emerald or lipstick?

Hi!! I'm still on vacation but I'm (finally) checking in! It's been relaxing and all, but I'm having a bit of trouble not working. I'm an obsessive email-responder.

But on much more exciting and frivolous news, I need your help deciding which necklace to buy. Since I'm back on the east coast, I decided to make a little trip to visit my old friends at Nancy's Gone Green. I came prepared with a wish list and everything, but once I saw these two gorgeous necklaces I couldn't decide which color I preferred.

I already have this Andean Collection necklace design in the burgundy/wine color and I wear it all the time (see it here, here, and here).

So tell me, which do you like better??

Emerald Green?

or Lipstick Red* ?

* The lipstick red color showed up a bit more orange in the photos than it actually looks in person. The true color is more or a bright, cherry-red lipstick color.


Also, I've just added a new feature to my blog -- email updates!! Yay! All you need to do is type your email address in the bar at the top of my blog that reads, "Sign Up for Email Updates".

That way you won't be nearly as disappointed when you check my blog and don't see anything new, and I won't feel as bad not updating my blog every 10 minutes! See, everybody wins!

vacation mode

This is what I woke up to this morning.

I have to say, California is growing on me...


By the way, I'm going on vacation back east tomorrow, so bear with me. I know my posting gets slightly sporadic when I'm off enjoying myself elsewhere. But to make you feel better, here's a little Diego Garcia. He makes everything better.

Diego Garcia - You Were Never There


Now I need to pack.

take my hand

I'm really liking this combination of rings....

I actually had an outfit post planned for today, but due to the totally crazy/unusual California weather, it's raining. Boo.

hannahnaomi Black sparkle ring.

NEW abalone disc ring, Going in Circles Set of 3 stacking rings; all hannahnaomi.

And my favorite new ring... the Abalone Disc ring!! Each one is be made out of a unique, vintage abalone disc that I bezel into a big, fabulous, iridescent ring. Awesome.

I'm going back east on vacation this week (yay), so I won't be listing this ring for a couple weeks (boo). I know, sorry for the teaser. I couldn't help myself -- I just love this new design!

By the way, since I'll be out of town my Etsy shop will be "on vacation" (which means no orders will be processed). So get all your orders in by tomorrow!

Maple Candied Walnuts

After browsing Etsy sellers one night I got a very strange hankering for candied walnuts. Since I was planning a little day trip the next day, I figured candied walnuts would be the perfect roadside/in-car snack.

Be warned, these are ridiculously addictive.

I got my recipe here. I ended up adding some brown sugar to the mix, only because I ran out of maple syrup. I especially like this recipe because it's from a blogger named Hanna.

i love silk

Yamazaki baby boots, Fei dress, J Crew tee, gifted scarf.

Ok, I totally scored on this dress! Kendi (from Kendi Everyday) cleaned out her closet the other day and posted this dress (along with about 10 other things) in her blog shop -- for $20. Let me just clarify, this dress is 100% silk and originally from Anthropologie. I mean, it's almost like stealing.

I've been looking for more colorful, pure silk pieces for my closet. I feel like bright, funky colors easily play-down the innate luxury and sophistication of silk. And this teal color in particular is one of my favorites -- not too blue, not too green. It's also a casual design (especially with the fun buttons) but can be easily dressed up.

{lovely buttons!}

{gorgeous ruched detailing on the shoulder}

all hannahnaomi: gray pearl ring, abalone ring, mini gold foil ring, mini pyrite ring, purple pearl ring, garnet studs.

all new hannahnaomi

Ohmygosh... I usually try to update all my new hannahnaomi creations once a week but oh man -- I may need to do it more often! This blog post has about a thousand photos! But they're all worthwhile, I promise!

My line has been going in a really exciting direction recently. I'm taking my encasement concept and coming up with some really cool new designs (see the last couple photos for examples). I've also redesigned some of my more popular pieces (like the shield ring) for a bit of a fresh perspective.

I also came up with a new collection! I've called it the Circus Collection because of it's colorful, whimsical perspective. Every item in the Circus Collection is composed of: a totally 100% unique hand blown glass bead (created at the whim of the artist), a serrated bezel wire (which reminds me of those great colorful circus-y banners), and a colorful back plate (either copper or brass) for a fun surprise at the back of the bezel setting. These are all one of a kind, unique pieces!

