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 

Saturday brings us snake rings

Happy Saturday! I have a poorly boyfriend today, so instead of swanning around and eating brunch, we are relaxing in front of the TV. This means, of course, that I can write a lovely post on one of my favourite ring designs... snake rings! 

Snakes... according to Wikipedia, the snake [or serpent] is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. They represent dual expression of good and evil. They are also used as fertility symbols in many cultures; the shedding of their skin is symbolic of rebirth, healing, etc. Snakes have also been used as guardians of sacred spaces such as temples. They also have their place in the history of medicine and are associated with healing, immortality, and poison [obviously]. Here's one that we all know about - snakes are connected with vengefulness and vindictiveness. 

The Victorians loved the symbol of the serpent and snake jewellery really took off when Queen Victoria was proposed to with a snake ring. Her ring featured two snakes entwined with an emerald. Sadly this ring was never photographed and she was buried with it, so we can only guess at what it looked like. The popularity of 'snake jewellery' peaked in the 1840s, and became popular again during the Art Nouveau period. 

I won't go on, however much I'd love to [because it's so very fascinating], but if you're interested in this sort of thing have a look on Google, there's lots to read. 

This is what you're really here for [I guess]... some of my favourite snake rings. 

Two-headed snake ring by Erica Weiner $400 - $675  

From EW's 1909 collection, this two-headed snake ring is the right combination of snake and delicate. It comes in yellow gold and with no stones, red diamond eyes, or white diamond eyes [see price ranges at the beginning]. Perfection in a snake ring! 

Vintage snake ring by Zara Taylor £12

Sadly this beauty is made from brass, hence the price tag, but it has such wonderful detailing that I couldn't leave it out. 

Snake ring by Momocreatura £187

This ring is not currently available from Momocreatura, but it is in stock at Boticca [I've never purchased from here]. I couldn't leave it out because it's rather special. It comes with different coloured eyes and doesn't it look ah-mazing stacked?? 

Gold and white sapphire snake ring by Julia Failey £296.50

I just saw this one when I was looking at the Momocreatura ring so it's a bit of a cheat entry because it isn't one I've had my eye on previously, but with those white sapphire eyes I couldn't not add him into the list. 

Snake tail ring in sterling silver with rubies by Michelle Chang £70.97

This is one of my all-time favourites. I love the way the tail is in the mouth and the softness of the metal make it look very modern and wearable. 

Twisted snake by Makri £currently unavailable 

This ring by Makri is a work of art. I'll show you the front and the back because it's intricate and beautiful. 18k pink gold with white diamonds and rubies. I HEART this ring. 

Victorian 14k gold persian turquoise snake ring Vintage $645 

A real-life Victorian ring - oh my! 

Snake ring by Grace Lee Designs $385 

I love how delicate this one is, it'd be perfect for stacking and great for every-day wear. Once again this one has diamond eyes. A popular feature of the snake ring. 

Serpent ring by Pamela Love $1,300 

This one is a little more of a luxury item at that price, but it's stunning. Seriously, look at that tri-stack! Swoooon. 

Anyway, there you have it - Snake rings! I hope you see something you like and if you have some snake-inspired rings, or any snake jewellery, please comment and let me know! 

Thanks for reading, 

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 top ten stud earrings for under £100.

Good evening folks. It's Wednesday [I thought it was Thursday for a second - ouch!] and this evening's blog is My top ten stud earrings for under £100. For this mission I am going to use some of my favourite retailers [i.e. the links will not be to the e-shops of the designers]. Let's go...! 

1. Silver forget-me-not earrings by Alex Monroe, from Astley Clarke. £78 [£96 in 18 carat gold vermeil]. I love how dainty they are and I also really like nature-inspired jewellery. Pretty. 

2. Silver bunny stud earrings by Alexis Dove, from Silverado. £48. Cute as a button! What's not to love? Bunnies... silver... jewellery - check! 

3. Gold and ruby dot stud earrings by Embers, from Notonthehighstreet.com. £34.75. I really like the warmth of the ruby in the yellow gold, it's such a great combination. The natural texture of the gold is also a lovely selling point. 

4. Trillion cut stud earrings in labradorite by Amrapali for Dinny Hall, from John Lewis. £75. Trillion cut labradorite? THAT, my friends, is why these made the list. Such a fabulous cut and something from Dinny Hall had to make it. 

5. Astrid studs in black garnet by Katie Diamond, from Catbird NYC. $150 [£90]. Look how pointy they are! Oooo. 

6. Copper circle earrings by Lovely Pigeon, from Hannah Zakari. £18. These are made from brushed copper and formica with silver plated posts. On the cheaper side of the scale but I think they're just lovely. 

7. Turquoise sonatina earrings by Astley Clarke Colour, from Astley Clarke. £75. Turquoise is one of my favourite stones and here it is set in 18 carat yellow gold vermeil. A brilliant way to add colour to your day. 

8. Herkimer diamond solitaire studs from [and by] Erica Weiner. $110 [£65]. As with all Erica Weiner jewellery there is a story that goes with these, so please go to the website and check them out. I think these are wonderful; I have a thing for "rough" stones. 

9. This one is another one that comes straight from the designer's website because I can't find a retailer that stocks this particular brand - Alison Macleod. They were too cute to not include. Just like little pearl studs. £32. 

