Wet weather gear (Rain rain, go away...unless I can buy a new pair of galoshes)

3 Rainy Weather Looks - by thesweetjellybean on Polyvore.com

Happy Thursday. Today in Northern California it is cold, wet, and rainy. You’re probably thinking, Duh Ms. Bean, if it’s wet outside it’s probably raining! Well yes, that’s true, but what I mean is that the air itself feels wet and chilly with the unique capacity to chill me to the bone! I truly left the house totally unprepared today: wearing non-waterproof ballet flats that attract puddles, leather jacket that I refuse to get wet and therefore left in the car, and (my favorite) absolutely no umbrella! What’s a girl to do? Should I carry around one of those foldable ponchos in my purse during the winter months? I don’t know about you, but most of those things end up looking I’m wearing like a wet plastic grocery bag! Here are some quick (and cute) fixes to anytime you find yourself swimming out into a storm. Stay dry and warm out there!

Welcoming President Obama

As many of you may know by now (ha ha), President-Elect Obama is being sworn in on Tuesday, January 20 - less than 4 days from now. Although we can't all attend the 10 official inauguration balls being hosted by the new President, I'm sure many of you may have an inauguration party to attend to Tuesday evening (if not, it's okay because A) I don't have one to go to and B) you can always find one by checking your local newspaper). Even if you are just planning to stay home and order pizza (my version of an inauguration ball for this year), here are some ideas for making sure you show your colors for the big day:

president obama usa america inauguration by thesweetjellybean

Events start tomorrow (see this website for a complete schedule), but if you're looking for the main meat of the action, here it is:

12:00 noon (EST): As specified by the U.S. Constitution (20th Amendment), presidential terms of office begin and end at 12:00 noon on January 20. Barack Obama will take the oath of office, which is this simple, 35-word, statement: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

12:05 (EST): President Barack Obama will give his inaugural address, speaking to the nation and world, for the first time, as President of the United States.

My pick for this festive occasion? Barack O'Balm, which creator No Nonsense Body Care in Wales describes as "a healing balm for all of us." About $3.70 plus shipping to the US. Perfect for showing you're patriotic...and that you care - about your lips! No Nonsense promises to carry only all natural, organic, fair trade products so you can feel good about feelin' good!

Wear more jewelry (New Year's Resolution II)

As I have mentioned before, I tend to accumulate a lot of costume jewelry and then never wear much of it. Just today I managed to wear a necklace AND a bracelet (a modern day miracle, I assure you), but then I got to work and began typing and the bracelet hurt my wrist while rubbing on the keyboard and then it came off and got shoved hastily into my purse and...well, you get the picture. Speaking of pictures, here are some beauties for today:

New Year's Resolution: Wear More Jewelry by thesweetjellybean

Out of everything in this collage, my favorite thing has to be the "diamond" ring in red acrylic. Although I originally saw this lovely at the online shop over at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), I liked it enough to track down the original artist, Alissia Melka-Teichroew. Self described as a "new world-old world mashup" Alissia was raised in the Netherlands by a French mother and American father, and now resides in NYC. Alissia's playful take on the popular Tiffany diamond ring is available for $12 in a variety of colors including the ruby red seen here, black, clear, ivory, yellow, smoke, and is also available in (ever so slightly more expensive) silver and gold.

It never ceases to amaze me how many talented artists and shops there are out there. I do realize that buying more jewelry won't actually help me achieve my goal of remembering to wear more jewelry, but it sure as hell is fun to look for some new baubles (and it beats the desk job)!

Sock Monkey Love

As a child of the 1980s, I don't remember having one of these sock monkeys as a kid. I was at least a teenager before I ever saw one, but I fell in love with them instantly and even sent sock monkey themed holiday cards out a couple of years back. According to experts, sock monkeys became popular in the early 1900s when mothers began using old work socks to fashion dolls for their children, and the rest is history! As a tribute to these lovable toys (and to Polyvore, a free, easy-to-use web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web), here are some wearable sock monkey items and accessories for all of your fashion needs. Click anywhere on the picture to go to an interactive version of the photo on my Polyvore profile. Once there, you can click an item to learn where to buy it!

Sock Monkey by thesweetjellybean