This Week's Blog Post

New Toggle Clasp

I received this new Bali sterling silver toggle clasp this week. It is so elegant! Available here.

My Rainbow Veins

I won something fabulous from My Rainbow Veins! It will be hung on my office wall which is where my yoga mat and access to YouTube yoga videos are! I love that it reads “simple” which really fits yoga.

Jordan is a talented teen with an eye for really cool newspaper art. As a Lord of The Rings fan I love this one!

And who doesn't love Pooh!

Check out My Rainbow Veins on Etsy and her blog here! On her blog you also see her talent as a nature photographer!

Maudsley State Park

Maudsley State Park  is approximately 450 acres of reservation. Jim and I only explored a small portion of this since it is so vast!

It was formerly an estate belonging to the Moseley family.

To get an idea of the gardens I read that at one time it took approximately 40 staff workers to maintain! Yikes!

The gardens date back to the 19^th century but have not all been kept up. The land is too sizeable for the Department of Conservation and Recreation who now manages the park.

This makes for some mysterious looking structures that remain.

Regardless it is an enchanting land of meadows, flowering shrubs, super tall pine trees and more.

It also runs along the Merrimack River for water views.

I have been to this park many times however I have never walked through this part when the rhododendrons were in bloom. It is amazing!

These shrubs are incredibly tall (although the picture does not demonstrate this) and delightful to walk through.

Pink petals sprinkled the ground.

The family used to bury their pets on the property. Each headstone is named and dated!

This sweet weed was recurring along the paths. I find its petals really unique with those cutouts.

I hope you also enjoyed our walk through the park! My posts have been getting longer lately since Jim and I are going places with the beautiful weather. The blog is a wonderful way to document our memories!

Have a perfect week! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post

Replenished Ear Wires

I received a shipment of ear wires from Bali, Indonesia this week so my inventory is replenished.

Bali wires have always been a favorite of mine for their quality and style. Someday I would love to be making my own ear wires for resale!!!

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

**WARNING** There is a snake in this post!

Jim and I took a ride over to the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary.  This space is over 2,000 acres of reservation for nature.

Some of the trails are boardwalks through a swampy environment.

Of course I almost fell a few times!

We saw a muddy frog.

As well as a frog who likes to keep clean.

Lots of snakes (the harmless kind).

The deer were not too afraid of us since they feel safe in this sanctuary.

There were happy mallard ducks.

Lots of birds. I envy those of you who can photograph birds. That is no easy task!

Including Woody Woodpecker! Jim spotted this little guy this from a distance. He is super far away so the picture is a bit fuzzy.

I have always enjoyed looking up at majestic trees against a blue sky.

There were many twisted tree formations.

The beavers are hard at work on this land. They even chopped this tree down with their teeth!

The pictures do not due the nature justice. Everything was worthy of gazing at.

I can see that the photos do not do justice since I cannot figure out what I was focused on in a bunch of the pictures! It caught my eye in real life. If I could have had a professional photographer by my side I could have had them capture my fascination!

This walk was perfect. Nature therapy is one of the best forms of relaxation…..right up there with laughter!!!

Jim enjoyed it so much that he brought his son there afterwards and they discovered much more than we did since the place is so vast. Apparently there is a grotto there (not like the Playboy mansion one). They brought bird seed and the birds actually ate out of their hands!

Thank you for stopping by! Have a beautiful week! ~Val

This Week's Blog Post!

Celtic Necklace
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day I have created this Celtic knot necklace!

Celtic knots have various meaning so they can be interpreted in different ways. I prefer to view a Celtic knot as a symbol of eternity and the cycles of life continuing on. Available at Miss Val's Creations.

Yoga
So I have not been to the gym in quite a while since I have a day job and come home heading straight into my home office to work on my jewelry business! But a couple of weeks ago I was struggling with the groceries. This was a wake up call!!!! Since going to the gym eats up extra time I am now squeezing in a yoga workout after work via youtube.

I came across these Power Yoga segments which are fantastic and challenging. There are three 30 minute Power Yoga segments I have been practicing. A lot of swears come out of my mouth while attempting the stand on 1 leg and contort your body positions! I certainly can not manage the position shown here from the video clip. My hands can not touch this way! However I now have a new goal of mastering these positions and becoming strong again!!!! This is the first time since my teen years that I have done a backbend. It feels completely unnatural and like my body could break at any moment!

I have always been a weight lifter and really miss the arms I had last summer. But yoga is a smarter way to take care of the body so it will be interesting to see what my arms will look like by this summer! I just do not want them to end up jacked like Madonna’s arms which are a bit too much for my frame.

Inversion Therapy
I have always wanted an inversion therapy bench, particularly now since I am sitting 95% of my waking hours! This is a cool piece of equipment that you hang upside down on. It is a holistic way of reducing back pain, stress, tension, stretching your spine, improving posture, improving circulation and more!

It is recommended to hang upside down for 10 minutes a day but it does hurt my feet and ankles since they are basically holding my entire body weight. So I try to do this a couple of times a day until my ankles can no longer bear it. It feels fantastic and paired with yoga will help me reduce stress and muscle tension that I experience!

Crocuses
I am shocked my crocuses popped up before St. Patrick’s Day!

Mother Nature is acting very erratic this year. She could use a dose of Prozac. I even had all the windows in my house open after work 2 days this week and I live in Massachusetts!

New Bali Findings
I received a large shipment of Bali sterling silver findings which I have finally finished posting! These ear wires and toggles are new inventory in my shop.

However these beautiful ear wires sold out right away! Next order I will need to order many more of this style. They are unique and super shiny.

Thank you for stopping by! Have a wonderful, hopefully Spring like week!

New Toggle Clasps!

I've been searching for a new supplier of sterling silver clasps since the price of silver has been rising. I love to keep my prices affordable which has been tricky lately! These new clasps are quite affordable and crafted beautifully in Bali. Available in my shop.

I also added these cool ear wires! I have never worked with this style before but the size of the wire alone makes a statement! Available here.