Growing up, my mom, the most wonderful, funny, strong woman I know, had a favorite children’s book she used to read to my sister and I. It was called Not Today, and featured a little girl and her mother on a shopping trip. Every time the little girl asked for something, a doll, a candy bar, the mother sang, “not today.” As you may have guessed, my mom loved to use this phrase when she took myself and my sister shopping. And eventually, this phrase allowed me to understand I was not entitled to the newest shiny toy, the newest gadget.
Now, the opposite of “not todays” was “just becauses.” A “just because” was an unexpected gift, not given on a birthday or holiday, but at a random time and place. And they had different meanings. Sometimes, a “just because” meant that my mom was thinking about me. Sometimes, it meant she was proud of me, not because of a certain test grade or tennis match, but just because of who I was.
When I entered into my romantic relationship with my wonderful partner, Sean, I taught him about the “not todays” and “just becauses.” Such simple concepts but they truly made life sweeter; every surprise held a little more meaning and a little less expectation. Now, Sean is the love of my life, but I will admit, at first, gift-giving did not come easily to him. Gifting was not his love language, he would much prefer a movie night in or a ball game out, than to pick out something more physical to gift.
One day, while I was visiting him in Oklahoma (we are currently long distance), we were sitting on his couch and he produced a small black box from his pocket (no, not that kind of jewelry box, not yet anyways *wink wink* ). With a twinkle in his eyes and a small smile on his face, he handed me the box, saying, “just because.” Nestled inside were the chickadee perched earrings from Beth Millner Jewelry, chickadees my favorite bird, Beth Millner, my favorite jewelry artist.
This “just because” was the sweetest surprise I never expected and for what seemed like the millionth time, my mind whispered, oh my goodness, I love this man. She doesn’t even know but Beth Millner and her team set the scene for one of our sweetest moments and most memorable “just becauses.” Now, as we live 800 miles apart, I wear these chickadee earrings nearly every other day as a reminder of our love, and the power of a “just because.”
The silver leaf earrings I recently received are lovely!
Love drawings of birds, these are very nice and indicative of Beth’s range in artistry.
Love my paw ring! Sunny’s name engraved on the backside means so much to me. Thank you…. Excellent craftsmanship!!
I wanted a paw print pendant to honor my beloved Sunny who just passed away and to support UPAWS. The UPAWS pendant is perfect! I love incorporating the outdoors with the paw print. Perfect for my Sunny who loved exploring everyday .
This pendant surpassed my expectations. Nina did an outstanding job creating and crafting this beautiful piece. The mushrooms, snail, star moss and gorgeous turquoise make this pendant incredible. I absolutely love it.
I love my mushroom earrings! They are the birthday gift that I wear almost everyday.
I love, love, love my wedding ring. They also resized it for free even though I needed to send it in slightly after the 30 day window. Their customer service was also great and communicative. Wonderful experience.
Honestly it's like Nina looked into my soul for this one. The bracelet is beautiful, adaptable to different sized wrists, and subtle. The detail in each charm is excellent, and they're small enough you can wear it year-round without someone telling you what month it is like you can't love Halloween outside of October.
Perfect for the minimalist. Smells great. Takes a minute to break in. Fits in small pockets with my small phone, too. Made wonderfully.
My wife picked out the ring while on vacation in Marquette area. Had it “put aside” while she thought about how bad she wanted it. Gonna surprise her on Sweetest Day—
Every thing is great so far-I’ll let you know the outcome...