June Lemon Loves

Can you believe it is already June? Crazy! It is time for our June Lemon Loves.  Tracy from The Blue Rose in Great Falls, Montana is our guest curator.  Tracy is a wonderful, caring, shoppe owner with a great eye for style and styling people.  We are excited to have her on board with Lemon Loves.

Tracy has selected her 5 favorite Bon Lemon pieces and for the month of June, 25% of the sales from these 5 items will be donated to Tracy's favorite charity:  Center for Mental Health

Tracy's first fav is the Apple and Bee Embroidered Coin Purse for $22.  This Australian company creates great eco-friendly, chic bags.  We love all of them, but this coin purse is exceptionally cute. Get yours here.

Next, is the Rings of Glory Necklace for $26.  Tracy is always on trend and this necklace is a great pick.  Silver and rose gold combine to form a long necklace for layering.  (Mixing metals is so in.)  Available at www.bonlemon.com.

These Bar Earrings are a matte brass color with a modern, organic shape.  Perfect for every occasion and outfit.  They are $28.  Need them?  Click here.

The Drifting Branch earrings are only $22 and add a subtle pop of color that will take your summer outfit to the next level.  Get 'em.  Your outfit will thank you.

We LOVE our Made by Survivors Line.  It is made by women who are rescued from slavery and then given jobs so they can support themselves.  The Made by Survivors Free Bird Necklace is a shining example of the handmade work they do.  Available for $45 on our website.

Tracy's very favorite Bon Lemon bauble is our Sergio Gutierrez Liquid Metal Bracelets.  They are celeb loved and fabulous.  We are currently out of stock, but if you would like to order a Liquid Metal Bracelet, we will donate 25% to the Center for Mental Health.  Contact us at amy@bonlemon.com for more details.

Thanks so much for supporting our Lemon Loves project.  And thanks to Tracy for choosing such great Bon Lemon goodies and a wonderful cause to support.  Shop small.  Be happy.

www.bonlemon.com

Great Falls, Montana is Electric

{Us in the photo booth at the part-ay mentioned below.

Clearly, Great Falls is fun.}

6 Par Farmer hails from Great Falls, Montana and therefore, I find myself spending quite a bit of my time here.  Amongst Montanans (and out-of-towners alike), Great Falls doesn't always have the most glowing reputation.  10th Avenue is filled with chain stores and casinos, the dining options are pretty limited, the demographics aren't friendly to "bachelors on the frontier," and it doesn't border Glacier National Park or Yellowstone...  Because of all of these things, some people have given up on The Electric City.

{Love brick}

But I think the electricity is just below the surface and is starting to rise  (And they have always had FABULOUS people.)  I am making it my new mission to shed some light on all Great Falls has to offer.  Downtown Great Falls has SOOO much going on and should be the focal point of the town:  Historic brick buildings, solid anchor businesses, the Civic Center, and lots of opportunities for new businesses to move in.  The cost of living in Great Falls is very low too.  Are you getting ready to move here yet?

{The Blue Rose}

Right on Central you will find The Blue Rose which is one of my favorite shoppes in Montana.  (Up there with The Village Shop in Whitefish.)  Tracy, the personable, down-to-earth owner, has a great eye and carries stylish pieces for all ages.  (3J Workshop, Hudson, Nicole Miller, etc.)  She even has free shipping, so you can shop from wherever you are.  Last week I went to a party just down the street from The Blue Rose at The Living Room (by far, the most fabulous, chic spa and salon in GF) and Cindy Cieulich Photography.

{Gush.  I have a girl crush on Cindy.  

She is talented, sweet, and so cute.}

{Gratuitous dog photo Cindy 

took of Dolce's friend Baxter. Love.}

{Boutonniere}

At the party, there were fabulous apps from Bert and Ernies.  They have new owners and are making some big changes. (It was not run-of-the-mill, boring stuff either; think salmon panko balls.).  We also enjoyed tasty brews from Bowser Brewing Company, lots of beautiful wedding hair and makeup on the ladies of The Living Room, and flowers from My Viola, which is a great place to find modern, simple flowers.  (I hear they teach fun classes too!)  

{THE cover.}

Katalin Green from Bozeman, the publisher of Montana Bride put the whole shindig together to celebrate Cindy's cover photo on the mag, and I have to say, I was quite impressed. Tres chic ladies!  Way to make Great Falls shine.  

{Yum!}

Oh!  I almost forgot the best part.  The macaroons from Crooked Tree!  I am a macaroon snob (Le Panier in Seattle and Ladurée in Paris/NYC are a couple favs.)  The pistachio macaroons from Crooked Tree are top notch.  Delish!  Go buy some.  You can thank me later.  

This is just a sampling of great things in 
GF.  More next time.  The River's Edge Trail...
Eddie's... The list goes on.   

The Electric City. Come. You'll like it.  

Something Tasty: Where to Eat in Great Falls, Montana

Since I spend a lot of time on the road, I like to profile different places along the way. My hope is that our travels will overlap and you will have some good recommendations to take with you. For today's, "Something Tasty" we head to Great Falls, Montana. You might travel here for the C. M. Russell Art Auction in March (a world class event), if you are following the Lewis and Clark trail, if you are fond of bird hunting or fishing, or maybe on your way to Glacier National Park.

Great Falls is not known for its dining options. I would call it the mecca of chain restaurants. The best place to eat in town is my boyfriend's sister's house. Followed closely by the produce aisle at the natural foods store. (One of my biggest concerns about the possibility of living in Great Falls has been the food.) That being said, there are a few diamonds in the rough. Suki Cafe offers darn good asian food. (I am excited about their new steak and seafood restaurant.)



