Iowa Snapshot

It was 50 degrees, rainstorms and a "tornado watch in effect" on Thursday when we arrived.

Cupcake Porn

Just checking my inbox this morning from Humboldt Iowa's Super 8, stopping by to check my favorite daily read, New York Magazine's Grub Street. Never can pass up good cupcake photos,
especially when I find out ingredients like matcha, pistachios, and lavender are being used.

Home and off again

Joe Fornabaio for The New York Times

I'm leaving for Iowa for tomorrow to spend a long weekend with my in-laws.
I'm hoping we can visit some antique shops around there (where there's plenty of bonbon-esque stuff to be found).

When I get back it's Get Ready for Father's Day Mode at the Studio and the Brooklyn Flea on the 8th. I'll have some terrariums(!) and check out the new recession-proof Bonbon Oiseau brass and nickel money clips we have in store for you and anyone who needs to clip money. We'll have them in silver as well and they'll be up on the site next week!

Bonbon Oiseau Money Clips $38-$64 (for the antique nickel)

In the meantime, I leave you with this (which Jim just told me to look at while he prints our tickets.) Good for a sweet tooth am guessing and the opposite of what will happen on our quiet homesy weekend in Iowa. I do like the link to Thrillist as well.

Bonbons First Yelp Review

Kaelea from the Royal Me Blog, artist and "Elite '08 Yelp Reviewer Extraordinaire" gave us a glowing review over in Yelpland! Thanks so much for all those nice words Kaelea..she pens:
05/27/2008

Bonbon - (bawn-bawn) - candy or good, Oiseau - (wa-ZO) - bird

I have had the pleasure of witnessing Bonbon Oiseau's unique jewelry, "bonbons" come into their own over the years. A mixture of antique charms and rare finds accompanying dainty silver chains, beautiful vintage silk flower brooches, brass ornate key fobs and even customized wedding pieces for hair or gifts. This awesome line of jewelry are all limited pieces as most of the material used is deadstock or captured from estate sales and street markets from all over the world. Bonbons are known for their feminine whimsy, but there is also a sophisticated-Bauhaus-modern feel that is also present due to all the colorful Japanese glass and beads. There's more to this little candy of a bird than meets the eye and I am always excited to see what is new!

PS While Bonbon Oiseau isn't an actual shop, Deborah Stein (the designer) will answer any questions over the phone, email and since she does design a lot of customized jewels and hair decor she also does by appointment only. The bonbons are also available online and several shops in the city and nationwide, Japan and Europe, so check out the website too!

PSS I need some new jewels, who's buyin'?

Still Life(s) by Sophia's

That's my niece Sophia. She's six and a natural photographer I think. Nice self-portrait!

On a Beautiful Sunny Weekend on Long Island

The Sun is out, my mom is feeling better, and I was thinking after we see her this morning to take a drive to the beach at Robert Moses State Park--our favorite Long Island beach and within a 20 minute drive from my parent's house. I love the bridge over the bay, the pretty white sand beach and the hiking trail to the lighthouse that we usually save for the end of the day after everyone starts to go home, with deer that get so close to you, you could pet them. I think from that lighthouse, you could walk east all the way to the end of Fire Island if you wanted.

I was looking for pictures of the beach and came across these first by a photographer whose rich photos shed new light on Long Island for me. I've been perusing now for over an hour.

All photos above copyrighted by Alida Thorpe .
be sure to visit her blogs for more beautiful images.

The Fall-A Bonbon review

The other night, Jim picked me up after my class and we went to see The Fall. It's a gorgeous film with rich inspired cinematography and direction--the locations were captured and framed passionately and lovingly. They captured the magnificence of the monuments and landscapes that were the settings for the powerful yet delicate tale that drove the picture.

There was a sweetness and a sadness and an innocence about this movie I really loved.

Happy Weekend!

