roommates

Photo booth good times. Shout out to you girls.

20 minutes for yourself in the afternoon

It happened. We made it. I ordered my first iced americano of the season today. And took 20 minutes this afternoon in the sunshine in just a tank top to soak it up. The wind of course started up again soon after, but nobody could have blemished those few moments of glory. Nobody.

During that time, I got an email from Sadie Rose with a custom order. Nothin' I love more. Check out this labradorite pyramid that will soon be a ring on her finger. It's flippin gorgeous, as is she, and I can't wait to get to work on it.

Also, photos from a quick coastal jaunt yesterday. This is my favorite beach on all of the west coast. Agates and streams and birds and tide pools galore. This secret little pathway down to the shore makes me want to be a kid again just to see it through the lens of young eyes.

mango me

I can't... stop... eating... mangos. I've been solely consuming one a day for what feels like the entirety of March (which, by the by, where did this month go?) While chowing this morning's mango, I became not what I would describe as bored, but rather reflective on the fact that I could add some culinary skills to this latest obsession. I did a bit of research and now my mouth is watering again...

prosciutto-wrapped mango bites

avocado mango salad

for the meat lover in all of us: curry pan fried mango chicken

and, a slight derivation: arugula avocado mango salad

URBAN BOLO premieres

Noelle says it all. Stay tuned for shop listings!

portland to israel

Check out Hannah sporting a stone&smith leather wrap cuff somewhere in the Tel Aviv night life realm.

Bottom right. Looking fresh. As she would say, boop!

oh, and ROCKS!

So many in stock. Need some bling? Message me!

And, a sneak preview of what is to come....

The URBAN BOLO

leather WRAP CUFF galore

feeding the fire

What an amazingly full and wonderful weekend. People are slowly emerging from their long winter hibernations as temperatures outside are slowly climbing (notice the emphasis on the word slowly). The weekend was full of long feasts, productive hours at the studio, cuddling, an epic moon, a fun night out on the town topped with sunday brunch, and... a photo shoot!

Salim was amazing to offer his time and stud-factor to Stone&Smith for the afternoon.

And the only up-side to minor technical difficulties? We got to hang the heck out. Hope your weekends were equally as fulfilling. xox, mel.

elk preserve

We caught some amazing shots last week at the elk preserve just outside of Reedsport in southern, coastal Oregon. The morning was incredibly foggy and the elk were uncharacteristically close to the viewpoint.

Notice in some of the shots that the male elk have lost significant amounts of their antlers. Turns out elk shed their antlers once a year, in the early spring (no longer needing them after mating season comes to a close in the late fall and the foraging technicalities of winter are over). Elk that are older and in better shape lose their antlers first.

Huh. Who knew!

pico baby

My my, it's good to be home. I've been on the road for work since Monday and just made it to the couch mere minutes before finding a new friends' blog. Meg Costello: witty, lovely, from Wisconsin, and author of the most hilarious christmas letter I've read to date. Imagine the glory of her blog: the hoe and the spade. Lots of gardening advice, winter complaining, and overall hilarity.

Discovered a yummy and foolproof pico de gallo recipe on her blog that I might just make for dinner. All of this, of course, goes back to how nice it is to be home and eat home cooked, healthy food.

eva martin

Hot, hot design crush. Eva Martin...

What is it about a Monday that creates a need to scour these interwebs for impressive design...

Oregon State Gemstone

Sunstone.

Found in Southern Norway, Siberia, Middletown DE, Statesville NC, and, most plentifully, in Oregon. What makes the Oregon strain distinct are the traces of copper found within that give it a shimmery, labradorite hue. Take a look:

aka aventurine-feldspar

aka golden labradorite

aka UNbelievably stunning

aka i bought my weight in Sunstone this weekend

aka take me here

aka new spring line, coming right up...

sudsy sale

Paralee's amazing soaps are for sale. Get 'em while they are hot (and 10% off when you buy four bars!).

glimpse of spring

Not so much here, though it is warmer, but certainly somewhere... Waiting patiently for the sunshine.

"I spent a long time

trying to find my center until

I looked closely at it one night

& found

it had wheels and moved easily in the slightest breeze

So now I spend less time sitting and more time sailing. "          — Brian Andreas (Story People)