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You are here: Home / Archives for jewellery

jewellery

Monday Amusements 22: The ‘Help! I need to write a Christmas list’ Edition

November 25, 2013 By Julianne

I’ve been too busy to read blogs for the last week as I’ve been redecorating! Would you like to see?
 

Okay, that was just a peek as it’s not quite done yet – I need to empty the boxes and arrange everything to my liking. But to my great relief, the wallpaper hanging, the painting, the curtain hanging, and the carpet mending is OVER. I chose Dulux Violet White for my walls, with the exception of the “feature” chimney breast, which is Purple Pout. My curtains are from John Lewis and I’m really happy with them. In my mind, I was quite attached to the idea of having velvet curtains but I couldn’t find any ready-made anywhere, so in the end I went for these, which have an almost metallic look and complement the rest of the purple stuff perfectly.

Anyway, I’ve been spending my free time working on my novel and occasionally sparing a few moments to look at pretty things online.

I saw this cute brooch featured on sparklyvodka, and even though it’s not my style, I went onto the Ginger Pickle website anyway. I love the glittery cat necklace featured in the photo with the black one, but it doesn’t appear to be on sale, and now I’ve seen the glittery one I could not possibly settle for plain black. The Minimalist Silver Moon Necklace would be the perfect gift for one of my best friends – if I didn’t want it myself. Dilemma.

I then went straight to Eclectic Eccentricity, a online shop I have bought from before. If you like gold-toned jewellery, you must check it out as they have some really lovely designs. Unfortunately, I am all about silver, and the only thing they’ve got that I like is this ring, which I really like, but it’s adjustable, and when I bought a adjustable ring from Eclectic Eccentricity before, it was a bit too small. It’s very pretty, but I can’t wear it on my index or middle fingers, and I usually wear another ring on my ring finger, so it doesn’t get much wear.

Clothes! I have bought a couple of dresses from Phase Eight secondhand, and I have loved wearing them so much that I now regularly find myself looking longingly at all the pretties on their website. They have a store near me, but it never seems to get the good stuff and I hate buying clothes without trying them on first. I’m currently completely obsessed with the Flavia dress. I also love this dress from Monsoon.

Ahhh! I keep looking at things I don’t need – dresses and jewellery – and avoiding items that might actually make it onto my Christmas list, mostly because I have no idea where to start.

For instance, I want a backpack, but a pretty one, not a sporty one. Yes, it needs to be pretty big and pretty sturdy so that I can haul it across London to my boyfriend’s a couple of times a week. But I also want it to go with my clothes, so it must be looks-pretty too, preferably in purple, black, or grey. If you have any idea where I might buy such a thing, please leave me a comment!

I also need a new winter coat, preferably in bright purple or red and made of wool. I’ve been happily wearing my ‘smart’ red winter coat for the last five winters. But then I took it to the dry cleaners a couple of months ago, and it shrunk. I can still wear it, but I won’t be able to get all the layers under it that I need to keep me warm, so it’s been relegated to the autumn coat leagues. I am always going to buy at least one size up in future. This must not be allowed to happen again! I’m afraid that the coat hunt is going to be even worse than the backpack hunt as I have very long arms. Any suggestions? PLEASE.

Filed Under: Monday Amusements Tagged With: dresses, help me!, jewellery, links, Monday Amusements, wishlist

The V&A – the world’s greatest place to buy rings?

January 15, 2013 By Julianne

No, it’s not their official tagline but I would certainly consider them for such an award.

I’ve been visiting the V&A more and more frequently over the last two years. At this point I think I visit at least every other month. If I’m not going to a specific exhibition then I’m there for a Friday Late, or to meet friends. In any case, unless I’ve got to rush off, or was so entranced by something I accidentally stayed in the galleries until closing time, I allow plenty of time to visit the shop.

A few months ago, I left with a genius invention – a multi-hole pencil sharpener for £5. I am finally able to sharpen all my eyeliner pencils, from the oddly tiny to the bizarrely large! But last time, I procrastinated too much, and went home empty-handed.

I just couldn’t decide which rings I wanted to buy. There was a snake on a stretchy beaded band that I was particularly taken with, and others with big, multifaceted sparkling ‘gems’ on a metal base. I really liked two different bow rings – as well as the wire one above, there was another in the style of a gift bow.

I was punished for my indecision – after Christmas, I went back with some money I’d been given, meaning to buy one of each only to find the gift bow rings and the mega-gems were no longer available (and I checked all three shops!). I found the snake ring but decided it was just that tiniest bit too impractical for regular wear and I couldn’t justify the price tag, even though it had been reduced recently, as the exhibition it ties in with (Hollywood Costume) is soon to come to an end.

However, I did get the wire bow plus the above purple resin rose, which unlike most of the other rings available, had a big enough band to fit my finger. I don’t think it’ll get much wear until the summer, because I’m afraid pulling my winter layers on and off will break it. But it, like the wire bow, was only £5, so I can live with that.

Anyone else find museum shops irresistibly good? Does that question sound too much like a chocolate ad?

Filed Under: Fashion and Style Tagged With: jewellery, offline shopping, rings, shopping, Victoria and Albert Museum

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Hi! I'm Julianne and I have so many different passions I have to be relentlessly organised to keep track of them all! On this blog I document my current obsessions and share my tips for juggling multiple interests while maintaining your creative energy. I believe that advanced planning brings advanced peace of mind - so join me, and plan to succeed in everything you do! More...

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