Bon Voyage!

In my family, where uncertainty is completely normal, and where people who book carefully planned vacations 16 years in advance are looked at askance, the day when a ticket confirmation arrives in your inbox calls  for ringing of bells and a dance of joy.

I am officially-- irrevocably-- booked to travel to Paris, France in the new year! I have anticipated this two week sojourn in a small French village to study the language since summer, though in a rather loose, nebulous way. Now, tickets are bought, my "Paris" nail color is dry, accommodations are paid, and I am celebrating!

The first few days, I will spend paying homage to the great center of art and culture that is Paris. In a very exciting, and equally unforeseen plot twist, my mom will accompany me to the Eiffel tower and the Louvre, and stay long enough to visit my tiny village!

Look for me sipping hot chocolate and nibbling a croissant, French textbook beside me in the white winter solitude of the Loire valley starting January third:)

Also, over Christmas I realized that I never posted the photos of the gorgeous hand-blown glass necklaces I bought in Malaysia! Each one is crafted to resemble a vibrant local flower, and some of them even glow in the dark!
Each one is $15, cord included. Email me at karamartha@gmail.com to buy a piece of Malaysia:)

Christmas!

Okay, I know that Christmas is coming really quickly! If anyone needs teachers' gifts, or stocking stuffers, or a little something for one more friend, I have just the thing! Email me at karamartha@gmail.com, and I will ship your gift the same day. I will let you know the shipping (it shouldn't be much, because none of my current stock is heavy, and you can send me a check for the price of your items plus shipping.)

 Pearls. Need I say more?! I actually buy pearls for a local jewelry shop, where they will retail for upward of two hundred dollars. Because I buy locally in the Philippines, I can offer a 16 inch strand of high quality cultured freshwater pearls with earrings for $35.

 Tiger's eye and coral dangles. $7.50

 I love to see how these people will turn scraps of shell into something beautiful, like these shell earrings.

  These are crystal-- so pretty! I have amethyst purple, clear, Mediterranean blue, and grass green. $7.50

 I can't really choose a favorite.. but these might be them!

 The Philippines are famous for their jade, and the coral and cobalt were just too precious! I want a pair of each!

 Unless otherwise stated, my earrings are $7.50 each. These are a creamy stone, but due to the language barrier which I have only partly breached, the exact stone will remain a mystery;) How does marble sound?:P

 These mother of pearl utensils are perfect for holiday entertaining-- I imagine them as serving utensils for a buffet! They are twelve dollars for a set of three. You can request one of each, or three of a kind in your set of three.

 The photography credits go to Vanessa Phillips, of Glory Be Photography, my amazing cousin!

 These hand-woven bangles add just the touch that I need with an outfit, and I am only asking five dollars for a set of three, so they would make amazing teachers' gifts!

These bangle style bracelets are mother-of-pearl-- I am in love with them! I usually wear them three or so at a time, and receive tons of compliments! They have a lovely lustre, and I have never seen them anywhere else. I am asking five dollars apiece, or twelve dollars for three.

Paradise Found!

 SCUBA diving! My mom, my wonderful, life-long friend Samantha (that I couldn't get rid of if I tried! Can you tell she is reading over my shoulder as I post this!?:P), and I went diving in the translucent turquoise depths (or shallows, rather... the best sea life is at 30 feet and above!) off the coast of Dimakya, the middle of nowhere, Philippines.

 We saw 4 turtles, and 2 of them begged for attention! We couldn't refuse!:P

 One of my little cousins says that I am "the best sea grass harvester"... what talent!

I love how the shifting shafts of light dance diagonally to the surface, connecting the still, slow sands to the ceaselessly changing waves.

 Our dive the next day... we had the boat all to ourselves, and mixed diving with some island hopping.

 Our fabulous boat crew set up a wonderful picnic lunch on this uninhabited island...

 and then we climbed this very large, ouchy rock... in just our swimsuits!

 I love how accessible everything is in the Philippines! Stateside, no one would allow us to climb a dangerous rock, or jump off the prow of the boat, or ride in the dinghy pulled behind the dive boat. We experienced it all!

 Notice the rain clouds behind us!

 Gorgeous water!

