Meet the Parents...

Well not really. But it's a catchy title. I've known my in-laws for years! They were in town for a visit this past weekend and we went to a great sports bar/restaurant in Greensboro called Kickback Jack's. If you don't like sports, skip Kickback Jack's. Tons of plasma tvs from every angle showing college football. Sharing pics of what I wore.




Missoni for Target cosmetic bag wore as a clutch.







Lace ballet flats from the Gap.













Brooks Brother shirt, denim shorts (Kohls) and hoops (TJ Maxx). Having hair issues lately. This flip floppy weather in NC is wreaking havoc on my do.

If...

Below is the poem If by Rudyard Kipling. My daughter has until next Monday to memorize this entire poem for her Honors English class. She will recite it to her teacher. She has the first stanza memorized. I haven't seen this poem since my college days when a friend, Bill, had to memorize this poem as a pledgee of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.


IF by Rudyard Kipling


IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Smooth Operator...

Last night my husband and I went to see my favorite female vocal artist, Sade. This was my 3rd time seeing her perform live on stage. Last night she was completely amazing! She looked gorgeous! Classic Sade: red lipstick, sleek ponytail, big hoops, and sultry voice. As mentioned here I stated that my favorite Sade song is "Cherish the Day." Well, guess what her finale song was? It was "Cherish the Day!" Love her! Pics below of what I wore to the concert.


Gold cuff (Simply Meg's) and Gold sequin cluth (old Gap)


Hoops by Sydney Austin Designs.


Wedges (Aldo); Toenail polish (Bermuda shorts by Essie)


Blazer (J.Crew); tank (Gap). Channeling my inner Thelma Evans (Good Times) with my side afro puff. Daughter hates it! Ha!

My Wedding Day Jewelry...

A few days ago as I was looking thru one of my jewelry boxes, I stumbled upon the jewelry set that I wore on my wedding day. I bought it 17 years ago from a store called Accessory Lady. I'm pretty sure they are no longer in business. Since I have grown a love for anything vintage, I immediately started to think when and with what I am going to wear this beautiful jewelry again. I had to tweek the necklace a bit because one of the strands came apart. Easy fix! I love the chunky clip on earrings. I'm not sure if I will wear the set together, since I really do not like to look "matchy matchy." To make the necklace look less Audrey Hepburnish, I will toughen it up by pairing the pearls with chains.



The perfect amount of sparkle. Chunky clip ons




Double strand necklace.

New Hoop Earrings...

New Hoop Earrings now in my boutique.
The rose quartz hoops shown below are my new favorite.
FREE shipping for the month of September if you become a Facebook fan of Sydney Austin Designs!
Enjoy!

Pick 4...

Four random things that make me smile.



My September magazines. Filled with lots of ideas for my inspiration board.






Oh my Gosh! Got these gourmet cupcakes from Fresh Market for hubby's birthday. Flavors were red velvet, peanut butter and chocolate, oreo, and triple chocolate. I had the Red Velvet and it was amazing.




Never met a bead show I didn't like. Latest strands I picked up at a bead show.





Movie night candy. Enjoyed the candy until daughter's tooth chipped while eating Mike and Ike's. All is well, no root canal needed...yet.

Fit for Life...

In my never ending quest to get fit and stay fit for life, I tried something new yesterday. I read an article online a few months ago that a woman lost 300 lbs by walking laps in the pool. Now by no means do I have to lose 300 lbs, but I could stand to lose a good 30. When I got my latest issue of Shape magazine, the cover read Burn 300 calories by swimming for just 30 minutes.

Yesterday, I threw on my swimsuit, rubbed myself down with sunscreen, grabbed my towel and my pink goggles and headed out the door to my community pool. The above picture was taken at our pool. The water was incredibly warm. I have no idea what I was thinking, I swam not even 1/2 a lap and was exhausted! I tossed my pink goggles to the side and walked back and forth the length of the pool for 30 minutes. It was tough. Not at all like walking on a sidewalk.

When I got out, my legs were like jello. I walked home and was starving when I hit the door. That was an awesome workout. I got the best sleep last night. I'm definitely going to do it again. Hopefully today!

What interesting workouts have you done lately?

Orchids...

Well I took a brief break from making big eye catching earrings to make a classic necklace with matching earrings. The pink gemstones are gorgeous and the pendant is brillant!

Yay me for getting the hang of html! The pictures on my blog will now be larger so you can see detail.




Thai Hill Tribe silver orchid pendant. Thai hill silver is 97% pure silver as compared to sterling silver which is 92.5% pure. You are getting a quality piece of jewelry.


Orchid pendant accented with pink/purple agate gemstones and a sprinkle of purple freshwater pearls. Necklace is finished off with a hammered sterling silver toggle clasp.




Matching earrings with sterling silver leverbacks.

New Listings...

New listings currently in my etsy shop. With these designs I used the new beads that I got from a beachside bead shop while on vacation. Redwood, copper, bone, czech glass, and African wedding beads. For the month of August, follow my blog and receive FREE shipping. Simply click follow on the right hand side of my blog, email or convo me thru etsy and I will give you a coupon code to use for FREE shipping.


