe you are more into a little white mermaid. Can you spot her? And can you see the frog that sits on top? Lilly saw that one right away and was all over it.
We did get a few things for ourselves even though not at all what I was looking for or knew I needed. Now I'm so happy to have found them. There were so many of these nice old Asian woodcuts and also cookie mold. I just love the mold and can't wait to clean them up and put them on a metal stand. They will be perfect on my console table!