Happy Bank Holiday

Good morning, folk. It's a bank holiday in England today and as usual it is raining. How sad is that?! As a result, I've got the time to have a look on the internet and do some virtual jewellery shopping [yay, me!]. 

Why am I only virtual shopping? Well.. yesterday I made a rather exciting purchase. I got a pair of the talon earrings that I've been obsessing over. YES! I know, I know, I'm not supposed to be spending any money pre-wedding but I went to just "have a look" and I couldn't leave without them. This doesn't happen too often, so I know that when it does it's the right thing to do. 

So, I guess you want photos? Here you go... 

Here is the lovely grey box. I wasn't expecting something so nice. I didn't get the rest of the packaging because I was trying to be green. But it would have come with a nice bag and some fancy tissue paper. 

As you can see from my photo here, I went for the yellow gold. I know, right?! These were not on my wish list, but when I saw them I just couldn't resist. I'll also get the rose gold small ones at some point because they were also lovely. These ones were £175. 

Please excuse my dodgy photos, but I wasn't expecting to make this purchase but I was desperate to take some photos. Don't they look awesome!? I think they are beautiful and I can't wait to wear them over the summer. 

So, what else happened yesterday? I started my day with a Nespresso [I love my Nespresso] and then we went for an early dinner at Bill's, where we both had a burger and fries. I had sweet potato fries and they were lovely. Oh, and we started with some chips and dip. Food photos...

Looks good, right? Yes. Link to Bill's here >> BILL'S. 

What else is going on in the world of jewellery? Let's see... 

I'm very much enjoying the wares of TALON at the moment. Here are some of my favourite pieces >> 

Perfume Amulettes $178 in bronze $250 in sterling silver. They contain perfume which soaks through the cork at the top and makes you smell all lovely. They come with special fragrances, made by Talon and they are so, so pretty. I have a perfume locket and this sort of thing really does work. The warmth from your body against the metal does magical things. 

They also have a glass amulette for $250. 

Feathers and flowers ring $438 [available in other metals and stones]. Made with Australian opal and recycled metals. I'd love this as a pinkie ring. 

American Beauty cuff $148. Recycled silver. You guys know that I'm a sucker for floral engravings. 

No other posy ring $189. Same goes with this one, look at the lovely detailing. Beautiful. 

Here is some info about TALON. They seem like a nice company. 

I BOUGHT: I think I told you that last week we went to Brighton to find a wedding ring for the future MrTVB? Well, during that trip I found two lovely pieces which I will now show you [yes, the wedding ring was also found and I'll share that with you after the big day]. Brighton is a hotspot for vintage wares and jewellery & I wanted these two gems the minute I tried them on. There's a double headed snake bangle, and a snake ring [which would fit as a normal ring on a person with normal-sized hands!] which I love to wear as a knuckle/mid-finger ring. Aren't they just amazing? 

KNUCKLE RINGS: One of my latest obsessions is knuckle rings, so I hope to add some to my collection very soon. I'll keep you updated on my progress. 

TABS: During the week when I don't have time to blog every day, I keep tabs open in my browser so that I can show you what I'm looking at. So let's go through some of those tabs now... 

Gold arch ring by Michele Varian, NYC $282. I really like the unusual shape of this one. It reminds me of a rainbow, but in a stylish way. Solid 14k gold only. 

Gold and turquoise bar necklace by Michele Varian, NYC $415. Y'all know that this is right up my alley. I love it. 

Intrecciato silver bracelet by Bottega Veneta £430. I like most of the silver bracelets from Bottega. They are works of art. 

Antique silver £225. 

Silver bracelet £355. 

ILA & I turquoise diamond eternity ring $1,610. Isn't it fabulous? I love it. 

Gold plate psychic ring $171 by ManiaMania @ Bona Drag. Smoked quartz on top of a gold plate band. I really like the unusual design. Also available in Sterling Silver for the same price. 

I should stop there because I've inundated you with pictures and information. I hope you've seen something that you like. 

SHOPS TO WATCH: These are some shops that I've stumbled across this week, I'm keeping the links here so I can blog about them in the future. 

Child of Wild

MILLE

Dry Goods NYC

Asprey

I hope you enjoy the rest of the bank holiday weekend. 