So anyway, all introductions aside, here are all my most recent creations:

Circus Collection, rings

Cobalt swirls ring

Green and teal swirl ring

Silvery gray ring

Black and Tan flower ring

Circus Collection, necklaces


Blue sparkly red dot pendant

Glowing amber pendant

More New Designs

Rounded Shield ring

Thin stacking rings, set of 5

Thin stacking rings, set of 15

Guinea feather encasement ring

Guinea feather ring AND freshwater pearl mini rings (coming soon!!)

ps. my internet's still busted -- I'll be back as soon as I can!

music post!

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man



Mumford & Sons - Blank White Page



... my power's out. Hopefully not for long... I feel strangely disconnected from the world without the internet.

I listened to these two songs almost exclusively while working on a large, 70 piece order this past weekend. I'm a sucker for banjo breakdowns.

mid-week weekend

Sorry about the lack in posting this week -- I've had all sorts of exciting things come up (like a huge order for an even huge-er feature that will be taking place early May -- more info on that to come later this month!) and I also took a little mini weekend trip up north for a couple days. Ah, I love being self-employed...

I have a ton of work left to do but I'll do my best to be a little more active on my little blog next week. And since you've all be so patient and forgiving, here a some pretty snapshots from my trip. See, everything is better already!

Cookie Dough Truffles

Ok, so perhaps these aren't what you first think of when you think of truffles... I kind of named them myself. It was either "cookie dough truffles" or "cookie dough balls". You see what I'm getting at -- the latter doesn't quite do these bad boys justice.

Depending on what type of person you are (either a cookie dough loving monster or someone who looks at this post and says "ew") you will either LOVE or hate these cookie dough truffles. I'm a well known cookie dough loving monster (I've totally come to accept that fact about myself) and finally came up with this recipe the other day.

This recipe started out with a craving (which is how almost all my recipe begin) -- in this case, for cookie dough. So I whipped up my fool-proof mini chocolate chip cookie dough batch with the intention just to eat it plain when I thought to myself: "I should totally dip this in melted chocolate!!" I know, I need help.

And that's how this little gem of a dessert was born! One day, I'll be famous for it.

So I rolled the cookie dough into balls, melted some chocolate, dipped the balls into the chocolate (with toothpicks), and let them chill in the fridge until the chocolate hardened. And voila! Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles!

And if you're anything like me, you'll microwave your little individual truffle for about 10-15 seconds until the chocolate chips are all gooey and the chocolate shell is all melt-y (see photos below for the outcome). Because compared to plain cookie dough, slightly microwaved cookie dough is even more delicious!

I really hope I didn't gross you all out with this post...




* to make these yourself, just use your favorite cookie dough recipe (minus the eggs!)

** to make these a tad bit more sophisticated, I added a few drops of almond extract to my cookie dough -- super delicious!

music post!

The Good, the Bad & the Queen - Northern Whale



Modest Mouse - Dashboard



Air - Le Soileil est pres de Moi



Air - La Femme d'Argent



Sean Hayes - 3am

springtime preview

Marc by Marc Jacobs top, Aeropostale shorts, Seychelles low heels, hannahnaomi jewelry.

You need these earrings. Now that I own them I don't think I could live without them. They are the most perfect addition to any summery outfit -- I swear! I'm not just saying that because I designed them. They're nice and long and just barely graze the collar bone (so they look amazing with summery tops). Plus, the gold and coppery tones (I make these earrings in either brass or copper) go perfectly with any color scheme and look great against every skin tone. I really can't stop gushing.

As for the rest of the look -- this Marc Jacobs top is amazing and the gray color of these shorts is the best. I've also really been liking a neutral color palate with different shades of the same color (like my shorts and my shoes).

Long Linear Brass earrings
(also come in copper)


I've been wearing these two rings non-stop. The black/brass ring is so stunning and pops against every outfit I wear and the abalone ring has the most amazing texture (and the nude/iridescent color is great for spring and summer).

Sparkly Black Brass ring

Rugged Abalone ring

{Hello, spring!}

Pastrami Sandwich

I'm a huge fan of Jewish deli-style pastrami sandwiches. They're a combination of some of the most delicious ingredients: rye bread, brisket, sauerkraut, cheese, homemade Russian dressing, and (in my case) lots of hot sauce. So yummy.

I used this recipe to make my delicious sandwich. I actually ended up using Gruyere cheese instead of Swiss and it was absolutely perfect.