R is for Red and Retro: July Five Alive, Come and Sea

Bathing Beauty Charm Bracelet

Bikini: Venus
Sunglasses: Michaels

The Fourth of July is the star of the summer.  But you never hear anything about the fifth of July (which is why it's not capitalized :).  You know.  When the smoke from the sparklers has cleared and swimsuits and citronella are seventy-five percent off.  Maybe it's because I live at the beach and waited for what seemed like an eternity amid angry mobs of day-trippers at the local Acme to pay for some lemons.  But there's no denying that there's a certain relief that comes when the fanfare and crowds have evaporated, and the sun-steamed world is restored to sweet peace.  After all, peace is the essence of summer.  They don't call them the hazy, lazy days for nothing.

Rosalie shore seems to think so.  What's that you say?  Who the heck is Rosalie?  Why, the 1950s femme fatale figure dangling so fetchingly from this Bathing Beauty Charm Bracelet.  A siren of swimming pool cool, she also appears on the matching Bathing Beauty Charm Necklace that I made last December.  I remember that it was the Christmas season because a) I mentioned Manchester by the Sea in my post, and b) because I said so here.

But I digress.

Simply stated, this Bathing Beauty Charm Bracelet was begging to be made.  Because a necklace without a bracelet is like a queen without her king, a rodeo clown without his bronco, or Guy Fieri without a hunk of pork butt.  In other words, unthinkable.  What's more, this particular bracelet will be a not-so-secret free gift for the lucky lady (or lad!) who buys the Bathing Beauty Charm Necklace.  So, I'm celebrating the Fifth of July (now is the time for capitalization) with peace and, yes, primo pieces.  Even though I once said that calling my creations "pieces" was precious and pretentious and probably a whole host of other icky "p" words.  Still, as always, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the sake of sound wordplay.

Just as Rosalie is willing to sacrifice a serious acting career by playing pinup.

Pre-holiday Hodgepodge: Blue Christmas

 Black and White Glamour Night Necklace

Top: So, Kohl's

Skirt: Marshalls

Shoes: Payless

Bag: Nine West, Marshalls

Belt: B Fabulous

Hat: Apt. 9, Kohl's

Sunglasses: Mudd, Kohl's

 Bathing Beauty Charm Necklace

Sweater: So, Kohl's

Skirt: (a dress!) LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Shoes: Payless

Bag: Modcloth

Hat: Neff, Fred Flare

Belt: Kohl's

Sunglasses: Rampage, Boscov's

 Bubblegum Butterfly Necklace

Top: Mossimo, Target

Skirt: Necessary Objects, Annie Sez

Shoes: Chinese Laundry, DSW

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

Belt: Candie's, Kohl's

Hat: JCPenney

Sunglasses: Michaels

There's something magical about blue Christmas decorations. Elegant and ethereal, cerulean lights, bows, and foliage transform December's dark, gloomy nights into a winter wonderland -- so, depending on your age or viewpoint, Norman Rockwell or Frozen. Growing up, I had a great aunt with an exquisitely decorated blue Christmas tree. To me, the monochromatic ornaments were regal and slightly exotic, raining down on the artificial green boughs like slices of star-studded sky. That said, I also have an aunt who's crazy about Elvis -- and I have the King-stamped Christmas card to prove it!  So, it's sapphire squared in this (blue spruce) family Christmas tree.

Blue is also dear to me because I live near the ocean. Although the water is a sort of brownish green here in New Jersey, it's always a glamorous, azure-crested cobalt in the fun house mirror of my imagination. (I realize that fun house mirrors make things look worse, not better, and that it's department store mirrors that flatter. But somehow a Macy's fitting room lacks the romance of a questionable carny classic.) Indeed, my working title for this post was Pre-holiday Hodgepodge: Accessories by the Sea. Because it sounds like a shop that sells tourist trinkets (and you know how much I love those), and also Manchester by the Sea, which I will most likely not see on account of the husband's hatred of Casey Affleck. But I was looking for a theme to do justice to this week's blue frock-framed necklaces, and this cool yule color was it, especially on this first day of winter.  Chief charmer Bathing Beauty brings blue full circle with her affinity for all things aquatic.  After all, the ocean is nature's bathtub, right down to its thick, bubbly foam. (Last summer I said that the ocean was nature's swimming pool. But here at the Trove we pride ourselves on making the most of metaphors. That and not discounting the cleansing powers of waste-laced saltwater. Coming this spring: the ocean as nature's toilet.)

On that (ahem) notecard, I decided to send out beach-themed Christmas greetings this year (with stamps featuring, sadly, plain old wreaths instead of Jimmy Buffett).

Wish you were here.  And also that "here" was Aruba.