You are a natural beauty.

Holy shit this is so cool!

Its native gold on white quartz from California!

And only $2,250. Ha!

rocks, gems, cabs, trees,

Pennsylvania day trip. Met a friend at a gem show.

Country radio blaring down the freeway. Trees rolling beyond the horizon. I had the open road away from city grime. Yee ha!!!

My finds: Turqouise, Varicite, Mookite, a raw Emerald and raw Rubies.

Mmmm Mmmm pretty.

New! custom 18 karat pendant

Oooo, Friday the 13th!

AND my photo importing froze up at the 13th photo!...something haunting my computer perhaps?

A lovely customer wanted the "Helicopter Maple Seed Necklace" as a charm. No chain, just the maple seed. And she wanted it in 18 karat gold.

Great! Sounded like fun to make. And it was! 18 kt gold= luxury to work with!

LASIK!

Here is me at my day job! I make molds, cast sculptures, fabricate, help set up film and photo shoots among other things.

Notice my big glasses... I won't be wearing those anymore. Yesterday I had LASIK surgery!!! Upon arriving at the doctors office I took a Vicodin and Xanax. I swallowed the pills gratefully and waited for a wave of relaxation to fall over me. It didn't happen. I was so amped up. I kept thinking, when will I relax? Can I make a run for it? The elevator is right in front of me...

The final waiting room was next to the operating room. When we arrived, another patient was waiting for her procedure. She was excited. Happy. A guy walked out of the operating room. Everyone whipped around to take a good look at him. He looked good! Wearing big sunglasses, lead the way out. "Wow" I thought, it cant be that bad. More patients filed into the room. Most accompanied by a partner who was trying to downplay the foreboding situation. Me and my fellow nearsighted patients sat facing one another listening to the sound of the laser cutting. K.K.K.K.K.K.K.K. A grating, high pitched sound. "That's her eyeball being cut!"

One big tough looking guy sat by his girlfriend staring solemnly. He was silent. The woman beside him whispered into his ear and he sat fixed. Trying to transport himself out of that room. "He was so nervous." my boyfriend later told me. That guy was not alone. My heart was pounding, hands fidgeting, trying to breath. We were all anticipating something unspeakable. One by one the patients were released from the room. Everyone looked a little dazed. Reborn. Gone would be waking to fuzzy faces. Gone would be my headaches from glasses pushed against nose and temples. Gone was the insufferable irritation and pain from wearing contacts.

I was in the operating room for about 15 minutes. The doctor and nurses were so nice and comforting. They talked me through everything. I held onto two stress balls under a blanket. I tried to squeeze and my hands wouldn't make a fist. Maybe those drugs were working! First they put lots of numbing drops in my eyes. I was terrified that those drops weren't enough. "You can put more" I laughed. The Vicodin was kicking in. It was hard not to smile. I was getting LASIK!

A big suction cup latched onto my eyeball steadying them for the initial laser cuts. The computer operated laser cut a flap into both eyes over my cornea and the doctor bent the flaps over. The doctor check and rechecked everything. I was temporarily blind with the flaps up. Only a fuzzy grey and a faint blinking light. "Keep looking at the light"

"Oh, there it is" I laughed. "Holy shit" I said to myself. "I can't feel the cutting, just some pressure. Its OK. Everything is going to be OK."

I wore big full face "retirement" sunglasses while my boyfriend drove me home. The rest of the day was spent in bed. I felt like I had an eyelashes in my eyes. Some stinging. But sleep heals. The eye's are amazingly resilient.

Today, I am taking off from my day job. The doctor said that I can go back to work today but for my job, I don't think so. Too much dust and fumes there and I want to play it safe. I will take it easy this weekend. My sight is AMAZING now! I have some halos around bright lights at night. This is normal. My eyes are dry and this is normal. I have three types of eye drops, and they are my best friends right now.

I will have a check up later today, I expect my vision will be near perfect.

This is a life changing event. I am so happy with my decision to get LASIK! I have had surges of emotion throughout this journey. Tears well up when the reality hits me that I can see. I just received a text from my wonderful boyfriend, "How's life with the new eyes?"

It is incredible!

gourds for fall

Love the textures.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Best Vampire!

In the spirit of halloween I want to share my baby vamp necklace from Bittersweets NY which is an awesome jewelry store specializing in the delightfully grotesque.

I have the rose gold version and I love love love it. Bite me, please!

New HB Facebook Fan Page!

Hightower Botanicals caved! We are now on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/HightowerBotanicals

Getting ready for 2010, we are now part of the mighty interweb giant of profiles and status updates.

It will be The Place for discounts, new designs, my Brick and Mortar consignment shops... good stuff. SO, fan me!!!

And don't worry, I will continue to blog about everything and anything that strikes my fancy here on Blogger.

Delicious Bath and Body Shop

Succulent aromas fill my bathroom every day and I have to share!

I bought the "Woodland Rose -Creamy Shea and Mango Soap" from "Soft Shell Bath and Body Shop" recently. This soap is made from scratch. It smells outrageously good! A rosy, creamy mango comfort in my nose after every shower. Wow. And fragrance lingers on my skin after the shower so I can savor it. The Woodland Rose blend is not currently available, guess its a summer fragrance. But I have confidence in ALL of Soft Shell's soaps and highly recommend.

I also purchased the "All Natural Facial Oil". A unique blend of high quality oils. Watermelon Oil is one of the main ingredients! Yeah, Watermelon oil! "How weird", I thought when I first read the description. How much oil can you get out of a watermelon? The blend here is really different. Rosehip Seed oil, Jojoba oil, Plum Kernel oil, Orchid extract... Actually the first time I opened up the bottle and dotted my finger I was confused by the smell. A bit earthy, floral, citrus, spicy. I just didn't know what to think. But I tried it and it felt good on my face. I have a mix of dry and oil skin. According the Soft Shell, this facial oil is good for both. So I continued to use it. My face feels great and now and the scent has grown on me. I can appreciate the complexity of exotic (for me!) ingredients. definitely recommend this facial oil for anyone with dry/ problem skin.

Go Soft Shell!

Lancaster county, PA

I went to Pennsylvania Dutch Country yesterday for a day trip. Rainy, but we decided to go anyways and just go with it.

At an Amish roadside stand. Everything was glowing with color. I picked out three gourds and a pumpkin. Going to make pumpkin soup!


Wilbur Chocolates americana museum and store in Lititz. "Road Apples" can be found here only I believe! Amish country!
And here are some old chocolate molds! Wilbur chocolates is the oldest continuously running chocolate factory!