Manolo Jewelry

Greetings and salutations!

I hope that you have all had a lovely holiday season thus far, and are now enjoying the leftover sweets and Crystal Jewelry while reclining on a soft surface.

Like many of you, La Petite Acadienne is housebound due to all of the snow that has fallen. This is our first snowfall of the year, and so I am able to enjoy it. Talk to me again in February, when I will be so utterly tired of snow that I will not be able to mention it without a rather violent twitch appearing in the outer corner of my left eyelid.

For now, however, while a fire roars merrily in our wood stove, I can enjoy the crystalline beauty of the snow on the spruce trees outside of my window.

Speaking of crystalline beauty, look at this lovely cuff!

Does it not make you want to dress up in white velvets and satins and style yourself as an ethereal ice princess?

Plus, it would give you something pretty to look at while you stealthily place another Mars bar square in your mouth, no?

Bisous,

LPA

Aquamarine…

The name itself is so evocative, isn’t it? It makes me think of beautiful, crystalline, blue-green waters and white sand and palm trees.

There’s something about aquamarine that just feels like a soothing escape, isn’t there?

When I think of aquamarines, I always tend to think of the very clear, gemstone-cut variety, similar to these earrings:

They’re very lovely, and I certainly would not turn my nose up at them. However, I never realized how gorgeous the “less clear” aquamarines can be, like in this stunning necklace (which just happens to be marked down by 50%.)

Speaking of necklaces, here’s another gorgeous one:

But, if you prefer the clear aquamarines, these earrings should fit the bill quite nicely, no?

Happy birthday, March!!!

LPA

Oh, I am SO tired of snow.

Today was another day spent working from home, due to the roads being impassable.

And I must say, nothing quite encapsulates the working-mother experience like being on the phone with a major client while your toddler repeatedly pokes you in the left butt cheek with a piece of Duplo.

However, one advantage of working from home is that while on said phone call, one can do some online jewelry browsing, without worrying about Mr. Boss Man suddenly appearing over one’s shoulder.

And due to a recent birthday, I actually have a tiny bit of spending money available. And what better way to get rid of the money that is burning a hole in my pocket, than by spending it on pretty sparkly things?

Currently on sale, we have the talented and delightful Kendra Scott.  Her work has been featured here before; I love her interesting use of colour and shape.

These earrings are just lovely. I love the earthy colour of the stones. And they’re marked down to less than $50:

These earrings are outfit-makers. So exotic and pretty. They’re great for completely changing the look of a basic top ‘n’ jeans ensemble.  AND, they’re $23 off!

I could fill this entire page with Scott’s earrings, but she also has some gorgeous necklaces, such as this feather necklace, now 20% off! With the necklaces, be sure to click on “Larger Images and Additional Views”. You’ll be able to click on a video showing a model wearing the necklace, which gives you a MUCH better idea as to its size and scale.  In the regular photos, the necklaces look smaller than they actually are.

We also have this gorgeous aqua necklace (I LOVE the colour aqua), at a third off!

And lastly, this pretty tassel necklace at a great price, (and there are only two left!)

Well…I guess my birthday money is spoken for, my darlings!

Bisous!

LPA

Greetings, my dears!

I hope that all is lovely and wonderful with each and every one of you.

Remember WAY back when, when I made mention of my mom’s charm bracelet, and how I didn’t want to tell her that I’d love to have it some day, for fear of appearing grasping?

I could kick myself right now.

She hocked it.

Don’t worry — she didn’t hock it because that was the only thing standing between her and a steady diet of ramen noodles. She simply figured that neither of us girls had ever shown any interest in it, and she hadn’t worn it in years and years, so why not be rid of it.

I could CRY. Seriously. She had charms on there from when my sister and I were born. She had a charm from when she graduated from nursing school. It was the ONE piece of jewelry of hers that I actually coveted.

So I’m a little bitter right now. But I’m also determined that I WILL have a charm bracelet, damn it. And if I can’t have my mom’s, I’ll just have to get my own.

One can always buy a pre-charmed (so to speak) charm bracelet, if you like the look, but don’t want the time, bother and expense of slowly filling up your bracelet with charms.  This one from Lily Pulitzer is rather adorable, and it does still have room for charms if you want to add something more personal. Plus, it’s on sale:

I also think this one is really neat. The Feng Shui of the charms is supposed to increase the energy in your life.  So it IS a little pricier than coffee, but it doesn’t have the diuretic effects…so it’s a toss-up, really. However the fact that it’s 77% off certainly sweetens the deal, no?

Or, you could do what I’m probably going to do, and get one that’s mostly blank, so that you can add on your own charms. I’m loving this David Yurman one. The fact that it’s silver AND gold makes it a lot more versatile with regards to what charms you pick for it, I’d say.

So what kind of charms would I put on there? Well, I’d want them to either have meaning, or be ones that I just think are delightful. This Eiffel Tower charm would be a must-buy, as it would remind me of the lovely 24 hours I once spent in Paris.

