CURRENT OBSESSIONS...

CAROLINA BUCCI, SHAUN LEANE, ALEX SEPKUS, ANNE SPORTUN...OHHH THE LIST GOES ON!

Working in the jewelry industry is a blessing and a curse. We fall in love with at least one piece of each order that crosses the threshold of our door at Art+Soul. Miss Debbie Klein, the owner and director of Art+Soul, always does an incredible job of sorting through the thousands of booths at Couture, a huge jewelry show in Vegas every July. She never fails to come back with a select few lines that we pick up for the holiday season. They always compliment our current inventory, but fill the small voids we have in certain areas. This year was no exception!

After waiting for over a month on a package that was stuck in customs at JFK from Carolina Bucci, an Italian designer, we finally received the first of our exciting new lines. We all loved the images we had seen of Carolina's 18kt handwoven chain and silk bracelets, but it was nothing compared to the love we felt when we actually got to put one on our own wrists. Carolina's grandfather was a well known jewelry who started his company back in 1885, so it is certainly in her blood. She worked at his company until she moved to New York to study jewelry design at age 18. On the side, she started making her woven gold chain and silk bracelets in 2002, which were quickly picked up by several big name stores such as Harrods. Now the bracelets are seen on celebrity wrists and we can understand why everyone fell in love with them. The bracelets are easy to wear, awesome to layer, and have a timelessness yet understated element to them. Debbie was so generous and gave us all at Art+Soul our own Carolina Bucci bracelet, mine is the style pictured above, but with lilac silk and a butterfly to signify freedom. I love it! I wear mine every day and I have to say it has gotten more attention than most of my other fine jewelry. The multi strand cuff pictured below is the real show stopper! I am absolutely in love with our new line! 

Yesterday, we got another international shipment of new jewelry. This package came from Shaun Leane, a London based jewelry designer who is probably best known for doing all the jewelry for designer Alexander McQueen. His looks are an incredible mixture of edgy and classic and we can't get enough of his work. One of his signature pieces are his resin Horn bangles that come in a variety of colors and can be worn alone or layered up to make a statement. His earrings are also incredible, so sleek and yet so wild (literally, since they are all fashioned after a cat claw!). I have to say I normally tend to lean more towards timeless in my personal jewelry taste, but his work has the perfect balance of eye-catching designs and elegance. Check out the images below, but beware, because you may just find yourself adding a few of his pieces to your own wish list!

We have gotten so much new work in the last month from our jewelry designers, but here is a taste of all of the new beauties that I have fallen in love with...that is until we get our next shipment delivered to the gallery!

Designers bring out their newest and best work to Couture each year and they definitely came to the table with a full deck of cards this year. Hope you enjoyed seeing what I have been obsessing over recently! Jewelry is where my passion lies, no doubt about it! Love it!

Cheers!

xX Laura Christine

My Gorgeous Friend as a Beautiful Bride

"But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls." - Khalil Gibran 

Wedding events have been on my mind and agenda for the past week, so I thought I'd share my favorite quote about marriage with you all. I just got back from a beautiful wedding for one of my dearest friends, Carrie. She was a gorgeous bride and her husband, Kris, was the happiest groom to finally make their six year long relationship the real deal. They have always been each other's everything and the most fully committed couple I have ever met. I have known them their entire relationship and I always look at the constant companionship, love, and support Carrie and Kris have with admiration and hope that I will find that in my future. From the beginning, they both knew that what they found would outlast all the ups and downs of life. They are absolutely meant to be together.

Carrie asked me to be her maid-of-honor and I couldn't have been more honored. I have known her since the second semester of my freshman year in college when we lived together in the dorms. She is such a strong, motivated, and beautiful women. I love her family and they have always made me feel like I was part of the family, so I knew it would be fun to be part of Carrie's wedding. I should note that Carrie is one of the most organized people I know, so being her maid-of-honor was almost no work and all play. She had thought through all the details and created the most beautiful evening. From her color scheme to her band selection, her wedding was flawless! 

We all stayed at a B&B in Evergreen, Highland Haven Creekside Inn, that couldn't have been more charming. It was the perfect place for a mountain escape with a rustic cabin feel. We did an early check-in and all of us ladies in the wedding got massages and drank mimosas before the wedding yesterday at the B&B. Carrie's mom, Debbie, invited her childhood friend to the wedding with her daughter, who just so happens to own her own hair salon in Grand Junction. She was sweet enough to meet us early at the B&B and do our hair for the wedding and did an incredible job. Carrie's hair was absolutely stunning. Coming back to my plush king size bed at the B&B after a long day and dancing the night away was the perfect way to end the day. The owners of the B&B prepared us a delicious breakfast for all of the wedding party this morning, where Carrie and Kris signed their marriage license to make it all official. Then the festivities came to a close and we all packed up and headed out. 

