Exclusive Jewelry Designs

Wow, where does the time go? Has it really been almost two weeks since my last post? I promise I haven't forgotten everyone, it's just that I've been so extremely busy taking on new projects I don't know how to fit everything into my schedule. So here's what's been going on with me lately...

I've been designing jewelry not only for my own label WhimSea Designs, but I've had an amazing opportunity to design exclusive jewelry pieces for  Be Mom Couture. This company is so adorable! They have handcrafted jewelry, handbags and tees for the most fashionista of moms! You'll fall in love with them right from the start...just like I did. Can you imagine my excitement when I received their email?!

Here's a peek at some of my exclusive designs for them...

Two of my exclusive designs include this triple strand gemstone necklace with white gold turquoise earrings.

This Beach Mommy Collection was exclusively designed with amazonite gemstones and freshwater pearls.

For the Sugar Mommy Delicate Collection we have white gold orchids and glass pearls.

For a more damatic Sugar Mommy we have two strands of glass pearls adorned with an organza-like fabric flower accented with vintage inspired details.

Here's a little more detailed look at the necklaces...

Blossom Beaded Sparrow Necklace

Bliss Beach Necklace

Sweet As Sugar Necklace

Of course with all these new designs, there had to be a photo shoot, right? We took some time out of our day to head to the beach to catch lovely images of "you know who" wearing "you know what"...

Beach Mommy Island Bag

America's Next Top Model here I come (lol...yeah, right) But it was such a wonderful time while it lasted. We had a blast shooting the Beach Mommy Collection!

Between designing jewelry for BMC, hosting WhimSea Designs Jewelry Trunk Shows, and keeping local stores stocked for the summer with all the latest WhimSea styles.....I'm exhausted!

Here's a few new designs I've been working on lately...

Hope you love them as much as I do! Summer is definately here...and the design studio has been crazy busy!! With that said, I may not be able to post as often as I'd like...but I hope to keep you updated on my whimsical life as it continues to unfold!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a lovely day!

What Red, White and Blue Inspires You?

Happy Fourth, Everyone!

To celebrate I've picked out a few lovely little things to share with you...

Sailor Swimsuit

1950's Vintage Inspired Dress

Patriotic Porches

Lovely Red, White and Blue Bedrooms

(photo via Country Living)

Of course you can't have a Fourth of July celebration without food. Here's one of my favorite recipes I love to bring along to any picnic or barbecue. It always gets rave reviews...

Watermelon Salsa

Ingredients:

3 cups finely diced seedless watermelon

1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup finely minced red onion

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, toss watermelon, jalapeno, cilantro, and onion with lime juice. Season with salt. Serve at room temperature (or chilled).

Helpful Tips:

*Use a combination of yellow and pink watermelon to make this a really colorful salsa!

*Be sure to take out the seeds and the inside membrane from the pepper... that's the extra-hot stuff.

*It's okay to make this early in the day and let it chill until serving. I've found that it's also good the following day.

*Serve with tortilla chips or slices of jicama.

No matter what your plans are for this holiday weekend, please remember to do one thing...

What red, white and blue inspires you?

Thanks for stopping by...have a lovely day!

Sunday Brunch...for the love of blueberries

Good Mornin' Everyone!

Summertime is here...yaaaay! For me that means enjoying some delicious recipes made with all the fresh fruits of the season. Blueberries are one of my favorite berries so this morning I'm sharing an amazing Blueberry Pecan French Toast Cassarole recipe. I found tastely little treat in my Vera Bradley Cookbook, which is my absolute favorite source for home cooking, along with Southern Living of course.

**Side note for this recipe - The bread needs to soak in the egg/milk/brown sugar mixture up to 8 hours so plan ahead!

Ingredients:

French bread baguette
6 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 stick plus 1 teaspoon butter
2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained

Directions:

Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Cut 1 1/2 inch slices from the baguette and arrange in one layer in the dish (about 6-8 slices). Whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a large bowl and pour evenly over the bread. Refrigerate mixture, covered, until all liquid is absorbed by the bread, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

When you are ready to bake and serve, preheat oven to 350 F. Spread pecans evenly in a shallow baking pan and toast in middle of oven until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Toss pecans with 1 teaspoon butter. Alternately (and this is what I did), toast the pecans in a skillet in one layer over medium heat, stirring often. Toss with 1 teaspoon butter. (I did this the night before to save time the morning of.)

Sprinkle pecans and blueberries evenly over bread mixture. Cut remaining 1/2 stick butter into pieces and heat with remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar in a small saucepan, stirring, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Drizzle butter mixture over bread and bake mixture

30 – 40 minutes or until any liquid from blueberries is bubbling.

Makes 6 generous servings.

If you love muffins with your Sunday Brunch, read more about this delicious recipe for The Acorn Market's Blueberry Muffins here.

Thanks for stopping by this morning! Enjoy...

 

A Lovely Country Lunch...

I'm always looking for lovely little tucked away places to shop and dine so yesterday I took some time off for myself and had a much needed "Girl's Day Out" with my sister. It's no suprise how much I love the beach and coastal inspiration. I also fall madly in love with anything vintage, cottage style and country living!

We started our day with a lovely little country style lunch. I heard about this great little tucked away fresh market (hidden treasure) the other day, so naturally I decided to see what all the excitement was about.

The Acorn Market

From the moment you step on to this lovely country style porch

your nestled with tiny little tokens of country lovin'.

Every little detail is so comforting and inviting like the country dining room you'll find inside. Small and charming, quaint and lovely...it makes you feel right at home, don't you think?

Orders are taken in the this little room tucked in just off the porch when you walk in. There's a delicious assortment of pastries like homemade chocolate chip and shortbread cookies, homemade brownies (like the butterfinger blondie) and homemade cakes. There's even fresh homemade breads like oatmeal and sweet potato biscuits too. I was in heaven let me tell you!! You can even take home larger orders for sharing with the family. Yeah, I tried to to that with the sweet potato biscuits (which are TO DIE FOR by the way) they didn't make it very far though, I ate 4 on the way home, shhhh!

The sandwiches and salads are so amazing! This is just a sample of what they offer...

Mixed greens with nectarines, golden raisins, pistachios, blue cheese crumbles and grilled chicken breast topped off with their homemade honey pelican dressing! With every sandwich or salad you get the choice of freshly made bread or seedless grapes. They even slide on a single homemade shortbread cookie for a sweet little something to enjoy after your lunch.

I'm telling you, you detail is overlooked when you eat at this lovely little market! As amazing as my salad was I was excited  DYING to get through my lunch so I could walk around more.

The little rooms just get even more lovely with every turn. O'ma Goodness...hold me back! Not only is the market decorated so nicely (yep, even the ladies room looks like you stepped into someone's country cottage home)...all the items are for sale!  Lunch and cottage shopping all in the same place. Surely I've died and gone to heaven....I'm just sure of it at this point!!

One of my favorite little touches about The Acorn Market is the huge country pie cupboard the sits just outside the door. Inside is full on handcrafted items for sale as well as some of the most amazing cookbooks you could ever lay your eyes on. The best thing about it...you can check out (just like a library) one of the cookbooks to take home and try out a few country recipes for yourself. How lovely is that?

Alright, so this post wouldn't be complete without sharing a few of their favorite homemade recipes with you I found on their blog! If you have a country sweet tooth, you'll love these...

Acorn Market Shortbread Cookies

Acorn Market Chocolate Chip Cookies

Acorn Market Blueberry Muffins

Acorn Market Turtle Cheesecake

So there you have it...some sweet little recipes for my sweet little friends! Try one out this weekend if you're headed to a Fourth of July get together. Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely friday!