The Trials of a Lunch Break

Any guesses to who isn't getting any work done today?

Anyhow, I just returned from my lunchy jaunt to Pinkberry, even after Miz B tried to dissuade me with some bad PB news... and something kind of weird happened. Dialogue form might suit the situation a bit better:
I walk into a somewhat crowded PB and get on the haphazard line.

Me, pointing to floor and speaking to a girl on line: "Excuse me, is that your money?"
She was stepping on two twenties.
Her: "Uh, no. Nope. I don't think so."
Me (perplexed): "Hmph."

She and I proceed to ask everyone in the vicinity. Nobody claims the $40.
Good citizens that we are, we tell the counter girl with the expectation that one of the less busy girls (there were like 50 people behind the counter), would maybe ask some of the patrons as it was such a tiny space and it seemed plausible that the dropper would still be in the vicinity.
Instead the girl leans towards me and sort of whispers:
"Nobody saw this happen." And I swear she cackled. Then she grabbed the twenties and shoved them under the counter.
The whole thing made me sort of sad. My Pinkberry was a little tainted.

And here's some jewelry to sate the jewelry lovin' masses....

Blue topaz necklace, 'Cubism'>
Blue Topaz Cubism Necklace, $278.95


Paper Crane Necklace, $44.95


Domed Set Stone Ring, £5.00

Quick Things

1. I just saw WendyB.'s post on her new tortoise locket, which is gorgeous. As I began to leave her a lengthy story involving a turtle of my youth (as she did in the description), I realized that one of the reasons I have a blog is so as not to manipulate other people's comments section.
Here's her necklace:

And here's my story, which ends sadly:
I had some kind of hick friends as a child (9? 10?) as I lived in an entirely unsophisticated upstate NY town. Said hick friends had a cousin who used to catch snapping turtles in a pond on their farm. (Yep, farm.) Anyhow, my bleeding heart mother and I felt so bad for these poor things (kept in a big bucket! baby turtles!) that we took one home and I promptly named him Snapper. The ingenuity, it began young.
Snapper hated living in his little aquarium, no matter how many fake palm trees or rocks I decorated with. He used to climb out often and we would hear his little nails tap-tap-tapping around on the hardwood floors. After we got a higher walled aquarium, I recall that he would pile things in one corner and produce a makeshift ladder with which to escape. I just want to say that I was a great turtle-mama, and I think Snapper just had some psychiatric problems. (Not unlike many of our animals including but not limited to both a deaf cat and dog.)

Anyhow, we had a renovated Victorian house at the time with some heavy duty stairs and Snapper managed to make it down them twice. TWICE. I found him both times, much to the deaf dog's chagrin.
Sadly, the third time was Snapper's downfall. We searched and searched but could not locate the little guy. I was convinced that he had escaped successfully and was now living in a turtle resort. Two years later, we found his little fossilized body under my bed while I was changing bedrooms. It haunts me to this day.
R.I.P, Snapper.

2. My mom just told me about this really cool piece of jewelry she saw on Antiques Roadshow. Here's the link to the video:
Video
I'm afraid I might not describe it well enough, but it is very much worth looking at. Three words: Diamond encrusted dragonfly.

Pinkberry Love

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Marie-Helene de Taillac 1001 Night Hoop Earrings, $1,950

I feel lax for not yet having done an "educational" blog this week, but I'm working on a fairly long one which will probably get posted tomorrow. Maybe this afternoon.
In the meantime, let's talk about Pinkberry. Have you met Pinkberry? I guess if you don't live in New York or California, you are outta luck, and I am sad for you.

Pinkberry is a chain of stores that sell real yogurt, frozen, topped with any number of things including but not limited to: Cap'n Crunch, strawberries, cocoa crispies, lychee, kiwi, chocolate chips, etc. I stop there probably two times a week. Sometimes more. I feel like I should be embarrassed about my love for something as pedestrian as frozen yogurt, but I just can't be. Today's post is inspired by my fave Pinkberry combo:

Original flavor (Vanilla-esque)


Anna Maa Rough Crystal Rock Ring, $135

with rasberries


Jill Alberts Yellow Gold Lace Bracelet with Rubies, $1,110

blackberries


Violet Necklace, $52

and chocolate chips



Moritz Glik Smokey Quartz Earrings, $2,020

And it's now confirmed that I am getting this for lunch.

