Star Light, Star Bright

I grew up on the South Shore of Boston, and my grandparents had a beachfront house on a small island off of Scituate Harbor called Humarock. We spent all of my summers there, and some of my happiest memories began the moment my parents’ car crossed that tiny little bridge and my lungs filled with fresh, salty air. I spent the first two decades of my life initiating summer this way, with long days under the sun, only to be called in by my mother’s insistence to eat or put on a hat (both actions, I assure you, were met with much resistance).

As with most beach towns, there was little to do besides explore, in and out of the water. To the right, was, eventually, the public beach and never of much interest. But to the left were “The Cliffs”, a desolate residential area where the houses braved atop gigantic boulders, and the sandy beach gave way to mossy rocks, and anything and everything the fierce Atlantic Ocean had forced ashore.

The greatest of all currency was sea glass (glass perfectly dulled by the ocean), which we would collect and trade, along with the most beautiful shells and rocks. If we were lucky, we would find a jellyfish, and attempt to save it by tossing it, lovingly, Frisbee-style into the water. And if we were very, very lucky, we would find a starfish.

Here is my lucky friend Christine on a recent trip to Jamaica!

A long, long time ago starfish were considered magical creatures. And with excellent reason. How many other living things possess the ability to regenerate pieces of themselves? It was believed that starfish possessed a connection to the stars in the sky, and the people thought to reside there.

I recently gave four of my favorite girls starfish earrings I made to commemorate the opening of our kids’ tour at The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island. The starfish charms themselves are metal and the posts are 14K gold plate to protect sensitive ears like mine.

Shells, seahorses and starfish speak “summer” to me, and I can’t get enough of the three. I have a seahorse necklace that’s very popular, strung with white and aqua glass beads, so beautifully made that they look like real seaglass! This double strand necklace also has clear glass with light green and blue crystals. So pretty!!!

Summer jewelry is so much fun – the brighter the better! I use shells so often in my beadwork. Sometimes throwing them all together in multiple strands, like this glass and shell choker, and long strand shell charmer.

As I was searching for a recipe to include in this post, it came to my attention that there really is such a thing as starfish soup! It doesn’t seem like it would be my personal taste, so I decided, instead, to include this sweet, refreshing summer drink called The Starfish:

· 1 oz. Moët and Chandon White Star
· 1 oz. Lemoncello
· 1 oz. PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
· 1 oz. Un-sweet Iced Tea
· 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
· Muddle orange slice and mint leaf in Collins glass.

Rome has no shortage of stars in the sky, but I was lucky enough to stumble into a beautiful side street decorated with star-gazing lights. Just goes to show that there are cosmic connectors the world over, and found in the most unexpected places.