Wednesday, November 27, 2013

My Thanksgiving List

    

Prepare your stomachs for filling and warm up your voices for merrymaking! Hopefully, your Thanksgiving will be spent with people you love and good food. As with every Thanksgiving, there should also be a large amount of thankfulness.

This year, I feel as though I am just getting a grasp on what being thankful means. First of all, the thanks is directed to God alone since He alone is responsible for life. I believe that thanking Him is all about humbling ourselves enough to recognize our need for God's provision and then allowing ourselves to express gratitude to Him for it. We can't do that when we try to have control over everything or when we refuse to take responsibility for our mistakes. I invite all of you to let go of control, own up to your mistakes and seek the freedom and refreshment that come when you remind yourself that you can't live without Him and that He has freely given you life in abundance. I'm writing a "thanksgiving list" this year of just a few of the many things that make my life more abundant and for which, I am thankful...

My Thanksgiving List:
-The winter wonderland outside my window
-pecan pie
-the freedoms protected under our nation's constitution
-parents who hold me accountable
-orchids
-new socks
-doctors who want to help
-P. G. Wodehouse
-a sister who understands most everything that comes out of my mouth
-frozen custard
-divine matchmaking (the only kind)
-singing
-friends that stick around and don't have to ask before eating your food
-the guys who drive around spreading salt on the roads
-a business that's working!!!!
-deep south family who are always there
-jeans
-Black Mountain, NC
-that man at the postal place who's always friendly and patient
-knuckle band-aids
-avocados
-Pinterest
-long phone calls
-redemption
-hands to make with
-the people who suffer the most and yet still show everyone how happy they are to be alive

Remember to thank the One who gave you absolutely everything this Thankgiving!

~Anna

Monday, November 25, 2013

Shop News - Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale


I really want to take the time today to let you in on just a few little things going on with BGD.

-The big holiday sale is coming up! I'm very excited! This is the first year I've done this. At this time a year ago, BGD was just a thought. It amazes me to think about that...



-I just ordered a bunch more gold elephants for this necklace that sold out last week! We have elephants!

-I've been working on my photo shoot backgrounds for pieces. It's been important to me to have overall consistency and a branded look in my photos, but figuring out the best place in my home to shoot them has been difficult. I have finally landed on something very natural! What do you think? I'm going to be re-shooting a lot of pieces this week.

shop 


 shop

 -It means the world to me to receive messages like this from customers:
"This necklace is very well made, wonderfully unique and absolutely perfect! I was hesitant to order it because I have extremely sensitive skin and often times have trouble wearing anything around my neck, but I have worn it for almost a week and so far there have been no problems :-) This necklace is beautiful and I adore wearing it - I will be ordering more things from this artist in the near future! Thank you!" -Heston

-I'm getting ready to add sterling silver and 14k gold initial charms to my inventory. You will be able to buy them by themselves or have them added to a gemstone or charm already in stock! It's something I've wanted to do for a while!

-A few newbies with a real fall feel:




-A song for you...

Friday, November 22, 2013

Farrago Friday 11.22.13


I'm so glad it's Friday! I love the approaching days of "who knows what" and the opportunity to get a little more sleep (here's hoping that actually happens). I also enjoy sharing my mishmash of links and photos from the week with you! Here you go:

-True words...


-Free Chalkboard Christmas Gift Labels and Tags. I thought I would wait until December to post this link, but lots of you probably do things like this early, so you're getting them before Thanksgiving!


-Are you right or left brained? :) Take the test.

-From Target. It went on my Christmas list...there's an emerald green one in the store, but I couldn't find it online. 


-A spin on two old classics: Pecan Cheesecake Pie. Yum!


-How to Care for Winter Clothes (wool, cashmere, velvet, down)



-A beautiful and easy idea for fall brownies! 


-Oh, how well I know the feeling


Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Holiday Decorating: inspiration from Orchard House


I'm really excited about decorating my home for the upcoming holidays! This year, my desire would be to have Christmas decorations that make me feel like I'm in the 1994 version of Little Women (w/ Winona Ryder & Christian Bale) by using natural, organic things like fruit, white flowers, and live greenery. Here are some examples:



image from country living



image from Veranda 






How are you decorating for the holidays?

Monday, November 18, 2013

New in the Shop

I made some new earrings this past week... lapis, mystic & cherry quartz. They're all simple and dainty! Take a look:


 shop


I hope your week is off to a great start! An instrumental song for Monday...


Friday, November 15, 2013

Farrago Friday 11.15.13


The holiday season is fast approaching and I've been spending a lot of time prepping for what I hope will be a "rush" of some kind. Banana Grove Designs will be having a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale, by the way...more info to come. From the week:

-This sentiment...


-I love Etsy because it hearkens back to the time when everything people wore or used was made by hand. I can only imagine that those items were treasured so much more due to the time and energy and creativity that went in to each individual piece. These 3 little holiday videos Etsy put together encapsulate that sense so well.

-Queenie Liao is an extremely creative photographer and mother! I love these photos of her baby son's naptime. She's just as creative with names. The little boy pictured is Wenngenn. Wenngenn's a heavy sleeper for sure! More here.







-New in the shop...



-Must make and drink this mocha mint frappe soon!


-When the decline of the American Girl doll brand mirrors the decline of society...article here.

- I get excited about wearing flannel shirts during the cold months...came home with this pink one from Target the other day.


-When the groom is in charge of the wedding invitations...


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

White


Just got snow here in the Midwest!!! And there are still leaves on some of the trees. It's beautiful, though!

I'm having too much fun with pinterest and pictures of snow...winter pinterest board.

I have to share this with y'all! I worked on it for a while and it is my favorite white and gold piece. I told you that Pliny the Elder thought rock crystal was permanently frozen ice, remember? This piece is a permanently frozen icicle. A raw rock crystal on a long doubled gold chain...find it in the store here.




Friday, November 8, 2013

Farrago Friday 11.8.2013


It's getting colder all the time. Goodbye happy warmth of the earth.
Here comes the weekend! Stuff I found this week:

-This Fossil t-shirt is awesome...


-There's a little tiny procrastinator in all of us...click here to make the field guide bigger.


-Interesting article about the "busy-ness" epidemic. Is it really something to brag about?

-Someone actually did this! If you have a desire to see how you could dress like an American Girl Doll, click here.



-Recipe for Salted Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies


-This is great...:)

-Can't imagine how difficult photographing a birth would be, but this photographer did a lovely job.


-Song