Happy fall, y'all

Don't mint julep cups make you happy? Thank you, Ware's.

Auburn, AL.

I thought it would be a nice gesture to leave for the weekend in the spirit of fall and in the spirit of AUBURN! We are going to AU tonight, and I'm pretty excited to be cheering for the fake tigers again, as I was on an Auburn-cheering hiatus. But now I'm back, and I must say that I am filled with such JOY! Not because of our Auburn trip this weekend, but because of an answered prayer this morning. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. "God is good."

Jewelry photos to come next week!

"You have made known to me the path of life; You have filled me with JOY in your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand." Psalm 16:11

I love Jesus and cigars

The birthday train is over for me. Sad day. But I couldn't let this week go by without sharing my birthday pictures. The mountain picnic excursion was the week before my birthday. This is different; this was the actual celebratory day. (You think I like my birthday or what?) This has a jewelry related story, I promise!

The day started as Andrew let me sleep in, which I NEVER do, and he served me breakfast in bed. What a treat! (He even put a flower on the serving tray.)

The weather on this day was just beautiful. That was a present in itself! We ate Chicken Sauce Picante that night, thanks to my mom's frozen cuisine. It was delicious, and that only thing I wanted after that was for us to go out for wine and cheese at "Halfway to Habana." Andrew was completely enthused by this because they have cigars, obviously.

So I put on my "Tuesday night best", and we went out! Andrew had it all set up with the owner to tell us about the wine, that goes with the cheese, that goes with the cigars. CIGARS? I didn't want cigars!

Well apparently I did because the next thing I know, this happens....

Let me explain, I had a chocolate/coffee flavored cigar which was the best "dessert" for a sweet-tooth like me! It was delicious. Really, try it sometime.

An assortment of different cheeses.

Our wine, cigar, bread, and cheese set-up.

Enjoying my day.

Here's the correlation to Cherche' jewelry: The owner ended up sitting with us for a long while teaching us the art of wine and cigars. (It wasn't too bustling on a Tuesday night, obviously.) He of course asked what we do. Long story short, I told him about my jewelry business, and he'd like for me to stop on by with my findings! He'd like to showcase them in his window display to sell. What an amazing turn of events. And even better, he wants Andrew to sketch and paint artwork for the restaurant.

So I had a great birthday, with great company, food, wine, cigars, and even a business prospect! God is faithful. God is good.

I thank Him for my sweet birthday and my sweet husband, too.

"For great is his LOVE toward us, and the FAITHFULNESS of the Lord endures forever. Praise the LORD." Psalm 117:2

My lucky charm

Andrew and I had our annual football rivalry this past weekend! It was so fun, and we say, "whatever happens, happens." This is until we're in the stadium, and the hype gets to both of us. We love our teams; I bleed purple and gold, he bleeds orange and blue (this is true despite me putting on his gmail status that HE bleeds purple and gold!) I played a few more tricks on him; it's all in good fun.

I'm pleased to show the before and after photos of "the football matchup of 2009":

Before:

After:

One of these days my team will lose to AU. It hasn't happened yet since I've known him though. I told Andrew that he's my good luck charm!

Speaking of good luck charms, I was in good ol' Auburn antiquing, and I saw a gold LSU charm bracelet from 1937! I had to take it home to Baton Rouge with me. After all, it didn't belong in AU! Who would want that in Auburn anyway? I thought about selling it, but I just can't. This is one of the few pieces that I've got to keep for myself.

Just for the record, if you see me at football games, Auburn or LSU, I'm probably wearing some of my merchandise. Ask me about them if you're interested! I've sold things that I was wearing before! Just don't ask about my LSU charm bracelet because that-I'm keeping.

"I like the simple life."

Andrew shot this photo as we were driving in the mountains last weekend for the birthday party #1. It made me question: I wonder who nailed this sign to this post? (No pun intended.) I wonder if this sign offended people? It gave me a reminder and blessed my day, so was it worth it? I think so. I always thought, those people with Christian bumper stickers, do you really think someone is going to convert to your way of thinking because a sticker says that "Jesus Lives"? I guess God can use those "little bumper stickers" or these little country signs to bring a message to someone; it brought a message to me.

I started my business 2 very short months ago. One of the first things that I did was choose a Scripture to represent my efforts and to meditate on this word throughout my days as a business owner. I want this to be my platform:

"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with JEWELS." Isaiah 61:10

A sign reading, "Jesus Loves You" brings me back to the simple basics of life. These sweet words prompted me to turn my business back to basics, too. "Back to basics" for Cherche' is Isaiah 61:10 and whatever God has in store for me next.

To use the song lyrics of Steve Tyrell, "Give me the simple life."

Mountain birthday woman

I love birthday's, especially mine! Is that horrible? I think I love it most because of the time of the year: late October. It's so crisp, and this year, I'm able to notice the leaves change because of where I live! I'm almost a Yankee living this far north! Right now the weather is just charming the way it alters our moods to be so delightful, even mine! Just ask Andrew!

This past weekend, Andrew hesitantly took me on a picnic and a day of antique shopping in the mountains for my birthday. I say "hesitantly" because it was rainy and about 44 degrees there, and he "knew" that I wouldn't want to stay in that weather. But this is what I wanted for my birthday, so we went. I knew better than to say anything about how cold I was. And I was. Freezing, but happy.

The gazebo that we found.

Our humble little lunch. It wouldn't be complete without a little wine and cajun mix!

