Monday, December 29, 2014

Music Monday- Ed Sheeran "Thinking Out Loud"

Oh- this song!  It's Ed Sheeran's best one by far in my opinion.  "Thinking Out Loud".  So sweet, and soulful.

I listened to this song on a loop over and over and over again in my car the other night.   I love the sentiment of a love that grows old.  At first, when I heard him sing that line, "And darling I will be loving you 'til we're 70"- I thought, "Hey, 70 isn't so very old!  How 'bout 90, Ed?", but of course, that number doesn't sing as pretty.  And then it dawned on me that although my parents had a life lasting love, Dad didn't get to love Mom 'til she was 70...altho he certainly would have had we not lost her at her when she was only 69.  But when Mom died, she wasn't even close to being old.  So really, although I love this song, I hope I'm lucky enough to be loved long past 70...  Just sayin'.

The "official video" was having some problems so I'm posting this acoustic version instead.  Hopefully you've heard the studio version before, but if not, keep your ear out for it.  It's better than this version... 


When your legs don't work like they used to before
And I can't sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks
And darling I will be loving you 'til we're 70
And baby my heart could still fall as hard at 23
And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Oh me I fall in love with you every single day
And I just wanna tell you I am
So honey now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
Maybe we found love right where we are
When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades
And the crowds don't remember my name
When my hands don't play the strings the same way, mm
I know you will still love me the same
'Cause honey your soul can never grow old, it's evergreen
Baby your smile's forever in my mind and memory
I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe it's all part of a plan
I'll just keep on making the same mistakes
Hoping that you'll understand
But baby now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are, oh
So baby now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Oh darling, place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are
Oh maybe we found love right where we are
And we found love right where we are


Wednesday, December 24, 2014

A Vintage Bling Merry Christmas

May your days be Merry and Bright...
Vintage Brooches of Red and Green, Silver and Gold- Making the Season Merry and Bright!

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Make Someone Happy

Today while at the movies they showed this Coca-Cola ad during the "pre-show entertainment. It made me weepy in it's sweetness.  Coca-Cola, you got it right!


Friday, December 19, 2014

1960s Coro Flower Rhinestone Earrings- Before & After Repurposing

Aren't these earrings cute?  They're vintage Coro screw back earrings, circa 1960s.
Vintage Coro floral gold and rhinestone screw back earrings
But to me, screw backs are very uncomfortable.  Every now and then I can tolerate the pain of a clip, but there's something about a screw back that just never feels right to me. Or probably anyone.

So of course, I decided to do a little repurposing.  I wanted to keep them simple, so I just added a clear crystal bead and pierced ear wires.
"during" my repurposing- cleaning, clipping, filing, wiring
Now they're still just as beautiful, and I think even a little more so, but they can be worn very comfortably.
Repurposed Coro Earrings- from screw packs, to pierced ear wires
 I haven't yet gotten around to listing them in the Resparkable Etsy Shop, but if you'd like them by Christmas, email me and I can ship them out immediately.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

How to Wear a Vintage Brooch or Pin

I collect lots of vintage brooches and pins, from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.  Don't think that brooches are just something your granny puts on her coat, sweater or scarf when she's feeling fancy!  Although, those are all very stylish ways to add a little vintage charm to your day very simply.

But here are a few other ways you can wear a vintage brooch that perhaps you haven't thought of yet...

* on a hat
* on a purse
* on the cuff of your jeans
*on the collar of...anything!
*paired with other brooches, on any piece of clothing- the more the merrier!
*on a pillow
*on a headband
*on a belt
*on a dog collar

The possibilities are endless, really!