And back on our 'home island', ready for dinner and a cultural show:) 

A few more lovely knick-knacks

Well, I have just a few more knick-knacks to finish my first batch of shopping. Make sure to check back to my first post-- I still have just a few strands of pearls and earrings left. As always, email me at karamartha@gmail.com to reserve anything you like, and I will mail them to you. All prices are plus shipping:)

These bangle style bracelets are mother-of-pearl-- I am in love with them! I usually wear them three or so at a time, and receive tons of compliments! They have a lovely lustre, and I have never seen them anywhere else. I am asking five dollars apiece, or twelve dollars for three.

These ethnic bangles  are hand woven from local grasses-- each one is slightly different. I love pairing them with an earthy palette and natural textures, or using them as the finishing touch to a polished outfit for that hint of the unexpected. Haha, maybe that is just me, but it keeps my outfits from being too boring! These are only ten dollars for a set of three:)

I envision these as part of a buffet, or hors d'oeuvres service, or even a tea party! They are also one hundred percent mother of pearl. I am selling them in sets of three of a kind for ten dollars.

My family loves making cheese balls for our parties, and the knife would be excellent for that, or perhaps spreading cream on scones?;) 

You know, I would really appreciate some feedback about what kinds of items y'all would enjoy on the blog... Of course some things I only have one opportunity to snatch, but as far as pearls go, I live right by the pearl market. Long strands that you can loop around twice or knot? Pearl brooches? Small pearls for little girls? Teachers' gifts? Let me know, and I will see what I can do:)

Ciao for now,

Kara

Again that is karamartha@gmail.com!

Rials, Rupees and Ringgit

Oh, and a few euros just to ruin my alliteration;)
To save y'all from googling where these currencies are used, that would be Oman, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. (And the euros would be the Azores and Malta.)

Image credit goes to Amanda Jo Leach, my sweet sister in law:)

Wow. Where do I begin? I looooooved our stay in Maine... but I was really ready to commence our onward journey.

Our itineraries go something like: wait, wait, wait... BE READY TO LEAVE IN 5 MINUTES!!!
So when Captain Phillip finally snapped us out of our New England routine, we were all happy. Skipping a brief stop in Canada, because nothing happened that was interesting enough to write about, we were finally off the continent!

I could hardly contain my glee to hear something other than English when we landed in Santa Maria, in the Azores Islands! Technically part of Portugal, the Azores lie roughly mid-Atlantic and enjoy a lovely temperate climate.
Someday, I will be able to stop for more than just 12 hours, and really explore this place. I experienced what I could from our wrought iron balcony, and on a brief walk-about in the morning. Until then, the Azores were exactly the melange of narrow cobblestone streets, volcanic terrain, and the general lack of traffic guidelines that I expected; a place of old-world charm, forgotten by the rest of sophisticated Europe, dropped in the middle of the Atlantic, where they speak musical, cadenced Portuguese.


I loved watching our descent into Gibraltar. Out the opposite windows of our jet, I could see two of the countries I want to visit most-- Spain and Morocco.  It was almost torture to be this close! Gibraltar itself doesn't look too bad either...

Malta:) Now that is a place I will revisit! The different lightings on Malta were gorgeous: the moonlight on the ink-black Mediterranean, the soft morning light on the the golden stone arches above the road.
 Mom and Samantha and I established a nice rapport with our taxi driver, Carl. Mom asked him why his country had never been gobbled up by a nearby nation. (Cheers to asking locals tough questions!)
"Maltese are too hardheaded and have short temperatures!"

Malta to Oman was an interesting day... by far the highlight was getting stuck in Jordan. And no, I don't mean simply a protracted fuel stop. I mean, we were stuck. Due to poor signaling from the ground-crew, we accidentally left the taxiway for a road, and then ran one tire off the narrow road into the sand. What fun. Getting that tire unstuck was quite entertaining. At first, only one Jordani was visible. By the end, roughly 20 men were part of the "please get these pesky Americans gone" effort.

