Embracing Change

Happy Monday Sweeties...

Hope your weekend was wonderful!

With the holidays over & some time on my hands, this weekend I decided to just PLAY. I made a huge cup of my much loved Cafe Mocha, stayed in my jammie's ALL day & cruised my way through some of my very favoritest blogspaces. I may not have commented on each & every one as I really was trying to see them all, but I so enjoyed feeling apart of all your grand & simple, honest & heartfelt, inspired & ordinary dreams for the New Year...it's hard not to do some revising & reevaluating when thinking of all the POSSIBILITIES!

{don't you love the intials, vs&w...I do. lol}

One post in particular really caught my eye & heart & not only did I want to participate,

but I wanted to share it with all of you.

Deryn Mertock creator of Something Sublime & an amzing jewelry designer, had been given an idea by a bloggy friend of hers, Rebecca Sowers of  "a Glance Back through your work to find your Creative Path Forward." Doesn't that sound inspiring?

{I just made my Heirloom Texas necklace this weekend with little toy charms I found at Round Top}

They both created a photo mosaic of their recent work and asked these questions:

Would I create this same piece again?

Would I wear this?

Is this something that really speaks of who I am artistically?

Will I still love this piece a year from now?

Five years from now?

Does this piece give me that special "ahhhh!" moment?

{my Heirloom Necklace with so many treasured memories}

Being a newbie to jewelry design & having never taken a class, I am still so 'in the process' of finding my way. In looking at my mosaic, I saw some of my 1st pieces that are a little more delicate then what I'm attracted to now & I realize that's just not me. I love chunky, junky, clumpy & nostalic jewelry..

they sing to my soul.

Hummm, why do I feel like following the course of 'Embracing Change' in the New Year?

First would be the great experience I had working on Riki's blog, Riki Jewelry. Each time I create with a new friend, I am forced to work outside my box & always learn something invaluable. This time it was how to alter & stretch templates & work in the html to achieve the desired look. Well it looked so darn good, I just HAD to do it to my own blog too! LOL Thanks Riki, I love the cleaner look & the possibility of larger images.

And secondly, following the path I have already started in my life, trying to Be Brave!

It doesn't come naturally to me friends. I know it may seem like I can be tough as nails & can accomplish anything if I put my mind & heart to it, but it does come at a price. Being Brave is not my usual reaction, being scared is. So this months brave task is, to take the two above pieces of jewelry, already mounted for presentation, to Stampington Publication for submission in Belle Armoire Jewelry. I'll just have to be patient & wait & see. Nothing extordinary can ever happen if you aren't brave enough to step out of the ordinary, now & then... right!

Next, a brand new header, I LOVE PS! ;)

XOXO

vintagesusie

Lovely New Blog Design for Riki Jewelry!

Greetings Sweet Hearts in this fabulous

New Year!

I am surrounded by snow in my quint

mountain hamlet,

but the sky is blue & the sun is shining brightly &

I have high hopes for an EARLY thaw.  ;)

{I know, it's just the beginning of January...

but a girl can hope, right!}

My Sweet Friend, Riki Schumacher of Riki Jewelry fame, asked me to help her create a whole new look for her blog in celebration of the New Year. She wanted a clean, feminine design, in which I think we accomplished perfectly! Her blog's white background, now makes a great showcase for her
Awesome Photography.

Riki's jewelry are 'romantic relics', vintage inspired & absolutely fabulous!

She is hosting a 'New Year's Giveaway' that I KNOW you'll want to be a part of...

just get over to her blog before January 10th, leave a comment & your entered.

It's that EASY!

What a talented artisan she is along with being such a beautiful spirit.

Thank you so much Riki for the opportunity to create this awesome design with you...

I think it turned out HEAVENLY!

XOXO

vintagesusie

2011 Tournament of ROSES

Greetings Friends, from the home of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses!

Growing up in So Cali has a few more benefits then just Disneyland, although that is & always will be my VERY Favoritest!  ;)

{Natural Balance Float}

As New York City has it's fabulous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade,

Pasadena has it's annual New Year's Day Rose Parade.

This year it celebrated it's 122nd Birthday!

In the winter of 1890 the Valley Hunt Club members came up with the idea to promote the "Mediterranean of the West." They invited their former East Coast neighbors to a mid-winter holiday, where they could watch games such as chariot races, jousting, foot races, polo and tug-of-war under the warm California sun.

The abundance of fresh flowers, even in the midst of winter, prompted the club to add another showcase for Pasadena's charm: a parade would precede the competition, where entrants would decorate their carriages with hundreds of blooms.

The Tournament of Roses was born.

"In New York, people are buried in snow, here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise."

{I LOVE a little history to go along with my posts, it's like  a yummy appetizer!}

After the parade, which this year was on 1/1/11, {how cool is that} they park all the

floats at Pasadena High School for 2 days.

The flowers are still fresh & fragrant, you can see each one of the seeds they use to make their designs, every split pea or dried kidney bean & it truly is a site to behold.

This year was exceptionally chilly, but with my umbrella in one hand & my camera in the other, hubby & I braved the crowds & took it all in...exquiste!

I LOVE all the floats, but every year one in particular catches my fancy & won't let me go. Leave it to the City of Beverly Hills to come up with a float that was so elegant, so intricate, so classically beautiful, I just couldn't walk away. 

Everything about it was inspired...

from the iconic city street sign,

to the fountains in the park,

the local city pigeons taking a bird bath,

& the vintage lamposts with their hanging baskets of flowers.

Oh, & did I mention the amazing array of apple, rose & orchid topiarys...

HEAVEN!

So I'm thinking, this year, keeping in tune with the theme of the Tournament of Roses...

I will make it a year of,

Building Dreams, Friendship & Memories!

Not a bad mantra for 2011, what do you think friends?

