If I had £1,000 to spend on jewellery right now…

If I had £1,000 to spend on jewellery right now, what would I pick? Hmmm... tricky one. 

This is a blog post that I've had in my drafts for a while because this is not an easy question. What would I pick, right now, for £1,000? I don't think it would be very interesting to just pick one item because it would be a pretty short answer [it would be Alex Monroe's 8mm Hoya ring in morganite - see, quick!]. So let me have a think... 

1. A gold scalloped button bracelet by Lindsay Pearson - £197. Solid gold and very, very cute. This charming bracelet has been on my wish list for a number of years. £803 left... 

2. This heartbeats necklace by Erica Weiner. Thunder only happens when it's raining. Fleetwood Mac and jewellery, in the same thing? YES. £37 / £766 remaining. 

3. This vintage Chanel gold medallion necklace. £625. Every jewellery fanatic should own a classic Chanel piece and I think this one is wonderful. This leaves me with £141. 

4. These opal teardrop studs by Alexis Russell. £136. I am a little obsessed with opal at the moment and I think that these studs are perfect. I love the simplicity of the claw and the beautiful cut of the teardrop. Magnificent. That leaves me with £5... 

5. With a whole £5 to spare, I think I'll spend it on something fun like a friendship bracelet. I like them and wear one or two at any given time. Here is a nice looking one from Etsy for less than £5, leaving me with some change for a boiled sweet. 

So there we have it; five items for less than £1,000. I'm good! 

I hope you've seen something that you like. G'night. 

Oh, wait, here's the 8mm Hoya, just in case you're interested... #swoon. 

L. x 

Free People - new discovery

Good morning! I've got the day off work today because we're going to the O2 Arena tonight for a good ol' fashioned concert. I've spent the morning listening to Rumours by Fleetwood Mac on vinyl and eating scrambled egg and avocado for breakfast. You could say I am winning, and you'd be right. 

That reminds me, before I get into the reason I'm actually writing this post today, that I added a necklace to the wish list last night... 

Heartbeats by Erica Weiner. It's new and it's 100% me. You can pick various lyrics but of course I want the Fleetwood Mac one. 

Back to the reason I've suddenly had to blog... 

I was just reading on BuzzFeed that Urban Outfitters have reported less of a profit than usual and in that article they mention that they have another store within their ring of brands, and it's called Free People. I may well be behind the times, but I've not seen this company before. Of course the first thing I did was to check out their jewellery section on the website and I am impressed! They actually have fine jewellery [hoorah] instead of just 'not forever' jewellery. So here are some of my favourite picks... [warning, this one is going to have a lot of pictures!]... 

Bhanda stone bracelet // by Adorn // £58 // available in pink or turquoise. I actually cannot pick between the two. I LOVE turquoise [I've mentioned it once or twice before] and I thought "bah, I probably won't like the pink" just as I clicked on the link, but the pink is ALSO beautiful and it turns out that it's made from pink opal. Here they both are... 

What's next...?

Tell me about it cuff // by Nashelle // £128 // available in 'forever' or 'amore'. These are gold fill and made in the US. There are a million + 1 cuffs out there, but there is something quite sweet about this one. I think it might be the pinched ends? 

Loved ring // by Nora Kogan // £128 // available in sterling silver. Yikes, this is pretty expensive for sterling silver, but I had to post it because it's a ring that I've had my eye on for a while but I've only seen it on American sites. It's nice that this website has some lovely American designers. This has a message on side especially for the wearer. Very cute! 

This one made my heart skip a beat. Erica Weiner. IN ENGLAND! I'm still waiting for my Erica Weiner wedding ring to get to me all the way from America, so it's nice to see that she's selling some things over here too - it makes the process a lot quicker! This is one of my favourites. I think I'd have snapped it up already if it came in my size and I only found it 10 minutes ago! 

Herkimer diamond solitaire // by Erica Weiner // £88 !!!! // sterling silver. SWOON. 

