Mother's Day is coming up in just a few weeks and, like many of you, my mom is no longer around. I miss her everyday but especially on Mother's Day. My mother was a generous, loving person and my best friend, even though we didn't live in the same city or even the same state. She would just hate that I posted those three photos of her here but, it's my blog and it feels good to me to honor her in this way. She was not afraid to look and act silly, as you can see in the first photo. She was completely in love with the ocean and island life and traveled to be near the sea as often as she could - yearly when we were kids, more often when we were grown & she and my dad were retired. 

I wrote another blog post about Mother's Day awhile back; if you would like to read it, you can go here to learn all about the history of Mother's Day. Oh, yes, I almost forgot - I put together a Mother's Day gift guide. Check it out  if you are lucky enough to still have your mom in your life or someone else you would like to honor on her special day!

I know that you remember my blog post this past January. I didn't do New Year's Resolutions but instead chose to focus on specific hopes for all of us for 2017. I used this beautiful quote as my inspiration: 

You will probably also remember that I am making my way UP the list.
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Bottom of the list was: Do something nice for someone else. I am firming up plans and designs for my agreement with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which will benefit this wonderful organization. 

Next up was: Move More. I shared with you my plans to relearn how to ride a bike in order to get more exercise.

Which leads me to the next item on the list: Eat Well. I am diving into that topic now by researching the best foods to eat for better long time health. I was surprised at some of what I found. This information is from the AARP, if you wondered.

1. So, it turns out that eating more daisy fat is good for us. Who knew, right? We have all be conditioned to buy only skim milk, fat free yogurt & on & on. (I am moving from skim to 2% milk.)

2. Drinking coffee (3-5 8 ounce cups a day) is GOOD for us! Yay - bring on the caffeine~ (I am drinking a couple of cups a day that I'm sure are more than 8 ounces so I think I am good with this one.)

3. Experiencing a "sense of awe", such as viewing the Grand Canyon or even a walk in nature or viewing art, has a direct influence on your heath and life expectancy. (I am vowing to visit more museums, take more outdoor walks and go to a National Park as often as I can! In addition, I do consider my jewelry a form of art so enjoying wearing my own jewelry is a way find more pleasure in life.)

What do you think? Are you surprised by any of these suggestions? I would love to know your thoughts in the comments section.

Until next time! 

Laura

I was reading online today that there are apparently many different types of moms. In fact, there are several quizzes that you can take (one from Oprah) to identify which type of mom you are, which type of mom you have or even which type of mom you will or would be. Whew.

So, in the spirit of identifying various "mom styles", I put together a Mother's Day Gift Guide. I identified the following types of mom that seem to cover all the most important mom groups:

1. The working mom (no nonsense - she wants to make no decisions in the morning regarding which jewelry to wear so mixed metal jewelry fits her needs perfectly)

2. The elegant mom (she always looks polished and ready for whatever the day brings - from a large charity event, to lunch with friends or dinner with her husband.)

3. The yoga mom (simple jewelry is always her "go to" but still with a little flair, such as the tiny little amethyst drops below.)

4.  The best friend mom (she is your best friend and your mom; or she is your best friend who also happens to be a mom and you want to honor her and her fabulous self on her special day. The classic byzantine silver bracelet is a perfect choice.)

5.  The active mom (no time to sit still for long; this mom is always on the go and needs a straight forward, no nonsense bracelet to wear day after day, with a design that is always perfect for any occasion.)

6. The sweet mom (this mom is always ready to listen to you and offer encouraging words - these little sterling silver heart earrings are a perfect compliment to her personality.)

Want to read more information about the history of Mother's Day? Go here.

Do you remember the "hopes" we talked about for 2017? If you need a refresher, you can go here to see that earlier post. If you looked back at the list you may remember that I was working my way from the bottom to the top of my list. (Don't ask me why, that is just the way it seemed to make sense to me.).

Anyway, the very last thing on the list is "Do something nice for someone else" and I have great news to share!!  After several emails back and forth with the wonderful people at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, we have an agreement in place and I will be making an exclusive jewelry collection that reflects the dedication of those who work daily to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes and the hope that families living with T1D have as they fight the diabetes battle every single day. (You can click here JDRF or on the logos within this blog post to learn more about the work JDRF does.)

The jewelry collection will be available in early summer and will feature simple shapes that have symbolic meaning to the community I am designing for, along with the blue color that is also symbolic.  More details to follow!

Until next time!
Laura