How many people go to Oman? I love that about my family. I would definitely stay longer in Oman sometime, though a few downsides are immediately apparent: especially being thoroughly scrutinized by every Omani man within 100 yards! Dressing modestly to the extreme helps a bit.
Our hotel in Oman was one of the two most luxurious hotels I have ever stayed in. The balcony was like something out of Aladdin:)  Surprisingly, the weather was quite pleasant, both that evening and when my roomie and I took a morning stroll on the beach.
 I love the architecture! E.g. this mosque we passed...
We had a hilarious time watching Omani music videos; half a dozen men in long robes dancing something like a can-can is quite amusing to two jet-lagged girls!:P

India is always so anti-climactic! I want to see the Taj Mahal, and work with kids there etc, but our fuel stops are fairly horrendous: inefficient and inhospitable. I remind myself to never judge a country by its airports.

Sri Lanka was a bit better:) We at least could stay overnight, but we weren't able to really leave the hotel. I felt like quite the little British imperialist, sitting in the elegant and manicured garden, sipping tea. I almost expected the waiter to say "yes, sahib." I don't like that feeling.

Honestly, I didn't feel quite at ease in Sri Lanka. Of course, I would try it again, but between the voracious eyed men and the uneasy feeling that many locals felt intrinsically inferior, I could not quite feel at home.
The hotel gym was across the road, with tight, spiraling stairs and a bridge leading to it. When I was halfway down the last staircase, I heard two guy's footsteps behind me; I felt a bit skittish, and tried to hurry my steps. I darted a rather suspicious glance over my shoulder, only to be met with a friendly smile and a cheery "good morning!"
I realized that this was the first time in two days and three countries that a man had looked at me with respect. I wish that I had had the presence of mind to ask his name or something. (Guys reading this, it really does mean a lot... and, no mater how subtle you think you are, girls know when you look at us with questionable intentions!)

I really enjoyed Malaysia this time:) And, it was such a nice change to stay any place for more than one night! A highlight for me was the batik factory... Samantha and I both made our own piece of batik... we chose a stencil, and traced it with melted wax on fabric... ...then painted in the lines of wax...
They turned out so pretty!
We stocked up on green tea powder, then went shopping at Central Market. Contrary to popular opinion, this is not a supermarket, but a collection of handicraft vendors! I bought a beautiful silk batik kimono that I love! They were a bit too expensive for me to want to offer for sale here, but perhaps when I have more capitol built up. I will be back to Malaysia:)
I did find some really pretty hand-blown glass pendants of typical Malay flowers... more about that later:)

One night we had dinner with the prince of Malaysia and his wife at the rotating restaurant at the pinnacle of the Kuala Lumpur tower-- very fun:) They are some of the sweetest people I have ever met!

The stupendous bonding time and fabulous stops notwithstanding, our flying cylinder seemed to contract with every nautical mile. Imagine the feeling of coming home after that!

Three Mornings in Maine:)

