Every goodbye makes the next hello closer.

I have been busy packing and getting ready for a move over the past few weeks.  I hope you'll afford me a little sentimentality here.  My husband and I have taken a big leap into a new adventure and we are leaving our nice, comfy little nest behind!  It has been an emotional week with the full realization of what we are doing settling on me.  There is a lot more to it than packing up a house and moving somewhere new.  We are forging ahead into the unknown.  It's exciting, exillerating, and nerve wracking and scary.

I have moved a lot. A LOT. I wasn't a military kid, but we moved like a military family when I was a kid.  I counted 13 moves growing up, and we joke with my parents that the tradition lives on, they've moved at least 7 times since I left home!  There have been 6 moves for my husband and I.  This one is different because this was our first "home", the first one we bought and made our own.

We poured our whole first summer here into renovating a mess of a foreclosed piece of property.  It was a lot of work, and completely rewarding.  We didn't have a kitchen for the first month.  We cooked on a grill, washed dishes in the bathtub, and got water from our fabulous neighbors!  Here's part of what that work earned us:

It was worth it in the end.  I cooked and baked food linked to many amazing memories here.

My son has spent his first five years here.  He learned to "truly" crawl on these floors (quotations because before that he had only mastered some weird army crawl that didn't get full credit!) followed by his first steps.

These walls hold so many precious memories that will come along with us.  Still, we will miss this place. We cherish many good times spent with friends and family in this space.  It has been our haven, and we have fully treasured living here.  So many times we have settled down in the living room to relax and said "I love this house, it feels like a vacation home" as we look into the backyard at the beautiful green "lollipop tree" contrasting against the bright blue sky (well, sometimes contrasting against bright blue, probably more often against grey clouds here!).

I'll miss my humble little jewelry design studio as well.  A cozy little nook that harbored hours of artistry and creativity. This is where Variya jewelry started:

All good memories.  All good times.  It feels positive to reflect.  I'm looking forward to the future.

To Have and to Hold

I. love. weddings.  I love what weddings represent, I love the beauty all around, I love the tradition (which would probably shock you if you know me..) I love the details, I love everything about them (except the stress, if it's mine, of course).  Imagine then, my joy when I get to design and create the jewelry for a wedding!  That has been just as enjoyable (and a little stressful if I'm honest).  It has been a wonderful experience over the last few months creating jewelry for a few gorgeous and all completely different weddings, and I want to share them with you here.

The most recent was the Goetz-Mutchler wedding on Long Island (who also had some absolutely fabulous photography by Rob Davidson Photography)

I have to share the wedding party shot because first - great photography, second - look at those incredible colors (I completely fell in love with the purples!), third - what a beautiful bridal party, and fourth - it's my blog and I can do what I want.. =)  ..including the use of smilies and emoticons.  But seriously, this was a special work for me for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I have a special connection to the bride whom I have known since she was in eighth grade so I was very happy she asked me to do her jewelry.  Second, count how many bridesmaids are in that picture.. okay never mind I'll tell you - SEVEN!  These were seven of Lisa's closest friends and she wanted a special unique gift for each one, so I did seven unique pieces (which also was very fun for me).  And finally, I was invited to the wedding, so I was able to see the jewelry on the beautiful ladies I made it for, in the setting I designed it for, which was really fun!  Here are a few of the pieces:

Passion Bracelet in Sterling Silver, Semi-precious Stone, Crystal and Vintage Glass

Sterling Silver custom tags

Passion Necklace in Sterling Silver, Semi-precious Stone, Crystal and Vintage Glass

Passion Earrings in Sterling Silver and Vintage Glass

I loved designing these pieces.  And since I love weddings so much, here is the stunning happy couple:

I planned on sharing more of my recent wedding designs with you in this post, but alas, I am out of time.  As always, this ends up being longer than I planned, you'll have to come back again for more.  In the meantime, if you or someone you know is interested in a custom wedding package from Variya, you can contact me directly, or place your order at Variya here.  You'll receive 50% off any one item at Variya if you refer a bride and she commissions my work.  So - go tell your friends!