I have vintage pins available in the Resparkable Vintage Etsy shop... most of these (and a few others!) are listed, or will be soon.  If you see something you like, but don't see it in the shop, just let me know! All of them are for sale, whether they are listed here or there.
Vintage Coro large gold leaf with rhinestone brooch

Vintage Crystal Hearts and Flowers Pin

1940s Small Gold Pin with Red

1960s Enamel Ribbon Flower of White and Red

1960s Enamel flower- Bright red with green

1960s/1970s Damascene Daisy Pin

1940s/50s Rhinestone bow pin

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

1950s Paisley Earrings- Before and After Repurposing

I found these 1950s screw back earrings and fell in love with them!
1950s Paisley Gold and Blue Screw Back Earrings
I love the paisley shape, the blue stone in the middle, and all the little sparkly rhinestones surrounding.  And although they showed a slight bit of wear, all the stones were in tact.  And for vintage earrings of this age (1950s era) they looked like they had been very well cared for.

The only problem was, they were screw backs that were just a little too painful to wear for very long.

Therefore, these earrings are exactly the type of vintage jewelry I get most excited about because they provide a great opportunity for repurposing!

I removed and filed down the screw backs, cleaned them up so they sparkled like new, and wire wrapped them with a rectangular blue mottled stone and attached them to pierced ear wires.

Still beautiful, still have the charm of vintage, but with a modern flair... and as a bonus, they're no longer painful to wear!
Repurposed 1950s Earrings
They will be listed in the Resparkable Vintage Etsy shop very soon!  But if you are interested, just shoot me an email and they can be yours.  :)

Monday, December 15, 2014

December Reads

The books I'm mentioning in this post just happen to be the books I'm reading this month (and maybe into the next month as well...), but they aren't necessarily books you'd associate with the month of December.  I don't mean to be misleading!

I just finished reading these two.
The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin and Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan
I liked Glitter and Glue a lot.  It's the second memoir I've read by Kelly Corrigan.  Love her writing style, she's around my age, and I can relate to her books.  So her book was a sure bet for me. 

I loved The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry. I'd never read anything by Gabrielle Zevin, but now that I have, I'm going to have to check out some of her previous books.  This was a book lover's book for sure.  Read the summary here at Amazon and then buy the book.  It's magical!

These are next for me, and they were all ready for pick up from my library at the same time... I'm not sure I can read them all in the 3 weeks I have them for, but I will surely do my best!
YIPPEE!! A big batch of books! 
Is there another A.J. Fikry in this bunch?  I can only hope!  In case you can't see the titles/authors, here they are:
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris (I'm about 80 pages into this one.  So far I like it, but it's not my favorite.)
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey (Really interesting premise.  Sounds like it's a mystery and our narrator will be someone with dementia who thinks her friend is missing.)
Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (I somehow got this title while listening to something about the Serial podcast. So it could be amazing!)
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (I've previously read Eleanor and Park, also by this author.  I have reasonably high hopes for this one.)
Bark by Lorrie Moore  (A collection of short stories I read about recently in the NYT.  The title grabbed me, but I don't usually read short stories.  But I might be about to discover something great!)
Life in Motion by Misty Copeland (I love memoirs, and this one is a story of an "unlikely ballerina".)
The Body Book by Cameron Diaz (I'm not super excited about this one, but I'll thumb thru it for sure.)

I love sharing titles of good books...  And I love it when people pass along ones they think are worth checking into!  So if you have something you think others might like, please leave it in the comment section! 


Saturday, December 13, 2014

Saturday Ad Day

In these days of DVR, I don't see many commercials.  But occasionally, I do (mainly online!)- and sometimes they're really sweet. Like this one...

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The National September 11 Memorial Museum

As I mentioned in my last post, Fermin and I were in NYC last week.  Today I want to write a little bit more about visiting the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

I wasn't even aware that there is a National September 11 Memorial Museum.  I remember visiting NY a year or two after 9/11.  I walked by the ground zero area, just to see what was going on.  So this time, many years later, I was interested to see what they ended up doing. I knew there was some sort of memorial structure being planned, but I was pretty unfamiliar and didn't know what to expect.

There are two huge "pools"- I don't know what else to call them.  They are massive, and sad, and beautiful.  And they are in the exact spots that World Trade Center Tower 1 and 2 were located before 9/11.  The names of all the people who were lost that day are etched in stone around the pool.
9/11 Memorial Site

Another shot, showing the names
But if you notice the crowd of people in the top photo~ well that's the line to get into the museum.  Loads of people.  But we were right there, so we figured we might as well buy our tickets and get in line.

