Last Week of October

I don't know how the weather has been wherever you are currently located, but here in Los Angeles, we've had some pretty amazing weeks. The sun is shining, but even here you can tell that it's fall: the air is way crispier than usual. So in order to fully take advantage of the sun before we have to pull out our jackets of the closet, we've enjoyed a few lunches sitting outside, and even spent some time sitting in the sun just outside our little house. 

I can't believe it's November already! We're starting this month just right: today, we're celebrating our 13th anniversary and on thursday we're heading to Hawaii (yesss!!! Hawaii!!!!) for a long weekend. It's my birthday-anniversary present! Yeay for having the best boyfriend on the planet :) 

So by next week you can expect a post of island scenery! Hope you all have a great November! 

Our neighboring palm trees

Sitting in the sun right outside our house

I took advantage of the great weather to shoot all my NIMO. jewelry for the new web
and a major overdue shop update (both will have to wait till after Hawaii, I guess)

Props for the photo shoot

I went for a walk around the Rose Bowl Stadium (here in Pasadena). It a pretty long walk, at least it took me an hour to make the full round!

 

The other day I openen my jacket closet to find a mic stand in it and post its pasted to my jackets!
Surprise! That's what you get if your boyfriend is a musician and has to improvise a vocal booth :)

And to finish the month off: Halloween! (Top ltr Mikki, me & Mel. Bottom ltr Me, Mel & Ira)

Highlights of the last few days

Kitchen window in the afternoon sun. 

Neighborhood

Freshly steamed artichokes. Yum!

Fabric shopping: total spent $18! Yeay for downtown LA. (All knits, average of two yards per fabric)

New beads for NIMO. (Green aventurine, white onyx and turquoise howlite) & my beloved old boots with absolute favorite stockings (H&M) 

This poor little monster was a present from a friend.
I gladly adopted him, but due to some leakage he has to protect our house from the outside. 

You just have to love living in the US: cup holders in shopping carts. How cool is that!?

What I've been up to

Hi there!
What a blogging mess I've been. I hereby officially apologize.
I've been pretty busy working on new designs and trying to decide which ones will be true one of a kind pieces and which ones are going to become part of the "regular" line.
Bare with me, please, as I try to name them, price them, and provide each little (or big) item with it's little history. Only then will I upload them to my (now very sad looking) etsy store.
I'm also psyched about a little holiday project I will be participating in. It's a "blog hop event" about committing to buying crafty presents this Christmas. Angela Flicker had the lovely idea of recruiting bloggers who will each be assigned one day, starting in November, to blog about buying hand-made presents and supplying a shopping list of their favorite items. Head over to her blog to see the list of participants and the scheduled posting.
On the side I'm also working on the design of my webpage, which beginning to take a shape I like. I can't wait to have it up and running (nothing worse than handing out business cards with a web that's under construction - yikes!)
Here are a few pictures of my last weeks.

Vintage Bohemian Glass (1900-1940) - used as barter in Africa

Repurposed vintage bone brooch

Legion Necklace (unisex) 

Sterling Silver Rococo Pendant

Squared Necklace (brass and copper)

The Key

My last "Open Desing Market" in Pasadena, a free event for alumni of the City College and Art Center of Design

Too bad this was the weather we had at the event

First weeks of Leisure back in LA

Rhubarb Lemonade 

Chillin' by the pool. What's up with the legs guys? 

Abandoned toy frog at the bottom of the pool

Welcome back to the US of A: delicious fries at The Counter

Rainy weather brings rainbows, a not so common sight in LA

Home made AllBran-Banana-Oat muffins

Invention on the go: italian whole wheat pasta with brussel sprouts and onions. Secret ingredient: white truffle oil!

A stroll around Pasadena Art Night with friends

I loved the fact that my birthday was such a big deal this year! I kept bumping into banners and posters.

I decided to celebrate at The Edison in downtown LA. A definite "must see" if you're in the area

On sunday I felt I needed a substitute for a birthday cake, so we got some frozen yogurt. This is Mikki's choice: Butterfinger and gummy worms! Although it was quite tasty I opted for the classic topped with fresh strawberries :)

Back to Work

After an extremely long summer hiatus I am finally back in my Pasadena workshop (aka garage). I've actually worked on new jewelry pieces for the past three days and let me tell you - it sure does feel good.
The good thing about taking a break from what you do is that it gives you perspective. You can take a few steps back to get a fresh glimpse. Not only at your own creations but also on what's happening around you. If this summer break from being actively creative has provided me with something, that has been time to think about where and how I want to take this NIMO. adventure of mine. So I've decided to truly focus on one of a kind pieces, not only because it's more fun for me, but also because I feel that this is what can set me a bit more a part from big jewelry companies or the real cheap stuff you can buy at your fashion franchise of choice (Zara, H&M, Anthropologie, UrbanOutfitters, etc).
Anyways, here are the first pieces of the Fall/Winter 2010 Collection. I'm still looking for a name, maybe you have some ideas?

Thai Necklace

Art Deco Earrings

Flapper Necklace

Ampersand Necklace

Hope you're having a great Fall start - I personally can't wait for the fall weather to kick in. But I guess that's what you get for living in sunny California :)

On my Way back to LA via Düsseldorf

So, as we finally got our passports back from the embassy, I decided to spend a few days with my dad in Düsseldorf, before heading back to LA. It was quite a climate change, from still summery Spain to very autumny Germany - but I loved it. I always get so tired of my clothes at the end of each season :) In fact, I enjoyed the rainy weather so much, I even went for walks along the Rhine river, equipped with an umbrella and my ipod. So without any further ado, my impressions of Düsseldorf (all shot with my iPhone). 

Letter Chaos on the floor

Raindrops on a fallen leaf

Reflections after the Rain

More Raindrops

Walnuts everywhere

Raindrops on the Grass

My umbrella from the inside. It reads "The german summer is a winter painted in green - Heinrich Heine"

Old tiles in a shop on Hohe Strasse

Missing my Mister

Boy cycling towards the Rhine

The Rhine on a sunny day

Pic your own flowers - and deposit the according money below

Abandoned gummy fish