A Very Moustachioed Birthday



The Birthday Duo: John and Myself

Yeah, these pictures are a bit late. The party was over 2 weeks ago, but I've been crazy busy. Anyway, here's a sneak peek of some of the pictures. I will definitely have some more in the near future! Have a fabulous Halloween weekend!

Jewelry Shopping Ettiquette 101

This is something I wrote on an old blog when I worked in retail jewelry sales and thought I would share again:

I'm not going to lie, from my experience as a jeweler and a sales associate at a retail jewelry store, I have become a jewelry snob. My lust for well-made jewelry can be compared to neither sex nor chocolate. Solid gold seems to exude a charm unlike gold filled or gold plated metals. My knees get weak and wobbly, my stomach fills with butterflies, and goosebumps surface. Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but only when skillfully incorporated into a fine piece of jewelry.

This is why I find it insulting when a potential customer decides to ask for an outrageous discount when not only are our prices amazing, but the piece of jewelry in question is of superior quality.

Here are a few tips when on the prowl for something fabulous:

Ask before trying anything on.
This is especially important for people with newly pierced ears. Trying on jewelry like earrings is unsanitary for not only you, but also for the next customer. Where I work, we have alcohol swabs readily available for customers to try on earrings. Many places don't do this. If they don't offer rubbing alcohol, just think of the many people before you who have tried them on and decided on a different pair. How gross!!

When offered an exceptional discount, don't ask for more. You may find yourself having no discount at all!
Jewelry stores are NOT flea markets. It's okay to ask a question like "Can you do a little better with the price?" but asking for 60% off is just rude. I kid you not, this happens every day for me. If asked politely, I will usually offer 10% - 20% off but never any more than this. This is standard for jewelry stores because they usually take the wholesale price and multiply it by 2.4, leaving enough for profit and commission for the sales associate. When you ask for a ridiculous discount, you're insulting the quality of the piece. I can't even count how many times I have been turned off by a rude customer and refuse the original discount.

Don't make a negative comment about a piece of jewelry.
This includes telling your shopping companion something like "Oh, don't buy that, I can make something like it instead." when the sales associate can hear. Don't get me wrong, I'm a jeweler myself and get many ideas from shopping around, but you will NEVER hear me say that to someone at a jewelry store. It's rude and chances are you don't have enough experience or are too lazy to actually do it.

Clean hands please!
Oily, nasty, dirt-under-your-nails hands are a sales associate's nightmare. Not only are you putting your hands all over the newly polished jewelry, but also all over the just windexed glass display cases! Either take some hand sanitizer with you or ask someone at the store for some. Every place I have worked with jewelry has had hand sanitizer for those dirty hands. Please don't put the sales associate in an awkward position when he/she has to ask you to clean your hands first. - We're not your parents, nor do we want to be!

Thrift Store Before & After: Spice Rack

BEFORE (but after staining)

I love thrift store shopping and there just happens to be a few on my way home from work every day. So, I tend to shop around at least once a week for interesting finds that I can totally make over. I recently came across this beat up spice rack with 12 glass jars and plastic stoppers for a grand total of $2.98. For those of you who know me, you know that I'm all about the herb garden that I have going on in my kitchen window. I love drying the herbs and creating my own spice blends, to the point where I have more spices than I can even begin to cook with. So containers become an issue and, aside from the basics, I rarely keep the same spices around.

The first project was to sand/stain the wood, which I have only done once before. I purchased some corks from Michael's and chalkboard paint from Home Depot. The idea of chalkboard labels was pretty new to me, so I set out to experiment. I tried using contact paper to create a stencil, but the contact paper wouldn't stick to the glass very well. Eventually, I figured out that it took less time (and looked way better) for me to freehand the shape of the label with a paintbrush.

So, yeah, this was a lot of fun. And here are some After pictures:


AFTER