Thanks for reading, 

L. x

Sunday on Monday

Good evening. We had a beautiful day yesterday. It was 23 degrees in Sussex and everyone was out and about. We took a lovely trip into Lewes, East Sussex and had a look around the antique shops. We grabbed some lunch and listened to a man with a lute. Just when I thought it couldn't be more perfect, I stumbled across a stunning ring in an antique shop. I have what I refer to as sausage fingers. They are very long, but they are also big; I have big hands so even when I lose weight not much comes off my fingers [finger lipo, anyone?] so I was amazed to find something so close to what I've been looking for and in my size. I wanted to show you yesterday but with all the excitement my iPhone battery died and I was sans photographs until now. The guy in the shop thinks it's from the 1950s. It might not be that old, but I love it. I'm scared to get it appraised incase they say it's from 2001 or something, but it does have markings on the inside so I may do one day.

There were lots of lovely pieces of jewellery in the antique shops and I was recommended a jewellery auction which is held locally, which I'd love to check out one day. I also stopped off at Silverado which stocks lots of my favourite designers such as Alex Monroe, Alexis Dove, Dogeared, Dinny Hall, Monica Vinader, and more. Amazing stuff. I'd already bought my ring at this point otherwise I certainly could have been tempted by a new Alex Monroe necklace or bracelet! 

Here are some photos for you...

[Lunch]

[Lemon cake] 

[The Alexis Dove rings I went out wearing]

[The stunning 9 carat gold & Turquoise antique ring] 

[The ring on my jewellery stand]

[The windows at Silverado] 

[Lewes street art] 

Great, huh? The mezze and the Sicilian lemon cake were both amazing. The wild rose rings are from Alexis Dove and were a birthday present. The tiny one in yellow gold vermeil and the small in silver. Isn't my new ring amazing! And some fab displays from the windows in Silverado. 

Antique shops will be scoured more thoroughly from now. I've eagerly looked before but I now have the bug. Please comment and tell me about your antique shop finds. 

I'm going to say g'night, I think. I've had a tough day at work and no chance to discover anything new. I need to get on with doing some research this week into jewellery making / silversmithing courses.

Thanks for reading,

L. x

Edited to add: my new ring has some beautiful heart engravings down the arms but it's too dark to take such detailed pictures so I'll have to add those later. Coming soon! 

Update... 2014

Hello! I'm so, so sorry that is has been a full two months since I last wrote an entry. I am going to make it my mission to update you all a few times per week. 

What have I been up to? Let's see... 

17th November - I cooked an amazing whole chilli chicken 

18th November - my parents gave me a new Pandora bangle 

The week of the 22nd November - I purchased a dress and jewellery for the Christmas party at work

30th November - I tried Jasmine flowering tea for the first time 

4th December - I had my first mince pie of the year 

5th December - my little sister is having a baby!! 

6th December - Christmas party in a teepee on Brighton beach 

8th December - wedding dress arrives from America (Oleg) 

10th December - Black Sabbath concert 

11th December - second (primary) wedding dress arrives

16th December - yearly Harrods trip with my Mum

18th December - Christmas dinner at work 

20th December - new MacBook Pro arrives 

25h December - CHRISTMAS DAY!!! New pretties are gifted... family is visited 

26th December - Boxing day - more pretties... and family time 

28th December - wedding ring chosen (this wedding ring fell through when the designer couldn't re-size or make it in my size - boooo) 

1st January - HAPPY NEW YEAR - dinner out with my sister and her boyfriend 

2nd January - first trip to The Chilli Pickle in Brighton - AMAZING 

5th January - I made an amazing warm gnocchi salad

10th January - silver wedding band arrives (twisted one) and we try Panettone cake for the first time 

11th January - Wagamama visit 

18th January - lovely lunch upstairs at Bill's, Horsham 

19th January - we baked cupcakes together 

20th January - lunch at The Chilli Pickle again, and a rummage through the junk shops of Brighton

26th January - found new wedding band by Erica Weiner, NYC 

1st February - cream tea at Cisswood 

4th February - wedding shawl arrives from Israel 

9th February - afternoon tea at Cisswood 

*and BREATHE* 

There you go, it was like I never left. I'll add some photos as and when I can. 

Today was just another work day. I discovered chai latte last monday, and this weekend I found a tub of powdered chai mix that I can make at work. That got me through the day. What's happening this week? Just Valentine's day on Friday. That's something lovely to look forward to. 

Now, I'll see if I can add some photographs to make the above a bit more interesting... DONE! Enjoy, folks. I'll try to update more often from now on. I'm sure you'll want to know all about my rings as and when they arrive. Yes, THEY, I will be having 3-4 wedding rings. What? I like jewellery, it means a lot to me! 

More later...