March = Aquamarine

Happy Saturday. Boy I am happy the weekend is here. Let's get going... 

Birthstones. We've all got one. Mine is peridot. The birthstone for March [March, we are in you] is the beautiful Aquamarine. Aquamarine translates as "water of the sea" in Latin and is the blue variety of the gemstone beryl. Yes, beryl. Siblings with such other beauties as emerald and morganite [morganite = swoon].  

Here's a fact from good ol' Wikipedia >> 

Sadly I don't own any aquamarine jewellery [yet] so I can't show you any of mine. However, I will show you some lovely aquamarine pieces from around the t'internet. Where should we begin? Gemstones... hmm.. Astley Clarke, of course! Gemstone jewellery at its... finest?! Let the search begin! 

Of course AC has not let me down, look at this beauty - Aquamarine Cocktail ring by Astley Clarke Tearoom. £2,450. Not only does it have a halo [which of course I love*] but it has a beautiful basket and it gives a good amount of finger coverage. It is made from white gold and has 4.46 carats of aquamarine; what a great example of how beautiful this gemstone can be. 

* My engagement ring is a sapphire halo. 

For something much less showy, but even more beautiful, AC has this stunning milky aquamarine ring by Astley Clarke Couture. £2,750. This would be my pick from the aquamarine on the AC website. I think it's the bezel against the milky stone that does it for me. It's very low profile so it would be great for every day wear. 

We can't look at rings all day, can we? Let's see what else we can find to showcase this beautiful stone. Maybe Tiffany & Co can offer us something? 

I am not disappointed, folks. Look at these amazingly petite but beautiful Elsa Peretti, Colour by the yard, aquamarine stud earrings. Sterling silver, .12 total carat weight. £360. 

Up next we have these 'oui' earrings from Dior. They match their famous 'oui' ring, which also comes in aquamarine, but I thought these were a less obvious choice. I have searched and searched but I cannot find a price for these, sorry. They are white gold. The basket, holding the aquamarines, is made up of the word 'oui'. Very sweet! 

It's all been a bit pricey recently, so let me look for something a little more affordable...

This very pretty aquamarine birthstone bracelet from NOTHS.com, by Between you & I, is a lovely way to proudly wear your birthstone. It's £39, made from sterling silver, and is made with 4mm aquamarine beads. 

Of course it wouldn't be my blog without a mention of Alex Monroe. Here is his aquamarine 8mm Hoya ring in 18ct yellow gold. The Hoya is one of my favourite pieces from AM and one day I *will* own the 8mm morganite. £945. It is so refreshing to see some aquamarine set in yellow gold as it is almost always set in white gold or silver. I guess its icy tone lends itself well to the coolness of those metals. 

I was going to end it there but in my travels I found a lovely ring [sorry that there have been so many rings in this post] on net-a-porter and I couldn't not share it. 

I adore flower clusters, but at £4,000 this one is currently out of budget. 

22 karat gold, 6 carat total weight of aquamarine, the petals actually rotate, and it is just beautiful. Made by Munnu The Gem Palace. 

There's lots of lovely aquamarine out there, so go and take a look. Do you have a friend or relative with a birthday in March? Did you get married in March? Mother's Day is coming up. Or you could just celebrate that it's the weekend. 

Enjoy your Sunday & you might even hear from me again tomorrow. 

I ordered my first ever Birch Box today. Get me! If you don't know what a Birch Box is, please go and have a look - they send you various cosmetics samples each month as well as how-to guides and the such. I'll update you when I receive mine. My Erica Weiner wedding band was also dispatched today, so I'm hoping to have that within the next few weeks. 

I'm off to watch Life of Pi.

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. 

Cat jewellery

HAPPY MONDAY! 

Please excuse my lack of posts over the weekend, I was out with a migraine. Boo. 

I have a list of things I really, really like. On that list you'll find things like scented candles, scatter cushions, jewellery, scarves, handbags, leather accessories, cosmetics, and perfumes. At the top of that list you'll also find cats and cat-things. My cat ring is dear to me, despite it costing only £16, hence the photograph of it in my profile. I like it because it's subtle, which enables me to wear it daily. My own cat is family to me and who doesn't love cat salt & pepper shakers, cat t-shirts, cat cushions... cat earrings!? Not everyone, you say? Oh... well I do, so here are some of my favourite cat-inspired jewellery pieces.

Silver cat necklace by Katstudio on Etsy. I love its simplicity which is perfect for everyday wear. Yours for £14.12, what a bargain! 

This one is a little pricier at £207.44, but it is made from 14K gold and diamonds! The baby kitten necklace by MichelleChangJewellery, also on Etsy. Subtle but slightly glitzy, this necklace has made its way on to my wish list. Purrrrfection in a necklace [gettit??]. It also comes in white gold, and silver, and cheaper options are available without the diamond eyes for about £35. 

Michelle Chang has so many things in her shop that I've had my eye on for a while, she has snake rings, skull bracelets, and more. One day... 

Next up is the Kitty Cat ring with blue sapphire eyes by Yayoi Forest, via Catbird NYC. Made from 14K rose gold, set with sapphires, and hand made in Brooklyn, New York. $320. Petite and beautiful. 

Another beautiful piece from Catbird is the Choupette necklace in rose gold by Hortense. I've tried to bring myself to blog about the matching earrings but they are SO expensive and sold as individuals, which is really odd to me. I almost bought them before realising that the price was for one! This necklace is more reasonable at $298. 

Here's a cheeky link to my very own cat ring. 

The vintage kitten bangle from Alexis Dove is next. I know, I know, I should be able to write a post without mentioning Alexis or Alex Monroe, but they are my favourites! I have the vintage kitten on a necklace, but as I've already featured some necklaces today, here she is on a bangle. If you're anything like me, then you love a bangle. £90 in sterling silver. 

I can't post the vintage kitten without the vintage cat mum to follow! [prices are based on a 17" chain, also comes in 18" and 21"] Yellow or rose vermeil - £125 and polished silver £100 and for an extra £10 you can have an initial engraved on the base. 

Sterling silver cat ring from Tatty Devine £35 [reduced from £85]. In small, medium, and large. 

And finally, why wouldn't you want a cat hanging from some yarn, around your neck? WHY? Look at this little gem, from Les Nereides. Tout Beau Tout Doux necklace. 105 Euros. [Tout Beau Tout Doux means all beautiful fluffy in French - heart melt]. Made from silk, pearls, rhinestones, and more. Just so. darn. cute. 

That's it for tonight, folks. I need to get some beauty sleep. I did make a purchase this week though that I can't wait to share with you, so I will be back this week when the lighting is a bit better and I can take some good photos. 

Goodnight. Thanks for reading, 

L. x

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!