Harvest Festival

[cjsmith]

Today Rob and I went to the San Jose "Harvest Festival" arts & crafts show. (I'd link to its page here, but its QuickTime plugins keep doing illegal stuff and I get "strongly advised" to restart my browser. Grump.)

I was very, very good and did NOT BUY any opals. Not one. I did buy food, a gift for a friend, more food, a thing that miiiiight help make my bras fit, and a pair of earrings.

But one opal I saw and didn't buy is the thing I'm going to remember for years. Ahhh, if I were a millionaire... or if I didn't hope to go back to school. This opal was stunning. I wish I had the words to describe it; I wish I had a photo. I wish I had some way to show it to all of you. I loved it so much that what I most want to do is show it to everybody, so they can all see its beauty too.

Comments

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

What kind of a thing for your bras?

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

That's what cell phone cameras are for, taking crappy/low res/inscrutable pictures of cool/beautiful/amazing things you come across!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

It's a thingy designed to pull the straps closer together on the upper back. It wraps around them about half way between the band and the top of the shoulder, pulling them towards each other. The seller marketed this as a thing to "hide" your bra straps, presumably under one of those shirts that stupid people try to sell to women who wear bras. Me, I just want the whole strap-and-band portion of the bra to be smaller, and anything that makes the straps go zigzaggy has a chance at that!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

It was forbidden in the gallery, but I almost asked the opal owner for an exception. :-) I think maybe I'm glad I didn't. Like you said, the picture would be shite, and then I'd say HEY EVERYBODY LOOK AT THIS SHITE I ADORE and it just wouldn't be the same. :-)

[evilegg.livejournal.com]

I want one of these:
http://www.freshpair.com/Sassybax-Bralette-Bra-BR01.html

I've read about them and seen people on TV talk about them.
They are totally invisable under clothes, and really made people look better, front and back. Considering that there isn't an underwire I was surprised at the amount of support it seems to have.
Buy one and tell me about it.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I need some help on the size chart. I'm a dress size 6 or 8 but my cup size is G. What size should I buy? I also want a money back guarantee.

I like the style though. It would be cool if they'd do custom sizes.

[evilegg.livejournal.com]

We need a store locator.

[evilegg.livejournal.com]

http://sassybax.com/map.php

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Does it seem odd to you that a bra is called Sassy Backs? Here I always thought it was the FRONT that was the whole point. Maybe that's soooo last year.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ooo, I could go to Neiman Marcus and knock over the preppie yuppie waif moms with their Sherman Tank sized strollers try these things on.

[evilegg.livejournal.com]

They were designed to smooth bra bulge, but I thought tey looked awesome on people from the front.
All the owmen did before and afters and had on cligy shirts. I'm sold, and there is a retailer here so at least I can try it on.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

What color opal?

Some day, when I'm far more flush than I've ever been, I shall have a string of black opal matrix beads--they're stunning.

[ladyqkat.livejournal.com]

So, if you ever come up this way in spring or fall (summer may be too hot) maybe you and I can force ourselves to traipse the wilderness and head to Old Yella Dog Ranch (http://www.oldyelladogranch.com/localAreaActivities.asp) and see about mining ourselves some opals.

Could be fun. Will be dirty, uncomfortable, physically demanding and probably very satisfying even if we only get a chip of an opal.

[evilegg.livejournal.com]

Our only store here is a little boutique owned by some folks I used to work for.
Or- EBAY!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Black opal with sheets of green flash. Carved. *swoon*

There's only one other opal piece I've not bought and have subsequently remembered for years and years. It was a string of "crystal" opal beads. (Rondelles, not spheres.) GORGEOUS color throughout. It was STUNNING. It was also like five thousand bucks. I left it in the little store in Santa Fe where I saw it. It's been "the fish that got away" ever since.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oooooo! That sounds like way too much fun.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ah, I get it now. (durrrr)

Try-on is ESSENTIAL for anything bra-related.

[ladyqkat.livejournal.com]

Especially the fun we could have being crabby and bitchy and enjoying every minute of the agony we would put ourselves through.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

And I do get sooo crabby and bitchy when I'm uncomfortable, too. Heh. You know me like an old friend. :-)

That is an excellent icon for this very concept, by the way!

[ladyqkat.livejournal.com]

Or this icon.

But the thing aabout doing something like that is we know in advance how uncomfortable it will be, but we hope the 'reward' (possibly a pretty gemstone we polled from the earth by ourselves) will be worth all of the agony.

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

here, let me grab the wine and ice packs, and will sit with our feet up and you can tell me aaaallll about that opal (and the rest of your day!) Red or white wine? and do you need a pillow for your footstool?

i hope your bra-thingey helps. will we get a product review once you've tested it out?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Awww, you rock. I do wish we lived closer!

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

I have those! In fact I made those because my straps always fall down. Target has clear ones for $2.99 if you are interested. I don't think they are long enough, so I use 2. I like the ones I made the best.

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

I should give you the URL to it: http://tinyurl.com/2otsku

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

*blush* i spent the day on my butt with my feet up on the coffee table, covered with kitties and knitting to my heart's content, and i know how *i* feel, so i can just imagine how you'd feel after a day of experimental baking and being walking a festival.

i wish we lived closer, too. *sigh* Ohio State might have a vet school. that's just a blink from here.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

Do you know anyone with a resale permit that is free today? Gem and Jewelry show is in San Mateo--they frequently have faceted opals and if you can get into the wholesale room you can save a bundle.

[apparentparadox]

I think that seeing the opal through your eyes probably makes it look much better than even the most professional photographer could. Maybe next Nov, you can write a few thousand words describing opals you've loved!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Mmm, no I don't, but clearly if I want to collect stunning things that is the way to go. The seller of this lovely opal yesterday was giving me all sorts of blarney about how it would be worth thirty thousand dollars if I went to Australia, and look here at this chart on how we value black opals by the carat and I'm selling it to you for sooooo much less, and you know what? I may not be able to value opals in my head, but I know enough about how business works that that's horse dung. The blarney level has got to be lower in a wholesale room at a gem and jewelry show.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

Well they still won't be cheap, but they'll be a helluva lot cheaper, and the dealers are low on blarney.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I just wanna let everyone seeeeeeeeee! They're so pretty, and every time you look there's a new flash of green or a shadow of purple you haven't seen before. That's what I love about opals: they're never the same twice.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

That would sure be a relief. I get so tired of letting my polite face stay visible when people ladle that stuff on thick.

[layer.livejournal.com]

black opals are so amazing. i can imagine the beauty.

i haven't been able to face the harvest festival for years. too many people. i don't know how you do it (and even enjoyed it).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

It wasn't so bad the day we went, I think. My feet complained bitterly though.