A very pretty orange colored wood beaded hoop earrings. Big, but lightweight.

Bone swirl components with avocado green czech glass beads. Green and chocolate brown: a great color combination for Autumn.

Tiger striped African wedding beads attached to copper hoops.

Cobalt blue African wedding beads attached to copper hoops.

Autumn Drool...

Oh Autumn where art thou? What i'm lusting for this Autumn. A nude bootie to wear with skinny jeans and long dresses. A leopard print wedge clog to wear with A-line and midi skirts. A tough flat studded motorcycle boot to wear with everything!


Nathan booties by Lamb

Wauwi wedge by Steven

Trash studded boots by Ash

Trail Mix...

I love trail mix, but you have to be careful with the store packaged trail mixes. They are loaded with calories and fat. If you aren't careful, you will find yourself eating the whole bag in one sitting which really is about 4-6 servings. I decided to start making my own.

Tollhouse dark chocolate morsels (about 2 yrs ago, I hated dark chocolate)
Walnuts (no added salt)
Dried blueberry cranberries

I mixed them together in a ziploc bag (1 cup total). Its great portion control. I carry it in my purse for a great energy snack on the go.


Oh, I gave my blog a little face lift. I got rid of the black backgroud. I like the white space. Also changed the name from Hip Jewels to Sydney Austin Designs. It still needs a little tweeking.

Pick 4...

This week's Pick 4, four random things that make me smile, are from our family vacation. We just got back from beautiful Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We rented a lovely home with my sister in law and her family, my mother in law, and friends DJ, Traci, and their son Grant.



Reading a good book and watching the kids play in the ocean.

Walking for miles along the beach. It was a great way to get in some exercise and people watch.

When I vacation at the beach, I try to find local bead shops. The bead shops by the beach seem to have a better selection. Here are some of the beads I got from High Tide Beads. Wood, bone, czech glass, copper, and African wedding beads.

An awesome animal print hair clip. I found this when we went outlet shopping. Cost me about $2 after all of the discounts. The biggest steal I got was an ivory A-line skirt from BCBG. Regular price was $66. After all of the discounts taken off, I got it for $7!

Cherish the Day...

If you really know me, you know I love Sade. So you can imagine how happy I was when I heard on my car radio that she is coming to Greensboro, NC to perform on September 10th! I've seen her in concert twice back in the day. She was fab then, I heard she is even more fab now. Sade is timeless. I love the above look. Big, simple hoops with lots of necklaces! My kind of girl.
Stay tuned for my Sade hoops. They will be plain and simple, no beads. Classic. I will have medium sized, large, and jumbo. They will come in copper and silver.

Cherish the Day is my favorite Sade song. I hope you all are cherishing your day. Even in this heat. North Carolina feels like Jamaica yall.

Pick 4...

Four random things that make me smile.

A bowl of bing cherries.

Its the presentation! Beautiful. Dessert served to my mom when we celebrated her birthday this past May.

Fresh pink flowers. Floral bouquet given to me for Mother's Day from my 4 year old nephew.

Beautiful art. I just love this. A statue of a lady and swan taken at Nemacolin Resort and Spa.

Are you Single...

One single earring. That's all you need. New in the boutique Feathers, chains, coral, and turquoise. Perfection. Have a great weekend yall. Stay fab.

Infinite Possiblities...

My fingers can not bend, crimp, hammer, or cut fast enough for all of the ideas I have for Sydney Austin Designs.



Got these pewter beads way back yonder. Just took awhile to figure out what to do with them. Tribal looking. Perks up a simple copper hoop.

Wood beads on a strip of leather. Love these.

Ladies, you need these in your life! Earrings do not have to match. Have some fun. The chain earring is very long, shoulder duster. The hoop is simple, very lightweight. Who cares if someone says, "You know you have 2 different earrings on...right?" Just say, "Yup" and keep it moving!

Oh yeah, I'm on tumblr. Still can't get the hang of it, cause I'm an html idiot. Need a HTML for dummies book. Check me out here

Pick 4...

I am really trying to stay committed and blog regularly! Each week I will post a blog titled "Pick 4." It will be randomly selected moments, events, things, etc. that make me smile. Here is the first post.





View from the top of the Shenandoah Mountains before my mom and I started our morning hike while on vacation last week.

Martinis with 3 of my girlfriends on the patio of Bleu Restaurant in Winston Salem. Having girl talk. Mine was strawberry lemonade martini.

Having a delicious meal with friends. I rarely order steak, but my girlfriend Kim persuaded me to try it. Peppered steak, collard greens (under the steak), and oven baked mac-n-cheese. The beef was very tender, took half of it home.

Big Basketball Wives inspired hoops that I wore to Bleu. Sold a pair the next day on my etsy site to a high school classmate, Carmen! They have personality!

Summer Coral...

I love wearing coral in the summer. I recently stumbled upon some gorgeous coral branches. My favorite are the black coral branches. They are so light and airy. The black earrings have a lot of movement. Great to wear for Girls Night Out. All of the earrings are perfect to wear with a maxi dress. For purchase and more pics, check out my etsy shop here.