I am again out in the suburbs busily trying to wrangle up more ways to sneak out and make a new terrarium, my new obsession, while taking care of my dear old dad and checking on my mom in the hospital (she's doing great and might get out as early as Tuesday!)

I did check my email long enough to see that my favorite local shop, Jan & Aya is having a sale this weekend and also started a beautiful blog.
If you can't enjoy one, enjoy the other!

Making Room for Summer with an Earring Sale!

We need to make room to debut our beautiful new Summer Collection on June 14th!
That means we're going to take 25% off on all Earrings from the Dans La Forest and Verre Ancienne Collections until June 7th, 2008!

We'll even throw in free gift wrapping and if you buy more than one pair (or add anything else from the site), we'll ship it you for free also.

Got to BonbonOiseau.com for styles and tell all your friends quickly before we run out!
Enter BBOSUMMER25 at check out.

(And if you're in the NY area, come see us at the Brooklyn Flea on June 8th and join our mailing list for a special invitation to our Bonbon Oiseau Summer Studio Sale on June 14th!)

Violette Noire Earrings

photo: Alexa Vachon

Best Reason to watch too much TV, Number 608

Chai, a Tribute

Another mesmerizing glimpse into the terrarium.

Late Sunday afternoon, we returned from Long Island in pouring rain, with a bag full of Lipton First Flush Darjeeling tea leaves and fresh green cardamom from a shopping trip at the Patel Brothers Grocers in Hicksville. Inspired by Ana's recipe, I made us a little chai on a cold rainy Sunday. I skipped the cloves and black peppercorns for a pinch of cayenne and a handful of crushed almonds.

The initial ingredients. I couldn't resist buying a large
green tin of Lipton's Special Darjeeling tea.

Totally sexy green cardamom. That is the foxiest green
on the planet next to moss.

Chai boiling and chai poured

My favorite teapot given to me as a wedding gift by
my maid-of-honor Jen

Then we settled down to watch my favorite adolescent rebellion movie, Over the Edge (it was Matt Dillon's first role --I mean, come on!). That movie had defined many parts of my teenage existence or at least my love for Surrender by Cheap Trick and anything by the Cars. It made the sun come out.

A Terrarium Story

There's a lot of moss growing around my parent's house

And little plant-lings

The Process: Rocks, Dirt, Moss, Plantlings, Water

Terrariums

I've always loved terrariums -quiet little peaceful places where you can imagine yourself real tiny laying in a perfect tiny mossy forest. I've been wanting to make one for a long while.

The backstory as I remember it: In the 70's, my dad started to subscribe to this series of groovy D.I.Y./How-To books called Family Creative Workshop - he just got the first three volumes, don't know why he stopped getting them but I was in love with those books. I made anything I could from those awesomely hippy-dippy crafty pages: beanbags, beach glass mobiles, bonsais, birdhouses. I decorated birthday cakes, fixed the derailleurs on my bike, poured liquid acrylic into a rubber glove to make a ring stand (that one didn't work out too well) and really wanted to brew my own root beer but I needed too much adult supervision and my own garage so I scrapped that one too.

The chapter I loved the most was the one on Bottle Gardens. It had pictures so enticing, I just wanted to make terrariums all the time.

So last week, when I was out at with my dad, I picked up some glass containers and some river stones and came back to his house, laid out my stuff, went searching for moss and some tiny saplings and plantlings and this is what I came up with. Finally.

(They don't look like these but hey, I fulfilled my own wish. Also, check out my blogger pal over in Sugar Hollow. Her terrariums are lovely and she has some good links!).

Scenes from the Suburbs

These 2 bushes have been around since I was a little kid

Peonies about to burst.

My Mother's Day gift: A Flower Pot "Assemblage"

Have been back and forth to my folk's house in Long Island all week because mom had knee surgery the day after Mother's Day. She's doing really well, moving into rehab today. My dad and I spruced up their lawn on our "off" hours so when she comes home, she has this stuff to come home to.