10. Lastly, I have Pink floral earrings by Les Nereides, from ASOS. £34 [currently on sale from £59]. Les Nereides is one of my favourite "not forever" designers. Their pieces are made from plated brass, and to me that means that they won't last [boooo] which is a shame because their stuff is just amazingly beautiful. Anyway, enough of my rambling, you want to see the studs! 

So there we have it, 10 beautiful pairs of stud earrings. Which ones are your favourites? Please comment below. 

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of the week, everyone! 

L. x

p.s. Today I wore my Alexis Dove belle hook earrings, my mushroom necklace from Alex Monroe, my engagement ring, cat ring, 3 x silver rings, and a classic gold Casio watch. That's all folks. 

Pearl earrings

Morning to all and to all a good morning. It's Sunday. I've woken with a killer headache [nothing that a good cup of tea and a chocolate digestive won't fix] and the sun is trying to come out from behind a cloud. We went out for dinner last night [fillet steak and chocolate fondant, thank you very much] and today we are just relaxing. 

What has happened since the last entry? Let's see... 

On the 11th of February I found the perfect pair of wedding shoes. After months of searching [with a substantial budget, I might add] I just couldn't find something that did it for me. Then along came the perfect pair from an unusual source... Dorothy Perkins of all places. They were 1/2 price, making them £9 and I'm smitten [the patterned background is a jumper that I bought at the same time]. So that's one less thing to worry about. What else?... 

Ah yes, Valentines Day. The title of this entry somewhat gives away what the boyfriend gave me this v-day; pearl earrings. They are my first pair of pearl studs and they came from Tiffany & Co. I believe they are 8-9mm with sterling silver posts, and the post back is a unique flower shape, which I was not expecting; such a pretty little detail and just for the wearer as no-one can see the back when you're wearing them. Here are some photographs, the one with the pearls is quite dark because we exchanged gifts on v-day evening. I'm sure there will be better photographs in time. Also, note the red ribbon as a nice change from the white! Another nice touch from T&Co. 

One of my wedding rings arrived on the 21st of Feb. I think I'm going to save these photographs for when they are all here, or even for after the wedding. Yes, I'll wait until after the wedding, sorry to keep you waiting folks, but they might not all make the final cut. All will become clear in time. This particular one has a very cute story as the person who made it for me has made other rings for me, so it's very special. 

I've been struggling this week with wedding hair. I'm doing it myself so I want something easy but elegant, fun and boho... ah, it's so hard. Anyway, the look I finally went for, the boyfriend doesn't like, so it was back to the drawing board. I have now reverted back to my original plans [which involve a floral crown - hooray] and I've actually got one ordered, finally, after hundreds of hours searching. Photos to follow once it arrives. I'm doing a lot of shopping in the US [how does one plan a wedding without Etsy??] so there has been a lot of waiting. 

And here we are today, the 2nd of March [where is time going??] and another of my rings arrived yesterday, all the way from Brooklyn, NYC and made by Digby & Iona. As this is primarily a "jewellery blog" I'll show you some of my favourite pieces... [most of their stuff is a bit out there for me, but I do adore their rings]. 

1. Petite pave arrows band - $640 in rose gold with black diamonds, but comes in various precious metals and also with white diamonds. A mere 1.5mm wide, which is perfect for stacking. It's one of my favourites. 

2. Petite Ambro ring - $1330 in 18k rose gold with blue and pink tourmaline and their beautiful wave band [you can buy this as a plain band, without a stone and it's lovely]. This one also comes in various colours, but this particular tourmaline speaks to me, it's just beautiful. These rings are one-offs [I imagine because of the uniqueness of the tourmaline] so once they're gone, they're gone. The cut on these stones is just amazing. The band is 1.5mm thick and the stone is .70ct in weight. If you like stones as much as I do, check out the others in the collection; the colours will blow you away [to tease you, I've included the thumbnails from the website in my image - there are more than these ones though]. 

3. Arrows bangle - $90. Does what it says on the tin! Oxidised sterling silver. 

4. The rakish hand - $360. It's an unusual one this one, and I mean unusual in a good way. It's slightly creepy, but again, in a good way. It's made from sterling silver [oxidised] and is on a 26" sterling chain [I like long necklaces] and I think it's the perfect choice for this particular piece. The hand is wearing an 18k yellow gold diamond ring on its little finger, which is hinged so that it sparkles as it moves. See, I warned you that it was a tad creepy, but the fact that the hand is wearing jewellery itself is amazing. So here it is, the rakish hand...

In my search for wedding rings and wedding jewellery I've come across some amazing companies and designers, all of which I will share with you over time, whether I end up buying from them or not. Designers such as Erica Weiner, Les Nereides and Alison Macleod are all too good to not share, so more from them coming soon. 

I'm still undecided on my wedding jewels - earrings, necklace, bracelet/s. I'm quite keen to wear this though, whatever else I end up wearing [to add a pop of colour and because I'm a stacker through and through]  - make a wish lucky horseshoe bracelet on mint, from Dogeared. I was going to buy direct but their postage was crazy steep to England, so I'm on the look-out of a reputable UK stockist. I've bought dogeared before, and will blog about them some day - I could spend a £1,000 there easily. 

For now I think that's me done. I don't want to bore you and this post has gone on a bit. I'm still aiming to be blogging more regularly, but time is being sucked up at the moment. I'll try and write something again next week. Keep smiling folks, and share some of your favourite designers with me via the comments. 

Thanks for reading, 

L. x

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...