Category Archives: jewelry

do-gooder: alicia marilyn designs & SMC for farm sanctuary

Friends, I’m so excited to tell you about a little collaboration I’ve cooked up with jewelry designer Alicia Marilyn. It turns out we both have a serious soft spot for furry creatures, and thought it would be fun to team up to try to raise some dough for an animal charity Alicia particularly loves.

I got to peruse Alicia’s entire collection, and – because I couldn’t narrow it down to one – I picked my two favorite pieces:

Alicia Marilyn Designs & Shopping's My Cardio for Farm Sanctuary

Filigree Cuff, $165 / Interwoven Cuff, $260

Aren’t they beautiful? As pretty as they are in pictures, they’re even better in person: detailed, dimensional and substantial. I love that they’re statement pieces, but still incredibly versatile. I’ve tried them with everything from jeans to work wear to wedding-guest attire, and they’re flawless.

Alicia Marilyn Designs & Shopping's My Cardio for Farm Sanctuary

(How do you like my modeling technique? I know, I could totally be a professional bracelet model.)

If you love them as much as I do, buy the Filigree Cuff or the Interwoven Cuff between now and August 15, and 20% of the purchase price will go straight to Farm Sanctuary, a fantastic non-profit that rescues abused farm animals.

(Okay, don’t look too closely at Farm Sanctuary’s website…it will make you sad very quickly. Just trust me when I tell you they’re doing good things for cute little furries.)

Everyone wins! You get a bracelet you’ll wear with absolutely everything (I haven’t been able to take the samples off since they arrived…), and the smug satisfaction of having helped some very deserving sheep and ducklings get a good home. I can’t think of a better way to treat yourself.

So, I’m dying to know: do you have a favorite? Now that I’ve tried them out, I might love one slightly more than the other, though it’s still a very tight race. How about you?

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what a stud: 12 stud earrings perfect for summer

Statement earrings have been around for so very, very long, and my ears are ready for a break. This summer, I’m feeling the urge to regress – all the way back to stud earrings. Remember those? They’re perfect for warm weather, of course: no muss, no fuss, and no aching earlobes at the end of the night. And I don’t know about you, but when the temperature climbs, I’m spending 80% of my time with my hair in a ponytail, a situation in which those big dangly earrings simply will not do.

The trick, of course, is to keep it more edgy than twee, or you risk channeling your 8-year-old niece or your 80-year-old grandmother. I’ve been on a mad hunt for the perfect studs this summer, and I’ve found a few that hit my sartorial sweet spot (without breaking the bank). Read on

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currently coveting: alexis bittar necklaces

I’m bored to tears by my jewelry box this week, friends…it needs some shaking up. And honestly, the only reason I haven’t already nabbed myself one of these Alexis Bittar necklaces is that I just can’t make up my mind.

Alexis Bittar Necklaces, via shopping's my cardio

Trapezoid Necklace / Miss Havisham Collar Necklace Rose Gold Station Necklace

Which is your favorite?

{PS…even more lovely Alexis Bittar picks over on Shop SMC}

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currently coveting: lariat necklaces

Much as I love a good statement necklace, my day-to-day wear definitely leans more delicate than daring. So I’m thrilled to see that lighter, sweeter styles are making the rounds these days. Particularly these lariat styles, which have the bonus of feeling like a fresh alternative to the usual pendant fare, but still provide all that “wear every day” delicacy I’m after. Plus, let’s be honest: a little cleavage-enhancing accoutrement never hurt a girl.

So many have popped up on my radar lately, I couldn’t resist sharing my favorites.

Lariat necklaces, via Shopping's My Cardio

Ariel Gordon diamond lariat / Jennifer Zeuner “Love” lariat / Zoe Chicco Pave V lariat

Aren’t they just divine? My girl Ariel Gordon nailed the classic version, which can be customized with any two stones – though honestly, the all-diamond option is too divine to tamper with. It just doesn’t get any better. I love that it’s delicate enough to pair with nearly anything, since I can definitely see this beauty getting daily wear at my house.

Jennifer Zeuner is heavy into lariats right now, and they’re all goodies. In fact, she has so many options, I almost couldn’t choose a favorite for this piece (see, eg, this diamond star version, which is completely wonderful). But this “Love” style is so original and fun, it had to come out on top. I’d wear it with a casual crewneck tee,so the letters really stand out.

And then, just when I thought these couldn’t be topped, I fell hard for an Instagram from the amazing Zoe Chicco. I was over the moon when she told me she was just about to debut it…along with a brand-spanking new website (fair warning: it is dangerously good). This style has a bit of an Art Deco vibe, maybe a wink and a nod to Gatsby, but it’s still thoroughly modern and unbelievably wearable. I’m envisioning this beauty dripping down from the neckline of a sexy wrap dress. Talk about turning heads!

What do you think? Painful as it would be to choose, I think I might have a favorite. What’s yours?

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eye candy: épice scarves and blanca monros gomez

That’s right, I have a pair of eye candy goodies this week. Because two is almost always better than one. Also, how could I possibly choose between these lovelies? It’s like a Twix bar of retail delights – and you get both pieces, my friends. Dig in!

A gauzy pile of new Épice scarves for spring has appeared at Una, one of my all-time favorite Portland haunts. If you’re not local, you can call the shop and they’ll happily ship one (sales tax-free, I might add) right to your door. There’s no need to tell you how much temptation is going on in my head right now.

And then, there’s the matter of these beautiful, impossibly delicate new baubles from jewelry designer Blanca Monros Gomez, which just arrived at Steven Alan. Consider my pennies being counted, friends.

 

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the how-to: stacking rings in the real world

Images via Pinterest: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Stacking rings has become this season’s answer to the “arm party” phenom we all couldn’t get enough of last year. And just like with those armfuls of bracelets, a pile of rings on every finger might look good on Instagram, but for those of us with jobs to do, emails to type and dogs/kids to wrangle, wearing 32 rings on each hand can be a bit much.

Personally, I’m all about taking inspiration from the extremes and paring it down for real life. So, I teamed up with the lovelies at Workhorse Jewelry to show off a real-world take on the trend.  Read on

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