Cartier Cockatoo

A Facebook friend of mine posted a photo of a beautiful tanzanite cockatoo bracelet on my wall because she knows I love jewelry and have a cockatoo.  I love whimsical animal themed jewelry, especially high jewelry.  I just wanted to share it here because it's such an extraordinary piece.  You can read a little more about it here:  http://thetanzanitefoundation.blogspot.com/2013/02/less-polish-more-personality-cartiers.html

Cartier bracelet

Octopus Envy

I've been working on a jewelry article for my column in The New York Social Diary and came across an octopus ring at the Jennifer Miller store that I have to share here, because I am obsessed with octopi (octopuses, octopodes, octopi...all plural forms of octopus).  They are such intelligent creatures and apparently very shy and there is just something about them I find both adorable and fascinating. I read an article about them that explained how a male octopus will stay outside the cave where his female mate lives to guard and protect her.  He will allow female octopi to pass into the cave and visit, but he will chase other males away.  It upsets me that people eat them or keep little ones as pets. As much as I would love to have an octopus for a pet I would never do that, because they belong in the ocean with other octopi living their natural lives.  So, I have octopus jewelry instead, including two pins from Raymond C. Yard and two Dodo by Pomellato charms on a necklace.  I've been looking for an octopus ring and this might end up being the one......

Sterling silver with jet black Swarovski crystal 

octopus ring from Jennifer Miller
(photo courtesy of Mark Ehret)

Close up of the ring.  I love his eyes!
(photo courtesy of Mark Ehret)

A look at my octopus jewelry.....

Octopus pins from Raymond C. Yard 

& octopus charms from Pomellato

A closer look at the pins....

The tiny diamonds on the small octopus are set to look like bubbles

A Gem From Barbara: The Horse Pin Collection

I love horses and have a small collection of horse and horse related pins.  Many of them were gifts, including some from my late husband who hoped that helping me collect horse pins would stop me from collecting real horses (it didn't).

My horse pin collection

At this point, quite a few of the pins are vintage, especially the silver ones.  One silver pin was actually meant to be worn at the neck of a formal riding shirt.

These are all sterling silver or a silver/pewter combination.

The bar pin with the cap in the upper left was made to be 

worn with formal riding attire.

A couple are valuable, but most are just fun.  The most valuable pin is from Raymond C. Yard.  It was a gift from my daughter, Alison, for a milestone birthday a few years ago.

18K gold pin from Raymond C. Yard has tiny

ruby eyes and a diamond at one hoof.

Another good pin is by Adria de Haume.  She donated it for a silent auction at a charity event and I bought it.  

18K gold pin by Adria de Haume has two small diamonds 

But, my most favorite pin is the inexpensive three horse pin which reminds me of Kent, Rusty and Spot, three overworked lesson horses I rescued and retired to a life of leisure.

My favorite three horse pin

Two other pins that are noteworthy are a mother and foal pin with a movable door and a reproduction from the Metropolitan Museum of Art that I believe depicts the Trojan horse.

With the door closed this pin looks like one horse in its stall but......

With the door open it's a mother and her foal

A gift from my niece from the MET Museum

In addition to these pins I have other horse jewelry that I will share in a future post.

Memorial Day Weekend With Elaine Turner & Hard Candy

Words to live by for this holiday weekend!

It's halfway through Memorial Day weekend 2015, but if you're like me the party's just getting started.....My holiday weekend isn't actually starting until tonight and I'm excited to enjoy the summery weather we're supposed to get tomorrow.  Fingers crossed for sunny skies and no rain.

Either way I've got two fun accessories to share that are perfect for the start of summer: the first is the Savannah flip flop from Elaine Turner.  As part of the goody bag at a recent charity luncheon for the TJ Martell Foundation, where Elaine Turner was honored, there was a coupon for a free pair of these, which was very generous.  I love flip flops and live in them during the summer so had to go get my pair.  They come in three pretty colors plus chic black and have a gold medallion with a crown (Elaine Turner's symbol) on them as a decoration.  I absolutely love that the foot bed is wrapped in sealed plastic so you don't have to worry about other people's feet walking around in your flip flops, but you can still try them on before buying them.  I'm not taking the plastic off until I wear them, but I can already feel that the gel sole is nice and comfy.  I think the black is great for walking around the City, but I chose the raspberry because it's such a pretty color.

