4.6.15 Home Grown

It looks like winter has finally faded away, and it is truly spring.  Sunshine, blue skies and bright green have replaced the browns and greys of the past few months.  Soon there will be local peaches, strawberries, and tomatoes. 

One of my favorite local growers, and an organization I am proud to have supported since it's start, is Urban Roots.  Urban Roots provides paid internships to high school students to work on a 3.5 acre urban sustainable farm in East Austin.  Not only do the interns sell their produce to local shoppers at farmers’ markets and through CSAs, they donate thousands of pounds to local food support organizations.

Thinking about Urban Roots made me pull out this great Kendra Scott necklace that I scored at one of their fundraisers several years ago, as part of a silent auction package.  The turquoise is very springlike - a clear blue like the sky on a summer day.

I don't own a lot of "statement" pieces, but I really like this one because while it is long, and larger than a lot of what I wear, it never feels like too much.

Kendra Scott's jewelry is home grown, too.  Back in 2002, she started her business with small trunk shows in boutiques around Austin and Texas.  Her highly recognizable jewelry is now seen and sold all over the country.

Photo credit: Kendra Scott

Her flagship store in Austin is fabulous, bright and airy and the staff is great.  They also have something they call the "color bar" where you can mix and match stones, metals and designs (you can do it online, too, but it's even better in person).  It's ideal for someone like me - frequently I know what I want (but I can't find it), so it's nice to be able to say "I like that one, but can I have it dark green and silver instead?".

Photo credit: Kendra Scott

On a trip in to the store last summer, I spotted these "Pippa" earrings.  I'm not usually a "buy to match" kind of person, but in this case it was really nice to have something that matched the colors of both the stone and the metal in the pendant.  Even so, the shapes are different, resulting in a pairing that is coordinated without looking like a "set".

I'm off to get my Vitamin D, in the sunshine, and eat my veggies.

Until next time.