Tribal princess hoop // by Studio Lil // £98 // 18K gold plate on sterling silver. These beauties are made in Israel. I've noticed quite a lot of nice jewellery coming out of Israel lately. I got a lovely lace bolero for my wedding from Israel too. I love unusual earrings and these fit the bill. Fit for a princess. 

Making shapes bracelet // by Marida // £48 // 14K gold filled and made in California. I have a personal Pinterest board of geometric shapes. I like things that are shape...y. This bracelet is just wonderful. 

Here comes another absolute GEM from Erica Weiner... 

Gypsy Spark ring // by Erica Weiner // £325 // 14K gold ring with .03 carat diamond. I'm seriously going to have to freeze my bank card in a block of ice. This one has me itching to make a purchase. I wonder if this one can be re-sized... available with black diamond or white diamond. I'd usually prefer the black diamonds but I think the white is stunning. Look at those carved bits! As always with EW jewellery, there's a little story behind the design of this one, so please check out the link. 

Well, I was going to end it there but I thought I'd have another quick look through in case I missed anything and... CATBIRD! They have Catbird! I can see that I'll be stalking Free People a lot. They have this lovely, delicate chain ring which sounds pretty odd but looks really pretty on... 

Tiny gold chain ring // by Catbird // £58 // 14K solid gold // made in New York. 

Right, well, you've heard far too much from me for so early in the morning so I'll leave you for now. I'm listening to Jagwar Ma's album Howlin and looking forward to some Japanese food later at Wagamama. YUM. I'll also be checking out the rest of the Free People website in case they have other amazing bits & bobs. 

Thanks for reading, 

L. 

My Monsoon/Accessorize picks

Although I don't buy a lot of costume jewellery, I do love to look at it. I think the reason I don't buy much anymore is that in the past I've purchased costume jewellery, become really attached to it, and then I've become sad when it wears away and I have to retire it to the big Velveteen Box in the sky. 

But like I said, before I became all misty eyed and dramatic, I do still look at it more than I probably should. Monsoon/Accessorize is a good place on the high street to enable me to look, and they have some rather lovely pieces at the moment. For those of you from places other than England, Monsoon and Accessorize are the same company; Monsoon does clothes, shoes, and the occasional home accessory, and Accessorize sells jewellery, handbags, scarves, gloves, hats, stationery, etc. To confuse matters, and the reason for Monsoon being mentioned at all, Monsoon also sells Accessorize jewellery and sometimes has things that Accessorize does not… yep, very confusing! 

I've rambled tons and there are still no pictures of lovely sparkly things, so here goes… here are my top ten items from Monsoon/Accessorize. 

1. Box chain and teardrop collar necklace. £15. 

What I like: It's a statement necklace. I like statement necklaces. 

What I love: The colour of the "stones". Paired with the "gold", this collar necklace gives off a luxurious vibe. 

2. Monte Carlo statement ring. £15. 

What I like: The halo reminds me of a lion's mane. 

What I love: That stone in the middle. Dreamy. 

3. Natalie statement necklace. £15. 

What I like: The regal feel that it has going on. 

What I love: Those pear-shaped red stones. 

4. Katy jewelled Montana necklace. £25. 

What I like: The way it reminds me of a bird of paradise. 

What I love: The extra/double chain across the top. This is a really pretty feature. 

5. Laverne earrings. £59. This is a piece from their Swarovski elements range, hence the higher price. 

What I like: Onyx is one of my favourite, favourite stones, and these remind me of onyx. 

What I love: Being Swarovski, they will be super sparkly. 

6. Sterling silver triple ball bracelet. £8. 

What I like: I love cord bracelets. 

What I love: The sterling silver elements. 

7. Sleek stone ring. £8. 

What I like: It's huge! 

What I love: That shade of green. 

8. Ellie flower ring. £8. 

What I like: It's a flower. 

What I love: Look at it!

What I dislike: 1. It's not sterling silver. 2. It's not mine. 

9. Mesh belt buckle cuff. £12. 

What I like: It's sleek and modern. 

What I love: The double belt loop. 

10. Baroque stone long pendant. £12. 

What I like: The styling. 

What I love: The pearls. 

So there you have it folks, my top ten picks!