Le Garage Sale This Weekend

Come & join Tasty Jewelry in addition to many other boutiques & designers during Le Garage Sale this weekend at the Palmer Events Center. I will be showcasing new designs as well as featuring sale jewelry too!



Hope to see you there!!!

cheers!
xo diane

My night out...

I just returned from seeing The Cribs play at The Parish here in Austin. I had seen them last year in November at the Bowery Ballroom in New York and they were amazing there. I had no idea that they could put on an even better show.

Now, I must start by saying that the crowd in NY was WAY better than they were here. As soon as the music started a thumping, pulsing crowd started to move & couldn't be stopped for the entire show! I should say that there were some people here who were getting into it & dancing so to them I applaud you for having a good time. No offense, but seeing people text and just stand there the whole time doesn't seem like a good crowd to me. I really feel sorry for you if you spend $22 for a ticket to see a band, then just stand there motionless with an "ok, impress me" attitude. Just stay home...
Rant over.

Here are some pics that I took. I don't have a fancy camera so I am just going to call them "artistic" & we'll leave it at that.





No good, I know...but I wasn't there to take photos...I was there to enjoy the music. They played pretty much everything I wanted to hear; Hey Scenesters!, Our Bovine Public, Men's Needs, We Were Aborted, I'm a Realist, Be Safe etc. It seemed like the band was enjoying the crowd & they were working hard to get them involved. It paid off in the end, the show really rocked!

cheers!
xo diane

Versailles collection

During my recent visit to Versailles we also explored the grounds of the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon which were both separate residences located in the northwestern portion of the grounds.

I was fascinated by the opulent fabrics, vivid colors & overall feminine beauty that was encompassed within these buildings. Spending the day amongst all of this lavishness was bound to have some effect on my designs at some point and it has.

There are two different ways that I see these designs breaking down. One being the over-the-top elaborateness of the furniture, the accessories & the scale of whole place. Its got my head in a tizzy about bold & faceted "grand" pieces that would be one-of-a-kind and quite luxurious. The other takes its cue from the more feminine side of the experience. The fabrics with all of their rich & subtle hues, floral motifs, damask prints & overall softness.

Here are a few pieces that I've already made with the latter in mind. I've used softer colors, antiqued brass & vintage inspired findings but wanted to introduce the idea of faceted crystals into the mix. I found these great metal "tulip" shaped forms which really lent themselves to the overall look I was going for.

seafoam green - bronze pearl - Swarovski® crystal


white - chain - Swarovski® crystal


red - freshwater pearl - chain


These earrings are part of a VERY limited edition group that I have created. If you are interested in ordering any of these please contact me via an email through the website: www.tastyjewelry.com

cheers!
xo diane

A Day at Versailles

The day before I left Paris my sister took me out to the chateau of Versailles. It was only about 15 minutes from her house. (Nice!) We got there nice & early so we could enjoy it before too many other people came. Here is what we saw once we arrived:



The sun was just rising and the glow cast such a beautiful light on the chateau it was incredible!



We proceeded indoors where we opted for the audio tour. I would highly recommend this as you can take your time to see everything with some detailed explanation. Here I am in "Le Salon de Diane"...my own personalized room at Versailles. Nice huh? :)



Ok, so its really about Diana the Goddess of the Hunt as depicted in this ceiling painting:



Here is the infamous "Hall of Mirrors":



my self-portrait there...(no easy task since there are usually about 150 people or more in this room at any given time - it paid to go early!)



and some gilded tushies:



Everything was so completely opulent. The fabrics, the wall treatments, the furniture, the artwork. Its something that simply must be seen with your own eyes to appreciate.

I'm considering this look for my new bed...think the Queen would mind?



Beautiful crystal chandeliers were everywhere! I must have taken about 20 pictures of them alone. Here's just one example:



and another...



Marie Antoinette herself:



Here is one view of the gardens in the Winter...notice how long & far they reach! Amazing!



and the fountain:



We head out to the Grand Trianon & the Petit Trianon which is where the Queen had her own quarters. Here is one of the rooms, they had the doors closed to block out some of the sunshine so the fabrics wouldn't be ruined.



Here's a close up of a beautiful chair. I was amazed at the unbelievable tapestries & fabrics that were used. The colors were amazing and very inspiring!



Here's the shot my sister took of the whole room:




It won't be soon that I will forget my trip to Versailles. We spent the entire day there...I could have stayed the whole week! I will definitely come back in the Spring/Summer to spend more time in the gardens. What an amazing place.

cheers!
xo diane

A Trip to Paris....part 1

This year I spent Christmas & New Year's in Paris. Yes, I said Paris, as in France, as in the "City of Lights". What an amazing way to end 2009 huh? I can see why people fall in love here...or would want to share this with someone they care about. It's just simply beautiful.

The day I arrived it was my niece, Kaitlyn's, 16th birthday. We went to see PSG (Paris-St. Germaine) play a Ligue 1 match against Grenoble. It was amazing to be in the Parc des Princes with all of the fans. Here we are (Kaitlyn, my sister Mary & I) as captured by the PSG official photographer. This photo ended up on their website after the match! My nephew Thomas found it...


After the match my beau-frére, Thierry, drove us up the edge of the Seine to see the Eiffel Tower, then down the Champs Elyseés. It was all lit up with beautiful lights down both sides of the street and through the Christmas season they had these little white houses all lined up with vendors selling things. It was breath taking.

We came home & had a bite to eat, celebrated Kaitlyn's birthday & then I called it a night....

I highly recommend anyone who likes great food to visit France during this time of year, since most events center around the meal. Its like a religion to these people, and I completely understand it now. I've never eaten so much foie gras in my life!

Our Christmas day meal was fantastic. We started with Champagne (of course) and some delicious salmon blinis. Next we had foie gras on toast with a small mache salad.


That was followed by our main dish of oven roasted chapon (or capon in this country) accompanied by mashed potatoes (with boursin cheese & herbs), bacon wrapped green beans & the stuffing from the chapon.


We followed that with the cheese course and then a dessert of Christmas cookies & Bouche de Noel.

Along with all of the great meals, we did get out and do some walking around. My nieces & I went into Paris the day after Christmas. We started at Centre Georges Pompidou


then rented these cool bikes called Vélib' and rode all around Paris.

Here's Kaitlyn & I:


and a view from my bike...yes, that's the Opera:


and Café de la Paix where we would enjoy New Year's Day brunch:


We stopped at this beautiful little shop where they had these fancy bon bons (you can see my other niece Ashley in the reflection):


then Kaitlyn got this beautiful mango gelato cone shaped like a rose!


We had such a great day. It was nice to get out & about in the city. I've got lots more to share so I'll post again real soon!

cheers!
xo diane