Tobias Designs

Sterling Silver with Anodized Aluminum Necklace

This past Saturday I was privileged to get to visit with Britta McKee, a local jewelry designer and owner of Tobias Designs. Britta graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in metalsmithing and jewelry and, let me tell you, this jewelry designer has some major talent. I dropped by to see Britta at her workshop, which just happens to be located in her home (side note: nicest person ever, with the cutest little family ever... felt like I had known her for years by the time I left!). 

Britta likes for each person to interpret her work in their own way and I was immediately drawn to a nature-inspired theme. Her collection reminds me part of leaves floating from the tree tops during autumn and part of flowers blooming in spring. Not to mention how she effortlessly intertwines surprising materials into her jewelry (you must check out her wool rings below - so cool!). In fact, quite a few of her pieces are made from anodized aluminum, like the necklace seen above. 

Autumn Rain

Fortunately for me, Britta is so nice that I was able to play dress up try on a few pieces! I have to tell you that wearing her jewelry is as fun as it looks. I could have stayed all day gazing at her work and trying to figure out a way to take it all home! 

Junkyard Beauty - talk about a statement necklace!

Anodize Earrings

I saw these fun little rings in her Etsy shop prior to visiting with her and was completely intrigued. So, of course the first question I asked was "what are these made of?!" Wool. She bought these cute little bundles of wool from another Etsy shop owner because they looked cool and then decided that they would make great rings! Ingenious.

Transparent Music

And, I have to admit that while I loved her entire collection, I was completely enamored with her rings. She has a vast assortment of beautiful and unique rings. Rings that make a statement. I, however, had my sights set on this little cutie - The Dipin' Dots ring. And, at the end of our visit she was so kind as to let me take it home. Thank you Britta!

Burnt Corn and Junkyard Beauty

Negative Flats Ring - this was the first piece she ever sold!

So, now you know where to go to get a great statement necklace or conversation starting ring! Go check out her gallery and Etsy shop today!

a few of my favorite things

In a list of my top ten favorite things, autumn would definitely rank toward the top. Oddly enough, the season is also a luxury that I was not accustomed to until about 5 years ago. You see, growing up in the south there were two temperatures: hot and miserable. However, experiencing four distinct seasons has become one of the best parts of moving west. And, autumn has quickly become my favorite of the four. The scenery turns beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow. During the day, my house remains a "just right" temperature with as little as an open window. And, at night I curl up under multiple blankets and listen to the chirping of wildlife in the crisp night air. Not to mention, I get to explore pieces of clothing I never owned as a child. Yesterday, I single-handedly managed to wear, all at once, every piece of clothing I love most. Grey (shut up Joe!) cardigan? check. Skinny jeans? check. Scarf? check. Knee-high boots? check. 
yep, yesterday was just about perfect ;)

fun with accessories!

ring, c/o Tobias Designs; nail polish, Sally Hansen "Wet Cement"

It is my fashion belief that there are two things every girl must have fun with regardless of age: jewelry and nail polish. This weekend I had a blast with both (more details later this week!), and it all started on Friday with some Silly Bandz. Yes, I know my age. I got enough crap from my husband that evening when I wore them to dinner with his family. However, my Silly Bandz wound up being a hit with everyone, when after two pitchers of margaritas we ended up playing "guess what animal this Silly Band is" before shooting them at each other! 

Then, on Saturday this beautiful little ring became the newest piece in my collection. I love how the pops of colors look like they are bursting out of the ring! It makes me think of balloons or confetti... or maybe popcorn (that was actually my BFF's interpretation). Either way, I had fun. Oh yeah, and I painted my nails grey :) 

So, tell me dear readers, what did you do for fun this weekend?

Free Friday!

Happy Friday, dear readers! Did you have a good week this week? I, personally, am not quite sure where the week went... but, I am sure glad this week is finally over! And, part of that is due to the fact that I have some very exciting news about today's giveaway... read more

and the winner is....

Congrats to Diana! I'm so excited that you get to enjoy this beautiful Pashmina scarf! It will be a great accessory for you to have this fall and winter :) I'll be sending it to you within the week! 

raise your head high, and strut what ya Mama gave ya!

Do you ever have outfit ideas that you just can't seem to get rid of? I do, and Saturday was one of those days. Since the Modcloth skirts I ordered two weeks ago had finally arrived I just had to break them out. However, I also had a strange pull toward another article of clothing in my closet: cowboy boots. For some reason these two pieces came together in my head so clearly that I knew I would not be happy until I made the look work. But, after trying on 5 different tops and taking exactly 25 photos on the front porch, I began to question my outfit and called my BFF to ask him what he thought.... 

Well, let's just say that he didn't exactly give me the stamp of approval I was searching for (in my defense, he did grow up in Texas!)... 

Then in a strange twist, he said "but I know you, and you'll rock the look." Huh?! You just told me you wouldn't laugh at me too hard if I wore it to lunch (yes, we're that good of friends) and now you're telling me I'll rock it? He then went on to explain that he knew I'd look great because of my confidence. Fair enough. I've always believed that confidence is what makes a look, and I still do (see #5). So, I threw on that 6th top (the one I'm wearing here) and my cowboy boots and strutted my stuff all the way to Starbucks, to lunch and then home to study. And, did not question my sartorial decision again! 

breaking up is hard to do

With the true first day of Fall quickly approaching (it's Thursday, in case you weren't aware), I thought this weekend would be a great time to start boxing up the 'ole summer favs to make room for my fall/winter clothing. However, it wasn't nearly as gratifying as I had thought it would be. Like every other fashionista right now, I've been salivating over layered sweaters and knee high boots for weeks. So, I thought clearing out my summer clothes would be fun. Instead, I kind of felt like I was breaking up with them. "Dear summer clothes, it's not you, it's me...."

So, to make them me feel a little bit better I decided to give it one last go around. I pulled out my cut off shorts, threw on these super cute espadrille-inspired flats that I snagged from Target last weekend ($8!) and the hubbs and I cooked kabobs on the grill! 

"Can we still be friends?" xo, Gracie

Free Friday #3! - closed

Wow, I cannot believe that we're halfway through a month of Free Fridays already! Seriously, where is the time going? And, I have some pretty exciting things continuing through the pipeline after this month is over, so stay tuned.... ;) A huge congrats to Lynn H! I'll be sending you the Coach wristlet within the week!

As for today, I'm proud to introduce you to giveaway item #3! As the weather begins to cool down, my go-to accessory is always a scarf or wrap! In fact, I bet that if you listen very carefully you can hear my husband shouting for joy that I am giving one away out my massive collection (I'm not kidding... I have that many)! This beautiful pale taupe Pashmina scarf goes with everything and is so soft, you will love it immediately. And, on top of that, it is extremely versatile. So, you guys know the drill, but for newcomers, here's how the giveaway works: 

1. Follow The Flip Side of Oz through Google, an RSS Feed, Bloglovin', Twitter, or Facebook
2. Leave a comment including your name (first name and last initial) and your email (so that I can contact you if you win!)
3. Receive an additional entry by tweeting about this and let me know the feed so I can follow you back!
4. Receive an additional entry by posting this giveaway on your blog or website and leave a comment with a link to your post  
5. Check back next Friday to find out if you won and to enter for the next item up for grabs!

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm CST on Thursday, September 23rd. US and Canada Residents only.