Solar Jewellry has this vintage Miriam Haskell necklace for sale for about $325. I love the combination of soft colors from the pearls to the jade like beads.

The pendant just makes me want to smile and whisper to the birds. What a beautiful piece of art to be worn and admired.

I am in love with jewelry from the early 1900’s. There is something in them that speaks to my heart and makes it skip a beat.

Art Nouveau era Jewelry designer Miriam Haskell is one I’ve learned about recently. Actually she was born in 1899, at the height of the Art Nouveau era. Her pieces evoked nature in their subjects and construction. Around 1924, Haskell began making jewelry commercially. Her creations included unique flowers, animals, and other organic materials.

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Matcha is the powder form of green tea. It is made of ground Gyokuro leaves. This is the green tea used in the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. You are not required to infused the tea, but whisk the powder into hot water. This type of green tea was first used by Zen monks in Japan over 800 years ago. After drinking matcha, the monks notice they had better concentration and help keep them feel alert. As in traditional herbal medicines, the concept is that you get to drink the whole tea leaf to gather all it’s health benefits.

teazonline.com has matcha for sale. For $5 you get 25 cups. They even have sample packets for as little as $1. This way you can try them and see if it’s your cup of tea. I am really looking forward to trying my first cup of matcha. I think many people cook and bake with them too.

Many people find match green tea to be less bitter. As the process of making matcha is a bit different. The fields are covered under shades for three to four weeks before harvesting. This allows for the leaves to develop high levels of amino acid, which in turn makes them taste sweet. This process hides the bitter flavor of the polyphenols (which provides the health benefits) and are still present in the matcha.

Teazonline also wrote: According to researches done in Japan, brewed Matcha contains nearly 10 times the polyphenols and antioxidants of regular teas, 2 times the antioxidants of a glass of red wine, approximately 9 times the beta-carotene of spinach, and 4 times that of carrots.

References:
Matcha green tea tipped as luxury flavour of the future By Anthony Fletcher & Making Matcha from World of Teas

These beautiful climbing roses with white picket fences are from photoop23 (webshots). I love looking at this picture. It reminds me of my grandmother.  One spring weekend of 2002, my brother and I went to visit her.  We tried to help her grow some flowers in the front yard.  But she passed away the following summer and didn’t get to enjoy much of it.

But if she was still around, I would want to give her something like this.  I think the cheerfulness of the roses on the white wooden railings would make her happy.

Sister Hazel’s song, , reminds me of grandma too. I have never know anyone more sweeter and kinder.  She would be the kind of lady that would offer strangers a glass of water.  She is one in a million.  She was very elegant, beautiful and modest at the same time.  I’ve never heard her raise her voice at anyone for any reason.  Most of all she was very understanding and supportive of all of us.  I was lucky enough to have grown up around her.  I miss you very much Grandma and thank you for being there for me.

*Shades of Summer Editor’s Pick, Webshots
Change Your Mind

Hey, Hey
Did you ever think
There might be another way
To just feel better,
Just feel better about today

Oh no
If you never want to have
To turn and go away
You might feel better,
Might feel better if you stay

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I have not been to the Body Shop in over 10 years. I use to be a big fan back in the early ’90s. But these days, there are just too many other companies to chose from. And I have since discovered Weleda, Burt’s Bee, Garden Botanika, and Boots from England. They all make some really great body care products, and the scents and varieties are endless.

But this is something new from the Body Shop that I am willing to try. I wonder how strong the scent will be, or if it has any at all. Fresh aloe gel usually doesn’t have any scent to me. Maybe a bit like fresh cut grass. I understand this lotion is good for sunburns too.

For the summertime, I usually go for a more citrus or peppermint scents. And no fragrance oil, just essential oils please!

One of my favorite singers from Australia is Casey Chambers. I don’t think she’s well known in the U.S., but I’m sure her songs are played more often in her home country. It would be neat to see her sing in a small venue in the U.S. So here’s some of my favorite songs.

Since I’m not a big fan of music videos, I don’t pay too much attention to it. I prefer to listen to music on my own time and create memories without the help of videos.

If you were lucky enough to be in Australia, Kasey Chambers did give a live show at Wilson’s Boathouse Seafood Restaurant in Brisbane. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a picture of her, maybe about 5 years ago. But here she is, sitting pretty with her guitar from the Brisbane charity performance in May of 2008.

One was the light in a candle
Two was the colour of the rain
Three was a fall in deeper
Four was a cry and shame
Five was a shiver in the winter
Six was a losing card
Seven was the hope I would never fall too hard

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I was checking my Sprint bill online and was shock to find that they overcharged me for something I was not aware of, in this case it was “long distance” charges. I tried to go back to the website and find the details of my bill, but it was “Temporarily Unavailable.”

