Raven + Lily, Side of Zooey Deschanel Charm

Wood and Gold Leather Bangles, Set of 3, $18

Almaz: Two Cord Triangle Necklace, $56

Above jewelry is a quick sampling from socially conscious brand Raven + Lily. The necklace has a pretty darn good story behind it: handmade with repurposed bullets by HIV-positive women in Ethiopia. Says the website, "Proceeds help provide healthcare and education for women and their children in our partnership communities." Having HIV, no matter where, is a difficult burden on people and their families, so anything that provides hope and health care is huge.

Also let's face it: Women are badass. All of them deserve the chance to be healthy and choose the directions of their lives.

Learn about a few of Raven + Lily's artisans, who directly receive proceeds from the sales of their products, here. And of course, visit the website to learn more about the story and see more goods. The FAQ's talk all about being fair trade and socially conscious, and how exactly funds have been directed within communities. Gotta love transparency!

Oh .... And Happy 2012!! I don't know if you saw it, but the Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt "New Year's Eve" mix-up is pretty effing adorable (and there's a ukulele!) ... so hey, let's pretend it's NYE for one more night:

Celebrate!

Skyping with the Fam = Happy Holidays! + Bhalo

Consecutively,

1. Happy Thanksgiving from the Harmon family in Colorado!
2. Happy Caesar named brother Robert, with lil sis Alyse! (All the single ladies, line up. He's a keeper. All the single men, bummer. That pretty lady's been snatched up. Though she's also a keeper.)
3. Happy Anna winning 30 piece of gold on Dark Tower!

There's a bit of a story behind #3. See, back when I was a wee thing, my dad had this amazing game. It was called Dark Tower, and it made all fantasy lovers' dreams come true. Brigands, dragons, warriors, gold. And then he gave it away, and forever regretted it. For his 50th birthday, we bought it for him on Ebay (and it was not easy -- there are apparently a lot of nerds in the same boat) and then we coded a book so he had to guess what was coming in the mail for him.

It finally showed up when I was already back on the islands, and they've been Dark Towering away. But today, it's my turn! Thank goodness for Black Friday.

Oh, and yeah. I won. Above is a Reese's cup on top of the Dark Tower, because chocolate can only make things better. Here are a couple of quotes from our Skype sesh game:

1. Mom: Who am I? I'm so confused. Oh, there I am.

2. Conversation about haggling over the price of soldiers at the bazaar (the bazaar kicked me out):
Mom: Tom, did you tell her to haggle?!
Me: No, I wanted to.
Dad: See! She's her own person!

Gotta love 'em. As for your L&G find (as if that's not enough. Really.) ... check out the Thursday skirt from Bhalo:

100 percent handwoven cotton (don't judge me for not spelling out the 100 because it's at the beginning of the sentence ... it's my blog, I can do what I want to! Anywayyy...), cross stitch inspired by traditional Bangladeshi pattern, made in Bangladesh.

I'll be sharing more about Bhalo on Monday, so if you don't feel like researching, just hold out until then for more loveliness! (PS Thanks to Lloso for this find.)

Until Monday, happy aloha Friday and start of the holiday season, everyone.

Kora: This Jewelry Is the Cow's Horn

Wide Tri Wrap Bangle Set, $150

Mmk, the title's a bad play on "bee's knees." But seriously, there's nothing bad about Kora. This jewelry is SO PRETTY in an "I'm tough and super independent and Africa is the shit, don't mess with me but yes, I'm gorgeous, admire away" way. Which I could use a little bit of right now, so bring the bling on!

Maasai Necklace, $230

This line "merges the worlds of beautiful jewelry and sustainable business development in Africa with the belief that both can and will ultimately benefit." Every piece is handmade by an artisan in a developing African community using recycled materials: cow horn and bone, aluminum, brass, and glass. They even describe the entire background of the materials here. And if you want to learn about the main artisans, there's also a link for that!

Uweza Necklace, $95

100 percent of this necklace's proceeds go to the Uweza Aid Foundation, located in Kenya's Kibera slum. Learn more about the organization here.

Ceremonial Ring 1, $30

Kora means "work" in Kinyarwanda, Rwanda's native langauge. Just a fun little tidbit for your day, courtesy of a sexy tough jewelry line. Can't get much better than that.

Learn more about Kora and get your shop on.

Save These Artisan-Made Reefs for a Sunny Day

Nest is popping its smart little head up everywhere these days. I just mentioned them yesterday with Maiyet, and  now here they are all cozied up with Reef: 

Guatemalan Threads, $42

Nest partnered with Reef to create the woven part of the sandals with Mayan artisans in the Guatemalan highlands. Here are the ladies behind the magic:

And a 'lil documentary on the project:

This partnership is part of Reef's "We Heart" collection. So while I can't vouch for the bottom half of the sandals (should look into that, hmm), the top half is pretty darn good and lookin'.

Happy mid-week, all! Hope you're putting the finishing touches on those Halloween costumes (or finishing up the debate with yourself between braving the crowds and pumpkin chai and a scary movie in ... the latter may be winning for me.)

Gems for the Good and Loaded: Pippa Small

Let's pretend like we've all got money trees for a second. Close your eyes. Picture thick, twisted, honest trunks reaching to laden branches, greenbacks floating to the ground, landing in a dappled shadow. Muahahaha. OK, now open your eyes and look at these glimmering goodies:

Spectral Hematite Tibetan Ring, $7,900

Geode and Gold Pendant Necklace, $8,975

Labradorite Single Stone Bracelet, $1,800

Labradorite Fish Earrings, $5,600

Turquoise Double Greek Ring, $4,165

Pippa Small Jewellery is a luxury jewelry line, and the founder (Pippa Small, you guessed it) kicked it off with the mission to use ethical trade to benefit, raise awareness of, and make sure respect is maintained for, traditional communities and artisans. (Complicated enough sentence your you? It's late! I'm copping out!)

See all her lustrous, gemmed creations here.

Oh yeah, and just keep envisioning that money tree. Who knows, maybe one day it will pay off.

Happy Aloha Thursday, all!