Changes in Latitudes

I have BIG news. I'm not graduating in May.
But I'll have finished my creative writing major, so why wouldn't I?
Because I'm moving to Australia to study abroad for a semester, that's why!

I'm lucky enough to have the greatest parents in the entire world, who have agreed to let me extend my college career a little bit, to spend July to December in Townsville, Australia.

I've started a whole new blog where you can follow my travels HERE.

But in the meantime, I figured I'd write a piece focusing on the importance of location.
Where we are born. Where we grow up. Where we go to high school. Whether or not we move away to college. Where we go to school. Where we move for work. Where we decide to settle and have our own families.

I'm still on the "Where we go to school" portion of that list, and I'm so in love with Wilmington that I'm starting to feel homesick just thinking about leaving it. Only some of us are lucky enough to add other locations into the nooks and crannies of this list. I decided about six months ago that I was determined to make room in my life for a side-venture to Australia, but the details are just now coming together, so I'm finally able to tell everyone.


Now switch over with me for a minute to the fashion world. Stay with me.

Someone out there, someone very smart, has started the trend of creating jewelry based on places and locations. Some are state-shaped, some feature the exact latitude and longitude of special places, and some are even made of products of the area. Here are a few of my favorites.

Send in your own coordinates bracelet (via Uncommon Goods)

 Same deal, send in your own lat & long to River Valley Jewelry on their Etsy shop












North Carolina necklace with the heart cut out over your home (this one is my beloved Wilmington) made by the Etsy artist ginnae









  The "bead" in this bracelet can be made from sand from any beach you'd like!! There is a list of over 1,000 that the company has sand from, but you can also send in your own if your beach isn't on the list (via Uncommon Goods)






I love all of these looks because they are so personal-- you could create them to take a piece of "home" along with you (as I probably will), or you could create them to remember a vacation, a place from your past, or a place where you wish you were.