Of course, with charms, you can’t go wrong with Tiffany. They have got a broad selection of gorgeous things. How dinky is this oyster charm? It  opens up, to reveal a pearl inside! Swoon!

I’ll also be getting some sort of charm that reminds me of my son. I’m not sure yet what to get though…but that’s half the fun, isn’t it?

If you had a charm bracelet, what charms would you want on it?

Bisous,

LPA

Well, the Golden Globes was definitely an interesting show.

Between Helena Bonham Carter wearing two differently-coloured shoes on the red carpet (on PURPOSE!) and Ricky Gervaise hilariously introducing Bruce Willis as “Ashton Kutcher’s dad”, I was entertained the entire time.

So, to keep the entertainment going, I thought I would springboard off of the Manolo’s always-delightful “Whose Shoes Wednesday”, and present to you “Whose Golden Globes Bling?’

Can you guess who wore what beautiful accessory?

And my vote for best-accessorized of the night? Well, it’s a toss-up.  An alarming number of women wore no jewelry at all, or only very subtle baubles.  That’s why I was so thrilled to see Kyra Sedgwick and her bold colour combination:

My other vote for best-accessorized goes to Susan Downey, and not because of what’s around her neck.

Bisous,

LPA

May 2011 see you having all sorts of delightful adventures with friends and family!

Bisous,

LPA

The very merriest of Christmases to all of the delightful readers of Manolo Jewelry!

Bisous,

La Petite Acadienne

Happy Sunday, everybody!

My apologies for being rather quiet lately. I’ve been fighting a double-whammy of bronchitis & stomach flu, which has left me incapable of coherent thought, let alone coherent writing.

When putting my earrings in today, I realized anew that I have had these holes in my ears since before I even knew what ears were.  Like many women my age, my ears were pierced when I was a baby. It was simply the done thing.

Of course, like many things, there are both pros and cons thrown out there when it comes to piercing an infant”s ears:

Stated Pros:

1. The infant is incapable of yanking at the piercings, and by the time she’s old enough to have that level of motor control, she’ll be used to the earrings and won’t mess with them.

2. It’s much easier to clean and disinfect the piercings of an infant than of a squirming toddler or rebellious school-age child.

3. If your girl-child is not particularly feminine-looking, it does help reduce the constant refrain of “Oh what a sweet baby boy.”

Stated Cons:

1. The risk of infection is still very real, as is the risk of allergic reaction.

2. When your baby becomes mobile, there is the risk of her getting the earring caught on something and ripping it out.

3. If she DOES manage to get her earring out, or if it falls out, there is the risk of aspiration.

Personally, I tend to stick by the rule of not making any permanent body modifications to my child unless medically necessary.  So no routine infant circumcision and no ear piercing. (Besides, I see ear-piercing as an EXCELLENT good-behaviour carrot for a ‘tween girl, so why not keep that arrow in your quiver until it’ll be of the most use?)

However, I know that there are plenty of people who feel differently.

What are your thoughts on earrings on infant girls (or boys)? Adorable? Appalling? Or is your reaction best summed up as, “Meh…whatever the parents want”?

Bisous,

LPA

If cold December gave you birth
The month of snow and ice and mirth
Place on your hand a turquoise blue;
Success will bless whate’er you do.

Greetings, my little winter chickadees!

Can you believe it is already December? I’m still trying to figure out where in blue blazes September went!

December babies get a bit of a raw deal — especially the ones who were born near or on Christmas. They tend to get the “combo” gift, which is supposed to basically cover both events…but never quite does.  Plus, your birthday party tends to get rolled into holiday parties, instead of being ALL about the ever-so-fabulous you.

However, there is a lovely silver lining to all of this — December has two birthstones, both of which are absolutely stunning:  blue topaz, and turquoise.

So that means that you can ask for some blue topaz jewelry for your birthday, and turquoise for the holidays! It’s only fair, after all.

You could ask for these lovely earrings:

Maybe I’m weird, but I prefer the look of turquoise with gold over the look of turquoise with silver.  I think turquoise with silver can often (not always, but often) wind up looking like one has just  spent three weeks at an artists’ retreat in New Mexico. Which is great— but it’s not usually a look I tend to cultivate.

You could ask for this stunning blue topaz ring:

This ring has such an interesting look to it. Because of the wire wrapping, you would definitely have to clean it often, as I can see the spaces between the wires getting all gunked up with the detritus of life.  It’d definitely be worth the effort, however.

These topaz earrings are just lovely:

So pretty and delicate, yet still very striking, no?

And if all else fails, you could always consider a piece that incorporates both blue topaz AND turquoise! Now THAT is an acceptable “combo” gift for you December babies!

Bonne fête to all of our December readers!

Bisous,

LPA

Happy Hanukkah to everybody! Don’t forget to tell your friend Veronica!

Besos!

LPA