I have email them my questions and complaint and am waiting to hear from them. I hope they keep their promise of being good to their customers. Especially since I am on the fence about cancelling and switching to a much better cell phone service.

As you can see, they suggest as a compliment for you to go ahead and get a free “ring” as a curtosy from Sprint. I have not taken their offer since I am already skeptical of their phone (business) plans. I would advise to NOT even consider taking it. You will most likely be billed for the service and if you try to cancel, they will not do so immediately if at all. Plus the fine print did say, we will refund you the charges within the next 2-3 billing cycle. Why do they get to take your money first? And then make you wait at least 2-3 months for it to show up.

Update 7/14/08: It took Sprint e-customer support 2 days to get back to me about my complaint. They were very understanding and was able to reverse the charges on the long distance. Despite all the bad rap Sprint is getting these days, I have to say I have been pretty satisfied with their support via emails. I would recommend contacting them via email first before talking to a rep. Hope this helps. -cambree

This linen spray is from L’Occitane. Aromachologie Relaxing Pillow Mist as described by the company, “This pillow mist combines the soothing properties of 100% natural essential oils (lavender, tea tree and geranium) with softening lime blossom extract, to calm tensions and soothe nerves. Its aromatic fragrance helps ease away stress and anxiety and promotes a peaceful, repairing sleep.” Retails for $14 for 3.4 fl oz

This makes me dream of a lovely spring garden filled with lime blossom and geraniums in bloom. But it is pricey for such a small bottle. Or you can always make your own! I like linen spray since the scent is very light and it’s also made with pure essential oils. Most perfumes will give me an instant head ache. So here’s my version of an uplifting scent, a walk in the orange groves of southern California.

Citrus Linen Water - Best to spray on linens right before ironing. It will leave a light clean fragrance.

1/2 teaspoon (50 drops) lemon/orange essential oil  ***to your liking***
1 oz. 80+ proof vodka
12 oz. distilled water

Pour essential oils, vodka, and distilled water into the spray bottle and shake to mix.

Be sure to shake well before each use.

Note, you can always subsitute the essential oils of your choice. I personally enjoy peppermint and citrus scents. And lavender usually makes me feel tired and is too much for me.

Everytime I see images of India, I can’t help but think about how people are so vibrant and in constant motion. Even the names of towns and cities sound like an adventure. And one of those interesting names is Jaiphur. It is also home to a huge textile industry. They specialize in 100% cotton and all vegetable dyes. The vegetable dyes consist of indigo, onions, and spices. They are also know for block printing, which is done by carved wooden blocks designed with a floral motif usually.

It would be neat to go see one of these textile artisan shop or factory sometime in the future. And using vegetable dye is definitely better then harsh chemicals that can leach into the environment. One of my favorite online shop is Ratan Textiles. They have these beautiful designs for home decorations. The ones pictured here are some of my favorites. The designs just bring you to a different world where beauty is timeless and vivid.

Beautiful cushions pictured below with indigo and soft yellow.  Reminds me of a French Provincial designs. Yet originates in India. Very pretty!

“The designs are exclusive to the Ratan studio and due care is taken to ensure the highest quality. So that you can bring to life your vision of a home.” - Rattan Textiles of Sitapura, Jaipur.

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The other day I was having a conversation with M about baby names. We are both looking forward to having children someday. At the moment we are stick stuck with where and how we like to raise our family. It mostly has to do with wanting to stay in the U.S. for the long haul. A part of me wants to move abroad, but the other part of me wants to stay in California. Since that is where my immediate family is living, and we are a pretty close knit family. So it’s been this way for the past years.

Back to baby names, so we’ve both agree it would be Jack and Lily. Jack is a simple, strong name for a boy. And Lily is sweet and kind, a pure white Easter lily.

So I decided to see if the name is popular and found that it’s the name of a baby shoe company. I mean, it’s great since they make cute baby shoes, but it sucks because the name won’t be so unique. Still it’s not bad.

Maybe I will think of another pretty little girl name… I kind of like Clementine but I don’t think M cares for it.

And here is a pair of Jack & Lily, super cute leather baby shoes. Just love the crochet looking turtle. But wonder if it will get dirty easily. That would not be so good for baby’s little feet.

More then 200 countries will be competing in this years Olympic games. My favorite part is the parade that represents all the different countries. It was a ritual growing up to watch that with the family. So let’s get ready and cheer for your favorite country, whether it’s Lithuania or the USA. Or for me, it’s viva La France!
And as a fan of public gardens and parks, I was really happy to see these pretty pictures of the Olympic Topiary Gardens in Beijing. There are some really neat topiary shaped like animals, people, and flowers. For those who will be in Beijing, lucky you! And for all of us, this will have to be good enough. Enjoy.

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