A real find is Wines by Wednesday. You can order discount wine online and pick it up in the store. They also have fab olive oils, cheeses, crackers, pastas, beer, and local beef. A picnic (either indoors or out) from Wines by Wednesday might give my boyfriend's sister a run for her money.



Last week we went to try Crooked Tree Coffee and Bakery for breakfast. They had a nice herbed biscuit with salami for a savory option and the latte looked like it was straight out of Seattle with a cute leaf design. (And coffee from Seattle's Herkimer Coffee.)



They did a great job with the decor and they are downtown, which I love! With a few more grab and go food options for breakfast and lunch and they will be set.



And today we are going to try out Faster Basset which sounds fantastic. Savory and sweet crepes and Stumptown Coffee. They used to run their business out of a food cart and now they have a cute, cute, cute brick building over by the river. Um, yes please.



If someone could just open up a decent dinner place, I could live here. Anyone? Anyone...

Next time you are in Great Falls, check these places out.

Don't read/watch this unless you are really bored...

I documented our road trip from Scottsdale, Arizona to Great Falls, Montana. (Including a stop in Camp Verde, Arizona. It was "deliciously country.") And then my road trip from Great Falls, Montana to Olympia, Washington. 30 hours in the car. I must say, it has given me new motivation to go on a diet...

I think this video is almost as boring as the drive, but there is some good scenery. And you can hear little bits of my book on tape or Pandora playing in the background.

Enjoy at your own risk.

Shellac Nails

Being in the jewelry business, people are always looking at your nails. And when your nails look like you just ran them through a blender, it is embarrassing. I have been trying to figure out good options for attractive nails, but ever since sophomore year homecoming when I got acrylic nails and got one stuck in the car door, and I watched it rip away my natural nail, and the cuticle, and the underlying flesh, I have sworn off artificial nails. (For any of you who have had a similar "acrylic nail ripping off natural nail" experience, you feel my pain.)

If you aren't into artificial nails, the option has always been a standard manicure with polish. I love the way my nails look after a manicure, but the results are often somewhat short lived. The first obstacle is spending the rest of the day walking around with your fingers fanned out trying not to ding, smudge, or otherwise damage your manicure before it cures. After that, you try to ignore the first chip, and then the second, and by the third, you are picking the polish off underneath the table of wherever you happen to be when you can't stand it anymore and your OCD kicks in. If you are lucky, a traditional manicure lasts a week. But usually less.

And then, the heavens parted and Shellac was created. Shellac is a gel polish that goes on top of your regular nail like a polish, but is cured under a UV light like an acrylic. The result is a manicure that lasts 14 days! Without chips! Woo hoo! You can start digging in your purse and doing laundry immediately after, because it is fully cured when you walk out of the salon. My life has been forever altered. Yay! Yippee! No more unsightly nails.

I got my first shellac polish in Spokane two weeks ago with Sweet Peach. I got my second this morning here in Great Falls. I have decided it is a necessity, because of the business I am in. Because I like my nails to be a little different, I was excited to learn there are some fun things you can do with Shellac. This week we did hot pink with white tips. Next time, I am thinking polka dots. Thank you Shellac. You have changed my life. It is the little things...

C.M. Russell Museum Weekend

-Love this painting by Carolyn Anderson. She is so talented!-

This is the longest I have gone without blogging in quite some time. At first, it was because I didn't think I had internet. Then it was because, I ran out of time. Good news for my millions of fans: I'm back!

The last few days have been action packed here in Great Falls, Montana. I arrived on Thursday for the last of this week's trunk shows. 6 Par Farmer's mother hosted a St. Patrick's Day fete with Irish coffees, blarney stones, cookies, mint brownies, and my new second favorite treat, mini-coffee macaroons. (6 Par's mother's rum cake simply can't be beat. But these macaroons were sooooo good. Drooling now thinking about them.)

After the trunk show, I went to 6 Par's sister's house for some corned beef and cabbage. (And a little too much wine...) If you haven't figured it out yet, the other women in 6 Par's life are amazing cooks. They write about cooking. They make fabulous food. And they are wonderful entertainers. It is a good thing 6 Par was eating frozen pizza and corn dogs before I came along, because I definitely couldn't live up to these ladies in the kitchen. Something to aspire to. (Cooking classes here I come.)

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying Western Art Week with Montana Belle. We went to Art in Action on Friday, which was my favorite event, because it included walking around the country club, drinking mimosas and chatting with the artists. We (along with every other woman on the high line) enjoyed a quick speaking engagement by the Pioneer Woman-Ree Drummond. Cute. Cute. Cute. Hopefully, someday I will have a fraction of the following she does. Again, something to aspire to.

The auction itself is a brunch now. In my opinion, a brunch auction isn't very festive (isn't the whole point for people to have cocktails so they spend more money?), but it was an interesting experience none-the-less. I couldn't believe how affordable some of the pieces were. If you like western art, this is a must do event. I have never quite figured out what makes art valuable. Some of the popular stuff looks horrible to me. And I have picked up pieces at flea markets I like much better than those hanging on the walls of a gallery. (Maybe I just have an unsophisticated eye.) I don't know why I like what I like, but as you have likely gleaned from my blog, I have an opinion about everything. That includes art. Here are a few of my favorite artists from the weekend. Someday you will see them hanging on the walls of my home.



-I have had a Rocky Hawkins print for a number of years. Can't wait to get a painting one of these days!-



-Theodore Waddell has a way with the cows and horses. Modern western.-



-Dan McCaw is amazing. Amazing.-



-Love Russell Chatham's light-



-Another Carolyn Anderson. She might be my favorite. I think she will be my first purchase.-

Hope to see you all next year in Great Falls!