Buymichigannow.com

The governor has declared the week of July 27th as Buy Michigan Week throughout the state. Locally, the town of Northville has sponsored a Buy Michigan Now Festival with many daily activities to celebrate and promote Michigan businesses.

Among the many activities in Northville today is the Free and Fabulous Girls Night out which starts at Starring, the Gallery at 7:30 pm. Mary invited me to be a part of the event. I'll be at the Gallery tonight with all new jewlery.

I've been selling my jewelry at the Gallery since last August. Mary Starring has a wonderful Gallery shop with hand crafed art and lots of fun things at all price points.

The weather could not be more perfect today so check out the festivities in Northville and Buy Michigan Now!

Polyvore Sets

This is my first attempt at a set on Polyvore

Find me on Polyvore

Polyvore.com - the best place to discover or start fashion trends. Browse and shop looks created by a global community of independent trendsetters and stylists.

Polyvore is an addicting website where you can play around with fashion and put together a collection called sets. It is as easy as click and drag. Select a category, say...skirt, and the choose color and price and you are presented with may options to choose from. Click and drag as may as you like to your set and then look for a top or shoes. Or make a whole set of shoes. You can shop on Polyvore too. Share your sets with other and get feedback on your style savvy.

This may take the place of solitaire for me.

Beach Find

I found this precious shell fragment on an Elbow Cay beach in June. Only the size of my thumb, this delicate little spiral caught my eye as I was searching for shells. It is a gloomy morning and I am dreaming of walking on the beach rather than walking the dog in the rain here in Michigan.

Wedding Jewelryl/Bridesmaids Gifts

I have been working on designs for wedding jewelry. A bride asked me to make pearl pendants for her bridesmaids as gifts. She requested that they all be different. She also requested pendants for 2 sisters and for both mothers. The bride had been give one of my pendants as a gift for being in a friends wedding. In fact, she is going to wear that pendant on her wedding day and has asked that I make earrings to go with the necklace. The bride requested certain designs and then left it to me to come up with the other looks. Here are the results.

Click on the individual designs for a larger view.

Book Club Dinner

My husband and I belong to a couples Book Club. The club has been meeting 3-4 times a year for about 4 years. We rotate hosting, the host being responsible for a meal for the group. Last night Rich and I hosted the club at our home. We read and were to discuss, The Count of Monte Cristo so Rich and I decided to go along with the French theme, particularly South of France.

First course was a nod to Julia Child and Mastering the Art of French Cooking with Pissaladiere Nicoise. See the recipe in Bon Appetit.

The main course, Salad Nicoise, was straight off the cover of Food & Wine magazine.

For dessert, I sauteed apricot and fig halves in honey for about 2 minutes and topped them with homemade caramel ice cream and a sprinkle of sliced almonds.

The Count of Monte Cristo, written as a serial for a newspaper by Alexander Dumas in 1844, is a very LONG book. It is the swashbuckling adventure of Edmond Dantes, wrongly accused of treason and sentenced to life in prison as a 18 year old, his imprisonment, escape and his vow to avenge. We could have talked about the book all night.

Eat Local

I just love summer! I especially love buying produce from local farmers at the Farmers Market. I am lucky enough to have several markets to choose from. This is a photo taken at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market this morning.

I loaded up my French Market Basket with all sorts of goodies. I'm getting ready to host our couples book club tomorrow. The peas are for bacon and pea risotto tonight.

Have a delicious evening.

Summer Color Palette

Photos by me

Everything seems better when the sun is shining.

Have a happy day and enjoy your weekend.