Today is my birthday. It’s so funny how sometimes you don’t feel like you are any different than the year before when your birthday comes. But today I put that into perspective.
When I was eight, I remember how my brother and I would listen to Peter and the Wolf or Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on cassette before we went to sleep, or how we used to play with our flashlights on the ceiling like they were spaceships fighting amongst the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars and the stubborn GAK residue from years past (does anyone remember that stuff? It was disgusting and awesome all at the same time). I also remember this was the year I had my first licorice jelly bean and almost called Ralph. It was also the year I learned how to use the microwave; I asked my grandmother to put an already cooked hardboiled egg inside and entered our home phone number…and then watched it explode. I was just a kid, and the world before me had endless possibilities.
When I was twenty, I had just come off the hardest summer of my life where I worked not one, not two, not three, but FOUR jobs and took off a quarter from school to work and save money for books, food and rent for my first apartment when I went back to school. I was living in what was technically an office; a 9ft by 13ft single-windowed room where I had accounted for and planned the space down to the last inch to make it as efficient as possible– including a double folding futon FOR ONE (yes, they make those). I even was working part time as a barista in between classes, waking up at 6am 4 days a week to open the cafe and bake enough scones to get the shop through the lunch hour rush; even when finals came I would take 20 minute naps and wake up and keep working (and I aced all of them). I had grown up, gotten a thick skin, and I still knew the world before me had endless possibilities.
When I think of those points in my life, when I was at such vastly different stages and add them together, the space in between makes sense and I understand today what I am made of. I’m a kid with tough skin, who grew up and I know the world before me has endless possibilities. It’s kinda beautiful.
So today is a day of reflection for me, keeping those tender memories alive because that’s really the stuff we are made of. But today is also a day to celebrate! Another candle on the cake, another ring on the tree or whatever you want to call it- I have lived to see another day and that’s pretty fantastic. I have lived in 4 states from the East to the West, found love and passion. All great things to live for and tip you hat to. And for that I am grateful.
So to celebrate, I’m announcing a pretty sweet sale for the shop (of course!). Enter HBD2ME at checkout and get 15% off your total purchase. The shop is already marked down 20%, so you’ll save 35%! Heyyyooooo!
In other (awesome) news, I am participating in a new pop up night marketplace called Black Market SF which is an exclusive shopping event that happens at a mystery location every few months. You have to register online to stay in the loop! Black Market SF features a select group of local crafters, designers and small business owners to sell their goods all in a night market atmosphere. Enjoy live music, food and spirits and often times, there is a charitable cause involved. Sign up ASAP to get the invite and get your tickets! Presale tickets are available now for FREE until end of this week, $5 after they run out, and $8 at the door.
Here’s how to enter:
1. Follow me on Twitter
2. Follow Joules Jewels Vintage on Facebook
3. Pick an item you like in the shop and “heart” it!
4. Leave a comment below with your name, e-mail address, and the link of the item you favorited from the shop!
Winners will be chosen and announced on Thursday February 13, 2014 and will be contacted by e-mail.
*All persons entering must live in the San Francisco Bay Area or must be willing to commute to the event. Must be 21+
Joules Jewels Vintage 