If you are looking for a quick mountain retreat, check out the B&B's website below:
http://highlandhaven.com/

Sometime in the near future I promise to do some messing around in my kitchen and create some new recipes to share. Until then, soak up the last weekend of August and take care!

Cheers,

xX Laura Christine

Layla got a wild hair this morning...watch her first feature film!

My Secret Recipes - Spiced Up Chocolate Chip Cookies and Banana Bread

"Nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should." - Julia Child 

FINALLY, the search is over! When I moved to Boulder, I temporarily moved into a townhouse on a month-to-month basis. It seemed like the ultimate deal: affordable, decent location, and it allowed my dog. Less than one week into my new living situation, my family friend who owns the townhouse called me to tell me that the HOA of the community was upset. They newly imposed a "law" stating that at each residence there must be someone over the age of 55 and no younger than 18. They went so far to request a copy of my Driver's License to prove I was not of age. 


Now, for any of you that know me, you would think this is crazy. I am already at least as mellow as any 55 year old, if not more so. I get up by 6:30 and am in bed by 11:00 almost every night of the week. I love to bake (which is where this post is going - trust me, these are recipes that are worth trying, so hang in there!) and cook and garden and often listen to music from the 40's to the 70's. But having a young whippersnapper in the community was just not acceptable to the Board of Directors of the HOA, no matter how sweet, quiet, and respectful I am - I have tried it all! So they kept pushing my landlord to kick me out, but she was nice and wanted to make sure I had enough time to find the right place, so she gave me until the end of August. 


On Wednesday of this week, the lovely HOA turned around and threatened to get a lawyer to evict me if I didn't move out ASAP, as in this weekend! Talk about a deadline! Of course I was stressing out to the max about it Wednesday night and didn't get much sleep. Finally, I got up at 5am because I had by laying in bed wide awake for hours and decided it was time to bake, something that has always been a stress relief for me! Long story short, I fortunately found the perfect place and signed a lease on it during my lunch hour yesterday and can start moving in today! And I will say again something I've said countless times, in this blog and in daily life, absolutely everything happens for a reason!  


So, here are a few of my secret recipes you should know. Now that you know my personal living situation chaos of the past two months of my life, we must know each other well enough to share secret recipes! Right?! My recipe for chocolate chip cookies is just a small twist from the basic Tollhouse recipe, but a dramatic one in terms of flavor and favorability. I was recently discussing the drama regarding the HOA with my best friend and his response was, "Bake them your cookies, those things could make world peace!" Get ready for some foolproof baking that will keep friends and loved ones begging for more! 

Spiced Up Chocolate Chip Cookies 


What you will need:
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 c butter (at room temp)
1/2 c shortening
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 c chocolate chips
*High Altitude (5200 ft plus): Increase flour to 2 1/2 c and add 2 tsp water to flour. Reduce white and brown sugar to 2/3 c each.


How to make:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix butter, shortening, white and brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time and mix. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix in chocolate chips. Use cookie scoop or spoon to make 2" balls of dough and place on a baking sheet about 2-3" apart. Bake for about 7 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack. Share with family and friends, they will love you forever! Enjoy! Yields about 3 dozen cookies.

Banana Bread (Gourmet in taste, yet super simple )


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream Together:
1 c sugar
1/2 c butter (at room temp)
Add: 
3 ripe bananas (mashed)
Then Add:
2 eggs (beaten)
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts, place on baking sheet and toast until lightly browned while combing other ingredients).
1/4 c quick rolled oats (dry)


Lightly grease bread pan and dust with flour to keep from sticking. Pour batter into bread pan and smooth top with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with rolled oats to evenly coat for presentation and textural interest. Bake for 1 hour or until the top of the loaf of bread is golden brown. To check if it is done, insert a knife into the center of the loaf and remove. If there is no batter on the knife, it is ready to come out of the oven. If not, place back in oven and check on it every 5-10 minutes. Once completely cooked, place on a cooling rack. After about 20 minutes, flip over to remove the loaf from the pan and place back on a cooling rack for another 30-45 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Wishing you all a fun-filled first weekend of August! Yikes, I can't believe it is already August! Enjoy every bit of summer while you can, fall will be here before we know it. 


Cheers!
xX Laura Christine