I hummed Janis Joplin’s sound-alike song during my drive home after an afternoon spent visiting Bobbi this week.  She graciously agreed to be my very first interview!

Her home is outside of Marble Falls, not too far from where I live. Bobbi designed it herself, and oversaw all of the construction, an impressive feat!  It is open and worldly, while still being extremely comfortable! She gave me free rein to snoop, open drawers, and take photos…and tempting as that was, I stuck to her studio!  I saw that she brings the same attention to detail, and sense of high-style that’s evident in her home, to her custom jewelry.

DO – How did you get started making jewelry?

BMc – Designing the house was so much fun, but then it was done and I needed a creative outlet that wouldn’t cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars…I bought a bracelet in Oregon and thought, “Wow, I can do this! I’m gonna give it a try!”

DO – Do you have an art background? What makes you able to do this so well?

BMc – I’ve always sewn, and done embroidery…and I have really good eyesight, close-up, without my glasses on. I ordered a bracelet and it didn’t look like it would hold up, so I sought out suppliers for the very best leather, the best thread, and learned how to do the stitching for durability.  I love Chan Luu’s work, it’s in the Sundance catalog. It’s so nice to have a role model.

DO – You jokingly called yourself a ‘good copy artist.’

BMc – Yes, I see myself as more of an “interpreter.”  Lately I’ve been doing pieces with necklaces and earrings because people wanted them, so I started monkeying around with that. I have so many beads…and I am intimately involved with all of them! I began making men’s bracelets, too, and I can also redesign jewelry using someone’s own beads and stones.

DO – Tell me about getting into the “flow.”

BMc – When I go into the studio and start playing with the stones and crystals, I envision what I want. And since I live so far from everything and have no distractions, I can just sit for hours.

We talked about her husband – “He loves to shop for stone and crystals, and he’s very knowledgable.  We choose only high-quality stones.”  She brings me a stunning slab of polished stone the size of a dinner plate, “It’s a piece of petrified dinosaur poop that he brought home! Isn’t it beautiful?” (It is, so I photographed this flourite bracelet on it.)

Did I tell you that she’s also funny?

Bobbi’s detailed work, her attention to placement, the braiding and macrame are all stellar. She personalizes each piece with a charm that’s hand-stamped with the client’s initial.

She “hates to have her photo taken,” in spite of her gorgeous complexion and and hair….alas, so after a few attempts, I gave up.  But, she did let me photograph her hands wearing her bead & leather bracelets with some sterling cuffs. You can reach her at bobbimckaybeadworks@gmail.com if you’d like to get more information about her beautiful jewelry.

Thank you for reading,

XO Donna

Wow, it’s been a whirlwind week! And the New Year is just around the corner!

I hope all of you that celebrate Christmas got just what you wanted, rather than coal in your stocking…unless it’s been compressed into diamonds, that is!

I had a wonderful dinner at my house with family and dear friends; both old and new. Great food, great wine, great company!  I always want Christmas to be like Thanksgiving; where the focus is on sharing and gratitude, and this year it really was!

That’s not to say that everything was perfect…there are definitely some challenges that each of the families are dealing with right now, but in this moment, it’s all alright!  Everyone had everything they needed…and we all had each other!

Love, and friendship. Being here now. And gratitude…with a capital “G.”  These are the things I look forward to focusing on in the coming year, and the feelings I will carry with me along the way.

I wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

XO Donna

…my uncommon solution!

It seems as if everyone is catching a cold right now, so the first thing you should do if you get one is:  STAY HOME!  (Your work-mates don’t want it, and they certainly don’t want to bring it home to their families.  Your clients won’t appreciate the fact that you went to work  ‘just for them’  if they catch your cold…nor will your boss). Please stay home and take care of yourself.

Next:  Skip the Nyquil and opt for this “trinity” that I have been using sucessfully for more than 25 years!    This healing combo is a Goldenseal/Echinacea tincture (1 dropper in a glass of water), plus 1 Garlicin capsule (it’s odorless, and burp-free) and finish off with 1,000 mg. of Buffered Vitamin C. Do this every 4 hours and you will nip that cold right in the bud!  Who needs to suffer for 10 days… “where’s the sexy in that?”

Drinking lots of hot tea is also very helpful, but I recently found out  from www.foodbabe.com that a few of my favorite tea brands have pesticides on them!  I will be sticking with the three that tested clean: Numi, Traditional Medicinals and Rishi, a delicious loose-leaf tea.

Avoid orange juice, milk and dairy products – yes, seriously! They make mucous. Stick with clear fruit juices: cranberry, apple or grape. But sticking to only hot liquids for a day or two will speed up your recovery. Try “a toddy” of hot water with lemon and lots of honey.  Add some fresh ginger if you have it. Both ginger and mint tea are good for a queasy stomach. And a bowl of chicken soup…what else could you need?  

I’m wishing you all a Happy, Healthy Holiday filled with Lots of Love! 

XO Donna

(*I am not paid to promote any of these products. I am sharing what works for myself and my family.)

POLITE :  Marked by or showing consideration for others, tact, and observance of accepted social  usage.  Refined; elegant; polite society. 

I am privileged to hear many secrets, confessions and juicy stories in my business. It’s a gift that I don’t take for granted, and one that thrills me, because I’m basically nosy!

For the last few weeks, I’ve been hearing about manners. Good, bad, and ugly.  Thanksgiving has come and gone, but it’s left a bad taste in some people’s mouths!

I hear tales of spoiled, lazy and entitled guests. And unfortunately, these guests are often family!  I know many young people have been raised by very busy, working parents, but still…it’s not like they were raised by wolves!  

One friend told of a beautifully pulled-together guest who never lifted a finger to help, and spent most of her time drinking too much and texting.  Another talked about how “entitled” her grown child acts lately.  Another talked about meeting propective in-laws at  Thanksgiving, and both the girlfriend and her parents acted so badly that her son broke off his relationship with the girl the next day!  And yet another told me how both she and her daughter were supposed to bring something for a pot-luck gathering, but her daughter “chose not to, because she didn’t feel like doing it!”

My parents taught me, “Never go to someone’s house empty-handed.”  But it was my Grandmother who took it a step further and said, “When you go to someone’s house, you should have to knock at the door with your foot!”   

Good manners are just as important as they always were, and, they’re sexy as hell!  I know my readers already know about good manners, but maybe our kids have forgotten, and their friends never learned. Maybe they think, “That’s old-fashioned. Who really cares about that stuff?”

1. The host who invited you to dinner, but probably won’t invite your sorry ass back.
2. The boss who needs to decide who to give that raise/promotion to.
3. The handsome man/woman who just agreed to a date with you.
4. The person who bought you a gift, but never received a written “Thank You.”

Good news!  Many of us grew up refining our manners guided by Emily Post…now the mantle has been picked up  by her great-great grandchildren!  They tackle the latest issues and demands of our society, including all forms of social media. It’s been called, “a perfect guide for Millenials living on their own for the first time, who wish to establish themselves properly in the workplace.”  Emily Post’s Etiquette, 18th Edition is the essential handbook to proper social behavior.

And here’s another by a world-renowned etiquette expert and her grand-daughter.  It’s “an elegant guide to 21st century manners for professionals who want to be confident and successful in the business and social arenas.”  Modern Manners: Tools to Take You to the Top, written by Dorothea Johnson; founder of The Protocol School of Washington, and Liv Tyler, the actress. 

We could buy both and reread them to make sure we’re always nice, and then work manners into conversations….or we can just buy them as gifts for the naughty people on our list!

XODonna