{Warner Brothers Float}

And of course, being the Monga to a 5 year old grandson...

I would NEVER forget a tribute to Sponge Bob!

Ya gotta LOVE him...

he gives hours of free babysitting to millions of over worked Mommy's across the country,

& yes...sometimes Monga's too!  ;)

Happy 2011 Darlin's!!!

XOXO

vintageusie

Blessings for The New Year!

Oh...Sweet, Sweet, Sweet Hearts,

Thank You is not a big enough sentiment to express to you all, how very much your blessings, love & support has meant to me

over the last few weeks.

You are amazing beyond words.

You lift me up, give me wings & help me FLY.

You inspire me to be a better version of myself.

You allow me to speak my truths without fear.

You share your truths with me & in doing so, I feel HONORED.

You have helped make THIS Christmas, one of the most blessed & magical of my life.

For I BELIEVE without you, I would have never been brave enough to take the journey that I have over the past year & a half.

I would have never learned

PhotoShop or digital design

or tried my hand at blog design.

I would have never known about

Round Top or Marlburger

or the Junk Gypsy's or Magnolia Pearl.

I would have never driven alone, at 54, to TEXAS

or gone to the Gila Cliff Dwellings

or White Sands

or The Infamous Carlsbad Caverns

or the Missions of San Antonio.

I would have never written my 30 Truths

or thought about Number 3.

And having never done any of THOSE things, I BELIEVE...

I would have never been on the path that would lead me to my brother.

This Christmas, just like when I was a little girl,

I spent the day with Johnny, my big brother.

My heart is so FULL & I am sooo Grateful!

 My Dearest, Sweetest Friends...

As the New Year approaches, I wish you Abundant Blessings.

I wish you...

Joy in looking back,

Peace in the present

& enduring HOPE for the future.

Life is such a constant surprise...

Miracle's DO happen friends,

even this late in the game!

XOXO

vintagesusie

PS: Pappy's Cowgirl, please email me so I can get you your Big Prize!!  :)

A Christmas Miracle & Truth Number 3

{Getty Image}

...in a small mid-western town, there was a handsome, popular & athletic boy.

He was Senior Class President,

Captain of the Football Team & a State Champion in track & field.

At the same school there was a beautiful, bright young girl filled with promise for the future.

She was a Homecoming Princess, a Nationally Ranked diver & a reserve on the US Olympic Diving Team. This boy & this girl became high school sweethearts, fell in love & got married.

The sweetheart's were expecting a baby when this proud, 18 year old, All-American boy & his best friend, enlisted in the Marines & went off to fight in the Korean War. The two small town boys sailed across the ocean blue, to places they could have never imagined.

Back home, the girl became a Mommy. With her husband away at war, she & her brand new baby moved from their small hometown & everything they had ever known, to a beach city in southern California & it was there that she awaited her husband's return. Johnny was one before his Daddy ever got to hold him. Soon, there was a new addition to the family, a little baby girl named Susie.

Johnny & Susie had a happy childhood in their little house near the seashore.

Growing up with their faces in the sun, they searched for shells in the sand, swam in the bay, checked out books from the seaside library & always smelled of 'Sea & Ski.'

On Christmas morning, they sat together playing with their new toys, dressed in their new Christmas pajamas & slippers. Susie doesn't have a childhood memory that Johnny is not in.

Fast, fast forward....

Slowly & over time, their beautiful Mommy got sick. She had a devastating disease for which there was no cure. A genetic disease. Huntington's Disease. Susie was 10 when her Mommy got diagnosed & 15 when her Mommy died. Susie spent the next 40 years of her life being terrified about everything & anything to do with the monster that lurked under her bed. A flip of a coin would determine Johnny & Susie's fate, a 50/50 chance were the odds they were given. Tragically, Johnny lost the coin toss.

Susie watched Johnny get worse & worse. Susie was scared of Johnny & of what Johnny's illness represented. A possible mirror image of herself, reliving the pain of her Mommy's disease, guilt, fear & some more fear. At some point, Johnny got lost in the system...disability, social security, medical, medicare, halfway houses, care facilities, nursing homes, convalescent hospitals & Susie didn't try & find him because her FEAR was too great.

Then , Susie did a blog about 30 Truths & she came to number 3.

Unknowingly, number 3 changed her life... forever.

Number3: Something you have to forgive yourself for.

Surviving & Johnny.

 

 

Fast forward...

Thursday I found my brother, Johnny.

Thursday, I drove alone to a nursing home in LA.

Thursday, I didn't know if I could get out of the car...but I did.

Thursday, I walked through the doors & smelled urine & got scared & thought I can't do it...but I did.

Thursday, I walked up to a nurses aide & asked where Johnny was. She led me to a room & I saw a man in a bed on the far side of the room & thought, it's just too hard, don't go in...but I did.

Thursday, I walked into his room. Crying, I walked over to his bed & for the 1st time in so many lost years, I kissed the face of my brother. I stayed for 5 hours & went back the next day.

 

{for more info about HD, click HERE}

My journey of Love & Peace is just beginning & my life will never be the same.

I have a brother who is 56, his name is Johnny & he has Huntington's Disease.

I am my brother's keeper...

Friday night, before I left the hospital, I asked the nurses if they might change Johnny into the new Christmas pajamas I had brought for him. I left the room & went over to the nurses station, leaning against the counter as I waited. A woman in a wheelchair, who I had never seen before, came over to me & said, "You're so beautiful! You have the glow of angels surrounding you." I thanked her as she continued talking to me about the Lord's blessings.

Was I in the presence of angels?

I believe I was.

Is this a Christmas Miracle?

Oh yes sweet hearts, most assuredly, this is an amazing Christmas Miracle...

for both of us!!

XOXO

vintagesusie