The museum is sad, beautiful and tragic.  I can completely understand that many Americans will never want to see that site.  It is, however, a piece of history, and it honors all the people who lost their lives that day.  In a big way.

It took as a couple of hours to get through the museum, and by the end of it, we were exhausted.  It was sort of like seeing a movie like "Shindler's List"~  Very well done, meaningful, and important.  But so painful.

Two things really stood out for me, and I will probably never forget the images.  One, was a room of four walls completely covered with the pictures of the thousands of people who died that day.  Many of them so young, and in the prime of their lives.  To see those faces, all in one room, with nothing else--- Very heavy.

The other thing that I keep thinking about was the loop of images on a video screen showing people who witnessed the tragedies of that day.  In nearly every single image (and their were many- 3 screens of different loops of photographs), the people pictured had either their hand covering their wide open mouth, or had their hands up, covering their head.  Those two things (covering the mouth, covering the head) must be a human reflex.  Like I said, I saw images of so many different people reacting almost exactly the same, that I figure it's got to be something in our shared DNA.

I think it's beautiful, what they've done.  I love those pools.  And I love the way they honored those lost on that horrific day in America.  And I ♥ NY- Now, more than ever.
The beautiful One World Trade Center



Monday, December 8, 2014

"Welcome To New York" by Taylor Swift on Music Monday

Well, yes!  It's that time again.  Music Monday.
Since I just returned from the always vibrant city of New York, of course I had to chose the song from Taylor Swift's 1989 CD, "Welcome To New York".


I tagged along with my husband, who had some business there last week.  But together, we turned all that business into pleasure!

We stayed at a new little hotel called Hotel Hugo, in SOHO, right off the Hudson River... There's an awesome running/biking/walking trail that runs along side it that I walked several miles on each day. (Note to self, walking 5+ miles in old Uggs = bottom of foot blister.  Do not do that again, please.)
Along the Hudson River in SOHO

It's NYC and it's the holiday season, so there was lots of hustle and bustle... and I mean that in the best way. 

Besides the walking, we saw Cinderella,
Cinderella on Broadway, the aftermath...
 and a play of a book that I just loved called "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time". 
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in NYC-- even better than the book!
Michael J. Fox and his wife, Tracy Pollan were also in attendance.  I saw him during the intermission, and it being NY, no one seemed floored to see a big star like that.  I was though.  But I didn't do anything weird, I just said hi and smiled, and he did the same back at me. 

We also ate a great meal at every restaurant we went to... a delicious brunch at The Cupping House, a couple of great Italian meals at Ciccio (gnocchi-- yum!) and Giorgione (the best risotto I've ever tasted!)...just to name a few.

On the only fully open day we had there, we went to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  It was actually pretty amazing.  Eerie as well.  And so well done.  We had no idea how much there would be to look at, and so towards the end of our time there, we were losing steam.  And by the time we left, it was pouring down rain, which we hadn't expected or planned on.  But the dreary, rain drenched walk to dinner seemed appropriate and somehow perfect.  I will write another post this week more about the 9/11 Museum, but for now, I'll just tell you that we went and that, of course, it was overwhelming.
One World Trade Center NYC... reaching up into the heavens
I got to see my best friend in the world- my girl, Kelly, that I've known since the 4th grade.  We went to breakfast and then she took me to the office where she works, which happens to be TED.  It's always funny to see a friend in their professional life.  Especially, in my case, the one I've known since we were both ten years old!
  
We happened to be down in Times Square during the protests when the grand jury verdict came out about the choke hold death of Eric Garner.  It all seemed relatively controlled and peaceful.  But, a highly trafficked area became a big mess for several hours...

While there,we used Uber a lot. Not a single taxi or subway ride this time.

As always, our trip to New York went by in a New York Minute...  I'm not sure I could live there, but it's one of my absolute favorite places to visit.