Things I Love: Wearable By Design

Have a look at Wearable By Design, stunning silver handmade jewelry by Jennifer Smith-Righter of Redwood City, California. Jenn's designs have long been a favorite of mine. She has the most beautiful organic creations juxtaposed with the beauty of mechanical objects. Some of her designs are mind-blowingly intricate.

Jenn was also kind enough to contribute to my holiday cookie recipe collection on my food blog, All Up in My Kitchen. Please check out her favorite cookie recipe for Cream Wafers.

cookie recipe

A Walk in the Park: "The Fen"

This morning, Maizy and I took a walk across the street to the nature preserve. Small by most standards, The Fen sprawls on for acres and is surprisingly vast when you start to trek through it. A place where natural mineral springs bubble up from under the earth at random points among the soft rolling hills and valleys. Where the sky is wide open and the prairie grass stands six feet tall.

And it's all in my back yard! A short walk past town homes, condo buildings and the water filtration plant lies this beautiful, peaceful, untouched native prairie. Yes, I said prairie. This is Illinois after all.

(please click on the pictures below for a closer look)



Maizy and I walked along a short paved path surrounded by trees, winding through the park up to the entrance to the nature preserve. Although we couldn't go down into the valley of the preserve because dogs are not allowed there ( I will leave that for another day by myself), we were able to walk the path around the perimeter, meeting several other dogs and their owners along the way. The view is magnificent!

It was perfect weather with nothing but big blue sky, a good breeze, and temps in high fifties. Normally, I would consider that a chilly morning, but the sun shining on our faces and the brisk walk was more than enough to warm us. Maizy, only a mere eight inches tall or so, had to stay close behind my feet at times so as not to get lost in the tall grass. But she had a blast furiously chasing down every fallen leaf that blew past.

This area is part of a network of nature preserves that Illinois has designated as natural, native prairie land. The program hopes to save these areas in their perfect and natural prairie state, just as it would have been hundreds of years ago. The soft, rolling hills sway with six foot high grass, cat tails, and bubbling streams.

I'm fortunate to live so close to this prize while still considering myself a city girl. I just hope the weather stays nice a bit longer so we can enjoy more hikes like today. And I just really wanted to share it with all of you!

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Handcrafted Jewelry Show!

It's that time of year, when craft shows are in full force and people start gearing up for the holidays. The latest addition to my show schedule is the Handcrafted Jewelry Show.

This show should be a great one for jewelry addicts in the Chicago area. Twenty five jewelry artisans, including yours truly, will be displaying their finest for the holiday season. It is ALL handmade jewelry, so unfortunately I won't be able to display my other accessories such as scarves and handbags. But if you see anything in my shop, Little Brown Bird, please contact me at my shop on Etsy and I will bring it along to the show just for you! Or shop on line if you can't make it to the show. Delivery is free on most items and I do ship internationally!

Jewelry Giveaway!

I am giving away a pair of earrings on another blog site. Jewelry by Solange is hosting a fantastic giveaway with some great prizes from a variety of designers. You can see the details of the giveaway here and join in the fun!

A New Dog in Town!

My employer just got a new puppy. A black lab named Maggie. She's 10 weeks old, a typical puppy size, yet dwarfs my lil' Maizy who is all of 4 pounds now and around 18 weeks. In this picture, Maggie has just come to work and met all of us, then went right over and helped herself to Maizy's food bowl. Don't worry, Maizy gave her a good snarl and held her own. Look at Maggie's paws! They are bigger than Maizy's face!

My lil' fur nugget has doubled in size. She was about 6" long and two pounds when I got her. Now, at 4 pounds, she is 12" long from nose to tail. She's the perfect size right now and I keep joking that I'm going to feed her nothing but cigarettes and coffee to stunt her growth. She's now big enough to climb the stairs by herself, but still tiny enough to tuck under my arm while I go on a quick errand or two.

Maizy has lost most of her puppy coat and her adult coat is just now starting to fill in. It will take several months, I'm told, to fill in completely. She needs some hair so she can start looking like a proper pomeranian. People keep thinking she's a long haired Chihuahua! The nerve! She's just the cutest little fur nugget, with or without all her hair!

Fall Finds From Little Brown Bird

WTF happened to summer??!!! It's already officially fall and the leaves all over my yard are proof of that. I really don't mind the fall, it's one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. I just don't really care for the cold that starts to come with it.

To make myself feel better about the changing weather, I began to knit and crochet.

I made some scarves, perfect to fend off those cold mornings. A short, mini-scarf, tied at the neck and finished off with two large pom poms is my favorite.

And why should cold weather mean dull and drab? I made these scarves using bright colors that look great with a fall or winter coat. They are long and luscious, and fun with varied sizes of pom poms at the ends.

I will be adding more of these scarves and other knitted items into my shop as the season goes on. I will take special orders until November 1st, just contact me at my shop on Etsy.

Meet Maizy!

After losing my precious Zuzu unexpectedly last May, this house has been way too quite. The emptiness left without Zuzu was almost unbearable. Actually, I still have my moments. But those moments are fewer now that Maizy is here.



Maizy is a pure breed pomeranian. She was adopted at 11 weeks old, just a 2 pound lil' fur nugget, and cute as can be!


Unfortunately, Maizy was diagnosed, just 4 days after adopting her, with a deadly canine virus, Parvo. She began vomiting a lot, had a fever, a dazed depressed look on her face, and had terrible diarrhea. I rushed Maizy to a 24 hour animal care facility where she was diagnosed and spent 5 days with round the clock care. She received numerous plasma transfusions, IV liquids, and hand feedings through a syringe. The vet bill grew at an alarming rate to almost $2000! Many prayers were said and I received countless well wishes from friends, family and from across the internet.

It was determined that Maizy's illness had been contracted before she was adopted. Parvo is a very serious virus that can claim the life of a dog in less than 24 hours without treatment. It takes about 7 to 14 days after contracting the virus for symptoms to appear. As I researched it, I discovered that a non-vaccinated dog can pick up this virus as easily as a child getting a cold. The virus can live for months on grass, clothing, anywhere, and can be tracked into your own home on your shoes without you ever being near an infected dog. Since Maizy was just a puppy, her vaccinations had not yet been completed. She had unknowingly been exposed to the virus prior to coming to live with me and only showed symptoms a few short days later. Were it not for the prompt treatment that she received, especially at her young age and low weight, she would not have survived.

Maizy is now better, her body organs having been supported while she built up the necessary anti-bodies to fight the virus. She is fifteen weeks old now and weighs a plump 3 pounds! She's active and playing just like a normal puppy and hopefully she will not develop future health problems stemming from the stress on her organs.

I wish to thank everyone at Animal Emergency of McHenry County, Dr. Dan at Animal Medical Center of Algonquin, friends and family for their support, and all my internet friends for their prayers. And Maizy sends her sweet wet puppy kisses!

If your dog has not been vaccinated for Parvo or other just as dangerous canine illnesses, please do so today! There may not be time to second guess yourself. Remember that some vaccinations, such as your puppy's first vaccinations, are not completely effective until all rounds of vaccines are completed. Protect your puppy by not allowing them in areas that are frequented by other dogs until their vaccinations are complete. If your puppy is in training, ask the facility how often the room is sanitized with bleach, as this is the only thing that can kill some viruses like Parvo. (I spent 4 days bleaching my entire house, yard, car, clothes, dishes, EVERYTHING!!!)


Maizy has passed her follow-up exams with flying colors and is not contagious. She can sit and lay down on command but is having trouble staying and coming when called. We're working on that. She comes to work with me every day and is doing quite well now.