A color for everyone

Sealed in plastic to keep them clean

They look good with my pink pedi

Stopping traffic already and I haven't even left the house

They come in this nice box

And, if you need new shades this weekend, Hard Candy is now making eye wear.  They sent me two pairs to take a look at and they're pretty stylish.  I'm not sure which I like better, but I think they're both cool.

City slicker

These would be perfect in a convertible with the top down

And, some of the pairs have colorful candy colors inside for a bit of fun....

Hard Candy colors

I hope you're all enjoying a relaxing, fun filled holiday weekend and don't forget to take a moment to remember the people who died serving our country in the armed forces, which is the true purpose of Memorial Day.

Yellow Chair

Miniature yellow chair

I think this has to count as an accessory, because it's just so darn cute!  Last night I attended a vegan dinner and wine tasting that my friend invited me to at New York Vintners.  The event company that organized it is called Yellowchair and they had miniature yellow chairs on the table.  They said we could take them home, so I did.  It's the perfect furniture for a small parrot.  He's not sitting on it yet, but he likes it and does not want my other larger parrot near it.

Holly (aka Rozy) and his new chair

He got protective and puffed up the feathers around his face 

when the cockatoo got too close (off camera).

Guest Blogging For The New York Social Diary

Please enjoy my column in The New York Social Diary today and see some of the beautiful and creative hats from New York's famous Hat Luncheon.

http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/guest-diary/2015/accessories-diary-going-with-the-flo

A colorful hat at the luncheon

A Colorful Trip To Chanel

Chanel Gripoix glass butterfly pin

When I think of Chanel I think of tweeds, pearls, Maltese crosses, and Gripoix glass beads.  I don't think of rainbows, psychedelic colors or anything bohemian.  I understand that 20 somethings are more into that and they can get away with it, but I like when Chanel sticks to the classics.  So, when I saw elements of the Spring-Summer 2015 ready-to-wear collection, with what looks like abstract watercolors, I thought the patterns were pretty, but I was not a fan of it to actually wear. The tall boots were especially just silly in my opinion.  The kind of woman who has a job that allows her to afford such a purchase, say a 50 year old attorney or 40 year old investment banker, isn't going to wear them. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE color, and I loved the green tweed Chanel used a couple of years ago, but it still had that classic Chanel look.  And, I adore, and lust after, some of the brightly colored 2.55/flap bags, but again the bags are still the classic shape. That being said, these collections that deviate from the norm, can be more collectible in the long run, if not wearable in the short term.  After all, a black 2.55 bag is forever, but there are a lot of them.  A 'Rainbow Brite' flap bag isn't going to be made after this season so if you're a collector that's what you want.

The other day I was walking up and down Madison Avenue visiting different stores doing research for an article I'm writing about jewelry and I passed the Chanel boutique.  I had some time between other store appointments so I decided to go in and look around.  I caught some mother-daughter drama going on as a mom was buying a bag for her lucky daughter who was probably around college age. The daughter was trying to decide between a classic large 2.55 in a beautiful shade of blue and some ugly olive green hippie bag that was awful (sorry Chanel, but it was).  The mother was trying to get her to buy the classic and the daughter was getting cranky.  The daughter was asking every salesperson in the store which one she should get and she even had a friend stop in to ask her advice. Everyone told her to get the 2.55, except her friend who said "it depends what you're going to use it for."  I suppose if you're planning a trip to 1967 the hobo would come in handy, but in any other circumstance you grab the 2.55.  Thankfully the daughter chose the classic 2.55 that she will use for a lifetime vs the hobo style bag that will end up in the back of her closet in a year.   The whole scene was kind of fun to watch and reminded me of shopping with my mother, except that my mother didn't take me to Chanel to shop.   While I was watching this play out I was looking in the display cases and two pieces of jewelry caught my eye:  a diamond shaped pearl ring that had an Indian look and a Gripoix glass rainbow colored butterfly pin.  The ring was very pretty, but the butterfly's wings looked like beautiful stained glass windows and the right way to showcase rainbow colors.  It's a perfect piece of this colorful collection that I can enjoy, because it's also a classic butterfly with a traditional Chanel pearl body.  And, of course, I'll wear it on a solid colored, traditional blazer.