Betsy & Iya Jewelry


Archive for the ‘On the Road’ Category

RT2011, Day 9: Memphis in 2 hours.

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

We rolled into Memphis just before lunchtime and were greeted with the sweetest storefront:  Hoot + Louise.  It couldn’t have been a better break from our trip to Austin from Nashville.

oh how I want the boots in the window.

What’s more?  It’s owner, Anna, couldn’t be more charming (…and gorgeous, and kind, and humble).  There needs to be more of her in the world.

Anna named the shop after her grandmother, who’s name is Louise and nickname is Hoot.  Isn’t that wonderful!? I have a real soft spot for the name Louise, my great grandmother’s name was Louise and one of my best friends of forever’s name is Louise.  It’s such a grounded name to me— soft, kind, loving, and graceful.  If I have ever have a baby girl…

She picked some of my current favorite pieces from the line; including, the Spotty Triangle necklace.  Expect a fine collection in her shop in the next few weeks.

click to see item in shop.

I got the sense that if we lived in the same town, we’d be fast friends.  After she shopped the jewelry, the only thing that could pull us out of there was our rumbling tummies and the desire not to arrive in Austin in the dark and quiet hours past midnight.   She directed us to the legendary Arcade restaurant, where we filled up on old school milkshakes and real deal ham sandwiches, and we were on our way.

This road trip continues to warm our hearts.

I hope yours are feeling warm and cozy today.

xo~betsy

***Song of the Moment: Someone Great, by LCD Soundsystem***

RT2011, Day 8: Unexpected Delights!

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

We had a meeting lined up today with MODA Boutique, a house turned shop in what felt like the Alberta district of Nashville. We showed up a bit early, so stylist Clare sent us across a patio to Frothy Monkey for a reliably rad cup of coffee. Indeed, it was.

Is it weird to start a post with a picture of a cute trashcan?

We came back and spread our trays of necklaces and earrings out on a couch near the dressing rooms and chatted with Clare. What happened next happens frequently, but it’s always a delight. Clare started getting excited about the jewelry before Meredith arrived. Meredith popped in, we wrote an order, and got a recommendation for lunch.

the lovely MODA Boutique in a converted house.

Even housier!

LOVED the chipped paint and the old columns inside!

We headed over to Burger Up down the street for a lunch bite.

Burger Up and Beer Up.

Here, we chatted with our waitress, an aspiring singer, about our work and hers. We swapped music recommendations. Having not heard the Adele album ourselves, she sang a few bars quietly for us tableside. Such a lovely voice. A perfect meal.

Try not to be jealous.

Oh, did I mention the FOOD?! We got the truffled fries with the slider trio: Benton’s bacon, Tennessee sweetwater white cheddar, jack daniels maple ketchup. Wilted arugula, peppermint dijon, boursin cheese. Cremini, gruyere, balsamic bbq sauce. Topped it all off with a local beer, Yazoo. Amazing.

Me at Burger Up. Seriously, I was WAY happier than this. I was practicing my serious face.

A HUGE PS! As I typed this, we got an order from Gin-O Boutique in Franklin, TN! That makes TWELVE new wholesale accounts in this trip!

***Song of the Moment: The Color, by Yellowbirds***

My Two Loves.

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

…driving through New Mexico on our 3rd birthday.








So much to be thankful for. Life is so good, y’all.

***Song of the Moment: The Go Getter, by The Black Keys.***

RT2011, Day 7: Show me whatcha working with, Nashville!

Monday, March 14th, 2011

Where were we?  Ahhh, yes!  Nashville.  So we drove 9 hours, met with Two Elle, and then had our first celebration dinner of the trip.  What is a celebration dinner??  Basically, it’s one we cannot afford.  No no, we can afford it, it’s just that we should probably be eating out of the cooler.  No, no, we shouldn’t be doing that, but we shouldn’t be using italics quite so much, am I right?

So we ate at the Germantown Cafe.  Had a martini and a glass of wine.  Ordered apps, dessert, and an after-dinner drink.  AND dinner.  That’s why it’s a celebration dinner.  Sometimes when you sit in a car all day, you work up an appetite.

And then we slept.  And when we woke up, we had our first day with no appointments, so we drove around town, got the lay of the land as far as shopping districts go, saw some RIDICULOUSLY huge houses near Franklin, TN (houses that were actually BIGGER than the big church down the road), sought out a good cup of coffee, and spent the night in with take-out thai (sad moment when we realized we weren’t in Portland anymore, Toto, where good thai grows on trees) and the Bachelor.  And this, folks, is why we call these trips vacusiness (pronouced vay-CIZ-ness).

And guess what: the ONLY picture we have to show for all of that is this one.  A little Nashvillian coffee shop that was accidentally shipped the wrong sign.

Whoops!

***Song of the Moment: Dance or Die, by Janelle Monae***