IT'S AUTUMN....HOORAY!

Today in New York City it's a breezy 62 degrees after a recent heatwave, and Fall is in the air. I thought I'd celebrate by posting pictures of Autumn Lovelies from both of my shops:

Angora collar to warm up a favorite sweater

Macrame 1940s handbag with lucite tortoise shell handles

Groovy suede and acrylic hooded sweater jacket

Cheerful yellow knit gloves

Freshwater Pearl cluster lariat necklace in rich jewel tones

Acrylic fall leaf necklace

Mimi diN orange glass seed bead torsade necklace

Vintage buckle, button and bead bracelet

Orange glass bead bracelet

Hot chocolate and cream jasper and copper earrings

Jasper and glass bead bracelet in yummy chocolate and coffee colors

Fall flower glass bead earrings

Orange glass lampwork earrings

Sterling silver and topaz chandelier crystal earrings

Orange coral sticks

Glass leaf beads in green and copper

Enameled caterpillar on a leaf beads

Vintage wooden painted folk art ladle

Happy Fall to All!

Fall Colors 2009

I was in Central Park this weekend, on a rainy Saturday (too bad for the kids attending the Pumpkin Hunt!) with camera in hand, but thankfully, it was still a photo-worthy visit. The leaves this week are green with lots of yellow but not too much red, but I expect that by this weekend, we will see some changes. It hadn't been that cold here, so fall color hasn't advanced that far. It's still awfully pretty, and I hope to capture more leaf extravaganza as October advances...

More pictures at my Flickr here.

A Walk In The Park

Continuing with the Fall Theme, I walked through Central Park this past week on another impossibly gorgeous day, eager to see how the leaf colors were progressing. It was only just starting, and I was thrilled by the sight of a few trees that looked as if God had dipped a dry brush in red and just touched up the edges of a few trees. That red makes me CRAZY, so I have to go back next week to chart its progress. I was in NJ over the weekend, and the fall colors are ahead of New York City's...some pix coming soon.

I photographed the Park in the East 80s, walking by the Great Lawn and the duck pond near the Delacorte Theater.

Fall Moments

I took a few pictures as I was waiting for the Fifth Avenue bus on a brilliant fall day last week. The leaves seem to be changing a bit early this year and there was a fresh carpet of gold that looked so much better than what I captured here. While I was on the bus, I spotted a woman having her lunch while her gorgeous canine companion watched - the expression on the dog's face is so human and tickled me so much. :)

Greenmarket Saturday

I was out bright and very early (early for ME), as the market was opening, around seven AM (!) so I could a) grab the best produce, and b) take some pictures. It was well worth the effort, as the goods were spectacular-looking...food just photographs so brilliantly. I have so many pictures that I don't think I can post them all here, but they're at my Flickr space for a complete viewing. The link will take you to the slideshow of the Greenmarket Pix that I've taken since September. I missed the market last weekend, but tomatoes continue to be prime, the apples look great (wish I liked them) and the cauliflower varieties I think are the stars of the week. The strange looking green vegetable is a Romanesca cauliflower, a cross between broccoli and cauliflower, that I'll try next week. I did buy some purple cauliflower, which I am told tastes just like the white variety.

The lady in the orange sweatshirt is my fabulous neighbor Ruby, who is a Renaissance woman - knitter, chef, fishing enthusiast and market-vendor. She is selling divine milk from Thistle Farms - you have to get there very early to snag the chocolate milk, which is extraordinary.

Duane is our very cheerful honey-and-candle-vendor. It was so early that he hadn't yet unpacked the candles, which was a shame as far as my pictures fared. There are traditional beeswax tapers but also angels and other molded shapes that would make great gifts.

The pumpkins and gourds are also pretty spectacular, and I'm loving the harvest display that was created for maximum seasonal decoration. Enjoy the pictures...and visit your local Greenmarket, if there's one near you. This one is on Isham Street between Cooper and Seaman Avenues in Inwood, in upper Manhattan, just north of the A train's last stop on 207th street.

Feels Like Fall

It's been September weather for virtually all of August - mild, in the 70s and low 80s F, and in the 60s at night. Anyone who knows me knows that I do not tolerate heat well, so summer is often a miserable time. I live on the top floor of my smallish apartment building, so on those dog days of summer, it can be unbearable. Anyway, enough about that, the weather this August has been glorious and I have been motivated to bring out the unsold autumn merch from last year as well as make some new pieces, which I did last night while watching Night 3 of the DNC.

The newest item is a bracelet chock full of all of my autumn-themed charms and some truly mouth-watering glass leaf beads. It's my favorite season and if I really let myself do it, I would decorate for Halloween all year long. Remember when orange wasn't a fashion color? Hell, it wasn't a color you saw anywhere except possibly children's clothing. Hard to believe now, when it's everywhere, but there was once a time when orange and bright green could not be found in the stores. Whenever I did a show that required a spectrum rainbow, it was tough, as orange and green clothing was never in the stores and had to be made.

I remember when Banana Republic first featured orange clothes, and rushed in to buy a boiled wool sweater and soft silk & wool scarf in that delicious color. Even though I grew up with an orange 70's kitchen, with severely orange formica counters, which you'd think would have put me off the color forever, with dark brown wood cabinets with textured orange glass windows, I have always loved the color and have to stop myself from buying orange and more orange come fall.