Last Beach Day of the Year....a scenic day trip through Cape Cod

As soon as I realized the temperature was hot like a midsummer's day on Saturday, I got in my car and drove....and drove and drove until I saw these sights. Most take on Cape Cod, Route 6A, Old King's Highway, one of the most scenic drives in the country filled with secret parks, giant trees, marshlands, lakes, bluffs, ocean, mansions, antique shops...enjoy!

1. Untitled, 2. Sparkly Sunlight at the Beach, 3. Sparkles on the Water, 4. Gold in the Water

1. Water and Grass, 2. In the Forest, 3. Someday, 4. Fields

1. Beach Gold, 2. Punkins, 3. Pumpkins for Sale, 4. When you were young

1. You're making me blush., 2. I'm a little shy, 3. Autumn at the Marsh, 4. Harvest Sunset

1. Last Beach Day of Summer, 2. PineCone, 3. Nickerson State Park-pond, 4. Tracks


P.S. ----Here's a treasure trove of fun shopping, from my friends on Etsy....thank you! ;)
All things camera- retro, kitschy fun
Lavender Goodness- everything's light purple
Muted Gray palette - for a break from the kitsch
Remember the 80's?-  colorful childhood memories--and a real ALF doll.
Hoo loves Owls?  - I do, obviously! I want every one of these!
Opposites attract: Lemon and Lavender, opposites on the color wheel.

I've been busy making some new Jewelry!

I don't show as much of my jewelry on my blog as I'd like to, but it takes forever to photograph! Luckily I've been busy trying to load up my camera so I can add everything I've been making to my Etsy shop. I'd like to share them here too!

Above: I made this piece from a Vintaj brand filigree wrapped around a genuine Turquoise stone bead. Then I finished it off with a tiny bronze bird charm, and a matching bronze chain. Another, below is using the same technique with a round Rhodonite (pink, with marbled black accent) stone:

Above: this is a genuine slab of teardrop shaped Amazonite, a soft, light bluish green stone that I absolutely love! It's finished off with a delicate cluster of pearly beads, a silvertone bird and chain.

Above: this is one I made from an Eiffel Tower I found on a keychain and reworked onto a bronze chain with some matching charms. I really love the way it turned out!

And here is one I made out of a large bronze "hand mirror" pendant.


The back is decorated with round gears in copper and silver to make it a mixed metal design; the front is a lovely working mirror!

I'll have all of these available on my shop today!

Early Autumn in New England...

As much as I dread the end of summer- I'm already planning vacations in the winter to ease my suffering- I figured I might as well take a drive to check out some of this stuff you cold weather lovers call "foliage". So, sigh- here it is. (sniffle)

I guess I really don't notice leaves too much until this time of year- or until they're gone. That's because I live at treetop level, so in the summer it's as though I'm in some sort of treehouse....then in winter all I can see is headlights. It's too stark for me. I'll try and make the best of it with my camera, though. Bare trees are great for surreal and dramatic sky shots and for sighting birds. Of course, they usually fly away by the time I get ready to take a picture. ;)
And would you take a minute to check this out? Alyssa, who runs The Project You blog in Australia, decided to feature me on her blog as well as hosting a giveaway for one of my prints! I was so tickled to see the nice things she said about me.  Her blog is so wonderful because its goal is the reinforcement of happiness and positivity. I looooove one of the projects she started with some sunglasses: She sent out a few pair of brightly colored sunglasses to some of the girls on her mailing list, and once they receive them they wear them for a week or so then mail them on to the next recipient.
Just see this page for a 3 minute burst of sunshine in your day! (especially helpful on Mondays...)
Enjoy!

Hurricane Earl, and Exploring the East Bay, RI

So, Hurricane Earl didn't have too much of an impact here in New England. In fact I did head out the following day to do some shopping and exploring in the East Bay part of Rhode Island. Here are some pics from my day. Nothing too fancy...I spent much of the day shopping!

So above is the pier at Colt State Park's beach...normally this goes until the last pole but as you can see it's under water. I had to run off the metal a few moments later as the water was coming through the bottom and spraying up onto my lens.

Seagull coming in for a landing...to eat my Dunkin Donuts muffin crumbs. Ok, I admit I'm one of those people who feeds seagulls. But they're cute, no? I swear this one was looking into my soul.....alright, maybe not.

This guy above used the waves to do some kite surfing.

Driving down County Road in Barrington (I think?) I came across this gazebo and duck pond, where a father
and son were fishing with a little net for goldfish. The little boy wanted a pet fish. The father told me the last one they caught in this pond lived for several years...Below you can see a small orange flash in the water...that is one of the goldfish. When I had left, they still had no luck catching any...

Above, a church sign seen somewhere along route 114.
I enjoyed my drive down this route which goes through a few coastal towns on the East Bay of Rhode Island and eventually ends in Newport. But that's a whole other day...
:)

Day-cation to Rockport, Massachusetts

About two hours from where I live- one hour north of Boston- is the North Shore (locally the Not Shah)...I took about a gazillion pictures on this picture perfect day, which started out with me losing a tire on the highway- not cool! So it began a bit stressfully but check out how it ended...

So, the porches of the homes overlooking the waterfront here are full of found shells and flowers in late-summer glory. Swoon!  This shell shop (see window above) is a favorite stop of Saundra Bullock's, according to an article posted on the wall inside.

Above, the beautiful harbor scene off T-wharf. The famous red fishing shack covered in buoys is painted and photographed all over the world...it's somewhat famous, and is called "Motif #1." The town sells its likeness in teeshirts, art, ornaments, and necklaces...

Check out the seagull on the chimney, above.

I love this red reflection! Here are some shots of the main drag heading down to the jetty in town:

I love this little Yorkie and her pink anchor print dress:

This little boy below peeking in the window is actually a mannequin. Cute!

 I was taking photos of the jetty and lighthouse (far distance) and caught this cute couple sharing a kiss on the rocks...People, if you recognize yourselves, let me know and I'll send you a copy.

Below, the water in the harbor was especially clear and almost tropical, with colorful plantlife and rocks.

Lastly, some of the colorful wooden boats I saw at the harbor here.

Flickr faves

Happy Friday!

 1. DSC_0140, 2. At the Tip #2, 3. Untitled, 4. 8.19, 5. Yes!!!, 6. Cinderella, 7. “Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.”, 8. One or Many Trees, 9. My Little Picasso