Updates

We have a short laundry list of updates to give you today starting with our monthly giveaway on our Facebook page.

This month we are giving away this dandy pair of Muse earrings.

They're light, they're sleek and oh so perfect for summer updos :)

Click here to enter.

Next up:

Our weekly sales our back and they are starting back up with a pair of Simple Classic Circles.

You can find them here and here.

And finally, many of our made to order rings and bangles have made their way back into our online and Etsy shops after several month's hiatus.

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Okay.

That is it for web-related work for me today. Now I'm going to head back into the studio and do what I love doing best....making what you see in these pictures!

So, in the next few days or so I'll be back to show more of our trip photos because there are still a zillion of them and then hopefully soon after that will be a post full of new work.....

Keep checking back ;)

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Tallinn

Early tomorrow morning we are leaving on the first of three planes that will take us home.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings....

I am ready to go home, but I am really going to miss it here.

I love Europe.

The landscape,

the architecture,

the details and grandeur of past civilizations,

and the modern lines of new emerging designs layered in and around the old.

These rooftops...

...and alleyways.

The cobblestone...

...colors,

...and tucked away surprises.

This is Tallinn, Estonia.

The other half of our multi-cultural family.

Time to head to that other area of the world that I love...  

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A day with Family

A couple of days ago we headed south to the center of Estonia to spend the day with Norbert's aunts and cousins. One of the aunts owns, along with a few friends, a large beautiful property that holds the second biggest rose garden in Estonia.

When we first got there we took a little tour of the surrounding area....

We spent much of that time picking mushrooms, blueberries and wild strawberries.

The berries we ate immediately and the chanterelle mushrooms were gathered for a gravy that we ate later that evening.

Gathering in the forest like this is a something that all Estonian children grow up doing.

Norbert still remembers all of the types of plants, berries and mushrooms he grew up picking.

The highlight for Norbert was seeing an underground bunker used by the Forest Brothers.

The Forest Brothers were an important part of the Estonian resistance to Communist occupation that followed WWII. They hid and lived in the forest for over 20 years fighting the soviets. 

The middle plaque above is a quote from Kalevipoeg, the Estonian epic hero and says: 

I would rather lead my life as a poor man than succumb to the will of strangers. 

The plaque below it is in honor of the Forest Brothers and states that it was in their hearts and souls that Estonia continued to live free.

The view from inside.

More edible plants...

and a pocket full of mushrooms.

Inside and in front of his Aunt's summer home

All of these pictures were taken while wandering around her property... 

A hobbit house? :)

The day ended late with hours spent sitting, visiting, roasting marshmellows and watching a pair of monkeys perform and dance for their cousin!

And then we said good-bye....

We are going to miss our Estonian family!

We are now on a countdown to go home...

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