Andrew made my sandwich, sweet thing.

We had such a great time, and I was excited because I was going antique shopping in my favorite, secret place!

Here are the "goods" that I found! It was well worth the trip to get these items for someone special, and for Andrew and I to have a special little birthday celebration for moi!

This October stone is gorgeous. It's an opal set in 14 k gold.

This Sarah Coventry bangle is such a show stopper, especially in person. I hope to do a story on Sarah Coventry and other "vintage" designers!

Q & A

So I'm finally back home from my 2 week vaca in hot, humid Louisiana. It was such a nice visit, though. And as my previous post indicated, I had my first show! I am so pleased with the results, and I had so much fun doing it. I won't ever forget those of you who came to support me. I'll write about you in my memoir in about 30 years.

I've had a lot of you ask similar questions about my business, so I thought I would take this opportunity to answer them here.

1.) Where do you get your stuff?

- I get a lot of my merchandise from Estate Sales. I've finagled my way into getting a heads up on upcoming estate sales in my area. (I live very close to Atlanta, Charlotte, the mountains of NC and many other great estate shopping cities.) I have other ways of getting great pieces, but I can't give away all of my secrets. ;)

2.) Are you going to have a store location?

- I suppose this could be a goal of mine in years to come, but this is not on my immediate agenda. Andrew and I have not planted roots in a certain city yet, and I don't intend to open a store in the near future. But ya never know.

3.) Are you going to put prices on your blog?

- The verdict is still out on this one. I'm not ashamed of any of my prices; I'm actually proud to showcase my items and their prices, but I think I would rather an email from a customer asking about a product that they've seen on the blog. I would be very happy to give you the price and a description of the item. This way, if they item is 14 k gold, the price will reflect that.

4.) What is the price range?

- The items that I sell range from about $12 for fun little costume pieces to about $200 for some estate pieces. But it's a range of prices! I have said that if I personally couldn't afford it full price, I don't sell it. If my business grows, I hope to grow with my peers and get higher end items and our generation would most likely be able to afford it.

5.) Who takes all of your pictures?

- My sweet, talented, attention-to-detail husband does! Many of you have asked if my sister takes them since she is a photographer. She doesn't, but thank goodness that I have Andrew.

6.) Where will you be going to sell all of your findings?

- I plan to travel all around the United States to host shows, but mainly in the south. I have a show scheduled for November in Anderson, SC, and then I have a few other prospects before the end of the year. My spring season is starting to fill up, but if you would like to help me host a party, let me know. There will be great discounts for hosting! It's such a fun experience to have wine and cheese, friends over after work, and shop at someone's house for great jewelry.

7.) So you do custom searches?

- YES! I am currently looking for jewelry for about 5 or 6 people. This gives me a more definitive searching strategy. If you don't like the product, that's fine. I'll just keep looking. There is no charge for my time of searching, just the cost of the item if you choose to buy it. If you are getting married and need bridesmaid's gifts, I'll search. If you've always wanted an onyx ring, I'll look! Simply send me an email of what you're looking for, or if you're at one of my jewelry parties, fill out a search form.

8.) Do you sell other things other than jewelry?

- Yes! This whole business has started so quickly, and I'm just going with it. I thought it would be a great idea to visually help out my booth or show by adding some other vintage findings. And before I knew it, I had french prints, botanicals, trays and all sorts of small antiques. My husband, Andrew has even started drawing and painting artwork for my shows in hopes of starting his own website. He does do custom artwork. It would be such a sweet circle of events if I could inspire him to do a website because he has already done so much for me.

I hope that I am an inspiration to all of you to do what you love and go for it!

I have a request for my customers: if you've bought something and love wearing it, I'd be so delighted to hear about it. Send me a picture if you wear what you purchased, and I'll post it on the blog!

You're cordially invited.

I'm having my first jewelry party! I couldn't be more excited to showcase my initial batch of "findings."

My sweet sister offered to help host a party at her house, so if you're in the Baton Rouge area on Thursday night, October 8th, stop on by! Please don't feel obligated to purchase; I would just love to visit with all of my old friends and share a glass of wine.

If I don't have anything that peaks your interest, but you are still on the "look-out" for something in particular, I will have order forms.

Here's more of what you can expect to see at the party:

Here is a vintage Jonne' necklace and earring set. From what I've learned, Jonne' was produced for a very short time, so this item in particular is pretty rare. The necklace has tiny green seed beads with a gold filigree clasp. The matching earrings have the same gold filigree art glass beads and rhinestones.

Here are just a few of the many earrings I have for sale. I have converted 4 out of these 5 into post (pierced) earrings. The far back pearl and rhinestone earrings are signed "DeMario", and the craftsmanship was too good to "mess with", so I left them alone.

You can see my messy workplace, but here I'm converting the backs of many clip-on earrings to posts.

I just love this one. Since these items are vintage. they're obviously old; therefore, I had to restring this piece. It's clasp fits securely on the side.

Classic cameos! I've always loved cameos. They serve the same function as pearls to me. I have my great grandmother's now, but this one is really a great piece, and I'll tell you why. When cameos are carved out of shell, it indicates age. This item is quite old and set in 14 k gold. You can wear it as a brooch or pendant. *Story to come soon on bridesmaids' gifts.

Beautiful 14 k gold and onyx necklace. Great Asian design to it. The necklace sits long.

October! The month of opals! This is my birthstone, and these are gorgeous. It's set in 14 k gold.