Well, we are in Maine. Yes, I know that this stop was not on the itinerary. Yes, I know we are supposed to be in Malta right now! However, there was an urgent need for an attitude adjustment:P For those of you who are unaware of my ridiculous, fabulous, chaotic lifestyle, my family (and my lifelong friend Samantha!) is in the process of ferrying a Citation II from San Marcos, Texas to Manila, Philippines. We plan to stop in Newfoundland, the Azores islands, Gibraltar, Malta, Jordan, Oman, Kuala Lumpur, and then the Philippines. And then, over Pittsburgh, the directional gyro went out. The message on the screen literally said "attitude fail"! Since Pittsburgh was full because of the upcoming Steelers game, we chose Maine, as conveniently close, with a FedEx shipping center for any necessary parts, and with a high probability of something fun to experience.  I love the fresh, crunchy-tart Maine apples, sailing the bay in an antique sloop, fabulous fall foliage, crisp, cool weather, real clam chowder, Mainers who don't say their 'r's, and LOBSTER. Our first day of our unexpected, New England mini-vacation, we drove from Bangor to Bar Harbor, enjoying the leaves on the way, and ate lobster for dinner:) Lobster shacks seem the equivalent of BBQ in my Texas hometown: common, casual, and mostly appreciated by foreigners! The second glorious day we laughed our way up a four mile hike in Acadia National Park-- what a start to our day, and what a beautiful Savior we serve to create such beauty! Then, we decided that we had earned a yummy lunch... most of us chose blueberry stuffed French toast with blueberry sauce-- absolutely delish! My wonderfully resourceful, always-be-prepared-to-make-the-most-of-everything brother, Eric, had an afternoon of sailing lined up for us. Our boat, the Alice E. is the oldest friendship sloop still afloat, and our captain, Carl, was awesome enough to let me steer:) Just to be there, out in the middle of the blue expanse of bay, to breathe the exquisitely fresh air, to let the beautiful scenery permeate deep into me and refresh me, to lean far over the side to touch the water, and scrambling to the front of the Alice to feel the breeze turn my cheeks pink, seemed uniquely Maine, and completely wonderful. Maine surprised me. Perhaps I expected the quaint aura in the small fishing villages, but even Bangor and Portland had their share of old brick buildings. In that way, I was surprised at how Maine seems to hold onto tradition. However, I expected to find a more homogenous society this far north and isolated, but I have seen people of all ethnicities. (No, I take that back. I have yet to see an African pygmy.) But still... Now, continuing the grand tour of Maine, we are in Portland. I had hoped to finally exit the country today-- I am beyond ready to hear foreign languages, and deal with a different currency-- but we are delayed one more day. Tomorrow we hop from Portland to St. John's, Newfoundland, to the Azores. And while we are stuck, I will enjoy one more dinner of lobster:) I do not have any knick-knacks to share this time. I would rather not sell anything than sell something that does not meet my standards of quality, value and how well it represents a region and/or tells a story. I did not have time to visit the Maine antique stores like I would have wished. Next time! However, to clarify, if you do wish to buy something you see on my blog, email me at karamartha@gmail.com to reserve it. As soon as I receive your cash or check (my mailing address is:  965 N. Walnut, Ste. 500B, New Braunfels, Tx 78130), I will send out your purchases:) I now offer a 10% discount for cash, and all prices are plus shipping. I hope that helps! Ciao until next time, Kara Photos to follow... I have unsuccessfully tried with this internet connection for what seems like a very, very long time.

The Pearl of the Orient-- or just home:)

Since the time of the Rajahs -- the 1400s or before, Manila has been called the Pearl of the Orient. What better place to buy pearls, than the exquisitely nicknamed city I now call home?

After several people over the years have urged me to both blog of my travels, and offer for sale some of the treasures that I find, I acquiesced. I just had to start with pearls!

Directly across from my beloved apartment complex, is the Manila Pearl Market, bursting at the seams with pearls of every size, shape, color and quality. Next time I will take more photos of the actual market and the people who select and string the pearls! I am still very new at this, and learning as I go:)

I am very particular about which pearls I purchase; I go from stall to stall, examining hundreds of strands, before I find the lustrous, blemish-free, beautiful pearls that I want... and then the fun begins! I love to bargain!

When we arrive at a mutually satisfactory price, chosen the clasp and the earrings, the vendor begins to string the pearls on a brand new cord, and deftly ties a tiny knot between each each to keep them from rubbing together and scratching each other.

I have 5 sets of pearls (necklace and stud pearl earrings) for sale for $35 each. From a jewelry store in the states, they would easily fetch two or three hundred dollars.
Email me at karamartha@gmail.com if you are interested!





Interestingly, the Pearl Market does offer a few other trinkets-- some which I could not pass over! I am asking $7.50 a pair for these earrings. They are all handmade by the local Filipinos from semi-precious stones and genuine crystal. I just loved them!

                         Maybe my very favorites! These are red coral with silver embellishment.

 These are crystal-- so pretty! I have amethyst purple, clear, Mediterranean blue, and grass green.

 Here are the coral and silver earrings again, and the green are Filipino jade (the Philippines are famous for their jade!) and I believe the blue are cobalt.

                                          The peachy pair is coral, and the other is tigers eye.

                                          These are shell earrings with a lovely pearly sheen...

Okay... sometimes it is hard to understand the accented English; these are either limestone or marble:)

 This is the booth where I found most of the cute earrings... there are hundreds of nearly identical kiosks jammed closely together in the perfectly imperfect, chaotic antihill that is the Pearl Market!

This is my little cousin 'helping' a vendor attach a clasp in the tiny cubicle hidden behind the storefront.

All of the jewelry photos were taken by Vanessa Phillips, an amazing professional photographer, who happens to be my cousin! To see some more of her work, go to http://web.me.com/glorybephotography/glorybephotography/Glory_Be_Photography.html