Tag Archives: katharine sise

must read: creative girl

i can’t believe i haven’t talked about this yet…shame on me. you see, my dear friend, katharine sise, has written a book! really, that would excite me, no matter what. but it also happens to be wonderful!

it’s called creative girl, and the best way i can describe it is to imagine the conversation you dream of having with a mentor before doing something drastic like quitting your high-paying, high-reliability day job to design jewelry (which is exactly what katharine did). you know the conversation i’m talking about: it’s the one where the person you most admire professionally spills every secret to succeeding, holds your hand as you describe your plan in detail, asks you pertinent questions, and helps you figure out – after hours of analysis – whether your idea is good, and exactly how to get it started. perfection, right?

katharine definitely writes from experience – she’s wildly successful as a jewelry designer, television host, writer, and countless other areas – but the whole book just feels like a cozy conversation with a (very smart) friend. the book is complete with workbook-style questionnaires, checklists, quizzes and other activities that i’ll admit felt a little, well, cheesy during my initial flip-through. but the closer i looked, i realized that if you actually participated in the reading of this book (meaning thinking about the questions and their answers), by the end, you’d almost certainly know whether you had a real business on your hands, and have already done a good bit of the work to get it started.

creative girl is an absolute must if you’re thinking of ditching your day job to pursue your real passion, whatever that might be. which, let’s face it, is one of those dreams we all test out from time to time, right?

shoppingsmycardio giveaway: mother’s day edition!

instead of our regular monthly giveaway, i wanted to do a serious blowout this month in celebration of moms – i mean, after all, who deserves a little extra TLC more than your mom? plus, i know times are tight, but i wanted to help a few of you deserving readers really go all out for mom this year. so, i teamed up with three fantastic companies to compile some giveaway goodies that will make the perfect mother’s day gift, guaranteed!

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for the extremely stylish mom, enter to win this beautiful 14K gold necklace, designed by the always wonderful katharine sise, and chosen by her especially for mother’s day. isn’t the symbolism just perfect? mom, child, interlocking….you get the idea. plus, it’s a classic piece she can wear every day – while thinking about what an amazing kid you are for giving it to her. retail on this beauty is $145 – and you can check out all of katharine’s stunning designs on her website!

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for the mom who’s an eternal romantic, and loves everything as girly as it gets, this pink diamond candle from DL & Co. is the ultimate in feminine frills. fragrance can be tricky as a gift, but this one is absolutely sure to please. spiced with ginger, soft with lily and finished with a dash of pink grapefruit for crispness, this just might be the universal fragrance. the wonderful people at DL & Co. are offering up your choice of a huge 15 oz candle (retail is $135) or a diffuser ($115), which might just the be prettiest of its kind i’ve ever seen. these gorgeous pieces come packaged in a satin box, tied with a bow, and housed in beautiful frosted glass. if you’re intrigued, check out all of their fragrances on their website – i’m completely obsessed with the absinthe fragrance, and the lady rhubarb candle is going to be the perfect gift for my garden-loving grandmother.

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next up is the perfect gift for the martha stewart mom. you know, the one that’s always prepared, never forgets a birthday, and can’t imagine a day without a “to do” list. linda and harriett, one of my favorite letterpress stationers, has put together a custom gift set packed with goodies that are sure to thrill your mom, and keep her on top of her uber-organized game for the year. she’ll get two of their sweet notepads (i have one sitting on my desk this very moment), and an assortment of eight beautiful letterpress cards, perfect for birthdays, thank yous, or whatever other occasion she’s sending a card for. plus, the linda & harriett crew will wrap it all up and tie it with a beautiful butterfly gift tag, so your gift is ready to go!

since we have so many great gifts, this one’s going to work a bit differently – to enter, tell me which of the gifts you’d want to win for your mom and tell me something fabulous about her. that’s right, it’s a mom lovefest. for your bonus entry, do your usual twitter, facebook, blog, or other sharing of this contest, just make sure when you come back to leave your bonus entry (remember, it has to be a second comment!), you tell me which gift you’re entering for.

i’ll draw winners randomly, as always, and announce on friday morning. you’ll have to be “present” to win, so make sure you check back friday! each of these generous companies has promised mom’s day delivery if you get me your address by the weekend.

good luck to everyone…and their moms!!

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the chain gang: katharine sise

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multi-chain necklaces are huge this year, no question about it. and i admit, it’s one of the few spring looks i’m really loving – it’s kind of refreshing, actually, after all of the trend-bashing i’ve had to do this season. when you’re breaking out those sweet spring dresses and tanks, what better way to keep the cute and the preppy from getting out of control than by adding one of these necklaces. part rocker, part just good sense (layering jewelry is always ultra hip, and ultra hard to successfully accomplish), i’m dying to pair one of these multi-chains with everything from a tee to an evening dress…i love nothing more than a little versatility.

after an exhaustive search (just like with every trend, there are a thousand incarnations of this one), i’m pleased to report i think these versions from designer katharine sise are, by far, the best of the bunch – and i’m not alone. lucky magazine used her designs in three separate styling pages in their march issue, which is all but unheard of! normally, katharine is my go-to designer for much sweeter, classic styles, but her venture into multi-chain territory is sheer genius. not only are these the perfect combination of tough and sweet, but check this out: each necklace is built to be worn multiple ways. i asked katharine to explain, and she kindly obliged:

I wanted to create something “tougher” and more substantial. For me, putting on one of these multi-layered pieces makes me feel like my look is complete. I love that these pieces can be worn in different ways, depending on your mood or what you’re wearing. You can wear them short and chunky, or, you can remove the pin, pull a strand (or two) behind your neck and wear them long and loose. In that long and loose position, you can pin the pin through the front so that the piece is in the shape of a men’s tie, with the chains cascading down the front.

i can hardly wait to get my hands on one of these lovely pieces. at first glance, i was wholeheartedly in love with the version above on the left…but the more i hear her talk about how many ways there are to wear the other version, well, it makes the decision much harder. hmm…i may just have to have both.

head to katharine’s website and view the “mary tea” collection to see all of the variations on this lovely theme.

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