Kindly With K: Valentine's Day

Showing posts with label Valentine's Day. Show all posts

What to Wear: Valentine's Day

Whether you are going on a fancy date with your other half or just casually enjoying each other's company during the day, you want to look your best on Valentine's Day. Here are two options that are sure to impress your man on the day of love!

CASUAL

FANCY

What will you be wearing on Valentine's Day?

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself." - Henry Ward Beecher

Valentine's Day Gift Guide: My Jewelry Picks

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! We are on the final countdown to Valentine's Day...only 5 days left! If I had a man in my life (which I sadly do not at this moment in time), these are the pieces of jewelry that I would kindly and discreetly tell him that I might just possibly like to receive as a gift on the day of love. :)

What pieces of jewelry are on your wish list for Valentine's Day this year?

"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up." - James A. Baldwin

For the Romantically Challenged Man

Ladies, if ever there was a blog post to show your man…this is the one! With Valentine’s Day right around the corner your man might be feeling the added pressure to do something romantic for you. Since we have all been on those horrible dates (men that have horrible body odor, men that show up late, men that don’t even offer to pay for dinner…the list can truly go on forever), what if you had the chance to give your man a “date crate”? What would you put in a “date crate” that your man could use to make your Valentine’s Day more enjoyable? I want to hear your ideas…share them on social media with me @KindlyWithK using #KWKDateCrates!

Every woman wants and needs different things from a man on a date, but I’ve put together my list of what I would put in my man’s “date crate” for a romantic evening on Valentine’s Day.

1. Flowers
Whether a woman says she likes flowers or not….she likes flowers and she loves to receive them. There is nothing better than opening the door and being handed a beautiful bouquet of flowers. So always, always, always come prepared with flowers!

via Bliss Fine Florals

If you’re located in Orange County, Bliss Fine Florals does amazing arrangements that are sure to woo your woman!

2. Reservations at Her Favorite Restaurant
Probably one of the worst things you can do on a date is show up to a restaurant and have there be a 3 hour wait. Find out my favorite restaurant and make reservations ahead of time. Not only does that show me you care, but it also shows that you actually planned ahead!

via The Deck on Laguna Beach

Want to dine on the beach, book a table at The Deck on Laguna Beach!

3. Plans for a Surprise Activity
After dinner, you want to have plans in place for a little surprise. Book a ride on a gondola, take her mini golfing, peruse the newest art gallery in town…do something that the two of you can enjoy together. Again, planning ahead of time shows that you actually took the time to craft out the perfect date!

Cruise around Newport Harbor on your very own gondola with The Gondola Company of Newport.

4. Mix CD of Her Favorite Music
While you are in the car it is always nice to have some background music. If you really want to impress a woman, put together a CD of her favorite music or maybe even a CD of songs that have a special meaning between the two of you. Music is always a good idea and when it is personalized it is even better.

5. Blanket & A Map to Where You Can See the Stars
End your evening sitting back watching the stars on the roof of your car. There is no better way to end a date than by stargazing with the one you love!

Now ladies back to you! If you’re looking for an idea of what to possibly gift your man for Valentine’s Day or really any other holiday, Man Crates is the place to go. They not only have a wide selection of gifts, but each gift set literally comes in a crate that your man has to open with a crow bar. If you don’t call that manly, than I don’t know what is!

“Check out Man Crates and the rest of their awesome gift ideas!”

How are you and your man prepping for Valentine’s Day? Will you be giving him a “date crate”?

"A kiss is a rosy dot over the 'i' of loving." - Cyrano de Bergerac

This post was brought to you by Man Crates.

Valentine's Day Jewelry featuring Sunday Girl

With Valentine's Day coming up, I have found the perfect gift for everyone in your life. Sunday Girl's 143 bracelet is perfect for your best friend, boyfriend and even your mom! See how I wear mine and check out an exclusive interview with Sunday Girl Designer/CEO Amy Di Lamarra!

Photos by Eye Touch Photography

Q&A with Sunday Girl Designer/CEO Amy Di Lamarra

What inspired you to launch Sunday Girl?
In 08’ (when the economy was really tanking) I had to make a really tough decision to close down my handbag and belt brand Kudra after 5 years in business. One of the first things I did after that was doing private label jewelry design, one of the clients was Badgley Mischka. It was the first time I really got into jewelry design and it was for couture pieces so I could be really creative and even a bit over the top. It opened up a whole world of design I had never considered before. I did a lot of different freelance jewelry designing over the next few years and in 2011 I officially put together my own line of jewelry and began to sell wholesale.

How does your design process work?
I work the designs in a few different ways. Often I start with a motif that I want to explore with a casting like the lattice petal. After that I play around with variations on that theme. I think about the different jewelry pieces for that central piece for different necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Sometimes I’ll have the idea for the style of the piece like the cluster necklace, then I just play around with different variations of stones. Sometimes I’m totally inspired by a particular stone, like the Sunset necklace, and the necklace comes together around that.

What else goes into your business? How do you incorporate the local Los Angeles community?
In order to create cast pieces, I do drawings or I make initial samples out of wax or metal, from which a mold is made. My castings are all made locally in Los Angeles. I like having all my suppliers close by. I know them and their work and they know me. Those relationships mean everything. I also have a pieceworker who assembles jewelry and makes all the 143 bracelets and necklaces, (she has much more nimble fingers than I do).

There a lot of things that go into my business aside from design and production, a huge one is maintaining my own website, social media outlets etc. as well as other sites where I sell like Scoutmob.com and starting this year Bluefly. I’m also constantly working on getting systems in place to make the work flow more smoothly and save me time. Things like inventory systems and customer relationships are big ones and are constantly being tweaked and improved. I don’t have staff for most of these things. I have to be organized so I don’t waste a lot of time.

Can you explain how you came up with the idea for the 143 bracelets?

I was actually just planning on designing a cute seed-bead friendship style, layering bracelet. I have to credit my husband for coming up with 1 4 3. Way back before texting, he used to leave me notes that would say 1 4 3 instead of I love you, it was our little code, (turns out it wasn’t just us). Anyway, it became the perfect way to set these pieces apart from other similar style jewelry. It’s also open to a lot of possibilities for expanding the collection.

What are the three pieces of jewelry that you think every woman should have in her jewelry collection?

Fun dangle earrings, a great chunky ring, and an interesting mid length necklace that you can throw on with literally anything, to give you that little extra bit of “fancy”, even if you are just running to the grocery store.

What advice can you give women looking to start their own business?

Start where you are, don’t keep putting it off because of unrealistic expectations or perfectionism. Get creative and find a way. I started my business when I was pregnant with my son and all my money was set aside for baby stuff. I’ve had to grow slowly and I’ve made much wiser business decisions as a result.