All Across the World

Photo from MediaSpin.com

This morning, I listened to The Replacements for the first time. Why should you care? I'm not sure. I'm not even sure why I care.
Well, that's kind of a lie...
Here's why:

I was born in 1982, which means I wasn't even a teenager during the grunge apex (or pre-grunge, for that matter). I jumped half heartedly onto the tail end, but my hometown was past whatever Nirvana inclinations it may have had. Maybe the seniors in high school had been saved my the messy boys with guitars and long, unbrushed hair. Me? I sort of loved the Smashing Pumpkins.

My whole life, I've been involved with people who loved music. People in bands, people for whom the norm was to argue over obscure British musicians. At one point in my life, I read Mojo religiously. But, because I was usually the least knowledgeable in the group, I was at the mercy of their tastes. And nobody ever had a taste for grunge.

So it's a whole new world for me. Maybe I don't necessarily love it, but I think I get what was so alluring about it. The production is messy and the songs twist and squirm away from and toward the melody, but they are raw and interesting and make you listen very hard to understand what is going on.

And what on earth does this have to do with jewelry? Well, today I picked some pieces that made me think of this music. Updated pieces that are rough but still feminine, like many a grunge girl in her prom dress and Doc Martens.

My boyfriend, who did experience the grunge era firsthand, tells me: "Think Chris Cornell in Soundgarden."
I give you that suggestion in it's full glory:


And my interpretation of modern grunge:

Vintage Cluster Ring, $9.99 on ebay



Three Row Leather Necklace, $42


Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my! Antique Ivory Bracelet, $130





Green Leather cord Bracelet, $27


Vintage Turquoise Ring, currently $9.99 on ebay

Phew! This was a tough one... I want to say that it's difficult to interpret and era you didn't experience, but that's what fashion is all about, right?

Working Together

I'm writing a simultaneous post about grunge, but wanted to get this up first. Last year, I had a really wonderful working relationship with an Australian jeweler I met on etsy. She has since departed the Internet (as far as I know), but I wanted to share one of our more interesting collaborations.
I found these vintage charms online:

And since we needed a birthday gift for my music-loving, art-majoring cousin, I thought: Eureka! I asked Em to work something out that was very rocker chic/ chick and then we'd go from there, which was our usual process.

This was the first design:

I am still iffy on this. It's certainly not my taste, but I had to remember that this wasn't for my birthday. My qualms centered around my cousin's petite frame; I was afraid this would not only overwhelm her, but draw attention to her large bosom. (Which, with the help of myriad low-cut shirts, she does well enough on her own.)

So Em came up with this:

Which was the final design. Again, not necessarily my aesthetic, but I liked it enough. My cousin loved it. Any opinions out there?

If you've never worked with a jeweler on a commissioned piece, I would highly recommend it. You are allowed to become part of the creative process, even if you can't set a stone.

Ringing in the Love

I've got enough of these for several posts, so I might as well start putting them up. Traditionally, a ring that symbolizes love is given during an engagement or exchanged during wedding vows, as well as pre-engagement promise rings. Sometimes though, you just want your love to be represented in a piece of jewelry without any symbolic attachment. Below are some rings that I think are incredibly romantic and still modern, stylish and eye-catching. In the future, I'll of course be the same thing but in the vintage version.
You might want to send this link to your fella...

I realize I'm a bit heavy on the Jeanine Payer, but she finds such beautiful and apt quotes that I had to list several, though each is a favorite in it's own way. (And honey, I'm a size 6!)


Snuggle Up Diamond Ring, $250



Confidant Ring, $220 (Says "soulmate")




Endless Love Ring, $148




For Ever Yours Ring, € 348.00 (hidden text leaves an imprint on the finger)



Heart Ring, $68 An unusual take on a common theme.


Jeanine Payer Ruby heart Ring, $430. Inscribed with the text "... like a ship that took me safely through the wildest storm of all." Rainer Maria Rilke



Jeanine Payer "Now comes the mystery" Colin ring, $220



Jeanine Payer "At one glance I love you with a thousand hearts" Reese Ring, $330

Head in the Clouds

Today has been perpetually on the brink of rain. This morning was a call-in-and-sleep-in (if you can). Alas, I could not. The air has an October chill, and the clouds have taken over. In their honor...




Muscovie Cloud Ring, $160


Rain Cloud Necklace, $75


Cloud Necklace, $160



Cloud Earrings, $75


Rain Necklace, $50



Rainbow Flourite Cloud Necklace, $760



Rainy Day Earrings, $18



Zoe and Morgan Cloud Pendant Necklace, $180



Spring Rain White Topaz Necklace, $136

Okay, rain, now that you've had your fun...

Update: I had never read I, Bejeweled before, but on 8-22-07, I realized she beat me to the cloud theme. Here is her take on it:
Singin' in the Rain